Reviews

Some quick observations while watching this episode

In Ning's memory of her seduction of Xie Wei in her past life, it's notable that the music soundtrack is completely different from the music that plays whenever the two have a moment together in THIS life. In all the scenes of them together in THIS life, the music song is one that evokes yearning and hope for something unreachable. In the former life scene, the music is calm and cold, almost with a sense of dread looming. Later, just when she seems poised to run away from everything, it's interesting how insightfully Lyu Xian manages to drop the responsibility of caring for Xie Wei's health and emotional state onto her lap. He is one of the few who have read correctly the depth of feelings between the two and manipulates her sense of caring adeptly.

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WTF

They confessed to each other but all I noticed is that the woman said she’s never been lucky ever since she was born and this made me so mad. Girl! How do you define luck? You’re pretty, healthy, smart, has a good job as a doctor, has the most supportive best friend ever and lives in a beautiful place, which is even bigger than my place and I don’t call myself poor. Obviously the rent for that place is not cheap and definitely not a price that a normal ‘poor’ salary person can afford. You’re definitely not as poor as you think. I don’t get why she’s always calling herself poor and miserable. She’s not poor! I’m so done with the screenwriter. If you want to make her a poor and miserable woman, at least make her look and live like one. Do you know how a rented house for poor people look like? Even though I don’t live in China, I’m pretty sure the female lead’s house is not for the poor there. 😩😒🤦‍♀️

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Reality or dream?

Quite heartbreaking to watch how Hailou carried Haixia's body all over the city from one place to another, only to learn that everything he knew might never have even been real. 😢 And then to learn it actually was, but his recklessness forced the Southern Archives to disappear entirely, and Haixia once again took the responsibility for his actions... even leading to his death now. 🥺💔I hope Miss Dong reveals she is Haiqi, but I'm not sure if she can trust Hailou enough yet, since he might expose their secrets once again. 🤨 And for goodness' sake, how long has Haixia been dead? Has it been a week already? It was definitely multiple days on the ship... Shouldn't the body have a noticeable smell by now? 🫣

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One Mistake After Another

I really liked the Grand Emperor. He's far wiser than almost anyone else in this drama. He always loved his family, especially his sons, and in the end he died repaying his debt to the Empress. His story was moving.I feel terrible for Ying Ying and, something I never thought I'd say, for the Lu family as well. At least she'll become the main consort, but the circumstances are still heartbreaking.As for Chu Mu... I can't bring myself to feel sorry for him. He put himself in this situation, and hopefully once he matures and learns from his mistakes, he'll be able to move forward.Who is Xiong Rui again? I can't quite remember. Was he part of the acting troupe that died alongside Chen Ji?What frustrates me the most is the Crown Prince. He just can't seem to stop making mistakes, bad relationships, bad allies, bad decisions, and terrible judgment. I really hope he becomes more cunning and politically savvy as the story progresses.

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Secrets well hidden

The story of the imperial decree and Ye Li's mother is way more twisted than I imagined. And who is the body in the pond? The maid who was accidentally killed during the struggle for the decree, or Ye Li's mother? 🫣🤔Prince Li looked like Zorro there, all in black and masked, lol. 😂 I don't think Prince Ding's men will catch him just yet. We'll have to wait a while for that to happen. 😔Loved how A'Li said all the right things to her sister. 👏 I really hope she'll start to reconsider her choices regarding her husband very soon. I am still anticipating the start of her self-growth arc. 🥺P.S. Why do I get the feeling Prince Li will use A'Li's handkerchief to stir up some trouble later? 🤨😔

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Bits of truth and consequences of lies

Him telling her his nickname is A'Yao and allowing her to call him that was so sweet! 🤗 The look and the tears in his eyes when A'Li said she wants to help him stand up and live his life happily—she makes him so happy already by that thought alone and warms his heart immensely! 🥰 And I do love that they always zoom the camera in to show us two pairs of shoes when she's with him. Is that a way to prove to us that it's real, and not her imagination playing tricks again? 🤭And that's why he got so angry when Feng presented him with evidence that she had hired the bandits herself. And he's right to be—are there really any liars who tell only one lie? We know everything she says is a half-truth mixed with her imagination, but he doesn't, nor does he know the reason for it. That fact alone hurt him, and even more so because he is already living with the consequences of misplaced trust from his past. 🥺 I bet he will question her past activities on the mountain even more now—her martial arts skills, her weiqi skills, the amount of chores. Her answers already felt a bit suspicious to him. 🤨But it is interesting info that her mother and father were involved with the decree, which was the one piece missing to prove Mo Xiuwen's return wasn't treason. I wonder if it is destroyed or just hidden somewhere? If it's the latter, then A'Li can help find it to prove Prince Ding's innocence and clear his name. 🧐☝️And what is with the rivalry for favouritism in Marquis Muyang's house? Is his son jealous of the guard, or does the guard just know the son is spoiled? I couldn't read which of the two guys could be considered "good" and is worth my support, if any. The one who declined the fish, or the other? 🤔

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KORN IS DISGUSTING but is a necessary evil

ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS Ep 8 - There's so much I wanna say, but for now I'm speechless. Allow me some time to collect my thoughts and calm my feelings first.... ...Ok, now let's talk. If we haven't watched episodes 1-7, we'd say ep 8 is a transposed episode of SHADES that's existing in some adults-acting-like teenagers alternate universe! Because Lal and Wine are acting like teenagers who can't understand and can't control their hormones-gone-berserk-driven emotions. But wait - These are intelligent career women in their late 20s or early 30s, holding leadership positions, having feelings so overwhelming, that it's driving them cuckoo! First, there's Lal - the smitten, head-over-heels-in-love sweet devoted puppy who thinks matching pajamas equals matching worldviews and mindsets that are in sync. Lal, you're in Sales, goodness gracious, you must know that communication is key and assuming won't get you anywhere. Stop speculating that you know what Wine thinks and feels - Talk to her, like have long, meaningful let's-expose-our-souls conversations with the woman you love and find out what makes her tick, what pushes her buttons, other than great --x. And then there's the gorgeously sexy on the outside all knotted up and repressed on the inside Wine. Insecure, self-effacing, self-demeaning defeatist Wine. Wine's hang-ups and traumas could trigger dissertations on mental health and we'd still never comprehend why she's scaredy-cat acquiescent with Korn and tiger-fierce with Lal! There's something seething inside Wine that we'd never really get, that Lal would never really figure out, because Wine herself hasn't seriously dealt with the ghosts inside her shell.... Except that itty-bitty sliver of vulnerability she reveals when she said, "I'm afraid there's no one else who'd care for me as much as you do, so what do I do with my life without you?" And then there's Tangkwa mirroring all the insecurities of her boss, jumping to conclusions prematurely, also wrestling with so many hang-ups that you'd think trauma-bonding is what makes her and Wine work so well.... And Proud, oh dear reckless Proud! Girl, it hasn't dawned on you yet that great bed partners don't necessarily make great relationship partners, right? Do your feelings with Tangkwa have the same breadth and depth of what Lal feels for Wine? Or is it just convenient attachment that stems from nothing more than physical attraction? Let's not talk about Korn. He's a disgusting blackmailer, among everything else that's despicable and vile. But then again, he's a necessary tool to move the females' stories forward.... Otherwise, everyone would be parked in a rut, or circling in dizzying orbs around the elephant-disguised-as-a-copier in the room: Should falling in love with a colleague be sufficient enough grounds to lose your job over?Wine's "No" at the end was her admission that she cares for Lal - The Lal who takes care of a mother and a sibling, as much as she fondly cares for Wine.... The Wine who'd rather move elsewhere than risk Lal losing her job. I'm glad we've still got episodes 9 and 10 to make sense of all this....But even before we overthink Episode 9, YOU MUST WATCH Episode 8! Enemies with Benefits just took every adult professional woman in that office, stripped them of their PowerPoint decks and quarterly targets, and replaced their brains with pure, ungoverned, feral teenage chaos — and I mean that as the highest compliment a GL series can receive.I have not been this delightfully unwell since watching SHADES (iykyk). Ep 8 is essentially a corporate drama that woke up one morning and decided it would rather be a hormonal fever dream, and honestly? Same. These are intelligent, ambitious women in their late 20s or early 30s holding leadership positions, yet somehow they're out there navigating soul-deep longing the way most people navigate a high school cafeteria. And you can't look away.Let's talk about Lal — Sales Division's chief negotiator, absolute puppy. This woman is so far gone she thinks matching pajamas are a legally binding pre-nup. Lal, sweetheart, you're in Sales: you know assumptions kill deals! Stop trying to read Wine's mind via interpretive body language and try using your words — you know, the ones that come out of your mouth, in sentences, preferably over a long, soul-baring conversation that doesn't involve a bed. I'm begging.And then there's Wine. Gorgeous, repressed, complicated Wine, who is equal parts steel magnolia with Lal and terrified dormouse with Korn. The cognitive dissonance is staggering. The woman has enough unexamined ghosts inside her to populate a gothic novel, and watching her swing between ferocity and silent acquiescence is like watching someone try to defuse a bomb while blindfolded. You'll want to shake her, then hug her, then enroll her in therapy immediately.Tangkwa mirrors her boss's insecurities so perfectly it's almost a duet. The two of them trauma-bonded into a feedback loop of jumping to conclusions and wrestling inner hang-ups, creating a workplace dynamic held together by mutual emotional knots. It's messy, it's real, and it's painfully relatable.Then there's Proud, and oh, reckless Proud. Sweetheart, I need you to have a very quiet moment with yourself and ask: do your feelings for Tangkwa have the weight and depth of a Lal-and-Wine-level earthquake, or are you just mistaking mind-blowing physical chemistry for a relationship foundation? Great bed partners do not a great life partner make, and someone needs to staple that memo to your forehead before you hurtle Tangkwa into disaster.As for Korn — let's not. He's a narrative tool in human form, a necessary obstacle to force these women out of their emotional holding patterns. Without him they'd all be circling the elephant in the room so fast they'd generate a tornado: Is falling in love with a colleague reason enough to risk your career, your stability, your whole carefully constructed identity?This episode is a pressure cooker of miscommunication, yearning, and "JUST TALK TO HER" energy that will have you gripping your device and scream-texting the group chat. It's what happens when a top-tier workplace drama gets hijacked by messy, sincere, overwhelming queer longing. I laughed, I cringed, I yelled at the screen, and I wanted to lock all of them in a conference room with a whiteboard and a feelings chart until they sorted themselves out.Go watch Episode 8. If you've been following this series, this is the pay-off and the detonation all at once. If you haven't started yet, what are you doing with your life? Cancel your plans, embrace the beautiful chaos, and join me in the wreckage.

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