WM

Well, it actually sounds like something I should try and possibly would enjoy, despite almost exclusively watching Vertical Dramas these days.

Does the FL uses ML too? Not really fan of FL getting outplayed...

I have no idea what to expect based on Synopsis, but it already has two positives:
1) Liu Shishi as the FL
2) Actual grown-ups in main roles

I will definitely check it out when the time comes.

Thanks for the link - obviously I knew it, but I would never think he would picked up subbing it after 8 years since doing Ep1-3!!!

Minimal romance and smart/capable FL - I will definitely consider "Legend of Zhang Hai", although based on synopsis the FL doesn't seem to have much of importance,

If you enjoy smart/capable Female Leads and you are willing to accept Vertical Drama limitations, then there's no better pick than Lu Songli, as IMO she is the most all-around capable FL ever written(originally in Novel) - https://kisskh.at/797412-huan-qin-hou-wo-shun-bian-huan-le-jiang-shan-hen-he-li-ba

1) How does she do in fighting scenes? Are there many of them?
2) Is she smart? Calm?
2b) Does she get dumber when the Romance starts?
3) How often does the ML have to save her?
4) How is she portrayed compared to the novel?

Since I like the all-around capable Female Leads, a couple of questions:

Regarding FH - from what I read later, the show was a big mess, so dropping it so early really seemed like a good decision.

I've dropped "Shadow Love" after two episodes - in both of them the ML saved the clueless FL general, which made me think "how in the hell she survived and even thrived before meeting him?"

I also got stuck around the 9th-10th episode of "Are You the One?", which is almost as incredibly boring as Wang Chu Ran is beautiful :).
But because of WCR's beauty, it still has a chance to get picked up later.

However, despite the gigantic disappointment, I stayed with "Legend of Female General" aka "Romance of Female Soldier" until the end, although I was using the Fast Forward button a lot.

The last two I enjoyed were "Blossom" and "Flourished Peony" (only Part 1, though, as Part 2 sucked big time), I even enjoyed the Romance parts there.

But finding something valuable is becoming increasingly more difficult.

I would love to watch some of the older shows, but many of them don't have English subtitles, like Wu Zetian from 1995 (apparently, it's the best adaptation).

Very interesting post.
I really enjoyed "Blossom" and since you gave such a high praise - what were the other Dramas written/produced by people involved with "Blossom"?

I'm very, very tired of "Purposely leaving people alive that want to kill you" trope.

I've dropped the FH after a 5th episode, but I've seen a big fight which happened later, where the FL allowed some guy to live after he tried to betray and kill her. I'm sure it worked great for her :).

In the end, these days I prefer to watch cheap, but better-written and shorter (meaning: focused on the main characters) Vertical Dramas over the long Big Productions with tropes repeating themselves and secondary characters getting way too much screentime.

"Nirvana in Fire" and "Empresses in the Palace" are IMO difficult to match.
"Story of MingLan" is also excellent.

I shudder thinking about some of the options you got offered above, like "The Double", lol :).

But also, I like the serious tone, low in Romance and with leads who are better actors than singers :).
Who knows, maybe your priorites are different.

Overall, a good watch, but it was painful to see her getting dumb down once or twice so the ML will have a chance to help her - f'n Romance messing up strong/smart Female Leads as always.

Still, she is all-around more capable than 95% of the FLs. But maybe still a level below Lu Songli.

Also, this one works - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fh5g3tCbRA

I guess, it's similar to "Badass Female Lead" who needs the ML to save her over and over and over again.
It's pretty much standard in all dramas including BFL.

It's been a few years since I've watched it, and it remains the best ever Drama for me (at least in C-Dramaland), I think only "Empresses in the Palace" comes close in having a similar imprint on me, but I used FF there more due to a much higher dosage of Romance.

I also tried to watch "The Advisors Alliance" (partially due to Liu Tao playing the FL), but stopped after a few episodes, when the ML broke his own leg on purpose to avoid working for the main villain.

Pretty disappointing for a supposedly great political advisor :(

For all the fans of ML and his meticulous planning, there is a Novel and Vertical Drama about the FL who is probably close to his level in political scheming, counter-scheming, and the ability to walk one step and look ahead three (or ten) steps.

She is also very ruthless ;).

Thanks for the warning about the "Smart Female Lead" not really being smart. Will be easy skip then, as I actually consider watching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCmUYbJzD3c

"Travelling back to 70 years later, I led 5 CEO great-grandsons to fight back and rewrite their lives" - really like this version of "my 18-year-old Grandma" storyline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtSGynWoBD4