WM

LOL, nice rant :)
And I thought I was the harsh one regarding comments on the way female leads are often written and presented .

"Yuwen Yue should stay in the lake" - my favourite Douban comment :).

Every time I see people complaining about Mary Sue female characters, I'm immediately thinking about ML here - Mark Sue? Or how are they called then? )

Either way, it's pretty good drama, featuring one of the strongest female leads ever - of course, she was still weaker than ML (the world would burn if writers would write it differently...), but at least the difference wasn't as stark as it typically is.

It also has one of my favourite conversations between an evil couple:
- Why couldn't you continue to kneel during offering? (or something like this)
- It was too cold
- Was this colder than Cold Palace?
Great moment

@Nuttika
This is the common issue in shows featuring supposedly badass/strong female leads - you watch them in drama, and the writing makes you ask yourself "how did they survive or even thrive until today when ML wasn't around?", as they call to yet another villain's trap or are beaten/ambushed/injured by them.

Original Princess Agents was not bad in this aspect after she got her training. Shen Lige from "Song of Glory" and maybe Bai Feng Xi from "Who Rules the World" were other examples when they were written in a mostly acceptable way.

@cupcakecarlynn
Well, it has one of the best opening Episodes I have ever seen in C-Dramas. Maybe it's just not the right choice for you.
And then Episode 5 is quite thrilling as well.

Yeah, it's great, Empress said it to the Emperor, when he was suspecting how quickly Yingluo gained her trust.

Later, I' ve heard it in some other dramas as well.

There are some great one-liners during Yanxi experience.

My favourite is - "Don't doubt the people you use. And don't use the people you doubt".

@Fanstar99

When watching original PA, I remember wanting to learn more about Chu Qiao's mother; she was such an interesting character and all the flashbacks with her were amazing.,

It's another post praising General Huan - any episodes particularly worthy watching to check her out?

I don't plan to watch it fully.

For someone who is accused of being a weak actress who uses doubles a lot... I really like watching her, lol :).

I'm guessing, she probably has the best doubles in the world. Maybe 2nd best after Maggie Q, another actress I really like watching in action, who is often accused of the same.

I just watched some episodes of the LOCH 2008 and really liked both her acting and fighting, with the latter reminding me a lot of "Journey to Lowe". Her ballet background seems to be very visible, I guess it's her double having it too :).

I was just watching a bit of it and comparing it to a different versions that I'm a little bit familiar with (I didn't read any of Jin Yong's stuff).

It's as frustrating a watch as all other adaptations were, with "evil guys" running circles about "good guys, killing them, framing them, and the "good guys" being an incredibly dumb bunch.
Only Huang Rong has intelligence and enough of a ruthless streak among them. Unfortunately, for someone who is such a quick learner, her Martial Arts are relatively weak.

However, it was interesting to watch this version, as they didn't follow the original book so closely - for example, Ouyang Ke was much smarter and better at scheming compared to Yang Kang. I'm sure it was hugely criticised at the time, but I appreciate someone having the guts to try something else.
It's also interesting why it suddenly happened - the reason is that Yang Kang was presented in a better light, so naturally he had to become dumber. We wouldn't want smart protagonists (until they turn heel), wouldn't we? Sigh.

I don't think much about Hu Ge's performance as ML (but I never do, as Guo Jing is such a boring and sanctimonious character), but I really liked Ariel Lin as the Huang Rong, probably my favourite version of her, along with Bao Shang En in the 2024 edition.

A few years later, I feel like it holds well against the 2025/26 productions - it has one of the most badass female leads around, the storyline is decent, the fighting looks cool, and the OST is just amazing.
It doesn't have a heated romance, but I actually don't care much about it, and both leads had some nice moments together.

Negatives? The ending is really, really bad, and the female lead should kill her sister after her 3-4th villainous trick. It just didn't make sense that she had such a long shelf life, especially after she poisoned everyone on the journey to meet her husband-to-be.

Wow - I would never have guessed she would be Huang Rong in one of the versions of the "Legend of the Condor Heroes", but watching the 2003 drama, I thought "this voice sounds familiar from 'Ruyi".
And - boom, here she is.
However, trying various editions of LOCHs recently, her versions of the Huan Rong character seem to me the most awkward.

I didn't read a novel, but from what I know, it's nowhere as bad as in the book, and from what I remember, it was the only choking moment in the drama.
It's not a dark romance IMO, more of a distrust due to external circumstances, which both leads work hard to overcome through the years.

Personally, I got mostly disappointed after 10 episodes, when the fl's strategy brilliance got mostly hidden, and mostly she became a run-of-the-mill mistress of the house. What a waste it was, as her actions in the beginning were spectacular.

I don't care about the romance, though, so I can't talk much about chemistry, stuff, etc...

Maybe a weird comparison, but as for the first time I am watching bits of the "Legend of Condor Heroes", it made me think from a different perspective about a Drama and Novel here.

Why? Because seeing how dumb and easy to calculate against ML is there, despite having an absolutely brilliant strategist and ruthless enough Huang Rong as a girlfriend, it made me appreciate the ML and his family in "Lu Songli's adventure", as they were not only smarter on average, but also willing to follow the female lead without any reservation. Which, by association, made them immune to being calculated against.

The same can be said about "Blossom", but the list is actually quite short.
Even in the otherwise fantastic "Story of Minglan", Gu Tingye inexcusably didn't tell Ming Lan about the upcoming rebellion.

Maybe a weird comparison, but as for the first time I am watching bits of the "Legend of Condor Heroes", it made me think from a different perspective about a Drama and Novel here.

Why? Because seeing how dumb and easy to calculate against ML is there, despite having an absolutely brilliant strategist and ruthless enough Huang Rong as a girlfriend, it made me appreciate the ML and his family in "Lu Songli's adventure", as they were not only smarter on average, but also willing to follow the female lead without any reservation. Which, by association, made them immune to being calculated against.

The same can be said about "Blossom", but the list is actually quite short.
Even in the otherwise fantastic "Story of Minglan", Gu Tingye inexcusably didn't tell Ming Lan about the upcoming rebellion.

Rude? Come on, I am not American/Western European to get offended over someone else having a different opinion :)
Cheers.

I know him from cheap anti-Japanese dramas, and currently watching him as the oldest master among 7 freaks in the "Legend of Condor Heroes".

If someone wants to get a headache, go and check his Baidu profile on how many dramas he has had in his career, lol :)

It's my first serious attempt to watch anything Jin Yong related - mostly because I wanted to check how smart and capable Huang Rong is (and the actress was praised for her portrayal here).

But, it's a really, really difficult watch to see so many dumb/muddled characters, mostly "the good ones".
Ugh.

I love the opening song, though.
It's also interesting to see Wang Kuirong playing the oldest master among 7 freaks, as I know him only from playing in cheap anti-Japanese dramas.

It's an old link that nobody cares about, but are you sure you picked a correct Zhao Jia here?
I just watched a vertical drama with a dierent one (I think) - https://kisskh.at/people/116549-luo-mei-hao