Recommended - Quite Good
I've read the other reviews and see understand their points but to me, this was a delight. It did not suffer from the uneven pace of other dramas, or the tortured miscommunications between characters but was delightfully straightforward in both the story arc and the acknowledgment early on of mutual affection. The development of the FL from immature teen to highly competent and gutsy competitor with the Yan witch was enjoyable--and I must give the Li Jia Qi tremendous credit for character development spanning a period of years. I saw Bi Wen Jun in A Class of Her Own, a show I loved, but his character there was something of a one-note Jonny -- here, he was given more room to develop and showed he could play the gamut from arrogant and dangerous Prince to a vulnerable guy almost afraid to say "I love you" to the woman he is in love with. Unlike many dramas with extended misunderstandings between characters, or forced and almost absurd plot twists, this show moved along briskly and consistently. Nothing felt forced or fake but fit nicely with the story and the characters. My criticism is reserved for the last episode, which I think was handled ineptly - it was almost rushed and the timeline was unclear, however satisfying the last scene was.Was this review helpful to you?
Honor to Tian Xiaojie!
I enjoyed this not only because of the until-now obscure craft of ink production and use, and the very genuine portrayal of what was involved, but the strong family relationships. Maybe I missed it but I have seen no review that mentioned Tian Xiaojie, who stole the show in my opinion. He was the vehicle for family ties, for family honor, for deep love of his son and grandchildren, for love of his craft. This would be a much poorer production without the depth this actor brought to his role. He was a major mover of the action, Zhen's inspiration and mentor - and he played the role to perfection.Was this review helpful to you?
Stick with it
Great ensemble cast that was well developed. Wonderfully complex story arcs. I loved the ML actor and watch every role of his - but he did not come into his own until episode 30. In fact, the story did not become compelling until episode 30....the very long build-up, the laying out of all the details took far too long, and the romantic on-again/off-again nonsense consumed far too much time. But the last 10 episodes are explosive, clever, and very satisfying. Had the first 29 episodes been more tightly compacted, the pacing quicker, some of the extraneous lingering looks and seeming misunderstandings not so unwieldy and time consuming, I would've given this a higher rating. But it is a worthwhile watch for the last 10 episodes alone. Stick with it.Was this review helpful to you?
