Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Thanks for joining in on this group watch of this very special show! ❤️

As I mentioned in my announcement post, these are my notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon.

ZERO SPOILER POLICY

We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.

This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.

The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD. 

We need to protect the innocent! 😉

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

My thoughts

Episodes 13-14

E13-14. Sigh. Show really knows how to toy with my feelings.

Remember how I said I was in this mainly for the crackly OTP moments?

Well, after giving us that molten, breathless arrow scene, it feels like Show is going to play it such that we’ll have to wait for a fair while yet, until we get another breathlessly crackly OTP moment.

Which, I have to admit, makes me a feel a bit impatient and antsy, while I wait. 😅

I mean, Shaoshang’s even talking marriage with Lou Yao, this set of episodes!

Which I know is unlikely to happen, since all of Show’s promo material tells us that Buyi is the other half of the OTP, but still. This represents a significant roadblock for our real OTP relationship to progress, so I’m feeling slightly grumbly about this. 🙈

I do appreciate, though, that we get more scenes of Buyi, so that we get to understand his context a bit better.

It’s kinda trippy to see him interact with the Emperor on such familiar terms, since I’m so used to seeing emperors being revered and tiptoed around, in these period dramas.

And yet, here we have an amiable, caring Emperor, who’s nosy about Buyi’s love life, and seems to want nothing more than have Buyi happily married off. Heh. I think I like this Emperor already.

I mean, it seems that he doesn’t really care whether Buyi marries a young lady of the Emperor’s choosing, right?

He’d chosen Princess Yuchang for Buyi, and yet, now, when he hears that Buyi seems to have a special interest in the daughter of the Cheng family, he gets all nosy and excited, instead of offended that Buyi isn’t interested in Princess Yuchang.

I feel like our Emperor might turn out to be quite an excellent wingman for Buyi, given the chance. 😁

Over on Shaoshang’s side of things, I have to admit to only being cursorily interested in her rousing speech to the wounded villagers. 😝 I simply clocked that this experience feels like a key milestone in Shaoshang’s growth journey.

She’s definitely showing more maturity and compassion than we’d seen from her in the beginning of our story, and this feels like a step in the right direction.

The flashbacks to Shaoshang’s childhood days, when she’d been bullied by her cousins, does also help to color in her character further, so that I feel like I understand her and her emotional baggage a bit better.

It sucks that she’d been bombarded with lies about her parents not wanting her anymore, even though she’d wanted to believe that they did want her, and had only left her, in order to go to battle to save the world.

This might actually be the root of her abandonment issues, and very likely feeds into her belief that her parents – Mom especially – find her to be a burden.

Perhaps that’s why she’s so eager to start a new life with Lou Yao, who turns out to be an agreeable and supportive companion while she’s out in Hua County.

Honestly, it feels like it’s the situation they’re in, coupled with the fact that Lou Yao’s the only other person around her age whom she can hang out with, that causes this relationship to develop as much as it does.

If they were back home instead of in Hua County, I doubt Lou Yao would have managed to get as much time and attention from Shaoshang as he does in Hua County. So.. I guess it was smart of Lou Yao to follow Shaoshang to Hua County after all, eh?

Honestly, I’d been hoping that this season in Hua County, would’ve been the time when Shaoshang and Buyi would get to spend time together, so this is rather underwhelming and perplexing for me. 😅

Of course, thanks to Wingman Emperor (hee!), and Buyi’s quick reflexes, we do get a situation where Buyi arrives in Hua County too, so that he can deliver the Emperor’s edict, honoring the previous magistrate with a posthumous title.

In fact, I was pretty stoked to realize that basically, ALL THREE of Shaoshang’s suitors would be in Hua County with her, at the same time.

However, Show doesn’t quite give me the hijinks I’d hoped for, with Shaoshang being so focused on Lou Yao the whole time.

Granted, this is a positive reflection of Shaoshang, that when she’s set her heart on someone, she isn’t easily swayed, but I’m sitting here wondering when she’ll wake up to the fact that it’s Buyi who makes her heart wobble. 😅

I’m just really sad for Buyi, who has to stand there in the rain, and witness Shaoshang pledging to be with Lou Yao henceforth. Augh. Poor smitten heartbroken stoic puppy. 😭

I also feel really bad for him, that he thinks that Shaoshang’s lumped him into the category of killers, along with the rebels who’d created this situation in the first place, and therefore would want nothing to do with him.

I’m sure that’s not the case, and I’m bummed that Buyi’s sadder than he needs to be.

At this point in time, I feel like Mom is possibly the only person who can stop this marriage from happening, since she’s the only one who objects to the idea of Shaoshang getting betrothed to Lou Yao.

I do think that Mom is unnecessarily harsh with Lou Yao and Shaoshang, and that she isn’t yet cognizant of the growth that Shaoshang’s achieved in the time that she’s been away from home.

At the same time, I do believe that Mom has Shaoshang’s best interests at heart, and doesn’t want Shaoshang to regret this decision later, if she were to suffer because Lou Yao isn’t able to protect her from the politicking and possible bullying in his family.

It’s just too bad that Mom’s default way of handling things, particularly things to do with Shaoshang, is to go hard rather than soft. It’s pretty clear that Shaoshang’s not the type to be forced into submission, and so, I don’t think Mom’s efforts are going to go down well.

That said, I do think that the way Show writes Mom as being concerned about whether Shaoshang actually loves Lou Yao, is a bit odd.

These are times when love matches weren’t the norm, after all. Arranged marriages were the norm in these times.

I can buy the idea that Mom would object to the match based on how disadvantageous it would be for Shaoshang, but I find it hard to believe that Mom would actually take the love match aspect of things into consideration.

Or maybe Mom’s more heart-driven than she’d like us to know?

Episodes 15-16

E15-16. I must say, I don’t feel any romantic tension between Lou Yao and Shaoshang. They really do strike me more as a pair of friends and comrades, rather than as a pair of lovers.

For example, the way they study those love and romance scrolls together feels like a conversation between comrades rather than one between lovers. I mean, it’s cute that they are in so much in agreement, but the vibe’s way more platonic than anything else.

So on that point, I think Mom is likely right, that Shaoshang may think that she likes Lou Yao, but she doesn’t really understand what it means to love someone.

At a point in our story where our OTP loveline seems to be getting waylaid, I was actually glad for the arc where Shaoshang and Lou Yao encounter Huangfu Yi, and Shaoshang manages to get them invited to take shelter from the rain at the courtyard where the Emperor had rested.

Because, that’s where Buyi happens to be, ahhh!! Sure, Yuan Shen’s there too, but I don’t really care about that. I just perk up whenever Buyi’s there to share some screen time with Shaoshang. 🤩

How gallant of Buyi, to offer his carriage to Shaoshang, and how helpful, that this ride in the carriage brings Shaoshang’s thoughts back to the arrow scene, because she can see that he’s kept both the arrowhead and the shaoshang string that she’d used to remove it from his chest.

I don’t think that Shaoshang registers any special meaning behind the items (how could you not, Shaoshang?? You’re special to him, that’s why he has these keepsakes in the carriage with him, so that they’re within reach at all times!), but I’m hoping that they give her food for thought.

Mainly, I like the fact that the party stays overnight at the courtyard, because it gives us the chance to see more of Buyi’s broody smolder.

He doesn’t say a great deal, but every time there’s mention of Shaoshang’s betrothal to Lou Yao, he seems to smolder with extra intensity and meaning.

Beyond Buyi’s answer to the question of whether he would save his fiancée or the orphaned woman, which again brings his singleminded love and loyalty to the fore, this set of episodes, I’m most taken by that moment in the walkway, where he asks Shaoshang if she’s sure about the person whom she’s chosen.

For the record, I don’t think that Buyi’s purposefully trying to get between her and Lou Yao, because he’s too honorable for something like that.

But I do think that he’s concerned that she may be making a hasty choice, which is why he asks.

And he asks with that same gentle intensity that makes my knees melt.

“In human lives, it’s a blessing to be able to choose the right person and path. Are you sure the one you chose is the right one?”

It’s a pity that Shaoshang doesn’t get a chance to answer, or even let the words sink in further, because Lou Yao comes along to call out her name and catch her attention, and our broody general broods even more. 😭

I’m actually really surprised that Shaoshang ends up going home with her parents, in that I’d expected her to stay in Hua County on a longer term arrangement, given the way she’d left home to begin with.

Granted, it’s been months in our story world since she’d arrived in Hua County, but it still feels a little truncated to me – but I suppose that’s how Show keeps me on my toes, eh?

Plus, I do think that it her return home does give us more narrative possibilities, since Buyi himself is in the capital as well.

Speaking of whom, I find the backstory of his parents really tragic. When we’d first been told that his aunt had stolen his father from his mother, we weren’t told that his mother had lost her sanity as a result.

The fact that Mom’s not in her right mind because of this, is just really sad. I can see why Buyi holds such a grudge against his father and his aunt (now stepmother).

I do love the scene where the Cheng family entourage is stopped at the capital gates, and Buyi steps in to help them.

First of all, it’s always great to see Buyi cutting such a regal figure on horseback. He really has a hero’s aura about him, as he enters the scene. 🤩

Everyone making way for him, just adds to his regality, because it’s so clear that he commands the utmost respect.

And then, to have him head straight to Shaoshang’s carriage, to make small talk with her, just makes the moment more squee-worthy, because he’s essentially emphasizing her importance, to everyone present.

Because, if they are all in awe of him, and he has such regard for her, this just elevates her social importance, doesn’t it?

I love how Mom and Dad exchange continuous meaningful glances, as they try to process the fact that Shaoshang and Buyi have some kind of personal connection.

And then, I just LOVE how Buyi casually explains that he and Shaoshang have been through life-and-death situations together, and that she’s undressed him, in order to treat his wound. HAHA.

I love it. It’s so deadpan-cheeky of him to keep emphasizing that she’s undressed him in the past, tee hee! 🤭 What must Mom and Dad think?!? 😁

And then, it’s honestly so cool, the way Buyi then escorts her entire party through the capital gates, like they’re the most important people in the world. 🤩🤩

Shaoshang may be too naive to pick up on it, but Mom and Dad are reading the signs without any trouble at all; they can totally see that Buyi’s in love with Shaoshang. Ahh!

And, our Wingman Emperor can totally see that Buyi’s in love with Shaoshang too. Double ahh!

Could these parental figures perhaps help nudge this loveline into place, then?

But.. it looks like Shaoshang has other plans, to up and leave with Lou Yao, to make her own life and stop being a burden to her parents.

I don’t think that Shaoshang means any of this maliciously; she’s still young and immature, and is just being matter-of-fact in stating what she wants for herself, without considering the worries that her parents might have.

Aw.. I feel bad for Mom, when she breaks down in tears. It’s so unlike her, to show her vulnerability like this.

And I feel that the reason for her tears, is that she feels like Shaoshang’s fate is out of her hands; that she can’t help to make Shaoshang a better future, as her mother.

That, plus her misgivings about the Lou clan being a tiger’s den, makes her feel both sad and helpless.

Aw. I sure hope that this mother-daughter relationship can be healed and strengthened soon, in the episodes to come.

AND, I can’t help but hope for more crackly moments between Shaoshang and our stoic-but-steadfast general.

Next Open Thread will be up on: Saturday, 20 April 2024!