Rubu99

Episode 26 is my favorite episode. I've rewatched the wedding night and dungeon scenes many times. I'm most moved by LYX's acting and how YXW's betrayal breaks TTJ apart. I think the drama was more impactful than the novel in changing the part of how YXW nails him. The drama was heightened by YXW systematically nailing TTJ in sets of 3 to prolong the agony. The dungeon scene was angst to the max. You can feel TTJ's despair and how little love he thought he had from YXW was a terrible lie. Especially the part where he says, "Now, in the world nobody can save me. Just like you are now, nobody can save you." The BGM was perfect. The acting was on point for both LYX and BL - so much anguish and restraint at the same. The micro-expression, the eyes, the flinching at hurtful, cruel words. Seriously, they should be nominated for acting awards based on their performances in Episode 26 especially. It's so memorable a scene even after 1 month. It compares well to the most angsty scenes from dramas like Goodbye My Princess and The Wolf.

So well written! I had to check this drama out after being a fan of Li Qin from Joy of Life and Princess Agents. I was pleasantly surprised by the acting from the male lead Darren Wang and second male lead Xiao Zhan. I think the actors did a great job portraying their characters. Some parts of the drama became repetitive, especially with the misunderstanding and fighting. I have to say that the conflict between the female and male leads were riveting in a "can't believe I'm watching this but can't look away at the wreck". The cast did have chemistry which made it enjoyable for me to watch the drama.

Oh, yes, these are all popular shows. Which one is your favorite so far from TTEOTM, Goodbye My Princess, The Wolf? I came across The Confidence which is a modern crime thriller with toxic obsession from psychopathic ML who stalks the FL. He's a cold blooded criminal and unhinged.

Ye Bing Chang and Tian Huan were villains that were hard to watch because they were so sneaky and hid behind an innocent face. The actress did a great job and in bringing out love to hate characters.

Goodbye My Princess and The Wolf are full of angst and have leads who hate and love each other.

I agree they were in a toxic relationship. However, TTJ didn't have a love thread at the beginning and had to learn human emotions the hard way. LSS was on a heavy mission with no support. They both grew on their journeys and so it was not a tragedy. If they didn't grow and learn, it would have been tragic. Anyways, all the angst was compulsive viewing!

I really can't see another actor do the role of TTJ justice as LYX did. Also, the chemistry between LYX and BL was amazing. Whomever they cast in the Korean remake needs to capture the chemistry to bring TTJ and YXW/LSS characters to the screen. If I had to choose, I would consider in no specific order for TTJ and LSS:

TTJ Casting:
Lee Joon Gi: Solid actor who has played anti-hero roles well. He might be a little older than the TTJ character. It depends who they cast as LSS to be compatible.

Kim Ha Neul: Another solid actor, capable of playing villains and heroes. He's also a little older than the TTJ character. Again it depends on who LSS is casted as.

Ahn Bo-hyun: He's a very versatile actor who can play the hero and villain. He's also very well built, so I'm not sure if physically he could pull off the starving, pitiful hostage prince section of the story.

Jang Dong-yoon: His performance in The Tale of Nokdu impressed me. Especially with how he protected the FL and their chemistry was amazing. Also, his tortured tortured relationship with his Emperor father was moving.

YXW/LSS Casting:
Kim So Hyun: I think she could play LSS. She's a solid actress with range and can evoke empathy from the audience. It depends on her male lead to maximize the needed chemistry.

Han So Hee: She was great in The World of the Married and My Name. I think she can play YXW/LSS as a morally grey character, strong FL.

Jeon Yeo-been: She was impressive in Vincenzo as a smart, cunning FL. I think she has the charisma to play LSS. Again it depends on who they cast as TTJ to maximize chemistry.

Episode 8: The reveal of TTJ being the mastermind of the silk worm poison plot that got him married to YXW! He really owned his cunning, scheming and one-up-manship over YXW here. And who can forget the enticing dance from YXW and TTJ being mesmerized by her. Then the desperate attempt by TTJ to catch YXW before she leaps into the icy waters to escape from him. His devastated face when he's left behind ...

Episode 26: The bloody wedding between TTJ as King of the Jing Empire to his Empress YXW. The brutality of YXW nailing the spiked nails systematically 3 at time into TTJ's heart as he protests Why? and declares that even still he loves her. YXW's horror stricken face when the last 3 nails are shattered by the dragon scale. Then the two spitting up a ton of blood throughout and collapsing at the end!

Even before we can recover from the heartache of the wedding night, we get the dungeon scene showdown of who can be crueler! The angst! The I want to keep you alive YXW to tear out your heart piece by piece. The spurning of TTJ's love by YXW to taste his hatred instead.

Episode 28: The Tower Jump Scene. The conversation under the thundering skies. The blood splitting, lightning zapping. Too little love, too late on both sides. Cross conflicting vows to never let YXW go from TTJ versus YXW's vow for them never to meet again. Then both plummet down from the skies. TTJ trying to fit the broken bracelet back on YXW's wrist in vain. He carries YXW's body to go home and then collapses in the snow after a few steps.

Tears! Blood! Buckets of angst and pain! Bring it on!

chuckles ... thanks for the shared laughter!

Right! Those lovely open conversations are missed. Thanks for the reminder :) Why do main leads seem to lose brain cells when they fall in love?

It's a pet peeve to watch the trope of intelligent characters become dense once they fall in love! If it weren't for the awesome chemistry between LYX and BL, I might have FF at 2X speed thedrama during this segment.

Yes, this part really bugged me too. I was yelling at the screen during those episodes! Why?!! Like ask a question or 2! You know like how you both were asking smart questions at the beginning. And then all of a sudden you stop asking questions when stakes are so high!

Yeah, it didn't make sense to me why she had to break XL out. She made a choice to try to drug TTJ which gave the opportunity to YBC to add poison and everything snowballed from there. The level of misunderstanding and bad choices didn't make sense for the character of YXW as she was written in the first 1/4 of the drama. They really made the characters less intelligent all around for the misunderstanding poisoned congee storyline in the drama. I didn't like this part of the story-telling. The novel doesn't have this part. The characters are more cunning in the novel. I think the writers couldn't think of something better for the drama that would paint the characters in a bad light. Seriously, the misunderstanding could have been cleared up with one 5 minute conversation or some deeper investigative work!

The outfits are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this.

Have you watched Goodbye My Princess? It's a historical drama and long at 50+ episodes. The ML is an anti-hero and ruthless. He's obsessed with the FL and betrays her horrendously. The leads have amazing chemistry. I didn't personally ship them because the ML is toxic and manipulative. There's a lot of angst in that drama.

It's been fun getting to know y'all on the TTEOM forum. I'm glad there's a community of fans to hang out with.

I had memories of Goodbye My Princess during the TTEOTM watch. I think LYX could have played Li Cheng Yi and knocked it out of the park as well. He has the acting the range and I think could've added more conflict portrayal. Just thought I'd throw this out here.

thanks, will check out youku version!

What extra minute?!!! Where?

Love these clips! I'm also reminded that they missed crediting LYX's eyebrows in the acting credits.