This is my absolute favorite K-drama. The writing is top-notch, the story is grown-up and compelling, and the performances are superb. It was refreshing to see a drama about complex, multi-dimensional women tackling very real professional and personal challenges in believable ways. There is romance, but it's handled more believably than in most dramas. (I particularly like how the writers represented the challenges that attend significant age differences and and a couple having divergent needs and expectations; and I liked that all the central couples approached their partners' needs and expectations with respect and understanding.) But while romance forms a big part of the story, the larger story is about women navigating a difficult world where every decision comes at a cost and where the hurdles don't end. It felt relatable and empowering without ever feeling didactic or like a "lesson of the day"--it was good story that, like all good stories, also managed to cut deep.

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We could have had it all. Ariel Lin adorable, my son Zhang Bib Bin is beautiful, and the rest of the cast was mostly A+. Truly, the performances were the best part of what could have been a much better show had the story not completely unraveled near the end. In fact, I would happily sit through the first 45 episodes of the show again just to watch Ariel Lin charm the socks of everyone and everything she encounters.

That said, though the story was otherwise quite fun, it did unravel near the end. Partly because the writers dropped what I figured were some pretty important plot threads, partly because some of the best characters made some VERY abrupt heel-turns (think Jaime Lannister at the end of GoT), but mostly because the ending felt very discordant with the rest of the show.

The production values were also occasionally inconsistent--and even downright terrible in one episode. The lighting and makeup were not always on point, but one episode completely dropped all the background noise. This didn't bother me terribly because the production was otherwise perfectly fine, but I did find those occasional blunders a bit distracting.

Still, if you're at all into wuxia romances or beautiful people being goofy together, I highly recommend the show---except for the last few episodes. Just skip those and watch the last thirty seconds, which, even though they made no sense, at least made me happy.

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