Hey guys, I have a question about this drama before I start watching. Is the male lead loyal to the female lead?…
Yes, he is loyal. I would be surprised if he wasn't given that the source material has a 5 man reverse harem for Fu Yao (removed in the drama).
I must make here a distinction between historical, and historical fantasy dramas. In historical fantasy, you can have whatever you want.
In historical drama like BBJX, the emperor has no way of controlling the court without collecting concubines and consorts from various powerful nobles to control them, suppress them, or appease them. It's not a matter of lustfulness (although many are), but a matter of balancing the various factions to keep the peace.
The nobles accept selling their daughters as consorts to gain influence on the sovereign, and if lucky, have a possibility of their bloodline inheriting the throne. It would be extremely unrealistic in BBJX if Prince4 did not have a harem.
Actually it was not uncommon for wives in ancient and imperial times to provide their own handmaidens as their [wealthy/powerful] husband's concubine. The line of thought was that the husband was going to go find a concubine anyway; why not just provide one that could be easily controlled by the existing wife?
I don't understand why some people feel that only the first 30 episodes are interesting, even though obviously…
To each their own I suppose? For me, the Taiyuan Kingdom arc with Zong Yue, Yun Heng and Qi Zhen was much more coherent than the rest of the drama. Watching Episodes 1-30 was like watching the real drama storyline "Kingdom of Taiyuan" using the eyes of the wanderer "Fuyao".
Maybe I like it a lot because its very reminiscent of classic Chinese stories in the tragic tradition (revenge and forgiveness, blood ties and adoptive relations).
Can anyone suggest any remedy dramas? it's been 3 weeks... and I'm still in this swamp T-T
I started Guardian (2018) shortly after I finished Mr. Sunshine. The two leads have very intimate chemistry :) I normally dislike C-drama set in modern times, but this drama brought me back.
So I finally ended up finishing this. I gave it a score of 7.5 overall, which I feel is pretty damn generous compared to Douban's rating of 4.7 (basically Chinese IMDB).
Should you watch this? Episodes 1-30 is fantastic. If I were to give this segment a score it would be 9.5.... which then leaves a score of 5.8 for Episodes 31-66.
I would say watch Episode 1-30 and treat it like Fuyao Season 1. We all know what Season 2 dramas are like... urgghhhh.
Anyone else bothered by the age gap between the main lead actors?He is 20 years older than her.
Why do people keep banging on about the age difference? It wouldn't have been out of the ordinary in that time period if she had gotten married to a 60 year old (if there had been some sort of benefit to the family in doing so).
If anyone is still considering watching this, I would advise against possibly wasting 46 hours of your life.
This drama contains: 1. Reuse and copy paste of the exact same war scenes, in different battles. 2. Extreme close ups and frequent cuts during fights because the actors/stunt doubles/director/choreographer are unable to produce usable footage. 3. The almost inexplicable extreme 180 change in personality of the second male lead. 4. Dialogue. There is so much of it. Most of it isn't even useful, just episode filler.
We get it. You don't like her character. But it's how the script writer wrote her. That's only way for you to…
Part of the enjoyment in watching a drama is to see the characters develop and grow according to the circumstances around them. ZBY gives up his naivety after realising that he cannot keep his loved ones safe by being loyal to ZNC. Yun Heng, still unwilling, forces himself to choose between his blood and his father. Zhuzhu is immature when we first see her, but ends up choosing to sacrifice something important for the sake of something more so. Even Yan Jingchen finds there is a line he won't cross while following the whims of others.
Change, not stagnation, is the hallmark of protagonists.
Wuji and Fuyao are both poor protagonists in this regard, but I, as with many others, forgive Wuji more because it's not as obvious when he makes mistakes, and Fuyao less as we all expected, and are waiting for "Legend of Fuyao".
We get it. You don't like her character. But it's how the script writer wrote her. That's only way for you to…
If it wasn't so enjoyable in the beginning I would have dropped it too.
The main issue I have isn't that Fuyao makes stupid decisions, that happens to every character. The issue is that drama Fuyao DOESN’T learn from her mistakes. From episode 1 to 56, her counter-plotting and danger sense ability is exactly the same. That is, zero.
Can anyone explain to me the complicated past of the xuanji kingdom?
Drama explanation: Xuanji Kingdom dynasty is matriarchal. The Royal seat is inherited by whomever possesses the Phoenix Spirit (always a woman, always one person). The previous King had twins as her firstborns, of which one had the Spirit, but not sure which one. They got tested at the same time, so it was even more muddled. The King then said to wait until her two daughters had daughters of their own to determine which to install as Heir.
The twins (current King and her sister) fought over a talented man, but he married the sister.
Eventually, the twins had births on the same day, almost at the same time. The current king had hers (current Eldest Royal Daughter) slightly first, and there was a reaction from the sacred Phoenix testing site, so she was made Heir. Later, the other sister “died”, and the sister's child (“Feng No Name”) is said to have died.
Just finished episode 54. Pretty funny to see Eldest Royal Daughter fall in love at first sight.
Disappointed in Fuyao making bad decisions yet again (starting pair cultivation that cannot be interrupted without severe injury, AFTER you hear hostile forces might be close). Seriously, who writes a character like this.
I thought Yao City arc was epic and well acted. They should have shortened the Taiyuan arc. All the harem fighting…
Thanks for your in-depth explanation.
(1) and (2) were completely not included in the arc imo. Her only interactions with villagers was magistrate/general and civilians, not a member of the community. Actually I think (2) could have been solved by sealing the gates as she leaves. No way bandits can get the news before she arrives if she rushes. For (3,4) most of it can be seen from the drama. I thought it was a bit dumb that the final 3 hidden guards dived into the bandit pile one by one instead of attacking together.
Also, it is shown that Wuji has the authority and communications to move troops around at the time (e.g. to escort him from the desert). Why could he not command more to come as reinforcements to the city?
I thought Yao City arc was epic and well acted. They should have shortened the Taiyuan arc. All the harem fighting…
The Taiyuan arc might have been 1-2 episodes too long (esp. the Xuanyuan Mountain bit) for this drama, but it is the most enjoyable arc to watch by far. Honestly, I would have been perfectly happy to have a Taiyuan only drama lasting maybe 40 episodes.
I agree Tiansha had too much filler with the forest scene and an entire episode of desert dreaming. For the duration of the Yao City arc, whatever respect I had for Fuyao as a solo character was driven into the grave. Legend? The only Legend I see is the incredibly competent Wuji.
Xuanji arc starts on Episode 53. This means Xuanji + Qiongchang will be a little cramped for the last 16 episodes. If you look at the novel proportionally, this section would take 19 episodes out of 66, so its not too bad. I really wish they had shortened the terribly written and performed Yao City arc by half (~3.5 episodes) to make more time for this though.
I must make here a distinction between historical, and historical fantasy dramas. In historical fantasy, you can have whatever you want.
In historical drama like BBJX, the emperor has no way of controlling the court without collecting concubines and consorts from various powerful nobles to control them, suppress them, or appease them. It's not a matter of lustfulness (although many are), but a matter of balancing the various factions to keep the peace.
The nobles accept selling their daughters as consorts to gain influence on the sovereign, and if lucky, have a possibility of their bloodline inheriting the throne. It would be extremely unrealistic in BBJX if Prince4 did not have a harem.
Actually it was not uncommon for wives in ancient and imperial times to provide their own handmaidens as their [wealthy/powerful] husband's concubine. The line of thought was that the husband was going to go find a concubine anyway; why not just provide one that could be easily controlled by the existing wife?
Maybe I like it a lot because its very reminiscent of classic Chinese stories in the tragic tradition (revenge and forgiveness, blood ties and adoptive relations).
Should you watch this? Episodes 1-30 is fantastic. If I were to give this segment a score it would be 9.5.... which then leaves a score of 5.8 for Episodes 31-66.
I would say watch Episode 1-30 and treat it like Fuyao Season 1. We all know what Season 2 dramas are like... urgghhhh.
This drama contains:
1. Reuse and copy paste of the exact same war scenes, in different battles.
2. Extreme close ups and frequent cuts during fights because the actors/stunt doubles/director/choreographer are unable to produce usable footage.
3. The almost inexplicable extreme 180 change in personality of the second male lead.
4. Dialogue. There is so much of it. Most of it isn't even useful, just episode filler.
Change, not stagnation, is the hallmark of protagonists.
Wuji and Fuyao are both poor protagonists in this regard, but I, as with many others, forgive Wuji more because it's not as obvious when he makes mistakes, and Fuyao less as we all expected, and are waiting for "Legend of Fuyao".
The main issue I have isn't that Fuyao makes stupid decisions, that happens to every character. The issue is that drama Fuyao DOESN’T learn from her mistakes. From episode 1 to 56, her counter-plotting and danger sense ability is exactly the same. That is, zero.
The twins (current King and her sister) fought over a talented man, but he married the sister.
Eventually, the twins had births on the same day, almost at the same time. The current king had hers (current Eldest Royal Daughter) slightly first, and there was a reaction from the sacred Phoenix testing site, so she was made Heir. Later, the other sister “died”, and the sister's child (“Feng No Name”) is said to have died.
Disappointed in Fuyao making bad decisions yet again (starting pair cultivation that cannot be interrupted without severe injury, AFTER you hear hostile forces might be close). Seriously, who writes a character like this.
(1) and (2) were completely not included in the arc imo. Her only interactions with villagers was magistrate/general and civilians, not a member of the community. Actually I think (2) could have been solved by sealing the gates as she leaves. No way bandits can get the news before she arrives if she rushes. For (3,4) most of it can be seen from the drama. I thought it was a bit dumb that the final 3 hidden guards dived into the bandit pile one by one instead of attacking together.
Also, it is shown that Wuji has the authority and communications to move troops around at the time (e.g. to escort him from the desert). Why could he not command more to come as reinforcements to the city?
I agree Tiansha had too much filler with the forest scene and an entire episode of desert dreaming. For the duration of the Yao City arc, whatever respect I had for Fuyao as a solo character was driven into the grave. Legend? The only Legend I see is the incredibly competent Wuji.