Initially interesting characters flounder and flip flop by the middle and never stop
This started out so well that it was a ten for me up until the leads both reached Bliss Palace. First it became questionable whether Zhao is allowed to make any decisions on her own. Then it became questionable whether any of her decisions make any sense. Instead of letting the leads spent some time apart and let them get in some good pining so that they may come together stronger, the male lead forces their paths to cross at every turn in either icky or straight up nonsensical ways.For a sect drama even if it is not full-fledged wuxia, the fight choreographies are pretty one note and incredibly short until the last episodes. Zhao seemed to be a cool fighter at first, then she just does the same move over and over. The only impressive fight she gets is against one of her uncles.
Whenever the leads make up again they are on the outs once more just as fast. Sadly, Generation to Generation is a downward spiral. The Man in Black is an interesting enough mystery to keep me speeding through the leads' seemingly endlessly repeating woes. By the 26th episode I simply wanted to know if that damn villain is the guy I thought he would be or the lame guy I thought he would be. It was the lame guy.
All the male characters belong in the garbage except Zhao's incredible little brother. The female supporting characters are no more than plot devices except for the master's wife. Barely any character develops. There is just foreshadowing that goes nowhere each time.
Everyone's goals feel all over the place except the male leads, but only because he is allowed to secretly go after his goals during most of the drama. Sadly, that is more handled to justify him interacting with the FL than anything else and is completely disregarded by the end. Their love story turns into a farce of obligation. Where that obligation comes from? Nobody knows.
5/10 for what could have been and the magiepie bridge song, which is a better love story than these two.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
One Big Family (on a Town Scale) Thwarted by a One-Man Villain
Most of the Heir is a beautiful inky tale about the people who can hurt us the most and legacies fighting tooth and nail to have a future. If you're interested in that, welcome to the show.FL's Family: Li
The Li family feuds may be frustrating at first, but it would be strange to watch a series like this and not expect and want to see characters suffer and grow. Thankfully our female lead gets some punches in and rises through her skills, dedication and love for the art of ink making as well as her love for the family that stands by her.
Despite being one of Zhen's biggest naysayers, her uncle is one of the best side-characters with a great arc throughout the drama. In historical dramaland, disabilities often are either faked, miraculously cured or characters with disabilities are evil without reason. The Heir redeems Zhen's explosive disabled uncle well. Cured of his hatred rather than his disability, he remains himself and shows that his old injuries do not hold him back.
Her eight grandfather is the typical old man, who has seen too much and understands too much to go easy on his granddaughter. Nevertheless, their bond only strengthens throughout the drama. As seventh grandmother's favorite, Zhen interacts a lot with her too. It's interesting to see how one matriarch builds up another. Even though there are a lot of strong grandmothers in historical dramas (like in the recently released A Splendid Match), I wouldn't say other FL's are so explicitly taught.
Zhen's mother has a bittersweet backstory and always has her daughter's back. Zhen's friendship Hua was also very pleasing to watch.
ML's Family: Luo
Wenqian, the ML, is a very human character instead of standing above the FL. They both have setbacks throughout the story. The male lead appears more toward the middle and last half of the drama. His story starts as the classic revenge story, except things don't go as planned. Overall, the characters in The Heir are not as good at scheming as the usual leads, which was refreshing to see. They also don't need to be because unlike in other dramas, the characters here never aim to play their game in the capital (except for the villains).
While I'm not particular fond of the met-as-children-once trope for the main couple, it worked here. Zhen and Wenqian are so cute and awkward, they are simply endearing.
Wensong, the ML's older brother, is one of the best characters the drama has to offer because he cares about ink to an unnatural extend, and it is one of the few crimes this drama commits that he is the only character of his unhinged type. Though, Li Zhen and her uncle come close, it would have been nice to get more mad geniuses.
The elders of their family are an interesting bunch. I would have enjoyed some more time with the aunt.
Villain's Family: Tian
Let's get to the, imo, weakest part of the drama. Two of the Tian family members are almost comically evil and if this were another drama, they wouldn't stand out so much. Alas, in a world filled with characters who have business sense and their own levels of integrity, if of their time, they are a bit too on-the-nose. The main bad guy, Tian Benchang, was exhausting to watch almost immediately. Most times he is on screen, I hope he disappears again. At least he gets what is coming for him.
The Heir is best when it is about the ink, its process, its competition and its consequences. Sadly, the villain overshadows those challenges by being vicious on the personal level only. Despite his non-stop-scheming taking up time, he also suddenly always has the best ink there is in Huizhou. He was simply badly balanced, so the part in which he appears most - the penultimate arc - drags the drama down.
The only light in the dark for the Tian family is Ronghua, who gets dealt a bad hand by being tied to a family which could not appreciate her less. Apart from Zhen's uncle, Ronghua has the best arc in this drama. In fact, I would have liked to see more of her struggles as a nobel lady.
From Family to City to Country
That the nationalism might become strong in this one was to be expected, sadly I don't think the drama balances the story expanding from the family business to the city industry to national craftsmanship as well as it could. Through Wensong's involvement in the army, there are mentions of the national situation from the start, but they are made too unimportant when his punishment after failing to secure military funding is inconsequential. Tian Benchang also overstays his welcome as the big bad, so that ink as the national treasure is squeezed into the last four to three episodes.
Was this review helpful to you?
An Interesting Romance and Political Story All Wrapped Into One
A Splendid Match does exactly what it promises. It splendidly matches up the main couple, who have quite different temperaments and yet are similar in enough in certain aspects aspects that it simply clicks. Certain characters truly grow and develop until the end of the drama like Ye Xian and Gu Lan, though Ye Xian is offered more screentime and is one of the best - if not THE best - SML's out there.The deaths of certain characters were incredibly heart wrenching. I had a good cry two times in this drama and I love when a story actually makes me care!
Overall, the Gu family feud at the beginning of the drama was just a little better structured. The last arc is both rushed and yet too few things happen at the right time. I would have enjoyed a bit more focus on Jinzhao's female relationships and her business ventures around those episodes. Some political things just happen instead of being reacted to by the joint force of the main couple.
One big caveat are also the excessive fade to blacks that are awkward. They are used for censorship but also lack of time and probably lack of budget.
Despite that, I actually enjoy the ending (as in the last episode). It does not wrap everything up perfectly but there doesn't need to be a lengthy epilogue. The goal is reached. The deed is done.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A comedic drama with heartfelt moments and a supporting cast deserving its own story
For me, the side-characters Mr. Bai and the scholars were the breakout stars of this drama. I could watch a few extra episodes only with the scholars. It's been quite some time since I last cared about side characters in a drama or truly any TV-Show to this extend. The romance was alright but certainly simply a more interesting lead dynamic at the start. The leads are lovable, but I didn't really care about it compared to the scheming and the drama surrounding the nation. Therefore, during most of the last episodes I skipped some scenes.The Qiang state being behind most schemes was an interesting addition given its presence in both the Xia and Yan state harem. I would have liked to see Qian explored more. Even if the leads would have just found out the Qiang state is the scapegoat of the original story and then had hit like an invisible barrier when trying to communicate with Qiang because the state itself was never written into the original story. Basically, I think it would have been interesting to see more "out-of-bounds experiences" given the talk about 2D and higher level characters. Why shouldn't "2D places" exist too?
Despite skipping through some scenes, this is a drama that made me cry and laugh in equal measure. I actually teared up a few times and that usually only happens once when it's a good drama. As stated before, they truly had a great supporting cast, only FL's maids - both Mei and Hua Hua - were a bit too canon fodder flavored. Speaking of "canons", Mr. Bai's specifically designed arrows were great. The seizing of the capital was a fun action sequence.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A glorious short drama
This short drama truly plays to its strengths. The rebirth aspect is used to shorten the time it takes to set up the villains and allies within the harem. Short dramas usually feel rushed to me, not so Glory Back. It truly feels like the screen writers and director condensed a harem drama to its most essential scenes. Glory Back benefits from focusing on the revenge story instead of more sprawling harem and state intrigue, though the hints are there. It is a well-played personal story of the FL finding out who harmed her and who is making a mess of the harem in the process.The male leads are both devoted to the female lead and have their strengths. It is fun to not immediately dislike one over the other. It becomes clear, though, that only one can match the female lead's wit and personality. The progression of the relationships felt very organic.
The visuals are stunning and the production makes good decisions to use the budget they have. They make the harem look like a sprawling place.
Often I feel the last episodes of dramas (both short and standard) can be a real drop in quality, not so here. The very last episode was a bit too wholesome and progressive for the overall story, but that's just how Chinese Drama operate at this point (for good endings).
For a web series this one is simply so good and I am happy a second season has been teased. I would be so interested in this team doing a standard series harem drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Uncovering family secrets and the own heart
This drama had just the right amount of story and interesting characters to keep me entertained. The dynamics of both the Gu family and the royal family are highly dysfunctional and create a nice setting for political intrigue. Most of the secrets and connections become quite obvious, but the characters' different reactions make the reveals impactful nonetheless.The Gu siblings are great supporting characters given their different if murderous personalities. The leads believably fall in love with each other through their hardships and understanding. The FL is resourceful and smart. She has no time for nonsense and is a martial artist who can actually fight. The ML too uses the cards he had been dealt with to his advantage. Some life lessons they need to learn as they come together.
The multitude of "disguises" used was also a fitting gimmick for a show about a spy family. It kept things fresh.
For a short-drama, the political/family intrigue was great. And, honestly, can any drama that features three wedding dresses be anything but?
Was this review helpful to you?
