Kate

and not in a porn-like way. < omg this! One of the reason I struggle with many Thai bls lately is the "porn-like" quality of some scenes 🙂

Same rating for me, but for some weird reason I feel really nostalgic about this show and always have fond memories related to it. I think Lee Yoo Bi might be one of the reasons, i think she fitted the role perfectly :)

So I agree with a lot of your takes, but I'm a clown and rated 8 lol Like, this show is so EMPTY 🤣🤣🤣🤣
That said, to my defense: I watched the whole drama when I had covid, barely existing and my brain was fried 🙂

I honestly now think I was blinded by Suda Masaki and his performance, coz I agree with everything you said, and yet I gave it a 9 🤣🤣

Loved all the comparisons you made! I think I felt about the show in a similar fashion, by issue was, I never got the ticket and dessert back 🙂 Like... on emotional level I don't think they did a good job with concluding the show 😭 Hence only 7.5 from me.

I definitely adored Yang Ying the most and honestly would've loved to just continue watching her arch. < I need a whole drama based on her POV 😭

A true assassin’s drama. People die. I mean, lots of people die. Like lots…. trust me on that one. < that was actually one of the things I disliked, coz it did not happen gradually, they all kind of died more or less at the same time, and ALMOST died throughout the show 🤣

I actually enjoyed the flashbacks episodes from Hayama Asami's pov the most. it's true that later the misunderstanding was off, especially since Yuki went beyond just misunderstanding - he was literally convincing himself there is nothing between them 😅

The flashbacks episodes with Hayama Asami's POV were actually my favorites ❤️

The last episode was way too long. It had about 5 different endings. < this! They were ending and then adding new quick scenes with new ending few times, and it was simply unnecessary :(

Both were vile characters whom I loathed but I found them compelling to watch because of their complexities. < I honestly think a story is as good as its villains, and Double aced that aspect!

Great review 😉

The events after that are stupid and unnecessary < facts! I have no idea why it was added at the end. The war was never a big thing plot wise, just unnecessary angst. Personally, I did not even find it sad, just dumb...

I totally agree that the villains stole the show. I would pay some money to watch a drama from their perspective 😂

Great review :)

Well, at the end of the day i think both him and wenning were probably the most interesting characters and for sure the good aspects of the show 🤣 I'd love to watch a show from their perspective

If he embraced that he did it all for survival, I would be okay with it. My biggest issue is how he never blamed himself. First he did what he did coz Wenning forced him. Then he did what he did to protect Fangfei. When at the end of the day, in both cases he did what he did to protect himself 😅 Be it literally to stay alive, or to protect the image of himself that he had.

if he were born a Duke, Wanning would never have been able to force him to make the choices he was forced to make. < that is true for the initial issue, but he made many wrong choices later on. Even when he started to work against Wanning at the end, it was only for his own benefit, not anyone else. He wanted to go back to the past as if nothing happened, he refused to understand that he cannot, he tried to force Fangfei to be with him and accept him again. All that cannot be explained by Wanning's influence, because by then he was working against her.

Glad you think so 👍😂

The emperor actually did make a lot of allowances for Wanning's wild and insolent behavior. < yes, but I don't think it was out of pity or care, but rather the fact she was one of the King Cheng's people. From how they presented it in the show it was less of "I let her be because he went through a lot" and more of "I let her be because I cannot afford to fight her right now".

As for Shen Yurong, he was ready to kill a lot of innocent people at the end, to get Fangfei 😅 For me I guess it's worse to kill your family, than to kill strangers. So him killing Fangfei is just not something I can ignore. I'd take villain that knows they are selfish (like Wanning, she knew she was a victim, but also knew she was selfish now and just did not care. she did nit put the blame of her actions on others) than a villain that till the ends claims to be victim who was forced to do everything and did nothing wrong. Like, dude legit thought he is the biggest victim in this whole scenerio 😂

That's how I do it too 👍👍

I was literally commenting on your review just now 😅

Yes, I mean Fangfei, I might edit my review with the names, coz it is quite confusing.
IF I had to say who suffered and lost the most out of main characters in order, I'd go Wan Ning, Jiang Li (not really main, but important enough to be named), Yu Rong (suffered coz of his own doing, but still), Duke Su/Fang Fei (coz Duke Su lost more, but Fangfei had more traumatic experiences lol) and then Ye Shi Jie coz he just had a crush that did not worked out

I love how we have completely opposite take on the crazy Princess and Shen Yurong 😅

For me she is literally crazy, levels of PTSD I cannot even comprehend. The idea she lost not one but a few children with miscarriage after countless rape and abuse - none of the characters suffered as much as she did and I honestly do not think any of the characters could have gotten out of this situation with clear and pure morals, especially since it does not seem like she received much sympathy from people around her after she came back. Fangfei was honestly extremely lucky with the fact she met Jiang Li after her tragedy, because I honestly think it shaped her approach and goals.

On the other hand Shen Yurong did not face any tragedy, working with the Princess was at the end of the day his choice, killing/burring his wife alive was also his doing, him shifting the blame and not really taking accountability of his actions till the end was just 🙂

They both were evil, they both deserve the end they've got. But I can feel more sympathy towards victim that went mental over coward 😅

The recent ones are for sure more brainless entertainment, not something that will stimulate braincells 🥲