Taino

If I ever rewatch this drama, I will start from episode 5...

This is how you do a love triangle... it was annoying, but it worked in the end because it was used for character development.

Indeed! Some commenters say that he is a complex character, and maybe he is, but was most definitely stubborn, entitled, aggressive and childish. He was not a funny character, he was a guy who felt superior to everyone else for the weight of his family. He threw his weight around because he knew his title and his family would grant him privileges, which is why he didn't have any issues pulling weapons on front of women, killing horses, whipping people and almost destroying the reputation of a young lady. Ye Xian does not evolve, what happens to him is that he the favorite of the kid emperor and the protected of the male lead, because without the favor of the emperor or the multiple plans of the male lead he would have been killed very early on the story, and even his merits are all the result of doing what the male lead told him to do, and what gets the male lead, he gets to be treated as a secondary character in his own story. Now, for the FL; She was a business woman, so she most definitely was a able to recognize that Ye Xian was a mad man from the beginning and that was the story for several episodes, but suddenly, we are supposed to believe that they became the best of friends, when the only thing that he had done that far was harass her and even tried to harm her more than once only for his own entertainment. The writers decide to change the tone of their relationship when she ties him to a chair, transitioning their relationship from abuse to "pranks" almost, because now both "are playing games", which again, was completely out of character for the female lead that while stubborn, was the victim until that point, and from there we see the classic girl that doesn't realize that this guy obviously likes her, and she even somewhat rejects him but keeps in touch with the guy and develops a weird relationship that even in the present would be questionable, and so much more in the historical setting of this show. Ye Xian was the favorite characters of these authors, since he received all the plot armor and importance of a main character even after his demise, and the female lead was guilty or leading him on by accepting his weird friendship and keeping him close to her heart even after she supposedly found her true love... I am passionate about this topic because this show genuinely had potential to be so much better than this...

I cannot control how you feel about my comment, but I think you only find my comments annoying because you cannot fathom that someone doesn't share your opinion. I love anime, and other genres, but please note that there are several animes with complex well written stories. The problem is that this was not a "complex well written story" with "gray characters"; I don't doubt that maybe the novel was good, but this show is unbalanced and incomplete. I bring the love triangle because it is indeed one of the weaknesses of a story that had potential for a real "complex story" with colorful and gray characters through good storytelling instead of regurgitating tropes, treating the actual male lead like a secondary character and ending in a finale that felt rushed, incomplete and below expectations...

You're completely right! The problem is that he is not the male lead! Romance dramas are about the main couple love story and the plot. My point about gender is a mental exercise to proof that for too many people is just an excuse to justify their second lead syndrome.

I want to respect your opinion, but the moment you said that "there is no love triangle" knew that trying to reason with you would be impossible. I don't doubt that Ye Xian was important in the novel, and the show made it more than obvious, but the issue remains when a show titled "A Splendid Match" seemed to prioritize anything other than the splendid match itself. I recommend that you don't take things personal, because my opinion shouldn't affect you this much if you were so sure about your argument being true.

Besides, you know I am right... 😊

Just finished watching this last night, and the comments section is for comments, isn't it?

That scene was the most disrespectful demonstration ever... but people with second male syndrome don't see reason... LOL

I mean... after making the second male lead kinda the protagonist with too much screentime and attention, we were all left wanting to see more of the main couple in the end...

I do believe that FL is not innocent, but SML alone was obsessive and stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer anyway.

I believe that things would have ended better if there was more about the plot earlier, instead of wasting so much time on love triangles...

I was thinking just now... that if Ye Xian was a girl and was in love with ML, hell would break loose, and all those who defend and praise the annoying second male lead would destroy the second female lead version... hahahaha

Yes, the love triangles ruined what could've been a much better show. The show is titled "A Splendid Match", and while the relationship and chemistry of the main couple was great, the love triangles overshadowed their romance too many times. There is a huge difference between true friendship and what was going on between Gu Jin Zhao and Ye Xian. Since Ye Xian was going to be at the center of the plot because the evil teacher wanted to destroy his clan, they could've wrapped the love triangle a lot earlier and develop a stronger relationship between Ye Xian and Chen Yan Yun, from rivalry to true friendship between two men and a common enemy, but instead we get a second male lead that had more screentime and sometimes more importance than the male lead himself. Let's remember that romance dramas are about the the love story of the main male lead and the main female lead and how their story develop throughout the plot, but this drama was hijacked by the second male lead. The male lead behaved more like a second male lead since he would show in only for moments and then vanish from the screen because the plot sent him away, but on the contrary, the plot kept pulling Ye Xian to the center of the story with everything from his obsession for the female lead, the forced friendship between him and the female lead, the evil teacher obsessed with destroying his clan, his friendship with the kid emperor, and even after dead the story kept allocating way too much time to him. He dies, and we expect that the female lead will be sad, but his body is brought directly to her, she cries her heart out on top of him and when her husband collapses she doesn't even look his way, and the writers didn't care either because the scene ends immediately and cuts to the female lead with Ye Xian, again, but this time spending time with the corpse as she reads his full letter with memories and romantic music in a second scene than like the previous one was very long, instead of tending to her husband that as far as she knows could be mortally wounded. I have more examples, but this could become a thesis if I keep going. The point is that love triangles are popular tropes and if used properly, they can add tension, character development, plot development and more, but when abused it does what it did in this show, which is, take too much time that could have been used on important things that fell short or where not even addressed properly, like the whole political plot, or the cult that was only mentioned in the last episodes or how we didn't even get to see the good guys turning the tables on the bad guys, or how we didn't even get see the moment when the male lead the undeniable evidence that would destroy his teacher, or the bad guys going to prison or being executed, or the main couple being a power couple, or how the female lead's family either fell in disgrace or redeemed themselves, or the aftermath of everything, or their actual happy ending where everyone is happy... Instead of using the time of any of those very relevant things, we were given an eternal love triangle with Ye Xian through his own scenes, scenes with the female lead and even how the writers made him to be in the center of the plot just to make him relevant... If you like love triangles and are one of those who develops second lead syndrome, I won't be able to convince you, but you should be able to see how sometimes, less love triangle stuff allows room for what matters, and in a romance drama that is the main couple and the plot.

I understand, but I also love how their romance is not just hugs and kisses but starting to notice each other and care for each other during the earlier episodes

And so dramas make it a lot harder by using last names that sound identical for us who don't speak the language and are even written similarly, like in the C-Drama "Who Rules the World" where you might as well think that half of them are all cousins...

Thank you for taking the time to explain this!

I am about to start my rewatch this week!

It doesn't matter... someone who hasn't watched the show doesn't know this...

One of the many problems is that the second male lead was everywhere! He was present from episode 1 and whenever the story was not about him pursuing the female lead or creating issues that could ruin her reputation, the plot suddenly pulled him and his family at the center of the plot. We believe we finally get a break from him when the nephew comes back, but he is not gone when the second male lead is back, and maybe not actively pursuing the female lead anymore, but definitely still getting to much screen and attention even after death. For example, one of the most disrespectful scenes I've ever seen is when he dies in the battlefield and the male lead brings his body back, and then his body is brought to the female lead who crashes and cries her heart out for this man and when her husband faints due to exhaustion and multiple wounds she doesn't even look his way and the show itself doesn't prioritizes him because the scene goes black immediately and then transitions to the female lead and the second male lead again, but this time she is sitting with his corpse reading a long letter while reminiscing their "relationship" with romantic music and we never see her tending to her wounded husband, but instead get two very long extended scenes all about the second male lead. If you asked me, the could have cut his love triangle short and develop a rivalry with the male lead and then a deep friendship that is not about the female lead anymore, but these two men being true friends... Unfortunately, the obsession with that character was obvious since that is time that could have been used to develop the plot better and not end the story in a hurry without proper resolution, or even showing us how the good ones were winning until they finally defeat the evil people... This love triangles were so annoying that I think I developed some immunity to love triangles so maybe I can tolerate some less annoying love triangles now...