MiyamotoMusashi

I want to have an ending that makes sense within the previously set confines of the story and its focus. This can be sad, happy or any combination, it just has to make sense within the context.

A sad but beautiful ending can be just as satisfying as solving every plot line and having characters have their happy after.

That´s just for me though, i can understand and empathize with people wanting to know whether a show has a happy ending, since in the end, this is supposed to be entertainment and is, for most if not all people who watch it, a way to take the edge off. Having characters who you were rooting for not have their desired outcome is emotionally taxing after all.

Recently rewatched this, the positives are still tge same for me, the few negatives drop it to 8.5-9.0/10

I can only say this in regards to all the cases that have been popping up, and especially after seeing some aggressive reactions towards the victims here, in a country and culture like South Korea in which people who stick out like a nail are easily pressured and blamed, even if they are victims, the people who are coming out and reporting their traumas of being bullied and so forth would not do so without some truth to it.
The culture is really different from Western culture, especially in the recent years, in which the supposed victims are quickly believed and the supposed perpetrators are immediately believed to be guilty, so coming out with allegations is much easier here than in Korea.

Actress who plays hongti evem better

Nah, while the sageuks of the writing team of SF6 always deliver (Jewel in the Palace, Queen Duk, Tree with Deep Roots) this is really a mess. Which is a real pity since you can see the potential, plus the production value was really high, but concentrating on lackluster relationship of seemingly teenagers who really acted that way did not really work in a context of a revolution and how crucial it is.

The fault lies with the fact that you can rate a show before its conclusion, for the most part, since there are not many people who would drop a series early, yet come back 2-3 months later to rate if after it actually finished.

Yep, bandit arc really has put this drama into a coffin, whether it´s going to be nailed and closed is dependent on the remaining few episodes.
If this is successful enough, i guess second season will get into the Wu politics, so until confirmation of second season, i would not recommend this.

Yep that´s exactly it. He did not think suddenly that the Crown Prince is bad or something, but he recognized that even he is a victim of his environment and does not share the same regard for human life as Li Bi himself and Zhang had, he was too immersed in the imperial court. I think the story ultimately underlines that the Rebellion, with the state the country was in this drama at this point, was inevitable and only a matter of time. Especially towards the end it seemed inevitable things would lead towards that, too many opportunists with too few actual people interested in doing good.
That also explains why it kind of ends in a non-conclusive way, since history basically tells the rest.

In the end he had the opportunity to become Prime Minister, but he left and wanted to go traveling again.
If you know the historical Li Bi, it basically fits, he did not want to be corrupted by the court, and came back whenever he was needed for a specific task.

It´s not regret but the Crown Prince showed the same scheming and also detached attitude towards the general people the other officers throughout Chang´An showed, which was a sign that he might not be necessarily the better choice.
The show is basically about corruption, and how self-absorbed the imperial court and the officers are, and that their actions, while sometimes even without evil intents, really hurts the people without any repercussions. Everything in their minds is about how to advance themselves or hurt the opponent. And while the Crown Prince and also the old Director He definitely are not as bad as the Right Chancellor, they are still guilty of this to a lesser degree. And Li Bi recognized that throughout the events of the series.

Remember, in the beginning (i think it was even first episode) he proclaimed loudly he would become Prime Minister due to his desires to help the people, but he was basically doing the same thing the other officers did, use a grand ideal to justify their current actions.

He learned in his journey though that he was wrong.

I think it is recommendable. C-Dramas usually tend to drag anyway, looking at the episode count not a surprise, but it still is ok comparatively speaking.
Plus the production value is just off the charts, the things they created in setting and environment, is just impressive.

I think most will agree. The pace really changed in the last half, and things started to become more non-sensical. I mean relatively speaking for C-Dramas, it was still ok, but it was not able to keep the high level it showed in the first half.

Every information in the country went through him more or less. Long Bo was part of mercenaries but basically was outcasted for YuChang (the assassin woman), so information should be available for that. Some deducting, and he could put things together.
The gold, Xu Bin was part of Treasury, i guess it shows the corruption.

Depends on your view.

Nope you didn´t, i guess he got healed at that´s it.

After finishing it i think your post hits the nail the best.
Everything in the last third did not really fit what happened before, it was kind of weird.

In the end it does not really matter because the overall problem of the Tang Dynasty did not change, which, in context with the history, makes a lot of sense.
It might not make for the best outcome for the fictional story, but historically more sensible.

Yep, sometimes a drama/show that started lackluster can surprise you, or it takes time to build up something but then delivers greatly, and so forth, experienced all, of course those that start bad and stay bad.

There is nothing wrong with dropping something, but i think it´s unfair of people who drop something, especially early, but then go on to rate that series without knowing everything/most of it.