the cranky ayi

Was expecting a trope filled fluff piece, but the story grew denser as it progressed & I was interested enough to watch to the end. I thought it was entertaining & good if you just want to watch Shawn Dou.

Haha, I haven't been bashed yet 🤞🏻 but from what I've seen so far, this website is mostly respectful. Also, I try not to read other reviews before I write so I'm not influenced by other's comments, but I was aware of the high ratings. Have fun!

From all the 9&10/10 reviews, I'm beginning to realize there must be a large market for this kind of brainless show. Why would rising stars like Leo Wu & Tan Jian Ci do these? Must be a lot of $$$$$$

Haha I love your honesty! I'm now realizing there is a big audience for this kind of drama (ie no story) so I must learn to respect that!

Great review! I just posted mine but I don't have the energy right now to tear it apart as carefully as you did😆. The only thoughts off the top of my head were: complicated but too superficial storyline, and yes, M/FL chemistry very off. Glad to hear the FL has had better roles (my 1st time seeing her) but she certainly didn't pull it off well here. I agree, there was a moment when I thought if she ended up staying with her returned husband, that actually wouldn't be a bad thing as he turned out to be a more interesting (& better suited) character.

yes, my only take away from this show was what it's like in the life of a joseon widow😮😆

Thanks for commenting! I slapped this review together a little too quickly so I need to revise & give more detail on exactly what didn't sit right with me. Can't quite pinpoint it right now. I try to avoid reading other reviews before I form my own opinion, but yeah, very surprised at all the 9's and 10's ratings.

Absolutely - I totally forgot about the opening sequence in Ep 1 and suddenly remembered it was important so I watched it again. Who is the person in jail; too heartbreaking to guess. But as I learned from reading Game of Thrones: unless the head actually comes off the body... they're not dead yet!!

It takes great maturity to pull off these characters. I really can't imagine any younger star having the depth required to make this show as riveting as it is.

oof, on Ep6 and struggling... endless stream of romance cliches, poor dialogue, time wasting scenes, but great scenery.

Thanks so much for your review. I'm new to review writing so I like studying posts like yours for examples :)

I'm less patient as I get older. Fast forward is a bad sign - why bother? If its the last 5-10 eps I might do that but I couldn't get past ep5 & I don't want to wreck my remote controller. I, too, like looking at YY but I now accept the painful truth that he can't act. Story & detail are key components for me & this show is as superficial as they get. I'm a retired health care worker so scenes like FL doing surgery without a face shield so she can get a nice big splash of blood right in her eye... in a big fancy hospital with sophisticated staffing... ok stop right there. And the unwavering devotion to serving the people - devotion to service is ok, but being a robot about it means you have neither brains nor personality. Boring!

Love this review! My sentiments exactly. I resisted watching this show for a while because I had the same "allergic reaction" to YZ's earlier works, but I watched Immortal Samsara for Cheng Yi & was pleasantly surprised to see YZ's improvement in that show. I'm unfamiliar with the LYF novel (can't read Chinese & don't see an available English translation) but I could sense Tushan Jing's character should be much more dynamic & stronger that what seemed to be portrayed in the drama. I was very puzzled & confused that Xiao Yao would love such a useless person. Anyway, I did love this show overall & I look forward to exploring more of your reviews!