Morwen

Yeah, not being able to always get what (and who) you want in life due to different priorities and life choices was definitely one of the lessons she had to learn this season. Though with a romantic interest as unpredictable as Zichuan Xiu, anything still seems possible at this point...
Well, I hope we'll find out in season 2.

You're welcome!
Ning is one of the reasons why I find the abrupt ending of season 1 so frustrating. You can already see some character growth in her in the first 24 episodes and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more in season 2.
And also, as you said, the writing for this drama is really well done, it would make no sense for her to be the only badly written character.

I absolutely loved this drama and can't wait for season 2!
As soon as I understood the general power structures, I had no problem following the plot, though the incredible amount of dialogue, characters and political intrigue forces one to pay constant attention to every single word.

In writing, there's a rule called 'show, don't tell' and I've got to admit that was my biggest complaint about this drama. I was way too often TOLD what was happening but not actually SHOWN, which is really the only thing I expect from a visual medium. I get that this was also a budget related decision but I still hope to see more of the outside world (and especially more battle scenes) in season 2.

Watching the three brothers interact was an absolute joy, though. The fact that three people who are so different in nature can think so much alike that they can guess what the other two are planning half across the continent and act accordingly was quite amazing and touching. That and the rare but genuine moments of friendship and happiness they experienced whenever they met made their connection so real. I hope season 2 will treat them well. (... I mean, yeah, I know, it probably won't, but a girl can dream.)

Great review!
And thank you for a more nuanced recap of Ning's role and persona.
I agree that the actress wasn't the best choice for this role, but other than that I had no problem with Ning, especially when considering her incredibly sheltered life up to this point. She was also a lot smarter than most viewers seem to give her credit for and clearly understood the dangers and power struggles around her.

Should be WeTV since it's Tencent. :)

The most recent ones I've heard about are THE GATE OF XUAN WU (which was filmed in 2017) and GROWING PAINS OF SWORDSMEN (which was filmed in 2018). Both will be released this month.
There might be others soon, who knows. We'll have to wait and see.

Watched the new trailer and may have screamed a bit (both internally and externally).
I hope this means they won't hold this back for much longer?
At least it seems like a few dramas are coming out now that have been filmed ages ago.

On Netflix Germany as well. :)

Same! 😄
I love that song, you can clearly hear the fun they had recording it together.

Haha, das stimmt, hättest du nichts gesagt, hätte ich fröhlich auf Englisch weitergemacht. xD
Ich bin durch und durch Ostkind und lebe und arbeite seit 2008 in Berlin. ^^
Auf AO3 heiße ich nur Morwen, unter dem Namen bin ich seit 2002 unterwgs. 😄
Ich verbringe tatsächlich noxh relativ viel Zeit mit Schreiben, Zocken und Serien gucken, aber ich arbeite auch nur 30 Stunden, das reicht mir. ^^
Mit LJ habe ich auch noch Erfahrungen gemacht, für Mailinglisten war ich damals aber noch zu jung. xD

Das mit den Fanzines klingt nach einer Idee, gibt sicher Interessenten für Fandom-Geschichte.

Oh krass, von dem Magazin höre ich das erste Mal! Was es nicht jetzt alles gibt. *-*

Für Schlagermusik vielleicht nicht, aber sicher für deutsche Fußballer. xD

Danke, du auch! :D

The name Alibaba or Ali Baba comes from an old Middle Eastern folk tale, which would also fit his character in this drama.
The company Alibaba got its name from there as well, it did NOT invent the name.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Baba_and_the_Forty_Thieves

I really love the end credits, I can't get that song out of my head, it's just such a feel-good tune. ❤

The Untamed, Word of Honor and a bunch of other dramas might be an exception because they're all on Netflix and therefore available to a greater English language audience. But if you look at smaller C-drama fandoms, most fics are in Chinese.

Yeah, AO3 got blocked in China because of The Untamed RPF (crazy story, look it up on Wikipedia 😅).

That's a good question.
I myself have been reading and writing fanfiction (mostly BL) for 20 years, I've seen everything under the sun by now. 😂

Oh, du bist auch aus Deutschland? Die Welt ist ein Dorf. 😂

That's true, most fics written for C-dramas are either in Russian or Chinese. Which is especially astonishing considering AO3 is blocked in China. [Edit] And in Russia as well since last year, apparently. Wow.

Thank you! And I agree, they definitively share a common moral ground. I also wouldn't be surprised if CS gets smarter in time, he's not an idiot per se, just very naive and inexperienced.

It seems that way. 😏

Archive of Our Own.
One of the world's biggest websites for fan fiction of all languages (mostly English, though).

I think he has a high emotional intelligence and lots of empathy, but other than that – yeah, I agree. 😂

(And also: that's the most popular ship for this fandom on AO3. And AO3 doesn't lie. 😂)

I think so, too. He already seems to be attached to his kind and caring nature, and he sees the potential in him and has the patience to teach him about the court and the world in general.