MadelineMaureen

The most adorable stowaway ever.

TL:DR if you have the time, go for it.
Below is more of a breakdown of my thoughts so far with little to no spoilers. But spoiler tag because long opinionated comment that takes too much space.

I'll be honest and say that there are sometimes noticeable editing issues because of something with the production. I would need to find the comment but there was some either production or post production issues when it came to editing down the drama.
Pacing wise it's pretty solid for a 40 episode drama. But please be aware of what a 40 episode drama pace is. Lots of character dynamics to introduce at the beginning, and those aren't even all the players on the board.

But once we get a little past the midway point there is a nice upturn with relationship development and the main cast starts phase 2 of they're investigations.

So if you're okay with romance taking a bit of a back seat and understand that they all have their own goals to achieve before jumping in to love I think you'll enjoy it.

Victoria's character, Chu Yu, is very one track minded for the first half, so her romantic affection will be locked down. I was having some issues with the director's choices when showing us Chu Yu's inner self in the teens(episodes) but we're finally privy to more of her thought process in the twenties. Ryan's character, Wei Yun is pretty much an open book for anyone with eyes, because he is a bit more innocent in certain aspects.

All the characters(including supporting) are having good growth and arcs. No one has acted out of character so the character writing for the most part has held up till episode 27. But the overall tone of the show does shift back a forth a bit...again this circles back to the editing/production issues that they had prior to airing the drama. I think my main beef is between episodes 15-22ish.

The show did get hit with trolls early on that a handful rated all episodes a one star another handful tried to counteract with ten star ratings, but most of us don't rate things that have yet to air so the trolls kind of won that. I say for my personal rating system it's currenting between a 7.5 and an 8. (I'm harsher on production because I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to the set up of making visual media. So this is above average, but not a "must watch" with points off for technical errors that shouldn't have happened on a show this big.)

I also appreciated how they wrote the men's conversation as well. The ones between Wei Yun and Gu Chu Sheng. Very mature, even when they are being a bit immature. The have actual working brains in their hand and don't just go cuckoo for cocoa puffs over liking the same woman.
I just overall like the emotional intelligence of all the characters with regards to when to pursue and when to pump the breaks/be realistic in the future they not only want for themselves but for the person they love.
It's honestly what's kept me going most. The fact that though there is a lot of differently relationships shown, the main characters stay true to their original goals and realize they are but a small piece in the greater scheme of the nation's safety.
But TuanTuan...go get your man, baby girl...let him know he's loved and supported. The man is a marshmallow with her and still tries to act like he isn't getting slow roasted over a fire until he's all gooey in the center.

there is an epilogue episode that shows their happily ever after. the director didnt want the art direction of the main show compromised so its like a bonus mini episode.

I have a tencent video app on my phone that I watch it on. well I cast my Samsung phone to my ruko so I can watch on a larger screen. im not sure on the devices you have. I made a free tencent account on my laptop, paid with my phone. but its been so long I can't remember the step by step.

Wei Yun and Gu Chu Sheng enjoying their little act a bit too much. But hey, two birds one stone...get a few extra licks in, whose gonna know? no one, because they have entered fight club rules.

the teaser for episode 30 is giving "hold on tight spider monkey" YuXi, what in the vampire run is happening.

Both of his parents are models. So adjacent to the acting industry with overlap being in those behind the scenes like producers. I think this is more of a case of having a good team that can help him navigate negative press as well as taking more offers or seeking out scripts himself.

Byeon Woo Seok has had tons of offers but he was more careful with his selection as to not be playing the same character over and over(at least that was the impression I got when he talked about it). He's had to deal with the fame side of popularity on a different scale as well, causing him to pump the breaks a bit. He now has the ability to choose or say no to something.

TuanTuan stealing my heart every time she's on screen. I just like that there is one pretty much unjaded and straight forward person to kind of balance out all the "must seek justice for my fallen family....but in the shadows" type people. Also love how her brothers are her own personal angel and devil on the shoulder giving her advise. I'm interested to see more of Song Shi Lan's story/character development. (i'm in constant fear he's either going to die or turn to the darkside somehow) I just need him to remain the loyal citizen/brother that he has shown so far no matter where his life takes him.

I'm even warming up Chu Jin now that she has all the information she hadn't been privy to prior about her sister's mission.
I'm liking that they(TuanTuan & Chu Jin) are having actual character development/arcs and aren't just left to be the pretty little sisters in the military family with no actual life skills. One is a doctor and the other an accountant. Chu Jin is perfect for a large noble family or merchant family. It's also understandable why she is so against becoming the wife of a general/military leader. She was left behind and saw what it did to her mother and herself.
And TuanTuan is the perfect wife for a military leader as she could assist on the battle field(well not ON, but you know what I mean) by treating the wounded.
They are both spoiled, but resourceful and curious about knowledge. Them being spoiled gives them the confidence to try, and do the damn thing.

They didn't adapt that part of the novel at all so it's straight forward with no redo.

I had a detailed comment that I accidently just exited completely out in response. Imma do my best to remember.
All of this is concluded from what the drama adaption has shown us, NOT what is canon in the novel. I have no in depth knowledge of the novel just a vague outline.

Gu Chu Sheng, like Chu Yu and Wei Yun, is trying to clear his family name and get justice for those who have been wrongfully accused/killed, but he has been at it for years longer than Chu Yu and Wei Yun. Where he messed up was not communicating with Chu Yu about his intentions/mission. This is somewhat understandable as what he was doing could get him a death sentence if found out. So telling the person you love the most about something that could open them up to a death sentence...I get it.

Where he really really messed up was not immediately going to Chu Yu when the Duke of Ning gave him the choice between death or marrying his daughter Wang Lin Lang. He and Chu Yu could have found a way around it, but he also knew that with the Duke's access/support he could get a leg up in the government/court, thus making it easier for him to investigate his family's case.

He hates his wife BECAUSE of her obsession with him that triggered him being threated and forced to marry into the Duke's family in the first place. He was already with Chu Yu, for years I might add, and this was obviously a known thing, so she had to have some knowledge about taking him from his lover/the woman he loved.
She stole a human at knife point and expected him to love her. Then he was abused by the Duke of Ning, and Chu Yu was threatened as well.

So in his, misguided, mind, Gu Chu Sheng believes that his and Chu Yu's relationship is just on pause until he can get out from under the Duke of Ning. He believes himself to stayed completely loyal to Chu Yu the whole time.(which in a sense he has, but...)

Chu Yu though, knows that there is always a 3rd choice. If he would have just come to her and treated her like his equal they would have been able to get out of the marriage-death threat.

I will give the man this though. He is a good official. Shity boyfriend, but a good official.

Yeah it's not until the end of ep22 or really ep 23 that you can see more of Chu Yu's feelings about things. I'm choosing to believe that she was on emotional lock down until her father was avenged or at least the first part of the vengeance being complete.

okay guys...looks like its making a comeback with the story/plot development as well as actually developing their love for each other & not just feeling one sided. episode 23 is kind of the turn around into a new arc & picking back up some dropped storylines.
I can still see a lot of editing/missing footage issues in the final cut, but nothing too too bad in the last few episodes. the teasers look promising as well. my fingers and toes are crossed yall. I need this to stick the landing.

I said diction for period dramas, as it is a totally different beast than a modern drama where there is wiggle room for regional accents popping up. I personally wouldnt be able to tell if someone is mispronouning Mandarin, & unless i had heard the accent before, would not be able to tell the difference like i can with English and Korean.
I guess you missed all the comments last week praising her work on this & looking forward to the plot/character development. I was vocally about how it's not right that people rate an episode before it's even aired etc.
A drama performance does not solely rest on the actor or actress. It is the job of the director to direct the actor to perform the emotion they want on screen. & the editors to pick the best take of said performance.
I have not personally attached Victoria nor am I a solo Stan of anyone. This is currently the only new drama ive been watching & I watch episodes more than once & take notes on storyline & performance, editing etc. I noticed that, though there was an emotional shift in the writing it wasnt showing much with her performance when it came to facial expressions & internal thoughts(the kind the audience is prevy to without it being a voice over style narration.) We get tons of asides for Wei Jun's character, but maybe one for Chu Yu to retrospectively look back on her personal feelings. So though subtle emotions worked well early on when the plot was focused on the investigation & she was on a mission....now that we are putting some of those things to rest I expected more.
I brought up F(x) because ive been watching Victoria since her debut & am only a few years younger than her. Im not attacking im critiquing a performance from an actor & direct in a show I am consuming. im not bullying or name calling I was giving context to say ive seen her body of work.

I'm a fan of F(x) and Victoria. I'm not pointing out her age to be cruel or ageist. I'm 35 myself. I brought it up in a comment below because of how her performance comes across. If a show is muted or has no subtitles, the audience should be able to tell the relationship between two characters on screen.
When she is with Wei Yun she is giving the same/similar performance as when she is with Chu Lin Yang even though the character should be showing more intimate/complex feelings toward Wei Yun it's still giving platonic family member. And because Ding Yu Xi's facial expressions are so varied it gives off an even more youthful performance than his actual years. The man is yearning his heart out every episode, and Victoria looks like they are talking about the weather or she just looks uncomfortable/thinking about nothing.
Just take a moment to turn off the subtitles, and mute the show(she is dubbed so the vocal performance isn't hers, most of them are dubbed by another person) watch her performance and try and tell what the relationship between each person is. If she was actually Wei Yun's sister, it would be a fine performance, but we are past the midway point where feelings should already be undeniable but she rarely looks at him with any type of yearning or affection outside of what you would see between siblings.

Victoria isn't focusing her eyes enough in this. She isn't projected any complex thoughts for the audience to infer a deeper connection/meaning. For reference I'm almost done with episode 22. She's too stoic and too maternal toward Wei Yun's character. Even when his character can't see her face it stays the same blank, non committal stare into the void. It wouldn't be so jarring had there not been 4 other couples displaying complex emotions in this show. Each couple is dealing with some form of rejection just like the main couple, yet (with the exception of the one who has someone who actually hates the other party) we can SEE/FEEL that there is interest and affection. Maybe it's because the roles are reversed and so are the ages but that hug on the bridge reminded me of how she comforted LingMo...aka her nephew, not a potential lover. It feels like acting...which is just not good. If the she was playing a manipulative person who uses others for her own gain without any actual feeling, she'd be doing a smashing job. But the facade should have cracked a bit to show her inner thoughts by now...and it just, hasn't.

As long as the director stays out of the writers room this time it might be okay.
I just can't stand the adaption he did of first frost. didnt mide the direction, just the fact he completely botched a few characters & added a useless storyline for runtime. yes I will have beef with that man till the day I am 6ft under...& even then if he's still top side id haunt him to his grave. (yes its dramatic...let me be dramatic about a show that has no real real world affects.)

There will be critiquing of the show in this comment. If you don't want to read that, just close this back up and have a good rest of your day/night. This is currently the only of the popular on air shows that I am watching aka please know that I make these comments in good faith, and don't have any agenda against anyone involved in this production.

Okay...um...how do I say this...were there multiple writers on this project?

I can see that there were two directors...I'm very interested to see the exact episode breakdown of who directed which episode or if this is a case of one is just the second unit or stunt/fight scene director.

I ask and point out these things for a reason. I have enjoyed this show, don't get me wrong, but you cannot tell me with a straight face that there isn't a bit of disconnect at times when it comes to overall tone of the show. I know this is a somewhat common occurrence on longer shows, but I'm getting a bit of whiplash.

I just am really starting to see the cracks in the overall project now that we are at the midway point and I have enough data to look back on past episodes. There are some really strong scenes in this show, but now the meh or down right "what was that?" moments are less few and far between and more like multiple an episode.

It just...doesn't really have a strong identity as a production. Do you know what I mean? I can almost guaranty that within a month this project will have been long forgotten, barring a great back-half turnaround. The film language is a bit all over the place. There are moments where I'm like...oh good coverage of the people in the room/scene noticing what's happening. Or...we love a good hand shot...but there isn't really anything sticking out as an actual style that would be unique to a specific director. It feels like either too many cooks in the kitchen or lack of a distinct voice/leader. Maybe I'm asking too much.

I need someone else who watches crap tones of media to understand what I'm talking about when I say this production lacks a distinct voice. The vibes are just off, and it's not just one department that is struggling to lock-in.

It's very hard to type when I also talk/think with my hands. Lots of Brittany Broski facial expressions as I think about the different aspects of this show. So it's not so ranting and yelling...more like a mental breakdown as I try to articulate my actual feelings/thoughts. Which is hard to do in written format, at least for me.

I enjoyed seeing all the senior actors/actress taking care of AiMi on set. She's a great up and coming young actress. Getting the opportunity to lead a production like this so early on could be overwhelming, but all of the bts footage she seems very relaxed & cared for.

Do I still have some reservations about the age gap, yes. But it's also nice to see an actress playing a character who is the same age. It definitely brings a perspective that gets kind of glossed over when the 15-20 year old characters are all played by people in their 20s & 30s.
I'm hopeful that she had on set advocates to help empower her to say no to anything she may have been uncomfortable with, but I dont know the Chinese television industry as well as I do the current US policies.

The Wei's have command over the bureau that the plans came out of as they hold the title of Marquis of Zhenguo. It's why she goes to Wei Jun in the first place. because the investigation needs to remain a secret she presented it in the guise of a proposal. When the Wei family's honor & line are in danger she joins them to insure that she'll still have access to the fish tally that belongs to the Marquis title & commands the bureau.
if they lose the title the bureau not only switches hands but there would be major personal changes that would muddy the waters/trail even more.
Saving the Wei family honor is also saving her from having to wait for the next person to take the title & trying to get close to them.