[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] The Rise of Phoenixes 凰权·弈天下

[tendrilsofwind]

2 hours ago, Pollen Ainne said:

Just finished episode 65 with subs and I am more convinced than ever that Ning Yi desires the throne. Even his mother who advised him to find happiness away from royalty could see it. And the way he was acting overly happy felt really unnatural. There is a huge difference from when he was genuinely happy with Zhiwei while they were in Minhai. He looked contented and satisfied, as if he owned the world. Those episodes were the best, but unfortuntaly short lived.

 

The commoner Ning Yi I believe, is also happy to finally be with his mother, however, he seems to be forcing too much happiness out, as if to cover the emptiness he is feeling from loosing his dreams. But he seems desperate to keep his mother safe.

 

And now I understand why he had to turn his back on Zhiwei, I didn't really get it before, when Helian Zheng was ready to give her up. But I guess at that time he knew he was giving up his status, and Zhiwei needed someone with power to protect her, something he will no longer have. Ugh, sorry, but I wish his mother had just died from when he was eight.

 

And I don't really understand why Dahua lost her child. Did the guards do something to her as well? Or did she see her sister dead and got frightened? Why was Gu Nanyi in Tiansheng and why was he going inside Ning Yi's residence? I thought I would understand this with dialogue but unfortunately I am more confused than ever. I never once had any problems following this drama until now. 

 

Yea that was my impression of Ning Yi as well. He has convinced himself that he doesn't need power or the throne, but in reality, all of his grand ambitions depend on it. Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei are both too dedicated to this idea of the greater good and the role they play in maintaining peace and prosperity to go pursue a bucolic lifestyle. Earlier on in the show, before her identity was revealed, Feng Zhiwei could have easily withdrawn from the power struggle, but she chose to stay despite facing death. I also think Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power. He just really wants to be a good person so he has trouble coming to terms with this aspect of his personality. This show really has such nuanced characterizations. I loved how we were slowly shown the many facets of they personality as they gained insight into themselves. 

 

Gu Nanyi was at Ning Yi's residence because they wanted him to see his teacher killed by Ning Yi's guards. His teacher knew GNY was no longer dedicated to the cause and saw how he hesitated to kill Ning Yi despite being ordered to. Since everyone in their little revival group is certifiably insane, he decided to just sacrifice himself knowing GNY and FZW's attachment to him. I don't want to give you any spoilers, but if you keep watching the next few episodes they kind of explain why he's in Tiansheng. I am also kind of confused about why Dahua lost her child. 

 

Guys I am still withdrawing from this drama and I watched it as it was airing lool

Not a lot of people watched past the first episode, but once you become immersed you can't escape. 

[galea]

2 hours ago, tendrilsofwind said:

 

Yea that was my impression of Ning Yi as well. He has convinced himself that he doesn't need power or the throne, but in reality, all of his grand ambitions depend on it. Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei are both too dedicated to this idea of the greater good and the role they play in maintaining peace and prosperity to go pursue a bucolic lifestyle. Earlier on in the show, before her identity was revealed, Feng Zhiwei could have easily withdrawn from the power struggle, but she chose to stay despite facing death. I also think Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power. He just really wants to be a good person so he has trouble coming to terms with this aspect of his personality. This show really has such nuanced characterizations. I loved how we were slowly shown the many facets of they personality as they gained insight into themselves. 

 

Gu Nanyi was at Ning Yi's residence because they wanted him to see his teacher killed by Ning Yi's guards. His teacher knew GNY was no longer dedicated to the cause and saw how he hesitated to kill Ning Yi despite being ordered to. Since everyone in their little revival group is certifiably insane, he decided to just sacrifice himself knowing GNY and FZW's attachment to him. I don't want to give you any spoilers, but if you keep watching the next few episodes they kind of explain why he's in Tiansheng. I am also kind of confused about why Dahua lost her child. 

 

Guys I am still withdrawing from this drama and I watched it as it was airing lool

Not a lot of people watched past the first episode, but once you become immersed you can't escape. 

I agree! I was following this as it was airing, and I still can't get over it... I don't always comment, but I'm following this thread like, on a daily basis, just nipping by to take a look at what you guys are saying. XD 

[galea]

I've also been following some tumblr accounts talking about this drama. I particularly find gracamolex's posts v. interesting. :3

[yunmo19]

5 hours ago, Pollen Ainne said:

And I don't really understand why Dahua lost her child. Did the guards do something to her as well? Or did she see her sister dead and got frightened? Why was Gu Nanyi in Tiansheng and why was he going inside Ning Yi's residence? I thought I would understand this with dialogue but unfortunately I am more confused than ever. I never once had any problems following this drama until now. 

 

I think Dahua lost her child because she learned of her sister's death and was so shocked over it. She's no longer young so I guess pregnancy is difficult as well ?

[aisama]

1 hour ago, tendrilsofwind said:

He has convinced himself that he doesn't need power or the throne, but in reality, all of his grand ambitions depend on it.

...

I also think Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power. He just really wants to be a good person so he has trouble coming to terms with this aspect of his personality.

 I agree with everything, except the second point that Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power, in which I would kindly disagree. In my opinion, since young he just really wanted his dad's approval. Everything else means nothing, except the parental acceptance. But, then tragedy struck and as he learned that a prince without power is at the mercy of those with power. He begins to chase after power so that he could protect himself as well as fulfilled his dreams. He didn't want power just because he want to be a man with power. He seek power because only with power can he stand a chance of survival and justice. That, in my opinion is seeking power for the sake of himself and all the embodiment of his grand ambitions, than just wanting power for power sake. This is also why he struggles with himself regarding power, but also why he can easily give up power without a second thought.

 

Well that's how I understand "sake of power".  Simply wanting power because you can, not because you need that power.

 

 

Anyway, I love the reunion scene of Ning Yi and his mom. It was so beautiful and Chen Kun's acting is phenomenal. I didn't see a grown man Ning Yi, but the 8 years old boy. That is truly amazing acting.

 

[Pollen Ainne]

3 hours ago, tendrilsofwind said:

I also think Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power. He just really wants to be a good person so he has trouble coming to terms with this aspect of his personality. This show really has such nuanced characterizations. I loved how we were slowly shown the many facets of they personality as they gained insight into themselves. 

Yes, I do believe Ning Yi has a thirst for power. But it is tempered by the fact that he wants to be a good person. The thirst also has something to do with believing that there is something only he can accomplish. He has that arrogance. He was already ambitious at eight and he even feels guilty about it. So yeah. But in the end what matters most is the light that shines in your heart, on whether it dims or shines brighter. 

 

3 hours ago, tendrilsofwind said:

Gu Nanyi was at Ning Yi's residence because they wanted him to see his teacher killed by Ning Yi's guards. His teacher knew GNY was no longer dedicated to the cause and saw how he hesitated to kill Ning Yi despite being ordered to. Since everyone in their little revival group is certifiably insane, he decided to just sacrifice himself knowing GNY and FZW's attachment to him. I don't want to give you any spoilers, but if you keep watching the next few episodes they kind of explain why he's in Tiansheng. I am also kind of confused about why Dahua lost her child. 

Wow really? They knew that Ning Cheng will be able to kill Master Zong at the exact time that Nanyi arrives... hmmm... they must be really lucky. I kinda get that they called him over, but it felt really silly to me. I was like, you are in the residence of the Prince of Chu dummy, who do you think is the culprit here. But whatever.

 

38 minutes ago, aisama said:

 

Well that's how I understand "sake of power".  Simply wanting power because you can, not because you need that power.

 

However, people usually have reasons why they want something. Everyone who wants power, always needs it for something. The question is, when is that need reasonable? And smart people like Ning Yi are really good at creating logical reasons for following their desires. They lie to even themselves. 

 

And I just finished all 70 eps subbed...

 

And I still hate that ending because I truly do not believe the Emperor's last words. Ning Yi and Zhiwei are nothing like him and Yale. I laughed at that. Are you kidding me? And about hating each other, I am sorry but the world has already thrown the worst at them and they have already hated each other and they still want to be together so **** that! I truly believe that instead of causing hatred, Zhiwei can be the air that feeds Ning Yi's light and make it shine brighter. The officials will resent him? What a joke, the royal guard has been Gu Yan for frkn 20 years. And Ning Shizheng himself gave her the title of princess to show his benevolence. Unbelievable!

 

And as for the many lives lost? Yeah right, cause giving up your life instead for fighting for a better kingdom is the best answer. I'm just unhappy with the ending. But oh well, I already knew this ending since I started and I am still in love with this series but I wish i stopped at episode 63. lol

 

[tendrilsofwind]

3 hours ago, aisama said:

 I agree with everything, except the second point that Ning Yi craves power for the sake of power, in which I would kindly disagree. In my opinion, since young he just really wanted his dad's approval. Everything else means nothing, except the parental acceptance. But, then tragedy struck and as he learned that a prince without power is at the mercy of those with power. He begins to chase after power so that he could protect himself as well as fulfilled his dreams. He didn't want power just because he want to be a man with power. He seek power because only with power can he stand a chance of survival and justice. That, in my opinion is seeking power for the sake of himself and all the embodiment of his grand ambitions, than just wanting power for power sake. This is also why he struggles with himself regarding power, but also why he can easily give up power without a second thought.

 

 

That's kind of what I meant by him wanting power. I think it's a remnant of his old personality and all the challenges he's faced, but I disagree with you in that I don't think he can really give it up. He does think he can, and he wants to, but when he went to live with his mom he wasn't adult Ning Yi, he was eight year old Ning Yi. His personality felt very stilted and his mother saw that as well. 

 

I always thought FZW wanted power in a very selfless way while NY had some selfish motivations. I don't think he can be blamed for that though since it's due to all the ordeals he had to go through.

[tendrilsofwind]

2 hours ago, Pollen Ainne said:

Yes, I do believe Ning Yi has a thirst for power. But it is tempered by the fact that he wants to be a good person. The thirst also has something to do with believing that there is something only he can accomplish. He has that arrogance. He was already ambitious at eight and he even feels guilty about it. So yeah. But in the end what matters most is the light that shines in your heart, on whether it dims or shines brighter. 

 

Wow really? They knew that Ning Cheng will be able to kill Master Zong at the exact time that Nanyi arrives... hmmm... they must be really lucky. I kinda get that they called him over, but it felt really silly to me. I was like, you are in the residence of the Prince of Chu dummy, who do you think is the culprit here. But whatever.

 

However, people usually have reasons why they want something. Everyone who wants power, always needs it for something. The question is, when is that need reasonable? And smart people like Ning Yi are really good at creating logical reasons for following their desires. They lie to even themselves. 

 

And I just finished all 70 eps subbed...

  Reveal hidden contents

And I still hate that ending because I truly do not believe the Emperor's last words. Ning Yi and Zhiwei are nothing like him and Yale. I laughed at that. Are you kidding me? And about hating each other, I am sorry but the world has already thrown the worst at them and they have already hated each other and they still want to be together so **** that! I truly believe that instead of causing hatred, Zhiwei can be the air that feeds Ning Yi's light and make it shine brighter. The officials will resent him? What a joke, the royal guard has been Gu Yan for frkn 20 years. And Ning Shizheng himself gave her the title of princess to show his benevolence. Unbelievable!

 

And as for the many lives lost? Yeah right, cause giving up your life instead for fighting for a better kingdom is the best answer. I'm just unhappy with the ending. But oh well, I already knew this ending since I started and I am still in love with this series but I wish i stopped at episode 63. lol

 

 

I think him walking in at the exact moment was the power of the plot lool but they just wanted someone close to Ning Yi to kill him and for GNY to know who did it. GNY seems to also know he's being illogical, but his character has always had a different way of thinking of things.

 

Spoiler

I've already written a long post a while back about why I liked the ending, but I know you won't agree with me on the topic. It's interesting to note that Ning Yi now has everything he wanted with the exception of Feng Zhiwei. I thought it was kind of hilarious how he accidentally took out two major political players of his neighboring countries. Now he has free reign to unite the three kingdoms.

 

[galea]

Welp, I've just finished the series on Netflix this time, and I feel even emptier. I think I'll just drown out this feeling with work hahaha 
To be fair, I'm glad I gave this series a go. It's certainly raised my expectations again after I was left with not much else for c-entertainment after NiF (at least nothing I was particularly interested in, or emotionally invested in). Said it before, but will say it again, I AM IN LOVE WITH THE ACTING ;D! In particular, will defo have a look out for more of Chen Kun's projects. His acting is like a breath of fresh air, it's just so raw. 

I know people have been commenting about his overacting, but I just see it as part of his character. He really does put a creepy edge to NY, and I love how it turned out. It really does go along with his role as the  'I-got-imprisoned-for-8-years-with-no-one-to-talk-to-but-birds-and-trees' prince who is slightly unhinged after that isolation and guilt of letting his beloved brother be killed. Oh, not to mention that he's convinced that his father doesn't truly love him and would rather let him do all the dirty work, which just spices things up >.>... It was absolutely chilling the first time I saw those little nuances in his facade or general personality that just hinted towards what's underneath that mask (although I'm not sure that I would count what's underneath as being particularly purer, if u consider that at 8 fricking years old, he already had a taste for overpowering someone and threatening them with their child's life). If you push him over the edge (like Gu Yan did in the first few episodes where he refused to be NY's pawn), his mask just falls off. That look when he leaned forward with his neck at some painful angle and his eyes gleaming with rage was just on-point! And the way his eye just slightly twitched and drooped as he threatened Gu Yan. Dayumnn, the setting sun hit his face at just the right angle to make his eyes look 10x more intense :D. *Enthusiastic clapping*. 

There were so many moments like that (when XZY was guilt-tripping him and you just watch him writhe in emotional turmoil, or when he shoved a knife through some dude's throat whilst giving that list of why he ought to bloody murder the guy [oh, and with a stupid amount of enraged glee just spilling from his eyes], yada yada... too many to count). These moments just really kept me going with chasing this series again every Friday on Netflix. I think it's not necessary to mention the OTP moments. Can't really describe them. If I was watching for the OTP alone, I would've just stopped at around episode 45, but, I had to savour the good acting :$. 

Speaking of Netflix though, I am slightly disappointed with the subs. They managed to get the general meaning right, but the vocab that they used just don't do the original script justice.  Ah well, can't ask for too much, the subs were crazy quick. ;3 

 

If only I could read the novel... But my work is screaming at me, so I cannot simply sit here and painstakingly work through it with a dictionary/translator at hand. 

 

[Pollen Ainne]

2 hours ago, tendrilsofwind said:

 

  Hide contents

I've already written a long post a while back about why I liked the ending, but I know you won't agree with me on the topic. It's interesting to note that Ning Yi now has everything he wanted with the exception of Feng Zhiwei. I thought it was kind of hilarious how he accidentally took out two major political players of his neighboring countries. Now he has free reign to unite the three kingdoms.

 

 

You are right, Ning Yi does have everything he wants except the desires that makes his heart shine. He lost his mother, he lost Zhiwei, and he lost Headmaster Xin, because he has to  punish him to make true his dream kingdom. All he has left are the dreams that have cast a shadow into his heart. And he will live his life in pain, as he stated but he will strive on to fulfill his dreams before he can go with Zhiwei to the afterlife. Doesn't sound so wonderful to me.

 

Although now that I have put that into words, I guess he could not have created his dream Kingdom with Zhiwei around. Because he would always make exceptions for her, he would not be able to resist it. And that will go against his rule of equal treatment. Still, I prefer they made it ambiguous, with a chance that maybe, just maybe, Zhiwei is waiting for him (not in the afterlife) after when he accomplishes his dreams. And even if they really wanted a tragedy, I wanted to see closure. They didn't even have an end with flashbacks to their relationship. The ending episode contained so little of them and they were so distant, it was painful to watch. They have that farewell with Gu Nanyi instead, which confused me. Had I only seen the ending, I would have thought it was Gu Nanyi that was her lover.  

 

 

[Pollen Ainne]

@galea

I love his act as well. I actually did check out some of his old movies but dang most of them were tragedies. There were only few exceptions. I liked the "Love on Credit" one. But I guess he is a movie actor, not a tv series actor. And he has a lot of awards and nominations. 

[haruhi17]

Anybody wondering whether Zi Wei knew what happened to Hua Qiong?  If she did know that she died, why didn't we see ZW mourn for her like she did for many others (she even mourned for ppl she didn't know).  I felt like the writers should have included that. I mean, ZW viewed HQ as a sister too besides ZY, right?  

 

Also, anybody noticed the fast facial hair growth in the Emperor's and NY's faces? What was that about?  Time jump?  But hardly any time passed.  Side effect of that spell thing??  What do you guys think?  

[haruhi17]

15 hours ago, yunmo19 said:

Just one question. Does anyone using Netflix (international ver.) know how and when Netflix announces the series it's gonna take off ? Does it even notify us at all when a series is taken off our watch list? I've used Netflix not for long and I just notice some series on my list getting deleted without warning. I don't want the same to happen when I want to rewatch this series. 

I notice that with Netflix that only when a new show or new episodes have been added that we get notified of that, but as for shows or movies they delete, i don't think they've informed us or will do so in the future.  They should inform us, right?  

[haruhi17]

On 10/12/2018 at 11:09 AM, Pollen Ainne said:

Agreed. Agreed. And totally with you.I'm going to have to undergo rehab to get over this show. Which is weird because this show didn't seem to capture a lot of hearts, so why am I so in love with it??!! Will probably have to write some fanfics to get myself out of it. There was only one other drama that did the same thing to me.

Ooooooh...if you're gonna write some fanfiction for this drama...i'd love to read it...it'll soothe my aching heart over the show and its ending...  I get why she chose suicide, but man, i just wish she thought of other options to help her with her bloodguilt though indirect, like, moving far away and focusing on a new purpose in life, giving herself time to grieve, to heal and then, either return to NY or wait for him to come to her?? Or allow NY to have an heir, raise him to be the next Emperor, and then NY retire early and meet up with ZW? lol...sorry, I'm not creative in thinking on how this could have ended better...it's just the ending isn't only tragic but it's been done before. So it'd be nice to get a different kind of ending..something if not happy, bittersweet...more on the sweet than bitter...

[haruhi17]

On 10/10/2018 at 5:49 AM, aisama said:

That aside. I'm currently watching this religiously on Netflix. And now that I've already finish the latest batch of released episode up to 60. I can see why people say is rushed at the end. I feel like everything being resolved in the next 10 episodes is just too quick. I wouldn't mind if it was 80 episodes just to time and flesh out more of what's to come.

Yeah, i thought the beginning episodes were too detailed with plot of overthrowing the Crown Prince.  There were so many episodes that i felt dwelled too much on it.  And then towards the end of the show, I felt like i'm missing important details to explain a lot of scenes.  Oh well, i guess we can't have everything with this drama.  Lol.

[haruhi17]

On 10/11/2018 at 3:57 PM, Pollen Ainne said:

After saying all that, I do believe the novel ending did make sense. Once Ning Yi manages to accomplish his goals, he doesn't have to stay Emperor. There was a reason the 10th prince existed in the first place. While all the other princes were power hungry (including Ning Yi to some degree) he was the only one who seemed innocent and kind. He was obviously a character created to take the throne.

What was the novel's ending?  If you don't mind me asking.

[aisama]

2 hours ago, haruhi17 said:

 

Anybody wondering whether Zi Wei knew what happened to Hua Qiong?  If she did know that she died, why didn't we see ZW mourn for her like she did for many others (she even mourned for ppl she didn't know).  I felt like the writers should have included that. I mean, ZW viewed HQ as a sister too besides ZY, right?  

 

 

Also, anybody noticed the fast facial hair growth in the Emperor's and NY's faces? What was that about?  Time jump?  But hardly any time passed.  Side effect of that spell thing??  What do you guys think?  

 

The way they killed off Hua Qiong is so... wrong. I... I'm just so disappointed. She's such a strong character. She should have had a better end.
 

The editing just make the facial hair seems like it appears overnight. Ning Yi learning he's to become emperor must have been such a shock that it causes his hormones to go out of wack overnight. Lol

 

1 hour ago, haruhi17 said:

 

Yeah, i thought the beginning episodes were too detailed with plot of overthrowing the Crown Prince.  There were so many episodes that i felt dwelled too much on it.  And then towards the end of the show, I felt like i'm missing important details to explain a lot of scenes.  Oh well, i guess we can't have everything with this drama.  Lol.

I love the beginning and the detailed plotting! It really fleshes out the crown prince, not just his motives but also as a person. It also helps to establish the changs side of the family. Which I find did a better job than the minhai arc, even though good, which failed to really details the scale of power the changs have over minhai.
 

Rarely is there a drama I enjoy watching the beginning more than the end like this one. Especially political focus drama like this. Usually I find most drama is too slow and boring at the beginning, so when I rewatch I usually just start in the middle where the actions and story really pick up. But, this one is the opposite.

 

 

5 hours ago, galea said:

His acting is like a breath of fresh air, it's just so raw.

Talking about raw, when Chen Kun let out those husky raw throaty voice during the scene when he begged his father to give him his mother... and I believe a couple more times after. In all my years of drama watching, I have not seen any actors uses that type of vocal at all. I was so impressive with Chen Kun once again. This man got my upmost respect!

 

5 hours ago, Pollen Ainne said:

  Hide contents

...ending episode...

I finally finished and I have to say the last few episodes feels like a PowerPoint. It's was like bam, misunderstanding, bam confrontation, bam confession, bam suicide, bam I'm alone. There's little to no padding at all. No details, no depth, no afterthought. Ah, I really need that rumored 90 episodes of contents. It would've been nice to not feel like FZW suddenly lost her smart mind and is just a damsel who get tricked so easily.

 

 

Guys I'm so sad there's no more to look forward to in the weeks to come. TT^TT

[tendrilsofwind]

38 minutes ago, aisama said:

The way they killed off Hua Qiong is so... wrong. I... I'm just so disappointed. She's such a strong character. She should have had a better end.

 

Talking about raw, when Chen Kun let out those husky raw throaty voice during the scene when he begged his father to give him his mother... and I believe a couple more times after. In all my years of drama watching, I have not seen any actors uses that type of vocal at all. I was so impressive with Chen Kun once again. This man got my upmost respect!

 

Guys I'm so sad there's no more to look forward to in the weeks to come. TT^TT

 

People have pictures of Hua Qiong filming a different ending. Wang Ou also seems a little upset that they went with this cut for her character. 

 

After this show I have decided to stan Ni Ni and Chen Kun. They are so good. Ni Ni just makes her character so natural. Anyone else might have made FZW feel a little contrived. And the intensity in Chen Kun's eyes when he stabbed that rebel and when he was threatening his father was so hot. Idk what that says about me, but he really was so attractive in those scenes. I desperately want to rewatch and check out the English subs, but I am so busy 

[Pollen Ainne]

3 hours ago, haruhi17 said:

Yeah, i thought the beginning episodes were too detailed with plot of overthrowing the Crown Prince.  There were so many episodes that i felt dwelled too much on it.  And then towards the end of the show, I felt like i'm missing important details to explain a lot of scenes.  Oh well, i guess we can't have everything with this drama.  Lol.

The ending definitely felt rushed which is why they completely forgot about Hua Qiong. I think it was fine up until episode 63 and then suddenly the series moved in such a fast pace trying to end everything in 7 episodes. The rush was really bad that the last thing we saw of the 7th prince was him making his wife become unconscious and him talking to Yueling as if they have a plan but the next thing you know is that Yueling is captured and the wife is with the King... I mean I get that Yueling was involved with the killing of Helian Zheng but I was so sure she was gonna use the 7th prince for something... but nothing happened. lol!

 

As for the beard, I am pretty sure there was a passage of time. You cannot have the crowning ceremony held without a waiting period especially since the emperor is thought to be dead. So there has to be some months for mourning. This was probably also the reason why the King of Jinshi could not go home right away. Would have been disrespectful. I am thinking maybe at least 3 months.

 

 

[Pollen Ainne]

2 hours ago, aisama said:

I love the beginning and the detailed plotting! It really fleshes out the crown prince, not just his motives but also as a person. It also helps to establish the changs side of the family. Which I find did a better job than the minhai arc, even though good, which failed to really details the scale of power the changs have over minhai.
 

Rarely is there a drama I enjoy watching the beginning more than the end like this one. Especially political focus drama like this. Usually I find most drama is too slow and boring at the beginning, so when I rewatch I usually just start in the middle where the actions and story really pick up. But, this one is the opposite.

 

 

Talking about raw, when Chen Kun let out those husky raw throaty voice during the scene when he begged his father to give him his mother... and I believe a couple more times after. In all my years of drama watching, I have not seen any actors uses that type of vocal at all. I was so impressive with Chen Kun once again. This man got my upmost respect!

 

I finally finished and I have to say the last few episodes feels like a PowerPoint. It's was like bam, misunderstanding, bam confrontation, bam confession, bam suicide, bam I'm alone. There's little to no padding at all. No details, no depth, no afterthought. Ah, I really need that rumored 90 episodes of contents. It would've been nice to not feel like FZW suddenly lost her smart mind and is just a damsel who get tricked so easily.

 

 

Guys I'm so sad there's no more to look forward to in the weeks to come. TT^TT

Yes! Everything up to episode 48 or so I think I have re-watched so many many times. The Minhai arc definitely had some editing problems, like the important parts only shown in a flashback. That surprised me a bit because there was more less important parts they could have taken down instead of rushing how Ning Yi confronted Zhongxin, which I believe was the more important part. And then the war was like... Zhongxin being confident one moment and the next scene they have basically lost. I didn't understand how that war actually went.

 

But still the Minhai arc is my favorite when in came to the relationship of our couple. That was the only time they were truly happy and looking towards the future with bright dreams. They did not have to give up anything to be together, their future was so bright, but it ended so cruelly.

 

As for Chen Kun, he is so great. I think his portrayal of Ning Yi made the entire show more enjoyable. I actually am not sure I would make it past the first few episodes without his over the top portrayal of the prince that intrigued me so much. Since political intrigue is not my thing most of the time. 

 

And Ni Ni as Feng Zhiwei as well made me watch through the endless struggles whilst knowing it will end badly for them. Because I loved her. It is rare that I like female leads in dramas. I usually just hope they are someone I can tolerate. But I was rooting so much for this couple the entire time. I loved their characters and the way they were portrayed. It was only towards the end that I got frustrated with them... mostly of Zhiwei before the subs because I only understood that she got tricked, and a lot with Ning Yi after the subs. I actually blame a lot on Ning Yi in the last 7 episodes which is why I wish his mother was dead when he was eight.

 

And I laugh at the PowerPoint thing because that seems to be so accurate. But I do blame Ning Yi more for the misunderstandings, now that I understand the dialogue. He was the first one not to trust her. I remember that Zhiwei despite everything, believed in Ning Yi 100% which made Helian Zheng so jealous. But when it came to Ning Yi's turn, he questioned her. He wasn't sure of her because she was now Queen of Jinshi. I was so angry at Ning Yi at that. How can Zhiwei continue to trust him when she felt that she had lost his faith? At least even in the beginning when he would not trust Zhiwei with any of his plans, he trusted that she would not betray him. But even Ning Cheng believed in Zhiwei and Ning Yi refuted him. It made me so angry! It was understandable that Zhiwei would become lost afterwards, Ning Yi was playing a push and pull game with her, and she was just what? 20? She might be smart, but Ning Yi really hurt her.