#character: murong jinghe

[heymeowmao]

春花焰 | Kill Me Love Me E28 ° A-Mei, I'll take you home.

[simply-whump]

Kill Me Love Me (春花焰) - Whump List

Whumpee : Murong Jing He played by Liu Xue Yi

Synopsis : Prince Murong Jing He led his Weibei Army to reclaim Qingzhou, a lost territory. Soon after his army entered the city, a devastating fire broke out. Rumor had it that the prince, now known as the ruthless "Butcher General", ordered the city to be burned to the ground. In the flames, a young girl named Mei Lin lost her entire family. Heartbroken and consumed by vengeance, she vowed to kill the one responsible for the massacre, Prince Murong Jing He himself. (MDL)

Genres : Historical, Mystery, Romance, Political

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Murong Jinghe

Ep 1 : (20:35) Dreaming of the past (beaten on the ground, bloody) — (27:25) Bitten

Ep 2 : (Flashback) (00:30) Depressed, in a wheel chair — (05:30) Pushed to the ground — (Present) (22:20) Hit in the face by a piece of bread — (Flashback) (33:00) Falls from his wheelchair, crawling on the ground, crying, miserable, kicked

Ep 3 : (Flashback) (09:35) Accused unjustly, hit, falls down some stairs, beaten very badly, spitting blood, legs broken, in pain — (Present) (27:55) Stumbling, caught, stabbed, collapses — (29:40) In bed, coughing — (Flashback) (30:40) Very painful treatment to heal his leg, leg broken, trying to stand, falling

EP 4 : (07:15) Drunk — (28:25) Hand bleeding — (32:00) Stumbling, caught, concern for him, coughing

Ep 5 : (01:55) Coughing (old injury acting up), concern for him — (25:55) Bitten

Ep 6 : (16:15) Bitten

Ep 7 : None

Ep 8 : (19:10) Knocked out

Ep 9-10 : None

Ep 11 : (30:35) Drunk, walking unsteadily 

Ep 12 : None

Ep 13 : (27:15) Surrounded by assassins, falls down a cliff into water — (29:25) Bitten by a poisonous snake, in pain, can’t get up, leg paralysed, helped to walk — (34:05) Helped to walk, weak, feeling embarrassed, collapses, recalling painful memories of previous injuries, struggling, crying — (40:00) Put on a handmade wooden stretcher 

Ep 14 : (01:45) Still walking a bit weakly — (04:00) Having nightmares, wakes up, shaky breathing — (22:00) Intense battle, shot, sees a friend die in front of him, emotional, running away from assassins 

Ep 15 : (03:25) Helped to walk, weak (Has had nothing to drink or eat for a few days + injured) — (06:45) Walking weakly, stumble down a small cliff, seems unconscious, concern for him, coughing — (10:05) Starved, dehydrated, helped to walk under the snow, very weak, collapses, passes out, concern for him — (19:05) Half buried under the snow, still unconscious, found — (21:55) wakes up, weak — (34:05) Stung by a bee

Ep 16 : (07:35) Tied up

Ep 17-20 : None

Ep 21 : (29:30) Unsteady, concern for him, has a fever, given medicine — (34:15) Collapses unconscious, concern for him —(37:10) In pain

Ep 22 : (06:45) Wakes up — (32:15) Chained

Ep 23 : (02:25) Fighting, cut — (06:45) Fighting, hit, spitting blood, cut, more blood spitting, stabbed, struggling, cut, stabbed again while protecting someone, collapses — (13:35) Treated, unconscious in bed, between life and death — (16:05) Wakes up, crying, gets up, weak — (30:05) Weak, stumbling, wound reopens, bleeding, collapses —(36:15) Crying

Ep 24 : (35:00) Stone thrown at him

Ep 25 : None

Ep 26 : (16:00) Working under the rain, hand bleeding

Ep 27 : None

Ep 28 : (16:15) Desperate, crying, miserable — (22:00) Tries to kill himself, stopped — (25:00) Desperate, going a bit crazy, running around in search of his love, collapses, crying — (34:05) Depressed, teary-eyed, crying

Ep 29: (31:45) Stabbed in the shoulder while protecting someone, passes out — (33:10) Unconscious in bed, concern for him, coughing, wakes up, weak

Ep 30 : (25:30) Jump into water from a cliff, worried for someone

Ep 31 : (31:30) Tough battle, hit, spitting blood (Seriously why do they always have to kill the best side characters at the end??? I swear, every time!), blasted by an explosion — (35:20) On the ground, exhausted — (37:10) Sitting looking completely out of it, thinking about his fallen friend, crying, startled by a small touch, hugged, sobbing (I almost cried with him) — (44:40) Worried for someone 

Ep 32 : (03:00) Worried, desperate, digging in the snow, exhausted, collapses, rolls down a hill, passes out — (08:05) Crying — (15:50) Crying (These last few episode have been pure pain) — (38:00) Crying — (43:00) Crying — (51:50) Dies

>> Another Whump List with Liu Xue Yi

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[dreamingsnowflake2013]

No acting detected on Prince Murong's part.

Nope. None. That man is utterly bewitched by his fake concubine-to-be.

On a side note, Wu Jinyan's body movement coordination is incredible, all her movements seem so fluid and natural, she is one of the few cdrama actresses whom I believe their characters might be legit martial artists or dancers.

On the other hand, Zhao Xiaotang, who plays Luo Mei, looks awkward and stiff as a plank of wood, and sadly I'm not talking only about her fight scenes, but overall acting, as well. There are so many talented actresses in the minidrama industry who would act the hell out of the relationship and potential chemistry between the general and the Crown Prince, but she is utterly bland, like I mean completely blank.

Just look at her face when she overhears his suffering or when she catches Jinghe fake-banging Mei Lin. If this is heartbreak, then I've seen rocks experience more visible ones.

And, of course, he kept the bow she gave him and is now murdering people with it. God, if only were his love interest played by a different actress!

[dramatea88]

Kill Me Love Me episodes 12 and 13. The way they ended episode 13 was devastating *sobs*

The Xiyan prince is about to leave and he can bring the beauties with the burnt mark home, but of course the crown prince has other ideas. Meanwhile, Jinghe and Mei Lin fall out when she discovers just how ruthless he can be to achieve his plans.

(Uhm ya, you don't know half of it, lady)

The royal hunt is on and the Crown Prince is up to no good. Well, so is Jinghe as he's intent on capturing Li Qi, a man who is connecting to the tragedy at Qingyuan 10 years ago. But his plan involves jumping off cliffs...

-- Here's what I can say, it is funny how quickly the story improved once the Xiyan prince left and we don't have to endure 2ML shenanigans (for too long anyway) 😆

His little arc in ep 12 is pretty interesting tho. Try not to spoil yourself before watching it.

Ps Which one of you were hella mad at him? hands up!

Anyway, I was super concerned about the drama, as I said, esp with episodes 7-9, that the show had jumped sharked. My primary concern was tha they were going to shortcut their emotional and relationship growth by making them be cute with each other from the get go.

But something turned at ep 10, and I can say at eps 12 and 13 that the tension, darkness and Murong Jinghe we knew in eps 1-3 is baaaack. Even Mei Lin seems better defined and her character writing is more solid.

Our couple is back to threatening each other and dang it Liu Xueyi somehow makes threats sound like seduction.

But what really shocked me, was the last 10 min of ep 13. Such a short scene, but a massively important one as Mei Lin finally realised the depth of suffering Jinghe had gone through.

It was a scene I never ever thought I will see in a cdrama, a kind of humiliation that is so awful in its rawness it will make you turn away in shock.

I am so used to Cdrama heroes being portrayed as perfect, always with beautiful skin, always suave and sure of himself.

But here, Jinghe is at his lowest in front of possibly the worst person: someone he has growing feelings for.

I am not going to spoil you about what happened, because this is a scene that needed to be seen to feel the impact.

Personally, I am actually agog that the producers a actually went there! But I really, really liked that they did. That's brave writing.

Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan acted the heck out of that scene. That quiet, respectful way she treated him. She didn't say a word and went to gather wood.

His devastated look as he was forced to LOOK AT THAT LOG as Mei Lin drags him away... the whole scene left me speechless really.

Perfectly acted, all of it. And both actors hardly said a word to each other during this time. I can see that LXY WJY are not the type of actors who want to pose and look pretty for the camera all the time, that's for sure.

Honestly, I am glad Liu Xueyi was given this moment because he really showed what he was capable of here.

And ya know, I am not the type to cry when watching any drama. Heck didn't even cry watching the Titanic, but I almost did with this one, because this is a humiliation none of us want to ever endure.

Anyway, they have An Important Conversation after the whole thing which will define their relationship now. If they ever do have lovey dovey moments in future ep, it will feel more organic than forced.

What did you think of this episode?

[mademoiselle-red]

Liu Xueyi character beauty contest, costume drama edition

(Scroll down below the poll for pictures of the contestants)

Zhan Huang 斩荒 (The Destiny of White Snake)， filmed in 2017, when Liu Xueyi was 27 years old, aired in 2018

Yin Jiao 殷郊 (Investiture of the Gods), filmed in 2017, when Liu Xueyi was 27 years old, never aired

Haochen 昊辰 / Bailin 柏麟 (Love and Redemption), filmed in 2019, when Liu Xueyi was 29 years old, aired in 2020

Tianqi 天启(Ancient Love Poetry), filmed in 2020, when Liu Xueyi was 30 years old, aired in 2021

Wuxin 无心 (The Blood of Youth), filmed in 2021, when Liu Xueyi was 31 years old, aired in 2022

Luo Zishang 洛子商 (Destined), filmed in 2022, when Liu Xueyi was 32 years old, aired in 2023

Pan Yue 潘樾 (In Blossom), filmed in 2023, when Liu Xueyi was 33 years old, aired this year (2024)

Jin Xiu 锦绣 (Love Never Fails), filmed in 2021, when Liu Xueyi was 31 years old, and is slated to be re-filmed with a new female lead this year (2024)

Yuan Zhong 源仲 (A Moment But Forever), filmed in 2023, when Liu Xueyi was 33 years old, rumored to air this summer (2024)

Murong Jinghe 慕容璟和 (Kill Me Love Me), currently being filmed (2024), as Liu Xueyi turns 34, and will likely air next year (2025)

[pi-ying-xi]

I think both Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan are trying their best with a script with so many holes it's practically a colander, but it's not of much use.

Rubbish pacing, setting something up hastily & delivering something else, and at a snail's pace - as if the delivery guy knew he was bringing the wrong order, didn't want to get yelled at so hooked off to sneak a few drinks on the way.

I'm so unconvinced by what this bucolic interlude tells me I should be feeling about these two. It's there purely to serve as a happy memory when, per the trailers, the angst hits.

The angst itself promises to be driven by Yue Qin, now Xiyan's heir, manipulating his father king into believing one particular woman will be the yin to his yang, and thus make the king live longer. 🤷🏾‍♀️ This while also getting what (safe to say 'what' and not 'whom') he wants.

Guess they couldn't make Murong Jinghe the prince who's incapable of seeing a person's individual humanity because he's used to treating them as possessions to be acquired, deployed and discarded as necessary, and so they transferred those 'flaws' to the other guy, thus combining a bad character trait with an essentialising one (Xiyan being coded as barbarian) in one person.

Anyway. Long rant summarised: I'm still watching only for Liu Xueyi and Wu Jinyan but most of this meh drama is very skippable.

[lasenbyphoenix]

Kill Me Love Me ep 2

Intro: drunken princely pity party for one.

.

Oh so he knows her already from a previous assassination attempt! Damn, girl really doesn't give up!

*queue a "took an arrow to the knee" reference here*

.

Aww how evil can Murong Jinghe really be if his guard can tease him about his painting?

.

An archery contest? Thats one way to get rid of your assassin and keep the ladies scared all in one go.

.

The princess gifting Mei Lin an even flimsier hairpin as a weapon is just priceless. The ladies really have each other's backs in this which is such a nice change from whatever daft jealousy usually gets written for groups of female characters.

.

Crown Prince Baron Chen looking lovely again.

Those green tea cups & saucers are so pretty.

..... what do you mean re-investigate the Qianzhou case.

No.

No.

No. Nooooo.

DON'T TELL ME LOVELY BIG BROTHER BARON CHEN FRAMED THE MASSACRE ON HIS DIDI. NOOOO. THIS IS ONLY EPISODE 2. WHAT WORSE IS THERE TO COME.

.

Children singing creepy messages is unnerving in any language.

.

Pelting a prince with bread and vegetables is a rough way to welcome him home, and he just laughs.

It really says something about the shows I've been watching when I can recognise the phrase sha le ta (kill him) without needing subtitles.

The Ghost General, perfect in every way.

.

Look at those real smiles when he's talking to dad!

But wtf? He's not allowed to pay respects to his mother??????? It's been 10 years FFS.

Flashback to crawling along the floor and crying. What a blorbo does best.

His family was just standing there watching him crawl? Messed up family bro. And then they have him dragged out into the rain.

.

Ok why was he wearing wedding robes though?

It was a promise to his mother omfg, and did she die to accept retribution on his behalf?? Oh this is messed up!

.

He doesn't care that she knows he can walk, it's an interesting gambit of trust.

Their foreplay now includes literally playing with fire.

.

Black cats and white dogs and black crows oh my!

.

I'm not sure if I'm expecting the Shadow Master to be Murong Jinghe or the Crown Prince. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

IT FUCKING IS MURONG JINGHE. HE'S PUT A HIT OUT ON HIMSELF. This show really is all sorts of messed up!

[mrtheinsatiable]

Murong Jinghe is such a good character and it's only episode 2

[deepbluewithyellow]

[WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED]

Descent points, but I guess the drama's logic didn't lack horribly from a bird-view point. It's just that apparently Youku execs like the nostalgia of TTEOTM too much; thus they made a very pretty guy suffer as much as possible, and while enjoying themselves, they suddenly remembered this is not a xianxia setting where you can patch every inconsistency up with some miracle, and they tore everyone apart in an attempt to make it make sense :D

But aside from jokes and reiterating your point that the story was pretty solid when Baron Chen was the villain, I find the Xiyan arc actually interesting - a country reeking with superstition; The king of Xiyan kinda time-traveled to this version of his homeland from the Dahuang😂 and the actor playing Mingju is familiar to me, so the actors in that arc are overally solid. I believe that the main weak point is Bi Wenjun himself - if the actor was someone at the same or at least close to the level of Baron Chen, we would've seen the overall inconsistencies as kinda the natural flaws of the drama; but Bi Wenjun's villainess didn't click for me and he couldn't pull off a character who's on the path of becoming a mess. Had it clicked, I reckon Zigu's fate might have made more sense since that bookworm, chess-loving Yue Qin definitely needed a punch in the face and Zigu was that punch (and for those asking what was the point of her arc, she's just a carefree girl with hella daddy issues who mistakes the Emperor's fondness for love. The yearning of the emperor for something unmarred with the gray world of politics and power, and her childish need for affection clicked and she lived a quite happy life with making a few choices, thus becoming an example (albeit loose) of what Jinghe told Mei Lin "Now that you're dying, you must live every moment to its fullest"). Not to mention that in case Zigu bore an heir and given that apparently no rule was against the children of concubines becoming crown prince (Murong Xuanlie was most likely the son of a concubine), no one could know what that pathetic boy would do with his nephew to weaken Jinghe's position using Mei Lin and her friendship with her sister.

Murong Xuanlie had quite a dramatic entrance and had the most exquisite accessories and robes:) such a neat character deserved a neat exit and they gave that to him :)

The ending made sense to me, It's a simple period drama and therefore it has the potential to teach us that not everything is gonna be solved with miracles. Jinghe and Mei Lin lived their moments to the fullest, Mei Lin was honored as an Empress (reminder that Jinghe's attendants in the end of ep. 32 referred to her as "the late empress"), and his short rule made up for the "rushed" recoveries Jinghe had and the amount of pressure he went through for nearly eleven years to clear his name and reclaim what was rightfully his. Qingyan's death, well, was very sad and Yu Shisan-ish, but it wasn't in vain I think, since Jinghe lived to take his father's place.

The forced "apartedness" of Jinghe and Mei Lin wasn't that well written but LXY and WJY poured their hearts in to make it work and since I've experienced such a situation, I can completely relate to it.

But there are of course inconsistencies which I can't handle:

• the super rushed recovery of Jinghe after all the mess he had with the CP; Like dude became a torn tapestry and it's not even a wuxia setting:/ at least show some of the time it took for him to recover or the secret sneaks of his father into his chambers to care for him:/ this would've made much more sense than the stupid return of Mei Lin (Was that scene real after all?)

• again, the madness of Jinghe was a bit too much for a simple period setting; dude's a governor and #1 candidate to take the throne, how can people entrust their rulership to such a guy and not throw mantous at him again?:))

• there could be more eps to help dig in the Xiyan's politics better, instead of forcefully revolve it around the Sun and Moon Kunlun bullshit

Though people are complaining, as someone who watched AJTL, as long as the sad ending is not in vain, I can take it, tho I wish they give us enough kisses and even a subtle behind-the-tapestry banging so we can digest it better😅

So she dies a few months (?) after the wedding and then he dies a decade later, never having remarried and appointing his nephew as the next emperor.

I don't know if it's just they didn't want to bother with a grey wig and old age make up but whatever their reason is, I actually liked that he died young (he only got to rule a decade) because recovery or not, his health had to have been shot to hell after all the stuff he went through.

In conclusion: the drama's script was a MESS, the look was gorgeous, the performances (esp LXY) were great. Is it a good drama? Not at all. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah, tho the flaws in the writing did decrease my emotional attachment in the second half a LOT and I think the drama never recovered after Baron's character died.

PS I'd rather take an uneven drama which is entertaining in the parts it's good, over a steady drama that does not absorb me. For example, Grand Princess was indubitably much more solid and coherently written, but I'd rank KMLM way above it for me because there were parts here I adored and GP was just a flat smooth line where I didn't dislike anything but mostly I was blah.

[heymeowmao]

春花焰 | Kill Me Love Me E31 ° General Qingyan, what do you wish for?

[heymeowmao]

春花焰 | Kill Me Love Me E21 ° Wait for me to come back.

[mademoiselle-red]

“Murong Jinghe may possibly be the most unhinged of all the characters I’ve portrayed so far.” —Liu Xueyi, on his role in the upcoming drama “Kill Me Love Me”

Screenshots from the new trailer:

Looks like they filmed the scene from the novel where the male lead digs up the female lead’s “corpse” with a whip and carries it around town @pi-ying-xi 👀

Looks like our unhinged maniac male lead also gets tormented physically and psychologically in what the actress playing the female lead described as “an unconventional emotional massage” 👀

….and being dragged away while screaming like an evil villain (except you know he isn’t really evil this time, since he’s our protagonist and all ☺️)

And of course there is a gorgeous “(maybe) dying prettily in the snow” scene

[dramatea88]

Kill Me Love Me - From the "Mad" Third Prince to a Pure Young Man: Liu Xueyi Only Needed One 春花焰

This is an English translation of an essay I found on Weibo. I thought they made really good points about why Liu Xueyi's performance is so effective. Though you'd enjoy it.

Original text: https://card.weibo.com/article/m/show/id/2309405092963368960235?id=2309405092963368960235

The impact of Chunhua Flame continues to rise.

According to Huan Net's big data statistics, Chunhua Flame has seen a steady increase in large-screen viewership, now topping the large-screen broadcast rankings. For a historical drama to rank this highly, the costumes, makeup, and cinematography must have passed rigorous visual tests, making it a superior production.

Looking back at this year's historical romance dramas, the concept of a "big hit" is no longer something that can be achieved solely through effort; fate plays a role too. The quality of the production is still key, but for a drama to become a blockbuster, everything must align perfectly—timing, location, and people.

In this market environment, pursuing "effectiveness" is more practical and meaningful than chasing after a "big hit." An actor's role is largely about portraying a character with precision and detail. A drama doesn't need to be labeled a blockbuster; being a hit is enough. For actors, if they can leave a lasting impression through a well-crafted role, then the drama is effective. For the production, assembling a great cast and creating memorable scenes is an achievement in itself.

From this perspective, the effectiveness of Chunhua Flame is worth discussing, especially with regard to its lead actor Liu Xueyi. The theme here is "contrast." By now, viewers have likely forgotten the appearance of Prince Jing in the first episode.

1. The "Mad" Third Prince

A great fire burns Qingzhou City to ashes.

The once-heroic General Wei Bei, after the fire, becomes despised by the people as a butcher. Unable to defend himself, exiled by the court, the flames of that fire continue to smolder in the chest of Murong Jinghe (played by Liu Xueyi), now burning with vengeance.

Far from the court, he crafts the image of a debauched, wastrel prince, biding his time like a predator awaiting his moment. He plans his revenge carefully, scheming to bring down the crown prince who framed him, thereby clearing his name.

The marriage alliance between Xi Yan and Da Yan sets the stage for his revenge.

Prince Jing has endured humiliation for so long, hiding everything behind a façade of madness, deceiving everyone.

It’s the madness when he welcomes the marriage envoy by scattering paper money into the air.

It’s the madness when he brazenly returns to the capital, laughing maniacally as the people pelt him with vegetables and buns, swallowing a bun whole.

It’s the madness when he deliberately provokes Meilin, knowing she seeks revenge, luring her into trying to assassinate him.

Liu Xueyi’s portrayal of madness is fueled by deep-seated hatred. The abandoned prince returns to stir chaos, half-jokingly deranged yet still harboring genuine malice.

"You will all pay for the stain on my name. You will pay for denying me a final moment with my mother."

When a character blends brooding madness, bloodthirsty vengeance, and eerie calm, it tests an actor's ability to control emotional release. Overdoing it might dilute the insanity, reducing it to mere anger. Being too subtle might lean too much toward restraint.

Liu Xueyi’s balance is perfect. He knows when and how to go mad. His performance makes viewers want to peel away the layers of his madness to understand his reasons. It’s nuanced and intense, embodying madness to its extreme.

2. The Pure Young Man

When Prince Jing and Meilin fall into the village, starting a "farming" subplot, the madness fades along with their lingering tensions.

At some point, Prince Jing, now dressed in simple clothes, transforms into a pure-hearted young man. The flirtatious banter from the beginning of the series seems like a scene from a different drama.

It's common to see male leads who go mad for love, but rare to find one who remains calm.

As they spend more time together, surviving their ordeals, Murong Jinghe’s feelings for Meilin become clearer. What started as a somewhat forced romantic dynamic grows into genuine love. His change is obvious as he desires to share his journey with her, even feeling grateful that she’s by his side.

The core of Chunhua Flame is that Murong Jinghe gradually opens his heart. This transformation is reflected in the change in his personality.

Fate chooses your companions on your journey.

Fate makes you shed your disguise, returning to your true self.

Initially, the two are bound by hatred. Mutual manipulation becomes the truest form of affection they can offer each other. Both Murong Jinghe and Meilin understand that someone raised on hatred isn’t worthy of sincere love.

Later, whether through palace intrigue or the revolutionary friendship formed in the snowy mountains, their true feelings eventually blossom in the peaceful village.

At this point, the pacing of Chunhua Flame slows, giving viewers enough time to savor the subtle growth of love between the two. Once cold and indifferent to the world, Prince Jing now gets jealous when the humble farmhand Er Niu helps Meilin with chores. The once-commanding prince, now fusses over Meilin’s carelessness in making meat buns.

When he tells Meilin that once everything is over, he wants to return to Qingzhou with her, where she’ll run her bakery and he’ll resume his role as General Wei Bei, it’s clear he’s no longer the solitary “butcher general” he once was. He’s ready to claim all that he deserves, including happiness with the woman he loves.

3. Contrast

The stark contrast between these two phases of the character is a double-edged sword for an actor. Done well, it’s a major asset; done poorly, it spells disaster.

Liu Xueyi successfully captures the “reasonableness” of this transformation.

When Meilin is imprisoned, Prince Jing notices her unusual resilience. Hatred alone cannot fuel revenge, but hatred is the necessary starting point, and in Meilin, he sees someone who shares his burning vengeance.

From this point, through their bonding during their captivity, to his eventual confession of love, Liu Xueyi skillfully portrays this gradual progression. His gaze toward Meilin evolves from curiosity to surprise, then to tenderness, and finally, longing.

In Liu Xueyi’s portrayal, there is an orderly melting of the "iceberg."

In the content market, this Chunhua Flame allows viewers to see that Liu Xueyi is capable of much more.

In the normal course of things, being able to prove oneself through a single drama is something every actor aspires to. Before being criticized for playing too many similar roles and tiring audiences, no actor would shy away from establishing their place in a particular genre.

If an actor can demonstrate versatility in one work, then the drama becomes a high-value production for them.

Through the contrasting role of Murong Jinghe in Chunhua Flame, Liu Xueyi’s potential is now clearly visible.

Even though the drama isn’t finished airing, Liu Xueyi’s value is already cemented. What’s more, the real drama is just beginning in the second half, and there’s still much to look forward to in Chunhua Flame.

Published in Beijing.

[pi-ying-xi]

What was going on in Liu Xueyi's mind when he said Murong Jinghe was the most toxic character he's ever played?

Because one and a half episodes in, it's clear he's just playing at toxic behaviour, playing the long game in order to avenge the death of his Weibei army people.

Yes, his setting up of the shadow assassin organisation with no regard for what it does to every orphan's humanity is clearly Not Good but it's par for the course for every ruler, strategist, politically ambitious person who, intent on the bigger picture, is prepared to justify the means by the ends.

Don't advertise the red flags if you're going to hastily replace them with pale green ones is what I'm saying.

[mademoiselle-red]

Finally finished reading the Kill Me Love Me novel!

Some thoughts + spoilers:

This is not a well written novel (but fear not: the drama adaptation has reportedly a very different and much more fleshed out plot)

The characters, plot, and themes are interesting on paper but bland in execution because of the writing is quite bland

Murong Jinghe, the love interest, is a cunning prince who is secretly the head of an assassin organization. He is not the favored child but he wants the throne.

Meilin is a very bland protagonist with masochist tendencies. She is one of the assassins in Jinghe’s organization. Like the other children, she was sold into the organization as a slave when she young, was stripped of her original identity and given a new name, was abused during her training, and then continued to suffer emotional, physical, and sexual abuse under the hands of Jinghe when he (in disguise) sent her on a mission to “spy” on him to trick the emperor into thinking that he is just another hapless victim of the assassin organization.

Meilin wants to escape from this life of servitude but all the assassins in the organization took a poison that would cause them pain and eventually kill them if they don’t consume the antidote every month.

When Jinghe is wounded from an assassination attempt by the crown prince, Melvin saves his life (despite his abuse) because she (inexplicably) has fallen in love with him (despite him having no lovable qualities besides being good looking).

While escaping from the crown prince’s assassins and nursing Jinghe back to health, Meilin discovers that Jinghe is the head of her assassin organization. But she forgives him, because she’s in love. Jinghe proceeds to poison her to make her mute so she can’t tell anyone his secret. (Like I said, this man has no redeeming qualities. None. But the narrator does emphasize how strikingly beautiful he looks while being cruel. I’m sure Liu Xueyi will be fantastic in this role.)

Meilin goes looking for a doctor to cure him. He decides to expose her assassin identity and put out a warrant for her arrest. It’s part of his very elaborate and nonsensical plan to becoming emperor or something. (As I said, it’s not a well written novel with any semblance of a sensible plot.)

Meilin eventually finds a doctor who cures Jinghe and partially heals her muteness so she can talk again. She forgives Jinghe for poisoning her and using her as a chess piece, because love.

Murong Jinghe decides to get engaged to his childhood sweetheart and take Meilin as a concubine. The childhood sweetheart objects to sharing him with a concubine so he orders Meilin to marry his bodyguard instead. Meilin proceeds to marry said bodyguard.

Meilin eventually divorces her husband and goes off to live her remaining days in freedom. She’s suffering from a variety of Plot-Relevant Poisons at this point.

But then Jinghe’s fiancée gets poisoned and it just so happens that one of Meilin’s poisons can cure the fiancée. So Jinghe finds Meilin again so she can save his fiancée, at great cost to her own health. The fiancée becomes very jealous of Meilin.

Meilin senses that her body is failing and the fiancée wants to kill her so she pretends to assassinate the fiancée so the fiancée has a good reason to kill her. She does this so Jinghe can have a happy marriage with said fiancée. Because she loves him.

And despite all this, the main couple gets married: this is made possible by

Meilin coming back to life via a random plot device

Murong Jinghe becoming emperor in the end and his personality doing a 180 in the final chapter and now he’s all sweet and kind to the protagonist

Meilin just forgiving him for his fucked up, unhinged, and cruel behavior towards her because he now says he loves her

In fact, everyone in this fucked up, angsty, hurt-no-comfort story gets a happy ending:

After his wife leaves him, Meilin’s bodyguard husband realizes he is gay, falls in love with one of Meilin’s friends, and they get married with the blessing of the new emperor (Jinghe)

The “evil jealous woman in love with the male love interest” survives! the! ending! 👏 The fiancée decides Jinghe ain’t it, quits her job at court, and goes adventuring in the martial arts world on her own (good for her)

While I’m sure drama!Jinghe will have more redeeming qualities than just his good looks, Meilin does seems less insane for being in love with him once you imagine him looking like this:

[pi-ying-xi]

Since I've begun ranting about Kill Me Love Me, a couple of other points, one character based and the other pure petty:

One: this little village interlude is cute and everything, but I'm struggling to think of the two people as Murong Jinghe and Mei Lin. Simply because they've trained themselves, as survivors, to a state of high preparedness; temporary refuge though this place may be, they'd still be more guarded against any and everybody - that guy who returned with 'the plague'? Surely a potential scout or spy long embedded in the village? Or maybe the doctor who seems to know one cure for every ailment? And their trauma response to what they think is a fire is fine, but they wouldn't just try to escape! One of them is an assassin and the other a prince, ffs. They're absolutely trained to not believe in the essential goodness of people.

Two: the petty one. So Jinghe, the third prince of Da Yan, the emperor's favorite, is dead? And though at least a couple of people don't quite believe it, no imperial physician seems to have examined the body to confirm it is indeed Jinghe? One ring and a smashed face is enough confirmation for an emperor we're told is excellent at weiqi, a measure of a ruler's ability to strategise and look at the larger picture? Nobody looked for identifying marks - not even the scars on his leg that had him confined to a wheelchair for years?

Ok now for the really petty part! Liu Xueyi has a club thumb and it's clearly visible in several shots. The guy replacing him doesn't. It's sooo clear. Like, at least find a hand double or something for continuity purposes please!

I'm done for now but this means I'm watching the rest of the drama only for the prettiness of the leads. They could be doing anything, I don't care. So long as we have them and not more of the silly Xiyan lot.