Did they end up cutting all of the scenes shot with the late Emperor? I haven't seen him yet and I'm on episode 31. I thought that he(the actor) was going to have a much larger role in this show, but it's almost over and he hasn't even made an appearance.
I'm honestly curious how they will adapt it to fit Chinese mythology/history. Also they better bring the costuming and cinematography for this one. Casting wise I have no thoughts as there is such a large pool to choose from that could do the characters justice. They just need to get the chemistry right with the four main leads and they will be fine. As the sisterhood and brotherhood(bromance is what I want to say but that means something different to Cdrama watchers) are really important to the story.
Is it mean to want her(FL) friend to die and leave us in peace? I'm only 7 minutes into episode 22 and once again I am reminded of want an inconsiderate airhead she is. She is going to get someone killed because she doesn't have two functioning braincells to rub together. She doesn't think about anyone but herself and it's driving me crazy. At first I was like awww how cute the little boy who she fed became a civil servant and wants to be friends with her. Then she goes for the creepy guy in the graveyard and even after finding out who he is, doesn't tell anyone and just la di da's her way along. I really hate stupid characters that are supposedly smart(she was a high ranking civil servant than the FL).
I was surprised to see my rating was a 7.5 but after reading your comment I guess I was as annoyed as you sound…
You have to understand. I also recently watched 'My Journey to You'🤦🏻♀️ so the open ending, using the same sets/locations, plus the lead couple regulated to the sidelines in favor of furthering the second couple's story toward the end hit a little too close to home. With how long any show(not just cdramas) take to make a sequel or season 2 it would be years before we get any kind of closure.
One of the things that got me into Asian dramas was the one season story arches. I like a conclusion. I'm a millennial aka I grew up in the age of failed YA movie franchises that ended on cliffhangers and a promise for a sequel that never came to pass.
Both shows had great performances and the overall set design and production quality were there. Just toward the end they sacrificed the connection that brought people in for the mystery and then left an axe hanging over their heads.
Spoiler tag because this is a more negative rant that I just need to get off my chest. And I truly don't want to yuck someone else's yum, so if you are enjoying the show skip this comment.
I feel like a lot of the time the supporting actors are not on the same page as the leads when it comes to acting. The OTT acting from the supporting characters is so bad that it takes me out of the show in an instant. I want to love this show, but the low production quality is showing in more ways than one. The camera work is at least trying to do something interesting at least once an episode. The two leads are the only ones other than a few in the royal family who are able to balance their character's sides. The second leads are giving me whiplash every time they show up on screen. They kill whatever is happening dead. I'm having to watch the show at 2x the speed just to power through their scenes. I would completely skip them, but am afraid to miss plot relevant context.
will watch but the handsome male lead... nowhere to be found..
can't tell how serious you are or if you just want attention/interaction. either way. I too sometimes don't find a lead attractive at first through still shots, but once the actor/actress is on screen & interacting with their co-actors the charisma and "it" factor come into play. Sometimes it's how they sound, or move, or look at their love interest that pulls you in. I will see a very attractive person & then get to see their personality & they go from a 10 to 2 so quick. The same is true for the 2 switching to a 10. To each their own, but objectively these are all attractive people.
Which part do you think gonna get cut from the original drama?
Her friends love lines/side quests. The little actress & his friends interactions should be brought down significantly. There are a lot of scenes in the back half that could be cut because of repetition & made more succinct. They need to hold on to the dynamics with the mothers of the two boys, and keep it tight to the family. They might even blend her bestie/roommate character with his co-worker that likes him, as they serve a similar purpose to the plot. actress friend might get blended with her art studio partner as those character also serve a similar purpose. 🤔 we shall see. they need to keep the little sister storyline as it is important to the overall dynamic of the main trio.
don't know exactly how they will adapt this one, but in the Chinese version(Go Ahead) there were sort of love triangles. But it was figured out quickly & the other triangle was unrequited. aka both main leads had other ppl interested in them but they weren't interested in those people outside of friendship/sibling &/or co-worker. because of how short this version is I'm going to assume they've cut some of her friends side quests down.
Giving it an 8 because it ends on a cliffhanger for the overall story. It has an unsatisfactory ending for the lead couple that we were following closely until the last quarter of episodes, and then it just sort of forgets about them a bit for the larger conspiracy and the second couple's tragic end. I went into the show completely blind to the point I didn't know that there were 2 actresses playing the FL. If they actually plan to have a season two I might raise my rating(8 is actually kind of low for me), but the fact they didn't actually tie anything up at the end after 32 episodes with no word yet on a season 2...yeah...i'm not holding my breath.
Lead couple have 3 pecks and 1 kiss. that kiss is in episode 21...so pretty much after that they heavily focus on the second couple's interactions because apparently once a couple is together they are regulated to chaste interactions in front of people who tell them to tone down their love. aka looking and speaking to each other with warmth. *side eye...bombastic side eye* The last five minutes of the show is spent reminiscing over those they lost...and finding out the big bad is in fact NOT the BIG bad. I'm just going to immediately jump into another show and hope the bad taste leaves my mouth.
thankfully, kdramas haven't spent multiple eps on childhood for many years now. so i'm hopeful they'll only focus…
I think I've only seen maybe one or 2 set photos of them outside of high school, so I really hope that they just have a nicely locked down set and that the adult teasers will come out closer to the air date. Poor man's been playing a teen for over a decade now. 🤣
If you wait a day the translations get done by a human instead of AI and they make more sense.
Sorry my dyslexia filled in transLATION instead of transITION when I read the comment. But yes the transitions are a bit rough. To the point where I'm like, I know I'm tired, but I swear I didn't have a long blink. Also the slo-mo is so random to me...like what was the reason? I feel like the production is a bit disjointed. I'm still enjoying the show, but I can definitely see the quality difference of other productions.
I'm hoping we get a good chunk of the show with them as adults. With only 16 episodes...I'm not sure how they are going to split them. I haven't seen any teasers post ML's mother showing back up. It might come later, but I just hope they we don't have 14 episodes of them in high school.
Could someone please explain the Jinxui Workshop case to me? Maybe its because of the translation but I didn't…
Embroidery makes things personalized and depending on rank and class you can and can not have certain designs. Like how dragons are only for the Emperor...etc. Even certain colors will denote rank within a family. But the Royal family is very strict with it's ranking in jewelry, color, design, and even the material the fabric is made of. A lower ranking member was wearing something dedicated to the highest ranking member of the royal family. Big no no. Aka can been seen not only as a slight, but as saying they, the lower person, sees themselves as equal to or better than the higher ranked person. It's like wearing white to someone else's wedding in Western culture times a thousand. Because when someone in a lower rank in the royal family sees themselves as "better than" the current ruler it could mean war. (But yes a lot of the time it was petty as all hell)
I've seen similar storylines in other productions both in Chinese and Korean period pieces. And extra talon on a bird nearly ended a whole family line. Same with one too many cranes on an official's robes. Textiles and embroidery were taken very seriously. And could be narrowed down to the specific person who made it. Each color, plant, flower, animal, and number of each has a specific meaning. It's one of the many reasons noble ladies embroidered so much. They were the ones responsible most(not always) of the time for making their husbands and other family members official robes that they would wear to court.
Sidebar/tangent: With a "cheaper" production like this one....it's honestly harder to tell ranking from a glance unlike other productions who pay extra attention to it. A lot of these period piece shows are set in make believe times so they get fast and loose with their hair and clothing styles. I personally enjoy the shows were you can from just looking at how a character is wearing their hair/clothes how old they are, whether or not they are married, class/rank...etc. It becomes an easy short had so you don't need full exposition dumps.
2 
With how long any show(not just cdramas) take to make a sequel or season 2 it would be years before we get any kind of closure.
One of the things that got me into Asian dramas was the one season story arches. I like a conclusion. I'm a millennial aka I grew up in the age of failed YA movie franchises that ended on cliffhangers and a promise for a sequel that never came to pass.
Both shows had great performances and the overall set design and production quality were there. Just toward the end they sacrificed the connection that brought people in for the mystery and then left an axe hanging over their heads.
I feel like a lot of the time the supporting actors are not on the same page as the leads when it comes to acting. The OTT acting from the supporting characters is so bad that it takes me out of the show in an instant. I want to love this show, but the low production quality is showing in more ways than one. The camera work is at least trying to do something interesting at least once an episode. The two leads are the only ones other than a few in the royal family who are able to balance their character's sides. The second leads are giving me whiplash every time they show up on screen. They kill whatever is happening dead. I'm having to watch the show at 2x the speed just to power through their scenes. I would completely skip them, but am afraid to miss plot relevant context.
either way. I too sometimes don't find a lead attractive at first through still shots, but once the actor/actress is on screen & interacting with their co-actors the charisma and "it" factor come into play. Sometimes it's how they sound, or move, or look at their love interest that pulls you in.
I will see a very attractive person & then get to see their personality & they go from a 10 to 2 so quick. The same is true for the 2 switching to a 10.
To each their own, but objectively these are all attractive people.
actress friend might get blended with her art studio partner as those character also serve a similar purpose. 🤔 we shall see.
they need to keep the little sister storyline as it is important to the overall dynamic of the main trio.
because of how short this version is I'm going to assume they've cut some of her friends side quests down.
I went into the show completely blind to the point I didn't know that there were 2 actresses playing the FL.
If they actually plan to have a season two I might raise my rating(8 is actually kind of low for me), but the fact they didn't actually tie anything up at the end after 32 episodes with no word yet on a season 2...yeah...i'm not holding my breath.
Lead couple have 3 pecks and 1 kiss. that kiss is in episode 21...so pretty much after that they heavily focus on the second couple's interactions because apparently once a couple is together they are regulated to chaste interactions in front of people who tell them to tone down their love. aka looking and speaking to each other with warmth. *side eye...bombastic side eye* The last five minutes of the show is spent reminiscing over those they lost...and finding out the big bad is in fact NOT the BIG bad. I'm just going to immediately jump into another show and hope the bad taste leaves my mouth.
But yes the transitions are a bit rough. To the point where I'm like, I know I'm tired, but I swear I didn't have a long blink. Also the slo-mo is so random to me...like what was the reason? I feel like the production is a bit disjointed. I'm still enjoying the show, but I can definitely see the quality difference of other productions.
A lower ranking member was wearing something dedicated to the highest ranking member of the royal family. Big no no. Aka can been seen not only as a slight, but as saying they, the lower person, sees themselves as equal to or better than the higher ranked person. It's like wearing white to someone else's wedding in Western culture times a thousand. Because when someone in a lower rank in the royal family sees themselves as "better than" the current ruler it could mean war. (But yes a lot of the time it was petty as all hell)
I've seen similar storylines in other productions both in Chinese and Korean period pieces. And extra talon on a bird nearly ended a whole family line. Same with one too many cranes on an official's robes. Textiles and embroidery were taken very seriously. And could be narrowed down to the specific person who made it. Each color, plant, flower, animal, and number of each has a specific meaning. It's one of the many reasons noble ladies embroidered so much. They were the ones responsible most(not always) of the time for making their husbands and other family members official robes that they would wear to court.
Sidebar/tangent:
With a "cheaper" production like this one....it's honestly harder to tell ranking from a glance unlike other productions who pay extra attention to it. A lot of these period piece shows are set in make believe times so they get fast and loose with their hair and clothing styles. I personally enjoy the shows were you can from just looking at how a character is wearing their hair/clothes how old they are, whether or not they are married, class/rank...etc. It becomes an easy short had so you don't need full exposition dumps.