Sunbath12

Exactly, Hou is completely delusional. How does beating your brother up when you were always better at fighting show that you are better than him? It doesn't show anything new, genius.

I hope not. After what happened with the Haoling arc, I'm going to keep my expectations low so I might be at least somewhat happy with what happens next.

Yeah, wasn't expecting her to crack that cup and then...whooooo

That fight needed some better CGI and moves.

No, you've always made sense when it came to these darn leaked scripts. Deviating from the original novel and, like you said, omitting some key parts has consequences for things that happen down the line. The power of the loss at the end of the story is diminished. For CX mainly, but also for Xinyue's and FL's characters as well if Xinyue's storyline is completely changed/omitted. The story has been building up to something happening with Xinyue - so if nothing happens, I'm going to really roast this second season in my review.

Yeah, the previous 4 episodes were a bit underwhelming, but man, I was almost shaking by the time of the last scene in ep 18. So much power in YZ's delivery of those lines about Jing to CX while still remaining calm...until she couldn't hold it in anymore and cracked that cup.

Tushan Hou is definitely not right in the head. It's so unfair what their Mom did to him, but yeah, he a messed up dude. He keeps going on and on about beating Jing at everything (Jing doesn't even care and he told him as much), he doesn't even know what is up or down anymore.

Seriously! Finally the episodes I was waiting for and it just stops right there in ep 18.

Yes, these characters are definitely all flawed and burdened with so much baggage.

I definitely share your viewpoint personally. I guess if I had a similar experience of having my country invaded and lost to another, I may have a different opinion. People like Chenrong Yi were able to compromise, accept the new rule and allow the people to live in peace. But Hong Jiang, XL and those soldiers voluntarily chose to fight to the death. The story and drama doesn't really cover the lost loved ones and the collateral damage of war that much - in real life, it definitely is costly and at this point, I agree, is there a point to it?But conversely, I don't fault Hong Jiang, XL or those soldiers for never forgetting their country and their resolve to die for it.

Me too! Why must we wait...sobs

I hope they keep the part from the novel when CX finally finds out who was really in charge of helping him win the throne from the beginning (i.e. Jing).

I agree. The whole Baili/Voodoo king part was skipped and it was like who are these people lol

Yeah, he’s not a bad dude, but he’s not a great father

I love the fat birdie too. Too bad it's drinking too much as well.

Yeah, the scene with her mother was fine - it was emotional and well acted on YZ's part. But yes, setting it up was lacking.

As far as Jing and her Dad being there. In the novel, the whole sequence of events was a coming to terms for Haoling emperor with his past, culminating in the struggle to find A Heng in that burning desert place. In the drama, it is mostly replaced with more scenes with A'Nian, which I liked, but it's sad that whole sequence is lost.

For Jing, it was a way to help XY come to terms with her past. And then later, for her Mom to see him as the one she would want to be with. It's poetic and represents a healing close to her struggles with her past. In the drama, we have XL's scene with the portrait, which I also liked because of how his story mirrors Chi Chen and A Heng's, but it takes away from XY and Jing. It's a creative choice - not one I agree with or like, but it is what it is.

Ok, Xinyue. Still throwing tantrums. You know, both her and AN are the spoiled types, but in the end, AN could learn about what was really important and consider the bigger picture. She is really empress material. Maybe it's because her Dad is loving and supportive. Xinyue's Dad? I just get loser Dad vibes from him, sorry.

Awesome! I hate turkey stuffing, so it's fitting for me to use it in this instance haha.

I really like seeing AN's growth in the drama. While the past 4 or so episodes have had some disappointing parts, AN has definitely been a highlight. Comparing her and CX from S1, it's interesting to see how they ended up at this point. I think the drama should have just kept CX out of Jing and XY's scenes from the novel and developed his and AN's storyline more for this whole Haoling arc.

More time for the season would have negated the need to stuff CX into scenes where he really doesn't need to be and allow his character to focus on the Haoling war arc and build up to his marrying A'Nian. I don't need jealous CX in every scene - a little restraint can do a lot more for the later big reveal of his true feelings and darker intentions.

More time would also have allowed Jing and XY to have their scenes - the whole meeting XY's Mom arc is such a great story point in the novel, and it is notable that both Jing and Haoling King are there. Here in the drama, the emotional impact is lost because while XY does meet her Mom, Jing and Haoling King's involvement are not important. They are just bystanders.