sunbeam7

Really enjoying the FL's old guard character. He doesn't get enough credit! He really has been a pillar of support for both the FL and the SFL. He has helped them pull off the whole fugitives-disguised-as-men-hiding-under-the-nose-of-the-government thing. He has also been nothing but loyal which is more than you can say for that snake in the grass that the FL's family took in. He deserves a happy ending!

When you have a slow-burn romance based on an incredibly long show that is based on an incredibly long novel, one of two things happens. Either you make the ML and FL the only interesting characters and every scene without them in it feels like a drag and a waste of time OR you create a cast of characters besides the ML and FL which the audience becomes emotionally invested in.

The latter has happened in this case. I eagerly await the snippets of screentime of many of the supporting characters and am not overly attached to the ML and FL in contrast. However, even though this drama has a serious undertone and the trailer (and background music) promised angst and more angst, I am prettty sure that the ML and FL will be protected under Main Character Syndrome. However, every other character will not. Which makes me incredibly worried for the fate of my secondary characters.

They better live. All of them. Or I will riot.

It's funny. Despite my love of PHS, the ML and FL romantic storyline is not grabbing my attention. I find other plotlines and other characters far more riveting (especially the SFL and the SML). Even the ML and FL on their own interacting with other characters or each other when they are in investigating mode is more interesting, currently. I think it will be one of those things that I will seek out once the drama is over and I know how things between them end, I'll be able to look back and be invested in the romance.

I also think SML having the support network of FL and ML is essential for any type of family fallout. If he learns that his father is the bad guy, he would be able to turn to FL and ML for support. They would be his anchors (especially FL if they remain romantically interested in one another) and SML wouldn't be swayed by his father's words and actions (nor blame himself too much for them either). If he has no one to turn to, I think he is more likely to fold under his father's demands and become his puppet.

I honestly think he would hide it from his father. He has hid his investigations into the whearabouts of FL up until this point after all. Despite the entire court and all of the public branding her the murderer, he is still adamant that there is something more to the story. (This is more seen in the flashbacks of episodes 1-3 I think but its a common thread throughout all episodes up until this point). I also think he wouldn't pine over her so much and still carry their marriage consent letter if he believed she was a murderer.
I just want to see them interact and get closer with the knowledge of each other's true identities. I want them to still be romantically interested in one another throughout the show and until the end.
I also just want to see the crime fighting duo, trio and gang. I want to see everyone on the same side and working together instead of pushing one another away and making mere words on a random piece of paper turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I also think revealing her identity as both Eunuch Go and Min Jae Yi is better done sooner rather than later. You can see from the flashbacks that he respects her wits and smarts and isn't scared of them at all. He was quite willing to "be at her mercy". So the knowledge that she has been the one solving crimes, pretending to be a man, and kicking butt would not be horrifying to him. He is already noticing talents in her that a eunuch shouldn't have. I think he would be impressed if he knew that these were the talents of FL instead of some random person. I also don't think he would impose the you-are-a-delicate-flower-please-stop-now mentality on her when he finds out because he believed that she could survive and fend for herself after evading capture and death.
His angry cuckold behavior comes more from how the ML is treating him vs. Eunuch Go. He isn't being trusted, either with secrets or planning or traveling in disguise by his best friend, but this person that the ML literally met (in his eyes) days ago is. This coupled with the fact that people think that FL (his fiance) killed her family AND had a lover and those are the whispers following him around... it probably fuels his anger and his opinion of Eunuch Go.
Also the fact that instead of real facts floating around that are contrary to previous beliefs (like if she really did have a lover and didn't care for SML at all), it is lies and misunderstandings and miscommunication --- it will create the foundation for the prophecy to becoming self-fulfilling. If they just talked everything out (like there was no other lover she only loved SML and there is this "curse" etc etc), the chances of SML turning on FL and ML decrease dramatically.
They need to give SML a chance. Let him in on the plan, add him to the folds. Obviously no one else in the palace because they all seem slimy but SML would make a great ally if he knew what was going on.
I also think that SML (with the confidence that he is trusted and not estranged and his loved one is not dead or a murderer) could help them with their ruse to fool their enemies. He has a strong enough social standing and a good poker face that he can redirect attention and efforts where they need to go (and also not let on that he knows FL's true identity). He definitely wouldn't be writing down secrets in a pot for all to know about.

Like it would be nice to see a show break the mold and not end up as a FL ML CP in the end.

(Even though the cinematography and trailer suggest otherwise)
(And of course this point is null if the SML turns out to be a real unsavory human being)

Also I want the SML to figure out that the eunuch is the FL in disguise sooner rather than later. Preferably through a non-conventional route, a tell that she had as a kid or something related to their correspondance in the betrothal process (that shows the audience and her that he knows her/remembers her on more than a surface level). He already doubts that she has murdered her family contrary to the reports that are given so I don't think he would be quick to dismiss her POV (and it would be great to not rely on this suicide note as a valid source of information). I also think (if revealed in the right moment and before any line-crossing moments between the FL and ML) it could help repair the friendship between the ML and SML. It would be a display of trust and also ML isn't putting his unwavering trust in any old person, he is putting it in someone they both used to know. Someone that they both trust.

I have never been so torn between ships within a show. I have adored Park Hyungsik ever since SWDBS but there is something about the storyline between FL and SML that has hooked me in. They were both so excited to get married to one another and even after this framing-of-murder-and-presumed-dead-and-going-undercover they are STILL PINING FOR ONE ANOTHER. FL still thinks the world of SML and he is still trying to find her and keeps her marriage consent form on him at all times. I want to see this storyline last for once. For these previously bethrothed lovebirds to find their way back to one another and still have romantic feelings for one another.

If anyone has watched the second chapter, what is the relationship like between older Tie Dan and Tian Zao? It is anything like their relationship in the first chapter? Is he even in the third chapter?

I think the only thing I would change in their storyline is the misunderstanding. It lasted too long. They had so little screen time together and so few episodes, that I wish that portion of their story didn't take up so much time. She spent so long angry at him and he spent so much time both giving her space and trying to get back into her good graces. I wanted more scenes of them spending time together happily, and also with the rest of their neighborhood family. Drama is fine when you are given more time for things to play out, but considering they only had bits and pieces of 14 episodes together and romance wasn't the main focus of the show itself, it felt like a missed opportunity. If only they had talked together in the beginning; if only she had let him know how much she was worried about him they could have spent more time supporting each other side by side than separated.

I was moreso wondering during the timeframe of the show how long did it take for them to get married. 6 months? A year? Longer? It is implied that she keeps on pushing back the date of their wedding because of what she wants to accomplish but I don't know how long that takes. That is what I am curious about. In the span of these 14 episodes how much time has passed. It starts in 1950 but does everything take place within a year? longer?

Does anyone know how much time passes between their engagement and their marriage? I am dying of curiosity.

I loved the chemistry between Tian Zao and Tie Dan! Their love story was so sweet! Highlight of the entire show by far. I need Lusi and Minghao to work together again asap.

They finally get married in episode 14 and I want to know how much time has passed since she proposed to him and they got engaged. Six months? A year? Longer? How long did he have to wait for her to get married?

Does anyone know how much time passes during the drama (Tian Zao and Tie Dan's arc)?