Skibbies

I think I'd love the drama more if they cut out ML's family and tianshuang sect LOL. I don't mind ML's family at first, so if they kept it to like 5 ep, it's ok too, he could spend more time gathering army, or going on adventure with female lead, or more flashback to jianghu times, it'd make this way less lopsided.

I actually rather like the book even though I have fair amount of complaints (so very mary sue, so op), mostly cos FL is genuinely awesome, and antagonists have sound logic and depth, just different ideaologies, the tragedy of living in chaotic times is much more pronounced in the novel.

Like FL really doesn't like being a Queen but she shoulders it because she has to. Langhua is a princess in the novel, one of the states that's not really relevant in much of the novel, her country was destroyed and she went through hell, she wants to be awesome like BFX but she can't, but she still struggles to live, to do something (I forgot what her goal was lmao)

You actually don't miss much in the book, the book was like 20% wuxia, the bits you saw in the beginning, then like 50% war and politics (the politics aren't really scheming, more the main few characters doing stuff in their respective kingdoms). The wars are in the last 6 ep, it's shadow of what they were but it's technically here. the remaining bits are her meeting all these awesome people. (like strolling into hua churan's palace or accidentally meeting huang chao, oh yeah and the various one sided crushes)

The female friendship is there, I like the variety of female characters there are in the novel, even the minor characters, they all try their best. (there's more ladies that's considered weak cos they don't know martial arts). You do miss the awesome generals that xiyun and huang chao has, they are in the drama as like cameos mostly, but I really liked them in the novel.

HFX and BFX relationship are drastically different, so I think most drama watchers would dislike it cos the romance are barely there, and they spent much of their time being wary of each other, and having trust issues (for very good reasons, as respective countries' rulers)

I found the writing style and characters very op, very over the top, but the author said she was going for larger than life legend-like storytelling so I can accept that. It does make more sense than the drama I think.

I wonder why that is mhmm, i don't remember any other HK RoTK adaptation besides Red Cliff, it's so hard to say.

Oh oh you just reminded me, the equivalent to speak of the devil is "talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives" LOL, RoTK runs deep in the culture. I never really thought of Cao Cao as the bad guy, even though I know he's the antagonist in the novels, I know some adaptations paint him into one dimensional villain, but there are a lot that explore his depth too, there's so many interesting people and stories about him!

As for history is written by the victors, technically aren't they both losers? If anything, Jin is more like extension of Wei so Wei should have more legitimacy! Although I guess Wei did get overthrown instead of fading into oblivion. iirc, wasn't Shu set as protagonist because the novel was written in early Ming to reinforce the Han-centric rule of Ming? Well okay, it sort of gathers lot of folk tales and puts it together, so some could be from late Yuan which would be stories to encourage uprising (?) and hope for reunification under Han rule (?). I have no idea why Wei was an antagonist, maybe cos Cao Cao is too awesome, so he's great as antagonist, Shu is the underdog you root for, and it has all the brotherly bond and genius strategists and......stuff, oh yeah and benelovent overlord.

I think the setting is interesting choice, and acting is of course phenomenal, characters are pretty interesting analytically speaking, but for some reason I just wasn't really into them. Maybe I opened the drama with wrong mindset so I didn't get fully immersed in and couldn't care about the plot. Wait, maybe i'm just a staunch Wei supporter hahahaha.

Maybe you are a fusion of Sun Yi and Ni Ni ;D

cdrama is slowly getting more popular, hopefully people will notice the non romantic cdramas more :)

Oh wow super high praises! I'm glad this drama wrapped up so nicely, unlike the other adaptations *coughs*

I was rather bored half the time in first two thirds though, even though I enjoyed most actors' performances. I love Mi Chong and Guo Gang so much, so much props to Wang Xiao and Dong Zijian! I liked both in Ni Ni's last drama My Best Friend's Story too, even though the plot was kind of a mess, and their characters had limited time/weren't the greatest, but they absolutely killed it like this time, so much chemistry with co-stars!

I love their face off, one of my favourite sequence of the whole drama. Zhang Xiaochen looking awesome here is a bonus.

Too many bearded men, lot of organisation names and unfamiliar backgrounds + serious with political and non-fancy kind of spy work make it bit higher hurdle for most I think.

"spy spying on spies and hang gliding" is technically a perfect summary of the drama :P

yes. just be warned you are going to be swamped with new characters and names at the beginning, and most of them are bearded men, so good luck (knowing history doesn't actually help lol, knowing the actors kind of make you less faceblind, that's about it).

wasn't it cos you were waiting for your mum for a bit and stuff? also hahaha, cos of longxi, a lot of people are picking up three kingdoms (2010) and RoTK (1993) domestically too hahaha. Hope you have lots of fun with AA <3 Come and flail at any time :P

his books have been sitting on my reading list but I got through webnovels through audiobook and light reading but never got to his lol. I mostly knew this from novel readers.

It's fine for it to be vernacular Chinese, it's specifically rather modern terms that sort of pull people out, but I get the impression that's a Ma Boyong issue, because he wrote it like a cold war era spy flick lol.

they found his pacing kind of "flat", some of the shots are way too dark etc. I wouldn't call it toxic, just criticism, he's not the one getting critcised the most anyways.

You can try reading the novel or listening to it if you want, it's called 我的锦衣卫大人, I found the female characters really different and portrayal of depression/ptsd + healing process actually believable so I loved it. Shijin is essentially a schemer, which is usually reserved for MLs, so I really liked it. She has to suffer more to be together with Shen Yi but it worked out okay. FL's dad is kind of terrible person in the novel as far as I remember, I can't remember if the prince actually becomes the emperor, but he's pretty good at being a cold blooded calculating figure at least.

Glad you liked FL and had lots of fun :D the drama did try to keep most stuff I think, but I also get when people complain that its core have been stripped :P

In the novel, Liu Ling have survivor's guilt + ptsd that caused severe depression, with suicidal tendencies and at its worse, she hears and sees vision, which idk if it's from severe depression or if it's schizophrenic symptoms. The novel starts pretty much the same, Liu Ling is just aggressively chasing and Shen Yan is super stoic and going nope. It later reveals Liu Ling treat him like a life boat, I do think she was attracted to him, but I do get why some people think she's a distraction. Shen Yan think she sees him as distraction, he warns her to stop playing around, because he see throug hher somewhat.

The cliff scene is sort of novel's revelation scene, she was kidnapped yes, but she also wanted to die, and Shen Yan saw through it and saved her. Liu Ling is a rather contradictory character, she actually tries her hardest to live most of the time. Thus clinging onto Shen Yan, or pissing off her family cos they were terrible to her, but there's times she wants to give up fighting and the cliff is one of those times. Her relationship with Shen Yan is pretty unhealthy and dysfunctional. In the novel, her mother was murdered by stepmother (who's also her mum's real sister in the novel...it's messed up) and dad (i think i don't remember if he actively participated but he def wasn't innocent,) she always thought it was her fault, and these people keep feeding that thought to her which worsened her condition. Anyways, her character development wasn't really love cured all, it was coming to terms with her own past, and forgiving her past self, and being more at peace with society at large which I really really liked as a message, and it's a shame that's not so much a thing in the drama.

I also mentioned I really liked Liu Ling and Su Shijin's relationship. As you can probably guess, Liu Ling in the novel is more broody and vindictive. She doesn't actively go out to harm others, but she has no qualm fighting back if they step on her toes. Anyways they met each other when they were at their worst, just like in the drama, so they are actually reluctant to see each other, They are very likely to take jabs at each other every time they see each other, the drama actually says it too "it's like we see ourselves reflected back to us through each other". Their actions often make it seem like they dislike each other sometimes, Shijin have no qualm using Liu Ling if she needs to, and she knows Liu Ling would be mad but still understand. The most interesting thing is, despite this rather strange relationship and despite Shijin's biggest dream is to help the prince (she likes him in the novel), when it comes to what matters the most, Shijin would sacrifice everything for her, because "at least one of us should be happy". There's something precious and endearing when two girls who suffered and gone through so much, and are both super awkward hedgehog type are willing to do everything in their power to make sure each other are happy yknow.

I genuinely super love FL and SFL and both their character development and relatioships. I always throught it'd be difficult to adapt, because all the mental bagge is hard to get pass NRTA and hard to convey so people actually feel it. Since if you don't feel it, FL is just bratty and unreasonable, so unlikeable to the max.

Zheng Yecheng have two dramas upcoming that hopefully broaden the type of roles he gets

The drama actually kept a lot of original dialogues and content, it's sort of sprinkled everywhere and glossed over, so I get when people say it's changed a lot, but it also still make sense if you squint.

Lots of hugs, this sound like hell of a drama to make you dislike all the characters, incredible.