PeachBlossomGoddess

I share that view to some extent but she is the titular character. The kind of character you describe should not have so much airtime or be the character the drama is built around. And such a long drama as well. Don't get me wrong, for the most part I like the drama but I am very disappointed at how Wang Xuan evolved (or per @Wanderer stagnated). I kept going because of Wang Lin, Huai En, Xiao Qi and even Wang Su became very interesting. There are 5 more episodes, maybe she can turn things around...

No, I haven't seen both but I initially had the impression that Dream of Eternity is based on a better story since it is a novel adaption and not based on a game. Unfortunately that didn't get flushed out properly in the drama because Guo Jingming was too busy trying to impress us with CGI. So far, the Douban ratings for the Chen Kun version is quite a bit higher than this one. And I personally think that Chen Kun is in a completely different league than Mark Chao as an actor. So I won't be surprised if his interpretation of the half human half demon Qingming is much more complex, more interesting and definitely audacious. Mark Chao's version was just a very superficial joker and did not come across as that magical mystical supernatural being that Qingming is supposed to be. I like Mark Chao but his Qingming was a total fail for me.

Netflix bought the Chen Kun version as well, my guess is that it will air in about 2 months.

Zidan is not that powerful. If he were he wouldn't have had to bow to Yuzhang wang and let him enter the capital on his own terms - did you miss the part where Xiao Qi scoffed at his "edict"? Xiao Qi can and I believe he will (justifiably) take him down. He already has 100k troops right outside the capital - it will be practically a bloodless coup. Why she is getting in the way and actually concealing his guilt is unfathomable and inexcusable. And not just to Xiao Qi or the Ningshou army - he murdered Zilong and in helping to hide it sh is effectively an accessory to the crime. Regicide and fratricide is something Zidan should be executed for. I am still cutting her some slack and hoping she can ultimately differentiate right from wrong but so far, this is her one action that really makes me fed up with her. It is bad enough she did a mating dance with Helan Zhen without Xiao Qi's knowledge, now she is helping Zidan cover up the murder of Xiao Qi's comrades, people he faced death with??? If she doesn't come to her senses and if Xiao Qi walks away from her because of this I would have to pop champagne.

The Chen Kun version had already completed shooting when this one started production. It would have come out sooner were it not for covid.

This is a very painful triangle because I really like both girls... Let's just cut him in half...

Indeed lets hope the writing turns around in the last 5... :)

At this point, he should just toss a coin! LOL!!!

True to some extent, but she is not consistent. She doesn't forgive her father, but she does her aunt and uncle. And she pretty much forgives everyone that tried to kill Xiao Qi, the alleged love of her life. She is all about saving people but she doesn't care that the Ningshou army died because of Zidan. Because fundamentally she is a snob - they are peasants and commoners whose lives don't matter. They don't deserve justice. That is basically her stance. And to protect who??? Zidan! Who IMHO is a worse character than Helan Zhen - he is a sociopath that killed Zilong to obtain a woman! The only consistent thing about her is that she has a bleeding heart for all the aristocrats, and specifically the Mas, her maternal family. I abandoned the novel bc I thought she was vain and shallow. I had high hopes the drama would do better. It hasn't.

Yeah its strange, I had heard that but I found didn't enjoy her acting at all. I dropped A Girl Like Me because of her. I thought the ML was dull but at least he didn't annoy me.

Indeed... as double first cousins they can go on and create the next generation of stupid that will surpass their stupidity... And that my friend is called progress!

I actually feel what she said to Helan Zhen is far more cruel than killing him. Every moment I spend with you is torture and I wish you would disappear forever. Those words ringing in his ears is like a stab in the heart multiple times.

I agree, her judgement is highly questionable. But I also feel HZ is really pathetic. I mean XQ saved him and gave a a shot at ruling a powerful country and he blows it all chasing after a married woman who wishes he would disappear forever. I mean what a sad f**k! Maybe that is why she is looking at him with pity in her eyes. And to be fair to HZ, she should never have danced with him like that - she is partially at fault for her second kidnapping. If she had listened to XQ and just avoided him completely when he was in the capital, he MAY not have gotten the wrong idea that she would accept him if XQ were dead.

I could say the same for Zidan and Huai En - that is my main problem with the men in the drama - these men could all be the same person with the exact same goal (obtain Wang Xuan) by killing XQ bc Wang Xuan is that kind of woman? That she will just happily go off with her hubby's murderer??? Which is why like you I find Wang Lin to be the only really interesting character in this drama - he at least has a comprehensible motive and he is smart.

I abandoned the novel part-way but according to other readers that is correct.

I forgave her naivete in the beginning because she was a sheltered and pampered princess with no world view... But she went through a lot of what would be eye opening experiences for most people... And she does tend to attract the dumbest men ever to the point of obsession... (ex XQ of course). I personally think XQ would have been way better off with Hu Yao. She is at least just as brave and she is actually smart.

I wouldn't exactly say she becomes weak. Actually I don't think she regresses that much, she just doesn't progress. Her judgement was very questionable from the beginning - how she forgives Emperor Ma, protects Wang Qian, Zilong, her dealings with Helan Zhen, now Zidan etc etc. It is literally one questionable decision after another. It s miracle she hasn't gotten herself (and Xiao Qi) killed dead many times over already. I give her high marks for bravery but really low marks for brains.

... why she keeps taking everyone's side against her father. If these people were worthy I wouldn't mind so much. But they are not. They are ALL bad people - Emperor Ma, Zidan, Zilong, Wanru, aunty Dowager Empress... at least her dad is smart. All these people she takes so much risk for are dumb as rocks. Her priorities are really f**ked up. And yeah Wang Lin is ambitious, selfish and ruthless but he has not shown himself to be worse than these clowns she is so busy defending. And damn, Wang Lin is a good villain... if you gotta be a villain at least be good at it. Unlike that Zidan who is just a real total zero... he is so incompetent he can't even get being a bad guy right.

My biggest beef with Wang Xuan is...

Wanru's hate for Awu was an unnecessary and poorly developed deviation from the novel.

I agree her character has not gotten smarter or stronger in the latest episodes. That said, if I were stuck between the devil (Helan Zhen) and the deep blue sea (Helan Tuo) its a coin toss and she chose the devil she knows. In the same situation, I would have done the same thing rather than to do Helan Tuo's dirty work for him (he didn't want to kill his own cousin) and then be killed by him right after that. She was gonna die either way - she chose the better way IMHO.

I think what she did was smart - she decided she trusts Helan Zhen more than Helan Tuo. Helan Tuo would not have let her go after she killed Helan Zhen.