themarchioness

I know, it was a rude wake up call yesterday. First, I was caught off guard by the one episode versus two, but then I rolled with that because Starry Love had also done the same thing, and then I thought, "I should study the airing calendar," so I did, and that's when I learned, "WAH. No new episodes over the weekend!" It's my own fault for not paying attention earlier. He does call to express his disapproval. Never hear what he says to LYC (and if I remember correctly, even later when that phone call is referenced it's just referred to as the dad having lashed out in anger without going into specifics of their conversation), but we do hear what he says to GX and it's basically him trying to convince his daughter that LYC has ulterior motives for being with her and GX telling her father that LYC's not that kind of a person, especially given that she was the one to seek him out this time around. Now that we've met her father in the drama, it doesn't seem like he's in the military since he's always seen in a regular suit. (Plus any references GX has been making in terms of what she knows about how the military operates stems from her older cousin whereas in the book, she already had some working knowledge based on her father and having grown up in a military compound.) I'm rather curious about what exactly he does and how that changes the story, if any. JB is hilarious and I've loved watching the interviews and BTS with TSY. Looks like they had a lot of fun. I keep wondering if JB and Bai Jing Ting called each other up after JB was cast for this drama to trade notes, including about working with TSY, and talk about playing SWAT team members. Knowing them and how their friendship is based on teasing, joking, and even putting each other down, I wouldn't be surprised if they competed to see who played the cooler character. Haha.

The wait until Monday for new eps is so painful.

Ooooooh...

I loved this too. For one thing it’s got to be growing up around the military all his life that has QXN being so aware of his surroundings that he would not only be able to draw a map, but also think to do it. And for another, I love how LYC goes from, “Go back to sleep” to let me lean over and listen and learn about GX’s floor plan. Haha. (For the record, this scene is in the book too!) You’ve read the book haven’t you? Cheater But seriously, don’t we all want to see Jing Boran and TSY with a little girl between them?! It’d be soooo cute. Let’s keep things faithful, drama gods!!

Eleven years. I had to browse the book just now to find that exact number. In doing so, these other dates/ages/marks of time stood out, as they give a rough idea of how much time is supposed to have passed, and so I thought I'd share: As in the drama, the book opens with them running into each other outside a gas station. And then it is also another two years later before she travels to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Qining in the drama). In the book, they met when she was 13 and he was 17. "Back then, the timing of when they first started dating had been very inopportune. She had been faced with high school entrance exams and he had been preparing for his college entrance exams. Shortly thereafter, she had gone to study at a district key high school, and he had moved far away to another province to attend university." When he helps her and her friends out with their car, she asks, "How many years have you been here?" and he responds, "Nine years." When she is first led to believe Qin Xiaonan is LYC's son, she thinks, "Eleven years ago he left Beijing. Ten years ago, they broke up. That the child looked to be seven or eight years old was very reasonable." When LYC meets her father in the present, he also thinks about how eleven years ago they never did meet, but now that it's eleven years later, they finally meet. As for whether the drama is following the novel, I would say that it is doing a very good job of that so far -- including with the dialogue, some of which has been straight copied from the book to the script. But some things have been 'cleaned up' for the drama. For example: In the book, LYC is a pretty heavy smoker. But in the drama, when he's in the car, we see him reaching for a stick of gum. In the drama, the first time we meet LYC's father is when he's drunk and banging on LYC's door at the auto shop. To protect GX, he yells out that his girlfriend is with him. In the book, he says, "There's someone in the room." And then when the dad keeps banging, he says, "There really is someone! My wife's not wearing any clothes in here!" In response, GX's "ears rang with these words... Stupefied." As for his father, the words had the intended effect but he still "jeered, 'You brat! You're so good now, eh? You've even gotten yourself a little wife." After the other workers in the auto shop intervene, the dad callls out, "You're still in school! Don't damn go knocking someone up!" [The book, I would say, is more coarse and grittier in language and tone - in this scene and in others.] That same night LYC ends up driving GX home. In the drama, she makes a point of asking whether he has his driver's license and he says that he does. However, in the book, it is said that "when she sat in the car, she began to wonder, was he the age of majority yet? He shouldn't have his driver's license yet..." (Legal minimum age to drive in China is 18.) Other changes I've noticed so far: In the drama, it looks like her aunt (with whom she stayed during her middle school year) is living in a nice suburban home. But GX comes from a military family and after attending the primary school where she grew up (inner Beijing), rather than going to its affiliated middle school (which wasn't all that great), she wanted an adventure and so her parents sent her to live with her paternal aunt which was "in a military compound in one of Beijing's rural areas, a little town situated at the foot of the Yan Mountains." So far little has been said about GX's parents, and that's actually pretty consistent with the book as neither have a heavy presence and when they do it's more towards the end, but I will be curious to see if the drama continues with the occupations that they had in the book. I hope they do, especially for her father as him being a high-ranking officer in the military played a part in a lot of things. Also, in the drama, rather than retiring from the military, LYC is transferred to another unit closer to Beijing. In the book he actually does retire from the military and returns to Beijing. Currently he's juggling returning to Beijing and all which that entails (taking care of Qin Xiaonan and family matters) while also starting a new position at his new military post. But in the book, he doesn't have to do that level of juggling because he is basically jobless for a period of time. He's not without options, though, and actually consults with GX about what to do next (once they're back together again as a couple). He says, "Right now, I have two options in terms of work. The first is to take the money and leave. add on top of what I've saved over these years, there will be definitely enough to hold a wedding and also open up a car repair shop with no problem at all. The other road I can go down is to start working straightaway, but then I won't get so much money. You'll need to wait another two years for me to pay off the debts and then we can hold a wedding. The job is very stable, but there is some danger in it. I'll be teaching people how to disarm bombs and there will be times, too, when I'll have to provide on-site support, if the need arises." GX then encourages him to take the job because she knows it'd be a waste for him to do mechanic work; although dangerous, he is talented and skilled in this area, and it's in his blood. She doesn't want to take that from him. It's never quite said in the book where he ends up working... I don't think it's quite a civilian job. The way it's described... a lot of the instructors that he works with are, like him, ex-military (he even knows some of them). They have uniforms. Lots of rules. He sometimes has to stay on base for weeks at a time. In many ways it's like he's still in the military. And yet, we also know that it's not because GX's father actually comes to visit him at that workplace and it's said, "If this had been in the past, he would have needed to immediately stand to attention and give a salute. But now, he merely removed his hat and looked directly at the man who was the oldest in the group and whose gaze was also taking measure of him." The fact that he doesn't have to salute GX's father would suggest to me it's because he's separated from the military. Having said that, what LYC does in his new job in the book, is precisely what he's now doing in the drama with his new position outside of Beijing. (It's even the same convos about life mottos, etc. that he has with the new recruits). It's like MBFB just took what happened later in the book, repackaged it, and presented it earlier in the drama. Similarly, already in the drama, we have gotten the flashback story to a time where LYC had to diffuse a bomb outside a conference, and he saw GX there although she never knew he was there. But in the book, that flashback isn't shared until later when they travel back to Inner Mongolia and meet up with his former comrades and someone says they recognize her and then shares that story. Ultimately, what I would say is that - so far - the drama is doing a great job of following the novel and that any changes are either minimal (and seamlessly fit in) or simply repackaging/moving around parts from the book. But since the drama has been pretty faithful to the book so far, I am realllllllly hoping they follow it to the end. Because if it does, we will get a really cute treat. Any guesses on what that might be? P.S. I definitely encourage everyone to read the book. It's so good and it's not long.

I never know whether to feel sad for her or whether I should slap her - probably both. I just can't fathom being okay with or wanting to be in a relationship where I essentially paid for the man to be there. What kind of marriage is that? To know that the only reason he's with you is because his father owed money to your family? Imagine the lifetime of insecurity that would leave you feeling. I just want to tell this girl - Wake up! Have more self-respect! It's not only LYC who deserves better, but honestly, so does she. She should find a man who loves her and genuinely wants to be with her -- and so she should get out of our way so the leads can be together. Haha. I love all the small smiles LYC showed in today's episodes anytime he thought of GX or had an interaction with her. It was so sweet. But my favorite expression was when the two of them were texting and to avoid saying what she wanted to say, GX asked how QXN was doing. The glare he sent the little boy's way!!!! If you blinked you would miss it, but it was there. LOL.

I’ve watched up to Ep 6 and by the time MY today is over (don’t want to confuse anyone about time zones again) I’ll have watched up to 8. What other dramas dropped today - should they be on my radar?? Maybe I don’t want to know the answer to that question. I like not juggling 😝🤣

Haha, different time zones... but yes, it's today now! :)

“How high a person can reach depends on chance and luck, but how far he can go depends on his character.” One of my favorite lines from the book. I even have it highlighted, so when we got to that scene in Episode 6 and it was said, I squealed out loud! Haha. I admit it. I’m a dork. Loving the drama so far. I’ve always loved the book for the deep love that runs between the main characters and JB and TSY are doing such a good job bringing that all to life. JB, especially! You can literally feel the weight of the world around his shoulders. He carries so much baggage and responsibility. And yet, through it all, his unrelenting love for her burns bright. Similarly, TSY, when she talked about only ever loving LYC and that she only ever would love him, so beautiful. I can’t wait for more eps tomorrow!

Hahaha, at least there’s one thing we are assured of in this drama. Lu Yan Chen wouldn’t be caught dead in a pink beanie scooter hat. 😝 Just finished watching the first two eps and so far it’s following the book beautifully. I love it. Really bringing to life that weighted sense of love that swirls so mysteriously around them. Onto the next Ep!

I love that the trailers have been following the novel so far... I'm sure the novel will have to be fleshed out some for the drama, but I'm hoping the edits made for the screenplay will flow seamlessly with the novel. I know MBFB can do it! She did a great job with One and Only. Forever and Ever, on the other hand... well, we'll forgive her since there are restrictions, etc., in place there.

Me too. I liked all the siblings in this drama (minus the Second Prince of the Void Tyrants, of course). I especially liked how, for the princesses, even though they were raised and treated differently all their lives that never created enmity only empathy. In a different drama that would’ve had bred resentment and envy in one and a sense of superiority on the other, and I’m so glad we were spared that because they really had the best relationship and understood each perfectly — thank goodness for their roots being so closely tied together! As for Wudai and Qingheng being named the successors for the respective realms that made a lot of sense as it freed up Chaofeng and Shaodian YQ to go live and keep watch in Dongqiu. But even without that I think this was how it was meant to be. Wu Dai, while not the most brilliant, will be a kind and reasonable leader and Qing Heng has a good head on his shoulder too. He just needs more maturity and confidence, and what the two of them lack, Chaofeng and Shaodian YQ will be on hand to help. I don’t think those two ever really wanted to be the successors. Chaofeng only pursued it to secure the safety of his mother and Shaodian YQ was just treated like a robot by his father. The end result is sooo much better for them and for everyone!!

This is great. Qing Kui and Chaofeng, Disney-style. Haha.

Not confirmed, just people hoping for one. Although I just read on MDL that the producers asked fans if they wanted a special episode and the response was a resounding YES, so maybe we will get one. The producer apparently responded that they weren’t ready to say good-bye either.

Now I need to know what the book’s ending was. And what the epilogue that the author recently released says.

Half the people on MDL are, like me, requesting/hoping for a special episode. The other half of MDL commenters are certain there will be a special episode and that this is Youku's scheming method of getting more money out of its viewers. Scheming or not, I just want an extra scene! PLEASE!

Um, yeah…. I was just coming here to say: Okay, that ending. Sure. It’s happy, but… I’m gonna need a special episode. Just another 3-4 minutes will suffice. ETA: I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts later after I process.

I forgot to comment on Ye Tan and her father! That image of her bowing before him as he slept and before she went to seek revenge was one of the most touching scenes ever. I also liked the other scene where she thinks her father is coming to dissuade her from seeking revenge and instead he apologizes for being so weak and unable to do what she must now do and encourages her. I absolutely love the complete 180 in this father-daughter pair. It is so incredibly heartwarming and I can’t say enough about it. I’m also glad that he’s got some company in Consort Xue as they sit there and worry about what their children are doing. We don’t ever get scenes of them waiting together, just being left behind together, but we do also see them supporting each other at other times and I don’t know. Worries are best shared and so as random an observation as this may be, I just want to say I like it! Heh. (I’m also glad that Consort Xue lives!!! As you all know I was really worried that she might meet her demise in one of these final showdowns, and I’m so glad that hasn’t been the case.) In other parental shoutouts, how about Heavenly Empress?! Leaving her husband because she’s so fed up with his tyrannical ways!! Good for her. It’s too bad the Heavenly Emperor is as terrible a husband as he is a father. He barely batted an eye before going back to work. Hopefully when all is said and done she’ll be able to spend quality time with Shaodoan Youqin, Ye Tan, and the others. She deserves a real family.

Aaaand now I'm all caught up, too. Can't wait for tomorrow's final episode - especially with that preview. I do so enjoy when Shaodian Youqin and Chaofeng are bickering. First, I love how Chaofeng refers to Shaodian Youqin as the "Fifth One" - hahaha! And I appreciated how even in the stress of the moment Chaofeng didn't miss an opportunity to make a dig at Shaodian Youqin when he said somehing along the lines of, "Yes, he's great except he only keeps losing his memory." LOL. It was exactly the moment of laughter that I needed while watching Ye Tan go up against the entire rest of the world. And that's a huge part of why I have loved this drama from the beginning; it's humor. It's so delightful! And it keeps everything so nicely balanced. I was kind of surprised at how quickly the Void Tyrant was taken down. I was afraid that might affect the pacing as there were still a number of episodes to go after his and the Void Empress's demise, but it really hasn't. I'm also okay with the Heavenly Emperor being reduced to having his cultivation taken away. As Chaofeng noted, it was hard even for him when his father died and when asked if his dad had ever cared for him and his mother, the Void Tyrant laughed! The Heavenly children have had a closer relationship with their father and it would've been even harder for them to see him die at Ye Tan's hand, no less. At least they know what a terrible father he is. And really hoping that we won't get any last minute turns next episode where he can suddenly cause mischief again! I need the last episode to be about solving this Guixu problem and then our leading foursome finally finding some happiness for themselves. As for Suzhi... what else is there to be said. It's unfortunate Qing Heng's love couldn't save her, but it's also hard to judge her given all that she has endured. Hopefully she will, at least, be at peace now.

Ep 36 - I don’t love what had to happen for Ye Tan to reach this point, but da—n if she didn’t look rockin’ awesome struttin’ to get her revenge!!! So bad-ss!!

This was the feeling I got from the moment she killed the Void Battalion Patrol men, as well. She's definitely more complex of a character than a mere coriander plant.

People on MDL are saying they dug up an interview where Li Landi said it would be a happy ending, so.... hoping happy ending includes the revival of Qing Kui!

I've caught up to Ep 35.... Even knowing ManMan was going to die didn't make that moment any easier to watch when it came. Soooo sad. And then of course there was QingKui. But with the necklace left behind I'm reallllly hoping it contains her soul and she can be brought back to life by the end, even if we have to wait however many years! I'm not sure what to think about Hu Sui/Suzhi at the moment. Clearly she cares a lot for the princesses and want to see them doing well, but she's got her own agenda too. That much became clear once Chaofeng and Qing Kui let the men from his Void battalion patrol go (and so did the others) and then Hu Sui/Suzhi took care of that. And I realllly hate the Heavenly Emperor and the Void Emperor - for a lot of things, but especially for reneging on their promise. The brief respite of humor that we got after our crew left the Heavens was a welcome moment after having been so tense from watching them on the run, but I knew it was going to last long. And sure enough, it was an even shorter break than I'd hoped for. The two terrible dads wasted no time in betraying them in Dongqiu... All I know is, after watching all this suffering (and I know I've only more ahead of me!!!) there had better be a happy ending for all!

I'm not sure which to feel sadder about... your 12-hour workday or not being able to finish this drama until Sunday! Jia You, @Tofu!!! I binged another drama while waiting for new eps of this drama to air. Now that I'm done with it, it's back to Starry Love tomorrow. I'm hoping my heart can withstand it. I'm also hoping that because it's xianxia, some characters who have left us will still have a chance to return by the end -- fingers crossed!!! (I haven't seen anyone say anything about Chaofeng's mother, and please don't spoil me as I'll find out soon enough, but I have to say, the last couple of times I've seen her on screen, I have been wondering when it will be the last time I see her... this is my own protective, defensive mechanism so I can prepare my heart. Because she's one character I've been speculating won't make it to the end, and oh, how I do like her character so much!)

No, I’ll start catching up tomorrow.