the emperor is lowkey dumb as rocks and i don't know how much longer i can watch intelligent women fawn over his incompetent self and pretend like he's anything but an entitled hypocrite. like the man has the self-awareness of a piece of lint.
This sounds a lot as if the writers of this series totally twisted and turned history, again, to produce a heartwrenching…
yeah i agree. i honestly think their goal was to write him as an exceptionally good character who struggles with his own humanity due to his role as emperor, which requires him to be heartless sometimes. it's just difficult to accept that he's so good when you put him next to the empress haha... we'll see if that changes later on though.
NO idea what is going on but jung eunchae and kim goeun look amazing and that's all i need to know at this point. cinematography is gorgeous as well >>>
not to write an essay about cao danshu but i think what hurts me the most about her is that she represents the tragedy of simply existing as a woman. she has done literally everything the way society expects her to, not just in her words/actions but sincerely in her heart as well, and yet has already begun paying the price for it. the love of her life doesn't see her as a person to be loved because society doesn't want women to be people—it wants women to be empty vessels, tools for men to use in whatever way they see fit. and though she has followed all the rules—for her husband's sake, in order to be the best partner to him!—it has driven her husband away from her, because he's scared of powerful women. he wants someone like miao xinhe, who is non-threatening because she has no ambition and to him she'll always be the girl he grew up with. or he wants zhang bihan, who is non-threatening because she has no political connections, no status, no power, and is also like 20+ years younger than him (which...uhh..lmao).
compare their appeal to the empress, who is politically well-connected, understands the game and how to play it exceptionally well, is very educated, and ultimately has the wits to use all of these to her advantage. she's a threat, and the emperor sees this; he sees the empress dowager in her (which to be honest just reeks to me of his own insecurity around powerful women but whatever). despite this, she has no ulterior motives to being empress—all she wants is to help the emperor guide their country to the best of her ability. she's following the rules! she's done everything right and become the doll society wants her to be and it's killing her because not only has it made her unlovable to the love of her life, but it has also made her question who she is herself.
and yet she doesn't blame the emperor for any of her pain, which is excruciating to watch because you know he's essentially the whole reason why she suffers the way she does. i'm really hoping she doesn't become the person he sees her as, some hardened, calculating, distrustful woman. i wouldn't blame her if she does, but it would hurt even more to see her kind spirit crushed and twisted into that.
can i just say that as much as it breaks my heart, i love that cao danshu is such an empathetic, kind-hearted, intelligent character... i'm sick of women in positions of power being written as cold, jealous, hateful, etc.; she's an absolute breath of fresh air. i hope she maintains her humanity throughout, but we've got a long way to go and she's already been living through years of heartbreak at this point...
also, jiang shuying is literally tremendous in this role...just. wow.
Absolutely! I love her character too! Compared with the other similar drama, The Story of Minglan, Cao Danshu…
im with you. i tend to watch for female characters, which can be disappointing as many of them are used simply as plot devices for the male characters. im very excited that this drama seems to be different!
cao danshu is just incredible...i have yet to believe anyone deserves her devotion or even admiration. she's so beautiful in so many ways. interested to see where her character goes.
what are the chances there's a second season planned? i just finished episode 9 and it does not feel like the penultimate episode lmao. more like setting up a new plot point, not resolving them.
anyone else confused abt yu ran's identity? every synopsis i've seen lists her as the princess of winged clan, but so far she seems to have a pretty average status in xiatang, besides her connection to her aunt. is it a hidden identity kinda thing or maybe just a slight mistranslation?
compare their appeal to the empress, who is politically well-connected, understands the game and how to play it exceptionally well, is very educated, and ultimately has the wits to use all of these to her advantage. she's a threat, and the emperor sees this; he sees the empress dowager in her (which to be honest just reeks to me of his own insecurity around powerful women but whatever). despite this, she has no ulterior motives to being empress—all she wants is to help the emperor guide their country to the best of her ability. she's following the rules! she's done everything right and become the doll society wants her to be and it's killing her because not only has it made her unlovable to the love of her life, but it has also made her question who she is herself.
and yet she doesn't blame the emperor for any of her pain, which is excruciating to watch because you know he's essentially the whole reason why she suffers the way she does. i'm really hoping she doesn't become the person he sees her as, some hardened, calculating, distrustful woman. i wouldn't blame her if she does, but it would hurt even more to see her kind spirit crushed and twisted into that.
also, jiang shuying is literally tremendous in this role...just. wow.