MadelineMaureen

I haven't seen that clip. I know that there have been a few productions recently with a horse kiss of some kind, but they weren't one that popped up. Do you have a link?

Her father's concubine paid a "Taoist Priest" who was actually a convicted thief to lie about the head wife's new child(FL). FL's Grandfather died the night she was born under strange circumstances(this has not been clarified, but the Grandmother was poisoned with mushrooms and was said to have presented similarly to the Grandfather's symptoms before his death.)
The FL knows that her "step-mother" is behind both the recent issue and the one 17 years prior.

The head wife I believe was also the biological mother to the elder sister who was married to the ML & who was poisoned to death.

The younger brother is the son of the concubine, I don't know how old he is, but I wouldn't be surprised if the concubine was pregnant with him at the time of FL's birth. They wouldn't have known it was a daughter until after the head wife gave birth.

I just happen to read her as her age. there is nothing wrong with seeing a 37 year old woman as a 37 year old woman. we had seen the son(half brother) & knew he was young than FL so when the half Sister showed up I first thought she was an aunt or other wife in the family for a second. then she opened her mouth and acted like a child so I had to rewind & double check the name title thing. then every time show popped up on screen I couldn't unknown her to be 37. (she was 37 at the time of shooting, FL & ML were I believe 30 or 29 at the time of filming)

im not talking about the FL Chen Du Ling. She looks fine. She obviously doesn't look 17 but her character's life was rougher. im talking about the half sister who is trying to kill her/ruin her looks with small pox.

I thought she was her brother's mother and the sister of her mother....she look 37 to me that's why it's in issue for me.

I looked up her age BECAUSE she looks older than everyone else to me, I thought at one point she was the sister of the stepmother and the mother of the the half brother. It took me a second to realize she is the daughter and half sister. There is playing younger and then their is playing 2 decades younger. It works for a few episodes or maybe flashbacks, but for a sustained age....not as much.

I am so sorry but I cannot take a 37 year old woman pouting about seriously in the least. Like my guy.....how old is the character you're playing? Will we have some kind of giant time jump to make your casting age make sense? I'm not trying to be a bitch but why is a 37 year old woman playing an unmarried daughter in a scholar family? Her character can't be more than what...20?

So edit/add on.....
Looks like FL didn't fall far from her Mother's tree.....turns out they have a lot more in common than I thought.

Okay I'm 8 minutes into episode 2 and I am so damn confused right now. FL's mother has no more family...She is married into the FL's family aka FL's grandmother should hold the most power in the house. FL's father is the current head of the household and yet is too chicken shit to contradict his crippled(translation's word not mine) wife who has no heirs....what in the actually hell is this?
She has no sons, she has no family, she has no functioning legs.....in what realm would this woman have retained any kind of power within this household? She's cackling at her daughter about how FL could seek protection from her when she(the mother) can't even protect herself...and yet EVERYONE listens to her over her husband....is she besties with an Empress or something?

I need the Emperor's eunuch to do his job and narc on the Princess Royal already. Be the little birdie you are and whisper in his ear all the terrible and horrible things her and her daughter had been getting up to over the years. Once the Emperor finds out what his daughter has been keeping secret for years....oh it's on like Donkey Kong.

Not me smiling all of episode 34 😈😁😏

okay well just checked the phone app(so I could check which subs were available...no English for episode 34 yet...that's not normal. time for a snack hydration check while it sorts itself out.

put on 34 on my TV app...why did it switch subtitles from English to, I believe, Spanish? and how the heck do I fix it?

I love this director so if there is an actual love line between the ML and FL(which I believe there is) he is the best one to film it. As Tian Tian is still a minor and Li Yun Rui is 11 years her senior, this director will 100% know how to imply without having to SHOW, and keep 100% of the tension and romance.
The man knows how to film a love scene without ever having the actors kiss...we stan in this house. For reference, any characters in The Double that kiss who aren't married to each other the director uses camera angles, shadows, and pan-aways. You only actually see married couples kiss, and yet most people don't notice until it's pointed out.


Tian Tian is a great talent, I can't even image how good she's going to be in her 30s if she's already out acting those who are a generation or two above her. But because she is such a great actress she is already getting leading roles as a minor with older co-stars. They(production & co-stars) seem to treat her with respect and care. I haven't really seen her male equivalent yet. aka someone her age leading dramas like Leo did at her age.

To add on, I'm very curious how iQiYi and Tencent will play a role in the final edit. Youku, and all the networks, kind of have their own style that adds a layer to a directors original intent. I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that the more filler type episodes stay intentional with their shots(framing) and edits and we don't end up with a few episodes over lit to better suit a multi camera shot/take.

I knew the second I saw the trailer it was the same director as The Double. Love his art direction/style. He has a good use of extreme close ups, close ups, and detail shots enter cut with dynamic wide shots. Also I can always spot his work because Wind is it's own character within his shows.

That's pretty good. Above average, which the show is.

But lets all be for real for real...Si Jin is a very basic period costume drama. They are using very similar story/plot from previous dramas/stories and the art direction/cinematography only really shows up for the more important plot points, otherwise it's just your basic studio-lit ,multi-cam shot rebirth/girl boss/royal drama-llama . The editing is also all over the place when they aren't at a more important part of the story. Episode 33 is an example of when everyone showed up with their A game and with intention and attention to detail.

The hair and make-up are very much, idol costume drama. Rarely a hair out of place, when it is out of place it's done so that the character still looks beautiful.

All I'm saying is, rating on a scale like...
1-2: complete trash
3-4: below average
5: Average
6-7: Above average
8-9: Exceeds expectations
10: Perfect

5.7 is not a bad opening score considering some of the best parts aired AFTER that first score dropped.
They measuring with their own yard stick. MDL's users' ratings don't seem to account for production value a lot of the time...just vibes and overall enjoyment...which is also a very valid form of rating a show. But in China where there are hundreds of new shows out every quarter, I think Douban does a pretty decent job keeping the bots out of the scoring system.

MDL's ratings are only JUST starting to get recognition from China as a measuring stick for international audiences. Seriously, I think The First Frost is the only one to promote their rating from MDL, but still, getting that nod from production that we, international fans, play a role in the success of a show is really rather nice.

The karmic justice coming Cui Ming Yue's way is epic. Being forced into a marriage she didn't want...the cackle that came out of my body. You would have thought I was watching a sports event with how I jumped up out of my bed and screamed 'YES!'

I'm glad that Zhu(i think that's his last name, Eldest sister's ex-husband) came back to redeem himself and exact revenge for not only himself and his 80+ deceased family members, but for the family he left behind.
I'm not even sure he was aware that the Princess Royal killed his ex-wife's mother and the fully extent of the web of manipulation and murder plots. He just knew that he was a pawn in a game and lost everything. His one silver lining is that his daughter was safe with her mother. To realize that the Jiang family are the true targets means his daughter is still in danger. We haven't seen episode 34 yet, but after killing Cui Ming Yue, I don't if he's going to make a self exit or hide in the shadows once more. He seems so broken, I wouldn't put it past him to sit in the flames of his own making while he waits for Death.

If anyone is ever curious when I say lighting & framing raise the production quality 10 fold i just need to link them this show as an example.

Amazing....bravo....give me more.

Don't get me wrong, I like a fluffy romance, but my goodness...the amount of filler & repetition in the most recent episode had me scratching my head.