Brennnndda

I haven't read the novel but from what I understand, Wulugi's husband and son will die because of Yan Yan. Wulugi tries to poison Yan Yan to avenge them but the latter finds out and has Wulugi killed.
Hui Nian falls in love with a slave and Yan Yan opposes it. Eventually, she will have Hui Nian killed as well.
Their sisterhood was doomed the day each branch claimed each sister.
There's speculation that Yan Yan has Li Si killed and Yan Yan and De Rang end up getting married later on. The latest music video Tencent released also shows them together in their old age with Yan Yan saying something along the lines of "every one I've ever loved has left me, the only left is you, De Rang"

Yeah..makes it really hard to root for Ming Yi. He knew he would have to deal with their lingering feelings when he chose to steal his best friend's girl.

The only things similar is that the female lead ends up marrying the second male lead...and all 3 are a mix of historical/political dramas. Execution and details are quite different.

Normally in dramas like this I would 100% agree with you. I think it is so ridiculous when women of high statuses in dramas get whiny or try to run away when they have to marry for political reasons. When you are born into a life of privilege, something must be sacrificed. In historical times and in highborn families, sons fight on the frontlines for their countries while daughters marry for their's.

I'm personally not disgusted with Ming Yi's decision to take Yan Yan from De Rang..but rather by how he chose to do it. I am actually on De Rang's side this time. From De Rang's perspective, he's not mad because Ming Yi took her (this is proven because De Rang was the one who told Yan Yan they had to live for more than just love when she said she'd commit suicide on her wedding day), it's more because Ming Yi did it in such a backstabbing, cowardly way. He chose to betray their 10+ years of brotherhood to do so. De Rang would've bled himself dry to help Ming Yi but Ming Yi didn't even have the courtesy to tell them of his decision...instead he sends his decree and blindsides Yan Yan and De Rang. He literally sent his betrothal gifts to her while Hui Nian was going through what she thought were De Rang's betrothal gifts.

Then instead of coming clean and sincerely apologizing, Ming Yi makes up all these excuses to justify why he did it including going so far as to brazenly say "I know Yan Yan and she wanted an opportunity like this." Ming Yi wouldn't be where he is without De Rang and he repaid that debt with treachery. It's like what De Rang said to his father.."for a man who betrays his friendships, how can you guarantee he won't betray his promises to the people?"
De Rang's decision to leave wasn't because he was having a tantrum, but rather because his entire belief system was shaken to its core and shattered by the person he fought so hard for; someone he thought was his brother.

I think it depends on your preference of dramas. If you like historical political dramas then you may love this. If you prefer dramas where romantic love is the main focus then you may not like this.

I actually thought she tried her best. It was a very tough spot where the leading men from the 3 branches each claimed one of the sisters. She pleaded for Yan Yan and Da Rang and initially tried to help them. Unfortunately, she was forced to play the "bad" guy for the sake of her family. Out of the 3 sisters, Huinian was the most lucid, the most reasonable, and the one most willing to sacrifice herself. She's actually my favorite out of the 3. Wulugi is too materialistic and self-centered and Yan Yan is too willful and stubborn.

Running Man was my introduction to variety shows and it brought so much laughter to my life. I loved watching their name-tag races, especially when Running Man were pitted against another team because their teamwork made them shine so brightly! Sadly, I lost interest and dropped it shortly after Gary's departure.

I feel like the act itself is how they continue to show their love. Like, seeing the person they love well and happy is better than leaving and not knowing whether that person is dead or alive, happy or sad.
One of the reasons I adore historical dramas is because love was so hard to come by back then since marriages tended to be based on benefits and alliances. It wasn't a "well, we broke up but I can always find someone else" mentality, it was a "one life, one love" mentality.
The partner left behind could be vindictive and become an enemy but for men like him to willingly choose to be the protector, it's tragically beautiful. And, technically it is their choice to stay so they wouldn't see it as suffering, they'd see it as being true to themselves while still being allowed to be in their beloved's life.

It's only similar in that the male and female lead are separated because the female lead is forced to marry someone else and both female leads eventually become Empress Dowagers for their sons. The storytelling, characters, and tone of the dramas are quite different.

If anybody ever asks that question, the knee-jerk answer should be: "Depends on what it is"
It's like in Goodbye My Princess when Gu Xiao Wu told Xiao Feng the story about himself then asked her if she would forgive him if he hurt his friend to get revenge for his mom and she said of course she would...which probably made him feel a little less worse about wiping out her family.

She seems like a very good person and it would be nice for a change to not have a catty SFL.

Are you referring to her role in separating the lovers?

Agreed. His moments here he tries to be good to her after their marriage sickens me. He's trying to thaw her heart and I love how she just rebuffs him. I hope she doesn't grow to love him..at least not fall in love with him. He certainly doesn't deserve it.

They look and have a more mature aura about them and I would honestly hate seeing them try to pass off as 20-somethings.

I don't think that was on Wang Yi Bo because Lan Wang Ji is written as such. WYB is by no means a spectacular actor but I thought he played Lan Wang Ji to a certain perfection once he got comfortable with the character. For someone so young, he did a good job at the quiet nuances that defined Lan Wang Ji.

Your second paragraph is my reasoning for skipping many k-dramas. Don't get me wrong, there have been a handful of idols who've proven themselves as actors/actresses (Lee Joon, IU) but it still makes me angry when more capable actors are passed over for idol actors just because of popularity.

It has a more optimistic atmosphere than PoCA did, plus the characters (especially the female lead) are a lot more likable.

Helan Ming Yu was not a likable female lead. It could've been in part because of the actress's failure to convey complex emotions and partially because of how she was written but she was too wishy washy and self-righteous. She married a selfish man and had an incompetent, ungrateful son. She knew neither were worthy of ruling yet made excuses when they made mistakes. She then cursed the one man who loved and sacrificed everything for her to die at a young age all because he wouldn't surrender his hard-earned power over to her damn son even though said son continuously tried to kill him. (And the only reason he needed that power was to protect himself from her son.)

I do think Han De Rang is also much more fun to watch than Cheng Xu (love both Cheng Yi and Shawn Dou equally so it has nothing to do with the actors). Han De Rang doesn't have the blind trust that Cheng Xu had, which basically led to Cheng Xu losing everything. I think this will help him in the future when he returns to her side.

I think it's a much better improvement. Han De Rang won't be like Cheng Xu, sacrificing himself in vain to people who are ungrateful to him. From just the first couple of episodes, the characters are much better written than the PoCA characters. They're smart, capable, and not blind to the court politics in front of them.

I think it's so funny when characters steal that which isn't rightfully theirs then spend the rest of their lives insecure and paranoid lol