ramblingromantic

A Sizzling Romance (w/ a political plot line that falls a bit short)

NOTE: Unlike kisskh I also have a category for Romance (because I exclusively watch romances lol) so while some categories get less than a 10, I did give the romance an 11/10 (YES 11). So the show ends up a 10/10 for me.

Pursuit of Jade has all the classic aspects of a historical romance but still feels new and creative. For me, the best things about the show were:

- Xie Zheng & Fan Chang Yu’s romance. This is a core element that makes this show so good. You have a perfect burn romance with leads whose chemistry rivals that of oil and fire. Everything about their romance felt perfect for the plot. My main care is always the romance and this was easily an 11/10 for me
- The depth of most of the antagonists. While some had more screen time and better arcs than others, 99% of the antagonists had a depth to them many shows skip for the sake of having an “evil antagonist”. I loved that each character, good or bad, had a logistical reason for their choices and actions.
- Tian Xi Wei as Fan Chang Yu. Tian Xi Wei played her role to perfection. I liked Zhang Ling He before this show and he is a handsome actor, but between the two, she was amazing. I had more of a crush on her character. Fan Chang Yu was the dream balance of boss lady who takes no sh*t and sweetie pie that cares about the wellbeing of everyone.
- Gongsun Yin and Qi Shu’s romance. It was an excellent secondary romance with such a lovely softness to it that contrasted the “hardness” between the main couple who were navigating war and their fathers' deaths.
- Jin Yuan Bao and his crew. They go from hooligans to Fan Chang Yu’s entourage (aka the Butcher Crew). Jin Yuan Bao was super cute and loyal to her and I love that we see him have a tiny crush but he packs it up and recognizes she loves Xie Zheng rather than causing a “dramatic love triangle” drama. The crew was so cute, I was genuinely sad when one of them died.

The main issues I had with the show were:
- Some of the side main characters were handled a bit odd. Specifically Yu Qian Qian and Song Yan. (*This is a large reason why story is 9.2*)
- I know there was real life drama for the actor of Song Yan, but his role at the end and his AI face really made it hard to watch him at all. *(This is specifically why acting is a 9.8)*
- For Yu Qian Qian I don’t understand why they made her of a *mysterious background,* it literally adds/subtracts nothing from her story expect making you feel like you are missing something. The show is very much “realistic fiction” so why allude to her being an immortal or from the future or whatever ambiguous origins.
- Plus Qi Sheng as a push over Emperor, his character is so passive and to have him go crazy was disappointing to say the least.
- There are a lot of “antagonists” whether passive or active, this is both a plus and negative in that some “endings” for the antagonists fell a bit flatter than if there were fewer antagonists. For example, Sui Yuan Qing’s death felt so abrupt when there was so much pent up hatred both towards and from him.
- Kind of linking to the point above, I loved and hated that the "main, real antagonist" was the Late Emperor. It is a great way of giving all the antagonists on screen more depth, but it feels so unsatisfying that there’s nothing to be done that the “main evil” is already dead even though he has caused so much pain 17 years ago and now. (*This is the other main reason why story is 9.2*)
- Someone also made a good point that Fan Changyu easily defeated two seasoned generals without much effort while Xie Zheng is said to be the most powerful general but there was not a single proper battle for him. I think Fan Changyu makes sense because her father did raise her to be a fighter (and she was born extremely strong) but I do think it would have been nice to see a bit more fighting and dominance from Xie Zheng in war (but I don’t personally care toooo much about this so it’s more a nit for me than an actual flaw.)
- While I liked the “in another life” epilogue it was also unfulfilling for me. I would have preferred more about their current life to be honest.
- It sets it up as “another reality” but then everyone seems to have a deja vu of each other. Qi Min is alive but feels sick near Yu Qian Qian which again makes no sense if this is a world where the tragedy never happened. They should be able to have their HEA in this life (assuming he is decent and she falls in love back)
- Xie Zheng and Fan Chang Yu are “betrothed” at childhood which was cute but we don’t get any insight on how their relationship growing up is different which I feel should have been the focal of this flashback considering their romance is the focal point of the show

### Original Thoughts & Ideas
- Evil is a loop of cause and effect. Someone will always feel wronged for one reason or another. Ending the cycle starts with one’s self if we are to look at Qi Min and Wei Yan. Accountability and even just a bit more sympathy could have changed their fates drastically. Wei Yan was a great example of a gray character with all he did for the State of Yin, his lover, and his wife who he took in to protect as a pregnant widow contrasted with how he treated his nephew (Xie Zheng), how he manipulated the emperor, and scapegoated others.

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A tad disappointed but was entertianed

This show was *not* bad. In fact, production and acting wise it was pretty solid. However, the plot? Not for me. The slivers of romance and my enjoyment of all the actors faces (esp. Jospeh’s) is really what kept me, and my own burning curiosity to see the ending. Being able to foster said curiosity out of me is credit to the show because I usually just don’t care enough.

Let me break down what I enjoyed:

- **The actors**. Literally everyone was impeccable and felt truly like the character(s) they were playing.
- **The sliver of romance.** It truly is not a lot of romance as I would say this is more a fantasy action than romantasy by any means. But the two main pairs that have a romance do not hold back. You get some fated mates, some “enemies to lovers” to close proximity to “fake dating”. A nice range of tropes with a questionable but classifiable “happy ending” for both. I actually get it a 9 for *both* the pairings because they were equally the main characters. It was a 9 and not a ten bc of the said questionable happy endings.
- The general pace of the plot. I think the reason I was able to finish the show was that it maintained a solid tempo. Anytime I was getting sick of a storyline, the storyline changed to something new.

Time to highlight what didn’t work:
- The synopsis does not set the viewer up for what is to come. It only covers Xiao Wei and the Dragon Deity's power but it should have focused on trying to defeat Jiu Ying. I don’t think saying it up frount would have been a spoiler as the show has so many twists its hard enough to keep up. I genuinely started the show thinking we would spend 29 episodes in Wei Manor and was getting a bit confused by the shows tempo as we got closer to finding Xiao Wei.
- I have to say the synopsis doesn’t lean into romance but the trailer and tone of the show seem, not light hearted but not so serious either so I did expect more romance and levity overall. As such, the show was doomed to be a hit for me. I am not a fan of being given a show I wasn’t expecting lol
- The show overdoes red herrings. In an effort to impress the viewer with plot creativity, the show actually just achieved frustrating me and also becoming a bit redundant in its “plot twists”.
- 9.9x out of 10 I am not a fan of time travel because the show usually just ignores its own plot holes and causes more of a headache than less. While the show did a decent job with the time travel for the whole Lu Wu Yi & Ji Ling’s stuffed fox, it also just felt overwhelming and unnecessary. It was romantic enough but we’re told she *cannot* change the future, but then to prevent him from committing suicide she conveniently could by cutting her tail which was conveniently “fixed” by Ji Ling STILL “committing suicide” by giving her his dragon scale which is conveniently resolved by the DEAD Chi Wen’s last power giving energy to a special rock which is conveniently fast tracked by the ALSO *supposedly* DEAD star stone and idk what else.
- See how conveniently everything unfolded? I am a happily ever after girl so I don’t mind convenient plot solutions but with all those conveniences, why the heck did the show end with 3 out of 4 of the main lead forgetting EVERYTHING that happened in the show? Two of whom randomly land in a different timeline.
- Also circling back to the time travel, the secondary time travel makes less sense because if Jiu Ying was killed back in time before Lu Wu Yi is part of the nine-tailed fox clan, then how does Wu Shi Guang still end up as the 10th dragon deity–everything we watched has been undone and we have 0 real knowledge of the “actual” timeline that happened in the show. We see You Chi
alive again and more serious, but that’s it. Does that mean You Chi’s father isn’t dead because that whole situation didn’t happen? Does that mean Wu Shi Guang never had the sliver of Jiu Ying’s essence in him? If so, why does he remember everything that technically didn’t happen?

See what I mean? The show tried so hard to *be* and instead it was just a snake eating it’s own tail (pun intended bc Jiu Ying is a snake). I enjoyed it at face value but with all the twists and turns that led to dead ends, it’s clear this show wanted to appear intellectual to some degree. If you like fantasy, and don’t mind the headache involved in keeping up with everything, I would recommend, otherwise, eh.

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Excellent storytelling, amazing chemistry. The only drawback? The last few episodes...

There is a LOT that happens in this show so I will list the pros and cons accordingly.

What I loved:
- I thought Joseph Zeng was a cutie even when I first watched him in Hi Venus, but him with his long white hair and historical fits was an unprecedented level of handsome.
- Fan Ling’Er as a character was fun and different. You really think she is a basic jealous love interest trying to get rid of Li Qing Yue at first. The reveal that they were on the same team was JUCIY. I loved it if for no other reason than I hate to see women tear each other down for a man. Then on top of it, I loved the relationship with her father. He truly did suck even if he "loves" her. It was hard watching her experience disappoint after disappointment with his choices.
- Zhang Suan in love with Li Qing Yue. But it is *absolutely unrequited*. I saw a review that said he was a “wallflower” but I think his role was actually refreshing. Secondary male leads are often turned into antagonist in a way that often feels misogynistic (trying to bring down the woman he claims to love after being rejected). However, here Zhang Suan is truly in love and loyal. Even when he knows a romantic affair is not in the cards for him with Li Qing Yue – she was a shining light to him and he does all he can to reciprocate that. His loyalty being what has Fan Ling’Er reach nirvana was a “fun” side quest. It was the same yet different from so many other fantasy dramas.
- **Li Qingyue and Bai Jiusi’s chemistry.** These two were not particularly romantic for 90% of the show, but the love was palpable
- Li Mo and his “love tribulation”. It was cool to see a platonic love story unfold.

What I liked:
- Even though his childlike behavior when his spiritual core was damaged was cliche, it worked well in helping them cross that bridge of him communicating and her realizing that he has always been made to be guarded in a way she was not so while he was wrong to lie to her back then, he wasn't entirely to blame either.
- Some people didn’t like the antagonist, but I liked that Shang Guan Ri Yue “dies” but actually takes over part of Zhang Suan’s body. I do think his back story leaves a bit to be desired. I don’t understand the importance of the steele and why they all couldn’t just cross this one dude’s name off if his mistake was that bad? But then we find out he was punished for like 100 years for the death of Shang Guan Ri Yue’s family so I’m a loss as to how he had so much hatred and anger in him tbh.

What I didn’t like:
- Hua Ru Yue’s resentment! It was 1000% justified but when she finds out the truth and tells his comatose body "this doesn't mean I forgive you," I had to roll my eyes. This man has only ever loved her and never *truly nor intentionally* harmed her. Even as she kills and hurts him over and over, he keeps trying to find a way to understand why she hates him. His biggest flaw was his inability to communicate but she was no better by never actually ever just telling him “being a mortal was hell because x, y ,z.”
- As a sub-note, I still don’t understand the semantics of Hua Ru Yue pretending to be Li Qing Yue for 300 years. I was truly expecting her to have amnesia or something so that not being the case was a nice surprise but I’m still like HOW DID SHE FAKE HER WHOLE SELF FOR 300 YEARS?
- The ending was 50/50. I am very glad we get a “happy ending” but just barely? I still don’t really understand the time travel and this is 99% the case with these time travel cop outs. I don’t get if this means she’s in a new timeline, the same timeline or something in between. Does this mean their child never dies? Does this mean Li Mo never dies? I just don’t understand these endings and they feel almost as bad as “it was all a dream” endings. This is honestly the main reason this show is a 9 and not a 10 for me personally.

***Original Thoughts & Ideas***
- With how much effort Hua Ru Yue put to get revenge on Bai Jiu Si, it really does call into light the idea of how love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Her hatred was born out of the feeling of betrayal from the love of her life. Her hatred was fed by her love for humans and her son only to witness their deaths.
- As I was watching this show, I just kept thinking wow Bai Jiu Si is so handsome and so in love but how can a man this in love not have checked on the woman he cares for over the course of 10 years and lo and be hold he was being jailed. The lesson here? COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT BRO
- Zhang Suan and Fan Ling’Er are excellent side characters that explore the dynamics of loyalty. Fan Ling’Er is loyal due to how Hua Ru Yue helped her when she needed it most, but **stayed loyal** because Hua Ru Yue *respected* her in a way her father never did. Zhang Suan is loyal because he quite literally wanted to die before meeting her but she gave him reason to live again.
- "Human kind behavior" was an interesting theme in this show. I like that you can’t make a blanket statement about the good or evil of mankind off this show. The lesson is really that they all deserve to live and to be seen as more significant than a passing ant. Humans are complex. As complex as the “immortals”. Their love can turn to hate. Their jealousy can weaken them, but their anger can strength them. Every one can surprise you with each choice they make.

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I started this show for Ryan Ding – and I kept watching for Ryan Ding LOL

I started this show for Ryan Ding – and I kept watching for Ryan Ding LOL. I will give the plot credit but I won’t lie, I skipped some parts when he wasn’t on screen.

Overall, the plot was entertaining and not too dull. I was expecting it to feel repetitive because of the mortal tribulations but each one was pretty different so that was a nice surprise. That said, I did enjoy their heavenly realm time more than when they would be doing a tribulations. The demon realm was also nice because they actively knew who the other was and it was still the “heavenly realm timeline”.

I wasn’t super convinced with all the comments about Ryan Ding as a demon being the *best* version in this show, but he played a cat demon very well. I was literally screaming during the aphrodisiac scene (end of ep 33/start of ep 34). Ryan Ding literally played played like 5 different people including a body switch with the fml and a BELIEVABLE CAT DEMON. I could literally just watch him walk around in fantasy/historical costume for 5 hours.

Aside from Ryan Ding, I enjoyed the chemistry between him and Yang Chao Yue, the shows general plot cadence, and the nuance to Jin Lian’s character. Also, Xiu Ming was an antagonist in many ways, but I liked his overall story as compared to Love in the Clouds’ Situ Ling. Xiu Ming was just suppper loyal to Cang Hai since she really took him in and cared for him. I def don’t support his choices for blood thirst in the first tribulation, nor his lying in the second, but it seems like after each one he learns that his negative choices "are bad" and “improves” throughout the story. I am confused as to why he was made interim emperor though lol.

Similar to its “sister story” Love Between Fairy and Devil, the show’s plot peters out near the end. I started the show not emotionally invested and I basically stayed that way. The deaths didn’t really affect me in this show (which is kinda a plus for me tbh) but I think it’s also because death seems to not really mean anything. The main leads die in the mortal world to end up in the heavenly realm, but even in the heavenly realm the deaths just felt so abrupt so as to whether a person is really dead is always in question.

My issue with the plot specifically was:
- How did Immortal Li know about the change of the prophecy and WHEN? Was it as soon as he saw the emperor’s doom mark so then he yeeted to warn them via the next tribulation?
- The emperor was lame, predictable, and very one-dimensional. He was jealous of his better and cooler brother but also had an obsession with being the most powerful immortal in a way that just didn’t really make sense imo. He was already the leading ruler for the last 30,000 years lol.
- I still don’t understand how Chu Kong survived after losing all his primordial spirit? I am happy for a HEA but because it made no sense, I just feel like I am still missing something. Thus the ending wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been.
- Similarly, I loved Jin Luo and Zi Hui but don’t understand how he also reincarnated. The show never sets us up to understand that even after you DIE DIE, you can still be reincarnated. I thought reincarnation was only for people that “die” but their spirit is still intact, especially when both these men seem to remember if not their *entire* past, at least their love.

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Disappointed but not terrible.

O Han Byeol and Kong Tae Seong were a cute pair. I liked the history of their relationship and that they’ve always been a frenemies type of situation that care for each other. I also loved how puppy Kong Tae Seong is once he realizes he loved her. Just absolute cuteness and feels. I also like that O Han Byeol had a crush on him but was hurt so she built up her walls to his silly behavior. I also enjoyed Han Byeol’s friends - Park Ho Yeong and Cho Gi Ppeum - romances though I wished their stories started a bit sooner and where given a little more screen time. I also found it interesting that Baek Da Hye’s character has this super crush of the MML without it being a complicated jealousy love triangle. All of this is decent and enjoyable.

What I didn’t like? Basically every other secondary plot point execution. The rich maid storyline was weird and barely added anything to the plot, same with “smileboy”, and again with the 14 year old kid. All three of these “antagonists” exist for antagonisms sake without any rhyme or real reason. Even worse, there resolutions are simple and barely satisfying. I didn’t mind the message around “celebrities are hated for no reason” but I just think the way it’s executed was as if the show was a melodrama but it really wasn’t so these plot point land flat and annoying. Similarly, the college friend’s death was clearly part of the main leads’ dynamic and personalities, but still it wasn’t “tied up” properly. His death and his manager’s remaining anger about the death could have been a way better antagonist plot line to explore than the random three characters I just mentioned. In fact, I was waiting for a resolution on this and we never get one. Super frustrating. Minus points also specifically for the “Africa” depiction…

Overall, I really wish they had just leaned into the romcom and left out the melodrama because the melodrama parts flopped. My favorite parts were when it was just silly goofy – I was giggling, I was happy. But outside of that, it was so dumb that even the romance was held back by the nonsensical storylines.

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a show about finding love but also one's journey of healing

WAAHHHH why is it over? I kid you not, I stopped watching 2/3s in BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT IT TO END. I have also literally booked an appointment with a TCM clinic too. I already have a husband locked in though so no rich TCM cutie patootie for me.

Shen Xi Fan and He Su Ye were written in the stars, in the flowers, and in the universe. I have soooo many thoughts about this show but I forgot to write them all down ASAP so I don’t know where to start. I just know that this show is a very HAPPY and LIGHT show for the most part DESPITE the premise also being about healing. While Shen Xi Fan has to heal from her emotionally abusive ex, He Su Ye is also having to re-confront his relationship with his semi-estranged father despite the resentment of his father’s lack of care while his mother died of breast cancer. Somehow, the bright & blossoming cinematography as the backdrop of their pure healing chemistry alleviates the heaviness of the show’s topics.

Watching He Su Ye try to “lowkey” win Shen Xi Fan over was perfection. Fake drunk, fake asleep, swooping in to defend her, making her scent sachets – the list goes onnnn.

While the show was more “slice of life” vibes overall, the main climax is when Shen Xi Fan’s mother is sick. This puts pressure on Shen Xi Fan to “choose” between her family and her dream to study abroad. While I wish her mother was never actually sick, it is the reality overall that so many women are affected by breast cancer. Luckily, the show gives her a HFN and she is on the mend. I did love Shen Xi Fan and her mom’s heart to heart about Shen Xi Fan still pursuing her education. It’s nice because Shen Xi Fan can say she did it, tried it, and still chose to come back to her home and family.

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a romance fated to be my obsession

FIRST WATCH REVIEW (10/24-27/25)
Lets start with the negatives of this show because it’s a short list. Basically, whoever was in charge of music, liked the song “fated hearts” a bit too much. Maybe because it was named the same as the show? I don’t know but in the show it was OVER PLAYED. That said, if I ignore that and just listen to the OST on it’s own the other songs are great and I’m not sure why they used them so much less than the first song. Someone else pointed out the music was too loud to hear the actual actors which I can’t say matters to me since I need subtitles regardless, but that is something that can be noted. Not a deal breaker for me though. Lastly, I really wish that Fu Yi Xiao had called Xia Jing Shi on the fact that he was running death camps. I know some things don’t need to be said, but I feel like sometimes the villain is SO blind to their hypocrisy that I just want it said out loud.

That’s it. Those are all my negative thoughts. I’m sure if I realllly wanted to nit pick I could find some other small things, but this show was just so excellent. I hate blood and gore but with this show, I can excuse the squelches and blood for the good of the plot.

Time for a break down!!! I had so many thoughts as I was watching but ofc now it’s hard to remember everything. For now, I think a review for this show makes more sense by per person rather than chronological plot.

Fu Yi Xiao and Feng Sui Ge were phenomenal. I loved just how regal and benevolent **Fu Yi Xiao** is throughout the show. We *meet* her shooting down Feng Sui Ge with no remorse but then killing several assassins and trying to help a stranger from being caught in the crossfire. We know from this, she is a strong and determined woman. From there her personality only strengthens and grows as she investigates the truth. **Feng Sui Ge** is just so *melt worthy.* Chen Zhe Yuan does SUCH an excellent job of the hard as stone man melting for an amazing woman. She is useful to him so he compromises, but the cold hearted First Prince doesn’t seem to be so cold hearted as time goes by. **The two of them** really take on the world as everyone tries to betray and kill them. I love that they both fight amazingly, but mourn almost every death. When they killed the people they trust but that betrayed them, the way the memories flash is so well done. Its this balance of remorse but fight for maintaining integrity (1). I love that for the romance, once they are together, they do not break apart but rather continue to fight to be together. It was BEAUTIFUL AND I WANT MORE. I want them to really be happy and living well haha.

Murong Yao and his father, Murong Zhong, were interesting to watch unfold. I had a gut feeling **Murong Yao** was going to be a villain and the man in the mask not right away, but pretty early on. It was a tad disappointing because you really sympathize with all the betrayals Feng Sui Ge has had to experience. Murong Yao was hard to “figure out” other than he was traumatized by that childhood event and never unpacked it – because what do you mean Feng Sui Ge has been your *best friend* since childhood, but you have wanted vengeance for over 10 years of that friendship? Its weird because he claims to have cared for Feng Sui Ge but everything feels tainted by the fact that he’s been wanting to “reclaim the Murong family name”. It was painful to watch Feng Sui Ge suffer deeply as he thought of all their memories and closeness. If only Murong had just said something to Feng Sui Ge all those years ago, maybe he could have had a healthy path forward. I was also frustrated because Feng Sui Ge was a CHILD. He was protected because he is the First Prince, but that was never his choice. He was never malicious or arrogant with Murong Yao due to his position (4). He spoiled Murong Yao if anything and Yao was afforded such an extravagant and wasteful life, but still he wasn’t satisfied because to him Feng Sui Ge had it even better and the Emperor was to blame for all his woes. I think what really disappointed me though, is **Murong Zhong**. I loved that Murong Zhong was such a simple and loyal man. All he cared about was his son’s happiness and the royal family’s safety. I had really hoped he’d hold his son accountable but instead joined him in treachery (2). This show was SMART though because in the Murong family home, one of the “courts” is called **“**e***mbrace simplicity and uphold the truth”** (3)*. I wanted him to hold Murong Yao accountable but the way the plot unfolded was still well done. It was curious though, that when Murong Zhong was begging the Emperor for leniency, I thought the Empror gave it. But Murong Zhong kept asking the Emperor and the First Prince for help, so I thought I misunderstood the Emperor. ONLY FOR Feng Sui Ge’s last words to Murong Zhong to be that he and the Emperor never actually planned to kill Murong Yao anyways. But of course, the bad guys have to force the good guys’ hand.

Feng Cheng Yang and his mother, Empress Zhuang, where almost a precise contrast to Murong Yao and his father. While Murong Yao leads his father astray, **Cheng Yang** tries to get his mother to turn away from evil. **Cheng Yang** is not an unloyal son – he does what he can to keep the peace between his parents, brother, and even his grandfather. He has no desire to steal the throne from his brother, but **his mother** was obsessed with the Emperor and hated the previous Empress. Rather than be content with the life she had after her father killed the previous Empress, she projected her sins and hatred onto Feng Sui Ge. She was adamant that Feng Sui Ge wanted to kill her, and while he hated her for obvious and fair reasons, her manic disposition and insistence that Feng Cheng Yang must become Emperor or they will die was her way of deflecting her own role in the tragic past. Her spiral into insanity felt very Lady Macbeth-ian. I think it was executed well, because she never really got her hands “dirty” until she actively killed the Emperor but her jealousy and paranoia had already been eating at her. I LOVED when Feng Cheng Yang clocked his mother’s own hypocrisy. She was livid that the Zhuang’s had been sidelined by the Emperor, but was ready and eager to do the same to the Murong family (4).

Now to talk about Xia Jing Shi, Xia Jing Yan, and Feng Xi Yang. They need to be talked about specifically for the context and lens of viewing Xia Jing Yan (Emperor of Jinxiu). **Xia Jing Shi** was tormented as a kid and lived a horrible life with his brother and step-mother. This is undeniable and clear. He had to get scrappy and harden to survive, but in true film fashion he is the foil to Feng Sui Ge. Feng Sui Ge wasn’t tortured quite the same way but his own father wanted him to be so heartless as to usrp the throne and at every turn people would betray and try to kill him. And yet, Feng Sui Ge leads an army loyal to him not out of pity or fear, but rather out of a shared desire to protect the kingdom and it’s people (1). But Xia Jing Shi has his army from death camps. He fosters a false sense of care from the people he wants to use. He torments and tortures to *force* loyalty. Fu Yi Xiao thought he saved her, she thought he was a man of principle that cared for those around him. But at the end of the day, his revenge was worth the lives of endless innocent people including but not limited to Feng Xi Yang. **Feng Xi Yang** was inarguably very stupid for not heeding her brother’s warning about Xia Jing Shi. Never does a healthy romance start with “I can change him”, but that said, her one mistake was loving him. Can’t fault her when she was indeed sheltered and clueless about reality. I love that she actually is VERY similar to Feng Sui Ge becoming as decisive & unbending as him. She does not let her circumstance cage her in from pushing back. Last but not least, **Xia Jing Yan**. As an actor, Qin Tian Yu is getting his flowers for such an excellent portrayal and I couldn’t agree more. Xia Jing Yan is temperamental at best, a murderous manic at worst. He bullies his brother endlessly and I do think his abuse directly led to his own demise. It felt very much a self-fulfilling prophecy. Would Xia Jing Shi been so evil if his brother had loved him and treated him well? We will never know, but of course constantly treating Xia Jing Shi like an outsider and a person who will rebel only encouraged that to become true. But the depth the writers gave Xia Jing Yan was unparalleled to *anyone* else in the show including the protagonists. His character as Feng Xi Yang 1000% gave dark romance because he is in fact unwell, but that doesn’t change the reality that when he told his mom Feng Xi Yang didn’t need to bewitch him, all she did was need him, I understood where he was coming from immediately. I cannot relate to him at all in reality, but when he told his mom why he was so into Feng Xi Yang, I immediately sympathized with him. As the Emperor, he can do whatever he wants, but his mother has always undermined him and based of the few flashbacks, his father preferred Jing Shi so expectations of him were so low he had no reason to try or be better. Feng Xi Yang is terribly honest with him that she need him so she will do whatever to get what she wants. When she insists on going back to Susha his sadness was palpable because he would have to return to a life where he is alone and no one needs him. Ironically Xi Yang wanted to change Jing Shi with her love, but changed Jing Yan with their symbiotic relationship. When Jing Yan is being beaten and bruised, he still refuses to bend to Jing Shi. But once Jing Shi sets his eyes on Xi Yang, Jing Yan immediately crumbles. He begs for Jing Shi to spare her and the unborn child. And it is that moment that both viewers and Xi Yang realize how much more of a man for Jing Yan was for Xi Yang than Jing Shi ever was. Regardless of his many sins, he had officially changed. I honestly think if Jing Yan had survived the coup, he and Xi Yang *could* have had a new chapter.

**Feng Ping Cheng** was an infuriating emperor but even more frustrating father. When we learn about Wei Qing Yu’s death and how Feng Ping Cheng resented her, it truly explained his stupid parenting. He only wanted Feng Sui Ge to be Emperor, but wanted Feng Sui Ge to break as an empathetic warrior and rebuild as a power crazy man. The show does a good job of showing Ping Cheng’s obsession with power and his son taking the throne, but I still wish we saw a bit more. We know that he fought wars and is the first ruler for the land but I will never understand his logic. Probably because I would be more aligned with Wei Qing Yu’s logic. He also had an interesting form of love for Wei Qing Yu and Feng Sui Ge. He “loved” them but really he just wanted to “possess” and have control over them.

Honorable mentions, **Ling Xue Ying** was a cute doctor character and her father was also integral to the plot as a miracle healer saving all my babies to maintain my HEA.

**Xiao Wei Ran** was layered and complicated, but ultimately dullened by the reality he forsake his principles and brotherhood. ~~I really wish he knew just how horrible Jing Shi truly is. We know he has an idea, but I can’t help but wonder how his choices might have differed if he knew Jing Shi still had the death camps running.~~ [After second watch, I realize he DID know. What an idiot.]

**Ning Fei** was a wholesome character and I am glad Fu Yi Xiao got to maintain at least one brother. I knew he was going to end up with Ling Xue Ying haha. I am so glad he didn’t die.

Overall, the pacing of the show is amazing. It felt so seamless how each plot point folded into the next. It’s also well done specifically because the plot doesn’t linger. We are wondering if the protagonists can get along, then slowly but also quickly they do. We wonder who shot Fu Yi Xiao, then we find out and move on to the masked man but then we find that out too. Honestly by the 20th episode I didn’t understand how there would still be 18 episodes when issues were resolved so quickly, but the writers maintained such a healthy tempo for the plot as we watch the lives of so many different characters unfold.

### Original Thoughts & Ideas
I had SO MUCH to say in my review that I am linking the “plot points” in my review to my thoughts here.
1. Fu Yi Xiao grew up an orphan and in a death camp. After Feng Sui Ge’s mother was framed and murdered, he had no one he could trust or rely on *and* took on a paternal role to care for his sister. I think when you compare all the “antagonists” with the “protagonists”, you really hit up against the age old “trauma/being wronged does not mean you can disregard the life of others”. You can’t fight evil with kindness, but at what point does fighting back turn you into the same kind of person that wronged you? Xia Jing Shi hates his brother, Xia Jing Yan, with a passion and honestly I would too if I were him, but while Xia Jing Yan was able to find compassion for Feng Xi Yang and his unborn child, Xia Jing Shi still could not think beyond himself and tried to kill Feng Xi Yang simply for getting pregnant with Xia Jing Yan’s child.
2. This was a great example of why you should *not* love your child to the point of evil. I would like to think if my son tried killing the man he thought of as his best friend, I would hold him accountable and even if I don’t want him to die, I wouldn’t kill so many others in that cause. It actually makes me think about Prophet Ibrahim and how he almost killed his son Ismail. I honestly understood this story only on the most surface level of it’s lesson, but after this show, I realize that having devoted loyalty to a human is a dangerous game. This is proven several times in this show but more so between this father and son duo.
3. Embrace simplicity and uphold the truth: to what end is simplicity about being a pushover? Was Murong Zhong a pushover with how corrupt he let himself become? He went against the family governance of truth - he actively buried the truth. his son *literally* buried the truth when he thought Feng Sui Ge was dead. There’s something to be said that the Emperor, for all his many faults, *ACKNOWLEDGED* that if Murong Zhong wasn’t always away at the border, maybe Murong Yao would have been a better son and man. I felt like that moment was the epitome of all of Murong Zhong’s hard work truly being recognized, so to turn back on it just makes you think – what is a person’s line? what is their real goal? Is it recognition, power, money or maybe even something as debased as just revenge.
4. Power is an active evil. When Feng Cheng Yang called his mom out for wanting to sideline the Murong family, it highlighted that power is always insidiously working to corrupt. The Emperor couldn’t trust the Zhuang’s after they helped him claim the throne and the Empress couldn’t trust the Murong’s in the same situation, but so many humans do not know when to recognize enough is enough. They don’t know how to be grateful for all the things they do have, and instead dwell on what they don’t have.

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a show well deserving of its fame (a shot of serotonin in the form of a tv show)

This was so cute. A shot of serotonin in the form of a tv show. I love that we get to follow Su Zai Zai and Zhang Lu Rang‘s romantic journey. Zai Zai’s crush from the start was never a question, but she throughly enjoys befriending him and his two friends. Her personality is sunshine and bubbly cuteness. What I loved about her character is even though she was super bubbly she didn’t read as cliche or “manic pixie”. When she’s bullied by others, she stands up for herself accordingly. When she sees someone being bullied, she stands up for them. Those moments of fierceness were refreshing and satisfying to watch.

Zhang Lu Rang was shy and timid due to his parent’s ridiculous behavior. His growth was beautiful. Quite literally like watching a flower bloom from bud to blossom. He is silent and brooding but the actor did such a good job with nonverbal communication that you can tell how much he enjoyed Zai Zai’s company even as words fail him.

The show is mostly of their first three years of friendship in high school but we do have time jumps and get to see them in college and adulthood. The show is not full of stressful climaxes for the sake of plot, but rather very slice of life with the rollercoasters of joy and sadness as the characters navigate youth and adulthood. It was so satisfying to see Zhang Lu Rang go from a boy that says three words at a time to a man that says what’s on his mind unabashedly to the woman he loves 😭.

My only “complaints” are:
- I’d have liked more of Zhang Lu Rang‘a family life after his brother called out their parents.
- More for technical reasons but why was Zhang Lu Rang able to make Zai Zai’s high school and college graduation? Why didn’t she go to one of his? Did he finish before her both times?
- Because we get from 10th grade to them become full grown adults and parents, the timeline jumps a decent amount after high school. I don’t think this is wrong but I would have liked an episode more covering college and work, but I get why it was kept brief. I will say I like that the time jumps were seamlessly interwoven into the show rather than just a scene change and the words “2 years later” showing on screen.

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An Engaging (even though long) Show

This show was good, and I was thoroughly entertained even though it ran pretty long. I thought I would drop it because most of the synopsis had already happened by episode 15, and I still had more than double that number of episodes left to watch, but I had 0 idea what the plot would be. I am shocked that I made it all the way through, but I don't regret committing.

I liked the creativity around the show. That said, because it was so long, even though it was creative, it also occasionally felt tedious and repetitive. They insisted on killing a lot of characters, which plot-wise made sense, but of course, I never like it when they kill characters that are good. I'm still not over the fact that they killed the little boy sidekick Dou. He was so cute, and he deserved so much better, but I mean, he got to be a general in the end, I guess.

It was doubly ridiculous that an unprecedented number of characters committed suicide by knife to the throat, as if they didn't have poison or something they could use. I don't know why everyone had to take a knife to their throat, including her mother, which was a decent plot twist except for the fact that, once again, someone had taken a knife to their throat to kill themselves as opposed to something different.

I did enjoy that the Great Khan's wife was the real villain, but I hated that her story was pretty similar to every evil empress in that she wanted her son to become a ruler. Honestly, if she had just left Ashile She Er be, he probably would have been the ruler regardless. She actually just wanted power like every other person who is evil, and I'm not convinced about the reason why she did what she did. The Great Khan did suck, and he wasn't a great husband. It sounded like she literally had a better husband before him, and she still killed him, too. To say that her villain origin story started with this guy isn't true because she literally killed the original husband (the father of her son) she had. So, I don't know. It's like I low-key get her point of view, but they made her so black and white that it was a bit ridiculous.

I will say that the uncle killed Li Chang Ge’s dad, and I was trying to figure out how we would come back from that. Of course, they made it so that Li Shi Min literally killed Li Jian Cheng, not to become the crown prince, but because Li Jian Cheng was gonna kill Li Shi Min first, and so to survive, Li Shi Min killed Li Jian Cheng instead. Then it's crazy to know that low-key Li Shi Min was gonna be with Lady Jin if he hadn't come back from war to find out that Li Jian Cheng, the late crown prince, basically raped her???? I feel like they glossed over that a little too much because I'm like, wait, I don't understand how this was allowed and how this even happened. It was insane, but it did work to the plot's advantage. It was one of those points that was, for lack of a better word, “creative”, because normally in these shows where the character needs to get revenge, she succeeds, and it's literally the peak climax – she got her revenge, her parents are satisfied in their graves, and she feels like she's committed proper retribution – but in this show, they kind of turn that on its head and really push that idea of not everything is as it seems. Sometimes you have to think of the greater good as opposed to just revenge, which was this show's strongest point.

The romance was more of a slow burn secondary part of the plot, but I loved:
- Ashile Sun’s three reasons and letter of proposal 😭🥹
- omg omg she found Falcon’s letter of proposal ahhhh so cute i will die
- Their ride or die attitude for each other

Other parts of the show I liked:
- The godfather to father scene between Du Ru Hui and Hao Du was super cute
- Hao Du and Li Le Yan’s romance was nice and pretty decent overall
- Li Le Yan’s “side quest” as a princess learning about the people
- I actually enjoyed Ashile She Er’s character arc and how they explored his brotherhood with Ashile Sun

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Too Young to Communicate

This show was had a strong start for what it was as a light-hearted, youth, slice-of-life type show. It reminded me of Exclusive Fairytale and a little bit of When I Fly Towards You. However, the biggest issue with the show was the last four episodes. Up until then, it was actually very engaging in terms of complex characters. Instead of having a one-all, be-all antagonist, they had characters with depth. Each character had their flaws or moments of attitude/stubbornness that was more realistic than if there were just two characters that were point blank evil for the sake of plot.

That said, the ending was actually so disappointing. I only had 4 episodes left, but I genuinely contemplated not finishing it because of how badly they set up the ending.

SPOILERS BELOW
For the first 20 episodes, the main leads are excellent communicators. They have loved and trusted each other as friends since childhood, and it only strengthened as time went on. So it made no sense for us to just time jump and be told that they took a break because they needed to go their own way, and that led to a breakup basically…and then work backwards from there to show us flashbacks of her missing her recital, him being MIA, and then them not talking for over 12 months properly because both of them felt slighted by the other. Both felt the other had broken up with them, rather than the reality of the situation. It was just absolutely chaotic, and it made no sense for their characters at all for them to have fallen apart the way that they did. It definitely felt forced for the sake of the plot.

The show would have been better off with us actively watching them during the breakup time. Instead of it lasting for a year and a half, it should have only lasted a month or two. We should see them breaking up and figuring themselves out, figuring out how to communicate, rather than them just going silent with each other for over 12 months. That's just so unrealistic, and it made no sense because literally they're just a phone call away. I don't believe that they could not have communicated better.

Similarly, Ning was a solid character, and I understood she didn’t want to rely on her boyfriend but after everything, she ditched Chen Fan only to rely HEAVILY on a man that didn’t give two sh*** about her and almost helped her get assaulted??? Like, make that make sense?

I also want to note they succeeded in casting actors who passed as high schoolers, then college students, then adults. But I really don’t understand why they cast 30-year-olds for these kinds of shows…

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Enjoyed, but wasn't as pulled in

I liked the show, I really did, but I also hated, *like really hated*, the age gap set up, especially when the “secondary lead” was the male lead’s *nephew*. Lord Ding looks older than Zhuo Hua and kept being presented as “a sickly old man about to die” and I just was not a fan of it at all. It was the *main* thing that held this show back. Every time I “forgot” about it or accepted it, they would make some comment or other about his age and how he’s at death’s door or her age and how she has so much life to live. They are both *grown* so it wasn’t creepy, but the gap just served no more purpose than him being sickly.

I also loathed the empress dowager. I can respect the use of a straight-forward antagonist but every time her face was on screen I wanted to throw my phone. The complexity of the first princess really made up for the pain of listening to the empress dowager.

Lastly, I originally kind of liked the monotone baseline personality they gave to both Lord Ding and the first princess. However, since the show was on the longer side, it did start to get frustrating as they did the same ish over and over again. I guess they were solid foils with tragic childhoods that shaped their defensive/offensive personalities.

While Zhuo Hua and Lord Ding’s romance was very slow and *subtle*, I thoroughly enjoyed Zhi Mo & Ju Li’s romance. Just two sweet cuties that deserve nothing but good things. I also enjoyed how Zhi Jian interacted with them.

I wouldn’t rewatch this show just because it is on the longer end and most of the plot is more political than romantic. The show was just barely entertaining to me at first (the FML was an actress I liked and her character as Zhuo Hua was fun) *but* it ramped up once we get the “reveal” *but then* gets a tad repetitive near the end.

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Started for the mystery, stayed for Shen Du

Real rating is 11 for the music & 10 for romance so 8.9/10

I have a crush on Ding YuXi. He’s so *hawt* in this role and I wish the show was faster to get better *hits* of hotness seretonin. That said it takes about 10 episodes for us to get more of that the serious/stoic Shen Du.

I think the plot overall could have been a bit tighter. There’s a lot of moving variables and characters that make sense and connect well, but at the same time don’t really affect the plot. We spend so much time on the prince and princess but they don’t really actually add to the plot and their storylines dragged the overall experience. I know it was to cause intrigue and make us think maybe one of them is evil but that line of thought doesn’t even sustain itself with what we are given so I feel like the show would have been much stronger if it was closer to 35 episodes instead and removed some of the extra noise.

Also did they really have to kill Marshall Xu and Yun Que 😭 I know they were the “least important couple” but they were still so cute and their death was so sad. Always gotta kill a couple or something for the tears and stakes but I feel like coma and they wake up would have sufficed. Whatever. I saw it coming that a secondary couple would end with tragedy and once he had that cute moment about the wedding it was game over.

I would definitely rewatch it but skip the parts that were more espionage than general mystery or romance. The antagonist is just an actual crazy man that needed a better mother and therapy so he was pretty one dimensional and boring in that way. I’m still not sure I understand his mother’s motives for traumatizing her child but sure let’s go with that.

Last but not least THIS OST was amazing. I have been pretty generous to music of shows giving 10 if they fit the overall show, but even when I took a break from this show I was listing to the OST so I had to give it an 11 bc it was THAT good. I wish Ryan Ding had more songs!

### Original Thoughts & Ideas
- Good vs evil is pretty black and white in this show unlike something like The Prisoner of Beauty. We have some “gray” characters but even they are mostly good or mostly bad. The Empress Dowager seemed to have in fact not wanted the consort’s child be the emperor but it’s not clear how much of a role she *actually* played in the consort’s suicide. But the Black Fiend was truly just a man who saw his mom die and made a cult about reincarnation to kinda, not really deal with the trauma. I almost want to label him a victim and in a way he is because his whole life was built off this narrative his mother fed him. But he’s still a “black” character. He isn’t nice to his adoptive sisters, he attacks the woman he claims to love, and throws any blame of his actions on the Empress Dowager for believing what was pretty solid evidence against innocent but framed people. We could label Shen Du as “gray” because he’s a “dark horse” type guy but I would more call him “good” with a wall as protection due to his own childhood trauma.
- It is interesting that both men witnessed extreme wrong doing to their parent(s) but one chose the path of righteousness and the other of sinister obsession.

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a slice of fun and comfort

Real Review with Romance category is 8.9/10

First, let’s talk about what I didn’t like.

1. There’s no way being an aerospace engineer needs to be be THIS TAXING. Why are they so dramatic (I assume in real life too lol)
2. The plot had no plot after about the half way mark (a lil after they get together) and starts jumping all over the place.

That’s about it….these are few but I will say the watch experience is heavily held back by these few concerns. We’re set up to believe that the plot is going to be about her winning the guest gaming competition, but that happens before the halfway mark and we slowly switch out to a different setting and environment entirely which I don’t think is bad, but I do think this show felt like five different shows as opposed to one show.

With that in mind, I still ate up all of it because the chemistry between the main leads was impeccable. I actually quite liked the fact that a lot of of the tension in the second half of the storyline is less about them having issues and more about them living their life as a couple. It’s really nice when the plot deviates from the cliché oh actually we have to break up because of my ex-girlfriend or something like that. I also think they turned a lot of clichés on their head. Like his ex and her role in the plot was a lot simpler than what would normally be the case and that was refreshing. I also really liked how they got married because I think a lot of the times they do backpedal and decide to have an extravagant wedding, especially when the female lead is some kind of celebrity. I also thought her role as an actress was interesting because we were told at the beginning she’s super popular and famous but because again it’s focusing on her winning the competition she’s not leaving the house — No one‘s taking photos of her in that way so you don’t really believe that she’s famous. Then when they switch settings/plot line and she’s finally actually in the spotlight again you see that she is a really popular actress but she’s such a nice actress it’s almost like there’s no way she’s an actress. 😂

I understand that we needed his point of view as an aerospace engineer, but I personally skipped some parts of it just because it was too in the weeds and didn’t feel relevant to me. They did a great job of building suspense around the aerospace engineering department though, I will give them that.

We get to see them fall in love and I am so glad that he has to work and ache a bit for her after rejecting her like a fool.

The paparazzi scene was hilarious and while I hate paparazzi, I did feel bad that three of their days were wasted in terms of their photos being deleted. I do feel like after the paparazzi scene is kind of where we lose the plot because each episode feels so separate from the last one that the show starts to feel like a slice of life as opposed to a series with a continuous plot. We have three time jumps of 2 years, 1 month, and 5 years. This was jarring and aggressive, it takes you out the story especially because we don’t time jump at all until the last 5 episodes or so.

But because the couple has such good chemistry, they really do carry so much of the weight of the show and I was kicking and squealing every time they were together on screen. I would watch so many more episodes of just them gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes as they promise to be together forever because they were perfect. I’m actually really wishing that there was an aerospace + actress duo out there in the world right now that everyone could look up to as a super cute & healthy couple.

***Original Thoughts & Ideas***
- Honestly, the show really does a good job of showing how complex love can be while still being so simple and straightforward. Yu Tu overthinks, overcomplicates and over-stresses about the little things to the point that he almost missed out on a good relationship with a partner that truly understands him. Qiao Jing Jing loves him very wholeheartedly and through the innocence of adolescence. Once they are together, their struggle is distance because of their work but it’s balanced by the fact that they truly adore one another which ig I’m bias bc I was long distance with my husband and I’m also truly obsessed with him too.

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Good Chemistry, Questionable Plot Execution

Real Rating with Romance as a category is 8.9/10

Li Shuang is a kind but fierce general truly hoping for a world with peace. Jin An/Prince Annan, without the weight of his real life, is a golden retriever who just wants to protect Li Shuang with even his life. The two of them really have chemistry on screen and are 100% why I watched the full show.

That said, there were parts of the plot outside the romance that I didn’t like.
- I know she took him in because he was a child, but we never get a legitimate explanation on why he became a child at all especially when it is for only a total of 10 minutes on screen.
- The ending, while it made sense, just didn’t feel satisfying. I know they get to be happy together, but the fact that they are written off as “bad guys” for the fact that they “helped the enemy” while under a very odd circumstances. It was just bittersweet that they were *scapegoats*
- I am not gonna lie. I love Bi Wen Jun’s face and this show was no exception. *However*, Su Mu as a character was frustrating. He has feelings (and history) with Li Shuang – nothing new for a 2nd love interest. And yet, his character was too hot and cold. I hate when the *push over* looses his mind and betrays the very people that help him. Worse than that is we see him loose it but never see him find his sanity again. So when the ending comes up and he’s benevolent towards Jin An/Prince Annan it feels abrupt when the last we saw him he was crazed about having Li Shuang stay by his side.
- The magic made sense, but also really didn’t. I still don’t understand if they were trying to make an army or just one person or just Jin An/Prince Annan
- Why did the stone pick Jin An/Prince Annan in the end? What did that even mean? Might have been a translation issue but I do feel they skim over the magic when they can
- How exactly did Jin Wu Jian find himself so in love with the Empress Dowager Qin?
- We learn they met before he was kicked out of the mountain for dark magic, but not how they really met, why he was so devoted to her, nor why she so disgusted by the only man that actually likes her
- The Empress Dowager Qin is actually crazy and just wants her son to secure the throne as “revenge” to the Emperor, but I wish they made her a little saner since she really was the main antagonist and even had control over Jin Wu Jian who was arguably more sinister than her.
- We miss a lot of the juiciness around Empress Dowager Qin’s drama with her sister over the Emperor. I get there was a time crunch but it would have been nice to see more of that overall

Basically, the plot is decent but there are *holes* and some things I feel weren’t executed the best. And while I loved the ML’s romance, the end rushes everything leaving us with a happy but still unsatisfying ending.

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