#zisheng

[utterlyhooked]

It was either rewatch the whole thing or make a GIF set.

Adding this here even though I posted this before. I love the way he looks here.

[raine-kai]

Third Prince from Love Like the Galaxy

Ok so after the like, half a dozen times I have seen Love Like the Galaxy, of course I adore the Third Prince. The first time I watched it, that was the biggest twist for me. Like, sure, we get that Zisheng has secrets and has been hiding his true identity--no plot description ever let us forget that, even though you have to get into the 40s before the show even starts dropping you the hints about the truth of that. Shaoshang keeps saying, "I'll stand by you unless you deceive me" etc etc she says it a couple times in a few different ways which signaled to me ok he is *definitely* deceiving her, and probably with more than just his secret identity.

Anyway, all of this pays off beautifully. Shaoshang works out a whole bunch of the truth all by herself. She and Zisheng have a confrontation about the ways in which he's been using her as a shield to hide his political movements, and she gives Zisheng FOUR openings over the course of like, 45mins of runtime to tell her the truth. But he never does, anyway she goes to his aid anyway, because liar or no, Zisheng doesn't get to go to his tragic death without Shaoshang's permission. Cue the him trying to push her away and she refusing...right up until they're trapped on the cliff and he abandons her for his presumed death.

BUT THEN.

The Third Prince storming her home and Shaoshang just ambling out of her room to the standoff to sit down on the floor and be like, "Don't worry guys, this is Zisheng's best friend. He needs me to help save Zisheng. So, Third Prince, what do you think we should do? He wouldn't wanna live in exile till you come to power like you guys have been planning, doncha think?" and I was like 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

WHAT.

THIRD PRINCE.

The guy who is always snarking in the background??? Who never has even the hint of a kind word to ANYONE. This is Zisheng's best frien-

Okay you know what, never mind, I can see that. Dude even presented evidence to get his sister punished for a crime she committed, and as we have established with Shaoshang, people who go for justice over family ties are DEFINITELY Zisheng's favorite type of person.

Anyway, so this guy is Zisheng's best friend. They've been best friends for as long as Zisheng has been in the palace, we learn, and that story Crown Princess Consort told Shaoshang about the Crown Prince rescuing Zisheng from the water? Turns out that was Third Prince, actually.

That scene at the banquet where Third Prince chides everybody for cozying up to Zisheng now that he's risen to power, and implores them all to remember who was kind to him from the start? That's not him calling them out on hypocrisy so much as staking his territory...in a way that only perhaps he, Zisheng and the Crown Prince understand (more on this later).

Pre-Reveal Third Prince in the Rewatch Experience

On rewatch, the connection between Third Prince and Zisheng is increasingly obvious. Zisheng is overtly tied to the original Crown Prince (Zikun), and Third Prince (Ziduan) despises him. On initial watch, I completely missed it because it wasn't clear to me that Third Prince cuts a fine line where he despises Zikun and everything to do with him, except for Zisheng.

NOTE: Zikun and Ziduan are original Crown Prince and Third Prince's respective courtesy names from the book, and I am going to use them going forward because it's easier than constantly trying to keep track of them via title, especially when they both held the Crown Prince title at some point.

The two of them putting on a public show of being barely civil really doesn't help things for first-time viewers, but once you see through the facade, it's increasingly obvious.

The first time we see this faked antagonism flat-out is in ep 24 when Zisheng brings Shaoshang to sit beside him, in line with Zikun (Crown Prince at the time). Ziduan immediately uses this to take a verbal stab at Zikun. Zikun (in character for him) brushes this off and points out that Zisheng is the one who brought her, while Ziduan's words lump Zikun together with Zisheng, using Shaoshang's unearned place at Zisheng's side as a sign of their ineptitude. As that scene goes on and Zisheng requests the Emperor for a betrothal, and Shaoshang's mother steps in to try to find an excuse to avoid the engagement, Ziduan is the one who articulates what's going on: that the Cheng family fears Ling Buyi to such an extent that they are willing to disparage their daughter in public to avoid a betrothal.

Going forward from here, Ziduan continues to be a fairly snarky background presence, with his noteworthy moments in the 30s being the time he brought evidence against Third Princess for using counterfeit currency, and his involvement in the playacted show that was Zisheng's "punishment" in episode 38. The punishment sequence is particularly entertaining to me to watch in retrospect, knowing that Zisheng is very much part of this show and Ziduan is his best friend, because Ziduan is visibly having fun.

One thing that I've spent a lot of time pondering is the way that, during the Huo memorial banquet, Ziduan called out everybody in the room for cozying up to Zisheng now that he has power and influence, when they used to think so little of him. He implores them all to remember who took Zisheng's side back then—which we audience, through the story the Crown Princess Consort tells Shaoshang, are led to believe refers principally to Zikun. It's only after the reveal of Ziduan and Zisheng's friendship in episode 49 that we learn that this story is incorrect—that Ziduan was the one who pulled Zisheng out of the water, and that they have been friends ever since.

This is a particularly interesting moment to me, because surely the three involved—Zisheng, Ziduan, Zikun—have not forgotten the truth of that story. But at the same time, it makes little sense for Ziduan to speak up that way if he had intended it as an outright "Zisheng is MINE, hands off". (In the corresponding scene in the novel, he does seem to be more overtly pointing out that only he has treated Zisheng well through the years, but if we start mixing canons we'll be here all day—not least because I am constrained by the limitations of navigating machine translation and my poor language abilities with the original text.) The two of them have spent too long concealing their connection for that, even within the palace walls. So I'm left to conclude that for whatever reason, they have been feeding the false rumor that Zikun was the one who saved Zisheng that day.

The issue of the tiger tally is a fascinating one once we understand all the motivations at play, because Zisheng very much supports Ziduan's bid for the throne, but he is moving against his uncle the Marquis Yue, who is one of Ziduan's most ardent supporters. The silent interplay between Zisheng and Ziduan when the supposedly-stolen tiger tally is seemingly present and accounted for is fascinating. Ziduan is visibly taken aback, and looks at Zisheng like he knows he has had something to do with this. At the same time, he says nothing even as his uncle tries to press, assuming the tally is a counterfeit. Zisheng is not merely compromising his own political schemes for Shaoshang here. He is caught in between Shaoshang—who has firmly allied herself with Zikun and Empress Xuan—and Ziduan, and he is going out of his way to maneuver in such a way where both of them remain protected, while also doing his best to salvage what he can of the plan for Ziduan (as evidenced by the fact that he did not return the tiger tally).

When Zisheng makes his choice to go after Ling Yi the way he does, it is Shaoshang who points out that he used the tiger tally knowing that it would result in Zikun being deposed, like a last gift to Ziduan. Ziduan denies this fervently, insisting that he did not want to implicate Zikun for Shaoshang's sake, but she brushes this aside. Zisheng is a detail-minded person, and he's excellent at using one action to cover multiple schemes. He knew what he was doing.

Ziduan's Conspiracy to Overthrow Zikun, and Zisheng's Involvement

We learn from Ziduan's words to Shaoshang that though Zisheng was with him and his uncle that day in the pagoda, Zisheng did not agree to join their conspiracy. Zisheng has never exposed Ziduan's intentions beyond the time he implored Shaoshang to stay away from the Eastern Palace because "someone is moving against it". It seems from Ziduan's words that he at the very least believes that Zisheng requires full plausible deniability for Shaoshang if nothing else. It's possible that Ziduan himself even believes that he does not have Zisheng's full support—although he trusts him to never get him in trouble, so the word "full" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

The relationship between Zikun and Zisheng and Ziduan is a fascinating one. While there is no doubt that Ziduan is Zisheng's truest friend, his relationship with Zikun is not as straightforward as, Zisheng actively wants him deposed for Ziduan, though this is the place that relationship is in by the time Shaoshang enters the palace. Zisheng has grown up at Zikun's side, and has been shown to be consistently giving him good advice through the years. Even when the issue of the tiger tally comes up, the seemingly cruel advice Zisheng offers—that the one way out is for the Crown Princess Consort to confess her part and take the blame—is genuine. For all of Zikun's failings, he had the potential to be a decent ruler, if he had decent people by his side. But Zikun has consistently chosen the wrong people, and taken bad advice, and the Crown Princess Consort does nothing but exacerbate this problem. Zisheng's advice is one that is designed to mitigate the ability of the Crown Princess Consort to continue causing future damage—though given his history with counseling Zikun against marrying her or appointing her relatives, it seems a foregone conclusion that Zikun will not take it.

Zisheng is of course biased toward Ziduan over Zikun, but he has given Zikun several chances to fix things as much as possible. While he might not have the same personal warmth for Zikun that he has for Ziduan, he has not given up on Zikun because of this. By the time Shaoshang enters the palace, we understand  that if she did not get in the way, Zisheng is happy to actively take steps to get Zikun deposed—but this is only after years of trying to advise Zikun in vain.

Absolutely nobody has any hard feelings in the long run about Ziduan's conspiracy either... Well, maybe Zikun does, we don't get to hear his thoughts on the subject—but he takes criticism so well and so humbly that I don't believe he'd hold a grudge, at least not in the long term. Even Empress points out on her deathbed that she doesn't need Yue Heng to offer her any promises or assurances about her family, when Ziduan has everything under control. The love and trust the Empress shows in that moment is profound—though of course she was also very much part of the "get Zikun out of this position" committee, as much for his own sake as the country's.

Ziduan and Shaoshang

The relationship between Ziduan and Shaoshang is not a harmonious one—and I spend a lot of time contemplating if it only became as combative as it did because Zisheng was hiding Ziduan from Shaoshang and shielding Shaoshang (and Zikun) from Ziduan, or if they were always going to clash no matter what.

They are essentially in a tug of war of Zisheng's loyalty that Shaoshang does not know she is engaging in for most of the narrative. Ziduan, meanwhile, might claim that he is only being antagonistic to keep up the act, but I do feel some of his frustration directed at Shaoshang must be real, given how much her presence has altered Zisheng's priorities. While Zisheng never fully betrays either of them for the other, he also can never fully support either—by some definition, he has betrayed both of them in small ways in defense of the other.

What strikes me most of all is that Ziduan does seem to warm up to Shaoshang very rapidly once they actually begin to speak plainly to each other—though there's no indication that she has ever warmed to him in return. The fact is that in their interactions in episode 49, Shaoshang is once again (and for the last time in the narrative) placed between Zisheng and Ziduan: specifically because Ziduan needs to save Zisheng, and he knows that only Shaoshang can, but she has the gall to be abed with "illness". Their resulting dialogue is so perfect and so well-acted, I love watching Ziduan's microexpressions throughout. Shaoshang's monologue about her worth is one of my favorite moments in the drama.

I say that Shaoshang is between Zisheng and Ziduan in these scenes only because I do believe that is how Ziduan sees her, initially. But in fact, Ziduan and Shaoshang are fully united in episode 49 as the two people who are willing to burn the world down to save Zisheng. Through the narrative, we have seen so many people try to appeal to Zisheng, and so many people who claimed to love him. Yet in episode 49, we see that not even the Emperor or Zikun or Uncle Cui can bring themselves to defend what seems an entirely inexplicable descent into patricide, no matter how loathsome Ling Yi was. It is Ziduan who goes fully feral, as Shaoshang had the night of Ling Yi's birthday banquet. It's Ziduan who storms the Cheng house, ready to drag Shaoshang out of bed, chastises her for not caring enough, snaps at the entire court to shut up, lays out how much Zisheng ought to mean to them, as a nominal member of their family.

In a world full of characters who claimed to love Zisheng, when he is truly in crisis, it is Shaoshang and Ziduan who stand by his side and refuse to budge.

For several viewings—until yesterday, in fact—I had been assuming that Ziduan must have a wife, somewhere in the narrative. But on closer inspection of the unnamed members of the imperial family...it does appear possible that he doesn't have one. Which seems odd, on one hand, because if Zisheng being single at his age is treated as such a big deal, then surely Ziduan is in a similar boat? Especially vying for the Crown Prince title as he is—surely he needs a wife?

I end up believing that surely he must have one, though based on what we know of his personality, I doubt it is romantic, if it is even sexual. It seems to me that Ziduan largely sees women as property, as pawns in his game. Or maybe this is just how he sees Shaoshang, who is the only woman we truly see him interact with as a person. (Even his presenting the evidence of Third Princess's crimes was so throwaway that she might have been anybody. Presumably his relationship with his mother is doing well enough, as he escapes the fire hose of her tongue lashing at the Huo memorial banquet, but we don't get to see their relationship either.) His (entirely unfair) criticisms of Shaoshang might just be what he thinks wives ought to be—but more likely, I see it as him trying to push her to "prove her worth" so to speak, as the person who has caused Zisheng to fall for her so thoroughly as she has. Zisheng, of course, being the person Ziduan cares about most in this world, as far as the narrative shows us—which brings us to the relationship I really am here to unpack.

Ziduan and Zisheng

Despite this relationship being such a big twist and so vital to the plot, it was astonishing to me that we never get a single scene of Ziduan and Zisheng just...interacting. Not one. They are always in a crowd or in a crisis, and while there is clearly a lot of love between them, and they clearly have moments just to themselves, the show never shows us a single one.

Oh, it hints at us.

The speed at which Zisheng was able to get to Shaoshang in the pagoda also has to take into account that he had to be able to communicate to Ziduan at some point, "I'll handle this, pretend I was never here".

The undertone of glee Ziduan is emitting in episode 38 during Zisheng's chastisement is probably coming from a place of getting to humble Shaoshang (who is at this point a thorn in his side that he has never really interacted with), but I also see his amusement as emoting for both himself and Zisheng. Gosh, I love imagining the verbal conversation that must have happened with the emperor, as well as the nonverbal conversation that must have happened between Ziduan and Zisheng before Shaoshang entered the throne room.

The way Ziduan went fully feral for Zisheng in episode 49 merits another mention, because it is pronounced. Here is a character who has spent most of the show being calm and collected and extremely image-conscious and careful with his words. Yet when he enters that throne room debating the crimes of Ling Buyi, his voice is so full of rage that it's hoarse. His accusation to Shaoshang from the scene before this, that she does not care enough because she is acting too calm, is very much him projecting, because he has fully lost his cool in the face of Zisheng's crisis. And not for a single moment does he care what the crimes are, or why Zisheng did them—he doesn't even have the bare-bone information that Shaoshang has worked out about Zisheng's true identity. All Ziduan wants is to save Zisheng. (This makes me think about the dialogue between him and Shaoshang at the Cheng house, too—because of course Shaoshang has the knowledge that she can probably get him exonerated. But Ziduan doesn't know what she does, so the fact that she leads by asking what is Ziduan's game plan here? And he doesn't have an answer. Chef's kiss moment for Shaoshang, honestly.)

In episode 51, when the Emperor is confronting Ziduan and Zisheng about their attempts to get Zikun deposed, there is a moment during Zisheng's explanation that he does not want to be Emperor when a series of close-ups cut to a wide shot, and we see Ziduan pulling his hand back from Zisheng. In fact, that whole scene is full of the love and trust between Ziduan and Zisheng, even though Zisheng never once so much as acknowledges Ziduan's presence. When Shaoshang enters the room, she seats herself a step behind Zisheng to his left, which approximately mirrors Ziduan's position on his right. I adore this position, which so clearly seems to illustrate the nature of the relationship between these three, and I lament that there are no shots showing all three of them in frame together. NONE. Not in the entire show.

When Zisheng returns from his 5 years in the north in episode 52, Ziduan is walking with him, side-by-side.

When Zisheng rushes to save Ziduan in episode 55, as soon as he recognizes the threat to Guo Village where Shaoshang is, Ziduan begins to demand that Zisheng leave him and go to her immediately, lest she feel abandoned again and never forgive him again. Note that it's not that Ziduan feels she cannot handle herself—it's purely their relationship he's worried about here (and arguably prioritizing over his own life).

The love between these two is profound and beautiful and despite the contention it causes with Shaoshang (and indeed even to some degree because of that) I wish they had shown us more of it.

Interpreting What We Got

So...I end up reading Ziduan as gay, and particularly in love with Zisheng. Sure, they grew up in the palace together, but they kept their distance from one another so as not to sow discord between the palaces. I can read them as platonic best friends, but I struggle to rad them as brothers. As far as I remember, the only time either of them refers to the other as a brother is when feral Ziduan is storming the court with Shaoshang in episode 49, and he appeals to everyone to remember that Zisheng was raised among them, like a brother.

Imagining them as exes, who had a thing in their teens and even after ending that have remained best friends, is also a lot of fun.

I don't read Ziduan as all that angsty or pining—I see him as a very practical character. His temperament is so alike Zisheng's that it's easy to interpret that even if he is in love with him, if he thinks that Shaoshang is what Zisheng wants and she will make him happy, he is not going to stand in their way.

I would love to see a future where Shaoshang and Ziduan get to know each other and just agree to share Zisheng. (I couldn't resist hinting at that in the one fic I have written about this.)

Regardless of how we read Ziduan's love for Zisheng, as I see it, as of the end of the show, Shaoshang still stands between Zisheng and Ziduan, but Ziduan no longer holds this against her. He understands that Zisheng needs her to be happy, and that for the rest of his life, he will be devoted to her. Maybe on some level Ziduan even feels he owes Shaoshang this too, given how he promised her before going to rescue Zisheng from the side of the cliff, that he would make sure Zisheng apologized to her—and never did.

The only thing preventing all three of them happily being friends (or a throuple, or two consenting couples whose hypotenuse between Shaoshang and Ziduan is a queer platonic relationship, which is my shipping preference) is Shaoshang's (very justified!) distrust/distaste for Ziduan. Which I think could be mitigated, given time and effort. I want to see it mitigated.

One thing that has struck me on these repeated rewatches is the way that Ziduan is so upfront about his affection for Zisheng as soon as he is able to do so openly. It makes me wonder how much he has counted on having Zisheng at his side when he eventually secured the Crown Prince position, and how much it must pain him that Zisheng sacrificed his position in the palace to secure him that spot. (Though of course he would be able to see as well as we can that it is also Zisheng's penance for everything, including wronging Shaoshang.)

Anyway, I love Wen Ziduan so much.

[claudiaartemis]

I just need post LLTG Ling Buyi being a complete househusband.

One of his major love language is acts of service, he doesn't rely on his men to make Niaoniao's life better. He moves on his own and out of love.

Wifey's feet might get cold? Ok time to hunt a python to make her shoes. 🐍🥿

Wifey needs to attend class but don't want the dorm life? Nah, imma wake up early and pick her up myself.

Wifey wants revenge? Say no more boo.

This man who is both feared and admired for being so good at winning battles and being vicious will not mind wrecking his image just to please his girl. (chiken wings 4life) 🐓🦆

It's not hard to imagine him being a complete and whipped househusband. Zisheng ploughing the fields and moving boulders while Shaoshang orders him around as they cultivate their land. Farmer Buyi watering the plants and harvesting vegetables. General Huo doing all the stitching because he doest like his wife pricking her fingers and hurting herself.

Without war and revenge, their days are filled with STEM wife inventing things and Soldier husband being starry eyed and following her around to do manual labor.

And just when the soldiers and servants thought that their young madam was spoiled by their young master?

Oh boy.

You haven't seen Huo Buyi with a pregnant Huo Shaoshang.

[labseraph]

There is something about long flowing locks on men that makes me go mmm ... The barbarian hair can be such a great look.

[silveranchor]

I truly love that, even when doing his revenge investigation, LBY is never a cold character. He might appear indifferent and stoic at a superficial level or to those he dislikes or doesn't care about , but he is actually incredibly emotional. Even his ignoring certain people or being hostile towards them usually comes from an emotional place. From the first eps, when he loses his latest lead, he tears up. When questioning criminals related to the Gu city case, he barely controls or even loses his temper. He gets bothered by things. And of course, since the first look, he gets so soft every time he looks as Ss. He is driven by passion, be it his desire for revenge and justice or love. This is why he is so frightening, and why you still root for him anyway. We not only see his (objectively morally wrong) actions, but we understand and FEEL the reasons and emotions behind them, because he feels them so intensily and is allowed to show it.

This is why the "unhinged arc" works so well. It is not that he is clear headed and collected one moment and he suddenly gets overwhelmed and starts breaking down. From the very beginning, he has been hanging by a thread that is unravelling steadily until it finally snaps. And we see it unraveling! We see him lose control and react emotionally and be deeply affected by people and situations throughout every episode. It is a gradual decline and it is so satisfying and heartbreaking when it does snap all the way because we know it is going to happen and there's no way to stop it or slow it down, and we understand why it happened and why, for his character, it makes complete sense. The build up to that moment was in the making from the start and it wouldn't have worked if Zizheng had been your typical cold and impassive military man.

Wu Lei and everyone involved in script and storytelling really did a great job at portraying such a complex and multidimensional character that is full of contradictions in a very organic and compelling way. From the expressions to the line delivery, this is the kind of work that creates a standout character that will resonate with people and leave a long lasting impression.

[wulufan]

the way Zisheng pops a smirk as Shaoshang and her dad leave in hurry, the heart eyes be popping when she isnt looking

episode 23 of Love like the Galaxy

[merpiratebiologist]

Going through the LLTG tag before the next episode on Tuesday and I realise how expressive everyone on the show is? It's easily missed because they're mostly micro expressions that are FAR MORE PROMINENT in GIFs but I didn't know that Shaosheng's smirk when Zisheng gave her the naan was so sexy until I watched it several times in a slowed down teeny tiny video that gave me such immense joy???

And I know we ascribe the quality of being less expressive to LBY for most of the show, we see him laughing out loud only when he does so in a forced manner or snorts at SS's swollen eyelids, etc but have you SEEN our murder pup in the whole family training set? He is so excited to be teaching the Chengs, there is a consistent smile on his face, I am so soft!! The way he looks up at her when he's putting her shoe on, at the palace? The YEARNING. The REMORSE. The TENDERNESS- I am- so done, actually ;_;

Also the fact that SS also smiles at him A LOT that we don't generally notice? There's no full blown smiles fosho, otherwise I think we'd be all dead on the floor and first among us would be ya BuYi (that's so funny, I'm actually giggling at myself), but even when he kisses the top of her head in that huge balcony thingy, I wasn't aware that she'd smiled at all- all I registered was her confusion and perhaps that she was flustered?

Anyway, the point is, that I'm so full of love and it's BURSTING LOUD, from inside and my love will never die

[rxsterek]

adfjadhsfhjdfjfsdf. Finally, officially, finished Love Like The Galaxy. 1) I am so freaking sad to have finished it. It was amazing. 2) it was absolutely beautiful. From the plot to the characters. Just. Everything about it was so freaking well done. 

Even though I knew there would be a couple break up (because what’s a C Drama without the main couple breaking up at least once) for once I was actually understanding of it and only very mildly annoyed by it. Like everything was just so in character and the reasonings fit. It wasn’t just drama for drama sake. It was drama for the plot and growth of the characters. And it made sense within the plot. I understood why the characters felt the way they did and why Cheng Shaoshang didn’t forgive him for so long. I understood why Huo Buyi did the things he did. It wasn’t a big misunderstanding. It was both of them trying to protect one another and love each other in the ways they knew how. They just weren’t quite at a place in their relationship where those could go together in the circumstance they were in. (Now, that doesn’t mean I’m totally there in line for some fix it fics where they do talk things through and get on the same page before shit hits the fan. But I wasn’t totally mad about it in the story.)

But then the last episodes, all of it finally coming together. A Qi at Cheng Shaoshang’s side helping and doing as she asked, but also there to protect her, following probably Zisheng’s ultimate order which was probably to protect her and keep her safe. Then her entire family running in to help.

And then freaking Wan Qiqi and Cheng Song. I loved the scene in the tent!!! It was so great. The way the Cheng brothers went back and forth and Wan Qiq was like oh yeah? got something to tell me Cheng Song? And A Qi and A Fei there just like watching a tennis match, their eyes bouncing back and forth, and both of their facial expressions through out were just!!! Had me giggling! I loved that you could just see the curiosity on their faces of hey this is Young Madam’s family/these people are about to become Yong Master’s family, we should get to know them.

And of course the emperor’s final scene and Empress Yue closing the doors were just so in character and also a great comical way to end if we weren’t going to get a wedding. Same for the grandmother’s scene.

I just loved how the whole story was told. I also appreciated that by the end I was even rooting for Lou Yao and He Zhaojun and that you could tell they were on their way to a good life together. The writers just did such a great job of weaving the story through the characters and then tying it all together. I love Cheng Shaoshang and Huo Buyi’s love story. I’ll admit I was a little impatient at the beginning. But then episodes 30 - 40 where their love story finally begins to flourish was just so well done. I loved the way Cheng Shaoshang slowly fell in love with him throughout the entire story, while Huo Buyi remained steadfast throughout it all, except for the little blip. But even then, there was no doubt about his feelings for her. I just.. ugh. so great.

Seriously. I’ve watched C Dramas before and enjoyed them and thought they were good. I have my list of dramas that I rewatch or read fanfic over and over. But this one just...it’s probably in my top 2 of all time dramas. I fell in love with the characters (hard not to when the FL is Zhao Lusi I mean. come on. I love everything she’s in.). I fell in love with the story. The cinematography was great and the freaking way colors were used throughout!!!

I loved how any time Huo Buyi got serious or started on the lines of his family revenge, he instantly reverted back to wearing black. Then in episodes 30  - 40 when their relationship is relatively good, he’s in much softer colors, typically colors along the same lines as what Cheng Shaoshang is wearing. Then after his mother/aunt dies and the morning, he’s back to black. Then in the 5 years after, when he’s back in the capital and slowly coming back to himself and moving on, and being his caring self, when he’s not in uniform, we see him in one of his nicer white outfits again, back in the lighter colors. Now Idk if that was something to signify where he was in his emotions, or a tribute of mourning for the empress, but I’m satisfied with it being a little of both. 

But just even the little details like the colors of the clothes, to the way scenes were set up and shot, the way scenes were framed and opened, to the story line and characters. It was all just so well done. At this point... I don’t remember what mutual was reblogging/posting things for LLTG that came on my dash, but I thank you. Cause this will be on my favorites list for a long time. Beautiful story. Well done characters. Just everything about it was so so good. I’m honestly left feeling more happy that I found the series and was able to watch it, than sad it’s over. 

[another-kiraidesunosekai]

Personal Impression: Love Like The Galaxy (2022).

56 episode, with an happy ending.

I LOVE IT.

The story. The characters. The romance. The angst. The tears. The comedy. The action. The boldness. Straight to the point plot. The color tone. The soundtracks.

Everything are truly well done. Even the cringe romantic words exchanges that I don't mind at all. 😁

Just like in my early impression post, Love Like The Galaxy has shown me the beauty of love. About being loved and to be in love. The feeling to be cherished, to be trusted, to be care, to be listen, to be respected, to be what we are, to be protected.

Also, as the story goes, the beautiful changes from cheerful and playful Shaoshang to her soft and mature version. The changes from a stern and stoic Ling Buyi into his gentle and soft manner. Shaoshang has become stronger, while Buyi has become softer (in a good way). The changing because of love. 💚

The side characters were also quite entertaining, especially Emperor Wen. As an Emperor, it seemed he was more concerned about Buyi's love life than about the country. Emperor Wen is truly the president of Yishang's fandom (🤣). His Empress and Consort were also in good terms. They treat each other well (although the Empress has to hide her feelings whenever she sees the Emperor being more favor with Consort Yue). No confusing palace intrigue whatsoever.

I also come to understand Shaoshang's broken heart after Buyi's revenge plan. It's because she was left without knowing anything. What people said as an act of love from Buyi to Shaoshang were actually being carefully designed by Buyi for his revenge plan. No wonder Shaoshang felt so heart broken with Buyi--the one she trusted so much.

Being left behind without knowing anything, clueless, confused, and can only wild guessing ... it's really not a great feeling to have.

At the end of the episode, my impression for this drama are still the same. To be in love, to be loved, and to be protected are indeed beautiful feelings.

And, just like Wu Lei has said in his farewell video as Ling Buyi, hopefully we will find the person that will accompany us walk this world. Someone who would said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

[amidst-chaos]

Zisheng is such a cute character

Not just love at first sight but She is the only one for me in this life.

NiaoNiao's taking revenge (against those who pushed her into lake) isn't enough. Gets all data of officials family whose members were involved and personally get them flogged one by one early in the morning.

If NiaoNiao says it's Mandarin duck then who dare say it's chicken.

Escorts her to classes arranged in palace by Her Majesty and takes her back home in the evening everyday.

Takes care of people around her so she doesn't get worried about them.

[purejackiez]

Love Like The Galaxy - brief Review

I can't believe it's over already! This drama was really fun and sweet to watch. Part 1 was entertaining, and Part 2 was intense but amazing. I may have felt frustrated and heartbroken at times, but I would say most of it felt worth it in the end. The ending was very beautiful, although it did feel a bit rushed and there were some things I wished they had showed, at least the ending still played out nicely and it's finally over. Also, please the Emperor is so funny, best emperor i love him.

The team did an excellent job filming this drama, I applaud for their time and effort toward this 56 episode drama. It was beautiful and I will miss it. This drama is one of those dramas that will take about 5 episodes to get into, but once you get into it then you're in for a treat!

If you like an intense historical drama with revenge plus sad and sweet romance then I recommend this drama :)

Enjoyment: 9/10

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Acting: 10/10

Music/Cinematography: 10/10

Overall: 9.4/10

[utterlyhooked]

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

The way he envelopes her. That stare!!!

[carlyleandco]

I’m on episode 47 of Love Like the Galaxy and Zisheng better not do what I think he is about to do 😣

[claudiaartemis]

I just want to compliment Ling Buyi's dedication to the goth aesthetics. Man had a pitch black manor and carriage, even his soldiers are clad in black.

I think he invented another shade of darkness this murder boy

[labseraph]

Love Like The Galaxy | BTS | Wu Lei: Ling Buyi is really ruthless | 星汉灿烂...

The person who can channel the dark tormented soul that is Ling Buyi is actually cute and bubbly IRL. Fascinating.

[tuz-on-ao3]

Y’all

I am back to trying to finish live like the galaxy and my empress has been ducking deposed and I am so sad. Do you know how much I lived her at consort yue, they are literally the best. And if only the empires could get his shit together and tell this woman he loves her or did it sooner because at the point where she asked to be deposed it would be too late. If the empires had told her that he loved her then I don’t even think she would have believed it.

But what the duck was up with this five year skip.

I don’t know how they are going to salvage this relationship y’all.

But the fucking scenes literally knocked me down. When NiaoNiao’s mom realized that she was leaving and not coming back. And she ducking knew that he daughter was leaving, that she was going to live in a mausoleum of her own regrets with the Empress. And the fact that her mom knew when everyone else thought that Niao Niao was just ‘growing up’ is really indicative of how much both of these women notice. And despite how fucking smart and perceptive they both are they just can’t have a functional relationship but they see through each other so so well