[Mainland Chinese Drama 2021] The Imperial Coroner 御赐小仵作

[Emerald Snow]

53 minutes ago, Lotflow said:

It is been a while, since I join a discussion here...the last time was "under the power". 

 

But the drama "the imperial coroner" got me hooked. So I hope, that it will have succes and a lot of fans will find a way here to disucss about it.

 

I remember really liking Under the Power when I watched it.  Overall the show was great, but it really deviated from being a detective drama at the end.  And the ending was so short.  My 2 cuties had such a short reunion scene.

[Lotflow]

9 minutes ago, Emerald Snow said:

 

I remember really liking Under the Power when I watched it.  Overall the show was great, but it really deviated from being a detective drama at the end.  And the ending was so short.  My 2 cuties had such a short reunion scene.

Yes...the end is too rush, but at least they gave us an happy end

 

[SC2019]

@Lotflow @Emerald Snow I somehow started watching UTP towards the middle (I have no idea why now) and liked how Seven Tan was such a darling in that role, not the sort who would willingly die for love, felt it was unfair, yet went through it to save the ML, such a realistic portrayal. Yes, the ending was short, and the scenes leading up to it were far from desirable. But I must say, it made me notice Han Dong, whom I am following in No Boundary right now and it made me cheer for Seven Tan in The Sword and The Brocade. I think someone mentioned that Seven looked too young for the role. I haven't watched all of it yet as I don't like the women-politics-bickering-backstabbing kinda plot, but from what I could see, she carried herself very well and the chemistry between the two is worth its weight in gold. Sorry, I am probably biased as Wallace Chung is someone I have been waiting to watch in ancient garb, since General and I, and he makes for such a dashing gentlemen (at least for an ahjumma like me). But putting my rose-coloured-lens aside, they truly made a good pair. I watched them in a variety show, and even there, they worked well together.

 

@Emerald Snow I echo your sentiments about Xiao Heng, from the flashback (I think the only significant one was the one showing him and Princess Xi Peng in courtship, their conversation over a stone which got carved into the jade that they each have - now one is with Chu Chu). He appeared to be a very sincere, humble and learned man, being able to cite poetry and use it to justify himself as a suitor of the Princess. That was one of the memorable scenes.

 

Anyway @skibbies thanks awfully for explaining the royal lineage to us (so this story has historical elements?). Things are much, much clearer for me now, and I am sure for many others. I am back to counting my fingers and toes for Thursday again.  And for those waiting for the subs, at least you get to savour the duo for a bit longer. Fingers crossed that Jin Li will find a girl too (but at this juncture, with 6 more episodes to go, doesn't seem that way).

[skibbies]

5 hours ago, SC2019 said:

Anyway @skibbies thanks awfully for explaining the royal lineage to us (so this story has historical elements?). 

The novel doesn't have any concrete period iirc, as most novels tend to do, since writing it into certain period means people might nitpick it + more research. When adapting into dramas, a lot of production team will try to tie the drama to certain period to make it more grounded, it provides a base for what era clothing the characters should wear. In this drama's case, it provides a much more solid background to tie the story, which makes it much more realistic. Late Tang has its powerful eunuchs, regional military governors (Leng Yue's grandpa is one, what do they translate it as?) often have their own agendas and emperor trying to balance between everyone while keeping things in control explain everyone's motivations more. It's core reason for why Xiao Heng/dad end up doing what he's doing, and explain backgrounds of OTP too.

 

I thought the emperor and princess was same generation and at least just a generation apart, so figuring out the family tree have been enlightening for me too. Wiking the emperors have been fun since I've always been real fuzzy on late Tang to be honest, so good opportunity to get that straight for once.

[Emerald Snow]

On 5/18/2021 at 1:10 AM, SC2019 said:

@Lotflow @Emerald Snow I somehow started watching UTP towards the middle (I have no idea why now) and liked how Seven Tan was such a darling in that role, not the sort who would willingly die for love, felt it was unfair, yet went through it to save the ML, such a realistic portrayal. Yes, the ending was short, and the scenes leading up to it were far from desirable. But I must say, it made me notice Han Dong, whom I am following in No Boundary right now and it made me cheer for Seven Tan in The Sword and The Brocade. I think someone mentioned that Seven looked too young for the role. I haven't watched all of it yet as I don't like the women-politics-bickering-backstabbing kinda plot, but from what I could see, she carried herself very well and the chemistry between the two is worth its weight in gold. Sorry, I am probably biased as Wallace Chung is someone I have been waiting to watch in ancient garb, since General and I, and he makes for such a dashing gentlemen (at least for an ahjumma like me). But putting my rose-coloured-lens aside, they truly made a good pair. I watched them in a variety show, and even there, they worked well together.

 

I like Wallace, but the genre is a little bit meh for me.  Weirdly, I have no issues reading novels with this genre, just when I'm watching something in action, I prefer...more action.  Anyway, there are rumors that Allen Ren and Seven Tan are going to collaborate in a new modern drama.  I really enjoyed their tandem, but I am afraid their crazy CP fans are going to mess things up.  =/

 

 

 

I am rewatching the drama because I realize that I've missed a lot of details.  This show pays so much attention to detail that a second watch is definitely worth it.

 

 - Minister Xue was suspicious from the beginning already.  He mentioned to Minister Jing that Yan Ming's death was not murder due to theft and that the case needed to be investigated properly.  We now know that he wanted Prince An to investigate and announce to the world that Duke Chang was still alive.  Since Prince An kept delaying the case, Minister Xue is now forced to speed things up.
 - Why did Eunuch Qin want to burn Feng Jie's corpse in Episode 5?  Seems like Minister Xue/Duke Chang is the one who actually was behind the officials' murders.  How is it related to the eunuchs again?  Is it because Eunuch Qin owns Rugui restaurant, which is responsible for having the assassins for hire?
 - Xu Rugui actually showed up in the flashback of when Feng Jie was punched by the assassin when Chu Chu was theorizing how Feng Jie died
 - It's so funny how Jing Furen is always so worried about Jing Yi and why he isn't coming home at night.  This is so relatable for anyone who has overprotective Asian moms and curfews.

[lovehuche]

I like the drama, I will rewatch it after Viki finishes subbing it for better English subbed 

[SC2019]

Gee Prince An must be the smartest person alive in that era, and the next few eras? Ending spoiler.

Spoiler

The entire E36 was about how Prince An and his team (Chu Chu, Leng Yue, Jing Yi, and his parents) lure Duke Chang out, using his wedding as a trap. What a well-planned and orchestrated act to ensnare Duke Chang. Everything was so well-planned and thought through, every step of the way. 

Isn't our Chu Chu pretty? Though I was a little bit miffed that it ended with a declaration from the Emperor that she is from now on allowed to be a coroner to support the husband in the investigation of cases (I have not watched E32-25, so it's quite likely that she was allowed to marry him on condition she give up her job). Well, I guess that's what we get when romance takes a backseat in the storyline. Oh, and I got my wish, I don't know if in between they show who the girl is but the brother, Jin Li is seeing someone. Will update later once I have seen E32-35.

 

[hush puppy]

12 hours ago, SC2019 said:

Gee Prince An must be the smartest person alive in that era, and the next few eras? Ending spoiler.

Spoiler

 

  Hide contents

 

Isn't our Chu Chu pretty? Though I was a little bit miffed that it ended with a declaration from the Emperor that she is from now on allowed to be a coroner to support the husband in the investigation of cases (I have not watched E32-25, so it's quite likely that she was allowed to marry him on condition she give up her job). Well, I guess that's what we get when romance takes a backseat in the storyline. Oh, and I got my wish, I don't know if in between they show who the girl is but the brother, Jin Li is seeing someone. Will update later once I have seen E32-35.

 

 

 

@SC2019  I just watched eps 31 &32

Spoiler

 

It is amazing to see how Prince An piece the whole puzzle together.  Simultaneously, it is also very heartbreaking for him to know:

- that the culprit is his teacher

- the culprit has been right infront of him all the time

- that he has unknowingly handed him Xi Wu Gui (forgotten how to spell his name after a week)

 

Heart-broken, he locked himself in his office.  Fortunately Chu Chu managed to say all the right words to lift his spirits again.

 

I love Prince An's presence of mind to do what is right. His strong resolve not to be swayed by the facts that the wrong doer  is his teacher. 

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes

 

 

BTW both Chu Chu and Prince An are Classmates at the Beijing Film Academy. They're both in their Final Year - Busy preparing their thesis.

 

@lovehuche  I'll do the same - to rewatch the entire drama again.  This time without having to wait for a week in between.

[Emerald Snow]

2 hours ago, hush puppy said:

BTW both Chu Chu and Prince An are Classmates at the Beijing Acting Academy. They're both in their Final Year - Busy preparing their thesis.

 

@lovehuche  I'll do the same - to rewatch the entire drama again.  This time without having to wait for a week in between.

 

I saw in one of their interviews that they had first met each other in school.  He was probably about to respond something along the lines of meeting her first during script reading/shooting, but she said they first met at school (Beijing Film Academy).  He didn't remember and she had to remind him it was when he came to visit her class.  My Chinese comprehension is pretty sad so that's all I got.  Tencent finally got them to do a round of promotions since the drama is now popular so they've been on a couple interviews.  Both of them are pretty cute IRL.

 

Today was the official graduation ceremony for the students at Beijing Film Academy, including those who didn't get to have the ceremony last year due to the pandemic.  A few popular stars graduated, including both our Chu Chu and Prince An.  It seems like they are from the same graduating year, but they did not belong to the same class.  Prince An looks like he was in the same class as Wang Junkai, Guan Xiaotong, and Zhou Ye (Gu Xiang).  Everyone on weibo was looking for photos of Prince An at the graduation, except he had to go back to Hengdian to film and was not given the time off to attend the ceremony.  Poor guy.  I guess there was some truth to Chu Chu and Prince An's answers about being too busy to promote this drama because they were busy studying/writing their graduating thesis.

[hush puppy]

Hi everybody, I watched until ep 34 already. 2 more to go.  I'll give my comments later. But first let me share some background info on this production, the director and actors:

 

 

Director Lou Jian said he chose his actors based on feelings.  

 

More than 78,000 people rated this drama and the proportion of those who gave 4 Stars exceeded 85%.

 

With this results, it can be said that netizens nicknamed the "Three No's":

- no traffic stars

- no well-known IP

- no publicity

 

On the evening of 20 May, this low-cost, small-production web drama has an "Advanced Screening" for the Finale.

 

The ending should be a happy ending without much surprise, but the continuous high attention of netizens in the past few days has made people paid attention to this unexpectedly popular work.  

 

The reporter also discovered that the heroine Su Xiaotong has a pretty good background: she was nominated for Best Actress at the Shanghai International Film Festival at the age of 18.

 

Director Lou Jian broke the news that he fancied Su Xiao Tong's performance in the "Forty-Nine Days" (see the photo below).  So he asked the Producer to find her.

 

 

Wang Ziqi (Prince An) actually wants to play "Jing Yi". But when he came in, Director Lou Jian saw that he is "Xiao Jinyu"

 

 

Many of the praised details are specially designed by the Director Lou Jian

 

 

Going back to the topic of "Three Nothings", Director Lou Jian also confirmed that it is indeed a low-cost production. The autopsy pictures are all expressed in illustrations and animations in order to save money.

 

Although Lou Jian did not directly disclose how much the production cost of "The Imperial Coroner", he said bluntly that "this is not the lowest cost movie I have ever filmed, and the lowest is only 9 million." The funding for "Xiao Wu Zuo" (The Imperial Coroner) is about 10 million yuan.

 

Director Lou Jian said that because there is no money to hire traffic stars. The main expenses were spent on production.  He mentioned that e.g. costumes, makeup and props were also used on a budget.  

 

"The other group next to our set is very rich. Even the costumes of the extras are very good.  We saw them when we passed by and I really felt envious".

 

 

[Emerald Snow]

15 hours ago, SC2019 said:

Gee Prince An must be the smartest person alive in that era, and the next few eras? Ending spoiler.

Spoiler

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The entire E36 was about how Prince An and his team (Chu Chu, Leng Yue, Jing Yi, and his parents) lure Duke Chang out, using his wedding as a trap. What a well-planned and orchestrated act to ensnare Duke Chang. Everything was so well-planned and thought through, every step of the way. 

Isn't our Chu Chu pretty? Though I was a little bit miffed that it ended with a declaration from the Emperor that she is from now on allowed to be a coroner to support the husband in the investigation of cases (I have not watched E32-25, so it's quite likely that she was allowed to marry him on condition she give up her job). Well, I guess that's what we get when romance takes a backseat in the storyline. Oh, and I got my wish, I don't know if in between they show who the girl is but the brother, Jin Li is seeing someone. Will update later once I have seen E32-35.

 

 

 

I think in terms of storyline, the ending was done well.  Overall I am still very satisfied with the drama.  It is now time for withdrawal.  I'm gonna go cheer myself up with some of their interviews.

 

 

Spoiler

I understand the drama ending with her being declared an official coroner, hence the title.  But it wouldn't have hurt to see their actual wedding.  Still, it is a proper happy ending so I will take it.

 

I also felt pretty gypped about Jing Yi and Leng Yue.  I would have been fine with a little bit more time spent on their romance.  And poor Jin Li literally got one scene with his love.  Ah well, at least he is no longer 5th wheel.

 

 

[skibbies]

4 hours ago, hush puppy said:

Although Lou Jian did not directly disclose how much the production cost of "The Imperial Coroner", he said bluntly that "this is not the lowest cost movie I have ever filmed, and the lowest is only 9 million." The funding for "Xiao Wu Zuo" (The Imperial Coroner) is about 10 million yuan.

The drama he mentioned doing at 9mil is from 2007 and 20ish episodes. It doesn't mention Imperial Coroner's actual cost, where did you get that number from? there's no way it's 10mil. 2017's low budget dramas (shorter too) were minimal 20 to 30m, so I don't think it's lower than that.

 

12 hours ago, Emerald Snow said:

Today was the official graduation ceremony for the students at Beijing Film Academy, including those who didn't get to have the ceremony last year due to the pandemic.  A few popular stars graduated, including both our Chu Chu and Prince An.  It seems like they are from the same graduating year, but they did not belong to the same class.  Prince An looks like he was in the same class as Wang Junkai, Guan Xiaotong, and Zhou Ye (Gu Xiang).  Everyone on weibo was looking for photos of Prince An at the graduation, except he had to go back to Hengdian to film and was not given the time off to attend the ceremony.  Poor guy.  I guess there was some truth to Chu Chu and Prince An's answers about being too busy to promote this drama because they were busy studying/writing their graduating thesis.

Wang Zi Qi/Prince An is a year above, he delayed his graduation and did thesis presentation this year. His classmates are back for photos because they didn't get to last year due to COVID. He's two years older by the way, I think he took 2 gaps years off or something? They are both busy filming dramas at the moment, but I guess Su Xiao Tong/Chu Chu could take smidge more time off.

[hush puppy]

 

 

 

[rozelan]

Hi all! Currently still on ep. 27 and enjoying all the spoilers here too  love the way this drama became such a sleeper hit! Cheers cheers 

[kur4p1k4]

I'm on episode 18 currently still behind from everyone that already finished it apparently, still enjoying with all the twist and turn and avoiding any possible spoilers, I even skipped the ending song, since chinese drama always spoil everything in their op/ed song.

 

Omg, Minister Xue is Duke Chang, that was surprising, I really thought he might just be an underling or something, he's been more sus since becoming Minister of War, but Duke Chang himself that's a nice surprise. I hope it got explained how he can become Xiao Jin Yu tutor, since pretty sure anybody getting that close to imperial family have to have a thorough background check. Now I'm suspicious of all the old people/official in the story, they all look so sus now, except Princess Xiping I suppose since she's Jin Yu's mom, I don't think she'll suddenly become an antagonist. 

Talking about Jin Yu, what with the sudden plot twist he might not be Princess Xiping's biological son plot twist?! That really came out of nowhere for me, I hope it's a good story, and does Jin Li knows something, is that why he's so over protective toward Jin Yu? Or Jin Li just being a overprotective mother hen, which in itself always funny to watch

 

Chu Chu's brother Chu He, I really want to slap him sometime, but you know what, when you don't have all the info, and you're just a powerless person, you do sometimes act irrationally, like letting Xu Ru Gui escaped *sigh* I know he's just scared for Chu Chu's safety, but the fact he cannot trust Chu Chu's opinion about Jin Yu, just annoy me so much, and he still dares to say he loves her, when he can't even trust her judgment.

 

Leng Yue protecting Chu Chu was so good, love to see girl protecting girl, rather than fighting for whatever stupid reason usually a drama throws at them. 

 

Jing Yi!! Please don't be a bad guy, be best bro forever with Jin Yu, he's been pretty sus, even though he explain why he's skulking around when they were opening Chu Chu's mother coffin, I still think there's still something he's hiding. I hope I'm wrong, I don't want any plot twist Jing Yi becomes a bad guy

 

The emperor, in the earlier episodes, I thought he's just an inattentive emperor that just like to order people around, but he might be more shrewd than I expected, really excited to see what he'll do to keep his place on the throne. Also this drama has an awesome emperor's room, with the diorama of Tang's kingdom as his floor, never saw that in other drama before, pretty cool. Even though I feel sorry for the people who has to clean it, probably hard to do and you can be killed by the emperor if he's not happy with the cleaning

[SC2019]

@Emerald Snow finished all episodes, was dragging my feet planning to wait for Subs to be out but...

Spoiler

haha, after vacilating between whether Prince An is the true son of the princess or the general, it turns out the first guess was the right one, but based on genes, it makes more sense for the brother who is good at martial arts to be the General's son and Prince An who has a high IQ to follow the father, the Princess' husband. Still, that part of the puzzle and it's resolution in front of the mother was really quick, and neat. I just wish the mother had said a few more words to Chu Chu, making her feel at home to her face. I feel like passing the jade bracelet through Leng Yue was rather an indirect way of saying she accepts Chu Chu, but why the need to do so? Ran out of filming time?

 

Just out of curiosity, did the Uncle survive the operation to remove the explosive material or did he die in the process? Looks like he was fine? And just wondering, that thing being soaked in stomach acid juices and all is expected to explode when Chu Chu does an autopsy? Really?

 

I am still grumpy about the ending, but now that I have seen all the episodes, I understand the significance of the declaration by the Emperor. LOL, I had a funny thought - did the actor portraying the Emperor have a clash in his schedule or was he too busy with his miniature craft to see them personally at the end? Typically with dramas, he would at least show up, or the two of them would present themselves in court, no? Or it's just beneath him to make time for them, after all, the Emperor is related to the mother, based on the family tree, or in his heart, he knows Prince An is not his blood relative, and is really the General's son? I wonder, he being such a suspicious man, can't not think that.

 

Does anyone know if there is even a glimmer of hope for a Part 2?

[Emerald Snow]

22 hours ago, SC2019 said:

@Emerald Snow finished all episodes, was dragging my feet planning to wait for Subs to be out but...

  Reveal hidden contents

Ran out of filming time?

 

Just out of curiosity, did the Uncle survive the...

 

LOL, I had a funny thought - did the actor portraying the Emperor have a clash in his schedule or was he too busy with his miniature craft to see them personally at the end?

 

Does anyone know if there is even a glimmer of hope for a Part 2?

 

Yeah I think they ran out of filming time/budget at the end.  That would explain how rushed everything felt in the last episode.  I think an extra 20 minutes would have tied up things much better.

 

I remember in one of their interviews, they mentioned that they would be up for it if there was a second season.  Although I would totally love a Part 2, from what I've seen from most dramas that have a second season, it's never as good as the first one.  This was adapted from a novel so the story and material is already there, though a bit different from what I've heard.  If there's a second season I'm scared they're gonna create some dumb drama for the sake of it.  Everything that we love about this drama will be gone: fast pace, great and concise plot, smart characters, no crazy slo-mo fanservice shots.  Maybe if they get the same screenwriters (one is the original author herself) there might be a chance it could still be good.

 

 

On 5/22/2021 at 4:57 PM, kur4p1k4 said:

I hope it got explained how he can become Xiao Jin Yu tutor, since pretty sure anybody getting that close to imperial family have to have a thorough background check.

 

That really came out of nowhere for me, I hope it's a good story, and does Jin Li knows something, is that why he's so over protective toward Jin Yu? Or Jin Li just being a overprotective mother hen, which in itself always funny to watch

 

Also this drama has an awesome emperor's room, with the diorama of Tang's kingdom as his floor, never saw that in other drama before, pretty cool. Even though I feel sorry for the people who has to clean it, probably hard to do and you can be killed by the emperor if he's not happy with the cleaning

 

Welcome to the party!  It was never explained how Minister Xue became Prince An's teacher.  He probably studied really hard, took the civil exam and placed well, then worked his way up to being in charge of the Hanlin Academy.  Jinli is just a super overprotective mother hen, which we all love.  I rarely see a brother so worried about his brother being portrayed in a drama.  It's usually the brother being overprotective of his sister, but I agree that younger brothers need love too!

 

I thought you were talking about the filming crew that has to clean up the emperor's floor afterwards haha.  I looked up this emperor and he is apparently the last capable emperor of the Tang dynasty.  It is very fitting that they showed this by having him constantly work on his 3D map hobby. 

 

Yes, the main reason why we all love this show.  Each character acts in accordance to how they are supposed to, such as Chu He.  If he were to be otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.  

 

 

On 5/22/2021 at 1:03 AM, rozelan said:

Hi all! Currently still on ep. 27 and enjoying all the spoilers here too  love the way this drama became such a sleeper hit! Cheers cheers 

 

Welcome to the thread!  Do come and discuss more, even though the drama is done already.

 

 

On 5/21/2021 at 8:51 AM, hush puppy said:

 

Su Xiaotong and Wang Ziqi's cute interactions

 

 

I swear I'm not going to be shipping anymore couples because they never work out, so I won't ship them.  But they make it super difficult!  If they ever star in a modern drama together I'll be totally cool with that.  I love how when the host asked them about being a "tall team," WZQ was like "but she's not tall?" and you could see her face being exasperated.  That whole exchange about her height was hilarious.  And then the host follows with "you probably don't have many friends in your normal daily life" LOL.  WZQ is like your typical quiet and shy guy who's also quite straightforward and honest.  Their height difference is cute, 185 cm vs 166 cm.  And 166 cm is NOT short at all!  WZQ just has no clue.

 

 

On 5/21/2021 at 12:08 AM, skibbies said:

Wang Zi Qi/Prince An is a year above, he delayed his graduation and did thesis presentation this year. His classmates are back for photos because they didn't get to last year due to COVID. He's two years older by the way, I think he took 2 gaps years off or something? They are both busy filming dramas at the moment, but I guess Su Xiao Tong/Chu Chu could take smidge more time off.

 

His fans were so worried he wasn't graduating this year because they didn't see any of his graduation photos.  Sucks he couldn't leave.

 

 

On 5/20/2021 at 7:33 PM, hush puppy said:

Wang Ziqi (Prince An) actually wants to play "Jing Yi". But when he came in, Director Lou Jian saw that he is "Xiao Jinyu"

 

"The other group next to our set is very rich. Even the costumes of the extras are very good.  We saw them when we passed by and I really felt envious".

 

I really can't imagine him as Jing Yi, not after he's already played Prince An.  But yes, I really wish they could have a little bit more money to spend on the costumes.  Every time I look at the officials and emperor's outfits, I die a little bit inside.

 

On 5/19/2021 at 8:16 PM, lovehuche said:

I like the drama, I will rewatch it after Viki finishes subbing it for better English subbed 

 

Same here...since there's really nothing else to watch right now.  All the new rom-coms that came out have pretty meh reviews.  The withdrawal is real.

[partyon]

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[backstreetboysfan]

I really like this drama, The leads were great.

[Emerald Snow]

I wanted to give this drama a proper post about my thoughts and basic review, but I think I'll wait until it's officially over this weekend.  I did find a review site that did excellent recaps and final review.  A lot of what I wanted to say about the drama has actually been said by this site's author, along with some great insight.

 

https://cyn-lynn.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-imperial-coroner-in-depth-discussion.html#disqus_thread

 

https://cyn-lynn.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-imperial-coroner-recap-and-review.html

 

 

In light of Wang Ziqi's recent dating scandal, I'm not quite sure what is going to happen to plans for a Season 2.  It seems netizens don't really want to see him playing Prince An anymore, so even if there is a Season 2 they will have to write him out or change actors.  I don't really care for his personal life and he can date whoever he wants.  I only care that he did a pretty darn good job at portraying Prince An.  Arguably he is the better actor of the 2 leads.  However, I am pretty sad that he doesn't realize how his actions can affect the entire production.  It wouldn't have hurt to have been caught dating several weeks after promotions for this drama is over.  The timing is just really bad.  What a shame.