ItsMeDramaQueen

I enjoy watching dramas with strong female leads, ZZY's character is a strong character. The script writer's adaptation doesn't live up to the talents of the cast, the way the first 8 ep was written felt like a mary sue. E.g. Saved by ML twice, marry ML to save her first love, they plan to elope but the first love didn't come > she leaves > he comes. I'm not say the character is mary sue but the story is mary-sue like. My bad if I didn't made it clear enough.

ZZY was supposed to be 15 in the first 8 eps. I understand that age is just a number, if they can pass for 15 sure - but personally it was hard for me to stay connected as she didn't. I think they could've gotten a younger actor for this timeline then ZZY for the main story line but then again they changed the time skip from 3 years to 3 months so i get why they used the same actor.

I like how you summarised the issues with the drama. There were also so many motifs (especially the 5 'items') which made no significant contribution to the story, seemed as though the script writers forgot about them then just 'plug in' when they did.

If we need to read the novel just to get what is happening in a drama then they obviously haven't done a great job adapting...

I know she doesn't stay clueless for the entire 68 eps but the concept doesn't feel interesting anymore. Also - ZZY scenes with the emperor.. she looked more like a concubine than his niece lol

First 8 eps - we have a drama with huge budget and giant cast.. just to get a mary sue??? This storyline/novel would've been popular for its concept/freshness 10 years ago... but we've had so many "rise to power" female lead in the past 5 years of chinese drama history that its been there done that...

I went from confused around ep 2 to super confused at ep 8

I really liked how they did their first kiss scene. It shows XY hesitation given how long he has left to live and gives so much more depth to their relationship. If he had kissed her back, it would've made this drama no different to any historical romance drama.

Never said it wasn't. I'm just saying how its not a very challenging or interesting role for ZLY who has extensive experience in the industry.

Yeah despite Princess Agents ending on a weird note, the production of it is much better than this drama. There was a lot of money invested in this drama, but I can't tell from the costumes and set. Doesn't feel like a drama they filmed in 2019 but 2009 instead.

Being up to ep 12, I don't get why ZLY would choose this drama as her comeback drama after hiatus. Her work as Ming Lan was a breakthrough for her and you'd think she would continue to challenge herself with different storylines and characters. With her popularity, she would be offered many scripts. The way shes 'acting' with Zhou Fei feels like shes 'been there done that' in Princess Agents.

ZLY has the baby face so her taking up this role isn’t too bad but when watching her scenes with WYB I can’t ignore the fact he calls him little sister lol. I’m on ep 5 so far but WYB acting is surprisingly better than I thought I’ve seen his previous 2 works and I can see some improvements.

His looks and style of acting just doesn't suit a character who is seeking revenge. I'm not saying his acting is particularly bad but I feel like actors have to choose a script that suits their image well. In this case i feel like HYT/his team was too ambitious in choosing a project so different to his usual work.

I find that Hu Yi Tian doesn't suit this type of character, its way too different to his previous roles and his acting isn't up to par.

I don't think I've ever watched a drama where the family drama is so triggering...

I get what you mean. He has moments where he really portrays the character well, but its not consistent imo.

Sorry I'm not sure. I watch them raw.

I'm halfway though on ep 27. Unpopular opinion but Darren Wang's acting really fluctuates - his facial expression can be so unnatural and makes you zone out of his 'character'.

I gave up after ep 8 and just watched highlights on youtube. Bailu is a great actress but her chemistry with the ML just isn't right.

I understand that but its not day 1 that the censorship has been around, it has been at least before they shot the drama. If they had to edit to fit censorship rules then they should not have included it at all. These dramas are filmed and edited prior release - often requiring official reviews before they're allowed to be aired. I think its just lazy on the producers end and thinking they can use main's popularity to carry the drama.

I don't get the 8.5+ rating for this drama so far, yes the FL and ML have good chemistry but that's it. There was so many flaws to the story line and had poor continuity. The producers decided to depart from the main plot and remove the "forseeing dreams" entirely. It ended being no different to any other historical drama with an annoying love triangle and revenge tag.