New Dawn

The whole drama revolves around the FL, so regarding the ML, he barely gets any screen time.

I've read a bit about this historical period, and it seems like this drama is going to be really interesting. I just hope we won't have to wait too long! And I really hope Tuoba Jun stays with us for at least 30 episodes. ❤️

It's an interesting opinion, but I disagree with you. Character growth is only one aspect of characterization. A protagonist also needs narrative centrality, independent motivations, agency, and a meaningful inner world.

And personally, I don't find his character admirable or attractive. A character having flaws and then learning from them is one thing; gradually abandoning his own identity and becoming almost entirely shaped by another person's worldview is something else. Growth should involve reflection, choice, and the development of one's own principles, not simply becoming more obedient to someone else's.

We aren't given enough of his own backstory, worldview, or independent motivations for his internal journey to feel like the story's primary arc. Most of what we see is him reacting to the FL, making mistakes, and then being corrected or lectured by her. That's why I find calling him the ML in this drama somewhat misleading.

On the other hand, the FL gets almost three times the screen time, receiving substantially more narrative focus and functioning as the story's central driving force. She solves the overwhelming majority of the major problems, and the narrative rarely allows her worldview to be seriously challenged or her choices to carry meaningful consequences. Even the gap between her competence and the constraints of the supposedly rigid feudal society becomes so extreme that the setting itself starts to feel like a joke.

So I wouldn't describe her simply as 'a character who suffers but doesn't change.' To me, she's written as an unusually static character whose defining trait is that she's almost always right, while the ML's defining function is to gradually adapt to her.

That's why I don't really see him having his own 'arc' of becoming a better version of himself. I see it more as the erosion of his autonomy in service of the FL's story. A character can absolutely learn, change, and become a better person without becoming a weaker version of himself, but that requires the story to give him an identity and a set of principles worth developing in the first place.

And that's what makes Liu Xue Yi's role so frustrating to me. I appreciate his talent and his work in this drama and any other dramas, but I think he's being seriously underused here. He hasn't really gotten the chance he deserves. I just hope he gains the recognition he's worthy of, because seeing his talent sidelined like this is truly sad.

I know this is a female-centric drama, and it’s not my first time watching one. However, being female-centric shouldn’t mean that a billed lead actor is reduced to a mere plot device. In the first 20 episodes, his screen time was minimal, and after episode 21, he just became a tool to drive the plot forward. How is that “amazing” character depth?

As for the “kingmaker” claim, that’s a heavily biased fandom myth. What makes an actor successful is their own talent, screen presence, and hard work, not just starring next to a specific actress. I’ve watched plenty of her dramas, but I actually knew him and appreciated his acting long before this pairing. Attributing another actor’s success to one actress or another and vice versa is completely dismissive of their own efforts.

Liu Xue Yi is really a wasted potential, he's basically nothing more than a side character now. I really thought things would change after episode 20, but instead, everything completely fell apart.

His presence now feels mainly intended to make the FL shine more and more and his character seems to exist mostly to support her development and make her look even more impressive. So honestly, calling Liu Xue Yi’s role a “main role” is almost laughable.

What makes it even more frustrating is that Liu Xue Yi has the talent and screen presence to carry a genuinely substantial character, yet the script has reduced him to little more than a tool for the FL’s story.

They’re not just wasting his character; they’re wasting the actor himself. I really feel bad for him. Even in his next role, it looks like it’ll be almost the same, because the historical figure he’s playing is supposed to die young, paving the way for the Empress to rule.

The current plot is really annoying 😂

Kiss scene? Our ML is a doormat. How could you expect a kiss scene in a drama like this? 🤣

At this point, I think it’s already too late. They can’t fix this without butchering Han Liang’s character and turning him into a complete villain, while somehow trying to restore some dignity to Lin Jin Qi which I honestly have no idea how they’re going to do convincingly. He’s a total doormat now. and she's totally out of place.

I’ll continue watching, but I don’t think I’ll be able to tolerate them being together the way I used to. These recent actions have already ruined it for me.

They've completely butchered his character. He's a complete lapdog now, and the FL has really become an awful character.

It left me speechless 😂 The screenwriter has completely lost it. She destroyed the entire setting she had been building since episode one with that scene 😂

I don't know how I will tolerate this relationship again its already done both of them are awful at this point.

The story was so much better and more entertaining for me before that marriage.

That imperial decree was absolutely wrong, and he should never have forced her to marry him. I have no problem with her being furious—her anger is completely justified. But her actions are way too much. Slapping him in front of everyone, showing no respect toward elders in a feudal society where status, authority, and even servitude are fundamental parts of the social structure, and then acting as if there should be no consequences whatsoever. And she was just a maid in a society like that. Logically, none of that should have happened without consequences.

And then we get this ridiculous plot where he's constantly following her around like a dog while she treats him like trash and even slaps him for the second time. What is this supposed to be?

And Lin Jin Qi himself, as we've seen, wasn't exactly someone who had lived a happy life either. Even after that betrothal was cancelled, which was clearly decided by his grandfather, he was living a miserable life with another woman who didn't love him and even cheated on him. And after all of that, he gave up becoming a scholar and went into the army, yet the drama barely explains why he made that choice or what exactly pushed him to abandon that path. I know Xu Lan Xiang is much more miserable, but still... why is everything so heavily biased against him? I genuinely cannot fathom it.

Honestly, I wish this marriage had never happened in the first place. At least then we wouldn't have had to sit through this kind of plot. Even if she had married "Mr. Han," I think it would have been better than this. Because at this point, I might not be able to tolerate them together again, and we have the screenwriter to thank for that 🤣

He has another drama called Northern Wei Dynasty. It may air at the end of this year or next year. I just hope they don't end his role too early in the story, because it's based on historical events.

Yep, I discovered him too in ALP, and he also looks like Ye Fan from Shrouding the Heavens 😂

It's great that he's finally getting more recognition.

I've liked his acting ever since *Ancient Love Poetry*, to the point that I was wishing he were the main protagonist. :(

This was so good and really funny haha! I hope we get a second season :)

nice 😊

Up to the third episode, it was really good, but after that, everything became so dumb. It had nothing to offer just a group of psychopaths with no compelling story and no good plot twists.