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Ah ok.

Your comments are always so insightful and I learn a bit more about Chinese ancient traditions too. Even though I am Chinese, but overseas born so not as well versed in Chinese culture. Trying to learn more though.

I can't quite figure her character out. By now, you'd think she would have had a complete turnaround after all the things LX did for the Lin family. But she is not muddle-headed and is pragmatic, if a bit stuck in how the Lin family is ranked in society. A creature of her times. I am curious to see how they develop her character, although not many episodes left.

The teasers were such a tease. I was wondering if he was going to be asked to adopt someone else's child or get a second wife. But it turned out otherwise LOL. So relieved.

Yeah I agree. I unsub'ed her as well. But then she still pops up on my feed LOL.

A youtuber who talks about C-dramas. I watch her for insight into C-dramas

I must say I am super disappointed in AvenueX's review of ATC. Her viewers who listen to her are missing out on an amazing drama. She's missed the mark on quite a few other dramas as well and seems to harbor certain biases. Anyway - just throwing it out there since I used to listen to her recommendations as her review of Romance of Tiger and Rose was what got me on this C-drama journey. And her positive reviews are on the mark. Her negative ones, not as much.

The reasoning behind the resolution was brilliant as well. LX guessed that Xiuru is first and foremost pragmatic rather than emotional (like Xiuwan) so she wasn't necessarily opposed to a concubine as she understood the stakes here. It was becoming trapped in a family without any power or property for her daughters (including her step-daughter).

Agreed. I enjoy learning about all these characters and it's so cool the director is giving each their due. I am glad to learn about 3rd sister. And I expect 4th sister might have more story to tell or 3rd brother and his dissatisfied wife. And we got 2nd brother and his wife's sad love story too. I try to pay attention to when they pan to things. Only on second rewatch did I notice how the camera panned to the jade peanut pendant on 2nd sister-in-law neck. It showed how she mourned the loss without a word. Brilliant.

It is pretty cool how the director and script writer worked these challenges to status quo into the script. Probably why it took so long for the drama to get to production. I am sure it went through a lot of censorship scrutiny LOL. Because when you think about it, while this is a commentary about ancient traditions, it is still relevant to today's power structures. I watched episode 39 again where they showed him walking through the palace with a child reciting the poem and I thought wow - life hasn't changed much. Sure the penalties may not be as harsh as losing your head but I see it happening in today's modern society. But in corporate worlds, when one leader leaves (or is ousted) and a new one comes in. What do they do first? Clean house of course. Then once you think you are settled in to the new regime, it happens again. So where do your loyalties lie? Loyalty means nothing in office politics either when power shifts happen.

One of the commenters on Tencent called it out - it's rare for someone to be so smart and strategic but rarer still that they don't feel like they have to take credit for it. I liked that she whispered the "solution" to 4th sister at the birthday party rather than speak up herself. Also she waits and listens and never butts in with a solution. Often someone will ask her for help before she offers her opinion. That is a rare trait indeed. Even in this day and age.

LOL no one has watched the future episodes yet.

Actually sort of true. He might have a tendency to produce more Y chromosomes. But, statistically speaking, every pregnancy is an independent event. So if it's a girl, it's the man's "fault" but that does not mean he will never have sons. So there is enough randomness that women can be blamed for it because I am sure if it were always the case, even someone in olden days might have caught on without knowledge of genetics.

You gotta watch through the end for the plot twist LOL

Rewatching As Beautiful as You while waiting for new episodes to drop. Realizing TSY tends to gravitate towards more slice of life, thoughtful dramas. ABAY is very much romance focused but its also a bit more mellow - not sure how to describe the vibe of her dramas, maybe slice of life? - than other romance idol dramas.

Interesting way to put it. I had not thought about it but that could partly be the director's goal given the play within a play with the chinese opera side theme. There are so many layers to this drama to unpack. Really cool for rewatch value. I enjoyed The Double as well but honestly once done, I was ready to move on. Not really a rewatch for me as the plot was pretty straightforward.

Chemistry between actors (Seven Tan and Liu Xue Yi) is amazing but it's not hot passionate romantic kind. The chemistry is in how they come to understand each other and love each other over time. The ML does fall hard for the FL but it's one sided for quite a while as the FL is mostly dealing with aftermath of her whole family being massacred (PTSD) and staying in an assumed identity to survive. There is no big revenge plot either because well, the perpetrator of her family's extermination is the current emperor. A bit out of reach for someone who is a maid in a household now.

Agreed. I also loved The Double but this drama is on another level when it comes to storyline, production quality, depth, and character development (for all cast, not just FL and ML).

Thanks. There was so much in that one episode that needed unpacking. This is definitely a drama that doesn't insult the audience's intelligence and expect one to see beyond the obvious.

Poor LXY I could tell he was pretty embarrassed about having to do it in the interviews and how hard he had to diet and stay off liquids to get the "cut" look. It's like body building contests, pretty brutal. I appreciated the eye candy (but there are more built K-drama actors where one is like...wow...during the shower scenes) but honestly they didn't need it coz certainly did nothing for the female lead. It's kinda hilarious when the interviewers asked Seven Tan how she reacted to the scene, she just shrugged and said she had seen it in so many takes that is was just normal to her LOL.