Big disappointment after first 2 seasons

As expected, the Chinese managed to destroy what started out as an absolutely superb historical Rom-Com. Season 3 lost ALL of its hilarity/humor and settled down into a depressing, angst-filled finale. The book officer shows up and tells her that she has to disappear for 'misfortune' to stop plaguing ML so she plays the noble idiot role, and we have to go through 3-4 episodes of him forgetting her and taking up with the former FL (the doctor). All I can say is that this interlude was thankfully short due to the short nature of the drama. To resolve this separation, the screenwriter has ML 'break the rules' by remembering her, and everything goes back to how it was prior to FL doing the noble idiot thing. Everybody remembers her again, and the doctor is no longer ML's love bug. Because ML broke the rules, book officer says that FL can now stay without having to confine herself to the cold palace...but no, in the final episode, she has to leave again because misfortune has still overtaken ML...even though the rules had supposedly been broken 5 episodes ago. What the heck?!

Ok, I get it. You've got to get FL back to reality because she can't remain conked out forever in front of her computer. I knew there was always going to be a problem with her staying in her imaginary world, but by golly, couldn't you have come up with a better way to resolve it? Ok, you have ML show up at the end as a real person in the real world, she signs his book and he just walks away?! AND SHE LETS HIM!!!!????? You can't say 'hey, let's go get a cup of coffee' or something? What kind of ending it that? It's not like she knows his name and can go find him later. If they'd just had had them getting together in real life then I wouldn't have given this drama such a low rating.

Take my advice - watch the first two seasons and forget about this one (except for maybe the first 1-2 episodes when MC finally get together). End the drama in your mind after season 2 and don't bother letting the writer end it for you because the ending was completely and totally unsatisfying. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They need a season 4 to fix this awful ending.

UPDATE! Good news - or at least I hope it is - I saw that there's a Season 4 on WeTv. Hopefully, it will mend this awful ending!

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Don't waste your time

Just another C-drama that starts out promising and gets ruined around mid-point by forced marriage, palace intrigue, meddlesome tyrants known as emperors, etc. Why, why, why do we always have to get the emperor involved? Can't we just have a drama based on merchant rivalries/mysteries/intrigues? Every time we have an emperor or prince, we get forced marriages, forced engagements, concubines, etc. This is why I'm not crazy about historicals set in the Dynasties. I'll tell you up front that ML is forced to marry another woman so I'm using this review to warn those of you that dislike this type of angst trope as much as I do. I don't care if the MC get together in the end, I thoroughly dislike the leads getting married off to other people. It totally kills my interest. So if you don't mind that kind of plot, go ahead and watch it. If you hate it, don't waste your time. Go watch Marry Me, Under the Power, Arsenal Military Academy, The Sweet Girl, Your Sensibility My Destiny, Truth or Dare, Dr. Cutie or Oh, My Sweet Liar if you like historicals. My Sassy Girl (Korean) and The Tale of Nokdu (Korean) are excellent as well.

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I only watched for the sizzle between ML/FL

Honestly, I only watched for the hot ML and the hot, steamy moments between him and FL. I didn't care about the family intrigue at all because it's the same ole revenge-based plot that never brings anyone any happiness. They get their revenge at the expense of their relationship (and in ML's case, his sanity) and end up more miserable than before. So, there's nothing new in this drama - I fast forwarded through everything but the hot moments. I didn't like any of the family members except perhaps Grandpa.

At first, FL wasn't worthy of a guy like ML - she had no backbone whatsoever - but she finally found some gonads and started acting like she might be worthy of such a cool dude. In the end, I liked her because she showed strength of character when needed, and she was clearly more stable than ML, emotionally and mentally. Yeah, he was badass cool but was hanging onto his sanity by his fingertips. This, viewers, is the result of a life based on getting revenge. Apparently, he needed to lose everything to come to his senses. And where were his buddies when he was falling apart? Chasing some chick. FL, of course, had to run to his rescue, even after he'd shredded her heart in the episode earlier. Nice to see that FL knows how to forgive.

And, of course, in true C-drama fashion, we had to break this couple up and try marrying ML off to a red-lipped, obsessed hag named Tang Lin. I had hoped we'd be able to avoid this obsessed chick/business marriage troupe, but, nope, right in the middle, the Chinese came through and used one of their favorite templates. I thought a ML of this caliber wouldn't allow himself to be pressured into a business marriage, but no, he walked right down the aisle and handed the hag her flowers. It was a sick copy of his first engagement with FL. I do applaud FL for, once again, finding a backbone and going and getting her man right in front of the red-lipped hag and guests. This shouldn't have happened and didn't need to happen. It was purely added to follow the angst template.

But wait! The stupidity and troupes are not over - in episode 20, we've got to go through the old 'your daddy (unintentionally) killed my daddy so I can't be with you' nonsense. Geez, I want to pull my hair out with this one! It's the stupidest reason for breaking up in the book. Quite frankly, ML gets what he deserves in the following scenes (near insanity) since he's so stupid as to throw away the woman who loves him because of something that happened in the past between their daddies. Honestly, dude, let it go, and your life wouldn't be a crap sandwich right now. Yes, seeing him in this state was heart-rending, but he brought a lot of it on himself by pursuing this grand revenge scheme of his. I understand being devastated by your family being killed/broken up but seek counseling, not revenge. There's healthier ways to deal with your grief.

As for the other couples, I could care less if the red-lipped hag found happiness with another guy. Honestly, I was hoping she'd throw herself into the ocean and drown. Yep, I'm heartless, but I've watched too many of these obsessed chicks to feel any sympathy. They have no self respect - clinging to a guy that pretty much detests you. I really don't understand these chicks - why live a life of misery with a man that feels nothing for you just for the sake of 'possessing' him? She goes on and on, shouting 'I like him! I like him!' Yeah, so what? I liked Harry Connick, Jr. in my youth, but I knew there was no hope of getting him so you accept it and move on. Some people are just unattainable, ok? As for the love triangle, I personally think the bestie ended up with the wrong guy. Yeah, I liked his personality better (upbeat, talkative and cheerful), but I preferred the quiet guy. He needed her more.

And let me ask you - why in 90% of these C-dramas is the evil mastermind behind everything a woman? I guess the Chinese culture (or at least the screenwriters and directors) agrees with Kipling who said 'The female of the species is more deadly than the male.'

Lastly, I'd like to give credit where credit it due. For once, the Chinese costume designer dressed FL with class, not like a multi-colored clown or twelve year old. And it's interesting that ML suddenly began wearing sweaters when he was in his soft and fluffy mode following his breakdown - nice use of clothing to reflect emotional state. But, dang, there's nothing hotter than a man in glasses who knows how to do the Superman tie tug! That, alone, is enough motivation to watch this drama.

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A hidden, under-appreciated gem!

I’ve already watched all 24 episodes on IQIYI. Some might say this drama is cheesy or has a lot of silly humor, but I personally loved it. There’s nothing wrong with cheesy humor if it makes you laugh, and this drama made me laugh. To me, this is what ROM-COM should be – romance AND comedy.

I loved FL. She was a strong ruler without being a b****. She simply exuded strength and power by the expression on her face. She wielded power like a man – by her expression, by the way she carried herself, by her confidence. She didn’t have to be underhanded, scheming, vindictive or seductive. She was strong yet playful – I loved the winks she gave. She and ML were, indeed, a power couple, although ML tended to give way to FL, making her the dominant partner. My favorite scene: she regains her memory and seats herself on ML’s throne. When he finds her, she boldly declared who she is, but he takes it as an invitation and says provocatively, ‘Yes, my lord’, leading to a steamy kiss scene. I also loved the scene where FL is taking out the evil/crazy Qi Meng with arrows. I like a woman who can solve her own problems, and the men in her life recognized her ability to do so and stood back and let her do it.

I loved ML too. He was handsome and confident yet he fully supported FL and complimented her power with his own. He wasn’t intimidated by her – they were equals. I loved how she gave him strength and confidence when he needed it – like when marriage envoys from the third city (can’t remember it’s name right now) turned around and began to leave because SML felt insulted. ML starts getting antsy, but FL steadied him by placing her hand on his, and they ended up winning the game of chicken. He even looked cute dressed as a woman (loved that facial gesture he gave FL). I was little disappointed with how he reacted to learning FL’s true identity, but he quickly changed his mind once he thought she was in danger. After that, this couple remained solid – each loving and supporting each other – a wonderful power couple. One last thing I’ve got to say about ML – this man liked his rose-scented baths! I’ve never seen a ML bathe so much! And he has the Cadillac of bathtubs too! I hope it had a hot spring feeding it because I’d hate to be the servants that had to boil water and fill that thing!

The villainess was sufficiently hateful. Even though we had to watch her (and FL) marry ML, we knew it was a fake ceremony since ML/FL were on to her schemes. I usually don’t like these arranged marriage tropes, but it was clear that ML was in love with FL and would have dumped Qi Meng if FL had asked him to. Qi Meng wasn’t as annoying as some of these psycho chicks because FL always managed to get the best of her and foil her plots. As for the male villain, all I can say is he has a great bod which the director was happy to show us over and over again. I was disappointed that he escaped punishment at the end along with those old geezers who couldn’t accept a female ruler…even though she’d been leading them for years.

The supporting cast was loveable and added plenty of humor.

That being said, I’m not sure if I’m completely happy with the ending. Yes, ML/FL finally complete their marriage ceremony, but in the extra scenes, we see indications that there may be a sequel. If so, I’m not going to watch it because the Chinese have a way of ruining a good drama. I’m happy with finishing the story at episode 24.

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So cute & funny

I love this short little drama! It's so cute and funny! So different from the typical C-drama, maybe because it's short. FL is spunky and cute, but not 'cutesy' as in baby talk and pouting. I loved it when she punched Concubine Li in the eye! HAHA! And then they end up on the same side as both are arguing for her to be sent to the Cold Palace! Per the rules of the Book Officer, she's tampered with the original novel, and she has to remain in the Cold Palace for 100 days or be eliminated in both the novel and real life so she continually trying to return to the Cold Palace and the Emperor is continually interfering with her plans to go there, first because he was suspicious of her and then because he's begun to fall in love with her. Her antics are so hilarious and the reactions of the emperor and the other supporting characters are funny as well since she's continually surprising them. She does get sent out of the Cold Palace after a day, but the Book Officer didn't show up and she didn't start to fade so that's a bit of inconsistency with the premise of her having to stay at the CP, but I can overlook it because this little drama is so amusing right now! So refreshing from most C-drama historicals because it's fast-paced and keeps you chuckling through all the episodes. I'm looking forward to watching Season 2 & 3, but I dread how it's all going to end because either she stays in the novel or she has to leave. If she leaves, she'll be leaving behind the emperor - so sad. But, if she returns to the real world, let's hope that either the emperor can follow her (like in the K-drama 'W') or a lookalike guy shows up in reality.

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Finally! A C-drama that doesn't rely on a template!

This is a remake of the Taiwanese drama ‘Meet Me at 10:06’, which was pretty good (and on IQIYI), however, the Chinese have made some good improvements. First, believe it or not, they actually shortened it by 2 episodes, probably because we didn’t have a second or third couple taking up time and boring us. Second, I think the plot is tighter, and lastly, there’s more sweet romance and a much more satisfying ending. I think my favorite thing about this drama is it managed to tell a story WITHOUT meddling, tyrannical parents or obsessed female love rivals. It doesn't follow a prescribed template. The plot revolves around a past problem/event that the leads need to solve/change so they (and a few other people) could end up with a happy ending. It can get confusing at times, jumping in and out of 2021 and 2022, but the logic held together until we came to the end and the required happy ending. I think it kept my interest because 1) there was plenty of romance and sweet 'aww' moments; and 2) my mind was kept active analyzing the logic of overlapping time. Unlike most movies/novels, it starts out with the premise that ‘fate’ cannot be changed no matter what you do in the past. This is proven wrong as the drama progresses. I am a firm believer that fate isn’t fate if you can change it, HOWEVER, if time travel were possible outside the world of movies and novels, you’re darn tooting that it can be changed. And that’s why, although theoretically time travel is possible, I don't think we'll ever be able to do it because - fate must remain fate. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if people began popping back into their past (or any past time period) and changing things? The universe would cease to exist.

I liked both ML & FL as a couple and individually. I think they had good chemistry and were really sweet together. I like how 2021 Zhengyu fell in love with FL just like 2022 Zhengyu – although it took him a lot longer to see what his future self had already seen in her. They become a sort of odd love triangle although it’s only towards the end that Z-2021 finally starts softening towards her as they spend more and more time together. He sort of reminded me of ML is the K-drama 'Hyde Jekyll Me' - he was the other half watching longingly from the sidelines as his more likeable self enjoyed FL's love and affection. They were the same man, but FL sees them as separately.

Individually, ML is the more likeable of the two because of his unwillingness to give up on their happy ending. If it hadn’t been for him and his tenacity, FL would have surrendered to her ‘fate’. She would have continue on her path to first fate and then martyrdom. And that’s my biggest complaint about FL. I liked her character, but I really wanted to slap her starting at episode 15 where she decides to play the role of the noble idiot. She liked this role so much that she played it again! So, she dumps ML twice because she's overcome with fatalism, and then she, apparently, wants to be a martyr. She totally ignores ML's arguments and does what she feels is best. Argh! I wanted to shake her; it was SO frustrating! Honestly, the scriptwriter overused the noble idiot trope with this girl. Thankfully, Z-2021 finally steps up to the plate and saves his future with some much needed words to FL about how hurtful she was being by dumping Z-2022 over and over again. Because of this annoying fatalism, my warm feelings toward FL cooled slightly. Nevertheless, she was spunky, smart and mature and didn’t veer into that ‘cutesy’ character that the Chinese love so much and I hate so much. ML, although pretty cold and haughty in his lawyer persona, was wonderfully sweet as his future self. I really, really liked this guy.

My favorite scene was in episode 16 where ML shows FL their future in drawings/paintings. That was such a beautiful moment. It brought tears to my eyes – however, it still wasn’t enough to convince FL to give up her fatalism. This girl! Would someone just slap some sense into her, please?!

Thankfully, there were no second or third couples. Yes, there was the couple of Jirong and Shenghao, but we really didn’t see any of their romance or have to see them dating, etc. They and their marriage was just there as part of the overall plot. They were side characters. Unfortunately, Jirong, like FL, becomes completely unreasonable around the same time as FL and dumps Shenghao for basically no reason - it had some weird connection to her brother that I still can't make sense of. And amazingly, there were no parents – except for a brief appearance of FL’s grandma who was pleasant and didn’t meddle except to help ML draw FL out of hiding. There was also no annoying dingbat besties or equally annoying siblings. It was solely focused on the main couple and their journey to unravel the meaning/cause of their time overlap.

As mentioned above, I really liked the fact this drama managed to tell a story without relying on a template. I'm not saying there wasn't some of the usual tropes; what I'm saying is a lot of the usual (and annoying) ones were missing. Also, internet scandals were kept at a minimum. Oh, there was one, but it was quickly resolved. There wasn't a female love rival (unless you count Chen Kexin who tried to interest Z-2021 and failed miserably). Mu Shiming, the male love rival, was pretty much a non-entity. His role in the C-drama was smaller than it was in the T-drama. Z-2021 was more of a love rival although it took him a while to get the starch out of his breeches, and for a while FL couldn't accept him - she continued to see him separate from Z-2022.

Overall, it's probably the best time travel C-drama I've watched. The logic held together for the most part, but it ended up having the same problem as 'The Lakehouse'. If she hadn't dropped the bird, and if he hadn't picked it up, none of this would have happened, and they basically eliminated her dropping the bird by changing the past. Also, what happens when Z-2021 arrives at the day in the future when Z-2022 did what he did to save FL? I guess it won't happen because Mr. Sun went nutty - don't know how you logically resolve that. BUT, I still liked this movie just like I liked 'The Lakehouse'. Sometimes you just have to turn you brain off and enjoy the romance. I gave the re-watch value a 9 because it might be worth watching again if you had trouble following the time overlap logic.

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ML alone makes this worth watching!

I would have given this drama full stars if I had liked the FL better. I’m just not a fan of the ‘cutesy’ type of character, and her portrayal of the novel character was really annoying since pouting and baby talk took center stage. Why do Chinese guys like this type of girl? Do they have a secret desire to date babies? Anyway, I’m not saying the actress was bad – she wasn’t, she did a good job switching personality types – I’m just saying I prefer her sister’s type character – quietly intelligent and reserved in nature. FL was clever, but I just hated the ‘cutesy’ thing. I preferred her in real life rather than in the novel. Also, I hated how the costume designer dressed her in the novel world. What is she? A twelve year old? Do adult women actually wear big bows in their hair? If her novel husband, Feng Muchen, was the designer of her clothes, no wonder he went bankrupt! And don’t get me started on his wardrobe! Before his character was ‘taken over’ by the boyfriend, he dressed like a Korean gangster with patterned shirts and gold chains. Thanks goodness, ‘real world’ Feng Muchen ditched the gold chains!

Now, to the #1 reason I kept watching this drama – ML. He is the best boyfriend ever! And this actor did an excellent job showing a wide range of emotion and facial expressions. You could feel his desperation. I’ve liked him since I first saw him on ‘Professional Single’, and he’ll always be known as Song Si Yi in my mind. Like I said, he is the best boyfriend a girl could want. He risked his life to join her in this novel and bring her back to the real world. He was always devoted, always true and always...well...wonderful! I like how he was in love with her personality, not her appearance since he almost immediately realizes that the novel character is back and FL has departed to somewhere unknown. Even though the novel character tries to act ‘cutesy’, he knows it’s not his girlfriend and makes excuses to avoid her. What a guy! He's the best! I loved him, and main reason I tolerated FL’s character was because of him. Oh, and BTW, he's a hot kisser too! Finally, kisses that look like passionate kisses in an Asian drama. Sometimes we get those from the second couple, but it's rare for the main couple. And it was all him, he put all the effort in those hot kisses.

As for the plot, it actually wasn’t bad. Yes, there was some silliness, but I was surprised at how well the plot held together. The logic held together too. Usually, in these fantasy plots, I don’t like how it ends because FL has to leave fantasy ML behind in the book or game, and then, hopefully - but not always - she meets a ‘real life’ version of him. In this plot, both ML & FL are real people who knew each other prior to entrance into fantasyland so nobody’s going to be left behind (although ML briefly and accidentally gets left behind and ends up in another novel! That was cute!). It was reasonable that ML would follow FL into this virtual world, and it was reasonable how they got out of it. Ok, yeah, it's definitely fantasy, medicine hasn't advanced this far, but I didn’t have any unanswered questions at the end or any ‘but that doesn’t make sense’ feelings. All the main characters in the novel correspond with real people…even the two guy secretaries (look for a really cute twist at the end on these two!). It's sort of like the Wizard of Oz how Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and Wizard were people that Dorothy knew prior to her 'dream'.

If you can tolerate FL’s personality, it’s definitely worth the watching, and even if you’re like me and can’t stand the ‘cutesy’ type, it’s still worth watching because of ML. I wish every boyfriend could be like this guy!

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Don't waste your time!

If you like watching a woman be a doormat for an asshole husband, this is the drama for you! He mentally, verbally and physically abuses her over and over again, and we're supposed to like this guy and be happy for them at the end? In what bizarre universe?! Added to this abusive and toxic marriage is a bitchy sister who ML apparently 'loves' and an equally bitchy mom who is a really bad actress. I honestly don't know why anyone would want to watch a drama like this - yes, I watched it (a.k.a. having your finger on the 10 second fast forward button), hoping that at some point, FL would finally become the woman the WeTV description described her as. Nope. Never really happens in any satisfying way. Her actress friend is who her character should have resembled.

FL is just one stupid chick (or a masochist) to put up with this kind of treatment, and supposedly she's putting up with it because she loves ML. Honey, he ain't worth your love, and I have to question what kind of unhealthy love you have for this guy. The message this drama is putting out is terrible - it's basically saying to women - 'If you love a guy, hang in there! Put up with whatever abuse he wants to dish out because he'll eventually love you!' What a toxic message! No wonder we get so many C-dramas with obsessed crazy love rivals! Rarely does this kind of ending happen in real life - you just keep getting abused. It's really disgusting when she tells ML that she was happy while going through all this abuse because she loved him. What?! That's sick, just plain sick that a screenwriter would even write that kind of stuff. And supposedly ML secretly loved her all these years, and he had a 'hard' time loving her, like we're supposed to feel sympathy for him or something? That's a strange looking love, I must say - you love them so much you abuse them routinely and run out to marry another woman as soon as the ink is dry on the divorce papers.

This story could have been a lot better if they'd jump over the abuse portion and went straight to showing us a strong FL who's become successful and takes revenge on the husband and two bitches. Instead of this guy being ML, Xu Wei should have won the woman by showing her what a guy worthy of her love looks like. I don't care if it was all a misunderstanding or not, ML has no right to treat any woman, let alone his wife, like this. Heck, ML on the equally terrible 'Ex-Wife Stop' was better! At least, he wasn't blinded by love for the bitchy love rival and his behavior did improve once he realized what he'd lost.

The WeTV description on this drama was very misleading - I only started to watch because I thought she was going to be a strong FL. I had no idea that she was going be a doormat for 95% of the drama, nor that ML was romantically involved with the bitchy sister. They're also described as a 'lovely couple'. In what universe?!

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Compelling but LONG!

Ok, I ended up fast forwarding, 10-30 seconds at a time, through all 70 episodes because it was just too darn long and just too darn sad and depressing. However, I’m still giving it a 9.5 because 1) it was well filmed, despite an overload of flashbacks. How many times do we have to watch JS & LS's childhood, wonderful though it was? 2) it was well acted, except Wallace Chung doesn’t know how to portray a blind man. His eyes moved too much. Evan Lin in The Crush did a better job. And 3) the music was beautiful and wonderfully poignant. Nevertheless, I took off 1/2 star because I couldn't be completely satisfied with the ending because of Liang Sheng's sad loneliness. I could not enjoy Tian You's and Jiang Sheng's happiness because of Liang Sheng. If the director wanted me to be happy with the ending, then he/she shouldn't have shown me such a beautiful relationship between these two 'siblings'.

FL (Jiang Sheng) – she started out as a spunky, strong character but deteriorated into someone who seemed constantly depressed and confused. She was like the weather vane on the Cheng residence, swinging back and forth between TY and LS. She's also constantly in the hospital with various injuries. I don't know about you, but in my lifetime, I've only been in the hospital maybe a handful of times. It's so unrealistic that she should get into so many accidents...and survive them all. As mentioned, she seemed unable to make up her mind who she wanted to spend forever with – Tian You or her ‘brother’. Really, around midpoint, Jiang Sheng and Liang Sheng should have just said to hell with the Cheng family (give me the parting teacup, Grandpa!) and runaway together, going back to the simplicity of their earlier life. That’s the tragedy of this drama – this family destroyed their absolutely beautiful relationship. If left alone, they would have happily lived together as brother and sister forever. But I digress - back to FL. I liked Jiang Sheng (and this actress), but I wish she’d shown some of her earlier spunk and stopped letting everyone push her around from Grandpa to Weiyang to Tian You and Liang Sheng who embarked on the pathway of noble idiocy in nearly every 10 or so episodes. She’s constantly at everyone's mercy as they decide what’s best for her, plunging her into new misery. It was frustrating for me as a viewer because I never knew what she was thinking because she never stated her feelings out loud; she just went around looking pained and morose. Tell the Cheng family and Wieyang to go screw themselves, honey! Stop being nice!

Tian You (ML) - as I see it, he created this entire 70 episode ordeal by prying into his aunt's past so does he really deserve happiness in the end after he and his family destroy this beautiful relationship? Yeah, he's a sweet, caring guy, but he still started this whole mess. TY discovering his lost cousin (LS) caused Grandpa to go all tyrannical and separate LS from his sister. On the bright side, he did received his fair share of suffering. I think the most heart-breaking was when JS made him think she'd willingly aborted their child and then broke up with him. Later on, I didn't quite understand why he forced her to go to LS's bachelor party and then told her they would have nothing more to do with each other. And no, FL, it wasn't your fault he went blind. You didn't push him off the cliff; he freely chose to dive in after you. That's not your fault, so stop feeling guilty about it.

Liang Sheng - his sad, lonely character made my heart ache. Because of their beautiful childhood moments, he and Jiang Sheng just seemed like one of those couples that should be together forever, and my heart ached when FL was no longer at his side or treating him as warmly as before. As with FL, I had a difficult time reading him since he rarely told us what he was feeling or thinking. His video recordings to FL revealed the most, and I wanted to cry along with him. His biggest fault was his lack of firmness with Weiyang. He was far too passive with this nutcase, which almost caused him to be manipulated into a marriage with her. It was clear he didn't love her or want to marry her, but he allowed her to push him into an engagement.

Weiyang – a first class psycho chick who resorts to emotional blackmail to try and force LS to accept her in his life. I have no sympathy for people who threaten suicide to emotionally blackmail someone. I normally call her type of character a cupcake, but I came up with a new nickname just for her – dog poop – because she was like dog poop stuck to LS's shoe. He just couldn't get her off no matter how he scraped. Do women like her actually exist in real life? I hope not! Her obsession with this guy was insane (and no, I didn’t feel sorry for her when the director made us watch her boo-hooing. However, the scene of her dressed in red in an empty white banquet hall was visually arresting. She also had the best 'theme' song of all the music in the drama.). Just because you stalk a guy for years doesn't mean he's yours! It made me mad when her sister and Jiang Sheng tried to make him feel guilty for cancelling the wedding. He was not responsible for this girl's feelings. Yes, he should have never agreed to the marriage, giving dog poop hope, but still, he had a valid argument. We're all individuals, and he doesn't owe her his entire lifetime as compensation. If what the sister and FL said was true, nobody would have a right to break up with anyone without their consent.

Bei Xiaowu/Ke Xiaorou – thank the scriptwriting gods for these two characters! They saved Liang Sheng from marrying WY! That alone gave purpose to their existence! FL was not being a good sister by keeping WY's involvement in her miscarriage a secret from LS. You don't stand by and let your brother marry a crazy woman. I wasn't interested at all in Bei Xiaowu's relationship with the motorcycle chick and fast forwarded through it.

Tianen – can someone just put a knife in this weasel’s heart? And no, his wheelchair does not give him the right to be messed up in the head. Get him and dog poop matching straight jackets. Ok, I'm sorry, the moment he bite my hand, I'd be telling him and Tian You to get the hell out of my life, if I were FL. Yet she continues to allow herself to be sucked into the Cheng family (although Grandpa seems to think she's the one holding onto his family - no, it's your grandsons, you old goat!). I guess the Cheng family was dog poop on her shoe! Yeah, the weasel gets redeemed in the end, but I still hated him.

Grandpa – this old geezer just needed to croak. This is the 21st century. Business alliances should be made in board rooms, not by marrying off your offspring to rich men’s bratty daughters. And apparently, in Grandpa's mind, disabled people can't run a company successfully. But, hey, if don't want an arranged marriage, just cut your leg off and you'll be disqualified. The discrimination against disabled people in this drama was outrageous. Even Lin Jing's mom implied her daughter couldn't be happy with the weasel because he couldn't walk. But he's rich, mom, so how exactly will your daughter suffer because of the legs?

Ok, maybe I'm crazy but I liked Liang Sheng's real dad. Yeah, he was sort of shady, but he had no problem with LS marrying Jiang Sheng and even worked to make it a reality. He was one of those free-thinking parents, which is unusual in Asian dramas.

Lin Jing – I loved this character. She was a down to earth, non-annoying bestie. I just wish they've gotten her a better love interest than the weasel, not because of his legs but because he was a first class jerk and psycho. Unlike FL, she spoke her mind, and she gave FL good, reasonable advice.

Here’s an epilogue for all of you that - like me - felt sorry for Liang Sheng: After ten years of 'blissful' marriage, TY gets run over by a car (because, as we all know by watching Asian dramas, cars are running people over every day). LS, who has remained single (he’s the type that only loves once in a lifetime) comforts JS and with TY no longer confusing her, FL gets over the ‘brother’ thing and accepts him as a man and her 2nd husband. Or, for those of you who can’t get over the brother thing, they live the rest of their lives as brother and sister, sharing the same home, totally devoted to one another as they were before the Cheng family wreaked havoc.

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Finally, a drama that’s well named!

‘Out with a Bang’ is exactly what you get. A professional e-sport player is facing the end of his career, but he’s going out with a bang (referring to the type of game he’s playing). This drama brought to my attention how short of a career these e-sport guys/gals have. Unlike other sports, where an athlete can play for several years, the repetitive nature of e-sports and the harm done to hands/wrists can cause these guys/gals to retire while still in their 20s. The plot revolves around his journey to retirement, which includes reconnecting with his lost first love and learning how to be a part of a team. He also discovers a new purpose in life - that of mentoring new players to be their best.

I preferred this drama about e-sports better than the popular ‘Falling into Your Smile’ for the following reasons:

1) FL was much more likeable. She didn’t go around for most of the drama with a snobby look on her face. She was a nice, likeable girl who responded maturely to disappointments and obstacles. She did allow that wannabe love rival, Shi Ya, influence her too much, but ML quickly set her straight. Really, it’s ML’s decision what team he wants to play for, nobody else’s. Besides, he knew his career was nearing its end with his wrist issue so Shi Ya’s ‘help’ was a mote point. I also loved how he told mom point blank that FL was his girlfriend, not the nanny. Thumbs up to ML!

2) I liked ML’s character better than the ML on ‘Falling’. He was narcissistic, somewhat childish and prickly, but he was cute at the same time. I loved his ‘sisters’ and who gifts their girlfriend with a life-size picture of himself? LOL That’s not saying that Xu Kai didn’t do a good job with the role he had in ‘Falling’. I just think his acting talent was underused with the tsundere personality type. He was much, much better in ‘Arsenal Military Academy’ where he could display a wider range of emotion.

3) Gaming action was kept to a minimum until the final few episodes, but unlike 'Falling', the gaming action is easily understood by non-gamers. You knew what the objective of their game was - shoot the other players until your team is the last one standing. Simple concept. In 'Falling', you have to be a person who's played the game, otherwise, the terminology makes no sense. Mid-laners? Jugglers? Castles? A non-gamer, or someone who's never played this particular game, is lost. In 'Out with a Bang', that's not the case, which makes the gaming action more exciting since you know what the objective is. It's a great scene when Tian uses a Chaun's maneuver to move their team into qualifying position. Brought tears to my eyes.

4) And most importantly, there was much, much less focus on fans and internet netizens. I found that aspect of ‘Falling’ to be the worst. It just went on and on and on, and I think the reaction to unhappy fans and their comments was grossly exaggerated. How can you run a business, be it e-sports or whatever, if you going to totally overact to netizen comments? Everyone in your country isn't paying attention to these scandals, and the vast majority who do are silent so why overact like the company in ‘Falling’ (or any company in C-dramas, for that matter)? Also, these scandals don't last. A new scandal erupts and the old one is forgotten. These so-called financial losses to the company will not last, and it's ridiculous for the management to overact as they do in C-dramas. I was glad to see that the internet and its trolls were less of an issue in this drama.

Now, in many ways, this drama isn’t much different plot-wise than most C-dramas. Instead of competing corporations trying to underhandedly defeat the other, the e-sports managers/directors are attempting to put the other team out of business by influencing sponsors, etc. Is this really how things run in China? Is this how they view Capitalism? This kind of behavior went out of practice in the 1800s in the US as anti-trust laws went into effect. To compete, businesses need to have a better product, not undermine the other company with fake scandals and underhanded deals with suppliers. Besides, competition is good for the consumer so trying to create a monopoly as their companies do is detrimental to society.

I think it's fair to say that all Captain Qin’s troubles would have been solved if he'd just gotten rid of that fiancée and her harpy mother. She didn’t care what he was going through or what pressure she and her mom were placing on him; all she wanted was the house. This boy seriously needed to get rid of her, but at the end of the drama, he’s still with her! Do you honestly want to live with her and that mom forever, buddy? No wonder a lot of these dramas portray dad as henpecked. What an idiot!

I’ve also noticed a trend in C-dramas. We see the second couples getting married or engaged at the end while the MC’s relationship is either ambiguous or still just in the dating phase. Tell me – why am I watching this drama? It’s to see the MC get married at the end since I'm of the generation that still equates marriage as a happy ending. I could care less what happens with the 2nd or 3rd couples, ok? Same with this drama. I could care less about FL’s boss and her best friend, and I would have rather heard that MC was getting married/engaged, not these two. So, the ending for me was slightly disappointing.

But, overall, it's a solid drama with a plot that's going somewhere. It touches on your heart-strings as you watch the ML go from professional player to mentor/coach. You don't get that in 'Falling'.

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Barely resembles the webtoon on which it's supposedly based

Frankly, it's like watching badly written fanfiction in which the author does not understand the personality or motives of a central character. Taemu is the driving force in this webtoon - everyone is reacting to his decision that he's going to marry Ha-Ri come hell or high water. That's part of his tiger personality, the reason he's an effective CEO, he makes decisions quickly and sticks to them, no wavering. The humor comes when Ha-Ri is trying to run away from this crazy man who won't take 'no' for an answer even though she's falling for him. Part of what makes Taemu special is his single-minded determination to marry the woman he had a blind date with. Even when he finds out she's his employee and she was lying to him, he's still determined to marry her. At this point, the drama is just another 'contractual engagement/marriage' plot, which isn't at all unique. It's Taemu's obstinate pursuit of Ha-Ri which makes the webtoon fantastic as well as his flirtatious banter with her. You take away his marriage badgering, and you've taken away the guts of this webtoon.

Starting at episode 3, be prepared for the drama to diverge widely off the webtoon. Ha-Ri does not meet Grandpa while in her fake identity. Taemu/Cha never made a fake backstory for her or their romance either - because that would make Taemu a hypocrite. It's stated several times in the toon that he hates lying, but what is he doing right now to Grandpa? He's lying - that's out of character. It's true he hired her to play the role of girlfriend, but to him, she wasn't fake. It was merely a means to an end - he played along to get what he wanted. Same with the contractual dating that Ha-Ri later suggested. Drama Taemu is far too cold to Ha-Ri. Taemu warmed up to her very quickly in the webtoon, giving her charming smiles and bantering flirtatiously with her. He also preferred pursuing her to his work. I love in the toon where he tells Cha - 'if work is my first love, Ha-Ri's my last love.' He's always completely in control - just like a cat/tiger with a mouse/rabbit, and he never has to think about making their fake relationship real. It's always been real to him. He would never, ever snap at her like he does in this episode after her rain comment to Grandpa. The webtoon Taemu did not get flustered (surprised a times and overheated from a kiss maybe, but not flustered) nor would he ever wear a coat with zebra patterned lapels (Grandpa, yes, Taemu, no). To me, Taemu is right up there with Mr. Darcy - perfect in every way and not open to character tweaking by a director/screenwriter. To make matters worse, Young Seo and Cha's relationship is totally different from the webtoon - so boring I even fast forwarded through their scenes.

Just an aside. Taemu in the webtoon could be forgiven for not recognizing Ha-Ri in her pink wig. Taemu of the drama is apparently as blind as Lois Lane.

So much is being cut out, which doesn't need to be. Typical K-dramas run 16 episodes; this one is 12 so there was plenty of time to leave the toon as originally written instead of inventing things like how Taemu parents died. I guess webtoonTaemu was just too perfect so they had to invent this ridiculous rain phobia. No doubt he'll have to prove his love for Ha-Ri by running through the rain. It just feels like this was a hurriedly slapped together drama that I'm currently finding a BIG disappointment. It's hard for me to continue watching because they're butchering Taemu's character as well as the plot.

FINAL UPDATE - I don't know who this guy is masquerading as Kang Taemu, but he's not the character we all love and adore. Same goes for Secretary Cha (actually, he's even worse than Taemu). Heck, Min-Woo isn't even the squid we know even though they've given him a professional upgrade. Same goes for Young Seo's rival - she was not a Korean version of a Valley girl. They have totally gone off the cliff as far as following the original storyline. They've basically taken a romantic comedy template based on a contractual relationship, given the characters the names of those in the webtoon and thrown in a bunch of tropes that you find in the typical Chinese Rom-Com because I guess that's what the audience needs to make their hearts flutter or something. Did the Chinese produce this? We have MC falling on top of each other and accidentally kissing, we have imaginary umbrella scenes, we have Taemu suddenly afraid of the rain (did they get that from "She Was Pretty"?) and ML giving FL medication to put on her bruise (and him looking like an awkward schoolboy while doing so; if there's one thing Taemu never lacked it was confidence, Director/Writer!). I'm surprised it wasn't the old 'high heels rubbing a blister on the girl's foot so the guy applies a Band-Aid' trope, but we did manage to squeeze in the fireworks (another Chinese fav). And don't get me started with the MC's kisses. Taemu and Ha-Ri shared some pretty hot kisses in the toon; their Kdrama kisses are like watching siblings kiss. If the actor/actress didn't want to kiss in a believable way then get someone else to play the part. Their love scene was painful to watch as well - so awkward and forced. Really these two had very little chemistry.

FINAL, FINAL UPDATE: Episode 11 made me pull my hair out, and I'm now bald (just kidding). This is SO not in the webtoon. Grandpa is suddenly a baddie, when he was absolute sweetheart in the comic. They have SO missed the comedy that Grandpa provided as he worked to assist (not destroy) Taemu and Cha's romances. Taemu never pleaded with Grandpa to accept his choice. He was a tiger to Grandpa's lion, and he would have fought Grandpa tooth and nail for Ha-Ri, but Grandpa was faking his disapproval just to get a little revenge. I'm now convinced it was written and produced for the Chinese viewing audience because it has everything a typical C-drama has in it - accidental kisses while falling, umbrellas, fireworks, tyrannical parent trying to separate couple, and now a social media scandal caused by a vindictive female love rival (but not Taemu's, Min-Woo's) leading to this silly 'send Taemu back to the US' idea. Come on, Netflix, Korean Rom-Coms have progressed beyond this kind of stuff so I can only conclude this was based on a Chinese Rom-Com template. If you can't do a better job, just keep your hands off Korean drama, ok?

The webtoon was fresh and lively, had brilliant dialogue, memorable characters and was above all - FUNNY; the drama has none of that except for some tropey comedic moments. Apparently, someone decided that the webtoon 'as is' wasn't interesting enough to hold an audience (although there's tons of us out here who LOVE the webtoon and wanted to see it come to life) so they had to throw in a bunch of stuff that never happened. If I were the author of the webtoon, they couldn't pay me enough money to let them butcher my lead men and plot like this.

If you've never read the webtoon, then you'll probably be happy with it even though it's the same old cold CEO/Cinderella story that's been told numerous times in Asian drama. It's got all the cliches and tropes, most of which did not happen in the webtoon. Go read the webtoon, and you'll understand why I'm ranting. If you have read the webtoon and still want to continue on, I suggest you tell yourself that this is happening in a parallel universe to get yourself through it - that's what I've been doing anyway. I literally weep at what they did to Taemu's character. They've made him into a vindictive, petty, unsophisticated, romantically awkward, weak, easily flustered, hypocritical man-child, which is totally opposite of what he is in the comic.

Stars reduced to 4 because it's so wildly different than the webtoon on which it's based. I would drop it lower except for the fact that, if you didn't already know and love the comic, it's an average Rom-Com that hits all the cliché/trope buttons, making most viewers happy. Speaking of viewers, it's interesting that those reviewers who give a low rating are complaining about the storyline rather than how it's butchering the original webtoon. Same goes for those reviewers giving high marks.

My biggest fear is that viewers will think this drama is a true reflection of the webtoon - IT'S NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM! I can't stress that enough, and it just burns me up that, for the most part, 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim' followed the original webtoon, but my all time favorite comic gets butchered to the point of making it unrecognizable because it's being forced to follow a template rather than allowing it to be its wonderfully delightful and hilarious self.

I'm going to have to re-read the webtoon to cleanse my eyes from this dramaland hatchet job.

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One of the better low budget C-dramas

As my headline stated, it was low budget, but the acting and storyline was better than most of the short C-dramas on WeTv. Fortunately, the episodes were in 23 minute allotments rather than the typical 5 minutes or less (those type are so irritating because you've got to skip through the intro to get back to the story). That being said, we still have the 'engagement' to another woman device as well as that 'other woman' being the typical C-drama obsessed nut job who has an inflated opinion of herself. If I only had $1000 for each time I've listened to one of these love rivals demand to know in that screeching voice of theirs - 'Why her and not me?', I could buy myself a nice sports car by now. Granted, a lot of this ML's trouble, he brought upon himself for being too nice to a sick, old Grandpa and passively allowing the psycho chick to think they were really engaged when they weren't. Still, who the hell got the ring for the psycho chick, which she flashed in front of the media whenever she got the chance? And, tell me, was it the same ring ML gave to FL at the end????? Sorry but I'm not wearing a ring that's been on another woman's finger no matter if it was fake or not, fella!

ML was likeable and clearly in love with FL from start to finish, but he was too passive when it came to the psycho chick and Grandpa (who are far as I know is dead when all the current stuff is taking place so why is ML letting Gu Jing to believe they're actually engaged?) In my drama experience, there's two types of Chinese MLs when it comes to obsessed love rivals - 1) the 'childhood friends', who because of their past friendship, are not stern enough with these crazies and allow them to wreak havoc or 2) the cold-faced, abominable snowmen that are just flat out rude to them. I prefer the second type because we never have to worry about whether or not he'll be swayed out of kindness to crazy girl or her family. Well, anyway, this ML is of the first kind, even though the viewer has no doubt that he loves FL and does not intend to ever, out of kindness or whatever, actually marry Gu Jing. He does show sufficient angst when FL keeps abandoning him, and as a result, he garners the viewers sympathy.

As for FL, she's likeable enough but has a habit of running away from her troubles. First, she abandons ML over the engagement thing without hearing his explanation, and she does so without even saying goodbye. She just disappears to France for five years. Then when she returns and gets duped into thinking she's ill, she once again disappears, but at least this time, she shows some character development and doesn't disappear for long. However, it's long enough to cause ML sufficient anguish. This girl just gives up too easily although she did finally find a backbone to get into a shouting match with psycho chick at a press conference. Unfortunately, she ends up fainting before giving the viewers a satisfying smackdown of the delusional Gu Jing.

The time spent on the second and third couples were blissfully short thanks for the limited episodes so I did managed to keep my finger off the fast forward button and take some interest in their relationships.

As mentioned above, this is definitely low budget, but it's better than 'Ex-Wife Stop' or 'If I Never Loved You'. It sort of middle of the road as far as shorts go. 'Campus Ace', 'Please Don't Spoil Me' and 'My Dearest Boss' were much better in terms of directing and acting.

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Pleasantly surprised

This is the first time that I've ever considered a Chinese remake just as good if not better than it's Korean counterpart. I liked the MC more than the Korean one. Although the Korean ML was definitely funnier, the Chinese ML was cuter and sweeter, and I thought he had better chemistry with his FL. He was definitely sexier with his 'lean-ins' and shared hotter kisses with his leading lady. FL was likeable without being a typical Chinese cutesy FL. I don't remember seeing any stuffed toys in her room, and she didn't pout, foot stamp or 'hmpf' at ML. She acted like an average working class girl. That being said, there's no comparison as far as comedy - the Korean one was funnier (at least, the first few episodes). But, of course, the Chinese had to add and extend romantic relationships between two other couples, which increase drama to 24 episode rather than 16. Although the other couples were ok, I'm not a big fan of secondary pairings...at least not to the point of giving them a lot of screen time since it distracts from main couple and makes drama too long. Korean dramas have secondary couples, but they limit their screen time greatly, showing the viewers only the essentials. And tell me, why does every Rom-Com have to have a older woman/younger man pairing these days? It seems like Asian dramas are obsessed with them.

Overall, it's worth watching even if you've seen the Korean version. I resisted a long time watching this drama because I'd already watched the Korean one and didn't think the Chinese would do a better job (from experience, they usually don't). However, I was pleasantly surprised. I probably enjoyed it more than the K-drama just because the MC was more likeable, in my opinion.

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The fun continues!

So many C-dramas start off good and then falter in the middle as amusement turns to serious drama , but that's not the case with 'Please Don't Spoil Me'! It continues the fun it started in Season 1...probably because the short episodes necessitate a fast-moving storyline, which keeps things light and amusing. The expressions and actions of the supporting cast members are hilarious as well as FL's clever schemes to continue her quest to remain at the Cold Palace. ML, on the other hand, is trying everything in his power to get her out of it and into his vicinity since at this point, he's thoroughly besotted with her. He does manage to get in some quality romance time, which begins to sway our intrepid heroine, but with the threat of elimination hanging over her, she's continues to resist his wiles. However, with the appearance of the heroine of her novel, she starts to feel some pangs of jealousy even as she's determined to matchmake her two protagonists together. This angers ML - and rightly so! He looked so hurt when he discovers her plot! Awwww!

I'm really looking forward to Season 3, but I'm on pins and needles as to how the writer is going to keep these two together...please, please keep them together at the end! At one point, the ex-heroine doctor discovers that ML has something wrong with his body, which he requests that she keep secret, even from FL. Soooo, is this going to have something to do with how FL (and ML) depart her novel? It seems to me that she's going to have to depart. A person can't stay conked out in reality forever. So, the question is - will ML go with her or will he appear in real life? Argh, the suspense is killing me!

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