I wish Xu Ping wasn't such a one-note petty schemer who comes across as a self-absorbed teenage boy. I'm not totally unsympathetic about his mummy issues but his resentments are misplaced and his plotting utterly reckless. I realise he's probably not the chief villain of the piece but boy, the guy needs to make better use of his wealth.
I'm not ready to write-off Fu Rong because I think this is precisely her arc to come to grips with the complexities of the world out there and who she should be trusting. The more I think about it, the more I think that there's a lack of trust and knowledge rather than a lack of intelligence. I had to remind myself that there's a fair bit of baggage between the two from the start. The premonitions, the bickering and the protracted issues with the bracelet. She hasn't been privy to Liu Ruyi's secrets and let's look at the matter from her perspective she does have some justification to be suspicious. Maybe Xu Jin did do everything to get close to her and to pump information out of her regarding her Teacher and mentor. There is something to that. That's what happens when you treat someone like a mushroom to "protect them". When reality hits they can't navigate the waters. Direct confrontation would have been the right thing to do but she was running around carrying a world of guilt and the man beside her advising her had his own agenda.
With regards to Xu Ping, it's a case of misplaced trust. She thinks she knows him better because they have a childhood connection. But he's a man of many masks and he can use their past friendship to keep her from seeing what he doesn't want her to see.
What I'm most annoyed about are the non-dream scenes that seem to have been cut. As others have pointed out, there…
I have stopped angsting over the censorious nature of what goes on in the production process because it's a constant issue. To me it's par for the course. Plus the new restrictions they've brought in regarding the length of dramas because of all the abuses of the past. I don't think they had to apply those limits to historical dramas but they did.
Frankly I don't think we should be too hung up on the missing dream sequences. If the show chopped them off it means that they're not essential to our overall appreciation of the storyline. What do the dreams represent? Who knows? A possible reality that can be changed or a reality without its context. They might tell us something but they don't tell us everything. At best they're just pieces of the puzzle.about destiny and self-determination. I haven't cared about them since Day 1 because it seems to me that the primary purpose that they serve is to keep Fu Rong from falling for Xu Jin too easily.
Is this drama really bad? Can someone explain to me what makes it bad?
It's not really bad. The disappointment lies in the fact that it could have been much better than what it turned out to be. The first six episodes were great and built expectations accordingly. But the show made a number of missteps -- either broke its own rules or mischaracterized what it was doing. Plus it seemed to be flirting with certain kinds of romance taboos.
Some of us got attached to the ensemble cast but in the second half of the show most of them were neglected in favour of the leads.
If you can be forgiving of plot holes and sloppy storytelling, there are things you can enjoy.
While both LoYX are written by the same screenwriter, the lengths of the novels they're adapted from differ drastically…
From what I'm seeing, I doubt length of the source material has anything to do with the quality of the adaptation. Besides, the live action version of LoYX veered off in quite a different direction to the source material as well which I think is probably more the point. The choices made by the writer is a far more important factor. The storyline in Ruyi Pavillion is better and more complex regardless of the length of source material.
Honestly, as much as enjoyed and loved LoYX, this is the better show on almost every level. It's hard to believe it is written by the same person. The political savvy except for the bratty duchess Xinhe is on a different level.
I usually like an antihero character but I can't relate to or even like Xu Ping. He's too extreme for me. Can't he use his brains and resources to find out the truth about his mother's death. His plot seems rather nonsensical.
Both romances are well done IMO. Fu Xuan might be a smart girl but she's a bit of a fuddy duddy. There's a rebel in her and Wu Baiqi senses it. A bit of corset loosening might be in order.
There were two things that really ruined the finale for me. 1. I just did not get the whole deal between mom and…
Yes, that would be the logical outcome but for reasons unknown to us, they chose to end the show the way they did. Probably more for marketing purposes than any sense of narrative logic. Or perhaps they're still clinging on to the conventional notion that a happy ending means that the top-billed actors have to appear together at the end.
I m guessing that its the fault of 16 eps format that many characters are not explored fully..The older 20/24…
I agree that 16 episodes was ample. In fact if they had cut out all the JG and TY pussyfooting, they could have easily done it in 12 or 14. All the good sci-fi shows manage it so I don't see why they couldn't have. But even if they wanted to utilize all of the 16, I would have loved more insight into the people of Alice, discovery of time travel, flashbacks of the early attempts, the origins of the Book of Prophecy and how things went so wrong.
4 
With regards to Xu Ping, it's a case of misplaced trust. She thinks she knows him better because they have a childhood connection. But he's a man of many masks and he can use their past friendship to keep her from seeing what he doesn't want her to see.
https://janghaven.com/topic/80-2020-airing-the-bloom-at-ruyi-pavilion-%E5%A6%82%E6%84%8F%E8%8A%B3%E9%9C%8F/
Some of us got attached to the ensemble cast but in the second half of the show most of them were neglected in favour of the leads.
If you can be forgiving of plot holes and sloppy storytelling, there are things you can enjoy.
Xu Ping on the other hand is becoming more ridiculous and despicable.
But that's just me.
I usually like an antihero character but I can't relate to or even like Xu Ping. He's too extreme for me. Can't he use his brains and resources to find out the truth about his mother's death. His plot seems rather nonsensical.
Both romances are well done IMO. Fu Xuan might be a smart girl but she's a bit of a fuddy duddy. There's a rebel in her and Wu Baiqi senses it. A bit of corset loosening might be in order.
Anyway... enjoy. It's fun so far.