DramaAjumma

Same here. It's fine in small doses.

I've watched just about every detective C drama this past few months, and I still think this one is the best. With all its flaws, it's still the most consistently good. The romance is better integrated than just about all the others I've seen. It's got the best balance and I don't find my intelligence being insulted routinely.

I'm in the 20s right now and it's pretty obvious that they're aiming for a romance. She's like a little boy picking fights and bullying him because she likes him. Even Old Bai calls him Son-in-law.

Thank goodness that the bickering between YN and LY is largely in a tolerable place in more recent episodes. The cases are not exactly mind boggling stuff but at least the show doesn't drag them out. I guess they are really going hammer and tongs hard for the romance.

This show was written for kids right? How can Sui Zhou not know that Tang Fan was putting on a show. That was so obvious. He of all people should know this better than anyone. Sheesh.

That may be but the English title is the one that international fans look at. It's the one the showrunners came up with. It is still a form of marketing.

I'm waiting for more episodes to be released before watching that one. It does look decent.

But they shouldn't call it The Sleuth of MIng Dynasty if the sleuthing takes a back seat to everything else. :D

Honestly... as much as I enjoy this drama for the male leads, I really don't think I'm in the target demographic. For someone who has been watching and reading crime fiction most of their life, the solution to the cases are really no-brainers.

It's funny isn't it? I loved the male lead from Day 1 and never really bought into Su Fu.

One of the great things about Tang Fan, despite his obvious flaws, is how he draws people to himself and brings them together. Look at what he does for Sui Zhou and the Oirats. He cares deeply about the people around him and is fiercely loyal to them despite the whining. It's one of his true strengths apart from his deductive skills. Just watching him and those who have become part of his circle eating together is a delight. It may seem like he is generous to a fault but it seems to reap dividends for him when push comes to shove.

Will we see corn the same way again?

To me they're all good together. The trio dynamic works beautifully.

I thought the same way at first but I've now changed my mind about Tang Fan. Yes, he seems childishly idealistic but the show needs his moral compass. He does get taken advantage of a bit because of his lack of political savvy but his voice is a necessary one because he stands up for the rule of law. I really appreciate that he goes against the "politics as usual" grain even if he gets into trouble for it. He actually has his own kind of courage... that of his convictions.
He is absolutely needed in this show. The other guys have their own kind of intelligence but they don't have his knack for putting all the pieces of the puzzle together in a way that explains all the discrepancies.

I'm keeping my eye on it.

Just keep watching. The situation is far more complex than that.
It's not just because he's an assassin. And he is using her too.

Gets better progressively which is great. LOL. They even have their own Baker Street Irregulars. Using Dong'er as a human computer is gold.

Can I just say from the perspective of some of us... that not all criticisms of FL has anything to do with romance... whatsoever... She is annoying regardless of whether she's going to end up with LY. She's just badly written. She is used to generate conflict when it doesn't exist.

The strength of this drama lies in the way the trio male leads are used in this drama and how their ever-evolving dynamic plays out. That part of the show is particularly well-written. Kudos to the actors as well. At this early stage the cases are fairly straightforward, nothing that particularly boggles the mind. So far it's predominantly a police procedural dealing with matters related to the royal Ming court. Not all of the humour works for me but that's because I probably don't fit into the target demographic.

I'm not sure how I feel about romance at this stage. I don't need it but I'm not entirely against it. Aha was a popular Norwegian band from the 1980s. That Aha I liked. This Aha.... I have mixed feelings about. Is there some kind of recent trend in C dramas that female add-ons need to be extremely unlikeable to begin with just so there's some kind of obligatory sniping to signal the start to the romance?

It seems to me too that the petulant Noble Consort isn't especially bright. She shows her insecurity rather too easily. Luckily for her though she has smart people to do her thinking for her. My feeling is that one of these days that Wang Zhi will have to choose between her and the emperor. It won't be pretty.

For some reason this drama reminds me of the British series Wallander that starred Kenneth Branagh. Or UK dramas in general that are set in remote areas. I chalk it up to the bleak, existential quality that undergirds it. I was expecting something fast-paced, thriller-like when I looked at the trailer. Instead it's a much more brooding, contemplative drama. That's not a criticism at all actually but clearly it's one for the adults.
It's quite a different beast from the current crop of detective/police procedural shows airing.

Nice trio of male leads with very different personalities working together. Kind of. The first thing that struck me about the cast is how young the leads are. I've only seen the first four episodes but it's very promising.

Wow... I had to do a double take on Alyssa Chia. I really almost didn't recognize her.