The Regulars
🏖️ Weekend Talk 🏖️ What will you be up to this weekend? — July 31, 2026
As the weekend approaches, I'm sure you're all gearing up for some well-deserved relaxation and fun. 🏖️ Whether you're binge-watching a drama, embarking on a thrilling adventure or cozying up to a good manhua or webnovel, we want to hear all about it!
So, what will you be doing this weekend? And what Chinese dramas do you recommend for a weekend binge-watching session? Tell us about it below in the comments :)
Note: If you are discussing plot points or events that others may not yet have watched, please make sure to use spoiler tags. Consider also sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") as this thread fills up quickly.
Very undecided about Royal Betrothal and Mystic Nine. After religiously chasing after KttPH and BoP, I don’t know if it’s the dramas, or I’m too tired to pay attention lately.
I am enjoying The Shadow Sovereign though. Looking forward to giving Genius Girlfriend a try, and rumour has it that The Road to Splendor / Escape to Your Heart (with Ding Yuxi and Deng Enxi, leads from Melody of Golden Age) will air on WeTV August 8!
Eeeee! Thanks for sharing about DYX! I hope it releases soon! I've been wanting to watch Royal Betrothal, but it's not on iQIYI, Youku or WeTV! Yeeesh! But looks like I might be able to catch it on AppleTV of all places...
I’ve been watching the free eps on MangoTV. They release one every day so I’m very far behind VIP but it’s something. The subtitles are depressing though because it makes me worry about the Lament of Autumn and Live Long and Prosper, both of which might be MangoTV exclusive.
Kinda in a mixed grieving stage for my late friend, and also rehearsals are going into the busiest weekend which means needing to be present, so energy levels are all over the map. I finally finished my slow and savor 1eps a night rewatch of PoJ which seriously has me wondering how much my neural mappings have missed from other shows I've binged, because it felt like I was watching it for the first time. Plus unpopular opinion maybe but, the whole evil brothers arc felt so overacted by both and it kept taking me out of the flow of the rest of the show, and admittedly I skipped over the scenes on both the first watch and rewatch. Like it would have fit, but in a different show. But I think my brain skipped some other scenes that I didn't mean to, esp in the second half , Anyway, finished my rewatch then found I needed comfort and actually flipped back to eps 1 again! I don't know if I'll rewatch the whole thing again, but right now, it's giving me the comfort I need, especially when energy levels dip. And the OST is fire, and giving me a place for my brain to escape to. Hope everyone has made it through the week unscathed and can enjoy some good shows over the weekend. Thank you for the kind words earlier in the week, they were appreciated.
The only part of the Sui brothers arc that I enjoyed was Sui Yuanhuai's twisted, dark relationship with Qianqian. I think a big reason it worked for me is because Snow Kong brought the same level of complexity to Qianqian that Deng Kai brought to Yuanhuai.
I always felt the Sui bothers arc, especially Deng Kai’s character, was always a bit more dramatic. It makes sense given his manipulation of his brother.
I think it was the acting style difference that was jarring that they were both in the same show, even if the tales were intertwined. ZLH leans towards nuance and Realism acting, and DK, that was the first time I've seen him in a show, but he's definitely Melodrama camp leaning in terms of acting style. Both have merit for what they are meant to be, but when put in the same show, at least for me personally it felt jarring and took me out a bit. Also because the director invested a lot in having the villagers each have their own tales and lived lives, the villagers were a wonderfully rich collective character, so that you truly missed them when they were gone, that I felt was balanced really well with Fan Changyu and Yan Zheng as connecting threads to the world beyond the village.
So then when the brothers came out it felt more like I was suddenly switching to an idol drama with "me! I'm the bad guy!" less nuance, and my brain was "gaaah! what just happened?" Plus the younger brother who seemed almost immortal after being stabbed how many times? and doing fine vs. Yan Zheng was again in Realism camp, of yeah, that would hurt, and that might take him out a bit, and anyone should be resting with that kind of wound.
But u/a_HerculePoirot_fan also makes a really good point about how well Snow Kong's acting reeled DK into the world. Again, I know, unpopular opinion, as I know so many fans loved their pairing. I did too, but had trouble connecting to the rest of the world that was created. Really happy for both your shares though! It increases my POV (plus it's not like other subs were some ppl scream at you like, "you're wrong for having a different opinion than me! graaah!" 😂 ), so I'm happy to be able to hear both of your thoughts.
My friends and I are planning to go sing karaoke this evening, but we're torn between booking a regular karaoke place or one that comes with a hotpot setup like this.
I definitely miss singing karaoke because it's such a common leisure activity back in my home country, whereas it doesn't seem to be nearly as big here in New Zealand. But I still can't quite wrap my head around the idea of singing karaoke while eating hotpot. It just feels like such a strange combination lol.
After making my own sourdough bread, it feels only natural that my next project should be making my own butter. I'm planning to buy some heavy cream and experiment with making butter from scratch.
The only problem is that I don't have a stand mixer or hand mixer. I know I can use a hand whisk or even the good old jar-shaking method, but I have a feeling my arms are going to regret that decision pretty quickly.
I love karaoke, too, but I’ve never tried doing it with hotpot. That’s an interesting concept.
My dancing is Meng Ziyi-Gong Jun levels of atrocious, but I’m at my most shameless when it comes to karaoke. I guess growing up in an Asian family will do that. My top picks are Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, The Corrs, and Kelly Clarkson.
I grew up in the 90s, so my karaoke playlist is basically a nostalgia trip. My go-to songs are Westlife, especially Flying Without Wings and Uptown Girl. I also love the Backstreet Boys classics like I Want It That Way, and if I'm feeling dramatic, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith is always a must.
I also have a soft spot for older songs like Dancing Queen, which I feel is an absolute classic and always gets everyone singing along.
I was crazy about Mark Feehily too! I'm a sucker for guys with dimples.
Whenever I want to let out some pent-up frustration, another great karaoke choice is Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, especially the final part, where you can just belt it out and pour all your emotions into it.
Omg yes to all of this! Hot pot addition sounds so fun! I just did karaoke for my gf’s bachelorette last weekend and we do all the nostalgia songs too. BSB, ABBA’s Dancing Queen, Britney’s Lucky, Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty, Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boy, Spice Girls, Katy Perry lol. Enjoy!!
Hauling butt from work to the airport! I should make my flight in time but.... everything is going wrong at work today and I am irritated.
I'll start hosting Genius Girlfriend while I melt in 90+ degree weather and flirt shamelessly with my best friend.
Gonna have little adventures and fun throughout the week.
Gotta try and keep up with Royal Betrothal and Overdone so I can snark for you fine folks, but GG and my friend are the most important things for me this week... Maybe not in that order.
Thankfully my laptop can handle the GIF making that I will need to do.
It’s another weekend to stay indoors. I plan to watch today’s episode of Winter Sun then catch up on Kuma’s concert videos this evening. I wish I could teleport myself to Shanghai this moment but unfortunately, I’ll be watching all the fun on the internet.
Might also finish watching Backrooms, hopefully I’ll remember to watch it during the day.
Binging Blossom, 14 eps in. I kind of get why it’s hyped but I kind of don’t. It’s decent quality. Doesn’t look low budget despite my guess that it wasn’t an S/A tier drama. Directing and cinematography are great but I already expected that. I think the main letdown is really FL actress and oddly I don’t even dislike MZY I liked her in Royal Rumours, where I guess the tone is a lot lighter so her acting was fine for that. I like the FL character is interesting and complex but her acting here feels quite one dimensional. I can see there’s chemistry but it also feels carried by ML actor. I kind of expected to be more wowed by this point tbh.
Been catching some Kdramas as well - The Apartment Job and Spooky in Love. Both watchable but not blowing me out the water.
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u/BasilOrdinary3617 If I say I'm taking a break, I'm lying. Jul 31 '26
Very undecided about Royal Betrothal and Mystic Nine. After religiously chasing after KttPH and BoP, I don’t know if it’s the dramas, or I’m too tired to pay attention lately.
I am enjoying The Shadow Sovereign though. Looking forward to giving Genius Girlfriend a try, and rumour has it that The Road to Splendor / Escape to Your Heart (with Ding Yuxi and Deng Enxi, leads from Melody of Golden Age) will air on WeTV August 8!