We get a really cool fight scene between Yi Xiao and Wei Ran that uses shadows and sparking blades to great visual effect. I don't like that she lets him off at the end, though. That makes no sense. Fortunately, Feng Sui Ge shows up to tie up that loose end. We then get Yi Xiao once again drinking like a fish to drown her sadness over Wei Ran's betrayal. This is getting ridiculous. How much more abusive drinking can her liver take? I like how Feng Sui Ge deals with the angry, stupid Ning Fei ... by simply telling him the flat-out truth! He's figured out that Ning Fei is too stupid to be one of the true bad guys and he is more useful if he's guided to support Yi Xiao by the truth. And then man, does Li Qin know how to look bad-ass. Her face as she walks past Ning Fei with bow and quiver, so grim like an angel of death ... wow.
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but in actuality, she is using his poisoned condition as an excuse to feign sympathy and concern in order to try to get him to drop his guard. Weiran's simply not very smart and already has given himself away. This episode, like the last one, moves very slowly as it is basically one conversation after another filling out exposition and details. Not bad, but kinda treading water. Watching Yi Xiao pretend to be nice to Xia Jing Shi is okay at a plot level but it's also cringe because he's so slimy. I hope they don't drag this phase out too much longer. We get maybe 2-3 minutes tops with both Fu Yi Xiao and Feng Sui Ge in the same room in this episode and that doesn't help. Also, the directorial technique of constantly doing close-ups on a character tightly clenching their fist to indicate anger/tension/whatever is getting old. Way over-used so far in this drama. Maybe they should rename this show, "Fated Fists"??
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They are both involved with hiding what happened on the cliff from her. What isn't completely clear is just how much aligned they both seem to have other agendas. Fu Yi Xiao seems to have figured out that at least Xia Jing Shu was involved and seemed absolutely disgusted by him trying to hold his hand, but she is acting towards him as if she trusts him. So the schemes within schemes is starting to get rolling.
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Right now, the scenes of Fu Yi Xiao spending time with her former 'brothers' make sense because she's looking for clues to restore her memory. But they are, frankly, annoying and kinda skippable. The Ning Fei character is just absurdly annoying and Weiran is clearly super-cautious about something that probably won't be revealed until later. So these scenes are a drag and annoying. Overall, the pace of things has really slowed down with the whole "Xia Jing Shi reunion" as there is a lot of slow back & forth exposition around his backstory with Yi Xiao and the maneuvering between those two and of course Feng Sui Ge.
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Makes me a little suspicious. Ning Fei seems as dumb as a post and very irritating. Not sure quite what to make of Xia Jingshi just yet other than he seems likely to be the psychotic obsessive type. This episode is a little frustrating because for the first time in a bit the FL & ML are sort of at cross purposes because she understandably is anxious to get her memories back while he is cautious and wary of allowing contact between her and Xia Jingshi.
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was when Fu Yi Xiao recognized how shell-shocked Feng Sui Ge was (because of his sister's decision) and instead of leaving, she immediately went after him in concern. This immediate, instinctive care for him right then was a huge sign of their changing relationship. It's also notable that she doesn't seem to care one bit to learn that Xia Jing Shi is going to marry ML's sister. The psycho may be obsessed with her but she doesn't seem to care about him at all. You'd think it would penetrate her amnesia a bit if she did. I feel bad for the princess Xi Yang, though.
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Fortunately, Sui Ge and Yi Xiao are able to salvage the situation. Sui Ge and Yi Xiao finally start to have some relaxed moments in the aftermath. This is important if they are going to have any sort of romance because they can't be on the edge of death constantly. Elsewhere, clearly psychotic Prince Zhennan learns that Yi Xiao is with Feng Sui Gi and heads out to 'rescue' her.
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Good god. The three kids are so annoying! Do they have to cry so much? I know I sound heartless but they are really over the top. And so disobedient. Definitely going to cause trouble.
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So in this episode, the FL captures ML in a reversal and for no real good reason other than revenge, I guess, whips and tortures HIM. And then he bites her hard in return for her earlier bite? So wtf is the point of all this? Is this supposed to be some sadomasochistic love dream? Sigh ... I really nope this story moves past this pathetic fetish stuff.
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the ML seems like a bit of an a**hole the way he totally disregards the treaty regarding the sanctity of the hospital villa. The way he took advantage of that situation was kinda cowardly and didn't make the greatest impression of him as a 'hero'. And then brutally torturing her while not even asking her any questions? What is the point of that? Pure sadism? He really doesn't seem like a mentally healthy guy and definitely smells of sadist. I guess he's got issues. Sigh ... why are the MLs in so many dramas broken at the start of the series? This just feeds into the myth that the love interest woman is somehow supposed to 'fix' him. I'll just grit my teeth and hope he becomes somewhat more likable because right now he's not a likable human. On the other hand, it looks like the other potential 'love interest' for our poor girl is psycho Prince Zhennan who looks like an even worse piece of crap. The episode goes on to show that the political in-fighting and back-stabbing inside ML's kingdom is pretty bad and may have contributed to his awful personality. Sigh ... I will be patient and accepting as the ML hopefully proves to be a better human than he's shown so far. I do like his several power-moves within the Susha court over the final stretch of the episode.
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What a start to this series! So much action in the first episode and once again Li Qin establishes herself as one of the best femaie action stars! The scene of her (Fu Xiao) taking on so many assassins in the woods was way cool and very entertaining. The episode overall is full of exposition in order to setup the series, and feels a little choppy, vague and purposely confusing at points - but that seems likely intentional as the director clearly wants to keep things from us for later reveals. Not totally a fan of that technique since it's obviously a contrivance of the show direction & editing but it's fine. The story also kicks off with the usually extremely annoying amnesia trope but as an initial story premise it feels okay here.
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A very well-paced final two episodes. Still had quite of bit of conflict resolution, 'action and drama' for the first half of the episode to provide a great series crescendo, and then enough time to provide a very satisfying denouement that lays out the post-drama fate of most of the characters.
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So 5th Uncle, Dou Shishu, gets betrayed and turned into a scapegoat by the evil factions of Empress Wan and Prince Qing. But it turns out that he expected it and is ultimately exploiting this whole situation - including sacrificing himself as a 'bad man' - to elevate his younger brother in the future!!!???
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So the villains are making their moves and, typical of c-drama plots, they are 'winning' nearly everything at this point.. This episode will frustrate viewers as they see character after character either fail to step up or simply be outright evil. With 3 episodes to go, things actually could get even worse in the next couple of episodes!
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That painful-to-watch romance is still a problem, but fortunately this episode gives most of its screen time to the the main plot involving the two leads. So we get several fun scenes both with them individually and together. Love the interactions between the two leads and the Crown Prince & Princess. We get some crucial backstory finally on what the Emperor was trying to accomplish by arresting Song Mo's uncle. And the good guys may have gained a key asset as one of the Empress' top maid servants, currently assigned to An Su's household, realizes she owes a huge debt of gratitude to Dou Zhao.
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