Platinum Fox

My dream is to get into Yihe or something to that effect.

That depends on your interpretation of events. The male character confesses that he fell for her after the first snow. Most viewers believe that as well. However, he falls for her much sooner than that, but as the name of the drama implies it is hidden even from him. He says so in episode 24 in a bar scene. I don't know how far you are in the drama, so I do not want to spoil too much.

The Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow are spirits that were created during the massacre that happened 100 years ago. The Celestial General, who was the palace guard who wanted to save his family, prayed to the deities for help. No help came and his family and village was massacred. The Colossal Shadow is the spirit of all those people including the guard. However, the deities did send help, Gang Cheol, a dragon who had been meditating for a 1000 years in the area, was suppose to go and help, but he didn't because all he wanted to do was ascend. The deities intervened and didn't allow Gang Cheol to ascend by having the son of the palace guard see him as he ascended.

Because of the resentment the palace guard felt towards the royal bloodline, it made it easier for people who wanted to get back at the royal family to use a shaman to call up this spirit and use it to harm the royal family. This started happening 100 years ago. If the Celestial General had wanted to kill off the royal bloodline starting with the king who had his village massacred, he would have killed off the great grandfather, and grandfather, so that the present king wouldn't even had been born.

Since the present king exists and has taken the throne, it is obvious his ancestors were not killed before having descendants. Now to the present day. We learn that the present king's father was killed by the Celestial General because he wanted to free the palace slaves. It was the grandfather who ordered this through the blind shaman. The "rebellion" is successful without a great deal of blood shed. However, the present king is placed on the throne and not the queen dowager's son, who would have been a puppet king for the grandfather.

When the grandfather finds out the present king wants to again free the palace slaves and require the nobles to do the same, he plots another "rebellion" with the help of the blind shaman and the Celestial General. It worked the first time, why not do it again. By this time, the Celestial General has possessed both the crown prince and the present king, but he doesn't kill either one when he was called to do so? Why? It knows that both of them are good and will change the way things are done in the kingdom. After the Colossal Shadow eats Bibi's pill, it kills the grandfather and says, "I don't need you any more." This leaves the blind shaman, who is thirsty for power, to complete his plan to control the king through possession which he ends up completing.

The fantasy genre is about redemption for all characters. In this drama, the people who chose to change didn't die, the ones who refused to change died. Now, you do have the innocent queen and her unborn child. That seems like a glaring plot hole, but it isn't. The two deaths were needed to make the king enraged, so that the Celestial General could possess him easier and stay that way. That way the blind shaman could control the king. Nobody is going to kill the crown prince or the king when they are possessed.

I hope this helps. Thank you for the discussion.

I understand what you mean, now. That is also intentional. The grandfather is using the Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow to stage a rebellion without using an army. He doesn't want the slaves freed. He wants everything to stay the same. When the king's father tried to free the slaves, the grandfather had the blind shaman call up the Colossal Shadow to kill the king. It worked, but the king's father appointed the present king as heir to the throne, not the queen dowager's son, who he could have used as a puppet king.

The whole drama is based on the analogy of clear, blurry, and blind vision. That's why Yeo Ri is an eye ware specialist. She makes the blurry clear. She can't help someone who is already blind, but she can help someone who only has blurry vision. The grandfather represents the blind vision. He is blinded by his inability to change. To him everything should stay the same.

The Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow kill the grandfather because he was planning another rebellion because the present king wanted to free the slaves as well. They represent the blurry. They do good, but also evil by killing the queen and her unborn child. However, the death of the queen and child are needed to help clear the vision of the king and the spirits' visions.

I will give you that there are some weak points in the writing, but there are no plot holes. jmo

Hope this helps.

If you are talking about Gang Cheol, then that is right on target. He hates humans and does not interact with them. The only one he interacts with is Yeo Ri because he wants her to help him ascend.

If you are talking about the blind shaman, that to is right on target. The people who are using him, don't want the king to find out.

So I guess I am not sure where the plot hole is from your description.

Sorry, I would like to understand because for me, the writers were very careful to make sure they stuck to their original point. If people knew the consequences of their actions would affect future generations would they make different decisions.

Thank you for the discussion.

Every genre must be logical within its defined elements. Even fantasy and sci-fi must adhere to these rules, no matter how outrageous they get.

All the writers would have needed to do was to say the two clans were fighting over water rights. In order to avoid war, the Qiao clan would send a beautiful girl that the Wei leader would fall in love with. In the process, they could have built the canal and the enemies to lovers would make sense.

Thanks for the discussion. I am glad that you enjoyed the drama. However, for me, it made no sense.

I thought there was lots of romance. If you are talking about hugs and kisses, then no. The whole drama wouldn't have happened if there had not been romance.

I can only think of one plot point that didn't really seem to go any where or really need to be in the drama and that was Prince of Yong. What are you finding?

Let me know when you finish. There is suppose to be a second season, but don't know when it will come out.

Over this past month, I have thought a great deal about this second season. The first season mainly dealt with bullying that happened within that particular school setting. The second season brought it out into the open that bullying is a wide spread issue that has been sanctioned by the teachers, the parents, the cops, and the students themselves. Hardly anyone tries to stop it. It has just become a fact of life. Which is sad.

Remember Baku is the one who keeps the Union and bullying out of the school. When he is not there Hyeon Tak tries to get the Union into the school. This has now become organized, sanctioned bullying, not just kids picking on other kids. It's the first seasons gang with girl on a much bigger scale.

So what does all this have to do with why the boys are crying, because now the stakes have become bigger. Now its a matter of life and death for NBJ. Does he deserve to be killed for what he has done? That's why the boys are crying. They did not understand the severity of the problem. Instead of helping NBJ get out of the Union, they fought him instead and won. Thus leading to NBJ's death. Also, Si Eun used brass knuckles when he fought with NBJ and hit him in the head several times. The boys have won battle, but they haven't won the war. This leave room for a third season.

Compare what happens in the first season to what happens in the second season. They are mirror images. Suho is Baku. Si Eun is himself. Baek Seom is Jun Tae and then turns into Na Baek Jin.

Hope this helps.

Yes, I understand that things like this could happen. My point was that the writers are pushing future moral values on an ancient culture all for the sake of hooking the audience. I have seen plenty of Korean dramas where people have sex before marriage. However, they are modern dramas as this fits the moral values of the time.

By having both of them have sex before marriage, both are doing something against the moral code of the time. She, I can understand as she is from the future and her moral code and values match her take on it. He, on the other hand, one night stands are not a part of the moral code and values of the time. The fact that he takes advantage of a drunk girl, a noble girl at that, tells you a great deal about his character.

The fantasy genre is all about redemption and moral lessons whether serious or funny, so how ever they play this out will determine if the scene was just a hook or is a part of the moral lesson.

As I said before, I enjoyed the first two episodes, but have already seen some weaknesses in the storytelling.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.

When watching dramas, people have to watch them through the lens of its period. If is is historical, then it requires a historical lens and the discipline in this one is right on target. Actually, mom is quite progressive in her punishment of NN. Most mothers would have spanked NN repeatedly. Mother did not. She tried different methods to see which one would work the best.

Now look at Hidden Love. Sang Zhi did not get spanked. In fact, the only real disciplining they did was take away her phone. Look at how spoiled she was. She couldn't even cook her own meals, cut up fruit, open her own candy. Our perceptions of discipline have changed because of research and how children grow.

As for the translations, someday I will watch both at the same time and compare them more thoroughly.

Happy drama watching.

I'm on Central Daylight Savings Time. Presently for me it is 3:45 P. M. Which should make it 2:45 for you.

The three actresses are 33, 28, and 27, so they are very close in age and all are playing teenage girls.

You're right and during that time period there was an outlet for that kind of behavior (brothels). In this drama, you are talking about a nobleman's daughter where chastity and reputation can make or break a good marriage. He essentially treated a nobleman's daughter like a courtesan. Remember she was drunk, and he was fully sober. Logic says you don't take advantage of a drunk person. He clearly did.

Now, depending on where they take this drama, right now that one night stand was basically a cheap way to get the audience hooked. jmo

Thank you for your thoughts and insight.

You're right each drama is a stand alone drama. You do not need to watch one to understand the other. However, they do complement each other as they are both of the same universe.

What the writer has done is taken a side character from Hidden Love (the brother) and given us his full blown love story in a separate novel and now a drama. The time lines do match up as the brother's story begins in Sang Zhi's second temporal node. Sang Zhi's story begins when Sang Yan starts in university which is when Sang Yan and Yifan break up. In order to understand Sang Yan's personality in Hidden Love, you must watch The First Frost. To understand what Sang Yan is hiding, you must watch The First Frost.

Also, both stories jump back and forth from past to present to future. There is a specific reason for it in Hidden Love. As for The First Frost, it is to maintain the Hidden Love universe. The past flashbacks tell one story while the present unfolds a different story.

What you are talking about with the point of view of the characters is that Sang Yan is playing a different role in Hidden Love than he is The First Frost. He plays the role of brother in Hidden Love. In The First Frost, he plays the role of lover. His personality for each role will definitely be different. Victor Ma set up the role of Sang Yan for The First Frost really well. He was broody, grumpy, charming, funny, and narcissistic with a sense of bravado. For me, the director downplayed the funny side of Sang Yan because of the topic dealt with in The First Frost. jmo

I understand that she is from the future and holds different morals and standards. However, she has gone back in time when morals and values are different. A duke at that time would not have done what he did, except at a courtesan house as that is the proper place to do that kind of thing.

People in historical times held a strict moral code about sex. The duke goes out of character for the time to have sex with her. Afterwards, he immediately goes back to his own moral code and wants to marry her. She, being from the future, takes it as a one night stand and doesn't really think anything of it. She maintains her moral code throughout the entire encounter. Past morals and values meets present day morals and values.

For me, it is just sloppy writing and the tricks were just there to hook the audience. Remember sex sells.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.

Its okay to take creative liberties, but they must make sense within the story itself. In this case it doesn't as one of the main characters acts out of character according to past morals and values. Even after it happens, he immediately goes back to his own set of morals and values and is willing to accept responsibility (marry her). On the other hand, she has remained true to her morals and values of the present day. It's okay to have a one night stand and go on your merry way.

The title of the drama doesn't have to literally mean the first or second night she is in the book. Her first night with the duke could be at any time and hold a very different meaning.

Sadly, the writers have chosen to push modern values on historical characters for the sake of hooking the audience.

I enjoyed the first two episodes, but now I understand that throughout the rest of the drama, I must turn off my brain as all logic has gone out the door.

Thank you for the discussion. Happy drama watching.

I understand where you are coming from and many posters have expressed those same sentiments. However, the Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow were also victims of a king's decision. They were victims of a massacre that happened because the present king's great great grandfather decided to sacrifice Yongdam, so he could make his getaway. The king didn't even send any help. Knowing that there was a dragon nearby, the guard at the time sent up a prayer to the deities for help. The deities answered his prayer, but Gang Cheol didn't answer the call because he was too full of rage and hatred for humans to help the people of the village.

From the sounds of it, the Celestial General and the Colossal Shadow didn't haunt the ascending kings after the great great grandfather unless called upon to do so. The blind shaman controlled them. Yet, they seemed to be very discerning in whom they killed immediately as they could have killed the king and the crown prince if they had wanted to, but didn't. Why? They only killed the prince and the grandfather who would not change their ways. The above happened before the Celestial General ate Bibi's pill. He didn't know that it was filled with hate and rage. If he had eaten Gang Cheol's at the time, the story would have been over. However, the universe needed to right itself thus the someone innocent from the royal family had to die as well.

The death of the queen and her unborn child, even though we dislike it, held two purposes. One, it was to enrage the king, so that it would be easier for the blind shaman to control him once the Celestial General possessed him. Rage and hatred is what fueled the Celestial General. After he ate Bibi's pill, notice he became more enraged and full of resentment. Why should the royal family not know of loss? Why should they always be protected. Which is the second reason why the queen and her child were killed. It was to balance out the universe. Now, both sides had the loss of innocent people. And the palace guard in a around about way does apologize and is filled with remorse after the king apologizes. The general wanted the king to learn that he should always think of the people when making a decision and to make sure that his descendants do as well.

The fantasy genre is all about redemption. Those who changed their ways lived and those that didn't died. Yet, there will always be innocent victims (the village and the queen and child). The fantasy genre is also filled with symbolism. Think about what each ghost represents. Why were they in the story in the first place? jmo

Glad you enjoyed and happy drama watching.

He has the reputation of being a playboy (which he spread) and all of his girls end up at the temple. He is of royal descent. When he meets her, he knows nothing about her. She is not in a brothel where it would be appropriate for him to have sex with a courtesan. She was just some girl that he saved from falling in the river. She was drunk and supposedly seduced him. He was not drunk, nor had he had anything to drink. Any upright man (which we know that he is) would have helped her home, not taken her back to his home and had sex with her. jmo