Lotusfan

I saw a comment saying that in the novel FDB had already known LLA for six years when the events in the drama started, which might explain the novel’s ending rather better. It would, of course, ruin all we love about the drama…

And he has such a beautiful voice!

And he has such a beautiful voice!

And he has such a beautiful voice!

But we’re following in his footsteps: there is one last mystery and we are trying to solve it. I think he would approve 😊

Thank you so much! That’s a very thoughtful analysis and it’s wonderful to listen to the actor talking about getting to the very heart of his role and his creation of it. It’s utterly beautiful.

Thanks!

It’s ironic that Cheng Yi has played so many tragic roles because he’s brilliant at comedy!

But the beggar wouldn’t have survived very long if LLH had given him either the fur cloak or the expensive jewellery; someone would have had no qualms in cutting his throat for things that valuable. It must have been something of a sacrifice to hand over the sweets…

Nothing is certain but then very few things are; the scriptwriters had to walk a fine line to get the drama past the censors- that incredibly plausible lying is not a characteristic that they wish to see rewarded- and I think that they did an excellent job leaving enough wriggle room…

It’s a good review overall but the author seems to have overlooked the fact that the Emperor has no acknowledged male heir and, in the context of Imperial China, needs one. Which is why I bear in mind the fact that the only person who says the Emperor needed the flower is our much loved and highly plausible liar who, true to his “Life is interesting” statement to his two dear friends as they head off to the big showdown, doesn’t actually have a death wish.

If the Emperor cannot father a legitimate male heir whilst LA enjoys himself travelling the wide world incognito then the stage is set for the miraculous discovery of his long lost son 😊 If the Emperor can then there’s still the wide world to explore…

Or, as he put it to his friends before they headed into the big battle, “Life is interesting”. That isn’t what someone who wants to die says…

Given this was the alternative ending I’m baffled as to why you think the scriptwriters would use the novel as the alternate ending. But each to his/her own…

Given this was the alternative ending I’m baffled as to why you think the scriptwriters would use the novel as the alternate ending. But each to his/her own…

Yes!

I have already finished it! I was so hooked I signed up for everything; it’s an amazing series and I am delighted so many people have been thrilled with it 😊

I have already finished it! I was so hooked I signed up for everything; it’s an amazing series and I am delighted so many people have been thrilled with it 😊

Well, most people with inadequate health care for serious disabilities like near blindness and total amnesia don’t bliss out breathing sea air. Particularly since they can’t get anywhere near the sea without endangering their lives. But I am looking at it with a very practical perspective, whereas you have your own viewpoint which is why dramas appeal to people for different reasons. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

I started it without any expectations and immediately became hooked. It’s been one hell of a ride!

He shows no signs of being almost blind- again, there’s an earlier episode when he was losing his sight and that was very obvious- and I seriously doubt that the combination of near blindness and total amnesia would make anyone happy. I do think that the novelist just didn’t know how to end the book- a common problem- and hit upon something which seemed vaguely uplifting in the sense of an ersatz form of enlightenment. LH himself recognises that his life as LH was a form of self-indulgence which he walks away from; I think that the scriptwriters did a better job than the novelist. After all, where is the body which the beggar allegedly got the sachet full of sweets from? And why’s the dog not got his nose down searching for the scent of his master’s body?