ShortCircuit

So, let's take it slowly.

1. Her father was either General He or one of his soldiers and maybe Yan Zheng was his student back in a while? (Which makes him HOW MUCH older than her, LOL?)

2. His mother was a total b!tch. Yeah I get it she was wrecked with sorrow over her husband's death, STILL she left him all alone as a child. And in continuous danger. You don't do that as a soldier's wife. Shame on her. (It's probably the writer's fault, but still).

3. I hope Academy-pal is going to be a real friend and not a dagger in a velvet sleeve. The way the initial interraction goes, they seem to be very good friends.

4. The assassins came for the whole Fan family. So did General He (or his bodyguard) do a run and hide with the family and has been on the Wanted List for all this time?

ETA Got any more of that wonder wound elixir, Secret Pal-in-Writing? :D

I shouldn't have started this one til it was all done. I have a problem with waiting and obssessing over things. Dammit.

Anyway - I'm pretty sure the fighting choreo was awesome in episode 7, but I kind of was only looking at his face.

Also, certainly a lot of other things probably happened in this ep7... but you know, his face is kind of distracting.

I don't know how popular NiF2 was in China, but I don't think it could surpass the first one. It's very good in a different way (that keeps the same high production values, good plot, good and interesting characters etc). It's more romantic than NiF and there are unforgettable MCs there too - just that it's not the same. Which is also very good IMHO, I mean, why wouldn't it be different?!

I think these were the roles of their lives, for both of them. I don't think there's any of their work out there to surpass NiF (though Hu Ge also did a lot of live theater so maybe there?...)

Anyway, after this one, if you're interested, dive into the second season (next generation, not a lot of the same characters), you'll see another masterpiece, and Huang XiaoMing's most lovable character ever (in my opinion). The best battle scenes in costume drama ever.

That's the one I meant. I also love that BGM, it's just perfect. And it's also perfect when there's no BGM at all - just MCS calmly explaining how he cut off all avenues of escape for Xie Yu and Xie Yu starting to panic. And then the confession. And JingYan and MCS' exchange of looks - because now there IS proof of what happened in the past.

That's seriously one of the best scenes in the whole drama (and there are so many of them).

I jinxed it, somebody sent him a wonder-working wound elixir now LOL. I guess he'll be 100% back in form in a day hahaha~

Nothing is ever private in a small town. (And they have no regular entertainment anyway, gossip would be the only type of distraction from life's problems).

Now if they had internet and socmed in those times, LOL, imagine the shorts :D

She hand-feeds them LOL. I'll take a bet none of the actual living pigs in the drama did any kind of dying (by her hand or someone else's). I almost expect some BTS where someone takes them home as pets LOL.

ETA Actually come to think of it those pigs are SO SMALL. Too small to butcher anyway. Does anyone know what historical period this takes place in? Were pigs supposed to be so generally small at that time? My grandma in the country used to grow a pig annually and those behemoths used to get up to 200-250 kgs each, they were many times bigger than these piggies she's got.

Anything she carries on her shoulders or butchers is CGI, painfully obvious. His falcon is also CGI from time to time - basically any in-flight shots. Sold pig meat is also obviously cleanly cut - so it very probably comes from an actual butcher shop.

So rest easy, no pigs were butchered for the sake of filming. Unless they were in the catered food or something LOL.

It's a fact though that there are animals raised for food and their fate is to get eaten in the end. We're all of us born omnivores.

I think this is absolutely the very first costume cdrama I've ever watched where they DO NOT INSTA-HEAL. It's been what, at least a week since he's there (I'm after ep3) and his scratches haven't healed much. The bandits are back at the house after a few days and their faces are still bruised from the beating they got the first time.

It's SO refreshing!!! Hey, actual nature again LOL. I won't bet against missing physics though, since it's going to be at least in part wuxia, so flying about and a lack of gravity are to be expected BUT at least there's no insta-heal hahaha~

Now I could say I've seen it all :D

Makes sense, thanks. I didn't look at Original Network LOL, just saw it was available on NF and they kind of usually offer whole-season drops. Or they do with most of theirs.

Oh well, if it's good, I'll keep watching :)

What, no binge-watch possible? What are you doing, Netflix stepbro?!

So, I hope this stays calm and sweet (not getting much hope for it though LOL). I really really hope this might be the kdrama that manages to get me through the whole run, it's been a long while since my last kdrama. And it's still a while til my watched-for kdramas are set to air.

Too bad that JinYoung aged out of being able to look like a highschooler by now, but I'll turn a blind eye to it since he's still a good actor. The FL though - she looks quite older than her actual age, and she's pretty young too, I think this might be something caused by the makeup team or the lighting.

Just please - if it's supposed to be romance, let it be romantic and fantastic. If it's slice-of-life, don't set up romantic ideals and then smash it with real-world problems.

Keeping fingers crossed.

I'm glad for the team and actors, hopefully I'll get to watch this movie in the future.

Still, are we going to get news articles about each number of viewers as they rise for a longer time? Like, is it such an important thing to mention every 1-2 more million viewers when they come see it?...

Do NOT the 'stache!!!!!! OMG

PS None of them look like themselves (not even Riley Wang, and I love this actor, he would look amazing with no prep. This image is not him). The team should leave off with the too-much touch-up on concept posters, dammit. And seriously, lose the moustache. What the heck did Gong Jun do wrong to deserve being un-pretty-fied like that?!

I'm going to venture a (not really) risky bet here - despite the title, there will probably be not a lot of sea in this drama LOL.

Not going to hold my breath for it either, LOL (though I'll be around when it airs because LYR, hahaha~, bar maybe WWIII breaking out or something). But if they're only reached casting and took 2 years for pre-production, I guess they'll film it over the summer or next spring and it'll be ready for the 2028 lineup LOL.

The first two eps are as solid as they come (only had time for the first two).

I really like the way this was filmed, and I hope they keep the same kind of cinematography throughout. And I LOVE the support cast (I can't unsee Yue Yang as the best dad ever as Daddy Xu in GotDF, but if he gets to act another Daddy Xu I'm all for it LOL) Liu Lin - I also just watched her in Dead End and her ~son~ from there gets a part in this one, too, can't wait to see him :D

I wish the BGM and songs were a bit more inspiring. Maybe they'll grow on me. Here's hoping.

Here's also hoping that TXW gets a meatier (ha!) role to shine in. This will be my first ZLH drama (since I keep post-poning MJTY LOL) and if I don't like it (or something) it'll be all my BFF's fault since she has a crush on him LOL (she never NEVER EVER watched one of his dramas either, she's a facecon through and through.)

IMHO Prince Yu would've definitely been the best pick for Crown Prince if the Emperor wasn't so paranoid - he would have been his father's perfect successor.

But then he's one of those villains one loves to hate, LOL. And the Crown Prince the Emperor did pick, too. Great acting on both their parts :D

... how the ending kind of fizzled out of story to tell. I got it, XJS was bad and all, everybody in his family was also bad blah-blah-blah, but still, I think XJY should've/could've gotten a redemption arc, anyway -

Why the eff did Murong Yao go out so easily?! He had 4 freaking personal assassins in his team, all trained the same harsh way as FYX, they did nothing and he got expedited fast.

How the eff did Murong the Dad switch so fast from honest stand-up officer to traitor and regicide all come with an instant cover-up story (that seemingly nobody believed, since the Feng batallion immediately turned coats for FSG in an instant, LOL.) Ah, nevermind.

The first half (or two thirds) were much better than the final arc, though XJY did a lot of heavy lifting in those eps. It's like everybody suddenly forgot how to act except for Qin TianYu - the Feng princess most of all - and the focus was on impossible battle feats instead of telling a whole compelling story (like how the EFF did NOBODY notice the FREAKING ENEMY was gently taking a stroll in the middle of the ENEMY CAPITAL CITY for a few days?!) Like - FYX went into the final battle with only 4 arrows, shot dozens of them and when she stabbed WeiRan in the neck with one, she still had 3 more in the bag. Did nobody care for freaking continuity LOL?

Ah, nevermind though, Except for the VERY SAD DEATH of the freaking villain mad emperor - XJY, I'm going to miss you so bad!! - I'm generally pleased with this drama. The production values were really impressive, the eyecandy eyecandied with extreme force, there were (some) compelling villains (ah, XJY *teardrop*), I could care less about some of the other villains' problems, but I was HIGHLY entertained. So all's well that ends well.

Now for the music - the main theme got kind of a bit over-used BUT I liked all the a capella versions, I hope they're all included in the official OST. I really wish they had a few more catchy songs, they were sorely needed.

Also!! Was impressed with myself for recognising Li Qin's dub voice actor - she also voiced Li SuSu in TTEOTM, and I really like that voice.

PS Still standing by the first impression - Zuo Ye with green eyes and white hair as Fei in FoF was SO MUCH MORE CUTE!!!! He's cute anyway, but I don't think his usual colours will ever surpass Fei no matter how many dramas he acts in, LOL.

PPS I think in the final arc, the drama could have used a few more veteran actors to anchor the acting and give it more weight. Too bad most of the older and more experienced actors eventually made an exit before that final arc.

So, last words - this started very strong (amazing production), I wish they had more theme songs to use for deep emotional moments, my beer is left unopened (DAMMIT!!! did anyone read the novel, does it end that plotline any different?), Sa DingDing theme song (YAY!), Sa DingDing cameo role, LOL, the FL got a bit lost in the last arc until she came back strong, etc etc.

Not happy with...

After 37th, eff that beer. Dammit.

ETA Also eff the whole Xia family, Empress, former Emperor, Xia JingShi etc - everyone, back to the beginning of their line. Not Xia JingYan though.