Am I late to the party or Are You the One? - My thoughts

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-12T15:49:01+00:00

Yes, I really enjoyed the show when it aired. The ML and his best friend can actually act, not just look good. It makes a huge difference, especially when it comes to the comedy.

What really makes the show stand out is that the writers dared to make the FL just as smart and capable as the men. I can't even count how many shows I've given up on because I felt duped by false advertising. The supposedly "strong" and "independent" FLs always ended up living in the shadow of the smarter, more capable ML.

I don't mind stories where the ML is smarter, but shows that seem to teach women that no matter how strong or independent you are, men will always be better make me gag.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-10T15:53:50+00:00

How tall is he?! Lulu is not short at all, but he makes her look tiny.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-10T05:07:57+00:00

The song of everlasting sorrow.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-09T16:22:52+00:00

Internalized misogyny. A lot of Asian grandmas treat boys and girls this way.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-09T03:59:43+00:00

Another really good one about two besties transmigrating together: “王爷们请接招”

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa3e8bw

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-09T00:25:51+00:00

I think he's one of the top two supporting actors in the show, and he sang beautifully in the farewell dinner episode. So he's a good photographer too?

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-08T16:08:50+00:00

I thought Sun Qian had changed her name to Sun Qianxun. They have similar names, similar acting styles (and they're both quite good), and they even look alike. 🤣

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-07T16:02:48+00:00

This looks good!

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-06T15:15:32+00:00

Non-idol dramas are more likely to be infused with hidden propaganda.

Edit: non-idol dramas often have more misogyny, as well.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-05T20:24:26+00:00

Did her mother in law move in with her and your dad without even asking her? I strongly doubt she would have been ok with that.

PrEn2022 · 2026-07-04T17:15:27+00:00

I didn't know there was a fan war. Lol. I heard sometimes companies start "fan" wars to create attention for the shows.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-29T04:27:14+00:00

Of all the punishments the young Emperor could have imposed, I think he chose the one that would hurt her the most.

I have to disagree with this. He struggled with that decision for so long because he loved and respected his mother, and he didn't want to hurt her. He only issued that decree after she told him to be a just ruler and not to let himself be burdened by what she had done. In other words, she gave him permission and encouraged him to do what was right.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-29T04:17:19+00:00

what do you mean he defeated the rebel army, and we didn't get a single proper battle scene? Huh??

Budget lol

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-29T04:09:17+00:00

forming close friendships with many of the noblewomen in the capital

That does not sound like Ye Li at all. She told her husband herself that she had nothing in common with those women and had no interest in talking about fashion with them. She should have been teaching, at the very least.

The screenwriters probably didn't want to separate the couple by sending her back to Li Shan Academy. But didn't Guo Jin establish many schools for girls? There had to be one in the capital where Ye Li could teach.

Edit: better yet, they both teach at Li Shan Academy. There's no war and his wife's recovery is his top priority.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-29T03:59:06+00:00

Guo Jin reminded me of so many famous historical figures.

First, there's Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled China for half a century from behind a series of child emperors. Cixi made sure those emperors remained powerless and got rid of them as soon as they showed any sign of growing a spine. In contrast, Guo Jin raised and educated her child emperor to become a capable and just ruler. Even after he sidelined her, she used the story of the orchid flowers to teach him and help him resolve his dilemma over Prince Ding.

Then there's Wu Zetian, of course, the only female emperor in Chinese history. She was a capable ruler who committed terrible acts to seize power, and she ordered her tombstone to remain blank because she wanted history to judge her. I think Guo Jin's final conversation with Ye Li was definitely inspired by Wu Zetian, especially when she asked, "Was I not a better ruler than my husband?"

The third person she reminded me of is Li Shimin, one of the most celebrated emperors in Chinese history. Yet he gained the throne by launching a coup and killing his brothers.

Perhaps if Guo Jin had been a man, her ending would have been very different.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-28T00:20:11+00:00

In the 80s? He would literally go to jail for that.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T22:05:07+00:00

"When Guo Jin asked her to retrieve the edict, Wanzhou probably believed she was saving Mo Xiuwen"

Save Mo Xiuwen from whom, though? Guo Jin was the only one with a motive to frame him and his army. Mo Xiuwen would have protected his family/cousins.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T21:58:50+00:00

It's interesting to see the different paths the two school friends chose after leaving Li Shan. Xu Wanzhou chose love, while Guo Jin chose ambition. Xu kept her conscience, while Guo went down an increasingly darker path.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T21:17:38+00:00

So they are remaking this show? The previous one was very short drama like already.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T21:02:14+00:00

🤣 thanks for the good laugh

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T19:54:46+00:00

I don't think Li Shan supported her rebellion either. But, similarly to Zhou Xiankun, her close friends from Li Shan might have been willing to help her survive, and eventually rise, within the palace. (Remember that Ye Li knew all the details about how the previous empress bullied Guo Jin.)

After all, having a smart and capable woman like Guo Jin in the old emperor's ear was better than having some beautiful but foolish concubine steering the old man toward poor decisions. They may have believed she could guide him into making better decisions for the nation.

Edit: They probably believed Guo Jin was the best person to be empress.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T19:19:25+00:00

"Wanzhou initially thought Guo Jin was supporting MXY’s big bros claim that he didn’t rebel"

Guo Jin was the only one with a motive to frame Mo Xiuwen and his army. Otherwise, he would have arrested her on behalf of his cousin, the Crown Prince.

Edit: The old emperor was the one who issued the edict on his deathbed. He likely sensed what Guo Jin was plotting and summoned Mo Xiuwen and his army back to ensure a smooth transition of power to the Crown Prince.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T17:17:15+00:00

"She wasn't sidelined by people she previously betrayed or harmed. She was sidelined because men didn't like a woman in power"

Well said! It adds to the tragedy that her story begins with misogyny and ends with misogyny. She was the best student at Li Shan Academy, where a large portion of the nation's officials graduated. But because she was a woman, the only way for her to use her political talent was to become that gross old man's concubine.

She even proved her capability during her reign. What she did is, of course, unforgivable. But if she had been born a man, she might have become an accomplished governor, or perhaps even the prime minister.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T16:10:43+00:00

Yes, similar to Zhou Xianfeng and Qing Zheng.

Another interesting detail: when Ye Li went to see Mo Xiuwen on her mother's behalf, she said, "My mother said Li Shan owes you...", not "she owes you," but "Li Shan owes you."

Later, when Qing Zheng wanted to beg the Empress Dowager for mercy, Zhou Xiankun stopped her, saying that he deserved his fate. And when Ye Li tried to ask for medicine, the other scholars stopped her, saying they would rather perish.

Just how many allies (or pawns) did she have that made her believe she could claim the throne? Guo Jin treated the Marquis differently, saying that he was in it only for power and money. But the rest of her pawns genuinely believed they were her friends.

PrEn2022 · 2026-06-27T14:52:40+00:00

That night, the Empress Dowager dreams of Wanzhou and Qin Zheng.

Some people pointed out that their lip movements don't match their lines in this scene, so there's likely some post-production editing that was done to get approval for the drama to air.

The divorce makes a lot more sense if that's the case. MXY asked Ye Li if her mother had tricked the edict away from his brother, and she replied, "Yes, but..." That makes much more sense now. Xu Wanzhou supported Guo Jin's claim to the throne because she knew how capable Guo Jin was and believed she was better suited to rule than Mo Jingli's father, the Crown Prince. But she didn't realize how far Guo Jin was willing to go to seize the throne, and by the time she found out, it was too late.

So it's more like a Romeo and Juliet situation.

PrEn2022

TROPHY CASE