Grand plot of a long format made to work amazingly in short format, we stan
This drama deserves a far higher rating. I was soooooo excited to watch this drama. I saw a snippet on Insta and noticed that it is both FL and ML from Seal of Love which I really liked (and honestly, this drama could be considered as a continuation to Seal of Love imho). Richard Li and Ming Jia Jia are such an amazing couple cast, I hope they'll make it to bigger/more popular dramas. They look amazing on camera and have chemistry. I haven't watched many short format dramas yet (this is the third one so far). It is. The BEST. So far. I don't really have anything to complain about, I wasn't even mad about the ending. The character of Yu Wen Yuan is utterly reckless, despicable, rotten and toxic at first (we learned later where did everything come from, but still, that isn't the way to deal with your emotions), he softened up a lot towards the end. Richard Li is just so lovable and such an amazing actor even when he is casted as an pretend a-hole character. Su Yan is just trying to balance both men on each side according to her abilities, she doesn't want to go against her values but also tries to keep the decorum for the sake of her sister's wish. Yu Wen Yingren seems harmless at first, but don't let his eerie calm face fool you. The madness, the drunkenness of power, intrigues, the thrill, everything what usual long format dramas drag on for ages is condensed into this short format. Beautiful costumes and decorations, I appreciated that there was little to no CGI. I'm not a ost music type of fan, but I think the ost could've been a little bit better. Idk the budget for short format dramas, but as far as this genre goes, this drama worked magnificently for me.Was this review helpful to you?
Music repetitive and sometimes is overly loud so you can't heard the words .
The last two episodes are sort of an easter-egg, going back in time and explaining more about what happened before the empress married the emperor -- we meet his first wife (the empress's older sister).
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Unfulfilled Promise, Identity Crisis, Disappearing Orgasm
I. Introduction:This short-length drama opens with the palace being besieged by usurpers of the throne, and Empress Su Yan (FL) having asked her ex, Prince of Nanchuan Yuwen Yuan (ML), for backup. Emperor Yuwen Yingren (2ML) who is of ill health suggests that no assistance would be forthcoming, but lo and behold, the Nanchuan army arrives to save the day. The first few episodes promised dog-blood melodrama but this is ultimately undelivered. There were some scenes suggesting a more light-hearted comedy, which were quickly buried in angst, suspense, and conflict scenes before you could even bark a quick laugh.
The drama suffered from an identity crisis, as if the production team could not decide whether to deliver angst, romance, comedy, or otherwise. While the drama has some beautiful visuals and the storyline held much promise, its lacklustre delivery and continuity gaps leave it feeling ultimately underwhelming, like a disappearing orgasm. By the way, no happy ending.
II. Story and Plot:
The drama started with a tight, logical structure as to why the FL abandoned the ML to marry the 2ML. There were curious twists to the usual palace drama storyline, e.g., the 2ML's early scenes left me wondering if he was concerned for the FL in a brotherly manner or did he develop feelings for her, or if he was most concerned for the throne and everyone be damned.
But the latter half of the drama was dragged down by lazy scriptwriting and editing, e.g., a random scene of the FL crying over a dying ML appearing out of nowhere, the FL taking a full episode to chat and then murder the 2ML, the theoretical-physics-level mental gymnastics required to understand why the 2FL would do what she did knowing what she knew or whether the FL and ML ultimately resolved their misunderstandings, and the random comedy that is episode 19 stuffed at the end because it wasn't just the black sheep of the 20-episode family, it wasn't even in the bovine family!
III. Characters
MJJ as the FL singlehandedly carried this drama. She was a beautiful, weepy, tired woman who just wanted to gently honour her late sister's memory. RL required MJJ's acting to deliver the melodramatic scenes between them. RL has too boyish a face to carry the ML role--he was unable to express the necessary cruelty his scenes required. But if you enjoy his abs, you will have the opportunity to view them. PQ delivered his scenes as a weak emperor better than his scenes as a lunatic. It was missing just a tiny bit of OTT to truly express how mad he had become.
IV. Production Aspects
The soundtrack is commendable, truly enhancing the melodramatic scenes to the appropriate level of angst and tragedy. There were beautiful quality costumes and set, but if I had one complaint, it would be the scene where the FL is rolled out on a makeshift battering ram. The tragedy was ruined as it made me laugh out loud.
V. Conclusion:
This is a visually beautiful but narratively predictable and weak drama. While it offers fleeting moments of entertainment and showcases impressive scenes that raised its overall score, its uneven development of plot points, continuity gaps, reliance on beautiful people to fudge bad writing, leave it feeling ultimately forgettable. If you're looking for an easy-to-watch drama with beautiful visuals, this might suffice. But for those seeking more complex storyline or even more romance between the two leads, look elsewhere.
Was this review helpful to you?
Angsty & forbidden love with sexy male lead
This mini drama is about the female lead who has to honour the dying wish of her sister and marry her sister’s husband (the Emperor). Five years later, a rebellion breaks out and the general who is the Emperor’s younger brother (the male lead) comes to their aid. This is a story of the main lead’s forbidden love and their loyalty to the crown.POSITIVE:
- Very, very angsty (not for the faint hearted).
- Sexy/bad boy male lead (leaning on red flag).
- Passionate kiss scenes and se*ual tension.
- Forbidden love, jealousy and betrayal vibes.
- No love triangles.
- Lovely costumes (especially the female lead)
- Nice chemistry between the leads (it’s their second collaboration).
- Great acting from the three main leads.
- Unique way to end the drama (referring to the final two episodes).
NEGATIVE:
- Long dialogue that would sometimes take a whole episode (10 minutes). The dialogue was done well and felt angsty however it did make an impression on me that it was very long. I think the issue might have been the static camera work.
- The ending (it makes sense with the story and it was done well but a part of me wishes it was slightly different).
OVERALL:
If you are looking for an angsty drama with forbidden love and a very sexy/bad boy male lead, watch this drama.
Side note: If you love the main lead, I highly recommend you also watch “The Deliberations of Love”.
Was this review helpful to you?
Sinked because of poor editing & writing, despite steamy looks of hot ML
This short Chinese web series was entertaining in its first half but fell halfway through completely apart. There were some hot and exciting scenes and I liked the enemies-to-lovers trope the script was going for at first. It took a turn that I did not dislike in the second half but there was clearly not enough time to make it make sense and to be interesting overall. I especially do not understand why they decided to come back on past elements from the timeline in the two last episodes of the series rather than to incorporate it as flashback in the main story.In addition to those very strange storytelling choices, the editing was all over the place. It can be expected from that short format series but I still think that it could have been better. The introduction song was alright but overall the soundtrack was overpowering in most of the scenes. There were also some jarring sound issues (especially if you watched the series on YouTube where it was sensibly worse).
Acting-wise, I admit I somewhat enjoyed the performance of Richard Li but mostly because of a strong eye-candy factor. Overall I liked the steamy looks he was throwing at the FL but he was still lacking in the most emotional part. Ming Jia Jia as the FL did not impress me at all. It might be linked to her role and the script but I did not care that much about her character which is problematic as you want to be able to root for the heroine. Last but not least Patrick Quan delivered an over-the-top performance but given the scenario, he had clearly little room for nuances.
I would not recommend this to people as I feel the series fell apart mid-way through. The most exciting part of the drama can be seen in the intro generic, so honestly if you watch it, you have seen the best of what the show has to offer. I did not mind the choice they made regarding the romance, it was interesting but what was really disturbing is the way it was edited with the couple of last episodes coming back on past elements of the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
Richard Li is so handsome!!! That's all I was thinking while watching this
anyways the ML is so pretty and their chemistry mwah it's everything. I wasn't really satisfied with the ending but whatever I loved their pairing and really think they should work on more dramas as a couple. It's lovely!!! I'm not much of a Cdrama fan but this is one of the firsts I have watched and liked it a lot. Also a lot of people said they didn't like the ost , they must be crazy because it was so beautiful. Yes they did play it very often but its a beautiful song.Was this review helpful to you?
Missing Links.
I guess this drama is supposed to be a dark one filled with tension, considering that it's taking place during a time of war and their country is right in the middle of it. But..The cast, story and even the outfits are decent, however, the story failed to grab my attention. I blame the editing.
Plus, completely skipping the past of the main leads and directly heading for the conflict was a wrong move by whoever planned it because I did not feel emotional at all.
Su Yan was particularly irritating. I don't know why, but she almost seemed slow when time was dire, did not provide proper explanations to Wen Yuan and many of the troubles could've been avoided had she reacted on time.
Don't get me started on the King. He left absolutely no impression on me, even when he was at his most powerful. Pretty sure that Su Yan could've properly handled him, but alas, the story calls.
I would suggest this if you need some "break" and watch some good acting, despite of the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Its beautifully heartbreaking
I decided to watch this drama out of curiosity but got a gem actor like Li Fei.Firstly I didn't even know about short Chinese dramas and never got to know this event existed. And this is the first time I watched it because of a short clip on YouTube.
The story is a cliche costume drama with misunderstandings, forbidden love, an obsessive villain, and a Romeo-Juliette trope. Because of the duration, we just have a brief plot that includes flashbacks. It could be better story-wise but it is acceptable. I need some time to digest the plot because many scenes are cut harshly. And also many scenes triggering for some people. Please be prepared before you watch it.
Besides the story and the production value are just okay for me, I'm grateful that I found such a good actor like Li Fei and Meng Jia Jia.
What should I do? I just fell perfectly for Li Fei! He definitely can act, is such a good kisser, showed micro-expression very well, and of course, has a god-like appearance. And then I heard that he got a nickname as the king of short drama. Now I know the reason for that nickname.
Meng Jia Jia is really beautiful here. She got really good chemistry with Li Fei. She and the king do such a great job portraying their character.
The other good thing about this drama is the soundtrack. I got hooked on Day and Night sung by Ziruchu Yinyue. This song is so emotional. I can feel the sadness, desperation, and yearning, from both the Main Lead.
I think I will rewatch it in the future just for Li Fei himself. And as for the ost, I already put it on my playlist.
One thing that I feel grateful for after watching this drama, it is such a blessing that I can find such a good actor like Li Fei. And his drama is mostly what I enjoyed the most. Nice to meet you, Li Fei! I can't wait for your next project!
Was this review helpful to you?
good story and perfect ML, but ..
the story was really good but it wasn't clear at all, if I didn't read Wetv description I wouldn't understand at all what happened, it was very fast forward ⏩ That I didn't understand many thingseven when they showed scenes, were not so specific is it in the present or past or it is just imagination? I wouldn't know at all!! that annoyed me SM !!
ML was so perfect,and good performance from everyone and Decorations were very good That I didn't felt it was a web drama .
but Worst ending ever .. it's unclear at all, they show main leads relationship in present then in past and many Scenes without telling what time it is!! I was so confused!!!
- and what happened for the FL after Ywan died? and what happened for the emperor?? I didn't get anything
what is this!!!
this drama could be better, if they cared and paid attention for details
actually that's why I hate to watch any web drama, Fr .. maybe this will be the last time I watch a web series
and hope to see ML in full length drama asap, he's really good actor
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Oh no...
Watch this after see someone on the feed make costume connection between this drama & The Deliberations of Love. While I'm quite happy with The Deliberations of Love story, but this one really disappointing...Cause I'll gonna give SPOILER. As usual, the safe & what i like first.
+ The chemistry between Richard Li & Ming Jia Jia.
+ The intense story & plot
+ The cute fat little kids.
Overall this just another short drama to watch. Below is SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it with ur own risk.
==================================================
SPOILER ALERT!!!
==================================================
This short dama have one think I most hate about. OPEN ENDING!!! And unfortunately not a good one like Starry Love.
For me this drama is not end with sad ending but with possibilities of an open ending. If only they ended when Su Yan died, that's another story... But this.... To reverse the beginning and ending like this... Ugh!!! Scream Open Ending instead Sad Ending for me.
Really wish they open the drama with ep 19 instead just put it in the end. My suggestion for you who want to watch this, start watch from ep 19 first. That's gonna make the story a lot better.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
El portagonista altamente guapo
Me encanta , desde el primer momento sabia que seria linda , hay besos que te emocionan demasiado, bueno a mi me pasó. Aunque creo que el final es triste aun así merece verlo por la actuación del protagonista richad li es tremendo actro y besa muy bien a sus coprotagnistas..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Was this review helpful to you?
