All of these people upset because the ML "appears weak" - are we watching the same drama?? We come in to the story in the middle of the action, basically, and ML is already poisoned and grievously injured, but still kicks *** and takes names of everyone he comes across. Like...What are you even watching?? Also, keep going? Because we are only 9 episodes in and I can tell anyone making this complaint or worried must be on the first few episodes only....and even then I still don't understand because he is literally shown to be one of the greatest martial artists in this world even as injured as he is.
Also, what is all of this nonsense about the FL not being a strong fighter? Again, are we watching the same drama?? She's shown to be quite powerful, but limited because she's spent her life training but is only now experiencing the real world and people actually trying to harm her. And like....we'll get to see her grow. She's ALREADY growing.
IDK, I just feel people are really critical. This isn't the same story as Pursuit of Jade where Chanyu (for reasons that don't actually make real world sense, honestly; I love that drama A LOT but did get kind of tired of the complete lack of realism in that aspect, when it's not even really a wuxia, but more of a historical) can lift five times what a strong man can, nor is it Who Rules the World where FL is already one of the two most powerful martial artists in the world. But FL here is still a bad*** swordswoman with serious skills who is only going to get better and stronger as the drama goes on.
So, the trailer for ep 24. Can I just say how THRILLED I am that the Ye Xian/Qinglan ship appears to be sailing??? I despise SML storylines where he can't get over the FL, especially if it eventually makes them enemies. This is much better. He clearly has a "type" - women who challenge him, lol.
I went to Youku and it says the show isn't available (I'm in the US) so ran here and thank God I see it's also on Viki! Yang Yang is one of my "must watch" actors and I've been so looking forward to this drama!
ep 1 has plagiarized scene from Blossom (flying with glass shards reflecting moments from their life) and then…
You can't really plagiarize an aesthetic. Blossom wasn't the first drama to use that visual, either. That said, all of these short drama revenge shows are pretty derivative and repeat elements from others. This one at least has the soul sharing aspect that is somewhat unique.
Okay, it driving me nuts! What song is it that plays every time we have an epic power scene?? You know the one, back in episode 6 around 21 minutes in, it starts playing (the scene when the Dragon Deity makes his epic entrance with purple lightning and stops the fight.)
For anyone wondering how to watch this drama, it's available via Mango. They also aggregate episodes to youtube, but it's several days behind the air date, so wait a week or so to pick it up there, or watch on Mango, which charges a fee (like IQIYI or Tencent) after the first couple of eps.
So far, I'm really loving it! Deng Kai is the perfect choice for this ambiguous character. That whole "is he a bad guy?" vibe. I've watched all of the eps available on Mango currently with subtitles. (Although I have access to the SVIP eps because I pay for Mango, they are slow to add Eng subs, sigh.) I think I've seen up through 6? Anyway, pretty sure by now we know his real motive is "do whatever it takes to protect the woman he loves from the psycho she married", but time will tell.
Of course, he's also a stalked her for years, but I think the show has implied that the guy who married her also went to great lengths to keep him away from her. She is, after all, a billionaire heiress, so my theory at the moment is her husband wooed and married her for her money, kept anyone else from getting in the way of that, and is now actively trying to murd3r her in an effort to steal her billions. But the ML saving her life and then pretending to be her husband to keep her safe has messed up all of his plans, so he's pretending to be dead while still trying to k1ll his wife.
I also want to say how much I love Zhang Chuhan as well. She's a fantastic young actress, most notably in roles with more physical comedy, such as Marry Me Again. She is great at being hilarious and adorable, and she knows how to kiss her male costars, which is not always true of actresses in c-dramas. This role is a little different than what I've seen her in before - more serious, with the thriller vibe. But she's still doing great and has solid chemistry with Deng Kai.
I agree with this 100%. To me this also reads as him acting out of being desperately in love, just unable to express…
Oh, great point with the visual colors! This director is so great with stuff like that. Even Xie Zheng himself is very muted and dark here in his clothing.
I really love your analysis, I also feel like this scene was very well done. It's worth mentioning that XZ in…
OMG! I just burst out laughing imaging him staring at her in silence until she someone - telepathy? Guessing? - understands his meaning. 😂 Well, I definitely have picked up on both characters people more people of action than words. Glad the show is reflecting the novel in that way!
Deng kai as an actor is amazing and has good screen presence but im disgusted by qimin and qian couple. Its an…
It doesn't come across at all like it's meant to be romantic. He is an antagonist. A villain. and his obsession with her isn't healthy. they have not romanticized it at all. She described his touch as "creepy" at one point.
in the novel, chanyu is barely 16, she's just coming of age, thus the elders proposed the matrilocal husband hunting…
So even younger. That just proves my point even more, honestly. People want to give both of them life experience and the accompanying wisdom to handle this whole thing appropriately, but that's not where either of them is at.
I've seen some reactions to the fight our leads had in today's episodes, and I didn't want to comment directly because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which is subjective to each person. But I just want to write my own comment to talk a bit about how I saw the scene.
First, this fight did not come out of nowhere. We've been building to it for some time. Every time she's asked him if he really has to leave, and he's said he does, or when she said, but you'll come back, right? And he didn't answer her. His actions have spoken volumes about his feelings for her, but his words up to this point, have not done as good a job, and in some ways have given her the opposite impression. She honestly believes he's indifferent to her and the nice things he's done are out of gratitude because she saved his life, not because he likes her. Remember, too, that she has already been hurt in love by her scholar fiance who used her and her family and then abandoned her. Yes, she responded to that betrayal with anger and disgust for him, but you know underneath that, she was hurt, and that had to feed in to her self doubts. To her, she's an orphan girl with a dependent younger sister and no dowry to speak of. He fiance betrayed her. The village gossips about her and spreads rumors she's a jinx, her own uncle tried to selfishly take her house away...our girl puts on a brave face that none of these things bother her, but she's still going to have insecurities. Those insecurities came out during that scene.
Then we have Xie Zheng. He's lived a very cold life, in the shadow of his father's death and mother's su1c1de, and now his Uncle's betrayal. He has to go back to deal with that, and he doesn't know if he'll survive, much less win. He hopes he will, but he is so afraid of dragging her into his mess that he very intentionally has avoided every question from his friend Gong Sun or anyone else about what he's going to do when he leaves. He's also avoided making her any promises because he has no idea if he could keep them. He could have told her the whole story at any time, but one, he doesn't share easily with others, two, there is some mystery tying her dead parents possibly to the very intrigue he was investigating...definitely to the past, and three, he absolutely does not want her put in danger. So he has all of these very valid reasons not to tell her everything (in his mind), and to leave, deal with his business, and hopefully come back for her later....
But again, remember these characters are young. Changyu is twenty? The Marquis isn't much older, and by all reports has never been in a serious relationship, and has a family riddled with betrayal and death, and a court full of enemies. Even some of his friends (Li Huaian!) are frenemies.
So now it's finally come to when he has to leave. It's here, he can't put it off anymore. And both he and Changyu know this moment they've been dreading is upon them. And they try to talk about it, but in the worst way, because they're both full of heartbreak that it's happening, so their emotions push them to say things they don't mean. When Changyu says she's prepared the divorce papers for him, he reacts with bitterness that she would be so efficient about it. He doesn't want to divorce her. He's made it VERY clear from Changyu's perspective that he is leaving and likely to never come back, so when he asks her about her future, if she'll marry again, she gives him an honest answer. He's not coming back, so eventually, she'll probably marry someone, right? And he is already hurt and irritated and his jealousy flairs. Their conversation turns sarcastic and escalates, both of them saying things they don't really mean.
This is...how real fights happen between couples in real life. Something happens that makes you hurt, or angry, or sad, and you end up lashing out at the person closest to you You say things you don't mean. They respond. It escalates.
And then Xie Zheng makes his biggest mistake. Words have failed him. He can't express how he really feels, he's lost control of both the conversation and his own emotions. He acts, and he kisses her. But to Changyu, who would have welcomed him kissing her two days ago, before he told her he was leaving and then refused to say he would come back, suddenly he's grabbing her and kissing her right when he has to leave, and it doesn't feel romantic, it feels insulting. Then he follows that up with a (crazy, jealous) accusation when she shoves him away and accuses him of being mad that she must want to find someone just like Song Yan. This is the ultimate insult when he KNOWS how much she despises SY. She slaps him.
Xie Zheng isn't in control of himself right now. He's not thinking clearly at all. He's consumed with the pain of leaving her, jealousy at the idea of her marrying someone else, and hurt that she's rejecting him right now.
I also want to take a moment here to point out that with BOTH of these characters, it has been very well established that they are not so big on words and more people of ACTION. So instead of talking this out like reasonable people, our two emotionally elevated leads get physical. XZ grabs her and kisses her even more forcefully. CY shoves him away again and this time draws her knife to hold at his throat.
This is just CY's most instinctive response to any physical threat, but XZ is incredulous. Finally, here, he tells her SOMETHING. Unfortunately, he fumbles this, too. He doesn't tell her how he feels. Instead he just says "You have terrible taste in men, but coming with me is better than marrying some ingrate."
This entire scene has some shades of Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth. At least XZ didn't insult her family, he just insulted her repeatedly, grabbed her and kissed her twice, but in ways and with timing that also felt insulting to her, and then finally follows all of that with "I'm better than anyone you would pick."
Um....sir. That is not how you confess to the love of your life and ask her to wait for you and/or accompany you into possibly deadly situations.
All of this to say....these dramas love cliches like a misunderstanding trope, but here it felt earned and real. And what happens after? She storms away, and then cries alone. He is angry and bitter and feels abandoned. In his mind, he probably poured his heart out to her and she rejected him. She must not return his feelings! In her mind, he insisted on leaving - apparently to go off and possibly d1e - insulted her repeatedly, and never actually told her how he felt. They're both so deeply hurt and angry, but the elephant in the room is that everything that just happened in that fight isn't even WHY they're both hurt. It's the fact that he's leaving that is tearing them both up inside.
I felt this was really well done and remained true to both characters. These are two very stubborn people who have no idea how to communicate their feelings to one another, and who both take action when faced with conflict.
I loved the scene, even when I was yelling at my TV "NOOOOOO, why are you saying that??? Don't say that! No, don't do that. Stop! Just tell her how you feel! OMG no, just tell HIM how you feel. ACK, neither of you are doing that...oh, now you're insulting each other some more. Okay. Okay." 😭
Also, what is all of this nonsense about the FL not being a strong fighter? Again, are we watching the same drama?? She's shown to be quite powerful, but limited because she's spent her life training but is only now experiencing the real world and people actually trying to harm her. And like....we'll get to see her grow. She's ALREADY growing.
IDK, I just feel people are really critical. This isn't the same story as Pursuit of Jade where Chanyu (for reasons that don't actually make real world sense, honestly; I love that drama A LOT but did get kind of tired of the complete lack of realism in that aspect, when it's not even really a wuxia, but more of a historical) can lift five times what a strong man can, nor is it Who Rules the World where FL is already one of the two most powerful martial artists in the world. But FL here is still a bad*** swordswoman with serious skills who is only going to get better and stronger as the drama goes on.
Anyone know? Has it not been released yet?
Of course, he's also a stalked her for years, but I think the show has implied that the guy who married her also went to great lengths to keep him away from her. She is, after all, a billionaire heiress, so my theory at the moment is her husband wooed and married her for her money, kept anyone else from getting in the way of that, and is now actively trying to murd3r her in an effort to steal her billions. But the ML saving her life and then pretending to be her husband to keep her safe has messed up all of his plans, so he's pretending to be dead while still trying to k1ll his wife.
I also want to say how much I love Zhang Chuhan as well. She's a fantastic young actress, most notably in roles with more physical comedy, such as Marry Me Again. She is great at being hilarious and adorable, and she knows how to kiss her male costars, which is not always true of actresses in c-dramas. This role is a little different than what I've seen her in before - more serious, with the thriller vibe. But she's still doing great and has solid chemistry with Deng Kai.
Thanks for sharing that!
First, this fight did not come out of nowhere. We've been building to it for some time. Every time she's asked him if he really has to leave, and he's said he does, or when she said, but you'll come back, right? And he didn't answer her. His actions have spoken volumes about his feelings for her, but his words up to this point, have not done as good a job, and in some ways have given her the opposite impression. She honestly believes he's indifferent to her and the nice things he's done are out of gratitude because she saved his life, not because he likes her. Remember, too, that she has already been hurt in love by her scholar fiance who used her and her family and then abandoned her. Yes, she responded to that betrayal with anger and disgust for him, but you know underneath that, she was hurt, and that had to feed in to her self doubts. To her, she's an orphan girl with a dependent younger sister and no dowry to speak of. He fiance betrayed her. The village gossips about her and spreads rumors she's a jinx, her own uncle tried to selfishly take her house away...our girl puts on a brave face that none of these things bother her, but she's still going to have insecurities. Those insecurities came out during that scene.
Then we have Xie Zheng. He's lived a very cold life, in the shadow of his father's death and mother's su1c1de, and now his Uncle's betrayal. He has to go back to deal with that, and he doesn't know if he'll survive, much less win. He hopes he will, but he is so afraid of dragging her into his mess that he very intentionally has avoided every question from his friend Gong Sun or anyone else about what he's going to do when he leaves. He's also avoided making her any promises because he has no idea if he could keep them. He could have told her the whole story at any time, but one, he doesn't share easily with others, two, there is some mystery tying her dead parents possibly to the very intrigue he was investigating...definitely to the past, and three, he absolutely does not want her put in danger. So he has all of these very valid reasons not to tell her everything (in his mind), and to leave, deal with his business, and hopefully come back for her later....
But again, remember these characters are young. Changyu is twenty? The Marquis isn't much older, and by all reports has never been in a serious relationship, and has a family riddled with betrayal and death, and a court full of enemies. Even some of his friends (Li Huaian!) are frenemies.
So now it's finally come to when he has to leave. It's here, he can't put it off anymore. And both he and Changyu know this moment they've been dreading is upon them. And they try to talk about it, but in the worst way, because they're both full of heartbreak that it's happening, so their emotions push them to say things they don't mean. When Changyu says she's prepared the divorce papers for him, he reacts with bitterness that she would be so efficient about it. He doesn't want to divorce her. He's made it VERY clear from Changyu's perspective that he is leaving and likely to never come back, so when he asks her about her future, if she'll marry again, she gives him an honest answer. He's not coming back, so eventually, she'll probably marry someone, right? And he is already hurt and irritated and his jealousy flairs. Their conversation turns sarcastic and escalates, both of them saying things they don't really mean.
This is...how real fights happen between couples in real life. Something happens that makes you hurt, or angry, or sad, and you end up lashing out at the person closest to you You say things you don't mean. They respond. It escalates.
And then Xie Zheng makes his biggest mistake. Words have failed him. He can't express how he really feels, he's lost control of both the conversation and his own emotions. He acts, and he kisses her. But to Changyu, who would have welcomed him kissing her two days ago, before he told her he was leaving and then refused to say he would come back, suddenly he's grabbing her and kissing her right when he has to leave, and it doesn't feel romantic, it feels insulting. Then he follows that up with a (crazy, jealous) accusation when she shoves him away and accuses him of being mad that she must want to find someone just like Song Yan. This is the ultimate insult when he KNOWS how much she despises SY. She slaps him.
Xie Zheng isn't in control of himself right now. He's not thinking clearly at all. He's consumed with the pain of leaving her, jealousy at the idea of her marrying someone else, and hurt that she's rejecting him right now.
I also want to take a moment here to point out that with BOTH of these characters, it has been very well established that they are not so big on words and more people of ACTION. So instead of talking this out like reasonable people, our two emotionally elevated leads get physical. XZ grabs her and kisses her even more forcefully. CY shoves him away again and this time draws her knife to hold at his throat.
This is just CY's most instinctive response to any physical threat, but XZ is incredulous. Finally, here, he tells her SOMETHING. Unfortunately, he fumbles this, too. He doesn't tell her how he feels. Instead he just says "You have terrible taste in men, but coming with me is better than marrying some ingrate."
This entire scene has some shades of Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth. At least XZ didn't insult her family, he just insulted her repeatedly, grabbed her and kissed her twice, but in ways and with timing that also felt insulting to her, and then finally follows all of that with "I'm better than anyone you would pick."
Um....sir. That is not how you confess to the love of your life and ask her to wait for you and/or accompany you into possibly deadly situations.
All of this to say....these dramas love cliches like a misunderstanding trope, but here it felt earned and real. And what happens after? She storms away, and then cries alone. He is angry and bitter and feels abandoned. In his mind, he probably poured his heart out to her and she rejected him. She must not return his feelings! In her mind, he insisted on leaving - apparently to go off and possibly d1e - insulted her repeatedly, and never actually told her how he felt. They're both so deeply hurt and angry, but the elephant in the room is that everything that just happened in that fight isn't even WHY they're both hurt. It's the fact that he's leaving that is tearing them both up inside.
I felt this was really well done and remained true to both characters. These are two very stubborn people who have no idea how to communicate their feelings to one another, and who both take action when faced with conflict.
I loved the scene, even when I was yelling at my TV "NOOOOOO, why are you saying that??? Don't say that! No, don't do that. Stop! Just tell her how you feel! OMG no, just tell HIM how you feel. ACK, neither of you are doing that...oh, now you're insulting each other some more. Okay. Okay." 😭
Anyway, can't WAIT for the reunion. anyone else?