Same, I visit this comment section occasionally. For some reason this drama has a special place in my heart.
I really enjoyed the repetition and their moments together. Oddly this is the only drama I’ve ever watched that gave me a sense of calm despite being heart wrenching.
I'm thinking about to watch this drama, but I'm not sure yet.Can someone please let me know, what this drama is…
The thing is, the majority of people will not like this drama as reflected by its rating on MDL. So the disclaimer is: if you are looking for a cheerful and satisfying drama (in the sense that the characters you root for get what they want) this drama won’t meet those expectations.
The core of the story is what’s told in the synopsis. Additionally, this is a drama about healing, learning to accept grief, and the debate of whether false hope is essentially a good or evil deed. The theme of the drama is defined by the missed opportunities faced by characters. It reminds the audience to cherish the true value of small moments in daily life. I’d say it holds some resemblance to Shakespeare’s works. I personally enjoy this drama a lot. Hope this helps! I didn’t want to spoil too much, so let me know if you need any clarification.
Okay, so when Song Yi Chun(Song Mo's father), Eunuch Wang, and Dou Shi Shu(5th Master, Dou Zhao's uncle) meet…
The woman with them seems to be a maid, and probably a representative of the mastermind. She is seen a few eps back as Song Mo’s dad servant, but it’s clearly a front because talks back to him, and references “the master.” My prediction is the mastermind is a woman and someone in the royal family. I guessed woman because her representative is a maidservant. I guessed royal family because it appears she doesn’t have the liberty to leave her residence for the meeting even for a noble, so it may be that her residence is the palace, and a few eps back we see her maid scolding Song Mo’s father so it’s clear that her master far outranks him. My personal guess is Princess Shude, based on her interactions with the FL’s 5th uncle during the hunting episode, and we see him receiving letters from someone to not interfere with the Lead’s wedding (I think it’s from her). She’s conveniently nice enough to the leads as a “shipper” that it’d be a good plot twist if she was the mastermind. 2nd guess is the empress 🤷♀️This is just a theory based on the drama. I’m only 1/2 way into the book rn, and the drama changed a lot to be able to reference.
It captured at least 90% of the story’s theme. I think it’s an adaptation with integrity. Although eps 1-18…
I meant it as in the drama, the 3 remaining central characters lost the FL but gained freedom and a new purpose in life because through knowing her they were able to learn how to value themselves. That was also what the she would have wanted for them. The novel was even more tragic because after learning to value themselves and looking forward to being free after settling their responsibilities, they end up constraining to new obligations because she’s no longer there. So in a way the drama was a bit more satisfying.
Can someone tell me if this story was adapted exactly like the novel? And if so, was it good or is it bad adaptation?
It captured at least 90% of the story’s theme. I think it’s an adaptation with integrity. Although eps 1-18 was not a part of the original novel, it’s an extended version of what’s only briefly mentioned in the book. I think in the creative aspects it did well without compromising the theme of the original work. And I think it did serve the purpose of highlighting the the development of the FL and ML’s relationship and explains why key characters would make certain decisions. Whereas the novel takes place at the point where thr FL and ML already knew each other 8 years (ep 19 onwards). As a reader I felt like everything occurring in the novel happened at a very fast pace. I’ll acknowledge that lots of drama watchers find ep 1-18 as too slow, repetitive and boring, but I personally find it calming and sweet before everything becomes tragic as the synopsis suggests…so to each their own opinion. Finally, the ending… I think the drama did better than the novel in terms of audience satisfaction because it’s much less depressing (There’s many criticisms surrounding the SE but I think that’s mostly people hating SE in general). The characters you root for end up losing certain things but each either gain freedom, repent, or self heal. That was not the case in the novel. Personally, I would recommend staying away from this drama if you hate SE in general, but if you’re ok with it, then this drama ends poeticly bittersweet and leaves much room for self reflection. Hope this helps!
1. HZB first heard of XZY's death 1 month later when he was chatting with his master (Dingjian pavillion's head).…
Actually, Chong Hua wasn't "that" watered down in the drama, just a bit. But rather, they purified Zhan Bai more. I think this is important to note because CH's choices were partially fueled by his jealousy of ZB who was more active in his competition in the novel. I think the drama depicted ZB as noncompetitive and peaceful from the start rather than acquiring that mindset under the influence of XZY. CH wanted to gain favor from their master and fame from the people in jianghu that he volunteered to be a spy. He wanted to use it as a stepping stone to become the new pavilion master. ZB was actually tasked to put on a show with him and fake his death.
The things CH did as a spy were also never fully mentioned in the novel, but it did allow the central plains to keep tabs on the western region and heavily contributed to the successful sneak attack. Novel CH didn't even care about his wife or kid. He only agreed to marry her initially because she was ZB's crush.
Any novel readers here to enlighten me on what actually happened in the book? From my limited Chinese - it appears…
1. HZB first heard of XZY's death 1 month later when he was chatting with his master (Dingjian pavillion's head). His master said that he can finally take time off (after settling the chaos from attacking the western region) to visit the apothecary valley to treat his illness. HZB replies, that XZY is very skilled and can surely give him a smooth recovery. His master then informs him that the new chief of the apothecary valley is it former chief and XZY had passed shortly after assassinating the evil doctrine leader. She also took in a new disciple, MF. HZB then rushes back to the apothecary valley in disbelief, only seeing her tomb.
2. HZB asked MF about ZY's death because he was the one escorting her back the the valley when she died. Essentially MF told HZB the same thing that her master told him in the drama version. That is ZY died a peaceful and dignified death. The cruel truth they were concealing was that at that point ZY had already suffered the pain of the poison taking effect (it would have been painful enough to drive anyone to madness, and that her brain might have began to corrode. she started to hallucinate). She decided to take her own life before the poison could fully destroy her brain, so she could prevent all of her cherished memories from leaving her before she eventually passed.
3. MF's ending was the only one the drama kept original.
In the novel HZB lost ZY so he no longer had anyone to settle and begin his peaceful life like his 5th senior brother. He decided to be bound to the responsibility of keeping the martial arts world peaceful because all of his senior brothers were severely wounded and needed at least 3 years to fully heal. He took over as the leader of the Dingjian Pavillion, and he made a 10 year peace deal with Tong.
Tong became the new Doctrine leader. MF invited him to the valley so he and HZB can drink ZY's Laughing world together at the apothecary valley under the same plum tree. Tong confessed that he didn't want to hurt someone ZY cared for. They eventually got drunk and exchanged swords as a symbol of peace agreement between the martial arts world of the central plains and western region.
When HZB woke up the next morning, he and MF chatted and MF inquires whether he trusted Tong's willingness for peace. He said regardless the 2 regions need time to recover from their recent battle. If I remember correctly HZB asked MF what he would do if they fought again after the peace agreement ends. MF replies he would be here waiting to cure both of them. (Yesss my boi keeping ZY's legacy alive)
After the 10 years, we see Tong visiting ZY's grave and apologizing to her for disappointing her because he's about to launch an attack on the Central Plains region. As he turns around he sees the sky shinning with the northern lights (the same lights ZY hallucinated before she died).
The drama was also kind to us overall because other than ZY's death, her wishes were fulfilled by the other characters. She wished HZB, MF, and Tong a safe and peaceful life, and the freedom to live for themselves. MF was free from the Doctrine Leader, Tong wanted repent his sins, and HZB lived for himself. In the novel, only MF lived somewhat peacefully. It's debatable whether he was truly free, as he chose to become a healer because he didn't want to stand there and not be able to help save the ones he cared for like his sister and ZY.
4. As for MF, whether he loved her or not is open to interpretation. At first he felt guilt because of what he did to her and Xue Huai. He definitely felt different with her because she was the only person who was willing to show him compassion and save him without any strings attached. Through her, he was able to learn that his belief on the Doctrine Leader showing him kindness is not true kindness.
The core of the story is what’s told in the synopsis. Additionally, this is a drama about healing, learning to accept grief, and the debate of whether false hope is essentially a good or evil deed. The theme of the drama is defined by the missed opportunities faced by characters. It reminds the audience to cherish the true value of small moments in daily life. I’d say it holds some resemblance to Shakespeare’s works. I personally enjoy this drama a lot. Hope this helps! I didn’t want to spoil too much, so let me know if you need any clarification.
The things CH did as a spy were also never fully mentioned in the novel, but it did allow the central plains to keep tabs on the western region and heavily contributed to the successful sneak attack. Novel CH didn't even care about his wife or kid. He only agreed to marry her initially because she was ZB's crush.
2. HZB asked MF about ZY's death because he was the one escorting her back the the valley when she died. Essentially MF told HZB the same thing that her master told him in the drama version. That is ZY died a peaceful and dignified death. The cruel truth they were concealing was that at that point ZY had already suffered the pain of the poison taking effect (it would have been painful enough to drive anyone to madness, and that her brain might have began to corrode. she started to hallucinate). She decided to take her own life before the poison could fully destroy her brain, so she could prevent all of her cherished memories from leaving her before she eventually passed.
3. MF's ending was the only one the drama kept original.
In the novel HZB lost ZY so he no longer had anyone to settle and begin his peaceful life like his 5th senior brother. He decided to be bound to the responsibility of keeping the martial arts world peaceful because all of his senior brothers were severely wounded and needed at least 3 years to fully heal. He took over as the leader of the Dingjian Pavillion, and he made a 10 year peace deal with Tong.
Tong became the new Doctrine leader. MF invited him to the valley so he and HZB can drink ZY's Laughing world together at the apothecary valley under the same plum tree. Tong confessed that he didn't want to hurt someone ZY cared for. They eventually got drunk and exchanged swords as a symbol of peace agreement between the martial arts world of the central plains and western region.
When HZB woke up the next morning, he and MF chatted and MF inquires whether he trusted Tong's willingness for peace. He said regardless the 2 regions need time to recover from their recent battle. If I remember correctly HZB asked MF what he would do if they fought again after the peace agreement ends. MF replies he would be here waiting to cure both of them. (Yesss my boi keeping ZY's legacy alive)
After the 10 years, we see Tong visiting ZY's grave and apologizing to her for disappointing her because he's about to launch an attack on the Central Plains region. As he turns around he sees the sky shinning with the northern lights (the same lights ZY hallucinated before she died).
The drama was also kind to us overall because other than ZY's death, her wishes were fulfilled by the other characters. She wished HZB, MF, and Tong a safe and peaceful life, and the freedom to live for themselves. MF was free from the Doctrine Leader, Tong wanted repent his sins, and HZB lived for himself. In the novel, only MF lived somewhat peacefully. It's debatable whether he was truly free, as he chose to become a healer because he didn't want to stand there and not be able to help save the ones he cared for like his sister and ZY.
4. As for MF, whether he loved her or not is open to interpretation. At first he felt guilt because of what he did to her and Xue Huai. He definitely felt different with her because she was the only person who was willing to show him compassion and save him without any strings attached. Through her, he was able to learn that his belief on the Doctrine Leader showing him kindness is not true kindness.
Wow sorry for the long post. Hope this helps!