Love helps finding your wings
If you liked the first season, you'll love this series. The continuing story of Novoland The Castle in The Sky is set in the same fantasy world, only with different characters, and another plot that can be seen in its own right.Story
Season 2 follows the love and adventures of Feng Ru Che, daughter of the blue-eyed, golden-winged Feng Tian Yi and his earthling wife Yi Fu Ling. Just like her parents Ru Che falls in love with another specimen, that is the famous and never aging magician Xue Jing Kong. Their love story reminds me of Eternal Love of Dream (2020) and Goblin (2016). Magician Xue rescued baby Ru Che eighteen years ago, their fate bound forever. There’s a second love story as well that goes beyond enemy lines, with a few episodes about military training and bonding in war time.
Acting/Cast
It seems a mission impossible to surpass actor Zhang Ruo Yun as the dashing Feng Tian Yi, but I found Xu Zheng Xi very capable of acting the part as Magician Xue. He has this demure, stone face, that brings to life the stoic Master of Ru Che. Yes, he is good looking, but we mustn’t forget he’s eighty years her senior according to the myth. Actress Wang Yu Wen matches him perfectly as the quick silver Ru Che who seems to combine her mother's spontaneity with the whirlwind energy from her father. I loved their chemistry and interaction. The other cast members were good as well, all though I didn’t see any character development in Yun Mu Yang, the foster brother of Xue. Last but not least the anorexic boy Xu Yu who constantly fights against Xue is pretty interesting, but what exactly is his purpose in this story other than oozing with fairytale vibes? I hope his origins get more attention in the next season.
Music
The soundtrack is built further on the theme of the former season, so if you liked that, good for you. The soulful melodies pulled at my heart strings for sure.
Rewatch Value
I’m a sucker for old fashioned romance with hot kissing scenes, so I will definitely rewatch not only the second, but also the first season.
Overall
I liked the beginning better than the ending of this series, but if you're in the mood for Intense- Soulmate-Destiny-Willing-To-Die-for each other- Love, look no further. The story shows true love helps finding your wings.
Was this review helpful to you?
Jeremy Jones Xu not him per sé but his acting and will be looking for more dramas with him in it. Uvin Wang did an excellent job just like she did in the "Goblin". Wang Zi Qi was also good but his personality changed as the General. The set, the graphics, and the music... "Excellent"!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Protective love is a shield
One striking aspect about this drama: beautiful, epic, soulful background music aptly composed for all key moments in the story! Major portion of the background music and two of the osts have not only an Indian musical rhythm, aesthetics but also a pan-Asian cultural appeal. Another remarkable feature are the beautiful, regal costumes of all main and supporting leads. Also, there is no tedious love triangle. In addition, the love story between the main leads is tender, beautiful, epic, intense despite the 'over a century ' age difference.
The first 12 episodes are the best --- there is variety, entertainment, charm, romance, cuteness, humour adventure, seriousness, and exotic appeal. The rest of the episodes are okay, watchable.
Overall, the main characters and the story are refreshing, novel --- compared to other clichéd plots. However, the plot development becomes bland, unnecessarily convoluted and inconsistent from episode 26 to episode 32. The side love story is hopeless, and the reactions of the side characters are immature, impulsive. The side love story starts on an interesting note, though.
On top of that, the main vamp's past history evokes so much empathy that one wishes she wasn't alloted such a tragic ending.
Yet, the good facets of this drama such as: the style and manner of interaction between the main leads, the dialogues ( including that of the supporting leads), the background music --- are so excellent --- that it keeps one engaged.
Also, the likeable female lead is strong, feisty, optimistic, resourceful, charming, but a cute damsel in distress at the same time --- a rare combination of traits. She is very direct in her appoach towards her opponents as well as enemies. Her dialogues are always power-packed when she confronts the male lead ( her master, Xue jingkong) to discuss about their love. When it comes to love, the invincible male lead flounders ( which gets really trying sometimes) ; the female lead, on the other hand, takes the bull by its horns.
The ending of this intense love story, though happy is a bit disappointing; it's bittersweet. A decade later, the male lead is resurrected, but with all his memories gone. However, since the male lead allows Ah Che to hug him, the possibility of him falling for Ah Che does not seem small.
Was this review helpful to you?
You must see it for yourself, I am verry satisfied in this season 2 with so much strong chemistry for the main cast fengXue couple ??????.. I really enjoyed watching for it. I really do hope there will be another chance for their loveteam after this . I really love the couple, you did the great job with all the cast . Please watch it and enjoy it ,you will never regret it ?????. Watch untill the end .
Was this review helpful to you?
Let me start with the outstanding. Jeremy Xu outshone himself in Legend of Phoenix which I thought was quite an average drama. The story in this drama was more interesting and gave him the opportunity to really express himself, besides being very handsome.
The ending theme song is extremely good - the combination of the music, singing and poetic lyrics. It brought out so much emotions - nostalgia, sadness, regrets. It is rare that I got to like a piece of music listening to it for the first time but I did for this. And usually I skip the opening and ending theme songs to save on time when binge watching a drama. But I actually listen to every repeat of this song at the end of every episode!
The drama was also very well paced without the draggy moments you often see in longer dramas.
For such an excellent production, it was a pity that the audio was missing in a number of moments on the YouTube videos. Also, while the English translation for the ending theme song was good, it did not fully capture the poetic feel of the song, which was a pity - it needs an outstanding and very skillful translator to do that. Of course, these had nothing to do with the drama, so I did not take it into account in my rating.
Weaknesses of Chinese dramas are often in the story. Although this story is interesting, there are some minor flaws in it. Xue was always running away from Feng. After a while, that got boring and I wondered whether there were going to be any new development. Feng had an invisibility cloak too - seemed like a copy from Harry Porter. Yet she did not use it to the fullest to rescue herself and the servant maid from the palace. For these, I took away 0.5 points from the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
The whole story goes round and round between the romance with the Male Lead that is Xue Jing Kong acted by Jeremy Jones and the Female Lead that is Fang Ru Che acted by Uvin Wang and the tragic romance with the 2nd male lead that is Yun Mu Yang and 2nd female lead that is Du Xian Yin. How the Flower Goddess manipulate the feeling between the male lead and female lead which leads their relationship to and back (few times). Separated then reunite due to that Flower Goddess curse.
This drama showcase that a childish and weak female lead becomes a very strong and mature lady in the end. Even though with the so called happy ending between the male & female lead yet I find this story is not interesting . The reason is firstly I don't find any sparks between them. I think the chemistry on the 2nd lead couple is far better than the leading couple. Secondly the story is not compelling 'coz it goes round and round the bushes and finally in the end it goes back to zero basic.
My advise is unless you are a die-hard or hardcore fans of Jeremy Jones Xu or else you may skip this drama and spend your time watching other much worthy dramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
Worth of my time :-)
I remembered Eternal Love of dream in this tv series, cold and heartless ML with a cute and witty FL who fell in love with the ML. Both series are worth to watch of my time. They are beautiful couples and you can’t stop watching them because it’s really pleasant in television. I love Wuxia , Xiaxia stories and strong ML who always protect his love ones and willing to sacrifice to save the love of his life. Jeremy Tiu really has (ML) a good acting skills especially his eyes with a lots of emotion. Even in The Legend of Phoenix he was really good as a main lead. While the FL was also good in the The Youth of Chang An I really like her though she needs to improve more her acting skills. OST was really soooo good! The background musics we’re really superb. My re-watch value is 9.8!It’s not a perfect 10 for me because there is a plot holes in every episodes but, but I will definitely re-watch it most especially If I can’t find a good cdrama in the coming months.
Enjoy!
Was this review helpful to you?
The first Novoland was good story and plot. This part 2 does not have a story line at all.
The actress is not fit for the roll. She does not have the acting skills.
She is not even pretty. I would asume it is a low budget film.
Can you imagine uneducated street girl became an empress without properly been trained first? In most drama and real life, she will have to be trained in a formal education. This story she just fell in love at first sight and eat like a hungry dog. Then got killed twice.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
After 20th episode I liked the story before that I didn't like the story much . One thing I am not understand that he had power and his power getting strong because the design of flower in his back get dark then why he not able to fight with the mute . Mute is working under the person who always trapped and at the end he came and destroyed what is that ,that was stupid scene instead of this it would be better he fought with the women ,goddess of flower who was inside him ,who was controlling him.Yun Mu Yang pairing with Du Xian Yin but I like his pairing Lian yi more, when she a got attack by Du Xian yin till I thought that she had been paired with him but unfortunately she dead. But I didn't understand this character that he searched for Lian yi so badly when he got her he fall in love with Du Xian yi and when she killed her then to at the end he only remembered Di Xian yi that she sincerely treat him but he knew very well that Lian yi also love him . He is so positive character but his ending I don't like it .they(writer) can give him nice and happy ending .
Chemistry between the lead nice.
Why they shown little sad ending .if he not said that who am I and where am I then it would be happy ending but his last statement make me want to see season 3.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good acting, great OST but Average drama
Completed - 11/24/2021 - Rating 7.75 rounding up to 8.0It's hard not to compare "The Castle in the Sky" Season 2 to Season 1, even though you can watch this as a standalone. Maybe because I watched the first season not too long ago (10/3/2021), so when I am watching Season 2, I have a hard time with not comparing. Here's my review of Season 1 if interested (https://mydramalist.com/profile/voicelesslove/review/168551). I quite like the Novoland universe, I just wish the dramas are better.
What I Like:
1. Acting - I think the overall acting of all the actors and actresses are pretty good here. It's definitely better than Season 1 where a young Zhang Ruo Yun carried that show on his back . Most of the actors here are quite seasoned and have a few dramas under their belt. This is my first time watching our ML, Jeremy Tsui. At first I thought he was Vengo Gao. Even though for about half of the drama, he has this cool, serious teacher look on this face, he really does have very expressive eyes. When he has to act embarrassed or flirty, you can see how his eyes change. . I just finished "Once We Get Married" with Wang Yu Wen (FL) and Wang Zi Qi (2ML). I enjoy their very different roles in the two dramas. I have to say, Wang Zi Qi has improved and he was better in OWGM than here. I realized I've watched several of Daisy Li's dramas (2FL) but don't recognize her at all. Her acting is among the better of the bunch, as she has a more complicated and interesting character than the other leads. The other supporting cast, both younger ones and veteran actors, all did a decent job.
2. Feng Ru Che (FL) - The character development of Ah Che is a big part of this drama. She started out as a street smart and happy 18-year old girl, to become the Queen. I am glad that she's not annoyingly innocent and doesn't lose her intelligence. From street smart to being able to see through lies and schemes, to gaining the wisdom of war and battle strategies, to finally become the rightful queen - she has come a long way. Most importantly, she didn't lose her wits when she falls in love, even though she does need a lot of saving.
3. OST - The drama does play the theme songs quite often, almost every episode. But personally, I really like all the songs. They all complemented the drama well and they are all lovely. I bumped my rating to 8.0 because I enjoy the songs so much. The ending theme song "風雪嘆" is my favorite and they do play this song quite a bit in the drama.
4. ML Comedic moments - though not often and could be out-of-nowhere, I enjoy the few funny scenes of our ML. Whether he's "exercising" before he first met FL in the palace as her teacher, or the fake cough that he does - these are the rare funny moments that break the icy personality of our ML.
5. Costumes - Compared to Season 1, this season definitely has better costumes and accessories. It's not big budget quality, but for a lower budget production, we see many beautiful dresses and headpieces. Everyone looks beautiful and handsome in their battle gears.
What I Don't Like:
1. The Main romance - Personally, I don't feel a lot of chemistry between the leads. They both acted well, but I am just not feeling it. I am also a sucker for ML who would sacrifice and do anything for FL, but this romance is not giving me the feels. I guess my biggest complaint of this romance or even this drama, is the constant push-and-pull between the leads. ML keeps on wanting to leave FL for her own good and so she won't die. I am fine with this. But then, why keep on showing up in front of her again and keep on saving her in crisis? *SPOILER ALERT* Towards the end, why would you wipe out her memory, and then become her teacher again and stay in the palace? You can tell she's falling in love with you again and you see the flower sign, what's the point? Additionally, our ML is always stalking FL either using his magical mirror or by being invisible.
2. Slow Motion scenes - There are just too many slow motion scenes in this drama, like in a rom-com. You can see slow gazes, slow spinning, slow walking/running and worst of all, slow fight scenes. Although there's fighting in this drama, you can't say that it has great choreography. The sword-fighting scenes are passable but I feel that the actresses were having trouble with the fights.
3. They never die - So many characters got beat up badly. Swords and arrows flying through their bodies, bones broken when hitting cement, but they all managed to survive! Magic! There are also some other illogical scenes here and there.
Other Observations:
1. If you watch this drama on YouTube like me, the sound goes out quite often.
2. What is up with the funny-looking, flying big bad villain? Is it a bug? A bee? It looks like a Pokemon.
3. I miss the steampunk elements in Season 1.
4. I think Season 1 has a better general plot.
5. Do they really not want to tell Ah Che why she's left an orphan?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
I have a lot to say about this show - good and the bad both. I hope you stick till the end of the review ಠ‿↼
Story: 7/10
As someone who's watched season 1 and loved Feng Tian Yi, I was looking forward to this one since forever so, started it as soon as it started airing which, in my opinion, wasn't a good idea. Anyway, the base of the story and the way it connected with its prequel was 'a job very well done'. The start of the drama was awesome, enough that I ditched other dramas on my CW-list to focus on it. Where friendships were fantastic, romance sucked. Big time and since romance was one of the MAIN ELEMENTS of the show, I was disappointed. Till around episode 25, the pace was good before the writers/producers/directors or whoever realized that they only have 9 episodes left to wrap it up and so, they did everything to collect the scattered pieces of the plot. You can imagine what became of the story. It was chaos. I was confused and then I was angry. They shouldn't have dragged the plot in the first place. They wasted so many episodes on FL's character development, which were necessary, I know that but they could've shown it without teeny-tiny details. And not to mention, the Cdrama/Kdrama cliches the writers pulled. Will there ever be a romance story WITHOUT THOSE DAMN CLICHES?
Characters: 6/10
In my opinion, this figure is just because of 4 characters only. 4 for whom I watched the drama till the very end. Feng Ru Che, Fang Qi Mo, Lian Yi and Lin Yue Cong.
Feng Ru Che has one of the BEST character developments in the history of character developments. Her journey and development was worth it. From the girl on streets to the throne and from there, to the camp and then back towards her throne. Damn, I was in love with her. The only time I DID NOT like her was when she was with the ML. I get it, that she had to be different with him but both of them made me uncomfortable in a way. Xue Jing Kong was a century old magician and watching him act like a teenage boy in love with a teenage girl was weird. Somehow, I didn't feel the chemistry between the two or maybe their romance wasn't the kind I enjoy? Well, whatever it was, sucked. BIG TIME.
Then comes Fang Qi Mo. Poor guy. He was an amazing friend and matured faster than the ML. I didn't feel any SLS for his part because he deserved better. Sorry Feng Ru Che, he's better as a friend.
Then comes Lin Yue Cong. From overachiever mean girl to Feng Ru Che's best friend. I loved her. I loved how mature she was, how understanding. If you hate her at the beginning, just hold on. You're gonna love this badass fighter.
Then comes Lian Yi. I loved her the moment she came on screen. But I pitied her more and was furious because of the injustice the writers delivered to this precious girl. She was emotional and an angry girl, begging others to just look at her. Mainly only one person but I can't give spoiler, now can I? The people around her weren't ready for her, tbh. They did not deserve this precious being.
Rest of the characters were good but lacked certain details. The characters I despised(strong word but even this isn't enough to show how I feel for them! AGGH!): Yun Mun Yang & Du Xian Yin & Xuan Ji. God, I was so, so angry because of these characters. They're the kinds of characters that make you want to break things. They just got on my nerves. One of the reasons why I rated the drama so low is because of all the screen-time WASTED on these three!!! Enough said.....
Acting: 7/10
Sadly, no one's acting stood out for me but Xu Xiao Nu who played Lin Yue Cong, maybe? I was looking forward to Daisy Li's acting since she's so pretty and was so cool in King's Avatar but I'd say she still has room for improvement. Other than these two ladies, our FL's actress Uvin Wang was really good if not 'the' best. Acting was good but not remarkable enough to leave an impression. And I'd love it if Jeremy doesn't play such roles again, like NO.
Music: 7/10
OOooooo boy! I don't care about the OSTs but the background music tracks were SO BADASS and SO ON SPOT. There are certain scenes where the music was simply EPIC!!! I'm rating it 7/10 just because of these background tracks otherwise the OSTs were simple for my taste. Same tone as other such dramas. None out of ordinary.
Re-watch Value: 6/10
I'd certainly never sit down and watch all 34 episodes again but there are a few episodes and clips that I've saved and definitely will watch from time to time. Heck, they kinda inspired me in my own story writing. I can't list the scenes because I don't want to post spoilers but if you want to know, you know just in case, you can ask!
Conclusion:
I'm more disappointed than happy after seeing third drama in the Novoland universe (I love the concept of this universe) just because of all those stupid cliches. I hope writers take a step out of those and give us something worth the concept and cinematography they've shown us in the dramas based on Novoland universe.
Thanks for reading too darn long review and putting up with my curses for the story that you MIGHT love.
Was this review helpful to you?
