This review may contain spoilers
The Last Jasmine because I'm not rewatching the whole show
I became a huge fan of Ryan Cheng for his role in “My Journey to You” and decided to give this one a try. The drama is overall…mid. I enjoyed some parts, but took issue with most.
Story [5/10]: The story has intriguing complexities, but fails miserably in its execution. This show would have been way better if it had focused on the two leads' pasts and stories and upped the villains' game. There is never a time when our leads are beaten by the villains in this show, who are annoying at best and cowardly at worst. I thought at least one of the Marquis’ sons would become a worthy opponent, but no, they just led common lives, and we never saw them again. At times, side stories and subplots are okay distractions, but when they stray and are left open-ended, incomplete, and rushed, they only ruin your main plot. For a show where the leads are exceptionally smart, surprisingly, it wasn’t mentally stimulating enough.
The development of Ye Li and Ye Ying’s relationship was fun to watch. In their last meeting, Ye Ying had said that if Ye Li ever needed a place to stay away from Prince Ding’s mansion, Ye Li was welcome to stay with her. I low-key wished Ye Li had done this during the 5 months Xiuyao had been back at the border. It would make sense because she wasn’t a fan of being dragged all over the city by Lady Wen (Xiuyao’s sister-in-law), so she could have hid out at Ye Ying’s for a bit. But at the same time, we don’t know where Ye Ying was because after Mo Jingli ditched her, we don’t know if she simply went back home or maybe stayed in Mo Jingli’s mother's hometown (like to wait for him to come back).
My biggest issue with the latter part of the story is how Princess Lingyun was assassinated. Mind you, she was praised for single-handedly putting her brother on the throne by defeating powerful enemies. She’s so powerful that the people of our leads’ feared hers. Her death was so random and rushed that I thought there was going to be a plot twist where she would survive. But no, she was assassinated by her servant-assassin, and our FL, Ye Li, was framed for it. The annoying thing is that NO ONE, including Ye Li, spoke of the maid who got her throat cut right before Su Zuidie put the knife in Ye Li’s hand. Like, why would Ye Li kill her own maid? What happened to the maid? She introduced herself, then was killed shortly after; it doesn’t make sense… We also don’t know what happened when her people went home because Su Zuidie was rescued and no one seemed to be looking for her for killing their beloved princess. Lingyun was a very cool character, too bad only Feng Zhiyao recognized that.
Also, we never got to see how Mo Xiuyao pushed Mo Jingli back; we were just told Xiuyao was successful after success. This not only screamed ‘low budget’ but also rushed the ending and eliminated any opportunities for us to see how Xiuyao felt about leading battles again. I don’t want to hear that Mo Jingli went from 50,000 soldiers to 500 men because Xiuyao was that good. I want to see how Xiuyao did it, even though I know Mo Jingli doesn’t hold a candle to Xiuyao’s strategies and fighting abilities.
The final battle was weak. The action was good but could be better. Also, why did they keep breaking the statues into three perfect pieces? Looked like knocking over stacked boxes.
So again, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao’s pasts were very interesting (on the surface), but the execution was meh. Especially for Xiuyao’s past.
Acting/Cast [8/10]: I have no complaints about the cast, overall. The acting felt stiff at times, especially in the facial region. When the Marquis was exposed, Guo Jin couldn’t be bothered to show any emotion, be it relief or anger. Another issue with the show was that it didn’t seem to know how to handle its large cast, so most characters either appeared only a few times or were written out because the plot needed them gone. There was chemistry between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, but at the same time, there was very little harmony. I love it when main characters have lives outside of each other, but this was the case from start to finish; there was little room for teamwork between Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li as husband and wife.
The character of Mo Jingli/Prince Li was seriously pathetic and horribly designed. Despite being our final boss, he is boring. He attempted suicide multiple times throughout the show to gain sympathy from our married female lead while secretly leading a rebellion. I wouldn't be able to rely on or follow someone like that for very long, someone who would try to kill himself over a woman many times. He also kept saying, "if fate has it, we'll meet again" to Yeying/Princess Li (Yeli's younger half-sister), as if it meant anything. He had no feelings for her, so what would change if they met again? It also didn’t make sense for him to say that because there were only two final outcomes for him: become King or die trying. He can’t meet her again if he’s dead, and meeting her again as King will do what exactly? Anyway, Guo Jin [Empress Dowager], Maruis Muyang, and Qin Zheng [Consort Dowager] were all awful villains. Qin Zheng showed potential and was portrayed as a clever, cold woman, but her primary role was to withhold the original edict and ultimately give it up when Guo Jin didn’t return her sisterly love.
Music [10/10]: I don’t mind any of the songs, really. I wasn’t in love with any of them, but they weren’t annoying or overused. There were times when audio and BGM would just cut out, and I complained about not using fade-outs, but that’s a personal preference.
Rewatch value [2/10]: Every time Bai Lu (Ye Li) was on screen, I’d unconsciously whisper “wow, she’s so beautiful,” but unfortunately, I won’t sit through the series a second time even though she is stunning. I may rewatch certain episodes or scenes down the line, but not the entire thing again.
Overall, “The First Jasmine: MoLi” gets a 6.5 from me. I admit that the only time I was truly bored was when Mo Jingli/Prince Li was on screen, so the whole show is easy to binge. I just wasn’t a fan of how things unraveled, so the 6.5 is a personal preference and not what I believe the show is (an 8). If you don’t have the same picky issues as me, you’d most likely enjoy the show.
Story [5/10]: The story has intriguing complexities, but fails miserably in its execution. This show would have been way better if it had focused on the two leads' pasts and stories and upped the villains' game. There is never a time when our leads are beaten by the villains in this show, who are annoying at best and cowardly at worst. I thought at least one of the Marquis’ sons would become a worthy opponent, but no, they just led common lives, and we never saw them again. At times, side stories and subplots are okay distractions, but when they stray and are left open-ended, incomplete, and rushed, they only ruin your main plot. For a show where the leads are exceptionally smart, surprisingly, it wasn’t mentally stimulating enough.
The development of Ye Li and Ye Ying’s relationship was fun to watch. In their last meeting, Ye Ying had said that if Ye Li ever needed a place to stay away from Prince Ding’s mansion, Ye Li was welcome to stay with her. I low-key wished Ye Li had done this during the 5 months Xiuyao had been back at the border. It would make sense because she wasn’t a fan of being dragged all over the city by Lady Wen (Xiuyao’s sister-in-law), so she could have hid out at Ye Ying’s for a bit. But at the same time, we don’t know where Ye Ying was because after Mo Jingli ditched her, we don’t know if she simply went back home or maybe stayed in Mo Jingli’s mother's hometown (like to wait for him to come back).
My biggest issue with the latter part of the story is how Princess Lingyun was assassinated. Mind you, she was praised for single-handedly putting her brother on the throne by defeating powerful enemies. She’s so powerful that the people of our leads’ feared hers. Her death was so random and rushed that I thought there was going to be a plot twist where she would survive. But no, she was assassinated by her servant-assassin, and our FL, Ye Li, was framed for it. The annoying thing is that NO ONE, including Ye Li, spoke of the maid who got her throat cut right before Su Zuidie put the knife in Ye Li’s hand. Like, why would Ye Li kill her own maid? What happened to the maid? She introduced herself, then was killed shortly after; it doesn’t make sense… We also don’t know what happened when her people went home because Su Zuidie was rescued and no one seemed to be looking for her for killing their beloved princess. Lingyun was a very cool character, too bad only Feng Zhiyao recognized that.
Also, we never got to see how Mo Xiuyao pushed Mo Jingli back; we were just told Xiuyao was successful after success. This not only screamed ‘low budget’ but also rushed the ending and eliminated any opportunities for us to see how Xiuyao felt about leading battles again. I don’t want to hear that Mo Jingli went from 50,000 soldiers to 500 men because Xiuyao was that good. I want to see how Xiuyao did it, even though I know Mo Jingli doesn’t hold a candle to Xiuyao’s strategies and fighting abilities.
The final battle was weak. The action was good but could be better. Also, why did they keep breaking the statues into three perfect pieces? Looked like knocking over stacked boxes.
So again, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao’s pasts were very interesting (on the surface), but the execution was meh. Especially for Xiuyao’s past.
Acting/Cast [8/10]: I have no complaints about the cast, overall. The acting felt stiff at times, especially in the facial region. When the Marquis was exposed, Guo Jin couldn’t be bothered to show any emotion, be it relief or anger. Another issue with the show was that it didn’t seem to know how to handle its large cast, so most characters either appeared only a few times or were written out because the plot needed them gone. There was chemistry between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, but at the same time, there was very little harmony. I love it when main characters have lives outside of each other, but this was the case from start to finish; there was little room for teamwork between Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li as husband and wife.
The character of Mo Jingli/Prince Li was seriously pathetic and horribly designed. Despite being our final boss, he is boring. He attempted suicide multiple times throughout the show to gain sympathy from our married female lead while secretly leading a rebellion. I wouldn't be able to rely on or follow someone like that for very long, someone who would try to kill himself over a woman many times. He also kept saying, "if fate has it, we'll meet again" to Yeying/Princess Li (Yeli's younger half-sister), as if it meant anything. He had no feelings for her, so what would change if they met again? It also didn’t make sense for him to say that because there were only two final outcomes for him: become King or die trying. He can’t meet her again if he’s dead, and meeting her again as King will do what exactly? Anyway, Guo Jin [Empress Dowager], Maruis Muyang, and Qin Zheng [Consort Dowager] were all awful villains. Qin Zheng showed potential and was portrayed as a clever, cold woman, but her primary role was to withhold the original edict and ultimately give it up when Guo Jin didn’t return her sisterly love.
Music [10/10]: I don’t mind any of the songs, really. I wasn’t in love with any of them, but they weren’t annoying or overused. There were times when audio and BGM would just cut out, and I complained about not using fade-outs, but that’s a personal preference.
Rewatch value [2/10]: Every time Bai Lu (Ye Li) was on screen, I’d unconsciously whisper “wow, she’s so beautiful,” but unfortunately, I won’t sit through the series a second time even though she is stunning. I may rewatch certain episodes or scenes down the line, but not the entire thing again.
Overall, “The First Jasmine: MoLi” gets a 6.5 from me. I admit that the only time I was truly bored was when Mo Jingli/Prince Li was on screen, so the whole show is easy to binge. I just wasn’t a fan of how things unraveled, so the 6.5 is a personal preference and not what I believe the show is (an 8). If you don’t have the same picky issues as me, you’d most likely enjoy the show.
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