Voted "Royal Most Likely to Deliver Your Marketplace Baby" five times running by the Daily Post

[dangermousie]

I wasn't particularly interested in the 'Chu's third prince' storyline, but how much did I love that Eight and Qing Chuan tried to bust him for fraud but ended up having to deliver his wife's baby in an emergency? LOLOLOLOL. I think this may be one of my favorite sequences in JPLH so far

Comments

JPLH

[momosan]

I am SO going to use the phrase "angstiest angstmuffin who ever angsted" sometime. 8-)

And no, neener neener, no matter how tempting, I'm not going to the dark side of time traveling Chinese historicals. Bad enough that you and ockoala got me doing TW rom-coms, but no! no! I say!

Re: JPLH

[dangermousie]

the phrase "angstiest angstmuffin who ever angsted" sometime.

That moniker would fit about half of all kdrama heroes :)

If you don't like cdramas, then I am pretty sure this one is not for you :P

Re: JPLH

[momosan]

oh, it's not that I don't LIKE cdramas. Just that I recognize a giant black hole when I see one. 8-)

Re: JPLH

[rectherapyfreak]

don't resist!!! This drama is great!

[rectherapyfreak]

Love Eight and his morals!! Even from when they 1st meet he saves her from the water!

Very true about them complimenting each other.

How could we ever have enen thought of shipping..QC/Four...

[dangermousie]

Love Eight and his morals!! Even from when they 1st meet he saves her from the water!True - and he had no idea who she was

[your_insomnia]

I just watched the third episode and OMG TOTAL LOVE!

I couldn't believe it at first but this is really like Handan! With QC being bullied but not giving up and being so strong and stubborn about it. And like you said, the difference though is that the Palace is a much much scarier place than a high school.
I still think QC is a bit aloof but she's also tough and can be sympathetic (like the time she saved that girl, argh what's her name? the one 4th installs into the palace to get close to the Emperor ). Also I must say, unlike with various korean period dramas, this is the first time I'm not bored with court politics!

[dangermousie]

Girl's name is Su Yan. Yes, QC gets more and more sympathetic as the story progresses - she does grow up a lot but also her character gets revealed a lot under stress.

Also, this version just might have my favorite take on Domyouji ever because, let's face it, as an 18th century royal, Domyouji makes a lot more sense :P

Yeah, agreed - kdrama politics usually bores me silly but not here.

[hanjae]

YAY, this part! The episode was mostly politics but it's the little moments that really show how Eight/QC has progressed as a couple. They can both be impulsive, but the reason why they match so well despite of this is because they're impulsive at different times. Eight becomes bull-headed and acts before he thinks when it involves a person he cares a lot about. At these moments, QC is able to hold him back and calm him down, because she's a lot more clear-headed about her emotions (you can see it in the way she analyses her feelings). And when QC is being overly-impulsive, it's because she's so quick-witted; she has so many ideas flitting about that when she decides on something, it becomes a totally one-track mind. In these situations, Eight has the ability to see the bigger picture and holds her back in turn

[dangermousie]

Eight, a normal guy, would of course never compare to her perfect illusion of a man, i.e. what Four was to her. Yes. Not even Four, even if he wasn't manipulative murderer, could compare to her ideal. A few weeks with him and she would have been deeply disillusioned. She would have been deeply disillusioned by any flesh-and-blood man. It really wasn't real love because as soon as the bubble collapsed, she wrote him off enirely - never tried to figure it out or fight for it or anything

[hanjae]

Yeah, it's interesting to note that she never tried to hear him out or even consider him after she found out what he was really like, isn't it? That was what made it clear to me it wasn't love; she was completely unable to accept him for who he is and/or help him change and give him a 2nd chance. Four, also, accepted it a bit too quickly and almost immediately reverted to his previous self.

It really was a kick in the guts, wasn't it? It was all so happy and I thought they were heading towards a fairytale conclusion to the whole thing, and then Eunuch Li goes, "Your Majesty, they all killed themselves!" Bwuh. More than anything, I liked how straightforward Eight and QC both are about facing problems. Yes, QC feels guilty, but she doesn't wallow in it; she learns from the experience, resolves to be less thoughtless next time, and moves on. I really loved that scene; it irritates the HECK out of me that there's a glitch right there. XD

[dangermousie]

With Four, it's as if she's punishing him for not being her ideal/making her act in uncharacteristically swoony fashion previously.

Yes, neither one tried too hard. I do think Four's feelings for her were deeply genuine but it really highlights that the scheming and ruthlessness and ambition are to deeply ingrained in him to give up (and ditto expectation of being betrayed by love). It really does convince me that even if he and QC left, after a couple of weeks of unworldly bliss, he would have reverted to his old self. Old self who also loves QC, but old self nontheless.