Why would you drop the drama if the leads don't become enemies, sorry not following your logic, here I'm watching…
Well you see I had this expectation they would become enemies since long time ago and I also thought it would be a really interesting direction. Having the same ideas but different methods is exactly why I found that them being enemies would make for a compelling story. Given their strong unshakable principles, they would make for convincing enemies even if they still loved each other. I can also understand that you may see the beauty in them loving each other despite these differences, having their ups and downs and overcoming their odds together. I see that too to some degree, I just did not find the way these ups and downs were executed satisfying enough for me to continue root for this couple.
I also had a personal desire to see these two smart characters have an epic battle of wits with high stakes which for me would be a strong pay-off to the rivalry that was built up between them since the beginning.
All of the reasons they could have become disappeared the moment ML became Crown Prince and Cui Army was disbanded. So, since that direction wasn't being taken and I did not foresee any other major turns to the plot and since I got closure to most of the things I cared for, I didn't find the motivation to continue. I hope you can understand my logic now.
But now that you mentioned that the ML got what he wanted, I'm a little more curious...since he didn't want to be Crown Prince...hmm
The first 7 ep or so I was enjoying this immensely. The relationship between the ML and FL was such a highlight. Their battle of wits was fun and their tactics made sense. I also appreciated their moment of conflict due to the event with the elderly couple. It was a clever way to have them show the audience and each other the difference in their personality and priorities, which made for a very believable conflict where I couldn't completely agree with either party. That this was later followed by meaningful dialogue and development where ML came to understand the reasoning behind FL's action better but still not seemingly fully convinced made it even better. Then there was their on-screen chemistry and flirting like the bath scene which made me all giddy and shit.
But then the ML started pissing me off when he stopped prioritizing his army as much as he should like FL does for hers. He makes cheap bets with her, lets her play him like a fool which allows her army to get better advantages. So much for a talented general. It really made me lose respect for the ML and I couldn't enjoy their relationship anymore.
Then, as if punishing the ML for his careless and naive approach with the Cui army, he gets betrayed and his army takes major losses. I started to regain respect for the ML when he let the Fake Cui Lin get ambushed because he did exactly what his role as a general obligated him to do.
Then I had my ups and downs with the series but ML/FL was never the same for me. They didn't have the same level of fun banter as in the beginning, they were many times in cold wars, ML simped so hard I couldn't relate anymore, and even when they were intimate, it just felt corny most of the time for me. The only moments I went "Awww" was when FL folded the paper things (ML used to do as a child) to pray for ML to recover and when ML made a book with cute drawings of memorable events ML/FL went through together up to that point.
Although I couldn't enjoy ML/FL romance much, what kept me going was the consistent conflict of ML wanting to live an unrestrained burden-free lifestyle vs FL wanting him to lead the dynasty with the implication that the ML would have to go against his blood related family to do so. I also wanted closure to the former Crown Princess (probably my favorite character) and to the scheming daughter-father pair. I was also lowkey anticipating ML and FL becoming enemies after that one famed general hinted it during his final speech before committing suicide.
Ep 30 ended up being a great climactic ep resolving the conflict for the succession. I also really enjoyed the former Crown Princess dialogue with the FL. She talked a great deal about the hardships of being a Crown Princess and how you would lose your freedom and autonomy. And when FL asked if she loved the then Crown Prince (as if to imply that her not loving him is the reason she thought the role of Crown Princess was difficult), she responded with something like: "If loved him, would all these hardships not be hardships anymore?" I thought it was a great line because it was a more grounded take on love between royalty than I've usually seen in period cdrama / cnovels. Nevertheless, I was really satisfied that former Crown Princess was able to live peacefully with her son.
As for the 2nd FL with "vixen" role, she had a surprisingly sympathetic backstory and her persistent pursuit of the ML was an understandable mix of admiration for him and a selfish ambition for power/status. And the way she went about it was pretty intelligent, making moves to express her love and devotion to the ML without giving him any valid reason to push her away. I actually respected her character, if only for how careful and calculated her moves were. It was kind of anti-climactic that her downfall was caused by other people's actions but its far preferable to having her make a dumb mistake I guess.
The whole conflict about the Cui army having to be disbanded was realistic and it was nice that the narrative followed through with it instead of creating a cheap cop out. But I was kind of annoyed and disappointed that FL couldn't foresee it happening when even ML could. Anyways, by this point I was already tired of their relationship. I got my resolution for the main conflicts and I couldn't care less about how their relationship advanced after that point since they didn't seem to become enemies, so I dropped it.
I also had a personal desire to see these two smart characters have an epic battle of wits with high stakes which for me would be a strong pay-off to the rivalry that was built up between them since the beginning.
All of the reasons they could have become disappeared the moment ML became Crown Prince and Cui Army was disbanded. So, since that direction wasn't being taken and I did not foresee any other major turns to the plot and since I got closure to most of the things I cared for, I didn't find the motivation to continue. I hope you can understand my logic now.
But now that you mentioned that the ML got what he wanted, I'm a little more curious...since he didn't want to be Crown Prince...hmm
The first 7 ep or so I was enjoying this immensely. The relationship between the ML and FL was such a highlight. Their battle of wits was fun and their tactics made sense. I also appreciated their moment of conflict due to the event with the elderly couple. It was a clever way to have them show the audience and each other the difference in their personality and priorities, which made for a very believable conflict where I couldn't completely agree with either party. That this was later followed by meaningful dialogue and development where ML came to understand the reasoning behind FL's action better but still not seemingly fully convinced made it even better. Then there was their on-screen chemistry and flirting like the bath scene which made me all giddy and shit.
But then the ML started pissing me off when he stopped prioritizing his army as much as he should like FL does for hers. He makes cheap bets with her, lets her play him like a fool which allows her army to get better advantages. So much for a talented general. It really made me lose respect for the ML and I couldn't enjoy their relationship anymore.
Then, as if punishing the ML for his careless and naive approach with the Cui army, he gets betrayed and his army takes major losses. I started to regain respect for the ML when he let the Fake Cui Lin get ambushed because he did exactly what his role as a general obligated him to do.
Then I had my ups and downs with the series but ML/FL was never the same for me. They didn't have the same level of fun banter as in the beginning, they were many times in cold wars, ML simped so hard I couldn't relate anymore, and even when they were intimate, it just felt corny most of the time for me. The only moments I went "Awww" was when FL folded the paper things (ML used to do as a child) to pray for ML to recover and when ML made a book with cute drawings of memorable events ML/FL went through together up to that point.
Although I couldn't enjoy ML/FL romance much, what kept me going was the consistent conflict of ML wanting to live an unrestrained burden-free lifestyle vs FL wanting him to lead the dynasty with the implication that the ML would have to go against his blood related family to do so. I also wanted closure to the former Crown Princess (probably my favorite character) and to the scheming daughter-father pair. I was also lowkey anticipating ML and FL becoming enemies after that one famed general hinted it during his final speech before committing suicide.
Ep 30 ended up being a great climactic ep resolving the conflict for the succession. I also really enjoyed the former Crown Princess dialogue with the FL. She talked a great deal about the hardships of being a Crown Princess and how you would lose your freedom and autonomy. And when FL asked if she loved the then Crown Prince (as if to imply that her not loving him is the reason she thought the role of Crown Princess was difficult), she responded with something like:
"If loved him, would all these hardships not be hardships anymore?"
I thought it was a great line because it was a more grounded take on love between royalty than I've usually seen in period cdrama / cnovels. Nevertheless, I was really satisfied that former Crown Princess was able to live peacefully with her son.
As for the 2nd FL with "vixen" role, she had a surprisingly sympathetic backstory and her persistent pursuit of the ML was an understandable mix of admiration for him and a selfish ambition for power/status. And the way she went about it was pretty intelligent, making moves to express her love and devotion to the ML without giving him any valid reason to push her away. I actually respected her character, if only for how careful and calculated her moves were. It was kind of anti-climactic that her downfall was caused by other people's actions but its far preferable to having her make a dumb mistake I guess.
The whole conflict about the Cui army having to be disbanded was realistic and it was nice that the narrative followed through with it instead of creating a cheap cop out. But I was kind of annoyed and disappointed that FL couldn't foresee it happening when even ML could. Anyways, by this point I was already tired of their relationship. I got my resolution for the main conflicts and I couldn't care less about how their relationship advanced after that point since they didn't seem to become enemies, so I dropped it.