PeachBlossomGoddess

He's not the only one. Its become such a trend these days to cry your way through these roles. Everyone (male and female actors) want to make the next NIF but its very clear they either i) didn't watch it or ii) didn't get it. Hu Ge never wept - at most there was literally 1 barely discernible teardrop. But he made audiences bawl in the moment and left that long lingering ache long after the show ended. In the last year, only Wang Yinglu managed to really impress me with her sad scenes in Twelve Letters. IMO, Cheng Yi did deliver one good sad moment here - and there were no tears.

Yeah its still not fully revealed yet exactly what happened. But Liu Ziwen only killed people for the greater good while Liu Ziyan killed people to not be killed. Something along those lines. It was when Ziyan was washing the mysterious person's feet (his teacher).

Yes I agree - Gao and Wuyang let YFS back into the city AND they invited the most powerful 4 military commanders back in with him even though they suspected they had defected. It was dumb, dumb, dumb. I don't even feel bad for Gao bc he was so stupid. And XHA also knew about it and he went along with it. OMG! So whenever everyone starts going on about the brilliant baitou is coming for them I just roll my eyes like its a bogeyman myth. I think some of the plot arcs are good. This one was not.

I blacklisted AvenueX after she did her hatchet job on ZZH. NIF is the only c-drama I consider to be a masterpiece - most revenge dramas try to be the next NIF. Its not in and of itself a bad thing - it just means they are aiming high. But the similarities are superficial - like Cheng Yi is styled a bit like Mei Changsu and he can't really fight. They did cast some of NIF's top cast members (Wang Jinsong, Liu Yijun etc) in this but their roles are quite different. The plot itself is not that similar, his connections with the past not as well established. But overall its a good drama although not all the plots arcs are tightly written and there are holes. It doesn't have to be NIF to be enjoyable. As for Cheng Yi, I could do with less waterworks but his lines are alright. I wouldn't say they are among the best in the business but most of the time his lines are clear enough that I don't have to read subtitles to understand him and that is good enough for me.

Yups, exactly.

I don't think ending YFS was ever an option. He's too smart for Wang Pu to take on and succeed. He'd just fail and die a traitor. So in reality, Huai'an only left him one choice.

Wang Pu made a fatal mistake when he couldn't resist meeting with Huai'an. He lost the moment he went to that temple by himself. He wasn't alone of course but he didn't realize Huai'an's men would kill all of his men that were following him there.

When Wang Pu learned of that YFS murdered his parents, he didn't care at all. The problem is YFS would NEVER believe that and would never trust him the same way again. This is the brilliance of Huai'an's trap - he ruined their relationship simply by meeting alone with Wang Pu to tell him his origin story. It is his nature - YFS would never be able to trust Wang Pu again. This left poor Stockholm Syndrom Wang Pu no choice but to prove his loyalty by killing himself. But YFS is a sick son-of-a-bitch. He could have refused to confirm what Huai'an told Wang Pu. But instead he told him in bloody detail anyway and when he was finished Wang Pu started eating the poisoned dumplings.

Huai'an already said Checkmate to Wang Pu at the end, both knowing how this would play out. But Wang Pu thought he would be able to deliver YFS a final win by luring Huai'an to watch his downfall. But even in this, he was outplayed bc Huai'an never showed up. It was an eye for an eye for Bai Wan's death.

Liu Ziyan. He tells the mysterious man about his rift with his brother and where it began.

Yes could be.

Nothing is inevitable and they certainly did not have to make it so easy for them. I do like that the protagonist is fallible but I had hoped he would be a tad smarter.

Yes indeed that was like killing an ant with a canon. 😅😂😂😂
Not only overkill, if the real YFS was waiting to sneak in behind a decoy, imagine how that would set him running away immediately.

Yes that was indeed the plan and a stupid one. The emperor very rarely allows a general with a tiger tally to enter the capital and when he does, it is with extreme care. Summoning all 4 of them at once.... beyond stupid. It should be common knowledge the Huben army was formidable. The fact they don't know who the Huben spies are and how deep they are calls for extra caution.

Yeah more questions than answers at this point. Hopefully they bring them all together and give us good answers instead of leaving them as loose ends.

I can’t help but feel they were all badly outsmarted in that last arc. Huai’an was lured into that village. I just wonder whether Gu Yu was the one that betrayed them or whether he was just the bait.

Gao, Wuyang and Huaian were all very stupid. Why would you ever bring back all 4 fief lords with military power into the capital to meet with another general with a private army? That is a coup that you invite into the capital. Omg. What a bunch of dumbasses!!!

Only my speculation on 3 - the rift that ended up tearing everyone apart began at the Chenjiagu massacre. In fact I wonder if Wang Pu is the kid whose family he saved that betrayed Liu Ziyan. That seems like the kind of thing he would do. And somehow YFS saved him and raised him like the proud parent of a budding psychopath.

It was quite obvious to me they didn’t meet. Some time passed already since then - the run down old Liu mansion was refurbished and grass had grown over where Bai Wan was buried. The old hypocrite was just imagining what he put Huaian through with Bai Wan’s death hence he banned anyone from walking over her grave.

Exactly - that’s why I feel her part of the plot arc is rather contrived. He is doing something dangerous. Sending her away to be alone is not super strategist level of smart I am sorry to say. He also is generally not that well resourced to do what he set out to do. Mei Changsu had the powerful martial arts alliance behind him the whole time. Huai’an seems very alone and yet he knows everything…

I am surprised YFS/Wang Pu just let them go like that after betraying them. Or was it all a plan to lure Huai'an into Hidden Valley so that YFS could sneak back into Chang'an?

What happened to him and his army? Don't tell me he turned against them?

Ep 14: has anyone spotted Gu Yu?