Editorials 
Zhou Ye and Xu Kai have more chemistry than the entire periodic table!
Initially, when this drama was announced and they cast Zhou Ye and Xu Kai as the leads, I knew right away I had to watch it. So, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to read the novel, and I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant. The novel is a bit "slow-paced" with very little focus on romance, but later on, I learned the screenwriters would be making some changes, which put my mind at ease.
Shen Run was the character who surprised me the most. Xu Kai played him masterfully, and I must admit I was charmed by his seductive yet realistic personality, which is not the least bit off-putting. As for the female lead, Qing Yuan, she is just like in the novel: a young woman seeking revenge for her late mother, yet able to hide her true intentions, executing her vengeance without any remorse. Something very realistic about Qing Yuan is the fact that she cries out of anger. In some of her dialogues with the Nanny, a single tear would roll down her face, and I felt that brought a much more realistic touch to her character.
The cinematography and sets are perfect. The supporting characters are remarkable and deliver a very solid performance.
There are still many episodes ahead, but so far, this drama has completely won me over.
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This review may contain spoilers
ML and FL have fiery chemistry
From the get go you felt their chemistry. They are so drawn to each other. Especially him. He is smitten from the word go. And when he laid his eyes on her face to face, he is into her.She is more cautious. She has her agenda, her revenge she wants to enact and she doesn’t want anything to get in the way. So due to this, they have decided to fully trust each other but when they do need help, they do go to each other.
The storyline is gripping. We still figuring who the real bad guys are but there are plenty others to hate on.
Zhou Ye is doing such a great job enacting this intelligent, meticulous, and educated FL. She is not sweet, pampered, quiet and docile. And Xu Kai also has his agenda and isn’t afraid to make his presence known and using his authority to get his agenda forward. He is totally smitten with FL, and has a sixth sense to help her always.
Loving these two together. The chemistry between the leads are the highlight while the supporting casts are also doing their job well.
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Gripping from the get go! Pace is good and routing for FL!!
6 episodes in and the plot thicken! Each episode moves fast and there’s no dull moments. First time watching Xu Kai and he doesn’t disappoint. He plays Yan Rui, an official who fights corruption but has a past with the FL. He is tough with everyone except for the FL and love when he saved her from the wretched Nanny! It was so fulfilling watching her get whipped 😆Zhou Ye’s female lead is sly and brave, someone who’s determined to clear her mother’s name. She looks really pretty as I’ve only seen her with light make up in LOTFG. Her acting is on point and she is no damsel in distress. She plays a daughter born into a noble family but left the family with her mother when her mother was falsely accused.
Chemistry is building and seems very natural.
There is a huge cast, so far the Xie family alone is enough to make my head spin. The production value is high as scene from costumes and backdrop.
Also refreshing that the ML and FL did their own dubbing so we hear their voices.
Will update this review as I watch more episodes.
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I’m really enjoying it
I see a lot of miserable comments, but so far I’m really enjoying this drama,all of the actors are doing a good job, the pacing of the drama is good. The storyline is good , the cinematography, and costumes are beautiful. I’m not sure if people are really complaining about the each to their own. It’s much better than so many of the K dramas that are out now I feel like most of the K dramas lately have been pretty bad. There’s been some other, really good sea dramas too that I’ve enjoyed recently all of them have been historical for the most part. .Was this review helpful to you?
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Spring can't be this lacklustre
Okay, I have never given a series more than 5 episodes to see if it's for me or not; and I've given this 10. I can't anymore after having fast-forwarded too much.1. The good:
+ Art direction and set design are gorgeous and serene. I wonder if they filmed on location instead of in a studio. Some zoom-out and group shots are like paintings;
+ A very pretty cast. I didn't plan to watch this at all but was lured in by how good-looking these actors are, most noticeably the FL and second ML;
+ Filters are off;
+ Costumes are pretty nice.
2. The bad:
- The story and dialogues are bland, sluggish and inconvenient;
- The acting is... as "exciting" as the story. The expressions and delivery are wooden and sleep-inducing. Maybe the cast acted the best they could with what they were given. Maybe they are a terrible match made for one another;
- I can't even see any redeemable quality for the supporting cast. Usually, Chinese idol dramas are stacked with formidable veterans anchoring the acting department. It unfortunately didn't happen here... Such a shame.
- The make up and costumes of the two leads: I think(?) Xu Kai is a good-looking dude. But he looks really bad here. The Li and Pei young masters definitely look better than him. Same with Zhou Ye. She is someone I consider hit-you-in-the-face pretty and she is the prettiest here. But they make her look sloppy, especially the chin area and when her side profile is exposed. These shouldn't be the cases at all.
3. The terrible:
- The voice-acting or voice-over is dead, even more dead than any barely emotion expressed physically. For the first time, I understand the importance of voice dubbing in Chinese dramas. For the n-th time, I am convinced: There are barely a handful of commercial Chinese actors, trained or not, that can act with their voices.
- There's no chemistry among any of the cast;
- There's not even a drop of intrigue.
This set-up of how supposedly FL is a strong character and ML is a good official doubling as a corrupted, greedy one (and how the male characters adorn their hair with a helter-skelter of questionable ornaments) reminds me of "Flourished Peony". So, I watch some bits that I like again for some soothing.
I think both Xu Kai and Zhou Ye need to up their games, in both acting and choosing projects that fit their skill sets. They have been in the industry for quite a while now.
Conclusion: Pretty privilege is real. But I don't stick around for appearance alone. (Nevertheless, I lament the beautiful art direction and set design.)
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Weird cut for some parts, plus bgm mix is comical
The story lacks depth in some portions like the spring banquet couple matching- one dude starts pursuing the fl with no buildup, and the eldest sister matchup with the Pei dude also is also sudden initially. Even if it is love at first sight, it needs to be believable.The possessed scene of the FL is also not convincing at all; it feels forced, with a scary bgm added for vibes.
A lot of bgm does not make sense for the scene; it throws off the entire flow of the drama.
Editing-
They need to fix the choppy editing and bad bgm. They should pause the drama and fix it before releasing any more.
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to be great, it needs more than vengeance!!
updated review:I follow the main actors, that's why I was excited for this!
but what an awkward first episode! the story seemed very flat at first... it does get better somehow..
what did not help our FL is the weak initial vengeance trope... episode 1 starts the story at a random time: why her plan starts now? what does she know? why does she hate everyone so bad but has no clue what happened?
The way the show introduces the story makes it hard to relate to the characters. In my view, production neglected character development in everyday life/ instead of characters are only living in high moments.
Eventually our FL grows in her role, by now (ep8) she is great, but i'm still not sure on her character: she is smart, weary, vengeful... but is she reckless? will the story always magically put her ahead of everyone and we dont know how? Good character depiction is also a production effort: can we see enough of her planning especially when things go wrong instead of plot armour? we don't get enough transparency in what is actually going on in the FL perspective, so for the viewer her actions just look random. sometimes she panics, sometimes she drops the best ruse... ?!
WHO IS SHE BEYOND HER REVENGE PLAN?
also i can say the same thing for ML!!
There is a right balance of drama vs wit/ fun with these two main leads ( especially Xukai)
What i really don't like is the editing and scenes continuity: timelapses are not clear, and script is very revenge- plot intense, it looks like characters have nothing else to do so we don't have a lot to build around the revenge.
I am loving the cinematography and visuals so far! the aesthetic and world building is very nice but it still lacking richness ! i don't know yet if this drama will be memorable!
The ost is very dramatic and beautiful!
I'm following along for now, the story doesn't seem very complex: i am curious enough about the main couple to keep watching!
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On to the story now, it has this eerie vibe with the look of the drama but the story is not catching up to it. I am not saying the story is not engaging but just saying its not engaging enough and might I say a little bit rushed. Maybe its the editing too cause the dark parts of the story are not let to just sit there for long and are rushed. So for people who like fast paced stories will definately enjoy this one. I just wished there was more edge and more gothic vibe to the story cause it is shot in that way.
Okay now the part that i really could have done without, what is going on with the constant weird BGM it is getting on my nerve cause its making the scene goofy. The actors are doing so good, story is going fine the scene is really beautifully shot and then you hear this grating BGM. Could be just a me problem too and it didnt make me stop watching the show but seriously could have done without it. With the vibe that the acting, directing and even story is going for, the scene could have just dialogues with silence to build tension.
I will continue to watch for now. I do recommend it so far.
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Where is the strong Zhou Ye i know?
i'm very disapointed by Spring of the Blade, 15 episodes and i see no chemistry between X Kai and Zhou Ye, even the story itself is not that well writen.And honestly after her very strong female role on Legend of the female general, it's hard to see Zhou Ye as a fragile woman who is not part of the army. Of course she can't play the same role everywhere but i think she need a better female written scenario.
I will update later after more episode this review, but for now its a average Drama who most of people watching just because of the 2 big actors in. Even the dubbing of Xu Kai is not good.
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This review may contain spoilers
Baru seru di ep 4/5!!!
Sembari menunggu episode baru drama sebelah, gue nyoba nonton drama ini. Awalnya bingung banget, alurnya kayak maju mundur gitu dan tokohnya buanyaaak. Baru mulai seru di episode 4/5 gitu dan SERU BGT di episode 14!! Semoga konsisten serunya dan gak nyawit🙏🏻🫶🏻Pengambilan gambar cakep2, tapi entah kenapa kayak terlalu gelap? Apa mungkin karena temanya revenge kali ya... Dan kalo di iqiyi nontonnya, ketajaman gambarnya kayak berlebihan, kurang nyaman di mata.
Akting pemainnya tidak yang begitu waw, kadang ada beberapa scene yang terasa seperti drama banget macam short drama gitu aktingnya. Entah emang sengaja supaya lebih dramatis atau gimana, jadi kadang pengin ngakak sedikit😅😅
Kalo dari segi cerita sebenernya udah sering yang ceritanya kayak gini. Kalo suka The Double, ini mirip, tapi versi lebih berantakan? #nooffense
Keluarga Xie sangat menyebalkan, bikin istighfar sepanjang episode, apalagi di episode 14 dan 15. Ya Allah, sabar-sabar ya Qingyuan...
Sulit banget kayaknya balas dendam ini. Tapi keliatannya sih di ep 16 besok, balas dendamnya Qingyuan tentang fitnah ibunya udah bisa selesai. Tapi, tentang kematiannya, belum ketauan siapa pelakunya. Kemungkinan besar sama dengan yang ngebantai keluarga Shen, yaitu si Wei Wei itu (lihat di trailer episode 16)
Tapi gue merasa Nyonya Utama terlalu sus, kayaknya dia jahat tapi di balik layar. Yakin dia juga ikut andil sama kematian selir Xia(?) lupa namanya, dan mungkin kematian ibunya Qingyuan juga.
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Drama maravilhoso
Esse drama e maravilhoso Xu kai e Zhou Ye tem uma química incrível ,amando esse casal não perco um episódio vale muito a pena assistir cada episódio e uma emoção a história de vingança e bem interessante o elenco os figurinos as músicas tudo me encanta para mim esse drama e um dos melhores de 2026Was this review helpful to you?
