WandereR

Yes, agree. In TPoC, from ep 1 already it felt angsty and draggy but so far the mood here is so much better :D

This is really fun and thrilling so far. And the presence of so much greenery is comforting to the eyes. I see Zoey Meng and Shen Lige's mum, 6 episodes in.
This is already 10x better than TPoC. Everyone is worth rooting for here xD

Why did iQiyi reformat the subtitles.... As if making us suffer without previews of 30 wasn't bad enough :/

Yup I just watched that scene too. Thank goodness for that! :D

Couldn't agree more. Keywords being immature, insensitive, irrational, selfish and self-entitled. The ML, on the other hand, should improve on his communication but I hardly blame him. In addition to blade injuries, blood loss and dealing with palace politics, it's challenging enough to keep confidential certain schemes, let alone divulging them to people with the abovementioned keywords.
People of around the same age eg Fu Xuan and Qi Zhu (or even Han Yun Xi) do not seem to behave in such manner.

Not sure if this would be related to the heartbreak but the fact that the ML's mum and the trusted physician tricked FL into believing that the ML's days are numbered.... not sure how that's going to impact on the already fragile trust issues between the OTP. Hopefully it gets resolved without too much problem.
On a side note, seeing the FL reading medical books at the office brings back memories of LoY :)

There's a lot of insensitivity and immaturity there. Granted, viewers empathise with her predicament and all that, but I blame the screenwriters for this. Han Yun Xi is definitely a better written FL.

It does, doesn't it. They should all indulge in a bit of wine, helps loosen them up a little and be open about their feelings instead of bottling it up inside and create misunderstandings. The 2nd CP is really turning out to be a treat, I agree.

Yes, I like the way his character is written. You do see the progressive development there and I credit Wang You Shuo for his portrayal as well.

I gotta say, second CP's relationship development pleased me in the latest episodes. Their interactions made much more sense and had believable profound moments.
The main CP... both of them really need to be able to communicate properly before they even talk about trust. And FR's character can be infuriating to watch (pubescent kid in an adult body vibes). The sister's character is much better written (and Kiki's make up is way better too).

You're right. Him crying wasn't surprising (and finally puts to bed comparisons with his role in LoY) but the WAY HE CRIED caught me by surprise - I've never seen any ML look as adorable when crying! Totally not inappropriate, in fact it's very appropriate reaction xD

Ikr! That scene is pivotal to the entire plot! How dare they!

The princess is annoying but she's an airhead and easily manipulated. I think the really dangerous one is Qi Zhu, who still bears a grudge. She's quite clever and manipulative, and we've already seen how she operates at the palace. That's already a massive red flag there.
Was rather surprised how easily the princess gave in without much of a fight. Thought she would've resorted to nefarious means... she really is too stupid after all to plot anything.

I noticed that he seems to have lost weight here, compared to when he was in Princess Silver - he looked bigger there (face and body). Or maybe Aarif looked smaller size than him there lol

Yup, good idea. Just to clarify though, a Prince can be a Duke but not necessarily the other way round. Prince (or direct translation is King) is the official title for the Emperor's son. Duke is more like a designation or a position granted by the Emperor. Prince Su hasn't been granted any official position or fiefdom that entitles him to be addressed as Duke. Being given the command of the Jing Yi Wei (embroidered guards) just makes him a commander only and not a Duke either. In any case, regardless of whatever job titles he's given, he should be officially addressed as Prince.

There's an epic dance? Ok, will give that a watch. Surely that wasn't spoiled by the bad writing in the end...

EDIT: Ok, I've just watched that scene.... OMG! Epic! Chinese version of the ball dance (reminds me of Pride and Prejudice, and Bollywood! lol) This is probably the best scene in the entire show xD

Same here, actually. The dramas I quoted above aren't really my cup of tea either, except for Train which was really good. The rest were like meh lol. I am following Search and The Spies Who Loved Me atm though. Otherwise, it's been C-dramas all the way for me lately. Hopefully will recover from K-drama slump next year :P

Finally you've published your last article in the series, and what a journey it has been :)
I've watched the dramas from every country and they're all unique in their own ways. Hopefully more MDL'ers will explore them thanks to your series of articles bringing awareness to us all.

I also agree with your observation of recent K-drama trends. Perhaps it's time for new groundbreaking content to keep the freshness in their productions. This year alone, there's been a number of sci-fi themes particularly with cross-dimensions/ parallel worlds (TKEM, Train, Alice). Period/ historical is getting a bit less (especially the more serious ones). Slow burn romance is getting more screen time as well (When the Weather is Fine, A Piece of Your Mind, Do You Like Brahms?). Interestingly, we have more mature content, focusing on 30+ to middle age category as well (World of the Married, Birthcare Centre, The Penthouse, My Dangerous Wife). The voice of the youth fighting to make it in the world is being heard too (Itaewon Class, Record of Youth, Start Up). Hopefully things continue to pick up and more innovative K-dramas are produced for our pure enjoyment :)

Thanks again to Tine and your wonderful team for such amazing articles!

Lol. Noona romance indeed, with amazing OSTs to boot!

Lol. We definitely need more dramas with pirates. Qing Qing Zi Jin's "land pirate" eg bandit is pretty cool too. And he can recite poetry. Now that's what you call a warrior poet!