You write the best reviews, and this one is excellent as always. I finished The Long Ballad today and enjoyed it immensely, especially the overall character development, just wonderful. I remember you were the one who first brought this drama to my attention (we were talking about Sa Ding Ding, IIRC) and I'm so thankful!
(Speaking of Sa Ding Ding, does she only plan to act in dramas where there's a Xu Feng character?? Yes, yes, lame joke :P :XD)
Yes. I felt bad for her as well. Some people were upset (in the Viki comments) about Shiyi gently telling her…
I saw these comments as well and I agree with your take on Shiyi's purpose. I think I was more disturbed by the fact that Concubine Qin saw an innocent woman murdered and still chose to continue her affiliation with the Ou family; her hatred was deep.
I would think anyone who would watch historical cdrama or kdrama would know about concubines, consorts, etc. Unless…
Story of Yanxi Palace was the first drama I watched with a close-up look at harem life and it was quite the shock. Early on, I had to remind myself (continually!) that having multiple 'wives' was the custom in these times; I didn't have to like it to accept that's just how it was, no matter icky it made me feel.
The Emperor majorly creeped me out as well, especially as he started to like WYL while our beloved Empress was still alive (and even she noticed it). And I'm still low-key disgusted with how he separated WYL and Fu Heng. But, after SoYP, I feel like I can watch any harem drama with some measure of equanimity :P
(On another note, I think it might be good to mark your comment as a spoiler; there are some details about both dramas that new viewers may not want to know upfront.)
"(I am off to subs all those behind the scenes now)" - Will you be making these available on your website/blog?…
Thanks, I'll check these sources. I'll be monitoring your translation progress on the book for TSatB; I love the drama and would like to read the book as well. Thanks for your efforts and jiayou! :D
I finally got a chance to finish everything this, definitely a great drama to end my April. Just a quick note,…
"(I am off to subs all those behind the scenes now)" - Will you be making these available on your website/blog? I love the BTS videos though I barely understand a thing they're saying :)
Thank goodness for the P.S. part because my mind was going "HUH??" ... lol
I commiserate with the rant because she enraged me so many times; after watching the whole drama, she is the character I dislike the most. I thought after her eyes were opened about Lianfang, she would change but she went on to harass Shiyi even more. For her age and position, I expected a lot more wisdom from her. That speech in the last episode about her being wrong about Shiyi was so annoying to me, all I was thinking is ' too little, too late/now go sit in a corner and keep quiet'. Ugh.
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(Speaking of Sa Ding Ding, does she only plan to act in dramas where there's a Xu Feng character?? Yes, yes, lame joke :P :XD)
The Emperor majorly creeped me out as well, especially as he started to like WYL while our beloved Empress was still alive (and even she noticed it). And I'm still low-key disgusted with how he separated WYL and Fu Heng. But, after SoYP, I feel like I can watch any harem drama with some measure of equanimity :P
(On another note, I think it might be good to mark your comment as a spoiler; there are some details about both dramas that new viewers may not want to know upfront.)