WandereR

I have high hopes for Legend of Fei and The Winner is King next year.... but they used the same screenwriter for Guardian.... hmmm :O

This looks interesting, I'll add this to my watch list.

For me the biggest "villains" of the year are Jin Yuan Yuan, Shi Yue, Lin Ziyi, Xu Run, Wang Wen Tong, Wu Meng Zhang, Liu Xiao Yi and Chen Yu Qi - they are the SCREENWRITERS for this show, Ever Night 2, Qing Qing Zi Jin, Love is Sweet, And the Winner is Love and The Song of Glory. Way to go in ruining potentially great stories and characters :/

But yes, Hao Chen takes the cake for me - great acting by Liu Xue Yi and nicely written antagonist in 2020 C-dramas (until I've caught up with Mingyi's latest episodes, this ranking might change).

Lol, it's true! :P

Haha, Insect Detectives! I was captivated by the synopsis but the show wasn't what I expected (I was hoping more Silence of the Lambs feels). Danger of Her sounds interesting, I'll go check it out. Yes, I don't understand why Detectives isn't subbed yet, I'm really looking forward to that :(
Oh, Ming Yi isn't dead yet? Lol, I thought I was way behind that I missed out on his death already. I know you're not into K-dramas, but I'm planning to watch Search (actually I've been holding back on that one because of all the airing C-dramas) - the synopsis sounds really really interesting... that's what I like about OCN channel, they show all the dark, mysterious stuff.
Btw, there's another criminal investigation drama, I Know Your Secret (aka Your Secret) that aired last year. I watched the first episode before putting it on hold because I didn't have time. Not sure if you've watched it but you can check it out since it's the same genre. It stars Bosco too.

I remember a few years back when criminal profiling was all the rage as a refreshingly new premise for detective C-dramas. I watched this around the same time I watched Love Me If You Dare. I found this story to be much more interesting and less "darkly intense" but I do agree, there were pacing and consistency issues. I think I probably enjoyed it because I didn't take it too seriously but there's wasted potential there - it could've been so much more.

Hikaru No Go I'm putting on hold as well - focusing solely on Legend of Xiao Chuo now that Ruyi Pavilion is over.

I've seen all 3, they're not exactly the same. One is a tragedy, while the other is a comedy. This one, well, so far it's quite fun and it's expected to end happily.

I know how you feel. I actually put Jiu Liu Overlord on hold. It wasn't what I expected unfortunately. L&R is fantastic, and watching it while it was airing was fun along with the live comments - all the viewers suffered and rejoiced together! I'm currently watching The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion and Legend of Xiao Chuo, perhaps you could give those a try and see if you enjoy them :)

Nice, iQiyi! This happened with In A Class of Her Own and now for this show. I'm glad my subscription paid off! xD

Hopefully things will get better from now onwards :)

Yes, it's such a shame for a fine actress to be affected by fandom. I'm glad to see her in more projects and she's doing great here :)

Yup, that's how I feel about her too. I heard somewhere that in 2018/ 2019 there were some criticisms of her by fans - not sure whose fans and what the criticism was about - which affected her career for a while. But the good news is she has been picked up for more roles including leading roles so hopefully we'll get to see more of her in the near future.

Lol! Good question - I'll have to watch the latest episode shortly

Zoey fan here. She usually swings to the good side in her past roles (The Untamed, Ever Night) and lately her roles are more good than evil (Legend of 2 Sisters in Chaos).
So far here, she's the usual down to earth, discreet and elegant persona. More limited supporting role but no grief either. I can safely conclude she's one of the good (even better) guys in this show.
Btw, I love your profile pic!

I like Zoey Meng's role. She has consistently played great roles and even in a limited supporting role here, she nails it.

Same here. I'm not fond at all with the incompetent emperor. He's the reason the empire is in crisis and now he dares to meddle in people's lives :/

Good idea! The rest of us will hold her down for you lol

Ah I see, meaning there is another hidden villain. And the bratty princess dies. Thank you for the info :)

12 minutes with him already inflicted so much damage, let alone 12 years *sigh*
Poor Yan Yan...

I would be eternally grateful if any reader of The Way of Favors could confirm that a certain bratty princess gets written out of the story.
My ears are still ringing from incessant cries of "Su Wang Gege..."
I need to re-watch L&R for XJ's "Si Feng" to clear my head :/