Platinum Fox

Even though by then Liu Chang has been pushed to his limits and is ready to fight back, I don't think he killed the dog. I think he just put the thought in their heads that that is what he fed them. What is worse, thinking you ate a dog or knowing for sure you ate a dog?

However, since the dog was a gift from Prince Ning, I could be wrong, and we have only seen the dog once or twice. Can't remember.

The female leaves her first husband in episode 4, so you will not have to wait long.

They do tell us how she got there. Her husband buried her alive. She got out of the hole and walked to the river to commit suicide and the river washed her back on shore. But I get your point, is it really logical.

The first snow fall scene is when he realizes he has been in love with her, but he also has been slowly falling for her while she was 17. It is what makes him a dog. Also, can love be hidden from yourself? The title isn't just about her love for him at a young age, but also his love for her. That is why every scene when she is 17 and he is 22 can either be something a brother could do or a boyfriend. It depends on how comfortable you are with the age gap and your perspective of the relationship. Perception drives this drama for the characters and the audience.

Think Zhao Lu Si in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College. Her character Sang Qi is 15/16 and the male is 22-24. No one bats an eye at this because this is acceptable back then. It is only in the present that we have changed our definition of childhood and find age gaps at Sang Zhi's age difficult to imagine her as an adult even though 100 years ago we wouldn't think twice about it. Time changes our mindsets on cultural norms.

This is not the simple love story everyone thinks it is.

I agree. That is the whole point of Liu Chang's character, but he really is a nice guy. He only does some not so nice things because he has no control over his own life. If he were a jerk, he would have tried to consummate the marriage with Mu Dan right away showing his power right away. However, he never enters her courtyard (beyond the first time) because he is rebelling against his parents for making him marry someone he doesn't love. Also, he seems to be the only son, so no children parents (no continued bloodline).

Notice he only tries to consummate the marriage when she asks for a divorce by this time it is too late. It is the first time he tries to control her because she is the only thing he can control.

Everything he is going through is his redemptive arc and poetic justice.

I agree with your analysis. However, there is more to the story. The reason the princess and Liu Chang couldn't get married in the first place: rules, customs, and tradition. If the princess and Liu Chang were married when they wanted to be, we wouldn't have the present story. So we have to ask what would make Prince Ning not allow the princess to marry him the first time?

Liu Chang is not a bad guy. He does some not so nice things, but he does have a heart. At first the princess seems to have a heart (when she first meets Liu Chang), but having to marry someone else has changed her. We don't know her complete story, except that her husband has passed away after a three year marriage. Gotta question why she is the way she is now, if she did not start out that way.

After reading some comments about Liu Chang, I have had to watch this again to make sure I am not missing anything. I don't think I have.

I agree. Many of the side characters in LLtG wore the same outfit throughout most of the drama. It was to promote being frugal throughout the empire. I am sure these costumes cost a fortune to make and clean after each use.

JCY wears his green outfit multiple times throughout the drama. Mu Dan wears some of her clothing multiple times as well. They just change the hairstyle to make it look different.

How was The Rise of Ning?

The ending of season 1 is very well done. It is so well done, I could stop with this season and be fine with the story. For me, the main character has reached her goal. The two main leads are married and are treating each other like husband and wife (even though it is suppose to be a fake marriage). I really don't know why they need a second season for her. The only thing she has left to do is gain favor with the emperor and empress, so that she can legally become the first wife.

Liu Chang, JCY, the emperor, the empress, the princess, and Prince of Ning are all yet to complete their arcs, so there must be a season 2. jmo

I would watch her in Go Go Squid if I could handle watching dramas about computer tech or even e-sports, but I may try Oath of Love.

The best thing that Liu Chang can do is what he is doing. I believe he will try to take them down from the inside. Whether he helps Mu Dan and JCY is a different story.

I hope they do more of the historical and cultural significance of the peony in season 2 as well.

I agree with your analysis. I will add further that LC by the end has reconciled with his fate and will now enact his revenge. I haven't watch the last two episodes yet. I see they are on Viki now.

I understand what you are saying. Correct me if I am wrong, you are saying that because he still wants Mu Dan, that his redemptive arc has not started? I disagree. His redemptive arc started when he learns that she is alive and living in Chang'an. He doesn't tell his parents. Now has he done some stupid things to help get her killed faster yes, but this is where people have said that he is delusional in thinking that he can protect her from his parents. He can't even protect himself, how can he protect her? Liu Chang needs to deal with his own situation before he can deal with Mu Dan's situation. In episode 29 we see that he has now has a plan to do just that. His redemptive arc will continue into the next season unless he dies in the next two episodes (which I don't think will happen).

He also begins his journey of enlightenment and attainment of his goal when he is sent to the horse stables by Prince Ning as a lesson for upsetting the princess. Liu Chang wants to be recognized for his own merits, not for his connections with his parents and wife. For me, he marries the princess in order to take them all down because they have made his life meaningless (the princess, his parents, and Prince Ning). By this point in the drama it is not about him and Mu Dan (that was just the catalyst), it is about him being able to decide for himself his own life and achieve something through his own hard work.

I get all of this through his actions, his words, and his facial expressions.

Thank you for the discussion.

Yes, I first saw her in Ashes of Love and to be honest do not remember her or the story. When I watched her in this one, I immediately went to see what other things she was in, Lost You Forever being one of them. She is great in that one as well.

I understand what you are trying to say. Yes, in these dramas female empowerment is usually shown through them owning a business, being a fighter, or catching the eye of a powerful person. But, for me, the writers are saying empowerment is more than that. It is about the ability of a person to make choices about his/her own life. Even though Mu Dan is indebted to JCY, she is still free to make her own choices about what she does with her life. On the other hand, Liu Chang, who represents the male oppression, is not free to make his own choices. His parents decide everything for him even down to whom he will marry even though it doesn't benefit the family at all (Mu Dan).

Had the princess and LC been able to marry when they were in love, we would not have the story we have today. Every character in the story is bound by rules, traditions, customs, and rituals. Some of these are good for a culture, but some need to be looked at and changed.

Dramas are a powerful way to change mindsets. Hollywood has been doing it for years. This drama is a social commentary on the power of choice and the worth of person's life. For me, the meshing of old and new is very important for future outcomes. Traditions, customs, and rituals are good, but when it hinders a person's right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", then it is time to rethink that tradition.

Thank you for the discussion. You have helped me better understand this drama.

Yes, this drama is so real. My heart went out to Shengyi and Mu Dan when they were with Wang Qing.

Truth or Dare, Wrong Carriage, Right Groom,

Not at all, welcome to the conversation! I love a good discussion!
Exactly, we all need someone to lean on (even the king) when times are tough. We can't do things solely on our own. I think that is what this drama is trying to say. When should parents, friends, lovers, business people share the responsibility of something and when should it be solely one person?

Yes, the advice she gives him at the tavern is some of the best advice he receives in the whole drama (I have watched to episode 30). What he does with it determines what kind of person he will become. But as you watch always keep in mind his goal, to become an official through his own merits, not through who his family or wife are.

Thank you for the discussion. I am happy to discuss even further if you like. Happy watching!

Even JCY teases her about her love of money, does that make him a bad person as well? Liu Chang only looks down on her as a lowly merchant when he is forced to marry her. Once he goes through his redemptive path, which he does in this season, does he realize that all she wants to do is grow flowers and spread joy. This is something very different than how he was raised. Money in the Liu family means power and prestige. Mu Dan does not want any of that. LC doesn't want that either. He wants to be recognized for his own merits.

Thank you for the discussion.

You're right. At first he felt that way. He only started to love her when he saw her watering and taking care of the peonies that were brought out of her garden to please the princess, his beloved. At that moment he realizes that she is "free" even though she is trapped at his home. He wants that same freedom as well.

With that being said, when and why does he try to rape her (not that I am excusing him for this)? When Mu Dan asks for the divorce and says she will gladly move aside for him to marry the princess. By this time he has fallen in love with her and again realizes that she has more freedom than he does. She can escape his family; he can't. At the time of the rape Mu Dan is the one thing he has control over being her husband. Tradition says she must obey her husband. His parents blow this for him when they try to kill her and she runs away. But already he has realized his mistake and is now on his redemptive path. His redemptive path is what he has always wanted the freedom to start from the bottom and work his way up.

Why does what he goes through make him a tragic character? If you are going to say that he is a tragic character, then you must say that Mu Dan is as well. Both have tragic things happen to them, but neither one of them allow the tragedies to define who they are.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.