absurd

But they did film all those scenes to focus on GL. So even if there was a change in direction it was while writing a script. Could they not give him some development then? I don't care if he's the lead, but he's such a badly written character. All they had to do is give him something to make him stand out. Something. So far there's nothing at all.

Had to actually google that one lol I am not a native English speaker

The 180 that JNZ did in episodes 14-15 really bugs me. First with GYY and then with her dad. I get that he got hurt and she was scared, but she also met him like 3 months ago and all of their interactions were arguments. And now she's the perfect obedient daughter and is even happy to be transfered to what basically amounts to a court jesters division. The girl, who practically demanded from her squad leader to be placed in a competition, that's usually reserved for more experienced recruits and trained for it like crazy.
I would understand them getting closer in increments, but this sudden change looks like a chunk of time for relationship development was cut out, but the problem is I don't think it was, this just looks like inconsistent writing.
And, yes, I've said it like 100 times already, but I really dislike Zheng Yuan. The nepotism, the hypocrisy on that guy just stink. He only does what's "god for the army" when it's also good for him, but as soon as it's not, he doesn't care and just finds excuses for his actions.
I also really dislike what they did with Gao Liang. It's obvious that he's meant to be the lead, maybe not screentime wise, but we get more of his back-story and all of those "we need people like him" speeches, he also gets the girl. But, imo, they overdid it with rags to riches trope. It would be nice if he had some other qualities to make him stand out, except being the most honest and honorable guy in the universe. And he's not even that honorable, considering how he tried to sabotage JNZ and GYY's relationship. He's not training anymore and is only still in the army because division commander practically adopted him. He's using the library. Good. But other than that he's just along for the ride, no ambition, no special talents. I don't dislike him, he's funny, but he just doesn't feel like a lead, to me personally, more like a class clown.

Well, GL did say that he had no other place to go. He probably doesn't care about ranks or career as long as he can stay in a family-like or friendly environment. And Zheng Yuan practically adopted him. Gosh, the nepotism and hypocrisy of that guy drive me crazy.

I think at last the hugging scene has to be censorship, not innocent enough for pure Chinese viewers, as far as government is concerned lol

So Gao Liang is Porthos then? LOL

It seems that you asked a question, but are unwilling to hear the answer. I don't really see the point of arguing which of them who likes more. It is a personal preference and no one can make you like Gu Yiye if you don't. I can admit that Gu Yiye is much more practical and less idealistic than Gao Liang, but then I actually like that about him, it makes for a relatable character much more grounded in reality. If idealistic, "always do the right thing" characters like Gao Liang are more up your alley, than more power to you. But to me there's no point comparing their moral compass, as they are both good people, who just take a different approach to doing the right thing.

I can't find it now, saw it floating around douyin, I think.

You have a point, Gu Yiye is moving on and we finally might see his excellence full force. Still feel bad for him.
And JNZ's squad leader is an idiot, she's a grown woman and talks about love like dumb teenager. Who made her the local relationship expert? By the looks of it, she has no idea what she's talking about.

For me it's that this turning point for GL and JNZ decision came too abruptly. There was no lead up to it, in episode 13 she won't leave GYY and GL is an idiot, and then ep 14 comes and bam. We decided to go another route.
As for Zheng Yuan, he's not wrong, I do agree with his point, too many lives depend on soldiers to let emotions rule the day. But Gu Yiye is young, inexperienced and making one foot soldier responsible for the whole operation fail is ridiculous. But Zheng Yuan is a seasoned general, who plays favorites and uses his position to manipulate his daughter. He is not wrong, but he is a hypocrite.

I think GL and JNZ is a definite thing, some snippets I saw made it pretty obvious. But the GYY part, I am still hoping they'll chop out the widow thing and change it.

Maybe they changed it? There's only one picture, maybe it was just a picture, there's a picture of XZ with Elain Zhong and a child too after all. Not in a sense that it's their kid, but they just took a picture. Maybe it's the same situation.
Making excuses now LOL hope never dies

I don't know which episode you are up to, so I'll try not to be very spoilery. My biggest problem actually is not Gao Liang himself. While I think he is overdoing it with trying to sabotage JNZ and GYY's relationship, I chalk it up to screenwriter's bad attempt at comedy, imo, those parts were written horribly. My biggest problem is that I am constantly being told that GL is amazing and army needs more people like him, while they fail to actually show me what exactly makes him so amazing. If being an honest and good person is an achievement now, then I'm scared to imagine what kind of people were those army officers interacting with throughout their whole career.
As for why GYY decided to split the fault, you missed the point. He knew that, if he tried to take the full blame, GL wouldn't take it and will definitely take the full blame himself. So instead he decided to give him an option to split the blame, hoping that their commander will be able to convince GL and therefore soften the punishment. He gave him an out. Yes it did not look good, but that's what his father said "it's more important to do the right thing, than look good"

Bai Lu is amazing, I love her since Arsenal military academy. I also wish she would be the one he ends up with, not this weird "married his commander's widow or daughter", who even knows. It just sound creepy, if it's actually a widow. Wouldn't she be twice his age?

Wow, it's like the screenwriter got changed in episode 14. Suddenly Gao Liang is talking like an adult, rather than a hyperactive child. Wtf was that in ep 13? Who wrote that, seriously? Did they actually hate the character or something? He was acting like a complete ass and an idiot, and it looked like it was all for comedic purposes.
And then with GYY and JNZ, we just go from "I won't give up on him" to "sorry, we have to break up" for no apparent reason whatsoever. Yes, I knew that they would break up eventually, but I was expecting something more reasonable, than decision to listen to your superior's dumb advice two months later. "Love is destroying yourself", what an idiot. No adult with any relationship experience will ever say that. Love is mutual respect and support, not this childish self sacrificing crap. And who won from that? The 9th lost in the exercise, JNZ lost in the competition. Yes, thank you it was an amazing idea to break them up.
Also Zheng Yuan is a hypocrite. Mr "Soldier puts duty first, decided to play daddy 18 years too late". So it's ok for him to be partial to his pity-favorite and use his authority, to mess his daughter's relationship, but "one person got emotional" and suddenly it's all his fault? There was a whole damn division, what are they chopped liver? And they lost because Gao Liang used his inside knowledge to tell Zheng Yuan what they are planning to do, not because once in million years Gu Yiye "got emotional". Seriously, those two episodes were really upsetting. The only bright spot was Bai Lu.

LOL we're on the same wavelength apparently 😁

Well, if he doesn't grow up that would be one very disappointing lead. I think I can like him, if the drama will stop explicitly telling me that I should, cause he's so amazing, apparently.

Am I the only one that thinks that the training scenes music sounds like Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack?

I agree, that moment was a little disturbing, even though it was exactly what Gu Yiye planned for, when he offered to share the blame.
I also agree that SJS is a lot more cynical and selfish, when it comes to managing soldiers, which is not actually a bad quality for an army commander, but in an idealistic setting, where everyone is self-sacralizing, it stands out.
Tbh, I'm starting to really dislike Zhang Yuan. His pity-favoritism to Gao Liang is based on One! conversation. You're absolutely right, that making him a civil servant is practically a reward, it also doesn't look like it upset him all that much to become one (Gu Yiye would have been devastated probably). He also seemed to not like Gu Yiye all that much, even though in terms of ambition they are actually pretty similar.
I just don't really understand why they find Gao Liang so inspiring. I saw a lot of somewhat dumb heroes, while watching anime, but all of them had some other qualities, making them special and it was not just "being a good person". It's not that he's useless, he's just kind of... a little better than average when it comes to skills, dumb as a rock when it comes to brains and wouldn't know subtle if it hit him in the face. He'll make a good soldier, but to say that "army needs people like him" is a little too much at this point, maybe when he grows up...

Those are all pretty good guesses, also not mutually exclusive. Also, I just thought about something else, after reading your ideas. Considering that Nanzheng grew up without a father because he chose military over her mom, that might be her breaking point when it comes to Gu Yiye, as you said, he is dead set on growing in ranks. But if the synopsis is correct, than she and GL only get married in 2003 (20 years from now), so I still think she'll only fall for him after he (hopefully) grows up.