noor1234

The drama centers around the masks people wear & how FL takes off the masks of all such people - poor, rich, imperial, women, men, whatever. Following are things I found problematic & idiotic in this drama (not necessarily in order):

1) Ep.18-25: I think we the viewers DESERVED a proper resolution of FL & ML's relationship status than this half-baked lame-duck will-she-won't-she & constant humiliation & exploitation of ML at the hands of FL that has continued since Ep.18 (divorce) with ML only an after-thought of FL's to 'save' him from spring-snowfall!

In the beginning of this series, FL was an amazing woman of willpower, intelligence, courage & never-give-up kind of personality. Her problem was that she had been used & exploited by everyone close to her (her so-called parents & siblings), she learnt about different vocations & tricks by doing odd jobs on the streets, including that as a pot-chamber cleaner.

She was also on death-row & god knows what the jail guards did to her before she was 'saved' & swapped for on-death-bed-duke. Later on she found out she had been the OG noble baby all along but she doesn't fit anywhere, neither in low-brow or noble class because of her background & sudden riches. She also suffers from severe abandonment issues, because even now she's second-best for her mom, & everyone else - except for guys, of course. She also does not know who can love her as her independent self with the kind of jobs & life she had & wants to build.

That's the crux of FL.

ML is the ONLY ONE who has stood by her since he survived death-bed - yes, he was suspicious of her - but that was because of Jundai/same-face thing, he always admired her personality, her humane treatment of people & his family, & her ability to survive any situation by working around people. Her goal regarding the estate also impressed him. He is the ONLY ONE who has saved her before divorce & told her again and again that he liked her - the former pot-cleaning woman- than the scholar's daughter or Jundai or anyone else.

This guy is top military officer, can beat anyone in military sports, is a general, a titled guy, with no concubine or maid issues. He's a catch now just like he was one day one, when he was dead fish on death bed! And he has only had eyes for this woman. He is the ONLY ONE who knows how she operates, why she does & think the way she does & knows how to handle her & take her rejection again & again.

Even after divorce, ML has approached her to help her or save her or work with her in her plans for estate/Han/ empress/CP. He has been reduced to being exploited, humiliated & forever- doormat status by FL.

Their dialogues are stunted, their conversations are shallow, they have been circling around the same issues - marry again - for last 8 episodes - instead of having meaningful convo that takes plot forward. They don't laugh together, they are never happy together. And they are the leads!

FL has been reduced to a woman who has empathy for everyone except THIS GUY!!!! She's straight-forward & blunt with everyone except him! She is protective & loving to everyone but him! It's so infuriating to see so much imbalance.In Ep.23, FL actually took him on a tour of her old work life, I don't know why ML said 'you are different, be different.' & 'Would you have looked at me if I wasn't duke?' because what he should've said is 'I've loved, admired & supported you for a year, with & without marriage, if that doesn't convince you of my true heart or feelings, I don't know what will - because problem doesn't lie with me, it lies with you, you are insecure & have abandonment issues, if you have an empty heart, no one can fill it for you.'

Because that's the crux of it & we have been robbed of a proper romance arc & given a now-b**chy irritating FL who is almost god-like in her omniscience & power, who is still acting like she doesn't know what ML is after or talking about. Playing dumb to extend the plot when there is none.

It was good that they got divorced simply because both deserve a proper wedding - which both didn't get the first time around. But the drama just didn't know how to create an actual relationship of equals between FL & ML, or cozy comfy chemistry. Hence the wooden FL & ML & wooden love story.

2) I also find it extremely distasteful that ML's best friend - who is also his compatriot in war - Gen. Qi has been angling & proposing FL - in any other series how can ML trust Gen. Qi to not kill him in battlefield just to get to his wife/ ex-wife? So that entire setup went too far as well.

3) The second problem with the drama is that we were shown one-constant in FL's life: her maid in Liu household: Bitao (who was sent with her from Wei household) - they had formed a sisterhood & bond over the course of 17 episodes & then Bitao betrays FL for dramatic contrivance which made no sense considering the kind of power FL, her actual mom & men siding with FL held. Plus, Bitao was necessary to show that FL could build trust with people & lead them & she would not be betrayed by them. That was taken away by the nonsensical betrayal & then Bitao's death. She gets maid of king's consort (her mom's maid), for second-half of the drama & her interactions did not feel the same anymore. It seemed like the show wanted to start from zero again.

Ep. 15-16 did not make any sense & regressed FL's entire journey so far & that of her maid Bitao's. Why would FL (Fake-Rao, now actual Rao) beg, plead & want approval of all these vicious women ALL of whom tried to kill her in previous episodes, but most of all to call that king's consort 'mother' with tears in her eyes when she had done nothing motherly for 20+ years, abandoned her daughter, was not invited to the wedding of that daughter, tried to kill an innocent woman for that daughter, & now was all weepy & confused because FL's life once again was in her hands? Why would the magnificent FL reduce herself so pathetically?

Also, maid Bitao's actions did not make sense - in a proper drama writing, she would've changed sides a long time ago, because First Aunt was an old hag living with 2 other hags, while Lu's had a Duke, a General, & there was Gen. Qin too to back up FL/Lady, & she could've easily disclosed First Aunt's role in exploiting her in front of king's consort - who was going to kill FL for providing fake evidence. I think the drama took away all the bond-building between these 2 women & created a backstabbing maid just for dramatic contrivance.

I've heard & seen these kinds of scenes - women being cruel to other women - are TRP gold in conservative societies' TV dramas (e.g. South Korea, India, Turkey, Pakistan, China & Spain) where audience loves a woman being humiliated, insulted & degraded by other women. What happened in Ep.15-16 had no place in the kind of character arc & story built for 14 episodes, between FL, her maid & the actual culprits, there was a better / funner way to disclose the truth. Extremely B-grade write-up.

This drama is a hit because it shows a bunch of rich hysterical scheming women all conspiring against FL & FL beating all of them AND all of the men at their own games.

4) FL is shown to be better at all kinds of politics, strategy, in court, in farms, in households, on the streets & knows how people will react & do, she can manage money, gold, jewelry better than any businessman / rich woman. She knows age-old rituals - that she had never seen or heard of - & is better at doing everything than seasoned, nobility & imperial women. We are told it is because she grew up around down-on-their-luck scholars & concubines & that gave her world-view on human nature. This is a stretch & unrealistic, considering she grew up poor & was married off after 5 days as Fake-Rao & has had no tutor besides the very young maid Bitao as support. Besides, as a poor woman, she was busy earning a living, not trying to find out how these super-rich people's female households operate or men live or what kind of grand gesture will move some grandma or guy - who have seen it all!

In Ep.1-8 I doubt any newbie former pot-cleaning woman would have managed to successfully do a grandma birthday banquet when she's been a Fake-Rao for only a few weeks & doesn't know the customs & traditions of these rich 'imperial-linked' households. Not only that, she successfully did the temple rituals too & managed to save the entire Lu family by recognizing an old imperial jade!!!!!!

5)I guess her noble birth is supposed to explain away why she's sooooooooooo good at everything..........This is something I've seen C-dramas perpetuate again & again, but especially this year - that a person of noble birth WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN A POVERTY-STRICKEN PERSON -when both are raised in similar poor/low-class environment, a noble will make most of the opportunities, will have more intellect & be more successful than any poor-born / so-called low-caste/class person.

I've seen this time & again in Chinese dramas, & I don't know why this racism / casteism is given outrightly in C-dramas, that people of noble birth will be better (intellectually, physically) than people born in / from 'low-class' poverty-stricken backgrounds & any lead of 'noble' birth will end up in position of power / nobility because they are innately able to better handle anything & everything & make most of the opportunities than co-called 'low-class' births. I saw it this year in the cringe-fest Against the Current, Royal Betrothal, Blossoms of Power, The First Jasmine, Ashes to Crown etc.

It's great that FL's Fake-Rao was a pot-cleaner/did odd jobs to make ends meet. BUT the big reveal of Ep.1 that FL may be OG-Rao's twin (who was presumed killed in drum on orders of First Aunt) makes me wonder what obsession C-dramas have with 'nobility' & so-called 'blue-blooded' people ending up in their rightful place in blue-blooded households??? It's almost like C-dramas perpetuate the thought that 'true blue blooded' woman had the 'mental capability' (due to being of noble birth) to learn from every person she met in poverty & was intelligent enough to maneuver even these prestigious households while her 'siblings', the sister & brother who she grew up with in poverty-stricken family, where her father was selling her, those siblings are good-for-nothing, gullible, had no job, no hard work, just free-loaders, & spent ALL of the money only to come looking for Fake-Rao in capital again & again to get more money & now have ended up at enemy Lord Han's mansion, eating meat in Ep. 8 without realizing they are hostages! It even gets worse when we are told later on how her 'mother' used & exploited her & never gave a damn about her life even though she worked hard for her & her 'siblings' - so no one who grew up with FL had good nature, grace, humanity, sense, smarts, wit or courage, in fact that entire family who 'raised' her was full of free-loading exploitative corrupt people.

I don't know where this mindset comes from but it has NO PLACE IN 21ST-CENTURY WORLD - & this drama is made for 21st century women with a 21st century sensibility of showing female empowerment against all odds & is a ratings hit because 21st century women have probably liked her role & story arcs. These kind of story-telling & character-arcs are incredibly racist in my view.

But the drama takes it a step further - FL is just BETTER THAN EVERYONE IN TOWN, rich or poor, at EVERYTHING!!!!! She knows more than the grandmas, the aunts, the moms, the young ladies who have studied more than she ever did, she knows more than the king, the crown prince, the other princes etc. etc.

5) One of the most lackluster male leads in C-dramas this year has to be this guy / ML, who is given a cardboard, robotic, hanger-on role, he has zero personality, zero interactions as a 'human being / son/ grandson/ friend' with his family or buddies or his male servant. The actor can act, but he looks & sounds & acts robotic. He is shown as being enthralled by her beauty the second she's in his house (& FL is not THAT pretty btw as everyone is calling her, SFL is prettier) - even though it's the face of the scheming evil woman he swore he'd never even see. For him to be jealous of & pull a sword at his army friend over a woman he is having conflicting feelings over is reprehensible. It shows he has no good sense & is easily controlled by women. How is this guy a general???? How is he a catch, if not for the title?! Lord Han is a guy I've seen in vertical dramas. I guess this is his big break - to play yet another male robot in a drama full of male robots.

6) Actress playing FL is acting the hell out of the 2 roles, that's for sure.