mukkanna

To make a long story short:
1. Antis (Dilraba and Gong Jun both have a lot)
2. CGI is not the best considering it's an S+ drama (doesn't bother me too much, but I grew up watching TVB...so yeah)
3. Some dragging of the middle of the drama due to excessive (and pointless) scenes involving one character. Could completely skip many of her scenes and still follow the plot without problems. Otherwise I feel the pace is just right.
4. Criticism of Han Ye's character in the beginning as being "weak" or "stupid". Let's just say, we're only now (20+ episodes in) finding out he's not always as gentle, kind, and rule-following as he appears on the surface. I think a lot of people had difficulty wrapping their heads around the concept that not taking action because you're too weak/too scared is not the same as not taking action because the time isn't right/there are better methods to manage the problem. Similarly, believing the lies you're being told is not the same as knowing you're being lied to but playing along anyway to achieve your own goals.

It's sort of like if you're a cop and you see your kid shoot another kid to death in front of 50 witnesses. Even if you think your kid did it in self-defense, if you don't arrest your kid immediately, you'll be accused of not being impartial and giving your kid special treatment.

In this case, there's no firm evidence yet that he committed treason. However, there's lots of evidence that Han Ye murdered a high-ranking official in the street. The emperor can't give the impression that he's okay with vigilante behavior, or officials will think they're at risk of being randomly killed whenever someone in the royal family has a disagreement with them.

As annoyed as he is, he's also proud that his kids have their own minds. Especially Han Ye, who's his life's work. When Han Ye opposes him he's annoyed--but also proud. The last thing he wants to do is stunt or break the masterpiece he's spent 20 years shaping. Could he punish him and force him? Probably. But he doesn't want a yes-man for a future emperor. He wants to show the entire world that he can raise the most awesome heir they've ever seen and prove to his own father that he was wrong to doubt his ability to be emperor.

One of the things I really like about this drama is that everyone has believable motivations for the things they do (so far).

Thanks! The list is longer than I have time for, sadly...I have to pick and choose. Luckily (I guess??), for many dramas I have trouble making it through the first few episodes...I can't stand characters who are too stupid, unless they're actually supposed to be stupid. Or even worse, characters who are supposedly smart but keep doing stupid things for no apparent reason... When smart people do stupid things, they need to be properly set up...

She killed herself during the 3-day reflection period he set before dealing with the situation. She probably knew she would have ended up being forced to commit suicide and decided to (1) spare herself the indignity and (2) spare her son the spectacle of being forced to try her.

Slight clarification of the 4th clarification:

DZY purposefully was vague, and described it to everyone as a "state wedding." All the officials took that to mean that it was her wedding, and they all surmised it must to LMX. They were equally suprised to show up to the wedding and realize it was for Wen Shuo :)

They also never mentioned Han Yun in the novel until very late. At this same stage in the book I don't recall being aware that he even existed.

Why do you think it's a waste of time? Just saying that without any reasoning isn't too helpful. People have different tastes in dramas.

Essentially FL trying to get revenge on ML's family. ML thinks she's correct and deserves justice but also wants to protect her, his family, and the country from the fallout of her plans. FL initially pretends to be in love with him for revenge, but later actually falls in love with him but pretends she doesn't. ML loves her but because he "knows" she hates him, tells her that everything he does for her is only for "justice" because he doesn't want her to feel like she owes him anything. Many people have layers of secrets, which are still in the midst of getting revealed now.

I'm enjoying it a lot.

Not sure the emperor has a choice here. The crown prince is not above the law, and you can't just go around slicing the necks of ministers you don't like in public...to be fair :)

Actually, I think it's pretty good. What part of her acting are you not liking?

Han Ye has always been what is shown in episode 29. It's just that he rarely gets pushed into a position where diplomacy, the rule of law, and his position as crown prince haven't gotten him results without further action.

From what we can see of their interaction so far, Anning is not beyond being suspicious of him. She trusts him, to some extent. But we also see that she's a person who takes her responsibility as general seriously; also, her defense of the Northwest is part of her atonement for the sins she believes she's committed in not speaking back then. I'm of the opinion that she'd do her best to kill him. Of the two of them, the one more likely to hold back is probably Mo Bei, who on several occasions has already shown that he cares about her more than he should.
My prediction is one of these two if they fight:
- Mo Bei kills Anning, he's really sad and guilty about it, and probably self-destructs later
- Anning kills Mo Bei, is a little sad about it but mostly righteously angry, and goes on to defend the Northwest
For added drama purposes, I'm suspecting the first one...

I agree! Han Ye is a lot of things, but passive has never been one of them. If you think about the things we now know he did as a kid that were still secrets to this day, you realize:
- He's always been like this: he takes action quietly without any need for recognition, even in the face of misdirected blame. You find out about a lot of his good deeds from other people because he never brings it up himself
- He's used to playing a very, very long game
- He's very smart. Starting from when he was a kid, he's been successfully hiding what amounts to capital treason from both his paranoid father and his enemies in court
- He's always been willing and able to take decisive action when diplomacy fails. But the action is proportional to the challenge. Gu Qishan acting high-handed in the street? No one got hurt, he protected the citizens and then waited for the chance to take him down in court instead of taking justice into his own hands and beating him up in the street, attracting criticism from the officials. Minister threatening to out his secret in the street, possibly resulting in the execution of the kid he's been raising for 10 years? Cut him down in public!

Some examples:
- When Han Ye confirms that Anle is Di Ziyuan, he asks Wen Shuo why he calls her "sister." Then he says Wen Shuo's 6th sense is better than his...
- After they fall off the cliff, and Han Ye thinks he might be dying, he starts trying to tell Anle something about Wen Shuo. Anle told him to shut up.
- On a couple occasions, Anle mentions that Di Jinyan would be the same age as Wen Shuo if he were still alive
- When Han Ye falls out with Di Ziyuan, he tells Wen Shuo that his relationship with Di Ziyuan doesn't need to be affected, and he should still treat her as his sister...later he tells Di Ziyuan that Wen Shuo can keep her company and that she isn't alone.
- Wen Shuo starts to tell Yuan Qin and Yuan Shu that he owes Han Ye his life. Yuan Qin is confused and mentions that the stories say that he was the one who saved Han Ye. Wen Shuo says, "Actually--" but then they get distracted and cut off the conversation.

So far, it's only been hints. Some strong hints...but no confirmation yet.

No, he doesn't

I'm enjoying it. It has very believable relationship development, including the complications related to the overarching revenge theme.

Some people think the plot is slow. I agree, there are some parts that can be skipped without impacting the understanding of the plot, but other than that particular character's scenes, the pace is good (in my opinion).

We're in a breakup/angst phase so I think we're collectively a bit dysphoric at the moment.

The falling in love part is very realistic. Now they're in the angst phase, which I'm still enjoying in a somewhat sadomasochistic kind of way...

Well, what can he do if Han Ye refuses? Make someone else crown prince? Put him in jail? Beat him? Since you just started you probably don't realize this yet...but Han Ye is an extremely stubborn person. You could beat him to death and he still won't do anything he doesn't want to. Couple that with how much he loves Han Ye, and that's a recipe for imperial helplessness.

Anle is using her outrageous flirting as a disguise. I think most people see her ridiculous antics, roll their eyes, and dismiss her as a boy-crazy woman who probably spends all her time mooning over the crown prince. This also gives her an excuse to pursue the crown prince even when he's expressed his non-interest.