Calla

i saw some funny comments about ep34 on rednote and i just wanted to share:

person a: "poor lin jinqi, his head isn't even worth as much as what his wifey makes from writing a play."
person b: "that's barely enough to buy a pot of orchids lol"

against the current fans from everywhere are all so witty. 😂

the kiss on the lips will be his reward if he makes it out of this rebellion alive. we gotta give this man some motivation to keep fighting. 😭

true, and it's just too heartbreaking. i hope she feels safe enough to confide in him someday. 🥹

hmm, she was indeed bratty and selfish in the past, but she has always been genuinely loyal and protective of her siblings. regardless of who was wronging jinqi, she consistently stood up for him.

i just wanted to give lanxiang a hug during that birthday dinner scene.

watching her drink wine with tears in her eyes, i couldn't help but mourn all the things she has lost with her. no one in this world will ever celebrate her real birthday again... because everyone who knew it is gone. she gets to grow older each year, but all of her shen family will remain the same age as when she last saw them. i wonder if she ever told her adoptive parents her real birthday...

jinqi was really sweet in this moment though. i'm sure he had hoped for a happier reaction from her, but even so, he still quietly and patiently indulged her silence.

right??? the writers treat him as more than just his illness. it's so refreshing!

lanxiang's strategic mind (always several steps ahead!) and jinqi's ability to swiftly assess a crisis and adapt never cease to amaze me, but that scene with jinlan, his wife, and yuchen gave me chills. the way he immediately understood lanxiang's urgent message, calmed the others, and rationally took control of the situation at home to protect the family was so flawlessly executed. i must have rewatched this scene 10x lol.

some underestimate jinlan because of his chronic illness, but he is so intelligent and caring. he always rises to the occasion when he is needed, which is what matters most. i love his character.

so glad that the younger lin generation is tuned to the same frequency!

now we wait for tomorrow's episodes. 😭

omg, ep34 was incredible!

in empress reborn (the rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage), the shen family there was also eliminated. not a good idea to be named shen in c-dramaland... 😅

it really is! and having the play narrated over a montage of the lin women and their hardships was such a clever creative choice too. 👏

what you said really resonates with me, especially that last part. and that is why i love lanxiang's relationships with her friends, her sisters-in-law, and the other women in her life.

to be completely honest with you... i might even value those bonds more than i value lanxiang and jinqi's romance lol. it's just so rare for dramas to give female relationships the space to be as genuine, heartfelt, and complex as the ones presented in this drama!

i'm currently rewatching ep32 (yes, because it really is that good! 😭), and hearing this line for the second time - "that eagle caught in the hunter's net was once a woman too" - gave me an even deeper appreciation for the message lanxiang was trying to teach us.

in her play, a woman saves a trapped eagle. to express its gratitude, the eagle gives her a magical feather that allows her to transform into a bird and back into a human three times. however, if she attempts a fourth transformation, she will remain a bird forever. at first, she doesn't think she'll ever need such a gift. who would want to be a bird? who wouldn't want to be human? but as she goes through life, she realizes it is the very thing that continuously gets her through her darkest moments. after using it three times, she swears never to touch it again... until the day she finds herself at death's door. in the end, that final transformation saves her life and gives her the freedom to escape.

the eagle caught in the net at the beginning of the story was once a woman herself. she extended a helping hand to another woman because she knew firsthand how difficult life is for women. lanxiang is basically saying, "we should help each other, because we simply can't survive in this world without one another."

ep32: the tale of the feathered immortal.

unfortunately, that is still the case today, and it isn't exclusive to ancient chinese society.

"be quiet, be obedient, and be patient" is advice given to most women in my culture from an early age, and then repeated at their weddings as how to respond if their husband or his family mistreats them.

filial piety, upholding the patriarchy, and saving face are still things my own clan cares about. they will (and have) sacrificed their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters just to keep up appearances.

which is why ep32 hit me so hard. i definitely sobbed like a baby lol.

when changyu drugged xie zheng and knocked out li huai an, i remember the viewers being divided on that as well.

some felt she did those things because they were injured and she cared about them, so it was justified.

others felt she was out of line. xie zheng's presence during that battle mattered and she left his men without a leader; the outcome could've been catastrophic had she not been so lucky. as for li huai an, he had the right to make a decision about his own life even if changyu didn't approve - she not only took that away, but she was also the reason he didn't get to see his mentor before he died.

it was such a serious story, but i chuckled at the "his hand slipped!" comment, because of course xiuwan would be the one to say that lol. she has always been her siblings' biggest defender, and i love that about her.

as for jinqi... he's a great brother, but a selfish lover. he is so patient and understanding when it comes to respecting his siblings' wishes and supporting them, but he's terrible at doing the same for lanxiang. BUT i have faith he'll reflect on himself and transfer that same level of love and respect over to her... hopefully sooner rather than later.

thisss. it is rare to find dramas that treat supporting characters like real people with hopes and dreams of their own, and main characters as fully fleshed-out individuals who exist beyond their love story. against the current is doing a fantastic job.

i completely agree. i am loving all the characters, regardless of how big or small their roles are. zhao xingtang, lu ji'er, xiuru, xiuwan, xiulai - these are just a few of the supporting characters without much screentime, yet they are still able to leave a huge emotional impact on viewers like us. if the story wasn't good, that wouldn't be possible.

scholar han is a gentleman.

according to what i gathered from the readers, his character is one of the only decent people in the novel, whereas jinqi is a total black flag. i don't see scholar han turning into a villain here.

people just don't like him because he exists, and by existing, he's jinqi's rival lol.

how can the drama be going downhill when each episode is stronger than the last, and ep32 is one of the most powerful yet? if you can watch that and still think the story feels forced and awkward, then i don't know what else to say.