I will add:
Me finding Wang Yi Bo annoying— to a degree— isn’t just because of all of that ^ but it is also because I’ve followed his career and interactions since The Untamed and I find that he sometimes comes off as an arrogant arse and just plain rude as well— disdain for interactions with the opposite gender, notwithstanding— and his fans are suuuuuuuuuuper entitled and difficult to deal with

@cliosservant1846
You caught that, didn’t you? 😅 That Wang Yi Bo annoys me to a degree— yes, he does.
I’m not saying that any of it is his fault— at least, not directly— but it’s hard not to think that he had chances to put a stop to it or slow it down, as the management agency he’s a part of— a BIG part, actually… He’s become a shareholder and is the agency’s biggest revenue contributor— was the agency who influenced this whole thing the most and is actually the agency, who I mentioned, who to delay the court verdict by paying money.
I don’t believe that the actions of fans and fandoms (just fans en masse) are the responsibility of the artist, but what I do believe is that the artist has major influence over them, and also what the fans do will also impact the artist (so shipper culture of fans terrify me that one day, their shipping of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yi Bo is going to get too loud and then the government will step in, and as we all know, China isn’t the best place for the LGBTQ + community or their messaging— and it also annoys me because neither one of them have explicitly expressed anything about their own sexuality, but it feels like shippers are forcing them into a corner to be gay just so their shipper narrative is met, and I find that very disturbing and twisted ugh).

You’re 100% right in saying that this case definitely has made an impact in Chinese entertainment, and said impact is going to last—both, benefitting, but also, negatively affecting many.
I (and maybe Gikata?) often mention how times have changed in the C-drama production process and how there was an overhaul of the C-Ent. industry in general, well, the overhaul and these changes first came about when renown Chinese actress, Fan Bing Bing, was exposed in her tax evasion scandal which then led to further exposure of her activities in yin yang contracts for work (she’s since been cancelled but has made a comeback, but her comeback in China has been lukewarm, so she’s mostly active in other countries now). Since her case, the Chinese government has been on high alert over the dealings in C-Ent.— whereas, it was more relaxed before— and Xiao Zhan’s case reignited everything, and that is why the overhaul of the entire entertainment industry was done.
In China, being a celebrity isn’t that simple. Being a celebrity in China means that you’re also a public servant, a.k.a. A government employee. It is because of this, the government regards celebs as being the “faces” of the country, so any time a scandal or a situation happens wit a celebrity in China, the government perks up. It’s the reason why Kris Wu was basically made prime example (“Exhibit A” if you will) by the Chinese government of “what not to do” 😮‍💨

I can definitely look back to see if the topic is still trending, and if it is, I’ll then proceed to see if there any public documentation available for access about the case

Yesss! I haven't seen many of his works, but he was awesome in The Auditors! ^^

I know what you mean— the deaths of Zang Hai’s new friends he meets in the tunnel/royal grave was one of the more difficult to watch, imho.

You have not! At this point, you have not met the Masked Man/benefactor as an unmasked man yet.
Chubby is a nice one, he lives and sticks around with Zang Hai from here on out 😊 Did you also catch that Chubby was actually the one who gave Zang Hai the tour/orientation around the Marquis Residence when Zang Hai first arrived? That was a nice and subtle detail I missed during my first watch, so I was initially confused and thought, “Why is this random dude kidnapping Zang Hai, wanting to cut out his face (literally)?”, but he’s actually not some random dude, but they had met as adults before

Kim Seul-gi in Oh My Ghost even if her being the endgame was a physical impossibility.

Kang So-ra in Doctor Stranger only partly for her character but mostly coz the FL's character was insufferable and was played by Jin Se-yeon.

Agree with Kurama about the other Yoon-ah in The K2 as well.

If it does happen to be the storyline (I thought of that too), I wouldn't be surprised that Jung Il Woo decided to play the role. He recently played a gay character in theater (Kiss of the Spiderwoman) . And, he was in a drama about 5 years ago that had a love triangle in which he was part of the love triangle with a gay character (Sweet Munchies). So, in an industry that has not in the past been very supportive of gay characters, Jung Il Woo has been pretty present. While it is unlikely considering this is a weekender drama---and even most Korean dramas, I'm not totally counting it out.

The Emperor: Owner of the Mask : Hwa-Goon played by Yoon So-Hee was the only one who really did things in this drama.

IRIS : Sun-Hwa played by Kim So-Yeon was so badass!

K2 : Yoo-Jin played by Song Yoon-A was far more interesting than the FL.

SIGH, Mi Young, Mi Young, Mi Young. I too hate the noble idiocy trope, it is so annoying and poor Seok Chul, he will let her go, but what a shame. As for Tae Hoon, just because Mi Young isn't with Seok Chul, it doesn't mean she will come to you.

Poverty is incredibly expensive.

Tae-hoon’s reasons to be angry against his ex-boss were understandable but it doesn't make sense he will go so far against Seok-Cheol who was his friend and who always tried to maintain their relationship.

His acts with Mi-Young don't make sense, why stalking and harrassing a woman who was very clear about the fact she didn't any relationship with him and using her boyfriend was very petty.

Seok-Kyung's behavior is hard to accept, she's cheerful for someone who ruined her family and their home. I don't understand why Seok-Hee should wait for their debt to be settle before leaving, it doesn't concern her. She has her own and honest life, they should encourage her to leave.

I found Seok-Cheol too passive. He knew he was followed but didn't act about it and then there was the "accident". He should have been honest with Mi-Young about it.

Kim Hwa-goon: Ruler: Master of Mask.
One of the most capable SFL I've met in saguek kdramaland. One of those moments the SFL outstages the lead actress.

Seo Dan - Crash Landing on You
Scarlett - Search: WWW
Sung Bora - Reply: 1988
Oh Soo-ah - Itaewon Class
Gyeoul - Hospital Playlist
Won In-jae - Start-Up
Gye Bun-ok - Snowdrop
NJ - Our Beloved Summer

do I have something to squee about? not so much ... ah, but I did finish the prototype for my 3D triangle-based organic shape felt for this years exhibition.

trigonometryyyyyy.... never say there is no point learning it.

are we going back to the 1990ies cgi fantasies? this looks so 1994...

Wow @nessa, @joanna @reply1988. Somehow I'd conflated the two incidents into one legal case. Until this post I did not understand that XZ actually was involved in two legal cases of this magnitude, and before he was 33. In my next life, I want to be a lawyer working at the law firm that won his business, because this is a big deal when you think about it.

If you all know somebody out there looking for a good PhD thesis, this second case (which is of course related to the first because how could it not?) would make for a great case study in how social media influences the history around us. This is a relative newcomer to entertainment challenging the social order of things, from endorsements to social media wrongdoing, while still trying to live in that world. I can't imagine what this has cost him, in cash and in angst. Proud of him and thankful to you @nessa for laying it out in this post so I could understand better what the implications are for this court case. This doesn't just benefit XZ, it benefits all media figures and especially entertainment media figures, in China and Asia and beyond. Good job XZ, for sticking with the hard part and plowing ahead under adversity. The upshot will be more freedom of choice for XZ -- but honestly, more entertainment figures will benefit from this than XZ and they know it.

And now I better understand why Wang Yi Bo annoys you, @nessa.

Sorry to ask, but would it be possible to get some links to any public information on the court decision? TY in advance.

Currently up to episode 9. My overwhelming feeling at the moment is one of whiplash. Every time I meet someone, they die. Not just the bad guys. The incidental nice people die too. I mean, that person who was caught in the Feng Shui sweep, with the kid- I thought ' great, a nice small character who is indebted and will provide necessary support at some time in the future' Nup, dead.
I was suspicious of the masked man the moment we met him- after all, noone would know about homemade tunnel system unless they had already been monitoring the house/making enquiries.
Have we met the masked man unmasked yet? I don't think I have, because as noted everyone dies. Masked man is not Duke Pin Jing, as the Duke is straight forward, not someone to make such a complex revenge strategy. Not either of the teachers, they have both been on screen with him at the same time. (And one of the teachers now of course, dead!)
Have just met the 'chubby' former disciple of his Father. This is not going to end well is it? Do they betray him for their own ends, or are they connected to the major bad guys? Do they die as well?

@anne18
Forgot the tag, again 🙃

Miss Korea is one of my most favorite dramas ever, with some of my most favorite characters ever, and my top favorite secondary couple.
I should however give a heads up that it stars the late Lee Sun Kyun, if that would mar your enjoyment of the drama.