tsutsuloo

Bwaaaah! XD
Yeah ... once a month for a full bath is a stretch. I suspect he takes care of his stinky bits; I mean, she never commented on his smell before. ;P

Aaaaaiiiiiii! Ep. 18's pillow talk just about killed me dead. I'm dead! I don't speak Chinese so I paused the subtitles to translate through my phone's Google Translate app. Watching this CP is like taking a drug.

You've touched on one of my mild critiques of the show so far: the ML is nearly flawless. He's so clever, noble and capable. Undoubtedly, he's an exceptionally warm and generous lover too.

Give our general some flaws—like the other key supporting characters—and he will only grow more alluring. Maybe he farts in bed or always tells A'wu the same old battle stories. Give us something!

I look forward to seeing how our OTP persevere, whatever comes.

"Riveting" is the word. Marcus Sim, a YouTube c-drama blogger, said he had planned to only assess the first couple episodes before making dinner. Five episodes later, he ordered pizza.

Thanks for this! It's available on WeTV too.

YES to everything you said about that kiss!

[Edited to say that it *might* be a ... ] Regarding that bamboo fire starter—it might be a FIRE PISTON. They were made from various hollow, _airtight_ objects including bamboo, horn and metal. According to the interwebs, ramming the handle into the piston rapidly increases the interior to 400 °F (260 °C), thus igniting the tinder tucked in at the interior end of the handle.

Developed after 500 AD and used primarily throughout Southeast Asia and Madagascar. FAVORITE FUN FACT: a Malaysian fire piston directly inspired Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) to develop the internal combustion engine.

Principles of operation described by the Boyle-Marriot Law. Boyle (1627-1691) confirmed decreasing volume of gas=increased pressure. Marriot (1620–1684) discovered that increased pressure of gas=increased temperature.

Most dramas misrepresent how fire pistons work. Actors often just pull out the handle with the flame already lit or they just puff a breath on the end—thus showing an incomplete picture of how it works. It's the ramming IN the handle that increases the pressure and heat, not the extraction. Why not show it?

I'm frustrated that the Republican dramas I want to see are not yet available with English subs. DREAM DETECTIVES (2020), THE MESSAGE (2020), PEACE HOTEL (2018) are three shows I'd love to watch if I could. My subscriptions to iQiyi and WeTV don't help in this case.

Agreed! This is why I will not watch most Thai lakhorns, where rape is often the BEGINNING of a "loving" relationship. Nope. No thanks. While there's growing pushback from Thai audiences and media critics against this repulsive rape-to-love trope, it's still a popular (and lucrative) story element.

Agree 100%. Yeesh—What is this, a lakhorn? What an unsavory trio:

• Crown Prince: rape
• 2nd prince: adultery
• 3rd prince: drunk

All the better to highlight the General's wooing of the Princess. He earns her love and trust before they consummate their marriage.

The thought of a 68-episode series usually makes me tired just thinking about it but I can't help myself. REBEL PRINCESS is all very lush and I'm enjoying every moment, thanks to:
-Beautiful, mature actors
-Costumes to die for
-Fight scenes (the ML is NOT bound by the laws of physics!)
-High production value
-Interesting court intrigues with all sorts of shady characters

Loving the good chemistry between the FL and her two men too. That general really knows how to make his wife fall in love with him. Is it the dimples? The bedroom eyes? Saving her neck every few episodes? Bringing her broth when she's sick? Asking her opinion? Planning unforgettable horseback dates? *whispers: all of the above and more*

All this talk about the actors' ages reminded me of Avenue X's rant from two years ago: "You're NOT Allowed to Age! - AvenueX's Rant About C-Dramaland" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPjAKWJlzTM&ab_channel=AvenueX. (Once actresses hit a certain age, they're frequently regulated to Mom, nursemaid, non-sexual-person roles.)

REBEL PRINCESS is unusual in how EXPLICIT they are about the FL's age. As others have noted below, it's safe to assume that most FL's ages in ancient history dramas are about 16–early 20's. They usually don't spell it out like this drama.

Take last year's MING DYNASTY (aired Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020). At the time of production, the main leads were all in their 30's playing characters half their age. Tang Wei (38) and Zhu Ya Wen (33) played the 18-year-old FL and ML respectively. Deng Jia Jia (34) played Tang Wei's 15-year-old sister. History tells us the real ages of the drama's protagonists. But the drama wisely made ZERO mention of their real ages and it wasn't an issue.

This is my first Sun Yi project. Thankfully Jin Han has enough charisma for the both of them.

;)

While waiting for more translations, you might enjoy the translated OST. My favorite is the song from the closing credits:《佳期》"Best Season" or maybe "Wedding Day" (I don't know the correct translation) sung by 黄诗扶 ( Huang Shifu).

Transcribed into pinyin and translated into English, and Indonesian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29POOq5KoWM&ab_channel=monozigot

@bibi-bibi—I share your joys and frustrations here. At this point, I'm watching for the ML's profile and his costumes. I'm gobsmacked by the ombre dyeing technique used for the ML's sumptuous costumes.

I'm pissed at the writer(s). Do they not like women? Is it so difficult to create intelligent characters? Are we watching The Flowers of Algernon, with a FL losing her cognitive abilities?

Although I understand the context of polyamory, I fully agree that Li Yirou's situation is lamentable. When the ML says she's "free to leave," it's easier said than done—especially for a woman. She loves him and wants—needs—to keep the security of his household. I usually hate harem politics so I hope this situation doesn't become a focal point.

Our FL's lack of military bearing is most curious too. If you've seen OH MY GENERAL or LOVE LOST IN TIMES, both of those had absolutely convincing female generals. One key difference is that those women were not incognito. And when they walked, they projected a sense of self-control and strength.

It feels like the show made her a general to give her martial skills but not much more. Maybe she just outlived everyone else and got promoted because she was still standing.

;)

The details of this "marriage" are a bit scant; Li Yu Rou is the "madam of the house" but doesn't have the official title of wife or even concubine. It's unclear if the marriage has even been consummated.

Much of what the ML appears to be seems to be a performance so I'm interested to learn of how this arrangement came to be.

Heh! This is too funny. The plucky violins had me half expecting someone was going to fall on a banana peel.

Ah yes!!!!! I watched the first season and a half and couldn't take it anymore. But I did love the start of it. Such beautiful, dirty people. Quite a contrast to the pristine, plastic heroes of dramaland, hmmm?

XD *whispers* What was that U.S. show?

Yours is a fair critique and I share many of your frustrations. For me, the problem stems from the writer's efforts to create excessively dramatic emotional arcs for the leads. When animating motion, we call this "exaggeration" but it must be tempered, depending on your genre or application. In this case, the writer establishes characters SO careless and SO sadistic that it's hard to root for their success. Sure, they will grow but do they HAVE to start at such a low point?

I'm staying for two reasons: (1) The actors are very good; (2) The FL's journey will be atypical of most historical dramas. There's more than meets the eye and I want to see how the show pulls it off.