Excellent discussion. I'll throw in my own 2 cents."Whoever speaks first loses" is not really a love quote…
I agree she loved the Empress more she never forgave Fuheng for getting married and didn't want to settle as his concubine but she was willing to settle and become a concubine for revenge.
The relationship between WYL, FFH, and the Emperor was written ambiguously to allow for multiple interpretations. However, I believe WYL only loved FFH. I believe her feelings toward the Emperor began as hatred but later developed into feelings based on survival, commitment, appreciation, and devotion, but not love.
She said, “Whoever speaks first loses,” and she never expresses her feelings to FFH until after he dies. In that same episode, the Emperor openly expresses his love for her, and she says, “I don’t have the answer now, but I will spend a lifetime answering you.” I believe that with the Emperor, she was pretending, but she could only truly be herself around FFH. Since they could not openly express their love for each other without the Emperor threatening to kill them, their feelings remained suppressed. WYL also used the Emperor’s love for her to survive and live a happy life.
There are also very subtle hints that she still loved him. For example, FFH explains to Hailancha that some words don’t need to be said if you can read each other’s minds. In the very few scenes they have together, you can tell that he understands her without her having to say anything. But since they cannot be together without the Emperor threatening to kill them, so much of what they feel goes unsaid.
And the time when she expressed that it was selfish of her to marry Ming Yu because she wanted her to be happy, implying that she wasn’t happy in her marriage.
I believe FFH wanted her to be happy and gave her the comfort she needed to maintain the facade.
I am on Ep.49. I don't know if I can watch this anymore 2MLs story line is to sad and he's my favorite. Does she fall in Love with the emperor yes or no. 😭
This was an ok drama for me. I liked it but didn't love the way it was written especially towards the end. In my opinion it's more of a historical drama than a romance drama. if you like Historical or Strong Female Lead dramas you would like this. The story did really well developing the FL and creating a lot of political tension. The only downfall is the romance part for me. It's very slow and non-existent at times. Technically they don't meet until episode 8 They don't confess or develop feelings until episode 30 and they spend a lot of time apart due to political conflicts. The ending is open ended and there is no conclusion about their relationship but you assume they are still together. I also dislike the MLs story line. The story does really good developing the FLs story line and letting her resolve her own conflicts but FL solves ML main conflict. And i dislike it because it diminishes his character. I would still say it's worth the watch if you like strong female leads or historical dramas but if you prefer romance or more conclusive story than it may be a hit or miss for you.
this is on my list for plan to watch, but with so many mixed reviews isit worth it. I don't mind a lack of romance…
if you like historical or life dramas you would like this. If you more so like romance I am not so sure. technically They don't meet until episode 8 and don't confess their feelings until episode 30 it's very slow the story focuses more on FL and her family / Career ending is happy but also open ended no conclusion
Idk if they just didn't want my guy Elvis Han to have a good romance plot, but what was the point of sending him…
I agree, the story focused a lot on the FL and didn't give the ML enough time to shine. She even solves his case and puts the Tian family in jail. I would of liked it better if it was more balanced and since he gets exiled and goes to war they have less romance scenes since their apart. I heard there's a deleted scene where they get married after the war
She said, “Whoever speaks first loses,” and she never expresses her feelings to FFH until after he dies. In that same episode, the Emperor openly expresses his love for her, and she says, “I don’t have the answer now, but I will spend a lifetime answering you.” I believe that with the Emperor, she was pretending, but she could only truly be herself around FFH. Since they could not openly express their love for each other without the Emperor threatening to kill them, their feelings remained suppressed. WYL also used the Emperor’s love for her to survive and live a happy life.
There are also very subtle hints that she still loved him. For example, FFH explains to Hailancha that some words don’t need to be said if you can read each other’s minds. In the very few scenes they have together, you can tell that he understands her without her having to say anything. But since they cannot be together without the Emperor threatening to kill them, so much of what they feel goes unsaid.
And the time when she expressed that it was selfish of her to marry Ming Yu because she wanted her to be happy, implying that she wasn’t happy in her marriage.
I believe FFH wanted her to be happy and gave her the comfort she needed to maintain the facade.