Between The Lines

In pretty much every drama of 40 episodes I've ever watched the issue of pacing gets brought up, often because its deemed to slow or dragging. I've done this myself with other drama's.

So far, I've not had an issue with the pacing at all with this drama. We have an introduction to each character and we have our merry group positioned for the challenges ahead.

I actually think it can do a disservice to simply call some episodes as fillers. A perfect example would be the growth and developing friendship between Ning's team and Ren Ru Yi. Without showing this development in the previous episodes, would the ending of episode 10 be as impactful? I think not.

I'm not saying there won't be pacing issue in the future, but so far I've found this drama to be progressing just swiftly enough to keep the individual and overall storylines moving forward.

You clearly missed the second part of my statement - its making the best decisions to complete the mission, so I fail to see how your example is remotely relevant to what I said. Absolute laws??? This is often used justify any action. It is the "I was just following orders" argument. We clearly see what happened differently, so this is a good point to leave it at.

Context matters, when a soldier believes an enemy is stood in front of them, their first duty is normally to incapacitate that enemy. They believe she is Ning's enemy and that can't be ignored. So in the context of the facts they have they are not doing anything wrong. We might know they are, but they don't. The leadership or chain of command etc, you refer to is textbook, but it fails to factor in the people element to it. Leadership is not about doing as you please, its about making the best decisions to complete your mission. That's why she is there and its also the reason he's kept her identity secret.

If Ning considers these actions to be rash this would be closer to dereliction of duty and not treason because of the context.

Her skills/abilities don't really factor into their choices, They don't know she is a master assassin, They know she is skilled but not to what extent.

I obviously don't agree with their actions, but before we talk of murder or punishments having all the facts and understanding the context is vital. It will be interesting to see how they deal with the consequences in the next episodes.

Hmm... that's an interesting take on it. Vengeance certainly plays a part in their decision, but that ignores that they feel she has already betrayed them and Ning by being a spy. Calling this a grave crime seems harsh when they believe they are doing their duty. They are wrong but based on what they know its understandable.
Ideally they should have approached Ning and raised their concerns. All Ning has told them previously is that she is an ally which based on the information they have is now in doubt, in fact they believe she is the enemy. So vengeance alone is not the motivation. Some punishment maybe justified, but decapitation? This would be extreme based on the facts.

There are many ways to be a leader, fear is just one. You don't have to be feared to be a leader. Leadership is about taking responsibility for the decisions you make and the consequences of those actions. Ning's decision to hide Ren Ru Yi true identity can be questioned but given the circumstances was there a credible alternative.

Whenever I think of making a comparison, it will often send me down a rabbit hole that leads me no where. This is on all subjects. Comparing one thing to another is an opinion and even when speaking to my closest friends we rarely have a consensus.

Personally, I think comparisons between generations is almost impossible because you are never comparing like for like. For all the advances that help the more recent generations there is also drawbacks that past generations didn't have to deal with, or at least to not the same extent.
Media and fan attention is only becoming more extreme, the pressure this must exert on stars today must weigh heavily. They must always appear perfect and even when they seem perfect this is still not acceptable to all.
Financial pressure has also increased, a poorly performing film or drama can very quickly derail a career before it even starts. This is not say previous generations haven't had to deal with these issues but appears to only becoming more extreme.
Trends also change from generation to generation, for example Hollywood musicals were once extremely popular up to until the 1960's now these are rarely made now.

In the end, I just to try to enjoy drama's and performance's from all generations as those comparison's usually give me a headache!

BTW I completely agree, the leads here have so far done an excellent job!

I've always thought she doesn't trust anyone. She has been taught that betrayal should be almost expected. The "betrayal" in ep 10 is based on past history and the assumption she is a spy. The awakening is perhaps more that when she does start to trust people this can open her up to being hurt. That's how it felt to me at least

I can't make up my mind about how to describe Ren Ru Yi and Ning's relationship after 10 episodes.

Is she like a spider slowly drawing him into her web? or is she more like a black hole, powerful, mysterious, pulling him towards his fate?

Perhaps, as it now seems, we are beginning to see a deeper connection starting develop, when onscreen together they are engaging to watch.

The last 4 episodes feel like set up episodes for what is likely to come. Politics and rivalries from both sides with our delegation stuck in the middle. Whilst not the most dynamic (until the end of ep 10) there was still plenty to pay attention to.

"Boss Ning" doesn't really exist..... he is actually more of a father figure, brother and friend to his men. They may accept his orders, but the bond they share goes beyond the title of "Boss".

The leads have a number similarities, but its actually their differences that makes some of their interactions so engaging. Similar, but individuals, shaped by experiences and beliefs. I wonder if this will cause conflict in future episodes?

If I had one minor issue with the latest episode it was the over use of "posing" during the fight sequences. When done at the right time it can add humour, when used during the battle sequence it diminished some of the tension this sequence was supposed to deliver. The timing and usage in the scenes was a little off to me here.

If you enjoy strong chemistry between your leads then I would give this a try. WOL had great chemistry, this drama also has great chemistry. Whilst here the chemistry feels and is different, I've really enjoyed the scenes between Liu Shi Shi and Liu Yu Ning. They do funny and serious equally well, at least to me.

I wasn't really expecting it! There was some fairly powerful violent moments early on so when this scene flashed up I just wasn't prepared. As you say there's definitely some quirks! I liked the contrast between serious and silly.

One thing that did make me laugh was in episode 3 is how they introduced each member of Ning's team and then they then did a group pose...... it gave me a flashback moment to watching The Power Rangers, just in slightly different outfits.....

Really liked the first few episodes, Ren Ru Yi was for so interesting almost every time she was on screen. Its clear she is no damsel in distress, she is never waiting to be saved. I liked how she was never passive, she was always either on the offensive or looking to turn the tables.

It appears I'm set to watch another group of either manipulative, greedy or stupid royal family members, but this makes Yang Ying so jarringly different. Her child like innocent was so completely opposite to other royalty- at least so far.

Can't wait to see what happens next.

Ok, so my comment about hype, is that I try not to swayed by it, this allows me to form my own opinion on if I should watch a drama and then deciding if its good or bad. Hype can lead you to watch something great but it can also cause you to miss out on something if you get swayed by it. To be clear my comment about my opinion is based on choosing drama's to watch. I enjoy reading other opinions whilst watching a drama as this can lead to things i hadn't considered.
You obviously read the tags but not everyone does, or probably more accurately some read the ones they want to and ignore the others. My favourite is seeing a "romance" tag but then missing the "drama" tag - this can alter expectations of what a drama is going to be. Which causes unfair criticism.

Nope... I'm good thanks. Good or bad, agree or disagree it doesn't change my point.

I'll try to keep it simple, criticism based on hype, a small sample size, the actors appearance or incorrect expectations on what this drama might be, is counterproductive or simply unfair. I hope this helps

Thank you for sharing your articulate and well reasoned explanation on why you might disagree or find my comment "dumb". You're indeed entitled to your opinion just like everyone else. is, yes including me... just saying.
Thanks again its been peachy....

I rarely pay attention to hype both good or bad. Why you ask?

My own opinion matters to ME more than others, if I like something, isn't this what matters when choosing a drama.

I rarely judge a drama based on the first couple of episodes. Crazy right?

First impressions matter, but so does making an informed choice. Unless you hate a drama from the outset, why take the chance of missing something great after 2 whole episodes!

I never watch a drama based on the appearance of the characters. How dare I say that?

I like a pretty face as much as most, but there needs to be some substance beyond this to hold my attention.

I actually read the synopsis and tags before picking a drama. What? Really? How rebellious!

Call me crazy, but I like to know what I'm getting into. It's amazing, to the point of being hilarious, when I read comments of shock when a drama contains elements of Comedy, Romance, Drama, Fantasy when the synopsis actually included these themes.

So whilst, not completely surprised by some of the negativity towards this drama, it seems to have started earlier than I would expect. This leaves me to ponder, am I just simply odd? Different maybe? Peculiar even?

By not listening to hype, by not rushing to judge and by having a basic understanding of what I'm going to watch, well, if this makes me strange,....... , then I'm ok with that.

From what I've watched so far, this drama has potential and so far it is following my expectations. For those that feel differently, which of course is your right, maybe its time to re-visit your expectations or find a different drama to watch.

In some respects its easy to focus on his appearance, but this does him a disservice. For those that have doubted him - they should watch this drama, watch him in the episodes mentioned. He really can perform. In the end he was good throughout but he owned the screen when he needed to share deep tragic emotions. The pain he was able to convey in scenes was as you said - emotionally powerful. Good drama - great performance.

For me at least, it wasn't a logic issue, it just became more simplified, and apologies to all, but everyone came across as slighter dumber for it. In the end this didn't take much away from my enjoyment even if i would have preferred it if they had remained true to their intellect. (This is not say everyone became stupid) For me is was more an observation than an outright criticism.