datura

Right now I'm watching Ancient Love Poetry idk if you've seen it. It has a similar vibe and a lot of aspects to it that I enjoyed about The Legend of Shenli. It's also a xianxia with a powerful FL goddess who is the God of Chaos. The ML is also quite calm though a little more aloof than Xing Zhi. Their romance is so sweet and somewhat ill-fated in a similar way as Shenli and Xing Zhi's was.

The FL reads as younger than Shenli though despite them both being like thousands of years old lol. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think part of why Shenli and Xing Zhi stood out to me was because they felt like two grounded adults falling in love rather than either of them being young.

You know, now that we've reached the end...he did not even need to take that man's ear 😂

Yeah ideally neither of them would even be on my radar. But since they're determined to have a romance in this show, I would say an adopted brother is a better option than an ex who lowkey sterilized her 💀

It's honestly sad that Gu Wan is a consistent blind spot for her. She loves her sister so much that she has a hard time accepting that Gu Wan is a serious adversary. Also ngl Lady Su did her big one with her final scheme lol

I agree that can also be the case, but when it comes to cdramas, it's usually misogyny. Not to be dramatic but this fanbase has a really bad track record.

That's so fair and I def don't think people should be made to feel bad for pointing out flaws in a show

Agree 100%. Sometimes I wonder how much communication there is between writers and showrunners because so many shows it seems like they are not on the same page

...yes, I do lol

I think it's just a difference of what you're willing to suspend your disbelief for. She was promoted because of merit (merit she earned by saving the people she cares about, not by intentionally seeking military success through combat) and also for political reasons that have little to do with her, so it doesn't surprise me that training came after. She's mainly been flying by the seat of her pants. I've never gotten the impression that she could beat Xie Zheng in battle nor in strategy. They are not equally matched in that way, she's just stronger and, as he said, tends to rely on brute strength. Most people she goes against aren't prepared for her to be fast, strong, or trained, so it makes sense to me that she'd beat them.

From what I'd gathered, her father was a marshal arts master, coining a fighting technique that most people don't even recognize or know and then trained her in it. Seeing what that training looked like probably would've helped close the gap in what people are willing to accept or ignore. I think because we don't see him train her, it's hard to say for sure what her limitations are. Being illiterate has never stopped someone from being skilled mechanically.

As for using a sword and absorbing new skills, I agree, I just don't care? I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just not at all the first cdrama where a main character, male or female, suddenly masters a sword overnight (though I do think you could argue that the swords being made to be shorter and paired to match the way she fights with her butcher knives would make a difference). Fans just typically save their complaints for when it's the FL. I'm not even really saying people aren't allowed to complain. I just think the martial arts in cdramas is almost always kinda outlandish and makes little sense so I don't consider it a big deal

Zhang Ling He got several cool fight scenes. Some were while he was injured, but I feel that makes them more impressive especially since during a couple of those fights he was also having to keep Changning safe. His character isn't weak. I think people are just used to MLs who are mean and disrespectful. Based on what I've heard about the novel, I'm glad they softened his character.

And overall the fight scenes don't actually last that long for either character. That's one criticism I have for the show. I wish they lasted longer. As for being in a woman oriented era...if anyone would rather watch a FL be weak and bullied for 40 episodes, there are already plenty of dramas to choose from.

And that's great. Zhang Ling He is one of my favorite actors. But an actor's popularity does not make him the main character. Casting and writing makes him the main character lol

Not the emperor having a crush on Changyu 😂😂 I honestly should've seen that coming. Enjoying the show so far though I do agree with people saying that these later episodes feel a bit rushed and/or choppy. It feels like there should be some dialogue or planning in between some scenes that I'm guessing they just didn't have time for. It sucks because I honestly don't think it's necessarily an issue of writing but an issue of schedule.

If they'd cut their time in Lin'an short, their relationship wouldn't have felt as fleshed out and the ending of their town arc wouldn't have hit as hard emotionally. If they'd cut down her journey to the army barracks it would've felt rushed. The battles are crucial to their characters so can't cut that down. Honestly I wish those two sections had both been a bit longer. Can't cut down her discovering he's the Marquis because that's pretty important too and moving on too fast would cheapen the reveal. And then everything else past that is already moving a bit too fast as we close in on the end.

Take us back to the times when shows were 50-80 episodes long 😭 They were that long for a reason. Can you imagine The Story of Minglan being 40 episodes?? It wouldn't have nearly the same depth and emotional pay off as it does.

Did you guys see different posters for the show or something? I'm genuinely wondering because I keep seeing comments like this. Before the show came out, the main posters were of Changyu in her armor, Changyu as a butcher, Changyu cuddled up with her man. Lol what gave you guys the impression that this show was about Xie Zheng?

Mind you, the ML frequently takes on like 20 men at a time and realism is never brought up then 😂 I'm not gonna draw the line at the FL bodying people twice her size lol

Idk that might be a you problem. When I saw advertisements for the show, it seemed clear to me that it would be centered around the FL. We still get to see ZLH in action plenty though. But if you're wanting the drama to follow primarily him, just watch something else

Yes I got to the scene and thought it was cool that she still gained some experience by stepping in for her disciple. Also with the whole calamity of chaos

I really wish more dramas would just let the FL go through her lightning tribulation rather than letting the ML take the strikes for her. I know it's meant to be romantic, and I get why MLs would want to help, but it's framed as this rite of passage and achievement, so it somewhat undermines the progress the FL is making in her training by her not actually going through it like she's supposed to. At least let her do some of them.

Lmao oops sorry didn't mean to turn you off the show 😂 no problem. I could be wrong though. If the ending is more like what you predicted I'll come back and let you know

Unfortunately, she's already cracking and reminiscing about the past. Every time he remembers her preferences she acts all touched (mind you, they were married for years that's less than the bare minimum) and he gave her some ridiculous excuse about the bracelet. I truly think she's gonna forgive him 😖

For me it's that musk bracelet. That to me would be so unforgivable especially since one of her wishes was to have a child.