A huge disappointment; They crammed too much into 33 episodes
It could have been so much better.
I was half-way through episode 31 when I realised I didn't want to continue watching it. I think I stayed so long because I both felt like it would get better and for the actors. The truth is I felt like I was missing scenes early on. It felt like scenes had been cut and it just got worse the longer I watched.
And did I mention that this is a complete mess?!!! Oh my god!!! Why did they feel like they had to cram so much into 33 episodes?! There was so much covered in every single episode we never got a break!!! And don't get me started on the cartoonish villains!!! Their laughing was cringe-worthy. I ignored it because I liked this. I really did. I feel like it started going downhill around episode 25? I don't know the exact episode but that seems about right. It was shortly after [redacted] died. And then it came to a point when I didn't know who was on which side because their stance was so blurry. One minute two people were on opposite sides and the next episode they were scheming together. The betrayals were EVERYWHERE. It is so damn messy in the last few episodes I watched. And the pacing!!! It's horrendous. It's fight after fight after fight! Sure, there's a few moments in between where someone says something inspirational but after that? Another fight with a twist villain OR a previous villain! It started getting so damn tiring around episode 29.
Okay, now onto the love story, because this IS a love story. It has multiple pairings some of which are very poorly done. The main pairing though I think has suffered from the story being squeezed into 33 episodes. I felt their bond after the academy... for a short while and I felt like they were really falling in love... and then that feeling fizzled out but apparently they are deeply in love? I didn't feel it. After some research, I discovered that this is adapted from a two book series. I think it would have turned out better if they'd just adapted one book and then the other instead of cramming them into 33 episodes. The friendships felt shallow. The romance felt shallow. Why did I stick with this so long?!
I don't have much else to say other than the fact that the actors did a really good job.
I am so very disappointed in this. I had mediocre expectations in the beginning but hoped. And the passing of time was done so damn poorly...
What a shame.
Also: Two characters ended up being REALLY annoying. (Well, three really, but the third is excusable because he's a good villain he was slimy but the best villain of the series, I think - UNTIL HE WAS JUST KILLED!!!) One is a woman who keeps popping up and destroying ML and FL plans even though apparently she's on ML side but keeps undermining him. The second is the second ML. I liked him at first but the more I watched the more he frustrated me. He didn't love FL at all!!! He just wanted to possess her!!!!! And he {REDACTED} which I think was the second to last nail in the coffin. He then [REDACTED} which just made me think "Right. I can't watch this anymore!"
This should have been two seasons, 20 episodes each.
I was half-way through episode 31 when I realised I didn't want to continue watching it. I think I stayed so long because I both felt like it would get better and for the actors. The truth is I felt like I was missing scenes early on. It felt like scenes had been cut and it just got worse the longer I watched.
And did I mention that this is a complete mess?!!! Oh my god!!! Why did they feel like they had to cram so much into 33 episodes?! There was so much covered in every single episode we never got a break!!! And don't get me started on the cartoonish villains!!! Their laughing was cringe-worthy. I ignored it because I liked this. I really did. I feel like it started going downhill around episode 25? I don't know the exact episode but that seems about right. It was shortly after [redacted] died. And then it came to a point when I didn't know who was on which side because their stance was so blurry. One minute two people were on opposite sides and the next episode they were scheming together. The betrayals were EVERYWHERE. It is so damn messy in the last few episodes I watched. And the pacing!!! It's horrendous. It's fight after fight after fight! Sure, there's a few moments in between where someone says something inspirational but after that? Another fight with a twist villain OR a previous villain! It started getting so damn tiring around episode 29.
Okay, now onto the love story, because this IS a love story. It has multiple pairings some of which are very poorly done. The main pairing though I think has suffered from the story being squeezed into 33 episodes. I felt their bond after the academy... for a short while and I felt like they were really falling in love... and then that feeling fizzled out but apparently they are deeply in love? I didn't feel it. After some research, I discovered that this is adapted from a two book series. I think it would have turned out better if they'd just adapted one book and then the other instead of cramming them into 33 episodes. The friendships felt shallow. The romance felt shallow. Why did I stick with this so long?!
I don't have much else to say other than the fact that the actors did a really good job.
I am so very disappointed in this. I had mediocre expectations in the beginning but hoped. And the passing of time was done so damn poorly...
What a shame.
Also: Two characters ended up being REALLY annoying. (Well, three really, but the third is excusable because he's a good villain he was slimy but the best villain of the series, I think - UNTIL HE WAS JUST KILLED!!!) One is a woman who keeps popping up and destroying ML and FL plans even though apparently she's on ML side but keeps undermining him. The second is the second ML. I liked him at first but the more I watched the more he frustrated me. He didn't love FL at all!!! He just wanted to possess her!!!!! And he {REDACTED} which I think was the second to last nail in the coffin. He then [REDACTED} which just made me think "Right. I can't watch this anymore!"
This should have been two seasons, 20 episodes each.
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