2010s Golden Age:Talented directors who understood visual storytellingWriters who crafted complex charactersWillingness…
It’s hard to find a good artistically captivating Chinese Drama. Korean drama doesn’t have the big budget or the beautiful actors/ actresses a lot of time compared to Chinese drama, but it’s higher quality story telling. Although Nexflix is slowly killing that as well.
Damn it! That was an emotional rollercoaster. I’m a sucker for emotional torture. Even Rebirth series started but couldn’t distract me from my fixation with this one.
Watching this drama till the end, somehow I felt sorry for Chang Ming. His scheming because he was a spy and worked on behalf of his country. His love was so devoted for the rival’s country princess. He tried everything to make her happy. I felt like she’s terrible for treating him so badly and the story is not fair to this character. Very annoyed!
This the first wuxia drama (no magic or fantasy elements or crazy cgi) that I truly enjoyed since Love In Between. It had all the elements of a good Wuxia story: well paced and written plot, characters’ complexity, romantic angst, martial arts adventures and mystery, nice back story that formed it’s foundation. The acting was very well done, despite me not recognizing the leads. They seemed more green to this genre.
Like, SERIOUSLY, ALL THE WOMEN in that household wanted the poor guy dead. WHY?! Before the concubine started…
You got a point there. I still feel that RSB's family, despite the nastiness between them, still had redeeming qualities and does change for the better by the end of the drama, whereas LJL original family did not. I can see why he chosen to be with her than the dysfunctional original family he was born into. He had lived with her family longer than the family he originally born into. He knows what he is expecting. His new father (original family) treated him like nothing but an prisoner, forcing him to do things his father wants. He also had received more love and affection from his improvished deceased mother and step-father than his prestigious family of origin, despite his traumatic childhood experiences. She, on the other hand, did not receive that love and affection, but more demands, rigid expectations and manipulations from her grandmother. Her family of origin (father) was worse; he abandoned her to leave her with the strict/harsh grandmother. Therefore, her lack of emotional trust and need to shield/protect herself emotionally from others, her needs for safety to stay within what is familiar and perceived as safe. I felt from this standpoint, he had more choice thanhe. He'ss more capable of honesty, openness, exploration and taking risks because he was given emotional security and love by his mother and stepfather in his upbringing. I don't think he's manipulated by her at all. He knows what she did and what she didn't. He's willing to choose her regardless. I guess he's more capable of love than she, because he has receivedmore.
Unfortunately, love doesn't always entail fairness, but what each person is capable of bringing to the table. It's never 50/50.
Like, SERIOUSLY, ALL THE WOMEN in that household wanted the poor guy dead. WHY?! Before the concubine started…
RSB basically is sticking to the tradition that the matriarchy dominates in her family. She puts her family's priority first, and LJL gives up his ambitions to be with her. Honestly, it isn't a bad choice, seeing how terrible his family of birth treats each other. At least RSB's family is not plotting, abusing or killing each other for power, benefits or status. With RSB, despite their plotting and scheming ways, no one in the family is trying to kill or abuse each other. In the end, they made up, and family ties, understanding prevailed, not so much with LJL's family.
A very interesting drama with a new take on the power dynamic of ML and FL. Hou Minghao is growing on me as an actor. He had 3 phenomenal dramas this year. This, for me, comes second to Love in the Cloud and his chemistry with that FL, but the story and set design just screamed big budget and worth watching.
Ahahaha, his overwhelming bursting love and desire overcame him and it's fitting tho in that moment, Pei Shenzhi…
I think the lady emperor didn’t mind at all whether or not Pei Shenzi is an eunuch. She found her feelings for him irregardless. It’s a bonus that he’s not but when he abandoned her she was in real heart break.
Yes he pulled her out of the water and got her a doctor. But then even when thinking that she was married to the…
Even if she wasn't, it ruined her reputation and nobody would marry her. She basically lived with a man who isn't her husband for a year, sleeping in same bed and room. In the old days, that was a big taboo against a woman's reputation. Nobody would marry her as a main wife but would only take her as concubine.
Unfortunately, love doesn't always entail fairness, but what each person is capable of bringing to the table. It's never 50/50.