bnl

I agree that the troupe's intro seemed to come out of left field, but I think it's setting up a dream or desire for Lanxiang that, as a now free commoner woman, she can actually have dreams to do what she wants to be doing. She has ability, intelligence, support from others, and--above all, especially at this stage of the story--agency/freedom to do as she pleases, which is in contrast to the other women we've seen in the drama so far: You either have the maids, who are slaves, or the daughters of rich families (ZXT, the Duke's daughter, etc.) whose sole life purpose (as made clear to them by their families and society) is to be pawns made sure to marry into a rich, powerful family to help their fathers/brothers/uncles.

You pretty much named her complexity here: "With the duke's daughter tho it simply feels like a spoilt brat who's also terrified of her father."

It shows how the Duke came into power - essentially through maiming/killing his opponents or anyone who gets in the way or fails at their duties. PLUS she is a daughter, so she is merely a pawn - not a human with her own wants, desires, freedom, agency, etc. - in his eyes. So together, you get a woman who has been taught her whole life that her only value is to be used for her father for more power and explicitly taught (as in ep 22) to not be merciful or generous in her wrongdoings but to essentially kill or really hurt people. So, to me, she's not so much a spoiled brat - nothing in her story suggests that and her character is not written that way. She is shrewd, cunning, and unfortunately shaped by how her family (particularly father) is teaching her to handle things.

We're not getting any eps Mon?

that's so funny - I never noticed she had a birthmark. I just always thought of her as the lady always selling veggies.

OMG love love love the preview for ep 23 at the end of ep 22 - it's so fitting that Jiu Er would end up being the top lady in a place like that - not a great place for a woman, of course, but suits her trajectory and character in the storyline. I look forward to how her character grows over the series.

Sure, but my point, perhaps not conveyed clearly above, is that I appreciate how this drama isn't making villains just unequivocally, black-and-white "BAD," as is common in dramaland (and the world), but it's showing us that they're nuanced, complex people. Every "villain" has an origin story and this drama is showing each woman's trauma and character and influences and how it's shaped her to make the decisions that she makes, whether good or bad. Also, based on the trailers, it's also showing us that these "villains" are capable of learning (ZXT) and capable of redemption (Jiu Er).

I think the whole point of the drama is that these women (Jiu Er, ZXT, Du) are not purely "villains", as Machiavellian as their methods may be. They are all women trying to build better lives for themselves in a deeply sexist, unfair, patriarchal world. Of course, I'm not condoning any immoral actions, but one thing that I love about this drama is that it's ultimately a feminist drama about all these different women and the difficult positions they've been placed in and the decisions they've had to make in those eras, when a hope for a better life, as well as safety, protection, power, and money, depended on marriage and the men in their lives. (Case in point, how even the Second Madam had to play several layers of telephone/asking to the Old Madam then the ML/Old Madam's son then the grandfather just to create an opportunity for her daughter to be married off. Crazy how little agency women had back then, no?)

That's why it's so egregious that the ML marries FL without asking her parents permission first - because she isn't from a noble family. The fact that FL recognizes this (bc of her background) is actually so empowering given her status in life and I hope the drama doesn't gloss over this trespass of human dignity and that the two leads actually spend time working through it in a meaningful way.

Loving it so far! But I have to say the super dramatic music is a bit over-the-top 😆

I find the writing subpar. There's not really a redeeming character in my eyes, especially with how most of the women are written (except for maybe the cafe owner). And I find it hard to believe that the FL, a top-of-her-class pilot who has endured so much to get to where she is (owned and gave up her house to follow her dreams with no guarantee of employment afterwards, worked hard as a stewardess, endured the loss of a parent, endured difficult training for 3 years in a male dominated field), constantly turns into some awkward, 12-year old around the ML (or is otherwise defensive). It's infantilizing. Maybe it's because I'm in my late 30s and this kind of drama no longer satisfies. While there are moments of actual communication and understanding, lots of these kinds of dramas tend to build "love" on slo-mo glances, skinship or forced physical touch/proximity, constant misunderstandings, and the whole enemies-to-lovers trope with snarky back-and-forth communication. I want to see love that's based on resonance, alignment, shared values, supporting one another, genuine communication that's kind, honest, and deepens, etc.

Probably bc Ah Sen knows that ZL is being somewhat of a noble idiot for not coming home yet. And I say "somewhat" because here, I think ZL is being reasonable; he's keeping his distance to legitimately protect her in these circumstances.

Re: them working together, I think it's that FL put two and two together. She already knew that Advisor Li was in cahoots with Yu family, which is the ultimate enemy for both her and ML. Then, when she found out that the house used to belong to Advisor Li (which means he probably got arrested) and that the deed was forged (meaning his backer, Yu family, is involved), she figured ML was probably either responsible for the arrest or would be able to get the deed to the right people, given that his position is in court now. Or that, perhaps, even if he wasn't part of some investigation, the both of them are set on bringing the Yu family down and he'd make good use of the evidence in some cunning way. That's my guess. Maybe someone else has more insight.

Covert narcissist. The narcissism stems from deep insecurity and typically doesn't show itself until the narcissist's own desires and self-worth are threatened and the other person is no longer "useful" to them. They won't outright boast like overt narcissists but will do many things, including lying, to craft or uphold their supposed "image," like Ya Ke doing these teachings/readings when she's pawned off her father's books/dowry multiple times w/o a thought and lying about how her and her husband's story.

I like the metaphorical poetry of the fact that both people who ended up with the Narcissus flower (the giver and the ultimate recipient) would probably both be clinically tested as narcissists. Ya Ke a covert narcissist and YJX an overt one.

Amazing explanation! Thank you so much.

I'm on ep 3 - can someone help me understand why Zuo Shi (the cray cray widow) is so set on getting the FL married to her brother? How does it benefit/free her?

I wonder what ZY whispered in the Sanjiangkou chief's ear at the end?? Really appreciated this drama - such a refreshing change of pace, really well-written characters, and made me laugh out loud.

Agree with you. Those scenes were so poignant and meaningful. Truly great storytelling.

I think the ending was perfect. This is one of the only dramas which was (1) absolutely hilarious, (2) had really great romance that didn't fall into tropes or cheesy lines but anchored in real feelings and what actual people would say, and (3) had logic that made sense.

As much as we want FL to stay in ancient times, something I appreciate so much about this drama is that, despite the wacky premise, the logic is pretty solid throughout in terms of how characters will act and what they'll say and how the story unfolds. Given that, I'm glad that the writer and director let logic flow through the entire drama from beginning until the end. For the FL to stay in ancient times will have been a gaping logic hole (which I know is what a lot of dramas resort to anyways).

Yes, it's sad that ancient Lin Yan lived out his days without her, but it also made for some great television - I hadn't cried so hard in a long time because the drama gave us amazing characters and story. I call that a win. The fact that they both remembered their "dreams" deeply in modern times, is just *chef's kiss* to me. It's not ambiguous. They're both clearly on the same page and their love can continue, in spirit, in essence, and in the physical modern world, from there.

Not the popular opinion, but I loved the ending and the entire drama overall. It will be one of the rare ones that I will watch again.

Sure, we can say that this is what's happening in his psychology.

The crux of my frustration lies in this: It's one thing to love someone. It's another to actually show it in constructive, healthy ways. If someone cannot show their love in healthy ways, is it really love? My Asian mother constantly criticizes my body because she says that this is how she shows love. Men control women all the time under the pretense of "love." The list goes on.

Shen Hao Ming, as of ep. 22, has not shown me that his actions match his supposed love. Over and over again, he undermines and disrespects her. Respect is the foundation of love. Ladies, let's not gaslight ourselves into believing that a man loves us without seeing the actions to match.

1. I am so over MLs acting emotionally immature as a way to "get the FL back." This is not a high school story or a story of 20-somethings. Shen Haoming is a grown ass man. Instead of communicating and acting in earnest ways to win her back, he is effectively a grown man pulling a grown woman's pigtails - it's disrespectful to her and mind-numbingly immature. Ladies, are we seriously finding this kind of immaturity acceptable or, God forbid, cute? You know what would've been so refreshing to see on camera? Shen Haoming respecting her wishes for a divorce instead of using childish tactics to drag it out; they get divorced and then he earnestly reflects on himself and how to win her back from ground zero. THAT is the drama I want to see. Not this middle school shit.

2. Ep. 22 - WTF. Fang Lei needs to go. And then her "bodyguard/Shen Haoming's lawyer" kissing her when she's drunk and vulnerable? And then she goes along with it? So effed up on so many levels.

3. At ep. 22, I still have no solid sense that Shen Haoming actually loves Yan Yan. It's just all ego, games, manipulation, petty jealousy, and head-to-toe immaturity from his end at this point still. BLARGHHH.

This drama had so much promise and then just took a dive with ep 19.... My venting below with spoilers: