Lan Ling Wang 《兰陵王》 - Feng Shao Feng, Ariel Lin, Daniel Chan

[panda-pop]

Oh man, 14-16 feels like the calm/happy/cute before the storm. Is it possible to wholeheartedly root for both Lan Ling Wang and Yu Wen Yong?? Daniel Chan is kicking butt in his role, especially as we get to see different facets of his character back in Zhou. These aren't recaps, just my thoughts mixed with some of the plot points I find interesting, but stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled!

Episode 14: In which the main bad guys plotting against Lan Ling Wang get what they deserve. The crown prince's mother (the queen) and the crown prince's adviser (the old guy who's constantly feeding bad ideas to him) framed LLW and Xue Wu, claiming that they tried to hex the king. LLW gets thrown in jail and Xue Wu is faced with leaving with her grandmother and allowing LLW to head to a certain death, or staying behind to save LLW and never seeing Grandma again. Easy choice, am I right? To Ariel's credit, she managed to make me believe for a few minutes that severing ties with Grandma was something to be sad about. Then Xue Wu does that awesome thing where she uses what looks like magic but is really just her ingenuity to save the day and indict the true villains in front of the king and his court. It's such a complete victory-- the queen is banished and the crown prince's adviser is sentenced to something awful I couldn't quite understand-- that I almost wish the story could end there. To top everything off, the king's mother (who had disguised herself in an earlier episode as a servant in LLW's household to personally scope out Xue Wu's character) does some fancy footwork and traces Xue Wu's ancestry back to someone with the name Zheng. So she gets to be Zheng Fei, Lan Ling Wang's prophesied one true love, after all!

Though there are contrivances/storytelling decisions in this drama that make me roll my eyes, I like that it's at least trying to be thoughtful about this 'fate' thing. There's a scene in an earlier episode where Grandma sends Xue Wu a dream. In it, Xue Wu sees Lan Ling Wang and another woman, Zheng Er (not to be confused with little Zhen Er!), who is his wife in this alternate reality. They're both given poison wine by the crown prince and die after drinking it. Having met Zheng Er and seen her own meet cute with Lan Ling Wang as a palace maid, you can easily imagine the two of them falling in love and getting married-- if Xue Wu didn't exist. And having met the crown prince and seen his love for Zheng Er, it's also not hard to understand why Zheng Er and Lan Ling Wang's romance would only drive the future king to hate Lang Ling Wang even more. What's fascinating is how Xue Wu's willful intrusion into this story redirects the paths these people take, yet will almost assuredly take them to the same destination. There's still a Zheng Fei, and the crown prince will still be the king who forces Lan Ling Wang to commit suicide. While Zheng Er's fate is changed the most significantly, you could argue her purpose as a person who brings about Lan Ling Wang's demise remains the same: in one version, she's LLW's wife whom the king wants and can't have, and in the other, she's the king's wife who hates LLW because she can't have him. I won't pretend the logic is perfect, but the effort is there. It's this almost unexpected thoughtfulness in the writing (because let's be real, who isn't in this for the pretty people and the romance?) that makes me appreciate the show more.

Episode 15: In which.. not a lot happens plot-wise? I mean, Yu Wen Yong does get Xue Wu to go to the Zhou kingdom for a month to cure Zhen Er's illness, but the episode takes its sweet time setting things up and gives us lots of funny scenes to enjoy, which I actually appreciate. I'll probably have to rewatch episode 15 to remind myself of the good old days when things get inevitable gloomy in the second half of the series. The funny: An De Wang/Wu Ye hitting on Lan Ling Wang's main maid, only to have all the other maids reveal that he used the same lines on them before. George Hu's way underused in this drama, more Wu Ye hijinks please! And poor Lan Ling Wang, it's getting silly how many times his attempts to get lovey dovey with Xue Wu gets thwarted by her getting distracted. She also needs to stop falling for the rando-kid-as-kidnapper-bait trap. Love that the writers know to poke fun at themselves, though-- Lan Ling Wang even says, "Don't you remember from last time (when she got kidnapped by the crown prince's adviser's guys) that it's a bad idea to follow strange kids?" Jealous Lan Ling Wang secretly following Xue Wu to Zhou requires a LOT of willingness to suspend my disbelief but is so, so money.

Episode 16: In which Yu Wen Yong breaks my heart and then gets schooled by Xue Wu on how to use his. I didn't really feel for Yu Wen Yong until we go back home with him and see everything he's up against. Yu Wen Hu is a cunning opponent and a cruel one, and he doesn't let Yu Wen Yong forget it. I think I was more touched by Yu Wen Yong personally mercy-killing his general, Yu Chi Jiu (the fierce looking one who caused a bunch of trouble for Lan Ling Wang in the first few episodes), than I was by Xue Wu and Grandma's goodbyes. Daniel Chan is amazing in that scene; his anger and helplessness is so palpable and you just want to give him a big hug. Then he goes on in the second half of the episode to be oh so cute with Xue Wu, who points out that he's clueless about love. Xue Wu sees the humanity behind Yu Wen Yong's mask, and we see him quickly fall in love with her because of that. Since this is all fiction anyway, can't we have both Yu Wen Yong and Lan Ling Wang win? Clone another Xue Wu for one of them? Gah.

[Thuchen]

@panda-pop: I am totally in for cloning a xuewu for yuwen yong^^

I like how layerered ywy character is developed. And the fact that he is flawed makes him more human and for us audience, I think he is the character which we can relate to more. I mean lan ling Wang is pretty flawless and therefore seems more of a flat and unrealistic character. But that's ok since this whole drama is like a tribute to this wonderfully perfect general, so it's alright.

[Nukaew]

Only on episode 6 but I'm loving it so far. I actually like Yu Wen Yong better than Lan Ling Wang so far. Daniel Chan is very good at conveying emotion with his eyes. So much chemistry between him and Ariel!

Daniel's acting is very good especially in the scene he has to kill his own general, however, I cannot say that I prefer YWY to LLW.I have always thought that FSF's manly face cannot fit LLW character of beautiful masked general, but I eventually ignore this issue after I saw FSF-Ariel chemistry starting from the first episode. So I think FSF also acts very well and my feeling toward these two characters is "If I were a girl in that ancient time , I would choose LLW to be my boyfriend but choose YWY to be my king"

[NuDaFu]

Great recaps panda-pop!

Although, I read Xue Wu's choice differently. It was a choice and a sacrifice. Even though grandma was basically an inadequate - sometimes plain nasty - parent, and the village people were little people, they were Xue Wu's family and people. Those type of bonds are not broken lightly. I read that scene as more a challenge for Xue Wu to make a sacrifice, to demonstrate her ultimate commitment to LLW. It was moving to me. If they wrote it as Xue Wu realizing she was head over heels in love or she just regretted leaving, that would seem cliche at the best, or indecisive at worst. However, the dialogue could've been less ham-fisted.

"If you leave me, this ends our family relationship. We will never see each other again." So pressures grandma.

"If you leave, Si Ge will be drawn and quartered." So pressures Wu Ge.

Yeah, no pressure guys. Just sayin.

Zhen Er's the daughter of Yu Wen Yong's older brother (so, one of the two kings Yu Wen Hu got rid of before Yu Wen Yong came onto the throne) and the only person Yu Wen Yong's cared about so far without any ulterior motives. It's probably not very realistic, since kings are usually eager to get rid of any survivors from the previous guy's reign, but I guess it just speaks to the fact that Yu Wen Yong's seen a lot of his family die at the hands of Yu Wen Hu and wants to protect the last child remaining.

There is two very realistic reasons why YWY cares for Zhen Er. The obvious one will be shown in episode 17 .

click to show/hide spoilers

YWY's older brother dies in order to save YWY. Older brother knows YWH is forcing YWY to poison his older brother in order to prove his loyalty. Older brother tells YWY that if he doesn't follow through with the murder, YWY won't be able to gain YWH's trust and survive. It's very understandable that YWY cares so much for Zhen Er in remembrance of his brother's sacrifice. This parallels the general dying for YWY.

The other one which I can see, is that YWY is basically a really good guy. Circumstances means he cannot be who he is, so needs to wear a 'mask' to fight to protect himself and those he genuinely cares about. His unwillingness to wear his 'mask' juxtaposed with the ruthless talent by which he uses it reminds me of LLW's same dilemma regarding peace and war. When YWY visits Zhen Er every night to tell her a story, he is choosing to remove that cruel mask, to reconnect with his true self by humbling himself with the innocence of a child. He doesn't mind being called "little horse" or even "little pig" ("little" carries connotations of a very low status in Chinese and no king in his right mind would claim to be any type of animal other than a dragon). This is not the act of a man who is only playing lip-service to care for his niece. This is one of the aspects that make me love YWY's character so much. Unlike LLW, YWY doesn't have the luxury to be 'nice'. He needs to be cruel so people under his protection can survive. This made it especially sad when he had to kill his general. I think it was the first time he broke down with feelings of inadequacy. It was so Macbeth-esque when he washed his hands in the water.

So far, LLW doesn't seem very interesting as a character. He's the guy that everyone loves and can do no wrong. Even his sad childhood seems sad just to paint him as a noble guy who does not covet the glory of battle but a quiet life.

There are actually echos of the mermaid theme running through the show. Xue Wu cutting herself off from her 'own world' to be in LLW's world. When Xue Wu explains to Zhen Er that when a fish leaves the water, it dies. If we take Xue Wu to represent the 'mermaid', it more or less foreshadows tragedy. Me know spoilers .

Nukaew, I was also blown away by Daniel's acting. I knew I would like his performance from the trailers, but watching the series has exceeded my expectations. I especially like that transformation from beggar to king in the earlier episodes - he stayed in the same clothes, wore the same face, but somehow, Daniel was able to change the demeanor between the two roles with a subtlety that was definitely a dose of superb acting.

ent.sdchina.com has already posted synopses for all 46 episodes of LLW . I didn't realize there would be 46 episodes. Mad watching! Or more, some draggy melodrama in between with the Zheng Er-LLW-Xue Wu triangle. Even though seems to LLW redeem himself, but while reading the synopses, there were a few times I was almost shouting at the screen: "Xue Wu, ditch that idiot and hook up with YWY! Right now!"

[panda-pop]

Although, I read Xue Wu's choice differently. It was a choice and a sacrifice. Even though grandma was basically an inadequate - sometimes plain nasty - parent, and the village people were little people, they were Xue Wu's family and people. Those type of bonds are not broken lightly. I read that scene as more a challenge for Xue Wu to make a sacrifice, to demonstrate her ultimate commitment to LLW. It was moving to me. If they wrote it as Xue Wu realizing she was head over heels in love or she just regretted leaving, that would seem cliche at the best, or indecisive at worst. However, the dialogue could've been less ham-fisted.

"If you leave me, this ends our family relationship. We will never see each other again." So pressures grandma.

"If you leave, Si Ge will be drawn and quartered." So pressures Wu Ge.

Yeah, no pressure guys. Just sayin.

NuDaFu, I like your interpretation of that scene. Any scene with Grandma has me automatically throwing my hands up and resisting the urge to fast forward, but you’re right that it’s a pivotal point in Xue Wu’s development. She’s not so naïve as to think that her love can change fate, but she’s willing to be brave and to suffer for the path she’s chosen, starting with losing the only home she’s ever known. It’s a shame that while Xue Wu grows up because of her relationship with Lan Ling Wang, he’s relatively stagnant. With or without Xue Wu, he was always going to be the war god with a heart of gold. He was always going to devote himself to one woman only. Dreamy, noble, tragic, sure, but not much to unravel there like Thuchen said. Though Feng Shao Feng gets to play the guy they named the whole drama after, he has the least interesting role out of the main characters in my opinion.

And you helped me pinpoint the one thing that’s been bugging me this entire time—the dialogue! I love this show to the nth degree but oh geez, the dialogue. SO cheesy at times. Unnecessarily repetitive in some parts (Xue Wu and Yu Wen Yong’s heart-to-heart in episode episode 16, for example). Weirdly modern in others (there’s one scene where Xiao Zhong and Xue Wu literally say “hi” to some palace maids). I think the writers’ strength is in spinning an engaging tale and not so much creating nuanced, realistic conversations. Thank goodness for compelling actors who can take what words they’re given to work with and elevate it to another level.

I’m almost scared to ask, but.. could you put another spoiler up for those of us who can’t read the synopses? Specifically, what happens at the end? I keep hearing that one of our OTP isn’t going to make it out alive and I’m going to need to brace myself to get emotionally destroyed.

More new episodes tonight! Excited to hear what you all think after watching

[xia0yuer]

I read that scene as more a challenge for Xue Wu to make a sacrifice, to demonstrate her ultimate commitment to LLW.

That's also how I interpreted the scene where she parts ways with Grandma. It was the first scene that made me tear up. Xue Wu believes in her grandma's prophecies and fate so whole-heartedly, and this was first time that she was willing risk everything for LLW. Before, she always convinced herself to cold shoulder LLW because he was destined for Consort Zheng and that if things don't work out, she can just go back to her village to her grandmother. But here, she destroyed her only way of retreat, chose take fate into her own hands and follow her heart.

NuDaFu and panda-pop, I loved reading your thoughts on the characters. I'm completely in the YWY camp now, especially after he lets Xue Wu and LLW go at the end of EP 18. He really is just a good guy, who was forced to act cold and ruthless because the situation YWH put him in. Daniel Chan's acting is surprisingly good. I've only seen him in Chinese Ghost Story with Barbie Hsu and wasn't very impressed with his looks or acting. I was amazed with his ability to emote with a single flicker of his eyes in the earlier episodes and am even more so after seeing him show so many different forms of emotion during EP 15-17.

On the other hand, LLW falls a bit flat for me. I was so bored during those episodes when they were living in his estate and he was selecting his consort. In comparison to YWY, life is a bit too easy for LLW - he's this amazing god of war, with a loyal brother and subordinates, and manages to find the love of life with little effort or sacrifice. The only potential problem for him is the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince is crippled now, without his advisor or mother to help him. FSF's acting is alright and he does have chemistry with Ariel, but none of his scenes have touched me yet. Also, the shallow side of me finds FSF rather unattractive...

Looking forward to more Xue Wu and YWY moments! And hopefully no more Zheng Er-LLW-Xue Wu melodrama! (Although I seriously doubt it...

[redenzione]

I love everyone's thoughts on the drama! I fully agree about Daniel and his fabulous acting - so nuanced and emotive.

I'm fully on board with the LLW/Xue Wu OTP, I can't help it. I find them rather adorable and I think there is definitely more to come and as long as it's not over-the-top with the melo, or there is at least understandable reasons for anything regarding their inevitable woes, I probably will go down with the ship.

I really like the balance in characters, people have been noting that LLW is a bit *too* perfect which in effect makes his character boring, while YWY is more emotive and therefore makes us engage and sympathise with him more. I get that and agree with it, but I also reckon that is also due to their circumstances and we haven't seen the best of either yet.

Unfortunately I'm at work so I can't write a more in-depth view of my opinion on the characters, but I really am looking forward to seeing more of the character development (please let there be some!)

[panda-pop]

I'm fully on board with the LLW/Xue Wu OTP, I can't help it. I find them rather adorable and I think there is definitely more to come and as long as it's not over-the-top with the melo, or there is at least understandable reasons for anything regarding their inevitable woes, I probably will go down with the ship.

I really like the balance in characters, people have been noting that LLW is a bit *too* perfect which in effect makes his character boring, while YWY is more emotive and therefore makes us engage and sympathise with him more. I get that and agree with it, but I also reckon that is also due to their circumstances and we haven't seen the best of either yet.

Redenzione, I'm your ship-mate! I think the story's given Daniel more to work with character-wise but scenes with Feng Shao Feng and Ariel together give me the warm fuzzies Lan Ling Wang's been sweet to Xue Wu from the get-go, and as they've gotten closer/confirmed their love for each other they've developed this cute, almost childish bickering dynamic that I could watch for episodes on end. I am so not looking forward to Zheng Er coming back to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Lan Ling Wang, don't make me regret rooting for you! Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts when you get the chance, Redenzione.

I just finished episode 17 and will hopefully get to watch 18 and 19 before the end the night. Some spoilers ahead, keep reading if you're down with that.

Episode 17: CAN WE JUST END THE STORY HERE. Everyone (well, everyone I care about) is in such a great place at the end of this episode. Yu Wen Yong finally defeats Yu Wen Hu after 12 years of waiting, seething and scheming. Xue Wu and Lan Ling Wang end up getting involved last minute and are both crucial to Yu Wen Yong's victory, so he not only lets them go back to Qi, but proactively signs a treaty with Lan Ling Wang to declare truce between Qi and Zhou. Xue Wu and Yu Wen Yong promise to be best friends forever. And everyone lived happily ever after.. I wish.

My favorite part of this episode by far was seeing Lan Ling Wang and Yu Wen Yong working together. One of Yu Wen Hu's lackies manages to grab hold of Zhen Er (little girl, way to show up at the wrong place at the wrong time) during the final showdown and threatens to kill her if Yu Wen Yong won't let Yu Wen Hu go. Xue Wu, being awesome as usual, distracts the guy with magic powder (i.e. sand) and Lan Ling Wang, still disguised as a Zhou palace guard, finishes the dude off. When Yu Wen Yong orders this masked guard (he doesn't realize it's Lan Ling Wang until later) to get Zhen Er and Xue Wu to a safe space, and Lan Ling Wang says yes and bows, we get this glimpse of what it would look like for these two to be on the same team. That team would kick butt.

A few things that probably aren't funny to anyone but me:

- Yu Wen Yong declaring his love for Xue Wu before letting her and Lan Ling Wang go. The shocked look he gives her when she's like, "I'm about to marry this guy, so uh no, I can't stay?" cracked me up. First off, it's not like you don't know about Lan Ling Wang's feelings for her. Second, never confess to a girl in front of her maybe-likely-almost-certain boyfriend.

- The ridiculously many layers of deception involving Yu Er (the girl from the nomad tribe Yu Wen Yong convinces to become a spy for him). When Yu Wen Yong gives her to Yu Wen Hu, he pretends he's doing it begrudgingly. Yu Wen Hu pretends to accept gladly. Then Yu Er pretends to spill the beans to Yu Wen Hu to gain his trust. But Yu Wen Hu pretends to trust Yu Er so that he can feed false information to Yu Wen Yong and get a chance to poison him. But Yu Wen Yong already knows and feeds Yu Er false information to Yu Wen Hu. You still following? I get that we're supposed to be impressed by how cunning both of these men are, but it just makes me think of that scene in the Princess Bride where Vizzini tries to figure out which drink is poisonous and talks himself silly (if you're into both the Princess Bride and Lan Ling Wang, we should be friends).

[panda-pop]

You guys, I don't remember the last time I exerted this much energy simply worrying about what's going to happen next. Episodes 18 and 19 are full of happy moments but I can barely enjoy them. Zheng Er has officially returned and things can go only south from here on out. With 26 episodes left, I'm kind of terrified of how many Zheng Er-related problems the show's going to throw at us. Lan Ling Wang, I give you an episode's worth of time to resolve any/all issues going forward! Any more than that and Yu Wen Yong gets my permission to date Xue Wu for at least a little bit.

Really quick points, because I'm sadly not kidding when I say I'm emotionally exhausted-- SPOILER alert as always!

Episode 18: If you're as invested in the Lan Ling Wang & Xue Wu romance as I am, this episode is like Christmas in August. The royal palace sends four special maids to come guide/force Xue Wu into becoming a proper Wang Fei (prince's consort) who'll abide by the bazillions of rule the Qi monarchy has. Xue Wu + stepford maids + ridiculous rules = a rollicking good time. Lan Ling Wang, knowing how much this sucks for Xue Wu, takes her away from his manor and back to his mother's house where they live as a normal couple, Ah Tu (土 = dirt) and Bing Er (冰 = ice), for a few days. So much cute, I can't even. Take their conversation where they give each other these names, for example:

Xue Wu: Mm, since you're bright eyed and bushy tailed and have such an imposing appearance, I'm going to call you.. Ah Tu (dirt)!
LLW: Okay!! Since you look exceptionally intelligent (冰雪聪惠), I'll call you Bing Er.
Xue Wu: Hey, why didn't you pick an uglier sounding name? I named you Ah Tu!
LLW: Bing Er's a great name, you're exceptionally smart, done deal.
Xue Wu, running after LLW: You knew I'd feel bad! No, let's call me Ah Cao (草 = grass)~~

Oh, and Zheng Er gets tricked by another slave she thinks is her friend and inches ever closer to never trusting anyone ever again.

Episode 19: Lan Ling Wang and Xue Wu get married for realsies, yay! Zheng Er escapes the slave camp and finds her way back to Lan Ling Wang's manor, boo.

[redenzione]

You guys, I don't remember the last time I exerted this much energy simply worrying about what's going to happen next. Episodes 18 and 19 are full of happy moments but I can barely enjoy them. Zheng Er has officially returned and things can go only south from here on out. With 26 episodes left, I'm kind of terrified of how many Zheng Er-related problems the show's going to throw at us. Lan Ling Wang, I give you an episode's worth of time to resolve any/all issues going forward! Any more than that and Yu Wen Yong gets my permission to date Xue Wu for at least a little bit.

Really quick points, because I'm sadly not kidding when I say I'm emotionally exhausted-- SPOILER alert as always!

Episode 18: If you're as invested in the Lan Ling Wang & Xue Wu romance as I am, this episode is like Christmas in August. The royal palace sends four special maids to come guide/force Xue Wu into becoming a proper Wang Fei (prince's consort) who'll abide by the bazillions of rule the Qi monarchy has. Xue Wu + stepford maids + ridiculous rules = a rollicking good time. Lan Ling Wang, knowing how much this sucks for Xue Wu, takes her away from his manor and back to his mother's house where they live as a normal couple, Ah Tu (土 = dirt) and Bing Er (冰 = ice), for a few days. So much cute, I can't even. Take their conversation where they give each other these names, for example:

Xue Wu: Mm, since you're bright eyed and bushy tailed and have such an imposing appearance, I'm going to call you.. Ah Tu (dirt)!
LLW: Okay!! Since you look exceptionally intelligent (冰雪聪惠), I'll call you Bing Er.
Xue Wu: Hey, why didn't you pick an uglier sounding name? I named you Ah Tu!
LLW: Bing Er's a great name, you're exceptionally smart, done deal.
Xue Wu, running after LLW: You knew I'd feel bad! No, let's call me Ah Cao (草 = grass)~~

Oh, and Zheng Er gets tricked by another slave she thinks is her friend and inches ever closer to never trusting anyone ever again.

Episode 19: Lan Ling Wang and Xue Wu get married for realsies, yay! Zheng Er escapes the slave camp and finds her way back to Lan Ling Wang's manor, boo.

Yay ship-buddy! And I'm totally with you on the worrying account. I'm anticipating and dreading what will happen in the future - not only for the OTP, but for all of the characters!! I'm not fully understanding what is going on because unfortunately I don't know Chinese (yet) but it is fun to try and read into more of the characters facial expressions and actions.

I have to admit, FSF's expression when Xue Wu comes out with the new hair style cracked me up! Thanks so much for the recaps, they are really appreciated!

[Thuchen]

- Yu Wen Yong declaring his love for Xue Wu before letting her and Lan Ling Wang go. The shocked look he gives her when she's like, "I'm about to marry this guy, so uh no, I can't stay?" cracked me up. First off, it's not like you don't know about Lan Ling Wang's feelings for her. Second, never confess to a girl in front of her maybe-likely-almost-certain boyfriend.

I found this scene very funny too. I mean which king confesses in front of his general and soldiers and to top it off it front of his love's fiancee and furutre brother-in-law. Oh well, but I fell totally in love with yuwen yong after ep 17. I hate the fact that he's going to be well alone, except for his queen and concubines...nevermind. But I am still on the OTP's ship, though.
Btw, I need to agree with you, lan ling wang and yuwen yong are sure the dream team. That's why I found it very sad, too, when lan ling wang found out that the people want to move to zhou guo because yuwen yong is the better king who gives his people more to live through the harsh days after war. That makes me think what it would have been like if lan ling wang would be a general of zhou, everything would be perfect, I guess, there won't be anyone who will poison lan ling wang then....

I have to admit, FSF's expression when Xue Wu comes out with the new hair style cracked me up! Thanks so much for the recaps, they are really appreciated!

Haha, yeah that was priceless. Apart from that, i know I said before Lan ling wang is somewhat of a flat character, but I like the way he cares so much for xuewu. Like the scene when she was screaming at night because the palace maid were still there, I thought that look in his eyes before he left the room was awesome. Whoa, that was scary, it was like how could they bring so much frustration to his beloved xuewu. It looked like he would love to just kick those maids out of the houese. I think that look was quite hot, I think I culd melt away, because he was like protecting his beloved and who dares to bring her harm....he looked especially handsome in that scene....I know i am fangirling right now....

Actually, right now I am a bit afraid of the next eps since it ooks like it's gonna revolve a lot around xue wu - lan ling wang - zheng er love triangle. And seriously I don't like it a bit, I was almost ff zheng er scenes in the last two episodes. I hate that woman already and I hope they don't make this into another typical triangle love story like misunderstandings between the OTP because of zheng er's lies or something like this. Because I think seeing xue wu and lan ling wang going through all what they have gone through, I do hope they don't generate ridiculous and silly misunderstanding so that the OTP won't trust each other or something like that. Because by now they should trust and believe in each other no matter what the other does or no matter what another person says. Anyway, I just hope that zheng er is soon driven away by lan ling wang like in the extended trailer seen and soon gets married off to the crown prince so she won't be a sore in the eye.....

[xia0yuer]

Haha, looks like I'm the only one on the Xue Wu-YWY ship. Too bad this ship was fated to sink even before its maiden voyage....

I just finished EP 20-22 and I am extremely disappointed in LLW. Everyone else can see that Zheng Er is purposefully trying to drive a wedge between LLW and Xue Wu but why can't he? He saw that she was a liar when she brought him food, claiming that Xue Wu sent her, but later Han Xiao Dong brought the food that was really prepared by Xue Wu. Doesn't he wonder why she was there at the exact time and location of the accident with the horse? Okay, so maybe he's just a very forgiving guy, and likes to give other people second chances. But then why is he so quick to blame Xue Wu for not being a good wife? If anything, he should blame the servants for the empty teapot, not Xue Wu... After Zheng Er poisons his grandma, Xue Wu stays up all night to care for her. The next morning, upon reading her note, he immediately asks the maid "where is she?" and when the maid tells him that it's a secret, he doesn't ask after her health or anything. He just storms off, angry that she's out without telling him where again. He told her that he wants her to be more considerate to him, but is he really being considerate to her?

The tipping point is really when he forgets or ignores Xue Wu's note asking him to make time for dinner with her. She's trying her best to apologize to him, but he stays out late with Zheng Er instead. Yes, I know it's for the royal treasury... He could have easily sent her a note or hurry back after the matter was finished, but he chooses to dally with Zheng Er instead. He knows that Xue Wu gets jealous/uncomfortable with Zheng Er, yet he still accepts her gift and lets her lean on him... I know Zheng Er is the root of all their misunderstandings, but I can't help but blame LLW as well!

I hope there's more of Yu Wen Yong in the next few episodes because I am so tired of LLW and Zheng Er already! I loved that scene where he was hunting and found out about Xue Wu's marriage to LLW. He said "I have always been able to get the things I want!" That piercing gaze... those words...

[panda-pop]

I just finished EP 20-22 and I am extremely disappointed in LLW. Everyone else can see that Zheng Er is purposefully trying to drive a wedge between LLW and Xue Wu but why can't he? He saw that she was a liar when she brought him food, claiming that Xue Wu sent her, but later Han Xiao Dong brought the food that was really prepared by Xue Wu. Doesn't he wonder why she was there at the exact time and location of the accident with the horse? Okay, so maybe he's just a very forgiving guy, and likes to give other people second chances. But then why is he so quick to blame Xue Wu for not being a good wife? If anything, he should blame the servants for the empty teapot, not Xue Wu... After Zheng Er poisons his grandma, Xue Wu stays up all night to care for her. The next morning, upon reading her note, he immediately asks the maid "where is she?" and when the maid tells him that it's a secret, he doesn't ask after her health or anything. He just storms off, angry that she's out without telling him where again. He told her that he wants her to be more considerate to him, but is he really being considerate to her?

The tipping point is really when he forgets or ignores Xue Wu's note asking him to make time for dinner with her. She's trying her best to apologize to him, but he stays out late with Zheng Er instead. Yes, I know it's for the royal treasury... He could have easily sent her a note or hurry back after the matter was finished, but he chooses to dally with Zheng Er instead. He knows that Xue Wu gets jealous/uncomfortable with Zheng Er, yet he still accepts her gift and lets her lean on him... I know Zheng Er is the root of all their misunderstandings, but I can't help but blame LLW as well!

Noooooooo, this all sounds terrible! I have a feeling I'll be fast forwarding through a lot of scenes tonight. Thanks for the advanced warning, xia0yuer. If it's really as bad as all this sounds, I might join you on your ship for a bit.. This reminds me of that intense exchange between Lan Ling Wang and Yu Wen Yong at the end of episode 17 before they parted ways. I'm paraphrasing from memory, but it went something like--

Yu Wen Yong: If you ever let Xue Wu go, I'll make sure you don't find her again.
Lan Ling Wang: Don't worry, even if the sky falls, I'll keep her by my side.

[valchan]

This show is like crack!! I want to keep watching it. I was shipping LLW and YXW but after today's episode I'm starting to ship YWY. That scene on ep 20 when he heard about YXW's wedding and when he said to himself that she must've been very happy now with LLW ... Sad...
From what I read on the summary for tomorrow's episodes, I wish YWY would just take YXW away and hide her.

[panda-pop]

Phew, episode 20 isn't bad. In fact, things are better than I expected. From what xia0yuer and valchan have said so far, I'm sure that's going to change in the next two episodes, but I'm going to briefly recap this one first.

Episode 20: Xue Wu and Lan Ling Wang start their new life together as husband and wife. We only get one scene with Yu Wen Yong in this episode, in which he's hunting and asks his henchman about whether the rumor that Xue Wu and LLW have gotten married is true. A side-by-side comparison of your two leading men thinking about Xue Wu:

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We do learn something useful from that scene, though (and no, it's not just how good Yu Wen Yong looks when he's hunting and missing Xue Wu and stuff); the treaty he signed with LLW has an expiration date. YWY still plans on invading Qi at some point in the future so that he can achieve his goal of uniting the kingdoms under his reign.

Back in the Qi kingdom, Zheng Er is sowing her seeds of discord. She's now a maid in LLW's manor and is pretty blatant about trying to get close to LLW. I love that Xue Wu isn't your typical, guileless heroine who's oblivious to the fact that another woman is making moves on her man. When Zheng Er spills the beans about Xue Wu being away from the manor (Xue Wu doesn't want LLW to know because she doesn't want him to worry about her working too hard), Xue Wu gets annoyed. When Zheng Er cooks lamb for LLW and he seems to enjoy it more than Xue Wu's cooking, Xue Wu lets him know she's jealous. Who knew couples in dramas could actually communicate openly about their feelings? All these little incidents-- and there's more than what I've described-- result in LLW affirming his love for Xue Wu, so I have to give him credit at this point.

What I'm worried about is the bigger scheme Zheng Er started early in this episode. She had a random vagabond pretend to be a fortune teller who told Xue Wu and LLW to expect trouble ahead because the person who should have been Zheng Fei had her position usurped by Xue Wu. I hate to say this, but this is kind of genius on Zheng Er's part. Nobody but Xue Wu-- the Tian Nu who's worried so much about fate all throughout her relationship with LLW-- would be as affected by this 'prophecy.' And for LLW's sake, Xue Wu could be the self-sacrificial type of person who would encourage him to marry Zheng Er so as to "right the wrong." I'm hoping she won't indulge in that sort of noble idiocy. I want her to continue putting her foot down whenever Zheng Er tries to one-up her! I felt like cheering when Xue Wu straight-up told LLW, "You can't like her food better than mine. I don't care if her stuff tastes better. I'm going to be the one who cooks for you."

Plot-wise, Lan Ling Wang's been commissioned with figuring out how to strengthen the country's treasury. There's just not enough money to support citizens' needs. He's getting stressed out. Xue Wu, on the other hand, has taken on a secret pet project that, again, she's keeping hidden from LLW. She's teaching LLW's camp of wounded ex-soldiers to make wooden prosthetic limbs for themselves so that they can become self-sufficient again. This keeping-secrets-from-your spouse thing is probably a bad idea, Xue Wu.. my guess is Zheng Er will use it somehow in the next few episodes to create problems.

[panda-pop]

Episodes 21 and 22:

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I can't even bother to describe all the stupid choices that are made in these two episodes. What's frustrating is that how Lan Ling Wang and Xue Wu react/don't react doesn't jive at all with the OTP we've known and loved for the past 20 episodes. I get that stories need conflict, but conflicts for the sake of drama is a waste of time. I feel like romance-centric shows tend to have this problem; because the OTP is the (or one of the) focal points of the story, it's almost a given that there's going to be an annoying third party (usually another woman) doing annoying third party things. But I'm more disappointed in this case because this particular drama has shown us in prior episodes that it can come up with interesting conflicts for the OTP without compromising character consistency. Take Xu Da's death, for example. It was great how the show let this person die, rather than having Xue Wu swoop in with a miracle cure. It set up the dilemma Lan Ling Wang faced when he had to decide whether or not to kill Ah Guai. On one hand, he wasn't 100% sure that Ah Guai was Yu Wen Yong, and Xue Wu's respect for him was at stake. On the other hand, his best friend Xu Da had died bringing him this critical piece of intel about Yu Wen Yong's whereabouts. We saw Lan Ling Wang struggle as his obligations to his country and his dead friend clashed directly with his feelings with Xue Wu. That's good story-telling. These episodes weren't. Things that made me especially :

- Lan Ling Wang taking care of Zheng Er late into the night after Zheng Er gets hurts. Never mind that the doctor said Zheng Er didn't have any serious injuries. Or, you know, that Xue Wu offered to do it in his stead. You don't spend that much time being alone with a woman your wife has explicitly told you she gets jealous of, no matter how guilty you feel!

- Xue Wu (and the main maid, Xiao Cui) not letting Lan Ling Wang know that Xue Wu's only been away from the manor because she's trying to help out the wounded soldiers. Maybe Xue Wu would be the type to keep it a secret, but I can't see straight-talking Xiao Cui resisting the urge to reveal the truth after Lan Ling Wang fought with Xue Wu over it.

- Lan Ling Wang accepting Zheng Er's jade pendant!! Oh, good grief. If he weren't the guy who uses his own jade pendant as a symbol of his undying love, maybe he'd have a better excuse for thinking that accepting Zheng Er's isn't a hurtful thing for Xue Wu to see.

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Nope, not going to work, Lan Ling Wang. The previews for the next 3 episodes tell me that you're going to remain in the dog house, at least until episode 25.

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You know who's awesome in these past episodes? Xiao Dong. I actually don't think the actor is doing an amazing job (he's fine, nothing to write home about), but Xiao Dong does the best job of standing up for Xue Wu in front of Zheng Er. I've complained about the dialogue but I liked how he described his feelings about Xue Wu to Xiao Cui the night before he was somewhat coerced into leaving: "Xue Wu is like the moon in the night sky. I'll never allow the fog (Zheng Er) obscure the light of the moon."

[valchan]

Hahaha.. That is exactly how I reacted watching ep 22. I screamed at my tv like a lunatic 😝 I'm sure I'm going to fast forward throught most of the episodes tomorrow. Ugh.. I can't wait for Zheng er to go away..
On a side note, anyone know where I can download or buy the ost?

[lovedramas]

I registered just cause I was reading other viewers thoughts.

I have not commented in a forum about a chinese (mando speaking) drama in several years. Here are some of my general comments - I have been waiting for this one since it was announced, and so happy that it's finally airing. In any case, I like all three lead actors (Ariel, FSF and Daniel) very well. I admit that like Ariel, I too was squealing a little cause Daniel was one of the idol singers that I liked when I was young (yep, teen idol and no widespread internet back then) and I remember him when he debuted. But it's been a really long time since I followed him. Fast forward to 2013, I must say one thing - Daniel should be in more period dramas. He seems just that much better in period dramas than in modern ones. He has really exceeded all my expectations here, although I do admit they were not very high to begin with. While, I like FSF, I find myself wanting to see more of Daniel's YWY.

I agree with those who say that LLW is written a little too perfectly in a way and that makes him more "boring". It's just that there isn't anything really that is drawing me to him other than he's perfect on paper and onscreen. But just something that is lacking a little spark up to now. SF does a great job as LLW but goodness, it's especially noticeable in the last few episodes... the LLW girl "love" triangle is boring as heck. At first, I just thought it was my slight bias towards Daniel but I don't think so... I can't be the only one who wants the show to move on already from LLW's love problems.

I hope that as we approach the 2nd half of the drama, that FSF will get a chance to flex his acting muscles a little more. More battling please. The plot thus far has only been ok for me. It's interesting, but nothing that I'm particularly gushing about. I definitely like it and am following it daily so that's a plus. It goes without saying that Ariel has chemistry with her co-stars and because of that, I'm invested in seeing what happens between the three of them. I pretty much know the end game but am curious as to how we get there.

[AcrossTime]

I'm currently on the Xue Wu Yu Wen Yong - ship. Please have some of this awesomeness along with Daniel's OST song for the drama

[Thuchen]

The last two episodes were awful. I knew love triangles will make any drama go downhill. And it looks like it will be not until so 25 llw will see Zheng er real person. Horrible, they are truly making me want to change the ship now. More of ywy please!!! Can't his spies tell him llw is picking on yxw and have him go and kidnap yxw back to Zhou Guo.