I actually am fine with both Yue Qin and Zigu. I think they will end up doing the right thing and help the main…
I'm okay with the rivalry too although I don't entirely buy into Yue Qing's intentions. I've never thought that the leads had an equal partnership to begin with. Falling in love was never part of the plan so I'm not necessarily rooting for them to be together at this point. My problem is mainly with the fact that the siblings don't really know what is going on or what the basis Mei Lin and Jinghe conduct their relationship.
This is the kind of tragic historical drama that I've been craving for. I love the psychological exploration. But why is the pacing so terrible? Why is it such a hard slog? Why are there so many scenes of people sitting by themselves in contemplation with loud BGM? I can't believe they wasted 23 episodes on so much filler. The people who made this don't know what's important to the audience. Edit: No regrets watching. Zhang Wanyi and Yang Zi were great. And Tan Jianci was magnificent whenever he had screentime.
I don't care how well-intentioned the Xiyan siblings are regarding Mei Lin, they are annoying the heck out of me with all the meddling. I like Baron Chen well enough and he's doing okay in the role but I wish they wouldn't try and make the crown prince a sympathetic villain because at times he comes across as a whiny cry baby. "Boohoo. I had such a pathetic childhood. Boohoo. I'm not as good as my brother." Sure some of it is an act for Luomei's benefit and to garner sympathy. But he's a crown prince. The successor to the throne. His eagerness to portray himself as a victim is laughable.
At this point I'm just watching this for Liu Xueyi who is just a joy to watch. His facial expressions are just to die for. The build up for the romance is good and the chemistry is fantastic. Wu Jinyan is doing well too. But there's just too much fluff for this to be a serious palace intrigue drama. What I think is really going on is the unfolding of a contract marriage with a family power struggle in the background. There's enough key jangling to remind me of the douyin dramas.
I pretty much guessed the identity of the Shadow Works' chief sometime during the second episode but what really surprised me was how early they revealed that person's identity. I'm supposing that's not really what the show is about but the cat and mouse game among the the royals. Let's hope they can sustain the tension for another 28 episodes. So far the people in this show are pretty savvy. As expected Liu Xueyi is fantastic in the lead role.
In a year of notable sequels, this is the best. It's almost shocking to say this but this is one of those rare sequels that's better than its predecessor in just about every way. It's as if they took into account all the criticisms of the first one and wrote a tighter better paced script with the same kinds of complex compelling cases. Now that all the head-butting has been left behind, everything just flows so much better.
The team work is so much better this time around. The Lu-Su Mystery Entourage is turning into a well-oiled machine. The biggest change is that Lu Lingfeng has become a lot more shrewd and flexible.
4 
Causing genocide is par for the cause undoubtedly but own your choices. That's what tyrants do.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/lost-you-forever-2-2024-ramblings
Edit: No regrets watching. Zhang Wanyi and Yang Zi were great. And Tan Jianci was magnificent whenever he had screentime.
As expected Liu Xueyi is fantastic in the lead role.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/are-you-the-one-2024-review-and-ramblings
https://open.substack.com/pub/40somethingahjumma/p/are-you-the-one-2024-episodes-1-11?r=kq410&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/are-you-the-one-2024-talking-tropes
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/sweet-home-3-2024-ramblings