This review may contain spoilers
Foggy Memory of Drama, but Not a Bad Watch!
I watched this a long time ago, so I apologize ahead of time if the review is not that helpful lol. First off, I am the type of person that likes period dramas. I really like imperial dramas as well as the post-imperial era (sorry, I'm actually not sure what time period this is called). The set and costumes are pretty on point for that era. I started watching this drama for Tavia, but I quickly fell in love with Louis Cheung's acting! I was not familiar with Louis before this, but after watching this drama, I am sold on his acting skills! He is really good at portraying his character's pain (good emotional scenes), and he is comedic. He is not your traditional "handsome" actor-- in fact, you can visibly see his acne scars on screen many times. This makes me appreciate him more, because he is able to act so well that he is not just typecasted into the "ugly, but funny guy" character. As someone who also has some acne scarring, it is nice to see that a "regular" looking actor can still give the character that aura of attractiveness that main characters/protagonists need.This drama takes place after the last dynasty has been toppled and foreigners started to have started to try and claim their stake in China. Throughout the movie, viewers can see that political tensions and injustice as the foreign-installed law officers become tyrannical. They are the backdrop antagonist, but the heart-wrenching part of the drama is the fact that we have to slowly watch the beginning protagonist slowly turn into the final antagonist of the series. To make up for that, another main character of series slowly develops a conscience. The series makes us compare the fates of the two main leads. One guy who has always been pure and then later becomes tainted as he does more questionable things compared to a guy who has always just went along with things (he was kind of a jerk/prankster, but didn't outright do bad things) but later chose to do the right thing. In those cases, what makes one character non-redeemable despite the previous good he has done and what makes one character redeemable? I think another cool point of the series is the love triangle/square running in the back. Girl A likes Boy A (who was good at first but later turns bad) and later may like Boy B (who was average but later becomes the hero); Girl B likes Boy B, but Boy B also likes Girl A; Boy A likes Girl A. I feel bad for Girl B because she is a good person, but ends up putting herself through a lot of pain in hopes of trying to make Boy B feel something. This is something I see happening in real life a lot, so it is a realistic and sad part of the series. The love triangle with Boy A-Girl A-Boy B is your typical movie trope, but an interesting twist is that Girl A is called Leung Sum, which literally translates to "conscience." Throughout the series, you can notice how Girl A becomes closer to Boy B-- symbolic of the transition of both male lead's "conscience".
TVB music usually grows on me because they play it throughout the series, but I honestly forget this one since it's been so long lol. I just gave it a 2 bc I really don't remember it hahah. It's not something I'd rewatch (bc I don't like rewatching anything in general), but writing this review made me recall a lot of the plot, so that was kind of nice.
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