Aya

Agreed. Tantai Jin definitely went through a tremendous change throughout the drama.

Definitely Pian Ran

Gong Shang Jue and Gong Yuan Zhi were two broken people who were trying hard to fix each other, but didn't seem to understand that they have to fix themselves first. These two have made me cry so much. The affection, the loyalty and absolute trust that they had for each other throughout the whole drama was heartwarming.

This was one of the dramas that I was really looking forward to and I must say that I absolutely loved it.
It's visually stunning: the cinematography, the costumes and the choreography of the fight scenes are breathtaking.

The cast did a great job portraying the characters they were given.

I liked the fact that the ML was different from the cold and mysterious ML who's the best at everything that we usually get. Gong Zi Yu still had a lot to learn and he was plagued by insecurities, but at the same time what set his character apart was his kindness and gentleness to everyone around him. It's no wonder that Yun Wei Shan who grew up in a ruthless and cold world and always craved peace and warmth fell in love with him. It's also completely understandable why he fell in love with her so quickly. He clearly felt neglected all his life and her genuine care for him was apparent from the start.

We did also get the capable, mysterious and cold (but with a heart of gold) character in Gong Shang Jue. It's a character that you can't help but love. While Gong Zi Yu is straightforward and open, Gong Shang Jue is mysterious and a bit of a closed book. The dynamic between two opposites was really interesting to watch. Add to that the bratty and proud puppy Gong Yuan Zhi and it's an absolute delight to watch.

Shangguan Qian is another character that was a lot of fun to watch and even as an audience member, we're never really let into her mind, so to the end you remain unsure of what she lied about and what was true. Obviously, she fell in love with Gong Shang Jue, but with her duplicitous nature you're always on the fence with this couple.

All in all, this was a very entertaining drama.

This might be the first one where I can't make a definitive choice.
There were so many heartbreaking scenes.

The last scenes of the dream arc definitely come to mind. The tower scene and almost every scene that followed that. Pian Ran and Qing Yu's last scene together. The last scene with Tantai Jin and SuSu and her breakdown at the tomb later on. The royal wedding scene and the scene at the dungeon after that.

I'll stop now.

I'm going to have to say Di Mian. Tian Huan was obviously a horrible, horrible person, but Di Mian was beyond despicable.

Well, episode 1 is definitely on the list. Episode 35 is there too.

It's a very beautiful and serene scene. Just lovely

I was just about to write that. It was some well deserved happiness.

The BTS videos are definitely a necessary part of the whole experience

This is a funny one 🤣

I'm going to choose the wedding scene. TTJ was so happy before that and LSS was trying to steel herself, because she made the decision and couldn't turn back anymore. Very emotional.

no wonder it looked familiar

The time to rewatch is approaching

There are too many great lines to choose from, but Tantai Jin telling Su Su "I'll let you end it for me" is the culmination of everything we have seen in the drama before that moment and heartbreaking as it is, it's so fitting and you can't help but understand his feelings at that point. It's a short sentence with a heavy impact.

Hiei and Yukina are twins. He was born a male fire demon into a clan of Ice Maidens (exclusively a female clan). Because the clan was afraid that he will one day cause their doom, they called him a cursed child and threw him off a cliff. It's only much later in life that he found out that he had a sister. When asked why he didn't tell her he was her brother, he simply said that she would be happier not knowing.

I'll have to agree that falling in love was more of a catalyst for change for the main leads. It paved a new path for them to follow and become more complete individuals, because at the beginning of the story they are both lacking in certain areas. I think it's easy to see Shi Ying as perfect, because that's how he's presented. Handsome, intelligent, kind and powerful. But he definitely has flaws. They are less obvious than Zhu Yan's, but he's not perfect.

I liked that you brought up the aspect of duality. It's definitely present throughout the whole story and very obviously between the main leads, but most interestingly for me within individual characters . Here's where I wish they had focused on a relatively fewer number of characters so this duality could be explored in more detail.

I also wish that the last few episodes weren't so rushed, where things were just happening without us actually seeing them happen and whatever we did see didn't have any time to breathe.

This was a drama that I waited for for a long, long time. Then when it finally came out, I waited once more for all the episodes to be available so I could watch it at my own pace. Even though I tried to avoid any comments and reviews of the drama, I couldn't help coming across some less than favourable reviews. Negative reviews never really hold me back from watching something I want to watch and that wasn't the case this time either.

Now that I finished watching it, I must say that I actually liked the drama.

I won't say that I don't understand the criticism this drama gets. Like any other drama out there, there are positive and negative things to say about TLP. What makes people either like a drama or dislike it, is more about which flaws you can tolerate and overlook and which you cannot.

The biggest problem with TLP is the storytelling. The story is definitely there, but the way it was told lacked excitement and dramatic tension. Luckily, this drama excelled in the quiet moments. The story unfolds slowly and I sometimes wished they had focused on different things to show, but overall the story didn't get lost which is why it still worked out.

The editing of the last few episodes could also have been better. I can't help but think that a large portion was cut out, once again to the detriment of any build up of dramatic tension.

Another issue is the lack of chemistry between the main leads. Again, luckily this drama wasn't focused on the love story. It was part of the journey, but it wasn't the focal point, so the lack of chemistry didn't end up hurting the drama too much.

The FL seems to get a lot of negative comments. She's definitely naive, reckless and irresponsible in the beginning of the drama, which is also clearly shown to be deliberate as those are the points that she's told to improve on during her training. She's also brave, kind and loyal. As the drama went on, her positive traits shone brighter, but she was rather slow on learning to be less reckless and irresponsible.

Then you had the ML, who was forced to mature at a very young age and throughout the whole drama is shown to hold himself back from anything he could possibly desire. He's very kind and selfless, which is reflected in everything he does. He's also all about duty and a higher purpose , which he imparts on his student. He definitely built walls around himself and doesn't let others get close, which in turn means that he also doesn't know how to get close to others. It's only towards almost the very end of the drama that this aspect of him changes.

This drama had too many characters than it knew what to do with, but admittedly there were quite a few interesting ones.

It's well acted, visually appealing and had a beautiful OST.

The name of the ML in the drama was changed. In the novel the ML is Huo Qu Bing. In the drama version they changed his name to Wei Wu Ji.

If you understood Jin Ho Kyung in the first season, you should understand her even more so in the second season. Her actions are not out of character. In the first season, she was a grieving mother. She was grieving for a lost daughter, but she was holding on to the hope that her daughter is still alive. That's why she ended up making some stupid and rash decisions. In the second season that hope that she had in the first one is gone. She's told that her daughter's soul is gone. Moreover, it was her decision to save the body and let go of the soul, because that's the last part of her daughter that she can keep close. Using the body to give birth to the next heir seems like an additional justification for the choice she has made. Keeping the body alive while letting go of the soul is a selfish decision of a mother who can't let go of her daughter completely, because she has been yearning for her for a decade. Justifying it like that makes her feel more in control. Especially since seeing the body being used by someone else causes her inexplicable pain. She needs a justification.

While I obviously didn't necessarily like her character, I definitely understood her actions and choices.

The second season of AOS is still visually stunning with beautiful music and an interesting story, but there were a few things that seemed rushed and therefore didn't make sense and a few additions that seemed sudden as there was no foreshadowing in season 1.

That being said, I still enjoyed it. A lot.

It's usually a bit jarring when they change a cast member, especially one of the main leads, but luckily in this case they made it work. Jung So Min did an amazing job in the first season and Go Youn Jung didn't disappoint in the second season.