The Gist: Young, aspiring actress Xia Lin (Simona Wang) is mortified when she is diagnosed with leukemia. Determined to not let this diagnosis prove fatal, she tracks down her only matching bone-marrow donor, CEO Ling Yizhou (Xu Kai Cheng) to save her life. He agrees, with one stipulation: she has to agree to marry him for two years. With no other options, she agrees. Although she tries to convince herself it’s only an arrangement, she starts to fall for Yizhou and the fairy-tale life he offers her.
OK. Spoiler time..
The Real Gist: Insane psychopath becomes obsessed with a girl who is nice to him one time, stalks her for several years, forges her medical documents to trap her in a marriage with him.
Yeah. Really. Which is beyond a shame because I actually enjoyed this show for the most part until this reveal. However, the depth of this deception totally undoes all the kindness he shows her. All of the rules he places on her, the contract he makes her sign, the loyalty of his friends, all suddenly seems sinister. I don’t mind a good psychopath, but let’s call it what it is. Ling Yizhou doesn’t just have some quirks, he has no real understanding of anyone but himself.
To Xia Lin’s credit, she does not take this lying down. She freaks out and calls him out for every insane thing he has led her to believe and he traps her inside their home! He truly does not care for how she feels, only that he gets to keep her. I am so proud of her for standing up to him and not letting her feelings get in the way of the abuse he’s put her through.
Because that is what it is. Ling Yizhou stalks her and then gaslights her for her entire marriage. I was waiting for him to show some remorse, but he says he didn’t think through how this would affect her and then proceeds to tell her that he would do it over again given the chance. To me, this shows that Yizhou is a literal psychopath because he lacks the basic empathy to think from another person’s perspective (especially someone he claims to love). No one with any sense of empathy or compassion would be able to do this cruel chess game.
There is a huge issue here with consent and agency. Yizhou does not give Xia Lin any chance to make a choice with him. And the crazy part is, he didn’t even try to give her one. He is capable of kindness, and he’s good-looking, and rich and can even help with her career, but instead of earning her trust, building a relationship, and asking her out like a normal person, he forces her hand. It’s taking the hate-to-love relationship SO far. He doesn’t want to put in the effort to date her on her terms, so he plays house with her until she normalizes it.
All the sacrifices you think he’s making for her just aren’t real. All the teasing he puts her through is really just him controlling her. Honestly, this is the first time I am fully on the side of the villain. I am not going to watch this show long enough to figure out what his deal is, but he was in the right to let Xia Lin know that Ling Yizhou is not being honest with her with something as serious as her health.
Also, can we talk for a quick minute about how she bites him to get him to let her go AND HE DOESN’T. I think the writers were trying to make this seem romantic in that he would stay by her no matter what. But when it’s in the confines of her being held hostage, it’s honestly just scary. She is physically fighting against him and he does not let her go.
I don’t think all drama romances are healthy. Many leads behave irresponsibly and unkindly and childishly. However, this is beyond anything I have witnessed before and I just can’t personally forgive a character who is so morally reprehensible. Everything I thought I liked about him just seems distressing now. I’d prefer to finish this show thinking that she just left him because she deserves better.
Finally, he had a chance to come clean with her. That wouldn’t have really made it better, but it would have at least shown some ounce of self-reflection. If he eventually gets to that point in the show, I don’t need it. There are better shows out there with less toxic overtones.
And to think - I was actually worried about the amnesia plot. Ugh. No Bueno.
Final Grade: F
Reviews for all the things we love (and hate) about Japanese and Korean Dramas
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ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThere are a few different things that Sartim could refer to.
Sratimis a Hebrew word that means "strength" or "power."
Sartim is also a surname that is found in a number of countries, including Israel, the United States, and Canada