Reviews

Acts of treason and out with the old-in with the new

Ye Li is convinced her assassin/guard is not with his brothers plans but is a witness to them. She fakes spitting up blood to get a message out to Gu Zheng to keep watch over Su Zuidie. She won’t tell the Duke what she knows for now because nobody can be trusted. Prince Ding’s group is coming home with prisoner when they find a secret messenger. He does not know YeLi is charged with the murder, but he is well aware of what happens if even a single message gets through to Cangbai. This is actually the first bit of good new for Dachu. The right man is in the right place. Su ZuiDie boldly goes to Marquis and gives him an offer she thinks he can’t refuse. Her smug confidant speech is just galling. He will comply because she has barely scratched the surface about what she know of the weapon transactions. It makes no sense to give the enemy the building plans of your best weapons but Cangbai warriors are already trained in how to use and manufacture them before Dachu does. 🤬Consort Qin is leaving the palace to care for her father. She is done being the pawn. When asked if Princess Ding was the murderer, her response was if the real murderer found she was not, but if not found she would have to be. Within the palace walls, truth did not matter. As to her ‘sister’ missing her, she pointed to the wisteria which had replaced Emperor’s crabapple blossoms. Out with the old, in with the new. Now that she has given away the edict, she can live. I really want to see her toss that orchid out of the carriage. 😝Uncle Wen has all the collected works and papers of XianKun to give to her as she leaves. She tells him to burn them all. I was hoping here that the orchid would top the pyre of his work, but she kept it or has other plans for it. One of the Marquis’ zealots was ready to kill Ye Li. Her assassin says she knows martial arts and to do something. She is not channeling master Zhu this time and it’s the second time he is trying to figure out what’s going on. Fei Bei knows and feels responsible for telling her he was at the school. Her mind could not conjure him when he’s up on the mountain. He realizes his mistake too late. Fortunately the assassin got a couple good hits in. Right when help finally arrived he killed himself first. Ye Li talks the Duke into finding the killer herself. He accepted that she had nowhere to go and it was find the truth or die. So she Mets up with Su Zuidie who is annoyed the Marquis didn’t take care of her. She boldly outlines all her plans and why. She tossed Ye Li and Xiu Yao in the mix just because they had allegiance to the Empress dowager. Too bad she didn’t rattle off all the Marquis’ misdeeds as well. She then found herself encircled by guards and the prime investigator. Good job Princess Ding. 🥳👏🏻 The Marquis is surprised to see his son and finds out he is being used as leverage. He now knows to tread carefully. The Empress dowager is pondering things and chatting with her servant. I am wondering if she’s starting to worry again about out with the old and in with the new. Now if Prince Ding is successful with his part, war is definitely delayed and maybe thwarted. And best news for assassin….he has a guaranteed job at Shende shop.😂🤣 The court found Su Zuidie guilty and ordered her to be escorted back to Cangbai for prosecution. The general actually apologized for his crappy behavior in the beginning and for being duped by his own people in the conspiracy. Ye Li wants to bring up charges for the attempted murder in prison. Bathe prior prisoner and her attack were both by Marquis’ henchman. He already knows the ax is falling. Whether he gets to dodge it remains to be seen. I would really like to see Feng get a happy ending and the princess not be really dead. It is not likely, but for now I can hope it was planned to catch Cangbai rebels. Hoping Ye Li and Xiu Yao get together soon.

Read More

A show without high stress anxiety-inducing drama can actually be a pleasure!

So far this show has been a breath of fresh air after having watched so many very stressful dramas lately with deceptions, misunderstandings, betrayals, the constant threat of disaster looming, etc., etc. Not to mention annoying, stupid love triangles. This show is proof that a show can be enjoyable without all that. Yes, it's a slow, slow developing romance. But things are actually happening in each episode that are entertaining and the romance feels natural and 'real'. Not forced at some crazy pace that doesn't fit the characters. Both FL & ML are traditionalists and seem to want to move the romance forward in a particular order, without rushing past steps. Hopefully the show will manage to maintain it's pleasant tone and pace all the way through. I'm very intrigued to see how they go through the next phases of introducing each other to their respective families! Heck, even we, the audience, still have not met his parents. Only his cousin. Though I guess that fact hasn't yet been revealed either.

Read More

More Butterflies In My Gut, Please!

Why does ep 6 of 4E:AIR feel so short?! Run, get shot, survive, run, Vayo confesses that she's in love with the princess, Princess says she might not be able to reciprocate Vayo's feelings, run, get shot again?!?! And the teaser for the next episode shows that Princess Blew was abducted by Grace and Helena! Huwatta cliffhanger!! I pressed play, blinked twice, and suddenly the credits were rolling and my heart was a frantic little hummingbird trapped in a royal dungeon. This episode didn’t just fly by; it somersaulted through my emotions, pausing only to twist the knife before sprinting off again.Can we just pause the palace intrigue for a moment and admit that Episode 6 should have played out more romantically? The bones of something breathtaking were right there, dressed in hospital linens and soft lighting. Vayo, usually so stoic and duty-bound, trembling as she lays her heart bare for the princess she’s sworn to protect — that confession deserved to be an event, not a breathless footnote squeezed between two near-death experiences. I wanted the love confession to be incidental, yes, but in the sense of a quiet miracle that happens while the world outside waits. A hushed, stolen moment that feels like a must-have event before the kingdom’s enemies crash through the gates. Instead, it was almost a survival reflex — “We might die, so I love you,” followed immediately by “We might still die, so let me process that while we run.” I felt robbed of the ache.The heartwarming atmosphere of those lingering looks and shy smiles in the hospital should’ve been sustained for more butterflies-in-the-stomach feels. When Vayo watched the princess with that unbearable tenderness, and Princess Blew, ever composed, allowed a flicker of something soft to slip past her royal mask… I was melting. I was a puddle on the palace floor, ready to be swept away by the quiet domesticity of bandages and shared secrets. I wanted the camera to linger, for a stray finger to brush a hand, for a silence to stretch into a promise. Give me the slow-burn, the small gestures, the romance that builds like dawn over the kingdom — not a flash-bang confession that leaves me emotional and slightly dizzy. My romantic heart was crying out for just five more minutes of them, not running, not bleeding, just being two people on the precipice of something monumental.But then again, I have to remind myself what show I’m watching. 4E:AIR is so unlike EARTH and WATER in the sense that AIR deals with royalty and not the hoi polloi. Earth and Water can dawdle in marketplaces, bicker over street food, and fall in love in the messy, unhurried chaos of ordinary life. Air carries a crown on its head and a target on its back. Love here isn’t just a flutter; it’s a geopolitical matter with a body count. So a more no-nonsense approach to the love angle must be explored and executed, and episode 6 delivered that with a sword in one hand and a love letter crumpled in the other. It’s tough, it’s urgent, and it stings. Vayo’s confession wasn’t perfectly timed because she didn’t have the luxury of timing. She seized a sliver of vulnerability between arrows, and that’s so painfully them — a warrior’s heart speaking in the only gap the plot would allow. Princess Blew’s honest, heartbreaking “might not be able to feel the same way” wasn’t cruelty; it was the weight of a thousand subjects and a lineage that demands she feel less to survive more. It hurt, but I understood.The cheeky part of me still wants to file a formal complaint with the writing gods for that cliffhanger. Princess Blew abducted by Grace and Helena? Huwatta twist indeed! Now my girl is in the hands of villains while Vayo is probably bleeding out her feelings somewhere, and I’m supposed to just wait for the next episode? This show runs on audacity and my tears, and I’m providing both in abundance. The sentimental part of me, though, is clutching my chest and hoping beyond hope that this chaos ultimately gives Vayo and the princess the space to choose each other properly. If they can survive treason, bullet wounds, and kidnappings, surely they deserve one uninterrupted sunset where no one is chasing them.In the end, I’ll take this breakneck romance because it’s honest to who they are. A love story between a bodyguard and a princess in a kingdom under siege can’t be all picnics and poetry; it’s whispered confessions while your hands are still trembling from the trigger, and loyal eyes meeting across a war room. Episode 6 might have left my romantic heart a little bruised and begging for more stolen glances, but it also reminded me that when Princess Blew finally says “I love you too,” it won’t just be sweet — it’ll be a rebellion. And I’ll be right here, cheekily nursing my butterfly deficit but sentimentally rooting for them with everything I’ve got. Now please, let the next episode come quickly, because I can’t handle the thought of these two separated by anything but a slow, lingering, finally-uninterrupted love scene.

Read More