I really like Zhao Ling's character. He is brute, unpolished, and unrefined, but he has a good heart and does not follow convention. I think I'm one of the few who enjoy watching dramas of male leads from poor backgrounds. You don't have to be a prince, emperor, or chancellor all the time!
I'm on episode 5, and this is getting hard to watch. Ai Mi is way too young to be a female lead in a romance drama. Really, what were the producers thinking? It feels so awkward...and honestly, it looks tough on Hou Ming too. I can feel his discomfort every time he has to get close to her.
Alright, permit me to rant for a second, because there is something I have noticed about historical political dramas in general that completely breaks my brain.Look, the acting in these shows is usually solid and the political scheming can be interesting, but the overarching writing across the genre has a massive, insane moral disconnect. We are constantly forced to watch these ultra-rich, high-ranking parents and clan leaders do the most horrific, sociopathic stuff. They will literally murder innocent people and ruin commoners' lives just to protect their precious family name or guarantee their son gets some cushy government appointment.Now, don't get me wrong: bad guys make a political story interesting. I love a good, ruthless villain. But the way directors across this genre handle them makes my blood boil.Every single time these elite parents kill a commoner or ruin a family for political gain, the show hits us with the ultimate emotional manipulation. The sad violin music starts playing. The camera zooms in on their crying faces. They get these long, dramatic monologues about how "hard" it is for them to make these choices. The narrative genuinely tries to frame their monstrous behavior as some tragic, painful sacrifice made out of "deep family devotion." Like, be for real right now. Are we seriously expected to feel bad for wealthy killers just because they love their own kids? It's so insulting to the viewers. The political drama formula completely forgets about the lower-class victims and expects us to cry for the rich oppressor. Murdering innocent humans for a political promotion or to keep family name in Guiness Book of Records isn't a tragic family burden...it’s just straightup evil. No amount of slow mo tears or sad soundtracks is going to make me sympathize with these people lol! If you can’t stand political dramas that try to guilt-trip you into feeling sorry for awful, privileged tyrants, the tone of these shows is going to drive you absolutely crazy.
Currently on episode 4 and I'm completely sold on Bu Shulin lol. Her disguise as a man is so well done! It genuinely reminds me of the gold standard we got in Love in Between. Props to the actress and the makeup team for making it look realistic instead of relying on the usual idol-drama tropes. Anyone else loving her chaotic energy so far?
Couldn't have been much of an adventure if they hadn't all acted silly and clueless repeatedly. Your enemies want you dead but you can't find the gut to kill them when you have the chance, all because you want to prove them wrong in court.
The FL really, though. I'm disappointed with her attitude from episode 32. Why couldn’t she simply explain that she was once attracted to Zuo Ye, but that it was all in the past? Honestly, that’s a necessary conversation before marriage. Instead, she let him discover it on his own, then started acting clueless and playing the princess-in-distress role. That was such a low blow.
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I think I'm one of the few who enjoy watching dramas of male leads from poor backgrounds. You don't have to be a prince, emperor, or chancellor all the time!
Instead, she let him discover it on his own, then started acting clueless and playing the princess-in-distress role. That was such a low blow.