An enjoyable watch despite many irritating factors

I have a love/hate relationship with this drama but decided to review it for a few reasons.

1. The actors did a fantastic job in portraying their roles.
2. The production was high quality with noticeable wardrobes quality and set design.
3. Most of the main characters weren't two-dimensional but more realistic and relatable despite significant limitations.

This drama's storyline is quite a departure from the original online novel that it was adapted from, so much so that some parts were unrecognizable. Some were good changes; others were questionable. I always wondered why scriptwriters chose to change so much of the original story that the value of the original work is lost? I would hesitate to re-write Louis Cha's novels because people love his wuxia story so much. That's how he became famous as a story writer. A scriptwriter is in no way a novel writer. Scripts are meant to bridge and adapt the storytelling effects between conventional novels/storytelling to movie production without losing the original, entertaining value of the story. Unfortunately, this is lost in this drama. I felt the scriptwriters lost their place and thought of themselves as authors of the story itself. Despite this significant drawback, the acting is still entertaining. The actors portray the characters in the drama well despite its limitations of character development and major story plot holes. The actors did a good job bringing it to life with realistic portrayals as best as they could.

I enjoyed the story despite some noticeable flaws in character development that felt illogical and rushed. I enjoyed the OST (but wasn't too happy that it was censored and copyright claimed all over youtube that most of it are not released). I'm impressed with Tong MengShi's acting and portrayal of the ML. I saw him before in Joy of Life and noticed him, but he had a minimal role in that drama. His role in this drama gave him more grounds to expand his acting chops. He brought the main character to life, expressing emotions in a restrained and controlled manner. The character itself wasn't complex, but his portrayal made it complex and interesting to watch. I couldn't say the same for the FL. In the first ten episodes, I found her portrayal annoying, and I was ready to drop the drama. Still, I persisted, and she eventually developed to become a more realistic and relatable character. I attributed this major dramatic annoyance to one part by the overacting of the actress and the other the significant departure of the script from the original novel. The character in the story was more deliberate, calm and careful than it was portrayed in the script adaptation.

Despite the significant flaws in the main characters, I found the supporting cast/characters immensely talented and rich with depth, which rescued many of the script's shortcomings. It made me root for the scenarios around the characters and invest in the drama. Overall, I still enjoyed the drama, and it was worth watching, but don't have high expectations of it in character development and storytelling values. If you're not that picky in this regard, you'll enjoy the drama.

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What a beautiful mess!

I started watching this show out of zero expectation for anything light-hearted, knowing that it's a melodramatic, most likely dark and controversial like "Secret love affair". It didn't disappoint! The acting was superb and the characters were complex and three-dimensional. It's not a story for the faint of heart. It requires maturity and appreciation for the inherently flawed beauty of the human condition. If you're looking for a light-hearted, superficial idealistic love story in this drama, move on and watch another one. This drama isn't so much for entertaining purposes as it is to stir up the depth of emotions in the inherently flawed nature of human experience. All the characters have strengths and weaknesses, internal conflicts which they struggle to resolve throughout the drama. The whole story is full of internal angst and strife, which makes one wonder how much self-torture they can persist to continue doing to themselves and others. Yet in some way they are all relatable as human beings.

The story moves very slowly yet very quickly at the same time. It is as if their emotions are capsulized yet have endured changes of time as well. The forbidden romance of a teenage boy turns into the self-torture and self-sacrifice of a man who continues his path of redemption when he doesn't need one.

Maybe because I'm a Westerner and too open-minded for kdrama but I didn't see anything wrong with Hwan's love for his school teacher and subsequently sister-in-law. The fact that he had so much self-restraint to sacrifice everything for her and his family is as pure and idealized as you can get from any character (in some ways, this is probably the most unrealistic part of the story). The flawed and selfish love of the other characters in the story stands in contrast to Hwan's sacrifice and purity, yet his love for her and his family seems most unpure because of society's superficial moral judgments. If anything is sacrificed in this love story, it is the purity of love in the name of moral values, when all those acting as if moral were all out for themselves. Ye Ji's mother is branded the same way when everything she did was in the name of love and self-sacrifice.

This drama is a mess. It's a beautiful mess that challenges the dominant narrative of society's superficial surface relationships and dwells into the complexity of being human: inherently selfish, flawed and capable of immense beauty and selflessness as the same time.

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Consent, abuse, discrimination, self-acceptance and freedom to be love as you are.

I'm reviewing this as a BDSM'er, but the story is way more significant than this subject alone.

I've been watching many movies that abuse the world of BDSM and profit from misinformation and porn. It has gotten so bad in the last ten years; BDSM is filled with people who think that domination is about abuse and forceful coercion while it's about just the exact opposite. The dom puts the sub's needs first before their desires. This is clearly shown in the movie with Jiwoo's behaviours and thoughts. She knows what gives him pleasure while she's discovered hers. She kept clear boundaries and put his consent above board in their relationship. When she did fall for him emotionally and breached that boundary even just a little, she felt guilty and ashamed. Jiwoo's friend meets someone to play consensually, and that person tries to assault her sexually. "Just because I'm a pervert, it doesn't give you the right to treat me badly" is such a clear message about consent. None of the BDSM movies I've seen so far has such a clear message about consent. In the age of #metoo, there should be more movies out there like this one to remind people what consent is. I love one BDSM mistress' definition of consent: "a completely mindful, willing, and uncoerced choice to say yes, and the ability to revoke that "yes" at any time without fear of repercussions."
This movie is a shining example of that definition.

Another critical point this movie raised is discrimination against people just because they're different. Just because they don't fall into society's norm, while their personal preferences don't hurt anyone, what right does anyone have in treating them poorly? People with preferences for BDSM are highlighted as that example in this movie, but it could be about anything, LGBTQ+? Autism? Physical/mental disability? I could go on. The stigma of being different is so overwhelming that these people can live with deep shame and lack of self-acceptance when the rest of the "normal" world gets to mistreat them. Ji-hoo's ex-girlfriend's behaviour towards him is a prime example of ordinary people being abusive towards those who are different.

This leads me to the last point; love is about the freedom to be accepted as you are. Why be an ugly duckling when you can hang out with beautiful swans of your kind? Why force yourself to be accepted by those who will never accept you? Do yourself a favour and hang with people who love you as you are. The message in this movie is very logical and mature! I always tell people who hide behind their kink profile with a mask: Own your kink! What is there for you to be ashamed of? Rapists should be ashamed, adulterers should be ashamed, and people who abuse other people emotionally and physically should be ashamed. What's in BDSM to be ashamed of when it's consensual and mutually satisfying without hurting anyone? Many psychological studies agreed that BDSM is healthy when practiced with a partner who respects your boundaries and trust.

I can't say enough about the acting of Lee Jun-Young. It's my first time watching him, and I'm a total fan. I own golden retrievers all my life, and I can say he embodied these dogs' spirit, energy, and gestures 100%. I'm also in awe of Seohyun's acting. She had become such a mature woman and inspiring in her role. In every scene, no small gesture or flinch of a facial expression is misplaced, overdone, or undertones underappreciated. These two should win an Oscar.

I love the music; it's so spiffy and fun! It never fails to fit in perfectly to set the mood from one scene to another.

I didn't know what to expect when I first watched it. I was thinking of 50 Shades or at least Secretary (2002), but this movie exceeded my expectations and surprised me. It has to rewatch value! It took a Korean movie to tackle such a sensitive subject and educate people on what healthy BDSM looks like. My opinion on 50 Shades and 365 days? Hollywood is disgusting for portraying abusive behaviours as love and conflating sexual boundaries violations with BDSM to make money. Ugh.

I'm recommending this movie to everyone who wants to know what BDSM is and who loves a good laugh.
Even for me, dog play is hilarious!

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A must watch if you love a well done non-draggy period rom-com!

I rarely enjoy Chinese Drama since it's usually draggy and too melodramatic with not so good humour. This one is an exception! The story is not entirely in line with the original novel it is based on, but I think it's better written with some artistic licence taken by the scriptwriters for adaptation into the series.
It would be weird to watch if the girl is 14 years old marrying a much older man (which is typical of a girl's age of marriage in Chinese history) according to the original story but that eliminates the Chinese title's relevance (General's little wife). The storyline and characters are well written with good acting, a very rom-com story-line and, as usual, a slightly annoying female lead. I love the OST and background music. Also, an exception to most Chinese historical drama is that there are lots of very realistic romantic flirting, kissing and intimate scenes between the couple as new husband and wife early on.
Tang Ming and Ceasar Wu have fantastic chemistry between them. Both main leads did a good job acting and bringing out their characters. Ceasar Wu had improved his acting skills much since Chang An Youth. Overall, it's well done and not overacted like a lot of Chinese rom-com. It's a plus that they're both eye candy. The main lead female character is very witty and bratty, sometimes annoying. Still, it is justified by her spoiled upper-class upbringing with a mix of harmless delinquency due to being bullied by her sisters. Caesar Wu's portrayal of the General is very realistic and cool, but I'm afraid I disagree with the story description that the General is icy. He's not icy at all but a quiet, deliberate, caring and lonely hard-working man. His sense of humour is there but muted until he met his match. The romance between the two main leads is funny but not realistic (but this is a rom-com). The humour is well written, and I laughed out loud so hard it made my family wonder what I was doing? The fight scenes are well-coordinated, though there are few of them. The clothing is, as usual for the Chinese period drama, elegant. This series is definitely a must-watch as a period rom-com if you enjoy Chinese Drama of this type. It is also a good watch if you don't like the draggy Chinese Drama; this one doesn't feel draggy. The dialogues are well written and funny, so pay attention to it. The main characters' lines are often witty. For someone who often loses patience with Chinese drama, I really enjoyed this one and finished it.

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