Morwen

Thanks! I do! 😄

The problem has been solved, I already found it on the smart TV app. But thank you anyway! :)

I finally found it! So no geo-blocking after all (at least not this time). It was just so well hidden, that I didn't immediately find it on WeTV, but now I finally did.
Thanks for your help anyway! :D

Ahhh, thank you! ❤

Ah, I see! So it's just geo-blocked for me (in Europe).
I don't have VPN and I'm not tech-savvy enough to get into that, I'm afraid, nor do I want to spend money on yet another streaming service.
In that case I'll just wait for the Viki release.
Thanks, anyway!

I've been looking forward to this drama for months, but now that it's here, I don't know where to (legally) watch it with English subs. For some reason I always thought it would be on WeTV, but it's not.
Guess I'll just... wait here then for this to be released on Viki. 😂😭

I've only seen Ci Sha in a support role so far (Pledge of Allegiance), but his acting was abolutely top-notch in that one, considering he's only been in very few dramas up to that point.
That's why I have complete and utter faith that he'll knock it out of the park in this role.

In that moment, we were all Youlan.

He was absolutely brilliant as Wuxin. He reminded me a bit of a trickster god, but with a good portion of human warmth and vulnerability. ❤

I first saw Liu Xueyi as Xie Yuchen (called Xiao Hua) in The Lost Tomb 2 and its sequel, Explore With The Note. He was excellent as beautiful young mob boss, who was trying to keep a whole criminal family in check. You did NOT want to mess with him. 😂

Handsome Siblings is a good drama. It's the adaptation of a wuxia classic and a typical hero's journey, so it's not quite the same genre. It was only the second drama I had watched, so I didn't have much to compare it to at that time, but I remember enjoying it.
I find In Blossom much more addicting, though. The romance is better done, as is the suspense, in my opinion.

The three sworn brothers are very close and soft for each other and they would definitely die for each other, so there's a bit of bromance whenever they're together. Each of them has his own love interest though, and one is even married. But he's also very clear about the fact that his two sworn brothers are as important to him as his wife is.

I wish I could say I'm surprised by how flawed female characters are perceived and judged in these shows, but sadly, I'm really not.
Annoying male characters are always more loved and allowed to grow, while the female ones get exponentially more hate. The double-standard is quite obvious and I'm sick and tired of it.

Yeah, not being able to always get what (and who) you want in life due to different priorities and life choices was definitely one of the lessons she had to learn this season. Though with a romantic interest as unpredictable as Zichuan Xiu, anything still seems possible at this point...
Well, I hope we'll find out in season 2.

You're welcome!
Ning is one of the reasons why I find the abrupt ending of season 1 so frustrating. You can already see some character growth in her in the first 24 episodes and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more in season 2.
And also, as you said, the writing for this drama is really well done, it would make no sense for her to be the only badly written character.

I absolutely loved this drama and can't wait for season 2!
As soon as I understood the general power structures, I had no problem following the plot, though the incredible amount of dialogue, characters and political intrigue forces one to pay constant attention to every single word.

In writing, there's a rule called 'show, don't tell' and I've got to admit that was my biggest complaint about this drama. I was way too often TOLD what was happening but not actually SHOWN, which is really the only thing I expect from a visual medium. I get that this was also a budget related decision but I still hope to see more of the outside world (and especially more battle scenes) in season 2.

Watching the three brothers interact was an absolute joy, though. The fact that three people who are so different in nature can think so much alike that they can guess what the other two are planning half across the continent and act accordingly was quite amazing and touching. That and the rare but genuine moments of friendship and happiness they experienced whenever they met made their connection so real. I hope season 2 will treat them well. (... I mean, yeah, I know, it probably won't, but a girl can dream.)

Great review!
And thank you for a more nuanced recap of Ning's role and persona.
I agree that the actress wasn't the best choice for this role, but other than that I had no problem with Ning, especially when considering her incredibly sheltered life up to this point. She was also a lot smarter than most viewers seem to give her credit for and clearly understood the dangers and power struggles around her.

Should be WeTV since it's Tencent. :)

The most recent ones I've heard about are THE GATE OF XUAN WU (which was filmed in 2017) and GROWING PAINS OF SWORDSMEN (which was filmed in 2018). Both will be released this month.
There might be others soon, who knows. We'll have to wait and see.

Watched the new trailer and may have screamed a bit (both internally and externally).
I hope this means they won't hold this back for much longer?
At least it seems like a few dramas are coming out now that have been filmed ages ago.

On Netflix Germany as well. :)