The writers are really messing with us. What is their definition of a 'pure heart'? Tianyao's treatment of Yanhui can not possibly qualify. And while it would make sense for him to need his HPS back to go rescue the kids, why couldn't he take 2 minutes to _explain_ that to Yanhui, BXS & Xiao Yan? Why do the writers make a multi-thousand-year-old entity act so absurdly impulsively and stupidly? All of this feels like plot contrivance to create an arc of episodes with the ML & FL separated and seemingly not reconcilable. Just like every other cliche' drama. Very disappointed with the turn that this series just took.
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The writers of this series once again keep leaning into plot-induced-stupidity. The scene where Pitiful Clam tricks Zhou Fei into lowering her weapon is particularly offensive. It was just plain unbelievably stupid and insulting to our intelligence.
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Most of this final episode was fine and made sense. But the very last minute or so came off as a weird public service announcement appeal for selfless patriotism. This was bizarre and not exactly a satisfying resolution of the romantic struggle the two leads had finally concluded.For anyone watching after reading this. Just stop watching right after Wei Yun says, "I will".
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Finally! Both characters have confessed (to themselves as well as to each other) that they like each other! So we can move past that and focus on all the obstacles they still have to overcome, not just for each other, but for justice and revenge.
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Back on track. Still salty that they made the FL act so stupid last episode, but they resolved it and at least have moved past the need to maintain that stupid deception. Outside of that one glitch, this series continues to be top quality in all aspects. Things have slowed down a little from the early episodes hectic pace, as various relationships get established.
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This was the first disappointing episode because the writers have resorted to plot-induced-stupidity on the part of Chu Yu in thinking she could get away with stealing the fish tally. That made zero sense and she's always been way too clever before this. So it feels totally contrived just so the writers can now have several episodes of Wei Yun and Chu Yu mistrusting each other instead of working together. This series has so far been so good at avoiding such blatantly weak plot devices so this is a real disappointment. I hope they can resolve it quickly and get past it and not use such plot gimmicks again.Everything else about this episode was great. Just such a letdown that they did this to her character for no good reason.
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Way, way too much plot-induced-stupidity in this episode. Both the defense of the bridge by the 48S and the attack of same by Disha are comical. It's as if a middle-schooler who has never researched how a medieval fortification is defended / attacked wrote this scene up. I felt like I was watching a middle-school play.Deng's overly emotional reaction to bad news and immediate ruin of their defense of the gate was just beyond silly.Also, the stupidity of sending A'Yan down the mountain all alone is pure plot contrivance to setup her being rescued by Yang - saw that coming a mile away.And then little things like a scene where A'Fei impulsively and stupidly steps out into plain sight of the enemy guards - purely contrived so that Xie would pull her back into a romantic hug. Stuff like this is so weird and at odds with the reality that the characters would be facing in these circumstances.
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Not a wasted moment in this episode. Every scene advances the plot setup. The visuals are stunning, from the battle scenes to the coffins on the street.Plotwise, an unexpected reveal is given to the audience in Lady Wei having a flashback to her son Jun's last words before leaving for the battle. He told her he planned to marry upon returning. This makes Lady Wei believe Chu Yu's story that she and Jun had a promise to marry. So she has become an unexpected aly for Chu Yu in her integration into the Wei family.It's still not clear whether Yu and Jun _did_ have a promise to marry. Maybe Jun had not yet discussed it with Yu. But he at least planned to take that step.
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Right off the bat, the visuals are really impressive in this show. Great costumes, sets, camerawork, lighting - the production values are very high in this first episode. The characters introduced are all interesting with some very experienced, talented actors. Plotwise: The initial setup of Yu creating a 'faux' romance with eldest brother Jun in order to provide cover for an investigation is interesting in that she and Jun actually seem to have some initial chemistry. If we didn't already know from the show premise, that they are not, it could almost kick off a show where the leads grow from a non-romantic fake romance to a real one. Short version: There is some tangible chemistry between Yu and Jun and a legit loss of at least a confident and friend, if not a lover looming due to the show's fated premise.
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Much better episode. Nice to see some real growth among several side characters (Sheng, ChuChu & Yan). It would be nice if the two leads could move past the 'he flirts and she growls' stage. They've been stuck at that level for a long time, despite going through quite a lot together.
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Weird 'battle' scene. This episode had all the structure to be a good episode. But the 'battle' scene where the defenders of 48S face off against Gu Tianxian and his Disha goons is just bonkers weird, with everyone just standing around.Standing around talking instead of doing is unfortunately a recurring problem with this show. The cast & characters are great. And the overall plot is actually pretty good. But the pacing is just terrible. The directing and editing are just plain awful.
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Too many long conversations. I get that they are trying to supply a lot of exposition this early in the series, but this episode had a few really, really, really long, boring conversations when the character should have been doing stuff.That said, this episode did have a few nice action / fight scenes. And it did progress the plot, including first interactions with the main villain and start to build a relationship between ML & FL.
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This was a welcome, surprising shift away from the 'unrequited stalker' trope. Wei Yan was never held to consequences for his uninhibited behavior but now finally has realized that because he crossed lines of what is appropriate behavior - even if he kept some of it private - he has caused damage to his family and people he cares about. Even though the rumors of the affair are fake and spread by others, it was HIS behavior that opened the door for those rumors. Learning this lesson was a huge character growth step away from the never-blame-self psycho that his character type usually is in dramas. And he is selflessly going to take the hit to try to fix things.The performances of both Liu Yuning and Liu Duan Duan, playing deeply emotionally flawed characters (in different ways) is amazing and very intense in this episode as they come both to a boiling point and then back to their brotherhood.
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Much, much better episode than recent ones, with the leads returning to acting like the brilliant characters they were in the first 10 episodes.
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Still disappointed in this whole 'Wei Yan' arc because the ML & FL have apparently become stupid. Holding out hope that the writers will return them to form soon. Also disappointed that ML has not had any character growth - in particular healing of his severe emotional trauma - for quite a few episodes. That's a slow process and it will feel silly if it all happens at once late in the series.
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