Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

Our wicked queen played by the lovely Jiang Qin Qin who’s more known for her stage name as Shui Ling. She was pretty then and still stunningly breath-taking now. I remember her most in Wind and Cloud and The Four Detective Guards. How time has flown by that all the leading actresses of the past are now playing motherly roles. In any case, I haven’t started on this drama yet… gahhh. I need more hours in a day to do what I want to do! As of 11/26, the drama has reached 1 Billion views! Congratulations! Let’s break more records and shove it up HNTV’s nose!!

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New Stills & Posters:

I think they did such a good job casting the kids! Young prince is played by Tom Zheng Hao, who was also in Female Prime Minister. Interesting… ~~ Mono-lid matches Huang Xuan perfectly for the adulthood part. Born in 1998, same age as one of my bros!

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Young Shawn Dou is played by 1996 baby, Simon Shi Yun Peng. He looks like a baby! Was recently in Ode to Joy 2.

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Young Zhou Yi Wei is played by Kevin Zheng Wei. Such a cutie too! Born in 2000 ~

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The intricate head gears.

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Posters.

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  1. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    SO FREAKING GOOD. Even with my rants in cbox, I can’t not talk about it here. I HATE the queen, but she’s also amazing. So hateful, bitter and full of spite, but honestly she’s so pitiful. Even while she’s lording over other people, I can’t help but feel like she’s just so low in life and self-assessment and just so full of hatred for who she is that she just seems pitiful even as I hate her. Shui Ling is phenomenal and I haven’t watched and loved as much as Sun Li as everyone else, but personally I think she trumps Sun Li here…idk if it’s the fantastically complex character or SL’s amazing portrayal or both, but freaking awesome.

    That aside, I also love hate the king. He’s so weak and cowardly at times, yet never dumb, always aware, and sometimes stands so strong and firm in his decisions despite his other “play it safe” decisions. There are glimpses of the man who will do the right thing despite risks hidden in all that fear and carefulness. Huang Xuan’s doing fine and the prince is complex and likable enough, but of all the main characters he’s definitely the most bland so yes I hope the prince eventually shows a little more of his father’s occasional fire. Muyun Sheng is such a pushover, until you give him someone to protect and man he explodes. Baby MYS was AMAZING and his faceoffs with his father over young Muru Hanjiang and his mother were seriously the highlights of his character so far. Kudos to the young actor!

    And lemme say, Muru Hangjiang is definitely by far my favorite character – in terms of personality, personal morals and integrity and beliefs, portrayal, charisma, by far the easiest to love and root for. Hanjiang is depressing at times, but controversially also indescribably sunny and lives up to Shawn’s sunshine-like charisma. But his occasional, very deep, very moving, very depressing true thoughts are such glimpses of an awesome character. He’s the most fiery character for all the right reasons. Shuofeng Heye is all rage and self-righteousness and hell hath no fury-esque. BUT Hanjiang is unshakably sure and confident in his convictions. He doesn’t need SFHY’s raging and injustice frustrations because even when he’s looked down upon, his belief trod on, he’s so sure about being fundamentally RIGHT that he’s quietly rock-like. Oh he’ll rage and explode, but its more tinged with the air of finality of “you’re idiots why can’t you see” and resignation that no matter how much he’ll yell at his dad for being “righteous” for all the wrong reasons, how much he rages against traditions and stupid human constructs, nothing will change because they don’t want to change. It’s hard to describe but it’s almost like sometimes he can just see the truth of things and whether or not his voice is heard doesn’t matter cuz he knows what he knows and he will make his decisions based on that and not be bothered by what he can’t change. He just doesn’t have the same helpless frustration as the other 2, almost. He’ll be indiscriminate, just, fair, but without the preaching and just quiet actions. He says what he means, and while other people “say” they’ll stand up for what they believe despite consequences, Hanjiang is truly unflinching in executing his decisions, literally no matter consequences. And it’s satisfying because it’s not that he’s ignorant of the consequences but that he knows but chooses anyways. And he’s strong enough, even as his one person, to be effective in his decisions. F*** I love him.

    Shuofeng Heye…man….love hate. I hated him as a kid, because comparatively he was such a kid. Yes he went through such a tragic and horrendous childhood, but as I kept repeating in cbox, his pain doesn’t invalidate others’ pain. He didn’t see the greys of the situations ever and instead looked for an outlet for his raging and hatred. He almost felt entitled even as he owned nothing. His attitude felt entitled. Sometimes I admired his spirit everytime he roared “I’m meant to be tieqin…I’m king.” But other times, I just seemed so bratty. As he grows up, I’m coming to realize that he does know that the greys exist, but he refuses to understand them. I can see that his character is sort of setup to bring the rain of fire and fury down on the 9 continents and so yes he rages and basically burns through everything in his path, right or wrong. But it’s infuriating as much as it is a fundamental character trait in him. As much as I hated him tho, his eps in 16-18 are to date, my favorite episodes.

    Ep 16-18 focusing on Shuofeng Heye are absolutely phenomenal (please take with a grain of salt) because it was so intense and intoxicating. The whole culture and vibe and atmosphere of the He Luo tribes are freaking intriguing and very much pulls you in. So far I’ve felt very blase to all the girls except thinking SuYuning’s cute and Shui Ling’s AWESOME. But all the other girls have felt very very meh to me (Janine was pretty great in her cameo tho). But MAN the tribal girls! Jin ZhuHai was infuriating and childish, but at the same time it very much fit her and I thought her and SFHY together were pretty awesome for the time they were together. She’s very demanding and a little naive, but so so straightforward, and sets out to do what she wants without being entitled or underhanded. She was very bold but also very strong and awesome even as I wanted to shake some sense into her. The whole of the He Luo people felt very bold and wild and awesome. So unrestrained and very very free and logical to human nature with how their society is structured…none of that hidden “culturedness”, etiquette, and frustrating things in the more “civilized” TianQiCheng city. But it’s not primitive…it feels very fair and very real. I love it. Also…hated Helan Tieduo as a character but I also really admire her and honestly she has way more personality than most other females in the show. She never hides the fact that she like SFHY or that she hates JZH. But not in a bitchy way…more like a cold determined, I’m gonna make what I want happen way.

    Ok rant over…but honestly all in all I’m loving it. The plot can sometimes feel slow, but there are so many details and the characters and the character of the show are so well developed that I can see why they’re taking their time to build things up. I can see this being a well-paced 18 eps. Slow but steady. And it’s not necessarily slow in that nothing happens. It’s that all the small pieces are moving into place and you know the big events are coming but you can’t quite see them in sight yet. So, a little frustrating but also well done IMO. I have to admit that I did fast forward a bit during the more politically bad-guy parts. It’s not as dry and boring as other shows, but I’m just less invested and very excited for all the other shit happening that I just couldn’t watch through those parts. Some of the plotting is very perverse and exciting though. (weird phrasing but)

    ALSO disclaimer….please take all this praise with much salt.

    • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

      I also really like the focus on Shoufeng Heye on ep16-18 as well. Among the 3 leads, Shoufeng Heye has the most rage because of what the prophecy took away from him at such a young age. So I feel like he’s fighting against a current and hoping to overturn it.
      While the unfolding of the storyline is very slow pace but I was never bore. Kudos to the production for having all of the actors/ actresses using their own voices. I feel like in some of the scenes if it was dub, it wouldn’t have been very effective. I like how they don’t really sugar coat everything they want to tell, they showcase all of the flaw of each character for who they are.

      • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

        that’s kind of why while I’m trying to and really want to like Panxi, she’s kind of bland to me right now cuz she doesn’t seem to have much personality yet.

    • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

      I also love Hanjiang’s character. I also love muyun sheng’s storyline, probably because it has magic XD. So far, hanjiang’s character has the most dimension for me.

      I totally agree with your description of hanjiang. His definitely a character I root for and I can see him on the throne. Though for me, I’d rather he not be on the throne and live happily ever after with Su Yuning. Hanjiang seems to be the light/hope within all of these political plays. I love his hilarious chemistry with the 2nd muyun prince and Su Yuning XD. We can always expect fun scenes when hanjiang shows up.

      YuningxHanjiang couple is like bunnies and candy floss. ShoufengxYanshuang couple is like S&M. ShengxPanxi couple is the clueless baby talk couple. Their conversations be like Panxi saying ‘Close your eyes, what do you see?’ & Sheng saying ‘Black’. Me: No shit sherlock

      For me, muyun sheng’s bland character is mainly the result of his confinement. Muyun sheng and Hanjiang were abandoned by their family and become victims to the prophecy and political plays. But unlike Hanjiang, muyun sheng was raised in complete isolation from knowledge of who he is and the world he lives in. He is basically a prisoner since birth. Everyone either hated or feared him. Wars and battles outside the palace are caused because of his existence and everyone makes sure he knows this. Because he lacks human interaction, he lacks social skills. He doesn’t know how to impress people or make jokes. He just says things as they are and ask the questions he wants. He seemed to have possessed his mum’s trait of liking peace and not understanding the complexity of the human mind. Because Hanjiang was also abandoned since birth, he probably saw himself in muyun sheng’s situation. From Hanjiang, muyun sheng learnt that you don’t always need to accept your fate. His character took for a turn when he met Hanjiang, and he started to take action. Moving on into 4 yrs later, our evil queen still does a wonderful job at driving those father and son duo crazy. If they’re not crazy now, then wait til she’s done with them. The fact that he draws all the time reminds me of the fact that drawing is used in psychological therapy for patients. Maybe that is why he hasn’t gone insane yet. Muyun sheng also seems like and enlightened being (another reason why he is bland). Some times it seems like he have so much wisdom and other times it looks like he is still a child. There was a scene where Muyun De wanted to know if muyun sheng knew where Mi Linh’s book of magic is so he gave muyun sheng rare paper and a riddle to solve in exchange for the paper. Muyun sheng asked why he needed him to solve the riddle. muyun de said he wanted to be friends with him and the riddle was an excuse. And instantly, muyun sheng showed him his demon stone and actually believed him!! Muyun sheng trusts people so easily. He doesn’t even get upset once he knew he was used. I am curious where his character will go as he is released from his confinement and whether he will evolve to be someone suitable for the throne or not

      p.s. I just finished episode 22 and is dying for the next episodes. Shit is going down and tides may be turning

  2. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    When panxi came put of the crystal ball in front of mu sheng Huang can character that was ah-mazing in ep 18. That’s my fav couple and hope.she doesn’t die

  3. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    Just finished Episode 18 (watched about 4 episodes today, couldn’t stop!). First off, the scenery, especially in Hanzhou, is gorgeous!

    LOVED the continuation of SFHY’s story. He is a chaotically good character and I like the adult him a lot more. He has clear goals and is willing to let go of his ego to achieve them (whilst still remaining prideful). His relationship with Jin Zhu Hai was heartbreaking and compelling to watch. The rest of the cast also did well in their scenes. I like the Hanzhou story arc and the characters because as @Julianne already said, they are unrestrained and bold people. They speak their mind and are fighting for their lives.

    Panxi and MYS are really really really painfully dull. Felt this so much esp. going from 3 continuously intense episodes and then mid ep 18 it’s back to them again =_= It’s a combination of the acting, the dialogue and the characters themselves. A lot of their conversations are boring and pointless. E.g. PX: What is A? MYS: A is B but A is perhaps not B. PX: What is B? MYS: B is not A but maybe it’s A, etc. I would like Panxi more if she was played by a more charismatic actress (with a better voice too). Younger MYX was more interesting and had a bit of fire in him. Hopefully his darker side will break out soon.

    MRHJ and SYN are cute and I do like 2nd Prince too. I wish we had seen a teaser of how SYN had survived the fall, rather than just her saying I was saved but I can’t tell you who saved me. HJ is definitely the most likeable character. Love how he interacts with everyone (how can anyone not fall in love with him haha)

    This drama has been very entertaining so far, in spite of the slower pace compared to other C-dramas. The interactions between characters feels genuine – you can tell the scenes are actually filmed together with all the actors involved in that scene (rather than actors filming individually/with stand-ins and then it’s cut & pasted together).

    One complaint I have is that the dialogue is a let down at times. There’s unnecessary exposition and a scene drags out for ages because the characters keep using flowery words, that could have been edited without affecting anything. Less is more! The acting (for most of the cast) is already on point so there’s no need to tell when you can just show it.

    But anyway, I am interesting in seeing how the next episodes go!

  4. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    This drama i definitely every popular. Such rich comments it has gathered. Wow, I have not started watching as yet as I like to marathon thru a drama. But I will have to start sooner now. Sounds really good.

  5. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    I just finished episode 23 and 24 and OH MA GOD. This drama just keeps getting better and better. I think 1 complaint I have with this drama is probably too much flashback, especially in episode 23 & 24. I understand sometimes flashbacks are important, but they flashback a scene that have just happened 10 minutes ago XD . Another thing is that in the past few episodes, they seem to have slowed the pace
    of the storyline a little. I’m not complaining too much at this stage but it would be better to see the plot going a little faster. This might be because we only get two episodes per night & I’m impatient to know what happens next. Other than that, it’s awesome! definitely not a let down.

    • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

      The irritating flashbacks!!! I know they are time-fillers. But feels like the producers think viewers suffer from short term memory loss. There are also some glossing over of very tricky situations such as the merchant who “owned” SFHY stressed that he wouldn’t sell him for any amount of money, then he did, behind the scenes.

      • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

        omg yess!! and there was that scene where han jiang was fighting in the cave. All of a sudden in the next episode, han jiang and his crew was lodging in a house. I suppose they managed to escape, behind the scenes XD

        • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

          Haven’t gotten there yet. Thanks 🙂 Now I won’t have to replay it thinking that I have spaced out or dozed off.

  6. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    I am up to speed with this drama as well and impatient for the episode for each day. 🙂 I agree with most of the views above. The story seems slow at time because I feel like they are setting the stage or building up to the main event but the process is kind of slow and we want to see what happen next/the main event. I have to say some of the acting and intensity between the characters are mesmerizing (the king and queen), (rebelling third prince with the queen’s niece) etc… I never really pay attention to Huang Xuan’s acting before but I have to say…he is GOOD! I wasn’t too focus on this storyline before but I can really feel his character now through his acting 🙂 Shawn’s character is my favorite but so far there is not that much development to his character…can’t wait when he finally see Huang Xuan again. I am soooooo looking forward to that!

  7. 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

    It’s sooooo good!!!! I haven’t been this interested in a C-drama since Nirvana in Fire. The props and costumes are detailed and the acting is on point. You can tell they spent a lot of effort in the production and script. I have some issues with the post production editing but overall its amazing. This drama requires it to be watched in HD.

    Anyone know why Hunan TV decided not to air this?

    • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

      They basically said it was reallly bad (who are they to judge, seriously?) and too long, want to cut up about 20ish episodes. tribes team won’t budge about cutting up their show! good for them! standing up to hunan bullies.

      • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

        It’s not a show that you can skip an ep or even a scene without losing track of what happening. This makes it hard to cut for ad breaks so it doesn’t fit with Hunan tv. I’m still surprised that the drama didn’t get picked up by another broadcaster though.

        • 19 thoughts on “Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy Discussion Post Week 2: Episodes 13 – 24

          Oh I see. That’s true, this is definitely not a drama that could be cut –
          especially 20 episodes worth. I don’t think ad breaks would make much of a difference. If anything they could cut the flashback scenes, there is definitely way too many flashbacks which makes it annoying, especially when they flashback to scenes that got cut by the editing team….

          Hunan TV probably bought exclusive rights and so other broadcasters couldn’t pick it up.

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