Eleison

Killing bad guys (what if you make a mistake one time in judgment?) is still murder. And why not get them properly sentenced and punished? I much prefer crime shows that demonstrate characters trying to bring people to justice while also not slipping down into gray area while they're at it (Stranger is MUCH more my cup of tea); when they defend and uphold justice even as a personal standard while struggling against corruption in the justice system--that's the stuff I can get behind (it's more realistic, and far more admirable).

Also, "bad guys" is a relative term. Where do you draw the line? It gets hard to do once you start trying to list what is worthy of death... it's a slippery slope, in my opinion.

Must have run out of time? That feels way more fitting to their characters.

While both the leads were clearly free spirits to some extent, both had a strong sense of duty to the people, and it felt a bit off for them to run off alone to be together just the two of them (even though I know Huang Chao brought peace, and Lanxi only has 10 years left, etc.), but after being so involved in humanitarian work, if you will, it felt a bit unlike them when serving and helping others had been their M.O. since the beginning. I would have loved some thematic/character arc prepping for that at the end so it felt more fitting.

And you know what would have completed that lovely domestic snapshot at the end (not quite sure why they picked coloring eyebrows as their final activity? 😅)? Pu'er (visiting them while on holiday from his apothecary shop). 🤨

Phew, that was a rushed ending if ever I saw one. I almost want to recommend watching until Episode 38, since 39 and 40 were a rushed job, FOR SURE, and don't even tie up the loose ends very well that still exist in 38. It felt like a student scrambling to finish an essay but not having enough time to finish the conclusion paragraph. 😬 (Thankfully, the body paragraphs were solid, and the argument decently intact, so the fallout from an unfinished conclusion was not as bad as it could have been, but still pretty disappointing).

The Tianshuang Sect was so frustrating after their intial fight against the Soultaker Sect; I was not impressed by them. How they managed to produce Bai Fengxi is beyond me. 😅

I also would have liked more time in Qingzhou to connect with that city and those people, since so much time was spent in Yongzhou.

I also wished there had been more satisfactory endings for our side characters--some they didn't even show at the end and we have no idea what happened to them.

That said, I LOVED the leads together; their partnership, teamwork, respect for one another (and their choices) and trust in each other was a delight to watch. They never doubted each other, and they were steadfast to the end. What a breath of fresh air, and so beautifullu written! Definitely the highlight of the whole drama. I loved the way they took turns supporting one another in their respective endeavors, and always tried to find a solution to seemingly imossible scenarios, even if it meant sacrificing their own well-being, safety, or future. They're also beautiful together, especially when both are fighting in their armor at the end. 😍

I had to give it an 8.5, but some elements (in particular Bai-Hei Fengxi) made me want to give it a 9. It was close!

Also, I have mixed feelings about the end:

I cannot believe they killed off Pu'er.

SERIOUSLY?! 😫😭😱

SO not cool.

You're not crazy! Boxers and wrestlers get them after years of fighting/being hit. They're called cauliflower ears. Dong Ju will get them, too, if he keeps fighting like he's doing right now. 😅

Thank you! This is helpful confrmation. I just thought the way everyone treats him was so heartbreakingly horrible, considering the fact that he and Feng Ju literally have the same parents, but one child is coddled and the other discarded.

Crazy how blind a "title" can make someone to reality. 🤨

Crisp is a good descriptor! It felt like the tightness of a movie's editing to me. Much tighter than typical dramas.

Ah, okay, so that was it. I read something about that, but wasn't sure. Whoops!

I loved the second half. 😅 The first is just a lot of tragedy, and just heartwrenching (beautiful, but it still guts you).

Also, random question that I figured you might have the answer to since you wrote a review on Who Rules The World and seem to be in the know: do you know why Lady Baili's maid's face and character is never shown on screen? Thelose scenes are getting quite distracting and are feeling like an audition tape with the person giving script cues speaking from off-camera. 😅

Which dramas fit into this category? All Cdramas I've seen that are remotely historical are still pseudo-history (even just due to simple things like martial arts) or completely fantastical. The one closest to a feel of historical realism was Under The Microscope (loved that one!).

Ah, never seen or heard of that one. There are SO many Cdramas. 😅

BTW, I loved Dream of Splendor. Your review is what made me want to watch it. I loved Liu Yifei in it; she was a refreshing FL!

So many of them!! All of these are harem dramas? 😮

Haha, I think I'll pass! 😅 Good to know what to avoid. 😉😂

Wow, I wonder JOL can even bothered being called JOL--it sounds like a completely different point/story from what the drama produced! 😅

Oh my! 😅 Sometimes I'm grateful for censorship, haha.

Also, anyone find it odd that you never see Lady Bai Li's maids? You hear them talk, but you never see their faces. So strange.

So it sounds like they play it off the same way New Life Begins plays it off. Good to know. ☺️

Part of me knows it's anachronistic and fantastical for them to write an actually sweet, romance between only one couple in these period/costume dramas, but it's also the only way I'd watch them. 😅

I've never watched a Cdrama with an ML who had other wives/concubines when they married the FL (I know it happens in novels/webtoons a lot, and it gets cut from the drama version).

New Life Begins had another woman marry the ML but there was nothing outside of a ceremony that bound them, and they were both deeply unhappy about it and kept their interactions to reluctant spouses plotting (with each other! 😅) to get divorced and eventually they just became friends; it was dealt with in a way we could still root for the ML.

The synopsis of this one, needless to say, has already scared me off. 😅