whoissilmoy

I think you also missed the scene where she told Taozi that if it were the other way around, she would not be as calm as Li Ni. After the ambush and held by Li Ni, Commandant He is in a state of emotional turmoil. Being held captive is not conducive to her emotional state. She lied to LI Ni that she did indeed collude with Mister to betray him, but he knows she is lying. To me, this a form of self-defense mechanism that people use to hurt someone they are mad at to ease their own pain. The grief for Mister is very deep. Mister may have betrayed Li Ni but he was someone she grew up with and saved her when she was a kid, and also just saved her at the ambush. People cannot think rational when they are in emotional turmoil. Li Ni is an amazing guy who helps her come out of her emotional distress. The scenes of all he did for her were very touching. She told Taozi that if it were anyone else, she would not be so mad, but LI Ni is not just anyone to her. When LI NI heard that, he felt at peace.

Ying being mad at Li Ni actually shows that he means the world to her. People get mad at the ones they love the most because they care so much about that person.

Often in life, when there is a death, and people are grieving, it takes person time to overcome grief. They experience all kinds of emotions of grief, depression, guilt, etc. Sometimes, in families, a lot of hurtful, mean things are said if relationships are not well, Grief can cause you to experience all kinds of emotions depending on the situation or circumstances.

Actually Ying was okay before the ambush. She told Taozi, if it had been the other way around, she would react even worse than Li Ni so she knew how devastating it was for Li Ni. She felt sad that Li NI did not believe her. It really hurt her and like Li NI said, next time they see each other, they will be enemies and he could kil her. She was returning to her home base with Mister. but after the ambush, she lost her only brother whom she grew up with, who saved her twice now, and protected her her whole life. Like she told LI Ni later on, Mister suffered so much to pretend to be her.

WoL shows the human side of the characters.

well said

or pull a teapot from their sleeves! You just go along with it and enjoy the movie.

the verified is now at 8.24 so it's slowly rising. I wonder why the verified is always much lower than the currently watching and completed.

oh ok thank you

yep. I searched for stupid emperors and there were plenty of them. I don't know why some viewers get all worked up over stupid and maniac characters. They do exist in history. the characters in WoL are plausible to me.

Cui Lin can be ruthless is not a bad trait if you want to rule an empire and become a target. Being ruthless does not mean you have to be evil either. Other important qualities include intelligence, strategic thinking, and empathy. Ultimately, the success of an empire depends on the leader’s ability to balance these qualities and make decisions that benefit the empire as a whole.

you're thinking exactly like Cui Lin

the rightful heir is only 8 years old and the movie portray him as an intelligent, respectful, kind, and brave young boy. His mother is the Crown Princess or Consort Xiao who is brave and intelligent. So, even thought the Li royal bloodline has a lot of incompetent offsprings, it seems this young boy and Li Ni are both intelligent.

Li Ni is an upright person. Also, he promised the crown princess who poisoned her ex-lover turned rebel, Sun Jing to help Li Ni take back western capital. You are right too, "why fight all this?" That was exactly Cui Lin (Ying) 's perspective too. Before Cui Lin met Li Ni, she even thought of ruling if no one else can give the people a better life. If you fight and power ends up in wrong hands, then you have to fight again. But Li Ni has his perspective and a plan too. He believes the late crown prince's grandson who is the rightful heir is intelligent and can be taught how to be a good emperor someday. Also, he has no desire for his children to partake in palace schemes. The palace is a gilded cage.

because the father is biased toward Li Ni. When someone has a bad impression of you, it's difficult to change their minds, no matter how much you try to please them, and the father has always been duped by his sons' bad intentions. Unfortunately, he's just not a very smart man. He can't see that people are duping him.

There were a lot of good acting in this movie even among the supporting cast. Sun Jing, the rebel, and Crown Princess (consort Xiao) acting was excellent. The two had little screen time, yet still I can feel how complicated and complex their relationship and emotions are toward each other. Their acting was natural, subtle, yet had depth. When I watch them, I felt I could read their mind, feel their emotions. As stupid as the emperor was and as bad as the brothers were, I really enjoyed their acting. I found chemistry between the three of them. They were funny to watch.

if you are talking about LCF, you are not alone, I see a lot of similar comments. The actor might be overdramatic or maybe he wants to portray a mentally ill person which is how I see the character. Still, I think you are right, his acting may be the weakest among the cast. It's not natural enough. It's a bit forced.

I got used to Chinese dramas depict how deranged and demented a human being can get when they become crazed and obsessed, and then become evil, and only think of killing.

Li Ni said to Pei Yuan that his older brother is not very capable but the second brother is very crafty, so the older brother will listen to the younger brother (I need to find the scene where he says that). The brothers are not stupid like the father, as they can manipulate and scheme. Growing up, they were spoiled, pampered, proud and allowed to be bad and the bad behaviors are carried into adulthood.

In the review tab of MDL for WoL, there has been a string of negative reviews with low ratings in past two days that are OBVIOULSY BIASED and possibly haters. Future viewers, please do not be swayed by them and watch the movie for yourself. I picked out the evidence of biases they left in their reviews:
Rating 6.5 "Xu Kai can't act."
Rating 7.0 "Xu Kai has had a string of disappointments."
Rating 7.0 "I prefer Kunming Place", "the kiss scenes did not give me the tingles", and "female lead initiates the kiss". For some reason, some SOKP fans are obsessed with kissing.
Rating 7.0 "I got very angry watching it". The rater did not like that the emperor (Li Ni) does not pass the throne to his own son. Did he not understand the character?

I'm still on episode 21 but my impression so far of the new emperor is that he is not evil, but a pathetic, unintelligent, foolish, and cowardly man with zero common sense or wisdom, and is easily manipulated by his two sons (Li Ni's stepbrothers) and others. Also, he was never groomed to be heir to the throne. He obviously grew up in a sheltered, pampered, and luxurious life with no understanding of the world around him, and still act and think at a child's intellectual and emotional level. The father has ruined his two sons because all their lives, they fooled their father and got away with it. They're the ones always got Li Ni in trouble growing up and caused LI NI to have a bad reputation with his father and grandfather. Now, as adults, they are repeating the same behavior, but as sons of emperor, they have power to destroy more than Li Ni. This is how dynasties fall and another one rises up. The founder is usually smart, visionary, military and political acumen, strategic, ambitious, determined, and ruthless (does that sound like Cui Lin?) Later, after perhaps three generations, their heirs become less and less competent and causing the dynasty to decline.

This is an introspective movie. For me, every episode was necessary to fully understand the characters and their conflicts. If someone watches an introspective movie on the surface, they might miss the nuances and underlying themes that the movie is trying to convey. Introspective movies are often layered with symbolism and metaphors that require a deeper level of engagement and attention to detail to fully appreciate.

Don't skip any episodes so you will understand the plot and the characters. Every episode is well done and goes by fast.

Some people find Xu Kai portrayal of introverts especially Yang Hua in SHPH bland, but I thought he was great. It left me a deep impression of Yang Hua.