MadelineMaureen

Whomever is picking projects for Neo...can we have a little chat? Cause of the 5 shows I've watched or started to watch of Neo's only 1 had what I would consider a "good" ending. And now that I'm thinking about it I in all honesty can't even remember the ending of it that well.
I don't know if the scripts are changing mid production or what, but is it too much to ask for a project to stick the landing?

I knew the second the director mentioned that he would be down for making a season 2 that we weren't going to be getting a Shine on Me level epilogue/ending.
There are just too many snakes still in the grass for me to call this a happy ending. It's a very pragmatic happy for now. There is a reason Romance is listed 3rd in the tags. At least the ending wasnt as bad as 'The Glory'.
I have to say since I started watching kdramas 16 years ago, I've grown to prefer singular season shows that encapsulates an entire story from start to finish.
I still enjoyed the performances. Anytime you question someone's acting, congratulations you noticed the "characters" bad acting, not the actual actor's bad acting.
Costume & set designs were top notch, but character development lacked the most in the leads as trust was, imo, never fully established and shown. It remained a push and pull, "dont listen to my words" type of relationship. It was on it's way to be a 10, but it's strongly giving 8.

So we don't have any previews for episodes 31-36 right? I normally have one or two teaser/previews for the next episode so that must mean express is coming out tonight.

I at the very least knew that this was going to be a female lead show based on conversations before the show started airing. I just wasn't expecting him to really only have a supporting role for the majority of the show. I love the female lead, so I'm not mad at her screen time or performance. I was just not expecting that we don't spend a lot of time getting to know his character.
I'm thinking with the capital arch he'll be around more, and maybe we'll get some more insights into his family dynamic or what's left of it. But yeah, I'm just sad we haven't gotten them working together and on the same page fully in a long while.

my goodness....I was not...nope. My mind was not in the gutter....🙃🙃🤣🤣🤣🤣

Neo's stylist kinda dropped the ball on this one i fear. 3 of the other actors have amazing suits calling back to a more traditional or older Chinese style and his is giving 80s western style....with no embellishments or je ne sais quoi. His face card never declining, but lets do better at dressing the ML of the show during promotions please.

Note to self. First billing in China does NOT mean most screen time. It's who has the biggest fandom/backers/fame. Noted.

Was she dreaming about him? I couldn't exactly tell if it was a prophetic dream or just them showing what he's up to, and her not being aware.

Are you talking about the King Tea? The sapling is being cared for by Rong Yun Xi. She is very skilled in caring for plants, and cultivating tea trees. She's currently nurturing it before they replant the tree.

I've been wondering where her father and evil step-mother ended up.

Okay...the Steward can die now. He's served his purpose and is now just meddling in affairs that he has no business meddling in.

EDIT: I'm saying this 23 minutes into Episode 30. So I'm really hoping that Lu Jiang Lai wrote two letters. One sent to the mansion the other sent to the tea plantation with in insides stating that he wrote two letters to make sure at least one made it to her. I'm hoping with how smart they have shown their characters that he would at least guard against the man who has repeatedly stood in his way and prevented them from communicating in the past.

Second EDIT: okay he can stay around long enough to slap some people who deserve it. That's fine.

We're almost at the halfway point and I'm really enjoying this one.

He's a poor scholar. If he were to go against the Rong family publicly after he already took down an official the target on his back would only grow. The status of the Rong family can also impact more than just the one he reports. He's aware of that. If the matter can be handled internally he's going to let them handle it themselves. Because at the end of the day he still pities her and cares for her. Not as much as he once did.
I don't know what he would do if he found out she stabbed a man. But he's not aware of that.

We are entering into the final act(Storyline) of the show. The corruption arch has completed, but now the family/personal side of things will heat up more. There are still a whole group of people we haven't met yet, but one of them popped up in the PBS style info dump/history lesson at the end of the last episode.
There are still past grievances that haven't been fully addressed yet for both the FL's family and the ML's family. So I'm interested to see if the production can stick the landing.

Okay to sum up so far.....HUNDREDS people from Wei, and Yang family as well as officials not associated with the family members are dead or living in slavery/poverty, because a man was upset he wasn't allowed to borrow a book.

A man's ego was so bruised that he threw and entire county into chaos(and rumbles in the capital) because he couldn't BORROW A FUCKING BOOK!!!!!!???????

PS: Support you local libraries. Remember even if you don't used your library card when you get one it goes toward funding for the library itself. Donate books you no longer want for either their inventory or for one of their book sales.

Grandma really learns absolutely nothing. She is always just doubling down on wrong choices. Anyone else notice how aware Rong Shan Bao is around her grandmother's servant? She let her cousin talk shit about Lu Jiang Lai, because she can't give another thing away to her grandmother.

She's learned to hold things she loves close to the vest. Not expressing her love as to not harm them by the hands of others. Everyone always talks about how RSB shows no affection towards LJL, but every time they interact with each other she flirts with him in a way only he can keep up with.

She is calculating, yes, but she has had to learn to calculate risk and reward for years. She hid her little sister away because she loved her and wanted to protect her. She only ever cried in front of her godmother, to the point where when she does publicly cry all of her family looks at her like she's grown a second head. I think the actress is doing and amazing job and showing inner feelings through her eyes and subtle body language. He tiny little smiles, the way her eyes linger or shift to show thought. Her reservedness works extremely well for her character, and I really appreciate the level of detail in her performance.

I'm used to watching period dramas from all different regions so the sarcasm, teasing, and subtle indicators are peak romance to me. I like how balanced everything is in the show. I knew going in that this was going to be business/family/investigation focused with a undercurrent of romance/love so I'm not disappointed in how the story is playing out so far. Now, if someone were to going into this thinking it was just a Romance, yeah I could see that person being disappointed.

I'm glad he didn't go against his principals. I hope that he finds someone who truly loves him and he's able to go far in his career without needing to ever turn to the dark side/go against his morals.

Spoiler speculation.

So you remember how delayed Yan Bai Luo was in arriving at the Rong mansion for marriage selection?
Yan Bai Luo also had very strong reactions to the Wei family case. So I'm guess is the man that they found is actually the real Yan Bai Luo and that the one living in the Rong mansion is actually a Wei descendant that escaped the imprisonment/enslavement of the male family members. I believe he was also the one to drive Lady Yang Lan to her death.
I believe he did possibly grow up in a monastery for at least part of his life, but I think his reaction to things seems more in line with the 5th sister's act pitiful, but secretly plotting persona.

After every interaction the FL has with the 2ML the writing double downs on how absolutely horrible he is. Every single time they share a scene together, bar the rain car ride scene, the very next one is to show his true character and motive. And though we didn't get the double down after the rain car ride scene the ML talks about how he was worried for her safety being with him.

I needed to point this out because reels/tiktok be doing the most with the walking red flag. They're like he saved her multiple times. No, my guy, he shut up a mole, had an ego trip, and then realized he could use her against his younger brother(because he clocked she was driving his car). The man is evil.

I had to skip all the secondary couple/grandparent scenes. It's not in the original story and has much weaker writing. The chemistry between the actors is great, but the story is unnecessary.