Sssnoopyyy

Was waiting for him to showcase his acting through his eyes hahaha doesn’t disappoint

The chemistry was better than I had hoped for. I already envisioned them as the characters beforehand so seeing it on screen did not disappoint. They look and play the part well

Glad to hear!

Happy to hear! I wasn’t sure how the story flowed for those who don’t have background knowledge but that’s great!

Omgosh I was pleased with the casting of Xu Jing Fu. Couldn’t have picked a better actor. Loved him in Lost You Forever

Yes it is in line in that respect (the fact he taught her and gave her pointers), along with her shifu Liu Bu Wang. But she utilized what she learned from different sources and became her own. I guess at the end of the day, it’s not a huge deal because the two have history and were fated to meet again but just something I wished they kept was the part about her sword

I am still bothered by the fact that HY’s swordsmanship and sword are both from Xiao family. I feel like that diminishes her character and abilities. Yes, XJ gave her pointers when they were in school, but her sword was always her own and had nothing to do with Xiao family. I wish they didn’t change this aspect, as she climbed to the top as a general on her own with her own sword. Because of this, we will not see her fight to get her sword back from HRF like in the novel - which was so exciting

Ah ok that makes sense. Tbh it looks decent for not being high budget. I am still sad about our charactwr Lin Shuang He, my fave from the novel

When I heard that Lin Shuang He wasn’t going to be his own character and the whole drama with the AI face swapping, I just knew that it would be disappointing in that regard because he was my favourite character in the novel besides the leads. I told myself to not have high expectations but inevitably had them. I think at the very least ZY and CL did a great job - they did not disappoint because they look the part (I even envisioned their faces while reading the novel so I was pleased to see them on screen). Omgosh, they did not give them the best OST soundtrack, lacked the umph! Quite surprised by this considering it was a well anticipated series with powerful leads.

The leads definitely are what keep me going at this point. (Although I do miss the unbothered and sarcastic XJ haha he is quite the softie here). Hope the actors can collaborate again in the mear future in a better setup with high budget.

If it weren’t for reading the novel, I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to understand some of the events and the character motivations. Usually while watching the series, I would be like “ah they are feeling this way because …” or “this is because of…”

As I watch the drama, it’s almost like seeing the novel play out in 10x speed but I can keep up because I know what happens (even if they change the sequence or little details).

Hence I am genuinely curious how the non-novel readers are finding the story (since I am biased).

It wasn’t a high budget series? Thought it was. Do we know what parts they deleted during the cut? Was it mainly Li Ming De’s scenes

Maybe during their makeup lol. But I definitely missed all the details of the different arcs in the novel. Unfortunately the drama is so short that they couldn’t include them all

The leads and chemistry are what keep me going

Sighhh the iconic scene! That was one of the most suspenseful and exciting parts of the novel. So satisfying. Touching too. But given how the sequence of events have changed, maybe they’re leaving those lines for later???

Genuine question for those who did NOT read the novel - are you still enjoying the drama? Is the story coherent to you (despite the short eps and editing). Just curious because I am obviously biased knowing how some of the events are supposed to go down. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the leads and their chemistry (mainly watching at this point because of them even though certain aspects of their personality were tweaked a bit - HY being more bold and shameless/flirty; XJ being less unbothered and sarcastic). But because of the limit in time, I feel the impact of some of the scenes lukewarm (i.e. just as suspense builds up in some of the action scenes, they wrap it up quick). Characters like CZ are layered and have more potential. The very condensed back stories (which give context to character motivations)…

Yeah what are your thoughts so far?

I think they failed to show her trauma of water (since she nearly drowned once) - she is supposed to look suffocated/pained but yes the shallow water was funny haha. No budget for an ocean!

You’re right about the possible redemption arc. Besides his rough childhood, his mom appeared much more hands on with him, they seemed to have a healthier relationship than what was described in the novel- perhaps the reason why he didn’t grow up to be more self-serving and manipulative? I just don’t like this weird love triangle lol, even tho it was one in the novel, but not like this.

Haha yes XJ is a little different - but still loveable, compliments the HY here who is even more bold and shameless/flirty than her novel persona

Sorry I have to rant about some things…(still watching the drama and love the leads), but need to let it out haha.

I get why they had to change up the whole Chai An Xi business in the drama to involve He Ru Fei (vs how it played out in the novel), but am I the only one who feels his motivation behind betraying Xiao Zhong Wu was a bit weak? I feel like he could’ve found out himself that his son asked to fight. Was a little disappointed with the changes to that part.

Also, I was excited about Chu Zhao’s character because he is morally grey and is a layered character. In the novel, Chu Zhao was someone who was very likeable and knew what to say (hence navigated well in politics), had a gentle and friendly demeanor. He usually carried a smile (hiding his true thoughts and feelings). However, he hasn’t really shown much in the past few eps. I am not sure if it’s the changes in the script or the acting, but he usually has one concerned expression. Although he was partly used as a plot device in the romantic development between the leads in the original, I am afraid they will just make him latch onto HY in the show (amplifying the love triangle unnecessarily). His character has more potential

Also, I miss XJ’s sarcastic and unbothered attitude from the novel. Yes he has the most gentle heart and reveals this more over time after falling for HY, but he still maintains that attitude. I feel like they really dampened some of his charm in the scenes at times, almost to the point of being out of character /so dorky in certain situations.

Anyway! End of rant, just things I noticed in the latest eps. But it’s ok still love HY/XJ! I gotta stop comparing to the novel lmao cuhs from a non-reader POV it’s fine

Avoid plagiarism? Did they not have permission from the author?

Fun fact, in the novel (extra chapters), HY describes her and XJ’s role reversal in parenting - at least compared to what was traditionally / socially acceptable. He would take care of the little things - choosing their daughter’s clothes, feeding her etc, HY would teach her swordsmanship etc. This further shows how they are not bound by gender roles and society expectations