timystic

Everyone loves to tear down the women actors, but personally I think Zhang Rio Nan is doing a fabulous job as Wen Yifan. She's awkward and slow to respond which is exactly in line with her character in the novel. Her expressions are subtle and removed because she is detached because of her trauma, but also because that's how she navigates the world. ZRN depicts this really well.

The depiction of women in this is really bad. So dependent on men, and entirely shaped by their affections to men.

Gosh I hate the trope of "woman becomes evil over a mediocre man" - it's just weak scripting. I hope that character dies soon or her scenes are skippable.

And this is why I usually wait until it's all out and binge watch. The waiting is brutal 😫

And don't give me a lecture on cultural relativism when historical China literally produced Eunuchs as a governmenance form and when the mythology of the many cultures of China has a fair amount of trans allegories / figures (eg Guanyin).

I was enjoying this until the transmisogyny became central to the main villain. There's nothing evil or disgusting about trans femme folks, and making that evidence of "evil" is just poor and lazy scriptwriting.

*If you're looking for a smart, strong FL this is not the show for you. * The FL here is spoilt, entitled and needs the ML to constantly educate her about what's going on around her. The plot is illogical and badly scripted - it's a "tell not show" kind of show with all the explanations in the last few episodes.

I disagree. See comment under spoiler above. I'm on episode 32 and it hasn't improved, and the plot makes absolutely no sense.

I should point out that I am watching this after Nirvana in Fire so any of the political scheming here feels childish and nonsensical.

Ok, so I am just over halfway through, and it's pretty clear that Li Rong is incredibly selfish and entitled. She claims to not need anyone but literally relied on SRQ so much in her last life that the dude managed to kill her. And yet, she's still smitten by him. His so-called love for her is like loving an object - he loves the idea of taming her more than he loves her.

I really don't understand why PWX loves her at all because all she does is mistreat him - eg when he asks her why she didn't wait, she says he should have asked "why should she have waited"?

I do wish they stopped misinterpreting "entitled and spoilt" fls "smart and strong" fls. This isn't the first show that I've seen do this, and it seems to be a trend. I really don't mind spoilt fls IF they are constructed as flawed (eg fl in Will Love in Spring) but this drama seems to celebrate her self-absorbed behaviour as a sign of strength rather than a flaw.

We need more Ming Lan and less Li Rong.

(I do also have an issue with entitled mls, but that isn't the focus of this show)

Before I carry on watching this, can someone tell me if the FL will continue to be really spoilt? From ep 1 I get the feeling she will protect the rich and get easily misled by the SML and I just don't have the energy for that kind of angst.

I would enjoy this if it is a story about growth and actually working through misunderstandings (as it's clear both of them were not killed by each other) and then bringing some form of justice.

I think the main tension with the MLs in this show isn't that they are flawed but that they are flawed in an idol drama.

Idol dramas usually love to have an impossibly perfect ML, and this just doesn't. However the feel of this show - colour schemes, actors, etc - give off the idol drama vibe, which makes the flawed MLs in this stand out as problematic because they do not follow the normal /stereotypical narrative these shows are supposed to have.

I just don't get the appeal of the ML at all. Guy literally was happy watching his wife being literally bullied to DEATH and only started liking her when she stood up for herself (albeit as another person).

Sexuality is fluid and can change over time. Bisexuals exist, and so do genderqueer folks. That would be the response from the LGBTQ community, especially the BTQ part of that.

Actually BL can often be more insulting because it's clearly written for straight women rather than representative of being a gay / bi man.

Just been reminded what good acting looks like. Every female role is absolutely fantastic too - actually written well, with depth of character. I don't think anything like this could ever be produced in this era of Idol dramas. Such a shame.

Aside from the many critiques in the comments, Daisy Li's make up was atrocious, she looks like a ghost even when she's supposedly happy.

Male-like thinking? What does that mean? Women can be intelligent and cunning without being called "male".

I would rename this "My spoiled princess" because it doesn't seem like she is sassy as much as entitled.

Can someone explain Wu Huan's motivation in this? because I don't really think "because she wants power" is enough of an explanation for all the horrible things she does.

I've seen this as Dark Xianxia? I find most xianxia is lighter (in colour scheme too) which has always made me a little reluctant to watch them. But the way in which this is filmed and the narrative and the sets and the OST kinda scream (Western) Gothic influences.

People are allowed to enjoy things and have different opinions without being called "toxic fans".