[Taiwanese Drama 2015] Bitter Sweet 軍官‧情人

[themarchioness]

So, it looks like they're going to create a love line between the youngest sister, the nemesis-turned-friend Army guy, and the quirky guy she met on her way to the interview.  GAH.  I don't know who I want to win there!  This drama is really going to put me through the wringer with its love triangles, huh?

On a random side note, there was this scene where the quirky guy was wearing a denim button-down shirt and I swear he wore the same outfit on "Pleasantly Surprised. 

[doctor23b]

@themarchioness The quirky guy can act indeed! I like his character. He is an orphan and this explains his character why is he so weird.

[Guest moo1304]

i'm shipping MoMo and ZhiXiang..(who's with me?!) they look awkwardly cute :3

 

here's some pics from their Official FB

[themarchioness]

Does anyone know the name of the actress playing the author Queen?  She looks so familiar to me.  I feel I must have watched her in some old drama, when I was little and used to sometimes watch with my mom.  I'd love to know if my suspicions are correct.

Speaking of suspicions and the Queen, I don't know if it's just that this drama has me feeling love lines all over the place or what, but is anyone else thinking that maybe the Dad will find some love by the end of this series too?!?!  

[Guest novisad199506]

The name of the actress who plays Queen is Tu Shan Ni . She was an actress in the 90`s. Her last work was In Love With A Rich Girl (2004).

Queen and Dad might end up as a couple, but nothing is certain at this point.

I am enjoying this drama despite the fact I could not possibly care less for the oldest sister`s storyline, and the love triangle involving 2nd sister. 

I like Wang Shang Mo and everyone who has a crush on her. I am rooting for Sun Qin Yue`s character (weird coworker/online friend) to be MoMo`s OTP.

I love MoMo`s twin brother and his military friends (Li Zhi Xiang is my favorite) and all of the military people (I adore the guy who always yells very good).

Dad and Grandma are also really likable.

[doctor23b]

Let me make a guess on who is going to be with who.. I really like this drama..

Mo and her co worker OTP

Mo and zhi xiang I don't think so.. but lately the episodes show mo acting abit shy towards zhi xiang.

Wen (eldest sis) and her boss OTP

Second sis and the quirky rich guy OTP

Father and empress OTP

Shang Hao and the Convinence van girl OTP

 

[themarchioness]

The name of the actress who plays Queen is Tu Shan Ni . She was an actress in the 90`s. Her last work was In Love With A Rich Girl (2004).

Queen and Dad might end up as a couple, but nothing is certain at this point.

Thanks for the information, @novisad199506, and welcome to this thread!  It's nice to see another name around here and I hope you'll stick aruond.  I was beginning to think that @doctor23b and I would be talking to each other (or ourselves) for weeks to come. 

And yes, I know there's nothing certain between Queen and Dad at this point.  It's pure speculation on my part.  I'm still only at Episode 15 and in that episode we met Queen in person for the first time.  However, my love line sensors couldn't help but start sending pinging signals, starting from that scene where Momo pointed Queen out to her father on the TV screen.  There was something in the way that the dad was looking at her that I could just tell there was potential for a love line here.  Then, when he actually met Queen in person and they had a that little run-in with each other, right after Momo's interview, my love line sensors started sounding the alarms.  Haha.  I think the contrast of their personalities could be explosive -- in all the best ways, of course. 

 

Let me make a guess on who is going to be with who.. I really like this drama..

Mo and her co worker OTP

Mo and zhi xiang I don't think so.. but lately the episodes show mo acting abit shy towards zhi xiang.

Wen (eldest sis) and her boss OTP

Second sis and the quirky rich guy OTP

Father and empress OTP

Shang Hao and the Convinence van girl OTP

I don't think second sis will end up with the quirky rich guy.  For one thing, the end credits show Wen with her boss and Huan with Yu Fang.  Beginning and end credits often foreshadow the pairings to come so, in that regard, Yu Fang definitely wins over the quirky rich guy.  Second, it finally occurred to me to read the actual title of the drama in Chinese.  I don't know why but I've just been assuming that "Bitter Sweet" was a literal translation of its Chinese title, but it's not.  And obviously, "Jun Guan," is just as relevant to the Wang Family as a whole but I think it also says a lot that Yu Fang is an officer and quirky rich guy's not even in the military.  That's why I think the purpose of his character s, instead, to make Yu Fang snap out of his first love haze and realize that if he doesn't step up his game, he could lose the woman who's really meant to be in his life.  I just can't see the drama being written in such a way that he loses out on both Wang sisters; that would be sad.  If he doesn't end up getting paired with Huan, by the end of the drama, all he'll have is the Oden Master. 

Or maybe that's all wishful rationalization on my part.  I think we all know by now who I'm shipping in that love triangle! 

I'm totally up in the air for Mo's love triangle still -- I like both the co-worker and Zhi Xiang a lot, so I'll happily follow wherever the story takes me on that score.  And as for all other pairings, I completely agree with those guesses.

I like this drama a lot too.  I was even kind of sad over the weekend that there would be no new episodes to watch... it was my one reason to be happy when Monday rolled around even though I'm usually wishing the weekend to be longer. 

 

[doctor23b]

Hmm.. I didn't catch the end credits. U mean the footage they showed while playing the ending song? I will watch it later. I hope huan could end up with pig head. There's a huge contrast between huan and pig head and huan and yu fan. Huan is always the giving party towards yufan yet pig head is like the little guardian angel for huan. Helping her along the way ( because he's immensely rich )

Huan is such a sweet character! She def needs someone who appreciates her. Let's see how this drama turns out. 

Anyway what's the relationship between the convinence van girl and momo co worker? Shopping tgth at a supermarket? Maybe this would be how hao going to know her. 

Anyway since your at episode 15. The boys are now posted to their new unit which is military police academy. More laughter along the way. I think why I can relate to this drama even though it has many love triangles might be due to the fact I love the military parts as it brings back fond memories of my conscription for 2 years!

P.S. I just caught episode 24.. more beans to spill in this episode, empress the writer needs more info on wood sculptors as she is writing a book with the main male char into wooden handcraft. The dad in this show likes to carve wood. ( def a link here soon! ) Shanghao's enemy turned buddy gets jealous over the suggestion of mo in episode 25 preview.. hehehe.

Catch them on jacky wu variety show tonight. I think it is on the same channel in Taiwan, bittersweet is on 8pm, this variety show is at 9pm. 

[themarchioness]

Hmm.. I didn't catch the end credits. U mean the footage they showed while playing the ending song? I will watch it later. I hope huan could end up with pig head. There's a huge contrast between huan and pig head and huan and yu fan. Huan is always the giving party towards yufan yet pig head is like the little guardian angel for huan. Helping her along the way ( because he's immensely rich )

Huan is such a sweet character! She def needs someone who appreciates her. Let's see how this drama turns out. 

Anyway what's the relationship between the convinence van girl and momo co worker? Shopping tgth at a supermarket? Maybe this would be how hao going to know her. 

Anyway since your at episode 15. The boys are now posted to their new unit which is military police academy. More laughter along the way. I think why I can relate to this drama even though it has many love triangles might be due to the fact I love the military parts as it brings back fond memories of my conscription for 2 years!

P.S. I just caught episode 24.. more beans to spill in this episode, empress the writer needs more info on wood sculptors as she is writing a book with the main male char into wooden handcraft. The dad in this show likes to carve wood. ( def a link here soon! ) Shanghao's enemy turned buddy gets jealous over the suggestion of mo in episode 25 preview.. hehehe.

Yes, the end credits is the footage at the end.  Sometimes they'll even give a preview of what's to come in future eps.  The footage with the end song though always features Wen and her boss and Huan and Yu Fan.

What I like about Huan and Yu Fan is that they're different personalities, but in a complementary way.  For example, Huan is very playful and direct, and has a tendency to rush into things whereas Yu Fan is more serious with a calmer personality.  He also tends to over think things, so I think they balance each other out.  Specifically, they bring out the best parts of each other when they're together.  Huan is not as headstrong when she's around Yu Fan because he calms her down, and he is less passive about things because of her. 

Huan and Pig Head, on the other hand, are too similar in personality.  I think it's what makes them work as good friends, but as a couple, I'm not so sure.  And while I appreciate that Pig Head is always around to help her, it really bugged me that one time when she tripped and fell and he just manhandled her into the taxi cab without giving her room to breathe, let alone speak.  That's really the only time I've seen her "help her" as since then he hasn't had as much screen time.  I think since then the only other time I've seen him is when he gives her that giant stuffed animal.  I know we'll see more of him in future episodes, and I've peeked in on the future episodes enough to know what you're saying about Pig Head helping Huan with her work, but I haven't actually watched. 

So we still don't know about the relationship between the Convenience Van Girl and Mo's co-worker? 

What about the female officer at the military police academy.  I've also peeked in enough to know she exists and that seems to have enough of an antagonistic relationship with Hao that in an ordinary world, I'd suspect a love line forming between the two of them.  Except there's also the Convenience Van Girl!  Is this yet another love triangle in the making? 

But don't get me wrong.  I actually don't mind the love triangles in the least.  They keep things interesting -- although, i will feel differently about them if I don't get the ultimate pairings that I want. 

And hahahaha, love that Queen is going to be writing about wood carving.  Of course she's going to have to consult Wang Dad!!!  In the episode I watched last night (16), they met for the second time.  This time they ran into each other at the mall where he was just telling Huan and Mo that the first time he ever saw their mother she was wearing a dress similar to the one on the model in front of them, and it was love at first sight.  Then, a second later, Queen comes out of the dressing room wearing the exact same dress as the model's.  If that's not foreshadowing, I don't know what is!!! 

It sounds like things are really ramping up in the drama.  I confess that ever since you started dropping hints about what's to come, I've been peeking in on those episodes as well.  As I indicated above, I basically just skip through the episode and select scenes to watch for about 30 seconds before moving on.  I like knowing what's coming up, but I don't want to ruin the viewing experience for myself completely which is why I'm still waiting for the subbed episodes to actually watch.  I saw how Episode 24 ended though and all's I can say is, "!!!"  I hope today was another excellent episode and I bet Zhi Xiang's moment of jealousy was a hoot to watch.

[Guest novisad199506]

I am watching this drama on dramafever because I need subtitles to completely understand what everyone is saying.

I am also watching it raw (on Sugoinow.com and/or YouTube) because I just can't help my curiosity.

@doctor23b  Mo gave a crayon book to her coworker. Why? That was so weird, but so funny.

[doctor23b]

 

 @novisad199506 Mo gave her co worker a crayon book because she wants to show her sincerity that she wants to have a healthy working relationship with him. She thinks that the crayon book would help him because coloring needs alot of patience and can calm him down when he is feeling angsty, when one is vexed, its easier to ruin things. Mo put it across in such a calm and analytical way which is laughed upon by boss.

@themarchioness haha, always happy to read your post which are always detailed. Tidbits of new info for you, Convenience Van Girl also knows yufan.. and they are good friends. She refer to him as Oppa Yufan. It seems that Yufan was the counselling officer attached to the Convenience Van Girl when she signed up for military school. Convenience Van Girl even suggested a movies nights out when the 4 army boys are out and yufan decides to join them.. hahah.

 

[themarchioness]

I am watching this drama on dramafever because I need subtitles to completely understand what everyone is saying.

I am also watching it raw (on Sugoinow.com and/or YouTube) because I just can't help my curiosity.

Ha.  I'm doing the same thing, except I'm not watching the raws just skimming through those eps. 

@themarchioness haha, always happy to read your post which are always detailed. Tidbits of new info for you, Convenience Van Girl also knows yufan.. and they are good friends. She refer to him as Oppa Yufan. It seems that Yufan was the counselling officer attached to the Convenience Van Girl when she signed up for military school. Convenience Van Girl even suggested a movies nights out when the 4 army boys are out and yufan decides to join them.. hahah.

I'm glad you're enjoying my posts.  These last two times especially, I've posted my message and then seen how long they are and think, "Wow.  I had that much to say???"  But apparently I do!  This drama has unexpectedly stolen my heart in ways I can't even explain, really.  It's just so entertaining, sometimes heartwarming, other times amusing.  I like all the story lines and I like how they're all progressing at the same time.  I know I keep making comparisons to "Dear Mom," but that's because it's the last T-daily drama that I watched, and there, they would focus on one sister's storyline for the bulk of the time, finish it up, and then focus on another's.  I liked "Dear Mom" a lot when I was watching, but I definitely prefer the approach taken by "Bitter Sweet" now.

And thanks for today's tidbit!  I love how the circles are so small in dramas.  Everyone always knows everybody.  

I bet it couldn't have been comfortable for the four guys to have their officer with them!  Maybe Hao should invite Huan to the movies too. 

[doctor23b]

@themarchioness ohmygawd. a very small part yet very very important part (small talk between 2 sister whilst holding each other chin) about the eldest sis is revealed!! The feared and awkward love triangle you have mentioned earlier before might come true.. Another great thing would be love is in the house for the wang family!! Next ep preview has the loud and heart warming platoon sgt visiting the boys and he gets into a deep conversation with yx. I wonder what.. hmm.. 

[themarchioness]

@themarchioness ohmygawd. a very small part yet very very important part (small talk between 2 sister whilst holding each other chin) about the eldest sis is revealed!! The feared and awkward love triangle you have mentioned earlier before might come true.. Another great thing would be love is in the house for the wang family!! Next ep preview has the loud and heart warming platoon sgt visiting the boys and he gets into a deep conversation with yx. I wonder what.. hmm.. 

Oh boy . . . Once we knew the sister was the person Yu Fang met all those years ago, it was only a matter of time before that awkward love triangle came to fruition.  I wouldn't be surprised if Huan's initial reaction is one of jealousy and maybe even annoyance, because we've seen how insecure she feels whenever she's compared against Wen, and how it makes her competitive towards her older sister.  But I think ultimately it won't be any sort of big deal because for Wen, it's probably at most a memory of something that happened to her in the past.  She clearly hasn't put any stock in the meeting in the same way that Yu Fang has.  She's too caught up in her past relationship with her boss.  Plus, those old feelings she and her boss once shared are already being rekindled.  I have a hard time seeing her switching directions just because finds out that Yu Fang harbors a crush on her.

From Yu Fang's perspective, I think he'll just have to get over the embarrassment of knowing he's idolized this woman for so many years only to find out it wasn't reciprocated and it wasn't the Grand Fate that he'd been imagining all along.  One thing I really liked was several episodes back when Wen encouraged Huan to help Yu Fang track down the other woman, she pointed out that it's really easy to put someone on a pedestal for so many years and think that they're everything you want in a partner when in reality, that may not be the case.  It's so true and I know I've experienced that myself, so her words really resonated with me.  I truly think in this drama, that'll be what happens between Yu Fang and Wen.  (It won't be like in "Dear Mom" where the same actor playing Yu Fang played a character where he had a brief meeting with a woman, fell in love with her at first sight, and then waited for her for so many years until she later returned and they actually got together.  At least that's my prediction.)

Once Huan gets over her ire that her crush thought her older sister was the Woman For Him, and Yu Fang gets over his first love, they can be happy and together.  At least that's what I'm hoping for! 

And so excited to hear the old platoon sergeant will be visiting the boys: Xiang Dang Haaaaaaaaaaooooo!  LOL! 

[themarchioness]

@doctor23b, how could you not give me the head's up that Pighead and Wen's boss are friends?????  Hahaha.  Omg, the circles in this drama shrink even smaller.  And what an awkward situation we are now in.

Pighead is encouraging Huan to keep searching for Yu Fang's first love in the hopes that Yu Fang will get back together with the first love and leave Huan for himself.  But if Yu Fang gets back together with his first love, that means his friend, the boss, won't get Wen!  So he is, unknowingly, wishing bad things for his friend! 

This drama has one of the most complicated relationship charts ever. 

Anyway, just finished Episode 17.  The party the F4 Army buddies threw together . . . omg, those mermaids!  My eyes!  That was hilarious.  I also really loved, love, loved Hao's good-bye speech.  So touching.  Especially the part where he apologized Zhi Xiang and said he would've regretted it if he'd missed out on his friendship.  Love how far these boys have come since entering service.

[doctor23b]

@doctor23b, how could you not give me the head's up that Pighead and Wen's boss are friends?????  Hahaha.  Omg, the circles in this drama shrink even smaller.  And what an awkward situation we are now in.

Pighead is encouraging Huan to keep searching for Yu Fang's first love in the hopes that Yu Fang will get back together with the first love and leave Huan for himself.  But if Yu Fang gets back together with his first love, that means his friend, the boss, won't get Wen!  So he is, unknowingly, wishing bad things for his friend! 

This drama has one of the most complicated relationship charts ever. 

Anyway, just finished Episode 17.  The party the F4 Army buddies threw together . . . omg, those mermaids!  My eyes!  That was hilarious.  I also really loved, love, loved Hao's good-bye speech.  So touching.  Especially the part where he apologized Zhi Xiang and said he would've regretted it if he'd missed out on his friendship.  Love how far these boys have come since entering service.

HAHA, i can't be throwing you all the surprises that would make no surprise element for you. hahah. sorry bout that. I am thinking that wen and her boss relationship is getting too draggy. Ffs, he left her out of the blue. Don't think hes a nice guy, but he has the most adorable daughter ever! Yea regarding hao farewell speech, anybody who went through basic military training would say that. Army prolly makes you more mature and understanding and not take things for granted. I said something along that line too when I gave my farewell speech. I really meant each and every single word I said. However, I was not as lucky as the army F4 being able to stick it out together and getting posted to the same unit. I was selected to Officer Cadet School, my other bunkmates went to sgt school and rest went into unit to be ground troopers. Sigh, those memories.

[themarchioness]

HAHA, i can't be throwing you all the surprises that would make no surprise element for you. hahah. sorry bout that. I am thinking that wen and her boss relationship is getting too draggy. Ffs, he left her out of the blue. Don't think hes a nice guy, but he has the most adorable daughter ever! Yea regarding hao farewell speech, anybody who went through basic military training would say that. Army prolly makes you more mature and understanding and not take things for granted. I said something along that line too when I gave my farewell speech. I really meant each and every single word I said. However, I was not as lucky as the army F4 being able to stick it out together and getting posted to the same unit. I was selected to Officer Cadet School, my other bunkmates went to sgt school and rest went into unit to be ground troopers. Sigh, those memories.

LOL, fine, fine, I suppose you have a point.  Just finished watching the episode where Hao invites Zhi Xiang to stay with his family while they're on break.  Seeing Zhi Xiang tear up while watching Hao interact with his father made me want to tear up.  I so badly want this boy to have a family to call his own.  Even if he and Momo don't end up together, I hope he'll still be adopted into the Wang family.  He needs them, and they need him.  I like how he serves as an example for Hao to emulate. 

As for Wen and her boss, I suspect there's still more to the story of their break-up.  After all, he was as in love with her as she was with him.  If that was the case, how do we go from him mysteriously disappearing on him and then reappearing all these years later with a daughter.  Plus, we know from Yu Fang's calculations that the daughter pretty much had to be born shortly after they met, so that means the boss had the daughter shortly after he broke up with Wen.  How is that possible?  Did he have a one night stand?  Or is it something else?  Right now, I have a hard time believing that someone who would keep a painting of his first love in his home would have cheated on her even on one occasion.  It leads me to suspect that the little girl may not be his biological daughter, but that somehow he's become responsible for her.  I don't know, that's pure speculation on my part.  Maybe something did happen in the past and he had a child with someone else, but things obviously didn't work and the little girl's mother bailed on them.  However it happened, I'd like to believe that he's actually a good guy.  Wen obviously still has feelings for him and I want her to be with someone who's deserving of her.  (Because I don't want her with Yu Fang.  )

And I can totally see how watching this drama brings back those happy memories that you have of your military service.  There's something compelling about "Bitter Sweet."  I can't quite put my finger on it, but perhaps it is the simplicity and the realism of its story that makes it that much more relatable.  I'm going to miss it now that it's the weekend.  I can't believe I'm saying this but, hurry back Monday? 

P.S. I forgot to say that I totally peeked ahead at ep 27 and let's just say I was all, "!!!!" at one part.  I'm just glad Huan is as clueless as she is.  Keep it up, Huan! 

[doctor23b]

Yep, that is spot on. What draws me to this drama is not the super roller coaster story line or any drop dead gorgeous hunks or babes. (although huan did a FHM shoot before. heheeh.)

It is the simple life of a closely knitted family whereby there is the grandparents,parents and siblings all living under one roof. How much Asians can relate to it. Coming back home for that dinner your mother made. Enjoying bickering with each other, and most importantly respect and loving each other.  Not forgetting all those messy love triangles and work related issues. What this drama face is very real and what most middle income family can relate to. Rushing to work, meeting deadline, hoping to find that special one. 

Its not the storyline, its the setting, the characters and they made a good casting for this show. Father was based in China I think, taiwan producers had to coax him back just for this show. Really a solid actor!

Woohoo!! The eldest sis has a campaign on military camo clothing. They are going to do a shoot at yufan's camp! Is this going to be exciting or what.

[themarchioness]

@themarchioness The brother and his nemesis did patch up. They are really good buddies. Episode 20 today was so so so AWESOME!! #swagdadftw The father was really swaaaaaaggggggg. Really one of the best episode up till now.

@doctor23b, you were right.  I loved Episode 20.  The dad was awesome!!!  He's such a charismatic character.  My favorite part was when Zhi Xiang's dad was all, "I'm going to report you to the police," and Wang Baba just pulled out his phone and was like, "Sure, let's call the guy I used to train," and then went on to point out his many other connections.  Haha.  I think that's called swift justice served!

I was also really touched to see the entire Wang family folding Zhi Xiang into their family.  He is soooooo starved for love and attention.  Poor thing.

Just finished skimming today's episode (28) and lol, does granny get a love line too???  There will be nobody single left at the end of this drama. 

Woohoo!! The eldest sis has a campaign on military camo clothing. They are going to do a shoot at yufan's camp! Is this going to be exciting or what.

I'm totally going to watch that scene with my hands covering my eyes . . . that's going to be when Yu Fan learns that his North Star is Wen, I'm sure, and the fall out of that love triangle is not going to be pretty.

[doctor23b]

@themarchioness I think that the writers wrote about granny love line is really important. Because by seeing his own mother who is of a respectable age and someone who have seen the big stages of life still being able to open up to new love is really refreshing. Father might see granny being able to open up hence he might also take a hit at empress.

Just finished ep29. Gosh,we were right! The plot for SH and AMX (AI mei xin , convenience van girl) being OTP is slowly developing. Actually, I am really confused on why is AMX not being able to enter military school? She seems really active and fit. Was the reason ever mentioned in the earlier episodes? I think not right..? Would be hell of a hassle to scroll back all the EP just to review. I rmbr she just said she got rejected and appeared dismayed when probe more upon. Is it a health reason or..?

They look cute tgth though.