Wonderful love story enhanced by the fantastic chemistry between the OTP and an awesome OST
I started this drama expecting a light romantic comedy but was pleasantly surprised by the emotional roller coaster ride towards the end. The comedic moments were certainly there, and there were many times when I laughed out loud. When I re-watched some scenes, I found myself already giggling and laughing before the scenes even began. This show was not perfect, but I like the writing because it managed to make me sympathize with the villains. I even shed tears for them, especially for Li Xun (Zhang Bo Ham) because they were portrayed so well by the actors, and no character felt one-dimensional.There were many kissing scenes, rare for C-dramas, and so nicely done (no stiff pecks on the lips for the leads)! I love how the male lead's natural reaction was always to kiss the female lead, and the skinship made the romance felt real. I enjoyed watching the interactions between the OTP, and the progression of their relationship. Some scenes unexpectedly became memorable to me, like the wedding dance and the arrow shooting ceremony.
Li Qian is now one of my favorite male lead characters because he was never foolish, even as he fell head over heels for Ming Yue. Throughout the challenges and hardships that they had to go through, he was thoughtful and smart. He was so devoted to Ming Yue and remained steadfastly committed to her and their love. Also, unlike the male leads in other shows, he makes it clear from the get-go, his lack of interest, and has no qualms about rejecting the second female lead. Plus, he had such good lines when it came to romancing his lady! Fang Yi Lun did a great job, playing the fine-looking, intelligent, fair, but initially emotionally unapproachable 9th prince. He was able to display a range of emotions when necessary in the various scenes. I hope to see him in more lead roles. He is multi-talented since he also sang some of the tracks for the OST. As for Ling Mei Shi, I believe this is her first lead role as well, and she shined as the cute, mischievous, and street-smart Ming Yue.
I was also impressed by Ni Han Jin. He is certainly sexy with a great body but it was his acting as Yun Si that kept me invested in his story with Ming Yue. One could feel his pain from losing his one and only so unfairly and understand why his broken heart drove him to desperate measures. I had less sympathy for Hui Xin and her obsessive unrequited love, but Zhou Zi Xin portrayed the lovely but conniving character well. Another character I liked was Si Kong Zhen, played by Dong Yan Lei. His bromance with the male lead provided many entertaining scenes, and his dedication to their friendship made for some heartwarming moments.
The OST made its way onto my regular playlist - that's how much I liked it! Overall the songs complemented the scenes so nicely, and the instrumental pieces fitted the moods well.
I rated the re-watch value pretty high since I will likely watch this show again when I am in the mood for romantic kiss scenes, hilarious moments, or heartbreaking tear-jecking parts.
Was this review helpful to you?
You may have heard that the second lead love interests are detestable and make you want to drop the drama, THIS IS TRUE. In the earlier episodes (ep 12-17 to be exact), you’ll want to rip your hair out. Personally, I’m used to seeing 2FLs who won’t take no for an answer and can’t back down so I could handle Qiao Hui Xin (2FL), but the 2ML Yun Si was completely unbearable. I tried so hard to refrain from skipping his scenes just to watch the story but MAN this guy needs help. You learn his story and can understand his predicament later but still, the guy needs to chill.
In my opinion, these second leads were mostly vexing in the first part of the drama but after a while they started to “grow” on me in a sense that I no longer hated them or got tired of seeing them, but actually felt bad for them and empathized with them. It’s like watching teenagers who really want something and will work hard to get it, maybe even use improper tactics to do so, but then everything is in vain. All they wanted was love, was it so hard to ask for? Yes. Fate toyed with them and put them through hell… But I really liked the way the characters “changed” or at least you got to see their feelings change in response to the situation, especially the second leads. They don’t just end as irritating characters, they have something more to them. Maybe what they’re doing right now is what they need, but after they calm down they’ll realize it goes against their original goal or feelings.
This drama is basically just a big fight for love; you see how people react when they have to marry someone they don’t want to marry, how people react when they can or can’t be with their loved one, what people will do for their loved one, etc… the list goes on. Some end up fortunate but some get the short end of the stick. Plot wise, I found it a little more simple than I expected and would have liked, but it’s okay. If you’ve watched The Eternal Love and Princess Silver, this drama is kind of like their baby, if they were to have one lol. You have rom-com components and loving couple of The Eternal Love, but the plot and character relationships/dynamics of Princess Silver.
Even if you can’t stand the main plot, you should really watch just for the sweet fluff between ML/FL. The way they react, the things they say, their STEAMY KISSES, and how could I forget sleepwalking Li Qian LOL. Is there a such thing as too MUCH kissing? Maybe XD. It’s seriously worth it even to just watch their scenes throughout. As for the acting, all of them were new to me but I think they did pretty great, especially the actress for Qiao Hui Xin and Li Xun's actors. Great portrayal of the inner turmoil and desire!
I think I over-hyped this drama (lol) but I would highly recommend this drama even though it makes your emotions go all over the place, sometimes makes your blood boil, and sometimes makes you wonder why you’re still watching or what you’re still expecting. Sure, it might just feel like a typical drama with a fight for romance, but if you empathize with the characters and think about how you might act in their position, you might find it more enjoyable. Would rewatch all the way through, even through those unbearable scenes, because I like the way the characters are written and shown. Hope you all give this a shot!
Was this review helpful to you?
Kisses here, kisses there, kisses everywhere
They kiss before they sleep. They kiss when they wake up. They kiss before they leave each other and kiss when they reunite. They kiss lightly, gently, reverently, passionately. All kinds of kisses. You name it , they did it all.There were major plotholes in the story. But who cares, I’m here to review the kisses! Oh and the male lead was a junior hyunbin!
Overall, a very enjoyable treat. There was angst but the kisses made up for it..
I hope this sets a precedent for all future cdramas. No more static goldfish kisses please. Thank you.
Was this review helpful to you?
Agreed with McGee i also think there were some parts that were either a little too cliché or doesn't make logical sense. Especially my feeling toward the ending, really mixed feeling, love the ending but also feeling weird about the ending, like why they must make ming yue (MY) sleep.... Doesn't make sense.
I like how they show us what the early married life supposed to be. Usually with other drama they just show us the happy part or the 'fight' part, not how the couple try to endure each other habit.
Overall: very good drama, refreshing to watch. But to re-watch i don't think so...
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is one of those wonderful Chinese dramas that is low-budget, has fairly inexperienced actors as the leads, and is set in a historical period (supposedly). There is a political plot line, but it's mostly for show -- the actual scheming is paper-thin and fairly uninteresting. At the end of the day this drama is a vehicle for the leads to fall in love, kiss, and do all kinds of sweet things onscreen. There's no need to read more into it, because there's really nothing else to say. I liked the leads quite well. They were pretty green at times, but I felt like they did a good job with their characters and they had good chemistry onscreen. This isn't exactly a drama that requires extraordinary acting chops, either. Are you pretty? Are you NOT annoying? Can you fall in love with someone on-screen? Can you kiss well? Then you're ready! But all jokes aside, I did think they were quite entertaining and made the drama enjoyable.
This is not very emotionally moving, certainly isn't serious, has none of the intelligent plot lines that one might look for in a historical drama, and has a fairly low budget. But it's perfect for if you want to watch plenty of funny and sweet moments onscreen, just remember the power of the fast-forward button.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Entertaining, romantic & funny.
I just stared watching Chinese dramas and because they are so long I would normally fast forward some unnecessary parts. But this drama keep me watching everything . It's hilarious! I love the FL she is a natural . The ML is super romantic but he didn't know it until he met her. I have never seen a Chinese drama where there are so many kissing scenes and I was really convinced that they are married and inlove. Kudos to this team for keeping it funny and solving issues especially when they first got married. I love that it's not like 63 episodes. Everything was necessary...will definitely rewatched.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
When will things make sense in historical cdramas?
I will be blunt honest that I actually came here just for chemistry and probably 'no breakup' BS....but in middle of drama I found this hypnotism quite interesting and slowly became unvested in story BUT seriously there are things which just blows off my mind.Well its historical drama heritage to make the childhood friend of ML into some sort of scheming unsightly lady...and also how can there be any historical drama without one scheming brother?
But alas, I can handle these things as my dao of heart is atleast that strong after watching much dramas.
******SPOILER********
BUT the twists in ep 25-28 were just too much...do you want me to believe that a general takes over whole army of his country in few months and could use it threaten another country with similar prowess??
I seriously can never understand female leads in these dramas...I don't know how much a person needs to show that he has hostile intentions towards her??
She already knew how how that 'pugu' guy kidnapped her brother and framed her 'husband' and also including the deaths of many people...he naturally shouted that he will not give up on her but I don't know why she could not understand the meaning?
Also when she decided to pretend to marry the 'pugu' guy then on what basis did she tried to do that? She did not even knew where ML was and how the heck can she marry another person while still being married? Atleast she needs to divorce first no?
I didn't knew what her plan was? After marrying her 'pugu' what she will do? Let's say he released her brother then what?
Would the whole Beixuan would see how the lady married to their kingdom was taken away that easily?
Also it really infuriates me when the 'pugu' guy was trying to make himself pitiful...like hell man!
Why even his soldiers were loyal to him? He killed his own soldiers for a woman? Tried to wage war for a single woman! So many people lost their lives just for a woman and then he tries to show how good is he? And what the hell was with his character development?
In just few hours he turned from a obsessed evil vile man to a selfless hero who is sacrificing all for his love...I literally was cursing at screen when the whole romantic song started in background and how FL cried for him...meh...you seriously want some pity? sorry I can't give any...
Okay I can understand that he was c*cked beautifully by FL's second brother and ML but still...using people's lives to deal with his shitty love life? that's too much you know? there was no political uphoven actually....all useless killing and political stability was due to the shitty past love relationship between 'pugu' guy and FL.
**********SPOILER END*********
Haah...finally some deep breath after ranting out my frustrations....
Anyways do come to watch this for chemistry and skinship...I was here till now due to skinship and chemistry...but then this drama again started to turn over and again ML being schemed and apparently losing powers cliche was started...so...
*haish*
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Though it starts off light & sweet, this story centered around Li Ming Yue and Li Qian, is worth watching especially when you get to see how the two grow to love each other. Li Qian seems a little standoffish, but the more he's around Li Ming Yue, the more we get to see of his personality. His brother, Ling Xun, is an interesting character torn between his family ties & obsession, I really appreciated his character more when he realized the cost in his actions were piling up & the worth in continuing. But Li Qian also had loyal friends, especially Si Kong Zhen. Would have loved to see more development for him & how one so young has such a deep understanding of others. This series had it's own bit of humor, cuteness and magic. Definitely worth watching. Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
How does this have such high ratings?
I’ve made sighing into an Olympic sport because I must have done so a thousand times while watching this drama. Not only was it tedious but it also had an underlying message that didn't sit right with me. Firstly, I detest ditzy heroines who talk like babies; it's unappealing and cliche. Secondly, and despite it being the central theme, the hypnosis aspect was done poorly. No one should ever put another person under hypnosis without their consent. I could have overlooked it had it been done once or twice, however, the FL selfishly did it multiple times to the point I ended up hating her. Once I stopped caring about her then nothing else mattered. Not the romance or palace politics or the love triangle. I needed them gone.Was this review helpful to you?
The story started off slow, and lots of things were confusing, but it had a very good story to it. It was almost like goodbye my princess except for the fact that the main leads loved each other more.
Was this review helpful to you?
Did I mention the chemistry!!
There was romance, action, drama, plotting, crazy jealous female and so much more. Great beginning. Great ending.
Was this review helpful to you?
the most romantic love story of the year
40 episodes and not skipped an episode!I love the how they cast the Main Leads based on the story and character that fits.
They cast newbie for the female lead, and the Male lead used to be supporting actor in another drama.
This proves when Director have the right eye, they can find the right person to play the story.
It doesnt have to be actor with long list of "main lead" experience on his CV.
When they get involved in the story, their character will make us think its them and will see them as how they were portrayed.
In this case, Allen Feng, who I first though, why not having another actor who is this and that, but when i give it a chance,
he is more belieavable, super great acting, and within no time make us fall in love with him.
I had the same thought for the female lead at first,
But then, as I watched, I realized the very reason why the Director choose her.
She's very good actress, and her face is like it is meant for the camera with all her expression.
Very pretty too.
This story pampers us with love and lots of love. Steamy kisses, solid relationship, friendship and little bit of
brotherhood in the palace.
I laugh ( so hard), i smiled (many times), I cried, and I grinned super wide at their siliiness,
i enjoyed all the kisses (make my day:))) as this is hard to find in korean drama... or other chinese drama..
and also im in awe at the second lead:))
overall love all of the cast, love the story,
already rewatching this again as this is being written
Was this review helpful to you?
