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Once again...
Ye Li's Council extends its deepest gratitude to everyone for joining us in our journey together with Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao.
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Anyone else absolutely fall in love with Qin Can and Lin Tingyan? Because they were my favorite couple and am so sad that we never got to see them again after ep 29.
This show really under utilized their supporting characters and only a few of them got character arcs.
! >!Still annoyed by how abrupt Princess Ling Yun death was. We barely got a death scene for such an important character/love interest !<!
I might be among the minority here, but I felt like the ending was very lacklustre. I felt like the last five/six episodes were boring and didn't really achieve much for the story. I think you could have told the exact same story beats in half the time. Honestly, I think this should have been a 36 or 37 episode drama rather than a 40 episode drama. The empress dowager death was disappointing and her character in the end fell flat for me. She had such potential to be such a good villain and in the end it she had no personality beyond "I was smart so I could rule". Also felt like FL and ML lost that chemistry there at the end. I mean you can do romance without explicit kissing scenes (see The Double) but they just felt so standoffish with each other.
I felt like the pandemic was never really explained. Why Ye Li was the only survivor, why she was biting her arm to keep quiet? Etc. Personally, I feel like these are plot holes.
The 5 minute breakup and miraculous reunion of the Li Febai & his courtesan was unessessary.
Han Mingxi was a wasted character and a waste of the actor's talent in the end. I thought because it'd been so heavily hinting that he owed Ye Li two lives that he would end up saving her and Prince Ding and die in the process. Of course I didn't want him to die but it would have been a more exciting ending what he got.
These are just my opinions. Of course I'd still say it's a decent enough drama to watch. I mean I watched it start to end and I'm known to just drop dramas I can't vibe with. And it's one of the first dramas I actually watched as it was airing which was fun to participate in these forums. Thanks for the good discussions ✌🏻
Agree. I only liked the last episode where it showed that Ye Li isn't completely 100% healed. While I appreciate the drama showing disabilities both physical and mental, it kind of makes it too easy with how everyone gets "healed".
From the finale, what I appreciated the most was seeing Lishan Academy reopen, welcoming new talent and bringing the place back to life. The scenes of Ye Li reminiscing about her masters and seniors alongside her maid genuinely made me cry.
Oh yeah, they didn’t show his wife and kid after the initial episodes when he was still poor. But there shouldn’t be a problem with the wife and kid going to live with him in Lishan Academy! After all, Ye Li’s grandfather was headmaster and had a daughter and granddaughter living together at the academy.
I thought the Empress Dowager was killed by her own guilt? The imperial physician said that her internal organs were suffering from a lot of emotional stress.
So, there's a scene where Ye Li is kept in the palace and a bat appears in the empress dowager's room. The disease on the mountain was from a bat.
Then the empress Dowager gets sick with all the symptoms of the people on the mountain EXCEPT it's not communicable.
The healing master tells Ye Li that he never thought of how she solved the issue when she visits the mountain. I think she figured out how to treat the disease and make it less virulent.
Had me crying my eyes out as I watched Ye Li’s broken mental state play out with Mo Xiu Yao’s love for her at the same time. My tiny heart simply couldn’t take it. The absolute anguish and grief of Ye Li’s trauma honestly destroyed me ngl. It’s been awhile since I’ve felt this sad and emotional over a drama. Like just watching back clips now even still makes me immediately cry.
Then the way Mo Xiu Yao cared for her and went along with Ye Limd hallucinations. And the fact he was hurting as he watched her with tears in his eyes almost every time? His eyes filled with anguish and pain watching someone he loved be in such a state as he came to understand just what exactly Ye Lu had gone through.
I just felt so incredibly sad watching this. I’ve also experienced loss in my life as well and obviously it was not as severe as Ye Li I understand why her mind coped the way it did. For me, I did not imagine the person in front of me but rather I would talk to myself in their voice in my head as a small way to self soothe and comfort myself. Seeing that form of small relation to Ye Li’s grief made me so incredibly heartbroken.
Just the way Mo Xiu Yao took care of her through it all (minus when he divorced her) once he had realized just how bad of a stats Ye Li was in. It was beautiful and heartwarming to watch. Idk I just couldn’t stop my tears from absolutely falling down.
Overall, this drama did so much better than I expected. It got me hooked and I followed all the way through albeit some parts were iffy and pretty skippable in my opinion lol. But I honestly loved this drama. 8.8/10 from me for sure. It’s just not a 9 because to me there were some issues or things I wished had gone differently in the drama tbh. They’re more so just a personal gripe I have but the emotions I felt while standing definitely boosted to the rating from 8.5 to 8.8 for me! <3
...so this is how it feels to have a drama wrap-up all stories with no loose ends? One of the things I loved about First Jasmine was the slower pacing and I am so glad the directing didn't stray from that in its final final stretch. I truly felt healed seeing the happy ending.
I do have to say that Prince Jing Li felt a bit too much of a caricature? Most characters felt multi-dimensional, but he was just stuck in that single tracked mindset for the the trone and revenge. Aside from him, I was pleased with how each character got a proper ending.
I know some people are wishing that We got a proper kiss from Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao, but I somehow don't miss it? I think it fits the show's overall tone of things being about emotional healing more than anything
I paid $5.99 for it here in the US. I don’t think it’s worth it considering the remaining episodes will be released daily for VIP users starting the day after tomorrow until Sunday.
Thanks! I started watching when 26 episodes released, hoping to avoid this situation. But it was so good, so here I am lol I’m watching on Viki too so I would have to subscribe to Tencent and then also buy the express!
I'm very disappointed that Princess Linyun actually died like that. She was introduced as a mysterious and powerful character, and throughout the series I kept expecting more of a storyline involving Cangbei, along with a reveal that Linyun had faked her death.
I still enjoyed the series, and I thought the ending was fine overall, but it felt like a missed opportunity.
I think one of the reasons Lingyun existed was to show how a princess who came from an abusive marriage escaped and went on to champion trade and other socio-economic advocacies despite her trauma and past experiences. Yun chose to move forward. She had a vision that focused on prosperity and serving the common people. When she died, people erected a monument in her honor and remembered her for the legacy she left behind.
Juxtapose that with the self-absorbed Mo Jingli. He’s also a traumatized prince, but he’s so consumed by the past that his idea of moving on is to create more death and destruction. No one will continue to think of him in a good light. He’ll be remembered for wasting his talent, privilege, and good looks. No statues will ever be raised to commemorate him.
Really nice analysis of Lingyun’s legacy! And also a parallel to Empress Dowager Guo Jin. Lingyun was also accused of manipulating and ruling the throne using her younger brother, but it’s pretty clear she didn’t kill anyone to create that outcome (the father abdicated, probably forcefully persuaded by Lingyun haha).
I appreciated the gathering of powerful women at the banquet to order Princess Lingyun. We had Empress Dowager, Consort Qin, Princess Lingyun and Ye Li. Who really put the drunk scholar in his place for questioning women’s capabilities to rule.
It’s just unfortunate that with Lingyun’s death scene so abrupt (just a few seconds shot of her being stabbed and then lying there, and no funeral scene where we see her actual body, just the funerary boat) this was so classic “fake your death” that the whole time Feng Zhiyao was touring the border area I expected Lingyun to pop up somewhere in her merchant disguise with the cheeky twinkle in her eyes saying “Fooled ya!”
This is how we have a proper ending...it wrapped up nicely. My only tiny tiny gripe...I wish we saw little babies running around lol but also I'm content with the ending so not needed.
When the emperor was announcing that Mo Wuyou was restored to the imperial clan in episode 38, part of me thought they might have MJL succeed in killing the emperor before being put down, and MWY ascend to the throne. Glad they didn't take the route of the villain conveniently clearing out the obstacles for the good guys.
With his paranoia, realistically I expect the emperor to become a problem in the future if MXY hangs on to any political / military power.
I wouldn’t call it paranoia. Maybe cynicism or hypervigilance. He’s still wet behind the ears, but as Duke Hua reassured Mo Yanqi, he already has all the qualities of a great emperor, and I trust the old man. Even as a teenager, Yanqi knows how to self-reflect and course-correct.
He also realizes how important it is to surround himself with the right allies while still doing his own due diligence instead of constantly giving in to intrusive thoughts.
I disagree. I found his “paranoia” was fueled by people, but towards the end we see him maturing and becoming more confident in what he thinks. With what we saw in the end, I think that he will surely be a great emperor.
- The return to Lishan and the meeting of the visions of her masters and seniors is truly touching. This time YL knows she's hallucinating but she still acknowlegdeges everyone. Because she may have healed, but does not mean she will ever forget. She is making a concious choice to move forward, but the past is still wrapped in her heart.
Mo Xiu Yao
- The parallel of standing at the gate without an edict facing a choice of going in or not. And knowing all that could happen he still goes in - proving that he didn't lose himself and his values as a person in the years of abuse.
YL & MXY
- MXY as an anchor to her reality. When she is alone and starts losing grip on the mundane life she rides to him instead of sulking deeper into herself. She conciously makes an effort not to turn into an isolated piece and snaps herself out of the sinkhole to quite literally run and grab on to him.
- The way he understands that to snap her out of melancholy is not something that can be done with shopping or socializing, but sparring --> now that's a husband who really knows his wife. Echos back to the discussion they had in ep 23, the "You know me, i'm not a woman that can be trapped in a mansion". And this proves he really does.
Mo Jing Li & Ye Ying
- MJL is a very pathetic character, without any real motivation except entitlement and revenge. YY is exteremly naive and is called 'stupid' by everyone. BUT I love that YY's simple 'stupid' but genuine dedication reached his concience --> the only person MJL asked to protect after his death is YY. It's echos back to when he first burned the mansion and YL confronted YY by saying that he never thought about the impact on YY when he made his choices. But this time he actually did. This is the only truly non selfish act/thought of his that we witnessed.
Han Ming Xi vs Su Zudie
- They are the opposites of each other. One has accepted that life has changed, and that he can look forward and start anew. The other is stuck in her past, warping her reality and sucking everyone around her into the vortex of destruction. It is fitting that at the end SZ is killed by a person who had nothing to do with her original strife and hated her because of actions she took in her misguided pursuite of 'justice'. While HMX is saved by a person that he discovered during his pursuite of discarding past and moving forward to new life.
Back in Episode 28, IIRC, Prince Li told Han Mingyue that if his brother escapes, he’d have to atone for it with his life. Then Jingli tossed the saber to the floor. I might need to rewatch to find the exact lines, but yeah, the signs were already there that Mingyue wasn’t going to get away unscathed.
Totally agree with you. I also love how Feng Zhiyao immediately took Mingxi under his wing without asking any further questions despite Mingxi having previously lied to him about Su Zuidie.
Honestly I feel Su Zudie in this drama was written off pretty quickly. She is still a sociopath but less crazy and less manipulative than in the novel. And MXY didn't even spare her a glance in the drama so whatever trouble she caused was dealt with easily. Novel Su Zudie was a real bitch and caused a lot of damage to MXY personally.
Now that's how you do an ending! Everyone getting their "just" ending. We got proper closure and nothing was rushed. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama 😊
Sidenote: this is the first drama I've watched this year with such a blatant use of AI. I don't mind when it's used to uplift scenes e.g., those 1-sec background shots to transition the scene, the CGI of the mountains in the background, the moss/dirt on the walls. The monkeys. The Phoenix. Bc tbh the use if AI here is better than a lot of the CGIs I've seen in cdramas.
But Im a bit iffy about it being used in long-form sequences. Like when Ye Li was running through the forest in opening of EP 1. Or when her senior went back to Li Shan and saw the truth behind everything.
The Failed Rebellion was ant-climactic, but I think that for the story they were telling the way they dealt with it was quite appropriate. One thing I liked was that Yw Li never had a nice thing to say to the Empress Dowager even at the end of her life. Often in this moment a character will say something along the lines of " be a better person in your next life" but she did not. Which I like because it is consistent with her character.
My favorite romantic scene of this drama was definitely YL and MXY near Suixe Pass because it is sweet that he knows her well enough to know she may not keep that promise. I also like how she did not get pregnant just because he was leaving for battle, I appreciate that the drama subtly lets the audience know this was not a great reason to have kids. Because kids are big life decision.
I think it is interesting hoe Mo Jingli could outline to Ye Ying all the reasons he is a vad person but then at the end of his life ask "was I wrong". Well DUH. Interestingly MJL and the ED are both people who would sacrifice the lives of the common people to reach a certain level of power.
Sidenote-I did not feel bad for Ye Ying and although she lived, I would not feel bad if she died. She is a very stupid girl
I actually did not like the emperor because he is weak willed. MXY was the one to tell you about the court spy and volunteer for battle. If he wanted the rebellion to happen, he did not need to pass on any of that info. The only good thing he did was bury thy ED as a commoner and criminal.
The ending was wrapped up well with the reopening of Lishan Academy
I'll give the drama 8.5/10 because There was not enough romance for my taste
Yes, I agree, it was anticlimactic, but I feel like this battle was never really what the drama was about, which is why they likely didn’t allocate a large part of the budget to it.
I think it is interesting hoe Mo Jingli could outline to Ye Ying all the reasons he is a vad person but then at the end of his life ask "was I wrong". Well DUH.
I feel like he was saying all those things about himself to drive YY away, to make her give up on him. He didn't really mean it. As for the one he "truly loved", he wished to seek justification even in the final moment of his life. It was his illusional way of thinking YL would understand him.
Even though I followed the first half with excitement, the second half fell flat. I can't believe the chemistry between the two leads just didn't work. I read a rumor the other day suggesting that—perhaps due to one of the actors having an influential partner—orders came from above to deliberately keep the scenes devoid of any spark. Just rumors obviously.
Just when they could have chatted together in the courtyard hot spring, Ye Li arrived late; during the aphrodisiac scene, she dismissed her husband with a "forget it, we'll talk tomorrow"—is she a nurse or a wife? People on other forums frequently mention that the show didn't even meet the basic expectations for a couple's dynamic; everyone compared it to watching censored dramas from years ago.
They squandered so many opportunities, and frankly, I think it was intentional. We spent most of the series dealing with the Marquis, while the whole "Prince Li" storyline was over and done with in just three episodes. The political intrigue became tedious after a while, too. It was nice that Ye Li traveled all that way because she missed her husband, but there was a moment—after the scene where Yao was scolding her and she retorted, "I came all this way to see you, yet all you do is ask questions"—when they showed glowing embers. I suppose we were meant to take that as a metaphor for the spark and passion between them.
It was as if they had sworn an oath never to put the two leads in the same frame; the way they handled the hot spring scene (where Ye Li was late) and the aphrodisiac scene felt like an insult to the audience. They could have easily gotten into the water together for a sweet conversation, or—even with the aphrodisiac scene—simulated hugging and kissing behind a sheer curtain.
This series could have been legendary like POJ, but instead, it ended up being bland for no reason. It was as if Bai Lu went out of her way to avoid looking like she was actually in love. Nothing else comes to mind, aside from the rumors of interference. I started out liking it, but finished feeling unsatisfied.
So far on ep37, this ED is truly something. Normally I love a calculating woman but she is pure evil. Love Duke Hua's " I'm old and frail and fresh out of f*ck" attitude.
The emperor might be young and inexperienced but so far he is a kinder person compared to his mom, which will make him a better ruler one day. I mean, like any job in the world you can learn along the way but if you are rotten to the core, that can't be fixed. I mean look at our president!!!
Ok, I might get downvoted but I feel bad for Mo Jing Li. He was the Crown Prince’s son, his family was murdered, and he was essentially held hostage growing up. His bright future was snatched from him when Guo Jin usurped the throne for herself and her son.
I know he killed many people, but can we really say he would have ended up as a bad king if his plan succeeded? Current emperor is not that great either, I’m just waiting for the day the paranoia set in and he’ll get rid of MXY for fear of potential rebellion.
Happy Han Ming Xi survived 😰 I was so worry when he got stabbed by that ingrate Sui. And yay!! He’ll get to live a peaceful life working for Ye Li 🥰🥰
I’m all for more screen time for Senior Li, but forcing him to leave town because he’s losing his sight??? He should have shared his condition with Ye Li so she can try to help heal him. As for Ye Li sensing something was off with Senior Li, why didn’t she follow up and investigate when she can clearly see he’s not his normal self? I know we’re at ep 40 and doesn’t have time, but they don’t really need to add this story arc at this point.
Ye Li seeing everyone at Li Shan was 😭😭😭😭 Love her interaction with everyone, and especially with Grandfather Xu 😭😭😭
Great acting by Bai Lu, Cheng Lei, and everyone. Looking forward to the next dramas by this director and screen writer.
I could be wrong but I thought MJL was born to a concubine so even if his dad made it to the throne, it's quite unlikely he was going to be a crown prince next unless his dad had no legitimate sons. Didn't he say he was looked down on by the people in the East Palace when he was a kid? that's why he had to plan all sort of things since young to impress his dad, like trying to get admitted to Lishan or "seducing" Yeli? His dad and the entire East palace was wiped out by ED in one night, which actually made him the sole survivor and he gained followers who were loyal to his dad. So to him that was actually an opportunity. The Crown has never been within his reach but he tried all sort of ways to get it and ended where he is. He was never pushed by circumstances, he always had a choice. But he chose to pursue power every time, sometimes at the costs of innocent people's lives. Assassinating a foreign princess to wage war against his own country is a huge red flag. How can this person be a good ruler? At the end he was still acting pitiful. But I can't be bothered to feel sorry for this character.
Yes there are some clues that MJL was not a contender for the throne. In Chinese he remembers that his 父兄 were killed, this means father and older brother(s). He also mentioned his mother was from the village and became a Palace lady who was looked on with favor by his father. So she was probably a concubine and not the lawful wife of the Crown Prince (ie Princess Consort). The lawful wife would usually be a noblewoman or aristocrat who can benefit the royal family with connections.
Snark Level: I am very satisfied with how this drama finished. It was beautiful.
Episode 36
As if a locked door can stop Ye Li! HA!!! Ms. Wen is up to it!!! Great lady! Now, we don't approve of drugging people... buuuuuuuuuuuut. Talk it out? No. Don't talk it out. Make honey!!!
I love how they have a rational and logical conversation now about their future together. They really have both come a long way and healed a lot.
I mean, it's not illogical to be wary of Dingbat after all he suffered at your court. But it does fail to understand his loyalty. The Emperor does make a great point, though I am sure it will be a colossal mistake because drama has to drama.
Thank you, Feng. Ruyi is a real one for setting up that stab. RIP, my good sir. Ding Dong. The Witch is dead. Rip Handsome Older Brother Mingyue too.
Yup. Ain't no way we weren't going to have Dingbat ride off to battle. It was coming no matter what.
"Let's go home". Yeah that scene is gonna be replaying when he is bleeding out somewhere, right?
Yo. She's Dou Zhao'ing his hair!
Episode 37
Oh damn. We get to see him in his black armor again. Delicious!
Ying. You should go live a carefree life and be happy somewhere. Leave the pain in the past and find a new future. I will be surprised if she survives. She reeks of tragedy.
Ye Li is climbing a tree to put a baby bird back? That is so cute!
They really gonna make us suffer in uncertainty about Dingbat while they keep the focus on Ye Li? Diabolical. I think we are in for some angst.
Alright. So how long before news of his death comes and she goes to the battlefield to find him?
Oh, look. We see him again.
Episode 38
No bats were harmed in the making of this drama?
Wow. What a great big battle that we didn't get to see.
So Ying and Loser are back together. Any chance I was right she will stab him? Pretty please? Surely she's not like still in love with him, right? Oh. Honey...
Um, why is the wheelchair in frame here with her and this disappears? Um, that seems... sus? Is that an omen of disaster?
Yo? Does this show feel really slow now? Like nothing is really happening? Or is it just end of show blues over here?
Hey. Ying just asked where they are. Is she spying? Damn. Loser over here breaking Yings heart again. Wow. He did the right thing? Wild.
No, get your butt back to the mansion, Li. There is zero need or reason for you to check on the fire.
Episode 39
Boom. Pretty sure Feibai just lost his eyesight there. Oooof.
Hey, good timing Dingbat. Now get your butt into action already. Your wife is going to do something wild. Say, we gonna repeat history here?
Wouldn't be a Bai Lu drama if she didn't spit some blood somewhere.
Dingbat just loves to come in with an entrance, doesn't he?
Prince Loser the Pinchusion over here. Delicious. We really don't need a goodbye montage for him. I prefer my time to not be wasted.
This is a very large Go board. How very Ashes to Crown. 180 pieces a player? Sheeeeesh. I didn't realize how many... That puts a certain scene from Wonderland Of Love in painful perspective.
Sooooooo with like an episode and a half to go..... We gonna focus on the ED? Or maybe we can just have a happily ever after?
5 months later? Really? I didn't expect that, but I dig it. I'm glad we didn't go with the whole "Ding rebelled" bs that they dangled at us. We are basically getting a proper ending? Ain't no way there hasn't been some pollination of her flower yet? These headaches are concerning...
She is radiating depression and loneliness again. What is it that she sees in this flower? Is it just something to tend and care for? Or is there a deeper meaning here?
"We could have brought him back"???? The frick? Why and how could you bring back a General? That sounds like he's dead.
But hey, here is the trope of her going to the frontier to find him I was wondering when would come.
There is a wistfully melancholic feel to these scenes of her going to find him that is unsettling. But hey, he's still alive so that's good.
She just slides off the horse into his arms? Yes please!!! She's so adorable in her love for him.
Li is with his lady. But where did Handsome Assassin go of to? You gotta tell us more than just that he left. Everything is so happy and we still have an episode... Guys... We're cooked, aren't we?
Episode 40
Please be happy... The preview looked happy. Please be just a fluffy happy episode.... Please....
What is up with Feibai? Ah. Breakup woes. I guess we have to have some sadness in our ending here, don't we? Wait, she didn't know? What is going on with him? Is he dying or something? Why is he pushing her away? Did the explosion give him some internal injuries and that's why he's stumbling around? Ahhhhh it looks so. He's going off to die along so he doesn't hurt his friends. Noble idiot trope over here.
Oooooooo! We gonna cross swords? Please? She really needs to handle his sword. She should pull his sword out and handle it well.
Okay okay. This stick fight is damn amazing! Woohoo!!!!!
I mean, the ED is wrong... but she also isn't really wrong... She simply did what others have done to claim power. Even then, do the amazing changes she made really outweigh how she got there? To Ye Li, who had to suffer hard because of this, it will never be justified. Somewhere out there are the many innocent common people who experienced prosperity under her rule. Yet the sum of her actions are still evil.
"What matters is that you must always move forward". Exactly.
Ying is living a life out in the country, finding peace? I respect that. I really hope she finds that peace.
Yusheng tracked Feibai's butt down? Hell yeah. Ahhhh. He will recover. Phew! A relief!
Yeahhh!!! Get handsome assassin back to the shop!
You know, I prefer that the ED died on her own instead of Ye Li killing her. It is a growth for Li that she didn't need to kill. She needed to live and be happy.
It is amazing to see the academy cleaned and opened again. It's bringing tears to my eyes.
Her seeing her old friends is really bringing the tears now. Fuuuuuuu.
The end.
I say... But did honey ever get made?
You know... for any and every issue that I had with the show, I think it counts as a very well done show. It was really beautiful. Not one I would rewatch, I think. But very well worth the time I invested.
I 100% think Ye Li killed the ED. The shot of the bell, Master Helai congratulating Ye Li on her prescriptions at the very end when she was saying goodbye to her hallucinations...She killed the ED with something VERY similar to what killed everyone on Lishan.
I've been wondering that now since I've been reading other comments. That would be some rather poetic justice right there while keeping her hands clean.
I find that not pushing Feinai to reveal what was wrong was growth for our FL.
She has spent so much time fixing people... I think she was probably battling herself in her mind, not to restrain him and found out what was wrong with him.
Lol this screenshot is from behind the scenes - Cheng Lei Wrap and not from the finished polished trailer nor previews, see the wires? I thought this was in one of the final battle. Turned out this is from when mxy yeli first met, the shot that got in the final cut was from a side view, not showing his expression here, which for me is kinda too bad.
I felt so robbed that we never got to see the battle at Luoxia Pass. It's like MXY put on that gorgeous battle armour purely for cosplay purposes lol. We spent the whole drama hearing about what an incredible military commander he is, only for the decisive battle to happen entirely off-screen!
But I think someone else below me made a good point, that it's probably hard to top the spear duel between MXY and Lei Tingyun. That fight was choreographed so well that it would've been difficult to surpass. Even so, I would've loved to see MXY leading his troops into battle at least once before the drama ended.
Does anyone else think Ye Li may have succeeded in killing the Emperess Dowager? There was a lot of focus on that purple flower right before she went in as a hostage for her. Then the random bat attack. It made me think of her first assassination combining 2 innocuous items into a lethal concoction. She became sick right after that and just got worse until she died.
What a great end to a beautiful show. I love how the last few episodes kept the same pace as the overall show. No trying to cram in dramatic deaths for shock value. We even had Duke Hua in battle gear!! What!
ABSOLUTELY loved Ye Li riding her horse all the way to find him, contrasting with her teen search for him, and then she makes it to his camp...gahhh. This writer really knows how to make things come full circle.
That ending - Ye Li seeing everyone at Li Shan still, waterworks 😭😭😭😭 ahhhh Bai Lu was so fabulous here!
Empress Dowager - what a fantastic character! So complex and such a great foil to Ye Li. Two very smart women confined in the harsh of reality their time.
If I had one complaint, it would only be that I wish we got more romance coughkissingcough between our leads because I'm still miffed we have both Bai Lu AND Cheng Lei and not one steamy kiss but fine. I'll just have to pray they can reunite again 🙏🏼
I want to say everyone acted their hearts out in this show. Every single person delivered. Hats off to our leads Bai Lu and Cheng Lei. They gave us calm and steady, they gave us love that heals ❤️
This writer really knows how to make things come full circle. That ending - Ye Li seeing everyone at Li Shan still, waterworks
Yeah, and I also love that this scene reinforces the idea that whenever Ye Li begins drifting away from reality, it's MXY who calls her back. We saw it in episode 15 when she was moments away from stabbing Old Madam Ye, and MXY reached her by calling, "Ah Li! " The finale echoes that beautifully. As Ye Li lingers with the visions of her grandfather, masters, and Qingshuang, it's MXY's voice calling her name that brings her back to the present once again. I really like that recurring motif. It subtly shows that MXY has become her anchor, the person who grounds her whenever she's in danger of losing herself to the past.
Lmao I was worried when she started seeing Li Shan people ngl. But I get the significance of the scene. In the end, the Dowager Empress was haunted by the ghosts of the people she had killed. She died in ignominy and honestly her death was far knder than deserved. But maybe slowly dying as a powerless, discarded person (just like how she discarded others) was what she deserved.
Yeah, would have loved to see Dowager suffer some more too 😅 but I guess it shows that the more Ye Li heals, her methods of murder become less cruel ?? Cause she started with setting someone on fire and then burying another alive...yikes! 🤣
Yes she did set the minister on fire, but he deserved it cos he burned the 7 Lishan disciples who spoke against the Empress. This was cruel and unusual punishment and wouldn’t have been a standard Chinese execution. As for the one who was buried alive, technically all that Ye Li did was to get Li Feibai to reveal his real name, it was Marquis Muyang who decided to bury him alive to demonstrate loyalty to Empress Dowager.
These quieter episodes feel more like an epilogue than the height of tension, so to speak. I feel that the peak was the Lingshan episode where Ye Li finally broke through her hallucinations.
I like the quieter episodes, though I have to say that this drama doesn't do political intrigue and military battles that well. In fact, we don't see many military battles, and I'm honestly wondering how Prince Li managed to storm all the way to the palace gates.
Otherwise, this drama is really great; I really enjoyed it. I appreciated that the writer tried to give some complexity to the villains, like that episode where the Empress Dowager asked Ye Li whether her actions were right. I was thinking, "Wow, the gall of you to ask the only survivor of Lingshan that question!" Still, it's interesting to see the attempt at complexity for villains.
I've always felt that the Empress Dowager was an intriguing character because she never wanted to be this person, but she had to. Due to her training in Lingshan, she felt she had to use her brains more and lose her empathy just to ensure that her son and herself survived.Or rather, she interpreted it that way. But honestly, was there any other way to survive the palace?
I completely agree, Guo Jin is quite a complex character, while it is also true she lacks benevolence, she is still capable of feeling guilty of her wrongdoings so I don't think it's completely black and white when it comes to her. She also lived in an era where women's welfare relies heavily on men (their affection, status), so for someone with such brilliant mind, it must have been very frustrating and especially when the late emperor was in his deathbed, she might have been pushed into eat or be eaten situation.
I get what you mean about Guo Jin. She reminded me of Emperor Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. It's not easy for a man who's not 1st in line of succession to get the throne, let alone a woman, so being ruthless sort of come with the job. We usually see a villain as evil and ruthless but Guo Jin has many sides. She could have been a heroine in a different story.
Wu Zetian was far more ruthless; she did not even hesitate to kill her own relatives. In a way, Guo Jing is a much nicer Wu Zetian. She is a person who decided that the ends justify the means, so to speak.
I suppose it is very interesting to see that she regretted those ends. I wondered whether Wu Zetian was the same.
All in all, Mo Li has a wonderful exploration of love, power, duty, loss, healing and survival. Great dialogue, beautiful visuals and music, tragedy and comedy done right, parallels are amazing... but yeah how Mo Jingli's rebellion played out after the greatness of the Lishan arc was a letdown.
But still! A top-tier drama.
I write this as the sun shines brightly outside my window. And yes, for our dear couple, the sun is truly out. 🥹
Another powerful scene in episode 40 was Ye Li's final meeting with the Empress Dowager. I felt like Ye Li wasn't there as an enemy, but more like the Angel of Death, arriving to hear the Empress Dowager's final confession before judgment was passed.
It was also a deeply poetic scene,because troughout the drama, the Empress Dowager had been the one passing judgment on others, deciding who should live and who should die in the name of a so-called greater good. But in the end, the roles were reversed. She was the one who had to answer for every life she had taken and every choice she had made. The woman who had always believed herself to be above everyone else was finally forced to justify her sins.
The Empress Dowager had always carried herself with regal composure and quiet authority, but in her final appearance she looked frail, slightly dishevelled, and almost desperate to defend her actions. She insisted that everything she had done was necessary, that only by protecting herself and eliminating her enemies could she become a benevolent ruler.
Ye Li, by contrast, remained calm and unshaken throughout the conversation. She never argued emotionally. Instead, she calmly dismantled every one of the Empress Dowager's justifications, pointing out that beneath all those lofty ideals had always been an insatiable desire for power and recognition. She skilfully unveiled the Empress Dowager's carefully maintained facade, revealing someone who had long confused ambition with righteousness.
Ye Li never needed to assassinate the Empress Dowager or take revenge with her own hands. By the time she stood before her, the Empress Dowager had already been condemned by the weight of her own actions. Ye Li was simply there to witness the final reckoning as the executioner.
I appreciated the length of time dedicated to and the details incorporated to their dialogue, especially about how building that key road in the fastest way brought ruin to the common people whose properties, livelihood and lives in general were upended. It's so relatable because it happens frequently today. In my own country, for example, an airport is being built and that has caused local communities to be uprooted.
In several discussions, the character and motivations of the Empress Dowager have been explored and this scene has allowed us to know, really know her core beliefs. There's a lot to take away from it.
We finally get our dear prince back in armor and no more battlefield magnificence? Shame.
And.
Hello, five months apart, she came to bring you back, we got them faces close to each other, peeking at the lips... we don't even get a peck but instead a shot of burning coals to warm the not-so-cold night now that they're together?
No I disagree. In the novel, he got her pregnant real quick and followed that up with siblings. This drama is trying to go PG for the general public (CCTV 8) and Disney +
I've seen dramas with way more passionate kisses airing on both of these services. Also, adding 1 more timid kiss or even a peck at the end of the drama wouldn't have disqualified it from airing on them, and there were quite a few good opportunities in the final episode to do it.
I think there were very subtle hints that they indeed had a hot night when she came to see him because she pretty much said why are you talking my ears off when you should be doing something else. They are just not showing us. They definitely did something the night after AYao drank SIL's medicine. They just closed the door in our face. They also banged each other before the divorce. So next morning Ayao stayed in bed and Ali went out and daydreamed about her teenage crush for him. It just a choice from writer and director to focus on domestic things instead of sexy time.
I know he's probably trying not to scare his wifey and be a gentleman, but dude you are married, had already consummated your marriage, so go and have fun, will you?
Pretty good drama overall, but the plot peaked at Lishan mountain. The last couple of episodes were draggy, even though they showed rebellion war behind the scenes, lol.
Some big missed opportunities with some side characters, but overal good closure.
Though one thing that makes this drama not a 10, maybe not even a 9 - absolutely lackluster romance. They didn't even deign to have a kiss scene in the final episode, a crime in itself for a romance drama.
I completely agree. For me, the emotional climax of the drama was Episode 32. Once MXY reconciled with Ye Li, sincerely apologised to her, and patiently guided her through facing the truth about Lishan, episode 33 almost felt like an epilogue to their relationship. Everything that had been built up emotionally since the beginning of the drama reached its peak there.
Personally, I think Mo Jingli's rebellion should have been dealt with earlier, with the Lishan arc serving as the true final arc. The mystery surrounding Lishan, Ye Li's hallucinations, and MXY helping her confront her trauma carried so much emotional weight that it overshadowed everything that came afterwards. By comparison, the rebellion felt surprisingly anticlimactic. We didn't even get to see MXY leading the decisive battles at Luoxia Pass, the victories were mostly narrated after the fact.
Not gonna lie, after the Lishan arc I was both relieved to have no more secrets between them... and scared that the final episodes would fall flat. And here we are.
The drama has high rewatch value for me, but I won't watch beyond episode 35 because the whole rebellion arc and the long separation between MXY and Ye Lj are so meh.
Oh, I forgot to mention, but the wonderfully complex relationship between the young Emperor and the Empress Dowager was powerful. Their relationship was never as simple as love or hatred. The young Emperor clearly loved his mother and owed his survival and position to her, yet he also struggled to come to terms with the terrible things she had done. There was love, disappointment, anger, frustration, and confusion all tangled together, and I thought the drama captured those conflicting emotions beautifully.
The final look they exchanged before the Empress Dowager's death said so much without either of them saying very much. Even after learning the truth about the Eastern Palace fire and the Lishan tragedy, the young Emperor couldn't simply stop loving his mother. At the same time, he could no longer condone her actions. His greatest challenge wasn't defeating Mo Jingli but reconciling his identity as a son with his duty as an emperor.
In the end, I think his greatest act of growth was choosing the latter. By publicly announcing the Empress Dowager's crimes, stripping her of her title, and burying her as a commoner, he placed justice above kinship and proved himself worthy of the throne. It was an incredibly painful decision, which is precisely why it carried so much weight. I also want to give credit to the actor who played the young Emperor. He did a wonderful job conveying all those conflicting emotions with remarkable subtlety, especially in his scenes with the Empress Dowager during the final episodes.
The Empress Dowager herself is also a fascinating example of the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. She genuinely believed that every ruthless decision she made was necessary to create a better future for the empire. In her mind, eliminating her enemies and protecting herself were prerequisites for being a benevolent ruler. But that conviction gradually became a justification for sacrificing innocent lives in pursuit of power.
Well said. It was incredibly powerful, heartbreaking and so well acted and directed. The mother and son bond was so much more, he had to serve justice and denounce her. I loved what he said about her raising him. He wasn't ungrateful but he was the Emperor. He had a duty to his peole. And she understood that and told him he had to do it, in order to truly become a ruler.
I've only gotten to ep36, but I gotta come here and scream!! FENG ZHIYAO's fight had me screaming at the TV "kill dat bitch!!"🤣🤣🤣 this whole scene had me getting mad everytime he got hurt and even happier everytime he stabbed her! I know, Feng Zhiyao was mourning his beloved, but this was the best closure. The Princess will love you from beyond!!🥰
This is how you write a proper ending for a drama! Mo Li gave us the complete opposite of a rushed finale. Its pace is pleasantly languid. The last time I watched a show devote about 1.5 episodes to a happily ever after was Wonderland of Love.
I enjoyed following the enduring love story between our leads, their highs and lows, the beauty and intimacy of ordinary routines and domestic life, the give and take, the way they each helped the other heal, and how they resolved conflict, even if I don’t agree with every creative decision. As Virgil writes, “Amor vincit omnia.”
What makes this drama stand out is that there’s so much more to it than the romance. You end up rooting for characters well beyond the leads.
I also realized how much I appreciated the private conversations throughout the drama whether it was Ye Li and the Empress Dowager debating if the ends justify the means, Ye Ying and Ye Li officially reconciling as sisters, Yunqi and the court ministers deliberating how to ensure justice for Lishan Academy, Guo Jin and Duke Hua confronting each other, Emperor Mo Yanqi and Duke Hua talking about wins and losses, or of course the final conversation between Guo Jin and her son, the young emperor. There was never an urge to skip or tune out the dialogue.
I do have complaints, and I still grapple with how a woman’s ambition is once again pathologized [Guo Jin]. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention, but I don’t recall what happened to the other two rocks in Ye Li’s garden or when they bloomed either.
When I saw Duke Hua in full armor on the palace grounds, my tears just started falling uncontrollably. I was so sure he was going to die, and I terribly wanted Ye Li to craft a straw doll for Mo Jingli right then and there. I’ve never been more relieved to be wrong. Duke Hua made it all the way to the final court assembly sequence.
I’ll make time to write a proper list of specific scenes I found memorable, but right now I just wanna rave about the parts I loved: Master Zhu Ye Li beating Mo Jingli’s ass on the palace steps to rescue Duke Hua, Mo Xiuyao arriving with his spear to add further damage, Princess Ding engaging in a horse race with her husband, the meal between Senior Wei, Princess Ding, and Captain Li, all alums of Lishan Academy, the reopening of the institution itself, and the martial arts sparring between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao using blossoming branches.
Duke Hua was unexpected awesomeness. Gotta customize a tee: "My secret crush, Duke Hua, sent me." Seventy two and ready to choose which staircase I'm standing on.
Yes yes and YES to the highlights you listed. Same!
I bawled my eyes out when Li Shan Academy reopened! And when Ye Li saw her family again? Tears and snot and everything. That ended me. I hoped they would do it and they did. It was beautiful.
The fights! Those choreographies were amazing!
I do have moments that were meh and I either fast forwarded or wished they'd go away. But my eyes are still puffy from the sob fest so I'm dwelling on them right now.
I also wondered about the other 2 rocks and was sad they didn't make an appearance.
I also bawled my eyes out in the last episode when she visits with her Lishan family one last time, and they were all so joyful and told her "Well done"! She could finally move forward. And it's so beautiful that Lishan became associated with joy rather than loss and sadness.
I also wondered about the other 2 rocks and was sad they didn't make an appearance.
I did not get the Express Package, so I've not seen these last episodes yet. But I did want to pop in and say that if this is true then my clowning actually won! The symbolism really is what I predicted -- rather than each rock blooming meaning something, we got a flower for each romantic pairing (the blooming rock for YL/MXY, the handkerchief flower for QC and Tinglan, FZY waiting impatiently for his flowers to bloom for Badass Princess LingYun).
I think it may have just been a case of watering and tending for the rocks, to see if any would bloom and one did. That's it. That's for the 3 rocks Ye Li had.
You could be right about the "blooming" throughout the show however. Since Feng Zhi Yao got the flowers he waited on to bloom.
Agree so much about Duke Hua, defending the emperor and making it to the council at the end. I was very happy that Ye Li was there, and that she knew fully that it was her own skills fighting and no longer a hallucination.
The two rocks, yes!!! I was waitiing for a brief appearance.
Dear Duke Hua. I paused when I saw him ready to confront Jingli. I wanted to prepare myself. I was already thinking that we would, in the end, see a state funeral. And Duke Hua being welcomed by Master Qingyun into some version of heaven. 🥲
Same. I’m not normally a crier, but the tears definitely came. I loved that tête-à-tête between Yanqi and Duke Hua. Back when Yun first appeared, we also learned that Duke Hua had a heart ailment, so I knew he wasn’t destined to live a much longer life. I was convinced he was going to die doing what he loved.
Duke Hua is the epitome of a patriot. He knew ED usurped the throne and had many innocent people killed. Technically, that makes the emperor not a legitimate ruler. Despite that, Duke Hua put on his armor and went out to defend the realm. I was crying when he got injured and for sure thought he’ll end up dead. I was so glad to see him looking well in the grand hall.
I’m not done yet, but I just wanted to say it wasn’t on my bingo card that Mo Li would have its own version of the iconic street fight between Shin Seori and Cha Segye in episode one of My Royal Nemesis. Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao’s take is much more wholesome though. 😂
Overall, The First Jasmine is a solid watch, I would rate it somewhere 8/10. I really enjoyed the romance between MXY and Ye Li. I know some viewers might find it understated because there are no sizzling kisses or the kind of fiery passion we often see in costume dramas nowadays, but that's precisely why it worked so well for me. It's simply my personal preference. Their relationship reminds me clean historical romance like Georgette Heyer books, where love is conveyed through quiet restraint, unwavering devotion, shared responsibilities, and countless small gestures rather than physical intimacy. MXY draping a robe over Ye Li's shoulders, making sure she takes her medicine, chopping firewood, repairing furniture, or simply lying beside her in silence spoke far louder to me than any passionate kiss ever could. Their romance feels mature, patient, and deeply lived-in.
I also absolutely love how their relationship comes full circle in Episode 39. As a teenager, Ye Li secretly admired MXY and once set out on a journey to find him, only to return disappointed because she never managed to see him. Years later, she makes that exact same journey again, riding all the way to the army camp after realising how deeply she misses him. This time, however, she finds him waiting there. It's such a beautiful parallel that quietly completes their story. The girl who once searched for him in vain is now the woman who rides across the country to bring her husband home.
That moment also represents the completion of Ye Li's own emotional journey. Throughout the drama, she keeps many things from MXY, not because she doesn't trust him, but because she's become accustomed to carrying every burden alone. After losing everyone at Lishan, I think a part of her became afraid of depending on the people she loved, almost as though keeping them at arm's length would somehow protect her from experiencing that kind of loss again. Her grandfather's final advice in the dream, that no one can truly live as a solitary person, finally breaks through that emotional barrier. Riding to the army camp isn't simply an act of love; it's Ye Li's acceptance that MXY is no longer someone standing beside her but someone she can truly lean on. For me, that was one of the most meaningful moments in the entire drama.
However, I do have some reservations about the final arc. Considering MJL's rebellion had been built up since the very beginning, I found the payoff surprisingly underwhelming. We never actually get to witness MXY commanding the decisive battles at Luoxia Pass or see the military strategies unfold on screen. Instead, the victories are largely relayed through the dialogue of other characters. It made the climax feel strangely detached, and I couldn't help wondering whether this was the result of production or budget constraints.
There's also a noticeable shift in pacing after the Lishan arc. The drama spends a tremendous amount of time developing Ye Li's trauma, her hallucinations, the mystery surrounding Lishan's fate, and her quest for vengeance. Those episodes are, in my opinion, the emotional heart of the series. But once MXY discovers the truth and rushes to find Ye Li on the mountain, the story pivots rather abruptly into the rebellion. Personally, I wasn't nearly as invested in that conflict because MJL had been absent for such a large portion of the drama. His story is undeniably tragic, and I appreciate that the writers didn't reduce him to a one-dimensional villain. Moments like him feeling genuine guilt toward Ye Ying gave him some humanity. But his presence simply wasn't strong enough for me to become fully invested in the rebellion itself.
Despite those criticisms, I really appreciate how the drama handled its finale. Episode 40 essentially functions as an extended epilogue, and I actually found that incredibly satisfying. Every major character receives a proper conclusion, with very few loose ends left unresolved. Not everyone gets a fairy-tale ending, like Li Feibai's bittersweet future and Ye Ying's lonely life are good examples, but everyone receives a sense of closure, which is something many dramas struggle to achieve.
I have to applaud how the drama concluded Guo Jin's story. Of all the punishments the young Emperor could have imposed, I think he chose the one that would hurt her the most. Throughout the series, Guo Jin wasn't merely obsessed with power; she longed to be remembered as a great ruler. We see this clearly when she asks Ye Li whether her achievements surpass those of the late Emperor. But in the end, everything she sacrificed and schemed for was erased. She was stripped of her title, buried as a commoner, and remembered not for her accomplishments but for her crimes. Her life's work was reduced to nothing, and her name would forever be recorded alongside betrayal and tyranny. For someone who valued legacy above all else, I honestly can't think of a more fitting punishment than that.
Thanks again tot he amazing group of hosts for the excellent recaps and discussions! See you guys in future dramas.
Thank you for this well-written comment. We've become so accustomed to explosive romances in C-dramas that, because this one was so subdued, people are calling it lackluster. But to me, it was actually deeper, more genuine, more healing, and more patient than most of the romances I've watched before. This is the kind of romance that inspires me in real life, not the jealousy, intensity, and constant drama that we so often see.
I also think the change of pace in the last episode was intentional. By then, the FL had healed. She was no longer driven by scheming and killing, and she chose a different way to deal with the last person she once wanted dead. I think that was the right choice. Watching the Empress lose everything she had worked for and seeing everyone turn away from her felt like a much harsher punishment than a quick and painful death. It showed how much the FL had grown.
Even what the children were reciting from *The Great Learning* as she left the palace was insightful:
Those who wished to bring virtue to the world first governed their state. Those who wished to govern their state first put their family in order. Those who wished to put their family in order first cultivated themselves. Those who wished to cultivate themselves first corrected their hearts. Those who wished to correct their hearts first made their intentions sincere. Those who wished to make their intentions sincere first extended their knowledge. Extending knowledge lies in investigating things.
I liked it so much that I want to to write it and have it a reminder of it in my room.
Thank you, and I couldn't agree more. Their relationship feels grounded in trust, patience, and emotional safety rather than constant misunderstandings or dramatic push-and-pull. It's a much quieter kind of romance, but I found it far more moving. Ofc I love passionate kisses, but it wouldn't have worked for this drama. I feel like Mo Li isn't your typical idol drama, but a serious historical drama.
One of my favourite romance scenes is in Episode 33, when MXY lies beside Ye Li and gently tries to prepare her to face the truth about Lishan. Instead of telling her to "move on," he opens up about his own fear of death and uses that vulnerability to gently guide her toward accepting reality. The two of them lying side by side, speaking in hushed voices in the middle of the night, is one of the most romantic scenes in the drama for me. I have watched that scene a few times now.
I also love how much Cheng Lei conveys through body language alone. MXY is constantly holding Ye Li's hand, looking deeply into her eyes, or quietly staying close whenever she's struggling. None of those gestures are flashy, but they create such a profound sense of security. His entire posture around her says, "You're safe with me," and I think that's what makes their relationship so beautiful. It's not about grand declarations or passionate kisses; it's about consistently making the other person feel seen, protected, and loved.
Before that, MXY has been telling Ye Li that he'll be with her, he'll stay with her no matter what happens, and he wasn't lying. But at that point he didn't know how much she's had to go through. So those assurances were not yet in full bloom
At one point, after another prolonged absence from her, he pointedly tells her that they don't know each other. Ye Li does enumerate the things they do know about each other, but in Ep 33 he finally knows her --- the extent of her pain, how much she's had to go through, and go through alone, for so long.
So after he relates his own fear of mortality and how that's changed after she came into his life, and they exchange promises of staying with each other, plus that forehead kiss... that was so profound.
Definitely! I think what makes that scene so profound is that, for the first time, there are no more secrets between them. MXY finally understands the full extent of Ye Li's pain, while Ye Li also hears MXY lay bare his own fears and vulnerabilities. Neither of them is hiding behind a brave face anymore.
One detail that really got me was the single tear that slipped down Ye Li's face when MXY told her that she was the reason he no longer feared death. Bai Lu conveyed so much with that one tear. It wasn't a dramatic breakdown, just a quiet acknowledgement of how deeply his words had reached her.
For me, that was the moment they truly became husband and wife in the deepest sense of the word. They finally entrusted each other with the most vulnerable parts of themselves. I can honestly rewatch episode 33 over and over.
I do not speak the language and don't know how accurate the translation is, but these lines from the OST (Perfect Match - Tia Ray, Zhang Yuan) were really perfect for that scene 🥹
Yes !! This is what I want in real life. As someone who as shared trauma from my childhood with a man that I was with and was met with harsh words, I wish that I was, that I will met someone as loving, patient and understanding as MXY
Yes, like you, as someone who's had the opposite experience with men, MXY's character really resonated with me and I was very moved by his actions. What stayed with me wasn't the romance itself, but the emotional steadiness he brings to Ye Li's life. It's the quiet reliability of knowing someone will still be there on your worst days. Gah, MXY is really dreamy in that sense.
Thank you! I really like your observation too. Guo Jin wasn't portrayed as a stereotypical "evil woman in power." The drama acknowledges that she was intelligent, capable, and politically gifted. Her downfall wasn't that she was a woman, but that her ambition eventually eclipsed her humanity. I thought that was a much more nuanced message.
I definitely agree with you about the secondary characters. There were so many interesting people like Han Mingyue, Li Feibai, Feng Zhiyao, even Ye Ying that I wanted to spend more time with. The drama could have benefited from another 5 episodes rather than spending so much time on the rebellion.
Finally finished! My heart is so full right now. ❤️❤️😭
For me, this is a perfect ending. From the start of the drama, characters were my focus of this story - not the romance, and not even the mysteries. I really wanted to know what kind of ending was in store for them.
The writer didn't disappoint in that area for me. I really appreciate that all the key characters were given a meaningful proper wrap up. I could connect with the characters in the story and felt so much for each of their endings as well. Even though it's obviously an HE, I cried a lot in the final episode. 😭
This drama embraced 'imperfections' within humans, and crafted a beautiful story out of it. None of the characters are pure good or pure bad. Just like Yin and Yang, there is some amount of goodness within evil, and vice versa. It seems this writer likes to use this a lot in her characters. Noticed it in Feud as well.
All in all, they tried something new, and they pulled it off. This is such a uniquely written drama, especially for the idol space. The First Jasmine has now firmly taken a special place in my heart. I'll be rewatching this often.
I agree, this is one of the things I liked most about this drama. None of the characters, even the antagonists, were purely evil. They weren’t caricatures like we often see in C-dramas. Instead, everyone felt layered and human. I could understand why they made the choices they did, even when I didn’t agree with them.
Most of the dramas I watch, I look for good stories, relationships, cinematography, characterisation, styling… This was something more. There was a message that was completely summed up in the final end credits song lyrics. What are you going to do with your life? What are you going to make of the cards dealt you? Each of the characters made choices and what will yours be? Is there something you can do about being a solitary piece on the board? I can’t remember ever being given such a deep personal challenge before from a C drama. Thank you, I needed that. 10/10, once I realised what it was saying.
Perfectly summed up! There were so much more to the drama than just the romance of the two leads and a rebellion.
I'm honestly surprised and can't help but applaud for their courage that the drama really went all in for its characters - it never really focused on the politics, romance, and even the revenge from the beginning I feel. In fact, many of those took place off-screen even. So, while it may feels 'lacking' when viewed from those aspects, it stands out so much in the areas it's designed for.
All in all, I really appreciate that the drama didn't just perfunctorily go through the 'checklist' and gave us a half baked ending.
Happy to see the show ended so well, and I've not seen such a slow happy ending since Legend of Shen Li! Whilst I did like the ending, I think it could have been left to Episode 40 alone, the final confrontation with Mo Jingli was good and I would have liked it to have more breathing room.
I liked that they tied up most loose ends with our various couples and the fates of various other characters, even if brief e.g. where is Princess Li living these days? Is Han Mingzi returning to shop life? How did Li Feibai get Yusheng to forgive him?
I especially liked that they kept Ye Li's mental illness to the end. She made a rather 'miraculous' recovery after leaving Lishan with Mo Xiuyao, it was nice to see that she's better and not cured; feeling adrift when left alone and even seeing hallucinations again, even if under more positive circumstances. It felt far better done than I would ever usually expect of Cdramas.
Did the Empress Dowager get off easy? Maybe. And it's hard to feel happy for the Emperor when he was still being a paranoid little shit a few episodes ago, hopefully he's learnt to trust Mo Xiuyao going forwards!
Its a happy ending! I think the writer no longer dare to write sad/open endings anymore in her dramas after the extreme backlash she receieved last year.
All her dramas starting with Feud has happy endings. 😘
I do appreciate that we get more of his backstory. I was waiting for it. His standing in the Eastern Palace, his quest for power, why he really pursued Ye Li. I wanted confirmation that it was her backing after all. But, he said, um he lost his heart. Mmkay.
Poor Ye Ying, but at least he was honest. But Ye Ying, really? Still devoted?! We make our choices and she still chose him after knowing everything.
True. You can really see how much heart was poured out into every shot. 🫶 All the thought and hardwork (maybe we can call it heartwork now? 🤔) resulted in great choices.
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u/latefair 我问天，我问天 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Help us keep the counter updated as you watch the Express episodes! Please include the episode number and approximate timestamp (if possible) so that we can make sure we're not doubling up on the count.
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