IpohBanana

@OsmanthusTea @Tofu @Yana finished watching tonight's 2 episodes. I don't know what drama, but it felt rather dejavu - All I can say is the tables have been turned (again). I also saw the preview, how interesting to watch So, I guess my question is

@OsmanthusTea yes! I enjoy watching Cheng Yi suffer.... oh, that didn't quite come out right. Let me rephrase, I enjoy watching him deliver a performance where his character looks torn, conflicted and in pain. Since Stand by me, I think he's one of the few who convinces me that his suffering is genuine.

@ktcjdrama you merely lamented? So dignified. I was about to pick things up in my room to throw but then I put them down when I realised I might need to use them later and it wouldn't do me any good if they were broken. I whined about it to my friend who has yet to watch it and this was her extremely rational explanation, "It would cost them extra to shoot a wedding, you know!" I am back to twiddling my thumbs and waiting. 1) for saturday - @Tofu @OsmanthusTea know why 2) for monday - @SilverMoonTea knows why sigh, why can't Youku and iQiYi be just as money-minded as Tencent? A toast to money-minded broadcasting stations

@SilverMoonTea i have a confession - though if you have seen my other 'confessions', this won't come as a shock to you; I skipped an entire chunk at the beginning and only started watching the end of part 1 and all of part 2. So i have no clue what it was like in the beginning. But I think it's better this way, because I caught a few short snippets of the earlier episodes and boy, were they painful to watch. I wish Youku was as money-minded as Tencent and had engineered fast track viewing. Though who knows, they might announce it next week (haha). I saw Cheng Yi in Stand By Me and tbh his expressions are the same or pretty much similar (and I reckon it will be so in South Wind XXX) though arguably, Tang Zhou offers him more room to be different. But the character in this drama IMHO is reminiscent of the 'conflicted-too-much-burden-to-carry' sort, so I don't mind that he isn't too different. And I've always felt that playing these kind of tragic roles is his cup of tea, so he makes looking pained and torn inside, feel real. I think there's enough camaraderie between him and Yang Zi for them to look good together on screen, and more importantly for their relationship to look believable. I am enjoying Part 2 mostly because the ball is in Yan Dan's court (finally) and it's her turn to act noble, to turn him down because she cannot believe that Ying Yuan would priortise her over the world. Call me small-minded if you will, but I like it when the other party gets their comeuppance. It's time that he experienced being pushed away and being turned down, and feeling like it's a one-sided love (though I seriously wonder if he doesn't know what's going in her head/heart, it would be an insult to his intelligence (IQ and EQ) if he can't see through how she feels about him). So, to answer your question I can't comment on the pacing but I've definitely cried along with Yan Dan and Tang Zhou and I truly cannot wait for next week when he unabashedly makes all the moves on her, as Ying Yuan. BRING IT ON!

@SilverMoonTea I cussed that it's Thursday - there was only ONE episode today and it has to be (at least to me) one of the most important, scenes of this Part 2. sigh. have to wait till Monday AGAIN.

@Tofu first time watching them bickering! My goodness, really like kids, and Dylan's own voice - no wonder it had to be dubbed I wonder what it's like to be on-site with them watching them act. I bet any NG's from either one would have resulted in a slew of insults from the other party.

@OsmanthusTea wei wei, no fast track ah? iQiyi didn't cash out on this unexpectedly well-received drama? I just saw the preview for next week...wah gotta wait till Saturday again, sigh.

@mademoiselle I cheated and watched the last 3 first thinking that the sugar and spice would sweeten my palate before i exposed myself to the bitter scenes. I had a @NiteWalker apparently it was not an outright ban but a strong suggestion not to. I had the same reaction as u when i watched a dream of splendor fast track. China Boleh! @Tofui have been guilty of what your friend did on quite a few occasions

@mademoiselle have you seen the video where fish icons come out of her mouth, even to the director?? Can someone kindly explain what that is all about?

@mademoiselle u mean after this marriage and all also no more (hotter) kisses ah??? @Chocolate

@mademoiselle @OsmanthusTea you both beat me to it. I was gonna comment on chicken wings and rats! Actually I thought they looked really nice - seriously the costumes designers aren't gonna make him look silly. Though the second time round, I reckon he should have shut up and not pointed out it was a rat. Yes, and what was the director doing when he didn't get our boy to return the favour with a kiss??? come on! I thought the mother was really funny, when she told the father that he won't have the gall to wear whatever his daughter sewed for him. I was just thinking to myself, though I welcome the absence of sarcasm and anger from the mother, I find it strange that there are few dialogues between mother and daughter anymore. I know the story doesn't let them meet but it sure would have brought more consistency to the drama. @mademoiselle ok spill it... what's the major, major change that you noticed. Don't leave me dangling in mid-air, even if it's your rather general answer, its still better than not knowing. You can put it into spoilers if you don't want others to see it in plain sight. Btw, in the book, does The last episode will be out on August 30, right? The country will be celebrating National Day the very next day and I will be savouring the ending of this drama. Coincidentally, the drama with Esther Yu and Dylan Wang also ends that day. So, lots of merriment to look forward to.

@mademoiselle indeed, his enunciation and delivery of lines is really, really good. I've just seen the preview for E48 and LBY will cast the die, @OsmanthusTea tbh next week's episodes seem so much more exciting... On a separate note, I must be blind. I watched a YT and realised that the Emperor in this drama and A Dream of Splendor are the same actor AND it was a big Ah-Ha moment for me. where my brains were.

@stroppyse @Tofu I have definitely heard 65% of the C-drama songs. BUTTTTTT unless I really like a song, I don't bother to remember which drama it's from. So when I heard the compilation, it's like that dejavu feeling of the words are on the tip of your tongue but you seemly can't recall where it's from.

@mademoiselle nope, don't anticipate passionate kisses...I dunno if it's just them, the director or the script but I don't think we will get anything that will make us feel as if we are intruding on anything. I reckon I am in a different time zone from you? Coz I have already watched that scene last night. My time would be the same as China's. The reason I chose banana is because

@mademoiselle i can see the FB and the bili-bili but not the YT links. Thanks awfully for posting all those resources. The interviews from the various POV is really interesting to watch. Yes!!! That poster was made just for me - IS IT TUESDAY YET??? @Yana hello fellow Malaysian! Btw, I am watching the YT channel, the link that I posted earlier (https://www.youtube.com/c/CDramaQA). And this YTber is pretty interesting. She went and dug up history and explained the basis for the royal characters in this drama. So, the Emperor, his Empress and Concubine were based on historical figures. And the fact that Concubine Yue's son became you-know-what is also a historical fact. From the channel, there is another explanation of the names of the characters including the name of this drama. So the Chinese title for Part 1 was taken from a poem by Cao Cao (of the Romance of Three Kingdom's fame) and the Chinese title for Part 2 was taken from a famous poem from the Song Dynasty. I'm watching her explain our ML's name now (Bu Yi has a very romantic meaning...). For history buffs, this is quite fascinating!!! [I am not and yet I find it fascinating, do check it out]

@mademoiselle who posted and which page? I get geo-blocked sometimes, so I dunno if I am able to watch that particular MV. I know how some people find VVIP advance viewing disruptive but this is one of those times I wish for heaven's sakes they would just do it. LOL [and have I told you how badly I want the weekends to be over now? terrible I know... all just because I want Tuesday to come faster. sigh.] Btw, for those who wanted to know about the novel ending for the key characters: check out this channel, the second latest video (entitled: [Love like the galaxy] Novel's ending for characters (Epilogue HEA)) https://www.youtube.com/c/CDramaQA

@40somethingahjumma I just recently had this conversation with my other half TOH (the other half): what are you watching? me: some older show, re-watching it as I really like the guy in that show; he's quite good looking, good body, really sweet to his wife and thoughtful TOH: totally unrealistic... I don't get why you wanna watch shows like that me: [eyes rolling] Well, it's way better than reality. Why do you care anyway? I just wanna watch and 'syiok sendiri'.... a Malaysian saying that kinda means I wanna indulge myself and get a kick out of it @mademoiselle lol..... I like how you explain things in a general enough manner to satisfy my question yet lacking the details... it's really like dangling a toy in front of a cat so the pix you showed us wasn't quite from that scene but something else?

@SilverMoonTea is this coming this year? when???

@Tofu awwww his foster dad sent him a food truck! how sweet.

@mademoiselle you are this is so cruel! now if I can just get you to indulge on us, pray tell why was she unlucky? And why on earth did the Cheng youngsters and Qi Qi embark on a dangerous adventure and why was it dangerous to begin with? @OsmanthusTea indeed, I was about to say that if male actors didn't have enough self-control, I'd dare say that the actresses in some other dramas might have experienced an (unintended) hard, physical reaction from their male counterpart (keh keh keh). The director is playful and such a tease and I think he would be the sort who would purposely get them to retake a few kiss scenes just so that he can get them to have all that physical activity, even if it weren't necessary. [I recall watching a BTW of W-Two Worlds and the FL was commenting that the director made them do just that.] @40somethingahjumma that must be so fun! I half wish my family would watch a drama so we could have something to discuss, the closest is my father but I don't think he would enjoy this one. But then again, I can imagine my other half saying 'this guy is so unrealistic' or 'this won't have happened in that era'...so, on second thoughts, forget it. I'd have a far more enjoyable experience watching dramas on my own (100% satisfaction guaranteed).

@mademoiselle @abs-oluteM @Chocolate @Mizv @Mouse @SheepMoonI think I finally understand why he kept harping on the pressure point, that darn 'ming-men' after she burst out crying. I think his message to her was "I am telling you which part of my body is the most vulnerable" [I trust you with my life], "Therefore, I ask you to trust me and tell me why you were so upset just now." LOL, I was wondering why ZLS had to keep her arms crossed over her chest in that posture on the bed; if she didn't, Wu Lei would literally be in contact with her body... and that certainly won't do. Even when he lifted one arm off her for that pressure point part again, she still had one arm intact and he probably was resting on his elbow. Hhmmm... otherwise a lot of other parts would have been in contact with each other (I can imagine) and I am thinking not only the upper half but the lower half too (ahem).

@Mouse same, I thought about indirect kiss as well. LOL And I think it would have made more sense had CSS been slightly tipsy, from her POV, all she could see were his lips...ooh a kiss on the adam's apple would have been bordering on salacious but I bet it would have made the ratings hit the galaxy. LOL. Though I doubt it would have gotten past the censors. sigh.

@abs-oluteM I thought so too... but why on earth does he say that right after she's demonstrated how upset she is? The girl is crying...obviously she's distressed about something. And then you tell her your life is in her hands. erh... explain the connection to me, please? Unless the context is ...erh if someone bullies you, you whack that point...then I get the link. On a separate note: Ling Zi Sheng: I am going to help myself to some of the items in CSS' room. Old Madam Cheng: My goodness, this isn't some items, he's clearly confiscating everything. [When I saw all his men running towards her room, I suspected as much. LOL]

@Chocolate I like your explanation about her playfulness... She averted his gaze when he landed on her... I can imagine if we had a stethoscope on the both of them, their chests must have been wildly pounding. I don't think he realised how badly it was that she had been bullied; he prolly suspected something but not to that extent. Being pushed into the water is one thing but being stoned and having snakes come swimming at you (and then being bitten) is another, takes it to a totally different level. If you read the explanation from @mademoiselle the spies got removed from the palace grounds so he had no way of knowing. By the way, what on earth was our boy thinking about when he started to teach her about pressure points??? An excuse to touch her back? @abs-oluteM I forgot about the darn parakeets but I know the whole scene was blurred out...which is why my guess was he was underaged, for sure she wasn't!

I am desperately waiting for Mr Bad but on the iQiyi queue of coming soon, it's gone way to the back, though doesn't mean they can't push it to the front...