sunbeam7

In this drama while nothing else is certain, it has been a real highlight to see that GYZ is GSJ's consistent priority. GSJ's brotherly love and protection of GYZ has been steadfast and probably my favorite part of the entire drama. I hope it remains like this to the end. At this point I honestly can't picture one without the other.

Can everyone stop fighting amongst themselves?!!!!! How about instead idk *gesturing wildly* YOUR COMMON ENEMY!

Now that we have come to the realization that GSJ and GYZ are not pure evil and are not working for Wufeng... can I get ONE fight scene in which anyone fights side by side? In the early episodes, GYZ faces off against Jin Fan more than once. Let me see them working together finally!!!!!! Please combine your abilities ONCE. I beg of you. Any of them. I will take any pairing at this point. Gimme some glorious camaraderie amongst the main members of the Gong family. Also it goes without question that these fight scenes must be spectacular and they must kick some serious ass.

When the threat of Wufeng has gone, it would be amazing if the queen GZS could be allowed into the Back Hill and taught under the tutelage of the Hua lineage. Weapons queen learning from Weapons elders. Weapons queen blowing away weapons elders. If Wufeng being almost completely comprised of women and managing to do serious harm has indicated anything--- the Gong Family should recognize the potential of the women within their own family. Also if GZS manages to be the deciding factor of victory.... the elders AND HER FATHER better bow down to her in thanks. (Bonus if her bratty younger brother ends up idolizing her).

It will be interesting to see who Dianzhu is revealed to be. She is a lynchpin tying several of these puzzle pieces together. Because of her domino effect on the story, I hope she is revealed to be a recognizable face. Not someone completely random. It also seems like she would be middle aged by now which rules out Zishang from being the mastermind behind everything.

He is operating under a different set of rules because of the consistent reasoning of "my father and brother died". Which under certain circumstances is completely understandable but it is being used for everything. Excessively. He is bowling with the use of bowling bumpers blocking the gutters while everyone else is bowling with no padding or protection (even though they can also make a similar claim of family death). His hero journey would be more relatable and legitimate if he was given the same rules as everyone else and faced the same consequences. He would assure others of his qualifications if they were gained through the same steps and challenges that everyone else had to face.

Not at all a trauma olympics or trauma competition. I am simply pointing out that one of the reasons behind the preferential treatment of the ML is the trauma he faced in the opening episodes and through his backstory. He is let off the hook more easily than his cousins because of this trauma. This trauma is used to justify how the Elders and the Back Hill bend the rules for the ML and the ML only. It is implied they are more lenient towards him than GHY or GSJ or the former SW. The elders are turning it into a trauma olympics by having the ML's trauma hold so much power and trump everyone else's decisions. My argument is that his trauma should not be the basis for bias and favoritism because all of his cousins have also experienced trauma. That's it.

Absolutely!

Exactly! I agree with everything you said. I deeply appreciate that the other male leads of the Gong Family are not evil in the sense they are villains (GSJ and GYZ) but are simply antagonists. Antagonists who, despite not being GZY's biggest fan, have the interests of the Gong family at heart. Who ultimately are more concerned about the safety and security of the Gong family than playground petty arguments.

It would be amazing character growth on GZY's part to respect and trust the opinions of GSJ and GYZ and follow their guidance in the areas which they have expertise in instead of immediately disbelieving them and being contrary and obstinant simply because GSJ and GYZ said it. When GZY becomes capable as a SW, GSJ and GYZ will still have years of experience that he does not possess and he should recognize and respect that. Also if the Elders were to display preferential treatment to SW GZY in a situation where GZY does not have the expertise, I would be proud if GZY recognizes that preferential bias and calls them out on it.

No expectation of this happening within the remaining runtime but in an alternate universe one can hope.

They are cousins and GSJ is older. By at least 7 years though the exact number is not clear.

Eagerly waiting for GZS's hero journey as well. The only female leader in the 4 lineages that make up the Gong Family sect cannot be comic relief the entire time. She simply cannot.

Absolutely. Still rooting for everyone until the end!

GHY is GZY's big brother. GYZ is GSJ's cousin and adopted younger brother. GSJ is older than GZY by 8+ years. GZY and GYZ are the youngest of the clan.

I would say that there is a considerable amount of bromance. Especially between GYZ and GSJ. Their bond is very tight and GYZ is loyal first and foremost to GSJ. GZY is also attached to GHY because out of GZY's nuclear family (the former SW, his mother, GHY and GZY) GHY treated him warmly. There is also a great bromance between GZY and Jin Fan his loyal bodyguard (who has an endless amount of patience to put up with everything GZY drags him into while simultaneously keeping GZY alive). I wish they would highlight more all of the various dynamics between the members of the Gong Family and SHOW THEM WORKING TOGETHER but I may wait an eternity for that to happen.

Romance takes a backseat overall but does factor in quite heavily in the storyline between the ML and the FL. Its more of a mystery and suspense drama than a romance drama.

With the reveal that GHY is still alive, it sinks in how much preferential treatment GZY's trauma has been given. His suffering has apparently trumped everyone else's suffering which as you get to know everyone's backstory is completely ridiculous. He is not the only one to lose a mother. He is not the only one to have their entire family wiped out in an instant (except GYZ's family is not coming back). GSJ's mother and brother were murdered and GSJ had to find their bloody bodies. He is not the only one to be treated terribly by his father (GZS). He is not the only one to be considered less than, temporary by those around him (GZS). And that's not even scratching the surface of the lives of everyone else. Usually in situations like this, the ML is the one who has 10000x the amount of backstory trauma comparitively but GZY is not one of these cases.

You can almost say he had it easy because he was babied by almost everyone around him. GSJ is out there fighting multiple bloody battles and serving as an emissary to the outside world. GYZ is creating poisons and medicines from scratch that are meant to both be used as a means of attack and a means of protection. GHY as SW-heir apparent is learning to lead the entire family and protect the valley. GZS is learning everything there is to know about weapons because until the younger brother grows up she is the heir. Essentially, all of their days are extensively occupied. I wouldn't imagine GSJ, GHY and GYZ got a lot of rest. In comparison, GZY pranced about visiting cortesans, listening to the zither and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Because of this ridiculous bias and imbalance, my sympathy level for GZY is low. Let me pull out my tiny violin.

He has had it easy this entire time and it is so aggravating. I also feel like because of this (plus YWS and her feminine wiles) he does not take anything seriously enough. Doesn't fully understand the gravity of the situation and throws out accusations left right and center towards the people who are a main reason why Wufeng has not completely invaded and killed everyone yet. And because they are dragging out his Sword-Wielder-qualification arc to essentially be the entire season, I don't know if I will ever see enough to consider him a formidable member of the Gong family.

If the Trial of the Three Realms qualifies you to lead the entire sect, there should be absolutely no favoritism and added help involved. In the first trial alone, GZY is guided through the booby trapped mountain and YWS is there to help him. Even for this most important task, it feels like he is not getting by simply on his own merits. He should suffer like GSJ, GHY, former SW and every other member before them has suffered in order to prove themselves worthy otherwise it makes a mockery of their efforts. He is on an accelerated timeline so what... he should still complete these trials authentically. Furthermore, he has been cushioned by those around him his entire life-- Jin Fan, the servants, his mother, GHY etc. Does the audience need to wait until episode 23 to finally see GZY finally qualify to be the Sword Wielder all on his own??? I still absolutely doubt his ability to lead and protect anyone.

Adding to this, since GZY and GZS have a close relationship, it would only highlight that GZS is actually capable if in GZY's quest to become Sword Wielder, GZY busts out some move that saves his life and casually drops that he learned it from GZS. Who taught me?? My older sister that's who.

How many weapons can my robes fit?
GZS: Yes.

I would love to see her create weapons out of literally anything. Have everything have the capability to cause great harm if need be. Underestimate her at your peril.

I want her to be in "danger" and, before the Gong men or the bodyguards or Jin Fan get there, she easily defeats them all with her deadly collection of hairpins.

I want her to be the epitome of looks like a cinnamon roll but can kill you.

Also in a dreamworld where SGQ does not betray GSJ, I want to see her save him. I want to see her assassin skills and intelligence be used to save him. I want to see the benefits of an assassin wife and what a smart-smart couple working together would look like. Cherry on top if she also gets attached to GYZ and sees him as a younger brother and protects him too. I feel like SGQ is the type of person who does not care about many people but those she does care about she would protect fiercely.

It would be a great twist if he didn't in fact die by SGQ's hands. After everything he has been through I feel like he deserves better than to be betrayed by someone so close to him. He has sacrificed everything in his loyalty to the Gong Family, let him have people in his life who he can trust.

It would be an even more amazing twist if GSJ did NOT die period. But if he has to die, I would rather see it happen through an epic battle with the Wufeng collective than through being stabbed in the back from someone he actually let himself care about.

I would prefer that if she betrays him she betrays him early enough that the betrayal doesn't cause/lead to his death.

This drama has sad ending written all over it (even if they try to throw GZS's comedic moments to distract you) but... what if it didn't end sad? Writer? What if the core people all lived and could be happy??

Its funny because the main leads often get close ups of their face and I know there is supposed to be some subtle nuanced genius facial expression acting occuring but every single time it gives me nothing. Like I am neither moved nor convinced.