PeachBlossomGoddess

This Du Qi is a total asshole. I wish SXR just beat the crap out of him.

This is the kind of show I can only watch on weekends when I am not stressed so I am gonna lag behind this thread. My observation after the first 5 episodes is this emperor is just never gonna be that into the empress. Not ony would it be somewhat historically inaccurate but consider what he went through - he had to suck it up to the empress dowager, a most competent and itelligent woman who happily usurps his authority in the guise of Confucian duty to the dead emperor. If I were him, I would keep at bay women like Cao and surround myself with airheads to avoid enabling another smart but power hungry empress like the plague. Yes, even if she supposedly loves him because people like her would not be people like her if she didn't love herself more first. And from what I can see, she is intelligent, capable and ambitious. I love that but it just is not going to work for him and I can't fault him for that. This is a doomed relationship from the get go. Truth is this story was changed from the original princess +eunuch love story and staying true to history is a constraint such that there isn't that much material here for a romance. So anyone watching for that is gonna be let down. I haven't quite figured out why I am watching but I am only 5 in so I am gonna watch a few more but I don't ship the emperor and empress so that is not a deal breaker for me.

You are too kind as always - I hope you like it :).

I can't help but wonder whether the use of the more informal 官家 is a deliberate and subtle slight and intended to suggest that the emperor is effectively a puppet to the dowager empress regent. If it bothers you imagine how it must inflame the emperor who is well educated and must pick up on the incorrect and slightly less respectful tone of address used by all and sundry in the court.

Wow that was an amazing kungfu fight scene between Shang Xirui and his brother. This show continues to surprise and delight and Yin Zheng is just fantastic.

Viki is also translating this but it is slow at about 28. It is usually the best translation and has explanations of literary or cultural references. I don’t usually care about subs but for something like this I plan to go back to rewatch some of the opera scenes on Viki just to read the explanations.

I was being facetious and I didn’t at all say he is not good looking but it is fair to say he is known for his brain no?

Yes but the love story is not as important as the father-son relationship.

Ok these are some of the stupidest villains I have seen in a long time...

Let's face it - Tang Fan got the brains and she got the good looks. And Dr Pei can see better than he can think...

It’s about a way of life and tradition that is changing and it’s a much bigger story than the relationship between the two main protagonists. Well worth watching. Hope you enjoy it.

Ah yes... been there, done that... There is something so right about Mr Wrong, isn't there? I preferred Xiao Song from the beginning and I never really liked Ran Yan but the one area where I kind of got her was her infatuation with Su Fu. At the end of the day, its a rite of passage.

Yes, definitely false advertising.... :)

RN is about a fictional state likely set in an earlier more unstable period in Chinese history when military power reigned supreme; ie the generals rule the day. This is a historical drama set during a turning point for Song dynasty when the empire went from being aggressive (expanding borders) to defensive (protecting border) and much more focused on governing. Song dynasty was regarded as having a weak military but strong economy and culture. As such, I would expect the power in the court resides more with the civil authorities and the political dynamics in the court should be quite different from RN. I have only watched the first episode so its largely only a guess on my part.

Yeah the cases are not well written at all, I wouldn't consider this a true crime drama. Ancient Detective is much better if you are looking for good cases - at least the first case was very good, am not sure about the second.

Seems to me that Ning jiulang and Huang yeh is just Shang Xirui and Ch eg Fengtai twenty years later.

I am sure I will never appreciate Chinese opera they way it ought to be appreciated but I think I can kind of see why my grandma used to listen to what I thought sounded like scalded cats with a teary faraway look in her eye.

Hmm... given the low billing of the actors, I would guess that the story of the princess and eunuch is not the main meal anymore.

I just hope the summary is wrong. It just also sounds vaguely incestuous to me even though I know cousins with different surnames can marry.

Yeah I am going to start it up again after I get caught up on some of my other shows. It definitely sounds like something to watch slowly.