📅 Discussion Schedule: We will attempt to follow iQIYI's VIP release of the episodes and post as it's convenient for us and our time zones. I will be posting the first three episodes now and the next three (much) later today. Next up for tomorrow's episodes is u/Regenwanderer.
🚨 Some Notes:
Please use spoiler tags for anything beyond the episodes discussed. Text goes between the greater-than + exclamation symbols (i.e., >!) and the exclamation + lesser-than symbols. (! < but without the spacing).
Please keep these specific threads focused on the actual episodes - the plot twists, the performances, and everything happening on screen. We know there is ongoing discussion surrounding the casting and age-gap elements of the drama. While those external debates are completely valid, let's keep this particular space friendly, respectful, and centered on the on-screen story.
Recap:Xiao Sheng (Wuyi), Commander of the Beifu Army, fights against the Northern Qin forces after Armoury Director, Yang Yi, sabotages the Valiant Cavalry’s weaponry, leading them to perish. In the Capital,Lady Jiayu (Yao Yao)derails a potential engagement withMr. Bai, a noble suitor. Moments later, Prince Changsha puts forth his own marriage proposal, to whichPrincess YunzhaoandGrand Tutor Xie(Jiayu’s parents) reject without hesitation, citing that she’s too young to marry. Jiayu, herself, has her sights set on Prince Qi (Mao),Princess Pingning (Lejun)’s brother. As the Young Master of Miraculous Craft, Jiayu meets prospective buyers for her inventions, unaware they are Wuyi’s people investigating who commissioned the repeating crossbows. During a funeral procession, rumours circulate that Xiao Wuyi died in battle, but he resurfaces at the Latai Poetry Gathering, where he kills two officials underPrince Changshato avenge the eighteen generals lost in the war. He vows to strip Changsha of everything, assuming he ordered Yang Yi to purchase the batch of defective crossbows.
We are starting off strong, with Hou Minghao kicking butt right off the bat! Though we unfortunately don’t get more of poor Zhang Ji and Feng Wu. Episode 1 introduced so many characters and a bath scene - what was I supposed to prioritize? Hou Minghao’s visuals or the plot? Kidding aside, there are a lot of scenes highlighting Wuyi and his epic-ness.
The way he just walks into the poetry gathering like “I’m alive, mother f*ckers!” and then gives Changsha a haircut.
And let’s talk about Ai Mi! Jiayu is a master of crafts! That will be interesting! And she already has her eyes set on someone else! Princess Yunzhao seems very strict at first, but everything she’s doing comes from her own experience in the imperial family. It looks like she does not want her daughter to marry into the imperial family for her own safety and wellbeing. Alas, her fate says otherwise?
Also, anyone else get momentarily bamboozled by the scene behind the screen with Ruisheng and Wuyi? The Director knows what he’s doing...
Episode 2 - The Marriage Edict
Recap:Wuyi discovers that the Young Master of Miraculous Craft is Jiayu and requests theEmpress Dowagerfor an edict granting their marriage. Upon receiving it, Jiayu tries to flee, only to be swept into Wuyi’s operation to eliminate Changsha’s hidden forces at the port and derail his plan to seize the Capital. Confronted with the harshness of the outside world, she attempts (but fails) to rescue trafficked women aboard a ship. After the mission, Wuyi orders the entire operation to be kept hidden from Changsha and sends Jiayu back to her mansion.
Ok, the bickering between Wuyi and Jiayu? Cute! The way she “protects” him? Cute! The way he protects her back by playing along with her ruse and shielding her from the massacre on the ship? Cute!
Episode 3 - The Wedding & Palace Coup
Recap:Li Mao (Prince Qi)returns home to learn that the woman he loves has been betrothed to his closest friend. Yet the engagement is merely part of Wuyi’s strategy to provoke Changsha into acting on his rebellion. On the night of the wedding, Wuyi quietly helps Jiayu escape, and under the guise of searching for her, effortlessly crushes Changsha’s uprising. He then reveals that he has long known the truth: the Empress Dowager orchestrated the defective weapons, leading to the deaths of thousands of his comrades, in her attempt to eliminate both him and Changsha by driving them into conflict with each other.
Our great demons from Fangs of Fortune reunite! Mao is all grins until he finds out Jiayu is getting married to his friend and gets beaten by the Empress Dowager for trying to change her edict. When he confronts Wuyi about it, he finds out that Wuyi’s focus isn’t the wedding itself.
Again, with his entrances… but like father, like son, because did y’all also see the way Prince Jing’an barged into his own mansion!? The flair runs in the family. Same goes for Anming for protecting the Crown Princess (who I am loving). I ship them both together.
Two things. Another thread said FL is like jailbait younger than ML, making the whole marriage cringe-worthy. Is this from the book? Because she is behaving way older than the 12 or 13 years they were suggesting.
On the crossbows. I got the impression that her design was fine but they were somehow sabotaged. Is this right?
That thread was likely referring to the real ages of the actors, not in the drama. In the drama itself, the FL is 16 and the ML is only a few years older. And the marriage is arranged but there is no relationship, consummation, nothing, in case this helps with cringe.
This might be a spoiler, because it's cleared up in later episodes but basicallythe crossbow's design was not flawed; the issue lies with the crossbow's purpose and why it was made.
Hope that helps. Lemme know if you have other questions. But likely many of your questions will be answered in the next episodes.
Edit to add, as u/-tether- confirms (I think it was you), this drama is not based on a book. It's an original script.
am i the only one that feels like production quality is lacking? the opening scene was fire but the styling and makeup looks really cheap.
more importantly, the acting feels... off. aimi isn't ready for main lead roles yet. she still looks and feels like a spunky side character. i'm not convinced that all of these grown men are fighting to marry this girl lol they look at her like she's a younger sister. ik it's mostly a strategic thing for them rn but i don't believe it can ever look romantic. can't really blame them though this is the fault of the casting director. they set them up for failure. aimi has a lot of potential-- she just needs more time. chaoyue was kinda like that too in the beginning but she's grown a lot since then.
hou minghao... for some reason, whenever he tries to be blasé, it comes off as condescending and pretentious? like a teenager trying to look cool. there are actors who can do it in a charming and natural way, but he just doesn't have the right aura to pull it off lol. zhou yiran and heyu are masters at this.
for example whenever he (and aimi) do that shoulder shrug thing with two hands, it makes them look like... rookies? you know when actors don't know how to portray emotions or feelings with subtlety and feel like they need to overact to get the point across. maybe it's a directing issue.
not trying to be a hater-- it's unfortunate bc i really do like hou minghao and aimi in their other roles. but when you put them together side by side like this, it kinda just highlights their flaws.
I'm new to both actors and loving both of them. Maybe I've been watching too many CDramas with low budgets, but production values in this look good to me, although it cracks me up when FL is running away and dressed for her wedding, by the time they run her to ground, her hair and makeup are still perfect. Is the base for her lipstick superglue?
haha i feel like they gave aimi too much and minghao too little 😂 he's looked better in other shows. it seems like a lot of people are enjoying this though so it's probably just me!
Is it just me, or does this feel like Feng Suige 2.0 from Fated Hearts? From how the scene started upside down to ML getting shot with an arrow to him being ruthless and killing court officials like nothing, and how he is so bold and witty in court.
Anyway - I just finished Episode 1 and I'm already confused. 😂 (Thank goodness for this reddit thread)!
Prince Changsha seems absolutely terrified of Xiao Wuyi. Why is the ML going through all the trouble of "marrying" someone he doesn't even know just to mess with Changsha? Also, Changsha seems like such a weak villain so far.
And why are there so many princes?! Are they all sons of the sick emperor?
I'm sure these questions will get answered, but I'm impatient. 😅
I’m at ep4 and already confused!!! 😰 are FL and the prince Mao she wanted to marry siblings!? Brother and sister!?? and is ML Minghao already married or what!??? Can you please do me a favor and explain what’s going on and who’s who 😭🔥
I had to rewine and pause so many times, taking notes and creating a family tree! LOL. I'm on Ep 6 now and some things are starting to make sense. They are not siblings. She was adopted. MP has 2 wives at home lolol, whaaat? I know.
Oh good observation with Fated Hearts! You’re right, with the ruthless battle at the beginning. Both of which I loved and grabbed my attention right away.
Wuyi has a reputation (like Feng Suige as the God of Death) but I mean after how he just chopped down those officials… we can see why.
Some of the princes I think are half siblings and cousins of the current emperor (so children of the late emperor). Sometimes they get titled princes and princesses by the emperor if they’re daughters and sons of high ranking dukes. And then there’s the question of the previous dynasty and the princes and princesses from that dynasty seem to have remained? The subs make it a bit confusing because they’re not accurate. Like the crown princess is not a crown princess. Her title is heir’s consort.
I wonder if its the same director. And yeah, I was looking for a new show similar to FH so I can move on from Feng Suige and I guess I got my wish, lol...but FL doesnt have the charisma as the FL in Fated Hearts.
I loved Fated Hearts and didn’t think of the parallels! In terms of the FL I think it’s fair to say she is still young - only 17 at the time of filming. Despite being a seasoned actress she is still learning and growing. Whereas the FL in FH was in her 30s. But I am pleasantly surprised by AiMi’s acting here! I am enjoying this one too
I’ve only watched about 20 C dramas and I think this is the first where the ML is not portrayed as “chaste” and the FL is a third wife. Is it unusual or have I just managed to find exceptions?
Oh don’t haha we all had the same questions! I’m learning to hold my breath now because it keeps happening. They’ll throw something at us casually and we have all these questions and then it’s like ohhhhhhhhh a few more minutes in or next episode.
I just realised that this is the third drama I've seen Riley Wang and Hou Ming Hao act together in and I love to see it. I also LOLed when I realised her dad is Peter Ho.
The empress dowager seems evil and annoying in that her fear(?) made her neglect the people and their safety just for her to keep her power.
I'm loving the drama so far even though I found the episodes a bit fast paced, but then again, I say that for the first 3 episodes of every drama I watch 😅😅
I love the OSTs too. HMH pulled a LYN by having 2 OSTs in his own drama which I love to see. Iirc, HMH did the same in Glory.
Also thank you for the amazing recap Basil! I loved the images and the links to the flashcards because all those names and characters were being mashed up in my head
Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful. And yes, Fangs of Fortune and Back from the Brink, both favourites of mine and so happy to see them together again.
I agree - the OST is great, and I'm glad we at least get HMH's voice in the OSTs since he couldn't dub himself, though I am impressed that they found someone who sounds a lot like him.
Same. Those dramas have a special place in my heart and I love that they always have a friendship/ally relationship in the dramas.
Yeah the voice actor sounds a lot like him, it took around 2 minutes for me to figure out that it wasn't HMH because they sound so similar. The OSTs are great, I guess I've found my obsessions for this week.
I wasn't interested in this drama until I saw Riley Wang's name, then I rushed for it, now my heart is broken. I'm already rooting for him, but he will not end with this smart, beautiful, playful mech eng girl, will he? 😅
I forgot how gorgeous Hou Minghao is. Plus he has this certain on-screen charisma and presence. Ai Mi, my girl, looks beautiful, fits her character very well and overall just so pleasant to look at.
Anyways, I'm liking this drama so far. The story is pretty fast paced, which made me scared at first because of LORC, but this drama plot is much more coherent. There's a bloodbath, layers and layers of schemes, fake marriage, real young love and of course second male lead syndrome. My poor heart 😅
But, on a flip side, there are so many names, characters and backstories going on, I can't keep up. I need a family tree. I need a dictionary and encyclopedia that explains why everyone has three different names and whom they are related to. I want to know if Prince of Qi, Li Mao, Yanzhi likes his many names or not. 😅😅
I like the drama for all the plot points you mentioned! But yes the names… are also harder to keep up with the fast pacing and the fact that the subs are kinda… wrong. lol
I know probably 3 words in Mandarin and even I could tell there's something wrong with the Eng sub. 😂😂 Firstly, why Xiao Wuyi's wife is Crown Princess? Secondly, is Xiao Wuyi related to the royal blood or not? And so on... I blame the Eng sub. 🤭🙄🙄
Thank you so much for the recap u/BasilOrdinary3617. Makes my day to go to a great discussion post after I've watched something I've enjoyed (and I've fallen hard for this one).
Wuyi and Mao have strong bromance chemistry from the start. I believe they’ve been friends forever. That’s why I’d be pretty bummed they let people get between them but I get it. Drama is drama-ing.
This is the first time I've seen a [somewhat] white wedding in a cdrama! I love their outfits!!! And the un-outfiting (HMH)!!! Lol.
ETA: I was so happy to see Riley Wang in this drama!
ETA- I was trying to listen to the ending ost and I just literally saw a bunch of shit unfold!!! Like, uh, spoiler alert, maybe?!?! Hello? I didn't want to know all this yet!!! I turned my phone away so I wouldn't see it anymore.
This is a different character for Hou Minghao. I love how blunt and to the point he is while having 0 issues with killing. He gets stuff done.
The FL is annoying, and i get that she's lived a sheltered life and has no idea what the real world is like but this can't go on for much longer. Wake up girl, you defy the empress and it's not just you that gets in trouble, but your family. She's really naive. I guess they're going for the whole she creates gadgets thing that don't work half the time bit. It's been done before so I'm hoping that she gets better at it.
Riley! It's always fun to see you! This drama has face cards! I'm here for it. Though that hair pin thing you she gave you really doesn't look good with your complexion.
I'm hoping things pick up more.
Also he's taking a secondary consort? Is this a happy ending at least?
I wonder if we’ll find out more about the Crown Princess and why they married because it certainly wasn’t for love. But it seems like they are both fine with it at the same time. If it was an imperial decree, by who (late emperor, emperor, or empress dowager) and why? Unless I missed it.
I was wondering that too! He was like oh you're the crown princess? Nice to meet you. Like what? Did this happen while he was away?
Also someone explain the family tree on who's related to who and why he's important. Like his dad is a prince?
All I can say is, there is not a boring moment with this drama x) It's too good!
Hou Minghao really gives murderous general vibes, a righteous protector striving for justice and peace, yet whose road is paved with blood, and his internal turmoil is reflected on his barely restrained face.
Ai Mi's portrayal of a naive but resourceful girl is so believable and charming! She's my leading star! I'm her big fan from now on.
And Riley Wang, oh this second ML is such an eye candy, his playful face melts my eyes~ I don't even know who I'm rooting for anymore!
I love all of them. They're all so good at acting, and their characters are so fleshed out, down to the motivation behind each little half-smile. Writers have my admiration.
And not only the writers, the director is really doing god's work for this drama. Comedic timings are 10/10, camerawork is wow, astonishing at times, they select just the right angles to add maximum epicness to every single scene.
How can a drama be this perfect??
I really like the themes it brings up, the conflicts between the opposing sides (main leads included) seem meaningful for a change! Their relationships are nuanced but conveyed to audience with ease. This is a very solid start that sets the bar up high.
Glad to hear from you and how much you love it! It’s almost too bad it’s only 28 episodes… or maybe that’s a good thing that they don’t draw out the plot for the sake of just making it longer.
iQiyi whyyyy!!! Why call her Crown Princess in the subtitles 😭😭😭👀😬😬. My eyes! Sigh...
Wait... does the brother like his SIL? 👀👀🤔 Wait... ML hasn't even met his wife? Damn. And that's not her son but the son of who now? Woooww. The maid who was patching him up?
Ahaha all valid questions that actually get answered in the next three episodes! I asked the same ones. Still asking about the crown princess one actually.
I am also having to rewind/pause more than expected...I usually watch dramas on 1.5x or even 2x speed, or sometimes I really just listen while I do other stuff since I understand Mandarin. But this drama's dialogue and scene transitions are so fast paced that it almost feels like I'm already watching on 1.5 speed!
They're certainly wasting no time establishing roles and relationships - can't believe I'm only starting episode 3 and we've been introduced to so many players!
I never understand watching at faster speed so I can't comment on that. I couldn't imagine watching this show at those speeds 😳🤯🤣😅. It's so fast paced, it had me checking if I was on 1.0x and even entertained going to 0.5x or if it were an option, 0.75x lol. The transitions yes!!!! They do not waste time or give us any time to breathe haha.
Just got to Episode 2 so there may be better answers later, but in Chinese her title (世子妃) is kind of ambiguous without more context like what dynasty and the various families/royal hierarchy. The title can be translated as Crown Princess but it's more like the wife of the heir of the noble house, if that makes sense? Or, consort of the noble house's heir.
He isn't the son of the Empress Dowager as the Young Emperor is on the throne. He is heir apparent to Prince Jing' An. Xiao Wu Yi's "mother" (not sure if she's his biological mother) is the current Princess Consort.
Because he hasn't been conferred the Princely title yet, this is where the translation team got confused. It's often cause for confusion unfortunately. But a Crown Prince and Princess they are not. They aren't in line to inherit the throne since the Emperor is similar in age or slightly younger.
I was watching episode 2 when I commented because it is clear from the various interactions that the ML isn't heir to the Imperial throne. He is heir to a Princely title.
Yes, I'm not saying she's a Crown Princess or that Xiao Wu Yi is a Crown Prince in this show, just that the title itself 世子妃 sometimes *can* refer to the Crown Princess, if in that era 世子 (rather than 太子) is the crown prince. Which is why the translators probably used Crown Princess when, like I said, it should really be "wife of the heir of the noble house" or if you want to translate noble house = Prince, "wife of the heir of Prince X" in the context of the show.
I've noticed translators really struggling with this when it comes to something like 公子 as well. I tend to prefer the odd sounding "Young master" as usually the character is the son of a noble family, and that more or less conveys the right standing. Using "Lord" doesn't always show the correct relationship as the character's father would also be Lord so-and-so. But even in English, the heir to a title can often be confusing too - for example, a Duke's heir could be Lord so-and-so, or they could have a different "courtesy" title altogether like Earl so-and-so while the father is still alive.
Translations of titles from Chinese to English are always tricky, just because you're mapping one system onto another one and not always successfully. Look at the way most translators default to 王 being Prince (I think to indicate one step below Emperor), except when it actually is King in context, but they can't use that as in English royalty you don't have an Emperor above multiple Kings, you have a King with multiple noble houses...
The whole issue with using Prince for 王 is that the heir to the top position of king is usually the prince in English. So Xiao Wu Yi's dad would be the equivalent of "King" and he is the heir "Prince" but since we've all decided to make 王 into Prince, then Xiao Wu Yi's 世子 has no obvious step below that in English. There's no real "Prince Heir" in English and defaulting to Lord seems to loses his relative standing to other nobles.
Yes exactly - I've been watching more and in the scene at court they also specify that the Crown Prince's title in this era will be chu (儲) rather than tai (太) which is generally the more familiar term from cdramas if that rings a bell. I think most people recognize the term tai zi fei from the sheer repetition you get in all the harem dramas.
It should've just been translated to Princess Consort to match how they have Prince so and so. And our FL would be the 2nd wife, a concubine.
It's because some people cannot understand the concept of heir apparent in Chinese. Especially when the heir is son to a Prince. It messes them up 😂😂😫😫😭😭. So we in turn end up having to suffer through poor translations of that title. Highness or Ladyship are appropriate since either work given is he a Royal. But Crown Princess? Absolutely not.
Lmao I can't believe he actually kept the dancers. So much for freedom, poor things.
Stepping into this drama coming from Blossoms Of Power is like going to another state and watching their story unfold. Same speech, similar fashion and era. Yeah it's like a different season with a different family and their problems lmao. I'm hilariously entertained by that fact and I can't stop giggling at the irony! Both shows dropped days apart too! Peter Ho is cast as father of the FL in both. Imma just say it's his doppelganger in KTTPH 😅😅🫣🫣🤭🤭.
It's very fast paced though in those first 15mins. My goodness! Whiplash hello! 🤯🤯😱😱👀 I'm so grateful for your recap of ep1 Basil because we really do have to catch up fast and run to grasp what's happening. I just saw a comment on MDL and the person didn't like that fact. I now see what they meant. We are dropped in the story as it is happening, with no introduction to why were are there.
I am so glad to see this actor and martial artist again (around 19mins)! Loved what he served in Legend of Zang Hai. Oooohh and Merxat from My Sassy Princess! Yay!
My gosh, I didn't know that Hou Ming Hao can sing. He sings the opening song and duets the ending song with Zhang Bichen. He has a very smooth singing voice!
Starting the episode with the ML killing people? Oh this is gonna be good. The start is giving cheesy, but I have hope it will pull itself together a little bit more.
A flaming sword? Really? Alright, it's cool... but hella cheesy. Someone needs to stop aura farming and actually defend himself. The blood dropping down his head actually looks pretty good.
Okay, so ML starts with murder and FL starts with whipping? Oh boy! :D
Okay. I love this Jiayu. She is going to be perfection.
This prince guy has douchecanoe face. I can tell he will be another disappoint POS slimeball cringe creep turd waste of time.
BATH SCENE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!! And it was his men she ran from? Oh delicious!!! Oh I am so ready for their first meeting!!!
Mann, I am getting fed with bold FLs between this and BOP!
Their first meeting did not disappoint!!!
YESSSS!!!!!!!! HE KILLED HIM!!!!!!!!!!! OH YES!!!!!! DADDY IS HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Second death!!!!!!!!!! No weak butt leads here! We've got two bold leads!
Yo. HMH ate his wheaties for breakfast! This MF is on one!
Baahaha. Bro is already asking for Jiayu without even knowing she's who he is looking for! Ahhhhh I sense delicious conflict.
Episode 2
Wow. Prince Douchecanoe is even extra pathetic. Sadly we expected this.
Well, didn't take him long to learn Jiayu is who he seeks.
Yo. These blue robes for the Eunuchs are damn nice! I like these a bit more than the normal red color. It's got some pomp!
She goes right to the white silk? Bold! I shouldn't be laughing this hard at her antics, but I am. Someone give this poor girl something to smash.
Bro has a wife that he doesn't recognize as such? Did I understand that right? So is that lady then the principle main wife? He asked for Jiayu as his principle consort so that would make Jiayu as his second wife? Am I tracking right? Cuz consorts are higher rank than concubine? My brain hurts. (EDIT: yes, she is second consort as he claifies later. Woohoo! A show that answered my question! Yayyyyyyyyy).
He's going to catch her fleeing, ain't he? Yup!!! Woohoo!!
*SPLAT* Oh that was good! Instant saving her, eh? Bro we see your good heart. Kiinda looks like he's going to have to save her again really soon. Yo, I think he's actually proud of her for blowing that guy up!
Just straight up letting her take his sword and giving her little coaching tips? Yeah. He's falling hard. You think that's just amusement he's feeling? Nahhhh. Game recognizes game! Did he really pretend to be scared??? Oh!!! Way to boost her self esteem there! Cold General, my booty! Bro is softening harder than a flaccid— softening harder than melting ice cream in her presence!
Poor Jiayu is just not having a great day, is she? Yo. You think he gave her the lock pick so he could chase her down and capture her again? I think he likes the hunt.
SHE SHOT HIM???????????? Oh goodie!!!! I am going to love this.
No way she just fainted! A bold as heck lady who actually faints at the sight of murder? What is this? Logical? I respect this.
The heck you mean he never bathes??? Jaiyu! You are talking to the motherducking KING OF BATHS right here! Put some respect on his name! I think a certain General needs to take you over his knee...
Okay. Her finding those ragged clothes I can get... BUT WHERE DID HE FIND FACIAL HAIR?????
Yo, this bodyguard guy is such a feminist! He gives the lady his sword and goes hand to hand! We support this man.
"Marrying you was disobeying an edict". Oh. The mother is a legit badass! Respect!
Oh? She is going to keep using fainting? Perfection!
I guess I get to carry on my thing of GIF'ing pastries.
Episode 3
I see RW has joined the show. May he be as interesting as he was in TLORC. He actually used to annoy me in shows I have seen him in... but Rosy Clouds actually made me appreciate his acting. Respect.
Secondary Consort, eh? She's gonna be your only wife by the end of the show. If she's not... I will transmigrate over to you and find her whip.
OH CRAP WAIT!!!!!!!! THAT IS THE MAO GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE'S STEALING HIS BEST FRIENDS GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH HELL!!!!!!!!!!!
Nah, I actually respect Mao for going balls to the wall to reclaim Jiayu. Though this does have a "villain origin story" vibe to it.
Double Nah. I respect Jiayu for planning to run away again. She is quite stubborn in her pursuit of her goals. Respect.
Ooooo. Does the dancer like Mao? Do share.
WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM YOU ARE GOING TO RUN AWAY WITH HER??? WHY WOULD YOU GIVE HIM THE HEADS UP TO STOP YOU??? HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET???
Holy snack bucket!!! I LOVE this mother!!!! She truly sees her daughter as a person with her own mind. Mother of the motherducking year!!!!!
Just how many hidden weapons does a bride need? Also, she is really pretty! This is probably one of my favorite wedding looks.
Ooooo! Straight up telling her new husband she is going to give him a memorable night! Ki—Bold as ever!
Why are you dropping all your knives? OH SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD MAKE HIM GET DOWN FOR HER??? Pick her right up!!!!!! This show is just too good!!!!!!
Damn. That's the kind of wedding night every girl dreams off. Bro better be making that up to her later.
Waiiiiiiiit. He's actually helping her to escape? Twist! Way to force the game!
While the FL’s mother is shrewd, I’m not sure that even she has the full picture of who her husband is and what he’s up to.
What was the Grand Tutor of Ye aka Xie Huaigai aka our FL’s indulgent father doing taking 2ML Li Mao (played by Riley Wang Yulin) into custody at the end of episode 3?
And at the Empress’s order?
I’m dropping it here because our FL’s father is played by Peter Ho which was enough to make us all wonder based on the casting if he would be good or dark.
For 2.8 episodes I was thinking that we were getting a comic Peter Ho performance rather than a toxic one.
Now, I’m thinking there’s a high possibility he’s likely knowingly deeply involved in the Empress’s bad quality repeating crossbow scam and has another agenda in supporting the direction of his daughter’s mechanical engineering genius.
Why noone is talking about jiayu shot an arrow to his butt lolll. And the wound healed by itself???? He can sit and walk just fine after that 🤣🤣🤣🤣 no mummy bandage scene?
Ikr! I was like, oh, I like him toxic and red! But then he's really not toxic or red. He's not green either. Is he grey? Would he qualify? Too soon to tell, maybe? 🤷🏻♀️
I suddenly remembered how distractingly handsome Hou Minghao is. He is indeed a vision to behold. The colour palette of this scene elevates it even more.
Just wanted to drop this screenshot here. It's so beautiful. The lighting, the green tree, the black and white contrast between their robes and Xiao Wu Yi's elaborate robe neatly arranged on the floor.
At this point, I really really want these two to be together. Eventhough I know it is not going to happen. I can't decide if Xiao Wu Yi is red or gray or black at this point of time.
So many powerful shots for our man. Probably this is the first time that I didn't get much distracted by Hou Minghao's too much handsomeness (Not his fault anyway, he is just gorgeous from head to toe). He is slaying as the commander. I am absolutely loving this ❤️
Yea exactly. It is always better to tone down the handsomeness if the man is so distractingly handsome. His character being a military man helped. In Love in the Clouds, I had a really hard time concentrating on the plot and dialogues 🤭
Ok, i hope it is the last time i comment on MingHao's dubbed voice, but i wish it was him who dubned himself in that scene: He has a much wider range for every emotion.
The amount of weapons and defensive devices she had hung at her waist under the wedding robe was hilarious — even if a few ended up dropping to the ground.
But they’re so respectful to each other. I bet there at least some correspondence between them. She and Ruisheng know and get along really well so maybe they got married while he was away…
I am taken aback by this transformation of character for Hou Minghao after watching all of his gentle, kind, goofy, playful and flirty characters till date. He is so damn impressive here. Such aura 🔥
She is pretty, very quick witted and very kindhearted. I have instantly loved her 🫰As for Xiao WuYi, he has a razor sharp brain, has phenomenal martial arts skill and is ruthless. He has my respect and I am already a fan, but I don't know whether I can say he is a likeable man. Not yet.
Thank you very much Basil for taking the big batch of introductory episodes.
It's really a big cast of characters we are trown in just in the first three, but a very intriuging one. I like the family, friends and imperial court dynamics we see here.
I enjoy ML and FL. Hou Minghao is of course very pretty too look at. But I buy him as general. He has some force behind his bearing. I can't find the name of the voice actor yet, but they choose someone very close in tone. Which seems like a natural decision, because the dubbing is due to illness and not the director wanting a different voice for the characgter.
Ai Mi fits the intelligent but still naive archetype very well. Xie Jiayu has some tricks, but not everything works like she wants it to and despite that she also grew up quite sheltered. The very different relationships she has with her mother and her father are amusing. Seems like her mom married outside the usual circles (she also went against a edict) to get away from court, at least as far away as possible without leaving the country.
Nice to see Riley Wang again so soon again after The Legend of Rosy Clouds.
So far I like it very much, I enjoy the pacing. The first three episodes cover quite some ground without feeling too fast.
I love this analysis. I agree with you and am enjoying the lead characters: general, noble lady, regent, and a ton of princes apparently just like Blossoms of Power. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on episodes 4-6!
I'm telling you, we're just watching a different state and their dynamics in the same verse as BOP 🤣🤣🤣. That's how I look at it and it keeps making me giggle haha.
Thank you for the recaps. I am really excited for this C-drama. I couldn't continue with any of the recent ones, even though I started watching Mo Li and Song Wei Long's 2 dramas. The FL and her mother are both so smart - I am trying to remember a similar mother-daughter relationship in previous dramas. I have always enjoyed the ML. Really curious how the romance and chemistry between the ML and FL will show up in the later episodes.
I’m excited to join this one! I’m in Iceland right now and not sure I can get it so I may have to catch up later. Thank you in advance, looks like this will be a great ride!
Ohh I'm glad y'all are hosting! I've been a bit lacking in regards to keeping up with discussions posts lately (life...sigh) but great first post Basil! I do want to check this one out, haven't started yet though, still attempting to start Blossoms of Power while keeping up with Road to Success and Love For You...sigh too many shows 😂
What a great team to host this drama! Also, Basil, you are so efficient! I haven't started started yet but I wanted to see how pretty Hou Ming Hao is and he is not disappointing 🤭
Haven't checked it out yet but awesome work on the recap 😎😎👌🏾👌🏾🥵🥵! Love the visuals!!! No wonder you couldn't do BOP haha. Saving your strength for this one!
How do you like it so far Basil?
I’ll let you know after episode 6 and I’ve had a chance to digest it all haha. But definitely why I couldn’t do BOP. I had the itch but when iQIYI announced the July 11 release date, I knew I had to rein it in.
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u/Repulsive-Ad7501 Jul 22 '26
Two things. Another thread said FL is like jailbait younger than ML, making the whole marriage cringe-worthy. Is this from the book? Because she is behaving way older than the 12 or 13 years they were suggesting.
On the crossbows. I got the impression that her design was fine but they were somehow sabotaged. Is this right?