UnaSpenser

what I like about Sima Jiao is that he learns from his mistakes. When he forces her to kill and sees her reaction, he comes to understand that forcing someone is bad for their psyche.

So far, with Jin An, I'm seeing that he is compelled to loyalty because of the transformation he was forced into. (I'm only at ep 6.) He's lovely in his appreciation of her, but its a whole different trajectory. He had a background as a beloved general and bonds with his army mates. Sima Jiao started out as someone who has had no real people contact or bonding for 500 years and had to learn to connect and care. So, with him, we get to see a lot of growth.

I'm enjoying it so far. Though, I wish that they'd quit casting actresses who have the body type of a pipe cleaner as "fierce" generals.

There is no way that that person is overpowering people the size of tanks on the battlefield. And they could, at least, have the actress (or voice actress) learn how to have a commanding voice.

Some of it is kind of silly - like the brother who grew up in a military family but still acts like some posh brat who has zero understanding of military decorum.

The main story, though, is entertaining. ML is a prince from the "enemy" and has been turned into something, causing a loss of memory. Seeing how this plays out: is it a "enemies become allies in face of a greater enemy" story, or a "her paranoid king can't see the real enemy" kind of story?

Yeah. I never understand these character tropes where someone saving them means there is a romantic expectation. If this were the case, there would be no EMTs., lol.

It's mind-numbingly stupid and really downgrades the storytelling.

Sima Jiao is maybe the most green flag male character ever.

oh sheesh. that's so boring. I guess we could see that coming, but it seems anticlimactic.

Help! I think I must be completely forgetting part of the story. Just finished ep 33 and I can't figure out what is left to fill 3 episodes with?

she's not a little girl. she's a grown woman.

Lin Shuang He?

Seeing the water poisoning of the remnants and then figuring that it could happen again is not exactly genius level work. The average person would think, "Oh, that villain who uses that poison might try to spread it through water."

It's a big stretch to call this an example of the villain just being MORE genius than the protagonists.

that's definitely more detailed and makes more sense.

also, this international arms smuggling org send their goods in boxes branded with their logo?

Didn't "General" Faux-heng grow up sickly? Wasn't that why he was stuck in a temple and his sister learned to fight?

How does he have any fighting skill? And how would he not immediately be pegged as a fake on any battlefield?

true. but, that I can live with. they're in a professional setting and he's her boss. and she's on a mission. it can wait.

and, he is letting her know in lots of ways. if she's not picking up those cues, what does she need? but, she might be ignoring them on purpose, because, well, she's on a mission.

to start, this is copaganda, but not even depicting a competent police force. there is only one cop who has any intelligence? and any ability to stop criminals with guns? and when he knows he's walking into a room full of armed criminals, he doesn't wait for backup? wut?

in maybe a first for a K-Drama, there are no corrupt cops or government officials? how is this realistic? lol

none of them know that people access info and products via the internet? they never once seem to look into how people got on these lists.

it's just silly.

the story didn't really look into any of the characters' psychological needs and how society is failing and might need to offer up something. they're just broken, so when handed a gun, they'll instantly become a mass shooter. also, is our protagonist in any kind of therapy? 'cause he really needs it.

the villain has no purpose? he just enjoys it? why is his sponsor backing this absurdity?

I mean, nihilist psychopaths are out there. It just makes for an empty story.

I was thinking this. He's made it clear that he's romantically interested. It's takes 30 seconds to say, "sorry. I'm not and please don't pursue it."

These tropes where they get "interrupted" and the person can't respond are silly. IRL, you stay there and give the response. Or you find the person, the first moment you can and clear the air. It's beyond my comprehension why this is acceptable writing.

This is where I think writers just count on us being forgiving. And on us having a low opinion of people who lived long ago. Professional guards and police are all going to be so distracted by a cloud that no one thinks to keep an eye on the exceedingly dangerous prisoner?

This happens a lot in these dramas. The "best of the best" are in the castle guard, but they are readily killed or the castle is readily penetrated by almost anyone who decides they want to. We're meant to assume that the incompetence is just standard in ancient times. However, if the ancestors were that incompetent, castles would have been breached every other day. Given how well records were kept, we know this isn't the case. So, its a completely unrealistic depiction.

Mostly, I just go with it. Dramas are just entertainment, after all. But, I do get disappointed when the writing has been pretty good and then they throw it all away by dumbing down one character in order to have us believe that another character outsmarted them.

also, you can have a 13-year plan that no one can solve, but not a plan that is something that has literally already been seen by the investigators: poisoning the water. From the moment they came back to the capital and knew that Yesha was still alive, they would have secured all the water supplies.

They present the ML has so smart that he is more observant than anyone else and outwits everyone he comes against. But, he saw that the remnants of Haiya had been poisoned via contaminated water and then never considered that as a possible course of action for the villain?

You can't make the villain smart by dumbing down the heroes. That's not a smart villain. That's dumb writing.

EP 36: I'm officially disappointed in the writers for having our supposedly smart investigator be so stupid that he didn't predict the single most obvious plan that the villain would have.

Obviously, I've enjoyed the drama and made it to this point. But, this is a sad way to top off a fun ride.

ep 34: how could they not think about the Swift Wind formula and the fact that some people in Haiya were poisoned via water? That Yesha could have set up a poisoning scenario to wreak havoc in Qi? It's defies all logic that these supposedly fantastic investigators wouldn't think of this. That, even a 5th grader wouldn't think of it. Plus, he keeps broadcasting that something will happen at his execution. If they haven't already prepared for this eventuality, it's going to seriously downgrade my opinion of the storytelling.

ep 29: Beiming. Bei Hai. The connection is building.