Nutmegfluff

This is such a feel good show... it's not that our partners make us feel ashamed in ourselves. Rather, we feel ashamed because we know they deserve the best version of us. We know we have so much more to give. We just needed someone to see it first. To motivate us, because change is hard. It's a partner like this that raises us to be our best and to champion ourselves. I love these feel good relationships 🥺 Ughhhh, everything they do makes me feel sheepish in the best way possible ❤️

I let this go in Last Twilight, but GMMTV can silence me no longer 🤣
Round 1, I'm forgiving. Round 2, at least do some research! A quick googling can get you the same results (that doesn't mean people should skip on their doctors visits 😂)
Getting a cornea transplant really isn't that bad...especially if she's getting treatment in a developed country, like Australia. Corneal transplants are fairy common.

Everything surrounding her sudden vision loss was really debatable in my mind, only because of her age and how they described her present vision loss. Which is fine, ig. It's a BL. But like I said, round 2, and they couldn't cook up something better than another corneal pathology and transplant emergency story?

Also, finding a cornea donor isn't that bad in a developed country. In the US, it's the most common donor surgery with 40,000 cornea transplants being performed yearly (in the US, corneal tissue is so readily available, there is no formal waiting list). The reason why is 1) finding a donor is not as complicated 2) it has a very high success rate. 3) it's a relatively safe procedure.

The reason why is because everyone is a universal donor for corneal tissue, which is avascular, so none of that pesky donor's blood type needing to match the recipient or risk of immune cells traveling through vessels to attack the new tissue. It's also immune privileged. Age, donor's vision or eye color, none of those matter either. The risk of corneal rejection is also super low (~10%).
Also, if corneal transplants don't work, keratoprosthesis- an artificial cornea, is an option. Advancing technologies are awesome! Personally, I'd be more scared of a posterior segment pathology.

These GMMTV shows have viewers thinking corneal pathologies are the scariest thing since the bubonic plague....of course, I want everyone's eyes to stay happy and healthy, but in the grand scheme of eye issues, this is not the end of the world, and while I don't think anyone is taking medical care seriously from a BL, this is the second time they've brought up corneal pathologies and expressed it like it's a cancer diagnosis.

Assuming you live in a developed country or one with good medical care, after exhausting other options and therapies, a corneal transplant is probably going to go okay and restore a good chunk of your vision. Modern medicine is awesome like that.

Ah yeah! Thank you for mentioning that! I forgot literally turned his head for a more certain death.

Yeah, I hate to be "glass half empty" but I haven't seen a character with a such a strong death wish since Li Lianhua in MLC haha

Tbh, I honestly hope that he was put out of his misery and reincarnates under happier circumstances.
And if he did survive, I would just want him to be a happy amnesiac, wandering the jianghu, never again touched by the sadness and politics of his family or past. I haven't felt that sorry for a character in a long time. The world dealth him the worst hand, and the only people that he ever loved either DIED or USED him.

I loved the queer coding between the MLs and wholeheartedly believe there was romantic love between the two of them, but by the end, I was so disinterested in them being together. Jian Wei sucked (he was so happy to be getting Xiao Xi back to Ghost Valley despite the fact that it was so obvious that all the light had completely died in his eyes atp) and I wanted Xiao Xi to be free from his lies and selfishness...

Xiao Xi running around and haunting Jian Wei as a zombie is sending me 🤣

I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying it! I knew nothing about the cast, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for more of their works! Thanks for the rec!

But Wei Wuxian did die by cliff- he's one of the few Cdrama characters where the cliff (or maybe the lava) actually got him 🤣. He was just brought back to life through a Sacrificial Ritual. I could never be so lucky 😔

Personally, I think Xiao Xi killed himself. He looked content to die. That being said, it's a Cdrama, so a cliff doesn't always mean death 🤣
It could be that Jian Wei really did see him in the market, but given that Jian Wei hallucinated that Xiao Xi was eating hot pot with him, we know that he's prone to giving into these delusions, which is why it's so hard to say whether it was a daydream or reality.

If Xiao Xi is alive, I think he's roaming around and doesn't want to be found by Jian Wei. Jian Wei reminds him too much of what he's lost and suffered. If he jumped and survived, it's because he wants to start fresh and move on. Not be tied to be a Li or a Chen. Just be Xiao Xi. He ended his family linage. He has cut off Ghost Valley. He's free. That's what I want to believe. (While I loved the chemistry between the two MLs, I think Xiao Xi can do better than Jian Wei tbh haha)

I DEFINITELY think Jian Wei hallucinated the meeting on the cliff though, because Xiao Xi is wearing the same outfit, winter cloak and all. He looks just the same as the last day Jian Wei saw him alive. If he was wearing different clothing, then I'd be more prone to believe he actually did survive and has been hanging out all along. The clothes in the market were also different.
But the fact that he's wearing the same clothes as the day he jumped-pristine despite the terrible fall- tells me that Jian Wei hallucinated him in the end to give himself peace or it's Xiao Xi's spirit cheering him on for continuing to uphold his promise to take care of Ghost Valley.
Either way, it's up to your interpretation 😊 I choose to believe he died, since I felt this ending was a little more definitive than other Cdramas in terms of the characters emotions backing up their actions. But there's an equally good argument to be made otherwise. They never found his body, the boy in the market place etc. Cdramas love to torture us with an open ending haha

It's better not to think about it too hard and let your gut decide the ending for you.
I drove myself half mad Mysterious Lotus Casebook and A Journey to Love... I never came to a definitive answer... all I gained was dark eye circles and a migraine.

I’m so happy to hear that! It’s so good right? The romantic tension between the two is out of this world! Just wait until Chu Chin’s reveal! It only gets better from there 🥹

Sometimes it’s the sadness in life that allows us to appreciate the happier times.
Artistic representations of sadness can help us process the tragedies that have happen in our lives and even allow us to reflect and appreciate the times we are happy.

That being said, I recommend Huang Jin Tai- the Golden Platform. I think you’d really enjoy it!
Yes, it’s a short vertical drama, but it can be watched on YouTube. It’s a period drama about a fallen Prince and his soulmate, a general framed for treason. They’ve had a bond beyond friendship for years, cut short by mechanizations for the throne.
Together, they are reunited and work to take down the men that framed them.
There’s hidden identities, smart MLs (unlike Jianwei, who was a bit too emotional for my taste) and oh, so many spilt tears and caressing all in the name of “sworn brotherhood”. (There’s even a sapphic side couple!)
They have so many poignant moments- I don’t know how anyone could mistake their relationship as plain old friendship. I have never spent 8 years caressing my friend’s memorial and pining after them thankfully…
And the ending is happy! The second to last episode when they almost died together was *chefs kiss*
I think because it’s a vertical drama, it’s heavily overlooked. But it’s my favorite period CDrama censored BL (imo) that I have seen in a long time. It does have some missing episodes, but there's two different videos you can watch on YT that has the full series.

I also recommend Jian Hun, another short drama. There’s aphrodisiac, soul-matery, and gay sacrifice between two “bros”. Both of them have a happy ending too!
I’d love for more people to try them…

Not to be a downer, but I knew Xiaoxi would kill himself.
After his first migraine and the scene in the cave where he asked Jianwei to bring his body back to the Ghost Valley if he died (too much foreshadowing), my number 1 prediction was that XIaoxi would end his life.

He endured too much at the end:
1. Found out his boyfriend- I mean, his sworn brother, Jianwei- had lied to him the entire time, despite promising authenticity (while we audience members know Jianwei’s feelings for Xiaoxi are authentic, how can Xiaoxi ever truly trust him again romantically? After Xiaoxi gave so much of himself? One lie- that’s all it takes. While Jianwei moved on and Xiaoxi forgave him after seeing his earnestness as the gravesite, I felt the tone of their relationship, at least from Xiaoxi’s side, changed from Ep. 18 onward.).
2. Accidentally killed his sister (due to Jianwei’s thirst for revenge. Xiaoxi might’ve driven the blade through her heart, but it was directed by Jianwei being blinded by revenge). The girl he literally raised from near death by wolves.
3. Finding out that he is the son of a traitor and that his entire identity at Ghost Valley is a lie. Years and years of being honed to hate Li Pu and eventually murder Li Pu only to find out that’s your dad? Crushing.
4. On top of that, he spat on filial piety by killing his own father. Regardless of how he was raised and manipulated by the last generation, regardless of how we modern day viewers feel about Confucian Ethics, filial piety is one of the cornerstones of Chinese culture. There’s nothing harder or more perverse than killing your own father. It’s the cruelest twist of fate for Xiaoxi.
5. Xiaoxi is very softhearted. We know this by how he pays homage to the lives he’s taken and how he seems the most disturbed by the murders he’s committed. He wasn’t going to recover from ending his own family lineage well, even if it was under circumstances outside of his control and the Li family was a bloodline cursed by the patriarch’s sins. It feels like almost a final act of karma wielded against an innocent boy born to a horrible father that he would be fated to end his own lineage like that.

All in all, it was what I expected. I knew Xiaoxi would never return to Ghost Valley, but I was hoping Jianwei would let him go free to tour the world, as he always dreamed of doing. But Xiaoxi was backed into too many corners because of an older generation failed him and an inescapable twist of fate.

Unlike Jianwei, who knew 20 years of peace, Xiaoxi had been raised like a fighting dog, poised to kill, for 20 years. The only moments of innocence he had were in raising his sister. She wasn’t just his little sister. She was almost a daughter. He was especially never going to recover from that.

I think Xiaoxi would’ve probably continued to drink himself to death at the Li Family mansion- he wasn’t coming out of this depression, so I don’t blame Jianwei for his death, but I think Jianwei’s arrival precipitated an earlier death.

The final straw that really set him on a path for death was Jianwei finding him, I think (and finding the letter).
Jianwei would always serve as a reminder for what he lost and what he’d done, and he knew Jianwei would never stop searching and finding him over and over again. And the only way to be free was to jump. He loved him, but love wasn’t enough to erase his pain or experiences.
Unbeknownst to Jianwei, he became Xiaoxi’s prison, and now, Xiaoxi is Jianwei’s prison.
I don’t think that was either of their intentions though. With his death, so ended the Li line and the feud. Maybe in his death, he could finally free Jianwei & all the soldiers unjustly killed. In giving Jianwei a mission to protect Ghost Valley, maybe it would soften the blow of his death and little by little, Jianwei could move on, finally free of the Li Family entirely.

Little did he know that Jianwei will probably always have one foot in the afterlife now. It was a really tragic tale of unresolved generational trauma. Every single person failed both of these boys imo. Jianwei will keep going because he promised Xiaoxi, but it will be a tortured existence. Xiaoxi is almost the lucky one tbh
Not saying I liked the ending. I would’ve preferred them just to part ways and live differently, reuniting when Xiaoxi was ready to face everything that had happened to him.
But I can’t say I’m surprised by how this drama ended.

Anyways, it was an entertaining watch that he me thoroughly engaged over the past week. Wish it could’ve had a happier ending, but this isn’t my first tragic Cdrama and it won’t be my last.At least I felt like the deaths were justified this time. None of their actions or resolutions felt meaningless, unlike some Cdramas that seem hell bent on killing off everyone for shock value.

This drama really reminds me of Goodbye, My Princess. With a larger budget, this could’ve been really spectacular. But the acting effort and tight story did the overall drama justice.

Love this entire comment, and I’m of the same mind. I’m an older K-pop fan, so a scandal someone had when they were 19 really means nothing to me now.
When you get older and look back at your life, you’re able to evaluate all the stupid shit you said, believed, did etc. and then be thankful that it hasn’t haunted you years later. These kids don’t get that luxury in the public eye.
I think he paid the price- all of Trainee A did, really, as a result.
He’s still as talented as I remember- his vocals were stable, he has a unique timbre to his voice imo, he dances cleanly, therefore, he has my vote.

I think you’re in the wrong comment section, but I’m also watching Returned Master and am loving it so far too! I’m of two minds, either Li Jian Wei’s dad really was an absolute piece of trash and did all these horrible atrocities and Li Jian Wei will have to decide between getting his revenge or letting the blood feud die with him and Xiao Xi OR…. hear me out cuz I’ve gone crazy from watching so many Cdramas 🤪 But before Li Jian Wei’s dad was murdered (by Xiao Xi omg… this drama is so much already), he told Li Jian Wei not to beg Xiao Xi for their lives because Xiao Xi and the Ghost Valley members are THE TRAITOROUS ONES. It makes me wonder if the Emperor or a member of the royal family set them. Like maybe LJW’s dad and XX’s adopted dad were best friends in their youth- two head strong, powerful young generals. But they got too powerful for the Emperor’s liking, so he tricked both of them into respectively thinking the other one was a traitor to halve their power and end the threat to his power/legitimacy. And the reality is, there are mechanisms happening the shadows, maybe at court, that resulted in this untimely blood feud. Meanwhile, I say let the aunt cook. If anyone is smart enough to figure out what’s really happening, it’s her.

Which season? Or just the entire premise of True Detective entirely?
I get scared considering Season 4 took place in Alaska, also in the snow, in the dark, and it was by far the worst season… I hope the inspiration comes from Season 1 😭

Lowkey… yes 🤣

Thanks bro! I’ll be here all week!

Hi, I don’t know if I understood your first paragraph, but it seems like we both agree that we didn’t perceive their relationship to have mutual love in the past timeline. So I think I agree with mostly everything from your first paragraph?
Secondly, I meant that it would’ve been more interesting if she’d given up her life to reset the timeline because 1) I thought the retcon with the goddess of time was a bit too simple and 2) I thought it was too happy that both timelines got a happily ever through the power of ret conning. I did mention above that I just don’t like retcon endings and thought the payoff was rush towards the finale. She didn’t even have to wait for BJS to wake because the goddess of time fast forwarded her pining stage too. Just wasn’t’ a fan of the entire last episode tbh. That’s just my personal preference.
But I don’t think that HRY should just give up and die because the going got tough and BJS isn’t in the world anymore. Just more like she would use her primordial core write all the wrongs etc. some kind of greater sacrifice for all the suffering she wrought in her quest to bring her son back.
Since BJS gave up his life to maintain the harmony of the universe, I wondered if HRY should also go the same way. Once again, just preference. I’m not the writer.
I do like your statement about how the most powerful relationships survive the death of a child though. That’s an astute observation and oh, so very true. My aunt and uncle’s marriage outlasted the death of my cousin and every day they prove to me why they’re the strongest relationship I’ve ever witnessed.
Also the idea that there can’t be an unhappy ending because censorship wouldn’t allow it is just…. Hard no 🤢
1) Censorship has never given a damn about a sad ending before- sometimes it’s even the cause of sad endings (The damage my heart took after Killer & Healer, Snowy Nights Timeless Love, A Journey to Love, Guardian, Fangs of Fortune, The Longest Promise, Story of Pearl Girl, Hard to Find,Love of Nirvana, Till the End of the Moon, Goodbye, My Princess, One and Only, Winter Begonia, Legend of Yunxi, etc.- must i go on? would be enough to hospitalize me atp. So many characters I believe deserved a happy ending will never see one. But many dramas I love because of those sad endings; they stay with me after all this time) and 2) even if that were true, nothing good comes from artistic censorship, full stop. So I ain’t even going to entertain that!

Yes! Nice to find a kindred spirit! I felt that everything was really unfair for the ML. Like okay, he didn't properly explain his feelings... so now he has to undergo hundreds of years of suffering because HRY has to get karmic retribution for killing a drought dragon that the ML told her not to fuck with? K. That seems fair /s

Also, I like my FL's to be smarter. HRY was resourceful and cunning, but not wise or intelligent. She not too bright for an ancient deity haha
I always think it's interesting how humans project their own petty follies onto the gods. Because the reality is every god would be a little more like BJS after few thousand years. Just in my own life, I used to be gutted over many patient stories, but now, while I still care, I can be a little bit more objective in my assessment and treatment. And I think that makes me a better provider.

It was a little too much for me to stomach at a certain point. Maybe if the ML had been more detestable, I would’ve been like #girlboss, get your revenge! But he didn’t even know what he did wrong. It was like watching someone beat on their dog. The dog doesn’t know. Only the human. BJS was just such a sad puppy the whole time that my inner animal lover was crying.
I wish I could be a bigger man like BJS. If someone had honestly pushed me THAT far I have two options: 1) Pay them back 50 fold. I would’ve chained her up at the bottom of the sea, the weight of the ocean bearing on her for eternity as I felt my power swell to magnanimous heights and move on~ (although, then that wouldn’t be BJS, but just speaking as my petty ass self 🤣) or 2) I would’ve peaced out. Not worth my time atp. I would’ve been like: y’know what? Take my power. Here’s the keys to heaven. I’m going to be some wandering, aesthetic monk that survives off the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe.

Yeah, that’s true. Light cannot exist without the dark. They were born for each other. And hey, if they’re happy- which clearly they are by the end- who am I to judge? Someone’s dysfunctional relationship is someone else’s standard 🤣

I don’t mind a sad ending if it’s justified (loved A Moment But Forever. Bittersweet, a twinge sad, and yet quietly understated and filled with hope). I didn’t feel much during this happy ending tbh :/ Not a huge fan of retcon endings...Ig I was happy to see HRY go back and time and create an alternate timeline for herself and BJS- I would’ve been more interested in following up that story thread. Like seeing BJS and HRY with their son or the like. I was kinda done with their main timeline versions and really liked when BJS soul dissipated like ash on the wind. Really liked seeing HRY come to her senses in that moment and I wanted her to suffer longer over his loss.

I do kinda dislike this pervading psyche that to hate someone, you must’ve loved them first though. Because I believe hate and love can be mutually exclusive. But I’m lucky enough to say there is nobody I hate that I once loved. There are people who have disappointed and betrayed me and to say I never loved them just because I don't linger on them and wish them well would be ignoring how they made me feel at one point. But they're thankfully out of my life and aren’t even worth sparing a feeling for 😂 After all, the best medicine for lost love is apathy lol
However, I have hated certain politicians in my country that thankfully, I’ve never once had to love.
I do understand there's some romanticism behind hate and love being inextricably linked and different sides of the same coin, and the drama really leaned into that.

But anywho, putting this one behind me and just enjoying The Princess Gambit and A Dream Within a Dream right now :) Hopefully, they continue to stay enjoyable for me!

Thank you for your mature response. I see a lot of people posting: did we even watch the same drama? Did you even watch the drama? if you have an even slightly negative opinion on the show.
We're all entitled to our own opinions and each of us have had different lived experiences, different relationships etc.

While I got very tired of the Feud, I commend the show for depicting exactly what we all came for: a Feud.
This is definitely an aptly named drama! Definitely one of the more controversial watches I've had this year and a good conversation piece. Just because I had a lackluster time once the credits rolled doesn't mean I don't recognize this drama for being uniquely told or selling exactly what it promised.

I definitely agree with what you said about HRY feeling insecure about their relationship and BJS one-sided lack of communication was an enormous factor behind that.

I still would've personally preferred for it to end with maybe her giving up her life to set the alternate timelines straight, as I was personally not convinced by their relationship, but I'm glad they ended up on the same page and passed their love trial and hopefully, it'll be a smoother course from there.

I actually agree with all your sentiments. I think drama kinda skimped on building their relationship before the love trial/feud.
Like I'm told that they've been together since time immortal, fell in love in the most ultimate form of opposites attract to shake the heavens, loved each other for so many centuries that they decided to endure a love trial together to strengthen their bond and abilities as a couple, but never once did I personally feel that way.
Maybe that was the point. That they were never mutually in love before their love trial (since HRY had to be convinced multiple times that BJS truly did love her) and BJS one-sided love that HRY blissfully enjoyed without any shred of consequence finally caught up with her, resulting in 10 years of Mortal Suffering.

Personally, I wanted better for BJS by the end.
I felt sorry for everything HRY went through- no parent should watch their child die, but at the same time, you'd think a millennia of knowing someone, she would have known that BJS's love language is acts of service, that he has difficulty expressing his emotions as a several thousand year old god who's role is to bring balance to the world, protect the stele and remain impartial, that he's a poor communicator etc.
It says a lot when a bond that long and supposedly powerful gets shattered in 10 short mortal years, with some shadowy backhanded manipulation.

But BJS never gave up on her, never gave up on trying to understand her perspective. She paid him back 20 fold by the end, and yet he never turned to vengeance or outright violence against her. He wanted to give his wife a chance to explain herself, something HRY had never given him. He is already a bigger man and better partner than her. I have never looked at simp in such a negative light before...

And the fact that she had to be told again and again he loved her after she literally saw the pain and desperation on his face for centuries is wild to me. Like woman, get your glasses checked.
And before anyone says: but he never properly expressed himself, but all the suffering she went through in the human realm blah blah once again, it makes no logical sense that all the years she's known him meant nothing (unless she's extremely stupid and unobservant) AND WOMAN JUST ASK. YOUR HUSBAND HAS ASKED SO MANY TIMES. IF YOU JUST SAID: HI I'M HERE TO KILL YOU BECAUSE YOU KILLED OUR SON, PROBLEM SOLVED.

I get that the drama doesn't exist without this feud, but at the same time, you can't drag me through 32 episodes and expect me to throw logic out the window and just accept and support that such a dysfunctional couple should be together after all that. It would've been more believable if she had acknowledged she never truly loved him to begin with, found out the truth, apologized, and said: We can be friends.

At a certain point, if there hadn't been a couple of nice plot twists, I would've been bored out of my mind with the same repetitive HRY tricks BJS, BJS spits up blood and asks her what he did wrong, HRY refuses to explain and continues to let him play home detective until his primordial core is so damaged her reverts to a child...

I'm happy if BJS is happy. But I wanted to tell both of them to fly a kite by the end. They need to put themselves back on the immortal dating market.

100% agree with your sentiments above...Like did she really think after killing an all powerful, immortal drought dragon that her only punishment would be 10 years, powerless in the immortal realm? Humans go through that shit every day hahaha

She should go to medical school- I've got plenty of suffering to show her rn hahaha

Does anyone happen to know the titles of the BGM in this drama?