Platinum Fox

I have always wondered why this was called Rebel Princess (besides the 39-year-old actress playing a 16-year-old girl), but after reading your spoilers I think I understand it more. First, she goes against her grandfather to not marry the first brother. She fights to marry the 3rd brother. After she is married to the general, she must fight to have a child without dying. She also fights against being married to some other guy from the plains tribe, but that is really about it.

Is the general the perfect husband? No, they have made that clear from the start when he deserted her on her wedding night. Yet, I admire him for doing what he did on that day. The girl did not love him and he did not want to do anything with her until she did or they could be divorced. I admire his character for that decision even though it made her look bad. She got over it and grew to love him. He also made it up to her in the end.

However, the birth control is a different issue. During that time husbands, fathers, and brothers controlled all of the decision making in the family even the health and well being of the women. Men did not have to discuss any issue with their wives. The females were just expected to go along with any decision. It was a very open-minded male who allowed any discussion. With that being said, he did have the right to keep her condition from her and just follow what the doctor prescribed. However, I think the main point of this is exactly what you said. She should have been told and they should have discussed it together, especially since most males have no clue about the reproductive system of females. At the time, he could only make a decision based on the opinion of the male doctor. Once he talked with the maid and learned the truth about the drug and other options, he discussed it with her and they planned together. He is not infallible, but he is a way better husband then some of the husbands I have seen in these dramas.

I loved the women's issues discussed in this drama and the general is a good male example of a husband who is trying to treat his wife as an equal. Is he the perfect husband, no! In the end, he learns to become a better husband. I love how they adopted all those children.

It is fair. NN caused the collapse of the bridge. People could have gotten hurt. The Wan family would have been held liable. This was a serious event. Dad explains the purpose for the punishment. Mom does try to talk with her and asks NN if she deserves to be punished. Every kid will say no they don't despite the circumstances. Mom wants her to accept responsibility for her actions. By receiving the punishment, mom now knows NN can accept responsibility. In the end, mom sends NN away, not because she doesn't want her, but because she knows if NN stays in that environment the retaliation from the other girls will get even worse, and she will not have any power to do anything about it. As we see in season 2.

As far as punishing the noble girls in season 1, the mother has no control over that. She can go to the parents of the three girls, but she has no power to make them discipline their children. In fact, the parents are just as bad as the three girls in bullying other people. It's why LBY steps in and says he will try the case. Once LBY and SS are engaged, then LBY can take over the bullying issue of the noble girls. He has the power to do something about it. In this season mom does not.

I think the emperor should have been a part of that parade of fathers and brothers who needed to be publicly shamed for not disciplining their daughters.

You're right. If you want a fast paced love story, this story is not for you. I argue that the couple do not really fall in love until well into season 2. Although one of the most sexual scenes in the story is in episode 12 of this season.

I understand what you are saying. The story asks what method is the best method for disciplining a child? It depends on the child. The mom didn't have to worry about YY because YY is too timid to cause trouble. Scolding her would be enough if she did. With SS, she is a different child with a very different personality. She is always at the center of trouble which is why mom is constantly telling her to be on her best behavior. Even though SS never says anything, mom understands the situation with the noble girls. However, she has no power to deal with it. LBY does. That's why the scene where he intercedes in a family affair is important. He understands the mother's position and rank among the noble families.

With that being said, when SS pulls the bridge collapsing stunt, mom has control over this situation. It is her daughter who does it. Everyone knows why she did it. Even GW's mother knows and comments on she probably would have done something even worse, and it is why she writes a letter telling the mother about what SS did before doing it. Mom was not going to punish SS for it. It is the father who says she must be punished. This is the first time the father has said SS needs discipline. This is also why SS doesn't fight the punishment. She knows she deserves it. Her pride at this point is not hurt, but she has done something to embarrass the family image. BTW, mom does not enjoy punishing her daughter. It is hurting her more than you know. She sacrifices her relationship with her daughter in order to make sure the father's relationship stays intact. You also learn later on that the flogging (though it sounded terrible at the time) was really very mild.

As for the scene with LBY and the emperor in the second season, that is at a whole different level. LBY messes with court officials, their sons and daughters. All for his own agenda (which by the way even he hasn't told an adult). He even uses what happens to SS do it. The flogging is planned by them as a show to get SS to trust and tell people things. He is not really being punished for what he did. I think he deserves it because of what he will do in the future and for the same reason. Can you punish someone in advance?
Thank you for the discussion.

I get what you're saying. I actually liked the ending and loved the foreshadowing for it (the scene where the four are playing statue). The male lead character finally realizes that there is more to life than power that you have to fight to keep.

Yes, I really love how many people think the two wives are close. The emperor without realizing it treats Shen'en as an after thought even at her birthday party. He clearly loves Consort Yue. Everyone loves him for his comedic actions, but I find them as a way to cover up for his incompetency to deal with his own family. They make a point of saying the first crown prince is not capable of running the country because he can't control his family. Yet clearly the emperor can't either. That's what I love about this drama. First impressions aren't always the right ones.

I love the chess game that this show portrays. The emperor falling down the stairs in the end when he was beaten was a beautiful scene.

I thought his character was cute at the beginning, then dragged a bit, and then picked up again when Liu Chen came on the scene. LW is in one episode as a little kid in The Imperial Doctress. If you want to see him even younger.

That's funny. I thought season 1 was better because of all the clever foreshadowing.

I'm not saying you have to like the mother. However, she is a very real character. I had parents just like her, yet I never felt like I was not loved. In fact I think that is what the whole point of this show is. What is love? Disciplining your children is showing them love. What is equality and equity? The desk scene is a good one for this. Who has power? So many things can be discussed at the family and political level. Which is why the second season mirrors the first season. That's why I say there is more to this story then what first appears.

LBY supported her because he wanted something from her, the map of Shu. He is the one who gives her the idea. Remember General Wan's mother beats GW because he didn't give LBY the map. The family could have been implicated in colluding with the enemy. GW's mother realizes that. Discipline at any age.

Not all of the girls were doing that. In fact I think many of them went along with the two noble girls because they didn't want the two noble girls doing it to them (who holds all the power). In addition, who wouldn't want to go look at a bunch of handsome guys when that is all you have do in life and the only decision you get to make is the boy you will love.

I did watch it all the way through. I am like you, though, modern dramas don't hold my interest as much. I just like Zhao Lu Si and know that she will always play a character who goes against societal norms. Wanted to see what it was in that drama.

The mom fades out of the picture because her job is done. She has raised her daughter as best she can in the short amount of time that she has before SS becomes engaged to LY. Image what LY's family would have done to SS if she would have pulled the kind of things she did in the Luo household. LY and SS wanted to go away and build houses that would have never happened. SS's wouldn't have survived in the palace if her mother hadn't disciplined her before hand. The empress has never disciplined her children and look how they turned out.

You have made some really good points. The character of the mother makes perfect sense in that society. Remember the mother was a general, the leader of an army. She had merits of her own. On the battlefield she was boss. When she came home, Aunt Ge ran the household. Mom slowly but surely become the boss of the house. The mother is not the character out of place. Yang Yang is the character out of place. I have always wondered why Yang Yang was raised by her aunt and not her mother and father at the Cheng residence. Her return to the Cheng's residence after 15 years is very uncharacteristic. It tells me that even Aunt Ge's family did not trust Aunt Ge to raise a child. She couldn't even adopt her nephew. Aunt Ge had to trick the grandmother in order to even have a child to raise. Aunt Ge's words are very revealing when she talks about SS when SS helps her maintain the main section of the house. When SS does not turn out how Aunt Ge wants, Aunt Ge starts with the abuse.
SS's mother is the opposite of Aunt Ge. She is very authoritarian in her discipline. She only "spanks" her daughter twice. Once on the hands when SS's is caught eavesdropping (notice she is never caught eavesdropping again). Without punishment her exploits keep getting bigger and bigger. She fights with two noble girls and she hits herself to make it look like they did it. Finally, she collapses a bridge with all the noble girls on it. Remember only Wang Ling and girl Luo pick on her endlessly. Innocent girls could have been hurt in that bridge collapse and it was done on someone else's property. Even the father realizes that by this point she needs discipline. SS even knows she must accept responsibility for her own actions. Also, time is not something that they have. SS meets her three beaus in episode 6 and she is of marriageable age. Mom even says she cannot pass this off to the husband's family because she doesn't know how the husband's family will discipline her.

He never really asks her to be his fiancee. He asks the emperor in ep. 24 for her hand in marriage.

Good then the story is doing its job. Please don't judge the mother by what you see. In the end, you will see why she does everything that she does. Is she a perfect mother, no, but are there reasons for her actions, yes. If you want to see the mother as a" hands off" mother, watch her in Hidden Love with Zhao Lu Si. I love the contrast and wonder if the producers of Hidden Love did it on purpose.

I have only watched 15 episodes and there is not much romance going on yet. Don't know about the happy ending (the main character is very ill). Just finished watching it. No happy ending and not much romance.

This is definitely a political show. It is not a crime show in the sense of what you are referring to. The main focus is about three princes fighting over the crown prince position and a guy who advises them all in order to get revenge for the injustice done to his family. If you want a show that has multiple crimes try Miss Truth.

Thank you, I now understand what you mean. However, I do have to argue that all Asian dramas have, by your definition, a love triangle, square, or harem. It is what drives the plot forward and creates the drama. The only dramas that I have seen that have true love triangles are The Imperial Doctress and Jewel in the Crown.

Thank you for debating with me. I hope you enjoy the rest of Love Like a Galaxy. It really is a masterpiece in how it is filmed, written, and acted.

Are you saying males can't enjoy this show? Therefore, I must be a girl. There are more things in this show that would lean towards a male liking it more than a female. The whole series is about politics and the superiority of men and the control they had/have over women's and lower status men's lives. The fight scenes are very realistic. The series is challenging all of these ideas. The fact that you are angry or have to ask whether commenters are male or female means the story is doing its job. Thank you for proving my point.

Deepakk, this show is made for all audiences. In fact, I think this show was made mostly for a male audience, even though the main character is female. The producers wanted to address numerous issues about love, discipline, power, and autonomy of both men and women. Also, you are right, it would not be the same story if the main character, SS, had been a boy. The closest you come to the male foil for SS is LY. His family had been abused by the first family since his father died.