Buzz is a priceless thing and even all the water armies in the war and purchased searches can only buoy it a bit but can’t sustain it unlike the organic thing. June 2024 buzz goes to underdog hit The Double while mainstream big budget C-drama The Tale of Rose, reportedly the most expensive production filmed in 2023 due to the salaries for all the leads, is doing solid but not as much chatter online. Part of the reason is female lead Crystal Liu refusing to do any CP promotions with her five male leads – Tong Da Wei as the big brother type, Peng Guan Yin as her first love who broke her heart, Lin Geng Xin as her husband turned asshole ex, Wallace Huo as her soulmate gone too soon, and Lin Yi as the much younger man later in life. Crystal reportedly refuses to use CP promos to help her dramas whether in the past or now and is content with viewers choosing to watch or not. I respect that. The Tale of Rose has gotten solid reviews and the opening Douban rating is 7.1 which seems about right. It’s not groundbreaking in acting, story, or directing, but for any woman who feels taken for granted, gaslighted, abused, treated unfairly by life, then this is the drama for you to watch the titular Rose overcome adversity after adversity in life and love.