DramaAjumma

I really liked how Zhanji finally opened up to Zijin in Episode 24 after their "cold" war. It was a long time in coming. I'm glad that they sorted out the misunderstanding that she's in love with another guy very quickly. Sometimes it's up to the servants to help things along. :D

Okay he didn't recognize her when they had their first encounter in the present timeline but he wasn't exactly to be blamed for what happened in the past. I have no doubt that Zijin also feels sorry for the present crown prince consort Hu Shanxiang. She only wanted to study medicine but got dragged into the palace fray because of her siblings. I can understand Zijin not wanting to get embroiled with all the palace politics and the baggage between Zhanji and Hu Shanxiang by taking refuge in the kitchen. However the reality is that she can't avoid all of that forever especially because she's so outstanding and so well-liked. Despite the machinations of others, she still managed to come to his attention and he fell for her anyway. I get that she doesn't want to be manipulated or be anybody's puppet as she's been burnt before but I don't think it's entirely up to her. Obviously the narrative is that they're meant to be together because they are both exceptional individuals who can a do lot of good together for the country. He is good at everything. She's good at everything. It seems to be a natural fit. The incident where the emperor is now sending him off to Nanjing is a case in point. He needs a woman who can help him deal with his family issues.

Hu Shanxiang also didn't try that hard at first with Zhanji even when he tried to be thoughtful in those early days. In a way her story is the more tragic one because she doesn't really fit into the milieu and she doesn't have the love or respect of her husband. Of course now that her sister's gone, her life won't get any easier. However, I'm sure she'll soon realise that Zijin is better off being an ally than a rival.

Interesting that you say that because Chen Wu said the opposite. It certainly wasn't the case in the early part of the drama.
The only reason why he's been brooding is because of Zijin. Especially when he thinks that she's in love with some other guy.

I like it. It has something for everyone. Food porn, great set pieces, costumes interesting characters and dynamics.

But you have to watch it with good subs.

Just because the leads find their way back together doesn't mean it's a good ending. Just because they finally get their happily-ever-after, doesn't mean it's a good ending. How we get to a good ending is just as important or more important.

Let's say for one moment for argument's sake that the final twist of who really killed Liang Yi's dad is an interesting idea. I'm not saying it couldn't have been... in another part of the narrative. But timing is almost everything in storytelling. Not only did it come very late in the telling but it also loses its thematic power. If the story is meant to be reinforcing some kind of tragic vision of the world, then perhaps that there needs to be time for the characters and the audience to breathe and grieve over this untimely situation. But the way it is used in the so-called resolution phase, it's not only bizarre but trivialises the impact of what the mother did by turning it into a glaring device to separate the leads at the 11th hour. Who throws up new information in a conclusion ... unless of course it's leading to a sequel. But there's none in sight. Moreover by doing this at this very moment, what does this say about Mdm Jin and Qiu Yan? This show purportedly is about the empowerment of women but the effect of what they just pulled there is to show that women are the bane of Liang Yi's existence. So the messaging is completely off. He's been hard done by and treated like a mushroom by the two most important women in his life. His right to agency has been undermined. Moreover, all this mollycoddling of Liang Yi through noble idiocy is just quite frankly... insulting.

A pity about the rotisserie roasted pork -- the crackling looked so yummy. The design on top was pretty nifty.

The food porn in this show is just so good.

The final act aka the last 6 episodes were a mixed bag for me. Episodes 31 and 32 were decent for the most part but Episodes 33 and 34 were all over the place in terms of storytelling. What really irks me is how the showrunners framed the OTP's entire dynamic as a zero sum game: It's stay or leave. It's my way or your way. Leave or be left behind. It's leave to be free or leave to protect as if leaving is the only answer to all their problems. It's almost as if the leads are completely boxed in by a particular set of false dichotomies. For two so-called intelligent people they are so completely narrow in their thinking about freedom, independence and love. I don't think the last four episodes do the the characters any favours with all the script-led decision making and actions. In fact, it was odd to me that just about all the best deductions came from QIu Yan. She's the one who is suspicious of everything and everyone -- where's the Liang Yi from the previous two acts? I'm sure someone will say that the show is trying to show a reversal of positions. Now that he's the fugitive, she's the one in the limelight who is supposedly doing much of the heavy lifting.

I don't really like this kind of "after the fact" type of storytelling. In Episode 28, out of the blue she tells him that she's going off to see the world and then he says he will let her go and has a good cry all by his lonesome self. There's conveniently no communication or negotiation. He looks bad, she looks worse. Then just as she's about to leave in Episode 29, he starts to panic and it forces him to act impulsively. Then only does she tell him why she's headed off. This is a rejection of basic storytelling 101. If you're making a radical shift in direction even if it's just seeming and for a short time, there should be some explanation/justification for it. Otherwise, it calls into question a character's sincerity and motives. Later we find out of course that the reason why the show sends her off to Northern Liang is because the final case is about Northern Liang spies. It's so convenient that she happened to be there prior to Liang Yi's arrest. So really all that girl power talk is just that and serves as a convenient ploy to get her to a particular location and make Liang Yi suffer a bit. And poor Song Jin -- why? Again it's all about removing all but a few mechanisms of life support for Liang Yi so that... what? He would be forced to work with the troublesome Yuan Lang? Probably. He would have to eventually regardless. Suddenly Qiu Yan's pretty good in a fight... and Liang Yi goes "Oh, you've been practising".

Qiu Yan takes off on her tour at the kindness of Liang Yi who is funding this. Just how independent can Qiu Yan be? So the temporary separation was supposed to help Qiu Yan see the light? She loves him and needs to be where he is. Now she says that she cares more about him than her freedom. So why does she do another runner in Episode 34? This one even more ridiculous than the previous one.

Episode 33 was probably the worst in terms of editing and pacing. I don't know why they couldn't have given us another episode to properly tie up the loose ends. I would be up for it. But after all the hyping of the conspiracy's mastermind, he's there and gone in a matter of minutes. The cave scene was too much tell and not enough show. What the heck is Min'er even doing in all these dangerous situations? So that she can have a near-death experience and get her epiphany? Yeah, whatever.

Episode 34 was fine for the most part and then the last minute twist which was shock for shock's sake -- did nothing to enhance the story and only made Qiu Yan look sillier and more impulsive than usual. What's the point of the separation? She didn't even manage to get published all that time. But he did. So it's still a man's world.

The ideas for the Bad Guy Plot were actually good but it sort of went boom, crack and fizzle. Like it was just a plot device. Like the unseen Crown Prince turn new Emperor. Hope he's better than the last one.

It's all the more disappointing because it was so good for 27 and a half episodes.

I don't. It's more a crime palace drama.

And the timing of Mother's suicide? Why now? Why not earlier when the noble consort did herself in? Or even before then when Liang Yi was on the run?

I just don't think they thought through this very well. You have to wonder what they were drinking during brainstorming and rewrite sessions.

There's just so much wrong with that final twist. Must be up there as the worst kind of filler ever. The worst part is treating Liang Yi like he's a kid that needs to be coddled when he's one of the country's preeminent criminal investigators. Have some respect for the man please.

The show not only pulled the noble idiocy card once already before, they did it again.

Thank God for the leads... I think they redeemed the nonsensical last 15 min slightly for me.

The budgetary constraints of the drama was particularly evident in the final act of the storytelling. The Big Bad Conspiracy is a decent enough arc but the clumsy use of plot devices, choppy editing and all the heavy use of "telling" over "showing" didn't do much to enhance the storytelling.
Episode 33 feels the most rushed.

What the heck was Min'er doing in the middle of danger zone?

LOL.

The first 10 episodes aren't the best but the rest of the drama is decent.

I don't think she hates Zijin because she can't be her bestie. I think it's more a case that she thinks she's better than anyone else and deserves to be liked and respected by everyone without question.

I am grateful for you input here because I also think the quality of the production is pretty decent. I suspect that the poor subs are a problem because people are not really understanding the storyline that well from some of the comments that I've read.

The titbit about the Jin Yi Wei or Brocade Guards is interesting. I had no idea that they were involved in all kinds of more trivial matters under the emperor's orders.

She's been guilted by the older sister -- one of the head chefs -- into doing more for their family. The position of the family has also been made more insecure by the revelation of Zijin's identity because they obvious maneuvered politically so that the previous emperor chose the present consort instead of Zijin.

You have to persevere through the first 10 -12 episodes and afterwards it becomes a really decent drama. Lots of angst but Jeremy does some incredibly acting here.

He certainly wasn't the villain in the Legend of the Phoenix.

Even though I'm very fond of this show and the leads, she does tend towards recklessness at times. Anyway, I don't think you should be berated for having an opinion that goes against the popular view.

Unlike what the marketing department ie. trailers led viewers to believe, this isn't primarily a historical romance as in the romance isn't front and centre of this show. This seems largely to be about harem and by extension, kitchen politics. The romance between the leads isn't the central animating feature of the show at all which is becoming patently obvious. Much to the chagrin of Zhanji (and probably the viewers) Zijin isn't motivated to be his next consort but to do good works that's within her power. She's a woman with a mission and it isn't marriage but to transcend the petty squabbles of food politics. Perhaps her ultimate goal is to transform the status quo and to uphold quality over expediency. Plus she pities the crown prince's consort who is framed as the neglected wife and she doesn't want to be caught in the middle of that domestic situation by adding fuel to the fire. But then the consort pretty much contributed to the estrangement through her early indifference to Zhangji. No one can say he didn't try at the start.

It's not a bad show (a pity about the subs) but the tendency to make the present emperor a bit of a bumbler just to create conflict with the son (or to make Zhanji look better) doesn't help. He's not a terrible human being -- he has some good notions -- but he has a tendency to act emotionally.