Hime

Yeah, this definitely had its flaws. But the overall message was impactful. There was actually a 41 year old body found in 2020 of a victim of this revolution so this drama was not completely out there. It felt very realistic despite its flaws.

Yeah, I know. It is almost impossible for a drama to not have a plot hole or something that does not seem very logical to the viewers. But this one was not actually that bad in that sense. I have watched some dramas where you have to get amnesia to pretend they did not just skip over a bunch of important details or take out your brain so you can believe what you are watching. LOL

Yeah, historical dramas tend to have deaths no matter what, if it is portraying a war or revolution then we can expect even more deaths and potentially the death of 1 or more of the main characters.

I also knew where it was heading from ep 1. When they found the body I was pretty sure it was the FL but since they did not reveal the sex and we only had the objects as clues, I kind of hoped at some point that the ML got tired of his father messing with him and killed him and that was his body. But a few episodes before the end I became certain it was in fact the FL.

She had an entire life in front of her. She could have helped so many people. And the ML and her brother spending all those years without knowing where she is and knowing she is probably dead but still having a little bit of hope that is not the case. So tragic but so real.

It reminds me of the family of victims that went missing decades ago and only recently their bodies were found/identified. Imagine going 30 or 40 years without knowing what happened to someone you love, or even dying before you get any answers. Really heartbreaking. T T

Actually, with the right conditions, paper and ink can stand the test of time.
If the soil where she was buried was dry, then that can help too. When they found her body in the first episode it did look like the soil was dry. Humidity would have completely ruined both the ink and paper itself. I guess there was not a lot of rain all those years?? Idk, just trying to make some sense of it. XD

Exactly. I love happy endings but this was no rom com. In dramas where you have war, revolutions and real life based events, there needs to be a bittersweet ending. Also, had this had a happy ending, people would easily forget about it. But because it didnt, it will stick with us for quite some time.

I havent started yet because of that. Some of these original channels like to sub while the drama is airing to keep people invested but once it finishes airing they stop subbing even if only a few episodes are left. :(

I think people just arent used to getting an ending that is this real. Most dramas with a similar plot will play with our hearts for the entire drama and then give us an happy or open ending to please the average viewer.

But with this one what you see is what you get. I liked how real it felt. It broke me inside but I do not regret watching it at all. The ending was just fitting.

This is why I loved and hated this drama at the same time. It is so real. We all know these stuff happened not only in the past but keep happening just in a more discreet way.

It makes you think about the real life victims and their loved ones that have to go through decades of suffering with some even dying without knowing for sure what happened to that person.

I did not spoil myself but since episode 1 the rational part of me knew exactly who that body belonged to. I tried to stay positive and think maybe it will be someone else since they have played me in so many other dramas and it is not very common for one of the main characters to die. But this time I was right, and I hated that I was right.

Plus, I had already watched the actor playing the male lead here in the drama 18 Again and he is so convincing when crying that I just end up crying with him. T T

This drama completely destroyed me because of how real it was.

Ouch, this was so real. Usually dramas find a way to defy logic to keep viewers happy but this one was refreshingly real. What you see is exactly what you get.

That made the drama not only realistic but also heartbreakingly tragic. I will need to do some healing after watching this. Maybe watch some kitten videos or a fluffy rom com.

Ah I knew there had to be some form of censorship at play. That makes sense then. You are right, this is a good drama. It is a shame that such important scenes were cut. I wish I could watch it how it was originally intended to be. Aside from the crown princess, there were scenes cut from when the main leads were supposed to make up and I dont really know what happened to the FL’s sister and so many other characters were only mentioned or had a short scene that left so many questions. What a shame.

What you said is true but the deaths were the least of the problems. I am used to Chinese historical dramas being tragic. The main issue for me was the loss of trust/misunderstandings that happened around ep 30 and that remained almost until the end. There were also some sub-plots added that I found unnecessary. And the scenes that were cut were necessary because it was very noticeable when it happened. It felt like they originally thought the drama was going to be longer but then were told they could only air 55 episodes so they had to start removing things and rush the ending. A lot of those scenes were between the main leads and it made me wonder how things went from A to C, since B was missing.

Btw, you should probably tag your comment as a spoiler since you mention the name of some of the characters that die.

Exactly. I dont understand why people are saying that this should have a rating of 9 or more. First, it is very rare for a drama to have an average rating above 9. And second, this one definitely does not deserve such a high rating. The concept was interesting, but when rating a drama there is more than just the original idea to take into account. Pace, story, acting, music, editing, overall execution of the idea, every single thing plays a part in making a good drama.

The idea was good, but the execution not so much. So I am sorry, but this drama does not deserve all the hype. Idk if its because of the cast or what, but this is definitely overrated.

Like you, I also wanted to enjoy this, but I felt it was really draggy and I was bored most of the time. :(

I was ok with it being slow paced and even kind of boring at times. The chemistry between the leads was great, the ML had incredible character growth and most importantly I enjoyed watching the FL being one step ahead of everyone and being able to navigate through the Palace thanks to her kind and wise words/actions. I also liked a lot of the supporting characters and hated some too.

Unfortunately, somewhere around ep 30 things started to go downhill. I found myself skipping a lot of scenes and wondering what is wrong with these writers.

Overall, its a good drama. But it could have been a great one. I think it would have probably been better had it been 40 episodes or less. I see this happening to a lot of Chinese historical dramas. To keep the story going the writers will add unnecessary sub-plots and tragic deaths which really lower my overall enjoyment.

Also, I could tell a lot of things were edited out and it really impacted the story. I felt like something was missing in between 2 scenes and that would leave me confused thinking I skipped something I shouldn't, but when I went back there was nothing there to begin with. Some characters also did not have proper endings or what happened to them was only mentioned. Again, had they kept it shorter and they wouldn't have to edit out these important scenes and rush the ending.

At first she did not really hate him. I think she was just scared he would blow her cover. But then he started chasing after her like crazy. Having an obstinate man chasing after you when you have no feelings for him would be annoying to anyone. He would push, pull and hug her against her will. Also, she already liked someone else, so his advances were even more unwanted.

So in my opinion, she did not actually hate him at first, she just found him annoying and wanted nothing to do with him. At most she would be available for a friendship, but being friends was clearly not his intention and she knew that so she thought it would be better to keep a distance from him.

I liked some things about this drama, but found it unnecessarily long and draggy. I am also still angry at what they did to a certain character in ep 38-39. It felt like the writers did it just to add more tragedy to the FL’s life, like she even needed more of that at this point. It was cruel and did not add much to the story.

Overall, an average drama. If you are out of Chinese historical dramas to watch, then watch this. Otherwise I am sure you will find something better to watch.

I cant imagine dropping a 36 episode drama at ep 24. I just hate leaving things unfinished even when I am finding the drama is dragging. There are some dramas that made me actually skip to the last episode for that same reason. This was not one of them, but I did skip a lot more after ep 24 or so.

If you dont like too much drama, it might have been for the best. The 3rd part of the drama was extremely dramatic and I cant remember when was the last time a drama made me cry so much. Xiao Ning really is unlucky, she has such a miserable life that it is impressive how she can find positive things in so much negativity. I really admire her character for that.

I enjoyed their relationship and how much she helped him find some light in his dark world, but there were some supporting characters that I think took to much screen time making the drama draggy for me. I also thought the last few episodes were too heavy and the drama would have probably been better had it ended around ep 24.

Its ok. It was just a misunderstanding.

Didnt sound like you were. Usually I can tell when someone is using irony or sarcasm. Here it sounded like you were actually angry at my comment, even though I said I liked the movie, just that it could have been better and that some people might not enjoy it.

But anyway, if you were kidding, then its all good.

First, I watched this in 2017. At the time there probably was no transcription for the letter or missing subs, something that made me only understand what had really happened after reading a review by a native speaker.

Second, I am not the only one who thought the ending was unclear. Just read the comments, yet I am the only one you so politely attacked.

Third, what you did is against MDL’s policies. If you want to be in a community, learn to be respectful first. I am open to different opinions and views, but that was not what you did here. You just bluntly attacked me for no reason instead of commenting about the movie.