kmellark

The way this drama was shot is so interesting to me! Dilraba looks hauntingly beautiful that it's almost uncanny at times—which is perfect since her character is truly not from this world lol. I'm really looking forward to seeing how He Simu and Duan Xu's relationship will develop over time.

That's fair! It's such a shame because I would rather they split the drama into two parts and properly conveyed the actual story. I liked what they did with Xie Zheng's character though. He's much more sweet in the drama.

Sorry, I don't think "arrogant" might be the correct word to describe her character. I was trying to get at "apathetic" or "indifferent," because like you said—she doesn't care to be in power. But at the same time, it doesn't seem like she respects authority either. That honestly took me out of the story.

I appreciate the analysis about going home. It's definitely different from the novel because once Fan Changyu made the decision to be with Xie Zheng, he became her home. She never looked back and moved forward with him. Overall, drama!Fan Changyu isn't bad, she's just not the same character I fell in love with in the novel. 🥲

I really enjoyed the first half of the drama because even though they tweaked some stuff from the original work, I could feel the growing love and feelings Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu had for each other. But once they separated, the drama fell apart for me. It became increasingly apparent that side characters were getting more screen time and their stories expanded compared to the main couple.

I also think the screenwriting failed to properly convey Fan Changyu's growth because some of her actions and decisions were completely out of character to me. She became extremely reckless, indifferent*, and I can't even say she properly earned her military merit with her limited experience. I actually felt sorry for Xie Zheng when he had to navigate her hot and cold personality lol. I honestly loved her in the novel, but I can't say the same for how she was written in the drama.

Yes, she had to work her way up the military (without Xie Zheng’s help) and learn how to lead soldiers. She also struggled and learned from her mistakes. The drama took away her character development and gave her plot armor and strength instead. 😂

I think Zhang Linghe looks REALLY good as Xie Zheng but I didn’t get the ruthless vibe from him until episode 32. The scene was so short and I wanted more lol. People have also been complaining about him not having a lot of fighting scenes as well.

The drama did a really bad job with her character development, especially after Ep27.

In order to proudly be with Xie Zheng, Fan Changyu decided to join the Jizhou army and start from the bottom up. This was her moment to earn military merit and rise up in the ranks. She started off as a squad leader then commander, made mistakes and had some of her men killed, but also learned the realities of war where each death rested heavily on her heart. She wasn't the one who killed Changxin and almost got Xie Wu killed during the battle of Lucheng.

They completely skipped all of that in the drama by giving her plot armor and making her super powerful. This makes all of her victories lose meaning.

This is actually not true. Xie Zheng had plenty of scenes that displayed his cold and ruthless nature in the novel, especially when he was fighting separate campaigns from Fan Changyu. The drama combined a lot of the battles, which was really disappointing.

In the battle against Prince Changxin, Fan Changyu didn't have the ability/skill to kill him. This was her first battle as a squad leader and even though she was able to injure him, the killing arrow shot was made by Xie Zheng from afar in his disguise. And when they separated in Lucheng, after learning about her family's role in his father's death, Xie Zheng threw himself into battles to forget about her. The scene where he cut off that eunuch's ear was during this time.

As others have mentioned, there are direct parallels between Xie Zheng and Qi Min. They are two sides of the same coin. He's very ruthless and intense in the novel. Episode 17 Xie Zheng in the drama when he forced kiss her and they parted on bad terms was novel accurate. Also episode 32 when he cut off the eunuch's ear.

I just wish he was a bit more consistent with his ruthlessness. He could have been soft with Fan Changyu but cold and indifferent with everybody else. That would have been more believable.

Yes, I really enjoyed that part and it was pretty accurate to the original character. I was super impressed with Zhang Linghe's acting in episode 17 when he forced kissed her and they parted on bad terms. I just wish we had more of that ruthlessness overall, but it's probably me expecting too much.

Yes, that part was novel accurate Xie Zheng! But again, it's not consistent. One moment he cuts the eunuch's ear off for even daring to come with a marriage proposal from the emperor, the next he's soft and romantic towards Fan Changyu. In the original work, that intensity was portrayed in both aspects of their life—on the battlefield and personal.

I'm still holding out hope for the final battle in the capital!

I haven't watched the leaks, only the latest episodes — but overall, this was a decent adaption from the novel. Not great since plot and character development suffered a lot starting from episode 27 because there wasn't enough time to nurture them. Character's actions were inconsistent, important scenes/battles from the novel were completely scrapped in favor of time, and characters who played major roles in Fan Changyu's growth were also missing. At least the romance turned out fine? 😂

Xie Zheng looks really good, but I wanted him to be even more ruthless and cold.

I can only hope that we're getting this in the capital arc, but my expectations are low lol.

It’s kind of laughable how Xie Zheng in the drama is supposed to be portrayed as this military genius who is incredibly cunning and ruthless on the battlefield, but we’re not really getting that? He looks really good though. 😂

I went back to look through to novel and they really butchered everything lol.

Under the command of Tang Peiyi and Commander Guo, Fan Changyu was supposed to break through enemy lines and save He Jingyuan. This was her first military experience on the battlefield and although Fan Changyu did injure Prince Changxin, Xie Zheng came riding in the last second with the killing arrow shot from afar.

He Jingyuan also wasn't supposed to die during the battle with Prince Changxin either. His last moment was supposed to be later when they're defending Lucheng and Fan Changyu had to fight against Qi Min's death soldiers.

I do feel sorry for him. Qi Min is simply another tragic character who became someone despicable because of circumstances / past events that threw him down a dark path. In the novel, his last moment with Yu Qianqian was his most poignant. Maybe in another life, they could have been together—but not this one.

It's more of a "What if...?" type of scenario or alternate universe. I'm assuming you're talking about the side stories in the end about Wei Yan?

THANK YOU. I loved Fan Changyu in the novel because even though she was strong, she had to STRUGGLE to get there. There were also many moments and battles the drama did not adapt that reflected how she commandeered the respect of the other soldiers (Ex: Bear scene, stealing the grain and salt from the enemy camp, her first time on the battlefield as a squad leader under Tang Peiyi and Commander Guo, saving He Jingyuan and learning the truth from him). They straight up killed him in episode 30 and made it a flashback lol.

I'm starting to think that they want us to read the novel while the drama is airing. I read the novel so I understand where the story is going and can supplement missing character growth or scenes inside my head whenever the drama is lacking in that area. However, that is also unacceptable because we deserve the full adaptation or something close to it. This drama really should have been more than 40 episodes.

My biggest concern when this drama first aired was them rushing the last few episodes and I fear that it's already happening. The editing feels very choppy and important scenes have become flashbacks or were cut in the process. This actually stunts plot and character development, which makes everything even more confusing.

I agree, where was my river scene where Fan Changyu killed the bandit leader and his crew herself?! Xie Zheng did help with his bow on the side, but the killing blow was HERS. While I like that the drama added certain things to expand the story and even had scenes adapted word for word from the novel, some of the other changes they made are just strange.