grapejuice

maybe later but, if all you care about is a through c with d as an afterthought? then for now you will be seriously disappointed. Plus where did you get the idea that c-dramas are anything but PG?

If he's the guy in red who hides behind a mask, then he's doing business with the gang. Maybe he made the pills and sold them to the gang or maybe he's bought the antidote and some pills from them. I'm not sure how that would have worked. But he was the first to recognize that she's the princess they've been looking for and so he now wants to save her and her friend. And he couldn't say that it was an antidote so he said it might help and then was happy that it worked beyond expectations? Lots of guesswork in this but it's my best guesswork at the moment :-) Are you and others guessing similar ideas or something different?

If you look at her situation, it's pretty obvious why she's acting distant towards him. And he flat out told her that she was the only person he could totally trust to be a friend who would give him an honest opinion. So she does, whether he likes it or not, because that's what he can't get from anybody else. Maybe the romance could wait until there is no catastrophe going on, until she's establishes herself as a real professional official and earns some respect from the court and the people? No long term relationship could exist until they're both seen to be doing their jobs well independently and then together. You know ... big picture issues first and then maybe they have a chance together.

If you watch her face closely, there have been many moments where she shows interest and attraction but it just isn't a good move on her part to prove everyone right when they speculate that she's sleeping with the emperor for her position at court. Girl has a job to do and a reputation to build. Hopefully a good one but the officialdom is dying for her to make a wrong move and getting involved with the emperor, with everyone watching and gossiping and making catastrophic predictions, would obviously be her very worst move. Even his closest caretaker would rat them out to the court and the public so if she wants to be taken seriously and not be lynched by the nation, she ought not to show so much interest. It's bad enough, for her, that he can't seem to hide his interest. Even his purely professional care and protection instantly gather gossip.

Mmmm. She has The Double and The Story of Yanxi Palace ... and he has Hidden Love and Fated Lovers ... all critical and popular success stories ... so I really do think the problems stem from the direction. I think it's mainly the directors job to elevate and bring everything together to make it all flow together tightly and effectively. That connected feeling you're looking for but not finding. Ep21 was much better though. At least it felt more grounded and cohesive to me. So, hopefully, there have just been a few bumps and a detour and the story is going to be more stronger and more involving from here out.

It seems like she went through the withdrawal stages with the help of the antidote? She kept begging for the drug and they couldn't give it to her. Then the little green pill arrived to save the day. I wonder why they haven't made a bigger deal about that little green pill considering it saved Fuzhi after she was force fed so many of the addictive poisonous red ones. They obviously need to find a lot more of them for all of the people who might become infected by Lin Yun Fei and gang. We don't want to see all them zombies in the streets.

Is he being suppressed? There are some great actors around right now who seem to be doing well and I would have thought he was clearly in that group. Talented and beautiful and doing good, well recognized work, with good parts being given to them.

Yin Qing is the best guess but I can't help but think there would be a huge surprise, and majorly dramatic betrayal, in it being Zhi Shu. Not likely but what a turnaround that would be.

I think you kinda have to answer this one for yourself. Is it worth it? Different people are having very different answers so I wouldn't follow anyone's advice but your own. And, well, there's not much else to watch right now so what's to lose ...

He's called it a bureau but really it's just a personal investigative team headed by someone that he can actually trust. Seems to me that he doesn't have anyone that he can really rely on so he makes a new agency and puts her in charge of it. Which also makes sense if he's trying to protect her from the other officials. Cuz there's no way that these guys would allow her to succeed in one of their ministries. They'd mess her up even more viciously than any other new upstart they didn't like. Because she;s a woman and an unknown quantity and she's close to the emperor himself which makes her a special threat to them. So the emperor wants to grant her some importance and keep her in a special role where he can use her to good effect and support her. He needs someone who will work with him directly, someone smart and honest who will tell him what he needs to hear instead of telling him to get married and stay always within the palace to make an heir. Unfortunately, I think, he didn't expect the team to have to deal with really dangerous situations right off the bat ... and so he has to pivot a bit and throw in some serious fighting forces to protect her and his private investigative team from the outside enemies as well.

What on earth? She has beautifully big expressive eyes. But that doesn't suit him? Why aren't you saying that his lips are too big to suit her? They're both incredibly beautiful people with striking features so that alone should make them suit one another in visual dramaland. I mean the chemistry that makes a compelling couple doesn't come from the matching of facial features.

I agree that something is off with the production. It does feel contrived and more like a stage play. Too much melodrama (almost farce at the moment) and both lead actors have turned in far better performances in all of their other dramas so it must just be the director/direction and the budget maybe. Plus the premise is difficult. People want their romance but her character really shouldn't be all about the romance. In a misogynist setting like this one, he's the only ally she has and absolutely everyone will reduce her to nothing if she's just his love interest. She'll be the seducer witch rather than a genius scholar who earned her way to being the first woman official in the land. And both leads are too old for the story. He's not supposed to be much more than a boy/young emperor whose advisors endlessly try to manipulate and push him around and she should be about the same age but maybe a bit younger. It's kind of mean to say that she looks a whole generation older than him. The heavy court clothing doesn't sit well on such a small woman and the makeup isn't doing anybody any favours ... but maybe that's part of the point. ? The role of court official isn't made for a woman and it clearly isn't supposed to be inhabited by one in such a male dominated society ... Anyway, the drama can't become a full blown romance without ruining the premise that makes it different. So I'm really curious how they're going to handle it.

they're not enemies

So, the Tiger gang leader has a surprising problem with trafficking children even though he has no problem with doing any other kind of evil. And he was saved by a big brother he didn't grow up with. They shared a father but not their mother and he was abandoned? Sounds to me like he may have been in one of the other cages at the hellhole where our FL was kept. I wonder if they will have known each other at some point? Anyone else have this same feeling? I know it's quite a reach but I just can't help but wonder.

ah. TY ! And such a quick answer. But I get the feeling that that one requires some background knowledge? So, I wasn't going to try it until I figure out what I need to watch first. This one seems an easier approach.

what's the other highly anticipated drama?

You're challenging my tactics? Ha. Where, then, would you put the incredibly well trained, well armed martial artist? You'd have him hide behind a door with a dozen women? Remind me not to put you in charge of a fight.

Hmmm. Deploy lethal bodyguards to a more advanced position where they could defend everyone and the entire stronghold ... and keep the enemy from finding/invading their specific hiding place ...or ... keep them in a room full of non-fighters where they can't do anything to help anyone until the very last minute when it's essentially too late for everyone? What would you do?

I'm wondering if you have answered the wrong person? I didn't say these things. All that I said was that his motivation included the fact that he knew he could never get out of his obsession while he was alive. It was one of the things he said to her. His actions were not purely for her sake. He did what was best for both of them.

ML absolutely never wanted to be Emperor and still doesn't at the end ... so I imagine that he'll just be an advisor.