Between The Lines

I see where your coming from, I've felt previously HY has been naïve to think Anle was ever likely to simply let things go. She became a pirate as her alter-ego, and we know there all about forgiveness. I actually think HY is trapped. He has his families interests, he has Anle's interests, he has his own interests and he has the countries interests. That is a lot to consider. Anle for good reason has hurt him, she wants justice, but HY is not responsible for what happened to her family. He has even supported her as the evidence was presented. He is one of the few innocent characters. My biggest issue would be he is naïve to think Anle will react the way he wants , its simply unrealistic based on Anle character.

Completely agree, he is the tip of the spear for Anle's agenda. however the interesting thing is, will this cause conflict at some point between LMX and Anle?

There's been at times a mixed message as to if this was this about revenge or was it about seeking justice. I think for Anle it is justice, restoring the reputation and honour of her family.
For LMX i think he's more focused on revenge - the person he likes has suffered, so he must help punish those responsible.
I've never felt that he has any real friendship towards HY and he it's ok to use him in order to help Anle.
Anle clearly has some guilt towards the people who she may have hurt along the way, to LMX I don't think this matters to him.

No No, No ,Noooooooooooo, why have you done this?? After more than 30 episodes where you basically have us all, either hating XQ family strongly or at least disliking them for the many many awful things they have done. Suddenly we have a whole redemption arc?
Generally I don't have issues with redemption or forgiveness but this was so forced.

As a whole I've enjoyed most of this drama but the last few episodes with the Meng family just don't work for me.

I'm struggling a little with the ml performance. Its a little limited or perhaps disjointed. At times his facial expression and body language don't match the dialogue. Is this just me?

I liked how Gong Jun managed to show us his determination to seek justice but you could tell his heart was breaking at the same time. It was like I'm "betraying my father/family" and he's also thinking that the woman he loves has manipulated him to get her justice. Its hard to get both emotions across at the same time. I think he was excellent in these scenes.

I'm not going to judge this too harshly yet as I haven't seen all the episodes, but pretty sure I've seen this plot play out, time, and time and time again. It's just got the feel of a scriptwriter somewhere hitting copy and past from another drama changing the names and pressing send. I'll watch some more episodes to give it a fair chance though. Maybe I will be surprised??

Early parts of this had me worried, wasn't sure where this plan was heading. Holy Smokes, that was really engaging how they turned it around...

Empress Dowager, she didn't double down, she tripled down! 👏👏👏

She was involved in the massacre of the 80,000 troops (Is she really the mastermind?????)
She then followed this with no remorse over her involvement
And Just to drive home the knife, she walked across the list of names of the dead soldiers. That was just cold , seriously I was a little uncomfortable as she did it.

To be that unrepentant - WOW! But she wasn't finished, she then challenged the entire court to try and bring her to justice....... Just WOW! It was like walking up to every person in the room, slapping them in the face whilst laughing at the same time! Again just cold..

I'm very curious where they go next with this drama. Anle, sorry Di Zi Yuan, will have to get used to her "new" name, has admitted that her quest for justice has come at a cost to HY, Anning etc. I would actually liked to see this explored more, however given the remaining episodes I think this may get a limited amount of attention.
I've been wanting more from this drama, these last few episodes have certainly delivered.

At some point in most peoples lives we will meet someone who's too loud, too abrasive and too in "your face" I know I have. Is that not the ml? If so, he's playing that role well. Equally, not going judge too harshly just yet, only seen 1 episode. Hopefully we will see more character development in next few episodes. I try to apply the 4 episode test before judging characters/drama's

Intriguing opening episode, nice start for a "who done it " thriller. Its definitely got a cover up/corruption vibe already.
Side note - liked soundtrack, just felt it fits the tone of the episode

On mdl it seems seems to be hovering around 8-8.1. Which tbh is slightly higher than i would rate it so far, however based on the most recent episodes its certainly trending up for me. Is around 8 fair?
Is this drama been well received beyond this platform?

I actually liked that she was stopped, it was proof that SY cousin is better than her. She won't resort to her level, it was figuratively a slap in the face to not let her get on her knees.

I think what bothered me is at least Mama Meng owes her actions no matter what. She firmly believes her actions are all in the best interest of the Meng family. She's wrong, but at least she owes it. The fact XQ had to explain to Dad Meng the consequences of what was done to SY & his family means to me at least he just doesn't get it. If he doesn't get it can he truly repent for his involvement? I just find his actions now as utterly self serving

I almost have to admire Mama Meng, to be that unrepentant even after all that she has done is revealed,.....WOW that's certainly something!!! Honestly, she still thinks she was right? WTF?

And Dad Meng, I actually dislike him more now than previously, he was at best passive in what happened to SY, but he's never once felt the need to acknowledge what was done was wrong. His attempts now to "fix" things seem to me completely self-serving. Oh wait "lets have a meal together and all is forgiven" Again WTF?

In some respects, the last few episodes haven't landed with me, there not bad, I just haven't liked the direction they've taken in some parts.

Hopefully the last 2 episodes will finish well and give a satisfying to conclusion to this drama.

Agreed! Visually we got a sense of the tragedy that occurred, previously there was plenty of references to the 80,000 soldiers killed but it was rather abstract. The latest episode brought to life the pain of all those impacted by this event.

These are the kind of episodes we need more of. Not just the content but the tone and emotion. There were some contradiction's and some maybe naivety displayed but overall, really good.

We got to see Anle and LMX plan really take shape.
The ominous tone, almost from start
Heartbreak - Anle & HY torn apart by their differing agendas.

This is what I've been looking from this drama

If this kind of content can be delivered in the remining episodes then I will be impressed.

I like this cast, I like the premise of the story, I like elements of what I've seen and from the praise the novel has received just on this forum I will be reading it.
I just don't love this drama. Maybe its in part due to my expectations but it hasn't clicked in the way I hoped. To be clear its not bad, there are definitely things to like, but I don't think its good either. Its just kind of ok .
I think the interactions between the leads are by far are the strongest element, there is a mixture of fun, yearning and cunning that is very likeable. The relationship is organic, particularly as you see HY affection grow for Anle.
I like the individual performances for the most part, the cast seem to know there role and deliver on this, so I don't think the cast can be criticised for their acting.

I think the problems I have starts with how the main leads have been written (in the drama). They are very likable , because we only really see there best qualities. Other than token moments of uncertainty or a little jealousy, I haven't seen anything that would be considered a negative trait. Is maybe being too morale or too nice a negative? Equally the absence of something doesn't mean subtle. I don't think I'm watching real people. I can't recall Anle ever showing any real anger/hate towards those that have done wrong. Negative emotions are often more powerful, yet do they exist in our Main leads? I can only believe this was purposely done by the scriptwriters.

My other issue is to do with the pacing of the drama, although its nothing to do with it being slow or draggy. It feels to me at least that its a bit disjointed. It feels caught between being an an idol drama full of romance and action and being a character driven slower developing melodrama.
I get that not everyone will agree with my opinion, but this is based purely on what I'm experiencing as I watch this drama. It has nothing to do with the novel or being anti/a hater of the cast, again I reiterate I like this cast. I just wanted more from this drama.

I plan to read the novel based on all the glowing references made to it and i can clearly tell your a fan. This again is only my opinion and obviously i can't comment beyond this drama , but HY wants to protect Anle and the citizens of the state. If he is as smart as he's supposed to be he must have considered Anle own motivations. Namely justice for her family and maybe revenge on those responsible. I believe he referenced how cruel the emperor could be, which leads me to believe he has considered her motivations and is warning her. Surely knowing this, could he not have discussed how her quest for justice would happen. Would the 2 together not lead to a better outcome and allow him to protect Anle as well? Anle quest is also likely to impact the state as a whole and innocent people.. HY certainly doesn't in this moment acknowledge this possibility. This is flawed thinking he is more or less allowing Anle to do whatever she chooses regardless of the consequences. If anything its slightly contradictory, he will protect her by not revealing her identity but allowing her to walk a path that is certainly placing her in danger.

Emotional value of an episode can certainly add to the drama and to the viewers experience, Surely watching a drama is about enjoying what we see and the responses they prompt from us. Emotional scenes are vital without always advancing a plot no argument from me on that. TBF in this episode they came closer to each emotionally and perhaps if this had taken place in an earlier episode then i would be more responsive to it. Instead as a viewer we are more than 20 episodes in, with both characters having already recognised their feelings prior to this, although admittedly not to each other.
The emotional value is at odds with the pacing of the rest of the drama. My worry would be that future emotional and overall plot content is sacrificed as its taken too long to reach this stage.
This also comes at a cost to the drama as a whole in respect to parts of the novel. Parts of the novel have been clearly cut out to accommodate what we are watching. This would be fine if what we are watching flows naturally, emotionally, logically and provides enjoyment to the viewer. Sadly, this drama has not managed to accomplish all this so far., at least for me. There's been some positives but there's also been some flaws. This isn't a failure of the novel by any means this a failure of the adaptation. Particularly around the pacing of content and when it should be shown. Hope I've made sense!

To be clear I hope it is significant in a more substantial way than the obvious implications. I'm pretty confident I did get the significance thanks, so there's no need to apologise. … None of what i watched provided anything new. We already know what Anle and HY prioritises are.
One of the problems is that this drama is obviously not the novel. The constant comparisons does not help the drama. I hold up my hands, I haven't read the novel but based on numerous other posts about the novel. it is different from the drama and sounds considerably better. This drama is consistently inconsistent in how it approaches telling of this story. Is it a romance with a bit of revenge? Is its focus revenge with some romance.
Even now the drama is trying to walk a line between the two and has short changed the audience by doing so.
In the context of the pacing of this drama (not the novel) IMO this episode could have and should have taken place earlier. We've had a number of episodes previously that offered very little. If the drama was planning to pay homage to the novel then that's fine but it seems to be inconsistent in its approach.
One of the reason I think this episode adds nothing to the drama is because HY is supposed to be smart - HY behaviour is flawed in this moment of the drama. and whilst it can be explained and even understood, it doesn't necessarily mean that this is the best course of action imo. This towards both Anle and the citizens that HY wants to protect.
The best adaptation of novels can tell when to stick faithfully to the source material and when to take its own path.
Without reading the novel I have my expectations on how this drama is going to play out now - although I hope I will be surprised.
This episode may well be significant to some but as a singular episode it didn't add to anything we didn't already know and that's why i feel it was nothing in the context of the drama. I'm more than happy to proven wrong but wanting this drama to better than it is because of the novel doesn't make it true. I'm judging this purely based on what I'm watching and not the novel and this episode just didn't work for me.
Apologies for the lengthy response!

I don't know if anyone else experiences this when watching a drama, you will suddenly find yourself and in my case often without realising it, I'm doing one of the following -

Grinning like idiot - usually during all those really happy moments😊
Laughing out loud- either from humour or disbelief 🤣
Eyes stretched wide - when something so awesome happens that you need to immediately re-watch it😮
Frowning - what just happened in a I can't believe they just said/did that kind of way😦
Squinting with head tilted to the side - what am I watching here is this good?😕

As I'm watching this drama I've noticed that I 'm spending more time Frowning and Squinting and less time on the others. This is not the experience I was expecting when i started this drama. I'm sticking with this now for the cast as I generally like there other works and I'm clinging to idea the second half of the drama will be a lot better than the first - current expression -😒