YouToon

He kept him safe and away from all battles. Spoiled him and indulged him without giving him clear guidance and positive reinforcement. He expected his son would be one of those kids he could throw into a room to study and he’d excel. And than when FY didnt dad chalked it up to him being too young and thus not ready for responsibility. Which left the kid frustrated and constantly seeking to prove himself with literally no guidance on how to do it. Atleast not on a consistent basis. Basically Fan Yu didnt spend enough time with daddy causing abandonment and insecurity. He also had way to much authority as commissioners son to be anything other than a dick. He was “better” than everyone else and there was a very tiny pool of people who could discipline and guide him. Think cliche spoiled heiress 2nd female lead but a dude instead.

Im conflicted on it. It seems like a way to force character motivations to evolve and get everyone from point A to point B while skimming two whole arcs in the novel. Given the need to keep everything to 40 episodes I kind of get it. I do think they’ve handled it well. It was acted really well.

Oh he has tons of hidden depths. He’s kind, very clever, brave, loyal, sweet etc. But these are thing our FL learns and helps him bring out more.

It reading as unexpressed potential for romantic love. But given both characters psychological baggage, its very very slow burn and understated. When they are hanging out being friend together it’s cute and you can see them slowly becoming the person each is most comfortable around.

Hahaha, they think he’s an unreliable, inconsiderate and ungentlemanly jerk of a bully. Except for being rich and pretty he does not appear to have any of the traits woman are taught are admirable or will keep them safe.

They have changed alot about LZS’s backstory. However, in the book the primary reason JH didnt tell him or reveal things publicly when it could have solved political problems is because he wanted to protect the mother’s reputation. He knew who his son was. He just didnt think it would benefit anyone at this stage to claim him.

They never break up but there are separations due to their careers and politics.

No. The separation is new drama for the drama.

I read the book through MTL so I could get it wrong but it was still called Daxia when I read it. I think because the emperor appointed Zhou as the next emperor it was a legitimate exchange of power rather than founding a new dynasty.

It wasnt 100% clear from the show but it sounds like from that last conversation the eunuch has it to give to general zhou when he arrives. In the book GJ had it. Edit: he also did let Fan Yu be the emperor. The decree was in case he failed to be a good emperor.

Nice

Yep. The last bit is Fan Yu as emperor and how that gets dealt with.

I think because they are glossing over and combining so many events these episodes needed a lot more exposition than usual.

Unless they completely disregard the book, (which given its now a literary treasure would get them in a lot of hot water) it will be happy for GJ and LY. The kingdom and their friends will also be mostly happy.

…I need an express pass for the last four. This wait is evil.

Yeah, this is going in a weird way that may not be as tragic as the book. GJ and LY were never contenders. And ZY was the eldest adopted son of General Zhou Daddy. Zhou Ping was the younger second son. So it made sense that ZY inherited. The break between Fan Yu and the Zhou family happened for lots of reasons but the final straw was the Zhou wives and Ping were taken hostage. Only Ping survived. QW was different but just as awesome and badass in the book. Her death was epic. And because of the Zhou ladies dying, all the Zhou men planned to overthrow Fan Yu. GJ negotiated a way to do it that hurt the fewest people instead of the original Zhou plan. Its a great scene in the book where GJ calls back all the men lost to hate (including YS) back to the path that is best for the people. They’ve cherry picked alot of scenes and motivations so its hard to say how this will all end except it has to end with ZY as emperor.

Yeah. Basically the start of the story is them getting married-very light hearted except for their personal struggles with it-but than disasters in the world change their lives. After that its much more dramatic but it still has the light hearted moments. The kiss in episode 15 was like CPR. Not a kiss.

Uh, not like this. She drank the wine and immediately everyone knew she wasnt really poisoned. It just showed her determination and allowed the emperor to make things clear to the dowager. And all their separations were done knowingly. I did MTL so some details I probably missed. I know timeframes were tricky. Still, the show changed alot. Its far less complicated and clever in the show.

Hahaha, I see it too! I cant unsee it.

Ep 27