Lizzy

Fated Hearts is FANTASTIC 😍 I am only on episode 6 though, but I have been itching to get home to watch more.

I LOVED WDbtD!! 😍 Struggling with the plot and character development with this show, though. It’s the gorgeousness of the characters, costumes and scenery that keeps me going 😂Soooooo much eye candy ❤️

Yes exactly. If the ML in this show was written more true to the novel, then the FL’s actions would fit a lot better. Unfortunately, as I think a lot of these shows are geared towards hetero female audiences, oftentimes it seems the FL’s development gets sidelined in favor of stirring the feels for the ML. Which is silly, because it really wouldn’t take that much work to put equal effort into developing them both 🙄. The best shows have both leads well-written and well-developed, where the audience is privy to their individual journeys and internal growth. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Does it have a happy ending 😂? Ironic because I don’t like sad endings, and yet I complained about the FL never really struggling with her own mortality haha

Absolutley, and I appreciate the discussion. She obviously isn’t a nasty, malicious person. I just think the writers are under-developing her character at this point. As I have said in other posts, I just really want more focus to be on her internal struggles. With the plot being focused on how the ML has been impacted by his past, his struggles trusting others, and the writers highlighting the fact that everyone else just wants to use him for what he can give them - it does a disservice to not also develop our FL’s side of the story. Right now due to the lack of development with the FL and her internal turmoil, it’s easier for some to group her in with the rest of the jerks who are trying to use the ML, and to sympathize more with him than with her.

Thanks 😊 This is all I’m saying, you just put it more succinctly.

I appreciate your perspective and I totally get why she would take a longer time to develop the feelings. I don’t think that I wish she would fall for him faster, but more so that I wish we got more insight into her internal struggles like we do with the ML. That’s the character development I am wanting with her. The writing seems unbalanced, as we get a LOT more insight into what’s going on inside the ML and not as much from her. Although we see the genuine connection emotion reflected in some of her actions, we are not getting the deeper insight or the inner turmoil of what she’s using him for vs the feelings she is developing. Tension with one person taking it slower is fun to watch for sure. And if it’s a matter that she just isn’t connecting the dots that she has romantic feelings for him, then let’s see that confusion in her thoughts or private conversations with another trusted character. Let’s hear her realize that she’s had to lie about her identity her whole life and is afraid to be honest with the ML. Let’s hear her talk to another person about some guilt / unease that she may be starting to feel. Let’s have her reflect more than a second on how he’s not the person she thought he was initially, and her feelings about her continuing to deceive him. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I just want more internal character development from her side.

Yeah I just finished that scene and the last couple of episodes were really good. I have said several times that I understand the FL’s reasoning, but I wish that they showed more of that internal struggle in her inner world like they do with the ML. Anyone who tells me that she thought he was a villain, she’s dying, she’s lived a false identity her whole life, etc. I completely agree and understand! I just wish we saw more of that side of her development. More of those internal struggles, the fear of him finding out, the fear of him leaving her if he discovered her identity and that she’s been using him, the conflict between developing feelings for him also also lying to him, etc. That’s all I’m saying 😂 The writers seem to be putting much more effort into developing the ML by giving us access to his internal conflicts, his past history of trauma, etc. They haven’t been giving us as much access into her private thoughts. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I am not trying to argue with anyone lol

Wow yeah this makes sense. If they had stayed truer to the ML’s character in the novel, then my whole perception of this dynamic would be 💯 different. I would be blaming the ML a lot more than I am currently, and have a lot more sympathetic feelings toward the FL. Damn, it’s too bad that they changed so much of his characterization, and yet I probably wouldn’t enjoy the show if he was an asshole for most of it 😂 Thanks for sharing, that makes sense.

I wish I could do that too 😅But if you’re saying that the Second Prince’s mother is actually calling the emperor “husband” or “my lord”, then IQIYI just messed up the English translation.

So what you’re saying is that IQIYI messed up the translation of that word? My subtitles seem to be translating her calling him “Father”.

See, we are getting much more insight into the ML’s internal struggles with his deception than with hers and it’s unfortunate. With him, we got to see him reflecting on the advice he got from a friend to “trick her into marrying him”, we also got to see that moment of internal turmoil as he considered the advice and hesitated, and then we got to see him drinking and reflecting on the FL’s words that they can separate as soon as the mission to save her friend is over. Earlier, we got to see him seeking advice from a friend on how to make it up to her that he’s been lying to her, showing that he’s feeling the dissonance. Btw, the ML needs new friends 😂

Whereas with her, her inner thoughts have largely been how she can continue to manipulate his feelings to get what she wants, whether it’s helping him with something or throwing herself and affection at him. It doesn’t paint her in a good light, even if the actress can show through glimpses in her acting that she may be developing genuine feelings for him. The problem is that we aren’t seeing it in her private thoughts like we are with the ML. We are mostly left to guess and make assumptions with her based on what we know of her history. With her private thoughts being those about manipulating him, it’s harder to not be a little more biased toward the ML. I think I also hold her a bit more accountable than him because it was her plan from the very beginning to insert herself into his life and manipulate him (even if the reason made sense). He didn’t seek her out, he just decided to take advantage of the opportunity that she provided.

The writers are making an extra effort it seems to make the ML the person we sympathize for. They’re showing us his history as an abused slave since childhood, his desire for revenge, his heartbreak about the death of his master (I am in episode 10 and he’s with his master in the pool and practically crying 💔oh my gosh my heart 💔). We see his difficulty with trusting others, and others using him for the golden millet dream. As I type I am in the illusion realm with the ML fighting off the clones in the pool. “It’s fake! Everything is fake!” is what they are telling him. Sadly, she’s lying to him too and I feel for him 💔

The character development is not balanced, which is sad. I wish they made more effort to develop the FL’s character, as she has a rich history that isn’t being developed to its full potential.

I get it, but the excuse that she’s dying doesn’t make it much better 😂 So now she’s lying to the ML, playing with the ML’s emotions in order to use him and save herself, and on top of it she’s dying - he doesn’t know it - and she’s stringing him along and keeping him in the dark 😂😬

Hey so I’m confused about something that may be a translation issue- I’m watching this in IQIYI. The second prince’s mother keeps calling the emperor (Susha) her father and that confuses me. I thought they were married? A couple times I thought I was insane by thinking that she’s been calling him “Father”, but I saw it again last night while watching. Am I nuts? It’s possible 😂

I’m not saying I don’t get her reasoning, but at the end of the day she is still toying with his emotions and even the glimpses into her private thoughts that I have seen so far are all about how she can win him over emotionally for her own gain.

Other comments have said that he realized that she has been lying to him all along about something, perhaps her feelings for him, but he doesn’t know who she actually is.

So I am only on like episode 10 or something, but I kinda know some of the things that are coming up. I knew picking up this show that I was probably gonna struggle with it because the whole premise is on lying and deception (my most hated plot device). But the visuals looked gorgeous and I wanted to see more of the ML actor because I really liked him in BFTB even though I didn’t finish it.

I get that intellectually we know that our FL has been having to lie about her identity her whole life. I get that she has been digging herself a deeper and deeper hole with her lies, making it harder for her to climb out and tell the truth. I get that.

I think what would help this show out a lot is getting more direct insight into her thoughts - and maybe we do as I am still several episodes behind. I want to see more of that internal struggle, SOME sort of acknowledgment that she knows she is hurting him and some angsty inner turmoil for continuing to do it. Can we see more of that visceral fear of him finding out? It’s been hard for me thus far fully getting into the romance because it’s tainted by lies, and it is more obvious to me that the ML is catching the authentic feelings and less obvious to me that she is. Having the ML ask his friend for advice and expressing acknowledgment that he’s screwing up helped give us more insight into his thoughts.

It’s just difficult because she’s toying with another person’s heart, now knowing that he has had some fcked up shit happen to him in the past and has been hurt by many others who wanted to use him. It’s not like she is just lying to him about her identity, which is one thing, but she is going so far as to tell him that she wants to marry him and that she loves him in order to win him over for her agenda. That is a whole other level of cruelty and deceit that is incredibly difficult for me to swallow and makes it hard for me to root for them.

If the show is dead set her continuing to lie until there’s a horrible reveal and things break down, I think it would also help if the ML maybe figures out himself who she really is, so then he is not being strung along and deceived without knowing all of the information. If he were to somehow discover it himself and then act accordingly, whether it’s helping her keep the secret or confronting her on it whatever.

Anyway those are some of my thoughts.

Yeah. I hope they are wrong, but I saw it in a couple places. :/

No apparently not for a while yet. Someone else said 8 more episodes, which is way too fucking long imo.

Oh wonderful!