Sharlotka

Not in that one, actually, at least not for the usual reasons (rival of ML, not getting the girl etc). If they do it well, it should actually be a pretty fun role because I've read the novel but I don't really want to go into details here for spoiler reasons and all :)

I would really love to see that, preferably in a regular-length drama. He got SML in a modern one that has finished filming not that long ago, so maybe, baby steps, there is some hope :)

I came to this drama just because of Zuo Ye, and I'm loving him here. I always love him, in any drama really, but Chen Xuanqing shows some of his best acting.

Also, I may be a bit biased obviously, but love your icon! :)

He's the only reason why this drama even landed on my list. I think my favourite role of his so far, outside of MJTY because I don't think anyone is going to beat Young Master Yue anytime soon, is in "Fated Hearts". And while not the best, I liked that "Back from the Brink" had him in a more comic relief role because it's so different than what he usually seems to do.

"Humans are blind" - well, you're clearly the best example of that. Noone here cares about your bs and somehow, you're still here, spamming the same thing over and over and over again as if that was going to achieve a different result than any time before.

Episode 8

With every episode, I'm loving Bai Yu Tang more and more. His smugness when he was asked if he just broke into the palace for the token made the answer very clear, although the actual reveal was surprising. The carving made me laugh so much. It was cute, though, I have to agree with that!

At first, I thought that Shao Ji Zu was just following orders, so it was interesting to see that he actually, 100% genuinely follows the guy with the full awareness of his plans. It's funny how they all still speak of Huo Linglong as his fiancee - just how do they imagine the marriage to work? Her being cuffed, chained and gagged to actually go through with it and not try to escape? Especially when she finds out the full truth about him.

Poor Zhan Zhao can't get a break from getting injured in all kinds of ways. But at least the trio has finally assembled, and I'm so excited for the next episodes.

Gu Lian is really something. She should hurry up and marry that guy she's engaged to, and be all sad and miserable for the rest of her life, getting her share of karma. The whole family is annoying, and one outdoes the other at that but I think she wins among them all.

It's always so amusing to me that the characters never recognise someone if they wear a veil, when it is the eyes that are usually the easiest way to recognise someone, or can't tell someone is a woman if they are pretending to be men even though their whole appearance is not masculine in the slightest. I'll choose to blame it on the ML being rather badly poisoned, and having other things on his mind at the time, but it's just always so funny to me.

Bai Yu Tang is very quickly becoming my favourite character in this one. He's so much fun, and Fang Yilun is so enjoyable to watch. I love how expressive this guy is. "You didn't ask?" just absolutely killed me lol

100% agreed. Personally, the lack of romance is actually making me more excited for this drama because it means it should focus more on friendship, etc.

I was waiting for Fang Yilun to show up, and so far I am not disappointed and loving his character, as well as the way he teases Zhan Zhao. A cat and a rat, that's quite funny, too. I am hoping they will have this friendly bantery-like relationship throughout the whole drama, it should be very enjoyable.

If you are not enjoying something, noone is chaining you down and forcing you to watch. Just put the drama in "Dropped" and move on, while the rest of us are going to enjoy the show.

A very interesting start. Definitely didn't expect the arm getting cut off in the opening scene. And the scene when she shows him the poster, claiming they're after her, only to herself see that it's actually his portrait was so funny. The plot so far definitely got my interest, too and the fighting scenes are enjoyable. The only question I have is - Fang Yilun, where are you?

After episode 13, I am getting so, so, so exhausted by the Gu family dynamics and drama. It's starting to get a bit boring. I'm so ready for this arc to be over, and for other plots to come in.

Episode 9

I have to admit, I am somewhat impressed by Chen Xuanqing, and how they – so far at least – appear to be avoiding the typical trope for a character in this kind of situation. It’s nice that they finally gave some explanation for the comment that was made about his father and how it could have an impact on him.

Pushing my shameless bias aside, I really like the fact that his whole interaction with Chen Yanyun about the arranged marriage wasn’t turned into a huge argument and a big scene. Perhaps it is my bad luck but it feels like whenever there is a situation like this, where a character has to consider their future and weigh feelings against reason, career and their position, they just announce that they don’t care about the latter and pursue love over anything. It might be the fact that I’m not a very romantic person, as well as the fact that as a viewer I know that he is doomed not to “get the girl”, I really like the fact that he actually seems to realise the position he is in and the impact it might have on his prospects for the future if he was to pursue love over everything. It might hurt but it is better in the long run. Big points for the screenwriters for going in that direction with this character, and I really hope there’s not going to be any sudden reverse courses.

Also, if anyone sees a pair of eyebrows floating somewhere in the sky, they are probably mine – unless they have already left the orbit. Dear Chen Yanyun, your idea for how to celebrate the success of collecting more money is very interesting, and certainly has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it is exactly the kind of thing that Gu Jinzhao described she missed about Tongzhou. Very smooth my man, very smooth. Already a complete goner for her.

I’ve had a feeling for a while that the mother’s coughing and whole illness is no illness at all, but she is actually being poisoned by the Concubine and the maid. With the reaction the Concubine had to finding out the medicine being tampered with, I’m now leaning towards the maid working on her own but honestly… She’s got quite the nerve for a servant to be doing things like this on her own.

The scene in the water, though… They could have at least have her try to pretend that she was drowning. I just couldn’t help laughing.

You are raising my hopes for Gu Lan again. So far, I have been asking myself time and time again how she managed to grow up to be the only sensible person in the whole house, especially with the mother she has and I really, really, really wish they don't turn her unlikeable.

Chen Heyi doesn't compare to Winwin. Xia Jingshi is one thing but even in "Perfect Match", he somehow managed to be unlikeable and in my eyes, was the weakest of all MLs there. Ye Xian reminds me a lot about Yang Xian so far, I honestly can't decide which one of them is more annoying (at the beginning of their character arc, obviously). I am expecting a bit of redemption and growing up here, and I'm very curious where they are going to take his character. They can't suddenly, miraculously cure his heart condition (honestly, if they somehow did, it would be so weak unless there really was a good and elaborate plot behind it) so I am wondering how he might want to prove his worth.

I don't believe I've ever seen the actor, so it's not any of his other roles that is making me suspicious. It's just the vibe I'm getting here.

No, no, don't spoil it, thank you! :) I may be a suffering a bit here, being behind and all, but I think I want to remain spoiler-free as much as possible for now :)

After episode 8, I am not entirely sure why, but I can’t shake off a feeling that there is something fishy about the ML’s teacher. The way he was looking around at the gathered documents, speaking about everything being in the control of the court… I don’t know, it didn’t feel that sincere for me that it’s for the good of the country. But perhaps I am just seeing too much into this.

Gu Jizhao really hit the sore spot for Ye Xian at the academy. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was acting like a completely unreasonable jerk, I might even feel sorry for him. Though, the way he spoke to ML as if he was Gu Jizhao when he was drunk was quite hilarious.

It’s interesting that so far, Gu Jizhao’s interest seems to be on Chen Xuanqing since she is going to end up with Chen Yanyun – I am very curious how this is going to go. Though, Madam Chen speaking to Chen Xuanqing about arranging a match and trying to find out his thoughts about it – I think even a blind person would be able to tell how he feels about what she is speaking about.

One thing that I’m sad about is that they really seem to be going in the direction that I was hoping they wouldn’t with Gu Lan. Sigh, I guess I can’t have everything but maybe I'm just overworrying here.

I'm in the same boat... And they even tell you "Please enjoy other contents" - I don't want other contents... I want not to be x episodes behind lol

I’m a little behind as I am watching on Viki, but after having watched 4 episodes I feel like it’s maybe time to get some thoughts out of my head.

It seems like once again, I come into a drama with absolutely zero expectations towards anything, unsure if I’m even going to enjoy it, and I find myself surprised with how much I am actually getting into the plot and the characters.

The FL is very interesting, and I really enjoy how she finds ways to achieve the results that she wants by doing and saying things that will cause others to act a certain way. In that way, I enjoy the interactions that she has with the ML so far, especially the way she got back at him for using her coming of age ceremony by using him to get back at her father. I really like that the angle for romance between these two appears to be her getting his interest by impressing him with her actions.

I wasn’t sure about the ML at first but I think after 4 episodes, he has managed to win me over. I think so far, one of my favourite scenes is the exchange he had with Nie Fengming where the latter pretended to be against the law when they both knew it wasn’t the case at all, especially with the flashback that followed. It was obvious to me from the moment they revealed that someone close to the ML went to the Emperor, and Nie Fengming decided to speak up, that his goal is actually the opposite of what it may appear and what he did and say was exactly because he wanted to help ML get his goal, and knew it would get the desired result. I really loved the layered conversation, both knowing the other was thinking and feeling something completely different than what they actually said.

The other characters are very interesting so far, too. At the start, I was a little worried that I might find Ye Xian more annoying than enjoyable, but I actually like him so far. There is something about Winwin that really fits characters like this and makes him very convincing in the role. I really like that, rather than what seems like the usual way of making the FL’s sister plot and scheme against her, they actually present the sisters as being friendly with one another. It’s really refreshing, and I really hope there is no hidden plot that will reveal that Gu Lan is actually trying to undermine her sister in some way or another.

And of course, there is Chen Xuanqing. Zuo Ye is actually the only reason this drama even landed on my list, and I am very curious about his character and where they are going to take him. So far, it feels like there is way more to him than meets the eye – at least that’s the vibe I’m getting from him, especially with the scene when they reveal the exam’s results. I am looking forward to seeing more of him.

Well, I guess my plan to have a silly little thing to watch half-heartedly ended up backfiring on me and I’m actually going to be genuinely invested here lol

I’m only 5 episodes in, and slowly catching up but I thought I’d lay out some of my thoughts so far.

I am enjoying Chu Xiao so far. It’s rare for me to enjoy FL from the beginning, I usually tend to find them annoying before they undergo some character development, so it’s always nice when it isn’t the case. I also can’t help finding it funny that Zhuge Yue hardly makes any appearance in the first few episodes despite being a main, and I think he is the one I’m the most curious about so far, given his situation.

Also, it’s the second time I’m seeing Xia Meng in any drama, and the second time she appears to be playing a lunatic Princess that I feel in my bones I’m going to want to strangle on sight. Nothing against the actress, quite the opposite – she plays very well, but I’d love to see her play a more likeable character for a change.

A part of me is also surprised that for all their unhappiness with Yan Xun, the Yanbei people are waiting for him to wake up, all worried that he might not, while also doing things he’s bound to be unhappy with when he wakes up. What possibly makes them think that he’ll suddenly change his mind about doing what he wants instead of listening to them when he has repeatedly shown he couldn’t care any less? What possibly makes them think he won’t be furious with them? Or is their “loyalty” just for show? Yanbei definitely feels like a mess, especially when the tribes are already starting to rebel (and who can blame them?), and I’m very interested to see how it ends up going.

I am really enjoying Zhang Kangle, too; he is doing pretty well with portraying the emotions and obsession of the character and I can only imagine there’s going to be a descent into madness, even stronger obsession and darkness as the drama goes on, and I’m really looking forward to it.

And finally, characters aside - I really like the make-up they have and how natural it looks. I’ve seen some dramas where the faces were made so pale that I found it difficult to focus on anything other but their contrast with the neck. It's nice not to have this kind of distraction :)