K H-C

I’m not mad at the short hair (I think its only the mages) ‘cuz its a fantasy period rather than historical, I thought it was kinda smart on the side of the designers to save time & money on wigs since they could get away with it with that genre. :)

Thank you for your reply! (My PS was more related to how it is done in American television where they’re covered up with blankets, but you can assume they’re undressed underneath-but nothing is showing on camera). Thank you so much for the comparisons to the novel and clarifications!

I know I'm so late to the game here, but I had to post and say "yaaaaaaeeeesssss" to your comment about WC's hair and 'stache. OMG. At least when he did his bodyguard bit, it was better. He is not the best looking actor in Chinese dramaland and so needs careful attention to hair and styling. I do not understand why they did that to him (though did he work out for that drama! They seriously should have included more shirtless scenes...). lol.

That review was pretty hilarious. Thanks for sharing!

I know I'm commenting on your review waaaaayyy late lol. I agree with you’re assessment of YX. That’s why I ended up dropping it (around the time she’s defending that one city YX’s psychopath general wants to abandon), my SMLS got too bad. Even though he went off the deep end, his relationship with the FL was so much stronger and they had been through so much together—and on a much more equal footing throughout compared to the actual ML. (Though I should have known what to expect when they lived together for three years and nothing happened between them). I just never got around to liking the ML.

Great article! I’ve always been good at “reading between the lines” when it comes to translation, but I’ve definitely leveled up that ability after developing an Asian drama obsession. I enjoyed the explanation and examples. Another good example of grammatical mistranslation is “Storm Eye” with Yang Mi & Vin Zhang. Should be “Eye of the Storm”.

I stopped the series once he proposed marriage to her when they were still dealing with the outbreak. I figured that was good enough place to stop and I can pretend it all ended happily from there. lol

I thought this was a fictional dynasty/royal family? Thought I saw that in the subs somewhere.

That is interesting to hear that WC got criticized for his looks in NPE. I wonder if the male actors are starting to follow more Western trends for body image (e.g. muscles) but their Eastern fans have not caught up yet? I would love to see some actresses with more curvy body images get leading roles (and ones that do not focus on those curves).

I’m watching it on Viki & am up to ep 10. Its still a bit stilted in terms of dialogue and development. Like they could not decide which direction to take.

I’m sticking with this since period fantasy is my favorite genre, but they either should have spent more time on the build-up (ala Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) or went with really well-placed flashbacks so they could jump right in to the meat of the story. The first four episodes were so rushed. I also suspect this is one of those where only those who have read the novel understand what is going on but they are also mad b/c of all the changes to the story line? I'm feeling like this had so much potential, but a choppy presentation instead. Hopefully it will redeem itself. :)

Thanks for this thread! I agree they’re not really giving us good reasons—though I do think I remember her speaking to someone about not wanting to be just another concubine and having to share him with “a new girl every day” (to paraphrase how she put it, it was early in the series). Leaving out his Queen is a bit of a plot hole, since he would have been married to her for years by this time. I'm not sure about throwing in the jealous concubine, either. That’s a bit “tropey” for this caliber of a drama?

I agree. Even a short montage of their interactions would have been helpful. It seems like they had little interaction over that time as he adjusted to being king and suddenly he’s asking her to ‘marry’ him again. It was too much of a disconnect for me- unless they intend to make up for it later with flashbacks or something.

Am I correct that the tutor wants to make his little sister into a concubine of the CP? When she’s old enough? (Which in those days, was like 14?)

I think, too, there some trauma from the Moon Fairy Story? As in, that is an adaptation of what either actually happened to her or to (maybe) her antecedents?

As much as I hate having to wait almost a week for the next episode, I’m also glad cuz finals week is coming!

He knew that the Prince had faked Nokdu’s death and had decided to let it go.

The moral of this story is the incredible damage parents can inflict on the mental health of their children.
That aside, this was a cute, light drama. Just pretend its “alternate history” if the inaccuracies bother you. ;P

Nice and brainless. My “spoiler” rant is below.

I couldn’t not get behind how they fought so hard for the dad in the end. He was such an awful person throughout. Maybe a cultural-filial thing I just don’t comprehend? And the older brother giving up his girl for some votes!? (For a dad who actively sabotaged his relationship and constantly manipulated him!) She was right to dump him because he was incapable of putting her first, ever. That part just made me mad.