I have a theory: the man Qingyang is in love with is Master Xuan Wei. The last story Qingyang told HRY in ep25…
Also that goddess of time is also giving me some strange vibes but idk what to think about her. Mayne it's the just actress's face but sometimes she looks antagonsitic towards BJS 😠and her tone/lines are also a bit...
I have a theory: the man Qingyang is in love with is Master Xuan Wei. The last story Qingyang told HRY in ep25 about drinking to gather courage and leaving flowers for the person she likes is probably her real story, because right before she left, she asked Xuan Wei about his favorite flower.
I know some people think Qingyang's expressions were suspicious across several episodes, but I think it all makes sense if she was in love with XW and XW only has a single-minded focus on serving HRY, which is why she looks conflicted/had strange expressions.
Now, XW that old man, on the other hand, is a little suspicious. I'm 99% sure neither him nor Long Yuan is the ultimate mastermind. But I think XW will turn out to be working with someone else (possibly manipulated by the mastermind) because XW is misguided (like LY) in believing that HRY is better off never forgiving BJS, unintentionally aiding the bad guys in causing harm to our leads. I think he would ultimately realize this - and also Qingyang's feelings and how perhaps he was implicitly involved in causing her death - and sacrifice himself in some way (pretty sure he ends up dying from the ending credits).
Honestly, I can see both sides. At a certain point, even if the characters are the same and the plot events overlap, the drama and the novel are just taking very different storytelling approaches.
It's understandable for fans of the novel to greatly dislike this particular change because as someone aptly wrote below, it's a charm of ZhuYi's novels for the two leads to get together and then trust and hold on to each other fully, without ever giving up. The development in ZY's novels is like gentle rays of sunshine that doesn't go away healing away the insecurities the characters have. There's no huge storms, just gentle turbulences. Once SY reached out and YF committed to taking his hand, they never wavered. There's something bright and pure in that, and it's understandable novel fans are upset by its loss.
On the other hand, they changed the trauma that YF goes through in the drama compared to the novel, and YF's actions in the drama are also realistic as a survivor of SA. The drama went for a heavier and more realistic approach with the creative license. It doesn't make YF a bad FL, and I really side-eye the people who are bashing her character and not her family/script writer/etc (like literally anyone other than the victim??). Still, I get where people are coming from if they're upset the drama wasn't the same The First Frost they loved when they read the novel.
Personally, while I can understand and appreciate a drama for taking a realistic approaching to depicting SA recovery, I think there's also something magical and healing and just so special from the lightness of the novel that still conveys the same message at its core. I'm disappointed, but I can still understand where the drama is coming from.
Oh I’m loving how TH’s role come into play out of the left field, it’s only when she explained it, that…
Exactly! I was impressed. They did a great job introducing a lot of things that got tied up together neatly in the end, all within 40 episodes, which is a feat.
Bai Xi being the spirit of the Divine Bow was masterful twist, but the bit with the Outlander King Sword being forged from the remnants of the Divine Arrow and that's why the sword spirit chose BS as its master in the 2nd arc was equally delightful storytelling! The sword/arrow bit happened so late in like the last two episodes I feel like people aren't talking about it enough!
I was surprised too. Like usually in xianxia some minor important characters would also make it till the end (or get brought back by ML's sacrifice) so i absolutely didn't expect everyone of actual relevance to be wiped out and not come back T-T
It's been a couple of hours and i'm still feeling rollercoaster of emotions...I know sometimes it's just a matter of people's tastes but ARP and BL's acting really did it for me in this dram. It is simply incredible how I never felt XY and BS or JY and FY were the same character. Especially in the eyes, you could tell they were different.
The drama diverged a lot (almost completely) from the source novel, but I think they did it in a way that was…
I also appreciated that MM didn't have the cliche of good guy>>bad guy trope with CZ. I thought CZ was going to turn evil at certain points in the drama, but I'm so, so glad that he didn't. Just as BS wasn't XY and FY wasn't JY, CZ and ML were different and fought for opposing goals until the end. CZ never wavered in his righteousness, and overall, I think the drama did all of the characters justice.
The drama diverged a lot (almost completely) from the source novel, but I think they did it in a way that was quite masterful. The mini-arcs with the Five Contemplations and how they tied it back to what happened 60,000 years ago was amazing. The story arcs, both minor and major ones, never had any glaring plotholes or incomprehensible decisions made by characters (as some xianxia dramas tend to run into when they struggle between keeping faith with source material and adapting it in a way suitable for TV drama). The Divine Bow (what a twist), the Arrow, Outlander King Sword—all of it was artfully tied together.
I know some people think Qingyang's expressions were suspicious across several episodes, but I think it all makes sense if she was in love with XW and XW only has a single-minded focus on serving HRY, which is why she looks conflicted/had strange expressions.
Now, XW that old man, on the other hand, is a little suspicious. I'm 99% sure neither him nor Long Yuan is the ultimate mastermind. But I think XW will turn out to be working with someone else (possibly manipulated by the mastermind) because XW is misguided (like LY) in believing that HRY is better off never forgiving BJS, unintentionally aiding the bad guys in causing harm to our leads. I think he would ultimately realize this - and also Qingyang's feelings and how perhaps he was implicitly involved in causing her death - and sacrifice himself in some way (pretty sure he ends up dying from the ending credits).
It's understandable for fans of the novel to greatly dislike this particular change because as someone aptly wrote below, it's a charm of ZhuYi's novels for the two leads to get together and then trust and hold on to each other fully, without ever giving up. The development in ZY's novels is like gentle rays of sunshine that doesn't go away healing away the insecurities the characters have. There's no huge storms, just gentle turbulences. Once SY reached out and YF committed to taking his hand, they never wavered. There's something bright and pure in that, and it's understandable novel fans are upset by its loss.
On the other hand, they changed the trauma that YF goes through in the drama compared to the novel, and YF's actions in the drama are also realistic as a survivor of SA. The drama went for a heavier and more realistic approach with the creative license. It doesn't make YF a bad FL, and I really side-eye the people who are bashing her character and not her family/script writer/etc (like literally anyone other than the victim??). Still, I get where people are coming from if they're upset the drama wasn't the same The First Frost they loved when they read the novel.
Personally, while I can understand and appreciate a drama for taking a realistic approaching to depicting SA recovery, I think there's also something magical and healing and just so special from the lightness of the novel that still conveys the same message at its core. I'm disappointed, but I can still understand where the drama is coming from.