Theseredshoes

Unfortunately, the link which I did keep, the videos have been removed T.T

Hi, I haven't watched this nor read the novel. 1) Do you recommend the novel? 2) Is the series pretty different from the novel? For example, Ghost in the Shell film with Scarlett Johansson was epically terrible and had nothing to do with the original anime.

Hello again! Sorry, I missed replying to your comment :(

You see, I understand some Spanish and I read Chinese, so sometimes I can dig up the old lakorns with these subtitles when I search online. Although many of these clips had also been deleted, seems like it was due to the Thai broadcasting stations threatening action. I do realise that this info is probably not much help unless you happen to also understand these two languages....

This comment was truly LOL! Thanks for lifting my mood to a stressful week :D:D

Mr Queen would be my recommendation. Not exactly the same but close enough and very funny to boot, with less draggy parts. The Romance of Rose and Tiger isn't a genderblender but it is a highly enjoyable and funny rom-drama. Try them and let me know! :)

My pleasure! I often rely on other commentators to decide if something was my taste or not, so always glad to pass it forwards ☺️

Ok I will try!! Though I dislike palace dramas generally. I am a wuxia fan who like tough FLs, so usually palace intrigue sets my teeth on edge. You can see why Ep 18-28 was terrible for me lol. The only exemptions were Mr Queen and Oh My General, which are genderbender shows that I adore and both were hilarious.

After you finish this drama, please let me know if there are there other wuxia/xianxia Cdramas with the same kind of skinship as TMOPB!!!! I haven't watched that much Cdrama compared to Thai lakorns and Kdrama (because so many episodes).

Congrats you have weathered the worst and reached the good part!! With steamy scenes coming up that I swear is what makes makes their love story intensely memorable lol. Ep 18-28 was horrible for me, I hate to see any FLs whom I like suffer.

You must be an incredibly kind person, Su Jin is what is called a green tea bitch / matcha bitch if you know Mandarin. I doubt I am the only person who detest her. Xuan Nu is the more sympathetic of the 2 evil characters imo.

I am not particularly forgiving and almost didn't forgive Ye Hua even though I know why he did what he did. If he suffered any less, I won't have forgiven him.

The 3rd lifetime is later... and I consider it to be in 2 parts which runs concurrently - after Ep 29/30 and then the other part involving the ML around ~Ep 45 or so. Some viewers may consider it strictly as the event around ~Ep 45. You have now reached the painful part. Hang in there after Ep 29/30!

Thank you for your last paragraph, I was trying to decide whether to watch (long dramas are no joke lol) and what you said helped me make up my mind. I will try this!

I debated because I don't have strong chemistry for Dilraba Dilmurat. Also I liked how you addressed each of the common negative comments for this show as I get an idea whether the bad points are enough of a deal maker/breaker. I absolutely need a strong, tough female lead if I am going to watch 50 episodes of drama. The pull-push between the FL and ML has to be great, so at least I can rely on the main leads chemistry to get me through a long storyline.

Light hearted fluffy entertainment :D Short too, which is a major plus point! Watch when one needs a brainless break is needed from heavy dramas.

This needs to be explained a little. The female lead is a magnificent General who is a mix of male and female traits (frankly more male than female, having lived her life on the battlefield and as a male from young). There were female characters who were in loved with her. This drama truly breaks gender boundaries, one can't really pigeonhole it. So the GL/lesbian tag is valid enough though, but it is not the main story which is between the FL and ML.

She isn't just cross-dressing as a man, she IS manly (mixture) while her hubby is taking the female role (mixture). The role reversal is complete and true. Yet this genderbender couple is a perfect match for each other! Great character development for the ML, and he grew to completely adore the FL. Of the dramas I have watched, this unconventional couple is among my top favourites <3 Show has side-splittingly hilarious genderbender situations every other moment for the first 20 episodes or so. The storyline from Ep 21-29 is rather meandering and plotless, could have been greatly condensed but thankfully gets back on track after Ep 30.

Extremely original and funny romp that blatantly breaks gender boundaries, worth watching just for this. As far as I know, no other period dramas with FL written non-apologetically as manly as this. No concessions made. I LOVE THIS FACT. A+++++!!!!!!!!!

Btw she is a magnificent woman AND man (I typed man and woman initially, a freudian slip lol)

Ahem, yes it is, sorry. I like the ML though, he is not toxic like some in my opinion. He is just caught between FL exerting revenge (gosh she is good!) and his family

Yes generally I hate tragic endings for dramas. Movies are more acceptable, its only 2 hours lol but when I invested upwards of 24 hours to watch, it had better not be a tragic ending! However this drama is a rare exception because it involves a number of multiple couples, not possible for everyone to have a good ending. Thankfully the main leads get a happy ending although what a ride to get there... I think millions of viewers would be pretty upset if it didn't. Apparently 65 million views and counting? That would be a lot of upset folks :p

Beware not all the many multiple characters will have happy endings, not possible when there are soooo many characters. Unfortunately one of the 2ML fits your description - Li Jing is a classic Greek tragedy character who is not evil but suffered greatly because of his birth circumstances and a character flaw/mistake that snowballed. I found the character to be written very sympathetically because he had committed one of my two major triggers yet I never felt anything but deep sadness and sympathy for him. Never happens, my reactions are usually very clear cut when it comes to these two triggers.

Fascinating storyline featuring a tangled web spanning 3 "lifetimes" (this is the Chinese title of the story and it will slowly become clear what this means as events unfold) + starcrossed lovers = a wuxia love story of operatic proportions.

I tend to FF scenes in dramas if the story gets draggy but having said that, the wuxia genre is my absolute favourite genre in Cdrama. I have read all the Louis Chia's novels. This is the longest drama (over 70+ Cdrama/Kdrama/Jdrama/Thai lakorns completed) that I have watched. For months, I resisted watching this drama with so many episodes knowing my limited attention span. Remarkably for the entire 58 episodes, I FF only scenes with the two major evil female characters (mainly when by themselves).

The story IS fairly long but with multiple characters within interweaving threads that somehow still kept the overall integrity of the main storytelling going. That in itself is a major feat. Top-notched storytelling at its best. Many characters were engrossing which is a sign of good screenplay and directing. I became deeply emotionally invested in what happened to them. The show was an emotional rollercoaster which I binged in 3 days, there wasn't a single point where I felt I needed a break (which is rare, I often leave a drama for weeks before resuming). Quite the opposite. I couldn't stop episode after episode (first day, I didn't sleep at all and the last day, I slept two hours). The main leads love story was long and epic. The cumulative angst experienced by the main ML and FL over each "lifetime" hits viewers square in the heart and will leave withdrawal symptoms after the drama is over. After months of wondering what the fuss was about, I finally understood why this show has the reputation it does. I am planning to read the original novel.

Editing was slightly uneven in places so there were some minor inconsistencies. I do feel the last 8 episodes felt slightly rushed compared to the first 50 episodes.

Be warned that the hardest episodes to watch were ~ Ep18-28 where the main FL suffered, so the viewer needs to weather this segment without dropping it. After that, it will be ok.

So in a nutshell, YES watch this!

There are 2 other "secondary ML" contenders involved with the main FL and she is emotionally affected but their story arcs are not as deep as the main ML. I do not consider it to be a love triangle. But both the secondary contenders (especially Li Jing) touched my heart because they do love the FL deeply. I hope this is enough to let you decide.

**Be warned that the hardest episodes to watch were ~ Ep18-28 where the main FL suffered, you needs to weather this segment without dropping it. After that, it will be ok.

In a nutshell, YES watch this!