CKDramaddicts

It was around 7.8 for a long time last year.

Ha! okay, good to know. Couldn't wait, so just started!

Thanks!

Looking forward to starting this. I am curious, how angsty and swoony is the romance? (Edit to clarify: I would normally pick a melodrama over rom com, I don't mind slow burn.)

I think this drama was already in trouble long before the Zhang Zhehan debacle. The screenwriter Yu Zheng was under industry boycott over plagiarism. He has since apologized, but not sure if the apology is enough to lift the boycott. And even if it was...the casting is still an issue, since there's no signal yet that anyone is willing to stick their neck out for Zhang Zhehan.

https://dramapanda.com/2021/01/screenwriter-guo-jingming-apologises-for-plagiarism-yu-zheng-follows-suit-saying-hes-sorry.html

Thanks for the insights!

Interesting! So I'm guessing Seo Inguk's 2013 film with Lee Jongsuk doesn't count because there was a long gap?

I was curious what qualifies as "new" as well. Same with IU. And Seo In Guk has done other film work too. But even if it's TV vs Film...acting is still acting? 🤷🏻‍♀️

He's the fourth person in the cast list (the different name is explained later)....but don't worry...

I could just watch this for the scenery and mood alone -- give me a cozy blanket, mini stove heater, a pot of hot tea, rocking chair, a book (or a tablet to watch dramas 🤣), and put me in one of these courtyards and I could be content for daaaaaayyyyys. (For anyone curious, this appears to be filmed in Wuyi County in Zhejiang, at the Jingyuan Ancient Houses Museum.)

My understanding is that he was simply following the secret edict issued by the empror, and that it is the emperor who is trying to eliminate that family line. That's why he gave the jade plaque to the sister, hoping they'll all get the hint and escape. He said as much to Ye Cha, saying if he goes to Chang'an, he faces certain death. He was trying to save their lives and also why he looked so troubled and worried that Tumi and Ye Cha want to face the court -- he knows the law might not matter when they're up against the emperor and all the other powerful people at court.

There was a post on Sina or Baidu theorizing that it was a business decision by the streaming platform to split it into two parts (assuming of course, we'll see the second part, but based on that ending, I certainly hope so!).

Also, I think in context of a 40-episode arc, it would feel a lot less strange how little Ye Cha appeared in the first 10 episodes. I've seen other dramas where it takes a while for one of the main characters to appear. Given the way it ended, and assuming we see a part 2, it definitely feels like his story will dominate once they get to Chang'an.

Curious if anyone else came here for a "cleanse" after watching Dear Liar to erase creepy FZX from their brains? 🤣

There's nothing official as far as I know but the Chinese commenters seem to suggest/think there's a S2 coming with the remaining episodes. I've seen dramas get butchered even after cutting out just a small fraction of their episodes. These 20 episodes flow pretty well to me -- the drama doesn't feel like it's been excessively cut or butchered, so fingers crossed the remaining episodes will also air.

My understanding is that it's all been filmed already as this was originally a 40-episode drama anyway.

He actually strangled her and tried to make her think she imagined it all and made her take anti-psychotic medication and never told authorities about the brother being possibly dead or tried to look for him to save him. It's not about being self-righteous, these things are all **actual crimes**, regardless of his "good deeds" like taking care of Xiao Tao for three years. Lots of good people do bad things and bad people do good things, neither are absolved by the good. One can hope that maybe the good deeds will help lesson the punishment by the court, and that he changes or redeems himself off-screen, but in my vew, part of that redemption process requires acknowledging and paying for all the things he did wrong, but legally and morally.

I think in the actual ending, she did try to tell him he needs to be brave and true to himself and to stop feeling like he has to hide behind the lies. So I think a path to redemption is still open to him, but it's not something he's going to accept easily. In the meantime, he does need to face the consequences of his actions as part of that journey towards change, imho. It's to FZX's acting credit that even after all the horrible things Qin Li did, he can still elicit empathy from viewers and hope for change and redemption.

We don't know what the final number of episodes are yet, so that number is just a place-holder that gets updated by an MDL member who can/wants to/notices, as the episodes come out. I just updated it to 14 in case it hasn't been done yet, but it will still need approval before the update appears on the site.

Okay, that's what I was thinking too. Like maybe she was teaching other men how to be like her brother. 😱

I keep forgetting that FZX is only 23 -- he is excellent here (so chilling and creepy) and by far the best thing about this drama. (Though I may need to rewatch some of his scenes in other dramas for a "cleanse."😅)

Also for a Mango drama, the subs weren't incomprehensible, lol.

Question though, did anyone else understand what Qin Li's sister's "business" was and why she was panicking and shredding documents at the end? I thought it was just some dating course on how to find a girlfriend, but they always made it sound more nefarious -- did I miss something?