The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion (2020) Initial Impressions

This recent offering from mainland China is the first so-called historical drama since Ancient Detective that I haven't felt the slightest urge to drop after the obligatory first act. It's one that I've been looking forward to probably since the end of last year and 18 episodes on, it's delivering. The production boasts not only the reunion of leads Ju Jingyi and Zhang Zhehan from the Legend of Yunxi (2018) fame but also much of the cast and all of the crew from that surprise hit. It has a good balance of the comedic and the serious. If the show somehow... and even miraculously manages to maintain its momentum right to the end, it will be a better show than its predecessor. Already I feel it's addictive pull... something I haven't experienced for some time now.

Ruyi Pavilion is not a sequel of the Legend of Yunxi and has a completely different storyline. While it has a smattering of wuxia elements, it isn't an outright jianghu story. While it dabbles with premonitions as a plot device, it's not defined by the fantasy tag. There are elements of a palace drama with the usual kinds of power struggles and court intrigue. The story begins with a bump on the head and bad dreams. The female lead Fu Rong on a kite extraction expedition falls to the ground and begins to see visions during her slumber of possible future events. Being the good-hearted and conniving sort, she attempts to find ways and means to prevent various incidents from happening well aware that nobody will ever believe that she has the selective power of foresight. She is also privy to events related to Xu Jin, the emperor's fourth son, Prince Su and if the premonitions are to be believed, it bodes an ill-fated connection. Fu Rong is the second daughter of a local magistrate and is the glib troublemaker of her family. 

Around the time they meet, Xu Jin has just returned to the capital from his military duties at the border. As a child, he allegedly caused an incident among the royals which sealed his reputation as a jinx. He is summoned back to the palace to answer for his actions because he summarily executed the Superintendent of the Imperial Guards for his part in a conspiracy to siphon off military rations. As a result he becomes the target of a series of assassination attempts. To investigate the matter further, the emperor installs him as the latest commander of the Imperial Guards warning him to be circumspect and judicious at all times. 

Much of the early part of the show sees Fu Rong trying to avoid Xu Jin because of their ill-fated connection but hilariously enough as she stumbles into one thing after another they inevitably cross swords... of the verbal kind at least. She's a bit of a busybody but means well and he's an official investigator who takes his job seriously. They were always destined to cross paths. Whether guided by greater cosmic forces or by character all attempts by her to avoid him are rendered futile by her choices and circumstances.

As was the case with Yunxi, this drama features a love polygon of sorts. Unlike Yunxi, the love polygon here is pretty meh because the "other man" is really not the exactly the stuff of dreams. (On the contrary, he seems to be the stuff of nightmares) Xu Ping is Prince An, the emperor's younger brother and he maintains a dual identity as an enigmatic scholar who holds rockstar status in the capital. He's an old childhood buddy of Fu Rong's and he's always liked her. During an arts event organised by him they meet briefly and although he recognises her, she doesn't recognise him at first. Xu Ping initially seems like a suave, leisured scholar but he too is plotting against Xu Jin and the emperor because he has mummy issues. A decade earlier, Xu Jin was sent to the temple to recite sutras and pray only to accidentally kick over a candle and set fire to the place which resulted in the death of Xu Ping's mother. Xu Ping believes, as I do, that there was more to it than meets the eye but the emperor is being tight-lipped about the matter.

I don't think it's that much of a spoiler to say that many of the plots directed towards Xu Jin come from the third prince, Xu Mao who is your run-of-the-mill avaricious, ambitious royal who is aided and abetted by his uncle the Marquis of Xindu. His cousin and the marquis' older son is Wu Baiqi who after a serious falling out with his dad years earlier joined the Imperial Guards. When Xu Ping begins piggybacking on his nephew's schemes, it's when things started to get horribly nasty.

Brokering these various parties, is the legendary Ruyi Pavilion an outfit that deals in intelligence to those who can pay for it. The owner has accumulated secrets over the years and when the time is ripe she sends out what is essentially relevant blackmail material to get things moving.

While the scheming of the show isn't exactly in the calibre of Nirvana in Fire, it does have some semblance of gravity and plausibility. There are genuine stakes and consequences to people committing political mistakes. After Maiden Holmes I've come to realise that I can't watch rom coms masquerading as palace dramas. I don't have the stomach for it. It's fine to have humour and romance but when the male lead who should know better starts making amateurish mistakes or acts like he's living in the 21st century, I can't help feeling that I'm too old to be wasting time on those even if the chemistry is off the charts. Plot is king.

For me Ruyi Pavilion gets it right for the most part. The romance, I have to say, is well done. The humour usually lands well. Of course Ju Jingyi and Zhang Zhehan's natural chemistry has become iconic thanks to Yunxi but thankfully the show doesn't rely on that in its storytelling. Their dynamic for the most part is different from their previous collaboration largely because Zhang Zhehan's character, Xu Jing is cut from a somewhat different cloth. While he may be aloof as it befits a man of his station, he is capable of being companionable and speaking his mind. He also has an unexpectedly boyishly mischievous streak which surfaces mostly when with interacting with Fu Rong. Kudos to Zhang Zhehan for a well-rounded performance which has me grinning from ear to ear.

I'm also enjoying the romance between Fu Rong's sister, Fu Xuan and Wu Baiqi. It's not really a competition as to which is better. Not for me at least. They're both well done and feed into the bigger storyline organically. There's also the added bonus of character development for all concerned driven by the romance. Wu Baiqi needs to pull up his socks and Fu Xuan could loosen her corset a tad.

Both these male leads in my book are very swoony in the sense that they know exactly what they want and go for it. They're generally smart about it and they don't push too hard too soon. But they strike while the iron is hot. They do understand who these women are and may even revel in the challenge so they come across as worthy suitors. On some level I would like Xu Ping to be a better rival for Xu Jin of course but he's a hard character to root for. I never really thought I would suffer pangs of second male lead syndrome to begin with but there's really nothing to see here at all. It's obvious on her side that it's all just chummy. A clever thing the show does early on is to show how very little they have in common. She spends a short stint at his studio running errands and is completely bored out of her mind. She has no scholarly bent whatsoever although under her teacher's tutelage, she is growing as a jewellery designer. There's no doubting though that she's drawn to danger like a moth to a flame because she is an inveterate busybody.

To be honest, I kept my expectations low at the start but the show has done better than I expected and aside from a couple of niggly things, it's giving me hope. At the end of the day, it's a C drama.... one can never be too sure until the big bad croaks. But we're certainly hoping for a happily-ever-after for the leads.

Maiden Holmes (2020) Early Impressions

While it gets chuckles and laughs out of me, the show doesn't live up to the hype. As far as I'm concerned, it's a rom com masquerading as a whodunit. Which is ironic considering the cross-dressing titular character. It almost seems as if someone took every single leaf out of the cross-dressing rom com playbook and raided the cupboard for every romance cliche ever devised bar the kitchen sink... and that's just in the first 5 episodes. Nothing is meant to tax the brain. The sleuthing is lightweight especially for a hard core fanatic of the genre like myself. It's highly derivative and no wonder comparisons are being made with the likes of Under the Power, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds and Dr Cutie. It breaks no new ground, plays it safe and entertains by playing up every romance trope with glee. In other words, it's pure unadulterated fluff. And I'm in it largely for the laughs as I count the cliches.

Of course there's nothing wrong with a nice bit of light escapism. Even I indulge from time to time. And this one seems to be decently executed. Thankfully the titular female character is at least decently written, lives up to the template from which she gets her street creds and has me grinning every time she recites from the rule book whenever Pei Zhao sends her heart racing.

I would never deny that the male lead is swoony eye candy and he hasn't done too badly as a newcomer. He can certainly pass off as the younger brother of Merxat. He has an elegance which befits the role and seems rather adept at romancing his lady love. Not to mention too that he smirks prettily. In just these first 10 episodes, the two of them have bickered, chained themselves together, almost drowned kissed, drunk confessed, kissed under the influence, nursed her back to health, discovered her secret during an undercover op, fallen asleep together, saved her from a third-rate lecher etc etc. We know the drill. However, he's not really called to do a great deal of heavy lifting here.

Also good for laughs is the other male lead, Xie Beiming whose half-hearted braggadocio and "asides" add to the good-natured cheesiness. That said, he's not completely brawn or comic relief.

The actors do their best with the material and for the most part they succeed. I imagine I'm not part of the demographic that they're aiming for so I'm happy to keep my expectations low and just go along for the ride. At least I don't feel routinely insulted like I do with other ones I've seen this year.

Ancient Detective (2020) Non-Spoiler Review

As someone who watches a lot of detective/crime dramas from everywhere, my verdict is that this one that does almost everything right. I say "almost" because there are a few niggly things in the storyline further along in the story that did frustrate me but as a whole the juggling act is quite commendable particularly when it positions itself fundamentally as a wuxia story. There have been quite a few offerings from Mainland China this year in the genre but the quality has been a mixed bag. The biggest problem, to my mind, is that most shows struggle to get the balance right. Characterization, relationship dynamics, romance, plotting, sub-plots. Some start off well enough but go off on tangents and lose their way. I sometimes wonder why directors and producers think that every drama in the crime genre has to have romance. It's clear that some shows don't lend themselves to romance or even if they did, the incorporation of it ends up being less than desirable. Fortunately this doesn't seem to be a problem here. Of the numerous C dramas that fall off the assembly line, this is actually one of the better products. I am supposing that the only reason why it's escaped wider notice is because of lesser known cast of actors that spearhead the series.

The story of Ancient Detective revolves around a young detective, Jian Buzhi who has emerged from the famed Shenji Valley to find out what really happened 8 years earlier in an almighty altercation with the terror of jiang hu (or the martial arts community), Wang Hua. He is the son and surviving successor to the mantle of jiang hu's greatest detective Jian Jinhuan who died tragically in the carnage to stop Wang Hua in his rampage. To complicate matters, the young detective has no recollection of the event. Jian Buzhi is played by the relative newcomer, Yu Jiwei who embuse the character with gentle and youthful elegance. The show loses no time in introducing the character as one that follows the Sherlock Holmes template. Not only does he produce the culprit by keen observation and deductive logic, he saves the hide of an innocent man and meets first time the man who later becomes his protector and loyal companion, Zhao Wohuan. Zhao isn't just his offsider. The bromance of the two men is one of the key elements in Jian's ability to navigate through the rough and tumble of jiang hu because Jian's Achilles' heel happens to be that he has no martial arts ability.

The romance serves the plot well. While they may be hints of a love triangle, none of that is played out fully or given full flight. The women in this show are independent, intelligent and logical human beings who never see themselves as victims of circumstances even when others might tempt them to do so. Jian's primary and only real love interest is Zhan Shiqi, a former mercenary/assassin now on the run from her former masters for absconding. The two only have eyes for each other and neither waver in the bumpy course of true love.  Jian is an impressive figure, a purist and idealist for truth and justice so it makes perfect sense that the woman he falls for can't be an ordinary one.

Zhao has his own romance thread with the mysterious Ming Yue, a member of the Assassins Guild. His brave and simple devotion attracts her even while she wrestles with her feelings for him and her duty to the guild. Despite the braggadocio at his expense, his dogged loyalty to his bosom friend and his eagerness to protect everyone he cares about is very attractive. Even a woman skilled in the art deception can't resist its allure.

Integrated into the main storyline are several arcs that serve as hurdles/stepping stones towards Jian's search for the truth about the death of Jian Jinhuan, the missing Wang Hua's body and his own amnesia. As with all such tales, he has a mysterious adversary who seems determined for him not to get to the heart of the matter. Each arc sees Jian employing his detective acumen in criminal cases while looking for a surviving member of the campaign against Wang Hua. They are styled very much in the vein old school, classic British whodunits with their own twists and turns coloured with a wuxia flavour. As if the show isn't complicated enough, Jian is poisoned not once but twice and so he's also up against the clock to solve mystery after mystery in order to reach his final destination.

Jian has many others in his ever growing travelling entourage that support his endeavours. He is a man that commands deep respect and loyalty from encounters in his journey. The likeability and reliability of his character ensures that when he needs help from his motley crew of skilled individuals, they jump to his aid.

The thing that surprised me most about the drama is that it did have fairly sophisticated things to say about the wuxia genre and the nature of heroism. That was something I hadn't expected. The fact that the protagonist is someone who has no martial arts in such a context demonstrates a push to rethink what a jiang hu hero should look like. He is given a martial arts manual as is often the case in traditional wuxia but unlike the classic trope, he gives it away to his friend preferring to rely largely on his mental prowess to deal with his opponents.

This was a drama that I marathoned relatively easily in 2 days. It has a friendly 40 minute, 24 episode format. It's one I recommend unreservedly mainly for its overall consistency, decent performances and intriguing sub-plots.

Miss Truth (2020) The Marquis of Sui's Pearl

Spoilers ahead... Read at own risk.

I've been thinking about this and it did occur to me somewhere during the final straight that the Marquis of Sui's pearl or sui hou zhi zhu... was more than just the holy grail of an unholy gem hunt. Anybody and everybody... with the rare exception.. was moving heaven and earth looking for it. Not to mention the egregious stealing, killing and destroying in the process. Legend states that it was an object left behind by the previous dynasty's ruler, a key or map to a treasure of untold wealth. On the surface the drama seemed like a ridiculously convoluted treasure hunt. With each rewatch, however, I'm inclined to see the pearl as a recurring motif intertwined with the leads ongoing dynamic and resolution. For everyone else the pearl is about power and the promise of riches. However, for Xiao Song and Ran Yan, the pearl takes on a different dimension. For them it represents love and trust.

To my great delight and relief, the elusive pearl turns out to be real. Not a just a nebulous plot device as I had feared. The veritable carrot stick for the committed. Forged from a meteorite it possesses curative properties. One can't take these things for granted sadly. C dramas especially have a way of hyping the importance of rare, valuable objects, only for the endgame to completely let you down when on opening the chest, it's empty and apparently we're all suckers for wasting 40 something television hours waiting for the payoff. Thankfully it's not the case here. It gets found... much earlier than expected. Because finding it although important is not as important as having it in the right hands. Which means someone who doesn't want to start a war. Someone who cares about peace in the land. Someone who cares about the masses.

The fascinating part about the entire project is that if you've watched the drama up to Episode 26, we are told that our hero, Xiao Song has had the pearl in his possession since he was a boy hidden inside the tooth-shaped pendant that he carries around for luck. On hindsight it is a family heirloom credited for helping him survive past childhood. So this gem which every man, woman and dog has been looking for, for at least 12 years, has been in the custody of Chang'an's preeminent investigator unbeknownst to everyone, our hero included. The irony of course is that he was tasked in a top secret mission to track down the pearl by the emperor and is sent to another province to chase up on a clue that could lead to its location. This now becomes his dilemma because his grandparents were Sui loyalists and custodians of the pearl until such time when the Sui dynasty is revived. This has serious ramifications for the Xiao family in this current regime. Treason goes right to the top of the list. With all that to consider, Xiao Song is unable to surrender the pearl immediately and say, "Look Your Majesty at what I found when I stumbled into a secret chamber in the Xiao mansion that my grandfather built."

Now, when he first arrives in Suzhou, the whereabouts of the pearl is the nagging mystery but what he does find first are dead bodies and a gifted female coroner, Ran Yan, who later becomes his wife after the two become entangled in a series of misadventures and cases which involve the pearl one way or another. Judging from the way their trajectories intersect either by circumstance or by choice, their eventual meeting seems inevitable. He is an investigator of crimes, she examines dead bodies... it's a match that could only be made in heaven... as they say.

During the fourth arc he marries her in unseemly haste in part because he really does like her, plus the opposition is noticeably absent and in part to get her out of her family home where she has become the target of an in-house killer. (He has the knack of killing multiple birds with one stone) After a near-death experience the two afterwards discover that she is a beneficiary to a definitive clue that provides key information about the pearl. Before then she's largely in the dark about matters pertaining to the pearl. It becomes clear at that point that their fates are intertwined by the gem. On this occasion, he helps her reveal secrets behind her mother's death and brings the culprit(s) to justice. 

The villains of the piece are the Huo Qi Sect (Lit: Fire Flag Sect) and their agent is the enigmatic Su Fu who is incidentally Ran Yan betrothed. So at first he gets up close and personal because she's a conduit to the tight-lipped Xiao Song. He is one of the first to pick up the fact that Xiao Song has feelings for Ran Yan and is not backwards about using that to get a reaction, thinking it would cause the latter to make forced errors. The organization's primary goal is to grab the pearl for themselves, use that to find treasure in order to fund an army to overthrow the current regime.

Sometime later on returning to Chang'an, Xiao Song gives his pendant to Ran Yan when she becomes the subject of a contrived sex scandal. It is his way of staking his reputation on her reputation and publicly declaring that she is his wife. He asks no questions of how she gets into the predicament but hands over the heirloom as proof (and pledge) of his unequivocal trust in her. However, behind the scenes he finds the individual(s) involved and finds the time to shame them publicly thus restoring the lady's good name. Neither at this stage are aware that she's now the unofficial custodian of the elusive pearl. But it is another big moment for them because he proves... yet again... the lengths to which he will go to protect her.

As his newly re-contracted wife, Ran Yan becomes the key to his locating the pearl within the family manor when spies in the Xiao household lead her to uncover a family secret. She is also instrumental in shedding light on the mysterious deaths of Xiao Song's first two wives which we discover later are also related to the pearl expedition. They both agree amicably that he should take back the family fossil for safekeeping while working out how to hand the object to the emperor without implicating his family.

The couple's biggest trial comes when Ran Yan is manipulated into helping Su Fu retrieve the pearl from Xiao Song. It turns out to be an elaborate plot to entrap her and wreck his credibility. Xiao Song is led to believe that she betrayed him because of Su Fu, not realising that she had kept faith with him and the pearl was right at his doorstep.

Despite feeling like a betrayed sap, Xiao Song is still deeply in love with her. Even while keeping up the pretence of being indifferent, and having moved on, he is busy behind the scenes helping her with her latest predicaments. All this time he still thinks that she is still in love with Su Fu, driven to desperation for his sake. 

On her side, she thinks she has lost his love entirely when she was all set to start afresh with him after dealing with Su Fu's dilemma. She labours under the impression that his love for hasn't withstood the test of her misadventure with the Huo Qi sect and the ensuing political fallout. Hence the divorce. She doesn't know that it is the result of a royal decree. He on the hand uses the divorce as justification to keep his distance, possibly to protect her and himself from their enemies who are sufficiently unscrupulous to use their relationship to get at him. The pearl going missing doesn't enter into her thinking.
In a wonderful monologue that she gives while being held hostage by a deluded serial killer, in the presence of the man she pines for, she bitterly recounts her own experience of disappointment with love. In her mind a certain man promised her the world and built up her expectations of what love was like. He would love her for the rest of her life. But as soon as the crunch came, all the wonderful build-up went up in a puff of smoke. When she finally realised what love was and tasted the sweetness of its fruit, the transience of it left a bitter aftertaste. There is only longing from a distance because all efforts to close the gap lead nowhere but pain. Her despair and bitterness blinds her to what is plainly obvious to the rest of us. Despite everything he still loves her and his primary impulse is always to protect her even if it hurts him in every way.

When he's home nursing an injury, Xiao Song ponders over her cryptic comments wondering if he's misjudged the situation with her. Dad walks in and challenges him to act openly in concert with his heart. He sadly tells his father that "her heart is not with me". The older man returns the heirloom pendant and says that Ran Yan left it behind. Unfortunately Xiao Song still believes that she's given the pearl to Su Fu (and by extension, his enemies) so he doesn't bother opening the family heirloom to check.

Therefore, Xiao Song's search for clues regarding the pearl clearly parallels his journey to find true love. At the start of the drama we see that he has memorized the map of Suzhou city to give context to his mission. What awaits him is far more important to him personally, it is his own journey's map to grappling with a love that demands everything from him including his unquestioning obedience to the sovereign.

Therefore the fate of the pearl becomes analogous to his relationship to Ran Yan. As long as it remains hidden from his view, he thinks that love eludes him. When he finally rediscovers the pearl in his possession, he realises that he wasn't betrayed. He had her heart, her love all this time so the sacrifice to marry Ran Mei Yu feels much less onerous than before. Subsequently what he needs to do is trust her with his honour and his life.

As for Ran Yan, her moments of petty jealousy proved that she was gradually responding to his overt gestures. For the first time in her life she can see love in all its manifestations writ large with no strings attached but is hesitant of what the ramifications are for her.  She is genuinely angry when he sends her back to her cousin's place for safety. All that happens as she continues wearing the family heirloom publicly in plain sight.

She inadvertently interrupts a sting at the brothel and makes her first public confession. He's hers and nobody gets to lay a finger on him. And yes, he's unbelievably chuffed. And hopeful that better things are in store. ;)

Not long afterwards she leads him to a secret place in the Xiao manor where they discover the pearl's location together. This changes their dynamic. They share a secret about the Xiao family. It gives him hope that she would really become family finally.

She believed that she had his love for a time but thought she had lost it for good. A single mistake of being too smart for her own good cost her the love that had promised her the world, a love of a lifetime that would never let her go. So she thought. In reality she hadn't lost his love at all but his trust. Very Scarlet Pimpernelish. 

Although the Lady Dongyang had her own agenda in doing so, RY's eyes were opened to the reality that the love that she thought was lost to her forever was there all the time working in the background -- saving her, protecting her and helping her. Now with a new set of lenses she can see beyond the facade that he presents to her. So she goes to rescue him from a fate worse than death -- marriage to Ran Mei Yu.

In Episode 35 when he hands the pearl back to her for safe keeping if anything should happen to him, she is surprised that something so valuable should be placed in her hands but he tells her that he trusts her. Even when all the conspirators are out to get them there is a sense that now they are of one mind and heart, they are an unstoppable force of nature.

Miss Truth (2020): Episodes 27-32 (2)

It's obvious to me that the show is trying to make Su Fu a kind of tragic character or tortured soul to elicit sympathy because his trajectory means that ultimately he can't be with the female lead. The son of a concubine... so of lower status, somewhat despised perhaps and then trains as an assassin and then embroils himself with rebellious elements working against the throne. With a CV like that I can't imagine that any man in his right mind would think that he would make a good husband for a woman unless he's using her as his cover story. But that's probably it... he isn't in his right mind now that the drugs are taking firm control over him. I suppose he thought he was doing his bit to protect RY when he became a willing puppet for the chief of the secret organization but who's going to protect him from himself? I can't help feeling that the more the show is trying to sell him as some kind of viable alternative to XS because he really loves RY, the less I'm inclined to buy into that idea. I don't think that there are any alternatives. XS is the man for her. SF is a distraction but more importantly he presents imminent danger to everything she holds dear.

The rapidity with which she friendzones him begs the question as to whether she was really in love with him in the first place. I have my doubts of course. I tend to believe that it was pity that brought them together. After all she still pities him on some level. She mistook that for love and realised it in time. I don't think it's because he deceived her per se although he did. Or used her. Which he also did. It's more the fact that she realised she had entered into an illusory romance when all the signs were there that things were not as simple as she had wished. Their common background or past experiences did not necessarily mean a common future or common goals. RY tends to be somewhat self-righteous and not a little arrogant relying on her own ability to make correct judgments when in reality there are bigger things at play that she's not made aware of.

There are remnants of the previous Sui dynasty who are discontent with the current regime... although why that is, isn't entirely clear to me at this point in time. The general populace don't seem to be doing too badly as a whole to warrant a change of regime. It could be that well they don't care much for the Li family and they're purely Sui loyalists. So it behooves them to start a war... a coup de tat so that the old regime be reinstated with no thought to causing death and destruction to the masses.

RY's journey to finding true love parallels the cases that she and XS have taken on together. The shadow puppet display she performed with Wan Lu to jog his memory confirms that. It's a tacit acknowledgment of their special relationship and how she can't achieve the detective gig without him. He seemed moved by the gesture but still it's not enough for him to be forthcoming and so he maintains his distance because ultimately he wants her love and devotion not a continuation of their quid pro quo relationship. Also, he's well aware that his enemies are only too eager to use her as a means to get to him and his mission so his decision to remain aloof to her entreaties have a twofold purpose.

As for the beating she took for meeting up with the bag man, that was undoubtedly painful but probably not as painful for her as being ignored and misunderstood by XS which is for me a far more satisfying state of affairs between them because now the shoe is in the other foot.  It's eminently fascinating that the cases that they've undertaken together have paralleled  to some degree her journey to "finding true love". All of the cases have been analogous or have telegraphed their somewhat tumultuous relationship. They are morality tales of missed opportunities, obsession and lost love.  In the case of the erotomaniac serial killer, the show attempts to draw a comparison between the situations faced by the couples. At least RY herself is aware of the comparison when she chastises the hostage taker for his foolish pinings. There is bitterness and despair in her words. She had hoped that XS' love was big enough to cover her sins but alas it was an illusory promise.  Before the man she was really in love with, it was an indirect confession tinged with resentment and regret. It is tacit acknowledgment that now she has indeed found true love only to have lost it. All she can do now is live with the pain.

At first XS thinks she is referring to SF as seen in the stern glare he shoots the other man with while she monologues. But when he goes home and reflects on her words, he wonders if he's misunderstood her relationship with SF and by extension himself.  From his conversation with his surprisingly progressive father, it's clear that he still cares a great deal but he can't repeatedly allow himself to be in the position of being betrayed because he thinks that she is in love with another man. He has always respected her freedom to choose and he also has to be careful because of the larger political matters that are at stake especially if SF is persistently using her as a conduit to him. He can't be sure of her if she's trying to keep both sides happy. What's really interesting to me is that for her, she thinks she's lost his love whereas for him he believes that he's never had hers in the first place (largely because of all the contradictory signals that she sends out).

I can't judge her too harshly because of her inexperience in such matters and her world was small until she invaded his world unceremoniously. But she is learning a really important lesson here. She can't take XS for granted even if he is ultimately true to her despite the appearance of rejection. Even if she doesn't want to, she has to draw the line and be clear about who it is she preferences. Everyone wants certainty, XS does too. He needs it for all kinds of reasons not just emotional ones. It's not easy for him because he is also a servant of the state as much as he is the man who loves her.

Miss Truth (2020): Episodes 27-32 (1)

If there were any doubts left as to who is the Boss in this show, I think these recent episodes would have removed them entirely.  Even if Xiao Song seemed to be on the outer on this occasion due to his estrangement from Ran Yan, his presence was both missed and felt. While the others did well on their own and were able to come up with some of the goods rather quickly, it became clear that XS was sorely needed to tie up loose ends and wrap things up. All the circumstantial evidence easily pointed to one individual but no one could speak to the motive. Enter XS to save the day and he finds method to the perpetrator's madness.

The show also drew a deliberate contrast between how the head of Da Li Si does things and how XS does things regarding criminal investigations. Indeed Lord Sun has his own agenda but he is also an arrogant man who has an image to protect. XS is consistently meticulous and gets right down to the bottom of things. He cares deeply about the truth. For him justice is really the endgame. It isn't just about dealing with political fallout or personally proving his credibility. Clearly he doesn't need to prove anything because he already has an established reputation for solving crimes.

Of course XS doesn't stay out of it completely throughout. On the surface he seems indifferent and even actively hostile towards RY but he's poking around behind the scenes and lending a hand discreetly where possible. It also gives him a good excuse to investigate those who show a keen interest in the Marquis of Sui's pearl while they're busy chasing a serial murderer linked to a woman who likes dragonflies. It is noteworthy to add that XS is a world class detective because he takes every piece of evidence seriously.

More than being a reputed criminologist, XS demonstrates excellent leadership skills. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to appreciate talent and use people well. Only he would even consider managing this motley crew that he has unofficially cobbled together. Take the case of Sang Chen who is a veritable scaredy cat. A very gifted scaredy cat nonetheless. Most people would quickly find him trying but XS was able to see past all that and employ him to tasks eminently suited to his abilities. Of course it doesn't escape his notice that he is also crushing on Ran Yan but XS can put that aside for the big picture. Speaking of the big picture, he also knows how to work with Su Fu when he has to even with all the mistrust and baggage that exists between them.

If there's a scene that encapsulates the kind of man XS is and what he's all about it would have to be the final showdown between the erotomaniac serial killer and our sleuths (Episode 31). When the culprit who is holding Ran Yan hostage, realises that he's been tricked, he attempts to retaliate by whipping out a dagger. XS's first instinct is to lurch forward and grab the offending dagger with his bare hands to prevent it being used on RY. It seems to me that his default mode is to protect RY disregarding even his own safety. A trait that he has shown repeatedly throughout the drama. He releases her from her bonds and his first comment to her is "Are you alright?" in a gentle tone of voice he reserves only for her. Despite putting on a good show of being thoroughly angry and wanting to keep his distance from her, at the end of the day, his love for her perpetually trumps disappointment and suspicion. He can't help himself. 

Xiao Song is a larger than life creature who is big on the truth and loves greatly. It must be hard on him to have to reconcile these apparently contradictory positions. I don't think they're especially contradictory categorically but for him having to deal with his repeated disappointments with RY, it must appear to be. It is ironic that for a man who can see through criminal motives and seemingly read the minds of men at a pinch, the woman he loves is a perpetual puzzle to him. The fault doesn't lie with him but the nature of their ever evolving relationship which is fraught with complexities made more difficult by her history with her former betrothed who is a persistent presence. Who wants to be a continual sap for a woman who has her eye directed elsewhere? It must be a blow to an intelligent man that despite all his best efforts and correct assessments of RY's change of heart, he can never be certain of her loyalty.

To his credit he doesn't actively act against SF because he is a perceived rival for RY's affections. XS is much better and far more intelligent than that. I don't even think that XS really tries to win her heart in the traditional sense. He does what he does for her because of who he is... of the good he wants for her. All of it comes from that place of love he has for her. I wouldn't say that he does things for her necessarily to turn her heart towards him. It is true though that he wants her heart unequivocally. And what self-respecting man wouldn't?  I doubt that he's willing to share especially with a man who's background and activities are highly suspect to begin with. 

In defence of RY, I think underneath all that bravado she is a good sort of girl. She's a softie for a hard luck story despite the arrogance and posturing. She wants to help everybody and insists on not taking sides. Some of that comes from being a physician of sorts. I can understand the impulse on some level because there are bigger political forces at work that she's quite unaware of. On top of that she is in the middle of a tug-of-war between two men who happen to be in rival camps. Despite her natural intelligence, she doesn't have all the tools to navigate this tumultuous triangular relationship with clarity. Her inability to draw the line in the sand could also possibly be attributed to the fact that she does genuinely feel sorry for SF.

Moreover, she doesn't completely understand XS and how he operates. I'm always struck by how well everyone can see through his actions and see the obvious signs of blossoming romance at play but for one reason or another she is fraught with uncertainty. Is it really a case of once bitten, twice shy? I appreciate her cousin, Ran Yunsheng, for standing in XS' corner and cheering him on the sidelines. He is a much needed sounding board. My conclusion is that her world so far has been small, very black and white, believing that what one sees is always what the truth is. 

It's not the first time that I'm surprised and a little impressed about how broadminded XS' family is about his relationship with her. An obvious contrast with her own upbringing. Despite everything and even though they don't entirely approve of her, they really care about what he likes or wants. Perhaps this broadmindedness translates into his own meritocratic attitude towards her and her abilities. I was thinking when XS was in conversation with his father and stepmother at different times about how much they respect his choices and want to encourage him in them because they actually respect him. It's harder to be sure about the uncle's wife because she has her own agenda but she does seem to be genuinely fond of him. Dad at least seems wise enough to grasp what it is that Song'er sees in this arrogant upstart that goes against conventional proprietary for a family of their status. 

Su Fu has never been for me an obviously bad guy. I wouldn't even consider him an antihero because he is so obviously developed as a foil for the leads. He has his difficulties and yet he has made certain choices which means his trajectory ends up being at odds with RY's. I don't doubt that for him RY is a ray of sunshine in his very bleak existence. Is it just the drugs talking because I'm not clear on why he changed his mind about letting her go. Now he's becoming increasingly possessive and dangerously so.

Miss Truth (2020): Episodes 21-26

One of the first things that happen to RY when she arrives in Chang'an is stumble unwittingly into a homicide. Someone's cleverly inserted human skeletal remains into a faux jade screen and making it bleed. It causes quite a stir and as we expect, the case is given to Xiao Song. He knows quite well who is the best woman for the job of extracting the bone from the screen but seems to believe that she would have nothing to do with him if asked properly. So he does a convoluted thing of tricking her into doing the job for free. Of course there's also the matter that his rival in love has also made his way to the metropolis under a new identity. This raises all kinds of red flags for the suspicious Xiao Song who already has his hands full trying to keep his lady love's attention focused on him.

For a while I wasn't sure whether those two would end up together or that I necessarily needed them together as a couple but after Episode 22, when they are finally working so well together and are so much in sync during the deductions that it would be an absolute tragedy if they didn't end up together. 

It was so funny and so sweet when Xiao Song, broke protocol, volunteered to be her assistant at the autopsy. He knew exactly what to do, setting up her tools etc and he even deftly applied the deodorizers on her cleft palate. I can see why the head of the Board of Punishments, Lord Lu was looking faintly amused by their antics. It did look like they were flirting and I just adored how they replayed their quid pro quo relationship quietly during the set-up. 

It is obvious that neither Xiao Song or Ran Yan is sure what the lady wants. He hopes desperately that she's come to Chang'an because of him. I think it's clear that she does. At the very least she thinks that solving crimes with him has become her calling. But after being burnt by the ex-fiance, she's leery of being so open with her feelings or committing herself so soon to another man. She was given multiple opportunities to divorce XS but she hesitates each time. She could have not gone to Chang'an but she did after being expressly invited to join him there. Then she goes beyond the call of duty to try and sneak into the head of the Ministry of Justice's office to look at documents related to the case. She would most likely have been caught except for the timely intervention of her suitors. When Xiao Song tells her he should punish her for sneaking in and stealing documents, she is adamant that she was only helping him. Then there is the incident with the in-laws. On one side of her mouth she claims she was forced into marrying XS but as soon as the in-laws talk about dissolving the marriage, she protests and insists on being acknowledged as wife #3. Her rationale to him is that she wants to help him investigate the deaths of his late wives because he helped her previously... presumably in her mother's case.

Things get dicey on the home front so XS sends RY back to her cousin's place for her safety. She's really quite miffed and vents at the restaurant about the gender of the goose. Her cousin knows that she's angry about XS taking her home and tells her that things haven't been good at the Xiao household. In response she shows up at the brothel in the middle of a sting declaring to the prostitutes that XS is her man, brandishing a knife in menacing fashion. This makes XS a very happy man and he is quick, as usual, to adapt to the situation. My thesis is that even while she had opportunities to keep away from XS, she kept running back to him. She used the convenient excuse each time that she wanted to help him solve cases to stay at his side. Moreover, each time any one mentioned any of his late wives, she would... as the idiom goes... "be eating vinegar"... get very jealous.

There is a clear shift in her paradigm of operation but she is reluctant to comply with the reality of her own mind. I think XS senses it and asks her to stay... implying that he really wants them to consummate their relationship because he thinks... rightly... that he has finally won her heart. 

Of course, Su Fu interjects himself into the situation and his intervention to get her to cough up the Marquis of Sui's pearl by manipulating her compassionate side leads to the most serious rift between XS and her yet.

This show has resonances of classic Agatha Christie. Even while Xiao Song is on the hunt for the pearl which is inspiring carnage of the first order, the majority of cases so far seem to be about lost love of some kind... something that was an integral part of the Christie oeuvre. Except for the tomb raider murders, the crimes that our romancing detectives stumble onto are cautionary tales of obsession, love triangles and not being able to let go. There's no room for subtlety of any kind evidently. 

Apparently they knew about dissociative personality disorder even in those days. Surprising that people were so broadminded and they didn't think to bring in the priests to exorcise her etc. (Perhaps they did at some point) Ironic though that the man the lady at the centre of it all loved so desperately and couldn't let go off was a bit of a loser that bailed at the first sign of trouble. And the seemingly dodgy husband was the one who really cared for her and kept her secret for all that time.

This is one of the things I love about this drama. It moves. Everything moves. Cases close in record time after our team do their thing. Let's chalk it up to the fact that I've been burnt by C dramas far too many times but I really didn't expect the pearl to be found until Episode 34 at least. But here we are in Episode 26, it's in Xiao Song's hot hands. (And he does have really nice hands) So yeah, the pearl is real and if legend holds true, the owner has access to incredible wealth to do some serious damage.

So what was XS doing in Suzhou then? After all, the pearl was literally in his own backyard. Seems like a waste of time then to have made the trip. Well, not entirely. He had to find the lambskin too and he was under orders to gather clues about the pearl's whereabouts given to him by the Big Man himself. But in reality... going to Suzhou was narratively about him finding another wife. A wife. The third wife. The wife to end all wives. Or rather the wife to end all need for any more wives. Hopefully. Let's hope he's third time lucky. 

XS seems to have a hard time hanging on to women... poor fellow. It's the curse of the pearl being so close to home. I remember when he and RY were trapped in that stuffy ancient tomb waiting to be rescued. He cracked a knowing smile when she said that the death of his two wives probably had nothing to do with misfortune etc. There had to be some earthly explanation for at least one of them. I think he knew then... that she was the one. They were on the same page. He'd met his soulmate. 

Apparently all that love and affection he showered on Wife #2 was all a smokescreen. She was after something and he always knew it. Dear fellow... never lets me down. 

 And RY threw a jealous tantrum all for nothing. 

Miss Truth (2020) : Week 2

The latest and newest 6 episodes have definitely cemented my newfound fervour for this drama and for young Toby who plays Xiao Song. I'm even warming up to Zhou Jie Song who is the titular character. I've gone a bit fanatical and watched the last 6 at least twice already. For some unknown reason it just hits all the right notes with me.  It's not perfect of course. Editing continues to be a problem in C dramas although this is certainly not the worst I've experience. But the OST is actually reasonably good.

I've come to realise in the last couple of years of watching C dramas that often the gems are really to be found amongst those that feature lesser or unknown actors. Maybe it behooves the production team to rely less on star power and more on the writing and storytelling to do the heavy lifting. It's not as if the lesser known actors are talentless either but they're not the primary drawcard I expect.

I don't usually have a problem coming up with the "who" of the whodunnits here but I enjoy finding out the "whys" and the "whats". I'm also somewhat amused that they even managed to insert a serial killing case into the mix anachronistically explained with modern profiling tools.  I refer specifically to the third case that seems to be tied to a traditional Snow Witch folklore.

Because our leads are adamant that there are no supernatural elements involved in this case, we can certainly expect a Scooby Doo outcome at the end of it all. Here our killer or killers seem to have a deep-seated psychological hatred for men and women who are having extra-marital affairs.

As for the progression of the main romance, I'm largely content with how things are progressing. It's probably less common that the FL doesn't fall head over heels with the ML first but it isn't something that never happens either . As someone who isn't normally enamoured with love triangles, this one is actually tolerable and surprisingly well-integrated into the storyline. It doesn't come across as some unnecessary appendage for the most part. It also makes sense why Ran Yan isn't head over heels with Xiao Song because with their respective personalities, they're bound to clash hard at the start. He wants something from her, she drives a hard bargain so he pushes her buttons to make her give in, she does grudgingly. All the makings of a beautiful romance.  Truth be told, she didn't learn to be a coroner just to sit around and twiddle her thumbs. So he understands something about her that she doesn't realise about herself. Still Su Fu is her knight in shining armour future fiance with a sob story so the lonely girl in her is swept off her feet.

Of course I'm not a fan of the screechy step-sister (who could be) who has her eye on Xiao Song as potential husband material. She may have succeeded in getting her hooks into him but Ran Yan's efforts to trigger her is always a guaranteed laugh. Humour also comes from Cui Sang, the genius scholar that's crushing on RY. His plan of being stuck with her in the forest came to naught. Not a contender for suitor, I don't think.  Of course there's the banter between the leads that brightens up the bleakness around them... although lately he seems less inclined because his feelings for her have undoubtedly changed. Their nicknames for each other may have started as teasing and mutual insult but it's gradually becoming more about endearment and intimacy.

One of the surprising things is that Xiao Song confesses so early and then retracts by saying that he tricked her. Avoiding a loss of face? I don't think so. I suppose he did it partly to test the waters and he thinks he knows that RY is in love with SF... at least it's the obvious conclusion to come to. So he retreats. I doubt he's given up completely. Not that he really can if he's drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

It is telling that both men are not properly understood by RY. Given her background and age, it's not surprising. She has an anti-authoritarian streak from being mistreated by her own family so there's a prejudice there and she presumes that what you see is what you get. I also think that she doesn't quite know who she is or what she wants. Although she claims that the Merman puts her in jeopardy, the reality is that she relishes risk-taking. That he knows all too well. Why else would she deal in corpses and go after leads? She's never played it safe even as a child so why start now?

Despite how the odds are stacked against him right now, I still root for Xiao Song to get the girl. Ultimately he's a brilliant nerd that wants to play detective and she's a good fit for him. The other half, in fact.  While he may toy with her at times, he cares for her much more than she realises. Given time, I think she will realise fully that he is someone she can't do without, given his passion and hers.

Miss Truth (2020) : Initial Impressions

It's always a pleasure to find a drama where the leads are intelligent people and that's including the 2ML who has his own agenda. For me, this is the sort of detective drama that when done well surpasses everything else that come out of Cdrama land. The potential is there for that to happen but a lot rests on the writing which is so far pretty good. That said, I didn't think that the Ran Yan character really needed to be that impertinent towards Xiao Song right from Day 1 but it is one of those tropes that seems par for the course especially the show is determined to have the leads at odds in this early phase.

Xiao Song's strategy of course is to toy with her as would befit someone of his foresight and shrewdness as well as an innate self-confidence that comes from being certain of his abilities. Clearly he is a good judge of people and talent among his myriad of skills. On top of that he is rather open-minded for his time, engaging a feisty woman to be his personal forensic pathologists because he knows her skills are extraordinary. His nickname for her is on point: hu li... she can sniff out the details and from what I gather, foxes grip their prey with their canines until they're dead or disemboweled. He seldom takes offence at her outbursts (I imagine it's because he's generally in a superior bargaining position but also he's amused by her antics) and her bark is usually worse than her bite. He's the kind of male character that I relish watching. Not overly garrulous, not overly aloof but sharp and somewhat mischievous. While he toys with the FL, he doesn't feel the need to denigrate her. And that... I really really like. Plus his logical and pragmatic side also seems to override any egotistical tendencies which I also find very attractive. Her nickname for him is Xiao Ren Yu... Fishman Xiao or Merman Xiao because they have a meet cute in a steaming hot bath. All that to say is that her first impression of him is not a joyous one.

Unlike what she thinks initially, he isn't a heartless man even if he pushes her buttons to micro manage her recalcitrance. Her prejudice clouds her judgment somewhat but that gradually softens over time when she realises that he's not just a big shot official throwing his weight around. She's a good partner-in-crime for him not just to cover the forensic pathology side of things but as they deliberate over the cases. Like a Watson to his Holmes.  

Ran Yan's relationship with Su Fu, the 2ML is surprisingly less cliche. He has been set up to be a possible contender in that it is possible she could ride off with him at the end except for the fact that he's involved in some deep dark plot against the throne. He is a sword-carrying, walking bag of angst and, on some level he really does care about her. 

Whether he cares enough to abandon his role in the conspiracy that he's a part of, that remains to be seen. But she is crushing on him at this point so he does seem to be the frontrunner in this love triangle. At the very least she is responding to his gentle nature although his overt threats to kill her doesn't seem to be an impediment to them forming an attachment.

 That said, I can't see why Xiao Song can't be with Ran Yan at the finishing line even if he's handicapped by the fact that Ran Yan is already betrothed to Su Fu and that he's been very "unlucky" with marriage... being twice widowered already. The resolution of all that will be interesting to watch.

As she notes, it might not be anything to do with how his stars are aligned but that might be an explanation much closer to home. That is a telling statement and perhaps there's an avenue that will be explored down the track in the context of the investigations. It's evident that he cares about her beyond the bounds of business and work. The hu li nickname is becoming increasingly a term of endearment especially now that he's given her a jade fox to commemorate their successful working relationship. 

I also like the inclusion of the scholar character as a member of the team. A little bit on the timid side but has a useful skill set as well. Apparently he has picturing ability which should come in handy again.

The cases are nicely constructed and deconstructed by our detectives. This is the sort of thing I wanted more of in Under the Power. They are complex enough to be intriguing but not overly convoluted that they're dragged out unreasonably. The template is something I'm happy to buy into. Individual cases with an overarching storyline that functions separately. Any of that could change of course... but seeing that it's a 36 episode drama, I'm fairly confident we won't be bogged down by too many non-criminal related subplots.

Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Changlin -- Grappling with the ending

(Spoilers galore... enter at own risk)

I've been pondering over the ending of the drama since the end of its broadcast, ruminating over what went wobbly at the end. The first three-quarters of the series was undoubtedly spectacular television in any language and arguably more emotionally gripping than its predecessor (although not as cerebral I would hasten to add) but then something happened on the way to the ending that altered the course of the narrative leaving behind a general feeling of dissatisfaction. Having just finished watching Money Flower in the last day or so has helped me better understand what my problems with NiF 2's resolution were. Rather than being an outright "bad" ending, it came across more as unsatisfying. And in the history of C-drama bad endings, (and there's been a fair number lately) it certainly wasn't the worst. Far from it.

My main (and hopefully final) conclusion after tossing it over at the back of my mind and chatting with people is that the drama doesn't really earn its ending. Why? Because first of all, there is a strong disconnect between the first three quarters and the last quarter of the series. It was as if that final phase of the series became its own separate spin-off in which the main character took a back seat and made cameo appearances while the villain of the piece took centrestage. The moment Pingjing took refuge in Langya Pavilion with his sister-in-law and nephew, his development came to a standstill while he sat on his hands. The shift in focus from the protagonist and then to the antagonist was jarring and ultimately this was arguably the show's biggest narrative mistake especially after investing so much emotional energy in the main character's journey. I suspect that nobody wanted to see the villain having long chats and drinking tea with other antagonists especially when what they really want to see is who they thought the main guy was. It occurs to me that if the show was always trying to say that Pingjing was just the support act, then they really did a confusing job of it. 

In the earlier phase where members of the Changlin family are front and centre in the story with glimpses of the villain plotting and scheming in his lair, the drama worked brilliantly as a political cum detective story as the protagonists were navigating their political climate while trying to decipher the puzzle that the primary antagonist was cooking up (often quite literally) behind the scenes. In the final phase, on the other hand, the bad guy plot was revealed rather easily and quickly so it was all about waiting for the right time and implementation.

I don't doubt that the writer always had in mind this vision of Pingjing riding off in the sunset with his lady love free of family responsibilities affirming individual choice and personal freedom. But I didn't go away feeling that he really earned that ending straight after dispatching the coup leaders and doing a little bit of housekeeping. It felt inconsistent to me that the Pingjing that I'd come to know and love would leave behind unfinished business like the taking back of the three provinces from Marquis Mozi of Donghai and a young emperor who needs him more than ever.  Even though he might have been bitter with how the royal court treated his family, he was someone although cavalier on the outside was someone who took his responsibilities seriously. Pingzhang said it best. Even though Pingjing on appearance would come across as casual and easygoing, he would deliver the goods at the end. I worry too about the vulnerable Yuanshi who could really use the support I imagine.

I accept to some degree the show's conclusion that Changlin is more than just a family or an army or an individual. It's a spirit or ideal of loyalty and brotherhood that goes beyond blood ties or a formidable fighting force... I understood all of that but this doesn't mean that individuals who embody such ideals don't matter or that being brought up in a family which holds to such values isn't crucial. Of course they are which is why we have a Yuanqi who is fatherless... then motherless... corrupted by his ambition to stand out because he has no anchor and carves out a trajectory that leads him to lose everything in a desperate gamble to be nobody's fool. Then there's the young, still impressionable sovereign who because of family is led astray although not irrevocably. There's hope for him and he has learnt a few painful lessons as the show comes to its conclusion but he needs people he knows and can trust until such time when he can assert his own authority. He's certainly not going to become a great leader of his country just because he saw his mother take her own life in front of him or because he's had a few bumps and bruises dished out to him.

To be fair, the show telegraphed this resolution several episodes earlier when Lin Xi tells Pingjing that she cannot go where he's going despite understanding the fact that he is the son of Changlin and can't leave the young emperor to his own devices. The problem for me is she doesn't really say why. We can only assume that it's because of her mother's bidding or that she's so fearful of losing her independence that she's completely unwilling to compromise at any level except to affirm her love for him. Sadly the show doesn't flesh this out in any great detail or give any justification for her stance except to labour under the presumption that the audience would understand. For me this does the character grave injustice especially because there is nothing prior to and after this conversation that demonstrates why she would cling to her stance so vehemently even in extreme circumstances especially when she fell in love with Pingjing despite all her mother's admonishments. Her rigidity and lack of development in the name of "independence" doesn't in the final analysis sit all that well with me. For a show that prides itself on being somewhat historically realistic... it's even more of a head scratcher.

Perhaps the show was attempting to steer clear of triumphalism or hubris that it avoided taking a strong position on the whole issue of how the Changlin was treated after the death of Xiao Tingsheng. Nonetheless probably the most disappointing aspect of the drama's ending was the lack of an "official" repudiation of Minister Xun Baishui's position on Changlin as a threat. Sure there were moments in the final arc where one could see the consequences of a Jingling with no Changlin presence. Even Yuanshi acknowledged openly to his mother that the coup was only able to occur because there was no Prince Changlin. But then at the end of the show, when Pingjing has his final exchange with Yue Yinchuan, there seems to be a tacit reinforcement of Xun Baishui's belief that Changlin would always be seen as a potential threat to the sovereign especially because Pingjing was able to rally the troops under its banner as readily he did.

I was always critical of Xun Baishui's position not only because it was hypocritical but that it was politically simplistic as well. No one is disputing that there needs to be a balance of power but maintaining a balance of power can only go so far in insuring the stability of the emperor's rule. He wanted a sure-fire guarantee that the sovereign's rule would never be undermined by his subject. Laughably not only was he trying to manipulate the young Yuanshi to sway his reaction to Changlin  but his own machinations inevitably created a political/military vacuum that was filled by an opportunist who was planning not only to destabilize the Liang court but to overthrow the young emperor also. It's not that I am naive enough to believe internal threats don't exist but the reality is that they always exist. However that is what good leadership is all about, the ability to maintain that balance without merely ruling purely for survival. Dynasties come and go in a matter of two to three hundred years, what sort of lasting guarantee is Xun Baishui looking for? But of course, ultimately it was about him maintaining the power base of his own clan. And as the rightly demonstrates, when the sovereign is politically weak/naive, he is probably as much of an internal threat as any powerful noble family or more so.

I'm wondering now if the show had been given a bit more time if some of the issues that were problematic at the end could have been resolved more satisfactorily. We can only speculate.

This is what I said elsewhere as well:

I suppose if I had written those last 10-12 episodes, I would have at least put half the focus on Pingjing, the last adult male member of the family, still bitter at how his family was treated, wandering around living among the common people for 3 years and realising after a while the important role that he can play in the country as a whole and there's no running away from that. He could even become an Yi Zhi Mei type character with his band of merry followers while keeping tabs on things in Jingling via Langya Pavilion and old Changlin connections. Perhaps we could have seen him spending some time out in Qian province meeting the people who suffered in the war with Donghai? Just a thought. At the same time, Yuanqi's star would apparently be on the rise like we saw and gradually trying to ingratiate himself with the royal court. I would highlight the parallels and contrasts in their respective journeys while still maintaining the themes of loyalty and brotherhood. Although I liked Yue Yinchuan, I really didn't think his character was a necessary inclusion especially at such a late stage.