PeachBlossomGoddess

Ah ok, that would make sense. I guessed his adopted father was a bad guy some time back but didn’t realize he was poisoning him. I just assumed it couldn’t be FMW and had to be the sister by default. Although he helped her she seemed a bit miffed he didn’t fall at her feet and she didn’t seem that nice so I just assumed it had to be her. Anyway that would be a good way for it to end. :)

Yes that is my understanding as well but didn’t Jing Ci himself see one of them slashing his legs? And it was the time of the switch so they were both nearby no? So it could only be one or the other one of them? At least that is my recollection, I really should rewatch that bit now that we are close to the end.

Not sure either... I am only at 24.

It is also not clear to me yet why but she seems like a real wench that one. Maybe she just didn't want anyone to know about the switch and meant to silence him?

Yups - the little jezebel.

TMOPB is a tough act to follow. If I had to do over I would save the best for last but up to you. They are both very enjoyable shows.

She actually has done some really excellent reviews so I don't write her off entirely. When she leads with nit picky, technical and superficial points it is a big clue that she didn't really watch it. Like you, no matter what I will watch a bit anyway as long as I like the actors and the story sounds interesting. :)

I am guessing An Tingfen is the fifth one that completes the 5 elements? In addition to the 3 Baili siblings and Ming Yefeng?

Yes indeed. I like that they kept the overall setup simple (just two kingdoms) but made a few key characters very complex and mysterious. It takes a long time to get to really know them.... I do hope it is worth it at the end.

IMHO she has already made her choice. The pearl is just her kiss goodbye to SF, a tyvm for saving her life. So what she did looks bad but she has given SF a consolation prize so that she can be with XS without owing him anything. She probably hasn't fully considered the consequences for XS. I think its fair - SF always wanted the pearl more and XS always wanted the girl more.

AvenueX is just not consistent and she tends to be much better when she has actually watched the whole show. But lately it is like she is trying to do too much and does a lot of cursory and superficial first impressions that totally miss the mark. But she has good points and when she does a good review, it is really good so I still watch her (using FF a lot).

I do use ratings too to vet things like you but I have found following actors that I think are good is a better indicator. Sadly I usually don't like the wildly popular stuff so highly rated shows tend to disappoint me. I like different shows for different reasons so some of the things I like quite a bit are rated below 8.0 but there are also a lot of really dreadful things that are low rated for good reason.

I am watching this one with a friend who just loves it - it is totally her kind of show and I find it quite enjoyable as well so we binge it together every weekend. I think Yu Menglong is naturally a kind of reserved person so in this show he should just be himself and he will be in character. But he is trying too hard to be "in pain/sick" and restraining his feelings too much for the FL. Not his best effort but I think its partly the character and the story and partly his interpretation. But hey its supposed to be a light show and they do look so good together I am not really gonna nit pick, especially when Yukee is acting so well.

It would totally crack me up if she just tosses a coin.

LoL - you can thank AvenueX for that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSnIlFzz4eE&t=9s
She is well followed but she picks on less important things (to me) like lighting, camera angle and in this case voice dubbers. And her tropey objection means she may as well rule out all rom-com including the ones she actually enjoys. While she is trying to introduce some funky rating system, my personal observation is that she is a highly subjective rater rather than a more objective one which means she is no Robert Parker of c-drama. Nonetheless, she made some valid points and to each her own - I am rather surprised the rating didn't drop more given how badly she trashed it.

That said, I don't care that much about ratings, I enjoy quite a lot of low rated shows and I rate a lot of shows that I quite enjoy quite low for lack of originality etc.

Yeah I FF the sloppy drunken Hongshou parts. There are only 3 interesting characters for me so far in this show: MYF, Hongxuan and the little emperor. I suspect Ling Jun is evil - she and her sinister master are trying to manipulate the Lang and Yan into going to war.

Also I was a bit creeped out by MYF - I think he had the hots for Hongyi's mother and was jealous of her father. I still like the character but that part was yuck for me, I definitely cannot ship them after this but I never really did anyway.

I have to say even for a book synopsis to tell 90pct of the story there would defeat the purpose of reading the book... Anyway, I just finished 32 it is finally moving, I hope it keeps moving bc even if it is bad once I watch more than half of a show I usually finish it anyway.

I think part of the problem is that the synopsis is a total spoiler - it basically tells 90pct of the story. While the development is definitely slow, that adds to the the impression nothing is happening because you already know what is coming and wonder why not yet. It is terrible and sloppy. I tried to change it over the weekend but my laptop ran out of battery before I could upload it and I was too lazy to do it again.

The backstory takes a long time to emerge. It is not for everyone for that reason. But I find it quite suspenseful and I like mythology so I quite like it regardless. I got a bit frustrated when there was very limited development at about halfway. Its a student project so it is not very polished.

This week we are finally we are getting some movement in this show.

Just started this - it is bizarre but good.

I suspect Ming Yefeng is her adopted brother. It is the only explanation I can think of for why he says she is his only relative and yet wants to make her his queen. Her parents (or mother) must have adopted him in when his family was killed. That is probably also why her mother gave him the same necklace and why young Hongyi used to call him gege. Her relationship with Hongshou would thus parallel her relationship with Ming Yefeng. It would also make her the bridge that unites the Baili family with Ming Yefeng. She however does not seem to like either of her "brothers" that way. If anything in the beginning I thought she had a thing for Hongxuan as she seemed jealous when he was getting married but that is obviously not the case.

Indeed but that was to compliment her ability to sniff out the truth... and because he thinks she is foxy/a babe. Fish face is just a sucker punch response.