susuworld

The Zhuge family is actually very toxic. You get that during PA where he has been target for assassination from other branches of his family because he was the most capable and yet an outlier. Part of the reason that the FL had not stayed with ML and chose Yan Xun was because she could never accept their abusive slave practices - while Zhuge Yue was the kinder of them all - his family's power and status came from their ruthless ways of training spies and acquiring slaves. As long as he stayed loyal to Zhuge family, FL would never accept him. So the opening of Rebirth where Zhuge Yue falls into the ice lake - signifies the death of Zhuge Yue and his loyalty to his family.

Don't know about Li Ce (remains to be seen) but the sword pointing is actually a sword 'dance' that couples do, it's blade to blade contact without any lethal effort to it. Cdramas use this a sign of unison. You will notice they smile to each other as they are waving their swords around.

Yan Xun and Zhuge Yue were basically best friends. Technically Yuwen Yue and Zhuge Yue are the same character - Zhuge is the surname used in the novel which they used for Rebirth. His initial relationship with Chu Qiao is one of servant and master. The mentorship was mixed within it. She was a slave girl that he chose to rescue. There were a lot of misunderstandings between them and they were never a couple in PA, we only finally get them standing side by side together as equals in Rebirth in later episodes.

Like you, I initially was skeptical of LYR as the ML because I adored Lin Geng Xin's version and because he worked well with Zhao Li Ying. But since you are only on ep 5, you might find yourself liking LYR's version of ML as well. Because he grew on me, as yes, LYR's aura is not the same - he doesn't portray that leadership, cunningness as well as Lin Geng Xin did - at the same time, it's partly because of where the story is currently. LYR's portrayal of the ML is actually more expressive than Lin Geng Xin - his version was much more colder and expressionless - and where you feel his emotions is when he bickers with FL or they are flirting with each other.
LYR becomes more expressive as you keep watching his scenes- the softness in his eyes when he watches FL from afar or when he holds back on telling her what has been happening to him. Whenever he calls out FL's name (his version of her name) - it's soft and tender. If anything, I found LYR put some life back into ML after 'rebirth' - where he no longer is bound by his family ties and chooses to be by FL's side.

She hates Yan Xun but deep down, she still loves him. So blames everything on FL because she has no love for her - it's easy to blame FL for everything. It's extremely misguided.

I honestly think every single character has been reduced from their original portrayals in PA. The only exception is LYR holding up the ML. Not just because of new actors- it's the way their character are written - I blame that. Many of the top supporting characters have depth in their character, Yan Xun being one, Princess Chun Er is another - both shaped by their traumatic experiences they each survived. Here, they are reduced to their total obsession of one wanting to kill FL, another wanting to possess FL.

LYR should be getting more screen time after today's episodes. It's because his storyline is starting to converge together with FL. If anyone remembers Princess Agents, towards a good last half of the drama, the ML and FL had very limited and short scenes - they parted more than they were reunited and each reunion led us yearning for more. Up to episode 15 in Rebirth, we see the ice has figurately broken. My main complaint is that the other side stories are just not interesting enough that I am skipping them (which I don't normally do) just to catch up with the leads.
As for Li Ce- someone commented he is a new character. He actually isn't. His original character was played by Deng Lung as Zhao Ce - I know it's the same character because they were both referred to as crown princes and both had the outward personality of a womanizer but is actually just masking their real intelligence and both had prior dealings with the FL before the start of Rebirth. Deng Lung's portrayal in his bright red robes and constantly wanting to touch the FL was too funny (it was sexual harassment). Here, his character is watered down to an immature and attention seeker of the most cliches.

I've been sticking it out for the story and for LYR - it is getting better and while it isn't comparable to Princess Agents - it's now beyond the initial cliffhanger scenes that it's just moving at a good pace. I do wish for a different actress as FL - given this story centers around FL more than anything. I find myself hanging on waiting for LYR to show up. I am skipping some scenes of other storylines as I find it boring and not necessarily contributing to FL and ML storyline.

I agree with you - honestly, they can save the time and money for doing the recaps that are longer than quick few minute summaries - they didn't have to reinvent the wheel, they just had to continue where it was left off. I struggle to understand how it's going to be 40 episodes but see part of it, is recreating recaps.

I'm the same. Usually with a complete new cast, I just don't bother but I needed closure so I'm sticking around purely completing the story.

Having been a huge fan of the Princess Agents, I get doing a quick recap of what led to the cliffhanger but to do a very watered down version of one of the most heartbreaking and traumatic scenes in C-drama history is disappointing. I get it's not the full version but to fully appreciate why YX became the way he was in the end - you have to watch the full version of those scenes. I am skeptical of this drama but I needed closure since 2017 and willing to watch this out for the storyline. You can tell this drama has a lower budget predominantly by looking at the cast and the editing of the scenes. I think they made this drama to conclude the story and not necessarily to live up to its prequel.

I finished Love Story in the 1970s for Arthur Chen in time to watch this one. Dilraba is in an interesting role that I haven't seen her in. Looks promising - can definitely see the high quality production of this drama.

Everyone else is a subordinate to him except for Changyu - his wife :)

I think part of that is him trying to win her back which is going to have another level of sweetness. After all, she's been doing the chasing. Time for him to chase a bit.

Poor XZ- he's too preoccupied trying to keep his men safe from a clearly outnumbered and defensive position. Throw in the responsibility of protecting elder princess and also trying to hide his identity from FL, being injured and worried for FL's safe and all. Talk about stress!

Deng Kai - I've seen him in numerous dramas - often portrays a villain (with one exception for a short drama series he was actually good). We can hate his character but Deng Kai is killing it with his portrayal of this brand of psycho. So good that I am literally looking for a sliver of goodness or kindness from his character. I'm actually struggling. There is nothing redeemable about his character. I expect the storyline to shed more into his back story so as to garner some sympathy from the viewers. but the only hints are his narration of it and that flashback scene. It's like it doesn't matter - he's despicable and is to be judged by his current actions. It's interesting to showcase a villain this way.

I understand why. So the burden he carries being a marquis is one he wants to carry alone. If you recall the discussion he had with his friend, GSY he said that there are a lot of burdens in his marquis household that will only serve as bindings on FL's carefree spirit. He said he love that about her - being carefree and being herself. Should he reveal his identity, he thinks that she would be forced to compromise herself in order to be with him - in that sense, he's not letting her choose (because she doesn't know so how can he decide for her).

Him and his brother have a twisted concept of love. The more the women hate them, the more that peaks their interest in them. Which suggests to me neither of them had mothers growing up, or the genuine love from a parent. They seem to associate cruelty as a display of love.

It is but once you start, you yearn for more. If you can wait, I suggest you do or you binge it and join the crew of the painful 1x episode a day for 5 straight days next week

Raise your hand if you would also be one of those women showing up at the butcher shop for ZLH? Whether for the meat or his hand drawn logos. I go first :)