gwennie call

So, I loved the series, ok! I love Jin Han, and Peng Xiao Ran was a revelation for me (no, I WON'T watch Goodbye My Princess and you can't make me!) - I loved everything about their relationship and the contrast between the serious girl and the jokester guy; It was so good that I increased my rating to 9; why not 10? Eh. All will be explained in the spoiler space

Wait, the last episode had cut scenes? Of the main couple? WTF? I haven’t watched it yet, but seriously why?? Why are series being sabotaged in this way? Was it another censorship thing?

This is so infuriating, and I guess I’ll have to sign up for viki, lol!

never thought I'd see an Emperor yell "you're all a BUNCH OF BUMS!" at his ministers. Ah, subbing team. I love you guys

hilarious not really spoiler but let's be safe (episode 37)

I know, I know - but soon she'll take a step back, and we'll have two new characters providing the comic relief, and they are perfect.

I've watched up to episode 36 and I disagree. Yes, the first few episodes are mainly about Jun Jiuling, but later on, especially when she gets to the capital city, and Zhu Zan gets there, he really comes into his own.
I would argue that this is the perfect role for Jin Han, because it shows he has range. He can play the usual tormented hero seeking revenge / justice for his family, as well as the charismatic but also humorous man he plays in this. I actually love the way he's a total kidder with Jun Jiuling, especially as she's so serious at the beginning - he makes a great contrast.
The only thing I didn't like was what they did with his hair - they did him dirty.

Is this the one where one sister enters the palace as a case of mistaken identity, because the a daughter from a rich house ran away so as not to be selected as a concubine, and the servants grab this Cai Feng and she enters the palace under the rich girl's name?

I think I saw the first few episodes and didn't like it - though I might be wrong! I'm asking a spoilery question below

I kind of got a clue re. Yanxi Palace, when I understood what the emperor was really saying when the subs kept reading "vixen" - he was actually saying 'hulijing', which has completely different implications. A "vixen" is a seductive and destructive woman - a hulijing is a shapeshifter/fox spirit - i.e. a trickster.
Yanxi Palace was never meant to be a realistic portrayal of the historical characters involved - it was a frequently comedic, sometimes tragic, story of revenge and a free spirit, who really played herself, in that she got her revenge, but was trapped in the palace forever.
The censors who eventually banned Yanxi Palace really, really missed the point.

The thing is, and I don't say this lightly, but the FL lead is so stupid, and to me, at least, the actress is uncharismatic. Going back to her character, she had like 4 chances to go back to the beginning and fix shit, but she just went back half an hour, or in one case, five minutes. So dumb.
I have no idea how Feng Xi became Er Yu and got jade flute/lotus root powers, and I just don't care.
And the SL storyline was just pointless to me.
Because I remembered Tan Jian Ci from Secret of the 3 Kingdoms, I kept calling him Discount Cao Pi, until he got interesting.
But anything involving Feng Xi was awesome.

I finished it, and I can honestly say, this is the best Jin Han hair - I mean, Feng Xi is a good character, but I prefer Zhu Zan, because he's such a kidder!

I'll put other things in spoilers

Glad I’m not alone! Though watching with subs made me realise that during dinner with the in-laws they were actually talking about cancelling the engagement?? WHAT. I think I have to wait until the whole thing is out, because this kind of plot development is giving me anxiety.

Criminals get years and years to keep committing their crimes (cf Kris Wu) until finally the evidence piles up and the authorities have to do something (I guess rape isn't as bad as being photographed somewhere).
I've also read that in the past, Chinese tourists were encouraged to visit this shrine, to understand how much the Chinese people suffered during the war - the way this was turned around reminds me of Mao's 'let a hundred flowers blossom' speech, where political dissidents were encouraged, in 1957, to put forward critiques of the government. Most of those who did so were later executed.

Basically, I've come to realise that the only mistake here was made by ZZH's management, in that they didn't nuke his social media as soon as he got popular. They knew that the industry and fandom is toxic and cut-throat - they needed to shut it down, immediately. No personal stuff on the socials.

The only mistake ZZH made is forgetting where he lives, and that's all I really want to say about the matter.

Anyone knows whether the novel has been translated into English in full? There's only the first 3 chapters on novelupdates, and I'm pretty sure it's been dropped, because they were all posted in February and then nothing since.
No webnovel, though - I tried to read Jun Jiuling on webnovel and my brain is still crying.

I mean, does she have to? She has much more freedom now than she had as a princess. Though if she marries (or formalises the marriage - the subs calling her his wife are really confusing me) Zhu Zan I guess she'll have to stay indoors, though Zhu Zan's mom has a lot of independence, it seems.

I remember when JJL stayed out all night investigating, and instead of covering for her, she was all WHERE IS MY MISTRESS, WHERE CAN SHE BE? I'M SO WORRIED!!!! So fricking useless.

LOL same! I remember saying, the first time she ran her mouth with the ladies of the house, OMG she should have left you where she found you !
She gets tolerable, or there's less of her, IDK. I was very annoyed.

Girl, you're alone with your man, at a supremely romantic location,* in the middle of the night, glowing fire (your skin was LIT) - enough with the hugging! Just plant one on him! The thing is Zhu Zan doesn't strike me as a guy who's going to take the initiative (for all his extrovert personality, he strikes me as a little shy in relationships) , which I love - I'm a bit tired of the reluctant girl/horny guy dynamic many c-dramas have. So it's up to our girl - he loves you, you love him - do you need a chorus of talking animals to sing 'kiss the boy"?

*yes, there were assassin guys - but that was later. Much kissing could have happened before that.

I tried to watch eps 31 and 32 without subs and I understood nothing. Or very little. And then there was the other thing

True - it's awful, but his best hair was when he was being tortured in the prison. When he came out and was back to the super tight scraped back do, I was like NOOOOOOO.

I love his character but man, someone in the hair department doesn't like him. I need to watch a couple of episodes of Twisted Fate of Love - best Jin Han hair (yes, I rate dramas with my own special hair scale! Any c-drama where they're in a grasslands tribe, and I'M THERE)