Since we as the audience are seeing the drama through Zanghai's eyes, I keep wondering whether he is an unreliable…
It's possible. I tend to think back to the scene we see when he recounts that night and the number of dead to the masked man. 14. So and so. But he is lying, isn't he? He never mentions that someone else survived. We don't know for sure that the Zanghai we see is all there is.
I want to go back to that scene in episode 9, when he finds his parents' remains.
Since we know these were directly Xiao Zhan's acting choices I have to say again how impressed I am by the scene. Not just the choice of portraying the nausea with the gagging but the way his entire performance was so contained there. I think it left a stronger impact on me, the immense strength of Zanghai's grief, that he wasn't big in his emotions but that he pulled it more in. Sometimes the enormity of tragedy is so huge that you cannot expel your emotions, they are choking you in their intensity. When he pulled the two garments together, I admit I really lost it. What a phenomenal scene.
It was. Unfortunately it is a well known punishment from that time. People were skinned - while alive - and then…
Let's just say Chinese history is riddled with these "creative" punishments. I will spare you the details, it's not pretty.
But I applaud ZXL for not sanitising history and showing it exactly as it was. It's very impactful and the shock and disgust we feel is a good lesson for us all about what humans are capable of.
Just started this!!! Too amazing... could i ask if mask man will be unmasked? And why mask man and shifu are willing…
They absolutely do have ulterior motives but so far, we are at episode 10, it still hadn't come to unveiling him or what their plans are. It is a well developed plot, no rushing. Watch everything then we can speculate together, there are so many theories!
He told you himself. Playing dumb is a sure way to stay alive. If he were smart, his brother would have gone for…
ZXL is peppering all these small, seemingly throw away details throughout the drama but they end up blossoming later. It really requires repeated viewing to catch everything!
Today in ratings was excellent. Once again we had to contend with table tennis (which is incredibly popular in China, you have no idea) and of course, the drama going on CCTV1 but both episodes broke 1.9 today.
That means the plot is really resonating with the audience and holding.
Was that his mother’s freaking skin!!!!! Please say no this is beyond disgusting!! How sick is this damn duke!!!…
It was. Unfortunately it is a well known punishment from that time. People were skinned - while alive - and then the skin stuffed with straw and hanged on the walls. One small mercy here is that at least his parents were dead when it happened.
I think I probably would have went a little mad in Zanghai's place.
Who made you God of these comments and the person to decide what can and cannot be compared? Last time I looked…
Go play victim somewhere else.
You don't get to come here and police what people say or think and no, you are not the arbiter of what is good or bad. Now you can play pretend some more like you don't know what you tried to dictate here.
3 
Since we know these were directly Xiao Zhan's acting choices I have to say again how impressed I am by the scene. Not just the choice of portraying the nausea with the gagging but the way his entire performance was so contained there. I think it left a stronger impact on me, the immense strength of Zanghai's grief, that he wasn't big in his emotions but that he pulled it more in. Sometimes the enormity of tragedy is so huge that you cannot expel your emotions, they are choking you in their intensity. When he pulled the two garments together, I admit I really lost it. What a phenomenal scene.
But I applaud ZXL for not sanitising history and showing it exactly as it was. It's very impactful and the shock and disgust we feel is a good lesson for us all about what humans are capable of.
But it's definitely no hardship to give this one repeated viewings 😂 So far, really excellent script writing.
That means the plot is really resonating with the audience and holding.
If he were smart, his brother would have gone for his head a long time ago.
I think I probably would have went a little mad in Zanghai's place.
You don't get to come here and police what people say or think and no, you are not the arbiter of what is good or bad. Now you can play pretend some more like you don't know what you tried to dictate here.