Lela2004

I’m actually not sympathetic to SFL.
You are speaking from the perspective of the ruling elite. I am pretty sure the common people who were treated like cattle were not fine with this behavior and found it deplorable also back then.
Same for scholars, I guess, considering that there were LAWS prohibiting the murder of a slave FOR NO REASON. Which is what he threatens.

True. Sure, it was basically a key tenant of her family that women should not be able to read or write, but she is obviously deeply resentful of her family and wants to leave them too, not just her husband. So learning to read and write - with her beloved maid who can teach her at her side - would indeed be the obvious choice. She could even have kept it secret from her mother in law in her circumstances.

I mean, in ep 7 he basically recruits her as a spy by threatening her family. You don’t have to apply a modern or feminist perspective to find that repulsive. I am pretty sure that this is an a******e move was even understood in ancient china. At least by everyone who understood that low class people are also human and not worthless. And no, not everyone in ancient china considered the low class worthless.

I don’t think it is some modern or ‘feminist’ sentiment that makes ML (the character, not the actor, obviously) somewhat unsympathetic.

I hope it will, I’m really looking forward to this drama.

After having been “abandoned by him”, no less. But apparently it is still some feminist tale or something. How does one square THAT circle?!?

Well, considering it was first announced as one of the ‘summer dramas’, who knows if the current September announcement holds. Maybe they’ve taken a clue from Australia and January is the new summer… or March is the new September or whatever. I’m so over this.

Sooo… after a clip of the drama was featured in some “summer dramas” feature by (I believe) iQIYI, it is now registered as a September release. And we now have September 8 and are STILL in the dark regarding the release date?
This is getting ridiculous.

Sure sounds like a “pick me!” plot. I hope the story is better than the description here.

It is 16+ on Netflix in Europe.

Yes, weird wording. Not sure if it is the case here, but there are people who look down on actors that do not have a formal “actor” education - even though there are numerous examples of brilliant actors, who had never studied acting. Take Heath Ledger, for example. Great, natural screen presence, even winning him an Oscar.

To some extent I understand that it must be frustrating to work so hard at university or acting school to get there, while others “just have it” (or maybe have acquired their skills by more informal paths).
Still, pettiness does not look good and won’t win any awards. Ultimately, it is the performance that counts.

Me, definitely

I actually think, realistically, if the der Yu hadn’t died like that he would have killed his son, heaped the blame on him and would have walked free… (I mean, even his wife would have still helped.) So this was maybe the only way for the writers to get rid of him once and for all without turning the story into a fairy tale… 😃

I loved the ML’s acting, and I was particularly impressed by his portrayal of ‘losing himself’ (ep. 30-34). The transformation and his portrayal of struggling with the situation was fascinating and felt real and raw.
I don’t know what it is with c-drama world, but these dynamics of waves of people ganging up on and dissing actors (particularly after some major achievement, ironically) is really unhealthy. (I sometimes feel this is done to prop up some other actor, and I also wonder how organic this dynamic is.)

I think the title reflects FL’s words to ML that she wants them to take “the road to splendor” together. And at that point FL envisions power and status, basically exactly what ML later achieves at great cost. At that point, however, FL changes her point of view and rejects that roadto splendor. So I think the title is very fitting. Bottom line: The road to splendor isn’t necessarily the road to happiness…

Ironically, Yake might have had the right instincts at the beginning. Looking at FL’s brother, his wife is not so different from who Yake was and is again at the end of the story. But FL, taking her grandmother’s teachings to heart, had to play judge by deciding “oh, my family will bully Yake because of her low standing”. I’m pretty sure the older version FL, after the experiences she had made, would have made a different choice and would have given Yale’s flowers to her brother.

Preferences and taste differ, obviously. For me, neither PoJ nor BoP can hold a candle to TRTS. (I don’t know TFJ).

Actually, the CP (later emperor) makes it clear when he urges ML should join the military that he will promote ML to a high ranking position, if he can accumulate *some* merit in the army. The emperor wants the ML’s skill set for the capital and uses the army to whitewash his resume and test whether he can hold his own.
If the story were a show case about all the merits, it would fall into the same trap as too many c-dramas do: celebrating wins for the crown, instead of questioning the whole concept of “being a blade for a monarch”. Precisely that different focus elevates this c-drama and makes it special.

What irked me for some time was how she pushed him into the military. I was ready to overlook it. Turns out this becomes a big regret for her. Loved the ending, how he rejected the promotion… Some of my favorite scenes are him battling his demons and her desperate because of his change during the court arch… Great acting from both leads.

10/10 for me. One of my all time favorites.

In my view he rocks the beard, way better than without.