m5m

The drama trope where one character keeps an important secret (sickness, poison, curse, whatever) from others, taking on all harm and responsibility in order to protect others -- even though keeping the secret usually causes more harm than it prevents -- is called the "Noble Idiocy" trope. Someone mentioned, "When Destiny Brings the Demon", and I have to concur. Tiny bit of 'lying for your own good', but pretty minimal. Also one of the few series that handles amnesia trope in a way that actually works, is important to the story and doesn't fill you with rage at the writers. Another xanxia in which the male lead doesn't lie to the FL for her own good (for the most part) is Love Between Fair and Devil. Tiny bits of it but mostly he's straight up with her. To be fair, there is a phase where SHE keeps things from him for HIS own good.

For anyone else wondering on this, the SML in Sparkle Love is irritating, but 99% unimportant to the story. 'Does maybe one or two tiny things that affect the larger story but otherwise his screen minutes are a waste of screen time. Fortunately, he isn't really on screen all that much so you really can just skip past him - especially his scenes that don't involve FL or ML. He really feels like a case of the show giving an actor a job but easily could have been left out of the show entirely.

Agree on all of this. Just want to double-down on Song Zu'er's performance. She was a total scene stealer in this drama because in pretty much _every_ scene that she was in, no matter what was going on, you can't help but look to her character, waiting for her to drop the most compelling, interesting dialog. Her character's dialog was so sharp, insightful, clever, funny, damning or loving - whatever was needed for the scene. And Song Zu'er delivered it brilliantly. She was shifted gracefully from vulnerable flower to bravely enduring harsh physical hardship to graceful noble lady to dominant, decisive strategist as needed so smoothly that it never ever felt forced. All those faces were integrated tightly into the same character.

Yes. And it is so much fun. Just realize going in that "A Dream Within a Dream" is a _satire_ of C-Dramas. It spoofs and exaggerates and flips pretty much every drama trope on purpose. And it is loads of fun to watch. It has a fantastic, veteran and talented cast (you should recognize so many actors from other c-dramas) who look like they had a blast. The production levels are top-notch. This is not a cheap slapped-together production. Great sets & costumes, beautiful camera work and just an unbelievably clever soundtrack that sometimes steals the show. Some folks commenting on Viki clearly did not understand that this show is a satire and often were very confused. But as long as you do understand that point, it's super fun. Especially if you are a veteran of watching a lot of c-dramas.

Agree 100%. LOTFG has a slow (but fun) build up to an acknowledged 'romance', but the whole time it never feels anything but inevitable. And once there, they are rock-solid. Even the emperor can't break them apart.

Blossoms in Adversity definitely belongs on this list. Yes, there is a small period of 'break up' but it is done for practical, strategic, lives-at-risk reasons that both understand and neither stops caring about the other for even a split second. That small break-up is understandable and not based on some stupid 'miscommunication' or romantic misunderstanding involving some annoying 3rd party. In fact, the way they deal with the very minor 3rd-party 'unrequited love interest' in this story is refreshingly mature and never becomes a drag on the plot. Plus it is just a fantastic drama with an incredible cast and a very moving story. Just be prepared for some emotional ups & downs for non-romantic reasons. The 'adversity' the ladies endure is extreme at times (but so are the 'blossoms' that come of it).