It’s a big month ahead with all the major events like:
Super Bowl on Feb 8 (I have my New England Patriots gear ready though the team’s a long shot to win),
Valentine’s Day on Feb 14 (I lost the pounds gained during the holidays to fit into this black dress),
Lunar New Year on Feb 17 (I’m all set with a red outfit that looks like a cheongsam that I bought from Hong Kong a couple of years ago)
Ash Wednesday on Feb 18 (Sadly, I don’t have any sackcloth to wear, lol) and
Tell a Fairy Tale Day on Feb 26 (I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood).
As for kdramas and cdramas, it’s a big month, too. I’m still watching the period piece, “To My Beloved Thief” (Episode 9, here I come!) and the work-place comedy “Undercover Miss Hong” so I must select my new dramas carefully.
1. Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight (2025)
Apparently, this movie was released last December, but it’s available on Netflix TODAY! It reminds me of “50 First Dates” (2004), starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. He falls in love with this sweet girl who unfortunately suffers from “anterograde amnesia.” She’s unable to form new memories after her car accident and forgets everything that she’s done during the day after she sleeps at night. It’s like her mind resets at bedtime. But undeterred by her handicap, the guy introduces himself to her as if it’s their first time meeting and contrives to date her during the day.
Now, this “Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight” is adapted from Japanese novel, but the premise is oddly similar. This is the synopsis from mydramalist.
The pure and touching love story between a high school girl who suffers from anterograde amnesia, whose memories are reset when she wakes up, and an ordinary high school boy who lives a dull daily life.
Kim Jae Won is a pretty boy suffering from hereditary heart failure. He is a boy who has no purpose in life due to the disease that always keeps death by his side and just lives each day. Han Seo Yun is a girl suffering from anterograde amnesia, and unlike Kim Jae-won, she is someone who always exudes positive energy even while battling an incurable disease.
Cast: Shin Shi Ah and Choo Young Woo (“Head Over Heels”)
Episodes: 1 because it’s a movie
Where to Watch it: Netflix, starting today
I probably won’t watch this before Valentine’s Day because its genre is listed as melodrama (or the better word should be coined: melo-trauma?) on mydramalist. At least, “50 First Dates” was a romcom, and ended happily.
2. Our Universe
Briefly, it’s about an uncle and aunt (in-laws, not blood-related) co-parenting their nephew.
Cast: Bae In Hyuk (“The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract”), Roh Jeong Eui
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Wednesday, February 4
Airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays
Where to Watch it: Viki
Network: tvN
3. In Your Radiant Season
Though the write-up on soompi makes the plot appear run-of-the-mill, I’ll check it out for Chae JongHyeop.
“In Your Radiant Season” tells the story of Sunwoo Chan (Chae Jong Hyeop), a man who lives each day like an exciting summer vacation, and Song Ha Ran (Lee Sung Kyung), a woman who has locked herself away as if life were a cold winter.
Source: soompi
Cast: Lee Sung Kyung (“Sh**ting Stars”) and Chae JongHyeop (“Castaway Diva”)
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Friday, February 20
Airs on Fridays and Saturdays
Where to Watch it: Don’t know (it’s on Disney+ though)
Network: MBC
As for cdramas, I have two romantic shows to recommend if you want to binge-watch on Valentine’s Day. They are the recently concluded “Shine on Me” and “Love Between Lines.”
But for new cdramas, I have my eye on:
How Dare You?!
It’s another one of those plots involving a trans-migration from real world to fictional/imaginary world like “My Page in the 90s” but I like the actress here better than the one in MP90s.
Synopsis from mydramalist:
Workplace rookie Wang Cui Hua unexpectedly finds herself inside the world of a novel, where she crosses paths with Zhang San, another transmigrator—this time, a hidden king who has been biding his time for a decade. One struggling against fate, the other concealing power behind a façade, the two join forces to survive. As schemes unfold and alliances shift, they must face not only the dangers within the story but also the cruel prophecy that one of them will not live to see the flourishing world they’ve worked so hard to build.
Cast: Wang Chu Ran (“Are You the One”) and Ryan Cheng (“Legend of the Female General”)
Episodes: 32, oof!
Start Date: Friday, February 6
Airs everyday
Where to Watch it: IQIYI
I need a fun, light-hearted Chinese romcom because I had the misfortune of watching a Chinese movie (they call it “shorts”?) on Youtube last weekend called “Ruler of My Heart.” Oh, boy! It was like watching a trainwreck.
The story began with the female lead asking for divorce and her husband promptly obliged her. He signed the papers, saying something like “Don’t make me see you again from this day on.” She answered, “I’ll make sure you won’t see me again.” And ugh! She made good on her word by jumping into the sea.
What the fudge?! My head hurt from watching the screenwriter and director attempt to heap every possible cow dung on the husband to rationalize the wife’s suicide. I couldn’t empathize with the wife’s course of action because to me, it’s her revenge. It’s her way of saying, “I’ll make you pay back for the hell you made me go through. You will never find my kind of love for the rest of your life. You’ll regret losing me for all eternity.”
The emphasis of the movie is unduly on the husband’s transgressions (he was unquestionably a terrible husband). But the movie should also have shown that she was suffering from severe depression and mental abuse even before the husband arrived in the picture. The couple’s best friends should have recognized the tell-tale signs (i.e., sense of worthlessness, prolonged sadness, fatigue from overworking, grief over miscarriage, previous suicide attempt, etc.) and prevented her downward spiral.
Thus, for me, although the epiphany-plus-groveling-plus-comeuppance of the husband is satisfying to watch, I don’t recommend this tearjerker unless it comes with a warning label. As I view it, the screenwriter and director did a disservice to impressionable young viewers because ultimately, they romanticized suicide as a reasonable and valid response to unrequited love.
Nope.
Nothing. Justifies. Suicide. Ever.
Hi there @pkml3! I was just mentioning on the ‘My Page’ thread that I’m maybe going to repeat a post here on this February WAWW thread. But perhaps later.
I’m watching Positively Yours now, which is fun. I’m laughing at the romance of the secondary characters who have been given quite a lot of screen time for their random ‘romantic’ meetings with much cringey aegyo LOL. It’s soooo bad, it’s good. Those 2 actors have fully committed to the ridiculous. I can’t help rooting for them. The leads are great too. We’re in the petty love triangle and alpha male competition thingy at the moment: predictable and somewhat cliched, but there are only 12 episodes of the series so the silly is limited.
I’ll be watching Even If This Love Disappears Tonight. I’ve watched something with a similar premise in a jdorama “Unmet: A Neurosurgeon’s Diary,” but Unmet has an older couple and there was no health issue with the ML, while I believe EITLDT has young couple and both have compromised health.
I might try the new transmigration drama since I also like Wang Chu Ran and this time we get 2 characters who transmigrate and only 1 who will ‘survive’, so the permutations should be more interesting and I’d like to see if show dares to give sad ending.
Which reminds me of the mixed ending for ‘My Page’… it wasn’t exactly sad but it had elements of the not entirely bright and breezy. Let’s just say it wasn’t like ‘Shine on Me’ where everything was pretty much perfect; and maybe slightly like ‘Love Between Lines’ where the 2nd Lead Romance played out.
@pcml
Nothing. Ever.
It always bears repeating, and when I was teaching, often.
Just watched ‘Even If This Love Disappears Tonight’.
No Spoilers for @pcml,
but do have the tissues handy.
Just wanted to say that now that I have been bathing in dramas for a few years, movies seem a little rushed.
This one had a gem-like quality. It was well-crafted, I think. Lots of very careful precise choices in the details of clothing and items and scenes developed. Nothing too much or too small.
I was just as thrilled with Mr.Chu as I expected, but since I had to miss HOH, a Disney show, maybe y’all may not feel the same. The movie only covers a short time-span so the character he plays doesnt develop so much as unfold.
On the other hand the other three members of the quartet of friends were just great –especially the FL’s tough little bestie, played by Jo Yoo Jung, may her tears ever flow like spring itself. Jo Han Chul was, as always, a great pleasure to watch as the ML’s Dad.
I hear that this is a remake of an earlier Japanese movie and I look forward to seeing that one too. My policy is that ‘remake’/’versions rise or fall on their own merits and in their own contexts (national styles and languages, for the moment).
It is interesting that on a limited number of streaming services so many productions come out constantly that borrowings and conversations and remakes and other versions happen all the time now.
Like strawberry farmers. I noticed another in a new production last week.
Indeed, @ibisfeather.
The first half hour of the show was spent on the male lead’s certitude that his wife was merely hiding and scheming to make him heel. Then, when he finally realized that she was gone gone, he had his mental breakdown. And though it felt good to see his anguish, I couldn’t condone suicide as a plot device.
Moreover, the way the people around him (e.g., his sister and best friend) also kept BLAMING him for:
rejecting his wife’s advances while she was alive,
treating her coldly,
favoring her half-sister, and
being deceived by her half-sister’s lies,
is also toxic behavior.
The way I see it the wife herself caused the misunderstanding and the rift between them. She could have easily set the truth straight by speaking up, confronting her half-sister, and/or showing her husband the receipts of her half-sister’s treachery. But noooo, she decided to play the martyr and suffer in silence. She then committed suicide purportedly to give him back his freedom when actually I think it’s just to punish him for not appreciating all that she’d done for him.
That’s why I hated the storyline: she was depicted as all good, and he was all bad, when in my opinion, he was pretty much a gullible victim of the deception perpetuated by his saintly wife and her jealous half-sister.
Uh.oh. Don’t look now. It’s also on Iqiyi.
I found another modern drama by Lu Yuxiao who was in “Love Between Lines,” “Love in the Clouds” and “The Perfect Match” (3rd sister). It’s “To Ship Someone” (2023).
Her costar: Somebody named Theo
Episodes: 24
Where to watch it? iQIYI
The synopsis from mydramalist:
@GB,
I just read on YT that Dai Xu, the actor who played the 2ML Pei Zhen in “Love Between Lines” suddenly gained a lot of fans who like us fell for his “main character vibes” and strong romantic presence.
I hope the fans don’t give his wife a hard time. She’s a fellow thespian, and they’ve been married for 15 years. Name: Yin Yuhang. They have a son.
I am watching “To My Beloved Thief” (up to Episode 5). I am curious about Miss Hong. It is upsetting that dramas are now spread among multiple streaming services.
@pkml3, Thanks for the info on Lu Yu Xiao. I don’t mind watching her in another show with transmigration in the offing. I seem to be wading in a continuous stream of transmigration (or pseudo-transmigration or characters hidden behind different appearances) dramas. From the crazy “Filter, A Dream Within a Dream, Love in the Clouds, Love Between Lines, My Page”. Before that I was watching “Someday or One Day/A time Called You, W-Two Worlds” and other shows, so I feel I’ve been sort of floating along with transmigration in its various forms for many months.
It’s an interesting premise (where cdramas are concerned it’s likely to pass censorship), done up in multiple ways. What we look for, since they are usually romances between 2 characters from a different places/times/body appearances/universes, is how the romances are resolved happily, and more or less logically or at least reasonably, so that we viewers don’t tear our hair out in frustration.
For my drama viewing in Lent, I may take a leaf from the book of a new priest. He suggested Formed as the YT of Catholics LOL. I’ll also be prepping for more formations so I might be the one to ‘transmigrate’ into another ‘realm’.
@Snow Flower, I feel the same distress.
Having to juggle and plan for shows is a pain.
I try to find out as early as possible if a show will not be showing on a service I have a subscription to.
So that I dont look forward to it for months.
Cdramas, though, have a tendency to pop into view without warning! Maybe its good for the blood circulation.
Complete YIKES!
Unvweil: Jadewind Just appeared on the Netflix list of dramas coming out this week!!!!!!!!!
A Chinese costume drama with Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue (of the 10yr age gap/The Double fame)
Yes, @Snowflower. It annoys me, too.
Last July, I posted about the expense of my kdrama/cdrama addiction.
Netflix: $25 per month
Youtube: $15 per month for Premium because I don’t have time for ads.
Viki: $12 per month for the ad-free service
iQIYI: $12 per month for the VIP subscription (I think I leveled up my membership last December because I couldn’t wait to watch the end of “Coroner’s Diary.” iQIYI has a smart marketing strategy.)
Amazon Prime is $12 per month. I use it primarily for shopping convenience; the shows are just extra for me.
Now, I’m considering joining Kocowa too because Viki dropped my favorite variety show “2 Days, 1 Night” a couple of months ago. I haven’t signed up yet since I don’t have time to watch the show anyway. Kocowa is $8 per month.
However, signing up for Disney+ is not in the cards.
I don’t count the cost of owning this blog because I see it as a cheaper alternative to stress therapy sessions and work burnout. 🙂
@GB, Yes, I’ve heard of “Formed.” It was heavily advertised in our parish a couple years ago.
I did TRY to watch that biopic of the first Korean saint, St Andrew Kim Taegon on EWTN last December. It’s called “Birth” and it stars Yoon ShiYoon. Sadly, I didn’t get to finish it and now, I don’t know where to find the movie.
https://youtu.be/SHHNRxYv3NY?si=OuvszqAsd_DK4_kw
Maybe we can add this to our watch list for Lent??
Oh dear. I can hear the giant sucking sound of viewers being pulled out of other cdramas to watch Bai Lu’s “Jadewind.” lol.
Wang XingYue is quite the looker. And he looks authoritative and dominant enough (dare I say commanding?) so I don’t “see” the age gap between him and his female costars unless it’s brought to my attention. But then, I didn’t watch “The Double”.
I do want Bai Lu in a drama with Leo Luo (Luo Yunxi) again.
Just to let people know: “To Ship Someone” is also available at Viki: https://www.viki.com/tv/39902c-to-ship-someone#about
I watched “To Ship Someone” back when it was released in 2023, and it’s nice to see Lu Yu Xiao advancing in her career and getting bigger lead roles since then. Her Male lead co star, Zhu Zheng Ting, hasn’t fared as well. I liked him in his other drama with Bi Wen Jun, “The Silence of the Monster,” where he played a very different character, but after those 2 dramas he has not been in many productions. I was happy to see him last year (2025) in a Guest Role for drama “Moonlit Reunion” playing FL’s cousin/childhood friend/***MINOR SPOILER*** villain of teh week. I keep waiting for the release of “Red Dance Shoes” where he plays a ballet dancer. He studied ballet and modern dance, so I am interested to see him dance on screen for this role.
@Snow Flower, @packmule: I understand where you are coming from regarding the dividing up of the dramas among the proliferation of streaming providers, leading to high costs.
I fondly remember the days when a subscription to Dramafever and Viki had you covered for 95% of the available content.
Hi there Table122000, long time no see! I trust that you’re well.
@pkml3 and Everyone, I’ve just watched “Even if This Love Disappears Tonight.” It was gentle, poignant and beautiful. There were cute scenes and lots of joy, and it felt realistic with a logical conclusion. It may not be the kind of ending that viewers wish for, but it was consistent and hopeful. A movie well worth the watch!
@pkml3,
I do not think there will be a migration from our recent lovely ‘modern’ cdrama love stories to UnVeil: Jadewind.
It not only isnt a romance, it isnt even a pretty costume production. It is gorgeous and ingenious and dark. Very much a crime drama/detective story.
Why is it February already? 🤦🏻♀️
Thank you for the recommendations Queen! 🙇🏻♀️
I’m trying to finish Shine On Me. ☺️
After this I will watch Our Universe because look at Wooju. He’s soooo cute 🥰
CTO.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUVq2hKAETA/?igsh=MTlqc3dhanl2aWliMg==
Hi there, @agdr03.
I tried to watch “Our Universe” but had to back out. I have mild OCD and the kid’s mess was triggering. (I’m not kidding.)
Will go back and watch when things calm down a bit and the show no longer features spills and stains on white couches, walls, counter, etc. Eventually, the adults will learn to get their act together, e.g., baby-proof their living space, pay attention to the child, adjust schedules, etc. I think the transformation from singlehood to guardian-hood is where the real comedy will be, but right now, the focus on the plot seems to be on the inconvenience of parenting.
The uncle-nephew duo looks good together. I’ve always like the uncle/actor but his choice of dramas to work on doesn’t match my interest.
Cheer Up (about cheerleaders in a university)
The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract (involved time travel)
Check In Hanyang (reverse harem, Joseon hotel management)
This “Our Universe” should have been up my alley but the child’s clutter is a visual stressor for me.
Thanks, @Table122000! I didn’t know it was there.
I group Lu Yu Xiao (“Love Between Lines” and “Love in the Clouds”) with Li Landy (“Coroner’s Diary”) and Zhao Lusi/Rosie. But Zhao Lusi lost that young innocent girl vibe for me and the change in her facial appearance didn’t help. Li Landy seems to want to play more mature roles. It’s Lu Yu Xiao who’s milking this sweetie pie/girl-next-door image and I don’t mind. She’s just 26 years old; she can act matronly later.
I’m just relieved that Yang Zi (“Lost You Forever”) and Yu Shuxin/Esther Yu (“Love Between the Devil and Fairy”) aren’t playing ingenue roles anymore.
@ibisfeather,
Six episodes of “Unveil: Jadewind” (starring Bai Lu and Wang XingYue) are out on Netflix.
Six episodes of “How Dare You!” (starring Wang Chu Ran and Lei Cheng/Ryan Cheng are out on iQIYI.
Oh dear. Which one should I watch first?
@pkml3,
I am jealous — I havent subscribed to iqiyi!
If I had (how contrafactual), I would have watched Wang ChuRan and Cheng Lei first out of true affection for both actors.
Please do give first impressions of the HDY overall if you feel so inclined.
As it is, I am watching Jadewind, but almost didnt make it through the first 3 episodes of what turned out to be an unexpectedly dense, dark, elaborate crime plus detective plot. Someone wrote that it takes time to savor. And it has, happily.
Bai Lu is a great non-nonsense princess/crime investigator. Wang Xing Yue is a dignified brainy Watson to her Sherlock. And he is still an IT-boy. And I mean Clara Bow.
Thoughts about My Page in the 90s and other cdramas…
I’ve finished this series and have a few thoughts the drama prompted. One thing I’m always reminded of is how effectively dramas convey cultural and social ideas. This one, in particular, raised a few interesting points.
A) Both this show and Love Between Lines place noticeable emphasis on not just working hard, but also knowing when to slow down and recharge. In LBL, the leads regularly spend hours immersed in a virtual-reality game. In My Page, the male lead relaxes by assembling model aircraft and going shooting with a friend. At one point, he even tells the female lead she should have gone motorbike riding (there’s also a brother-sister pair who do this). He actually says that work isn’t our entire life. It feels like a gentle reminder to viewers – maybe especially Chinese audiences – to remember how to take a break.
B) I was struck by the portrayal of the modern China’s mindset, particularly from the 1990s onward, about developing strong domestic industries. Through Gao Hai Ming, we can see how and why China is the innovative production power house it is today.
This drama highlights domestically produced, high quality products and controversially, the usually ‘unmentionable’ sanitary pad takes centerstage. However there were earlier dramas on domestic aircraft production, and space exploration. Together, they show the country’s determination to rely on its own capabilities rather than foreign suppliers, and a growing confidence that “Made in China” stands for quality without excessive cost.
C) There been a noticeable trend in recent C-dramas where the female lead (rather than just the male lead) is savvy, independent, confident, and proactive. She isn’t afraid to initiate relationships or face challenges head-on. In this show, the female lead was especially impressive for the many creative ways she tried to get noticed, even when she was ignored, blocked, or outright rejected. She was the one putting in the effort, taking the initiative, and coming up with plans and ideas, to the point where she nearly outshone the male lead. The very fact that the ML was so into offering women good quality hygiene products, starting with sanitary pads, is illustrative of this shift in balance and the greater focus on the ‘strong’ female character.
In the end, the balance worked because the ML was smart in his own way too. The same dynamic can be seen in Love Between Lines, Love in the Clouds, A Dream Within a Dream, and Shine on Me, where both leads are portrayed as capable, intelligent, and well-matched rather than following the old passive-FL, dominant-ML formula.
D) Now that we’re safely past 2025, the drama invites us to look back with some amusement at the fears surrounding the Millennium Bug and technology at the turn of the century. Y2K exposed how dependent we are on computers, but this show takes that anxiety further through the “Magic Pager.” Acting like a stern game-show judge, or even a god, it drags the female lead into a book, sets the rules, resets time, metes out punishments or rewards, and transports her without consent. She has no choice but to comply or face unknown consequences.
The drama ultimately offers a cautionary note: if our dependence on technology goes unchecked, we may end up taking instructions from machines not just in technical matters, but even in matters of the heart. 🙂
@pkml,
Ep11!!
I really needed a lmao moment like Yi Yeol and EunJo trying to convince DaweGu that they have switched bodies!
Everyone else, you are missing out.
…missing out on To My Beloved Thief, that is.
calming, fun, nice to watch before bed.
Positively Yours
I’ve watched 7 Episodes of this short 12-episode drama so far. I thought I’d like to stick to light rom-coms for a while and am amused by the premise of a reverse romance (get pregnant first before falling in love), hence I picked up this drama.
The leads are fine but it’s all predictable. The 15-year friendship of the 2 girls and 1 guy has its own trajectory which is also kind of expected. However I find that the unlikable side characters hold interest for me. What is/are interesting are the villain(s), but I don’t really know why because they are obviously in the story to drive the plot forward with conflict and tension. And yet … perhaps they are so well acted that they do not fade into the background as most villains do in rom-coms?
There is a one-note villain, Han Jeong Eum (sister-in-law to Du Jun) but this villain is not at all the kind one can dismiss, in fact my blood runs cold when she appears on the screen, which is thankfully not too often. Although I call her one-note in that she acts with seemingly only 1 aim in mind ie to destroy Du Jun, she is not simple. In fact, in what should be considered a light rom-com, she’s a terribly malevolent villain.
She is the kind who takes a slow revenge, poisoning happiness, emotionally manipulating Kang Du Jun from his youth over the death of her husband (his older brother), and forever reminding him to pay the price. She says things that literally made Du Jun’s father sick enough to end up in hospital.
She is insidious, relentless and frightening. She even makes use of her charms to manipulate and trick the naïve into thinking her a friend in order to use them against Du Jun.
Strangely and fortunately her own daughter, Du Jun’s niece, Se Hyeon is so unlike her mother. Se Hyeon brings warmth, builds relationships sincerely, truly wants to help the OTP, and is a good colleague towards Hui Won and a loving niece with Du Jun. How did such a machinating personality as Villainess Han have such a positive and likable child?
And then we have the very bitter and resentful woman … mother to Hui Won, but also the one who is emotionally abusive towards her own child, who projects guilt and blame upon Hui Won (for being born, I believe!!!), and who will not show a bit of warmth or support for her pregnant daughter. She has been a toxic mother to her child, but I wonder if there might be a tiny redemption arc for her in the last 5 episodes.
While I’m watching this for the expected romance, I’m taken with ruminations about the characters who feel real in their ‘wounded-ness’ or evil.
I like how the episodes are well-balanced. They have romantic moments, comedic moments (without gross, toilet humor), thought-provoking moments. The pacing’s good, too.
I’ll continue this on Ep 11 Thread.
I’ve picked up another transmigration C-drama: How Dare You (live action), a 32-episode series. Within the story, the characters enter a novel titled Transmigration: Devil’s Beloved Consort (or a close variation of that name).
The opening credits lean heavily into comedy, and the drama does deliver its fair share of humour. Beneath that, though, lies a more serious narrative driven by palace intrigue and questions of good governance.
At its core, this is a romance set against political infighting in the imperial court. The transmigration element functions less as a gimmick and more as a source of tension and conflict. A constant undercurrent is the uncertainty over whether there are other “transmigrators,” who can be trusted, and whether partial knowledge of how the story is supposed to unfold is actually an advantage.
The leads, Wang Chu Ran and Ryan Cheng, drew me in immediately, both visually and through their easy, natural coupling. I’m thoroughly enjoying having them on my screen.
One unusual aspect is that the transmigrated characters seem content to remain inside the book’s world. While loneliness is hinted at, no one openly longs to return to their original life. Once one accepts that everyone is committed to surviving, and winning where they are, the drama becomes an engaging and enjoyable watch.
This is a largely female-centric story, told primarily from the female protagonist’s perspective. She is the chief strategist and decision-maker, actively trying to bring about positive change. It’s refreshing to see capable and intelligent male characters as well, alongside the gradual development of trust-based relationships.
I’m about one-third of the way through and impatiently waiting for the next batch of subtitled episodes tomorrow. So far, it’s been an entertaining series with moments of depth and thoughtful reflections on life, purpose, and survival.
“How are you?”
“Fine. Thank you. And you.”
😂😂 I’ll open a thread for you, @GB.
To add a bit more on “How Dare You” … an unexpected twist from the beginning is that our expectations are subverted. The main characters are not given the lead roles in the book and are rather written to be killed off, I believe. The ones who think they are the main characters are flustered to find there is not much plot for them.
The ending credits hint at a four-some being on the same journey, and keeping each other company, but that might be the future we can look forward to.
The best thing about this drama now is how the OTP are together from the beginning and become trusted co-conspirators. The warmth of their friendship and how they communicate (in both the modern and old-style way) is sweet to behold. I believe I watch just to catch every scene where the two of them are together.
@pkml3!! Dear me, thank you for frequently opening threads whenever I start rambling on about a show. I do appreciate it!! Hugs and kisses!! 🤗🤗🤗😘😘😘😉😇
Unveil: Jadewind has proven to be a revelation of sorts.
The lovely Tang has been the location of several charming costume cdramas lately.
But of course it is a real historical era where real people struggled and lived.
Therefore I also loved the setting for the Vendetta of An, because it really looked exactly like an hastily set-up early seventh century capital city should.
Jadewind is a detective story, and the setting is remarkable and interesting.
I found a piece on a site called NewHanfu, written by ‘daisy’ (the wanton destruction of 3 centuries of labor to provide reliable attestation for written work need not be mentioned).
To pick out few quotes from ‘daisy’ — “The series’ most significant innovation is its treatment of the Tang palace as a complex and brutal workplace…it moves beyond the familiar trope of concubine rivalries to examine a full societal microcosm…the palace as a structured institution with clear roles and responsibilities.”
All this just from trying to find out if the coloration and structures of the palace complex could be pinpointed to a more concise era than the three centuries of the Tang. The colors of the palace uniforms do not look like “Tang art” meaning the faded greens and reds in paintings, but apparently has precedents in material culture.
The show is dark, glittery, deeply engaging, and although not exactly claustrophobic, it rarely emerges into the light of day in pretty garden landscapes.
I love it. Netflix does a lot of great spy and crime shows so I am happy they have picked up on the dark style in cdrama.
🥛🍪🥛🍪🥛🍪🍡🥧🍭🍮🍧🍢🧁🍦🍰🍡🥧🍭🍮🍧🍢🧁🍦🍰🥛🍪🥛🍪🥛🍪
@pkml3, this is a gentle reminder to please open the thread for R:WotS. Thanks!!
🥛🍪🥛🍪🥛🍪🍡🥧🍭🍮🍧🍢🧁🍦🍰🍡🥧🍭🍮🍧🍢🧁🍦🍰🥛🍪🥛🍪🥛🍪
I got you, @GB. 😂
It’s up already. What’s up with the cookies and milk? Are they supposed to bring good luck or something bec today’s Friday the 13th? 🐈⬛🐈⬛
❤️💚💛💙🩷💜🧡🍩🍿🍫🍬🍭❤️💚💛💙🩷💜🧡🍩🍿🍫🍬🍭
LOL @pkml3…. for me it’s Valentine’s Day already!!! (I’ll tell you about my Friday later). To counteract the Friday the 13th whatchamaycallit, I’ve added more sweet stuff and for St Val’s, I’m sending you hearts!!!!
❤️💚💛💙🩷💜🧡🍩🍿🍫🍬🍭❤️💚💛💙🩷💜🧡🍩🍿🍫🍬🍭
Dear All,
Greetings from Taipei!
Just dropping by to say a quick
Happy Valentine’s Day and happy Lunar New Year!
(Yes, Lunar, and not just Chinese since it’s celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia too in addition Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, speaking to you China).
Thank you @Packmule3 Queen Bee for keeping this site up and running all these years! Now that life and work is busier I don’t watch as many Kdramas as I used too, but I am enjoying Undercover Miss Hong.
Enjoy your month!
Thanks, Hatlady!
Yes, “Undercover Miss Hong” is blast to watch, too. I’ve to keep up though.
and yes, I know what you mean. I was googling an image for Lunar New Year and the bulk of them had “Chinese New Year” of it. Even CNN’s article about it (oh boy! Why do I even bother with CNN?!!) was titled, “A 2026 guide to Lunar New Year as we gallop into the Year of the Horse,” but the whole article was on Chinese tradition and customs. No mention of the other countries celebrating the Lunar New Year. Lol. The writer didn’t think this through so she stepped on cultural landmine.
Oh, that is why no new Unveil Jadewind today…
I have visions of dinner tables dancing through my head!
Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate!
Here is a weird question.
In lots of places a holiday begin the day before at sundown for actual ancient reasons.
Or is it that people just like to start having fun with a meal?
And, across the Pacific, a new day begins while we are still having lunch…
And, the lunar new year, being an astronomical measurement surely has a more precise timing?
So when are people celebrating?
Hi Queen. How are you? 😊
I finished up to episode 4 of Our Universe. It’s settled now, the messy bits of WooJoo. ☺️
Yes, I like the ML too but I agree that he doesn’t seem to gain that popularity with all his past dramas.
For now even the pairing is not ‘clicking’ yet for me but it’s getting there.
They’ll sync soon but of course it’ll take time as having a baby all of a sudden wasn’t in their plan.
If anything I was getting annoyed at the ML because he calls his precious stuff (furniture etc) baby. 😂
Yes, the pairing isn’t working for me, either, @agdr03. I think it’s the visuals.
First, it was the messiness of the baby that unsettled me.
And now, it’s the face of the female lead. Lol. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m partial to round faces. The male lead and the baby have round faces, and there she is, ruining the composition, with her pointed chin.
Something’s not clicking for me, too.
It’s different from “No Tail to Tell.” That show, which I had so looked forward to watch, flopped hard because Kim Hye-Yoon’s “girl boss” personality was jarring to my EARS, not eyes.
@pkml3,
I read on the how dare you thread that you are watching Jadewind. That makes me happy because today I was just thinking about you while I watched ep28.
What Made me remember you was your discourse on how love needs to be spoken in your recent posts on 11-12 of To My Beloved Thief.
The mother of Xiao HuaiJin said something similiar to him. He really deserved a scolding but she was very kind. She just kept calling him ‘silly child’.
You would like the conversation. A marriage is in the offing so hope you make it up to ep28.
Hahaha yes, the FL in Our Universe isn’t as catching. She reminds me of a male version of Kim Hyun Joong. 😂
The story itself is simple but I don’t mind watching it because baby Wooju is way too cute to ignore. 🥰
I’m watching No Tail To Tell too and I have to agree with you again. KHY’s bossy voice is making my ears hurt a bit but Lomon is making up with his voice so I’m still in. 😂 There’s a lot of talk in it and after 8 episodes, what I liked was how she outright said to him that she’d like to date him. He was like, ‘just like that?’ 😂
Anyway, I’m watching Legend Of The Female General too. I like the story and the pairing there. They click for me. 🥰 I like Cheng Wei. ☺️
Hi, @GB! Sorry to be late responding. My uncle has been out of the country on business and won’t return until April, so I have been taking care of my aunt as well as my mom while he is gone, so I haven’t been able to check back often. Thanks for the greeting.
@Packmule3, you are welcome. I hope you and others enjoyed “To Ship Someone.”
@Table122000, no need to apologise, I know that you’ve a lot on your hands. I salute you for the amount of care-giving you do, now with an added person as well. May you be abundantly blessed and cared for yourself!
I hope you continue to have some time to chill and watch dramas. Take care! 🙂
Finished up JadeWind.
For what its worth I still found the look and feel of the series delicious, but for me the romance was about as warm as the actual Sherlock and Watson’s friendship.
Very very devoted followers though in the Asia list. And great for a thematic emphasis on the abuse of women, now and in the Tang.
History, economics, aesthetics, all made my heart ring.
March plans anyone?
Coming into March, the watch party is looking at choosing a comedy after a break with a short series — the Imaginary Cat.
And just as a harbinger of tastes of others, like the return of swallows, shows about trot music are looking like a good break before MM and I plunge back into history/sageuk.
It is spring! Even with New England weather we feel the urge to dance and sing!
Thanks, @ibisfeather.
I stopped after the case of 15th princess’ death was solved.
I got lost in the second case, the case of the missing ex-palace women. There were so many new characters introduced that I couldn’t match their names anymore to their faces and couldn’t keep track of their involvement in the investigation. 😂😂 I blame information overload. My brain just shut down.
I don’t see the romance between the two leads, although I assume that his feelings for her something to do with their childhood encounter. Didn’t he save her on the night her family was massacred? At least, that’s how I interpreted that brief flashback.
Yes @PKML3,, there is a double childhood save, and he (HuaiJin the ML)has loved her (PeiYi) absolutely devotedly ever since.
She, however, turns out to have a heart devoted only to revenge. Honestly, in a wuxia show I would have been totally into tragic love complicated by the warrior ethos, but for me the genre-bending didnt work.
Especially because they did have a HEa!!! Wonderfully riding off into China’s latest tourist attraction, the beautiful green mountains out beyond Xinjiang/near Kazakhstan.
In the end the main characters do stand out in relief and that second case of the flowering wall in which a palace maid has been immured is poetic enough to excuse the bewildering set-to.
Thanks, @ibisfeather. I considered downloading a few episodes for my trip but now, I won’t. There are better cdramas/kdramas to occupy my free time. I’ll continue to watch “Undercover Miss Hong” and “Shine on Me.”
Speaking of mountains in China, this popped up on my YT feed.
The handsome mountain guides of Tianzhu Mountains. They only come out on Saturdays to help the tourists climb the stairs. They look better than some of the Chinese male leads like that Cheng Yi of the “Vendetta of An.”
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GYozBXGzzGo
Ha! I wish our park rangers could be as young and hunky.
LOL @pkml3, I saw part of this video clip before and laughed myself silly. What a way to sell mountain climbing and the country overall. I imagine flocks of women coming by and suddenly needing a hand or a lift (the piggy back type!)
I’d want a photo of everyone of them to grace by dashboard!!! 🤩🧐😋😚😍☺️
Right, @GB? The piggy-back looked fun, though. (But wait till he meets a 5’8 big-boned woman of European ancestry, especially of Swedish or Scottish stock. Good luck carrying her up more than 10 steps up the mountainside. 😂😂)
The comments were also hilarious! “I will burn this mountain down if the guys aren’t there when I visit!”
I don’t know how showing his six-packs has anything to do mountain climbing unless it’s to compare ridges — for scientific purposes, of course.