bingewatchingdisorder

The dialogue in front of the stone plaque was my favorite scene of today's episodes. It reminded us that for all of Fan Xian's intelligence and ideas, he's still young and brash and has much learning to do from his more politically savvy elders if he wants to achieve his goals (nothings bores me faster than a Mary Sue); it also addressed and established a new working relationship with Chen Pingping while setting the stage for his next steps - using plot points from season 1(!). Most importantly, it reinforced why we should root for Fan Xian despite him doing reckless (almost foolish) things for minor characters; to root for him is to root for all of us ordinary beings man. That one line where Wang Qinian said that he was a changed man because of FX parallels Ye Qingmei's impact on so many others too. That dialogue somehow managed to cover plot, characterization, relationships and the story's moral backbone in that few minutes. Outstanding screenplay.

First prince's got some skills in both love and war 🤌🤌🤌

Noooo I prefer the previous Ye Ling Er. That casting was so good for a martial arts-obsessed rough-and-tumble sort of character. The new actress looks too delicate T___T

Man, I really appreciate the details they put in - the scuffs and signs of use on the First Prince's horse saddle, even the horse has a battle scar above its eye.

I only read the first 2 books but you make me wanna read the rest. It's so long tho!

2nd Prince definitely got his penchant for messy attire from his father 😂

I guffawed at that bgm. It really fits the character eh 😂

Also great! For me personally,
Opening: S1> S2 (both by Li Jian); imo the opening strains of S1's is to JoL what Hedwig's Theme is to Harry Potter.
Ending: S2>S1; I really love the instrumentals for S1's ending but Zhou Shen's vocal performance for S2's gives me chills. It's a song I would love even without the association with JoL

The script is chockful of puns and language jokes like in the first season, and maybe even more. Really curious as to how those are being translated into English, but it seems that each platform is handling its own subs? Season 1's english subs (those on YouTube) were of good quality - wonder why they didn't continue with that team so it's consistent across platforms...

We only spent 20 minutes with the vegetable seller but his death made my heart bleed. If anyone knows the name of the actor please do tell! Bejeezus what a performance

Really liking the ending song!

Watching this after seeing a clip of Chen Haoyu's intro performance. Hope this show doesn't play too many tricks...

Will look that up. Thanks for the rec!

This was a good one and think it deserves a higher rating than the current 7.4. Worth a watch if you're having a drama drought. Female lead is a good singer and keeping my eye out for the male lead in other shows now.

bleh the real strong female lead of this show is princess yang ying.

cute at first but bleh story/character development. enjoyable if you don't think or expect too deeply from it

I only got into it after watching Scarlet Heart (also from 2011) and wanted to know more about that time period. On top of the huge tonal shift, it's not a pretty show based on current visual trends. Nicky Wu and Chen Jianbin who both play Emperor Yong Zheng, are the same age - but could not look more different... ? Plus at 76 episodes, I would not put this show in the Qing C-Drama starter pack for sure.

I don't seem to be making a very good case for the show, but this is the show that Chinese audiences label as Youku's (the sole platform for the show in China) pension, because it still rakes in views. The narrative is timeless and the visuals have aged well, thanks to the wide use of historically accurate costumes and naturalistic cinematography.

The show is a dense character study, heavy on the politicking. Not 100% but it showcases many aspects of recorded history, from attire and language, to etiquette and mannerisms. If that's anyone's thing, I recommend giving it a go!

Pardon the enthusiasm - I've been rewatching it and picking up so many more details now that I know the language better ?

You captured it perfectly. Peeked at the first ep because it's a parody of a great classic, then couldn't put it down. Short dramas are where it's at these days y'all

I'm watching Legend of Shen Li at the same time, and this is so much better?? Visuals are good, and - fans are gonna come @ me for this but - main leads' acting isn't as wooden as those 2 big names. Most importantly the storytelling here is tighter and more coherent. Y'all, short dramas are where it's at these days.

The real mountain backdrop is so beautiful. The scene composition is so pretty but the hazy filter sometimes makes the background brighter than the foreground. (Not astigmatism friendly.) Nothing that happens in the first 4 eps makes me want to know what comes in the remaining 35, but for now I put the blame on the editing and not the writing. It's a 2x speed drama for me.