Kim MC

I think so too. The mother's speech was not one of deception but regret and gratefulness.

LOL on the muted makeup that's popular in dramas! My natural complexion is so freaking pale it could reflect light and have really not liked the makeup that's currently in vogue. The darker skin has been a pleasure for my winter visuals to witness.

I'll cheer right with you!
I see Wang Bo as understanding court politics with intelligence, knowing that any show of emotional weakness will get that person killed. The Princess always perseveres in her belief that kindness will win out and here's what is fascinating to me about both characters in this story: they are both right. Without the princess, there would be absolutely no light to show how dark the setting is and illuminate the manipulations of the court and king. To understand Wang Bo is to understand wolf behavior. There's no gentleness in nature as survival literally depends on a kill or be killed setting. I may not agree with Wang Bo's actions but I very much understand the reasons and that is to get the Princess as far away from the king as possible and instill an instinct in her to survive at all costs.

Very true. As dark as the tone is, I find shows such as "Royal Nirvana" much more disturbing with the reason being that it's probably much closer to historical truth. The male lead in "Wolf" takes out entire troops with one blow, which puts it more of a fantasy tone that I don't let emotionally in. Luo Jin played a brilliant, conniving and ruthless crown prince in "Nirvana" and the setting and historical actions disturbed me to the point of not being able to watch it through. I literally had to pause it for a week at a time to take it up later and stopped at episode 53 all together. It's crazy what it did to me as a viewer.
Thank you for this back and forth. I follow your posts and love the insight you give into stories.

I also couldn't understand the "Titanic" ending with her marriage and kids. Could she not have traveled the world and had adventures by herself? To me, moving on with life does not necessary require a partner, especially after losing one that cherished.

I think Shakespeare despised the thought of happily ever after and modeled most of his plays after the proverbial Greek tragedy. Romeo and Juliet - the ending made no...freaking...sense other than the fact they were both around 14 years old. But, his genius lies in his character creations. Shakespeare carefully outlined the story as such when a pivotal choice is to be made, we understood the thought behind the greediness / jealousy / self pious character actions and mourned the repercussions thereafter.

"Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol" is written in such a way that I'm going to be a fangirl of this screenwriter. I can't imagine the pressure they face to push a drama into at least one trope and this was penned, produced and acted with a brilliant understanding of what storytelling is. When a drama is this good, I curl up under a blanket and let it take me on an emotional ride. Whatever the ending, this piece was worth every viewing moment.

I read somewhere on the boards that one of the sticking points was a slightly supernatural bend to the drama (edited out before airing) and the other thing being a fanfiction controversy of Xiao Zhan's character from the "Untamed". This ended up leading to a cyberwar of fans and anti-fans and the fallout let to his public apology (although had nothing to do with it). The Chinese censors punished him as a result of not controlling his fans and refused to air anything for a good 8-9 months with him acting in it.

I'm going to throw something out for comment. What comprises a bad ending? To me, it's one that disrupts the flow of the story or results in an abrupt character about face. I hesitated on "Goodbye My Princess" because of the tragedy tag. But, I was bored and the next thing I know, I'm staying up nights, stalking the message boards for other viewer insights into the plot development. The #tragedy was well deserved but in my opinion, if it had ended any other way, it would not have made sense. What do you all think?

I've seen some pretty dramatic remarks from viewers over the years. I try never to leave negative comments unless it really and truly had potential that absolutely sank by messy writing and direction (shout out to "To Dear Myself" for really, really angering a fanbase). "The Wolf" is quite polarizing in the comment section and that's because viewers are passionate, both good and bad, about the content and actors. I love seeing well written, opposing perspectives about what I'm watching because it tends to make me see points that I've missed. And all this wordiness is to express a heartfelt "thank you" for your well written explanation and encouragement of different viewpoints. I agree 100% with everything you wrote.

I love this! Thank you!

I'm not sure what 16 is going to do to me, but 15 definitely had me heading for tissues.

This!

I gravitate towards stories with one or more flawed main characters and that's why I'm immersed in this one.

Yeah, the spoilers are rampant in the feed. I went ahead and watched all the raw episodes just because it was that good.

Love your review! I also thought Tiffany Tang and Shawn Dou's chemistry was way off and
Jing Chao flawlessly portrayed the entitled and slightly sociopathic ruler. While the visuals were stunning, the script was uneven and that lent to boredom while watching. There was just too big of a gap between what this show should have been versus what it turned out to be and I ended up skimming later episodes for story highlights.

I never thought of this as a romance but a story. Your adamant dislike of the ML is interesting.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's what I enjoy most about this forum. I like the ML and believe the actor does a unbelievable job of portraying the private agony of pushing the FL away. He is the epitome of a flawed, ruthless protagonist and I love it. This historical time setting around the world was one of kill / be killed / manipulate circumstances for the best possible outcome and my hat tips off to the screenwriter that pulled zero punches about the setting. To me, the most fictional character written is that of Ma Zhai Xing because she is gentle and kind even after being pushed into an emotional corner. If I put myself in the male lead shoes: how far would I go to drive off someone in danger who I love with every breath? The ultimate outcome is make them run away from a court that is sure to slowly poison her, both figuratively and not. If I were the protagonist, male or female, I would do anything at all cost to ensure they lived.

Being raised with wolves in the formative years of his life, this character doesn't understand the display of delicate emotions (in my opinion). He protects as he knows how and that's pushing away before she falls into the wrong hands. The FL is loyal and that's why he has to sever as drastically as possible. I love this drama because it doesn't favor the usual trope of "I'm understanding and kind and you'll find that out later". What attracts me to this specific storyline is the flaws in each character and what that means in story progression and interactions.

Not really. I think all the actors compliment each other.

I almost posted on the boards how rich the storyline is and reminded me of Goodbye My Princess. I am officially stalking all things "The Wolf" because of how much I love it.

Hello friend and I agree wholeheartedly! I've already watched the raw episodes twice because it's that good.