ibisfeather

Ep 18
Datura flower as a sleep-inducing agent must be a mistranslation.
It would be criminal stupidity to heavily dose an entire family with a hallucinatory agent which can cause disorienting vivid and violent visions. All instead apparently slept heavily.

Ep18
even sadder and more operatic.
There are all sorts of love. The love between the eunuch cook and the solitary physician is beautiful and tragic.

ep17
the story of pei yu and ying -- so sad.

The ability of kdrama technicians to manipulate and amplifyt the viewer's emotions, could it be that cdrama has finally gotten the memo?

What about the idea that she played a greater part in the 6 cut episodes?

Could that be part of the six-episode cut people have been talking about?

We are getting to be such experts?

I definitely agree that to a Chinese women's audience this would hit a feminist nerve. And actual events too.
Satisfying because it is realpolitik in an allegorical palace. Infuriating because justice is suppressed for harmony in the community., We feel frustrated alongside of Peiyi, but she seems to be growing and becoming more mature -- holding back for the big investigation to come.

I still keep hoping to see her and Huaijin on a little riverboat ala the Prince of Xin, leaving it all behind. (not really)

totally.

I have been told that the editors do not make continuity decisions. That overall these are decisions made by the scriptwriter.
Tiny adjustments in the scoring, lighting etc can make a difference, I guess?

ep14 -- awww, I really had hopes the two of them would get married now and work out their trust issues at home while dashing around still solving cases. But it was not to be. Hopefully later.

Being inside the palace is problematic for romance. And outside of it Li Peiyi would have no authority.
It would be an entirely different sort of series if Xiao HuaiJin were to acquire a public position in regional government.
He doesnt have any of the skill sets needed for administration anyway.

The opening music is definitely growing on me. It reminds me of the intro to the art of negotiation. It hits somewhere in the stomach, and creates anticipation.

I asked because I am beginning to see what must be pseudo-reviews, if no one has actually seen it all.

Is this on the same schedule in China? Or is the audience there ahead of the netflix audience?

@Yidenia, Do you still see a lack of continuity in these last episodes? I personally havent had any trouble following the action since about midway through ep3.

I found it hard to follow -- moving very quickly. Was it on purpose?

@Sana -- I think this is also a view of the dark underbelly of the brilliant Tang. So far just the lives of palace maids, night-soil collectors and pitiable 15th princesses...and mor to come! I love it.

ep5 still. great devices
She interrogate the night-soil in the bathtub bec: he cant run away(1), he cant hurt himself, and the smell is less!
Then, for good measure, once he begins to speak, he becomes the voice-over narration for his own tale, punctuated with realtime neck-grabs an anxious judiciary official.
Excellent writing. A thrill to watch.

It was a cute race: rooftops vs. horseback.

I have been looking to see if anyone identifies that song -- the vibe is SO DIFFERENT for a cdrama.

sorry

After the first 4 eps I am fully invested. The ML and FL are interesting characters and I have gotten used to this sort of 'dark style'.
Although set in the Tang, this is the dark side of that brilliant world. The first few episodes are dominated by indoor and evening scenes with lots of dark reds. The opening credits set the tone with a song for male voices, some so low that they sound like throat singers.