Omega17

You can already see Madam Yu working behind the scenes. She’s a true power behind the curtain. Can’t wait till she gets taken down as well.

Heroes are usually noble to a fault. It typically comes back to bite them in the butt.

Based on the previews he’s a part of the court, so he must have advance some.

And Yake is back. Tingyun, how did you not know your best friend was such a terrible person?

That’s one part I didn’t like. She worked hard for those and ended up getting nothing for it. Now she’s back to square one.

It was such a beautiful scene. Not being able to see him again for 5 years.

They definitely don’t deserve absolution for their decisions. Plenty of people have bad lots in life, but that doesn’t give an excuse for bad behavior. I do have more sympathy for Zuo than Yake. Zuo was driven partially insane by the grandmother in my opinion. Her mistreatment and abuse counts for something. So I had no problem with the way she ended. For Yake, I want something much worse. To betray your childhood friend to the point of dooming them to death over a man is beyond wretched. I want her to suffer the most out of all the villains.

Episode 18 is out with express. Otherwise, they are up to ep 17.

My thoughts:
1. Jingxiu is such a worm and needs to die. He put his own desires ahead of the safety of the people during the invasion. I can’t wait till he gets his punishment.
2. Poor Yucheng. I understand why he did what he did, even though it was wrong. They earned their merits but the powerful are easily able to push the weak and poor around. His ending was sad but his sacrifice for his friends was noble.
3. The scene between the general and Zhao was so well done. I think it was a good course correction for the character. He has a greater good to consider. What he’s doing is not just for the people he loves but he can also help so many people who are powerless.
4. I really love how they did the 5 year skip and separation. I didn’t want to see Zhao and Tingyun separated with the usual lovers split we see in Cdramas. I don’t want them apart for three episodes. The 5 year time jump serves a purpose for the story. For one, it means Zhao doesn’t jump to the high position he is in overnight. That’s the usual Cdrama trope. It makes sense that he earned it over time and explains why he was given such power by the emperor. It also sets up an interesting dynamic for Tingyun. It gave her additional time to gain merit before returning to the capital but she’s also unmarried and older. This was not lost on that witch (being nice) Yake. She had the nerve to bring up Tingyun’s age and being unmarried in front of all the ladies like she wasn’t responsible for that in the first place.
5. As far as the marriage goes, I’m a bit more understanding of Zhao’s reasoning now that he’s in a position that will put a target on their backs. Although that reinforces my thought that they should have gotten married back in Gunlin in the first place. At any rate, we see that it was due to Tingyun’s capability that he was able to secure the forged deed that helped crack his case. I think she will convince him that they are better as a couple than him trying to protect her from a distance. She moves in a social circle that he’s not in. I think this is why we see him approaching the Fu family (uncle or father) in the teaser for permission to marry her. I think a wedding is on the horizon and we will see our power couple take on the Yu family together. RoS has become my favorite Cdrama of the year so far. And based on the teasers up to ep. 22, there was a still so much good to go. This show deserves a higher rating.

I’m up to ep. 18 and this show continues to deliver.

Yucheng’s sacrifice was necessary. Nothing goes unpaid. It’s a theme that has been used throughout the show. When someone rises, someone must fall. The deception and dishonor had to be paid for. For Zhao and the other men to move up, someone had to fall. I was hoping he would make it with his mom. But life is hard and unfair. I fear we will lose more as we go.

Based on the previews it appears that he’s asking her father or uncle for permission to marry her. And it’s clear to me that he needs her by his side. It was Tingyun who was able to get the forged deed. Her connections within the circle of women is an important connection that he needs to do his job. So I think Tingyun will convince him that they are stronger together than apart.

I’m still not so sure she totally wants to abandon her Fu name. When she spoke to her mother, she asked if her father was still unable to acknowledge her. The reality is that this is their culture no matter how we view it through modern eyes. They could just lead the simple life in Gunlin as a married couple and never have to deal with nobility, the family rules or power struggles but then they show would end here. The whole point them going to Gunlin was for him to become the emperor’s man and for her to reclaim her name/reputation. If they are going to progress through their current situation there are cultural rules they have to abide by.

If you watch the teasers up till ep. 22, it appears that he’s asking her father for permission to marry her. So I assume a wedding will be happening soon. Ep. 18 explains that he is now working like secret police to root out corruption at the behest of the emperor.

There is a 5 year separation. You have to watch ep. 18 to see how it’s done.

That was sad. I hope it’s not Sheng. That would crush Zhao. They are like a big brother/little brother or even father/son relationship. I hope they reconcile their relationship.

Very good point. But they would also be subject to the whims of the powerful. And like the general was basically telling Zhao, he would be in a position to help the weak. There is definitely the draw of the simple life away from all in intrigue but look how easy it was for a jealous Jingxiu to almost ruin their lives.

I watching it as well. Her facial acting is so good. RoS is the first thing I have ever seen her in and she’s doing a great job. Looking forward to seeing her and Wang Xingyue together.

This show has been a pleasant surprise for me. It wasn’t on my radar till a few days ago. The only reason I started watching is because I liked Ding’s acting in another show. This has, so far, been one of my favorite Cdramas of the year. Hopefully they can keep it going on the back half. In my experience, most Cdramas tend to tail off in quality towards the later episodes.

And we should also remember that the two who deserve the worst fate is Yake and Jingxue. Zuo Shi was just a bitter nutcase. And her brother was her useful and useless idiot. Altjough the grandmother got off easy by dying off camera. I honestly felt she deserved some type of torment for her involvement in this matter.