koreanbosuji

I hear you ..
This drip by drip on air mode has saved my health ..
Had I come by this drama AFTER it was wrapped I'd be in a hospital with a drip still watching eyes peeled .. all 47 in one sitting
yes its THAT good

Thank God if it happens that way .. An open ending wouldn't be bad either .. I'd root for that too .. there is too much imbalance between LanXiang's and Lin Qi's Life Arcs until now .. Drama needs to find a way to plausibly correct it so that we feel satisfied when the equilibrium is reached

yes I LOVED that speech about being a grand Secy family's daughter .. She needed to DRILL it into his handsome DELULU SKULL ..

Thank God he has enough control and reserves to be able to withdraw and reflect

OH YESSSS
EXACTLY the sort of resolution I am rooting for

I AM ONBOARD with this observation of yours
YESSSS
I am rooting for that kind of a maturity in the handling of this drama - and till now I think they are doing VERY VERY GOOD!!
At times I get nervous in some scenes thinking the logical foundation this drama world is creating will break and then it solidifies nicely into a befitting shape ..

LOL

We WOULD have a drama still .. but it would be a different one .. with a different feel and style .. and probably draw a different set of reactions .. and even a different type of audience :-D

It saved her the embarrassment of switching her plan .. she was building up towards it .. and than BAM .. it lands on her lap .. the DRAMATIC IRONY of it .. and you HAD to break out laughing at the whole comic play drawn out of this

Love the self reflexivity of Drama-World tucked into this scene by the writers
ROFL

"No one would believe this if I wrote it in a play" ~ she thinks aloud .. or something to that effect .. and then decides to use it in a play some day
Ha ha ha ha

LOL
YESSS .. He has behaved unpredictably very often and yet very plausibly in - character .. because that is how the director has played him and the script has written him .. LXY is slaying this complex role .. moving between 'hard schemer, fair master, kind sibling, filial grandson and son, ruthless commander, jealous suitor, gullible courtier-official who hasn't SEEN anything of the Imperial Court YET' ~ his grand ol' Man has warned him .. He is about to get some SERIOUS HARD KNOCKS of life in the Capital near the New Emperor

EP 29 - 30


LOVE LOVE LOVE the distinction you drew in this .. between a character's unacceptable behaviour and yet being drawn to the same character's weird flawed self ...

There is so much layered in the taste of pickled characters for some of us .. their tangy, their tarty the salt the sweet ..

I am SO SO SO relieved that Lan Xiang gave him her second slap .. that it riled him up and brought out his instinctive "animal instincts" to overpower her physically .. And we all saw it and CRINGED and PRAYED he'd reign himself back ..
She not ONLY STARED him down but told him some bitter truths he needed to hear!!

Stripped his self-deluded sense of "magnanimity" that he had "saved" a "poor servant class woman and raised her and her family" into a higher echelon of society and that they should GROVEL and be thankful because of that.
His self delusion, that the MAIN reason she is pissed off is because she has the FEELS FOR scholar Han .. 'phei phei phei" ..
But of course that poor SOD doesn't have a CLUE about anything until now .. so what else CAN he think as a reason for her continuing distancing ..

It was a mirror that NO ONE until now has held up to our HERO ... battle hardened, feeling wronged by an ex-wife (poor thing she herself was trapped in that shitty era with shitty laws for women) and that's ALL .. that's pretty much the ONLY loss he's suffered ..
How is he EVER going to weigh up against what our HEROINE has gone through .. the BATTLES SHE HAS FOUGHT .. invisible ones ..

His world needs to be dashed to pieces before he can really SEE ...

Well yeah that doesn't mean I am not LOVING his 'innocent dimpled childish attempts to win over his "CRUSH" using so much of the silly tropes that drama uses"
If I may so dare to say .. He isn't YET in MATURE LOVE with Lan Xiang yet .. He is still 'puppy - crushing' ... and that's why he CAN'T understand that what he did was "SNATCH" away something that didnt rightfully belong to him .. as a child does .. they snatch and run when they cant have something ..

I meant marriages where even now the couple has not met or seen their partners (well not to see is tough .. since photos are ubiquitous and social media is a checkout ground)

Arranged by family marriages are still the norm in many countries and cultures .. the one step up is .. they get to meet sometimes chaperoned .. sometimes freely .. before nodding

LOL

Yeah .. But he knew he was being a sneaky bad ass .. he was insecure and did the cowardly thing, he didn't want to be told off to his face, words that could hit his dignity ..

He just wanted to get the marriage rites formalised and once that was done everyone would stay within their boundaries, keep their polite faces on (at least in public) .. as someone said .. maintaining reputation, public facade was of the ultimate importance in that era of rigid structure - customs - rituals .. specifically for the ELITE CLASS of nobles .. scholars .. courtiers .. officials

FABULOUS ANALYSIS
Enjoyed this clear headed recap

LOL

nicely replied - very LanXiang-like <3

Nope NO angsty I'd say ..
But that's on my meter

What is an example of an angsty drama for you ?
Then maybe can help answer that

Well it happens even now in many parts of the world .. in urban modern places too

Awww
Do you think she would have agreed to marry him if he did?

How would you expect the story to proceed after that?

Just curious?

Ummm

I doubt anyone is disregarding the events that played out in the drama ..

The fact that the drama is roiling up all these emotions is what is making it gripping and interesting to watch ..

It's a period drama .. and getting into that era's zeitgeist is part of the enjoyment of watching this

She got wealth and the king's favour and is the jewel in JLQ's eye

LOL

In a well plotted drama I can't say I don't enjoy watching handsome actors who can emote and slay their roles staying TOTALLY in character ..

I also enjoy handsome villains who SLAY their roles in well written complex characters .. So much more fun than having the face and body match their inner being .. Contrast is always more dynamic ..

What do you think?

LOL
And have access to a LOT of GOLD to put to good use .. and give a WHOLE world of security to the female staff and straighten out those conniving scheming ones