MadelineMaureen

At the moment they don't even know who is pulling the strings of all the lesser bad guys around them. They have vague ideas about who it might be but aren't 100%. This is a tangled web with many people involved. There are smoke screens etc. If they kill the wrong person too early they only get the tail, when they need to take out the head. Also most villains are like hydras, cut one head three grow in it's place. The power vacuum could be worse than the current situation. They have to get all the roots out in the process of pulling out the invasive plants"villains".

At the very least he could punish his "wife" for not protecting his daughter. As he is above HER in station, not so much his older brother.

Wu is not the SML

Lighting director please please please don't embarrass me with my next statement.
12 episodes in and the lighting is still giving artistic choices over studio-over-lit-meh. Please continue until the end of this drama. The candles being the main source of light in night shots and the "natural" outside light for indoor daytime shots has been almost flawless. I need this to be industry standard so please please please continue until episode 34.

Although I hate the stepmother character...the actress looks absolutely gorgeous in those coral outfits...like she is truly serving with her performance and her looks.

Same! As an aside the umbrella save is on my Kdrama bingo card. Along with wrist grabbing, sitting at a table with drinks that no one touches, poor FL/rich ML etc. Those late 2000s early 2010 shows had all the soapy goodness.

I don't mind repetitive tropes or plots in shows as long as the artist behind the project deliver a good interpretation. Everyone can have the same outline for a piece of work, but interpretation and artistic license/style is what makes every story/work unique. Some do a good job, others fail in one aspect or another. So far this one is doing a very good job, and even by episode 11 I haven't seen a drop in quality. (if you've watched a lot of older Kdramas you'll remember that after about the 4th or 6th episode the quality in production can dip because it goes in to live weekly shooting schedule instead of the prerecorded that gets extra care.)
I'm hoping that with 34 episodes the story is tighter, and it's not a case of having to edit the show down because of censorship reasons. We haven't had a case of "studio lighting" in any of the night shots yet, fingers crossed that remains throughout the production.

Lead actress still a minor...lead actor 11 years older...hmmm Hope everyone likes a slow burn and chaste romances. I like that the actress is the same who played the younger version of the character in the previous drama, but....side eyeing the writers already with judgmental auntie eyes.

also please read "I had a dream" in Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's voice, and "stop rewind, turn back time" is sung like the WayV song...

I think that Ji Yong is asexual so if you mean have a shot at his cousin, Dou Zhao, romantically...no. He was already Prince Qing's strategist in the past and was also working with Song Mo. He truly does care for the people and preventing corruption from continuing in court so he's on whose ever team is striving for that goal.
From the opening credits I don't think Wei is going to be an issue between the half-sisters again. It looks like because Dou Zhao stayed with her grandmother there wasn't as much of a rivalry between the two half-sisters growing up. If Duo Zhao is as smart as I think she is, she'll switch with her sister if it comes to a wedding with Wei as the groom. They don't see the bride until the bridal chamber and once that veil is off, that's your wife. Also with the stepmother taking over "first wife" position switching the two daughters theoretically shouldn't cause too many issues with the family alliances. The stepmother will be pissed because she wants Ming to have the stronger match between the two girls.

The youtube editors have to do this. I love me a good romance comp after the show airs, but putting all the slaps together in one video...I would die laughing.

Cinematography shoutout in episode 10. On the boat when they are looking at each other's eyes through the slits of wood....yes yes yes. Thank you director for taking the time to light that properly and let it hold in the right places. The editing of what we see was sooooo good.

Can't really express what I mean because I talk with my hands when I get excited about behind the scenes stuff and can't spell well enough to writing out the words I want to use(I'm dyslexic so typing/writing has never really been my strongest way of communicating)

I think it's time I start setting up a bingo board for Cdramas like I did for Kdramas a decade ago.

Tragic death of FL's mother after father's stupidity in trusting/falling for another woman✔️
Evil step-mother of FL ✔️
FL and ML growing up outside of their main households to be raised by extended family ✔️
Business savvy FL ✔️✔️
ML has two loyal sidekicks that bicker ✔️
ML has secret/elite military/army loyal to him and his cause ✔️
Sage and wise male bestie &/or cousin of FL with no romantic interest in her and bonus healing skills✔️
I had a dream/stop rewind turn back time plot point✔️✔️

I could go on. All this to say...although we have seen almost everything in this show before in other dramas, this one is actively holding my attention and the WAY they are writing and showing the audience the same plot points is well done.

Someone's got to have a dead parent...it's like the animated Disney rule but for period Cdramas.

Evil stepmother is a must...again see above.

Got to have a reason for their "not like the rest of their family" vibes when coming from noble families. Cause ya know, eat the rich and all that.

The girl bossing isn't annoying or pandering. It shows that she is wise beyond her years and patient to achieve her ultimate goals...freedom from her duty as a legitimate daughter of a noble family.

Those sidekicks come in pairs for a reason....I've found that if the ML has one main loyal sidekick ML is going to bite it by the end of the show. If there are two loyal sidekicks there is almost a 100% chance that the ML will survive until the epilogue of the show. But there is a 70% chance that one or more of them isn't going to make it.

ML has to be able to protect his woman while serving fierce looks. Also have to be able to secretly stalk her by using his troops, but make it cute not creepy.

Ya have to have a counter point to the men vying for FL's love and attention who treats her like a whole human and not just a pawn or object to obtain.

And if they aren't turning back time they are getting revenge by hiding their true identity.

If anyone has anymore repetitive plot devices that have been done in this and other shows please share below. I'm not marking this one as spoiler as the majority of this information is in the description of the show &/or in the press photos to promote the show itself. If your added plot point isn't mentioned in the shows synopsis please tag it as spoiler.

Sites like Dramacool have been completely deleted/taken down off the internet. The site you mentioned is still active and one of the last good sites for foreign fans of Asian dramas and movies to get subtitled content in a timely manner. Mentioning the sites name in public comments is putting a target on the site and making it more likely to be deleted or taken down.

The sister is 15/16 marriageable age. FL is 23/24...way past her "prime" in the marriage mart. Thanks to her grandmother's protection she was able to delay marriage into her early twenties. Short of mourning, most women from noble families marry in their teens.

please stop saying the site name in the comments. Did we learn nothing?

I am begging you(everyone) to stop mentioning the sites we use to watch these shows that are not official sites in the comment sections of dramas.

DM the person asking for sites. If you are mentioning the site name for any other reason use * # and other symbols to hide the name. Dramacool no longer exists because people couldn't stop yapping. Decades worth of shows are now pretty much lost to time because people were reckless and didn't properly gatekeep the secrets of the drama watching community.

I have seen many sites fall over the 15 years I've watched k/c/jdramas. Some shows are not archived nor do they have physical versions that can be reuploaded. Keep their names out of your comments and take it to the private messages. Please and thank you.

please spoiler your comment. we don't want certain things to no longer be with us because we recklessly invoked their name...

Is this a show where an actor was canceled by the government and they are covering it up or is this another situation?

binged the first seven episodes last night. Would have watched more if they were available tbh. if you have seen time back time/redo dramas before, so far this one is on the same level as Story of Kunning Palace imo.

This is giving SoKP levels atm. & I mean that in the best way possible. there have been many turn back time dramas lately & this one did such a good job at the reset so far. I should have waited a bit longer to jump in cause now I'm on the edge waiting for each episode. The tension between the two leads is so well done too. Really looking forward to how this one plays out.