Miss Truth (2020) General Drama Review

This is an expanded review of the one that I posted at MyDramaList.com

This was the drama I didn't know I needed or was waiting for but I was hooked from the moment the FL jumped into the bath with the ML. None of us would ever be the same again. :D

There is so much in this drama that ticks all the right boxes for me. Old school, Golden Age style crime cases intertwined with classic wuxia elements. Check. Meticulous detective work and an engaging Bad Guy plotline. Check. Check. The show somehow even manages to throw in romance for good measure. Check.

At the heart of this crime solving drama is the love story between two larger than life personalities. It begins with an unexpected intrusion, then an almighty clash of wills. All that belies a meeting of minds and a passion for getting to the bottom of inexplicable occurrences that come their way. The two bicker their way to the autopsy table and there they become a formidable pair of ancient sleuths trying to uncover criminal activities and make sense of their growing feelings for each other while navigating a thorny love triangle that includes a former betrothed who has secrets of his own. The show also manages to thrust them into one of my favourite tropes -- the contract marriage -- in entertaining fashion. I admit to cringing at the thought of the leads nicknaming each other but once these names became second nature banter, they signified a unique, shared, intimate space from which no one (not even the highest in the land) could ever dislodge them.

The format of the drama sees our leads stumbling or being led into cases which may or may not have immediate relevance to the overarching Bad Guy plot. The pair with their combined abilities resolve them quickly but their exploits and romance soon come to the attention of larger unfriendly forces at work. What was unusual and fascinating was how these individual cases had immediate relevance for our pair as they grope around trying to find answers to the perplexing questions of the heart. In that regard perhaps we are led to believe that there are universal truths that persistently dog humanity about the complexities of love, evil and destiny.

The star of the show in my book is Xiao Song, a veritable Sherlock Holmes styled character whose knack for deductions earns him the appellation of being the country's premiere investigator ("The Sorrow of Chang'an's Ghosts"), a highly valued official of the Tang emperor's court. He soon falls for the sassy and skilled Ran Yan who is inevitably Dr Watson to his Holmes. Xiao Song is not one to do things by half. He lives large and loves large but desperate times bringeth forth the man, showing his true mettle. He is played by the wonderful and delightful Toby Lee whose versatility gives flesh to the character beyond the super sleuth template. At times he is the lofty official that throws his weight around barking commands, the next he is a mischievous suitor to his reluctant coroner pushing her buttons to get her to bend to his will. There is however, also a tender almost boyish side to him, glimpsed when showing genuine concern for the people he really cares about. Overall he is really the best written (arguably the best acted) character whose passion for the truth and for the woman he loves makes him someone you can't help rooting for.

I had not heard of Toby Lee previously and have been wondering about his casting from the start. In the early days of the drama his striking facial features evoked reminders of Sidney Piaget's Sherlock Holmes Strand magazine illustrations. Even now he reminds me of Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett and to a lesser degree Benedict Cumberbatch.

Newcomer Pinky Zhou plays the lovely, smart and strong-willed titular character who accompanies Xiao Song on his fishing expeditions ;) albeit reluctantly at first. It doesn't take long before she gets bitten by the bug and becomes an adept detective in her own right. Zhou gives an uneven although generally adequate portrayal. This is one of those occasions in which the script provides the necessary padding that makes up for the shortcomings of the performance. Admittedly I found Ran Yan a difficult character to warm up to early on. There's no denying her courage and strong sense of justice but the character carries a naive rigidity in her perception of the world... a judgemental disposition which undergoes serious refining through many trials. Mixing maverick men, malevolence and murder results in marvellously muddlesome mayhem.

Our main duo are ably supported by their motley crew made up of the doggedly loyal Bai Yi, Wan Lu (Ran Yan's maid), the cowardly but multi-talented scholar extraordinaire Sang Chen and Uncle Wu, Ran Yan's teacher and mentor. Occasionally when their interests intersect, the former fiance, Su Fu finds himself on the same side as his bitterest rival.

Su Fu played by Tim Pei is a curious character. Although he has been unkindly labelled "second male lead", he is in effect a foil for the leads. One of a gallery of antagonists. A dangerous weapon and tool for his masters. While he does fall in love with Ran Yan, his trajectory is in general opposition to hers which becomes more obvious as the story progresses. In saner moments, he too acknowledges the truth of that. Sadly he seems destined to operate under a different moral compass and his activities shrouded in deception. Still in some, I imagine, he is likely to evoke some measure of sympathy.

The scholar and sometimes comic relief, Sang Chen is also infatuated with our female coroner. The irony is that he a timid fellow and faints at the sight of corpses so it's clear that he's a non-contender in the bid to win her affections but he becomes a good friend and fellow traveller in the cause of justice. 

As a long-time fan of the genre, I really enjoyed riding on the whodunnit and whydunnit bandwagon following the mystery of the week while the couple bickered and completed each other's thoughts. But the single most important highlight was discovering the unerringly wonderful Toby Lee who was born to take on this role.

This drama is available with English subs at productiveprocrastination.site

Miss Truth (2020) The Marquis of Sui's Pearl

Spoilers ahead... Read at own risk.

I've been thinking about this and it did occur to me somewhere during the final straight that the Marquis of Sui's pearl or sui hou zhi zhu... was more than just the holy grail of an unholy gem hunt. Anybody and everybody... with the rare exception.. was moving heaven and earth looking for it. Not to mention the egregious stealing, killing and destroying in the process. Legend states that it was an object left behind by the previous dynasty's ruler, a key or map to a treasure of untold wealth. On the surface the drama seemed like a ridiculously convoluted treasure hunt. With each rewatch, however, I'm inclined to see the pearl as a recurring motif intertwined with the leads ongoing dynamic and resolution. For everyone else the pearl is about power and the promise of riches. However, for Xiao Song and Ran Yan, the pearl takes on a different dimension. For them it represents love and trust.

To my great delight and relief, the elusive pearl turns out to be real. Not a just a nebulous plot device as I had feared. The veritable carrot stick for the committed. Forged from a meteorite it possesses curative properties. One can't take these things for granted sadly. C dramas especially have a way of hyping the importance of rare, valuable objects, only for the endgame to completely let you down when on opening the chest, it's empty and apparently we're all suckers for wasting 40 something television hours waiting for the payoff. Thankfully it's not the case here. It gets found... much earlier than expected. Because finding it although important is not as important as having it in the right hands. Which means someone who doesn't want to start a war. Someone who cares about peace in the land. Someone who cares about the masses.

The fascinating part about the entire project is that if you've watched the drama up to Episode 26, we are told that our hero, Xiao Song has had the pearl in his possession since he was a boy hidden inside the tooth-shaped pendant that he carries around for luck. On hindsight it is a family heirloom credited for helping him survive past childhood. So this gem which every man, woman and dog has been looking for, for at least 12 years, has been in the custody of Chang'an's preeminent investigator unbeknownst to everyone, our hero included. The irony of course is that he was tasked in a top secret mission to track down the pearl by the emperor and is sent to another province to chase up on a clue that could lead to its location. This now becomes his dilemma because his grandparents were Sui loyalists and custodians of the pearl until such time when the Sui dynasty is revived. This has serious ramifications for the Xiao family in this current regime. Treason goes right to the top of the list. With all that to consider, Xiao Song is unable to surrender the pearl immediately and say, "Look Your Majesty at what I found when I stumbled into a secret chamber in the Xiao mansion that my grandfather built."

Now, when he first arrives in Suzhou, the whereabouts of the pearl is the nagging mystery but what he does find first are dead bodies and a gifted female coroner, Ran Yan, who later becomes his wife after the two become entangled in a series of misadventures and cases which involve the pearl one way or another. Judging from the way their trajectories intersect either by circumstance or by choice, their eventual meeting seems inevitable. He is an investigator of crimes, she examines dead bodies... it's a match that could only be made in heaven... as they say.

During the fourth arc he marries her in unseemly haste in part because he really does like her, plus the opposition is noticeably absent and in part to get her out of her family home where she has become the target of an in-house killer. (He has the knack of killing multiple birds with one stone) After a near-death experience the two afterwards discover that she is a beneficiary to a definitive clue that provides key information about the pearl. Before then she's largely in the dark about matters pertaining to the pearl. It becomes clear at that point that their fates are intertwined by the gem. On this occasion, he helps her reveal secrets behind her mother's death and brings the culprit(s) to justice. 

The villains of the piece are the Huo Qi Sect (Lit: Fire Flag Sect) and their agent is the enigmatic Su Fu who is incidentally Ran Yan betrothed. So at first he gets up close and personal because she's a conduit to the tight-lipped Xiao Song. He is one of the first to pick up the fact that Xiao Song has feelings for Ran Yan and is not backwards about using that to get a reaction, thinking it would cause the latter to make forced errors. The organization's primary goal is to grab the pearl for themselves, use that to find treasure in order to fund an army to overthrow the current regime.

Sometime later on returning to Chang'an, Xiao Song gives his pendant to Ran Yan when she becomes the subject of a contrived sex scandal. It is his way of staking his reputation on her reputation and publicly declaring that she is his wife. He asks no questions of how she gets into the predicament but hands over the heirloom as proof (and pledge) of his unequivocal trust in her. However, behind the scenes he finds the individual(s) involved and finds the time to shame them publicly thus restoring the lady's good name. Neither at this stage are aware that she's now the unofficial custodian of the elusive pearl. But it is another big moment for them because he proves... yet again... the lengths to which he will go to protect her.

As his newly re-contracted wife, Ran Yan becomes the key to his locating the pearl within the family manor when spies in the Xiao household lead her to uncover a family secret. She is also instrumental in shedding light on the mysterious deaths of Xiao Song's first two wives which we discover later are also related to the pearl expedition. They both agree amicably that he should take back the family fossil for safekeeping while working out how to hand the object to the emperor without implicating his family.

The couple's biggest trial comes when Ran Yan is manipulated into helping Su Fu retrieve the pearl from Xiao Song. It turns out to be an elaborate plot to entrap her and wreck his credibility. Xiao Song is led to believe that she betrayed him because of Su Fu, not realising that she had kept faith with him and the pearl was right at his doorstep.

Despite feeling like a betrayed sap, Xiao Song is still deeply in love with her. Even while keeping up the pretence of being indifferent, and having moved on, he is busy behind the scenes helping her with her latest predicaments. All this time he still thinks that she is still in love with Su Fu, driven to desperation for his sake. 

On her side, she thinks she has lost his love entirely when she was all set to start afresh with him after dealing with Su Fu's dilemma. She labours under the impression that his love for hasn't withstood the test of her misadventure with the Huo Qi sect and the ensuing political fallout. Hence the divorce. She doesn't know that it is the result of a royal decree. He on the hand uses the divorce as justification to keep his distance, possibly to protect her and himself from their enemies who are sufficiently unscrupulous to use their relationship to get at him. The pearl going missing doesn't enter into her thinking.
In a wonderful monologue that she gives while being held hostage by a deluded serial killer, in the presence of the man she pines for, she bitterly recounts her own experience of disappointment with love. In her mind a certain man promised her the world and built up her expectations of what love was like. He would love her for the rest of her life. But as soon as the crunch came, all the wonderful build-up went up in a puff of smoke. When she finally realised what love was and tasted the sweetness of its fruit, the transience of it left a bitter aftertaste. There is only longing from a distance because all efforts to close the gap lead nowhere but pain. Her despair and bitterness blinds her to what is plainly obvious to the rest of us. Despite everything he still loves her and his primary impulse is always to protect her even if it hurts him in every way.

When he's home nursing an injury, Xiao Song ponders over her cryptic comments wondering if he's misjudged the situation with her. Dad walks in and challenges him to act openly in concert with his heart. He sadly tells his father that "her heart is not with me". The older man returns the heirloom pendant and says that Ran Yan left it behind. Unfortunately Xiao Song still believes that she's given the pearl to Su Fu (and by extension, his enemies) so he doesn't bother opening the family heirloom to check.

Therefore, Xiao Song's search for clues regarding the pearl clearly parallels his journey to find true love. At the start of the drama we see that he has memorized the map of Suzhou city to give context to his mission. What awaits him is far more important to him personally, it is his own journey's map to grappling with a love that demands everything from him including his unquestioning obedience to the sovereign.

Therefore the fate of the pearl becomes analogous to his relationship to Ran Yan. As long as it remains hidden from his view, he thinks that love eludes him. When he finally rediscovers the pearl in his possession, he realises that he wasn't betrayed. He had her heart, her love all this time so the sacrifice to marry Ran Mei Yu feels much less onerous than before. Subsequently what he needs to do is trust her with his honour and his life.

As for Ran Yan, her moments of petty jealousy proved that she was gradually responding to his overt gestures. For the first time in her life she can see love in all its manifestations writ large with no strings attached but is hesitant of what the ramifications are for her.  She is genuinely angry when he sends her back to her cousin's place for safety. All that happens as she continues wearing the family heirloom publicly in plain sight.

She inadvertently interrupts a sting at the brothel and makes her first public confession. He's hers and nobody gets to lay a finger on him. And yes, he's unbelievably chuffed. And hopeful that better things are in store. ;)

Not long afterwards she leads him to a secret place in the Xiao manor where they discover the pearl's location together. This changes their dynamic. They share a secret about the Xiao family. It gives him hope that she would really become family finally.

She believed that she had his love for a time but thought she had lost it for good. A single mistake of being too smart for her own good cost her the love that had promised her the world, a love of a lifetime that would never let her go. So she thought. In reality she hadn't lost his love at all but his trust. Very Scarlet Pimpernelish. 

Although the Lady Dongyang had her own agenda in doing so, RY's eyes were opened to the reality that the love that she thought was lost to her forever was there all the time working in the background -- saving her, protecting her and helping her. Now with a new set of lenses she can see beyond the facade that he presents to her. So she goes to rescue him from a fate worse than death -- marriage to Ran Mei Yu.

In Episode 35 when he hands the pearl back to her for safe keeping if anything should happen to him, she is surprised that something so valuable should be placed in her hands but he tells her that he trusts her. Even when all the conspirators are out to get them there is a sense that now they are of one mind and heart, they are an unstoppable force of nature.

365: Repeat the Year (2020) Episodes 1-2

There is no way after that cliffhanger that I won't be continuing with the drama. :D

I'm hooked. And the lucky Nam Ji Hyun gets to be murder suspect #1 again. While I came for Lee Jun Hyuk, who is adorable in this by the way, I'm sticking around for storyline.

It certainly gives off a strong J drama vibe and my first sense of what it's aiming for was Liar Game. Not content wise necessarily but ambience and presentation.

Everything about the drama tells me that this is going to be quite the roller coaster ride with all its twists and turns. Already there are easter eggs all over the place including the title of the manhwa, "Hidden Killer". Frankly I want this show to maintain this level of quality from beginning to end because the premise is brimming with so much intrigue and potential. It would be an absolute waste of talent and plot if it went down the proverbial gurgler after such an excellent start. The designated 12 episodes might help in that regard.

The first thing that has me really curious is the mechanics of the "reset". As I grope around my ageing repertoire of sci-fi tropes, my first bit of speculation just based on an initial exposure to the storyline is that we have something along the lines of a Matrix type scenario. The dog named Maru had me thinking very early on of The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland because he seemed to be a point of connection between key people and events in the narrative. In the first Matrix (1999) film, Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass was heavily referenced as was the Wizard of Oz. Toto, Dorothy's dog journeys with her to Oz when Kansas "goes bye bye" during a tornado. My first inclination is to agree with the gamer lad that this is some kind of hidden agenda. That said, I don't really see how Reset could be a Death Note survival game. It's purely speculation on his part at this point because he was trying to account for the unexpected deaths. But that's his assumption the deaths work in similar fashion to Survivor or Big Brother. It could well be a red-herring. All it indicates so far is that he's a pop culture fan boy. ;)

He obviously knows his J pop culture. However, there's no Shinigami -- a grim reaper type demon, no magic notebook or any indication that Lee Shin or the people behind her are practising vigilante justice. None of the participants are repeat offenders or hardened criminals. Nothing about Reset screams to me that it's following the Death Note template.

For me The Matrix and Avatar parallels make the most sense at this point in time. And yes, I reserve the right to change my mind when we know more. It's a generational thing possibly but at this stage there's a strong case for believing that these people haven't actually travelled through time but are sitting in a room hotwired to some serious tech in a hugely sophisticated VR room making cognitive choices which see their actions play out. For example, in the post-original Star Trek iterations, there was something call the holodeck or holosuite which was essentially an interactive VR area that allowed for role playing etc. If memory serves there was a Stargate episode which featured members of the main team being held hostage by alien tech trying to learn how humans think and act. 

The other pop culture reference that came to my mind was Groundhog Day. That has to be the ultimate reset film to my mind. Sonny and Cher's I've Got You Babe blaring over the radio still cracks me up. The mechanics of that probably isn't the same but the moral is. Character is destiny. To change the past one must change oneself. Something along those lines I would say... 

The show certainly keeps you guessing in that Life on Mars sort of way.

Obviously it's still early days and during the course of these episodes I changed my mind more than once about the underlying mechanism driving the storyline. It could well be a VR role play type set up or even AR... but I'm not really up on the latest jargon. My thought is that something sophisticated could have been set up somewhere in that facility as a platform for playing out these scenarios. Another feature of interest that points to this is the hypnosis sessions and how Ga-hyeon accesses her memories through that. Then there's the hourglass. Why use an hourglass instead of a wristwatch or phone? And a really large one at that. That piques my interest as someone who has a thing for timepieces. Obviously timing is one of the keys to unravelling the hidden agenda of the psychiatrist and Zian. 

Moreover I wouldn't at this stage necessarily believe everything the psychiatrist Lee Shin says about time travel. However we can be certain that these individuals haven't been randomly picked. At its core, despite the psycho thriller window dressing (yay!) the police procedural elements (yay, yay!) this feels like a drama about healing. It is my contention, whatever the mechanics of Reset, it's an experiment of sorts to help people deal with grief and loss. To come to terms with the pain, trauma etc and hopefully move on.

Survivors of tragic and horrific events often second guess themselves... "What if I had... What if I hadn't..." The regret and guilt paralyses them. Whatever Zian/Jian Corp is... (I keep thinking of Janus for some reason because he is the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, doorways, endings etc. He is usually depicted with two faces, each looking respectively to the past and the future. Rather like the hourglass which has two symmetrical sides, perhaps?) they have a means by which individuals are given an opportunity to live through an alternate timeline from a decisive moment and then see the flow-on effects of that even when they have foreknowledge or tools by which they can change their future. My guess, based on what I've seen so far, is that knowledge is not the key to change... but character. According to the drama at least. Character, not knowledge, is destiny.

Take for instance, Ga-hyeon. Her best friend, however wrong she was, was on the nose about GH's attitude. I sensed it myself and even after the reset... she had the same arrogance, the same self-righteous attitude. She also lacked circumspection and discernment when dealing with Seo Yeon Soo. And patience. Even before what eventuated I had thought she jumped the gun on that one. And it turned out, I was right. She became easy pickings for someone eager to pin murder on her.

I also had a feeling about the boyfriend and the bestie in the "first timeline". While I agree that the affair was an ugly act of betrayal, GH once never stopped to think about why the bf and the bestie fell for each other behind her back. They don't seem to be individuals who set out to deceive anyone. We always sympathize with the one betrayed... it's natural... no one likes to be deceived. But affairs aren't usually things that happen overnight. It starts with the little things. Then there are comparisons made. A man and woman working so close together, left alone together for long periods of time finding solace in each other. None of this is helped by the presence of a grumpy, demanding fiancee. It's textbook ingredients for an affair. I can't imagine that she's an easy person to get on with or work with and it must have been worse after the accident when she lost the use of her legs... when she became embittered. 

Of course I'm not saying that bf and bestie weren't responsible for the betrayal. They were but GH, from what I've seen, had some contribution to make in that love triangle too. 

We humans often think that if we change our environment... our lives will change for the better. We can limit suffering and pain. I think we know that is seldom true just from case studies of lottery winners. Too often we're so busy trying to control all the external variables in our lives that we forget about the man and the woman in the mirror. 

Tell Me What You Saw (2020) Final Mutterings

Whatever the flaws of this drama might have been these past eight weeks, I went in expecting a police procedural and I got one with plenty of excitement to spare. These last two episodes like the previous few had me at the edge of my seat, wondering who would be left standing after all the carnage. I also liked how the show dealt with the death of a vital team member. It wasn't the gratuitously violent nature of his murder they focused (there was already plenty of that in earlier episodes) on but on grief, loss and regret. Moreover it was a crucial wakeup call for Team Leader HYY, the one she needed to stir her out of her fear-driven stupor that inhibited her ability to act.

If there's anything that I would take away from this it's the tension between the fragility of the human mind and the power of the human will. This is a timely lesson considering the panic and hysteria that has come about due to the spectre of COVID-19 all around the world. There can be general agreement that there's a place to be sensible and take precautions but to act in fear as we've witnessed in some of our supermarkets exacerbates the problem or even creates new ones. What we've certainly noticed in recent days is that it doesn't take a whole lot to spark the ugliness that lies deep in the heart of individuals.

Often we think of evil in the abstract. Or foreign to our nature. Sometimes we believe it is something that is only relevant to murderers. Until something that is beyond our control descends on us, we react and then we realise that it is very much closer to home. Fear can do that. Pride can do that too.

A person like KYH may be perceived as an anomaly... a freak of nature... even a monster. Yet we hold him morally responsible for his crimes. Why? Because at least on a pragmatic level, if we don't, lawlessness ensues. People die. People live in fear. The vulnerable are defenceless. It becomes a case of might is right. It's hardly surprising of course that he wants moral justification. If he's born like this... if this is the inclination of his heart then no one can blame him for what results. That's what his "big party" for OHJ was for: "You made me like this. You put the idea in my head. You are responsible for me. You made me." 

So he's Frankenstein's creature wagging an accusatory finger at his creator for the mess that's come about.

Someone like KYH is a also a test for the rest. How do you solve a problem like KYH? For his parents it was a case of abandonment and making it someone else's problem. Could he have been saved... his appetites curbed? Hard to say but it didn't seem like anyone even tried at all. He somehow managed to slip through the cracks of the system... being orphaned and then somehow finding his way into the police force which ironically became his cover and worst still, his refuge. The irony is not lost that the powers that be which run the organization, otherwise known as the police force, become a major obstacle to his capture. The very people who should have found and captured him, are as much the problem as the perpetrator himself. I don't know if the show is saying that Chief Choi or Chief Park are as bad as KYH but they are certainly morally culpable for aiding and abetting his evil deeds. Their evil is different but it has the effect of feeding other evils... whether it be KYH, whether it be HHY's need to coverup or their own coverup.

It certainly is a good metaphor for how corruption works. It doesn't start big or with blinking lights... "You are falling into corruption" It can even start with the best of intentions. Then the self-justification takes over. Before one knows it, their perception of reality is altered to fit the narrative that supports the agenda.

So what is Cha So Young's role in all of this? Why was OHJ glad that she decided to be a cop? Why did HHY tell her that she will be a good cop? SY, Ji Min and to some extent Tae-sung are the next generation... new blood that the organization needs an infusion of. More than that she brings a new way of seeing the job of the police. The organization is not supposed to a breeding ground for bureaucrats or to maintain the existing power structure. Or to play personal vendettas. It is there to help people... and save lives. That sounds banal and obvious but that's lost when fear and ego reigns. The police needs to return to its fundamentals and root out those who use it for their own purposes. Every so often, a bit of house cleaning is warranted.

There can't be much doubt that people see what they want to believe. It certainly explains why a dozen people can watch the same drama and come away with entirely different views. ;)

That's been a recurring theme of the drama. It's a thought worth exploring. It isn't that there is no reality or facts. I don't think that is what's being advocated here. What OHJ is saying is that we have lenses or grids by which we perceive the reality in front of us. Neuroscientists or cognitive psychologists may call it schema or stories.

For instance, I said a couple of weeks ago that there was something about KYH that rang false ... not just because the show is purpose about including him in the storyline but also that there was something artificial about the way he presented himself. He depicted himself as a simple country cop with few ambitions doing the barest minimum. SY in her simplicity believed that what she saw was what it was. Sunbae portrayed himself as a bit of a buffoon and a low achiever and she bought into that subterfuge. In her defence, that is part of her journey... to try and find that balance between trusting people and looking with investigative savvy eyes. There will always be those who deceive. There's no getting around that but one develops the necessary wisdom to navigate that in time. But trust between colleagues is a key element in getting the work done.

For OHJ, this final encounter was a test of his will not to become a murderer although he was clearly crossing the line trying to replicate The Guy's MO as advanced torture techniques. He managed to overcome... as some might say... his baser instincts and not completely lose himself in vengeance for a loved one. For him, SY was like a candlelight in a very dark place, restoring in him some small measure of faith in humanity. 

The drama also draws on two millennia of Christian preoccupations regarding the origins of evil. A character like KYH symbolizes the idea of original sin. He is the quintessence of evil in some sense, with no conscience and has no qualms corrupting others. Yet each is responsible for their actions... to whatever degree of evil that their will inclines them. To what extent is the human will free... that has been debated by theologians. All may agree that humans have a will but they might not be as free as they believe. There are internal and external forces at play that lead them to certain choices. That is to say that the will can be shaped and restrained because human beings are created in the image of God. Even after the Fall, for most there is a functioning conscience or a vague sense of what's right and wrong.

Here OHJ represents man after the Fall. He lives with guilt and shame and seeks redemption for allowing someone he loved to die. He finds it in the innocent, untainted SY who hasn't been corrupted by office politics or the evil that has infested individuals that have crossed swords with the devil incarnate.

Miss Truth (2020) Episodes 33-36

It must finally dawn on Xiao Song after all the push and pull, that despite the dangers that come from RY associating with him, she is still much better off where he can see her. (That's borne out in these final episodes) Even if he thinks that she's in love with another man or even if he values her freedom, it is impossible for him to stop worrying about her safety if she's out of sight. If he ever believed that her being out of his sight would mean her being out of his mind, he is well and truly disabused of it after she falls prey to those who have orchestrated Consort Yang's assassination. As he drags her off to the Xiao manor, she protests that she's already home at her cousin's place. In the voice over he insists that being right next to him is where home really is for her. There she returns to her tiny hovel, a chest containing newly purchased cloths that doubles as her fox's lair. ;)

It's a significant shift in their dynamic that even while she half-heartedly conducts a protest, she is pleased to be by his side at least. Because he frames the episode as a means of keeping her out of trouble, she has no expectations of him beyond his need to control her movements. At this point both seem to believe that love is out of reach for them even though they may be satisfied in the interim with being close together. Perhaps XS took his father's words to heart (in Episode 31) that perfect conditions in a relationship don't exist. Even if she doesn't love him wholeheartedly, it is enough that he wants to protect and love her.

To me it's always a lot more fun when the male lead falls for the female lead first because he does a lot of running around, moving heaven and earth to be with her... even bordering on stalkery behaviour which could be a tad creepy. But I'm an old-fashioned type and I think there's something a lot more natural when the man does the wooing. If for nothing else but demonstrate his absolute commitment to having a relationship with the object of his desire.

There's never been any doubt about XS' commitment to his beloved Fox. Even while she believed she was in love with The Other Guy, he was steadfast. He respected her need to be free... to choose but he was always looking out for her and protecting her. On hindsight, it was obvious that he would emerge victorious... to put it crudely. Of course he always wanted her. But as he stressed it again and again what he wanted was her heart because he knows that it is the rudder that determines where the ship ends up.

It's unnecessary perhaps to contrast XS and Su Fu very much especially in the home straight because SF was always really just a puppet for his masters even when he wasn't on the drugs. It was never possible for him to end up with RY. It was purely a pipe dream on his part and he pulled the wool over her eyes for a short time. Obviously there's no denying he liked her but he was deluding himself that a man who led the kind of life he did could ever experience any kind of normality. He was always firmly positioned in the antagonist camp and when he attempted some kind of shift, he put RY in jeopardy and became a permanent slave to his masters' bidding.

The genius of the love triangle is how it was integrated into the Bad Guy plot. It was in the interest of the villains to encourage it, to use it for their own end. Not just as a mechanism to effectively control SF as is revealed later but to weaponize it against the leads who would do anything for each other including risking life and limb.

Looking back it made sense for vested interests to highlight XS' finer moments that were hidden from RY... the myriad of things he did for her behind the scenes that weren't known to her at the time. I believe XS deliberately kept his good-doing in the dark because he didn't want her to feel obligated to him as she was wont to say. He desperately wanted them to move beyond their earlier quid pro quo dynamic because it became unsatisfying for a man who felt more. Earlier on he kept his distance because he genuinely believed for a time that she would be safer if his enemies were going so far as to use her as a way of getting information or the Marquis of Sui's pearl. If they severed all connection, then there was no bridge to cross over to gain access to XS' secrets especially if SF was still a part of the equation. Despite temporarily separating, she was still subject to the machinations of others because the reality is... the horse has already bolted. Everyone was well aware that those two had some kind of permanent bond between them that transcended the emperor's divorce decree.

What the villains did was to give RY hope and a reason to act on her feelings for XS. It was a double-edged sword. A high risk tactic. It's true that people in love can do predictable foolish things for love's sake but they can also behave unpredictably in undetermined ways as well. Moreover Very Smart People in love are another kettle of fish entirely. ;) All's fair in love and war, as they say but be prepared for some serious blowback if that kind of strategy gets deployed on people who don't always operate like ordinary people. The bad guys are smart... the plotting is very elaborate and their tentacles are seemingly ubiquitous but thankfully the good guys are highly adaptable especially when they present a united front. 

In this final phase of the Bad Guy plot, it becomes clear that all activity is directed at taking Xiao Song down. With XS around, the emperor, who is the ultimate target, is almost untouchable. The villains know that the country's premiere crime solver is almost invincible except for his Achilles heel, Ran Yan. He would do anything for her including marrying the nauseating younger half sister, Ran Mei Yu who is actually inane enough to believe that she's being backed by the mastermind to make all her dreams come true and get away with it. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise as she has a track record for this sort of stupidity. Although I don't care for the character much but her banter with XS in the latter part of Episode 33 was very well done. The rich irony that accompanied the underlying revulsion from him and the confidence glee from her was beautifully portrayed by both actors. 

At the start of the drama we know that XS has a reputation for solving mysteries so he is tasked to find a legendary pearl that is supposed to lead to some great treasure left behind by the previous Sui dynasty that could be used to build an army. With XS on the job, the conspirators have been hampered from reaching their goals at every point. Yes, they have their spies but XS manages repeatedly to get to the bottom of things and root them out. Unfortunately for him, his primary adversary, Su Fu first notes early on that XS has a soft spot for RY and uses that to get him to unwittingly reveal information. But of course XS seldom lets his guard down, easily using the enemy's stratagems against him for his purpose. While using RY as a conduit to XS, SF soon falls for her which ironically compromises his own effectiveness as a spy for his side. Consequently he undergoes an existential internal tug-of-war, which his handlers uses to their advantage by forcing him to imbibe a mind-control "puppet" drug.

Love is really at the heart of all of the resolution which explains the continuing push and pull. True they are first exploited by others but as always they adapt and manage to outwit the baddies at their own game. However, if it weren't for their willingness to openly sacrifice themselves for one another, or their ability to finally understand each other's intentions it would only remain on the level of emotions. 

Once she finally understands the motives behind XS' angry bluster, RY quickly makes up for lost time. She throws herself into the fray with characteristic boldness and takes his side unequivocally. Once she's in, she's all in. No longer is she just his partner-in-crime but his wife and lover.

Even the emperor understood the potential dangers inherent in this dynamic. On his own, Xiao Song is a formidable individual but coupled with Ran Yan, they are an unstoppable force of nature. Especially when he witnessed first hand what XS was willing to do for her... break laws at will and go against royal decrees. ;) So he forcibly separates them again only for us to see XS take matters into his own hands yet again at the end. I suppose we're meant to understand that what they have is something that transcends the norm that no convention, no human agency can hold back. :D

On top of all that, it was the love triangle that saved the day. For a moment SF broke free of his mind control and found his bit of redemption by sacrificing himself for the woman he loved in spectacular fashion. Oddly enough (or may be not), I don't grieve for him. He is a tragic character in a quintessential Bradleyan sense. He is the sum of his choices and is ultimately the architect of his own undoing. There's no denying though that he protects RY where possible but his trajectory ultimately diverges from hers. I always think that if he had just let go of her after she had married XS, he would have seen a different ending. Character is destiny.

It was also pleasing that the show paid tribute to XS' relationship with Bai Yi, his doggedly loyal 2IC. This is someone who knew the real XS even when RY didn't. Someone who has always cared about his master's good reputation and welfare, and would have defended it to his dying breath. As I always thought... and it was confirmed here... that they were more like brothers than master and servant. I've always enjoyed his adversarial relationship with RY, his feet planted firmly in his master's corner.

Revelations about the mastermind in the finale was shocking to say the least. It brought home more clearly as to how ugly and wicked the entire scheme was. The lengths that the individuals were willing to go to get what they want even sacrificing subordinates and relatives to their own ends was horrifying in its magnitude. Tyrants come and tyrants go but nothing is more frightening than someone who thinks that they are above the law... everything and anything is possible as long as they can reach their goals.

Forest (2020) Closing Comments

Although this show ended far better than it started, I don't know if this is something I would recommend unabashedly to any who cares about my opinion. True that it doesn't reach the same level of absurdity as Dr Stranger, to harken back to another PHJ outing that was a hot bubbling mess, but that's a comparison of the low hanging fruit variety. When one considers how decent- v. good his last 3 dramas were... Bad Guys, Cheese in the Trap and Man to Man... this is quite disappointing.

On paper somebody thought this would work. Certainly it has elements of a good drama. The cast is good. The cinematography is quite superb as many have pointed out and I too have a love for tree photography but good ideas alone don't make for a decent drama. Needless to say a good script matters. If nothing else this drama proves that it absolutely matters. If for no other reason than to provide a sense of cohesion and consistency.

Looking at the last 6 episodes I can't help but think that this is the show they really wanted to make... the man-made environmental disaster caused by Big Business and a psychopathic chaebol heir. All the other extraneous baggage about the rescue service, the childhood trauma, PTSD in high risk occupations, even the romancing ... all of that was largely filler to help pad the drama all the way to the end. Each of these elements could have been interesting subjects for their own drama but in the way it was pieced together here, it made the storytelling tonally inconsistent. I'm happy to watch a revenge plot unfold but at least do it with decisiveness.

In reality the show wanted to make mysteries out of things that really weren't real mysteries. For seasoned drama watchers, it was reasonably obvious where things were headed. It took a number of well-used tropes which isn't a sin in and of itself but it did nothing interesting with them. It's clear that KSH was meant to be glue that brought all the disparate elements together but had instead the unfortunate effect of turning him into a dissociative personality. The part of the show I really liked and was woefully underdeveloped was the rescue service. In the end it was relegated to the sidelines when at the start it was seen to be the biggest impediment to KSH getting that resort built. My opinion is that they should have approached this beginning with the rescue service. It should have been the glue. If they were going to spend a ton of money on hiring helicopters and doing aerial shots, this is where the show should have anchored its moral and emotional compass.

I never go into a drama wanting to dislike it. Even when I hear mixed reactions about a drama, I always keep an open mind. Sometimes I even find myself disagreeing with the majority opinion. In this instance I felt frustrated with this drama more often than not because it was always clear to me that somewhere in this hodge podge of ideas was a good drama waiting to be made.

Hi Bye Mama (2020) Thoughts about Episodes 1-5

There's certainly a lot to like about this drama. The cast, the dominant narrative, the production values and aspects of the world building. The visual storytelling is certainly exquisite. It's wonderful the way the showrunners piece together the past and the present so seamlessly with the use of changing colour palette. It's gorgeous. No doubt a testament to the continued advancements in SK production techniques.

To be honest, when it comes down to the nitty gritty in plot I don't know how I really feel about this drama. I know I want to like it but there are aspects of it that don't sit well with me. While it's nice to look at and the acting is stellar on every front, I have mixed feelings about how the subject matter is handled. Frankly... and I'm sorry about comparing everything to Chocolate... I think Chocolate did it a smidge better albeit coming from a different angle. Possibly because tonally it was much more consistent. The underlying message in both seems to me to be essentially the same... life is too short to have regrets or hold grudges. Prioritize your loved ones. Put your house in order, resolve all unfinished business before it's too late. Because one never knows when the end is nigh. Learn to grieve. Learn to move on. It's certainly a message worth repeating because we humans are terrible at dealing with death and loss.

The problem for me first of all is the reason why Yu-ri has been given 49 days to "find her place". The show insists on making the endgame to this a big mystery to YR... at least so far. (Although I'm not sure it is really all that much of a mystery) As a result everything feels to me to be in limbo while YR is groping around aimlessly running away from fellow ghosties who have a ton of unresolved emotional baggage. I really feel for Gang-hwa because he is still absolutely in love with Yu-ri. He's never moved on emotionally. Sure, he remarried probably for Seo Woo's sake but for the past 5 years he's been waiting for YR to come back to life. That's how it feels like to me. And he's utterly terrified of losing her again. Hence we have this artificial love triangle at play because YR thinks that she's interrupting a happy newly formed married when absolutely everyone is wallowing in misery in some form another. Maybe she's been so focused on SW these past few years that she hasn't noticed GH or Min-jeong's anguish in what seems to be a loveless union. The facade of playing happy families hasn't helped GH move on much. He soldiered on for Seo Woo's sake but he has done nothing for himself. Prior to her resurfacing, he hadn't stopped grieving. In fact, we discover that he attempted suicide at least once but was forced by his stoic MIL to pull himself together and get his act together.

I'm not sure if this is deliberate on the part of the showrunners but making the endgame a mystery is double-edged sword. YR thinks she's just here for a short time to sort out things with SW. It doesn't seem to occur to her that SW isn't the only one struggling. The problem too is that her presence is giving GH hope. But she doesn't necessarily want to give him false hope so she's keeping her distance. When I look at him and his reactions I see a man who desperately wants the love of his life back where she belongs. He wants to hug her and kiss her like the way she embraces their daughter. Unfortunately he can't because everyone is being considerate and inconsiderate of Min-jeong. Poor woman has been playing second fiddle to YR right from the start. A substitute mother for SW but never the wife and certainly not the lover.

I also don't particularly like the fact that YR is keeping vital information from her loved ones. That's the part I'm most uneasy and frustrated about. It's a strategy on the part of the show to create a push and pull that doesn't really need to be there. That's in part why the subplot comes across as being fillery rather than integral. I don't understand why YR is wasting so much time complaining about the other ghosts when she could be spending more time with the people she loves. Except that she spends several episodes dodging them.

Can I say how much I adore Lee Kyu Hyung in this? I love seeing him in a completely different context from Prison Playbook and Life. He can always be relied upon to bring his A game to each project and it's fantastic to see his star rising because he is genuine acting powerhouse. There are traits of those other characters that he has brought to this role but he is also clearly differentiating Gang-hwa from his previous outings, playing out his emotions as a grieving husband and father. My only complaint with regards to him is that we don't see enough of him. 

My guess is that since everyone related to YR is weighed down in perpetual grief that they're gunning for a happy ending. I can't be sure of course. 

 But it feels like they're setting up a scenario whereby they can justify a reunion where YR returns to GH, SW and the rest of the extended family. A kind of back-to-front It's A Wonderful Life scenario. On top of that the unhappy MJ has already initiated the paperwork for an imminent divorce long before YR returned.

Frankly I don't feel that the Ghost World subplot integrates well with the main one. For all we know it could be another drama entirely. For one reason or another I'm not interested in what happens to these ghosts especially when they're largely used as comic relief presently. The set-up was good but the integration not so much. Now that YR has returned to the land of the living interacting with people from her former life, the divide seems more conspicuous. That said the arc featuring the childcare kid ghost worked because that had direct connection with her family issues.

Forest (2020) Episodes 13 and 14

It is quite regrettable that the show took such a long time to become this good because all the nonsensical stuff at the start must have put a lot of people off. It is unusual in Kdramaland because in most instances, it's the first half that's better than the second. These last 4 episodes have been very decent because the show has ditched a lot of the slapstick, tampered the nuttiness and taking itself far more seriously. And so it should. At its very core the show is dealing with some serious stuff. What Taesung has done and is doing to the villagers is wicked and criminal. People have died because of their wanton greed. In fact, people are still dying.

On hindsight, I really wish that they hadn't made so much of a mystery of KSH's trauma. It would probably have made him a much more relatable character from the start. His amnesia was a plot device and it didn't gel with everything else about him in a way that made sense. That said however, it is good that the drama maintained some degree of consistency with regard to his greed, his need to accumulate wealth and be the top dog, as it were. There are consequences as there should be. This puts him at odds with JYJ... which it should because she is a ethically driven, altruistic physician and her worldview clashes with his. She wants to help people and save them. His way of thinking is to mitigate a bad situation and salvage what benefits he can. Hers is to expose the corruption and stop the entire operation because there can be no middle ground in such a situation. The human cost outweighs any potential financial benefits.

I have no doubt that the show wants to present him as a kind of antihero. The materialistic corporate shark that will ultimately take down the behemoth that is Taesung. It won't be the law enforcement officials or the authorities (because most of them are up to the necks in doggy poo) but the former insider who does it all. We all know he could have blown the lid off the whole thing when JYJ was in custody but instead he chose to leverage whatever information he had to save her and to reap benefits for himself. His default position is to manoeuver and manipulate his way out of things. He isn't a good guy by any existing moral standards but he is a devious one... and he is the man for the job because he can manoeuver his way through. Using a thief to catch a thief as it were.

Redemption for KSH is in the horizon... The inner tug-of-war has already begun especially with the way JYJ has framed this dilemma. "It's me or the money." Essentially that's what it is.  So she's not appealing to him on the basis of his better self or appeal to his moral code... that probably doesn't exist at the moment. What she's certain though is that he really does actually like her a lot. So, she does what she always does, tries to save him. And she does it by appealing to his desire for her. In effect what we have is a battle... not for his soul necessarily... but a battle for love to triumph over greed. They're still working within the limits territory of self-interest but hey, it's a start.

Apparently bad guys can really fall in love. JYJ seems to believe it. I think it's possible too. KSH isn't going to transform into Mother Teresa overnight or maybe ever.  But love can slowly guide him on the right path if the one who loves can prioritize the one who is loved over all other desires.

Miss Truth (2020): Episodes 27-32 (2)

It's obvious to me that the show is trying to make Su Fu a kind of tragic character or tortured soul to elicit sympathy because his trajectory means that ultimately he can't be with the female lead. The son of a concubine... so of lower status, somewhat despised perhaps and then trains as an assassin and then embroils himself with rebellious elements working against the throne. With a CV like that I can't imagine that any man in his right mind would think that he would make a good husband for a woman unless he's using her as his cover story. But that's probably it... he isn't in his right mind now that the drugs are taking firm control over him. I suppose he thought he was doing his bit to protect RY when he became a willing puppet for the chief of the secret organization but who's going to protect him from himself? I can't help feeling that the more the show is trying to sell him as some kind of viable alternative to XS because he really loves RY, the less I'm inclined to buy into that idea. I don't think that there are any alternatives. XS is the man for her. SF is a distraction but more importantly he presents imminent danger to everything she holds dear.

The rapidity with which she friendzones him begs the question as to whether she was really in love with him in the first place. I have my doubts of course. I tend to believe that it was pity that brought them together. After all she still pities him on some level. She mistook that for love and realised it in time. I don't think it's because he deceived her per se although he did. Or used her. Which he also did. It's more the fact that she realised she had entered into an illusory romance when all the signs were there that things were not as simple as she had wished. Their common background or past experiences did not necessarily mean a common future or common goals. RY tends to be somewhat self-righteous and not a little arrogant relying on her own ability to make correct judgments when in reality there are bigger things at play that she's not made aware of.

There are remnants of the previous Sui dynasty who are discontent with the current regime... although why that is, isn't entirely clear to me at this point in time. The general populace don't seem to be doing too badly as a whole to warrant a change of regime. It could be that well they don't care much for the Li family and they're purely Sui loyalists. So it behooves them to start a war... a coup de tat so that the old regime be reinstated with no thought to causing death and destruction to the masses.

RY's journey to finding true love parallels the cases that she and XS have taken on together. The shadow puppet display she performed with Wan Lu to jog his memory confirms that. It's a tacit acknowledgment of their special relationship and how she can't achieve the detective gig without him. He seemed moved by the gesture but still it's not enough for him to be forthcoming and so he maintains his distance because ultimately he wants her love and devotion not a continuation of their quid pro quo relationship. Also, he's well aware that his enemies are only too eager to use her as a means to get to him and his mission so his decision to remain aloof to her entreaties have a twofold purpose.

As for the beating she took for meeting up with the bag man, that was undoubtedly painful but probably not as painful for her as being ignored and misunderstood by XS which is for me a far more satisfying state of affairs between them because now the shoe is in the other foot.  It's eminently fascinating that the cases that they've undertaken together have paralleled  to some degree her journey to "finding true love". All of the cases have been analogous or have telegraphed their somewhat tumultuous relationship. They are morality tales of missed opportunities, obsession and lost love.  In the case of the erotomaniac serial killer, the show attempts to draw a comparison between the situations faced by the couples. At least RY herself is aware of the comparison when she chastises the hostage taker for his foolish pinings. There is bitterness and despair in her words. She had hoped that XS' love was big enough to cover her sins but alas it was an illusory promise.  Before the man she was really in love with, it was an indirect confession tinged with resentment and regret. It is tacit acknowledgment that now she has indeed found true love only to have lost it. All she can do now is live with the pain.

At first XS thinks she is referring to SF as seen in the stern glare he shoots the other man with while she monologues. But when he goes home and reflects on her words, he wonders if he's misunderstood her relationship with SF and by extension himself.  From his conversation with his surprisingly progressive father, it's clear that he still cares a great deal but he can't repeatedly allow himself to be in the position of being betrayed because he thinks that she is in love with another man. He has always respected her freedom to choose and he also has to be careful because of the larger political matters that are at stake especially if SF is persistently using her as a conduit to him. He can't be sure of her if she's trying to keep both sides happy. What's really interesting to me is that for her, she thinks she's lost his love whereas for him he believes that he's never had hers in the first place (largely because of all the contradictory signals that she sends out).

I can't judge her too harshly because of her inexperience in such matters and her world was small until she invaded his world unceremoniously. But she is learning a really important lesson here. She can't take XS for granted even if he is ultimately true to her despite the appearance of rejection. Even if she doesn't want to, she has to draw the line and be clear about who it is she preferences. Everyone wants certainty, XS does too. He needs it for all kinds of reasons not just emotional ones. It's not easy for him because he is also a servant of the state as much as he is the man who loves her.

Miss Truth (2020): Episodes 27-32 (1)

If there were any doubts left as to who is the Boss in this show, I think these recent episodes would have removed them entirely.  Even if Xiao Song seemed to be on the outer on this occasion due to his estrangement from Ran Yan, his presence was both missed and felt. While the others did well on their own and were able to come up with some of the goods rather quickly, it became clear that XS was sorely needed to tie up loose ends and wrap things up. All the circumstantial evidence easily pointed to one individual but no one could speak to the motive. Enter XS to save the day and he finds method to the perpetrator's madness.

The show also drew a deliberate contrast between how the head of Da Li Si does things and how XS does things regarding criminal investigations. Indeed Lord Sun has his own agenda but he is also an arrogant man who has an image to protect. XS is consistently meticulous and gets right down to the bottom of things. He cares deeply about the truth. For him justice is really the endgame. It isn't just about dealing with political fallout or personally proving his credibility. Clearly he doesn't need to prove anything because he already has an established reputation for solving crimes.

Of course XS doesn't stay out of it completely throughout. On the surface he seems indifferent and even actively hostile towards RY but he's poking around behind the scenes and lending a hand discreetly where possible. It also gives him a good excuse to investigate those who show a keen interest in the Marquis of Sui's pearl while they're busy chasing a serial murderer linked to a woman who likes dragonflies. It is noteworthy to add that XS is a world class detective because he takes every piece of evidence seriously.

More than being a reputed criminologist, XS demonstrates excellent leadership skills. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to appreciate talent and use people well. Only he would even consider managing this motley crew that he has unofficially cobbled together. Take the case of Sang Chen who is a veritable scaredy cat. A very gifted scaredy cat nonetheless. Most people would quickly find him trying but XS was able to see past all that and employ him to tasks eminently suited to his abilities. Of course it doesn't escape his notice that he is also crushing on Ran Yan but XS can put that aside for the big picture. Speaking of the big picture, he also knows how to work with Su Fu when he has to even with all the mistrust and baggage that exists between them.

If there's a scene that encapsulates the kind of man XS is and what he's all about it would have to be the final showdown between the erotomaniac serial killer and our sleuths (Episode 31). When the culprit who is holding Ran Yan hostage, realises that he's been tricked, he attempts to retaliate by whipping out a dagger. XS's first instinct is to lurch forward and grab the offending dagger with his bare hands to prevent it being used on RY. It seems to me that his default mode is to protect RY disregarding even his own safety. A trait that he has shown repeatedly throughout the drama. He releases her from her bonds and his first comment to her is "Are you alright?" in a gentle tone of voice he reserves only for her. Despite putting on a good show of being thoroughly angry and wanting to keep his distance from her, at the end of the day, his love for her perpetually trumps disappointment and suspicion. He can't help himself. 

Xiao Song is a larger than life creature who is big on the truth and loves greatly. It must be hard on him to have to reconcile these apparently contradictory positions. I don't think they're especially contradictory categorically but for him having to deal with his repeated disappointments with RY, it must appear to be. It is ironic that for a man who can see through criminal motives and seemingly read the minds of men at a pinch, the woman he loves is a perpetual puzzle to him. The fault doesn't lie with him but the nature of their ever evolving relationship which is fraught with complexities made more difficult by her history with her former betrothed who is a persistent presence. Who wants to be a continual sap for a woman who has her eye directed elsewhere? It must be a blow to an intelligent man that despite all his best efforts and correct assessments of RY's change of heart, he can never be certain of her loyalty.

To his credit he doesn't actively act against SF because he is a perceived rival for RY's affections. XS is much better and far more intelligent than that. I don't even think that XS really tries to win her heart in the traditional sense. He does what he does for her because of who he is... of the good he wants for her. All of it comes from that place of love he has for her. I wouldn't say that he does things for her necessarily to turn her heart towards him. It is true though that he wants her heart unequivocally. And what self-respecting man wouldn't?  I doubt that he's willing to share especially with a man who's background and activities are highly suspect to begin with. 

In defence of RY, I think underneath all that bravado she is a good sort of girl. She's a softie for a hard luck story despite the arrogance and posturing. She wants to help everybody and insists on not taking sides. Some of that comes from being a physician of sorts. I can understand the impulse on some level because there are bigger political forces at work that she's quite unaware of. On top of that she is in the middle of a tug-of-war between two men who happen to be in rival camps. Despite her natural intelligence, she doesn't have all the tools to navigate this tumultuous triangular relationship with clarity. Her inability to draw the line in the sand could also possibly be attributed to the fact that she does genuinely feel sorry for SF.

Moreover, she doesn't completely understand XS and how he operates. I'm always struck by how well everyone can see through his actions and see the obvious signs of blossoming romance at play but for one reason or another she is fraught with uncertainty. Is it really a case of once bitten, twice shy? I appreciate her cousin, Ran Yunsheng, for standing in XS' corner and cheering him on the sidelines. He is a much needed sounding board. My conclusion is that her world so far has been small, very black and white, believing that what one sees is always what the truth is. 

It's not the first time that I'm surprised and a little impressed about how broadminded XS' family is about his relationship with her. An obvious contrast with her own upbringing. Despite everything and even though they don't entirely approve of her, they really care about what he likes or wants. Perhaps this broadmindedness translates into his own meritocratic attitude towards her and her abilities. I was thinking when XS was in conversation with his father and stepmother at different times about how much they respect his choices and want to encourage him in them because they actually respect him. It's harder to be sure about the uncle's wife because she has her own agenda but she does seem to be genuinely fond of him. Dad at least seems wise enough to grasp what it is that Song'er sees in this arrogant upstart that goes against conventional proprietary for a family of their status. 

Su Fu has never been for me an obviously bad guy. I wouldn't even consider him an antihero because he is so obviously developed as a foil for the leads. He has his difficulties and yet he has made certain choices which means his trajectory ends up being at odds with RY's. I don't doubt that for him RY is a ray of sunshine in his very bleak existence. Is it just the drugs talking because I'm not clear on why he changed his mind about letting her go. Now he's becoming increasingly possessive and dangerously so.