PeachBlossomGoddess

I thought you may enjoy this:
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006665/how-emperor-qin-shi-huang-got-his-new-clothes

The story has been told many times so you have probably seen some version of it somewhere before...

Actually Chen Kaige is a fantastic director but part of the middle/later arcs were hit by censorship and that is the bulk of the editing issues. But it still has a really fantastic shock ending. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Yes - should Xiao Qi have used his get out of jail free card to save Awu's father?

So Ep 32 - Did Xiao Qi do the right thing??? Tell me what you think but please hide w/ spoiler tag.

Indeed to me it was the best drama of 2020 by a long shot followed by The Bad Kids. :)

Tyvm - the editing in The Eight doesn't do him/the story justice. And sadly he is not "pretty" enough to be idolised despite his good acting.

Can't remember exactly what was said but she basically lost all patience with him. He was upset that he waited all night for her to find she had no time for him and was so indifferent to his concern for her safety. She chastised him for being reckless and foolhardy and told him that if he truly cared for her he wouldn't linger in her quarters. She told him off and said there are bigger, more important matters than love.

I rarely pay attention to the MDL ratings unless more than half the drama has aired and I don't rate anything until we are well over the halfway point. I think usually towards the end the ratings are more reflective. Early on, it can be overly skewed by raving fans or those who dropped it early on. The Douban rating seems to be stable to rising which is a good sign.

Oh good... whether intended or not, his comic face makes me laugh.

Zidan disappointed him repeatedly. He had several telling conversation with his father during which he basically said all he ever wanted was to live happily ever after with Awu; that power is not important to him. In the final conversation, the emperor pointed out that he can't protect Awu without power and if Zidan ever asked Awu if that is what she also wants. Zidan is too idealistic and he lacks ambition. The emperor was someone who snatched the throne from his more favoured brother. Of course he cannot relate to this kind of son. I think he spoke the truth when he observed second prince in character is much more like him. The crown prince seems the least bad choice. At least he actually wants the throne.

The PM explained himself to his sister the Dowager Empress at his "farewell dinner" when she asked him why. He helped Emperor Ma ascend the throne and the bargain was that the universe would belong to the Wang-Ma alliance. He is very derisive of his nephew - he thinks he is unworthy and not capable of holding on to the empire. He also was always able to remind the emperor that he owes his throne to him. His nephew may not feel the same way. His sister told him off - she said its not like your son is any more capable - you think he can hold on to the empire? Ultimately he is just power hungry - he is highly intelligent and hard working. He does not respect the lazy and stupid (to him) emperors he has to answer to.

Yes of course... I think even TROPs politics are better but this one drowns both TROP and NIF in terms of the romance. And tbh, they are all at a very high level of excellence so while there are differences at the margin we are being spoiled for anything else not in that league. Geez I am in trouble cause I have dropped everything else I tried to watch recently after 1-2 episodes...

Yeah the (over) acting was definitely not good. Also his motive is too simplistic - just to attain someone else's wife that he is already sleeping with? Hmmm..... He was not a well developed villain but thankfully his arc was short.

Oh no! Really? I must have missed it... that is a pity - he was so comical I laughed just looking at him. Tbh, I didn't really enjoy the second prince arc, esp that silly wedding. I just kept rolled my eyes at all the histrionics...

Well maybe not pseudo but there is that chubby roly-poly dude with a really comical face that was helping the (now) dowager empress poison the late emperor...

cherchez la femme...

Yups - I would also add that we should mentally brace ourselves for at least a few episodes of battle of the harem biatches...

Since it is technically a fictional story it is possible that the characters were inspired by more than one historical figure. But I did see articles and (complaining) threads on douban and other sites specifically referencing Hou Jing and how specific historical battles were distorted.

Yes of course and Tang Dynasty for sure was known to have much more open necklines although probably not open boatneck style. Not complaining about it, just observing the costumes have a strong European flavour.
Also note that Empress of China was the one that got everyone in trouble.
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1680474/cleavage-cropping-mainland-censors-trying-redress-tang#