Becky

Hi! For those just starting on this drama, I read that it was meant to be longer than 55 eps but due to regulations it was cut. So the initial bad editing, I suspect they sacrificed some scenes. Hopefully they keep the politics and plotting in later eps.

I hope you meant not overpoweringly pretty? Because Li Yitong is really quite gorgeous! I watched When We Write Love Story (variety show) and her prettiness stood out among the 3 female contestants ^^

Drama is very fast paced.... Story gets more serious after FL enters Palace as a Weaving Officer. The attention to details on palace customs is really lovely to watch \o/

Thank you for your kind words ^^

Take a look at the sets, props and costumes design process. But no subs. The only really interesting info in the narration is that they took 9 months to construct the palace (not including the time taken to design it). That is longer than drama shooting. Love the attention to details \o/. https://youtu.be/27EAJhw0A98

Lol, I was okay with the bgm in Douluo too.... as I had been 'trained' in Joy of Life. Both dramas use too much modern music instead of the usual traditional pieces. Eg: in this 4 mins clip, it used 5 different styles of music https://youtu.be/mzv6cDUj_sc (director's explanation was this is a sci-fi story). That vs the over-powering bgm here, I still prefer over-powering bgm....

FL also has that child engagement.... who is the 2ML and leader of a pirate gang, smh

Wei Ying's flute \o/

The ending song has a voiceover at the end... roughly translated: "in my youth I once missed out on someone, not becos she wasn't good, but I wasn't" I guess he will realize later how precious she is and sincerely loves her

But it looks like they would be married before last 10 eps (or so). Whether eventual open-ended or bad ending, I'm happy to know they got married \o/

You are right but she seemed to have touched something in his heart, he did seem to really admire her. Initially for her beauty, then her cleverness and her talents. Take note ML is used to hanging around beautiful but superficial women, FL is probably the first talented woman he had met. He felt inadequate in front of her and tried to improve himself. But he continued to lie and take the easy way out, causing a break in trust....

Ah, 3 eps in and the romance arc, ML character development is reminding me of Bollywood movie Lakshya (2004). I'm Chinese btw but watched a wide variety of movies prior to focusing on Asian dramas ^^"

Ahhh ^^". Look on the positive side-- at least we are not getting Joy of Life or Douluo Continent bgm here..... Drama will turn towards serious so the loud bgm should decrease in frequency.

She is a capable actress and so pretty (in a not over-powering way, eg: Dilraba, Angelababy are gorgeous in an over-powering way). And her pairing with Xu Kai look adorable..... I love the cinematography. Hope script would be good.

I see the comments so far is 50-50. For me I'm loving the opening!! Yes, Xu Kai plays another playful role but drama looks set for more serious plot and politics later.... Let's enjoy the fun Xu Kai for now. I like that we have 2 normal humans here and the story is quite logical so far (I'm ignoring the fall in love too fast trope). Love to see their characters developments!

Yes, it will get more serious. If you understand Chinese and listen to the ending song, there is a voiceover at the end. Drama looks set for tragedy in 2nd half. Let's enjoy the happy times while it lasts.

The employee mistreatment and school bullying accusations, do we know this for a fact? Is it really certain and beyond a doubt? IMO, with Ji Soo we can be certain 80, 90% of the accusations are true (becos of the way the accusations were made and his swift apology). But here it is just claims made and with SYJ's Best Actress nomination results hardly a month away, it feels like a setup within K-ent to bring her down. In such a scenario, I would give SYJ the benefit of the doubt.

Yes!! The timing! The accusations is making people draw comparisons to her character and her role in IOTNBO. With the results of her Best Actress nomination hardly a month away, it does look suspicious!

Most of the Taiwanese whom I know are good at English, although most are still more comfortable in Chinese. However for this drama, 10 years back, most Taiwanese are still struggling with English...

YESSS!! I finally completed watching IOTNBO and wrote a review... I was deliberating over rating it 7 or 8, I finally settled on 8 (becos I've rated worse dramas 6 and 7). You spoke my mind!! Love the description "a slap in the face". IOTNBO is a drama packaged that used mental health as packaging, and has romance and family at its core.