[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] I Will Never Let You Go / Legend of Huo Buo 小女花不弃

[vtxy]

Here's the start of my comparison between the drama and novel for those who are interested, sorry it took so long!

 

I didn’t actually read the first half of the novel as I only started reading while I was waiting for the episodes (after ep 21) to be broadcast. But from the comments online, it seems like the drama was very similar to the novel in the beginning so I won’t go back to read it.

 

I guess there’s also the whole time travel background in the novel that wasn’t brought over to the drama, so to give a bit of context, MRF and BQ were from modern times and while they had no blood ties (I think) and their relationship was rather dysfunctional, maybe even abusive, they could only rely on each other. They time travelled back into the past after falling from a cliff.

 

The differences between the novel and drama based on what I read starts from the desert. I don’t think its possible to write everything down so I’ll just do a point form post and hope it makes sense hahaha.

-          DFS finds BQ in the desert, but BQ gets kidnapped by the bandits.

-          CY comes across her while chasing the bandits  and saves her, getting injured in the process. He asks BQ to stay hidden behind a boulder while he leads the bandits away but she runs after him (but didn’t find him) when she realised he is injured.

-          CY goes back to find her but BQ is already gone. DFS comes across CY and they agree to collaborate to deal with the bandits (and succeeds).

 

[Sidenote: So in the novel, the 3 of them are never together in the desert at the same time like it was depicted in the drama. And LQW didn’t appear at all.]

 

-          Back to BQ, she wakes up in a manor. She only remembers meeting some troops and showing them the pendant CY gives to her. Turns out they were his men and she was lucky to meet them.

-          BQ wants to leave to find Zhu Shou (ZS) but Xiao Liu (XL) doesn’t trust her and forbids her from leaving. They start to bicker and XL starts talking about how LQW is much better than her. BQ is unhappy but their quarrelling scene is funny (she talks about how she’ll let LQW be CY’s concubine and make LQW wait on her daily). BQ also gets to know that CY is injured and unconscious.

-          While XL is away, BQ escapes. CY wakes up and goes to look for BQ after realising she is not at the manor anymore.

-          CY heads to DFS’ gambling den and finds BQ (who is there to look for ZS). He acts like he hasn’t seen her since she ‘died’ and that they are still siblings. BQ is still angry at him but he makes use of the ‘reunion’ to hug her.

-          The scene in the drama about whether BQ is still a virgin then happens.

 

[Sidenote: The scenes in the drama where LQW stays in the manor are all made up. Which is disappointing because the added scenes only serve to tarnish CY’s character.]

 

-          BQ leaves the gambling den first in her carriage and CY follows after her. After some to and fro, CY bluffs that he’s injured and BQ gives in and goes to CY’s carriage.

-          BQ follows CY to his main manor (the previous one was just a small one in another state). DFS follows to try find out if CY is LYK. He sees CY’s old arrow scar from LQW and realises the truth but leaves to settle other issues first.

-          BQ then heads to CY’s room, telling XL to stand guard and when XL says that CY needs rest, she says that she knows and is going to sleep with him (in the literal sense). [hahaha XL is shocked and although this wasn’t in the drama, I can just imagine it!]

-          CY and BQ talks about eloping but after CY prepares the belongings for her, the part where CY pretends to be arrested happens.

 

Oops this is taking way too long. At this rate I’ll never finish hahaha. I think I have to make it even more high level sorry. Will post this part first and then continue in a separate post these few days!

 

Not tagging anyone yet since I haven’t finished, but for my own memory’s sake I think some that expressed interest in how the novel ends were themarchioness, luna2nd and taeunfighting and baibi hollister. Will tag you guys when I’m done

[biancardi]

@vtxyplease tag me as well!!  thank you so much for taking the time to break down the differences.  The more I think about this series, the more it goes into my biggest disappointment pile - but with the best male performance from Austin Lin

[SueWas]

This so needed a better ending.  IN MY ENDING THE SAGA CONTINUES..: 

 

The two fighters land safely into a mechanized, magical dimension which long ago lost it's queen-in-waiting (Buqi's ancestor) who had gone up through the rift/well seeking adventure.  She fell in love with a mortal and stayed.   An aging, near-mortal dowager mother ruled.  The dowager sent the map and ball up to help her wayward daughter find her way back home.  So the centuries churned to the present heroine, Buqi.  That dimensional world is in a sorry state, waning as the dowager empresses' health and magic wanes.  Only a younger, bloodline empress can revive the  failing kingdom tied magically into her DNA.

 

The two fallen fighters end up challenging each other there.  The evil one aligns with a sect that wants to end the matriarchy with manipulated DNA needing Baqi's young blood to activate a male heir and make the kingdom a patriarchy with the evil one as its minister.   Chen aligns with the dowager empresses' forces.  So the adventure plays out there with Chen fighting to preserve the right of Buqi to rule as the blood line empress.  A woman spy working with the evil ones of course falls in love with him and ends up helping him. Many people die on both sides.   

 

Ultimately the Dowager, struck down by an assassin, on her last breath and magical essense sends Chen topside to find Buqui who is pretending to be the "BLACK KNIGHT".   He takes her back to the other dimension where she helps fight (yes, she receives her birthright martial arts skills when she arrives) and ultimately  defeat the evil forces.  They then have a magnificent wedding in a restored land that beautifully awakens upon her crowning.   And they live happily, romantically  ever after ..... having many sons who go out to seek their fortune and ultimately many granddaughters who rule that kingdom for generations until..... a bloodline great... granddaughter, a top martial artist who retains her skills, decides  to go topside  into the 21st century and greet  a different fate, a different mate,  and a different adventure than the one she was born to...  

[babysiew]

starting to watch this!!!  ep 2 now! 

[SHT L]

Does anyone else think if the writers were more "aware" or had a deeper message about the toxicity of obsessiveness of unrequited love, that the title of this drama would be purposefully ironic. Like we imagined CY and BQ saying "I will never let you go" to each other, and for good reason as they had been needlessly separated so many times that when they see each other and are finally settled they can say that to each other finally. However, I feel like the title is more appropriate for DFS's attitude towards BQ and LQW's attitude towards CY. I mean how many times can BQ and CY explicitly declare that they do not love them? How many times does a girl/guy have to say no? They certainly refused to let go of their one-sided love and took any piece of basic human decency expressed by BQ and CY towards them as "love nuggets" (to borrow a phrase from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) where they took any signs of basic human affection or niceness as evidence of deep love. Talk about toxic.

 

Conversely, Cousin Yun Lang accepted BQ didn't like him and though he still stubbornly did certain things out of his one-sided love, he never put BQ in a position to force her to be with him or even be in his company. He accepted it but still acted in a way due to his love for her. That was more of a "him" problem that he needed to deal with later and he never harmed BQ  while acting out his one-sided love. He did harm that other girl and dragged her along a bit, but that was a "her" problem as she created her own mess, forced him into an engagement (thankfully she let it go), and he never lied to her about his feelings for BQ.

 

I sort of wish they explored what "love" actually was and how LQW and DFS's attitudes towards love was unhealthy and wrong due to them being seriously starved for love and affection in their upbringing. I also wish the writers played the audience a bit by seeing how many of them started falling for DFS when he was charming and winning despite the fact that all of his actions were committed without BQ's consent and how she NEVER asked him to do some of the nice things he did (after he put her in bad situations in the first place and practically held her hostage). 

 

Basically, I would kill for these C-dramas to one day take mature approaches and really dissect the actions of these people who behave badly in the name of love and actually make the takeaway messages more explicit. I know you can still analyze these people and come up with the same conclusions, but it'd be nice if the show did some of that work too and make the characters realize it and actually deal with the consequences without just being killed or whatever.

[J13]

This drama was quiet disappointing.. I was hooked at the start and could not wait for the next episode to air but then the storyline started to drag and there were some frustrating aspects which a lot of people have already highlighted. I did think I'd just stick it out until the end but after reading numerous comments, I'm glad I didn't end up watching the last 2 episodes. 

 

It's always disappointing and unfortunate when a drama starts out so strong and then starts to drag, gets hit with a bunch of random editing cuts and the overall storyline starts to become odd and frustrating in more ways than one. I agree this happens to a lot of cdramas and am confused as to why lol

 

The biggest highlight of this drama for me was Ariel Lin and ZBB's chemistry together. Both are incredibly good actors who always bring their characters to life and make them their own. Should've just given us a drama full of sweet scenes between the two lol

 

Thanks @themarchioness for recapping too! I was constantly stalking this forum waiting for your posts when this drama was actually airing so thank you for your time! 

[SHT L]

On 3/18/2019 at 2:32 PM, biancardi said:

yeah, this was not a happy ending.  If they followed the novel, it would have been a happy ending.  As it is, if Chen Yu is alive (which I am thinking NOT), how can they live with themselves, knowing that they were the cause of so many deaths?

 

 

 

IMO, YC and BQ didn't really cause those deaths. Every character who died caused their own deaths or contributed to it in some way. They knew what they were getting themselves into by acting the way they did. No character was completely innocent except for Xiao Xia, which was the only death I was truly sad for because her death was totally avoidable.* If anything, the biggest takeaway is that all this plotting and scheming for revenge, and holding on to past resentments/anger will create great harm that will last beyond your generation. And that some times justice isn't served.

 

Honestly, BQ and CY cannot be blamed any of the deaths, especially DFS. DFS death was caused by one person and one person only, his grandfather. DFS already had a death wish by going through with a badly thought up rebellion with alliances made by coercion and threats as opposed to truly grassroots movements and sincere feelings to overthrow the Emperor. No wonder it was so easy for CY to exploit the weakness and dismantle the rebellion after ONE battle that turned things around. The rebellion wasn't even noble either, so I don't see why CY couldn't be loyal to the Emperor. The only reason they wanted to overthrow the Emperor wasn't for this feeling to create a better society but it was all for entitlement and greed for each participant's own ends. They didn't care about the common people. This part was probably added to appease the current Chinese regime, but CY wasn't misguided in staying loyal to the Emperor as he turned out not to be bad after all the threats stopped and thus ending the need for high taxation and horses. Sure he has bad taste in women and people walk on glass when they talk to him, and he's a schemer who makes other people suffer for his own gain, but you know...who didn't do that in this show? None of that would have stopped with DFS in power.

 

Also, regarding BQ marrying DFS only to cause his death...that was all on DFS. She didn't cause his death really, and that plan was stupid because his grandfather already told DFS that even though he would have married the maiden because he "fell in love with her", he still would have sacrificed her. What made DFS think BQ would have been treated differently just because she married into the family? Grandfather didn't care. Anyway, BQ was strong-armed into marrying DFS who pretty much lied about how his grandfather would react to it and that he would spare her because of it. DFS just wanted to marry her and then keep her married to him through his wits and powers of coercion. I mean, DFS was the one who wanted the marriage to happen. How many times does a girl have to tell a man she's not interested and it's not her fault if DFS put her in danger to save her. She never asked him to do any thing and she doesn't owe him anything. DFS was acting like an incel. 

 

* Regarding, Xiao Xia's sad death. Honestly, if she was THAT devoted to being a Zhu bodyguard and if she was happy that BQ's existence gave her a purpose in life because she had career aspirations and NEEDED to be a protector with her own lady, then she probably would have died some time later anyway...maybe a rival house who wants to kill the new Zhu heir. Let's face it, Xiao Xia wasn't very good at her job and her martial arts left a lot to be desired. She found more purpose in being a bodyguard than being a wife (nothing wrong with that!) so she couldn't be with YC anyway. Then there's the whole thing about her lowly status and his family most likely not being ok with it.

[English Tofu]

On 1/16/2019 at 12:22 PM, turtle0217 said:

but

No amount of crappy ending can take away the amount of zhang bin bin visuals I got from this drama.