Silv233
Must watch
This drama blew my mind. Can’t recommend it highly enough. It is a departure from your usual fodder of costume drama topics.It may put people off because of the difficult issues it tackles, which reflects on just how current the pressures on women are. Women who suffered abuse are still having to deal with blame and shame, a large percentage of court cases never make it through courts, and often, in sexual harassment it is the woman who is shunned and shamed. Rape, abuse of power, the shallowness and consequences of public sheep mentality, all are so directly, yet seamlessly dealt with in this drama.
Part of me, when I started watching it considered switching to a more light hearted drama, as I didn’t want to get sad and depressed when I am meant to be relaxing. However, I was hooked from Episode 1. The magic of the way this was produced is that it didn’t induce darkness and depressive mood, but instead it provided a superbly immersive experience, succinctly bringing up the reality within a world of costume drama.
I applaud the directors and producers for the way they created such a refreshing take on filming, intertwining past and present events in each episode, no plot holes or clumsy flow in the story development. Not too slow and not too fast. Just perfect.
Whoever selected the cast, should be given an award - they all fit in their roles perfectly and their acting was immaculate by all, which is astonishing because normally you get some weak links. Here, main and supporting characters have unbelievably good acting skills, delivering emotions and flavour of each character with perfection.
If you are hesitating to watch this because of the subject of the drama, I definitely recommend you give it a try. From story, through filmography to acting it deserves 10/10, probably the best quality drama of 2023. Yes, the big budget series with popular eye candies, love to watch these, but every now and then, we come across dramas that feed the soul. This is one is truly one of a kind.
I do hope that the actors and actresses, the director and screenwriter get the recognition they so deserve.
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A must watch
Definitely one not to miss - both the leads and support cast - top notch performances. The plot was refreshing and although I love happy endings, this I didn’t mind the not so happy ending here because of the pleasure of the entire drama - no fast forwarding, or “half watching “ sections. I am really fussy about actors - their acting skills are a priority, good looks simply not enough. ML is now one of my favourites - he’s not only superb as an actor, but also quite handsome which is a bonus. FL was outstanding, I want to see more of her works now. The storyline is refreshing, not following the “safe plot lines” , and keeps a good pace. I me of the best dramas of 2023.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointing ending
Considering how rare season 2’s are in C-Dramas, the open ending disappointed me - otherwise it was an excellent watch. What I liked was that it was not soppy and over focused on make up / beauty at the cost of the plot or storyline. Loved the grainy, dark overtones which matched the storyline perfectly and made me feel the mood and emotion of the characters. Well done overall!!! Worth watching.Was this review helpful to you?
True menhua feel
Superb. What makes it different to other mystery dramas is the way the characters retain the comic book qualities in their acting, lending the series slightly goofy and a very uplifting vibe. It is so refreshing!! The fight scenes are pretty good and aplenty :) Loved Ding Yu Xi having fun with his cat impressions, nailed it - retained the kitty vibe instead of being too fearsome like a tiger or a lion. His friends and foes also got their characters spot on, the only one I feel a bit unsure of is Ren Min - her delivery was a bit flat, trying to come across as strict and uncompromising but with a good heart…. Alas the role didn’t work for her in this series. It is funny to see how many people got confused by this series, so used to standard wuxia / xianxia scripts, totally forgetting that this is manhua and unlike the usual series, it actually sticks to the comic book feel of things. Bravo 👏Was this review helpful to you?
