Oh my goodness, I hadn't realised it was actually a completely different person who travelled back in time to be reborn as Minglan - I'd assumed it was Minglan reliving her life and hence doing things differently this time. That makes a huge difference! (What have the censors got against time travel? Is it anti-Communist or anti-Confucian or what?). I'm so glad they cut out all the violent rape because honestly there's so much structural rape in the book, so many women being bought and sold and stuffed into people's houses as concubines and having to marry men they don't love and who don't love them . you don't need the time travel framing to device to see that this is a completely shit society as far as women are concerned (and very damaging when it comes to men, too).
I've watched it to the end now and was disappointed by the finale. I thought the Emperor's plan was exceptionally crappy - SO MUCH could have gone wrong, and so many people died as it was - I thought GYT not telling Minglan was EPICALLY crappy (I'd have accepted it from Yanruo, who is extremely bad at putting himself in other people's shoes, but for GYT to do it is completely out of character and undermines all the things I'd gradually come to like about him), and I was SO disappointed that Minglan didn't finally get to rescue her husband instead of the other way around. We do get a grudging sort of half-admission that he can't keep his promise to always protect her (and therefore, by implication, she'll have to protect herself), but it's really not enough.
One thing I did like, though, was that we get to see other women rising to the occasion, especially General Shen's wife (whose name I forget), but also GYT's nanny, and even the evil m-i-law stops simpering for once and gives extremely clear and sensible instructions for the defence of her manor. There's definitely an implication there that Minglan isn't the only women capable of doing far more than her society normally allows.
Re: The Story of Minglan
I've watched it to the end now and was disappointed by the finale. I thought the Emperor's plan was exceptionally crappy - SO MUCH could have gone wrong, and so many people died as it was - I thought GYT not telling Minglan was EPICALLY crappy (I'd have accepted it from Yanruo, who is extremely bad at putting himself in other people's shoes, but for GYT to do it is completely out of character and undermines all the things I'd gradually come to like about him), and I was SO disappointed that Minglan didn't finally get to rescue her husband instead of the other way around. We do get a grudging sort of half-admission that he can't keep his promise to always protect her (and therefore, by implication, she'll have to protect herself), but it's really not enough.
One thing I did like, though, was that we get to see other women rising to the occasion, especially General Shen's wife (whose name I forget), but also GYT's nanny, and even the evil m-i-law stops simpering for once and gives extremely clear and sensible instructions for the defence of her manor. There's definitely an implication there that Minglan isn't the only women capable of doing far more than her society normally allows.