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General Thread: Legend of the Female General: Open Thread
Eps 1 to 5: Legend of the Female General: Eps 1 to 5 Open Thread
Eps 6 to 10: Legend of the Female General: Eps 6 to 10 Open Thread
Villains vs Antagonists: Legend of the Female General: Villains vs Antagonists
Eps 11 to Ep 14
I don’t know where XJ and HY are off to right now, but I’m guessing that their mission has something to do with “avoiding the storm.” But what kind of storm? We shall see. I’ll update this thread when more episodes are released.
XJ said that with a weakened Xiao army and with the enemies at the door, the army couldn’t endure another storm. Meanwhile, his enemy Minister Xu complained to Chu Zhao that XJ had been seeing uninterrupted success so Chu Zhao reassured him that the garrison would be seeing some “turbulence” shortly.
Let’s enjoy the show.
about to see the underdogs be inspired, hopefully by He Yan.
ep.11, XJ applies ointment to HY’s reopened wound.
The first time her shoulder showed no signs of the scarring that surely should be there for a victorious general who has risen through the ranks and fought in many major battles.
Now we get two short scars. A good book would have an interesting arc involving him loving her for her scars. Sigh. Guess not here.
@ibisfeather,
I’m sure the scar will have its “story” later in the drama.
The osmanthus candies did. It was introduced in Ep 1, then we saw its backstory in Ep 5 flashback, then we’d circle back to it in Ep 16.
In Episode 15 we get the Cdrama guqin version of the iconic pottery wheel scene from the movie Ghost. The view from Shallow Island wasn’t great, though, because XJ had his upper body tightly wrapped in layers of clothing.
@Packmule3, you must’ve added the ending episode of this post’s range right before I added my comment. When you set up the 15-?? post, would you please move that comment? Thanks.
Done, @Welmaris.
Ep13. After XJ works off his feelings with a spectacular display of martial art practice, his hand drips in the rain again.
Like after a battle dripping with blood? aka pc3 on cleansing of corruption..
We hear that the battle of Que City was “bloodless” because victory was achieved by flood.
Did I hear HY say feng shui (wind and water?) the translation was “release the water”..was that the name of the figure/practice?
ep.14 well, that’s done it.
XJ is no fool, he will recognize basic boys’ educational texts and be able to decipher her relationship w/her dad as that of a noble family…… It wont take him long. This arc is pretty exciting, I like it.
However, ‘reality’ acc. to the rules of fiction keeps spoiling my fun. In her previous reincarnation as general Hei Fong, she would not have gotten anywhere in the army without being able to hold her liquor. And with this sort of childish outburst she would never have made it past lieutenant w/o worse things happening. bah, nonsense.
@ibisfeather,
Re. He Yan’s low alcohol tolerance
It has something to do with her “rebirth.” She used to be able to handle her liquor but then she fell to her death and was comatose for a month. When she regained consciousness, she lost her tolerance for alcohol.
It’s a plot device. 😂😂
She had to become alcohol intolerant otherwise the plot wouldn’t move forward. All those cheeky moments/confession times with XJ wouldn’t have been possible if she could hold her liquor like she used to during her previous life as General Hei Fong.
Viewers would have easily connected her new weakness with her new body had the story stuck with the source material’s original reincarnation (or soul transmigration?) trope. But since China movie censors prohibit reincarnations in cdramas, we’re stuck with what appears to be an inexplicable inconsistency.
Loving the romantic interludes in Episodes 16 and 17 and the FL’s 10 truths during the masked ball.
‘I was once a General’ and ‘I am in love with the Moon but the Moon does not know it.’ How’s that for evocative hinting? She points back to their wistful moon gazing together and the almost moon gazing opportunity a couple of episodes back that was so beautifully done.
I also loved the ML’s desire to give the FL her heart’s desire and for her to be free of masks in Episode 17. This far far exceeded any strategic play acting and was very romantic and courtship like.
I liked the way they were able to go deeper in conversation surrounded by the obligatory fireflies with the impromptu overnight star gaze and snooze on the sampan.
Satisfying romantically. Will watch again.
Argh wrong thread. I will re-post tomorrow. Just off to bed!
No worries, @Kate.
Will repost them for you. I’m on my laptop right now.
Good night! Don’t let the bed bugs bite. 😂😂
Thank you @pc3. Even without the transmigration, just recovering from falling off what looked like a mile-high cliff could have done it, since it also washed the poison out of her body. Seems that a little extra dialogue to that effect would have been good.
I know these episodes seem to be transitional but as I pointed out in the Missions thread, it’s important on two fronts.
One, the military front.
For XJ, his mission is to ensure that no “storm” disturb the camp. The enemies are at the door, and he can’t expect his recruits to repel them successfully. But Minister Xu’s man, Chu Zhao faked a crisis and XJ had to go to the city of Litao to help defend them against the Wutuo tribe. All this was planned to draw him away from the Yezhou garrison so the Wutuo could attack it without its leader.
Additionally, the embedded spy in the camp, Lei Zhou, plus the stranger they took in to care for, arranged to have HY imprisoned on false charges.
So with the two strong leaders unable to defend the camp, the Wutuou tribe attacked.
Fortunately, HY was able to foresee the movement of the pieces and she planned accordingly. She incapacitated Lei Zhou and killed the Wutuo general. I think she could have killed the Wutuu general in less time, but I think she was prolonging the duel to play for time in hopes that XJ would arrive soon with reinforcements.
Two, the romantic front.
As I pointed out in the Missions thread, there was another storm brewing in the horizon and it involves HY’s secret identity as a woman. Since XJ confirmed the truth in Ep 10, he felt obligated to protect her secret and prevent his men from discovering the truth.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick-witted enough to come up with a good excuse for banning HY from the men’s public bath. His excuse that she was “physically weak” confused the men as she was after all the top recruit.
To hide from the fuss, she finagled her way into his bedchambers. They then had to live in close quarters.
By Episode 13, she was comforting him about the Que affair. Though he didn’t intend kill the Que people, he blamed himself for their deaths.
HY: In the past, when I was upset, I wanted someone to hold and comfort me. But I had no one. So I hope you can have me.
XY: I’m better now.
Thus, she proved indirectly that he might described her as “physically weak” to others, in private, she was a tower of strength for him.
I guess, that’s one reason I enjoy watching this cdrama. Although there are many times I have to set my skepticisms and suspend my disbelief, I like it because when it comes to romance, everything is tied up prettily in a bow.
@Packmule,
Thank you for moving my post! Up and ready for another long day now… and before it gets hot here in the UK! We are having an on-off heat wave.
I really enjoy the scenes where we see her in action. Like th duel with the Wutuo Leader that you comment on here.
That scene was so well executed. And it reminded us of her hayday and stature as a general who could withstand the pain of an arrow wound and just keep going. She isn’t that person any longer as she declares but it situates her firmly in that backstory. Also, we saw her strategically clever taunting of the Wutuo leader – both an expression of her understanding of the male military ego and the way she uses that in a masculine context, disguised as a man. Great point @Packmule re the delaying tactics. That was underlined too when she told XJ that she would go out on a limb because she knew he would come for her…eventually!
We need these scenes to remind us of why she scaled the military heights in the first place. For me they inject light realism into the show!
I like her military use of a whip. Never quite sure – and the same goes for other shows of this nature – how she manages to manipulate it quickly enough to counter the moves of a swordsman. But I enjoy these scenes anyway!
I so agree on her strength as a wise comforter for XJ who is still bottling up so much pain. That was a great scene when they were together in the snow. And the surprise of her sudden collapse in his arms – because it had been at physical cost to her.