UnaSpenser

so sad that there wasn't a second season.

That character is written so strangely. He's a military man. He would have seen some things and lived around people who weren't upper class. And you have to navigate social relations in order to rise in the military. But, he's so daft and rigid about weird angles to things. There is supposedly honor in maintaining a good marriage, but all he can see is that she's not a social ladder for him? He wants filial piety, but he doesn't give off head of family vibes, in terms of modeling anything at all. He's just a jerk who abuses his grandson and slanders women who have been victims of crimes.

I've never read the book, and I found the energy and aesthetic of the first few episodes to be a bit mesmerizing. I really enjoyed the slow pace, as it was clear that it was all going somewhere and we would be in for more intensity later.

I actually found them calming and kept watching because I was enjoying not being overstimulated, and instead being reeled in. ;-)

It definitely gets better.

Her character is sort of trope-y, but having one of them be inside the royal family and aware of how to navigate that is necessary. His character's development is very interesting. You don't quite expect how he goes about things in episode 8. His absolute commitment to what's been smoldering for 10 years. This quietly simmering, seemingly humble man runs deep. I love how his character is being portrayed.

The FL should run screaming from this family. They are a bunch of psychopaths.

I know that they use a lot of real places. But there are scenes where it definitely feels like they are standing in a studio and the background was added later. Those scenes have a very different visual feel to them.

I'd really like her to quit whispering her lines. All the sibilance is so agitating that when she goes into theatmode, I skip ahead. (I don't know if this is the actress' voice or that of a voice actress, but it's super annoying.)

Is this whole thing filmed in front a green screen?

This is what I can't figure out. He has committed sexual assault, coerced her into a "relationship", and imprisoned her. This is someone she should get a long way away from and should never be able to trust. So, how do they turn this into an acceptable romance? I hope they don't. I hope it's a tragedy.

That's how it seemed to me: that the ruling class was horrendous, so they went and wiped out the entire population.

And they seem to be proud it, and utterly shocked that anyone survived.

It's hard to be supportive of "The Great Shi" given this. Loved the characters and the actors; but the nationalist loyalty to a regime which committed genocide is off-putting.

We are not meant to see any of this as romantic, right? It's so disturbing.

This one caught me by surprise. More interesting than I anticipated! Love the character dynamics. Really enjoying Wang Hai Xiang, Alen Fang, and Shen Yu Jie for all the subtle richness they bring to their characters.

I'm kinda lost on one thing, though: did the Great Shi commit genocide? Are we supposed to feel badly that the survivors of that are fighting back? Or did I miss something about why they feel ok about having slaughtered an entire ethnicity?

Retirement was the best thing he ever could have done for his career. It is so enjoyable finding him in these varied roles. I hope he's a lot of satisfaction in his work now.

The Chinese drama scavenger hunt of the year is finding where Xu Zheng Xi appearances!

The best retirement of all time.

I was wondering if there are stories where it happens well prior to the last episode. Where we get to see them in this chosen lifestyle and find out what challenges and rewards that brings.

ep 40: I find it incongruent that they are talking about having the right to make autonomous decisions about their marriages, when she ends up dictating that the maid will marry a particular man - who has not expressed any interest and is completely unaware that this is in the works.

Shouldn't the conversation have ended with, "let's find out how he feels"? How do they know he doesn't have other plans? Why is the sister speaking for her brother? It's has an icky feel to it.

oh right! I remember now! Thank you so much.

I don't find this story gripping, per se, but I do really appreciate the "all that palace intruique and power infighting is BS, let's leave it behind" theme.

Are there others like this?

I enjoy costume dramas, mostly as something to keep me seated for knitting or crocheting. I have pretty much given up watching English-speaking productions. I prefer to see how stories are being told elsewhere and to get a little history or cultural lesson now and then. (I am often prompted to go look things up. I enjoy learning history this way.)

That said, my main bugaboo about them is that, so often, the story is centered on being loyal to or replacing an emperor. Whole bloody wars and campaigns fought to just install someone else who has unquestionable power over the life and death of everyone?

And all this, "for the honor of the family" which is, at minimum, complicit in the oppression of others. We're supposed to root for them when they have slaves? Or a servant class who they wield power over and maintain lives of luxury while their workers have no freedom? It's hard to get attached to these characters or their missions.

So, it's refreshing to have a story where the FL is just quietly pushing until her husband gets the message, that the way of the power class is not a way worth living. Are there other of these costume dramas where the leads abandon all that and opt for a working class life (prior to the final episode, where they've had to do some miraculous political feats to feel they can leave)?

Yes. I clearly can't track of who was in relation to whom. 🤣 But, I thought she was in love with someone and they finally got the families to agree to let them marry, but then his family called it off. And I had thought that that was Pei. But, as we know, I got that totally wrong! So, now I'm just muddled.

thank you.

now, can you remind me who the daughter who is in the book store, painting, had been going to marry? Because, I thought she was the one who was in love with the Pei son and that the Pei's wouldn't let their son marry into the Xie family.