Aside from the confusing first five minutes, this was easy to follow.
So…
EPISODE 1 RECAP
The first few minutes of this episode are rather confusing, but things pick up neatly afterwards. Although, for some reason, the narrator’s voice sounds like he’s trying to sell me energy drinks.
Anyway…
Two people are very ill: the current emperor and his sister, Princess Li Rong.
The emperor is presented as a weak man — it’s not his fault; it looks like he has been bullied into this position. Even the empress is bullying him and not leaving him alone when he is already confined to his sickbed. His only ally is Minister Pei (Zhang Linghe), who is also our male lead and the princess’ husband.
Long story short, the emperor wants someone to be on the throne after his death, but Princess Li Rong wants another. Minister Pei promises the emperor to carry out his last wish, even if it means going against his wife.
It’s not like this couple hasn’t been going against one another for their entire life though. Princess Li Rong and Minister Pei have a very strained marriage, and that’s putting it lightly. They have no problem bringing physical harm to each other. I’m loving this dynamic.
As Princess Li Rong is also lying in bed, ridden with sickness, a young man comforts her by saying that he can kill Minister Pei if she wants. I’m a little confused about their relationship, though. Does this man like the princess? He doesn’t seem to be her equal.
In walks Minister Pei. He and the princess talk and basically declare war on one another, each of them endorsing a different candidate for the throne. I’m just simplifying the situation here, there’s a lot more to their conflict than that.
But they can’t stand each other anymore, that’s the point.
After Minister Pei leaves, Li Rong takes her medicine. The young man checks the medicine for poison before giving it to her. It’s ok, here, drink it, princess. Oh wait, no, it’s poisoned. Oops, you’ve already swallowed? My bad.
This guy is the worst poison checker ever. I know he is genuinely shocked that there is poison in the medicine, but the way the scene is carried out is so careless that it looks like he is in on whoever’s plan it is to kill the princess. He just takes one sip of the medicine and doesn’t even wait for a full minute before giving it to her. Who does it like that?
So the princess doubles over and dies, cursing her husband in her last moment because she is sure he is the one who poisoned her. But why does the guy who tasted the medicine still survive?
As Minister Pei rides home on his carriage, he meets with a ferocious ambush. He and his men put up a fight but they are defeated and he is slain.
Pei spends his last second lamenting his failed marriage, accepting the fact that it was probably his wife who orchestrated this assassination. I can’t tell if he’s devastated or turned on by her actions. Maybe both?
But HELLO? Neither of them actually dies.
Li Rong and Pei open their eyes again and find themselves back in the days before their marriage. *Gasps* A second chance?
They will get married again and have the chance to either change the course of their lives or take the same path and be killed by their spouse again in the end.
I won’t lie. I kind of want to see the second scenario. Sure, a second-chance romance is sweet but so is the “destiny is unavoidable” kind of drama.
Now get in there and start tearing each other apart. Or fall in love. I’ll root for you guys either way.
COMMENTS
This was a very interesting first episode. I wouldn’t say the acting is exceptional, but it’s good enough to get you invested. Obviously, there are some elements of magic there, and we still don’t know whether magic will play an important role in this story or only a way to get the plot started. I hope it’s the latter.
As intrigued as I am, 40 episodes is a lot of time to mess up. Best to watch it with very low expectations still just in case.
Also, let’s put the beard back on the male lead ASAP. Without it, I can’t see him as anything other than the silly Changheng in the mortal realm of Fairy and Devil, especially when he makes the purposefully “dumb” face.
I only watched 1 ep. The couple obviously has feelings for each other, even though they’re “suppose” to hate each other. But the dialogue to make it seem like they’re pitying their failed marriage just makes it hard to believe they hate each other, along with the subpar acting. I guess they were suppose to portray as a married couple that was bitter towards each other with opposing political stances and jealousy of opposite sex but the acting didn’t really work. I don’t know but to me it is obvious the ML didn’t kill her, she actually assumed it was from his scented sachet, not food (maybe the combination of the two). I find it really weird because the filter is really pleasing to watch, could give it a serious vibe but the acting and script made it an silly idol drama instead.
It’s fun so far but I’ll keep my expectations low XD