MadelineMaureen

To me an 8 is on the higher end of ratings. That's a one or two things not vibing fully. I haven't started this one yet, but an 8 seems more positive than negative. Don't feel discouraged for the show. I believe it will find it's audience.

Does anyone have the link to the bonus content/episode? aka not the bts stuff but the extra character moments that I keep seeing in small clips.

im curious if they'll explain how the step-mother was "possessed"...was she in on it too? drugs? only Lil bro can stay...maybe hot unc, but jury is still out on him.

so many characters are so short sighted in this. I know people like this exist...but my goodness.
So, another thing that's been on my mind while watching. Xie Yan Fang and Deng Yi are both in their 20s and the heads of their households and yet BOTH of them are unmarried. not even a concubine to be seen or heard of. They would already have 2 to 3 kids by their age. Trying to align themselves with powerful families etc. i know this is a shorter show so we arent getting the full scope of their worlds outside of court, but the lack women is noticed. Did all of the previous Emperor's women get shipped off? What of the Crown Prince's concubines? The royal harem is normally at least like 30 women deep with two grown generations above. FL's cousin has had more interactions with women of the court than the FL has. A LOT of politics happen within the inner court, and the fact we havent gotten a single speck of it is...strange. Did they complete wipeout the harem during the coup? like is everyone motherless now? Deng Yi's mom is sweet but literally blind to what her son is up to and doesn't really interact with anyone outside. We had just like 3ish interactions with daughters in the capital through the cousin's POV and no one is making moves...idk for a show with a female lead im just a bit disappointed by the lack of female characters with agency/storyline.(specifically in the capital setting) Again i realize this is a much shorter drama, but it was a glaring missing piece for me.

With 24 episodes, 3-4 released on opening day and normally the last 6 episodes being express released, this show should have already concluded. But they have been doing a 1 episode drop for the majority of the airing so we are only on 17/18...idk the pace seems thrown off since about episode 11.

well in her defense, she trusted her husband fully up until he decapitated her father right in front of her. 😬so...yeah, trauma response.

it's sooooooo good. had to save episode 7 for later cause I needed sleep and to go to work. so now I have something to watch when I get home in the morning.

Thank you. I guess that would also explain the look her maid gave her when Ye Li mentioned Qing Shuang.
I mean Qing Shuang would have had to have been like 5 years old if she had been sent to the mountain with Ye Li. Aka she's frozen in time in Ye Li's mind. Always showing up when Ye Li is scared and/or feeling alone.
So either she died early in her time on the mountain or Qing Shuang is a fracture of Ye Li herself. Has it been explained in a later episode or is this in the novel/source material?

is he currently playing the Emperor in The First Jasmine? The character isn't listed in the drama, and I THINK it's him, but I'm not 100% sure as because he's a teenager every time I see him these days he looks slightly different and I'm not sure if it's him or another actor who looks similar to him.

Is Qing Shuang a ghost/figment of her imagination? Ye Li is the only one to even speak to her, much less look at her. She has yet to interact with another actor on screen as of half way through episode 2.

5 yuan is like 75cents USD. She's giving 75 cent hair cuts....😫

She blamed herself for her father's death and then learned she slowly poisoned him prior to his beheading. She's gone back in time and not only reconciled with her father but uncovered the truth about her mother. Will eventually realize that her father was always going to be killed whether through her actions or otherwise. He was always everyone's target in the court...he could never be bought, he could never be turned to a faction...he only ever protected the people and the country, he never cared about the throne. He made a promises to his friend(the later emperor) and he kept all of them, even after the Emperor betrayed him repeatedly. She'll learn about what happened to the Wei Village and who was actually behind it. She's learned that A'Jiu has been in love with her for years. 8 at the time of her death, 5 at the time of her rebirth. She was never the daughter of a Nobel woman from the capital...she was always the daughter of two generals with a deep love for their people. She's finding, herself.

confession and kiss in ep10. Very romance centered even though it is a politically heavy drama. because it is shorter(and they knew this going in) the pace is moving.

Im on Viki's schedule so just to 22 for me tonight. I have access to 23 but imma catch up on my other shows.

Do you remember the scene with his mom complaining to the courtyard neighbor about all the cardboard boxes pilling up and how dangerous it is? I think that was a contributing factor. Also it being new years lots of oil from cooking, and a salon has many flammable items.
aka im really hoping its anything BUT Cao Ping.

its on tencent. looks like kkh is down right now

This. Du Ling is constantly honing her craft. Working to do even better than the last project. She's like a sponge constantly absorbing knowledge from her cast mates and production teams. If she doesn't know something, she takes the time to learn it and implement it into her performance. I'm so impressed with her everytime I see her. She was good the first time I saw her in Left Ear, but her performance has gone leaps and bounds past expectations.

I love watching actors grow in their craft and both she and Yi Ran are so good at letting their eyes express inner feelings/thoughts. I always have to rewatch Yi Ran's performances because I cant understand mandarin I'm splitting my watching with reading subtitles. So I make sure to go back and get the nuances that I may have missed. Though my speed reading has vastly improved, I just dont have the ear for the different tones(aka some words that are different sound the same to me). So I honestly really enjoy parts where the director just lets the characters be in a scene without over explaining in dialog.

and I was sooo right episode 10 confession

hahaha jokes on me. I've already seen most of his work and the ones currently in post/production are already on my Plan to Watch List. This is the first period drama of his ive seen.

That hug in episode 8 😊😊 So sweet comforting and romantic. This director knows what their doing. All the hand stuff and going through different levels of affection and skinship. The playful dances between the two while also keeping their hearts open to one another. They show their vulnerability to one another. I love how much faith Chu Zhao has in A'Jiu(Xie Yan Lai), and how he believes her words...because he's always loved and followed her. My guess is that after his family half beat him to death he made his way through the desert looking for her and her father and his men found him instead. His loyalty seems to only be to her and her alone. He was even about to leave his own nephew behind to die. It's been a minute since ive watched a he fell first, she fell harder plot.
I'm going to have to look into the director more and put their dramas on my Plan to Watch list.

Wu Jia Jun(Yu, young emperor) collecting brothers and sisters left and right. I truly hope he continues to enjoy being an actor. His command of a scene is impressive for someone so young. I pray he can keep a balance of childhood and work and that fans remain respectful and out of his space. After Pursuit of Jade and now this production so close together...it wouldnt surprise me if he becomes a household name within the industry. He's still so sweet always clinging to people he likes.