This review may contain spoilers
Alright, get ready. This is going to be a long review. Let me start with a bit of a preface. I LOVE historical Chinese period dramas. I became hooked after watching Ashes of Love and ever since then, I’ve enjoyed this genre significantly. This drama started out incredible. I started watching it while it was airing and at the point that I had picked it up, there were 17 or 18 episodes out and subbed. I binged those and waited anxiously every week for new episodes. The plot was great, the cast was great, the music was great, and the lead actors’ chemistry was great.
However, somewhere in the middle of this 51-episode long show, I slowly began to lose interest. The show was dragging on, the lead pair was getting less and less screen time, and several characters who seemed key to the plot (Mo Ruo Fei and Yun Lang) would just disappear for like 10 episodes. On top of this, the second lead wasn’t even introduced to us until around episode 24-26. But after he WAS introduced, it felt like him and Hua Buqi got more screen time together than the actual leads. Apart from this, things that seemed so crucial to the plot like the house of Zhu, Buqi’s mother’s story, more information about her uncle and the whole beggar plot, and who exactly the twins were just did not get the attention that it deserved. Instead, the entire plot was tied up with Builotian which wasn’t even explained that clearly (besides the prophecy that got repeated like 20 times).
Now let’s get to episode 51 and how the show ended. I just don’t understand what exactly the writers were thinking when they wrote that episode. Up until this episode, though there were a few bumps along the road, the show was overall good. But this ending dropped the overall quality of the show by at least a few points. First of all, everyone died. And I mean EVERYONE. Name a character. They probably died. There were also SO many unanswered questions. What happened to the Zhu house grandpa? What happened to the other twin who hid according to the emperor consort’s request? What happened to Bai Jinfai? And the most important question…..HOW TF DID BIN BIN COME BACK TO LIFE? Because unless I was mistaken, he fell off of the same cliff that the old builotian obsessed man fell off of? So, he just magically reappeared out of nowhere and Buqi doesn’t even question it? I mean I’m not complaining that he came back, I’m actually glad. But there are just way too many plot holes.
Despite all of this, the drama did have some good aspects to it. The cast was the main one. Ariel Lin, Vin Zhang, and Austin Lin all did an incredible job as the main leads and portrayed their characters well. The support role actors, especially Xing En (not an easy job portraying the opposite gender), did a fantastic job as well. The music was cute and didn’t distract from the show. The comedy was great. Especially within the house of Zhu, between Shrimpy and Chen Yue’s (Bin bin) friend, and at times between Dong Fang Shi and Hua Buqi. I actually really liked the character progression and development of Dong Fang Shi and Hua Buqi’s relationship. He truly loved her in his own way, and she understood that at the end when he essentially sacrifices himself for her.
So, would I recommend it? Maybe. Would I rewatch it? Probably not.
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This series is pretty upbeat. It is also light and funny. There is something interesting happening every episode so you really won’t get bored. There are antics, plots and humor left and right and then a tug of emotion. Sadly I have developed a severe case of second lead syndrome and I’m having a hard time enjoying the show because of what I believe will most like happen. I have no idea what the writers were thinking. They gave me so much screen time to the second lead that you feel that he is the main lead. The level of interaction and communication between the second male lead and the main female lead is so funny and entertaining to watch that you will absolutely have a hard time disliking him even though he schemes. They gave the second male lead a character who is not only smart and humorous but also a good fighter but also with a hidden tender side. Then there’s the real male lead who was originally portrayed as a uncaring cold individual but also as masked caring person. Nothing about his behaviors made sense to me.
Friendly warning: Don’t get to attached male leads, the outcome can only go one way.
The female lead does a great job and her acting appears so natural that I’m quite certain it’s her true personality.
The character relationships between the main lead seemed excessively rushed and unnatural based on screen time as well as the era. If you watch you’ll see what I mean. For her character to have such morals she umm.... without thought to era or customs/traditions. That to me was weird.
Oh yeah, not sure if there was a true plot. After 30 eps I officially stated rushing through stupid convos of non main leads.
I will warn you that you’ll get a bad case of the second lead syndrome. Our second lead appears to get more screen time than the supposed lead and its interesting that his chemistry is better than the lead as well. Although he has a side that is a bit wicked, the banter between them is amazing.
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So hats off to Ariel and all the (many!) actors. Ariel had amazing chemistry with everyone, male or female, so you just get caught up with her in loving all the people who come to care for her. I first noticed this drama because I've loved Bin Bin in other roles, and he was awesome here as always--so engaging it's hard to take your eyes off him long enough to read the subtitles. But I was surprised by the SML (Austin Lin) who appeared kind of late in the series. I don't have much sympathy for ruthless types usually, but the way his character developed stole my heart and made me desperately wish for his happiness. By the end I was watching for him more than for Bin Bin.
The plots within plots aren't too difficult to follow and keep the suspense going. As others have said, it's a huge shame they ended this so poorly. They throw you a little bone at the end to make you feel better, but what a disappointing wrap-up to an otherwise superbly-crafted story.
There was one really good song, but otherwise the music was just okay. I'll definitely re-watch the scenes of Ariel squabbling with the male leads--so fun!
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The ending was terribly criticized and maybe it's not 10 stars but I think overall it was worth my time to watch... Usually in these costume dramas the ending is really dark and the last 10 episodes or so they lose the lightness and fun of the drama to conclude it, but I think the drama kept the overall fun atmosphere till the end.
The drama is well paced and I seriously love all the male characters... It was worth watching all those beautiful faces!!
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TOTALLY LOVE LOVE LOVE VIN ZHANG!!!!!!
I love the chemistry between the two main leads. At first, I thought Hua Bu Qi wasn't pretty enough for Chen Yu, but she totally grew on me with her witty, cheerful personality. She doesn't know martial art but is able to get herself out of trouble most of the time because of her intelligence. I am fascinated with Chen Yu because he is very good at martial art, very smart and faithful. The masked hero thing is very intriguing! I love love love Zhang BinBin. He is a great actor at such young age. He is also very handsome!There are times when I waited and waited for the new episodes to come out, and just hate it because it didn't show the interaction between the main leads.
I totally recommend this series.
P.S. What the Hell is this person, Kean Aw talking about in his /her review?! Who is Austin? Wrong series?????????
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This review may contain spoilers
From the very first notes of the intro song, and the little clips, mostly of longing looks and laughter, this looked like a light-hearted romantic comedy romp, complete with disguises and derring do and abductions mostly for romantic reasons.I loved all the characters. Ariel Lin's variety of expressions, her insouciance, her strength, her emotional highs and lows were pitch perfect. Zhang Bin Bin played the romantic lead with subtlety and verve, a great match for our little beggar girl.
But the story absolutely came alive when Austin Lin came on the scene, at first in one guise as the miracle doctor (no mask!) then gradually he revealed himself. The actor played the role brilliantly I thought--his smile, so sudden, could be both sinister and sweet, which is difficult to pull off. He had the greatest character arc of them all, going from a smug, heartless manipulator--the way he'd been raised--to a deeply conflicted man reaching for a moral center while grappling with love for the first time.
All the characters were obsessed in one way or another, making the title fit, but it seemed to me that it fit Dongfang She the most.
The best episodes, for me, were the ones in which he and Hua Bu Qi bantered back and forth, she giving as good as she got--which surprised, and then intrigued him. Each crisis, when he could have been cruel to her, he backed off as his emotions went from casual interest to attraction to something far deeper, and more dangerous, considering the game of kings he and his grandfather were playing.
Bin Bin as Cheng Yu had a slightly less exhilarating arc, I thought. For one thing, he was often missing. Also, he fell in love first, and though he remained nobly steady, his noble character both did not change, and even became annoying when he bent over backwards to cut Lin Qingwu slack in spite of her viciousness and lies. I began to dread their scenes, because they were the same frustrating emotional note over and over--she petty and demanding, he feeling sorry for her.
I loved the secondary characters and their romances, and really wanted to see them work. I adored the crusty old grandfather, and Mo Rufei! What a terrific character! What a revelation when at last he became she!
And . . . then we come to that ending. Everybody betrays everybody else, out of character, behaving with willful stupidity in order to come to bloody ends, leaving that creep of an emperor standing. YUCK! Who thought that a good idea?
It is very difficult to write a long story arc, as authors as well as filmmakers get tired. (See Legend of Fu Yao for an example of everybody looking exhausted by the end). I've found endings dissatisfactory, but nothing like the total shipwreck of this one.
To sum up, I will totally rewatch this one, but stop before that stupid ending, which I am going to pretend doesn't exist. I saw somewhere the book ending is far better. Good. When it gets translated, I'll read that, and keep the images so I can forget the total mess here.
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This review may contain spoilers
Potentially Good Series however...
I love how the story started off, I love when Vin and Ariel were together, bickering or loving each other.I just wish that the writer could have expounded more on the role of the Divine Maiden. Seems like the DM sole purpose is to die to make some rich.
Then there's the ending. Tadah! Seems like the author didn't know what to do with all the characters so he/she killed almost all of them all off in the end.
Overall, for Vin Zhang and Ariel Lin, I still enjoyed this series...
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My own biased opinion but I prefer lighthearted and fun shows, which was what this show was at the start. Female lead was witty, funny and cute. She was overall a really fun character to watch (irrrelevant but I was so surprised when I learnt of the actress's age because she seems so much younger). The male lead was pretty funny at the start too, playing double roles as a prince and a masked hero.
However, towards the back part of the show, when war and what not started to be brought in (typical of Chinese dramas, the show didn't entertain me as much anymore. Although the side characters were oftentimes amusing, the female lead seemed to have died towards the back. Rather than the smart girl she was before, she became impulsive and just kept wanting to go to wherever the male lead was, disregarding her own life and the people around her that would be implicated. It felt as if she lost all her ability to think rationally. To sum up the two male leads, the male lead was the good guy who was nice to everyone but in the meantime sacrificed the female lead, while the second male lead was the guy who schemed and sacrificed everyone else but was always good to the female lead and her only.
The one thing that I am most unhappy about is the forced happy ending. It felt like they crammed everything into the second half of the last episode and forced it from a normal ending (not even a sad one) to a happy ending (which didn't make me feel happy at all.
Overall, worth a watch but towards the end I was just hanging on to see how it would end, rather than because I enjoyed the show.
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This review may contain spoilers
Everything about this drama is wonderful! From Zhang Bin Bin to Ariel Lin, this started out as one of my favorite dramas. This says a lot because I have watched many, many, many different tv shows. There is comedy with romance, along with Cinderella like scenes that are cheesy but not too cheesy. The music is wonderful and so is the chemistry between the couples. The fighting scenes are beautiful and the CGI isn't too obvious. The costumes are quite realistic too. I love the older brother and how overprotective he is of Ariel Lin. Zhang Bin Bin and Ariel Lin's small gestures to one another throughout the show are really heart-warming (I LIVED FOR THOSE MOMENTS). I'm already begging for another drama with the same cast (pretty please with a cherry on top :))SPOILERS
I really disliked the ending. If it wasn't because of the ending, everything would be perfect. I absolutely loathe the ending. I don't think I can emphasize it enough. I felt as if the writers were like, whoops, 50 episodes are up! I've gotta shove everything in the last few episodes. The mood turns too suddenly with not enough build-up.
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This review may contain spoilers
It had so much potential, but the drama deserved a better script.
The actors are really talented. Its the change to the story that made it to be less enjoyable.
I personally dislike the fact that the ending seems kind of rushed, the comments and reviews are making people question if this is even worth the watch. I finished watching it.
All in all the plot was alright, but I am quite disappointed with the ending.
I like how the relationship between ML and FL goes. I agree with others that the shine chen yu had in the beginning shifted to dong fang shi in the later half.
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Fun Drama But Rushed Ending
I started out with a very high rating, like 9.5, for this drama. The story line is simple, cute and endearing. You have a poor little girl rescued time and time again by a masked superhero. The chemistry between the female and male leads is fantastic. The actors, including the supporting ones, are good and beautiful, especially Vin Zhang, who is simply adorable. The whole drama is light-hearted with a lot of endearing and funny moments. It is in a way comedic but not in a stupid way. I really enjoy watching it as it makes me laugh out loud and relaxes me a lot. Throughout, the pace of the drama is good. The scenes, CGI, special effects, sounds, character development etc are pretty good, and the drama enjoyed a pretty good rating, like 8.5, from most viewers. That was before the final episode.Things changed. When it came to the final episode, all hell broke loose; the whole drama is seriously damaged by the final episode. The screen writer/director decided to have everyone dead, except the female lead, Hua BuQi. Not that I cannot accept dead people, but imagine jamming all the deaths into one episode and that’s it - THE END. It feels rushed, unplanned and chaotic. There are unanswered questions. Viewers are baffled. No wonder the rating dropped. This is really unfortunate.
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Worth watching if you ignore the ending
So. This was my first Chinese drama and I didn't expect to finish the first episode, never mind all 50 something episode. Since I am new to c dramas, I'm not really a good judge of the actors, OST or plot but.....I really enjoyed it. There was not one moment (except for the first episode) where I considered dropping it and when it was approaching 50 episodes, I was dreading having to finish it.
However, without being too spoilery, the ending was just plain awful, not because the ending was happy or sad but because of all the plot holes. The last few episodes were so rushed that they almost ruined the drama for me. Well, not almost, they did ruin it for me until I remembered how much I enjoyed the first half so I decided to compromise and give this drama a rating of 7.5
Other problems:
Plot holes - but they didn't appear until the end, so you could watch most of the drama without experiencing any major issues.
Major reveals - these are important secrets hidden for most of the drama and many characters go to great lengths to hide them but in the end, there were revelations left, right, and centre all at once without having much impact on anyone.
Here's an example, and I don't think it's much of a spoiler because it's barely mentioned, a male character is actually female but pretends to be male for no real reason. Throughout the whole drama she pretends to be a boy, only to at the end, reveal that she is actually a girl in a scene that lasted less than 5 minutes and had little to no impact on any of the other characters. So this poor actor had to pretend to be male for no reason. They might as well have gotten a male actor in the first place and saved that ridiculous reveal that they forced into one episode.
Villains- let's just say that I don't think each character got what they deserved in the end.
Miscommunications- which, granted are in most dramas but these ones weren't resolved because they were towards the end, and as I already mentioned ,the ending was such a mess that these things were sidelined.
Second male lead - I ended up rooting for him but they ruined his character in the end (like they did many, many other things) . He started off sly, manipulative but completely devoted to the heroine. He ended up still devoted to the heroine but lost his edge and became just desperate.
Ok, a lot of negatives BUT this drama did have good things as well :
Female lead - smart but not perfect and most importantly, remained motivated. Yes, she fell in love but she still had her own priorities and agendas which she didn't give up or ignore for the male lead.
Chemistry - I think the male and female lead had good chemistry, but so did the female lead and second male lead .....(just saying)
Actors - again this was my first drama so I can't tell for sure but I thought all of the characters acting was really good.
Plot - A good plot and storyline throughout most of the drama.
Would I recommend this ?
Hmmm.....yes because of how much I loved this drama before the ending. It's worth watching as long as you enjoy the first 40 or so episodes.
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