sulkytofu

I think he is not, but I'm only at Episode 22 right now! I started suspecting when I went through some of the comments here, and suddenly all of the things I didn't notice before (i.e. always showering and then changing into suits, being wary of the "real" Gao Jun who I think is actually involved with the FL's husband's workplace, etc.).

I thought ML was actually undercover police at first, but now am not 100% sure (depends on what "the company" is). Personally, I would really like it if he were the real Gao Jun, but then I thought about this again and realized this would make sense if it were a fluffy rom-com (i.e. ML who always loved FL since high school comes back into her life) and not the style that this drama is taking (where the ML slowly falls for the FL over time even though initially he was using her for his own ends).

Then again, the drama could just be messing with my mind and I could be totally wrong about it! I am contemplating over what ML is, and I can only think of either (1) a rival company to the one FL's husband used to work with, (2) some kind of undercover law enforcement officer, or (3) some kind of hired detective/PI/investigator.

She is an extremely, extremely introverted and reserved FL. This is something that is a central part of the story, specifically her character and her drive to find out what happened to her husband. Her introversion is because of how much she cares about the people around her and how deeply she loves; she doesn't like getting close to too many people, but for the people around her she will be willing to go above and beyond out of her loyalty to them. In my opinion, she is quite similar to the FL in the K-drama My Liberation Notes; both become relaxed and happy around the people they love, but to others they can be cold, reserved, and unwilling to engage actively or trust easily.

As for the ML, what I can say is that everyone's identities get revealed slowly and later in throughout the drama. This is a really slow-burn watch, and even though there is some mystery and tension throughout the series, the main focus is on the characters and their relationships. It's not super intense (i.e. not really murder or big crimes other than financial ones) but the plotline and story are really focused on our ML and FL getting closer together after going through these hardships.

I came into this with super low expectations, but the cinematography, the visual palette, and also the romantic tension between our ML & FL are so well done. The drama does such a good job making this a contemporary real-life setting, while also using camera angles and certain shots to make you gain certain impressions about a character, and then using the plot to completely change your initial perceptions. I also find Ruan Zhenzhen a very refreshing female lead; finally there is a main character who is not always optimistic or upbeat and easygoing, but instead who goes through cycles of depression, doubt, anger, and is very, very introverted.

On the topic of romance, as someone who also rarely watches dramas without it, I also love the chemistry between the leads! I'm honestly satisfied no matter how they end up, because their relationship is set up in a way where you kind of know it's twisted, there are a lot of hidden secrets, and probably also conflicts of interest, but you also just can't help loving the sparks between them. Looking forward to the last stretch of the drama; it's occupied my mind so much for the past couple of days and I can't stop thinking about it!

Random last point: On the height difference, PGY is actually nearly 190 cm, so he's actually just so incredibly tall compared to an average person that it really sticks out. I've seen some of his other dramas where he acts as other characters (warm and friendly type, charming type, etc.) and I have to say he really shines when he plays morally grey and villain-like characters.

GUYS LOL EVERY TIME THE ML SHOWS UP ON SCREEN I GET BLUSHY BLUSHY!! He has so much charisma; it's something about his very deep voice, imposing presence on screen, and how attractively he holds himself! Most of all, I really love how this drama features a couple that's older than what I'm used to with the recent slew of youth romcoms, and the amount of chemistry they have between them is explosive even though it's only been the first couple of episodes. Fingers crossed that the plot is good as well and that the suspense is balanced well with the romance ~

Dropped. Unfortunately, there was a lot of room here to bring up important questions about chronic illness, disability, and experience, but unfortunately despite this being the premise of the show (and the fundamental conflict in Qi Jia and Qin Ge's relationship), the illness ironically matters little throughout the story. I think the writing really needed to consider how it was going to balance the fluffy romance with the serious conversations it could have incorporated about disability (for example, Qin Ge talks with her friend in the first episode about what it's like to be disabled and be in relationships with other people, but the drama rarely shows this even mattering in her life after that conversation). Moreover, disability is diverse, and so are acts of caretaking and loving disabled people, and I think there was a lot that could have been put into this drama, but unfortunately it just turned out to be another run-of-the-mill sweet "pink romance" series.

I think the story really needed to show Qin Ge and Qi Jia's initial relationship (they did this through flashbacks, but the story should have started with this point, similar to some other youth romance series) in order to make us emotionally invested in the characters and their relationship. Otherwise, their relationship seems to kind of come out of nowhere even though we know they have history together. On the flip side, at least ML is relatively wholesome; although his longing could be creepy if it came from a place of harm and danger, it's nice to see someone who patiently waits for when the FL is ready, rather than pushing her to anything. I do have a soft spot however for MLs who are clingy, willing to give everything for the FL/unafraid to give up their pride in order to pursue their partner.

I really hope this one is good; it's really rare to see romance dramas in particular handle chronic disability and illness, particularly how it impacts relationships with your partners. A lot of people are rightly critical about the way tropes such as noble idiocy (breaking up with the other for the "good" of that person) are employed in dramas, but I appreciate how this one uses this trope as its premise specifically in order to focus on the issues and complicated responsibilities that arise in relation to chronic illness. Looking forward to watching the rest of the eps as they come out ~

This drama is basically the epitome of the quote: "A hero would sacrifice you for the world, but a villain would sacrifice the world for you." I think what's so effective is that Lan Hua is a very kind and innocent FL, but her heart and her generosity are in a way what makes her so strong (especially in an environment where there are many power struggles and forms of political in-fighting). Esther Yu makes Lan Hua's characterization not only loveable and sweet, but also you can see why DFQC is attracted to how her worldview and mentality is so positive and considerate of others. Dylan Wang is also doing an amazing job as DFQC; what's funny is that he absolutely nails the transition between Lan Hua's innocence and DFQC's worldliness whenever they switch bodies. I can see why this drama has been so popular lately not only because of how it reverses a lot of tropes to do with the ML (DFQC traditionally fits into the role of the second lead male/villain who falls for the LI but never ends up with her), while also showing how even so-called "passive" and innocent FLs can also be emotionally strong and full of conviction.

This isn't uncommon; especially with dramas that have had high press before airing and/or feature stars and celebrities that are very popular on social media, they've been simply dropping the dramas unannounced. I have a feeling a lot of dramas that have been sitting in the production backlog (i.e. Immortality) if they ever air will be broadcasted in the same manner.

I feel really nervous about dramas with Part I and Part II, mostly because there is always the chance that depending on reactions to the first part, the second part ends up never airing. I will say though that after watching some shorter web dramas, editing the series to have less episodes may not necessarily be a bad thing; and I'm really excited for the amazing chemistry Yang Zi and Cheng Yi have as shown from the teasers!

Fellow watchers, can everyone describe some expectations viewers should have when watching this show? Is there a lot of romance, or is it mostly focused on palace politics? Some of the strengths and things this drama is doing really well, and some of the issues or weaknesses that watchers should be aware of?

I really, really think that even with Taejoon and Taeyang, they needed more time to build up the character's relationships together. I know that some may disagree with this, but I felt like their relationship was rather on the insta-love/meet-cute side, where they really quickly got together (and thereby this left a lot of room for lots of drama). Other sports dramas, especially in the cdrama side often show the two leads getting to know each other first, taking the time to support each other, going through hardships, before starting to date one another. Without showing a progression of the strengthening of their relationship (and most importantly how they mature through their conflicts, instead of simply suppressing them, ruminating on their guilt/anger, etc.), this drama makes it hard to convey to the audience why going through all of this pain is worthwhile. Once they actually developed the characters as their individual selves, I think it would have helped a lot in making some of their other relationships (whether enemies, siblings, or family) to come in a lot more organically.

Can anyone provide some insight or a mini-review into the romance for this one (i.e. what the dynamic is like, how is the chemistry?) I've read so many different comments below on things such as red flags/problematic behaviour, and just wanted to hear both the strengths and the limits of the relationship depicted in this drama!

Some have also commented on the elephant in the room, which is the reason why Taeyang was ostracized from the badminton community and how that may relate to Taejun's family history. I'm a little confused by this, because given how small the training community is and how serious the rumours were against Taeyang, there is no way that Taejun in particular can be oblivious to the connection they have. I have a feeling Taejun may already know, while Taeyang has no idea (since a lot of people don't realize that Taejun's older sister is very famous).

Although I like the chemistry of the drama, I do think it is going too fast, and because of that there are certain logical inconsistencies and the pacing of the plot is a little awkward. For one, I think more time could have been spent with relationship development, especially as I feel as if delving into some more of Taejun and Taeyang's past history (i.e. meeting as children) or addressing how everyone seems to know each other and not know each other at the same time (Taejun and Junghwan's antagonism) would help to fill in the story a bit.

I also always get nervous when the main couple get together quickly because it means something else will be needed to fill in the next 10 episodes. In addition to how I think both of them haven't had the time for their relationship to really develop yet, I'm also not sure how they could fill up the rest of the episodes without becoming draggy. I'm hoping we don't enter the misunderstandings/break up cycle, but it seems inevitable given the current length and pacing of the plot.

For those who are looking for dramas that have very similar tropes and give off the same feelings (either historical or wuxia setting, ML and FL equally competent, a slow-burn romance), I'd mention some lesser-suggested recommendations such as Sound of the Desert (2013), Under the Power (2018) and Love is All (2019)! All have "hidden identities," expansive stories, and also couples that are both equally skilled an talented, and often work together in order to resolve cases and problems. All are definitely lower budget than this one, but I think they definitely fill in the niche that this one left me with while waiting for new episodes.

Ironically, Zhang Haowei (who plays Yu Wuyuan here) did an amazing job as the swoony male lead in Love as All; he is so devoted to the FL and he's very sweet to her. I'm kind of surprised at his characterization in this one; but if you'd like to see him in a very different role I would definitely recommend this one too.

I do agree with some of the comments that while the drama has a very interesting plot and overall backdrop, I think the way in which they have spliced the overall narrative is a little awkward. On one hand, this storyline allows for logical consistency with the fact that nobody knows Hei Fengxi's real identity. On the other hand, however, it takes away a lot of time from the FL's character development (even if it comes in the later episodes, doesn't that mean screentime and development for Hei Fengxi also gets taken away?)

One way I feel they could have addressed this problem is by having Bai Fengxi actually be, for example, Feng Qiwu (wouldn't it be really interesting to have this position switched/if both the leads were hiding their double identity?) Or they could have opportunities for Bai Fengxi to be more involved in the palace politics in Hei Fengxi's other identity. I say this because the actual politics is really interesting (props to Zhang Tian Yang for doing a great job for example as Prince Chang, that there are royal members of the family who don't actually want to get rid of Hei Fengxi makes the politics much more intriguing!)

I also think in some ways the lore around Hei Fengxi and Bai Fengxi is much more interesting at times than Hei Fengxi's political backstory. For example, if they had done something similar to Under the Power in which the two characters travelled together for a while through multiple smaller story arcs, and then ended with the palace politics, then I feel as if that would streamline the story a little more. To that end, however, I do like Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi's chemistry (Yang Yang is absolutely perfect as the doting ML who watches his leading lady from the sidelines, while Zhao Lusi does a great job at showing the righteousness and upright nature of Bai Fengxi), and I'm looking forward to the next episodes.

I'm really disappointed in Song Weilong as the ML, I really feel like the ML in the original novel had a lot of presence while also giving off a much more mature feeling. I still think he's quite young for the role, and he doesn't match how the couple in the original novel gave me a bit of an "age-gap" feeling. Song Zuer however has surprised me a lot with some of her past roles (such as in Legally Romance), and so I think she's actually quite well-casted for this one!

For those who have finished and are looking for another sweet, fluffy romance, it's a little bit of an older one but Something but 1% (2016) has the exact same feeling. A fluffy and adorable webtoon romance with little drama that's focused on the main couple, along with some great side characters!

Does anyone who is currently watching this have a mini-review or any comments about how they feel about the drama so far? I know that it's still quite early/we're really only in the half stretch, but how's the romance and the storyline for this? I'm still not really sure what the genres are for this drama, and wanted some advice on tempering expectations before going into this one!

We are coming to my absolute favourite part of the drama, which is when Qian Wei returns to the "present" timeline. I don't want to spoil too much, but what I love so much about this story is that when this happens things aren't perfect or magically resolved. In similar "time-travel" or romance dramas the story ends when the protagonist returns to the present day, but as we know this is absolutely not the case in this story. In fact, both Qian Wei and Lu Xun have so much that they need to communicate over, especially because rather than being at the stage of youth, they are now adults who have known each other for so long that it becomes difficult to move from where they are currently standing. If the Lu Xun during their university days was straightforward, passionate, and headstrong in his pursuit of Qian Wei, the Lu Xun now is much more conservative, worried about change, and continues to reserve his feelings out of fear of rejection. It's Qian Wei's turn now after reflecting on their past to do the pursuing, and I can't wait to see how the relationship between the both of them changes.

I also think the drama added a lot more nuance and layers to the novel itself; if the novel was tinged with pink and gave you a warm and bubbly feeling inside with its sweetness, the drama itself is much more muted and contemplative. In a way, I liked how Li Chong Wen and Qian Wei had those conversations about whether she had come from the future because it was an opening for them to communicate over what went wrong in their relationship. It is also, however, proof that Qian Wei indeed does love Lu Xun more, that even after being able to have the chance to be together with Chong Wen again this time she must choose Lu Xun first. I like it when characters are straightforward with each other and their feelings, but also when love triangles are done purposefully and meaningfully (rather than simply being used to create situations of jealousy). I'm excited to see everyone's comments on this part of the drama, especially as it's very satisfyingly handled and the book does a really good job making Qian Wei's "return to the past" a highly meaningful experience, rather than invalidating it by making it "all a dream."