Deirdre19

Really? Real hate? That sounds like a lot of commitment coming from the wet blanket...
I'm looking forward to seeing this!!

In one of the earlier episodes the background music reminded me of Ocean's Eleven....
It fits very well!

The novel is officially labelled as "comedy" but it's only funny in the first few chapters. After that it turns very heart-breakingly serious. I just hope they didn't do the same as with BFTB and Unchained Love were they completely changed the tone with some misplaced, jarring jokes and overall silliness.

Yes, it's really frustrating to see all of our best novel heroines being pinkwashed and dumbed down in the drama version. I fear the worst for Legend of Shen Li...

True. The actors cannot be faulted for the bad production, bad CGI, bad writing and the strange lighting.
Even under these less than ideal conditions they manage to deliver a drama that is still watchable and engaging.

Can't have more than one strong, intelligent female in a C-drama. People might start to think this is what normal women are like... 😂

I guess one of the reasons why Destined is perceived as a better drama is that the characters were allowed to be intelligent and the villains were allowed to be scheming. There is also a lot more going on plotwise. The coming and going of important characters combined with the changes of location makes it feel much more dynamic.
LOA feels a bit like: we've got three big names and a popular novel - our work is done.

That's not how I understood it...
He told the story of his lantern festival together with DZY as children, where he bought her a lantern (or several lanterns, I'm not sure) He then learned that it was her birthday the next day when he was about to leave. Since he didn't have time to get her another present he sent a letter saying that the lanterns he got for her the day before were the birthday present.

Yeah, their strategy seems to be super-secret, nobody has seen them prepare anything (but LMX informed us that everything is now ready) or even seen them sit together whispering.
Strangely we were always kept informed of the Marquis' latest schemes...

I keep asking the same question...
I also know that his fans will argue that a kiss is not the ultimate expression of romantic love (well, for me it is!) so before this page turns into a mud-slinging contest, let's just agree that views differ. Let's just wait and see how it goes.
And who knows... he might give us a surprise this time...

True. I guess I should be more grateful for this reprieve from the water torture. 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

Yeah, the emperor's reaction to the Marquis Gu situation showed us another side of the emperor's character.
First it was, "Oh, this loyal servant has killed a whole family and burned down a mansion to cover for his son. So what, everyone has a few quirks..."
Then after seeing that the Marquis was behind the attack on himself, it was: "To the gallows with this unruly creature."

And I agree, it is definitely very strange that the red umbrella man (do we even know his name?) can remain so hidden. His title is Left Chancelor, if I'm not mistaken, so he should have a very prominent role in court, yet there is no interaction with any court officials or the emperor.

Yes, the character names above are kind of a give-away 😂

yes, so I've heard, but in the drama version they toned him down so much that there's nothing left but a wet blanket.

True, the scenery had such gaudy colours that it felt like a xianxia. Plus the lighting in this was so super-bad that everything looked really fake.

Yes, I know someone falling off the cliff would be seriously injured, but how do they even know they fell off the cliff? Without anyone of those present talking, all the people in the palace would know is that they disappeared at this spot. They could just as well have been kidnapped.

- Talking to Anle LMX commented that "now that everything is ready" they could reveal her ID. How are things suddenly ready when during 19 episodes I cannot remember a single scene of anyone working on these preparations?
- After falling of the cliff everyone is in a panic because the CP is "seriously injured": How do they know?? There were only the assassins, the marquis and the FL/ML present. The marquis doesn't talk (as we were informed via LMX) and the assassins certainly won't either.
- After their fall, Anle spots a cave and is very happy because it means they "won't freeze to death". She then starts dragging the CP towards the supposed cave, but in the end they camp out in the open under a flowering tree, surrounded by the sound of cicadas. What strange season is this where you can freeze to death yet trees are still in flower and cicadas cirp?

Well, episodes 20 and 21 were an improvement. At least the plot inches forward a tiny little bit and most of the action revolved around the main leads. There were, however, a number of hair-raising inconsistencies that make me wonder if the script-writers suffer from amnesia so that cannot remember what happened in the previous scene (see a few examples under spoiler below):

I guess the plan is to mention it 80,000 times - once for every soldier who died.
Following this logic we only need to hear about the naval troops approximately 25,000 more times... because it feels like we've heard it 5,000 times already.

I agree. GJ cannot be faulted for the character being bland and boring. He does what he can to make this character more interesting with some subtle acting choices, but he really hasn't been given much to work with.
Just imagine how good this role could have been if they had allowed him a little bit more edge.

That wisteria tree looks suspiciously like the one in Eternal Love of Dream.... argh, flashback, flashback 💥