Here is my take on the necessity of the Storm Alliance arc, but read it only after you have finished all episodes:https://mydramalist.com/768987-wan-xin-ji#comment-23851132
Thanks! I will circle back to this when I finish the show today
Okay sooo would some people who didn’t mind the Storm Alliance arc tell me why you liked it? It felt like it came out of nowhere, introduced a bunch if new characters aaaaand created this new plot that was largely unrelated to the main one. It felt like it went from this FANTASTIC buildup to what went down in the capital… and then turned into a completely new show for a handful of episodes. How come you guys liked it? How did you guys see it fitting into the overall story? I am still midway through 34, so I have not made it to the end yet. I’ll probably be finishing it tomorrow 😊
It took me quite a bit of time to process the first few episodes with the beatings and water boarding. I got into a conversation with my partner about it, as he didn’t have any issues at all with those scenes. He said that he interpreted her “settling the score” with him as her way of evening the playing field and putting them back on equal footing. I thought about it, and thought about what it would have been like if she didn’t beat him back in episode 3. She would have done her job as a general in a war by shooting him, but then him torturing her after she lost her memories created a very big power differential between them. Then he took her captive in his city and then demanded that she join forces with him to help find out who tried to kill her. There was a very large imbalance of power, so I now see her beating him back in episode 3 as her way of voiding that power imbalance rather than it being “petty revenge”. Seeing it like that helped me see the first few episodes in a totally different light.
Still working my way through this AMAZING, amazing show. You don’t know how much I have been yelling and cheering at my TV screen today. Yixiao and Suige continue to exceed my expectations with their connection, their communication, and their total respect for each other. I LOVED the kiss at his residence, it was so beautifully shot with the lighting and the shadows, and the two chairs. I’m so glad that she was honest with him about what she knew, and how she considered his right to know the most important thing. AND IT IS SO GREAT seeing her back with her bow, protecting Suige’s back and marching with him down the city streets like she belongs beside him. And Suige telling his men that whatever Yixiao commands is a “representation of his will”, giving her basically the freedom to command his men. I’m totally smitten with everything about them.
And no, I still don’t hate his sister. I compare her to the younger, romantic, naive sister in Jane Austen’s “Sense & Sensibilty” - Marianne, who was a hopeless romantic, got swept off her feet by a Prince Charming she she hardly knew, and then got set up for monumental heartbreak and consequent depression when he chose to end their relationship and marry someone else for money. If anything, I feel sad for Xiyang because she is young and impulsive, with romanticized expectations of love. She is going to become acquainted with the darkness of the world, and I don’t wish to see someone innocent, pure and naive become jaded. A quote from “Sense and Sensibility”— “The sooner she becomes better acquainted with the ways of the world, the better.” “I knew a lady very like your sister--the same impulsive sweetness of temper--who was forced into, as you put it, a better acquaintance with the world. The result was only ruination and despair. Do not desire it.”
I fully expect there to be conflict with her brother, as she likely will get caught between the loyalty towards Suige and her family, and then to her husband.
Speaking of… I have so many questions about XJS. It’s jarring hearing the bombshell of who he is, but then followed by episodes and episodes depicting horrible abuse at the hands of his brother. Like it’s weird feeling bad for someone who… has done some very awful shit. Maybe there is more that will unfold. I’m feeling a bit of a whiplash with that, and then also finding myself shipping Xiyang and XJS?
Y can't ming yi understand hiding is more painful n deceiving n her death is more painful to ml? Y can't she grasp…
Never during the course of this show has she considered how her actions would affect his feelings, and if she did then she never cared enough about them to be honest with him. She has just been focused on her own agenda and her own feelings.
She was dying, and never decided to tell the man she claims to love who also loves her. Has she considered how her death would affect him? How his feelings would be affected if she died and he realized that she’s been dying all along and didn’t tell him? Has she thought about how her ongoing lies and deceit would hurt his feelings? Has she thought about how he would feel when he finds out she stole the GMD? Has she considered that if she did steal the GMD, was she planning on leaving him anyway to go back to her kingdom? Or was she planning on stealing the GMD and staying with him… continuing to lie and hope he never found out? Did she consider how he would feel about that?
No, let’s hurt his feelings by telling him that you are Ming Xian’s betrothed after he got hit by lighting carving your fake name for the ritual. Let’s continue to lie to him and “wait until he calms down and joins forces with us” so we can steal the GMD because “her plan worked, he has fallen for her”. (episode 13).
Like she’s jerking him around, keeping him in the dark because her feelings and agenda are more important than anything else.
Also, I am not gonna get into back and forths with others. I’ve heard all the arguments defending MY, I get that she has had a shitty past, but at the end of the day trauma doesn’t excuse treating someone else like shit. Maybe it would make it more understandable, but understanding someone can only go so far, and it should never be taken so far as to condone someone’s crappy behavior. There is no problem with some of us here holding MY accountable for her decisions.
Guys , is this good? I enjoyed the princess gambit and looking for a similar story.
This show is my favorite one. If you like a mature couple who communicates, has lots of screen time, no silly drama based on not communicating then this one is a good one.
Is there a chance that this show will become available on other streaming sites like Viki? The reason I’m asking is I really don’t like how IQIYI does their subtitles. They’re too quick, change with every breath the actors take, and sometimes I have to rewind and pause the show to read them 🤦🏼♀️ I dunno if anyone else has that problem.
When Destiny Brings the Demon 😎 No deception. No keeping secrets. Just honesty and a lot of skinship and intimacy. Legend of Shen Li is another one that doesn’t fit the trope. 😄
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And no, I still don’t hate his sister. I compare her to the younger, romantic, naive sister in Jane Austen’s “Sense & Sensibilty” - Marianne, who was a hopeless romantic, got swept off her feet by a Prince Charming she she hardly knew, and then got set up for monumental heartbreak and consequent depression when he chose to end their relationship and marry someone else for money. If anything, I feel sad for Xiyang because she is young and impulsive, with romanticized expectations of love. She is going to become acquainted with the darkness of the world, and I don’t wish to see someone innocent, pure and naive become jaded.
A quote from “Sense and Sensibility”—
“The sooner she becomes better acquainted with the ways of the world, the better.”
“I knew a lady very like your sister--the same impulsive sweetness of temper--who was forced into, as you put it, a better acquaintance with the world. The result was only ruination and despair. Do not desire it.”
I fully expect there to be conflict with her brother, as she likely will get caught between the loyalty towards Suige and her family, and then to her husband.
Speaking of… I have so many questions about XJS. It’s jarring hearing the bombshell of who he is, but then followed by episodes and episodes depicting horrible abuse at the hands of his brother. Like it’s weird feeling bad for someone who… has done some very awful shit. Maybe there is more that will unfold. I’m feeling a bit of a whiplash with that, and then also finding myself shipping Xiyang and XJS?
I am into episode 24.
She was dying, and never decided to tell the man she claims to love who also loves her. Has she considered how her death would affect him? How his feelings would be affected if she died and he realized that she’s been dying all along and didn’t tell him? Has she thought about how her ongoing lies and deceit would hurt his feelings? Has she thought about how he would feel when he finds out she stole the GMD? Has she considered that if she did steal the GMD, was she planning on leaving him anyway to go back to her kingdom? Or was she planning on stealing the GMD and staying with him… continuing to lie and hope he never found out? Did she consider how he would feel about that?
No, let’s hurt his feelings by telling him that you are Ming Xian’s betrothed after he got hit by lighting carving your fake name for the ritual. Let’s continue to lie to him and “wait until he calms down and joins forces with us” so we can steal the GMD because “her plan worked, he has fallen for her”. (episode 13).
Like she’s jerking him around, keeping him in the dark because her feelings and agenda are more important than anything else.
Also, I am not gonna get into back and forths with others. I’ve heard all the arguments defending MY, I get that she has had a shitty past, but at the end of the day trauma doesn’t excuse treating someone else like shit. Maybe it would make it more understandable, but understanding someone can only go so far, and it should never be taken so far as to condone someone’s crappy behavior. There is no problem with some of us here holding MY accountable for her decisions.