Everything else aside… the sets, backdrop and props are really very beautiful…. They were intricately put together.
Such a shame that the plot wasn’t elaborated well I.e the logic/rationale/motive behind was unconvincing and flawed for some of the arcs (but great for some, love the Shen family, don’t recall watching a military family arc in C-dramas before 🤔), the introduction of schemes/plots were sporadic, the storytelling could have been much better and also woven more tightly together, although the framework/backdrop of this series should have made for a pretty awesome drama… It had a lot of potential… I.e the whole assassin organisation, the aristocratic clans which were surprisingly based on real historical clans..
The balance of drama wasn’t too bad actually, much better than Princess WeiYoung! (a bit sad that this fared worse, I wonder if it’s coz of the pairing of the main couple, but I liked this pairing a lot 😍)... LiQin really brought the role to life…. Probably one of my most favourite FLs. Another plus of this drama is that it has a lot of likeable characters…
So it wasn’t an over-emphasis on romance, neither lacking, but the whole antagonist side wasn’t solid enough to carry the entire series given it was so long. The ending doesn’t really make sense…. was a bit forceful, I wonder why they did that… censorship? Govt. doesn’t want to encourage/glorify heroic outlaws….? Anyway, still think it was worth the watch.
Yes exactly! I thought it was super unique actually… like if sucha person existed now I’m sure many girls…
Yea! Totally agree. Haha yea, society is rather “confused” now because of the narrowing gap between 2 genders…. So women are able to support themselves and more than themselves which makes them more masculine and males have become more feminine because they don’t actually need to go to war or hunt anymore…. A lot of them are actually really good at domestic chores too. 🤣🤣🤣 Equality has it’s own ramifications I spse….
I really thought the plot was very unique…. Like how the author blended modern times and super traditional. It gave it such a cool and unique vibe…. I personally enjoyed this one much more than the first one/prequel coz I found this series so different compared to the typical C-drama… like wuxia, xianxia, political, time travelling etc… this one had it’s unique character….
Throughout the series I really wondered if such families still exist in Mainland… I meant after all they have so many citizens and China is hugeeee. Anything is possible… 🤣 or maybe just my wishful thinking.
I just completed watching it. It was good until the story get darker, too many villains then I started to skip…
It was messed up towards the end… seriously too many villains. And somehow all villains in the series seem rather incoherent/random although after it ended I thought about it…. It actually is just like any other C-dramas, at the end of the day it is down to one ultimate antagonist….
No idea why but throughout the whole series it gave me the vibe of “geez…. So many random villains, it’s a bit much isn’t it……. 😒”…. Like it was so off-balance. I think it’s coz there were political villains, romantic and family villains running around in all directions….. 😌🤦♀️ Pure chaos and it was just exhausting. Couldn’t really immerse myself in it, only thing that kept me going was I found Tiffany Tang very pleasant looking. Like she has a very pretty and sweet face, and she was tall… so it made her character very convincing. Also a plus that her acting was decent/alright.
Nothing…… so I felt the only logical way out here is time… some time needs to past. Maybe not 5 yrs….…
Will not marry him… even if perhaps it takes a long time to stop loving him…. Maybe never… like star-crossed lovers… but if relationships are not somewhat balanced, it almost never lasts… partnerships are important,… the gap is obvious for someone who is 15 vs 20… but it isn’t for a couple who is 35 vs 40…. If I’m a female version of LY yea, just marry him….. if I’m CSS…. Forget about it unless the other party has really changed… permanently… because there of mutual understanding and growth.. imagine when there are kids involved…. The answer is to “just trust him”…….? Why though…. I actually think CSS is just as capable as HBY, just that she is younger….
Nothing…… so I felt the only logical way out here is time… some time needs to past. Maybe not 5 yrs….…
Ah ok… so this is the part whereby I disagree….. especially given both the characters are so young…. I’m sorry but why is HBY superior? Education is a lot of things but it isn’t everything… just like money….
Ok, they both get captured….. but then so wot….? To begin with if you step back and think about it…. Then just don’t get married…. Lol. Why does HBY have to marry her…. If you just want to do woteva you deem fit….. actually you don’t need to be so adamant…. Just find a female version of LY, not like CSS forced you…. Just learn to let go and leave her alone…
Actually she broke the taboo of NiF and also this series…. Yea PengKuan is dead…. But for every problem there is more than one solution…… men’s ego…. And being proud… always makes them believe they have the “one-and-only, best” solution……. If you think about logically… sitting in a jail vs jumping off a cliff… I get the whole “protector vibe” thing…. Yes he is worried they torture the both of them…… but as though jumping off a cliff /building isn’t….. 😒 it’s probably worse than death……
I can concede though coz men and women exist and are made for different reasons…… just like how the responsibility of childbirth always falls on a female…. So it will never be entirely equal but fairness and respect is key, key to civilisation, progress and evolution.…
Nothing…… so I felt the only logical way out here is time… some time needs to past. Maybe not 5 yrs….…
Really?? But if I explicitly tell a person DON’T go and don’t leave…. And the next thing he does is leave…… and makes me witness him jumping off the cliff…………. I do think I will be like CSS though…… I mean I can totally resonate, sympathise and totally understand why you did every single thing which she actually did explicitly say in the drama……. BUT…….. I probably would rescind my intentions to marry and also will try and weane off my feelings…. Because I’m not so sure I will accept it although I fully understand it.
Think more than anything it becomes a trust thing… so I definitely trusted you but I spse it was a one-way thing and not only did you not trust me…… which is fine… you basically have never considered anything I’ve said…… which…… if you just forgive him then why won’t it happen again? At some point down the road, who says you won’t pack your bags and say bye again….. 🤷♀️ For all the good intentions you have….. It is actually the same fundamental issue as infidelity….. which is the whole trust thing… just that infidelity =bad intentions/unkind and Mr.HBY=kind intentions…. Sighs, which means if I’m CSS, every time you do something as you wish under the name of kindness I will have to accept and also be willing to change myself for you….. just coz you have valid reasons I.e like you forced my entire family to do your military exercises……. 😔🤣
LY was different though….. and I liked that the author drafted a character like LY. So this is the bit whereby the author’s trademark theme is out “As a girl, who should I pick as a husband?” Which was basically the core theme of The Story of Ming Lan…. And it was explored deeper there……..
Don’t get me wrong…. I totally get the whole “I love you a lot” thing and I realised this can’t be controlled by a lot of people… but love does not equate to being in a relationship which also doesn’t equate to marrying someone and doesn’t equate to having kids with someone……
Nothing…… so I felt the only logical way out here is time… some time needs to past. Maybe not 5 yrs….…
I do believe he has the ability to cry and also to apologise all along, yes agree….
But one subtle detail depicted in the drama is that he has always decided all along without putting himself in her shoes. He continued to do it even during those 5 yrs whereby everything was well-planned by him behind the scenes albeit the kind and loving intentions… and yes I agree it’s very touching and all… but the funniest comment he actually made was he actually knows she wouldn’t like it if she found out because she’s told him before….
So to me, I actually felt he was just being his usual self including punishing himself…. He seems to love doing that from all the anguish and guilt he carries….. The ever confident valiant general…. Deciding everything on his own as usual… which could be due to many factors but I personally think arrogance is one of them….. so to me hence why when he literally begged her…… it was kinda different for someone who is proud… and when I read the excerpt I could see for the first time how she could hold her head up higher than him…. Because I think that is very difficult for someone insecure to do…
Yea, it was Yuan Shen that told her in the novel but the Eng translation that one of the members posted I think just said he told her “everything” he did.
So for me one of the biggest irks was that one of the obvious message conveyed in the drama was that CSS changed a lot unknowingly+unintentionally for this one person… and this one person was still just the same anyways……. Even though she has clearly told him what she wot she expects, dislikes and fears…….
Lol, I agree but I also think this is usually how men handle problems…. Males and females rationalise things…
Couldn’t agree more but it has a legion of die hard fans man…. I didn’t rate it lowly, like I gave it a 8.5, it did have a super intricate and brilliant plot… but after I completed it I legit had a 😒 expression. I thought it was overrated….
Lol. It was the same for me but you need to get to about episode 20… it was good coz it allowed me to drop it…
It’s a good trick seriously.. 🤣 the best use of advancement in technology… so you watch some, those that catch your eye and you FF some… I did that in my first watch I think… and I think by the time I got to Part 2 I couldn’t get my eyes off the screen. It was glued.
Nothing…… so I felt the only logical way out here is time… some time needs to past. Maybe not 5 yrs….…
So this was an excerpt from the novel….
———— Shaoshang's eyes were wet, and she persuaded in a good voice: "Can't you look away (move on), the past is gone, we parted each other, got married and had children, and after more than ten or twenty years, old friends gathered to talk and laugh. Isn't it beautiful to laugh?" If he was lonely all his life, standing alone, what would she do, just look at him like that?
Huo Buyi grabbed her thin back, hugged her tightly, and said sullenly, "I don't want to be old friends with you, I want us to be an old couple."
Shaoshang felt a scorching breath coming towards her, his warm head buried in her neck, surrounded by a clean masculine scent mixed with the familiar scent of medicinal herbs and rust-smelling blood.
She silently shed tears, then slammed her heart hard, pushed him away, stood up straight, and said coldly: "If you want to marry a wife, you can marry whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me! I'm done, I'm leaving."
Huo Buyi grabbed her, knelt down on one leg, firmly hugged her slender waist, and begged, "Don't be so cruel, I wronged you six years ago, others don't understand, but I understand—you never believed in others or depended on others, but I forced you to accept me, and when you wanted to be with me wholeheartedly, I gave up on you..."
Shaoshang burst into tears again, and a crack was torn open in her heart that had been scabbed.
She has a high wall made of solid ice in her heart. She is alone on this side of the wall, and no one can walk in. Six years ago, Ling Buyi smashed through this ice wall with a mighty thunderbolt, saying that they could keep each other warm in the future. She tried her best to believe him, and the result... She had made up her mind that she would never let it (her heart) come out again in this life!
"I will never forgive you!" She cried, gritted her teeth, and said fiercely, "Stop dreaming, I have been able to live well until now, just by being hard-hearted. I will never forgive those who have wronged me. Once you are unfaithful once, you will do it a hundred times. You abandoned me six years ago, how can you know that you will not repeat the same mistakes in the future! I know that everyone speaks for you, including my family members, but I am not as good as you wish! Without you, I can live very well, I will never trust you again. Never!"
Huo Buyi also shed tears and begged humbly: "They are not helping me, they are helping us. Take a mirror and look at yourself. The way you look at Yuan Shen is completely different from when you look at me. I'm not blind, others are also not blind. Not blind!"
Shaoshang burst into tears, choked and unable to speak: "Without you, I can live well, Yuan Shen and I will grow old together and spend our whole life together..."
Huo Buyi softly said: "Yes, I deserve to be lonely all my life, you can always forget me."
Shaoshang's throat is uncomfortable.
Huo Buyi looked up at her: "I never thought of hurting you, I have always hoped that your life will be smooth and joyful. Back then, I even found a place for you and Lou Yao, where the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the folk customs are simple. If you like to burn bricks and tiles, burn bricks and tiles and if you like to make wine, make wine. No one will criticize you."
"In the past six years, I have always had a dream, dreaming that my parents, brothers and sisters are living well and there has never been a disaster; I went to your house to propose a marriage, you agreed, and then we happily became husband and wife"
Shaoshang's tears blurred, thinking how great it would be if Huo Chong and his wife were still alive, if everyone was alive.
Huo Buyi will definitely be the most heroic and cheerful young man in the entire capital, and they will meet at the lantern festival, but this time, he will no longer have any worries, but walk over confidently, and as soon as she saw his face, she would definately go crazy.
Maybe Mrs. Xiao would think that she was reckless, and Father Cheng would think that she was impulsive, but given the prominence of the Huo family, she would always marry him; when the children were around their knees, she would tell everyone how she found love*.
Huo Buyi's eyes were red, and his eyelashes condensed into tears. He grabbed her hands and put them on his cheeks: "Don't be so cruel, please, don't be so cruel to me."
Shaoshang could no longer hold on to her air of indifference, and cried like a child, with tears and snot, and no dignity; today, she was defeated and could not fight back. ————
Lol, I agree but I also think this is usually how men handle problems…. Males and females rationalise things…
Don’t think everyone would jump off a cliff though, but I think it was more of the notion of handling/managing difficulties alone….. so basically Nirvana in Fire’s plot was the same in this sense… but I didn’t really enjoy NiF coz there was no balance at all, it was such a monotonous drama… just a depressed man’s solitude..
Want to comment on a rarely discussed topic regarding The Long Ballad….. have to say I’ve rewatched like 2-3 times and didn’t realise that there was such “deep” meaning to it… so they actually elaborated on Lao Zi’s Confucianism which I’m unfamiliar with… I mean I know it’s regarded as philosophy like Greek philosophy but that’s about all I know.
The Eng translation doesn’t really explicitly mention this and it was easy to miss because even the Chinese words weren’t common or like the dialogues used really odd phrases…. I defo learnt something meaningful…
Dilraba said “ 无为而无不为”… I had to Google the Eng translation… luckily it popped up… Also, didn’t realise “the path” in Netflix’s translation was actually the Tao in Taoism (I think)….
I just thought the meaning behind that whole sub-plot was that she was too stubborn and always acts rashly…. Basically just inconsiderate because she has so much hatred/unjust…. Even until now I don’t fully understand all the philosophies preached in the Liuyun Temple… it’s deep… 😅 I understand how it applies to nature but can’t fully grasp how it applies to the way of life.
I also learnt that there is someone called Mencius (apparently secondary to Confucius) who originally quoted “A benevolent heart is invincible”… Never knew C-dramas could impart so much wisdom on me… 🤣🤔 maybe Story of Ming Lan…
This totally looks like Goblin…. I haven’t watched a Taiwanese drama in ageeeeeeeesssss, like more than 10 yrs…. I wonder if this is a good one? It felt like they didn’t progress as much as Korean or Mainland dramas…. Likely due the lack in investment + support by the govt…
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Such a shame that the plot wasn’t elaborated well I.e the logic/rationale/motive behind was unconvincing and flawed for some of the arcs (but great for some, love the Shen family, don’t recall watching a military family arc in C-dramas before 🤔), the introduction of schemes/plots were sporadic, the storytelling could have been much better and also woven more tightly together, although the framework/backdrop of this series should have made for a pretty awesome drama… It had a lot of potential… I.e the whole assassin organisation, the aristocratic clans which were surprisingly based on real historical clans..
The balance of drama wasn’t too bad actually, much better than Princess WeiYoung! (a bit sad that this fared worse, I wonder if it’s coz of the pairing of the main couple, but I liked this pairing a lot 😍)... LiQin really brought the role to life…. Probably one of my most favourite FLs. Another plus of this drama is that it has a lot of likeable characters…
So it wasn’t an over-emphasis on romance, neither lacking, but the whole antagonist side wasn’t solid enough to carry the entire series given it was so long. The ending doesn’t really make sense…. was a bit forceful, I wonder why they did that… censorship? Govt. doesn’t want to encourage/glorify heroic outlaws….? Anyway, still think it was worth the watch.
I really thought the plot was very unique…. Like how the author blended modern times and super traditional. It gave it such a cool and unique vibe…. I personally enjoyed this one much more than the first one/prequel coz I found this series so different compared to the typical C-drama… like wuxia, xianxia, political, time travelling etc… this one had it’s unique character….
Throughout the series I really wondered if such families still exist in Mainland… I meant after all they have so many citizens and China is hugeeee. Anything is possible… 🤣 or maybe just my wishful thinking.
No idea why but throughout the whole series it gave me the vibe of “geez…. So many random villains, it’s a bit much isn’t it……. 😒”…. Like it was so off-balance. I think it’s coz there were political villains, romantic and family villains running around in all directions….. 😌🤦♀️ Pure chaos and it was just exhausting. Couldn’t really immerse myself in it, only thing that kept me going was I found Tiffany Tang very pleasant looking. Like she has a very pretty and sweet face, and she was tall… so it made her character very convincing. Also a plus that her acting was decent/alright.
imagine when there are kids involved…. The answer is to “just trust him”…….? Why though…. I actually think CSS is just as capable as HBY, just that she is younger….
Ok, they both get captured….. but then so wot….? To begin with if you step back and think about it…. Then just don’t get married…. Lol. Why does HBY have to marry her…. If you just want to do woteva you deem fit….. actually you don’t need to be so adamant…. Just find a female version of LY, not like CSS forced you…. Just learn to let go and leave her alone…
Actually she broke the taboo of NiF and also this series…. Yea PengKuan is dead…. But for every problem there is more than one solution…… men’s ego…. And being proud… always makes them believe they have the “one-and-only, best” solution……. If you think about logically… sitting in a jail vs jumping off a cliff…
I get the whole “protector vibe” thing…. Yes he is worried they torture the both of them…… but as though jumping off a cliff /building isn’t….. 😒 it’s probably worse than death……
I can concede though coz men and women exist and are made for different reasons…… just like how the responsibility of childbirth always falls on a female…. So it will never be entirely equal but fairness and respect is key, key to civilisation, progress and evolution.…
Think more than anything it becomes a trust thing… so I definitely trusted you but I spse it was a one-way thing and not only did you not trust me…… which is fine… you basically have never considered anything I’ve said…… which…… if you just forgive him then why won’t it happen again? At some point down the road, who says you won’t pack your bags and say bye again….. 🤷♀️ For all the good intentions you have….. It is actually the same fundamental issue as infidelity….. which is the whole trust thing… just that infidelity =bad intentions/unkind and Mr.HBY=kind intentions…. Sighs, which means if I’m CSS, every time you do something as you wish under the name of kindness I will have to accept and also be willing to change myself for you….. just coz you have valid reasons I.e like you forced my entire family to do your military exercises……. 😔🤣
LY was different though….. and I liked that the author drafted a character like LY. So this is the bit whereby the author’s trademark theme is out “As a girl, who should I pick as a husband?” Which was basically the core theme of The Story of Ming Lan…. And it was explored deeper there……..
Don’t get me wrong…. I totally get the whole “I love you a lot” thing and I realised this can’t be controlled by a lot of people… but love does not equate to being in a relationship which also doesn’t equate to marrying someone and doesn’t equate to having kids with someone……
But one subtle detail depicted in the drama is that he has always decided all along without putting himself in her shoes. He continued to do it even during those 5 yrs whereby everything was well-planned by him behind the scenes albeit the kind and loving intentions… and yes I agree it’s very touching and all… but the funniest comment he actually made was he actually knows she wouldn’t like it if she found out because she’s told him before….
So to me, I actually felt he was just being his usual self including punishing himself…. He seems to love doing that from all the anguish and guilt he carries….. The ever confident valiant general…. Deciding everything on his own as usual… which could be due to many factors but I personally think arrogance is one of them….. so to me hence why when he literally begged her…… it was kinda different for someone who is proud… and when I read the excerpt I could see for the first time how she could hold her head up higher than him…. Because I think that is very difficult for someone insecure to do…
Yea, it was Yuan Shen that told her in the novel but the Eng translation that one of the members posted I think just said he told her “everything” he did.
So for me one of the biggest irks was that one of the obvious message conveyed in the drama was that CSS changed a lot unknowingly+unintentionally for this one person… and this one person was still just the same anyways……. Even though she has clearly told him what she wot she expects, dislikes and fears…….
———— Shaoshang's eyes were wet, and she persuaded in a good voice: "Can't you look away (move on), the past is gone, we parted each other, got married and had children, and after more than ten or twenty years, old friends gathered to talk and laugh. Isn't it beautiful to laugh?" If he was lonely all his life, standing alone, what would she do, just look at him like that?
Huo Buyi grabbed her thin back, hugged her tightly, and said sullenly, "I don't want to be old friends with you, I want us to be an old couple."
Shaoshang felt a scorching breath coming towards her, his warm head buried in her neck, surrounded by a clean masculine scent mixed with the familiar scent of medicinal herbs and rust-smelling blood.
She silently shed tears, then slammed her heart hard, pushed him away, stood up straight, and said coldly: "If you want to marry a wife, you can marry whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me! I'm done, I'm leaving."
Huo Buyi grabbed her, knelt down on one leg, firmly hugged her slender waist, and begged, "Don't be so cruel, I wronged you six years ago, others don't understand, but I understand—you never believed in others or depended on others, but I forced you to accept me, and when you wanted to be with me wholeheartedly, I gave up on you..."
Shaoshang burst into tears again, and a crack was torn open in her heart that had been scabbed.
She has a high wall made of solid ice in her heart. She is alone on this side of the wall, and no one can walk in. Six years ago, Ling Buyi smashed through this ice wall with a mighty thunderbolt, saying that they could keep each other warm in the future. She tried her best to believe him, and the result... She had made up her mind that she would never let it (her heart) come out again in this life!
"I will never forgive you!" She cried, gritted her teeth, and said fiercely, "Stop dreaming, I have been able to live well until now, just by being hard-hearted. I will never forgive those who have wronged me. Once you are unfaithful once, you will do it a hundred times. You abandoned me six years ago, how can you know that you will not repeat the same mistakes in the future! I know that everyone speaks for you, including my family members, but I am not as good as you wish! Without you, I can live very well, I will never trust you again. Never!"
Huo Buyi also shed tears and begged humbly: "They are not helping me, they are helping us. Take a mirror and look at yourself. The way you look at Yuan Shen is completely different from when you look at me. I'm not blind, others are also not blind. Not blind!"
Shaoshang burst into tears, choked and unable to speak: "Without you, I can live well, Yuan Shen and I will grow old together and spend our whole life together..."
Huo Buyi softly said: "Yes, I deserve to be lonely all my life, you can always forget me."
Shaoshang's throat is uncomfortable.
Huo Buyi looked up at her: "I never thought of hurting you, I have always hoped that your life will be smooth and joyful. Back then, I even found a place for you and Lou Yao, where the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the folk customs are simple. If you like to burn bricks and tiles, burn bricks and tiles and if you like to make wine, make wine. No one will criticize you."
"In the past six years, I have always had a dream, dreaming that my parents, brothers and sisters are living well and there has never been a disaster; I went to your house to propose a marriage, you agreed, and then we happily became husband and wife"
Shaoshang's tears blurred, thinking how great it would be if Huo Chong and his wife were still alive, if everyone was alive.
Huo Buyi will definitely be the most heroic and cheerful young man in the entire capital, and they will meet at the lantern festival, but this time, he will no longer have any worries, but walk over confidently, and as soon as she saw his face, she would definately go crazy.
Maybe Mrs. Xiao would think that she was reckless, and Father Cheng would think that she was impulsive, but given the prominence of the Huo family, she would always marry him; when the children were around their knees, she would tell everyone how she found love*.
Huo Buyi's eyes were red, and his eyelashes condensed into tears. He grabbed her hands and put them on his cheeks: "Don't be so cruel, please, don't be so cruel to me."
Shaoshang could no longer hold on to her air of indifference, and cried like a child, with tears and snot, and no dignity; today, she was defeated and could not fight back. ————
The original discussion thread:
https://kisskh.at/discussions/love-like-the-galaxy-part-2/78421-time-skip-to-the-ending-recap-spoilers-and-novel-differences
The Eng translation doesn’t really explicitly mention this and it was easy to miss because even the Chinese words weren’t common or like the dialogues used really odd phrases…. I defo learnt something meaningful…
Dilraba said “ 无为而无不为”… I had to Google the Eng translation… luckily it popped up… Also, didn’t realise “the path” in Netflix’s translation was actually the Tao in Taoism (I think)….
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei
I just thought the meaning behind that whole sub-plot was that she was too stubborn and always acts rashly…. Basically just inconsiderate because she has so much hatred/unjust….
Even until now I don’t fully understand all the philosophies preached in the Liuyun Temple… it’s deep… 😅 I understand how it applies to nature but can’t fully grasp how it applies to the way of life.
I also learnt that there is someone called Mencius (apparently secondary to Confucius) who originally quoted “A benevolent heart is invincible”… Never knew C-dramas could impart so much wisdom on me… 🤣🤔 maybe Story of Ming Lan…