antiherodiaries

It's balanced...starts from the FL but jumps back and forth between both of them.

I'm halfway. It's so good. I like this writer quite a bit actually, very detailed, so makes it for a slow read. Have to pay attention.

Dear drama gods,
Please please please do not downgrade the ML. My heart can't take it again.

What or who do I need to sacrafice so we get a balance narrative and great adaptation? 🤣

You have brought up a really good point. I didn't think of it because it followed the novel very closely. The villiage life also containted alot of CP troupes for the main leads, so there's also alot of wasted time there.

The novel is set up like this which I think in terms of writing, it's actually very unique: Slice of life (first act), military intrigue (second act) and palace politics (third act). So I had anticipated it like so. the issue is the second act takes over several months, many of them could been summed up in a nice montage with voice over if they are running of space. But they chose to go back the slice of life humor found in the first act coupled with the CP shennegans, that we ended up with all the character development (which took place on the battlefield) to be less than compelling.

I don’t think my point came across clearly. In a 40-episode drama like Chasing Jade, the screenwriter spent too much time catering to CP fans and failed to craft a concise narrative within the given timeframe.

You can still include romance like your point, K-dramas have been doing this effectively for years within a 12–16 episode structure. In Chasing Jade, however, it feels like screen time was sacrificed for marketing-driven moments rather than a well-developed, cohesive story.

I disagree. The chasing jade is for both of them and I'll die on this hill. The "Jade" actually carries a dual symbolism: Xie Zhang is described as a rare piece of jade (as seen in FCY’s conversation with Madam Zhao about the fake marriage), and “jade” is also embedded in Changyu’s name.
Thus, “pursuing jade” works on two levels—Xie Zhang pursuing Changyu, and Changyu pursuing Xie Zhang.

But I also agree the screenwriter failed the adaption.

There's no billing order in Jade. ZLH 's character was built in at least 17 episodes and marketed as of equal importance. So alot of our crash out are also valid.

In the drama it's only 2 years. 19 and 21. in the novel it's 5 years. 16 and 21.

LLTG worked without the actions because it took place during a time of peace and works as a court politics drama. The boarder was already secure hence her parents returned home. But for Jade, it doesn't work at all because it's a military drama.

Poor writing. The screenwriter weakness is showing through.

To cater the romance crowd...lots of unnecessary scenes for couples, so not enough time to develop the plot.

I don't think it censorship this time. I wholeheartedly blame CP marketing.

We need to be friends 🤣 Your rant is everything I've been losing sleep over.

Marquis Wu'an continues to be THE goat in the novel. You don't lose him, even his yearning of Fan Changyu is very much from the standpoint of man who can overthrow an empire. He manages his revenge while managing his romance and still be able to keep her whole family safe.

Yeah I was not impress with this scene. In the novel, Changyu reacts instinctively back to her training with her father not her butchering a pig.

I don't know why they chose twin swords for her. She's supposed to have a 斬馬刀 (horse cutting sword). It's a broad sword with a long handle like the one Xie Zhang carries.

I didn’t feel this level of absence or character digression from Xie Zheng in the novel—he never stopped feeling like a general. In the drama, though, his status comes across as much more muted.

For me, it comes down to the difference in medium. In a novel, Xie Zheng’s actions can be conveyed in just a few lines—his timely arrival at battles or decisive off-screen strategies—and the reader fills in the weight of those moments. But in a visual medium, those moments can’t just be implied; they need to be shown. They’re essential not only for character credibility but also for world-building.

A good comparison is Gandalf arriving at Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers. If that moment had only been mentioned off-screen instead of shown, the emotional payoff wouldn’t land the same way. It’s the same issue here—without actually seeing Xie Zheng’s capabilities in action, the drama ends up telling us who he is rather than demonstrating it, which weakens both his character and the overall stakes.

To everyone feeling frustrated by the lack of Xie Zheng action scenes—you’re not alone. Imagine The Lord of the Rings if we never saw Aragorn fight a single orc. That’s what it starts to feel like.

Someone mentioned that the author leaned too heavily into the CP, and I agree—that shift has cost us another compelling layer of the story.

And while I agree that Changyu is central to the narrative, I don’t think her strength needs to come at the cost of diminishing Xie Zheng. That duality between them is part of what makes the story compelling in the first place.

I changed mine to an 8. the second act is so important to both character growth and it got screwed over.

The first half stayed primarily true to the novel—that’s why it was solid; most of the work had already been done. The second act strayed, so you can see that the screenwriter’s weakness lies in rewriting.

The second act got screwed. In the novel, Changyu was at the brink of collapse when an arrow flew from the hills and struct Lord Chengxin. But the lord was beheaded, so it was implied that she beheaded him right before she fainted. this would have been an epic fight scene if filmed correctly.

I've changed my ratings 🥹. the second act really screwed up in quality and now I'm afraid for the third act. This brings back the trauma of Lost You Forever where they totally eff up the third act. 💀☠️