This review may contain spoilers
Since I've loved historical Chinese dramas so far, I tried to look for other high rated or underrated dramas and I came across this one. The reviews were good so I gave it a try and boy, I wasn't disappointed. This drama for me is a gem.STORY:
The story follows Han Yun Xi (Jung Jin Yi), a poison doctor who suddenly had to marry the king's subordinate Long Fei Ye (Zhang Zhe Han, I think he was a duke in the story) just because the king distrusts him and he thinks that him marrying someone ugly would distract him from any political aspirations. She is then given the title of royal consort and even hired by the empress dowager to spy on Fei Ye so basically they didn't like him to be powerful. The story starts from there and sometimes it makes me laugh on how the duke's character is kind of too serious? And like all leads, when the male lead is serious, the female lead usually is optimistic and animated. The start cohabiting and live as a married couple in name and eventually they start to fall for each other. I liked all the other side characters in the story. Sometimes quite annoyed at the 2nd male lead Gu Qi Shao (Yalkun Merxat) though. He was the kind of second lead that I wouldn't ship with the female lead. He played his character so convincingly that I hated the character, good job. The thing with these kinds of dramas is that politics will always be a major part of a historical drama and that's a fact. The way it's executed however is the most important thing and would be and advantage if executed well. There was a good amount of politics, drama, romance, and comedy in the story and I liked it. I think this fantasy/historical drama did just that. The ending though is a bit confusing. Though there had 2 endings, kind of a choose your own adventure series. The ending raised so many questions after me being sad at what I thought was their fate.
ACTING/CAST:
I had no problems with the cast because they carried out their characters well. I hated who I need to be hated and empathized who I need to empathize. But ohmygod. The leads. Jung Jin Yi and Zhang Zhe Han are OOZING WITH CHEMISTRY. I'm not sure if this was an underrated drama but if it were, please do watch this. They look so good together! Zhang Zhe Han looks like he was made to wear historical costumes. He looks so good in it. I cannot stress enough how great their chemistry was. It really was.
MUSIC:
One of those Chinese dramas where I appreciated the OST. This may be a low budget drama but they definitely did it right. There was recall with the song and I even added the songs in my playlist.
REWATCH VALUE:
Definitely yes. For their chemistry, yes. And especially for the pretty, pretty Zhang Zhe Han. Love him.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
ah just finished this!!! what a rollercoaster drama !!!! so many plot twists and characters which made the story a bit draggy around 30 something but main cast was so good !!! made me continue !! shout out to zhou madam and ningjing for giving happy endings to romance in drama :D no but i loved loved them!!! Yunxi and feiye were SOOO good!!!!!! like especially at start and midway their chemistry understanding is insane and i get why people love this couple this much ? gu qishao my favourite sapphic protector deserved so much better but still his character maintained that starting spark despite going through so much ? tang li poor baby had to carry this new responsibility for his ge but he's still the same ? but he's still it took a bit longer to complete bc of so many plots etc but aye glad i started it!! the happy ending deserved more elaboration but i take what i get !!!! Was this review helpful to you?
Nice drama to watch
I love JJY and ZZH in this drama, this is the first drama i watch which is played by this couple. Entertaining and the story is quite unique and different from other historical chinese drama. I already rewatched this drama few times and still felt entertained. Worth to watch because the casts overall play their part well. The background, props are also good. Recommended to watch for those who is looking for a historical chinese drama which has a story differently from other historical chinese dramaWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
No illusions about the ending
I was prepared not to rate this drama because of the hype I read about the ending. It was pretty clear to me, and it told the story how it should have been told. Not everybody has a happy ending, but it was gratifying to see the various relationships built and grow.Some of the characters were annoying (without redemption) - and that Emperor was evil (as was his mother). It's amazing how conniving and vicious people were in those times, and yet the society was built on honor and reverence of elders and ancestors.
The story was well-told and well-acted. Despite the validity of the ending, I would have liked to see them get some happiness, but that's why I watch these dramas - for the things that don't happen in real life. Still, I think it's worth watching, and I enjoyed the series.
Was this review helpful to you?
You can watch this for Zhang Zhe Han. It is a decent drama.
I would say first half of the drama is good and interesting, but loses its charm in the latter half.There are many loop-holes. But after finishing this drama, I watched two other dramas immediately.
After completing other dramas when I came back to write this review, all I can remember is how handsome Zhang Zhe Han was and I couldn't remember anything else. This proves that this is an average drama which is good (not excellent) in each area such as romance, comedy, fights, storyline etc.,
Compared to other rom-coms, other excellent plots in c-drama world, in my opinion , this drama is average. It is neither shitty nor an awesomely mind-blowing one that lasts an impression.
Will I recommend you to watch? yes, give it a go.
BTW, I fell in love with Zhang Zhe Han and became his fan after this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
It has a great plot, great build up and the ending,, whilst trying not to reveal too much I can say that the ending can be interpreted in two ways. So everyone is somewhat satisfied at least.
But overall, just an amazing drama. Definitely worth watching if you're looking for a period drama with political conflicts, healing/martial arts, romance and some cute scenes!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Very good
I'm like 5 years late to the party, but anyways, here we go. I really liked this drama. The storyline was paced well, it was interesting, funny, goofy, dramatic. I didn't even mind the endings of the characters too much, I usually dislike when there are too many deaths. I think that only one (1) of the characters didn't have to die. I always have a soft spot for the third wheel characters, would definitely give my hand in marriage to Qi Shao lol. I appreciate that the producers made two endings although I expected a little bit more from both of the endings (like for example a truly happy happy ending with all the characters being shown getting married, having kids or simply having a good life and a true, sadder ending). Overall, I really don't have much to complain about here. Maybe the CGI and some of the music wasn't fitting, but that's really not the end of the world there. If you're a "always thinks about how to make plot more logical, why the characters acted like that and why the writers wrote this action contrary to the character's storyline, I hate the punch in the gut with completely turning the tides of the storyline" type of person, this drama is definitely a must watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Awesome
This is clearly the most underrated chinese wuxia series. I would say it lies in the league of tge untamed and word of honor. Definitely no less than these. The story is so out of the box . All the games along the poisons and how they try to cure them. The lead couple is adorable. I have fallen in love with zhang zhehan. He is my favorite chinese male lead so far . The other characters are also written exceptionally well. The vfx and the act when zhang zhehan turns into a gu abetted man is a treat to watch . I was just not contented with the ending . I wanted the fl and ml to spend more time together , coz they are just loveWas this review helpful to you?
Amazing simply amazing
I did enjoy watching the story, it had an interesting premise from start to finish .I fell in love with Long Feiye and Yun Xi immediately I loved everything about the show, the ending made me cry for a whole day. Gu Qi Shao was so loveable in the show, but Long Feiye was just gorgeous and breathtaking to look at. I enjoyed the movie so much I ended up reading the book which has 1380 chapters and the book is simply amazing . This show is definitely the top of my rewatch list and I have rewatched the show twice . Great job to the cast, the producers and the director. They have a new show going to be released so look out for that .Was this review helpful to you?
A good Vintage piece
For a 2018 drama, I feel like this drama aged fairly well. It has all the 2018 writing classic and costumes.I didn't realized it was the same actors from The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion and I'm glad they got to work together again. I really enjoyed the acting from the FL, I think Ju Jing Yi is an adorable and very pretty actress. I felt like she gave really great chemistry and even though her character was up and down for me, she played it well.
I feel like Zhang Zhe Han has improved a lot from this drama. In The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion he basically had the same character role, but had a lot more emotion and depth in that one. In The Legend of Yan Xi, he was very stiff and at times I thought the drama was on pause because he never moved his eyes or facial expressions. Other than that, he was nice to look at and who can complain about the scene scenes?
Of course the costume and CGI isn't up to par to what we watch now, 4 years later, but at the time, it looked pretty grand. I'm glad we have moved away from gaudy sets and more subdue looks and muted color tones.
The first few episodes were hard to get through, only because the FL had to go through some hardships and I wasn't a fan of that, but towards the middle, it really picked up and I liked the antics they were getting into. I liked that she was a doctor and they were both saving people.
Of course in C drama fashion, the last bit kind of gets crazy, with misunderstandings, back stabbing and lot of fighting, but that is pretty typical.
Overall, if you are a fan of the actors or don't mind a vintage piece this one is worth trying.
Was this review helpful to you?
