Exceeded Expectations

This is one that does a good job with blending drama/horror, humor, and tear-jerking moments. I've been holding off on watching this for quite some time because this is a genre/plot that usually isn't done very well. But happily, it became one where I continued to look forward to every next episode until the last.

The main crew of the cast had fantastic chemistry with one another- one that makes you smile with them, cry with them, and root for them. The plot flow was done really well and there was enough "houses to sell" stories in addition to the main underlying story to keep it satisfying. (Sometimes feel tricked with other series where they start off with one or two individual stories and then just drag the rest of episodes into the main one.) It isn't the most complex plot you'll come across but it also isn't an overly simplified one. There are some plot holes but a perfect plot with heavy attention to detail isn't something that should be expected too much for a supernatural genre.

There is a light layer of corny such as the FL always being dressed in black and the ML being dressed mostly in white, etc. But in this case, it works well as it's part of the charm. It is quite difficult to be able to smoothly incorporate a natural lighthearted feel for a plot with multiple darker undertones, so the higher score for the series is well deserved. The only distracting negative was the very obvious ad placement/marketing in certain scenes where it took it a bit too far with the selling of the drinks/snacks/skincare. Nevertheless, highly recommend for anyone who is looking for a balance of emotional triggers.

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Draggy and a bit corny but...

The series started off at a good pace, where I found myself binging the first 10 or so episodes until the romance scenes began to drag on and then all of the scenes slowly disintegrated into long drags. The remaining episodes were completed through a heavy-hand of time skipping. But there is something to be said for the effort of even making it through to the last episode rather than just dropping it completely and it'll be easier to just highlight the negatives into a list:

- While the acting was average, there was enough chemistry with the ML and FL that the trials and tribulations of their romance will tug at your heart.
- The action scenes/CG effects started off okay and slowly deteriorated (even on the sound effects). And the number of times people will bleed from their mouths in the series has got to be record-breaking.
- They increasingly incorporated way too many flashback moments that only contributed to the drag.
- The plot also increasingly deteriorated with each time skip era.
- The characters started off well and then would bounce around between being out of character and then back into character for no naturally good reason.

However, despite all of the above, there was enough suspense of wanting to know how things end. Unfortunately, the ending was lackluster. The concept of the plot is really interesting and it's a shame they didn't do a better job with the series. It started off with so much potential. If they didn't spend so much time on the drags and focused on diving into the supporting characters and their character evolution, or if they put a little more effort into the details of the events unfolding instead of just jumping into it, or if the cut down on the repetitive romance scenes, it would have produced a far more well-rounded effect.

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Not Bad, Just Not Enough

Foremost, I really can't stand this type of costuming in historical settings. But every so often, if the plot and actors do a good enough job, it's something that can be overlooked. It is still cringy though. The long stringy bangs that half of the male actors have and the over-bleached hair colors. I mean, for characters that are supposed to be highly skilled in martial arts, apparently their bangs don't seem to get in the way...

However, the characters were pretty charismatic and the plot flow skipped along okay. The action scenes were typically of series with this type of costuming: lots of floating around, actors who try to make the martial arts believable but it's obvious they don't have any real training, and attempts to make up for the lack in martial arts by incorporating heavy CG (of which, some were pretty decent). It's a fantasy setting so there's no high expectations of realism and while the negatives mentioned above are not as bad as some other series, it's still a bit overdone for my personal taste.

Stuck around for 11 episodes mainly for the plot, the charismatic actors, and the nicely incorporated humor. But it was one of series where you can do some chores on the side, miss out on some dialogue, and not feel like you've missed much. It's good enough where I can probably continue to watch to the end but not enough to feel like I have to get to that next episode.

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Not For Me But...

I'm dropping the series mostly because even up through episode 8, the action aspect of the plot never picked up pace. And personally really dislike the typical romance stories with overly innocent and useless women. What's worse is the rest of the other women so far have been portrayed as either being just as useless, full of drama, evil, and/or manipulative. This is very typical of the old-school ideal of Asian romance and couple portrayal. Poor woman/rich man, innocent and sweet woman/powerful and misunderstood man, attached with unrealistically cute voices that belong to girls who haven't gone through puberty.

But for those who love these types of sappy stories, I can see why this one is on the higher-rated end and would definitely recommend. Personally I was putting up with the heavy romance scenes for while hoping the action and backstories would pick up at some point but it's been a slow burn.

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Missed the Mark

Always on the lookout for plots that involve undercover characters who go out and help people. One of my favorite childhood series was when the Emperor himself strolled the streets in plain clothes so he can understand his country. So I definitely wanted to like this series but I've been emotionless for all three episodes.

The acting wasn't terrible but was subpar and the main characters had no chemistry with one another (or with any other characters for that matter). But the biggest cause of the series missing the mark wasn't the actors but the actual plot flow. You can see the potential but the execution of each scene was done with poor timing and execution.

As an example, when the FL is helping with the birth of a baby to a dying woman. The male doctor and her are both looking at the baby's entrance point. In historical times, it's unlikely a male doctor would be at ease even being close to that area. The FL admitted she had no experience and despite the dying woman having an arrow stuck in her chest while pushing the baby out, the birth was super effortless. It's difficult to describe in words but you can tell that not much thought was put in with no attention to detail throughout the series. And it resulted in a very unnatural plot flow.

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Not For Everyone

This isn't a series for those looking for a thriller or fictional suspense story. It's a series that is a laying out of reality with no twists and turns meant to entertain the audience. It follows the simple format of a broken legal system and a judge who does her best to both implement the law while getting to the bottom of the truth with each case. It personally resonates for me and may not for everyone.

For some reviewers who question the "dramatization" of the cases, I can only assume they've grown up in relatively safe and comfortable homes with others to rely on (who they usually take for granted). Because those who get it, get it. And those who don't, usually never will. After all, being spoiled has nothing to do with finances but rather those in their lives who've emotionally spoiled them. The actuality is that these cases are still pretty watered down in comparison to real life situations, but still vivid enough to make its point.

What I additionally appreciate about the series is the emphasis on how even those with the best of intentions, end up being hypocrites when it comes to something hitting their own "home". And while those sitting comfortable behind their computers with little or no responsibilities will shout their criticisms, it's a very real and human dilemma that occurs in everyone's day-to-days. It's easier to judge others' choices when it makes no impact to their own personal lives, and easier to self-justify when it comes to their crossroads of sacrifices.

There's no glaring negative other than the pacing of stories and its developments (certain scenes that weren't as believable when it came to how the judge found evidence). There were also some moments that felt a little too prolonged and other moments that felt too abbreviated. But overall, if what I've discussed above also resonates with you and you're fine with a somber environment, you'll enjoy this series.

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Sort of tricked into somewhat completing the series

The series had a good introduction and followed up well on the suspense, until around halfway through at episode seven. Then it abruptly just nose-dived from the initial uncovering of the truth, which was pretty lackluster despite half of the episodes leading up to it. It continually only worsened with characters making odd decisions that made no sense. It's hard to describe but they spent so much time building up the ML/FL, only to have them look like blubbering fools for the rest of the series. The further diving into the truth also begins to develop large plot holes that weren't pieced together very well. I found myself becoming more and more disinterested with each latter episode and ended up not liking any of the characters at all. Because seven episodes had already been invested, the rest of the episodes were sped through with aggressive skipping just to get to the full unraveling of the mysteries (with exception of a few historical flashback moments). The slight twist in the end would have made the plot halfway decent if it weren't for all of the items mentioned above.

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Poor Plot Flow

While this series isn't one of the worst as there are flickering moments of relatively good scenes, it's pieced together pretty poorly. The introduction in itself wasn't done well with a slapping together of the main leads who continued to not have much chemistry with one another. But when the supporting actors do a much better job in acting than the leads, it's difficult to stay interested. The lore of the reapers world was not believable even for a fantasy/supernatural genre. As a minor examples (among many), the comatose state of the "new guy" was at the fault of the reapers, and yet the choice they gave him was three years of coma which could be reduced to six months of coma if he joins the team. There's no explanation of why they can't just reduce the come to a month or to just release him from it, if they are capable of providing different time ranges. Another example is when they are apparently forbidden to change history when going back into the past, but the "new guy" is pretty much allowed to make drastic changes to the past like preventing a death from occurring and yet, there's barely any repercussion before the plot just moves on.

Because I can probably continue watching this on a very casual mode mostly due to the supporting actors and their stories (hence the slightly higher score), but as none of the mains are likeable, prefer to drop it instead.

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Binge-Worthy

I'm usually not a big fan of time-slip types of plots because it just usually isn't done very well. Had this series on the plan-to-watch list for a while because of this. I also tend to avoid anything that appears to be romance heavy. However, this one outwitted my initial expectations and had me fully invested until the last episode. You have certain series which are just good and then you have those that will pull you into their world, and this was one of them. This is also one of the rare times where I'm in agreement with MDL's average rating.

The cast was fantastic including the support roles. Because they based this one on written/accepted historical events, it will keep you guessing on how they plan to follow or diverge from the past. The concept of a male being in the body of a Queen took the entire plot up a few notches (it wouldn't have been as great otherwise). Within just 20 episodes, your emotes will pleasantly be balanced with laughing, crying, biting your nails, and smiling with warmth. As for the romance aspect, because the FL/ML were both interesting characters with such good chemistry, that I didn't mind any of the romance portrayed within the series at all.

The only slight less than positive comment is that it felt just a tad long-winded with the political aspect of the plot in the first half but nothing in comparison to other historical dramas. It doesn't take away from the binge-worthiness of this series and I've admittedly lost more than few hours of precious sleep.

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Well Done

Started this series with the expectations of dropping it in the first couple of episodes due to expecting a Wuxia theme, only to realize the setting is actually within the modernized world. But before I knew it, each episode had me hooked to looking forward to the next. Here are some key points that makes this series unique for me:

- The blending of a historical essence with modern times was actually done really well and is far more believable than what other series with similar settings try to achieve.
- The action, costuming, and CG work (though I'm not an expert of any sort) was fantastic actually. This aspect is usually one of the main reasons why I drop series. Typically dislike things like "colored hair" that's utilized in historical settings (because it makes no damn sense) but because this is within the modern world, it works.
- Although not all of the acting was done well, there was enough great actors/actresses to make up for it on a whole.
- The humor-injected drama can throw you off every so often but it was also equally refreshing (with just a few scenes that were a bit excessive). The layer of humor is key as well to overlooking any potential loophole with the superhuman powers involved.

What brings the score down for me would mostly be around the plot. Although the story wasn't bad, it felt rushed within the latter half of the series. They did a great job in the beginning with character introductions and did a pretty good job in delving into their personalities but it wasn't very complete. In order for them to finally get to the ending of this first "arc", they left too many holes around the details behind the whole mystery and the characters involved. There were also some sections where I did find myself fast-forwarding a tad because it felt just slightly long-winded and unnecessary. However, I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well they did overall and it was a very enjoyable watch.

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Hits the Spot

I love these types of plots where help is being provided to different individuals/families, particularly with a supernatural baseline. Most series don't do it very well for one reason or another. This one, despite my initial judgment on the title name (which of course is why should we shouldn't judge based on cover/name), really hit the spot with exception of some minor gripes.

Everyone involved including the supporting cast jived well together and had great chemistry. There are scenes that will make you tear up, scenes that will make you laugh, and scenes where you're anticipating the unraveling of situation. There's nothing overly gruesome or frightening (though I wouldn't mind it) and the blended-in humor helps ease any of the darker aspects.

The only character I didn't care much for was the female cop. It is more of how she was written rather than the actress herself. She was more immature than the young MLs, selfish (though somewhat self-aware), much too needy, and didn't know when to stop talking. The other minor grip is the series ended with many unanswered questions and rather abruptly, but is also a bit expected with only 12 episodes.

I found myself looking forward to every next episode and would highly recommend for folks who also enjoy these semi-episodic and supernatural plots. The series gets extra kudos for doing a great job at this particular type of plot/genre.

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A Good Casual Watch

After several starts and drops of various historical dramas, this one was finally able to keep my attention long enough to become invested. The first couple of episodes may be slightly off-putting but it does evolve well and the layer of corniness is part of its charm.

Positives:
- There's a good blend of serious moments and light-heartedness/comedy.
- Most of the actors did a good job with their roles.
- The mystery aspect was decent as well as the action scenes but nothing to write home about.
- Almost no romance.
- A good series if you need a break from heavy politics and melodrama.

Negatives:
- The biggest negative for me was the ML (Ding Yu Xi). His acting became increasingly not believable and he only seemed to utilize 3-4 different facial expressions throughout the series. Unfortunate because this really brought the series down a few notches. (And this is already overlooking the extreme corniness to his cat-human form).
- The story takes a somewhat convoluted turn somewhere in the middle, and the flow became messier. It's as if they spend the first half working on the build-up and then just decided to throw everything that was necessary for the plot all in at once, just to be able to complete it.
- While I may able to overlook things like poor villagers suddenly being able to build a hot air balloon in almost no time at all, it was difficult to overlook the reactions to character deaths. There is almost a zero grieving period or any needed emphasis on the deaths of even relevant support characters. Providing flashbacks that doesn't trigger any emotes doesn't cut it, and the almost instantaneous leap to laughing and having a good time shortly thereafter was just not okay.

However, it is a good series that one doesn't need to take seriously and is good for a casual watch. Despite some significant negatives, it still did provide some actual laugh out loud moments.

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A Bit of a Drag

Based on reviews as well as being recommended by other reviewers who has somewhat similar opinions of other series, I was super excited to embark on this one. And while I can still force myself to continue watching due to it potentially getting better, there's just nothing intriguing enough to keep going even after 10 episodes in.

There's no real major flaw to highlight and there was quite some potential of being a unique undertaking of "royalty" in the beginning. Instead of the usual elegant and noble demeanor of royals , it was quite interesting to see the more "normalized" relationship with leaders that weren't born into it that type of restriction/upbringing. Although they did take it a bit too far and some scenes were just awkward.

While there were many great actors and characters in the series, the one that I just couldn't bring myself to like was the main protagonist, Xu Feng Nian. Even if his character was supposed to "pretend" to be narcissistic and spoiled (and despite them trying to paint him as some sort of kind soul deep down who refuses to kill anyone), he still comes off strongly as a narcissist and is quite abusive to those closest to him for that matter. His level of intelligence isn't believable enough either for it to balance out. As for the plot flow, while the story does move along with setting changes and introduction of new characters, it also somehow feels circular. There's too much emphasis on Xu Feng Nian and not enough on the supports. There's a lot going on but it really isn't going anywhere. So for these two reasons, I decided to do the drop.

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Surprisingly Enjoyable

The summary on the site for this series doesn't do it enough justice. If it weren't for the fact that there are some rare series out there with more intricate and complex plots, I would have given this a higher rating. There really isn't anything negative to point out: the actors were charismatic, the story flow was done well, the action scenes were good, and despite some supernatural aspects, nothing was under or overdone.

The first arc gave a slight undertone of The Addams Family or maybe The Nightmare Before Christmas in the sense of the darker undertone and the protagonists having interesting relationship developments. Nothing was romanticized, which was a breath of fresh air. Because of this, I never felt the need to time-skip at all for the entire 36 episodes. Unlike the summary where it references one particular arc, there are actually multiple mysteries involved that are relatively standalone (where it isn't being forced into being related to the overall plot). This is what really kept the series interesting without the feeling of it being dragged on.

For those who enjoy watching supernatural elements along with case solving as I do, this one is highly recommended. Unlike other series that have a great synopsis and deceivingly high ratings (per my biased opinions/tastes of course) but end up disappointing with a major flaw or more, this one exceeded expectations. Note that despite some darker undertones of the mysteries, it is balanced with comradery and fun. I'm looking forward to season two.

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Refreshingly Entertaining

After having seen so many series that follow the recipe of non-stop betrayals, it was quite refreshing to see a solid comradery play out. It was also just as refreshing to see subtle human touches being added to relationships between the mains and the supports. The pacing of the plot was nice and steady, without any overly dramatized cliffhangers or extremely long periods of nothingness. Although there's obvious non-realistic aspects to the autopsies which is one of the main highlights to the theme, it was done well enough to not deter. The other positive is although there was some romance, it wasn't overdone.

The only two qualms I had was that the role of the female coroner was lackluster. I haven't seen the actress enough to know if it's her acting or if it was just how the role was intended. And while the overall actors did a great job, there isn't much character development throughout the series. However, everyone stayed true to character and it was an enjoyable series with an ending that felt both slightly abrupt yet fitting. I look forward to how they plan to expand the story in the sequel.

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