This drama started off cute and light-hearted with Ariel and Vin bickering. We also saw a lot more of the masked hero doing his thing. However, the plot wasn’t very deep at this point in the story. So, it started to lose its spark around episode 10-15. Around episode 20, we got a new setting and therefore the story picked up a bit but…it slowed down for another 10 episodes until they decided to quicken the pace again. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster for children; small build-up and boring falls that repeats five to six times. The overall tone of the story changed near the middle of the drama; it went from lighthearted to a more dramatic feel. The scriptwriter did try to insert random comedic parts, but they felt forceful and unnatural. Everything did unravel throughout time and many different issues do come up to provide depth and conflict to the plot, but I lost interest as the plot became more complicated. Not because I dislike conflict and details, but mainly because I found the story to be losing its focus. Too much was going on and I didn’t find the conflicts to be a great addition to the overall plot. Especially with Ariel's identity as the Divine Maiden. I think they could've delved more into it and given her more of a role to stop everyone from trying to hunt her. Could she have learned martial arts/self-defense? Yes, but did she? No. She left it all to Vin (and Austin) and was ultimately a damsel in distress at the end. Besides having an" extraordinary sense for business" she did very little to change her fate.
If you’re looking for a drama where the main couple is together often then look elsewhere. After the first 16-18 episodes, we rarely see them together. They meet and get separated frequently. This doesn’t bother me much if they carried the plot well (but they didn’t) and I got frustrated near the end when the reasons for their misunderstandings could’ve been omitted (i.e. unnecessary love triangles). This also could’ve given the director/writer some more time to dedicate giving their audience a more satisfying ending. I’m quite bitter to have spent so much time watching this and get such an awful ending. I actually laughed when I watched the ending because of its mediocrity. In short, it was a cop-out. Either the director/writer did not plan accordingly to provide a substantial and fulfilling ending, they overspent and decided to make the last episode a cop-out, or both. I don't mind tragic/sad/happy endings as long as they're done well, but this ending was none of the above. It was a badly written and executed ending. They took no responsibility for anyone’s story and provided a distasteful ending. For those curious, I’ll provide a comment below to spoil the ending if you wish to read it.
I was excited to watch Vin Zhang as a lead. I believe there’s a lot of talent that hasn’t been shown as he’s (in my opinion) slowly being type-casted. In the beginning, he would bicker and tease Ariel, so it was refreshing compared to his recent angsty roles. However, this changed quickly, and he lost his shine as the plot thickened. Which was a massive shame. Watching Ariel is the same as watching her in her previous dramas. She’s great at acting out a “dumb” and cute role. Due to her experience, she is also one of the best actors in the series. She portrayed her role well and did well with her more serious parts. But I do want to note that I have a really hard time taking her seriously when she’s trying to be tough. This is mainly because I think she has a face suitable for dumb/cute roles. Sorry, Ariel. Vin’s shine seems to be passed to Austin in the latter part of the drama. Austin has turned into someone who would bicker and tease Ariel, but I didn’t find him to be too memorable in this role. Then again, none of the roles are memorable for me but are these a fault to the actors themselves? No. They did well to portray their roles. I just found the roles to be poorly written...or just poorly implemented into a poorly written plot. I do want to note that I found Austin's character to more interesting than the leads near the end...so I guess that's saying something.
All-in-all, I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re looking for a great plot and a satisfying ending. I think there are better historical romances to dedicate your time to but of course, everyone’s taste is different. So, I would recommend this if you’re looking for a semi-lighthearted historical drama. Just be prepared for an extremely poorly written ending because that's one thing we can all agree on whether we enjoyed watching this or not.
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STORY: This was definitely the biggest problem with this drama. The beginning I think was great. It was cute and interesting. The main couple had good chemistry together. And then halfway through, they decide to separate the main couple for 11 episodes. Not even separating as in they're fighting and are upset with each other, but LITERALLY DO NOT INTERACT FOR 11 EPISODES (minus one scene where he saves her, but neither of them even know it's the other person.) I honestly was going to drop during this point because the chemistry between the leads was what I thought made the drama.Ending - I figured the whole thing was a ruse by Chen Yu and the emperor - even before they actually showed that it was all an act. So it was better than in Story of Ming Lan, where you don't find out it was all an act until the very very end. However, I think the biggest issue was all the deaths by the end of the drama. Yes I know C-dramas love to kill people off, which isn't the problem. But at least make it meaningful and worthwhile to die.
1) Male lead did NOT have to die. He wasn't severely injured and if Dong Fang Shi could pull both BuQi and Chen Yu out of the hole, there's no reason why Chen Yu couldn't have tried a little harder instead of just giving up. Again. He wasn't SEVERELY injured.
2) Mo Ruo Fei - Glad s/he died by the end of it, but I really don't like how they changed the story for this character by the end. Throughout the drama MRF was very loyal and cared about HBQ. Yes, s/he sided with his mother after she poisoned HBQ, but throughout it all, MRF did still care about HBQ and wanted to right his mother's wrongs. Now that the king killed his mom, he could care less about everyone around him? No way. MRF betrayed her multiple times and at the very end willingly tried to get HBQ killed to -potentially- get revenge on the king. Meh.
3) So many people died in the last episode, that it really took away any sentimental value for it. Really only Xiao Xia (HBQ's guard) got a meaningful death (kind of, I'm still annoyed that she didn't even actually die for HBQ but for a fake HBQ).
ACTING:
Personally always love Ariel Lin and think she does a great job with her roles. You can tell she actually cares and she's not afraid to ugly cry - which always feels more realistic.
Zhang Bin Bin - normally I'm a little hit or miss with him, but overall think he did a good job. I don't think he was dubbed in this drama, so I think it was a little weird that towards middle/end of the drama, he started sounding super breathy while he talked (compared to the beginning when he was the proper/powerful Prince and had a super strong voice).
Everyone else - No one else really stood out to me. The actor who plays DFS I can't unbiasedly judge cause I disliked the character lol.
OVERALL:
Overall, I did like the drama. But it definitely wasn't a favorite just because of the story choices the writers made. Literally 11 episodes where the ML and FL are separated (and they were definitely the heart of the story for me). I skipped through most of those episodes and really could care less about them. It was way too long and the story got really boring (almost dropped the drama at this point).
I also really didn't care for Dong Fang Shi. Yes, he loved her and was trying to "protect her" but even up till the end, seeing how sad and unhappy she was, he still forced her to stay by his side (literally tied her up so she wouldn't run). He -barely- redeemed himself the first time his grandfather tried to take HBQ and he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. But again, he played the typical "I'm doing this for you (even though it wasn't even really what was best for her).
Also kind of annoyed that Liu Qing Wu got a happy ending. She did nothing to deserve it, IMO. She originally was a bad guy who killed HBQ's uncle. Then she was a traitor and tried to take over Liu Ming Shan Zhuang. Then she continually kept trying to cause trouble for HBQ and CY. Then she betrayed CY and sold out HBQ to the king. But she gets to have a happy life and get the power of being a beloved concubine? Pass.
But I do think Ariel and Zhang Bin Bin had some great chemistry and would definitely like another collaboration between them!
Most likely wouldn't rewatch though just because of the negatives I had.
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The story/plot was okay, nothing big. The ending doesn't even make sense. All the fighting scenes on the last episode was super fake. So basically, this drama was quite disappointing. This review had to be at least 500 words, but I have nothing else to say besides, this drama was quite disappointing. The ending like everybody else says "WTF was that" it wasn't even like a bad ending it literally just didn't make any type of sense. ***SPOILER ALERT***---- vin zhang(chen yu) jumped down the well which caused to his death...obviously. However at the very end of the last episode he appears?? How does that even make any sense. On top of that the drama didn't even bother to explain how he managed to survive. Was this review helpful to you?
I am conflicted when it comes to I Will Never Let You, this isn't my first Chinese drama and it certainly won't be my last. I know how these things go especially when it comes to historical ones.. I have to admit that like many viewers, I feel a bit cheated once it got to the last stretch of episodes. So let's dive in...
The Good: There were many positive things to enjoy with this drama. The chemistry between the Bin Bin and Ariel was extremely palpable. Matter of fact the overall chemistry of the cast was excellent.The acting was quite enjoyable for the most part (Kris Sun was not impressive). The story immediately grabbed your attention and kept it for awhile. The women were quite exceptional in this drama, a majority of them and their scenes ranking as the most memorable parts. It was really funny and didn't seem to take itself very seriously...until it did.
The Bad: I know this drama is set in a patriarchal society as it was back in those days, but oh my gosh, the men in this f**king story SUCK (Chen Yu, Yuan Chong and his teacher arguably being the only exceptions). So many irritating moments that warrant the biggest eye roll in history. The storyline while compelling truly took a drag when it got to the later episodes.We went twelve whole episodes without our leads sharing a scene. TWELVE. Not to mention how as we got to these later episodes plot points just were not connecting the way they should have been and when they did connect it felt rushed and unsatisfactory.
The Ugly: The ending. It is true what they say.. an ending can really make or break a piece of work and for many, I fear this ending may have broken it. I understood and I expected most of what happened in the last six episodes to be the case, however, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Since I don't want to riddle this review with spoilers, I will just say that even though the ending was less than satisfactory, I would still do a rewatch. I would rewatch to see the twins being absolute bad ass b*tches. I would rewatch to see Xiao Xia and Yuan Chong bicker. I would rewatch to see Master Zhu being a lazy old fart. I would rewatch to see all the genuinely comedic moments and the impressively strong acting in this drama. I would rewatch because Buqi and Chen Yu are so freaking cute that I am willing to overlook it all and reminisce on the good times.
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For all Ariel Lin haters, she is the best actress and I don’t believe anyone else can play this role as well as her! No replacement for sure! I didn’t know who Zhang Bin Bin is until I see him in this drama. Wow, he is a great actor and handsome, but more importantly, his chemistry with Ariel is superior than any other females lead he played with in other dramas (IMO) or maybe the other female lead he was with weren’t as good as Ariel Lin. I say this because after I saw this drama and while waiting for new episodes to air, each week (lol), I searched for him and watched most of the other dramas he has been in (skipping through some boring episodes in other dramas). He was great in most of them and his character and roles are very consistent.
The second male lead, Austin Lin is very good too. His character seems misplaced a bit when he appears and he didn’t seem to fit the story line at first, but slowly, he did and I think viewers will sympathize with him and applaud him for his unconditional love for Ariel’s character. Also, he got into his character much better as the story flows on and I felt very sad for him in episodes 49-51. I believe if a character in a movie or a drama can act in a way to capture viewers and appear to viewers emotion, that actor or actress is great at acting!!
I have recommended this drama to many people!! My only wish is, the ending should be written differently and do the drama much better justice than just that!! Don’t want to spoil for anyone, but just FYI. Overall, I would and can still watch it over and over again!
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The actual drama itself is good, I like the comedic atmosphere and for the most part it is an easy-to-follow story, if a little silly at times, but in general most episodes were light hearted and fun. The acting from everyone was very good, but the last two episodes were an actual joke. They killed off every good character and left so many unanswered questions. It seemed rushed and also like a cop out, I could hardly even stand to watch it properly because it annoyed me so much. I wish I hadn't bothered to find out the end as it ruined the whole series for me. Because of the last two episodes it knocks my whole rating down.
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Acting/Cast (10/10): So many people started this drama for Zhang Bin Bin. I don't wonder why since he is, not only, handsome but also such a mesmerizing actor. Personally, I started this drama for Ariel Lin. I've been her fan since "It Started With A Kiss" and she actually dropped from the acting scene for a while (probably due to personal life) so newer drama watchers often discredit her in her looks, acting, and even her worth (i.e. saying she isn't good enough to be the female lead, or she isn't good enough to be Zhang Bin Bin's partner). I think the acting in this shows everything I want in a duo. Ariel Lin's acting makes me forget that she is a wife in real life. I would love to see this duo once more. The rest of the cast also does great justice to this drama.
Music (10/10): I am in love with the OST! The intro song is so good. In the beginning, I thought it was a pretty comical intro but as I watch each episode I find myself humming along to this upbeat song. It really matches with our female lead and male lead's personalities and relationship.
Rewatch Value (10/10): I already see the Viki comments in the first episode saying "Rewatching for the nth time", this drama is definitely one that I would rewatch with my family (who also love Ariel Lin) and my friends.
This adds up to an overall (10/10).
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shedding some light to the BTS of the production
I too, same as many, was very upset with the bad writing of the ending. I couldn't believe that the story that we have seen until episode 40 was all fake and suddenly replaced by some amateurish, rushed bad writing. Hence, I went to weibo, hoping that I could find something regarding these issues. I read through a few of the posts, hoping i could shed some light the this, if not, could be a wonderful drama, here.I would like to say that by no means these are good excuses for the bad ending presented to us, but circumstances caused it to be.
[these are from comments of Zhong Fu Xiang (actor of Zhu tai ye) He communicated with the producer, Zhang Zi Qing and got some information from her
1) The state administration of press of China has rules stating that no revolts are allowed to succeed, hence Dongfang who started the revolt has to die.
2) They also disallow female cross-dressing, hence causing Mo RuoFei has to be revealed(change?) her identity as a female, which caused a lot of chain reactions.
And also, the script was initially fully written beforehand, however, due to those changes (and possibly many more that we do not know), it has to be changed to writing while the shoot is going on. This also caused the actors to get the script only a night before, and the next day they have to shoot, a very tight schedule for the whole production casts and crew.
Again, these are some comments and posts that I saw from the producers and casts' weibo. I do agree that by no means these are excuses for bad ending, but I could totally understand the very tight circumstances that they are in, facing the government, the crew, the casts and us, the fans.
Having seen the behind the scenes that they posted, and also designing and building Mo residences from scratch, I could feel the tiny details and effort everyone put in. I also love the story and the chemistry between all the actors. I have seen a few reviews complaining about not seeing the 2 main leads together for 12(?) episodes? I totally would beg the differ about that being a horrible choice. In fact, because of this, I could see how the lead could function without each other, and also gave us more time to know more about the other casts in the show. I really enjoyed those moments, whether they are together or not. The main 2, Ariel and BinBin shone, not only them but the whole cast. Even the emperor, who has limited movements, is able to convey his ambitious nature and many more through those lines(also saw that parts of his script were changed and he could only get them the night before and still performed very well). All these could only happen thanks to the wonderful casts and production crew. This would still be a show that I would remember as it gave me so much laughter while still having a motive/goal to follow. And mentioning again, all the actors are so adorable!!
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World's Worst Ending. World's Highest Number of Plot Threads Left Dangling in a Single Show. -_-
I'm not going to go into details about the ending to remain spoiler free, BUT I will say that it was RUSHED, RIDICULOUS, HORRIBLY THOUGHT OUT, and let sooooooo many unanswered questions. Not things left open for interpretation, NO... literally left things unanswered and left characters who were pretty "evil" doing a 180 from the rest of the show and suddenly being seen as "good"??? WHUT? I haven't been this let down by an ending in a very long time. I can take heartbreak. I can take a realistic, tragic ending. What I can't take is 10 minute of random tragedy for no reason whatsoever as if watching 50+ episodes meant nothing to the viewer/fan.
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Coming into this show I was really excited, I felt the characters weren't generic and the story seemed okay, but then the middle part happened. Once Chen Yu stopped acting like a bratty prince and became the male "mary sue" things went downhill. Lucky Dongfang came in and saved the day. Him and Hua Buqi interactions were what I LIVED for during this. Chen Yu just became one of that dull and plain goody-two-shoes character and even his interactions with Hua Buqi stopped having that sparked that I loved with them as a couple. Then the ending happened *spoilers*
EVERYONE
DIED
BUT THE MAIN LEADS
shocker -_-
*end of spoilers*
Honestly I can't help but wonder if the writers got lazy in the end and just decide 'to heck with it' and didn't want to write how the other character's life went beside the king and the noble consort, which honestly I'm surprised she made it in the end, I thought she would be the first one to go.
In the end should you watch it? Yea, Ariel rendition of the character was a hoot-and-a-half and Dongfang schemes crack me up. Just don't watch it excepting it to be the next 3L3W or AOL cause it is even close. It just a above normal good show.
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In the first half of the drama:I love it, the acting was good, the plot is ok, I like the female and the male lead...
Then a lot of shit happened, and the female had to fake her death... can't remember why again but yeah, after faking her death, she flees to another place, while the male lead grieves for her all this time...
The second half of the series:
This is where the second male lead appears... as well as the second female lead...
Let's just say, I pity the second male lead so much... I literally hated all the other characters except for the second male lead, this is the first time this had ever had happened to me, it's quite a novel experience. I never had this much of a reaction towards a second male lead character whereby I continue to watch a great part of the second half just for the second male lead, like legit. In the end, I had to drop the drama in the last few episodes... the pain is too much (pain for the second male lead), though, I got to know about the end of the drama, turns out the savior of the drama, the second male lead, sacrificed his life for the female lead and the ending was basically the female lead and male lead reuniting with each other... OMG, I can't take this... All of the characters except for the second male lead deserves to die, no offense, I really hate everyone in this drama except for the second male lead...
If you are wondering why I hate the female lead so much, well, let's just say she is the type of female lead where she'll use and hurt the second male lead's feelings just to incite jealousy from the male lead... I know that there's a lot of female leads like this but seriously, wtf man...
Anyways, let's move on to the male lead, why do I hate him so much, oh yes, after you finish reading this, you might not wanna this anymore, so hehe hehe. The male lead basically attends to the second female lead because she's hurt and takes care of her and if I'm not wrong the female lead is also hurt at the same time but he doesn't even care... Not only that, he SLEEPS with her (the second female lead), I'm not sure if they really did the deed though, but anyway, the second female lead was the one who tricked the male lead... but regardless, I view the male lead a stud horse that should have been stabbed to death long, long ago. Oh yeah, the female lead found out about this and guess what, she d did the same, used the second male lead to do the same (only sleeping though). I feel so bad for the second male lead, my god... If not for the good osts and the decent acting as well as the second male lead, my rating for this drama would have been at most 1 out of 10, 1 being the worst...
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I love complicated birth secret origin stories and this drama definitely has that for several characters. I love dramas that can jump from comedy to serious and felt this drama did that a lot. The main big part of the plot kind of fizzles and was a disappointment at the end and I was not left feeling complete after the ending. I am a fan of both sad and happy endings and this one...I don't even know which to call it...Besides the ending I felt most of the story was good and was only slow at a couple parts.
I feel it was worth watching but do not think there is much re watch value.
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