Platinum Fox

What character did she play in LLtG. I looked at her roles and it did not say she played in LLtG. Was she an extra?

While I have enjoyed watching this drama, I get the same feeling as you. I feel that I have watched this same drama over and over. A middle class woman's mother/father dies so she takes on the business with the help of a higher power, has many set backs that she must over come, and is finally recognized for her talent by the emperor. Even though I love Zhao Lu Si, I have been putting off watching The Story of Pearl Girl because I fear it will be the same thing as every other female empowerment drama that has come out recently. Don't get me wrong, I understand tropes of the genre, but it gets a little old after awhile watching the same characters different business (flowers, brocade, tea, etc.)

I am also noticing the trend that the second male lead starts out a nice guy, and he and the female lead hit if off and even speak about marriage. Then bad things start happening to the second male lead and the two are split apart. By the end, the second male lead is weak and a bad person. This is headed in the same direction.

It is why, like you, I liked LLtG. All of the men she loved stayed strong and remained her friends even though she didn't marry them. Also, SS was lucky that her entire family came back intact and none of them died during the drama. Its what makes LLtG different than other female empowerment dramas.

Have you watched The Story of Pearl Girl? She does start out a slave.

Actually, I thought the ending was right on point. Just because he got rid of one piece of trash, doesn't mean it is over. More will pop up. It is a never ending cycle. jmo

Dark Angel, you are missing my point. I did compare the two men. Liu Chang wants the freedom to make his own decisions, earn his own way in the world. Instead he is bound by his obligations to his parents and the princess. He could have everything he wanted if he went along with the princess ( a life of luxury). Yet he chooses to defy his parents and the princess and start at the bottom of the barrel and work his way up on his own merits. By rights once he learns that Mu Dan is alive, he could technically take her back, but he realizes that he has no power over the princess or his parents. The parents would just kill Mu Dan, so that LC could marry the princess (more prestige, more power, higher status). His decision to leave her alone is the smartest decision he makes. He does everything in hopes of one day winning her love. He really and truly allows her to be free. We will see how he responds when she doesn't love him back.

LCY, on the other hand, is a "corrupt" official. He is backed by the emperor, but he has freedom to do whatever he wants. All of his decisions are based on money. He spends lavishly, while he makes Mu Dan pinch pennies. Because Mu Dan is an unregistered worker, LCY takes advantage of this and binds her to him through a contract of servitude, even though it is disguised as a loan. He even gives her her name and it is his last name. He has taken advantage of her through a different means. Does he allow her more freedom and choice, yes. However, if she were to say she wanted to move to a different city, he would probably object as he couldn't watch over her as well. We begin to see a different picture of him when we see him at the orphanage.

At present to episode 21, for me, neither one is a good person as both have a leash on her. However, she has more freedom with Liu Chang because he really and truly understands what she is going through as he is going through the same thing. LCY is just a spoiled brat much like the princess who can't take no for an answer.

Thank you for the discussion. jmo

But we saw Liu Chang's beastly nature as well. I feel bad for him because he is trying to be free and earn his place in the world through his own merits just like Mu Dan. It is one thing I like about this drama. It speaks volumes about the protocol and rituals of getting ahead. Neither Mu Dan nor Liu Chang have been able to get ahead on their own. They each relied on an imperial backer. Mu Dan would not be where she is if the Flower Envoy had not loaned her the money. This is no different than Liu Chang getting a position through his connection with the princess.

So what is the difference between JCY and LC? JCY is just as controlling as LC only it is more passive aggressive. What appears to be freedom is really not.

Great drama! Loved the actors and plots. My favorite was the first one, poetic justice with spontaneous human combustion!

This says there are 10 episodes and Netflix has all 10 at least when I watched it yesterday and today.

The period scene is one of the most important scenes in the drama. At a glance it looks like a funny scene where the boys must buy her sanitary napkins. This is hilarious as men are extremely uncomfortable buying these. But this scene also allows the characters and the audience know that she is biologically a woman. She is ready to have children which was extremely important a hundred years ago when we wouldn't have batted an eye at the age difference (A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College).

But the scene is very important because it sets up the contrast of how differently the brother treats Sang Zhi and how DJX treats her. These little differences can be considered romantic or he is the perfect brother which Sang Zhi wished for on the bus. The audience may decide for themselves. I get this from his comment on the phone call to Sang Yan, he distinctly says, "I am not her brother," meaning I am not thinking about her as a sister, but as a woman. But being the good guy that he is, he doesn't make physical moves on her until she is an adult. The scenes when she is 17 and he is 22 are them getting to know each other.

Why else would he be so angry when she ghosts him for a year.

Actually, this is a very well constructed story. It is structured after the social commentary on nuclear weapons the novel The End of Eternity, the book shown at the beginning of the drama at least four times. This is a social commentary on the age of consent law in China. People have been trying to get it changed, but haven't had any luck.

The writers allow the audience to decide for themselves the relationship that DJX and Sang Zhi has when she is 17 and he is 22. Is he acting like her boyfriend or her brother? Perception drives this drama from characters to the audience.

That is exactly what the writers wanted from all those scenes, the audience can decide whether they are the actions of a brother or a boyfriend depending on their comfort level of the age gap. For me, this is a drama about what age is it okay for a woman to start her sexual journey and with whom.

You're right at 17 she is still too immature for that type of relationship, and because DJX is such a good guy he puts off the physical aspect of love for her until she is of majority age.

They got away with it at first, but after this movie came out, they were retried and received a much harsher punishment. Laws were also changed because of this movie, so even though it is painful, it is a blessing as well.

She dies and he lives.

If you are looking for a simple romance where the two people fall in love at first sight or twirl, then this drama is not for you. The love story is the main focus with everything else enhancing that story.

If you like simple love stories, I would suggest Hidden Love, The Double, and Blossom.

There are actually two car scenes when she is 17, the first is when she helps her brother move, and DJX catches her playing with the fox toy (which also has significant meaning to the drama along with the dog and bear stuffed animals). He is amazed at how much she has grown, and he is taken aback. When she asks him if someone gave him the fox toy, his sheepish grin lets you know that he understands she likes him, and that she is asking if he has a girlfriend in a roundabout kind of way.

He puts this to the test in the car when Sang Yan, Sang Zhi, and Qian Fei pick him up and they go to the mall to eat hot pot. He hits on Sang Zhi, but Sang Yan and Qian Fei shut him down. This makes DJX a dog as he is hitting on a girl five years his junior. There is no other reason for him to be called a dog. He does not date any other girls or even really flirts with any other girls. The only other girl in his life is the girl whose father was killed by DJX's father, and he doesn't like her in any.

There is more to this drama than just a simple love story. It is an intricate social commentary on the age of consent in China which is 14 which is why the two can be together legally when he is 22 and she is 17. Throughout most of the drama she is a minor, but he is considered an adult (age of majority 18). Marriageable age is 20 for females and 22 for males. Legally they can't get married, but they can have a sexual relationship. This is why when he talks about it at the bar the friends get really concerned until Sang Yan admits that it is true and everybody is okay and they move on to the next topic, Sang Yan.

There is so much more going on in the drama then most people realize. Many things are significant to the story (even the license plate on his car says, I love Sang Zhi or Sang Zhi I love you and even the math when she is young).

Actually depending on your take on the drama, the "cute" scenes when she is 17 could be considered romantic or something a brother would do. Perception drives this drama. Many posters have written that Sang Zhi and DJX do not actually fall in love until after she is in college (the first snowfall for him). However, I argue that he fell for her when she was at the car. It is what makes him dog, but it is perfectly legal. Something he admits in episode 24 at the bar with his friends. Posters have said that he was only joking and trying to protect Sang Zhi. Again, perception plays a huge role in this drama.

Compare and contrast what the brother does and says as compared to DJX. It either makes him a perfect brother or the perfect boyfriend depending on your definition of romance.

Zhao Lu Si does the same thing in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College. However, no one bats an eye at her being 15/16 and him 22-24 because that is the way things were back then. It is only recently that we have changed the definition childhood.

You're right this cdrama is not everyone's favorite and that is okay. Also, the 14 year old Sang Zhi actress is actually 11 at the time of filming. They needed her for her height, so they could show how Sang Zhi "grew up" in height between the ages of 14 and 17. There are other reasons why they needed the 11 year old's height as well. It has to do with the doorway scene and the dad references throughout the drama.

Fun fact: the same actress plays the younger version of Zhao Lu Si's characters in Who Rules the World and The Story of Pearl Girl.

Lynn and I were just posting about the second male lead. This is the second time I have felt bad for a second male lead. He was a good guy and didn't deserve the life he was forced into. I don't know why writers do that.

Yes, I always cringe when something happens to the horses. I try not to watch battle scenes or carriage wrecks. I am always afraid the horses will get hurt.

I wonder why writers feel like it is more interesting for a good person to go bad, rather than let a bad person get what they deserve. I am talking about second male leads. This is like the fifth drama that I have watched where the second male lead starts out a good guy and then when for some reason he doesn't get the girl he turns evil. It just seems weird to me.

How would the people outside of the capital know what the king and crown prince look like? There are no newspapers that have drawn pictures of them. I am betting even some of the people in the capital do not know what the king and the crown prince look like. That is why they can go disguised as commoners and get away with it. Watch Jewel in the Crown.

I agree with you. This is the second time I have felt bad for the second male lead. he did not deserve what happened to him.