Tibbs

Agree with you that it has major Cdrama vibes, especially with the costumes. So it’s always jarring when they start speaking Korean. Gives me whiplash. Personally, I feel that it is interfering in my immersion into the drama, which is why I’m not yet crazy about it, though the plot and acting are solid.

20 episodes on Netflix. Kdramas rarely run into 30 episodes unless it’s a family drama. Maximum episodes for prime time network is usually 24.

I use the word self absorbed and narcissistic with good reason. Remember Pan’Er’s comments about her the very first episode in which Yinzhang was introduced. Pan’Er told Sanniang that YZ was way too absorbed in reading music and playing her Pipa and was very oblivious to the things around her? This was way before she made the decision to elope with her first husband and way before she was abused. At this time she was still the sheltered, pampered musician at the height of her glory in Jiashang. So, this establishes her character trait of being self absorbed, and proceeding events later prove this to be factual. I have never said she isn’t a pitiful, flawed character who makes bad choices. I am merely saying that others shouldn’t be blamed for YZ’s bad choices. She’s really not the only one in that circumstance, in many ways Pan’Er, Sanniang and the waitress girl have their difficulties as well. Unlike her, though, they mostly rise to the occasion to fight their injustices their own way and do not have a victim mentality of being a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by a man.

Hmmmm. Cause and effect? A very good question. We don’t know since we never saw the beginnings of their relationship. Did Pan’Er protect YZ because YZ has a tendency to be self absorbed and spoiled, only interested about things concerning her? Or did YZ become spoiled because YZ always protected her? I’m leaning towards the former. I am speaking from experience when I say that self absorbed, narcissistic people never change no matter how well or how poorly they are treated. They think the world revolves around them and question why they shouldn’t be the center of attention. I have a sister like that. We were all raised the same way, but she has always seen the world as how it relates to her, and never from another’s perspective. You can blame Pan’Er for overly sheltering YZ, but you can’t blame Pan’Er for YZ egotistical attitude. Or for always running to men to solve her problems when faced with difficulty. Remember, it was QXF that asked Pan’Er to keep the relationship secret from YZ because he was afraid she would gossip, then Pan’Er agreed. So, if a man who recently met YZ came to that conclusion about YZ, what does it say about her? I’ve met sheltered children who behave much better than she does. See how thoughtless she was to expose Sanniang’s pain to that newly hired girl. And Sanniang never confronted YZ about that. I think people should take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others, and that goes for YZ and PE as well.

Hmmmm. Cause and effect? A very good question. We don’t know since we never saw the beginnings of their relationship. Did Pan’Er protect YZ because YZ has a tendency to be self absorbed and spoiled, only interested about things concerning her? Or did YZ become spoiled because YZ always protected her? I’m leaning towards the former. I am speaking from experience when I say that self absorbed, narcissistic people never change no matter how well or how poorly they are treated. They think the world revolves around them and question why they shouldn’t be the center of attention. I have a sister like that. We were all raised the same way, but she has always seen the world as how it relates to her, and never from another’s perspective. You can blame Pan’Er for overly sheltering YZ, but you can’t blame Pan’Er for YZ egotistical attitude. Or for always running to men to solve her problems when faced with difficulty. Remember, it was QXF that asked Pan’Er to keep the relationship secret from YZ because he was afraid she would gossip, then Pan’Er agreed. So, if a man who recently met YZ came to that conclusion about YZ, what does it say about her? I’ve met sheltered children who behave much better than she does. See how thoughtless she was to expose Sanniang’s pain to that newly hired girl. And Sanniang never confronted YZ about that. I think people should take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others, and that goes for YZ and PE as well.

I think they had sex. She is officially his mistress. Too bad she didn’t negotiate removing her name from the registry before she went to him.

From today’s episode we see that GXF is Minister Xiao’s legal son. For the longest time I thought he was illegitimate. But today’s episode his father clearly stated that QiMu was there when Xiao married Qian Fan’s mom. Makes me wonder what happened all those years ago.

Second, it’s obvious that Minister Xiao was deeply in love with QXF’s mom and treasures her ( I mean who constantly sets the table for and talks to a dead person at the table?) and QXF in a way he doesn’t with his current wife or his other children. Makes me really wonder how things went south and whether Minister Xiao is a perpetrator or a victim. Maybe both? He has the ability to be dishonest and quite callous as shown by how he swindled the dead man’s assets and how he killed him.

Each time he remembers XF’s favorite meals, my heart breaks, but at the same time I dislike him for his callow treatment of his other son. If there is jealousy between the siblings, then the father is a major contributor with his preferential treatment.

I love the writing. Each significant character is multi-layered and complex.

One evidence of Yin Zhang’s self absorption is the way she treated the singer jie who performed with her in Minister Xiao’s house. A more savvy person would have recognized that the singer would have felt down and jealous because after working so hard, her performance was outshone by YZ. YZ could have stayed with her, kept her company to soothe her jiejie’s ego. After all, the singer kind of introduced her to that setting. But she was so overwhelmed by the compliments and attention that she could only focus on herself. I think she may have lost a true friend. It’s a pity Pan’er wasn’t there, she would have read the scene and known what to do to mitigate matters. I hope they don’t end up as enemies. One of the things I love most about this drama is how the women support each other.

Exactly. This is why I feel YZ is dumb because that is the perfect opportunity to ask him, why set up a house for me? Do you want to marry me or for me to be your concubine? Instead she just kept quiet and considered his words. After what she went through with her ex husband, she should have paid more attention to the singer who told her to be wary of men like Shen. Until Shen comes out and clarified his intentions, she better stay away from him.

Lol 😂😂😂😂. I know right? Perfect opportunity for him to own up to his flaws. Instead of finding fault with an innocent party. Him and YZ take the cake! They are rooted in self delusion.

I know right? She needs a reality check. She can be as dumb as rocks. I don’t know why she doesn’t ask Shen exactly what he wants her as, a mistress? A concubine? A legal wife? A lover? And for how long? Forcing him to define her status may make him either back off or be honest with her as Gu Qian Fan was with Pan’er. Instead, she plays coy in a relationship steeped with ambiguity and thinks that she’s hiding the relationship from her sisters when everyone knows about it. Smh.

I didn’t realize this at first. It’s so true! Thanks for pointing it out😂😂😂. Hoping the actor doesn’t get type cast into the role of soft spoken betrayer. On another note, I love that they are using the actors real voices, it makes it seem more real.

Thanks so much! This really helps me understand the drama better.

Thank you all for your thoughtful perspectives and clear explanations. It does help to contextualize what Pan’er is going through and the challenges she faces, when sometimes, all she has holding her up, is her own self esteem.

I’m so thankful we have mature female leads who act like adults not like overgrown children. At first I had my doubts about Yinzhang, but she exceeded my expectations. What makes this drama an absolute gem is a combination of top notch acting, great costumes and cinematography, good character development and a great script. Characters are flawed but they behave logically, there’s no illogical action just to move the plot along that is so common in Cdramas (must think that majority of their audiences lack common sense). The characters are mature, the actors are seasoned. What’s not to love about this production? I also love that the FL is no damsel in distress that constantly needs to be rescued by the ML, she also rescues him, gives him advice, worries about him. It’s a really balanced relationship and the audience can see why they would each treasure the other, not just because the script says so. And that although they are attracted to each other, the FL has her business, and the ML has his career so they are not always at each other’s disposal. They both have interests outside of their relationship. It’s so realistic.

Chi Pan is love. He is the comedic relief in the drama, and oh so endearing!

Can someone explain to me what is so bad about the pariah status? When it was mentioned in the beginning, I thought it was a good thing, as it kept her chaste, refraining from selling her body. However in today’s episode 15, she mentions it with tears in her eyes. Any clarity that can be provided would be appreciated.

Thumbs up Sam!

Thumbs up for your comment. Makers of the drama simply don’t care that their dramas could potentially be watched by African viewers. I think it’s a shame they have this uneducated attitude.

This is a recurring theme in Asian drama nowadays. It’s hella annoying. What? Were they living under a rock for the past few years? Where did Covid and Avian Flu come from? Way to spin a narrative!