noor1234

Well, I don't like that she doesn't bow / courtesy to him & had to be told by ML/ king to do so. She also stands next to him without permission. FL can be brave & show respect to the king who is her benefactor AND BOSS!!!
Arm grabbing: I think he has held it 3 times in the last 3 episodes in anger.

Yup.

That makes 2 of us!

I agree with what you've said overall but in this drama, it remains to be seen what the dynamics between these 2 will be. He's not insecure or jealous & I doubt she's thinking of 'love' or dreams. They have a job to do, & rely on each other to do it. The only weird thing I see is that she doesn't courtesy him (he had to prompt her to do so in Ep.7) & she stands next to him without permission. Not even Old Chancellor & ML's childhood friend (SML) can do that.

SML was introduced in Ep. 2 (in seclusion hall, covering for ML/king's absence) not 7.

The title 'The scholar & the emperor' is better which is in the start-credits. Royal betrothal is very difficult to remember unless one knows the entire story.

My bet is on him being a villain.

Slave owner.

Yes, very intense & awkward to watch. They were probably acting for spies. I doubt it was real. It was probably a ruse to fish out Tiger clan - who will come after her in prison. I wish FL could be more respectful of king's position & not think of herself as his equal & at least acknowledge that she does have childhood trauma! But the king wanted a brave, no-holds-barred person to do the job, he doesn't mind that she debates him (plus I think he's in love).

No they aren't the main villains. They are criminal elements, part of a larger conspiracy to bring back a former 'Vale dynasty' in power, which involves court officials as well - ML & FL don't know it, but we have seen the other side's congregation (masked man with masked people underground) and hooded guy talking to Tiger leader in Ep. 10.

Yeah, but my hope is that they were acting out because they knew people were listening in, & he sent her to prison to fish out Tiger clan's leader & his connections in court. My hope is she wasn't being rude or his equal intentionally.....

Maybe they have the same agency?

Yeah, the pharmacist is probably affiliated with the former dynasty and I won't be shocked if he turns out to be an heir / Lord Shanuguan. His speaking up in front of ML / king was extremely suspicious. Old Chancellor's bodyguard is also very tall btw.

The SFL has been wearing the same pink dress since Ep.1......

Ep. 9: The entire episode was spent on the pharmacist who was FL's villainous ex-husband in The Double. And when he spoke to the Emperor/ML in Ep. 10, it made me suspect he's playing one of the villains here too!!!! The guy is a good actor but I was hoping he'd just be FL's magic-potion sidekick, alas, not meant to be! He probably is the heir to the former dynasty IMO.

Ep. 10: ML was the one who told FL years ago (when he had saved her from traffickers) that if she wants to get ahead in life she needs to study....so he is the reason she got on the track of using education to get status & security (she doesn't know that yet but she got the idea from a stranger). Nothing scares FL, which ML likes. He also showed a bit of jealousy at pharmacist. I love the FL but she thinks she's his equal & can stand next to him without bowing or asking permission. And she does it in front of everyone. She owes her position to this guy so a little bit of respect for his position should be there. Drama is trying to show that the guy is emotionally secure enough to not mind her disrespect because he wants to get a job done from her & is secretly in love with her (plus, they were probably just acting for potential spies), but she only becomes his equal when he gifts half of his territory to her as his wife/empress (as per webnovel). And she can deny it but she DID beat the crap out of those grave robbers because of childhood trauma.

FL's friend is SO LOUD, she is irritating as hell. Yes, she's a loyal friend, but to pair a fish-market hyena like her with the very good-looking cute flirt who is graceful & comes from a 'soft-spoken' well-educated elite family is soooooooooooooo jarring. Cannot stand this pairing!

SML has more scenes than ML!!!! I don't mind, but I do mind his pairing with that screaming hyena.

I am also getting tired of long sermons in C-dramas on government corruption and plight of poverty stricken people. Every drama is like this.

Oh I forgot the stab etc. - thanks.

Ep. 3: The tie in between FL & ML, in that cave, and in the desert, where he gets to see her bravery and spunk was good. I am sure he knows she's the one who led him to the child traffickers.

Ep. 6: Lump in my throat as FL fought her way to escape from the jail & the 2 wannabe killers. But what crime had that irritating byotch daughter of governor had done to get death sentence? All she did was be a b***** to other academy students, FL & then stole FL's paper. She didn't kill anyone did she? Or did I miss something?

Ep.7: FL's husband in The Double is here playing a totally different vibe character - that of a pharmacist. A pleasant surprise wink to their previous drama. Hope he doesn't turn villainous!

I forwarded most of early episodes because they were very loud - especially FL's sidekick's scenes. Now since the set piece is the palace / courtiers, the drama is not as loud as it was, but it IS still campy & over the top. And is full of good looking men - the ML's 2 sidekicks are a hoot, especially the 'romantic' one.

I love the FL, what a courageous never-say-die spirit she has. ML is doing a good job in the role of the emperor avatar, is graceful & powerful without being obvious. You can feel the hidden danger of saying the wrong thing to such a fellow. I also like the relationship dynamic - very professional - he wants her to serve the people & she wants to use him as a shield / stepping stone to secure herself & get more power. Hopefully the drama will have more of their scenes together and show a natural progression or romance.

There is zero depth and conflict in this drama - old jdramas from 90s and early 2000s used to have complicated real-life problems and characters - and great OSTs. These new-age dramas are dabbling in privileged / manufactured pain just for the sake of it.

I am not talking about actors ability.

Ep. 1 & 2: This is a VERY LOUD drama, everyone is screaming and shouting. It's also very campy. Everyone is hamming. Everyone is loud & campy. Very weird drama. I forwarded most scenes that did not have ML & FL, even though FL is also loud. And very large use of AI (not just in credits - like in Overdo which had to do a Redo) but also in episodic scenes. Places look like fish market, including the palace.

I've skimmed the webnovel to know the beginning, middle & end, and unless the scenes between FL & ML for the next 20 years (or 15, as the webnovel suggests) increase and aren't loud & campy, it will be hard for me to watch this one.

I did when it was released in Jan. & loved it. But the love stories & human interest dramas are now tropey & shallow, and OSTs aren't good either.