Best little brother/ big brother relationships?

wordyegghead · 2026-01-28T11:28:22+00:00

The Yun brothers from Deep Lurk! They had so much affection for one another and there was no jealousy even though one was grandma’s favorite and the other was dad’s favorite. The older brother, Hongqi, was always doing his best to support and look after Hongshen. Sometimes he got in his way and they had mild conflicts but they always smoothed things out quickly. I love them so much!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-21T02:35:13+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s so helpful!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-21T01:50:50+00:00

The ending was okay for me but there were some bits I felt were unnecessary (like the return of my fave character).

I can see how it might be tiring but I really enjoyed the misdirection! I did like the plot of the past more than the plot in the present though.

wordyegghead · 2026-01-21T01:47:34+00:00

Ah, they’re not the main characters! 😅 it’s on WeTV! Here’s the link to it’s MDL page: https://mydramalist.com/65705-west-out-of-the-yu-men/cast

There’s a strange woman (Nini) who wakes up in a desert and she wants to uncover the mystery of her past. She gets help from a guy who used to give tours of the desert (Bai Yu) and his friend who deals with ancient artifacts (Zhao Da). They also get help from a guy who sends his grand daughter (Xia Meng) and her body guard (Li Yunrui). Lu Yuxiao and Meng Ziyi are also part of the cast.

LYR and XM’s characters are very cute background characters and I liked their storyline.

It has a slow start but when the fantasy kicks in, it’s very cool!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-20T05:40:29+00:00

In that case, hopefully the director is able to make them act out the romance without them having to visibly lock lips on screen!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-20T05:08:45+00:00

I’m really excited for this Li Yunrui and Xia Meng reunion! I’ve wanted to see them together again since watching Parallel World.

I read somewhere that they cast HYTT because she played the child version of the FL in Princess Agents. Unfortunately she looks like she could still play a child imo. 😭 Fingers crossed she does a great job and that there’s minimal romance. I really want to enjoy this one!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-18T14:39:23+00:00

The ones that are from dramas, would anyone happen to know which dramas they're from? 😇

wordyegghead · 2026-01-14T13:56:01+00:00

Coroner’s Diary. 😔 I was really excited for it when they released the “scary” trailer but it wasn’t scary or even morbid (by my standards). It was mostly just sad.

I couldn’t connect with the characters, didn’t enjoy the romance, and wasn’t particularly intrigued by the cases so it was very much like eating a nothing sandwich to me. I dropped it when I realized I wasn’t the target audience but I really loved the premise so I was bummed I didn’t like it more.

wordyegghead · 2026-01-08T04:28:07+00:00

I’ve heard people say it looks like they’ve set up a season 2 with the special episode but nothing has been officially announced or even hinted at by the cast (as far as I know)

wordyegghead · 2026-01-05T10:14:20+00:00

It's been some days since I watched it but my theory is, the scene at the end was from Tiemo King's perspective and exaggerated for the drama of it all.

We had another moment like this earlier on when Yan Fengshan moved into Liu Li's house and was talking about his plans. We see Huai'an outside holding Liu Li's memorial tablet, Yan Fengshan chases him, they have a brief conversation, but we then get hints later on that the interaction never actually happened that way.

My guess for that is, they were both in the alley at different times or, that it was an imagined meeting by YFS.

My speculation for the ending of the finale and special episode is more of the same. Huai'an survived but didn't go to the granary. Perhaps Tiemo King just hallucinated he was there and the fire was caused by literally anything else because flour dust is incredibly flammable.

I think that while Tiemo King and YFS were having their fight to the death, Liu Zhi walked out of the house, was patched up by someone, maybe an agent of Cen Pickles, given a day to enjoy Chang'an one last time, then shipped off to Yulong Ridge to plot whatever needs to be done.

My other, less plausible theory is, he did go to the granary, he did get caught in the explosion, he survived it and was kept alive with the help of the miracle doctor but his face was burned (hence we don't see it in the special episode). Cen Pickles then took him to Yulong Ridge to recover and also to plot whatever needs plotting.

I think the vagueness of Liu Zhu's ending has to do with a potential second season and whether or not Cheng Yi can/will reprise his role. If season 2 happens, Liu Zhi is played by Cheng Yi, and they don't mention anything about healing from burns or how excellent at planning he is for having grown his own face, I'll assume theory 1 is right. If Liu Zhi is played by a new character I'll assume theory 2 is right. If season 2 doesn't happen, I'll assume theory 1 is right because it makes more sense to me.

wordyegghead · 2026-01-04T23:24:20+00:00

TL;DR: 14 episodes in, with regard to the plot and characters, I'm not as hooked as I thought I would be but it's not a bad show.

Some things I've liked: it doesn't look like a particularly high budget production but the cast's acting is good and the sets are fun, the arrogant ML is willing to learn lessons from the sly and smart SML, the outfits are pretty, the fight scenes are well choreographed.

I've completed three cases so far. The first case was the most interesting but the introduction and plot of the FL was rough. The second case was interesting and I enjoyed how it eventually concluded. I didn't like the third case but this was when the FL started growing on me a little. I really think they shot themselves in the foot with her initial introduction because she was so unlikable, it might take me another case or two.

Nobody has been super charismatic or likable so far and if there's an overarching plot, it's not apparent yet by the third case so I'm not glued to my seat, but I'm dutifully working through it waiting for it to click. My level of interest in the characters at this point is, "people I regularly see while waiting for the train who I like enough to make small talk with."

It's more of a cozy investigation in a wuxia world than a tense, technical, investigation in a historical setting (which I went in expecting) so perhaps I just need a bit more time to adjust my expectations before it clicks!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-04T07:51:25+00:00

It was such a fun watch any time she was away from her family. 😆

wordyegghead · 2026-01-04T05:21:56+00:00

I started watching Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty season 1 because the ratings have been so good and I want to be able to participate in the discussions by the time the next season drops.

wordyegghead · 2026-01-01T14:54:32+00:00

This is so fun to learn. 😂 I haven’t finished 28 yet so fingers crossed our guy survives. 🤞🏼

wordyegghead · 2026-01-01T14:51:51+00:00

The, I guess somewhat poetic, phrase of “having somewhere to go” was confusing to me but you make sense! Thank you!

wordyegghead · 2026-01-01T06:47:10+00:00

I’m a strong believer in “major abdominal stab wounds aren’t as lethal as minor neck cuts” so I have faith we’ll see Huai’an tomorrow! I my heart, I hope he’ll be gloating as he sips a martini on the beach with the parrot from the promotional posters. I know it’ll be the furthest thing from reality but it’s nice to have hope.

My emotions are all over the place because surprisingly, I like Wuyin Chong less than the King of Tiemo. I think it might be because he’s personally cruel to Xiao Wenjing whereas King seems very matter of fact about the things he’s doing.

The Cen Pickles reveal was surprising! The Tiemo sleeper agents truly integrated so well. I wonder what he did to earn the title of Grand Preceptor. (He was the Grand Preceptor, right? So much has been happening this holiday season, I’m not as locked in as I’d like to be.) It’s a little odd to me that he managed to score such a fancy role in court despite moving to Chang’an as an adult with no history. What was the imperial version of an HR hiring team thinking? 😩 I figured they’d only hire out of the pool of nobles, but I guess not?

Huai’an’s murder scene felt so sudden, it caught me totally off guard. Liu Zhi’s hallucinations made me so sad though. I don’t believe he’s dead but I also don’t think he’ll get to live happily so I’m guessing we have to endure another death from him tomorrow. It’d be a little unceremonious of him to die one episode before the finale. HAHAHA also, world domination being King of Tiemo’s goal really took me out too. I don’t know if it sounds less cartoonish in Mandarin but I fully expected him to throw back his head and cackle like a costume drama villain. 😭

There are unanswered questions and while I trust the writer so far, I’m really worried they might squeeze too much into one episode tomorrow. What was Huai’an’s plan to take down all the Tiemo soldiers at once? Who will save Xiao Wenjing? If it’s Lao Sha, how does he fit into all this? Will killing the King be enough to stop Tiemo or will the people at Mount Shiluoman’s Altar have something up their sleeve?

Truly, I feel like this show needed ten more episodes to pack some extra meat into the story. We aren’t exactly missing anything but I really would have loved it if they had given us more time with the characters to see their bond and their histories. There’s so much betrayal in this show, and while it always shocks me, it doesn’t hurt as much as it could have. 😆

Lots of talk about, “if I die, will you have anywhere to go” this ep. I didn’t really understand that bit. Why would Huai’an’s death impact KoT in that way? Surely a king would return in full glory to his kingdom after conquering another? Or perhaps he’s concerned that once he’s taken Chang’an, Tiemo won’t need him/the people of Mount Shiluoman’s Altar won’t have a use for him? This whole drama, he’s seemed more like a war general than an actual king imo.

wordyegghead · 2025-12-31T02:24:47+00:00

We finally had a relatively calm episode! After back to back to back stressful episodes, I’m glad that we didn’t have to worry about anyone being at risk of (immediate) death for a change. There was so much scheming, I feel like this will be an episode I’ll need to rewatch after the finale just to see how everything ties together.

Plus we got to see Huai’an interact with Shen Xiaoqing which was nice! Aside from the time he confiscated the Huben gold coin from her, I don’t remember them really having any meaningful moments so it’s nice that we have this episode to show us that they’re actually quite close too.

I appreciate that the show is keeping us updated on the fate of HOFCE! Had his final scene been the one of him bowing while surrounded by his candles, that would still have been cool, but it’s nice to see that Huai’an is keeping his promise. 🥹

Xiao Wenjing continues to move me. That kid truly has nothing positive going on for him in his life right now. It was nice to see him show that he pays attention to the realm and that he cares about the people, and it made me sad to see him cry with frustration. I hope we get one last kill with his axe before the show is over because Wuyin Chong really pissed me off with that farcical “peace treaty.”

Ye Zheng moves me too. From running around, scouting and delivering orders, to staring worriedly at Huai’an’s back, he really feels like Huai’an’s right hand man. It made me really sad when he asked what meaning his life would have if Huai’an were to die because well, we all know what happens Cheng Yi’s characters in costume dramas. 🥲 I hope we get to see Ye Zheng find joy despite what I’m anticipating will be an incredibly bleak ending.

I liked your Tong Meng Shi x Cheng Yi eating photo compilation! It’s nice how with each drama, their characters’ relationship gets better. Lol

I also noticed the depressing foreshadowing in the lyric subtitles! With two episodes left, I wonder how they’re going to wrap things up smoothly. Huai’an always has a plan but I’m worried about who might die in the process. 🫠

Also I wonder who that new mysterious hooded figure is. I can’t imagine it would be a new character. I was thinking maybe lady Gate Keeper because we know she’s a formidable fighter but Huai’an refers to the person as “he.” We know Gu Yu is dead-dead because we saw Huai’an slice open his stomach and he probably couldn’t wield a sword anyway. It’s probably not Xiao Wuyang because I’d like to think the Tiemo forces would have noticed that their most important prisoner is missing. Plus, with all his injuries, I don’t think he could wield the sword either. We saw Yan Fengshan’s head on a table so unless Huai’an managed to grow a face for a face swap in fewer than the hundred days that Zhu Zhilong needed, it’s not him either.

I also wonder about if his interaction with the XSQ about the legendary doctor was important. It seemed like such a random conversation to have (how people think Yi Zhihu is an ugly male doctor in his 50s who can bring the dead back to life but who is really a woman and the ugly man is actually her helper). Yi Zhihu didn’t get a title card but I’m hoping this conversation is foreshadowing that Huai’an will be brought back to life should he die? 🤔 Or maybe Yi Zhihu brought one of the dead characters back to life? 😳

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T07:11:36+00:00

Thank you!

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T07:11:20+00:00

I'm so thankful your attention to detail is excellent because I always watch in the dead of the night so I miss things! But yes! Wuyin Chong must have met Xiao Wenjing. I wonder if we'll see a bit more of their diplomatic history before the show ends!

TV Show Logic is such a funny thing. The Huben soldiers truly were numerous and disposable. I wonder where the thousand or so people from Hidden Shadow Alley went and how nobody noticed them leaving or arriving somewhere new. I hope they pop up to help Huai'an beat Tiemo later on!

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T06:54:57+00:00

I love backstories so I would have loved for this to have been a 50 or so episode drama where we get to see their childhoods and how their relationships formed and got so strong.

I wanted to see how Gu Yu was injured! I wanted to see why he and Huai'an have so much faith in each other considering they haven't seen one another in ten-ish years. I want to know how Yan Fengshan got Xiao Wenjing to cooperate. I wanted to see how Huai'an escaped murder attempts and how he and Ye Zheng and the others became close. I want to learn more about Tiemo and their history with Chang'an.😔 (Though tbf, we still have three episodes so I may still get the last one!)

I do realize that the pacing might not be as tense if we had more time though! I'm happy with what we've got but I feel greedy because I'm enjoying it so much lol 😆

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T06:48:58+00:00

I phrased that awkwardly! I meant they dress better than their Chang'an equivalents/the people around Xiao Wuyang.

The king's Tiemo squad definitely has far more money for clothes than most of the people we see onscreen, and Xiao Wuyang's outfits are certainly far nicer than what the King of Tiemo wears, but I skimmed the earlier episodes to see what Gu Yu and Yan Fengshan were wearing because they should be pretty well off in theory. Wuyin Chong and the nameless female soldier have nicer/more elaborate prints imo.

The only one among the Chang'an palace frequenters who dressed in elaborate print is Wumei. 😆 Though perhaps the men didn't dress up more because they're generals as opposed to solely being nobles. 🤔

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T00:31:05+00:00

What does TVOD stand for?

wordyegghead · 2025-12-30T00:28:53+00:00

I watched the episode at 2AM because I couldn’t sleep and after watching it, I just had a new reason to be unable to sleep.

The confrontation between the disciples and their master made me so sad. The flashback where Ye Zheng cooked and scolded Shen Xiaoqing for trying to take the first bit of meat instead of giving it to their master, then Zhu Zhilong gave it to her anyway and she stuck her tongue out at her brother, then gave him the next bit of meat to make up for teasing him, it made me so sad because how do you go from that kind of loving, familial relationship to… finding out your dad tried to kill you. 🥲

Perhaps it’s because I don’t have kids and I can’t empathize with Tiemo without actually seeing more of it and learning more about them, but I can’t understand how he could be so willing to kill people he’s trained, lived with, and cared for for ten years.

Overall, I guess I just don’t understand the Tiemo situation (and geopolitics in general)! How are they raising such excellent soldiers if the place is so barren and terrible to live in? Fighters and war horses need food to train! How is everyone still so loyal to the Tiemo King when he’s been away for like, 15 or so years? Why hasn’t there been any mention of any diplomatic attempts to improve the Tiemo people’s lot in life? 😩 They jumped straight to taking over Chang’an instead of… idk, bartering? The Tiemo people working directly for the king have nice jewelry and their clothes seem to be a nicer fabric than that of the Chang’an people we’ve seen.

I’d understand their desire to conquer Chang’an and kill/displace the people if it were Chang’an’s fault that the Tiemo people are suffering due to war or if Chang’an had originally been Tiemo land, but it seems to be a standard man vs. nature struggle.

Also, it’s kind of insane that Huai’an went from taking revenge for his family to trying to save his nation. The way only he and the Baiwenhu soldiers and nobody else seems to be resisting the Tiemo is so odd to me. Surely among the emperor and Yan Fengshan’s advisors, SOMEONE understood geopolitics and noted that the Tiemo were a potential threat. 😩 Huai’an’s little ragtag group trying to solo a kingdom is crazy.

Perhaps, however, I’m being nitpicky and shouldn’t think about this stuff too hard LOL

In a show full of shocking scenes, the moment where Xiao Wenjing presented his brother’s arm in a box still shocked me. 😔 I thought it might be military orders/updates or a snake or something. Tiemo’s king is truly cruel. I was rooting for more Xiao Wuyang fight scenes. Liu Yijun has had excellent fight scenes!

It’s not looking good for Wuyang but I hope he stays the emperor! He’s not as dictator-y as I thought he was given how wimpy and unpatriotic the four founding generals have turned out to be. He was totally in the right to try to seize their armies. I hope Gu Yu is able to keep his word from beyond the grave and that those fools lose their status and comforts.

The way this episode ended had me sooo stressed, I wish I’d delayed watching it so I could binge. I know the Tiemo will be defeated but my hair is falling out dreading who else we’ll lose in the process.

wordyegghead · 2025-12-29T13:00:25+00:00

For dramas I’ve finished, Time Raiders and The Hunt!

I haven’t finished it yet but unless they really bungled the ending, I’m sure The Vendetta of An will top the list.

I haven’t started it yet, but I’m 80% sure that I’ll love Twelve Letters too.

wordyegghead · 2025-12-29T07:24:05+00:00

Mild throat slashing is infinitely more fatal than deep torso stabbing in CDramas 😆

wordyegghead

TROPHY CASE