Liri's Archive

I found the Emperor to be portrayed well. I was kind of annoyed by him for most of the show, but the ending redeemed him because it reframed his entire arc by showing his growth as a ruler. He was mistrustful and frankly lacked sensibility and judgement, but he ended the show actually reflecting on these faults.

I think we saw parallels of how he grew from two particular scenes. The first was his conversation with MXY in the very beginning, where he refused to take responsibility of Yuan Fang's death and ended up blaming MXY for the past. The next conversation was between him and Duke Hua, where he was finally willing to admit his role in everything that went wrong and sought guidance instead. I think his growth was realistic for a teen emperor and liked how he was handled.

The Empress Dowager was.. unremarkable. I liked how, in her final moments, no one paid her any attention because she was frankly not worth any. If our leads had actively tried to counter her, I would've felt bad because she never deserved such effort anyway.

I think she kept excusing her own awful actions throughout her life because she always saw herself as the oppressed instead of the oppressor. yes, things were definitely hard for her as a woman and a consort, but she was so absorbed in that injustice that she never saw the injustice she inflicted upon others.

She could've been a very compelling villain indeed if she just had more agency. I think the reason she just seemed lukewarm all the time is because she only reacted (very mildly if i say so) to the events happening around her instead of actively shaping the narrative. If she had shown even a bit more agency (like actively sabotaging MXY and Ye Li) then she would have been received a Lot better.

Moving on to Prince Cicada... I have nothing good to say about him or his character. The show framed him as a tragic villain but it just didn't land. He was annoying from start to finish and I didn't feel any emotions other than irritation watching him.

They tried to give him a tragic backstory and even let him perform a smart maneuver or two to make him more 3D, but he stayed totally one dimensional for me.

In fact, during his demise scene, all I could think about was Shen Yurong from The Double. Now THAT was an impactful last scene for a truly three dimensional character. His actions made sense, his death made sense.

But I digress. Coming back to Mo Jingli, my first and last impression of him was his whining by the pond. Enough said.

(Not gonna spare more than 2 sentences on Ye Ying because just when I thought she finally gathered herself she went right back to being mindless. I would have appreciated seeing more of Han Mingxi instead but they sort of abandoned him and I'm still a little salty about it)

Now, MXY. Well, i loved MXY. He was graceful, patient, intelligent, strong and composed throughout the show. I especially liked how he treated Ye Li's mental illness with such patience and love. What I didn't like however was his Sorely Dimished screen time in the last half. I mean... isn't he supposed to be the ML? Why were we shown only sparse scenes of his campaign against the rebels? Why did we see an extended fight between Duke Hua and Mo Jingli?

They spent the entire show proving to us that he is this legendary General. But they ended up making him so OP that they diminished his character (and screen time) completely 🥲

(On a side note I have to give credit where its due. Cheng Lei once again did a phenomenal job. He was Excellent at emoting MXY throughout. What a powerhouse actor.)

And finally, Ye Li. I... I wanted so much more for her, you know? She immediately climbed the ranks to become my favorite FL in first 4 episodes, but her character gradually kept shrinking, somehow. Her drive in the initial episodes was so passionate, but it seemed like she lost that by the end.

To give some examples of what I mean.

At first, Ye Li came down from the mountain really spirited. She had goals like taking revenge, helping Prince Ding household, running a business etc. As she fulfilled those goals, she never found any new ones. She just kind of became very empty, like she no longer had any interest in the world around her. I do understand that she had some really tough mental struggles (which were handled very well i must say) and that would have led to her needing a break from purpose itself, but I was hoping for her to heal at least marginally by the end of the show.

Even her relationship with MXY. At first, she took initiative to get closer to him. She was determined to light up his life. But as they closer, it seemed like Ye Li became more and more withdrawn. MXY remained her anchor, yes, but it felt like she retreated into her mind.

I mean, the girl was running around everyday, growing rocks, stealing cutting trees, fighting bullies with her nephew, doing children's homework, holding banquets for her staff, running her shop, bickering with Mingxi, offering sweets to MXY, telling him stories etc. etc. And by the end of the show, we see her doing absolutely nothing except reacting to events around her. Again, the same thing as ED: they took away her agency.

She only seemed a little alive when she impulsively took a horse to go all the way to Suixue Pass to find MXY. And thats the one scene I really liked, because she had agency in those moments again.

Right speaking of our Main CP. They started out so well. And I hate to say it but their relationship kind of lost momentum. I usually love domestic couples whose relationship is boring and safe, but I felt like MXY and YL didn't even have that (i think partly because they never got to.. be truly real with each other? At first they were suspicious, then later ye li had a Lot going on and when there were finally no secrets, MXY was sent off to battle :/) I think in the last stretch they kind of sidelined those two to focus on wrapping up other people's plotlines and ended up with two people who were just reacting to these events (and by extension, each other).