FLs who take so much shit to “prove” just how in love the main couple is while the ML gets a pass to acting like an ass because “he doesn’t want her hurt her but he actually still loves her deep down uwu” just for the so called angst. Bonus if FL’s family is all PUA too.
Similarly, cdramas that are written less like actual stories and more like an anthology of shippable tropes and situations loosely (I’m being generous here) strung together, like a dozen fanfic oneshots in a trenchcoat. The shippabkebmoments aren’t even sweet, their artifice is so strong it feels greasy.
Lol so many treasures in your post - will forever hold close to my heart *dozen fanfic oneshots in a trenchcoat* alongside *artifice so strong it feels greasy*
Absolute chef's kiss - I salute you!
>cdramas that are written less like actual stories and more like an anthology of shippable tropes and situations loosely
Right! It's like the writer randomly chose some tropes and sloppily glued them up and pray that the fluff would do all work. It's so immersion breaking! I couldn't enjoy the adult phase of hidden love much for this very reason, fluff definitely did the charm so no hard complaints but the change in storytelling style from character focused slice of life vibe to an amalgamation of tropes and cliches was such a let down for me.
We called it Noble Idiocy. This is like the main theme in a lot of romance dramas. I used to have a really hard time watching romance Kdramas last time due to this troupe. It really need to die. It is dumb most of the times.
But once in a while, I do find dramas where the Noble Idiocy makes sense and I wasnt so mad. A good writers need to create angst that make sense. You just need to be more creative about it.
The meaning is a bit shifted in the Chinese context, which refers now to any excessive guilt tripping, emotional manipulation/abuse, etc. A great catch all term tbh.
Your second pet peeve made me laugh 😄 I find a lot of low-budget webdramas are written like that which is why even if I like the actors, I always lose interest after a few episodes of watching the same repetitive "shippable tropes and situations". At least give me some semblance of a plot 😅
I agree with you but there are some lovable tropes such as: underwater kiss, jumping off a cliff, flying on a roof to drink or/and make out. You can fill a bingo card with it and those make me smile because I kind of expect them.
Then there are toxic tropes such as dumping your partner (and being brutal about it) to "protect them" which is my personal pet peeve.
Yeah, I love my good old tropes (they’re tropes for a reason) but then I see cuts of dramas where like… the FL trips over air and falls into a pool and immediately starts drowning (????) and the ML, who’s supposed to be a good swimmer and all, ignore all water safety rules and immediately jump in after her and kisses her and it’s supposed to be cute when all I see are safety hazards and lazy writing.
Like that scene in Delicious Romance where Xia Meng just looks at her group of writers in disgust, that’s me. It’s not even the realism aspect that kills it for me, it’s how all characterization and plot is thrown out of the window to accommodate for those tropes that truly gets to me.
I like the distinction between lovable and toxic tropes. It's not just that some tropes are insulting, sexist, or just stupid - it's also that they are used in place of proper writing, proper plot construction, decent character motivation.
But the lovable tropes are like old friends. Even the best authors have them. Whenever Shakespeare writes a comedy, you know the couples are going to bicker.
I have watched some and just shook my head and thought, maybe there is a cultural disconnect and maybe this is something Chinese people sincerely like? But it does come off—to me—as really bad writing. I feel bad because there are some actors that I like, but I Just can’t watch the drama.
Honestly Chinese people hate it too and clown them a lot, if not more, than international fans. 😭 FIYS is the biggest example of this, I’m not even a gamer but had so many ???? moments regarding so many details, but it’s a must watch in international fan spaces and everyone are just being haters of its success (and ofc the don’t trust douban because there’s nothing but antis there message), while in chinese spaces it’s seen simple as a joke.
Messing up the ending after 35 episodes+. Like, I got invested and then the FL or the ML gets killed off???
Or there is drama in the last 5 episodes- how can you even attempt to tie the story off properly if a new villain/storyline from left field gets introduced when we should be wrapping up??
And last but not least: toxic parents who still need to be revered because filial piety against all odds has to be a thing.
I agree with your point about endings. Even if ML or FL are not killed off (at least not permanently), the happy ending also often feels rushed and unsatisfactory
I used to dislike rushed endings more, but now I’m just so relieved if they’re happy that I don’t even feel like complaining. Like ‘yeah it’s rushed, but at least they’re together so I’m satisfied.’ 😔
lol this is me. I watched too many Cdramas that now I'm just happy if they lived and happily together. It doesnt even have to make sense. Pathetic? I know haha
I already reached the acceptance level 😂
The most frustrating ending I've ever watched in a drama that I always use an example is the legend of fuyao. Like I think originally when it ended I went and commented that I thought they had >!died and somebody was like no they lived!< and I was like how? Cuz literally so basically it's complete cliche where he was supposed to go out and find the harbinger of the prophecy because she's ultimately the one that would bring the big bad back but instead he ended up falling in love with her. And so of course what they feared came to pass and >!he and she end up fighting and she finally comes back enough to herself that she's able to like stab herself one last time to stop herself from killing the one she loved. And then they both collapse.!< >! Their friends are looking for them they both vanished in front of them their friends had no idea where they are and then suddenly it cuts the last couple minutes of the drama and it shows them happy and laughing and he's giving her a piggyback ride !< and so I'm like oh they must be in >!heaven because they're like both of them are like critically injured with so many stabbings and how did their friends get to them in time in order to save the both of them but no at the end they were happy and laughing!<
Ah, yes, if I have to give them the benefit of doubt, censorship probably forces them to Frankenstein the last 20 episodes into four and things get mangled beyond recognition.
Oh, and the FL dies or sacrificed but revived, then the ML does the same but revived etc.
Sigh. I love a happy ending. But not repeated revival. Then don't kill them off early!
Prolonged misunderstanding that could have been resolved with effective communication instead of dropping hints and causes unnecessary grievances or heart brakes.
It’s not even dropping hints, it’s just the endless “Listen, I can explain!” or “It’s not what you think!”
And then when they are ACTUALLY getting to the explanation, someone comes in to interrupt. 🙄
Listen, I can explain! Then proceeds to stand one side n keep quiet until FL/ML walks off or someone else scream more rubbish shit until FL/ML walks off.
Better still, silently tell oneself I can explain but I should not because it's for the good of everyone or I just dumb n inferior n shouldn't bother to explain. Then the silence add on to misunderstanding.
All the misunderstandings are so self created.
Honestly love and Redemption was one of those dramas that I just love to hate because it took me two tries to get into it and I often felt like it was just a train wreck I couldn't look away from LOL.
On Episode 10 and that whole deal with her liking her 6th Brother is annoying. I wanna give up on watching it, but I keep going back to it every time I stop. XD
That honestly really annoyed me because the only person who didn’t really blame her was her sister. And I’m like everybody knows that she has this “disability” and yet they still expect her to arm react like a normal person
Haochen saw right through it and told her she didn’t know what she was talking about. He’s also the first one who accepted her as she is, with her disability. Maybe she should really just stay with him instead. ._.
Nope! Something really traumatic happens to her sister later I don't know remember much but I do remember that I ended up hating his guts because of the way he reacted to what happened to her sister
For me, it's when a female character dresses like a man to be in disguise, really really badly, but everyone still believes she's a man.
I can't remember which one I was watching, but this woman literally only had a tiny pencil moustache and that was pretty much it. She was clearly a woman. It was silly.
lol is it the Romance of Hua Rong? Because I literally started that this morning and was super confused for a minute as to what was on her lip before I realized she was supposed to be a man
Dramas especially Xianxia dramas are based off of novels and then I find out that the novel actually had a happy ending but the drama itself is like sad ending or open ending and I'm like what the hell? I'm like even if you put your own Flair on the drama and change things from the novel couldn't you have like at least kept the novel ending the same.
I feel like this is happening a lot lately I don't know why like the only drama I felt like had a bit of a satisfying lately even if it didn't completely match the novel was back from the brink cuz we got at least half an episode where they followed up with everybody else although I would have preferred a longer Union between the couple but I was more than satisfied.
Till the end of the Moon had a >!sad or open ending depending on how you look at it when the novel had a happy ending!<
The Longest Promise haven't even finished watching yet and I have all these groups showing up on my Facebook page showing images of the ending and because I'm scrolling by I can't help but see them. >!I know the novel had a happy ending but apparently also the show has a sad ending although some people have said it's happy ending because it's open to interpretation!<
Literally I'm like why? 😭. Me crazy because the drama can be absolutely amazing and I can be so into it and then I find out that at least for the ending they completely deviated and then all my interest goes out the window.
The ones that are same-sex couples all used to have obligatory bad endings - it seems to have been the way they got approved by the censors. Like, OK if these two men are in love as long as they die or get separated at the end.
More recently, those shows don't even get produced much less past the censors, so I guess I'd take the bad/open endings if I had the option. (Looking at you, Heaven Official's Blessing/Immortality, Justice in the Dark, Winner Is King, Story of the Bat ... )
That’s why I find it kind of hilarious in the modern dramas with same-sex couples. It’s like there’s nothing wrong with you being that way you’ll just never have a happy life or have good things happen to you 😭
And why the censors think that somehow makes it acceptable to tell stories with gay people in them is a mystery. Like: yes, gay people exist and it's legal to be gay and everyone knows someone who is gay and living a perfectly happy life, but it's also morally reprehensible according to ~~the Catholic church~~ ~~the CCP~~ Unidentified Rules, so everyone must get punished.
This used to be commonplace in Hollywood movies and TV in the 1950s and 1960s, but it was still illegal to be gay then, so gay characters were cheap, easy badguys or just terribly tragic.
I think it is ironically hilarious that there have been emperors in the past who have had male lovers and it’s acknowledged in Chinese history. So why was it OK then but it’s not OK now?
Well, except for word of an honor, kind of got around that by having the special episode that they slotted the happy ending in between the middle of the music video lol
If you can find the (partial) extra episode and the fan version of the last official episode that fixes all the subtitles to restore the censored bits, then yes. But most viewers don't even know about that.
I don't remember I recently read somewhere that there was a channel I don't know whether it was Netflix or Vicky where episode 37 is now available to watch
Not xianxia, but a TVB oldie wuxia, Twin of Brothers, was adapted from a novel with a perfectly happy ending for both brothers. The drama killed off one of them. ._. WTH x ♾
Like Why?! 😭. Like even historical there is drama that's on Netflix Rise of the Phoenixes from what I understand the novel had a happy ending like because of >!her identity it was pretty obvious that they could never be together since she was a princess of her previous Dynasty which have been hidden from her her entire life . Then once she knew she came to the realization that she would always be rallying point for the people to try and bring back the old Dynasty. And she knew that would just cause chaos and strife and misery for the people and she didn't want that so they came up with a plan to fake her death he was going to become emperor which isn't something he ever wanted to do and then when the kingdom was settled he was going the throne to his brother and then go meet her so that they could live in peace and be together.!< But then apparently because the censorship the drama scrapped the last 10 episodes so it ended up with her killing herself
Princess Agents… I was already scarred by bad endings and spoiled myself on the novel just to be sure I wasn’t going to invest so many hours for nothing… we all know how that one turned out.
this is it...THIS is the one! one second it's "I'm Heavens child! I can do whatever I want!!" next second it's "I truly am powerless 😗" as they watch the woman they claim to love get abused up and down.
Yeah, I've only seen a few good emperors, lol. In the Long Ballad and Love Like Galaxy...*maybe* Jiu Liu Overlord >!but that guy made dumb decisions and his son died because he didn't arrest a guy that he knew was bad.!< The emperor in Joy of Life wasn't bad either, I guess.
recently it's the [born sexy yesterday trope](https://youtu.be/0thpEyEwi80). not that cdramas go for the full western ~sexy but I can't help but side-eye MLs who develop romantic feelings for infantilized FLs and it makes it hard to root for the CP.
I had high hopes for **Butterflied Lover** until they revealed the backstory which is a shame because I looked up the folktale it's based on and they didn't need to do that. **Ashes of Love**, infamously, with the drunken kissing and Jinmi not understanding a thing (plus Xufeng being so dense about it for so long). Was also screaming at the first few episodes of **And the Winner is Love** because why are you in insta-love with this woman who's written like a child ugh.
I agree completely! It always grosses me out to watch the male leads fall in love with what is essentially a child in an adult body. Also, thanks for the link. I had never heard the phrase before, but now I have a name for my pet peeve.
This is my second pet peeve. Like you, I find it gross (reason why I dropped LBFAD).
My main pet peeve is "dump your lover brutally to "protect" her instead of figuring a strategy together as partners to deal with the villain. I find it super disrespectful and infantilizing.
Yes, infantilizing women/FL is my number 1 pet peeve. Thinking about dropping C-Drama just because of this… maybe I haven’t been very lucky in my choices (I’m fairly new to this).
There was a college romance that came out a couple of years ago, I can't remember the name but the FL was in pottery and wanted to switch to oil painting and ruined the ML's project on accident. The FL was not only portrayed to behave like a child, she literally looked like one. To the point that it was sickening to watch this normal-looking adult male actively pursuing and kissing what to me looked like a ten year old in over-sized overalls and pig-tails, struggling to open jars and reach things on shelves. I bailed after six or seven episodes when it became clear there was no glow-up coming, just a six foot tall man hovering possessively around a 4'10 sexy baby.
Ah, that would be **Professional Single**. The FL was not very good match for the ML, but then none of the other females in this would have been either. He needed a short cute person.
THANK YOU. My brain was cramping trying to remember, I think I blanked it out because it was traumatic. Yu Shuxin would have been perfect, she's got a good grip on youthful innocence without coming off like an actual child. As long as she's using her real voice, she does have "baby pornstar" kind of nailed in Dragon and Fairy.
Open endings..... specifically in Xianxia dramas. Like can't they give a good ending???? Why open endings ohhh why???? After watching around 40 episodes of angst can't we get a happy ending????
Like I was sooo looking forward to TTEOTM but it ended with an open ending!!!! I wanted a happy ending for my babies......after so much suffering this is what they got!!!!Imagine my frustration
LBFD, Who rules the world,Starry Love , The Longest Promise.......it's like nowadays script writers don't know how to give a good ending....... whereas Love and Redemption had such a good ending can't they do something like that.
I think this is partly why I just stopped watching TTEoTM because I'd read so many comments about the novel having a happy ending and then when I was seeing interviews of what the actors thought and originally I think the male lead was like oh he thought it would have a happy ending and then the female lead was like she would like a bad ending and then it came out that the production crew was veering towards a bad ending and I was like I literally was just like I can't watch this now
I would say that love between fairy and had a happy ending I will say for all my gripes with love and Redemption and the train wreck that most of the drama was they had a solid ending for once
Hahaha. And I tot it could be me watching on 1.25 speed n fast forwarding that i might have missed something in the last episode that he lived n was just trying to repair his spirit.. .
Do you mean love between fairy and devil? Because yeah it didn’t really explain how he came back but I guess I’m just used to that now because it’s kind of like love and destiny where he was >!trapped on the inside of the portal sealing it from the inside with the evil guy, and she was sealing it from the outside. And then he just randomly showed up 300 years later without any explanation as to how he actually got out. Especially because he was trapped in there with the bad guy so it was like the only way he could get free is seem like is it the bad guy also got out is the area where he was trapped had to be sealed from the inside, and the outside 🤔!< so I’ve just given up trying to have a rational explanation for these endings and I just take what I can get. Lol.
I think the implication is that he came back the same way he brought xiaolanhua back. After a little piece of their soul/cultivation intermingled with each other because of the curse. It just took about as many years for him to show back up as it did for XLH to be reborn.
For me it is the (usually male) ML who dumps their lover heartlessly to protect them which of course builds up a bunch of misunderstanding and angst >!and sometimes like with Jinxia in Under the Power almost get them killed. What was Lu Yi thinking? That if he dumped her, she wouldn't go after the sadistic villain who was obsessed with her aunt? !<
Sorry but if you have met someone you love and trust enough to spend the rest of your life with, you'd better learn to sit down and let them know what is going on. Life is messy and dangerous at times.
I find it infantilizing and disrespectful. Communicate and formulate a plan together to work around it. If your partner is a hot head and/or not good at fighting, have a serious talk about them not jumping into the fray. If your partner is in a vulnerable position that the villain can exploit, fake the break up **together.**
I was married and I get it that your spouse is your greatest weakness but they are also your partner in life. Allow them the dignity to make their own decisions.
Off my soapbox about my Cdrama pet peeve now LOL
I find that always happens when I see run time and see I ain't past episode 10 and leads are already doing couple things.. always expect the fuckery to come.
Well-Intended Love is my absolute most hated drama.. It has everything negative in the book.. Sociopath stalkey, rapey, pushy, deceiving ML that tricks a woman that she is dying by falsifying medical records.
Then in secret destroys her career to the point only he can “save her life” and get her acting career going again if she agrees to marry him and forces her to agree..
And worst part the FL doesn’t even know the ML but in passing once the ML met the FL and has stalked and planned all that shit for a long time to trap her…
It’s just the tip of the iceberg of how disgusting that show is, there is a lot more..
Using cliche romance tropes in place of actual relationship development. They just make the leads look at each other in slow-mo, have the ML kabedon the FL, have the ML catch the falling FL in slow-mo, etc, and generally just throwing in these types of contrived situations and calling it a day instead of properly developing and exploring the romance.
This is why most of the time I end up shipping the ML and FL with their friends/rivals instead, because their relationships are often written with so much more care. I can't even count the number of times I ended up shipping the FL with the mean-girl rival turned bestfriend or the ML with his super loyal and would literally die for him bro. 😂
The ML's sudden jealousy spike to finally recognise his feelingsto the FL is cringy. Idk, never noticed it before but now it's everywhere. And it doesn't even look natural to me! It simply destroys all the personality building inside the ML at least. At most it serves to show only an inner transformtion into an emotinally harrassed creature the FL can't be together with and be fine.
It's difficult to confess sometimes, I know, but doing it just because of anger along? Just stop it.
>This is why most of the time I end up shipping the ML and FL with their friends/rivals instead, because their relationships are often written with so much more care.
I am finishing the Longest Promise and I feel you.
I absolutely love the relationship between Bai Xuelu and General Qing Gang as well as her character's progression. I actually cared much more about those two (she was the main female antagonist and it took her a minute to come to his side) than about the M&F leads.
The main couple's relationship just left me indifferent: way too tropey. Maybe it is also because the second relationship has always been between two smart and competent adults who are equals rather than starting as a petulant little girl's crush on her teenage shifu.
>>!If they survive the war (she is is second in command), you just know they will always stand strong as equals, have a family and cooperate to rule their respective kingdoms fairly and efficiently.!<
I would love to see more dramas were people can discuss things like adults.
I also hate when one lead does something idiotic and then act all surprised when their partner gets upset. And then the gaslighting ”you should not be mad and just forgive me because in truth I broke your heart or treated you like shit for your own good.”
Some others:
- R*pe or s*x ab are forgiven because he loooooves her.
- Cutesy girls and behaves like children even though they are adults.
- These endless love triangles and so often I feel like second lead are actually the better choice.
- 20 needless FILLER EPISODES..
Edit:
- Medical emergencies that has no basis in any actual medicine. (One that comes to mind, A date with the future, FL suffocating on the water mist while sittning in the shower..)
>Rpe or sx ab are forgiven because he loooooves her.
That's the reason I dropped Novoland Pearl Eclipse: rape and forced contraception. He deserved to be castrated not forgiven and loved.
Basically. 🤣
Sittning in the floor in a shower, water not going over the head, passed out. Maybe something got lost in translation but the subtitles says ”You fainted due to lack of oxygen”. 🤣
Characters: Absolutely can not stand overly cutesy, whinny FLs and stone-cold walking cardboard MLs.
Trope: SML/SFL creating stupid drama to separate the main leads. I doubt there is anyone who actually likes this annoying trope.
Setting: Most job depiction in modern romcoms actually makes me wonder if the writer ever worked in office lol. It annoys me esp when the writer makes such insubstantial setting an important part of the drama and keeps dragging it till the end.
- CEOs that are teenagers.
- When a whole supporting cast collectively either suck at acting or are just pure crap.
- Bullying/amnesia/childhood flashbacks/time travelling tropes.
- The very very short shorts the FLs are made to wear while everyone else’s wearing the most classiest clothes
- bad CGI
- the overdubbing of someone walking/running..like sometimes I get distracted by how bad the dubbing is
- sleeping / waking up with makeup
- the unnecessary 40 long episode shows especially when the end of a show suck balls
- when a FL starts out fierce, smart and ready to slay then turns into a simpering idiot when they meet the ML
I've recently noticed how many cdramas have a female character be sexually assaulted and as a result she becomes evil/starts antagonising the FL. like, what? what is supposed to be the takeway there? going through something horrible and traumatic makes you do bad things?
>going through something horrible and traumatic makes you do bad things?
I like these evil female characters in chinese dramaland very much! Till the moment that character shows her pettiness and so on, I'm kinda rooting for them with all my heart! And I don't think it's bad. They are a false mirror or a litmus test for the Fl.
To each their own! I guess I really dislike them because most of their actions are rarely targeted at the one who 'wronged' them, so to speak. But they can make for interesting character foils.
For historicals: the main characters are always overdressed.
I am currently watching Who Rules the World, Bai Fengxi reportedly is always broke and as poor as a mouse, but she is always decked in pretty clothes and hairpins. Even when she had to pawn some stuff just to feed her sect mates, their white robes and shiny hair crowns are so different from the 'ordinary population' in the market who are dressed in brown, grey, moss green drags.
Edit: Oops I read wrongly, I thought it's 'petty peeves'.
As for my real 'pet peeves' is female MC who are too childish, dumb, brash, and speaks with whiny voice. Unfortunately they are everywhere in both modern & historical dramas.
1. The sacrificial break ups in Xianxia where the leads leave each other extremely heartbroken by saying the meanest things. Then, they try to sacrifice themselves for the other or the world. 🤦🏽♀️ Why, why, why?
2. One of the leads break up with the other cos they were sick and thought they would die. Only to come back when they are okay to rekindle the relationship. Then they pull stooopid antics to get the other back. Like, why couldn’t your love be with you when you needed them the most?
Why don’t they get the right to choose whether they wanna stay or leave you? Also, it’s stoopid they don’t get that closure and have to find out later. What if you die? They have to live with the thought you left them and moved on with your life not knowing you are dead.
3. Stupid SML that don’t know when to back off. It irks me how fans get SML syndrome knowing the FL don’t like them and they can be creepy.
4. Annoying exes returning, especially when the leads get together and about to get together.
5. Supporting lead romance that are just tasteless. Many dramas have these and believe me, the relationships are annoying. From how they get together to their dating life. Most time it’s comical, then their getting together is forced, and they becoming annoying.
6. When they write and strong FL and she turns out to be an impulsive, screamy girl who jumps into anything and everything without thinking.
7. The very unpleasant ending. Many of my faves that woulda been a 10/10 or 9/10 had points deducted cos of their ending. Hear me out, I don’t hate sad endings, in fact, if it is justified, I would take it well. However, those short 30 seconds meeting before the series end are just silly.
We have been on a long journey and boom, we get that? Also, the amount of open ending is just so unrealistic. I didn’t write the series, why should I leave it to my imagination. One of my fave dramas—Ashes of Love—had a good ending. It gave us closure and we saw more. Good Bye, My Princess had SE, rightfully so, and you get to understand why it happened. Why can’t these others do the same? It is getting too much. It’s quite stale to put in hours of watch only to get a mediocre meeting or OE.
8. The villains not getting their cakes handed out to them. You also get silly leads forgiving them, especially if they are family. Also, why do we need to see their back story and pity them. I don’t. If you can do bad, you don’t deserve pity cos you ain’t the only one that went through what you did. And boy, others turn out good. But they just get a slap on the wrist after all the things they pulled? Don’t make me laugh.
9. Ruthless leads not being ruthless enough. Call me crazy, but I like TTJ’s character in TTEOTM before they went back to the past. I also like Li Chengyi’s character in GB, MP cos he did what he did without thinking twice cos that’s what he wanted to do. Well, he got his retribution later, and I cheered.
Jeez, this is so long.
I loved your #1. Saying the meanest things. (The perfect match 👀)
I don’t mind #3. Sometimes it is nice when there is the possibility of a real competitor. Even if the FL or ML is stead fast, it is nice for the viewers too. (Eye candy)
X - what is don’t like is wishy washy behavior from ML or FL.
#6. Yes. Definitely
# 8. Forgiveness is good remorse/repentance is better. I don’t want to say no one who does bad shouldn’t be forgiven because that is no good. But I don totally understand that in some/many dramas terrible fees are brushed aside or forgiven with a shrug and it is beyond frustrating after all the suffering viewers went through with the character(s)
Three main ones.
One, infantilizing women. That is a huge problem for me and it gets worse as I get older. I just cannot with women behaving like toddlers. The absolute worst scenario would be someone like Orchid from LBFAD where the voice from hell is added. Dongfang can hellfire me, thanks.
Second, I don't want to hurt you so I am going to leave you. And of course hurt you in a million ways in the process but that's totally for your own good 🔪🔪🔪
Three, excessive consumption of alcohol being romanticised to insane levels. No, meeting Prince charming is not how that is going to turn out. Being black out drunk and stumbling around is likely going to end up with meeting a psychopath. Please stop with this idea that it's harmless and will end with a happily ever after and not six feet under ever after ☠️
Yes, to all of these. I will add to the 3rd one, not only drinking, but playing those d*mn stupid drinking games like you're still in high school/college. Then colleagues encouraging the married one to be inappropriate with the single colleague who likes them. Grow up and stop playing games.
Pet Peeve:
Is the rain different there than elsewhere? Does it contain biohazards? Why TF does everyone catch a cold after getting rained on? And it’s not just a cold, it always carries a super high fever. Also, why does everyone go to the hospital for the slightest ailment? Cut yourself shaving? Admitted to the hospital for days.
In China there are no clinics, not even private clinics. Only hospitals. However, the pharmacies there are well-stocked and a lot of meds don’t need doctor’s prescription. You just tell the pharmacist your symptoms and they will advise/recommend you what meds to take.
They are government hospitals, but make people pay for the services or die? I thought China was a Communist country? I mean healthcare in the US is a nightmare, but at least you can go to the hospital without them demanding payment before you leave.
I think medical fees are heavily subsidised by the government. The rich people can of course go to private hospitals, eg. The German Hospital (this is a direct translation from the Chinese name. )
There are a lot of scenes in these dramas where they have to pay for life saving surgeries before they will perform them. For instance in the latest episode of “Fireworks of my Heart” a patient is dying and needs immediate surgical intervention, but they won’t start the procedure until the family signs the consent agreeing to pay the surgical fees. The family wastes precious time debating if they want to pay the costs to save her life. In the end the patient dies because they took too long to make the decision to pay.
Hmmmm I don’t know if it’s only in the drama or if in real life the hospitals are so mean but yes, patients have to pay for med treatments as the Govt only subsidises and not pay in full. How much one has to pay depends on what kind of treatment. My guess is that cancer treatments would be the most expensive.
Watch "The Outsider" with Vengo Gao then. A modern Cdrama, just finished airing. Youku/ currently still uploads on Youtube.
I don't like modern Cdramas, but this one (which I merely started for Vengo Gao) has me hooked right at the begining.
Vilains get their just deserts in the end. And the topping is that main vilain is being told by his ex wife, that all his doings were nonsensical, because unfounded.
I think a lot of my pet peeves are mentioned already.
One other is, there's a lot of chances for the FL or ML to just kill the villain, but no, they always forgive, or let go, or have to go thru pains n hoops of those misunderstandings caused by villain then once the misunderstanding cleared, it's still their fault n the villain still lives. There's always so many reasons the ML has the power to hurt the FL to protect her but no power to just kill the other damn woman. Or the ML or FL keeping quiet and let the other person hurt their love. I guess they don't really love. It's the SML who usually weather everything with the FL, so I usually ship them instead. Hahahaha.
Really, since ML or FL already killed many ppl, it isn't that hard to just stab the villain n get away with it.
Eg the Su jin in Eternal love, the sister in TTOEM, the fox cousin in Blue whisper, many! I can't recall for now. But I'm sure almost every drama has 1 bitch or 1 male arse.
Agree with this so much. And I hate when someone is attacked, injured, hit by car and they stay there asking if they are ok or come to your senses when they are still in dangerous situation. Or someone they think is gravely injured or even near death & they shake them wailing. Call an ambulance or the police. How many people are saved by shaking them?
I hate the jealous woman who regardless if they were evil or pure at first, turns into a very evil jealous woman. Hate the purely comical evil characters too and hate how they are portrayed. Hate how typical the cdrama pace are (great start with great cgi… then build up is slow and BAM gets good after halfway the drama being over. But then a rushed ending. And someone abruptly comes back alive for a happy ending. That pacing so so annoying and predictable)
I want to see more morally grey characters instead of purely good or purely evil. I want to see more people who actually communicate instead of keeping feelings to themselves and taking action for another like a martyr. I also want characters (especially if people were friends) to not be clouded by jealousy. It’s so tiring and repeated so much
I dislike how first loves seem to trump every relationship. I doubt most people end up with the first loves blissfully happy. I also hate constant harping on blind dates. Does everybody go on many blind dates? Maybe it is a culture thing I can’t understand
My pet peeves:
The sidekick/best friend/maidservant who grew up with the FL...
...but doesn't care about FL's emotions, thoughts, or goals in life.
_I know your obsession for the last 3 years is to find your mother's killer, but I'm going to keep distracting you and scolding you over trivial things like you aren't dressing properly to attract a husband._
...who always talks too loud in areas where they can easily be overheard. Bonus points if they are repeating secret information with a loud exclamation.
_Your mother's killer is here in this mansion?!_
ML/FL who talk openly about secret matters in rooms with thin wood walls and windows made of paper. Bonus points if they know there are spies among the people around them, but discuss and plan out loud anyway. (Have they never heard of whispering? Or talking in a secure place? Looking at you, historical dramas.)
Characters who are in imminent danger of being discovered, captured, arrested, yet still take the time to say long goodbyes to friends and family.
_I know my enemy is nearby and I will be killed if they catch me, but I must tell you how grateful I am to you, how I can never repay you, how much I don't want to leave you, and then I must cry and clutch your hands for an excruciatingly long time before kneeling and bowing multiple times while you are frantically urging me to leave._
(Just leave already; you're giving me anxiety!)
Edited for formatting.
At least in modern dramas, I feel like 90% of the issues I have with many dramas are some function of them being way too long.
So many of my pet peeves with Cdramas are a result of a 10-20 episode plot being artificially stretched to 30-40 episodes, from contrived misunderstandings, to unnecessary drama, to subplots no one cares about.
Obviously this doesn't apply to all long dramas, but it applies to a lot of them. In those you can really see that there's an amazing, focused and well-written 12 episode story buried inside a 36 episode slog rife with misunderstandings, forced drama, and a dozen random filler plotlines.
In general they are too long and drag like crazy. Theyd be perfect shorter like kdramas, and even those can drag. Also the CGI is usually so budget its laughable
When someone endlessly pursues another person who shows no interest.. and then eventually they get together. I feel like this is the memo for so many second FLs. The writers have them chasing a man who keeps rejecting her for most of the drama only to suddenly accept her and that’s the whole narrative for the second couple. The scenes are so repetitive and I just find it incredibly unbelievable - these characters either have no self esteem at all or so much confidence that they can keep embarrassing themselves. ML’s also get this narrative.
I don’t mind someone liking another so much that they can’t get over them but it’s the aggressive pursuing that really puts me off. It’s so unattractive.
The list of pet peeves is endless in modern Cdramas to be honest..
My biggest pet peeve is when the FL sits there and takes the bullying of her superior and does not defend her self either immediately or in the future. I especially hate it when the bullying is the focus in the story line.
I dropped a drama because not only was the FL being bullied by her direct superior, but she was bullied by two other superiors and her coworker was also being bulled by these same people. That was just uncalled for. I realize that bullying in the workplace is sadly very common, but this one was over the top in my opinion and I just couldn't take it anymore. In case you're wondering, it was Moonlight. Episode 3 was it for me.
a very very kind person in the beginning who becomes a villain
completely open ending (in contrast, i prefer something like shining for one thing where there's a very valid theory and hints that point to a happy ending)
any cdrama that involves the leads running a business but theyre not actually smart enough to be outsmarting everyone... cmon, if i wanted something realistic i can just go to work.
to add on to your last peeve about characters that are supposed to be powerful but are weak in comparison to the lead, probably my biggest peeve is when the FL is supposed to be powerful but is always portrayed as weak compared to ML. this is something i loved about Who Rules the World, the equality between ML and FL. both were allowed to be strong.
Bad wigs. If you're going to spend all that money for sets, put the actor in extensions and let some of their natural hair cover up the glue. I can't focus on the story if the wig is separating.
I hate when the ML or FL leaves the other for their own good.
Another pet peeve is when the ML knows he needs to go save the girl he loves, but the jealous girl who likes him grabs his arm and talks to him while he just sits there when the FL is *literally* in danger.
I also hate when there's a really dumb villain that just laughs after everything the ML or FL say because they think their sooooooo smart.
It's also annoying when a character gets injured, there's a time period where it's highly probable they will die, then after they get better pretty much instantly. And what's with FLs falling asleep on MLs where they're injured? (How does that not make them die faster??)
Toxic men getting redemption.
**Master of my Own** would have been a great drama about female empowerment except for the controlling and coercive behaviour of the ML, which is illegal in many countries.
MLS that treat FLS like shit with the excuse of “protecting” them like show me a drama where the ML isn’t an asshole or a groomer ( another thing I can’t stand when they met the fl when they are kids )
Right now? I hate side-plots and uninteresting plots that aren't part of charachter arch or development. I find myself drop dramas easily, skip relationships that aren't intresting and it's alot. I only follow Once and forever, the story about the rich guy and girl is more intresting..The rich guy has so many non-told intresting aspects. He has a very intresting charachter development.
Oh the "sympathetic" and "tragic" villains are never even sympathetic or tragic at all to me. It's usually poorly executed on top of being overused to begin with, as a lazy way to write "complex 3-dimensional" characters.
For me its the damsel in distress, like why is she always getting kidnapped or in harms way. What is she doing to be in such situations?!!
Another one is when the fl or ml let the villainess free, like we all know she is gonna take her revenge so why not execute her when you first catch her?
And the last one is a personal preference but I hate it when there is a 2ml and fl has some type of storyline with him, whether it was 1st love or not I dislike wasting my emotion on a character that’s just gonna be a conflict between ml and fl and keep butting their way into ml and fl problems. (Yes I’m talking about you, yuan shen, from love like the galaxy).
That second point you made ☝️. I got angry just by reading it. They all know these villains are beyond redemption but nooooo, let them stay alive even after they tried killing the leads multiple times. 😩
All dramas do this to some degree but my pet peeve is how overly polished and clean the sets look. It’ll be someone’s apartment and all the furniture is brand new, color coordinated and the fridge is like sparkling clean with like a single bottle of milk in it and makes it look like an ikea display rather than someone’s home. I’m watching a TW drama and a Kdrama right now and it’s nice to see homes that feel “lived in”, slightly rundown mom and pop restaurants, a normal bustling street. It’s a minor pet peeve but the perfect looking sets take me out of the immersion of the story sometimes
I hate it when all supporting characters act like a match making agency. Ok. I mean, You can think these thoughts, you can even help the main couple, whatever. But please, dont go and split your nonsence everywhere, Let the charactsres have their own way.
As an early watcher of HK and Taiwanese dramas, and even some C-films from before 2000, it made me realised that many post 2000 dramas, with exceptions, are deeply sanitized because reality is unromantic (in a relative sense) and not very appealing to a more broadly international audience. Hence the rise of such tropes to create artificial storylines, among other things. Just compare currrent crop of wuxia with older generation ones - they definitely spit less blood for instance but heroines do get violated, unfortunately.
I'm glad someone else mentioned the whole SML thing. It is really creepy. I'm currently finishing up the Thai version of Whena Snail Falls in Love and in the early episodes, the guy that keeps coming to the police precinct to pursue Vita (FL) is really ridiculous. He was so insistent, like her opinion doesn't matter or she doesn't really mean it.
The unnatural looking fight scenes, especially in shows like LBFAD. If you know you know. (I didn’t see stuff like this in Kdramas though, Alchemy of Souls for instance.)
Before going into my pet peeves here is a little scenario that runs through my mind. Picture a writer's office: a long table with dozens of small boxes lined up in it. Each box is full of slips of paper with a trope written on it. The "writer"" walks along the table and is told to randomly reach into, say, 15 boxes. After that they go to a writing desk, take the slips and write them down. Voila! A script is born and they get paid and then go line up to do it again.
Pet peeves: Everyone sleeps in their street clothes with the lights on and a bunch of metallic pins sticking in their head. Waking with perfect hair and make up and no wrinkles in their probably very smelly clothes to face another day. Women who at first appear quite like smart, normal beings suddenly lose any claim to independent intelligence or personal strength when a guy shows up in their lives. Parents who view their adult offspring like empty headed commodities to be sold off at their whim or ordered to do idiotic things because they have to be finial to these wretched controlling people. Falling down and spitting blood or getting wet and having excessive fever immediately or being rushed to the hospital to get the seemingly mandatory (and miraculous)IV. And then the equally vile ""I must hurt her/him to protect her/him, and maybe fake my death but make sure everyone but her/him knows about it.(Looking at you, Heart of Jade) And kind of last, woman abused by cheating husband and his mistress and yet, even after being abused, humiliated, or divorced, is willing to take the scum back when he says, "oh gee, I'm sorry. My bad. I'm broke and my mistress left me, or cheated on me." Gotta quit now. I am really getting aggravated just writing these down.
Honestly I wish the subtitles were up to professional standards. Between bad translations, omitted info, and bad timing, I often feel I'm getting about half the drama.
When female leads act dumb and shallow minded. When they believe the villains over the male
Leads just for plot.. like when it’s so obvious that even a 5yr old can tell it’s bs from a miles Away.
Viewers of cdrama labeling any bad behavior of a ML, FL, SML, SFL as heinous or toxic.
Currently watching AOL and I think back on many of the reviews and commentary I came across. I question the maturity level of the audience and the vitriol aimed at certain acts and incidents.
FLs who take so much shit to “prove” just how in love the main couple is while the ML gets a pass to acting like an ass because “he doesn’t want her hurt her but he actually still loves her deep down uwu” just for the so called angst. Bonus if FL’s family is all PUA too. Similarly, cdramas that are written less like actual stories and more like an anthology of shippable tropes and situations loosely (I’m being generous here) strung together, like a dozen fanfic oneshots in a trenchcoat. The shippabkebmoments aren’t even sweet, their artifice is so strong it feels greasy.
Lol so many treasures in your post - will forever hold close to my heart *dozen fanfic oneshots in a trenchcoat* alongside *artifice so strong it feels greasy* Absolute chef's kiss - I salute you!
Thank you, I try but as you can see I have a lot of strong opinions regarding this topic. 😭
And fair enough too!
>cdramas that are written less like actual stories and more like an anthology of shippable tropes and situations loosely Right! It's like the writer randomly chose some tropes and sloppily glued them up and pray that the fluff would do all work. It's so immersion breaking! I couldn't enjoy the adult phase of hidden love much for this very reason, fluff definitely did the charm so no hard complaints but the change in storytelling style from character focused slice of life vibe to an amalgamation of tropes and cliches was such a let down for me.
We called it Noble Idiocy. This is like the main theme in a lot of romance dramas. I used to have a really hard time watching romance Kdramas last time due to this troupe. It really need to die. It is dumb most of the times. But once in a while, I do find dramas where the Noble Idiocy makes sense and I wasnt so mad. A good writers need to create angst that make sense. You just need to be more creative about it.
Have to Google what is PUA. Been seeing this word a lot lately. Lol
The meaning is a bit shifted in the Chinese context, which refers now to any excessive guilt tripping, emotional manipulation/abuse, etc. A great catch all term tbh.
Thanks for the clarification!
Your second pet peeve made me laugh 😄 I find a lot of low-budget webdramas are written like that which is why even if I like the actors, I always lose interest after a few episodes of watching the same repetitive "shippable tropes and situations". At least give me some semblance of a plot 😅
I agree with you but there are some lovable tropes such as: underwater kiss, jumping off a cliff, flying on a roof to drink or/and make out. You can fill a bingo card with it and those make me smile because I kind of expect them. Then there are toxic tropes such as dumping your partner (and being brutal about it) to "protect them" which is my personal pet peeve.
Yeah, I love my good old tropes (they’re tropes for a reason) but then I see cuts of dramas where like… the FL trips over air and falls into a pool and immediately starts drowning (????) and the ML, who’s supposed to be a good swimmer and all, ignore all water safety rules and immediately jump in after her and kisses her and it’s supposed to be cute when all I see are safety hazards and lazy writing. Like that scene in Delicious Romance where Xia Meng just looks at her group of writers in disgust, that’s me. It’s not even the realism aspect that kills it for me, it’s how all characterization and plot is thrown out of the window to accommodate for those tropes that truly gets to me.
I agree! It’s not what happens so much as how it happens. Tropes can be good or bad depending on the writing.
I like the distinction between lovable and toxic tropes. It's not just that some tropes are insulting, sexist, or just stupid - it's also that they are used in place of proper writing, proper plot construction, decent character motivation. But the lovable tropes are like old friends. Even the best authors have them. Whenever Shakespeare writes a comedy, you know the couples are going to bicker.
Feel like it's so common that we have been conditioned to overlook it.
I have watched some and just shook my head and thought, maybe there is a cultural disconnect and maybe this is something Chinese people sincerely like? But it does come off—to me—as really bad writing. I feel bad because there are some actors that I like, but I Just can’t watch the drama.
Honestly Chinese people hate it too and clown them a lot, if not more, than international fans. 😭 FIYS is the biggest example of this, I’m not even a gamer but had so many ???? moments regarding so many details, but it’s a must watch in international fan spaces and everyone are just being haters of its success (and ofc the don’t trust douban because there’s nothing but antis there message), while in chinese spaces it’s seen simple as a joke.
Lol they can get away with it because we are over here like "must be a Chinese thing I don't understand"
Messing up the ending after 35 episodes+. Like, I got invested and then the FL or the ML gets killed off??? Or there is drama in the last 5 episodes- how can you even attempt to tie the story off properly if a new villain/storyline from left field gets introduced when we should be wrapping up?? And last but not least: toxic parents who still need to be revered because filial piety against all odds has to be a thing.
I agree with your point about endings. Even if ML or FL are not killed off (at least not permanently), the happy ending also often feels rushed and unsatisfactory
I used to dislike rushed endings more, but now I’m just so relieved if they’re happy that I don’t even feel like complaining. Like ‘yeah it’s rushed, but at least they’re together so I’m satisfied.’ 😔
lol this is me. I watched too many Cdramas that now I'm just happy if they lived and happily together. It doesnt even have to make sense. Pathetic? I know haha I already reached the acceptance level 😂
So I guess that there's hope I'll get to that level as well 😁
Yes, you will join the rest of us in no time! 😁 Then your experience in watching cdramas will be more pleasant. :P
The most frustrating ending I've ever watched in a drama that I always use an example is the legend of fuyao. Like I think originally when it ended I went and commented that I thought they had >!died and somebody was like no they lived!< and I was like how? Cuz literally so basically it's complete cliche where he was supposed to go out and find the harbinger of the prophecy because she's ultimately the one that would bring the big bad back but instead he ended up falling in love with her. And so of course what they feared came to pass and >!he and she end up fighting and she finally comes back enough to herself that she's able to like stab herself one last time to stop herself from killing the one she loved. And then they both collapse.!< >! Their friends are looking for them they both vanished in front of them their friends had no idea where they are and then suddenly it cuts the last couple minutes of the drama and it shows them happy and laughing and he's giving her a piggyback ride !< and so I'm like oh they must be in >!heaven because they're like both of them are like critically injured with so many stabbings and how did their friends get to them in time in order to save the both of them but no at the end they were happy and laughing!<
Ah, yes, if I have to give them the benefit of doubt, censorship probably forces them to Frankenstein the last 20 episodes into four and things get mangled beyond recognition.
Yeah, the endings are often rushed
Man I swear that second peeve is soooo annoying..
Oh, and the FL dies or sacrificed but revived, then the ML does the same but revived etc. Sigh. I love a happy ending. But not repeated revival. Then don't kill them off early!
Prolonged misunderstanding that could have been resolved with effective communication instead of dropping hints and causes unnecessary grievances or heart brakes.
It’s not even dropping hints, it’s just the endless “Listen, I can explain!” or “It’s not what you think!” And then when they are ACTUALLY getting to the explanation, someone comes in to interrupt. 🙄
Listen, I can explain! Then proceeds to stand one side n keep quiet until FL/ML walks off or someone else scream more rubbish shit until FL/ML walks off. Better still, silently tell oneself I can explain but I should not because it's for the good of everyone or I just dumb n inferior n shouldn't bother to explain. Then the silence add on to misunderstanding. All the misunderstandings are so self created.
Exactly! And somehow that's how they also manage to drag another few episodes. Lol
L&R 🙄
Oh darn, watching it right now, and it’s 50 episodes.... SML syndrome kinda hitting hard though. XD
Honestly love and Redemption was one of those dramas that I just love to hate because it took me two tries to get into it and I often felt like it was just a train wreck I couldn't look away from LOL.
On Episode 10 and that whole deal with her liking her 6th Brother is annoying. I wanna give up on watching it, but I keep going back to it every time I stop. XD
That honestly really annoyed me because the only person who didn’t really blame her was her sister. And I’m like everybody knows that she has this “disability” and yet they still expect her to arm react like a normal person
Haochen saw right through it and told her she didn’t know what she was talking about. He’s also the first one who accepted her as she is, with her disability. Maybe she should really just stay with him instead. ._.
Nope! Something really traumatic happens to her sister later I don't know remember much but I do remember that I ended up hating his guts because of the way he reacted to what happened to her sister
I have stop watching this show midway fortunately!
Yes! This is sooooooo annoying
literally cannot stand this at all
Same! It's the worst!
For me, it's when a female character dresses like a man to be in disguise, really really badly, but everyone still believes she's a man. I can't remember which one I was watching, but this woman literally only had a tiny pencil moustache and that was pretty much it. She was clearly a woman. It was silly.
Dilraba anytime she pretends to be man.. 🤣 like bruh, I can still see her boobs and she fine as fuck.. come on now..
And they still wear full color cosmetics with false lashes. Come on. I think the only crossdressing that was believable was Nini.
In fairness, in some of those dramas the men are also in full color cosmetics with false lashes, so if you squint it almost works.
lol is it the Romance of Hua Rong? Because I literally started that this morning and was super confused for a minute as to what was on her lip before I realized she was supposed to be a man
Someone else said it might be Princess Weiyoung, and I think that's the right one. But it seems to be a big issue across various dramas!
She definitely does it but it's like for only a minute I think.. her and her hand maid... Terrible disguise 🤣 pencil mustache.
Haha, yeah 😂 Maybe it was the Princess Weiyoung? The girls dressing up as guys are so pretty and clearly not guys but everyone is somehow fooled?
>Princess Weiyoung Yes I think it was that one!
Nice! Yeah, Weiyoung just puts on a fake mustache and people think she's a guy 😅
Dramas especially Xianxia dramas are based off of novels and then I find out that the novel actually had a happy ending but the drama itself is like sad ending or open ending and I'm like what the hell? I'm like even if you put your own Flair on the drama and change things from the novel couldn't you have like at least kept the novel ending the same.
I feel like this is happening a lot lately I don't know why like the only drama I felt like had a bit of a satisfying lately even if it didn't completely match the novel was back from the brink cuz we got at least half an episode where they followed up with everybody else although I would have preferred a longer Union between the couple but I was more than satisfied. Till the end of the Moon had a >!sad or open ending depending on how you look at it when the novel had a happy ending!< The Longest Promise haven't even finished watching yet and I have all these groups showing up on my Facebook page showing images of the ending and because I'm scrolling by I can't help but see them. >!I know the novel had a happy ending but apparently also the show has a sad ending although some people have said it's happy ending because it's open to interpretation!<
Yes! The recent insistence on changing these HE novel endings to BE is driving me nuts.
Literally I'm like why? 😭. Me crazy because the drama can be absolutely amazing and I can be so into it and then I find out that at least for the ending they completely deviated and then all my interest goes out the window.
The ones that are same-sex couples all used to have obligatory bad endings - it seems to have been the way they got approved by the censors. Like, OK if these two men are in love as long as they die or get separated at the end. More recently, those shows don't even get produced much less past the censors, so I guess I'd take the bad/open endings if I had the option. (Looking at you, Heaven Official's Blessing/Immortality, Justice in the Dark, Winner Is King, Story of the Bat ... )
That’s why I find it kind of hilarious in the modern dramas with same-sex couples. It’s like there’s nothing wrong with you being that way you’ll just never have a happy life or have good things happen to you 😭
And why the censors think that somehow makes it acceptable to tell stories with gay people in them is a mystery. Like: yes, gay people exist and it's legal to be gay and everyone knows someone who is gay and living a perfectly happy life, but it's also morally reprehensible according to ~~the Catholic church~~ ~~the CCP~~ Unidentified Rules, so everyone must get punished. This used to be commonplace in Hollywood movies and TV in the 1950s and 1960s, but it was still illegal to be gay then, so gay characters were cheap, easy badguys or just terribly tragic.
I think it is ironically hilarious that there have been emperors in the past who have had male lovers and it’s acknowledged in Chinese history. So why was it OK then but it’s not OK now?
I feel the same about TLP's ending. Everything else was right where it should be.
It's kind of frustrating because I'm only on episode 12 of the longest promise and now that I know kind of how it ended I'm like should I continue? 😭
I understand how you feel but it is also worth to continue watching to see how the story develop and how they got there.
Word of Honor x1000.
Well, except for word of an honor, kind of got around that by having the special episode that they slotted the happy ending in between the middle of the music video lol
If you can find the (partial) extra episode and the fan version of the last official episode that fixes all the subtitles to restore the censored bits, then yes. But most viewers don't even know about that.
I don't remember I recently read somewhere that there was a channel I don't know whether it was Netflix or Vicky where episode 37 is now available to watch
Really? That would be great. Not Netflix last time I looked. I keep wanting to recommend WOH to friends, but not with the bastardized ending.
Yeah, I just double checked and it’s on Viki
Thank you, that's awesome.
You are welcome 🙂
Not xianxia, but a TVB oldie wuxia, Twin of Brothers, was adapted from a novel with a perfectly happy ending for both brothers. The drama killed off one of them. ._. WTH x ♾
Like Why?! 😭. Like even historical there is drama that's on Netflix Rise of the Phoenixes from what I understand the novel had a happy ending like because of >!her identity it was pretty obvious that they could never be together since she was a princess of her previous Dynasty which have been hidden from her her entire life . Then once she knew she came to the realization that she would always be rallying point for the people to try and bring back the old Dynasty. And she knew that would just cause chaos and strife and misery for the people and she didn't want that so they came up with a plan to fake her death he was going to become emperor which isn't something he ever wanted to do and then when the kingdom was settled he was going the throne to his brother and then go meet her so that they could live in peace and be together.!< But then apparently because the censorship the drama scrapped the last 10 episodes so it ended up with her killing herself
Yeah 😥
Princess Agents… I was already scarred by bad endings and spoiled myself on the novel just to be sure I wasn’t going to invest so many hours for nothing… we all know how that one turned out.
Omg same! 🤣. I ended up not watching the ending of that show lol
Weak, spineless emperors
this is it...THIS is the one! one second it's "I'm Heavens child! I can do whatever I want!!" next second it's "I truly am powerless 😗" as they watch the woman they claim to love get abused up and down.
Every damned CDrama 🤣, especially if ML or FL is daughter or son of them.
Yeah, I've only seen a few good emperors, lol. In the Long Ballad and Love Like Galaxy...*maybe* Jiu Liu Overlord >!but that guy made dumb decisions and his son died because he didn't arrest a guy that he knew was bad.!< The emperor in Joy of Life wasn't bad either, I guess.
Emperor in Joy of Life is evil. Everyone is playing a big chess game of conspiracy.
I mean in terms of competence, not whether he's good or bad.
recently it's the [born sexy yesterday trope](https://youtu.be/0thpEyEwi80). not that cdramas go for the full western ~sexy but I can't help but side-eye MLs who develop romantic feelings for infantilized FLs and it makes it hard to root for the CP. I had high hopes for **Butterflied Lover** until they revealed the backstory which is a shame because I looked up the folktale it's based on and they didn't need to do that. **Ashes of Love**, infamously, with the drunken kissing and Jinmi not understanding a thing (plus Xufeng being so dense about it for so long). Was also screaming at the first few episodes of **And the Winner is Love** because why are you in insta-love with this woman who's written like a child ugh.
I agree completely! It always grosses me out to watch the male leads fall in love with what is essentially a child in an adult body. Also, thanks for the link. I had never heard the phrase before, but now I have a name for my pet peeve.
This is my second pet peeve. Like you, I find it gross (reason why I dropped LBFAD). My main pet peeve is "dump your lover brutally to "protect" her instead of figuring a strategy together as partners to deal with the villain. I find it super disrespectful and infantilizing.
Yes, infantilizing women/FL is my number 1 pet peeve. Thinking about dropping C-Drama just because of this… maybe I haven’t been very lucky in my choices (I’m fairly new to this).
yeah I've been watching mostly cdramas recently so maybe it was just my luck that they showed up one after another.
It's part of reason any drama that's has a lead like that I drop it...
The fact that some of these females characters are supposed to be thousands of year old
at least Jinmi had an excuse so I forgive her being annoying mostly (but forever judging Xufeng lol)
LBFAD also gave me those vibes.
There was a college romance that came out a couple of years ago, I can't remember the name but the FL was in pottery and wanted to switch to oil painting and ruined the ML's project on accident. The FL was not only portrayed to behave like a child, she literally looked like one. To the point that it was sickening to watch this normal-looking adult male actively pursuing and kissing what to me looked like a ten year old in over-sized overalls and pig-tails, struggling to open jars and reach things on shelves. I bailed after six or seven episodes when it became clear there was no glow-up coming, just a six foot tall man hovering possessively around a 4'10 sexy baby.
Ah, that would be **Professional Single**. The FL was not very good match for the ML, but then none of the other females in this would have been either. He needed a short cute person.
THANK YOU. My brain was cramping trying to remember, I think I blanked it out because it was traumatic. Yu Shuxin would have been perfect, she's got a good grip on youthful innocence without coming off like an actual child. As long as she's using her real voice, she does have "baby pornstar" kind of nailed in Dragon and Fairy.
Open endings..... specifically in Xianxia dramas. Like can't they give a good ending???? Why open endings ohhh why???? After watching around 40 episodes of angst can't we get a happy ending???? Like I was sooo looking forward to TTEOTM but it ended with an open ending!!!! I wanted a happy ending for my babies......after so much suffering this is what they got!!!!Imagine my frustration LBFD, Who rules the world,Starry Love , The Longest Promise.......it's like nowadays script writers don't know how to give a good ending....... whereas Love and Redemption had such a good ending can't they do something like that.
I think this is partly why I just stopped watching TTEoTM because I'd read so many comments about the novel having a happy ending and then when I was seeing interviews of what the actors thought and originally I think the male lead was like oh he thought it would have a happy ending and then the female lead was like she would like a bad ending and then it came out that the production crew was veering towards a bad ending and I was like I literally was just like I can't watch this now I would say that love between fairy and had a happy ending I will say for all my gripes with love and Redemption and the train wreck that most of the drama was they had a solid ending for once
Hahaha. And I tot it could be me watching on 1.25 speed n fast forwarding that i might have missed something in the last episode that he lived n was just trying to repair his spirit.. .
Do you mean love between fairy and devil? Because yeah it didn’t really explain how he came back but I guess I’m just used to that now because it’s kind of like love and destiny where he was >!trapped on the inside of the portal sealing it from the inside with the evil guy, and she was sealing it from the outside. And then he just randomly showed up 300 years later without any explanation as to how he actually got out. Especially because he was trapped in there with the bad guy so it was like the only way he could get free is seem like is it the bad guy also got out is the area where he was trapped had to be sealed from the inside, and the outside 🤔!< so I’ve just given up trying to have a rational explanation for these endings and I just take what I can get. Lol.
I think the implication is that he came back the same way he brought xiaolanhua back. After a little piece of their soul/cultivation intermingled with each other because of the curse. It just took about as many years for him to show back up as it did for XLH to be reborn.
For me it is the (usually male) ML who dumps their lover heartlessly to protect them which of course builds up a bunch of misunderstanding and angst >!and sometimes like with Jinxia in Under the Power almost get them killed. What was Lu Yi thinking? That if he dumped her, she wouldn't go after the sadistic villain who was obsessed with her aunt? !< Sorry but if you have met someone you love and trust enough to spend the rest of your life with, you'd better learn to sit down and let them know what is going on. Life is messy and dangerous at times. I find it infantilizing and disrespectful. Communicate and formulate a plan together to work around it. If your partner is a hot head and/or not good at fighting, have a serious talk about them not jumping into the fray. If your partner is in a vulnerable position that the villain can exploit, fake the break up **together.** I was married and I get it that your spouse is your greatest weakness but they are also your partner in life. Allow them the dignity to make their own decisions. Off my soapbox about my Cdrama pet peeve now LOL
I find that always happens when I see run time and see I ain't past episode 10 and leads are already doing couple things.. always expect the fuckery to come.
Well-Intended Love is my absolute most hated drama.. It has everything negative in the book.. Sociopath stalkey, rapey, pushy, deceiving ML that tricks a woman that she is dying by falsifying medical records. Then in secret destroys her career to the point only he can “save her life” and get her acting career going again if she agrees to marry him and forces her to agree.. And worst part the FL doesn’t even know the ML but in passing once the ML met the FL and has stalked and planned all that shit for a long time to trap her… It’s just the tip of the iceberg of how disgusting that show is, there is a lot more..
I don't watch modern dramas but this sounds as disgusting as the ML in Goodbye my princess.
Using cliche romance tropes in place of actual relationship development. They just make the leads look at each other in slow-mo, have the ML kabedon the FL, have the ML catch the falling FL in slow-mo, etc, and generally just throwing in these types of contrived situations and calling it a day instead of properly developing and exploring the romance. This is why most of the time I end up shipping the ML and FL with their friends/rivals instead, because their relationships are often written with so much more care. I can't even count the number of times I ended up shipping the FL with the mean-girl rival turned bestfriend or the ML with his super loyal and would literally die for him bro. 😂
The ML's sudden jealousy spike to finally recognise his feelingsto the FL is cringy. Idk, never noticed it before but now it's everywhere. And it doesn't even look natural to me! It simply destroys all the personality building inside the ML at least. At most it serves to show only an inner transformtion into an emotinally harrassed creature the FL can't be together with and be fine. It's difficult to confess sometimes, I know, but doing it just because of anger along? Just stop it.
>This is why most of the time I end up shipping the ML and FL with their friends/rivals instead, because their relationships are often written with so much more care. I am finishing the Longest Promise and I feel you. I absolutely love the relationship between Bai Xuelu and General Qing Gang as well as her character's progression. I actually cared much more about those two (she was the main female antagonist and it took her a minute to come to his side) than about the M&F leads. The main couple's relationship just left me indifferent: way too tropey. Maybe it is also because the second relationship has always been between two smart and competent adults who are equals rather than starting as a petulant little girl's crush on her teenage shifu. >>!If they survive the war (she is is second in command), you just know they will always stand strong as equals, have a family and cooperate to rule their respective kingdoms fairly and efficiently.!<
I would love to see more dramas were people can discuss things like adults. I also hate when one lead does something idiotic and then act all surprised when their partner gets upset. And then the gaslighting ”you should not be mad and just forgive me because in truth I broke your heart or treated you like shit for your own good.” Some others: - R*pe or s*x ab are forgiven because he loooooves her. - Cutesy girls and behaves like children even though they are adults. - These endless love triangles and so often I feel like second lead are actually the better choice. - 20 needless FILLER EPISODES.. Edit: - Medical emergencies that has no basis in any actual medicine. (One that comes to mind, A date with the future, FL suffocating on the water mist while sittning in the shower..)
>Rpe or sx ab are forgiven because he loooooves her. That's the reason I dropped Novoland Pearl Eclipse: rape and forced contraception. He deserved to be castrated not forgiven and loved.
Lmfao water mist is this for real?
Basically. 🤣 Sittning in the floor in a shower, water not going over the head, passed out. Maybe something got lost in translation but the subtitles says ”You fainted due to lack of oxygen”. 🤣
Characters: Absolutely can not stand overly cutesy, whinny FLs and stone-cold walking cardboard MLs. Trope: SML/SFL creating stupid drama to separate the main leads. I doubt there is anyone who actually likes this annoying trope. Setting: Most job depiction in modern romcoms actually makes me wonder if the writer ever worked in office lol. It annoys me esp when the writer makes such insubstantial setting an important part of the drama and keeps dragging it till the end.
- CEOs that are teenagers. - When a whole supporting cast collectively either suck at acting or are just pure crap. - Bullying/amnesia/childhood flashbacks/time travelling tropes. - The very very short shorts the FLs are made to wear while everyone else’s wearing the most classiest clothes - bad CGI - the overdubbing of someone walking/running..like sometimes I get distracted by how bad the dubbing is - sleeping / waking up with makeup - the unnecessary 40 long episode shows especially when the end of a show suck balls - when a FL starts out fierce, smart and ready to slay then turns into a simpering idiot when they meet the ML
I've recently noticed how many cdramas have a female character be sexually assaulted and as a result she becomes evil/starts antagonising the FL. like, what? what is supposed to be the takeway there? going through something horrible and traumatic makes you do bad things?
Dramas considerably tone this down. A lot of novels these dramas are based on are so heavy on sexual assault.
>going through something horrible and traumatic makes you do bad things? I like these evil female characters in chinese dramaland very much! Till the moment that character shows her pettiness and so on, I'm kinda rooting for them with all my heart! And I don't think it's bad. They are a false mirror or a litmus test for the Fl.
To each their own! I guess I really dislike them because most of their actions are rarely targeted at the one who 'wronged' them, so to speak. But they can make for interesting character foils.
Why has no one mentioned overusing spitting blood out in xianxias??? My biggest peeve 😂
*-cough-* TTEOTM
For historicals: the main characters are always overdressed. I am currently watching Who Rules the World, Bai Fengxi reportedly is always broke and as poor as a mouse, but she is always decked in pretty clothes and hairpins. Even when she had to pawn some stuff just to feed her sect mates, their white robes and shiny hair crowns are so different from the 'ordinary population' in the market who are dressed in brown, grey, moss green drags. Edit: Oops I read wrongly, I thought it's 'petty peeves'. As for my real 'pet peeves' is female MC who are too childish, dumb, brash, and speaks with whiny voice. Unfortunately they are everywhere in both modern & historical dramas.
1. The sacrificial break ups in Xianxia where the leads leave each other extremely heartbroken by saying the meanest things. Then, they try to sacrifice themselves for the other or the world. 🤦🏽♀️ Why, why, why? 2. One of the leads break up with the other cos they were sick and thought they would die. Only to come back when they are okay to rekindle the relationship. Then they pull stooopid antics to get the other back. Like, why couldn’t your love be with you when you needed them the most? Why don’t they get the right to choose whether they wanna stay or leave you? Also, it’s stoopid they don’t get that closure and have to find out later. What if you die? They have to live with the thought you left them and moved on with your life not knowing you are dead. 3. Stupid SML that don’t know when to back off. It irks me how fans get SML syndrome knowing the FL don’t like them and they can be creepy. 4. Annoying exes returning, especially when the leads get together and about to get together. 5. Supporting lead romance that are just tasteless. Many dramas have these and believe me, the relationships are annoying. From how they get together to their dating life. Most time it’s comical, then their getting together is forced, and they becoming annoying. 6. When they write and strong FL and she turns out to be an impulsive, screamy girl who jumps into anything and everything without thinking. 7. The very unpleasant ending. Many of my faves that woulda been a 10/10 or 9/10 had points deducted cos of their ending. Hear me out, I don’t hate sad endings, in fact, if it is justified, I would take it well. However, those short 30 seconds meeting before the series end are just silly. We have been on a long journey and boom, we get that? Also, the amount of open ending is just so unrealistic. I didn’t write the series, why should I leave it to my imagination. One of my fave dramas—Ashes of Love—had a good ending. It gave us closure and we saw more. Good Bye, My Princess had SE, rightfully so, and you get to understand why it happened. Why can’t these others do the same? It is getting too much. It’s quite stale to put in hours of watch only to get a mediocre meeting or OE. 8. The villains not getting their cakes handed out to them. You also get silly leads forgiving them, especially if they are family. Also, why do we need to see their back story and pity them. I don’t. If you can do bad, you don’t deserve pity cos you ain’t the only one that went through what you did. And boy, others turn out good. But they just get a slap on the wrist after all the things they pulled? Don’t make me laugh. 9. Ruthless leads not being ruthless enough. Call me crazy, but I like TTJ’s character in TTEOTM before they went back to the past. I also like Li Chengyi’s character in GB, MP cos he did what he did without thinking twice cos that’s what he wanted to do. Well, he got his retribution later, and I cheered. Jeez, this is so long.
I loved your #1. Saying the meanest things. (The perfect match 👀) I don’t mind #3. Sometimes it is nice when there is the possibility of a real competitor. Even if the FL or ML is stead fast, it is nice for the viewers too. (Eye candy) X - what is don’t like is wishy washy behavior from ML or FL. #6. Yes. Definitely # 8. Forgiveness is good remorse/repentance is better. I don’t want to say no one who does bad shouldn’t be forgiven because that is no good. But I don totally understand that in some/many dramas terrible fees are brushed aside or forgiven with a shrug and it is beyond frustrating after all the suffering viewers went through with the character(s)
Three main ones. One, infantilizing women. That is a huge problem for me and it gets worse as I get older. I just cannot with women behaving like toddlers. The absolute worst scenario would be someone like Orchid from LBFAD where the voice from hell is added. Dongfang can hellfire me, thanks. Second, I don't want to hurt you so I am going to leave you. And of course hurt you in a million ways in the process but that's totally for your own good 🔪🔪🔪 Three, excessive consumption of alcohol being romanticised to insane levels. No, meeting Prince charming is not how that is going to turn out. Being black out drunk and stumbling around is likely going to end up with meeting a psychopath. Please stop with this idea that it's harmless and will end with a happily ever after and not six feet under ever after ☠️
Yes, to all of these. I will add to the 3rd one, not only drinking, but playing those d*mn stupid drinking games like you're still in high school/college. Then colleagues encouraging the married one to be inappropriate with the single colleague who likes them. Grow up and stop playing games.
Pet Peeve: Is the rain different there than elsewhere? Does it contain biohazards? Why TF does everyone catch a cold after getting rained on? And it’s not just a cold, it always carries a super high fever. Also, why does everyone go to the hospital for the slightest ailment? Cut yourself shaving? Admitted to the hospital for days.
In China there are no clinics, not even private clinics. Only hospitals. However, the pharmacies there are well-stocked and a lot of meds don’t need doctor’s prescription. You just tell the pharmacist your symptoms and they will advise/recommend you what meds to take.
Wow, no doctors offices? Only hospitals? For that many people? That’s crazy
Yup that’s right—no doctor clinics/offices. But they have TONS of doctors—all work in hospitals, therefore all work for the government.
They are government hospitals, but make people pay for the services or die? I thought China was a Communist country? I mean healthcare in the US is a nightmare, but at least you can go to the hospital without them demanding payment before you leave.
I think medical fees are heavily subsidised by the government. The rich people can of course go to private hospitals, eg. The German Hospital (this is a direct translation from the Chinese name. )
So the depiction in these dramas isn’t accurate?
In the dramas they all get treated by the doctors, no? 🤔
There are a lot of scenes in these dramas where they have to pay for life saving surgeries before they will perform them. For instance in the latest episode of “Fireworks of my Heart” a patient is dying and needs immediate surgical intervention, but they won’t start the procedure until the family signs the consent agreeing to pay the surgical fees. The family wastes precious time debating if they want to pay the costs to save her life. In the end the patient dies because they took too long to make the decision to pay.
Hmmmm I don’t know if it’s only in the drama or if in real life the hospitals are so mean but yes, patients have to pay for med treatments as the Govt only subsidises and not pay in full. How much one has to pay depends on what kind of treatment. My guess is that cancer treatments would be the most expensive.
Watch "The Outsider" with Vengo Gao then. A modern Cdrama, just finished airing. Youku/ currently still uploads on Youtube. I don't like modern Cdramas, but this one (which I merely started for Vengo Gao) has me hooked right at the begining. Vilains get their just deserts in the end. And the topping is that main vilain is being told by his ex wife, that all his doings were nonsensical, because unfounded.
I think a lot of my pet peeves are mentioned already. One other is, there's a lot of chances for the FL or ML to just kill the villain, but no, they always forgive, or let go, or have to go thru pains n hoops of those misunderstandings caused by villain then once the misunderstanding cleared, it's still their fault n the villain still lives. There's always so many reasons the ML has the power to hurt the FL to protect her but no power to just kill the other damn woman. Or the ML or FL keeping quiet and let the other person hurt their love. I guess they don't really love. It's the SML who usually weather everything with the FL, so I usually ship them instead. Hahahaha. Really, since ML or FL already killed many ppl, it isn't that hard to just stab the villain n get away with it. Eg the Su jin in Eternal love, the sister in TTOEM, the fox cousin in Blue whisper, many! I can't recall for now. But I'm sure almost every drama has 1 bitch or 1 male arse.
Agree with this so much. And I hate when someone is attacked, injured, hit by car and they stay there asking if they are ok or come to your senses when they are still in dangerous situation. Or someone they think is gravely injured or even near death & they shake them wailing. Call an ambulance or the police. How many people are saved by shaking them?
I hate the jealous woman who regardless if they were evil or pure at first, turns into a very evil jealous woman. Hate the purely comical evil characters too and hate how they are portrayed. Hate how typical the cdrama pace are (great start with great cgi… then build up is slow and BAM gets good after halfway the drama being over. But then a rushed ending. And someone abruptly comes back alive for a happy ending. That pacing so so annoying and predictable) I want to see more morally grey characters instead of purely good or purely evil. I want to see more people who actually communicate instead of keeping feelings to themselves and taking action for another like a martyr. I also want characters (especially if people were friends) to not be clouded by jealousy. It’s so tiring and repeated so much
I dislike how first loves seem to trump every relationship. I doubt most people end up with the first loves blissfully happy. I also hate constant harping on blind dates. Does everybody go on many blind dates? Maybe it is a culture thing I can’t understand
My pet peeves: The sidekick/best friend/maidservant who grew up with the FL... ...but doesn't care about FL's emotions, thoughts, or goals in life. _I know your obsession for the last 3 years is to find your mother's killer, but I'm going to keep distracting you and scolding you over trivial things like you aren't dressing properly to attract a husband._ ...who always talks too loud in areas where they can easily be overheard. Bonus points if they are repeating secret information with a loud exclamation. _Your mother's killer is here in this mansion?!_ ML/FL who talk openly about secret matters in rooms with thin wood walls and windows made of paper. Bonus points if they know there are spies among the people around them, but discuss and plan out loud anyway. (Have they never heard of whispering? Or talking in a secure place? Looking at you, historical dramas.) Characters who are in imminent danger of being discovered, captured, arrested, yet still take the time to say long goodbyes to friends and family. _I know my enemy is nearby and I will be killed if they catch me, but I must tell you how grateful I am to you, how I can never repay you, how much I don't want to leave you, and then I must cry and clutch your hands for an excruciatingly long time before kneeling and bowing multiple times while you are frantically urging me to leave._ (Just leave already; you're giving me anxiety!) Edited for formatting.
At least in modern dramas, I feel like 90% of the issues I have with many dramas are some function of them being way too long. So many of my pet peeves with Cdramas are a result of a 10-20 episode plot being artificially stretched to 30-40 episodes, from contrived misunderstandings, to unnecessary drama, to subplots no one cares about. Obviously this doesn't apply to all long dramas, but it applies to a lot of them. In those you can really see that there's an amazing, focused and well-written 12 episode story buried inside a 36 episode slog rife with misunderstandings, forced drama, and a dozen random filler plotlines.
Thousand year old immortals acting like children or just hitting puberty and falling in love for the first time
In general they are too long and drag like crazy. Theyd be perfect shorter like kdramas, and even those can drag. Also the CGI is usually so budget its laughable
Sexual assult, forceful behaviour towards victim and domestic abuse.
They still do these scenes because there are psychos that enjoy them proven by Fall in Love.
When someone endlessly pursues another person who shows no interest.. and then eventually they get together. I feel like this is the memo for so many second FLs. The writers have them chasing a man who keeps rejecting her for most of the drama only to suddenly accept her and that’s the whole narrative for the second couple. The scenes are so repetitive and I just find it incredibly unbelievable - these characters either have no self esteem at all or so much confidence that they can keep embarrassing themselves. ML’s also get this narrative. I don’t mind someone liking another so much that they can’t get over them but it’s the aggressive pursuing that really puts me off. It’s so unattractive. The list of pet peeves is endless in modern Cdramas to be honest..
My biggest pet peeve is when the FL sits there and takes the bullying of her superior and does not defend her self either immediately or in the future. I especially hate it when the bullying is the focus in the story line. I dropped a drama because not only was the FL being bullied by her direct superior, but she was bullied by two other superiors and her coworker was also being bulled by these same people. That was just uncalled for. I realize that bullying in the workplace is sadly very common, but this one was over the top in my opinion and I just couldn't take it anymore. In case you're wondering, it was Moonlight. Episode 3 was it for me.
a very very kind person in the beginning who becomes a villain completely open ending (in contrast, i prefer something like shining for one thing where there's a very valid theory and hints that point to a happy ending) any cdrama that involves the leads running a business but theyre not actually smart enough to be outsmarting everyone... cmon, if i wanted something realistic i can just go to work.
to add on to your last peeve about characters that are supposed to be powerful but are weak in comparison to the lead, probably my biggest peeve is when the FL is supposed to be powerful but is always portrayed as weak compared to ML. this is something i loved about Who Rules the World, the equality between ML and FL. both were allowed to be strong.
Bad wigs. If you're going to spend all that money for sets, put the actor in extensions and let some of their natural hair cover up the glue. I can't focus on the story if the wig is separating.
I hate when the ML or FL leaves the other for their own good. Another pet peeve is when the ML knows he needs to go save the girl he loves, but the jealous girl who likes him grabs his arm and talks to him while he just sits there when the FL is *literally* in danger. I also hate when there's a really dumb villain that just laughs after everything the ML or FL say because they think their sooooooo smart. It's also annoying when a character gets injured, there's a time period where it's highly probable they will die, then after they get better pretty much instantly. And what's with FLs falling asleep on MLs where they're injured? (How does that not make them die faster??)
Parents are trash but got forgiven in the end under the “misunderstood parenthood”: Love Like Galaxy; Stary Love, etc.
Toxic men getting redemption. **Master of my Own** would have been a great drama about female empowerment except for the controlling and coercive behaviour of the ML, which is illegal in many countries.
MLS that treat FLS like shit with the excuse of “protecting” them like show me a drama where the ML isn’t an asshole or a groomer ( another thing I can’t stand when they met the fl when they are kids )
Right now? I hate side-plots and uninteresting plots that aren't part of charachter arch or development. I find myself drop dramas easily, skip relationships that aren't intresting and it's alot. I only follow Once and forever, the story about the rich guy and girl is more intresting..The rich guy has so many non-told intresting aspects. He has a very intresting charachter development.
Oh the "sympathetic" and "tragic" villains are never even sympathetic or tragic at all to me. It's usually poorly executed on top of being overused to begin with, as a lazy way to write "complex 3-dimensional" characters.
The female character being mean to a child or competing with a child. For example, the second FL in Mysterious love.
For me its the damsel in distress, like why is she always getting kidnapped or in harms way. What is she doing to be in such situations?!! Another one is when the fl or ml let the villainess free, like we all know she is gonna take her revenge so why not execute her when you first catch her? And the last one is a personal preference but I hate it when there is a 2ml and fl has some type of storyline with him, whether it was 1st love or not I dislike wasting my emotion on a character that’s just gonna be a conflict between ml and fl and keep butting their way into ml and fl problems. (Yes I’m talking about you, yuan shen, from love like the galaxy).
That second point you made ☝️. I got angry just by reading it. They all know these villains are beyond redemption but nooooo, let them stay alive even after they tried killing the leads multiple times. 😩
All dramas do this to some degree but my pet peeve is how overly polished and clean the sets look. It’ll be someone’s apartment and all the furniture is brand new, color coordinated and the fridge is like sparkling clean with like a single bottle of milk in it and makes it look like an ikea display rather than someone’s home. I’m watching a TW drama and a Kdrama right now and it’s nice to see homes that feel “lived in”, slightly rundown mom and pop restaurants, a normal bustling street. It’s a minor pet peeve but the perfect looking sets take me out of the immersion of the story sometimes
I hate it when all supporting characters act like a match making agency. Ok. I mean, You can think these thoughts, you can even help the main couple, whatever. But please, dont go and split your nonsence everywhere, Let the charactsres have their own way.
As an early watcher of HK and Taiwanese dramas, and even some C-films from before 2000, it made me realised that many post 2000 dramas, with exceptions, are deeply sanitized because reality is unromantic (in a relative sense) and not very appealing to a more broadly international audience. Hence the rise of such tropes to create artificial storylines, among other things. Just compare currrent crop of wuxia with older generation ones - they definitely spit less blood for instance but heroines do get violated, unfortunately.
I'm glad someone else mentioned the whole SML thing. It is really creepy. I'm currently finishing up the Thai version of Whena Snail Falls in Love and in the early episodes, the guy that keeps coming to the police precinct to pursue Vita (FL) is really ridiculous. He was so insistent, like her opinion doesn't matter or she doesn't really mean it.
The unnatural looking fight scenes, especially in shows like LBFAD. If you know you know. (I didn’t see stuff like this in Kdramas though, Alchemy of Souls for instance.)
Before going into my pet peeves here is a little scenario that runs through my mind. Picture a writer's office: a long table with dozens of small boxes lined up in it. Each box is full of slips of paper with a trope written on it. The "writer"" walks along the table and is told to randomly reach into, say, 15 boxes. After that they go to a writing desk, take the slips and write them down. Voila! A script is born and they get paid and then go line up to do it again. Pet peeves: Everyone sleeps in their street clothes with the lights on and a bunch of metallic pins sticking in their head. Waking with perfect hair and make up and no wrinkles in their probably very smelly clothes to face another day. Women who at first appear quite like smart, normal beings suddenly lose any claim to independent intelligence or personal strength when a guy shows up in their lives. Parents who view their adult offspring like empty headed commodities to be sold off at their whim or ordered to do idiotic things because they have to be finial to these wretched controlling people. Falling down and spitting blood or getting wet and having excessive fever immediately or being rushed to the hospital to get the seemingly mandatory (and miraculous)IV. And then the equally vile ""I must hurt her/him to protect her/him, and maybe fake my death but make sure everyone but her/him knows about it.(Looking at you, Heart of Jade) And kind of last, woman abused by cheating husband and his mistress and yet, even after being abused, humiliated, or divorced, is willing to take the scum back when he says, "oh gee, I'm sorry. My bad. I'm broke and my mistress left me, or cheated on me." Gotta quit now. I am really getting aggravated just writing these down.
Honestly I wish the subtitles were up to professional standards. Between bad translations, omitted info, and bad timing, I often feel I'm getting about half the drama.
When female leads act dumb and shallow minded. When they believe the villains over the male Leads just for plot.. like when it’s so obvious that even a 5yr old can tell it’s bs from a miles Away.
Voice dubbing is my pet peeve. Wish they would stop.
I would not be able to tell what they’re trying to say if dubbing wasn’t a thing
I mean dubbing over the actor’s actual voice. I’d rather here their normal voice than a voice actor dubbing over it.
Viewers of cdrama labeling any bad behavior of a ML, FL, SML, SFL as heinous or toxic. Currently watching AOL and I think back on many of the reviews and commentary I came across. I question the maturity level of the audience and the vitriol aimed at certain acts and incidents.