Sharlotka

Well, that tells me it's probably a good way to go about it! :) Especially when I have to go find a new series to watch after tomorrow, because I can't fit in the whole express after work today (which might actually be a blessing for my sanity lol)

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. I admit, for now I've been going by looking at the filmography of an actor/actress I really enjoyed in something I watched, and choosing a different title that I might enjoy. I was quite lucky this way so far :)

Yeah, I think I'm pretty hooked by this point. I've been struggling to find anything enjoyable to watch for a while and cdramas have filled that 'void' rather well. And I get to derust my Mandarin on top of that, so it's a double win :)

Episode 32

Well, Feng Suige remembers now. Good. Shame he couldn’t forget about his sister but oh well, I can’t have everything.

This whole Storm Alliance… Feng Suige’s mother is rolling in her grave if she can see what it has become. On top of that, it just feels like a waste of screen time that I’d rather be used to show Susha.

2nd Prince doesn’t disappoint. I really enjoy him making that official squirm. It’s good that he’s using his brain, questioning what happened, even when he realises that his mother might actually have been involved. And since she already made it obvious that she’s working with the Murongs, he probably connects the dots easily - if he hasn’t already. I’m sooo glad this is the development we are seeing for him.

I’m only sad because if tomorrow is the express, I won’t be able to watch all of it. But maybe it’ll be good for my sanity. I already have a box of tissues ready, I may need to buy something strong to drink, too.

Episode 31

Lu Ke substituting for Yixiao, trying to make Feng Suige remember the moments with her, has got to be the best part of this episode.

Also, my bet is that Lady An had at one point saved Lord Ling who had now forgotten her.

I thought the 2nd Prince voice was weird because he was talking like a crybaby but now he speaks normally, and his voice sounds even weirder, too deep for him. Or maybe it's just me. I don't know if he's dubbed, my guess would be probably since most actors are I think, but I just feel like his voice just doesn't suit him.

That said, I think he might be the only one that doesn’t disappoint me. I was worried he’d become a puppet but him asking to investigate the truth gives me hope in this regard. It’ll be so nice if we can avoid the cliche of a poor crybaby being used by the bad guys to do their bidding.

And I still just can’t care about Jinxiu plot. Except for thinking that Jinxiu Emperor and the Princess are really a match made in heaven.

I see. Yeah, she will eventually turn 18 which will likely make things a bit easier and less questionable when it comes to genuinely romantic storylines. I'll definitly be keeping my fingers crossed she gets another role with Zuo Ye eventually lol And yeah, he's pretty young himself, so it wouldn't even be that weird.

I admit I know nothing about agencies and what they are like, I'm rather new to the whole drama world. I just randomly decided to pick The Double on Netflix at one point, which I feel might have been a very strong first series to watch, and then decided I want more :)

Yes, exactly - the ex-husband. Based on his profile, he didn't have that many roles, I've only seen him in Perfect Match and later Feud, which I watched mainly because of him. He's another actor that I really hope will get more and bigger roles in the future.

And that is funny. I mean, Zuo Ye and Ai Mi do have a great on-screen chemistry and I'd totally watch another drama where they are put as a couple but yeah, a happy ending this time please. Then again, Ai Mi is still so incredibly young (which shocked me too actually) that it's probably easier to write a sad ending when it comes to a romantic storyline for her or people could feel iffy. Maybe in the future.

Good point. I guess I ticked up the spoiler out of habit. Yeah, I know some spoilers for FOF and I found it kinda funny that whenever Zuo Ye and Ai Mi have roles together, they seem destined for tragic ending lol. From impressive performances also I have Liang Yongqi because of his role in The Double (that's a character you end up hating but damn the actor did a good job). Watching MJTY, I didn't know if I hate TJR's character of love it haha, but he was great too.

Yep, MJTY is the first one I watched with him and he just stole the show for me. I began watching it because of Cheng Lei, I finished it for Young Master Yue, who ended up being my favourite character there. I have FOF on my list and I'll get there eventually as I generally plan to go through his dramas but Fated Hearts might have been his first villain role and I love it. I do hope he gets more roles, both as good characters and bad ones and maybe some main roles. For a guy this young, and relatively inexperienced given that he didn't have that many roles so far, his acting is impressive.

Yep, he deserves all of it 100%. I still feel like he didn't have to turn out this way but he made all the possible wrong choices over the years and brought it all onto himself. I'm just a bit biased because I began watching this drama because of Zuo Ye, and I also happen to be a weirdo, who enjoys complex villain characters, so it was basically the perfect combo for me to love the character. And my heartbreak is more for Feng Suige really, and for what he has to do to someone that he had been so close to, and how what should have been a wonderful life-long bond ended this way.

I agree, this is satisfying. Like I said, I'll be a mess because I really loved the hints of past friendship between the two and what it was like before things went to hell and I refuse to believe that it was 100% one sided and fake, but I really wanted justice to be served by Feng Suige when it comes to Murong Yao and I 100% expected to be completely heartbroken by it too. The only way it would be more satisfying if he was first and his father was either watching or discovered his body but oh well, one can't have everything.

I'm already a complete mess because of this scene but at least one wish for this drama that I get granted - another 'confrontation' between Murong Yao and Feng Suige. I was worried he'd be killed by the dancer and we'll never see Feng Suige confront him for what he had done which would leave me incredibly unsatisfied.

Episode 30

After all the episodes were so packed with action, intrigues and everything, this one felt kinda slow and boring, to the point that I can’t even find that much to say about it. I don’t think the plot slowing down a bit is a bad thing necessarily but a part of me is worried that the ending will not deliver and will fall short of the range of 20-30 episodes, which were so full of everything that I, personally, couldn’t wait for the next episodes. I hope I’m wrong, though but I am a bit worried with how there really aren’t that many episodes left, and there is still a lot to resolve.

As much as I hate the way they turn things around and the fact that Feng Suige is now the one to forget everything, I appreciate the way they went about it. Not a ‘dramatic’ wakes up and doesn’t remember anything twist - they knew it could happen and still made the choice they did. Which doesn’t make the memory loss aspect any better but at least it’s less eyeroll inducing, for me anyway.

Though, I also find it kind of funny that he told Fu Yixiao several times that he wishes he could forget everything. Well, you get your wish man, not sure it’s all you ever hoped for. I hope it doesn’t last long, though.

Episode 29

I just can’t bring myself to feel really sorry for the Princess. I understand that she’s hurting, who wouldn’t when you find out that your father and brother are dead, but her screaming about wanting to go back home… Girl, you’ve made your choice, you’ve come here per your own wish. The Jinxiu Emperor might be insane, and might be enjoying inflicting pain on her a bit too much, but at least he’s telling her the truth when it comes to her own choices. The more they interact, the more I feel like she married the wrong brother, even if that relationship would have been super toxic.

I also can’t really get invested in the Jinxiu plot. We spent so many episodes building up everything that’s going on in Susha and Jinxiu was barely shown, the plots hardly developed. We know Xia Jingshi is up to something but he may as well have been sitting in the garden, drinking tea, and it wouldn’t make much of a difference in terms of what we’ve seen. So now that this side of the story is shown more, I don’t really care. I’d rather see the mess in Susha. I think this would simply work better if they gave us something more with the Jinxiu plot - something that would make us care about these characters, the way that they did with Susha. But that might just be me.

And the Storm Alliance… I understand their hate for the Emperor, and I understand that they feel it’s somewhat Feng Suige’s fault because what he had been doing was for him (even if he’s not really to blame anymore than he is to be blamed by anyone else) but at the same time their founder basically gave her life for her son - does that mean nothing to them? I’m sure she’d be very happy that they want her son dead. At least they saw reason eventually - question is if it’s going to stay this way or they’re up to something themselves.

Awww, this is adorable. My Mandarin isn't anywhere near enough to provide a translation but they talked about the plot and what's happening, about how they are/aren't similar to their characters and shared their thoughts on that, then Zuo Ye was asked to sing something (I think but he started singing so) and later similarly with the father's actor. But, that last portion with Zuo Ye and the actor that plays his father made me curious - it looks like it may be from the revenge moment given Zuo Ye's characterisation.

I agree. Like I said, I don't want to justify him even if I understand where he's coming from - at the end of the day, he went about everything the wrong way and blamed the wrong people. All that was probably needed to avoid this mess was the two of them sitting down and talking about what they had gone through, which sadly didn't happen.

Episode 28

What an emotional rollercoaster this episode was…

The Empress talking to the 2nd Prince… That’s a way to twist things. The saddest thing is, he’s not even a bad person, he genuinely loves his brother and everything. But now will be turned into a puppet doing all the wrong things.

That battle scene… There are very few things that break me more than watching lovable sidekicks be killed and this scene destroyed me. I didn’t even feel that much watching what happened to Feng Suige, though that’s because I know his plot armour would never actually let him die. But the sidekicks will very much be dead for dramatic, emotional effect.

The Jinxiu plot by this point feels like an unnecessary addition to distract from what’s going on in Susha and with Feng Suige. Perhaps I’m just biased because I really dislike the Princess but I just can’t bring myself to care about what happens there.

Now, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t spend most of my comment talking about Murong Yao but before I get to it, to make sure that there are no misunderstandings, I’m not trying to justify his actions in any way. They’re not good or right in any way and he doesn’t deserve to be let off the hook for what he had done. He fully deserves everything that’s coming for him. I just like villains, even when they’re bad and evil, and I can’t help loving his character. With that disclaimer out of the way, I can turn to my insane rambling.

The tear, the reaction to Feng Suige being ‘dead’ actually made me happy. From the confrontation scene, all I wanted was a confirmation whether their friendship and bond was 100% fake, and this gives me the answer that I had been hoping for. I just loved their interactions so much I would be very sad if he truly never cared about Feng Suige in the slightest. Not that it was ever enough to prevent all of this from happening, but it’s enough to make me happy. And to leave me absolutely heartbroken that this is how it ended.

A tiny part of me had been hoping it was salvageable, that even if they couldn’t go back to what things used to be, he would do something to show that he didn’t turn his back on him completely, but now I don’t see it anymore. And that too makes me incredibly sad, because I didn’t expect to enjoy the friendship that the drama showed between the two of them so much and I’d probably have very different view if they didn’t get along from the start. But, I also can’t help loving Zuo Ye in this role and how different it is to what I have seen him play so far.

Again, there's a difference between being ready to do something, and actually doing it.

I'm not speaking about condoning anyone's behaviour. Just the extent of one's love for them.

I'm sorry if I'm wrong but I'm kinda assuming MYS is Murong Sr. (I'm really not good with using initials for characters, sorry).

But if I'm right, then this is my thought too. We will never know, obviously, and I may be wrong but I think at this point, this man was still salvageable. All he needed was reassurance from Feng Suige that it'll be fine, that he'll help him. And it's not like he expected his son to be pardoned - he just wanted him to live. And I feel like it is probably the point at which he snapped.