MadelineMaureen

We've all seen how skilled directors can be with framing a kiss scene so nothing is actually happening...best recent example that I think most have seen is in The Double. The only time you actually see a character kiss another character is if they are a married couple. Every other kiss is a trick of angles and camera cuts.
You can still realistically show romance without putting the actress and actor in an uncomfortable situation.

I watch each episode twice because I can't understand Mandarin as well as I can Korean. I have to go back to watch the performances from the actors. Highly recommend it, as they are doing SOOOOOO much with just subtle looks and facial expressions. The ML is really good at silently reacting to things.

If you aren't caught up to episode 20 or 21 don't read on.
The one who shoots the arrow is the Eunuch Wang Ge. The one who kills the nanny and stabs Song Mo is the royal shadow guard currently working as an informant for Song Mo. He is loyal to the crown, so he is making sure the emperor is safe. I'm hoping that because Song Mo is not a rebel now with Dou Zhao's interference post uncle death that his character can be redeemed.
Song Han was raised in what he believed to be a loving home. It's only recently that he is starting to take off his rose color glasses and see the blood on his father's hands and the red flags currently surrounding him. Although their mother came from a military family and he enjoys martial arts he is also scholarly and calm. He's still very much a child(at least outwardly) but he is starting to stand his ground more and speak his mind. Like when he repeatedly defends Miao AnSu, but he still isn't as strong as his brother as the girls did kind of have to come to his rescue. I'm hoping he gets a backbone like his new sister-in-law's father did. I also hope that backbone doesn't pit him against his brother.

It's the mouth/nose....he's the only one with lips like that in the whole show so far.

Added this info as a spoiler for up to episode 21 so please do not read more if you don't like spoilers.




Miao AnSu meets Song Han when she arrives at the wedding. There is a bit of something between the two as he defends her when others look down on her for being a merchant. We still aren't 100% on Song Han's loyalties as he did plead for his father's life, and doesn't seem to be fully aware of all the horrible things his father did, including possibly killing his mother and the servants around her to silence them.
I'm hoping that Miao AnSu and Song Han's story will be side fluff to lighten the darker times in last quarter of the drama, but I'm unsure.

There is also a connection to Dou Zhao's maternal cousin and the shadow guard that helps to kill both Dou Zhao and Song Mo in the "dream". I don't think the shadow guard is a bad guy per se but just loyal to the crown. As Song Mo was an actual rebel I can't fault him for following orders. I can however fault him for killing Dou Zhao's Nanny and trying to kill her just to make sure his bosses' version of events can't be questioned.

Also the way I've seen her character brought up in articles before the release of the show I was expecting to see more of her...so I feel like this last 3rd of the show might have her in a more prominent role.

The really subtle way the director increases the frame rate for certain shots. He never overdoes it or repeats the same shot too much. By increasing the frame rate it slows the image down...aka what most people call slow-mo or slow motion capture. By increasing the amount of images the camera captures on film(or digitally in this case) it elongates the time a particular image is on screen as there are more frames of said image. It's not by a lot...again very subtle use sprinkled into each episode...it gives it a more romantic/romanticized feel to some scenes and adds weight to certain moments.
Most period dramas get a little heavy handed with the use of slow mo in their dramas. This one is hitting the Goldilocks ratio.

yeah sorry about that spoilers for up until ep21 definitely

https://mydramalist.com/article/blossom-s-producer-shares-behind-the-scenes-insights-from-the-chinese-drama this covers a lot of production and mentions the period in which it takes place etc.

I don't know if I'm bored enough today, but a part of me wants to go back and start a slap counter for each episode...but slaps in episode 20 and 21...like do I count those as one slap or multiple individual slaps....🤔😉😏😇🤭🤣

It's the ninja turtle effect. Gotta have that Raphael and Michelangelo impulsivity and childishness to balance out the Donatello and Leonardo intelligent and cautious energy.

Go back and watch any period drama where the lead male has military influence in someway and notice that the personality/dynamic of his team resembles the ninja turtle's dynamics to a T.

I'm such a production nerd so anytime I can get my hands on an English article or video explaining the production of a piece of work I eat it up.

Song Mo's twin righthand men...the elder twin was alive until that final battle, but he dies much earlier here along with a few men that survived until the final battle as well. Song Mo kept his younger brother and father alive...I think the twin and the other men's death were the counter balance to that choice. A life for a life.
In the OG timeline Dou Zhao had a miscarriage the same year that Dou Ming is now having a miscarriage married to the same man her sister had been married to previously.
There are certain deaths that can't be prevented...and I just don't think that the universe wants Wei Ting Yu to procreate.
If you can think of more examples within the story please comment with the spoiler tag selected. 😊

I feel like certain things still have to happen, kind of like how Marry My Husband portrayed the transmigration...injury for an injury, life for a life. Spoilers below.

When you hire S tier production crew on a A tier budget and put all of that A tier budget into production. That's why the leads aren't as super well known yet. There is a very good article about it https://mydramalist.com/article/blossom-s-producer-shares-behind-the-scenes-insights-from-the-chinese-drama this is the link.

In the show they will just refer to this time(everything prior to them waking from nightmares as children) as a dream, as the Chinese censorship board doesn't allow for true rebirth storylines anymore. So productions have to slip in loopholes and comment on "dreams" a lot.
He is a few years younger than her and doesn't remember the "dream" as well as she does as she grabbed the book and he did not. The reason he remembered was because a drop of his blood was left on her skin behind her ear, connecting him to her.(this is just a guess as to why he remembers other than them being fated)

After you watch episode 10 or 11 I would highly recommend revisiting the first two episodes and really pay attention to all the characters again. Because by that point you can see the shift in the timeline and how choices changed lives/loyalties etc.

Flexed her wealth so hard that they all went running scared. They wont touch it, but they will invest with her.

She pretty much did an epic power move/UNO reverse card on the whole Song family. She is in fact so wealthy that no one in that family would have the slightest clue how to manage that amount of wealth. Just one of those chests is the budget for the WHOLE family for about a decade.

She has a ledger for her ledgers. It normally takes the Song family 2 days to review the family treasury and accounts....they have been trying to calculate her new income for 10 days straight non stop and have barely scratched the surface.

She is slowly working on building trust and connections to those working in the household. In the next scene she literally breaks down the entire family's dynamic and who is worth their attention and who can be an ally to her and Song Mo.

what teaser did you watch because the one on tencent it just says something happened to madame, but they don't show or say more than that...

The production is very high quality for the budget they had. And that quality hasn't slipped once since episode 1. The chemistry between the two leads is fire, and the director really pays attention to subtle details to really enhance the romantic tension of each scene they are in together.
This one is going to have a lot of emotional ups and downs but as of now every down was worth it for the high point. Our FL is extremely smart and patient. She's not easily brought down now that she has a second chance. & the relationship with the ML improves at a proper pace and he is extremely considerate of her once he gets to understand her more.
I don't want you to drop this too early and miss out on something great, but at the same time if these kind of family tensions are hard for you, you might want to wait until all the episodes are aired and you have a definitive idea of if the turmoil will be worth it.

have tissues ready for episodes 12 and 13