#3-stars — Public Fediverse posts

Glory (2026) review

When Magistrate Lu Jianglai is assigned to solve a controversial case, he is targeted; he escapes but ends up falling off a cliff, his life hanging by a thread. Fortunately, he is rescued by Rong Shanbao, the eldest daughter and heir of the powerful matriarchal Rong family. He wakes up with no memory, and Shanbao, who knows his real identity, demotes him to a stable boy.

He becomes entangled in the Rong family’s high-stakes search for a son-in-law. Amid power plays and hidden agendas, he and Shanbao engage in a battle of wits that slowly turns into something deeper.

Characters

The Rong Sisters

The Rong “sisters” are not all biological sisters. Some are cousins. In the Rong family, the women are the ones that inherit the business, and all the women must have matrilocal husbands or be expelled from the family.

• Rong Shanbao (played by Gulnazar): The heiress of the Rong family.
• Rong Yunxi (played by Cheng Xiao): The second young lady of the Rong family; she is elegant on the outside but a ruthless schemer on the inside.
• Rong Yun’e (Third Sister) – A relatively quiet character who often sides with the more ‘powerful’ sister.
• Rong Yunyin (Fourth Sister/Mean Rong) – Spoiled, bratty, biological sister to Shanbao and Yunwan.
• Rong Yunshu (Fifth Sister/Scary Sis/Blind Sister) – Blind and often bullied by the others.
• Rong Yunwan (Sixth Sister/Wan Wan) – Mentally disabled sister of Shanbao and Yunyin.
• Xiangling (Cousin, referred to as “Chatty Cousin”) – Stands up to Grandmama.

The Suitors

• Lu Jianglai (played by Hou Minghao): The newly appointed magistrate of Chun’an County.
• Bai Yingsheng (played by Chen Ruoxuan): A penniless young scholar who catches the eye of one of the Rong sisters.
• Yan Bailou (played by Zhao Yiqin): The Rong family’s scion; though born into a prestigious family, he originally intended to become a monk, but was sent by the family to participate in the selection process.
• He Xingming – Obsessed villain who has an agenda against Shanbao.
• Yang Dingchen – Arrogant, mean suitor who will use dirty tactics to “win” Shanbao.
• Wen Can – Shanbao’s “cousin” who is infatuated with her.

What I Liked

I enjoyed some of the character dynamics and relationships. For example, I thought Shanbao and Jianglai’s inverted power dynamics amusing to watch. Jianglai’s shameless antics were a hoot and I liked that our leads are equally intelligent and cunning.

The reverse-harem drama trope: I liked how the in-fighting between women, so tiresome in so many harem dramas, gets a little twist in this one.

The gender role reversal elements (Jianglai as “concubine”, for example) are a fun way to explore how patriarchy impacts relationship dynamics. For example, seeing how the men fight and scheme to get Shanbao’s favour is hilarious and strangely eye-opening.

The schemes within schemes plot structure – you just don’t know what mad turn the plot will take.

Unexpected arcs for the characters – I won’t say much but I really enjoyed the way some of the characters grew.

What I Didn’t Like

Shanbao can be cold and undemonstrative, which makes me sometimes think that Jianglai is the one with the most emotional investment in the relationship. I totally understand why she is the way she is—but I wish she’d break her habit of emotional restraint with Jianglai.

Due to Shanbao’s undemonstrativeness and distance, sometimes the romance feels one-sided.

Shanbao’s and Jianglai’s plans working too perfectly: Simply put, they’re unrealistic. So many things could go wrong. But never mind, in this universe everything works perfectly – how convenient!

The last arc of the drama felt rushed; there was not much groundwork or setup about Jianglai’s background, which made the plot come out of nowhere.

The jade deus ex machina: Probably the laziest plot device ever – a piece of jade that seemed to solve all problems! It’s far too convenient, and I wish Shanbao relied more on her wits than flashing that “ancestral” jade to solve all her problems.

The villains were shallow, including He Xingming, the Duke, and others.

Conclusion

I generally enjoyed Glory’s interesting commentary on patriarchy and the role of women. Some of the character have interesting arcs too. I also enjoyed how the show subverts expectations while maintaining coherent storytelling, which is so rare these days.

However, I wished there was more emotional depth between Shanbao and Jianglai’s relationship. The actors have chemistry, but I just don’t get the same “tingle”.

A beautiful CDrama, for certain, but the plot contrivances can test your patience. The twists and turns do delight, but they defy logic and is far too convenient.

Ultimately, it is a fluffy, gorgeous, fun drama but forgettable.

Final rating: 3 out of 5

Blood River (2025)

Dark River is a mysterious assassin organization which we first saw in The Blood of Youth.

In Blood River, when the Patriarch of Dark River is severely poisoned. This presents a golden opportunity for the three Blood River families (Su, Xie, and Mu) to seize the “Dragon Sword” which will give them control over the assassin organization and great power.

Su Muyu escorts the Patriach to Qiantang City to find the famous doctor, Bai Hehuai. However, the Xie and Mu families are also lying in wait, aiming to kill the doctor and end the Patriarch’s life.

Characters

Su Muyu (played by Gong Jun) – The leader of Dark River’s elite Spider Shadow Gang is also known as the “Umbrella Ghost”, known for his unique fighting style of wielding an umbrella as a sword.

Bai Hehuai (played by Yang Yutong) – A divine doctor with superb medical skills.

Su Changhe (played by Chang Huasen) – Su Muyu’s sworn brother who has big plans to “reform” Dark River.

Su Zhe (played by Qiao Zhenyu) – The former number one expert of the Su family.

Mu Yumo (played by Peng Xiaoran) – Born into the Mu family, one of the three major families of the Dark River and adept at poisons.

What I Liked

The in-depth exploration about the complexity of being human, and on the nature of ‘good’ and ‘evil’: This is what The Blood of Youth excelled in, and I really enjoyed the quiet moments where the writers explored the bonds between Su Muyu, Su Changhe and their friends.

The complex relationship between the kingdom and the jianghu: Wuxias often explore the difficult and complex relationships in the jianghu. In The Blood of Youth universe, they also explore the complex interactions between the government, royalty and the members of the jianghu. This is something they do really well, and in Blood River, after the messy start, they truly leaned in on that, which I enjoyed.

Gong Jun did well as Su Muyu: I joked that Gong Jun might do well as the taciturn Su Muyu, because his character didn’t need much expressions. (Yes, sadly Gong Jun is not known for his acting chops.) But after the first few episodes, I had my doubts. I realised that Gong Jun may be more robotic than I liked. It took me a while, but I warmed to his, er, robotic ways and just accepted that Su Muyu is just someone so tightly controlled that he doesn’t let any expression leak through.

Interestingly, Gong Jun’s performance and Su Muyu’s character arc eventually became the only motivation for me to continue watching, and probably the highlight of the drama.

What I Didn’t Like

The slow, repetitiveness of the first 10 episodes nearly made me quit this drama. The first six episodes were a slog to endure: attack, dazzling fight, pursuit, attack, dazzling fight. And me having zero idea who’s who and what’s going on or why I should care.

Information overload: Too many characters were introduced at once, especially at the start. They didn’t give the story or characters time to breathe in the first ten episodes. Before we got to know any of them, they’re hurling swords at each other or dying. And with the deluge of characters coming at me, I think I need an AI-powered knowledge base to figure my way around.

The lack of true fights: This is “new wuxia” where fights seem ripped off from a video game. As a a result, many of them are a blur to me. It’s made worse by the fact that the fights are of the “finger fu” variety where they do a few twirls, wave their hands around and magical things erupt around them. However, episode 23’s sword fight stood out as genuinely wuxia-ish. If only they leaned more on that.

I don’t really care for the characters: I get that it’s the trend to make the story gallop from the first episode, but writers keep forgetting the golden rule: Make us care for the characters first. Tell us why we should bother with them. Instead, the show tossed, literally, six episodes of non-stop battles at us. Imagine how many viewers they’d have lost because of this, especially if they had never seen Blood of Youth or Dashing Youth before.

The acting isn’t great: Alas, many of the younger actors couldn’t convey the complexity of their characters well. The veterans, however, are great, especially Su Zhe (Qiao Zhenyu).

The writers still can’t write romance worth a damn: That was my main complaint with The Blood of Youth, but I didn’t mind as the romance was mostly garnishing. Here, it’s one of the main motivations for Su Muyu and not being able to “relate” or feel his no.1 motivation is difficult. We are just supposed to accept that Su Muyu and Miss Miracle Healer are an an item, but I felt zero chemistry between the two or any solid reasons why they should be an item.

Thoughts About the Ending

The naivete and idealism of youth is a big theme in the Blood of Youth, Dashing Youth and Blood River universe. There’s a certain amount of pathos watching young people have such bright hopes for the future only to have them fail because of the unwillingness of society to change or bend to their dreams.

Of all the spin offs, I feel that this particular pathos is the heaviest in Blood River. Does that mean watching this was futile? No, because at the end, it mirrors the very real journeys all of us face: We all have our hopes and dreams in our youth, but in the end, we can only achieve what we can, and maybe that’s enough.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked the drama, but somehow, the emotional impact was limp. Meaning, I barely felt moved by the drama. Something is just missing from Blood River. I rewatched Blood of Youth twice, something which I rarely do. Every character felt alive and amazing, and I loved the entire story. Here, I did not feel much connection to a lot of the characters and none were particularly memorable, except for Su Muyu and Su Zhe. While many people liked Su Changehe, he wasn’t much of a stand out character for me.

Story: The plot improved significantly after episode 7, with meaningful character moments replacing endless fight sequences.

Acting: Mostly poor to average for the young cast, though the veterans did well.

Camerawork: The action sequences leaned heavily on CGI effects. I suppose if you liked that you’d enjoy it, but I prefer a more grounded approach.

Rewatchability: Unlike Blood of Youth which I rewatched twice, Blood River lacks the same emotional pull for repeat viewing.

On the whole, I really enjoyed how the story centres around the messiness of human nature, the idealism of youth and its eventual squashing, and the complex interactions and relationship between the government/royalty and the jianghu.

However, the show is hobbled by its uneven pacing in the beginning, the info dump of characters and by actors who need more acting lessons.

In the end, while I appreciated the deep story it was trying to tell, and largely enjoyed the depiction of Su Muyu by Gong Jun, I was just left oddly hollow and detached. And I have to say that this is going to be one of those dramas that I quickly forget….

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

I’m just glad that the gritty storytelling of Blood of Youth is back here, even if it doesn’t quite reach the same heights.

Kill My Sins review

Kill My Sins stood out to me because it is an original script and is played by more mature actors. This is unique in the realm of Chinese costumed dramas.

Tip: You can read my episode-by-episode detailed analysis of Kill My Sins while watching it.

The story

The wandering physician Ye Ping An arrives in Chang’an to set up a clinic where she quickly earns a reputation as a witch for her mysterious treatments. When she gets accused of murder, the ruthless magistrate Yuan Shao Cheng, a low-born man who is quickly rising the ranks of power, sets his eyes on her. But he doesn’t realise that this is part of Ping An’s 18-year journey of revenge.

Characters

Ye Ping An (played by Liu Shi Shi): A physician specializing in psychological conditions, but seen as a witch by most.

Yuan Shao Cheng (played by Shawn Dou): A ruthless official in the Justice department who is eager to cement his power and gain more power.

Wu An Kang (played by Zheng Ye Cheng): An accomplished general who is loyal to the Emperor, and is a scion of the prominent Wu family.

Lu Dan Xin (played by Xuan Lu): Ping’an’s loyal friend and fellow sleuth who is focused on seeking revenge.

Cai Lan (played by Ding Jie): Another friend of Ping’an who is also seeking justice for wronged women.

What I liked

1. Complex villains: I appreciated that the villains were layered and multidimensional.
2. Strong female lead character: Ping’an’s character is a unique female character and there should be more strong women like her in Chinese dramas.
3. Equal relationship between the male and female protaganists: I love the equal and balanced relationship between Yuan Shaochen and Ping’an. They really regarded as equals in intelligence and ability and have such healthy regard for each other’s abilities. I loved how they just trusted each other to make the right (or wrong) decisions.
4. Original script: This is based on an original script, not adapted from a webnovel! And with a plot this complex, I’m impressed. I hope that the producers were not discouraged by the less-than-ideal viewership and would continue to create dramas like these. (FYI, some of the producers created In Blossom, which is also an original script.)
5. Production quality: The camera work and art direction are excellent. Fans of Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty will recognize the signature style, which I really appreciate.

What I didn’t like

1. Overwhelming narrative: The narrative feels very confusing, even for someone like me who usually doesn’t struggle with heavy, detailed dramas like We Are Criminal Police. There are too many details and characters to keep track of, and it’s easy to feel lost.
2. Lack of emotional anchor at the start of the drama: In the first few episodes of the drama, the story was told in a way that doesn’t give me a strong emotional connection to the characters. Why should I care about their revenge or their traumatic pasts? The flashbacks were also frustratingly vague, offering only glimpses instead of a full narrative. For example, I wish there had been a proper flashback episode showing how the three girls met during the fire and how Yuan is connected to them. This would have helped establish a stronger emotional foundation.
3. Convenient plot twists: The plot sometimes feels too convenient, with twists and turns that rely heavily on things going exactly as Ping’an expects. It feels like the plot has “plot armour”.
4. Exhausting to watch: This drama is not an easy watch. It’s heavy, with its themes of death, revenge, and abuse, and it requires a lot of mental energy to keep up with all the details. After a tough day at work, I often find myself reaching for something lighter, like Love of the Divine Tree, where I can just zone out and enjoy the pretty visuals.
5. Not relaxing: This drama is definitely not relaxing. It’s exhausting to watch, especially when I’m already busy and tired. I don’t blame people for dropping it because it demands so much attention and emotional investment.

Thoughts about the ending

Kill My Sins ended very satisfyingly, with most threads tied, and our hero and heroine safe after achieving their goals. One can’t wish for more! (Well, okay, maybe a less rushed story.)

Sure, I wished romance happened between them, but I think they would’ve gotten into each other’s way. I think love would’ve complicated their already difficult missions and it would’ve made it almost typical in terms of plot.

Conclusion

Ultimately, this drama is a tale of how people who started out with honourable intentions, who can be defined as “good” people, ended up losing their way and causing much evil.

Sure, this drama was topsy-turvy in many ways, with the first 7 episodes being so overwhelming that those not committed to figuring out the tale ended up dropping off.

I also think original scripts like these should be celebrated.

For so long, Cdramaland depended on webnovels to adapt, and this is something I grieved. Because, honestly, not every webnovel should be turned into a TV series.

Although this drama wasn’t perfect, it showed us that CDramaland is still capable of producing original, non-webnovel adapted work, so I hope they continue to produce these.

Final rating: 3 out of 5

#3Stars #CDrama #CDramas #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #KillMySins #LiuShiShi #ShaunDou #TV

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Yet another re-read. This isn't my favourite in the series, I didn't find the story quite as enjoyable, and miss ART. However, Murderbot continues to be unacceptably relatable. "I needed to have an emotion in private." You and me both, Murderbot. ★★★☆☆

#Books #BookReview #3stars

Judge Dee’s Mystery

Judge Dee’s Mystery is inspired by the character Di Renjie (Judge Dee), based on a real-life, celebrated judge during the Tang Dynasty.

The character first appeared in the anonymously authored 18th-century Chinese novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (狄公案; Dí Gōng Àn).

Around the 1940s, Dutch diplomat Robert Van Gulik came across the book in a second-hand bookstore in Tokyo and translated it into English. He later wrote his own Di Renjie stories.

The character became even more renowned after filmmaker Tsui Hark’s made the acclaimed Detective Dee films.

This drama starts at the very beginning before Di Renjie becomes that renowned detective. We see how he develops into the official revered for his detective skills.

In this adaptation, he is a man haunted by a tragic past. After being implicated for a crime, he volunteers to solve it. Thus, begins his career as a famous detective.

What I liked

• Zhang Yi We’s charismatic presence as Di Renjie. I can’t tear my eyes away from him. He may not play a “traditional” version of Di Ren Jie, but I sure love his wuxia, broody version. One of the pet peeves I have is seeing reviews that state that they avoided the drama because “the male lead wasn’t attractive”. To me, he’s a real man with imperfections. He looked like a man who had seen and been through things. He may not be idol-pretty, but he is real-world manly.
• Unlike many people, I didn’t mind that the writers messed with the traditional depiction of Di Renjie in film. (Most adaptations depict him as sly, witty and sometimes even a bit of a bumbling (pretend) idiot.) I liked that they explored his origin story here. It is tragic, sad and filled with mystery.
• Bonus mention: The actress who played Empress Wu Zetian is appropriately intimidating and regal.
• The romance between Di Ren Jie and Cao An is endearing. Di Ren Jie is so lousy when it comes to romance that it is cute to see his comrades stepping in to intervene for him. If Hong Liang (his mentor and old manservant) hadn’t stepped in at one point of the story, it may very well be that they would never be together.
• The Zhang Ruoyun arc! I must say he really added “life” to the drama. (In case you’re wondering, Zhang Rouyun is the lead actor of the critically-acclaimed Joy of Life, which propelled him to fame.) Rouyun’s character, so mysterious, shady and ultimately, shocking, gave the drama a big shot of electricity that it needed.
• The cinematography, the acting—chef’s kiss.

What I didn’t like

• The female sidekick is very annoying and often causes more trouble for the team than help them.
• The mysteries are rather … unmemorable and bland.
• Despite loving the production quality, acting, the cases … somehow the drama lacked the emotional “oomph” that makes a drama addictive. I’m not exactly sure why this is. My theory is that while the production and acting is technically good, many of the characters felt bland and colourless, even Di Renjie. The writing does not move us to really connect with the characters.
• Certain elements were revealed far to late in the story. This lessened the impact of pivotal arcs, especially the second last arc.
• They never revealed why Di Ren Jie’s father did what he did in episode one. Hopefully they’d give more clues in Part 2 besides Di’s sad memories of the event.

This was supposed to be Youku’s Big Drama of the Year, but for some reason it fell flat. I’m not entirely show why as it’s a well-made drama.

However, if you loved Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, you will enjoy this. It wasn’t the big blockbuster hit that I’d hoped but it is definitely better than the average fare that came out in January and February this year.

Final rating: 3 out of 5

#3Stars #CDrama #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #DetectiveDee #DiRenjie #TV

With You (review)

With You is an anthology of stories about life in China right before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The drama is set against the backdrop of the pandemic and focuses on the struggles and challenges faced by individuals, families, and communities as they navigate the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic.

Here are my favourite stories:

Episodes 1 and 2

Doctors of a hospital grapple with the realities of a pandemic including the heart-rending cost of not being able to save every soul.

This was a realistic depiction of the realities of the early days of the pandemic. The story of the old woman waiting for her son to come out of the ICU, and how it affected everyone in the hospital, formed the heart of the story.

Episodes 3 and 4

A delivery rider watches the city implode as a mysterious virus appears. He decides to continue delivering food and driving people around, even volunteering for hospital work despite the anger of his wife.

Starring Ni Ni.

During the pandemic, we depended so much on delivery riders. Yet, despite putting their lives in danger, they get so little in return. I liked how this story highlighted how he was torn between doing the right thing (volunteering to ferry hospital workers and getting them food) and his wife’s anger at his “selfishness” of not placing his family first by putting himself in danger (and possibly bringing home the virus).

Episodes 5 and 6

Two medical students go on a road trip to return to Wuhan after news of the pandemic hits. They could’ve chosen to stay in the safety of their rural towns but decided that they were needed back in Wuhan. However, the trip proved to be more challenging than thought.

Starring Yang Yang.

Okay, this was a more pleasant sojourn compared to many of the stories. It highlights the paranoia in the rural areas about people coming from the cities. It does make me think about how Malaysian villages fared during the time. A lot of the coverage was about the cities, and hardly anyone talked about what was happening in the outskirts.

Episode 15 and 16

A chef ends up stranded in Wuhan when he takes the wrong train. Without any accommodation or money, he decides to take a job at the hospital as a cleaner. At first, he was so terrified by what he saw that he fled, but in the end, he overcomes his fear to serve the staff and patients inside. Starring the now-thoroughly-cancelled-because-of-unpaid-taxes Deng Lun.

This was my favourite tale because our hero was very relatable. (Also it was wild that this actually happened—that people ended up stranded in cities when lockdown was suddenly imposed.)

Our main character was, in the beginning, quite cowardly, and there will be a part of you who will be twitching at his actions. Watching him grow a spine and develop empathy for the patients and hospital workers was gratifying. Also, it was nice to see Deng Lung out of wigs for once!

Conclusion

I enjoy dramas about social issues, and China produces some of the most positive ones out there. So often, dramas that centre around society’s ills get so dark and depressing, but I like China’s brand of social issue dramas because they often have a more hopeful message.

Sure, call this propaganda if you like, but With You isn’t it despite what you may think. For one, there are criticisms about the Chinese government’s COVID-19 actions, but I suspect that Western or international viewers are not used to the more subtle or softer way Asians tend to criticise the authorities. Or, they view the more communal approach to solving issues with suspicion.

To be honest, some episodes were a bit dull, and some were a little jingoistic for me to suspend disbelief. The stories that won me over were the stories about ordinary people just trying to cope with a crazy situation—the delivery men, the ordinary workers and more.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Admittedly, this drama is difficult to access. If you’re not geo-blocked, you can watch it via iQIYI.

#3Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #Covid #covid19 #TV

Who Rules the World (review)

This was actually one of the earliest Chinese dramas I watched after returning to Chinese drama-land after a long hiatus. I knew nothing about the two main actors’ fame (Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi were major liu liangs or “traffic actors”), so had no preconceived notions about their acting abilities to influence me. (Liu liangs get a bad rap for their acting skills, essentially.)

1. The characters:
2. The Story
3. Final Rating: 3 stars out of 5

The characters:

Hei Feng Xi / Feng Lan Xi – played by Yang Yang
Hei Feng Xi is a skilled martial artist known for his intelligence, strength, and his calm and calculating demeanor. He has a secret identity.

Bai Feng Xi – played by Zhao Lusi
Bai Feng Xi is a powerful martial artist who is carefree, spirited and fights for justice.

Huang Chao – played by Zhang Fengyi
Huang Chao is a scheming and ambitious prince who seeks to conquer the world and challenge the rule of the kingdoms.

Feng Ju – played by Liu Ruilin
Feng Ju is the half-brother of Feng Lan Xi and a prince of the Feng Kingdom, who harbors ambitions of his own.

The Story

Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi are two heroes of the “jiang hu” (martial arts world).

Hei or “black fox” as he is called by Bai Feng Xi, is cool, confident, and mysterious. He is the leader of the Fountain Abode, which keeps tabs on the world. He trades in information; he’s like the CIA and is feared by most people.

Bai Feng Xi is impetuous, adventurous, free-spirited and hot-tempered. She doesn’t like “Black Fox”, but can’t help but be drawn to him after being pulled into a series of adventures with him. And this is the same for Hei Feng Xi who is used to people being wary or afraid of him, but is befuddled by Bai’s refusal to be cowed by him.

Two of them have hidden identities. And this will play a factor in their many adventures together.

At the same time, the empire is rocked by a conspiracy—the imperial tablet has been stolen, and all the kingdoms are trying to capture it to claim the imperial throne. But there’s more than meets the eye here.

My thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by how good Who Rules the World turned out to be.

One of the aspects that stood out the most was the dynamic between Bai Feng Xi and Hei Feng Xi. Both are mature characters, equal in terms of power and abilities, which felt refreshing.

Bai Feng Xi is assertive, confident, and independent, bringing a sense of balance to their relationship. It’s not often you see such a strong female character in a wuxia drama, where both leads complement each other in terms of skills and strength.

Another element that really impressed me was the CGI. I’m so used to seeing subpar effects in many dramas that I was taken aback by how well it was executed here. The visuals were much better than expected, and it added to the overall atmosphere of the show without distracting from the story. It felt like real care went into the production design, making the world of the drama more immersive.

The fight scenes were also beautifully done. I later found out that Yang Yang, who plays Hei Feng Xi, is a classically trained dancer, and that really shows in the way he moves during the combat sequences. Still, it was a little too little and brief for my liking. I wanted more and felt like I was given more beyond lots of fan waving.

However, I ended up losing interest after a major plot point. In fact, I felt the show should’ve ended at that happy occasion, but instead the story segued into a clumsy last arc that I had just no interest in.

In the end, I watched the last few episodes while doing other stuff, a sure sign that I’m just trying to “get over it”.

Ending

The drama had a bittersweet ending. Honestly, I wanted a way more sugar-coated ending but I hear the book ends happily. Not sure why it’s such a thing in Cdrama-land to have these types of endings, but if you want a happier ending, read the novel instead!

Final Rating: 3 stars out of 5

#3Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama

Kill Me Love Me review

Liu Xueyi is an actor I’ve been watching for a long time. He really stood out in his second male lead role, In Blossom, even if the acting and storytelling of the drama were … inconsistent, so I really want him to be in a drama that really propels him to the big leagues soon. This is one actor that truly deserves to be there.

Kill Me Love Me could be it. (Cross fingers)

If you have not watched Kill Me Love Me, be sure to avoid the spoilerific Watch Log and head straight to the non-spoiler Final Review section instead.

1. The story
2. Characters
3. Watch Log
   1. Episodes 1 to 3
   2. Episodes 4 and 5
   3. Episodes 6
   4. Episodes 7
   5. Episode 8
   6. Episode 10
   7. Episode 11
   8. Episode 12
   9. Episode 13
   10. Episodes 14 to 15
   11. Episodes 16-18
   12. Episode 19
   13. Episode 20-22
   14. Episode 23
   15. Episode 24
   16. Episodes 27-32
4. Thoughts about the ending
5. What I liked
6. What I didn’t like
7. Conclusion
8. Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If you’re accessing this from Mastodon, please head to my blog and bookmark the page as it’s not the final edition. I will be updating it until the drama ends.

The story

Prince Murong Jinghe of the Great Yan Dynasty is known as the “lunatic prince”, the “butcher general”. Ten years ago, he led his Weibei Army to reclaim Qingzhou, a lost territory. But soon after his army entered the city, a devastating fire broke out. The people of Qingzhou, angered, accused Murong Jing He of ordering the fire, massacring the people in retaliation against the people for their alleged betrayal of Great Yan.

Mei Lin lost her entire family in the fire. Consumed by vengeance, she joins a secret organization called Shadow Works, where she undergoes years of brutal training. After ten years, Mei Lin receives her first mission: Kill Prince Murong Jinghe, her greatest enemy.

Characters

• Murong Jinghe (played by Liu Xue Yi): A hated prince who is said to have ordered the death of countless civilians ten years ago.
• Mei Lin (played by Wu Jin Yan): An assassin and survivor of Qingzhou. She is tasked with killing Murong Jinghe.
• Murong Xuanlie (played by Baron Chen): They may be brothers, but the crown prince schemes against Murong Jinghe actively.
• Yue Qin (played by Bi Wen Jun): A prince of Xiyan who is a hostage in Yan. He knows Mei Lin from the past.
• Luo Mei (played by Zhao Xiao Tang): A general of Yan and childhood friend of Jinghe.
• Zi Gu (played by Huang Ri Ying): A princess of Xiyan sent to marry the Emperor of Yan as a gesture peace.

Watch Log

Read this part only after you’ve watched or while watching the Show. You’ve been warned!

Episodes 1 to 3

What can I say? Drama hooked me in immediately, especially with THAT kiss. Sweet, summer chile, I wasn’t ready.

I mean, the red robe ☝️ (and its occupant) says everything you need to know about why I’m watching Kill Me Love Me live 🙃

OK, fine, it has a thrilling, pulpy plot involving an assassin and a crazed, murderous prince, so what’s not to like?

Episodes 4 and 5

I thought it was rather brilliant that Murong Jinghe used his awful reputation to save Mei Lin. As he was explaining to the emperor, who doubted his plan, “If they could believe the general of Weibei army massacred Qingzhou, they would have no problem believing I’ve become a lecher.”

Ouch, dad, did you hear that? No, you didn’t, because you belong to the cohort of stupid emperors in Cdramaland who can’t see your sons plotting right under your nose. UGH. Cdrama dads are going to be the death of me.

Xiyan prince – Giving Meilin those cakes was a chance for the enemy to use his act of kindness and also, even if he did execute his plan, it would’ve destroyed the Xiyan peace treaty. Dude, you’re as naive as your sister. Oh dear, I hope you wise up quickly in the Yan court because it ain’t for the naive. I’m not that enthused about the second male lead coming in.

Mei Ling’s hallucinations – At first I was eh about the whole hallucination that Mei Ling was having. Sure, it was a little funny, but it kinda broke the angst/tension for a bit, but it was insight into her inner thoughts which Jinghe will never see.

Jinghe’s encounter with the lady general – it’s rather sad that he had to put on this act of being an indolent shadow of what he was, but you have to do what you have to do to execute your plan. But imagine having all your loved ones view you as a useless, hopeless case, not sure how it doesn’t eat him every day.

I can see that he’s been “lightened” a bit, and you can see he has a good streak beneath all that darkness. Still, I hope they don’t do it too quickly.

Episodes 6

The second male lead comes in with his schemes and I’m like, go away you irritant. You’re taking precious time from our couple and wasting our time with your impossible mission. But alas, it’s an unspoken rule of CDramaland to have a second male/female lead to cause trouble and it would seem that our Xiyan prince Yue Qin and General Luo Yin is it.

I’m pretty glad that in this episode, Jinghe told the Crown Prince to stop his “concerned brother” act because I think I’m genuinely going to puke if he continued all that smarmy acting.

It’s good to see the claws unsheathed, and our men declaring war on each other. Still, it’s pretty heart-breaking to know that when they were boys they created mischief with each other and generally had a friendly relationship (at least on Jinghe’s part). The handprints in the memorial hall is a haunting reminder of their lost brotherhood.

I wonder what happened to their relationship. (Looks sideways at the emperor.)

Episodes 7

I’m actually surprised that Mei Lin is over her hatred for Murong Jinghe so quickly. 10 years is a long time to hate someone and want to see him dead. But I suppose our assassin is a practical lady who just wants to get on the business of avenging the dead, and she sees an ally in him. And as the mystery behind the embroidery comes to head, she must see him as a fellow victim of the massacre and form some kind of emotional bond with him.

Uhm, can’t wait for the inevitable severing of ties when she finds out that he’s her Master. eheh.

Of all scenes in this episode, I did not expect Murong Jinghe to do some embroidery with Mei Lin. Hey, this is what bonding is all about! (He’s probably the first male lead I’ve seen doing embroidery with the heroine!)

In this episode we see our Crown Prince smoothly lying his way into General Luo’s heart. She’s not buying it for now but the trailers seem to indicate something else. Girl, run! But you’re second female lead so you’re destined to do something to trip our main couple so, I don’t think you’ll be running anytime soon.

Got to say that I admire the ruthless efficiency of the Crown Prince’s plan – it had demolished Jinghe completely 10 years ago. Not only was he left disabled, his reputation was completely ruined in the eyes of the nation and the people that mattered – his loved ones.

I think if there’s anything to be said, is that Jinghe belongs to a family where there’s a … trust deficit. The heartbreak of knowing that your family will believe the worst of you must be unendurable. And seeing how the two brothers were before, the Crown Prince have always had this malicious, lying streak, and the young Jinghe appeared naive or unaware of it.

So far, I’m still loving the pace of the storytelling, though I’m a little uncertain about the humorous moments. I just want them to retain more of the angst, ya know? But that could make the show very dour indeed. However, the comedy moments didn’t work with me. Oh well.

But I’m sure more suffering is coming, so angst will be returning. I’m seated.

Episode 8

Murong Jinghe and Mei Lin go … dating? More cute moments with our “couple” as they put on a show for the whole of Yan and the Crown Prince to convince him that, nah, he isn’t up to anything and he’s 100% a lecherous bastard.

The crown prince makes moves with General Luo and she’s not impressed. Yue Qian gets a shock when his manservant’s Shumo plan to smuggle Mei Lin out of Yan goes horribly wrong. Murong Jinghe manages to capture Minister Zhang, one of the Crown Prince’s henchmen.

NGL, episodes 8 and 9 were the eps that got me really worried and fearing for the drama’s health. I don’t think the writers (or perhaps Wang Jinyan) managed the transition from stoic angry assassin to semi-bubbly accomplice very well. I found the comedic moments between Jinghe and Mei Lin rather painful and wanted them to stop lol.

Episode 10

My faith in the show is raised when Jinghe’s public displays of crackheadedness make a reappearance. Hello, mad prince! I missed you! Our fake couple ramps up the Public Displays of Affection. Oddly this was far more tolerable for me than their cutesy moments.

And then more palace intrigue stuff. More please! So much so that it leaves General Luo mad and the Crown Prince smirking that he’s winning General Luo. (Yeah, no.)

Episode 11

The crown prince and Jinghe fights over “ownership” of Minister Zhang in a dramatic way.

I’m enjoying the poisonous banter between the Crown Prince and Jinghe. Ah, shades of Joy of Life, where Fan Xian and the second prince exchange pleasantries laced with threats. Jinghe and Crown Prince’s exchanges may not be as delicately terrifying as our JOL duo but it’s really wonderful to see two great actors – Liu Xueyi and Baron Chen – duke it out.

(Speaking of Baron Chen, you really need to check out Meteor, Butterfly, Sword.)

Something shifted in episode 10.

While episode 8 and 9 made me wonder if the show had jumped the shark, 10 and 11 made me worry a little less.

I was especially ecstatic when I saw trailers for eps 12 and 13. 100% celebrated when I saw that our “couple” is back to being furious with each other. Yay! Can we keep them this way, please?

Also, Mei Lin, if you thought what he did with the 10 beauties was bad, wait till you find out about that master of yours …

To be honest, I initially worried about the direction of the show. But after rewatching the trailers and the feature on how they made the drama, I regained some of that lost confidence because I could see that there are some exciting upcoming arcs, and I really want to see them played out, such as a rebellion by the Crown Prince, a war, some shenanigans with dead bodies with Jinghe being the unhinged prince again…

So, I’m back to enjoying the drama. Maybe I’m just an eternally optimistic person who can see the silver lining in everything. Maybe it’s the sight of Jinghe in his resplendent burgandy robes, staring down at Mei Lin as she dances. (Damn you, producers, for weakening my rational side.) Who knows? I’m just enjoying myself.

To be honest, I never really wanted Jinghe to be thoroughly dark despite what the trailers hinted. I knew that it also wouldn’t be 100% possible with the rules in Cdramaland right now, but most of all, I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it very much if he was truly callous, cold and basically mad like he is in the novel.

In my heart, I knew Jinghe would be a green flag cloaked in red. But my disappointment stemmed from the poor character writing of Mei Lin and the awkward transition of Jinghe being menacing to … nice? I get that’s the face he shows the people at his side, but I feel that it was too quick with Mei Lin.

Perhaps it’ll improve.

I’m quite pleased with Jinghe’s character writing, however. (Ok except for the quick acceptance of Mei Lin.) And even the Crown Prince has a good treatment by the writers. But Mei Lin needs better definition and steel to reflect her supposed deadliness and resilience.

So, I think I’m on the side of, “I’m still enjoying this drama, but I’m lowering my expectations a tad.”

I have to remind myself that Legend of Shen Li lost me for a good half a dozen or more episodes, so much so that I nearly gave up on it. Then, somehow magically around the 20th episode or so, it regained its initial spark, and it ended up being one of my favourite dramas of 2024.

Episode 12

The Xiyan prince is about to leave and he can bring the beauties with the burnt mark home, but of course, the crown prince has other ideas. Meanwhile, Jinghe and Mei Lin fall out when she discovers just how ruthless he can be to achieve his plans.

(Uhm ya, you don’t know half of it, lady)

Episode 13

The royal hunt is on and the Crown Prince is up to no good. Well, so is Jinghe as he’s intent on capturing Li Qi, a man who is connected to the tragedy at Qingyuan 10 years ago. But his plan involves jumping off cliffs…

Here’s what I can say, it is funny how quickly the story improved once the Xiyan prince left and we don’t have to endure 2ML shenanigans (for too long anyway) 😆

His little arc in ep 12 is pretty interesting tho. Try not to spoil yourself before watching it.

Anyway, I was super concerned about the drama, as I said, esp with episodes 7-9, that the show had jumped sharked. My primary concern was tha they were going to shortcut their emotional and relationship growth by making them be cute with each other from the get go.

But something turned at ep 10, and I can say at eps 12 and 13 that the tension, darkness and Murong Jinghe we knew in eps 1-3 is baaaack. Even Mei Lin seems better defined and her character writing is more solid.

Our couple is back to threatening each other and dang it Liu Xueyi somehow makes threats sound like seduction.

But what really shocked me, was the last 10 min of ep 13. Such a short scene, but a massively important one as Mei Lin finally realised the depth of suffering Jinghe had gone through.

It was a scene I never ever thought I will see in a cdrama, a kind of humiliation that is so awful in its rawness it will make you turn away in shock.

I am so used to Cdrama heroes being portrayed as perfect, always with beautiful skin, always suave and sure of himself.

But here, Jinghe is at his lowest in front of possibly the worst person: someone he has growing feelings for.

I am not going to spoil you about what happened, because this is a scene that needed to be seen to feel the impact.

Personally, I am actually agog that the producers a actually went there! But I really, really liked that they did. That’s brave writing.

Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan acted the heck out of that scene. That quiet, respectful way she treated him. She didn’t say a word and went to gather wood.

His devastated look as he was forced to LOOK AT THAT LOG as Mei Lin drags him away… the whole scene left me speechless really.

Perfectly acted, all of it. And both actors hardly said a word to each other during this time. I can see that LXY WJY are not the type of actors who want to pose and look pretty for the camera all the time, that’s for sure.

Honestly, I am glad Liu Xueyi was given this moment because he really showed what he was capable of here.

And ya know, I am not the type to cry when watching any drama. Heck didn’t even cry watching the Titanic, but I almost did with this one, because this is a humiliation none of us want to ever endure.

Anyway, they have An Important Conversation after the whole thing which will define their relationship now. If they ever do have lovey-dovey moments in future ep, it will feel more organic than forced.

Episodes 14 to 15

Jinghe’s night terrors AKA can we get him a therapist?

Mei Lin sees Jinghe at a vulnerable moment once more as he suffers through a horrible nightmare of the moment he was nearly beaten to death and crippled. So fierce was the dream that it left him trembling for a few good minutes. Again, Mei Lin just quietly does what needs to be done, no fuss as she gathers herbs to help Jinghe sleep. I love her style. She knows that Jinghe doesn’t need sweet words but practical help.

Though I have to be amused at his earlier attempts to literally get in bed with her. I thought he would’ve benefited from a cuddle or two but Mei Lin is having none of that LOL

As usual, this was a great performance from Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan.

The best fight I’ve seen in a while

For one, it has some of the most intense and well done fight scenes done in a Cdrama since forever. I wrote about it in my last post.

A contrast between the princes

Some will question why the writers included that small storyline with Commander Yang of the prison camp and his subordinate. I actually thought it was brilliant – episodes 14 and 15 contrast how the two princes differ in their treatment of their men.

The Crown Prince does command loyalty, but it’s all through deceit. Just like how he deals with all the people in his life, from General Yin to the Emperor, he projects an aura of kindness and benevolence and strikes at his enemies from the shadows when they least expect it. (Luo Mei will be his latest victim 100%.)

His men think that he’s a great man but will almost always realise it too late what he really is, as Yang’s subordinate finds out. RIP. Commander Yang, I hope you don’t get too big a shock in the afterlife when you find out the truth.

Meanwhile, Jinghe is the total opposite. He projects an image of a decadent and murderous bastard who is willing to kill people for amusement, but in truth, he is kind and loyal to his men. He worries for Qingyan when they separate, and when one of his men died during that massive battle in the bamboo forest he grieved so deeply that Mei Lin and Qingyan had to drag him away.

Both princes command loyalty in their men, but only one is truly loyal to them.

A quiet interlude So they had to go through hell (well, a snowstorm anyway) to reach an isolated, idyllic village.

Btw can I express my appreciation to the producers for filming in actual places? It was soooo satisfying to see a fight in an actual bamboo forest and a whole village! According to a BTS video, they hardly shot in the studio. After the tense, angsty episodes of 13-15, it’s good for our leads (and our brains) to have a vacation lol.

When I saw these scenes in the trailer, I just couldn’t imagine HOW Jinghe and Meilin’s relationship could’ve ended up being so … sweet!

But in episodes 13-15, our couple has seen each other at their worst; they’ve fought side by side like comrades and they’ve saved each other numerous times. The next step, love, is 100% more logical than episode’s 8-11’s cutesy moments. I’m so so glad that my fears about the drama devolving into a frivolous mess didn’t come true. And thank god for the intensity of ep 13. This couple really needed that moment.

(Speaking of which, I had fun reading through Weibo’s reaction to ep 13 – I posted the Weibo reactions to ep 13 on my Tumblr, so you can read it if you like.)

Anyway, 100% for sure they are going to have a Meet Yourself slice of life time in that village where they connect and ya know, get “heated up”.

Darlings, you know what that means, right?

PAIN IS COMING!

My not favourite moments

Xiyan prince is back. WAIIII. I get you need to be second male lead and all, but can you like stop taking up so much screentime? Each time we switch to Xiyan I just legit want to throw a mantao at the TV

Episodes 16-18

Many people complained that these episodes were “out of sync” or that the drama suddenly became another genre. But these episodes stuck with me for a long time. So much so that I rewatched them over and over again. For some reason, they were just so meaningful to me, as impactful as the pivotal episode 13 where we saw Murong Jinghe at his very lowest.

For me, the most meaningful and moving scene was this one – of them dancing around the bonfire.

I couldn’t really articulate why before, but today I decided to write down what I saw in it that moved me so much.

After a while I realised that that dance around the bonfire was a celebration; Jinghe and Meilin had been in pain for so long, tortured by their mission and inner demons, but the dance around the fire marked a turning point in their journey.

These are the reasons why their time in the village was so important to their growth:

It was a reminder and restoration of their true selves

Were they deluding themselves to forget about the outside world, their mission, and their vengeance and indulge themselves in this bucolic paradise? I think in that beautiful village, it was impossible to hold on to the darkness. And who would blame them to indulge in some peace and tranquillity?

During this time, away from the stifling confines of the capital and from the people who smiled at them but held daggers behind their backs, they could finally relax … and fall in love.

A dose of hope that their lives could be more than just about vengeance

Meilin and Jinghe had led such tightly focused lives for ten years: It was for vengeance, and nothing else. There was no space for anything else. Certainly nothing happy.

In this village, there was suddenly a new focus: Love. This made them realise that there was life beyond their quest to take down the crown prince.

Not only do the villagers give them a more human reason to strive for their goal, they could now focus on living for each other.

A reminder of why they have to do what they need to do

By living side by side with the villagers, they are reminded about the ultimate reason why they are fighting for justice and vengeance — to preserve and protect the lives of these good-hearted common folk, so that their children can still run in the fields, and the village could celebrate and have tables of food.

For Murong Jinghe, it’s a restoration of his faith in the common folk

For Jinghe, his time in the village is especially profound. He has never lived as a commoner. His life had always been about privilege and responsibilities. He’s used to being served and bowed to by these folks, and the only other experience he had with commoners is being crippled by them.

In episode 2, we see Jinghe say bitterly, first to Mei Lin and then to his dead mother, that for 10 years, he had regretted the mercy and restraint he had showed towards the people of Qianzhou, because it only resulted in him being crippled and his men dead.

His time in the village was important to give him an insight into how normal people lived and a reminder that they are more than irrational monsters.

When he played with the children, interacted with the village aunties and even sweet, hapless Wei, he is reminded of their humanity. They are kind, good-hearted villagers. These are the people he was meant to protect.

They are no longer the weapon-wielding objects of his hatred, his tormentors, but people with dreams and hopes, whose lives should stay free of fear.

When they danced around that fire, I truly celebrated with them because of all the healing they had done. This village helped them heal.

And notice in this scene that the frame pans back to the bonfire. I think, intentional or not, this is symbolic. Fire has been the source of both Meilin and Jinghe’s tragedies. But this time, the fire is at the centre of a celebration. The meaning of fire has been transformed.

Episode 19

First, have THIS face ☝️

Two, steal his armour and horse

Three, hide the target of your bro’s frantic search at his wedding reception and let her strut out like a queen

Four, ignore your brother completely when he talks to you and talk to his bride instead

Five, ride away like a king

Six, make his bride run after you

Let’s face it, Jinghe is a total drama queen, but man, does he know how to use this skill to his advantage. He wanted people to spread the news of him being alive and well? What way to do it than to gatecrash your bro’s big day with maximum style and drama?

Luo Mei – there are two ways our general will go from here on:

a) Get so pissed off at Jinghe that she joins forces with the Crown Prince to bring him down

b) Pretend that she’s with the Crown Prince so that she can get intel to help Jinghe

I am leaning towards b, mostly because Luo Mei’s character has not shown any tendency to be petty and she puts the safety of her nation first most of all. So far, the writers in this show have been quite consistent with their character writing, so I’m expecting it to be the same.

But hey, you can never know.

Other thoughts:

• I can’t tell if Luo Mei is just naturally expressionless or is it the actress. Hard to judge with her interaction with the Crown Prince if she really means what she says or is playing along. Oh well maybe that’s the purpose lol 😅
• It’s so sweet in a way to see the emperor so excited to hear the news about Jinghe … until he gave him the speech about betraying the people. You are going to so regret this, dad
• Zigu still believing the worst of Jinghe despite what Meilin told her is so annoying 🙃
• Yue Qian be plotting 😑 When is he going to be over?

Ep 20 trailer omaigawd after The Rise of Ning, I’m so done with elders fainting at crucial moments.

Also, ok now we have a valid reason to hate Yue Qin (besides him being a c@kblocker) – he has been a double agent for crown prince all the while. Can someone lend me a cudgel? Need to use it for something.

Episode 20-22

I made this gif so that Luo Mei can slap the Crown Prince endlessly.

You can thank me later.

Our crown prince is peak Evil Villain in these episodes.

Gotta give credit where credit is due: Baron Chen is doing a phenomenal job as the villain. We have pathetic villains, dumb villains, smarmy villains, but he’s not any of those. We all can’t wait to slap him all together. Good job Baron! *slow claps*

He’s that dirt you find at the edge of your sink that you can’t seem to scrape off. And then when you do scrape it off it’ll give you some kind of deadly disease. That kinda villain.

He manages to corner Jinghe to a desperate situation and poor Eunuch Liu !

What a good man, loyal till the end. I loved that little flashback of him and little Jinghe where he taught the rascal a secret gesture which Jinghe used to communicate the emperor’s poisoning.

Jinghe’s suicide mission

Also speaking of nefarious substances, you want couple goals? Most couples get matching T-shirts. Murong Jinghe and Meilin gets matching poisons . Can you significant other do that, huh?? (Talk about spoiling the market.)

Admittedly, when I first found out about Jinghe’s decision to be a lab experiment, I went: I know you love her and all, but bro, talk about terrible timing!

But the more I think about the more I think this is pretty much what Jinghe would do. Ruthless and calculative even with himself, he knows that his time is running short, and what with the crown prince now holding the reins of power (with Luo Mei’s army at his command on top of that) and Jinghe about to execute a suicide mission, he had very little room to manouever.

He had so little confidence that his plan would work that he had his memorial tablet installed in the secret room where he meets with his comrades.

The Reveal
And the whole I am the Shadow Master reveal in episode 23 – initially I thought it was an act of noble idiocy. I mean, yes, it was (as if my girl needs rescuing), but in his eyes, he knew that the only way for her to give up on him completely and not put herself in harm’s way is for her to find out in the most brutal way he was the one who poisoned her and caused her endless misery for ten years.

(By the way, did you know that Liu Xueyi crafted 3 different voices for his different personas? You can actually notice the subtle shifts in his voice acting the first 4 episodes of the drama when the personas were present then. I will say this, but Liu Xueyi is someone that you should never ever dub (like Zhang Wanyi) – he is pretty masterful with the line delivery. If you hear him speak in real life, it is NOTHING like the voices he uses in his dramas.)

Back to the whole Yue Qian and Jinghe shall make Mei Lin’s decisions for her arc, the Reveal actually made a lot of sense, and him handing her over to Yue Qian is an expedient and efficient way to keep her alive. And I shall give Yue Qian a pass this time because we have plenty of time later to hate him once Crown Prince exits the stage.

Still, Yue Qian’s “I love her” got me thinking, like how, lil prince? You knew Meilin for only 1.5 seconds and you’re in love with her? You say you want to give Mei Lin a choice and here you are bargaining with Jinghe like she’s a chess piece? Yeah, I’m really convinced.

Anyway, I just have to say I’m so proud of Mei Lin for not falling for Jinghe’s I never loved you because I’ve been an evil bastard all along . I love that this drama never relied on misunderstandings to heighten tension. Meilin is smart as a whip, and she does us proud.

Luo Mei in love? Hard to tell, really

Meanwhile, the Internet is screaming at Luo Mei for falling in love with the crown prince. But I think the scenes of her crying in front of the altar and even killing Eunuch Liu is her coming to terms with the fact that she made a Big Mistake and wrestling with what she must do to preserve the Yin family honour.

I am still not sure if she really loves the prince or is upset that she got conned, because the actress is *not the most expressive* of persons. (Does she have working facial muscles? Asking for a friend.)

Anyway, episode 22 ends in the best way, with Jinghe making his last stand and running his suicide mission. The trailer for episode 23 is murderous (in that it will murder me), and 1 day seems like a damn long time to wait.

Episode 23

Jinghe is beaten and stabbed to every inch of his life in this episode

And really, really paid for his loyalty to the Weibei army and clueless dad

Yet, despite losing 50% of his blood and at death’s door, dreaming of snow

He still looks gorgeous

Life is unfair

Jinghe’s desperate battle

Murong Jinghe’s suicide mission is in full swing as he storms the castle gates (so to speak) with his men. They are vastly outnumbered, and Jinghe isn’t confident that he’ll make a dent, but he is going to try anyway. It’s his last ditch attempt to save the emperor as previous attempts to give him the antidote had failed .

We get a big skirmish, and as far as palace skirmishes go, it isn’t bad, though the fighting scenes in this episode is not as good as episode 14’s or even Mei Lin’s battle with the Crown Prince’s men in episode 22.

It’s a bloody battle and I’m actually appreciative of the director really hurting Jinghe instead of making him some kind of superman with crazy wuxia skills. (Though hilariously on Weibo, some people complained that Jinghe’s martial arts must be bad cos he got hurt so much lol.)

Also, can we say yay to the Lu Lingfeng spear moment we got!

Why did Meilin go off with Yue Qin?

Damnit, Yue Qin c@!kblocker #1, you’re back with a vengeance and I’m back to hating you full time. But in case you missed it Meilin decided to go off with him because if he she didn’t, apparently his life would be in danger. Why do I think this is an absolute bullshit lie

Jinghe was left stumbling after her, unable to stop her.

But there’s probably another reason. She’s fulfilled her revenge (though denied having a hand at it towards the end, she bitterly said to Yue Qin at one point), and she no longer has any other reasons to stay around. And I think Jinghe’s admission of being the Assassins’ master rattled her, despite her logical reaction. She probably needed a break from Jinghe and to regain her confidence and some peace.

Thus ends the Crown Prince arc, but I’m with the camp that he got off too easy. I wanted a public trial damnit, not a quiet dispatch in a dark prison. Though, maybe for him and his big ego, such an ignomious death was probably fitting because he’s being told by the emperor, that he doesn’t even warrant a public execution, he should be quickly dispatched like month-old rotting food at the back of the fridge – quickly and with as much disgust as possible.

The emperor

One thing that dissatisfied me with this episode was that he didn’t even visit Jinghe after he fell from battle. Hey, dad, he literally took a sword for you, not once but many times, and not even a visit? Most probably it was an oversight from the writers/producers’ part, as they prob wanted to prioritise Meilin’s bedside visit, but having the emperor just be there, would go a long way to convey that he was concerned.

Alternatively, it could be that the emperor was in a tight spot. Both of his sons had fought with each other. One was downright evil in what he did, killing loyal officials and then poisoning him, his other son, meanwhile, had a secret army (and a secret assassin’s league but don’t tell dad). This does not look good for him, and he needs to show that he’s above it all and in control.

Still, one significant moment that you probably missed was the emperor admitting, in court, no less – that he didn’t teach his sons well, Qingzhou’s disaster was also his fault; basically putting the blame on himself, and declaring that he will write what amounts to a public admission that he fucked up.

He didn’t have to do that; he could’ve downplayed it or just blame the Crown prince entirely, but he took some of the blame.

This is a very BIG move for an emperor in China back then as this is almost close to admitting that he was wrong and had failed the people, and the philosophy behind the Mandate of Heaven is that the emperor is given the right the rule only if he serves the people well, but it’ll be removed if he does the opposite. that admission puts him in a vulnerable position politically.

That little surprised look Murong Jinghe gave showed just how significant this move was.

This is the emperor apologising to his son in the most public way possible. Rather moving, really.

And as Jinghe walks out of the hall, he sees his dead men (including the warrior that died in episode 14), walking back ot the palace, finally able to return home with dignity after having their names cleared. And Jinghe and the Weibei soldiers bidding each other farewell. 😭 What a moment. SNIFF.

Luo Mei’s decision

As I suspected, Luo Mei comes to Jinghe (and the emperor’s) rescue, though that doesn’t excuse her killing Eunuch Liu in the last episode, though it’s said that Liu was begging her to kill him, so maybe she was right to do so.

But what happens next got me scratching my head. She … decides to visit the crown prince in prison in her wedding gown, and it seemed like she really does love the Xueling.

Like girl, you must’ve smoked that incense good, it changed your brain chemistry and downgraded your IQ or something.

Yes, I did not understand how or why Luo Mei would STILL be in love with the prince, despite knowing that he’s traitorous bastard, This is probably down to the actress’ inability to portray the nuance needed for such a role. Luo Mei is reserved, cold and it probably takes an exceptional actress to convey her slowly falling in love with Crown Prince, being torn by what she discovered by him etc. Instead, it left me confused by it all. Eh.

Did the crown prince get off easy?

Life is unfair, but his death by poison in a dark prison cell is kinder than Li Qing’s death by fish scale flaying (whatever that means but it sure sounds painful as eff), but this is inline with royals getting a kinder punishment than commoners back then.

What’s bizzaro to me was that final “love scene” between Luo Mei and our crown prince. Felt zero emotions for them during this scene. And are they telling me that the prince did all those evil things for looooove?

And why was Luo Mei the one to deliver the cup of poison?

—

Final verdict: A fantasic episode but I felt that there were moments where they could’ve upped the emotional stakes and tension more.

Episode 24

I told myself that I’ll only watch Kill Me Love Me episodes on Thursday.

WHO WAS I KIDDING BWAHAHA

I pounced on this sucker the moment it was released like I was a Swiftie trying to buy Taylor Swift concert tickets. Pathetic lol

Luo Mei sets off

Luo Mei caused quite a ruckus in fandom in the last episode, with lots of people confused by her love for the Crown Prince, but I’ve come round to thinking that she just had a soft spot for someone who expressed love for her. Her redeeming moment was when she thanked Jinghe for helping her choose correctly.

So, in essence, she was blinded by love (I guess?) or desire to be loved, rather, and snapped out it in the nick of time, but the price is high.

Do you hate me?

But yes, we finally get THE CONVERSATION between the emperor and Jinghe. It’s interesting that he has this conversation in the same place he prayed to the empress and Jinghe, asking their forgiveness for not pursuing/revealing the truth behind Jinghe’s “death” and letting the Crown Prince continue unconvicted.

And the Emperor asks the million dollar question: Do you hate me?

Lemme think, dad. You exiled your crippled son to some cold corner of the kingdom, never defended his honor and basically stripped him of everything that made him who he was by believing the Crown Prince’s lies. I don’t know? What do you think??

Jinghe, surprisingly, said almost as quickly: Yes, I hate you.

Well, that was refreshing!

But quickly toned it down with a diplomatic answer, like a dutiful subject would do. The emperor wasn’t buying it and basically said that he was lying to him.

And yes, the gloves come off and Jinghe demands, why didn’t you believe me? Why didn’t you investigate?

And, the emperor basically told Jinghe that he was a convenient explanation to appease kingdom about the Qingzhou disaster, he had to placate the kingdom, and that well, it wasn’t a convenient time to investigate.

You can see immediately that the emperor realised he done f**ked up, as Jinghe instantly clams up and goes back to loyal subject mode, and gives a flat, diplomatic answer: “I understand. You’re the emperor of the nation, not just my father.”

The emperor tries to bridge the gap, but stops himself. He probably realised that he totally deserved that cold shoulder.

And he finally admits his real motives: Greed. This is interesting because during his “confession” a few moments earlier, he admitted that he told Jinghe that he had convinced himself that Jinghe was greedy and thus caused the massacre. But now he admits that he was the one that was greedy.

This is what I love about Kill Me Love Me. The writers (when they’re doing great anyway) doesn’t feed me the story nor overexplain things lest they think I’m too stupid to get the subtext.

Also, with actors like Liu Xueyi and Jiang Kai (who plays the emperor), it’s a delight to interpret the microexpressions being exchanged. I love that Jinghe refuses to meet the emperor’s eyes when he speaks those “diplomatic” lines, but only does so when he’s truthful.

(But with less than capable actors, however… it can be confusing, as we endured with Luo Mei.)

Is the emperor a bad dad? Well, yeah. But in the pantheon of bad emperor dads, he is at least trying to be better.

Xiyan Xiyan Xiyan

Yeah you can hear my lack of enthusiasm about the whole thing happening o’er there.

I have this theory that Yue Qian may not be this arc’s Big Bad, but my confidence is shaken somewhat when he starts mooning about making Meilin his Princess Heir … despite telling her that he wants to give her freedom.

Sorry man, but the actor is not capable of being Big Bad #2. I’m thinking that the Xiyan general and the king could be the real antagonists and Yue Qian is just there to make things worse for everyone LOL

Budding romance?

And then there’s this moment with Zigu and the emperor. Er, I’m seriously not sure what to think between the two. Is it more like a father-daughter relationship, or, er, something more? In this episode there seems to be an indication it’s more than that. LOL. Oh dear, I can almost hear international fans screaming in horror. (On Weibo I don’t hear as much of this, interestingly.)

Although marriages like these is common practice back then, I’m not sure what to feel about it. It’s just awkward for me lol. I guess I’m just a modern gal.

Qingzhou’s restoration

I’m actually very excited for this storyline. It gives our poor dejected prince something to do besides mope over Mei Lin and water plants. It’s a full circle for his story, and it’ll help him heal by restoring Qingzou after what the crown prince did.

Something interesting I found on Weibo was that some users commented that the reason why Jinghe didn’t tie his hair up was because he was never given a coming-of-age ceremony due to being framed for the massacre. I think that’s part of the reason, but it’s also part of his “mad prince” persona, who doesn’t care for the rules of propriety, who is very far from respectable.

But now that he’s cleared of the crime, about to be made crown prince (as heavily hinted by the emperor) he can now put up his hair like any respected official.

Episodes 27-32

I bought Xpress episodes but goddamn it there’s some bug that prevents me from unmasking it, but I’m a tech nerd so I have my ways. I wrote a whole lot of thoughts and then Reddit decides to erase it randomly lol. Tech is not playing well with me tonight.

Warning: Sincerely, don’t click on this before watching the episodes.

Yue Qin’s craziness

Er, YQ going all Count Dracula was weird, but I guess it works to cause more drama for Meilin.

Jinghe’s mad era

Yue Qin, you had ONE JOB.

He deserved all the punches Jinghe gave him.

But, yeah omg it’s so sad to see Jinghe completely off his sanity. You may wonder why, but he’s been through hell for ten years, and Meilin was the only hope he had for a better life beyond revenge. The thought of revenge sustained him, and I think if he hadn’t met her, and successfully executed his plan, he probably would’ve killed himself from the despair.

He also probably blames himself like hell for what happened to her. In that speech to her “corpse” he said, “It’s my fault that you died. I harmed you. It was me who handed you to someone else”.

It must’ve been difficult for Qingyan, already a mother hen, to see him deteriorate to this point. And stopping him in the nick of time before he killed himself! The poor man has been to hell and back for his master, seeing him at his very worst to … his happiest to his very worst again.

As usual, it was mesmerising to see Liu Xueyi in this segment. Now we can proceed to …

Thoughts about the ending

Seriously just a warning not to proceed and unclick before watching the drama. I think you should watch the show before you do this, trust me lol.

Yes, right, so remember what I said about NOT CLICKING THE ENDING? I was impatient and decided to do so lol. I just wanted to be over the anxiety of waiting lol.

I suppose for a CDrama, it was a better ending than I thought. I think mentally, I prefer to end the drama at their wedding and not proceed – and if you prefer to remember them at their happiest, maybe end it there.

Uh, Zigu dying. Why? What was the point of her arc beyond: Life sucks and then we die? lol

I think the cruellest thing was that on Weibo, the wedding scene was leaked first so everyone thought it was a good ending.

Then the express episodes landed and now people are hella mad.

Let’s not get started with MDL lol, they be rioting there.

I think, thematically, it didn’t make sense to end it this way, what with the talk about undying flowers and all that. It should’ve ended the way the novel did, happily with them as emperor and empress.

However, since they said that she got to live to be empress, I’m of the opinion that he managed to prolonged her life somehow, and he joined her quite quickly after. Life does happen, I guess. Why do we Chinese people like tragedy so much hahaha

That little scene of them meeting if the Qingzhou fire hadn’t happened, however, was a little cruel lol. Like yeah, remind us about the what if, thanks!

I think for me is I find it hard to process that Jinghe got to live with the guilt that he caused her early death for the rest of his life. It just doesn’t feel like a good closure for him What do you think about this?

Personally, I think the scriptwriters wanted to be artsty & memorable rather than conclude the story in a satisfying way for the audience.

But so yeah, I’m heartbroken but yet at the same time I’m rather pleased that they still got to spend some time together. This was the same feeling I got from Mysterious Lotus Casebook. You can only do so much to twist fate to meet your needs. In the end, your previous actions and decisions will catch up with you, no matter how noble your intentions in the present.

I wrote such a long essay about the ending that I turned it into a separate post: Kill Me Love Me reflections about the ending.

(Funny story: My post eventually got picked up and translated into Chinese by someone I was following on Weibo. Thought about meta!)

What I liked

• Camerawork – The crew actually bothered to shoot in actual locations. You do not know how rare this is! It was a delight to see these beautiful locations instead of pretending that this studio set was a forest, a town or a temple.
• Fight scenes – I thought Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2 was great. This exceeded it!
• Kissing scenes – The steamiest, most real and emotional kissing scenes that have ever graced Cdrama screens!!
• Solid, high-tier acting – Liu Xueyi and to an extent, Wu Jinyan, has set the bar so high for me I couldn’t move on to other dramas after that unless it was that good. And … no other dramas matched this quality of acting for me this season. Sobs. It has ruined me.

What I didn’t like

• The script fell short of what it could be, had plot holes, and did not coherently communicate the drama’s themes. If they did that better, the ending would’ve been more appreciated.

Conclusion

As you can see, the drama had mostly good points for me, and very few bad points … except where it mattered, the script. Sigh. It was NEARLY there!

This made this a tough drama to rate, so I’m going to use some math!

• Fighting scenes: 9 (the best I’ve seen in years)
• Acting: solid 9 for Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan
• Writing (Script): 7 (sigh). It has moments of utter brilliance and is especially good at character development, but fumbled many major plot points. The last arc was a big, big drag.
• Costumes: 8
• Camerawork: 8 (they took pains to film in actual places, and didn’t do much studio work! Highly appreciated.)

And I average out the score to …

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

#3Stars #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #KillMeLoveMe #LiuXueYi #LiuXueyi #TV

The Princess Royal (review)

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this drama, but it turned out to be a sweet surprise, even if it had a few major hiccups towards the end.

1. The story
2. Characters
3. Thoughts
   1. What I liked
   2. What I didn’t like
4. Conclusion
5. Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The story

Princess Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan, a commoner from a respectable family of officials, married at the age of 18.

Their marriage began with love and hope but quickly devolved into suspicion and bitterness when palace intrigue took over their lives.

Wen Xuan can only watch helplessly as Li Rong takes in a fallen nobleman, Su Rong Qing, as a companion, and divorces him in all but name.

After 20 years in a loveless marriage, their lives end at each other’s hands because of vicious court politics.

But after dying, the two inexplicably “wakes up” as their 18-year-old selves. Can Pei Wen Xuan and Li Rong redo their lives and avoid their tragic fates?

Characters

Li Rong – the crown princess. The emperor asks her to choose a man as her consort from a list of suitors; many of them were not considered ideal candidates. Li Rong believes that she chose badly in her first life and wants to correct that now that she’s given a second chance.

Pei Wenxuan – He doesn’t hail from one of the great houses and is considered a “representative of the common people”. He finds himself unexpectedly winning the hand of the crown princess in his first life. Will he do the same in his second life?

Li Chuan – The crown prince. Devoted to his sister but disdained by his father, the emperor.

Su Rongqing – A promising young official from one of the great houses.

Su Rongyang – unlike his younger brother, Rongqing, Rongyang has chosen to lead a more carefree life free of court politics.

Shangguan Ya – the eldest daughter of the powerful Shangguan family, the power behind the throne, she is more than a demure lady.

Thoughts

What I liked

• Zhang Ling He’s performance is a lot better here than in the Story of Kunning Palace, and I think they made the right choice to dub him because I wasn’t keen for a repeat of his robotic performance.
• The leads had good chemistry and for the first time I wished they had pushed the boundaries and made them more expressive of that chemistry. (I want more steamy scenes, okay??)
• The story acknowledged that there’s no black and white decisions in life, and that people are not entirely evil or good. Sometimes, they are forced to make decisions that are evil due to survival or desperation. It doesn’t make it right, but it makes them understandable.
• Knowing what we know of what really happened to Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua in their past lives, I’m really glad for their second chance.
• It’s a hoot to see so many Joy of Life cast members here!

What I didn’t like

• I really didn’t like the background music, it is bland, too modern and out of place.
• I’m very impressed with the actress playing Shangguan Ya – she balances her playful and ruthless sides very deftly.
• The rebellion towards the end looked very small and not very convincing.
• The last arc was chaotic and Su Rong Qing’s arc overstayed its welcome to the point beyond its natural limits, to the point of usurping Pei Wanxian’s screen time. Sadly, towards the end, he became a side character in his own story.
• Compared to Li Rong, Pei Wanxian wasn’t as complex or layered a character. Tragically, even Su Rong Qing was a more complex character compared to him. It was very different in the novel. He was, honestly, too much of a simp here.
• The special episode was chaotic even if it was sweet. It just felt very out of tone with the rest of the drama. (The special is actually quite close to the novel’s extras). This is one of the rare times I wished the writers did something different instead. As I had to pay to watch it, it was not a very satisfying purchase for me.

Conclusion

All in all, The Princess Royal was actually an entertaining enough drama, and its strength lay in the exploration of complex characters and their motivations.

However, I can understand why novel readers are upset.

For one, the romance never rose beyond “sweet romance” when the novel was very much not a sweet, teenage romance but a mature one with our characters doing adult things.

Sure, Chinese dramas will never go that far to show full-blown steamy scenes, but Legend of Shen Li managed to show that level of depth without it becoming soft porn.

In the end, the drama was still “good enough” but one can’t help but wonder if it could’ve been better if they tried to be more gritty.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

#3Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#HedvigMollestadTrio
Shoot!
Gun And The E-Kid

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Hedvig+Mollestad+Trio+Shoot!+Gun+And+The+E-Kid

Songwhip:
https://songwhip.com/Hedvig-Mollestad-Trio/Gun-And-The-E-Kid

Lyrics:
#jazzfusion #3stars

In Blossom review

It’s been a long time since I live-blogged a drama. This is because dramas in the last few months have not caught my attention in such a way that makes me want to do so.

Admittedly, this drama caught my attention because of Liu Xueyi, an actor who caught my attention in Blood of Youth, Love and Redemption, and Qing Luo. I’ve always known that he was more than just a pretty face, that he was a very talented actor and just inches away from breaking out into the big leagues.

I really think In Blossom could be the drama to do it.

If you have not watched In Blossom, do avoid the spoilerific Watch Log and head straight to the non-spoiler Final Review section instead.

And if you’re following this blog from Mastodon or Tumblr, do bookmark the In Blossom page and revisit it as the Mastodon post doesn’t automatically update.

Table of Contents

1. The story
2. Main characters
3. Watch Log
   1. Episode 1 and 2
   2. Episode 4
   3. Episode 7
   4. Episode 8
   5. Episode 11
   6. Episodes 8 to 16
   7. Episodes 17 and 18
   8. Episode 21
   9. Episode 22
   10. Episode 24
   11. Episode 28
   12. Episode 29
   13. Episode 32
   14. The ending (spoilers)
4. Final review
   1. What’s not great
5. Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The story

When the handsome, very eligible Pan Yue married Yang Caiwei, the city of Heyang was astounded. She was the last person anyone would expect to capture Pan Yue’s heart: She is scarred and works as a despised undertaker and apprentice coroner.

But then, tragedy strikes. Yang Caiwei dies on their wedding day mysteriously and Pan Yue becomes the main suspect.

But unbeknownst to everyone, Yang Caiwei has become Shangguan Zhi, the ingenue who traded faces with her so that she could marry Pan Yue instead.

Yang Caiwei believes that Pan Yue killed “her”. Determined to uncover his crime, she worms herself into his world, becoming his assistant.

Meanwhile, Pan Yue, who is now the magistrate of Heyang, suspects that she is responsible for his wife’s untimely death.

As the two try to solve the mysterious death of Pan Yue’s bride, they end up embroiled with the shady world of the Four Major Clans, and possibly a conspiracy involving the royal family.

Main characters

Pan Yue – Young, handsome, eligible, rich and beloved of royalty, Pan Yue is probably the most admired and eligible bachelor in the kingdom. But he only has eyes for Yang Caiwei, a scarred woman who was his dearest childhood friend. He has been searching for her for a decade and he has finally found her.

Yang Caiwei – Formerly from the nobility, Caiwei has fallen onto hard times after her father, a former Justice minister, falls from grace and her parents are murdered. She was working as a coroner and grave digger when Pan Yue finds hers.

Shangguan Zhi – The sister of Pan Yue’s good friend, she’s obsessed about her looks and Pan Yue, and 100% believes that he will marry her.

Bai Xiao Sheng – A street-smart hustler and Yang Caiwei’s best friend.

Zhuo Lan Jiang – A mysterious young vagabond who is Yang Caiwei’s good friend.

Watch Log

Episode 1 and 2

Not gonna lie, I was distracted by the fact that Zheng He Hui Zi, who played Yang Caiwei in episodes 1 and 2, won’t be around after because I love her performance here. I’m going to miss her a lot once Ju Jingyi enters the picture. I liked Zheng a lot as Tao Zi in Wonderland of Love and I hope she gets bigger roles in the future. I think she’s a very natural actress and talented.

Ju Jingyi is definitely very okay as a villain. She needs to do more of these roles!

And what can I say about Liu Xueyi? He’s hard carrying the show. I said to a friend that at this rate, he’s going to collapse from metaphorical exhaustion lol. He has a magnetic presence that I can’t quite define or explain. There was one shot of him appearing in silhouette at the door and I went 🤤

Episode 4

I was pretty surprised that the inevitable confrontation between Pan Yue and Shangguan Zhi aka Caiwei took place so quickly. By the way, I’m liking dak, gothic, moody Pan Yue so much. I want to say, “never change, Pan Yue”, but that won’t be fair, foisting such a miserable state of being to our dashing hero.

I definitely love that he literally wears his grief. The white streaks in his hair – what people assumed was a “vanity move” – was the result of terrible grief. And those gorgeous dark robes! It took me a while to realise that he was wearing the Chinese mourning colours of white, blue and black.

Episode 7

So we find out what happened to Pan Yue right after Yang Caiwei’s “death” and it isn’t pretty. Liu Xueyi is acting the heck out of Pan Yue’s deep grief. Can a person look hot when he’s so grief-stricken? Well, Liu Xueyi can totally pull it off.

Episode 8

I love how this show subverts the typical trope of “accidental kiss happens when they fall on each other”, only instead of the male lead falling onto his lady love it’s the opposite!

Episode 11

I’m now on episode 11. I’m pretty shocked that I’m watching so quickly – that’s usually a good sign that I really like the drama. I hope it doesn’t crash and burn like Yong’an Dream, which I had such high hopes for but eventually gave up midway because of the zero chemistry I sensed between the leads. JJY wasn’t as bad as I thought. I think all those comments made me “ready” for her performance lol. But ngl, I keep thinking, “If only…”

Liu Xueyi is 150% delivering here, and looks like I’m in for some fun times with his character lol.

Episodes 8 to 16

What I love about this drama so far:

• The grieving widower trope – uhm, yeah, just irresistible to us females.
• Liu Xueyi’s performance. Damn, he nails the “broken-hearted widower only lives for revenge” thing. And there’s something about the way he carries himself that is magnetic. The camera adores him in this show. Thanks, director! I’ve always known him as an impeccable actor and was pretty annoyed (for his sake) that he has been in supporting roles for so long. But I stumbled on this Twitter post where he said the supporting roles helped him to play protaganists today. (There’s a reel of the roles he had played since he was 16! I particularly dig the punk biker role with the grey hair. Have a look)
• The emotional connection to the cases – the Lantern Festival serial killing case really hit me in the heart at the end. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story, the tragedy of it all! Now that’s how you write stories. Despite the technical superiority of Judge Dee’s Mystery – better mysteries, camerawork, acting, it didn’t give me the same “oh God I need the next episode” now feeling like In Blossom provokes.
• The big emotional reveal we’re dying for – this keeps us watching episode after episode, wondering, “Will Pan Yue finally find out that his wife, Yang Cai Wei, is still alive and next to him? (Though technically since he didn’t really marry her but Shangguan Zhi, so are they really married?

Episodes 17 and 18

How to look cool in front of your lady love:

Step 1 – Spruce up

Step 2 – Declutter

Step 3 – Pour yourself some tea

Step 4 – Sip slowly

Step 5 – Smile like an idiot when she’s not looking

Results – 😅

Some people may think this is out of character for Pan Yue, but it is precisely because it is so out of character for him that makes this scene adorable. Liu Xueyi’s comedic timing and expressions was on point in this scene!

It is just so lovely to see the forlorn shadow hovering around him finally lifted now that He knows she’s alive and next to him.

Meanwhile, our second lead is busy ruining Pan Yue’s every single attempt to date Caiwei.

Episode 21

Finally, that episode we’ve been waiting for. Yang Caiwei knows that Pan Yue knows she’s not Shangguan Zhi!

That was a fine act by Liu Xueyi when Pan Yue was blind and crying for Yang Caiwei at the hillside. It was uncomfortable watching him so anguished 😢

Also, Yang Changwei finally knows that Pan Yue knows, and that kiss! (And the long lingering camera focuses on Liu Xueyi’s muscles 🤪 when he’s in the bath. Thanks, Mr Director, I truly appreciate it 😆)

Also, Pan Yue’s assistant (Ze) forever being that fly on the wall there to witness their big moments. 😆

There’s also a little sweet moment between Jiang and Bai Xiao Sheng. Kiss her damnit.

I wasn’t surprised by the reveal of who the mastermind in the wheelchair was. But now there’s another big bad in the capital. Hmm!

I know some people seem disappointed that the show is becoming less gothic and lighter in tone, and that Pan Yue is even getting quirkier, but I am loving the change. How about you?

Episode 22

I continue to love the camera work in this show. It is not exactly top-tier, but some scenes are beautifully framed, making the shot look like something straight out of a painting. Love this scene of Pan Yue walking down the corridor.

Not that it should surprise anyone, but Pan Yue, as you know, literally “wears” his grief. His hair turned white from sorrow, and after YCW’s “death”, he wore only blackwhite or occasionally dark blue, always in mourning. If he wore colours, it is always about work (going undercover).

However, his clothes are now brighter and colourful, reflecting his happiness as he is freed from the guilt that was weighing him down.

That emerald robe on him in this episode is a delight. 🤭

Episode 24

One thing I love about this show is how confident and forward the women are. They are not the typical, shy wilting flower types who are reluctant to express their desire for their men. I love the Uno reverse card they did in this scene, where Pan Yue is trying to be the smooth and seductive Cassanova, only to have Caiwei turn the tables on him, pin him to the shelves and and declaring what she thinks about his physical attributes instead 🤭

Episode 28

Me, after viewing this: OMG Pan Yue don’t you die on me

People on social media: OMG he is so pretty when he faints.

Admittedly, Pan Yue is gorgeous even when he faints.

Episode 29

I did it. I submitted to the power of Express episodes. Dang you, Youku, take my money. I have to admit they’re terribly ingenious with the whole thing. First, they charge you for advanced access; you can view an episode six hours ahead of time. And they did not announce the Express package ahead of time lest you decide to skip on the advanced episodes option to get the Express option. I bet you that advanced episode viewers do not get an automatic upgrade and have to pay more to get the express package.

Fortunately, I did not fall for the advanced episodes because it was just useless for me as they land during working hours and I don’t want to be distracted at work. But I did fall for express episodes, yes I did. But I’m really glad I got them because MyDramaList and Twitter was a minefield of spoilers, with an idiot, I mean, someone posting a damn video of a character’s death the moment the express episode was released. If anything, I often buy express packages to spare myself the pain of being spoiled.

But I shall go ahead and talk about this drama.

I think it’s credit to the writers that I’m driven enough to buy express episodes. The only drama I did this with was Mysterious Lotus Casebook. It’s not that the mysteries are especially well-written or compelling, but that I truly, truly care for the characters and want to know how they fare.

Episode 32

All I can say is that I breathed a sigh of relief. CDramas has had this unfortunate trend of going sideways in the last 10 episodes or so that I was holding my breath from episode 28 onwards.

My thoughts about the ending below, hidden in the expanded text.

The ending (spoilers)

I love it. Love, love, love it. Am very satisfied and happy with the ending.

But yes, I feel sad for A-Jiang eventhough I expected it because his tragic end was so heavily foreshadowed. Eventhough I wanted badly for him to live for Xiaosheng’s sakes, I knew somehow, that his tragic end was fiting for the story.

But this tragic though? It’s awful that he literally died a painful death. Writers, you’re too cruel!

Also, I didn’t think he was very smart at the way he went about seeking revenge. For a man who is supposedly clever enough to control a sect and get rid of a rival sect by his own lonesome, I expected more of him. But perhaps his competence was all an illusion because, after all, his dad was still alive and may be pulling strings in the background and mitigating his inexperience.

I wasn’t so sure where they were going with Pan Yue, however. He could meet the tragic end of his real-life counterpart, who was falsely accused of treason and executed along with his family. So, I was genuinely scared that the writers would decide to mirror history and our poor Pan Yue would meet the same end.

But fortunately he did survive, and had a rosy end with his lady love. To bad I didn’t feel a smidgen of chemistry between Liu Xueyi and Jiu Jingyi at this point, so what would’ve been the pinnacle best ending ever felt hollow for me.

About the supposed – “cliffhanger” ending. I’m not sure why people say it’s a cliffhanger. It’s more like a teaser, a possibility etc. It will not ruin the entire series for you nor will it render it “unfinished” in any way. The entire arc is needly wrapped up, so don’t worry, proceed it peace.

Just who is No.1? Well, who knows at this point. Despite its popularity, I highly doubt In Blossom will get a second season, so I have no idea why in the world the writers thought inserting this would be a good idea.

Final review

Sure, In Blossom was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but Pan Yue (or rather, Liu Xueyi) gave me so much joy. Liu Xueyi’s magnetic presence was the entire drama for me, seriously. Darling, please grace me with your abs and dark, embroidered hanfus once again. The world needs this community service.

With CDramas being the way they are, I really expected it to just go sideways sharply towards the end, but it didn’t! The storytelling, while not perfect and sometimes terribly convenient, held up till the very end. No fillers, no unnecessary side quests. No jealous rivals that bjorked everything up.

I would say this has bumped off Wonderland of Love as my favourite lite, cracktastic drama. Finally, a drama I can happily rewatch! I thought the story, while problematic at some bits were tightly woven throughout.There were no weird, unnecessary side quests, noble idiocy moments or side characters that fill up the space but don’t do anything.

What’s not great

Yes, they be downsides for this drama too.

The awful make-up
Dear god in heaven who did the makeup? Especially for Ju Jing Yi’s? Because those fake eyelashes are killing me inside. I don’t know if it’s the camerawork or the makeup but sometimes the makeup feels too obvious (even on the men) and it takes me out. Also, I swear, I was totally horrified to see tape on one actor’s face at one point. Hello, styling crew, were you asleep when putting on those wigs? Because I kept seeing the glue marks. I don’t usually notice these things, but the eff-ups are so glaring I could not ignore them.

But thumbs up for the wardrobe folks tho. Those robes on Zhuo Lan Jiang and Pan Yue are gorgeous. The women’s seem blander in comparison.

Ju Jingyi’s performance
In Blossom created an unexpected storm in the teacup: Ju Jing Yi’s acting.

Her performance just doesn’t match the skills of the first actress who played Yang Caiwe, Zheng He Hui Zi.

After going through the five stages of grief, knowing that I won’t see her again, I settled in with Jing Yi’s acting, which I eventually decided wasn’t terrible. Not good, but not terrible. A fine distinction. Though, I really, really miss Zheng He Hui Zi’s subtle physical mannerisms. The way she struts around, not caring if the world thinks she’s ugly.

Jing Yi moved around like a delicate flower. I wished she’d adopt Zheng’s more broad movements. I also missed the way Zheng projected this determined yet resigned air about her. Jing Yi’s Caiwei was too bubbly and perky. What I would do for that glimpse of sad determination and resignation of Caiwei’s again.

Again, I don’t think Jing Yi’s performance is terrible. Fun fact – I have a list of bad actors whose shows I refuse to watch because they’re just awful. But Jing Yi is not on that list. Yet.

But admittedly, this is my first drama with her, though I did watch a few episodes of Legend of Yunxi and barely remember her performance there. If it’s true that she is the same in every single drama, my patience would run very thin indeed.

The chemistry between our main couple, alas, is sadly lukewarm
Not at arctic levels like our couple in Yong’an Dream, but far from what I call “hot” or “phew we need to see them kiss more.”

A lot of people abandoned the drama due to the switcheroo, especially since they had a hard time transitioning from Zheng He Hui Zi’s better acting to Ju Jing Yi’s less nuanced one. I asked a friend – why did we continue when others didn’t? And, honestly, it’s down to a few things:

1. Liu Xueyi
2. Pan Yue’s character growth

I’ve noticed Liu Xueyi’s talent for a few years already, most notably in dramas such as Blood of Youth and Qing Luo. Not only is he an Adonis, he can act circles around the main leads of the dramas he’s always a second lead or a supporting actor. In Blossom is finally his chance to shine, and he delivers incredibly well, especially since the styling of his character is absolute perfection with those gorgeous embroidered robes, the white streaks of his hair and more.

Another reason why I continued watching In Blossom is because I’m not the sort to watch dramas nor is romance a primary motivation for me to watch a drama.

Meaning, I’m not the sort to ship anyone or even watch a drama purely for the romance. I’ve always been primarily attracted by character growth. And the more potential there is for that, the more I want to watch a show.

Watching Pan Yue change from confident, romantic hero to being a gothic, mourning, driven-by-vengeance widower was fascinating to watch. And towards the end, when Pan Yue regains the spark he had in the first two episodes, we are delighted for him.

Usually, Pan Yue’s romantic life would have been a wonderful enhancer to this journey, but due to Jing Yi being overshadowed by Zheng’s impactful performance, and due to Zheng and Liu Xueyi having such dynamite chemistry and Ju Jing Yi’s inability to surpass or even match that … well, darling, we have a problem.

So, Pan Yue’s peak happiest moment, when he finally reunites with his lady love, feels hollow.

But is this enough to forsake the entire show? Well, it really depends on your primary motivation or drive to watch the drama. Like I mentioned, I’m not the sort to ship anyone, not even the main couple. In fact, I tend to watch dramas where there’s little emphasis on romance.

So, if you’re the sort of person who’s interested in Pan Yue’s character growth or just want a simple, rip-roaring, wuxia-ish tale, In Blossom will be right for you. However, if you’re looking for a hot romance you can swoon over, you may have to be extremely forgiving of the acting performances or look elsewhere. Like Wonderland of Love, The Sword and the Brocade or of course, the doyen of sizzling chemistry, Dream of Splendor.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars

#3Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #drama #inBlossom #liuXueyi #romance

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey: Re-reading Books 1 to 4

The Expanse books are a cracking Sci-Fi series. Here are my reviews for the first four books as I reread them in preparation for finally finishing the series!

https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-expanse-by-james-s-a-corey-re-reading-books-1-to-4/

#3Stars #5Stars #BookReviews #BookBlog #BookReview #Books #Fiction #JamesSACorey #ReadIn2023 #ScienceFiction

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#HedvigMollestadTrio
Shoot!
Gun And The E-Kid
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Hedvig+Mollestad+Trio+Shoot!+Gun+And+The+E-Kid
#jazzfusion #3stars