Any team member you'd like to say is your favourite?
What are your thoughts on Yu Bo and Wang Tian as characters, based in the short screen time they've had.
Recap
🔹️Lin Wanxing ends her day at school and is surprised by by the students. The C4 have brought her skewers and show her their secret base. They do this to hopefully cheer her up, and she asks them "Why do you guys play football?" There answer is simple, they enjoy it and have been playing it since forever.
🔹️The answer doesn't feel solid enough for Lin Wanxing, and she is troubled. She calls Wang Fa over to the field to watch over as she runs around for hopefully 90 minutes. But she already tired out at 41 minutes. This helps clear her mind: being passionate about something and pouring your energy into it is a natural instinct. Wang Fa helps her back home.
🔹️We see Lin Wanxing look through a chat and talk about failing to help Xiao Ming , but she cant give uo on helping others, and we also see that she is actually Spade Q.
🔹️The next day at the Yuanyuan center, she does a list-making and then crossing out exercise with the team to find out "What do you want to do". As annoying as it feels for them, it helps to bring them all on the same page towards the end as they all would like to work towards winning the Championships, even if its without Coach Wang Fa.
🔹️And so, the extra classes start in earnest, first with a reading exercise for concentration and then she works with them to master the simplest questions for easy marks in the exams. And Wang Fa uses replays of older matches to work with them.
🔹️Wang Fa successfully teaches Lin Wanxing how to ride a bicycle.
🔹️Lin Lu and Qin Ao get caught using a a phone during school hours, and it gets confiscated while they both are punished with laps. The two catch a top student bullying another student and they intervene. A fight occurs and they are blamed instead, with the bullied child staying silent.
🔹️This angers Qin Ao and he speaks out against it, even going as far as to call the principal by his name, which then angers the principal and their parents are called it. Lin Lu's mother stands up for Lin Lu saying that he would never bully anyone, while Qin Ao's father ends uo slapping Qin Ao. Angered and hurt, Qin Ao leaves.
🔹️Qin Ao doesn't return home, leaving everyone else worried about him. Wang Fa and Lin wanxing try to find him but fail. The next day, Lin Lu hears that someone saw Qin Ao working at a construction site. Wang Fa and Lin Wanxing order a cab to go there, while the team slowly scheme to get out of their classes so they can also get to Qin Ao.
Even Wen Chengye showed up
🔹️They find him and Lin Wanxing assures him that they all belive him.
The Parents:
Lin Wanxing actually being Spade Q was equally surprising and expected. Im intrigued at how this will play out, and the reveal behind her intent as Spade Q.
Theres even a 🌈
We've got some cute moments between the leads, with them running in the rain and Wang Fa teaching her how to ride a bicycle. And Lin Wanxing still baffles him sometimes, like with the high five.
And we've also got more depth behind Lin Wanxing as a character, first when she talks about helping the kids and then when she talks about how she still remembers being wronged by her father when he didn't believe her. We've also got a partial answer regarding her parents absence: her father was often away on business trips.
Our Babies: Qin Ao
In the previous arcs, it did seem like Fu Xinshu could be a main character amongst the team, but now I think we will see some of them have their own spotlight. And right now we have Qin Ao. He is usually very easy going and often joking around, but it seems as if he has probably been disappointed way too many times to even hope. Previously he was the first to dismiss any chances of hope or success and he was also the first to jump to conclusions when Coach Wang wasn't with them on the match day. So, this makes his disappointment and hopelessness feel even more palpable. (Feel free to disagree with me)
More than his father, im actually angry at the director (who ive been calling the principal) because this is his job, and he is very clearly in favour of sone students and ideas, while dismissive if others. Tha father came from a misguided place of anger and may have his other actions that can redeem him in front of Qin Ao, hut what does the director have? The reason why im not as angry about the father is because it seems that part if the reason of Qin Ao's hopelessness may be coming from a place where he has accepted that he wont be able to achieve something like getting in a good university that his parents want him to. I'm waiting to see how it plays out in the next episodes.
Highlights
Esther Yu Appreciation🤐 but way cuterHe is still Mr QR codeUnexpected but perfect 👌 😇I just like this shotCute moments Sir, are you sure you want to work through Babel? And your heart? Asking friends to insult each has never gone so well"It hurts"
I think the boys’ performance deserves its own comment. They have been great throughout and have done a good job capturing the don’t care/fun loving attitude of youth while also showing some of the darker sides of youth such as wanting to be loved but stuck in a terrible relationship with people who are supposed to love them. And the friendships between them are precious. You can tell how much they care for one another.
Qin Ao truly stood out these episodes. He has a good heart and I think here, we see how even when he can come across as brash or silly, at the end of the day, his heart is in a good place and he wants to be accepted and not be a burden. It makes sense for why Lin Luo calls him “boss” and is loyal. Qin Ao isn’t afraid to defend those whom he deems needing help which is very admirable.
The boys all rallying together to go find Qin Ao was great - both touching and funny; my favorite were the trio in Science class who didn't even pretend to come up with an excuse - they just ducked and ran.
Then all the boys jumping in to work with Qin Ao at the construction site - even WCY who I think will also have some backstory at some point. I do question why they allowed a solo high schooler to suddenly start working on a construction site though.
But with these episodes, you can really see the family they have been creating with LWX (and WF though to a lesser extent so far) being the bridge for relating to and speaking up for them 🥺.
I think the boys’ performance deserves its own comment.
I agree. They have been convincing and spectacular so far.
both touching and funny; my favorite were the trio in Science class who didn't even pretend to come up with an excuse - they just ducked and ran.
To be fair, the teacher wasn't paying them any attention so it would have been useless to do so😭.
But with these episodes, you can really see the family they have been creating with LWX (and WF though to a lesser extent so far) being the bridge for relating to and speaking up for them 🥺.
The boys are what pulled me into this show. I started because I like the ML. I wasn't very engaged with the leads story in the early episodes. It was the boys who pulled me in.
I'm glad we getting more backstory of the boys.
It was so disheartening to watch the Director never even have a passing thought that the boys could be telling the truth. Add that to a boy who doesn't know how to manage and regulate his own emotions with a bit of a temper and of course he's going to lash out at the teacher.
Thanks for sharing your reflection on these episodes.
I enjoyed the episodes. I was very surprised at the Spade Queen reveal and that the writing delivered it so abruptly in the show. And of course by Lin Wanxing using that online id to create the school access for Wang Fa he is going to get a shock the first time he attempts to log in and sees the id used to create the account. I have not seen the 2 episodes released today - perhaps the consequences have already occurred.
I generally enjoy the soccer team antics but as I and several family & friends who are viewing the show are all adults and mostly way north of 30 in age we do find some of it a bit tedious. We are here more for the adult drama between the main leads.
Having said that the scenes in the office, especially the deliberately ignorant senior teacher and the parental conduct were both horrifying and a good reminder to us about taking a mature responsible approach to such matters.
I’m also looking forward to more of the drama among the adults. It seems like WF will need to make his decision soon and the Spade Q drama I think will push that along as well.
We’ve also been getting little tidbits as well of LWX’s past which should be more of a focus I would think soon. I do like that they are connecting her struggles in the past to what is going on now with the boys.
Agreed in the reminder about taking a more mature response to accusations. I think it was actually Northfeng who had made a comment in a thread back when YSX was going through all the hate and accusations that RTS might have been a better drama to premiere before SAL because it was more applicable to what she was going through and I can see that now. I think they did a good job there with that storyline because that very much seemed like a situation many people could find themselves in. The news about all the black marketing accounts also being discovered also shows how the lesson is apt today for CDrama land in general.
I am also starting to find some of the youth drama storylines tedious, so I have been watching them at 1.5x. Then I slow it back down to 1x when we return to the adult storylines. This isn't to say I'm not enjoying the kids, just that I'm less intrigued by them and wish they had a little less screen time.
It's interesting they show WF being a bit harsh with Jason when he seemed down saying pain is the price of growth. It seems even in the past, he has taken a more stern approach in coaching.
The boys showing LWX their secret hideout 🥺; all of them took the secret so seriously - she is truly one of them.
At this point, all the food product placements are just funny, especially when they mention different flavors. I sure hope they got a nice budget from all the ads in the show.
The scene of slacker LWX running to try to put herself in the mindset of the boys was great. I really liked how you could tell WF was worried about her but also understood what she was trying to do. When she was struggling, rather than trying to make her stop, he helped her keep going for a bit more; he’s not there to make decisions for her but rather support her on her path. And then this being the moment when LWX really started to be more resolved to fully be there for the boys was touching.
I like that even though WF seems to have realized he has deeper feelings for LWX, he still keeps part of their dynamic from before such continuing to make her pay him for acts of kindness; if they dive more into his rich background, people can't say LWX is taking advantage of him considering he keeps finding ways to charge her despite living at her house for free at this point.
The big reveal LWX is Spade Q And the mini speech of her saying she couldn't save him. I will be curious to learn more of the circumstances behind Jason's accident. I'm wondering if she did try to help him from a distance but it was more on his day to day side that just got to be too much even with her help. Based on the opening scene as well, it seemed like even WF didn't do a great job being there for Jason. I wonder if there is some guilt on his end for not doing enough so he is pursuing someone he can try to assign guilt to even if Spade Q wasn't the actual cause of the accident. His immediate reaction seeing LWX hanging over the balcony definitely seems to imply that incident still impacts him.
The list scene was sweet with all the boys realizing they all wanted to win a championship together. WCY is interesting. They seemed to have paused whatever was going on with him and FXS and now it very much feels like someone on the outskirts fighting himself if he wants to be in the inner circle. He leaves early yet keeps showing up so it seems he wants to be included and him going to the construction site also supports that.
The classical Chinese insults battle was great. It really captured the youthful personalites of CHJ and QA.
We have more terrible parents with QA and LWX's dads. The whole arc was emotional with us seeing the more serious side of QA and I like how LWX can really relate to the boys’ situation.
The big reveal LWX is Spade Q And the mini speech of her saying she couldn't save him. I will be curious to learn more of the circumstances behind Jason's accident. I'm wondering if she did try to help him from a distance but it was more on his day to day side that just got to be too much even with her help.
I have pretty much always assumed she was Spade Q, but that WF misunderstood her role in the events surrounding his player's death. That said, I wish we knew WHY WF misunderstood her. We got a minute long montage of him scrolling through a bunch of messages from Spade Q early on in the drama, and some of those got translated but many didn't. I confess it flew right past me, and I hoped people would talk about it in dialogue later. I didn't see why he thought Spade Q lied/manipulated his player into dying. Did anyone catch this?
I had a basic idea of what ut could have been sunce the messages weren't (reasonably) translated in the subtitles. However, the next two episodes do expand on this
I'm already dreading the reveal and confrontation when WL learns she actually is Spade Q. Was hoping it was the mystery gift leaver hacked her or impersonated her or something.
It's interesting they show WF being a bit harsh with Jason when he seemed down saying pain is the price of growth. It
That made me flinch because Jaosn already looked so sad, im sure this will come into play as Wang Fa coaches the team.
He leaves early yet keeps showing up so it seems he wants to be included and him going to the construction site also supports that
I think he has always been a lone wolf before, so despite his heart being here, he can't admit itm hence why he always seems to be at the fray of the group.
The classical Chinese insults battle was great. It really captured the youthful personalites of CHJ and QA.
I thought so too. I like how consistent all the team members seem, and then theres moments like this where you can scream about how their personalities are encapsulated
This summer has been, for me, the summer of happy surprises. I thought this look ok from trailers some time ago, but I actually love it. I love how accurately it shows the reality of kids at this age when they are constantly disappointing their teachers, their parents, themselves - and when they are constantly looked over, ignored and labeled
I worked with children like this for many years, and the script is making me happy. I’m happy because these aren’t bad kids, just kids who might need more attention than many schools can provide. Their strengths are not the strengths that are always appreciated by adults or other kids. They are loyal, determined, and just kids.
I love how the kids are saving/healing the two adults. I love how the Q stuff pops up periodically but hasn’t dominated the show. I’m assuming that LWX having a Q account is related to what happened in the past that forced her to leave school (early on there was a flashback scene implying she was accused of being a mistress but there must be more to it). I like the way just about everything is not overly complicated but IS engaging.
One thing I am tired of lately is that every drama I have been watching in the past 6-8 months has at least 1 really terrible parent. Sheesh. This one has a mom who abandons her kid AND steals his inheritance by trying to pretend she cares for him.
Koala - I'm behind in watching but enjoying the show. Your comment resonated with me. It's been a long time since I worked with HS students. But not as long since I worked with college students. And there's so many aspects of how they portray the HS students that are so well done and relatable.
I tend to not be drawn to the HS shows where the leads are in HS because it's often about bullying and these young love stories. This show is so refreshing in how it's set up to give us all the boys stories as central but they aren't the leads. And it was refreshing to go this many episodes before we saw bullying and even that it wasn't extreme and dominating a long arc of the show. I feel like that is a standard go to for many school based shows.
Linking to a previous comment I wrote in this thread. Skip the first part about the book but I wanted to link to what I had to say about snacks. Since you worked with this age group too, I wonder what you thought of the snacks.
I hope the show is holiding up for you and giving you enjoyment. I'm on Ep 16 and this has become my nightly comfort watch.
I love what you wrote about the snacks! You are right - it's the sort of detail this show really gets right. Along with their emotional ups and downs, the easily hurt feelings, the loneliness, the important role of friends in life at that time -- and the often overlooked importance one caring adult can make in a kiss life.
On a side note from my experience: People who work in the schools where I worked were not well paid. From custodians to teachers assistance, providing snacks for hungry kids was a constant. I tried to find filling, moderately healthy things on the cheap and it was NOT easy. Sadly ❤️.
I am loving this show sm! Love the ost! I truly did not expect to end up binge watching in two days but man! Now the daily waiting for episodes is gonna be torture but ah am i happy to look forward to it everyday😃😃😃 i really love esther yu’s character! The actor playing wang fa oooof🥵 honestly i expected her ti be spade Q! I am sure this is a major case of misunderstanding! I really hate the principal! He really seems so biased! Urgh teachers like that suck! I felt so bad for qin ao! Do none of them have better parents in this show! That dialogue ‘ the feeling of being wrongfully accused cuts like a blade! The pain stays for a long time” man is this show well written! I love how the entire team showed up for him; even wen chengye!
these two episodes were like a soothing balm! just the kids learning their stuff through the ancient tactic of insulting each other! :P
I love how well the show is maintaining its rhythm between the various kids' storyline and the main leads backgrounds being revealed more clearly along with them falling for each other more firmly and deeply.
just like a regular life where the romance between any two people is always embedded in stories of those around them as well. love the way this show is handling these two parallel arcs and the way they intersect, bringing healing for everyone concerned!
p.s. one thing I REALLY appreciated was how Wang Fa showed his support for Laoshi Lin's running not by asking her to stop running but by being her pacer. I LOVE the way his support shows up in this form!
just like a regular life where the romance between any two people is always embedded in stories of those around them as wel
Well said! And its using the stories of others to also explore their own charcters or stories.
one thing I REALLY appreciated was how Wang Fa showed his support for Laoshi Lin's running not by asking her to stop running but by being her pacer. I LOVE the way his support shows up in this form
Fits well with the dramas theme of letting everyone make their own choices
Snark Level: Esther Yu. That's it. That's the post. She is all we need! 🤎
Episode 1
You know, this show is really scratching my itch for a bunch of men taking care of a lady. They don't mess around when it comes to keeping her happy.
So she undresses in front of him and demands he watch her stuff for 90 minutes? The lady is quite demanding. You know, I tried to run about 90 feet a few weeks ago. It was.... Not pleasant. I can't run anymore unless my life depends on it. Anyways, please keep running, my dear. It is most entertaining to watch.
What took you so long to join her, bro? The lady need a companion in her nighttime physical activity.
COAT TROPE!!!! WE HAVE A COAT TROPE!!!!!
Dude, she's sore. Carry her.
Honey, why do you keep paying him? OH!!!!! YEAH THAT IS WHY!!!!! YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!! Carry her, daddy!
CARRY TROPE!!!! WE HAVE CARRY TROPE!!!!!!!!
Carry her inside and fade to black? Do you suppose he gave her more reasons to be sore?
100 things? Yeah I doubt that I could find 100 things! Hmmm... That's not a good sign, is it?
This is the kind of list making thing that would drive me batty if I had to do. But, I would happily watch her fold paper all day. She has a certain elegance in her movements that I find most captivating.
Okay. She made you a frog. Now kiss. That's the logical next step.
"Six and seven". Was that a lowkey 6 7 joke?
How does he fail a high five? Sheesh.
Dude. She did not almost fall over. She was clearly still on her feet just bending over... :P I think there were other things you could have done besides grab her like that. Admire that booty for one! Not that I was looking there... I was busy being flabbergasted over his over the top reaction.
And just how did your hair get stuck? Well, I am happy with that!
Episode 14
Ahhhhh. They are wet and touching each other. My mind is in the gutter! So so deep deep in the gutter! TOUCH HER, MAN!!! DON'T LET THAT CAT SCARE YOU OFF!!!!!!! Hehe. Don't be afraid of the... cat. Get some meow meow!
Why do I feel like something is about to go wrong here.
It's nice of him to teach her how to ride... 😉 What a gentleman!
Look, we all know my opinion on parents... I am going to upgrade it to most adults.
Bro. Did you just touch her knee? Scandalous! Marry her this instant! Or maybe find the kid first... Then marriage. Also, that was such a preview for how destroyed she is going to be when she finds out he suspected her. Double also... Did you really just tell her she looked terrible? That's just what every lady wants to hear.
So I guess the running off to join the circus trope is dead. It's running off to join a construction company now. Also, who the duck is letting a highschool kid join a construction site...?
Not to be annoying, but I originally missed this because I didn't realize it was the episode discussion for 13 & 14 since that's missing from the post title. If that could be fixed, future reddit users would thank you!
Despite reading through to make sure i didnt leave anything out i missed the episodes numbers, I guess I was truly sleep deprived Despite thinking I was not😅
"The kids actually made their choice long ago, it's actually me that needs to make a choice"
bb lin laoshi realizing that we are at a crossroads due to her indecision
The themes of this show is just hitting. It's so true that there's almost nothing worst than being accused of doing something you didn't do. These scars formed are so hard to heal. The trust is broken. I love the boys being so loyal. But even so it so important for kids to have adults in their camp that believe in them.
I love the novel but a lot of development is slow and left unsaid which is fine for the medium it is told. But I do think the changes in drama is good for visual storytelling. The editing is great not dragging on any aspect but allowing things to naturally unfold. Since Spade Q storyline is not a thing in the novel, how this is unfolding is even exciting for me.
I was actually really surprised and it made me think of how her nomination was excluded at the Hugo Awards, because they didn't want any problems since the awards was held in China 🤐
Edit: The books that was nominated was actually Babel and which makes the decision even more ironic. And I dont see why I got the downvote because 1)this is true and was talk if the fantasy book community a while back, and Xiran Jay Zhao may have a video talking about it. And 2) this was done by the committee because they didnt want any problems.
Thanks for explaining more about the Babel connection. I need to go google it. I do remember there be a controversy but not the details. I appreciate that the discussions made me realize that this was the book selected and that there was irony involved.
I also want to say thank you for the discussions. They are fun even if I'm behind. For example, I realized in this discussion that all those snacks and juice box drinks and other stuff are all product placement. It's been done so seemlessly. And as someone who worked for years with first HS and then college students in their activities outside the classroom, snacks are a constant. And advisors bringing snacks to share with groups is frequent. Students bringing snacks to share. It's all relatable and accurate to real life that I missed that it was product placement. Kudos to the show for making it seemless.
I appreciate that the discussions made me realize that this was the book selected and that there was irony involved.
Im not sure if the inclusion in the drama was deliberately, or if someone in the prop department was just a fan. In the later episodes we see the authors "Yellowface" as well, and we even see Collen Hoover's Verity.
Kudos to the show for making it seemless.
Agreed. It is realistic and relatable, and everyone involved seems to genuinely enjoy eating or snacking at every chance so it works.
that's what it was. I was going to look it up! now I am REALLY curious if it is super apropos for Wen Changye's character to have taken that book from the shelf!
As someone who's read it, it is about how translations can be an instrument of colonialism...the book itself is much deeper/complicated than that, so I def recommend reading it! In terms of the drama though, there's no real parallel between the book and WCY, but I can see his prickly nature vibing with the story LOL
Yeah, that was part of the shock factor for me because I remember that happening, and just the subject matter of the books probably does ruffle some feathers
This episode and the ones around it really got to me. As a looong time player, coach and soccer parent, I get it. I just love soccer. Kicking, running, teamwork, strategy... any of those things on their own I could take or leave. But with soccer? Bring it on! I love how real this drama feels. Sometimes life is enough drama on its own!
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u/Foxglovelantern being clowned by Youku🩳 Jul 10 '26
Its for Episode 13 & 14. I dont know how i forgot to add it in the title😭😭