Brennnndda

Okay, gotcha.
That's one thing that frustrated me whenever she got into a fight with mom...or she behaved poorly in public. It was always "I'm unruly because my parents didn't educate me" ugh

I appreciated when the emperor told her she can't keep using her sad background as an excuse not to learn anymore.

He makes for a great son and brother...just not someone who's going to rule a young country.

I respectfully disagree. Normally, I would say CSS was a bit impetuous but I don't think the CP issue was her fault. All she did was console a son because he felt himself inadequate of his parents.
Should she be more careful? Definitely.

But LBY fails to explain why it's dangerous. She's figuratively navigating palace life blind and it isn't fair for him to throw her into the fire and expect that she knows how to not get burned. He's plotting his own things in the background and never thinks to let her in so she can react accordingly.

I had my own criticisms against CSS...but girl gets a standing ovation from me in episodes 31&32.
I love seeing her form relationships (both bad and good) with everyone around her. And it's completely fine with me that the romance is on the back burner for now.

Her convo with her mom was so sad and perfectly nuanced. It was seeing a daughter hesitantly trying to understand her mother yet afraid that her understanding could be wrong. She finally understood that maybe mothers truly only want peaceful lives for their children but just didn't have the confidence to take that leap with her own mother. The way she rushed the conversation and excused herself broke my heart because she was scared that maybe her mother's answer wouldn't be what she needed to hear and rather than having her hopes broken again, she ran.

Her convo with the Crown Prince brought tears to my eyes. She struggles with her own mother so much yet has so much understanding of the melancholic relationship the Crown Prince has with both his parents; one that is divided between being a son and being an heir.

Of course, can't finish without talking about her discussion with LBY. I LOVE that she called him out on all of it. He's the one who put her in the line of fire..without him, she never would've crossed paths with any official/royal family member..yet he's telling her to stay away from conflict? How could she see how big the ripple effects of her actions would be when she isn't informed of how delicate the structure of the inner palace is? He tells her to stop going the the Eastern Palace? How can she when he has such a close relationship to its owner, when she serves the empress..and when she's literally persecuted everywhere else she goes.

Such wonderful poignant moments in these episodes.

Do you happen to know what the writing on the photo says?

Honestly, I thought it was very selfish of her to demand an answer from him and when I watch trailers and she says "you owe me your heart" or "you owe me a life" ... uh .. he actually doesn't. When you give something of your own free will without being asked, there's no such thing as "you owe me." He literally told her not to do anything stupid to save him, but she was the one who persisted.
That's the problem with "naive, innocent, free" female leads. I don't know if it was arrogant thinking on her half..to believe that they could fulfill those promises and live happily together when everything is still a mess...especially when heaven's one rule was you cannot fall in love.

THANK YOU!!
I'm sure I will love her in episodes to come ... and I didn't want to say it...but she was eager to die just because he wouldn't say he loved her too...no honey..no.
He would've had to be like "Yes, I do love you. I do remember all the promises we made...but it doesn't matter because I can't choose you"
Either way would've crushed her.

I feel for Ying Yuan..it also doesn't help that he's the only sovereign lord left so leaving his duties for romance is really not an option. He already feels survivor's guilt from the war, add to that the knowledge that he was helpless to save the woman he loved when she was being accused...it's amazing he hasn't curled into a ball and crumbled yet.

So True!!
It was one reason I hated Ashes of Love. Xu Feng and Jin Mi were the most productive when they weren't together...yah, I get that they were devastated over having caused the other to die...but seriously.
Run Yu was doing Jin Mi's deity job for her while she wallowed in her own despair...and Xu Feng abandoned his duties as the Demon lord to go look for her remnants.
When they weren't together, Xu Feng freaking took over and ruled the demon realm! Talk about badass!

It's also why I love Love and Redemption. Si Feng's story arcs were love..hence why he always sacrificed so much for Xuan Ji...but he never thought of sacrificing his fellow rose-gold bird clan mates to be with her.
Xuan Ji's arcs were not love based. Her focus was about her true identity and the great travesty she suffered. I cannot stress how much I love that that was her focus. It upset me when people constantly said Xuan Ji should suffer more for hurting Si Feng...he withheld information from her; his pain was self inflicted.

The drama "will depict the journey of three poor sisters who will be against the richest and most influential family in the nation after being caught up in an incident" ... but that wasn't what the book was about at all . . .

I'm actually sad that Immortal Samsara doesn't have an OST by him TT

It seems that she chooses Yu Mo in the novel...but I'm willing to bet they will change it in the drama because it's Cheng Yi playing Ying Yuang/Tang Zhou. I'm thinking he won't let himself lose her twice so *fingers crossed.*

The Supreme Lord is probably hiding the truth about his heritage. He said "your mother was bewitched" which we all know to probably mean she fell in love.
I bet the only reason he didn't kill Ying Yuan when he was born was because not only did Ying Yuan inherit both heavenly and Asura power and had the potential to be one of the most powerful beings to ever exist..but the supreme lord was going to use him against his father and the rest of the demon clans eventually. . .kind of like how Hao Chen used Luo Hou Ji Du against his Asura clan.

I wasn't either, which is why I said bittersweet. If she was resolved to die and could find peace in death..why bring her back to suffer in a world that didn't welcome her in the first place? Because everyone who used to crucify her now need closure? Screw them and their self-righteousness. She lost everyone who loved her and in the end, she didn't even have her memories.

I normally love Wallace Huo..but he's played some shitty characters. Bai Zi Hua and the emperor in Ruyi..ugh.

I think that once you've seen one xianxia drama..you've seen them all. It's essentially a "wash, rinse, repeat" formula. The difference is whether you like the cast and perhaps the structure of the storyline.
If you haven't, you can watch Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (Eternal Love). That's like the xianxia of all xianxia dramas. It's what got me started on my love of all things xianxia.

Then there's The Untamed..which is BL but censored so it's more bromance..but the drama follows the novel perfectly.

I completely agree. I highly doubt either of them would've kept their love a secret because both are too righteous to lie about it.

I was watching an interview with Cheng Yi and he was saying that while Ying Yuan is strict and upstanding..Tang Zhou is more playful and mischievous and he is the one who goes after Yan Dan and I'm all here for it!

It's infuriating. The ending is...bittersweet. They both survived and were together..if you consider that happy. In my opinion, Hua Qiangu was too kind and Bai Zihua was too unlikeable.
Watching it when it aired made it fresh and exciting..but now that the same outline and tropes have been used relentlessly in the past couple of years with xianxia dramas..it may no longer hold the flair it used to.

Rewatching episode 15 where she crosses the river and their conversations gives me Journey of the Flower vibes. Like Hua Qiangu, Yan Dan just wants Ying Yuan to admit that he does love her...but like Bai Zihua, he won't and that's where she becomes angered/bitter. She thinks their experiences meant nothing to him and it's the reason she can throw her own life away.
In truth, it's the complete opposite..he loved her so deeply but can't admit it because the lives of more than just the 2 of them rest of his shoulders (like Bai Zihua). Saying "I love you" is moot because it doesn't change their situation and he doesn't want to give her the false hope that they will one day be together.
It's just sad that everyone bears witness to his incredibly deep love...except her.

That's like when Ying Yuan was executing the previous curator who gave the 4 artifacts to her demon lover. He said "he didn't even ask about you when he died" .. or something like that.
It didn't mean the demon guy loved her any less..but considering that war was going to break out...it's reasonable that she (the curator) wouldn't have been the first thing on his mind.

I think I've been too spoiled listening to Zhou Shen's OSTs..
Now, every time I watch a historical or xianxia drama, I expect a song from him.

The scenes in the OST were what sold me on this drama. I was so disappointed after hearing Cheng Yi's Ying Yuan speak in his first scene. The disappointment was more overwhelming than I thought it would be.

The OST sounded more emotional and raw while the drama just sounds...well..dubbed lol