AtsukoM

It's a very complex political situation in the novel. It's also not sure drama will follow the same plots regarding the politics.

Basically, in the novel, after several wars and set backs, this country was left with a fraction of their former glory. Both the current Emperor and Prince Li didn't end up with the throne in the end.

Yunchu's Vengeance novel's first half is pretty good. Second half is a bit so-so to me.

For Where the Mask Ends novel, I think the drama will be much more interesting because the drama features dual female leads, both played by Tian Xiwei. Novel is more like a standard FMC rebirth story with only one female lead.

It's a major plot point so read on only if you want spoiler.
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Ye Li was pregnant with their first child at the time. She was hunted down by enemy armies because bad guys want to take her as hostage to blackmail Mo Xiuyao. Shit happend during the action and she was presumed dead. Mo Xiuyao almost went made due to extreme grief and his entire head turned white overnight.

Yes

His background is not explained yet in the drama.

Don't get me started on ASM lol... I lost the drive to watch when the drama turned Ye Xian into that kind of character. May be I'll pick it up again some day..

If it's very different, I should pick up RoN novel. FMC stories are my genre as well. Now I'm waiting for Yunchu's Vengeance and Where the Mask Ends for their drama release. Their respective novels weren't that bad either.

It's a romance story alright, but the novel is about a 50-50 split between romance and politics.

So far, the drama differs a lot from the novel, so it's kind of difficult to say how much they'll follow the source material. For now, we only have the trailer and some clips to go off of.

Because the two of them falling in love is just one step, not the ultimate endgame of this story. The challenge is not how to stretch it, but how to condense it into 40 episodes without rushing.

(That is if the drama plans to at least follow the major plot points from the second half of the novel... lol. For now, it's just going in its own direction.)

I finished the ASM's novel way before the drama aired. Haven't gotten the chance to finish the drama yet though.

How's Rise of Ning novel?

Same. So far, this is a slow-burn done right.

Not really an editing problem, rather a deliberate choice for storytelling imo. Which is apparent in how crumbs of key info are scattered over the span of several episodes, letting the audience piece them up together and speculate.

Ep 9 finished.

This drama reminds me of the feeling I got when watching a show like The Story of Minglan. It has calm and quiet waves that let you go with the flow, while momentous developments are happening beneath the surface. This effortlessly draws your attention to everything happening on screen so you don't miss a thing. Simply put, the show just draws you in.

I was starting to get fatigued by all the breakneck-paced dramas we’ve been constantly getting recently. This is a really nice change of pace for me, and it's the kind of storytelling I ultimately prefer.

Loving all the subtle exchanges and organic developments we are getting from the leads here. They just feel... so natural. ❤️😌

We have to see the ppl in mountain and Qing Shuang as separate cases. Ye Li seems to be aware enough to the truth given that she can make cover up stories, actively navigate around this topic, and even orchestrate the revenge.

On the other hand, Qing Shaung seems like her coping mechanism she unconsciously adopted while she was going through whatever happened there.

Imo, that's the beauty of this character. At any given moment, we can't exactly grasp how much of what she's saying and doing are truth or lie and whether she's doing it consciously or unconsciously.

They seem to be intentionally portraying Ye Ying as a typical naive, willful, and sheltered young girl. Not just once, but across multiple dedicated scenes at that. I highly speculate that they are setting her up for a major breakdown and a complete descent into madness.

I know what happened to her in the novel, but who knows? The drama might change her storyline too.

I believe ep8 is mainly for introducing new characters and dynamics, and setting up the next plots. So, I think a bit of downtime is acceptable.

Give an award to the soundtrack team. They are doing wonders. The music perfectly sets and elevates the atmosphere, and none of the choices feel intrusive.

In the novel, his white hair is permanent. Can't say for sure the drama will follow it though. After the transformation, who knows drama might dye his hair back to black? lol

In the novel, Ye Li was pregnant with their first child at the time, and was presumed dead after being hunted down by enemy armies. Mo Xiuyao almost went mad and his entire head turned white overnight.

It's a major plot point in the novel, so better stay away from it unless you want spoiler. The drama may retain that plot as the same from novel.

I totally did not expect we would get such a psychologically complex and layered character from this drama. Really appreciate the drama team for this. It's such a treat to watch so far.