I had fun reading your impressions from this post because it makes me feel better with having similar thoughts. I have been examining if my justification has made sense logically in how I see that despite Prince Huaiyang's lies, I understand why he did what he did (I mean it's kind of similar to Xiang Liu from LOST YOU FOREVER when he encountered Xiao Yao and he had to take precautions). Therefore I was more inclined to forgive him for the measures he took.
In some of the discussion forums of Reddit and My Drama List, I came across some very strong feelings about how Xingzhou lying to amnesic Miantang was unacceptable of a love story, and that the comedy of the drama undermines the severity of Xingzhou’s deception. Interesting enough because the discussion than veered towards how this storyline could be accepted with the lies from Prince Huaiyang if the drama knows these are bad behaviors and sets this up. Which is contradicting to me since it feels like we know from the get-go that Xingzhou lying is terrible. He knows it’s awful, but it’s one of those things he considers for the greater good, considering he was nearly assassinated by Lu Wen. Then those around him also tell him he’s terrible for doing that too but they also turn a blind eye for a great cause of the mission. I don’t think he’s a bad guy either. Is what he did ethically okay? No. We can all agree on that. He is not someone terrible, because I imagine if Miantang was found by anyone else, her fate would have been so much worse. She could have suffered in the hands of much more malicious people even simply because of her beauty (as the drama mentions several times) to awful people such as Prince Sui’s and Yuner’s men, General Shi, or overall, just terrible people. We know Xingzhou, being some sort of feudal lord, could have easily just made sure she was kept alive just enough to torture information out of her without having to go the length he did to ensure she got better. He’s capable otherwise such as in one of the scenes where we see him dunking a prisoner upside into a basin of water to extract information. He also could have taken advantage of LMT, but that was something I appreciated the show for not doing…compared to in the novel. Not justifying that he exploited someone when they were vulnerable is okay, but for the sake of fictional drama and knowing his position, I can understand and can forgive this for storytelling purpose.
We see the change in him for the better too. I could write an essay on loving his character growth and also gush about Zhang Wanyi, but that's for another day. He nailed this role for me. I cannot see anyone else bringing Xingzhou to life but him now.
On a different note, I absolutely loveeee your word choices, thoughts, syntax, and references when you write. I wish I could write as intellectually and emphatically as you with how you structure your thoughts. I’ll see you again as you continue to catch up on more episodes.
One of the roles of fiction is to play out scenarios that don't normally take place in real life to show the consequences of certain choices. There's a didactic purpose in this kind of storytelling which is common in Chinese folk tales. The trickster is also a popular archetype as seen in The Journey to the West's Sun Wukong (Monkey). In extraordinary situations, extraordinary people with out of the box thinking are needed.
I'm not a fan of performative activism. Just because you like a story and characters doesn't mean you have to like or approve of everything that's being shown or done.
The thing is Cui Xingzhou treats her better than he needs to given the circumstances and that's because he's genuinely in love with her. He's giving her property and leaving her a thriving business to live off. He could have let her die on a number occasions. We also need to remember that this show is set in a particular historical context with particular sensibilities.
I agree with all the above and beyond. My thoughts are the same in that CXZ definitely treated her better from the start, and I think part of it is because of his conscience too.
I won't make this too lengthy since I feel we'll see your posts again on the next set of episodes you do watch. I am going to fangirl and gush over your writing now. HAHAH. Take care and see you again soon here!
I had fun reading your impressions from this post because it makes me feel better with having similar thoughts. I have been examining if my justification has made sense logically in how I see that despite Prince Huaiyang's lies, I understand why he did what he did (I mean it's kind of similar to Xiang Liu from LOST YOU FOREVER when he encountered Xiao Yao and he had to take precautions). Therefore I was more inclined to forgive him for the measures he took.
In some of the discussion forums of Reddit and My Drama List, I came across some very strong feelings about how Xingzhou lying to amnesic Miantang was unacceptable of a love story, and that the comedy of the drama undermines the severity of Xingzhou’s deception. Interesting enough because the discussion than veered towards how this storyline could be accepted with the lies from Prince Huaiyang if the drama knows these are bad behaviors and sets this up. Which is contradicting to me since it feels like we know from the get-go that Xingzhou lying is terrible. He knows it’s awful, but it’s one of those things he considers for the greater good, considering he was nearly assassinated by Lu Wen. Then those around him also tell him he’s terrible for doing that too but they also turn a blind eye for a great cause of the mission. I don’t think he’s a bad guy either. Is what he did ethically okay? No. We can all agree on that. He is not someone terrible, because I imagine if Miantang was found by anyone else, her fate would have been so much worse. She could have suffered in the hands of much more malicious people even simply because of her beauty (as the drama mentions several times) to awful people such as Prince Sui’s and Yuner’s men, General Shi, or overall, just terrible people. We know Xingzhou, being some sort of feudal lord, could have easily just made sure she was kept alive just enough to torture information out of her without having to go the length he did to ensure she got better. He’s capable otherwise such as in one of the scenes where we see him dunking a prisoner upside into a basin of water to extract information. He also could have taken advantage of LMT, but that was something I appreciated the show for not doing…compared to in the novel. Not justifying that he exploited someone when they were vulnerable is okay, but for the sake of fictional drama and knowing his position, I can understand and can forgive this for storytelling purpose.
We see the change in him for the better too. I could write an essay on loving his character growth and also gush about Zhang Wanyi, but that's for another day. He nailed this role for me. I cannot see anyone else bringing Xingzhou to life but him now.
On a different note, I absolutely loveeee your word choices, thoughts, syntax, and references when you write. I wish I could write as intellectually and emphatically as you with how you structure your thoughts. I’ll see you again as you continue to catch up on more episodes.
One of the roles of fiction is to play out scenarios that don't normally take place in real life to show the consequences of certain choices. There's a didactic purpose in this kind of storytelling which is common in Chinese folk tales. The trickster is also a popular archetype as seen in The Journey to the West's Sun Wukong (Monkey). In extraordinary situations, extraordinary people with out of the box thinking are needed.
I'm not a fan of performative activism. Just because you like a story and characters doesn't mean you have to like or approve of everything that's being shown or done.
The thing is Cui Xingzhou treats her better than he needs to given the circumstances and that's because he's genuinely in love with her. He's giving her property and leaving her a thriving business to live off. He could have let her die on a number occasions. We also need to remember that this show is set in a particular historical context with particular sensibilities.
I agree with all the above and beyond. My thoughts are the same in that CXZ definitely treated her better from the start, and I think part of it is because of his conscience too.
I won't make this too lengthy since I feel we'll see your posts again on the next set of episodes you do watch. I am going to fangirl and gush over your writing now. HAHAH. Take care and see you again soon here!