This review may contain spoilers
When lonely finds someone even lonelier
I want to start by saying I'm a pretty harsh critic. I'm the type where if something doesn't make sense in the drama, I'll check if it has a book and read that afterwards in order to gauge whether the story/interpretation of the story was wrong to begin with OR was this a production related issue (erroneous script writing, amount of funding, time constraints, new laws placed on drama length or subject matter like in TTEOTM, etc).
Basically, to summarize, this is a great drama if you prioritize story > dramatizations of love and relationships. It's a very adult type of love between two people who have experienced unthinkable hardships despite their age.
If I were very young again, I would likely prefer a drama that puts visuals and attraction between the leads as the main focus with less care on whether the story was all that great or well thought out. Just enough to get the two leads together would suffice with lots of heart pounding touches and looks. And to be fair, if you sign up for a romance drama then it's only right that you feel there was 'enough' romance AND drama to keep you interested. Many of these reviews cite "not enough romance" or "chemistry" as the shows weakness for this reason.
I personally felt that though they 'could' have added more blatant sexual chemistry/tension to the show, I do think it would feel less appropriate for the characters. For one, they have an 8 year age gap....and she's been quoted to say he's a man in his 'twenties' and he is crippled for the majority of the show. That does imply she's VERY young to be overly sexualized and lusted over on television for our enjoyment as well as making him feel a little like some horny disabled dude who meets a child he saved 8 years later and is lusting over her (he still vividly remembers what she was like as a child after all and recognizes her as soon as he meets her as well).
Due to this, I had the feeling the writers were careful to build the right pacing and create atmospheric events that would genuinely bring these two leads closer together emotionally before any true emphasis on physical attraction for one another. You can really tell when the male lead begins to understand the female lead from his internal monologues and the questions he asks her. The moments we do get of their love are very sweet and shows how they give each other strength as well making them appear more real. If anything, I wish they made her love for him more compelling besides "love at first sight" as a child. Especially because as an adult, you learn that attraction is never enough to sustain a relationship because you start to understand how incompatible people can be with you through experience and how that affects you emotionally over time. Nobody is perfect. But there's reasons why we can't just marry any good looking person we meet. I felt I wanted to see her learn about him the way he tried to learn about her and watch her realize that he's more than just a good looking dude with great martial arts and a stunning family background. Things like his hobbies, his dreams, his surprising talents or deficiencies beyond "he's immature when he's jealous" which I do NOT count (though we ALL love a cute jealous ML doing dumb adorable stuff while in love). Though this is me being picky because this show was REALLY done SO well already and I don't want to just glaze it all day in my review.
My only real gripe is that the two break up points felt too rushed and premature thus feeling uncharacteristically dramatic for these two. Mainly the male lead as the female lead has lived in seclusion for so long, she would understandably not know how to deal with conflict and would be scared to be alone again. But I believe these moments were shoe horned in to arbitrarily create conflict which is beneficial to create emotional impact at the risk of being overly dramatic.
If I had to point it it's strong points, I would say:
1) The cast are incredibly likable and relatable. No one feels like a true villain or saint and they flesh out each character in a way we can actually be satisfied with versus leaving them as loose ends.
2) No unnecessary deaths or drivel on the motivations of the villains as well as making them look STUPID to make our characters look smarter. Also, not making them just GREEDY for power. The queen was ambitious and smart. She made choices that were cruel but not unheard of. It's society that paints a woman doing it as so terrible but reasonable if a male ruler were to do so. She's not right. But can we really say she should have given up and let them kill her and her child? Atleast her reforms helped people in the long run. Sometimes, we can't really compromise if we want to make real change in our lifetimes and that's the point. There is no real moral high ground. Locking yourself on a mountain and taking 47 other perfectly young and amazing talents with you to the afterlife does NOTHING to fix the society you are protesting against. It only creates victims like our female lead. Even guard Qin wasn't just doing illegal stuff just to get more power. He wanted to be loved by his birth father. He longed to belong and be accepted. He heard exactly what he needed and stayed loyal to him for that reason. Even when he was betrayed and chose to rat on him--it was for survival and NOT to get even. He wasn't full of anger and vengefulness when he saw his father for the last time. Just shared the sincere words he held for a long time in his heart.
3) Romance pacing and character development were en pointe. You learn about the female character at a good pace that makes putting all the puzzle pieces together satisfying VERSUS predictable which makes them feel more one dimensional and simple. People aren't that easy. Secrets exist in us in layers that need time to be peeled back from those around us and we were on the same page as the ML due to this. I was devasted the way he was devastated and I was remorseful when he felt shame too.
4) Due to the above, another great point is that this is a VERY rewatchable show. I personally feel like the second watch through, you actually feel differently than the first time. That's because the first time you watch, you are seeing things from the male leads perspective in terms of understanding the female lead. We only see action but can't really make sense of what motivates her besides the typical "for peace and justice!" mind set they give to EVERY male and female lead or just pure "revenge!". The second time around, I felt way more emotional earlier on because I started to notice things I didn't understand before in a different light. So basically, I'm not seeing things from the perspective pf the male lead anymore but as someone who understands the female lead already.
Overall, everything was great. Music, set, costumes, casting, script and filming. I would watch this again and recommend it for anyone who wants to appreciate how two lonely and traumatized leads meet--and wrap themselves around the others wounds with their love and support for one another. A great drama with an amazing team of cast and production!
Basically, to summarize, this is a great drama if you prioritize story > dramatizations of love and relationships. It's a very adult type of love between two people who have experienced unthinkable hardships despite their age.
If I were very young again, I would likely prefer a drama that puts visuals and attraction between the leads as the main focus with less care on whether the story was all that great or well thought out. Just enough to get the two leads together would suffice with lots of heart pounding touches and looks. And to be fair, if you sign up for a romance drama then it's only right that you feel there was 'enough' romance AND drama to keep you interested. Many of these reviews cite "not enough romance" or "chemistry" as the shows weakness for this reason.
I personally felt that though they 'could' have added more blatant sexual chemistry/tension to the show, I do think it would feel less appropriate for the characters. For one, they have an 8 year age gap....and she's been quoted to say he's a man in his 'twenties' and he is crippled for the majority of the show. That does imply she's VERY young to be overly sexualized and lusted over on television for our enjoyment as well as making him feel a little like some horny disabled dude who meets a child he saved 8 years later and is lusting over her (he still vividly remembers what she was like as a child after all and recognizes her as soon as he meets her as well).
Due to this, I had the feeling the writers were careful to build the right pacing and create atmospheric events that would genuinely bring these two leads closer together emotionally before any true emphasis on physical attraction for one another. You can really tell when the male lead begins to understand the female lead from his internal monologues and the questions he asks her. The moments we do get of their love are very sweet and shows how they give each other strength as well making them appear more real. If anything, I wish they made her love for him more compelling besides "love at first sight" as a child. Especially because as an adult, you learn that attraction is never enough to sustain a relationship because you start to understand how incompatible people can be with you through experience and how that affects you emotionally over time. Nobody is perfect. But there's reasons why we can't just marry any good looking person we meet. I felt I wanted to see her learn about him the way he tried to learn about her and watch her realize that he's more than just a good looking dude with great martial arts and a stunning family background. Things like his hobbies, his dreams, his surprising talents or deficiencies beyond "he's immature when he's jealous" which I do NOT count (though we ALL love a cute jealous ML doing dumb adorable stuff while in love). Though this is me being picky because this show was REALLY done SO well already and I don't want to just glaze it all day in my review.
My only real gripe is that the two break up points felt too rushed and premature thus feeling uncharacteristically dramatic for these two. Mainly the male lead as the female lead has lived in seclusion for so long, she would understandably not know how to deal with conflict and would be scared to be alone again. But I believe these moments were shoe horned in to arbitrarily create conflict which is beneficial to create emotional impact at the risk of being overly dramatic.
If I had to point it it's strong points, I would say:
1) The cast are incredibly likable and relatable. No one feels like a true villain or saint and they flesh out each character in a way we can actually be satisfied with versus leaving them as loose ends.
2) No unnecessary deaths or drivel on the motivations of the villains as well as making them look STUPID to make our characters look smarter. Also, not making them just GREEDY for power. The queen was ambitious and smart. She made choices that were cruel but not unheard of. It's society that paints a woman doing it as so terrible but reasonable if a male ruler were to do so. She's not right. But can we really say she should have given up and let them kill her and her child? Atleast her reforms helped people in the long run. Sometimes, we can't really compromise if we want to make real change in our lifetimes and that's the point. There is no real moral high ground. Locking yourself on a mountain and taking 47 other perfectly young and amazing talents with you to the afterlife does NOTHING to fix the society you are protesting against. It only creates victims like our female lead. Even guard Qin wasn't just doing illegal stuff just to get more power. He wanted to be loved by his birth father. He longed to belong and be accepted. He heard exactly what he needed and stayed loyal to him for that reason. Even when he was betrayed and chose to rat on him--it was for survival and NOT to get even. He wasn't full of anger and vengefulness when he saw his father for the last time. Just shared the sincere words he held for a long time in his heart.
3) Romance pacing and character development were en pointe. You learn about the female character at a good pace that makes putting all the puzzle pieces together satisfying VERSUS predictable which makes them feel more one dimensional and simple. People aren't that easy. Secrets exist in us in layers that need time to be peeled back from those around us and we were on the same page as the ML due to this. I was devasted the way he was devastated and I was remorseful when he felt shame too.
4) Due to the above, another great point is that this is a VERY rewatchable show. I personally feel like the second watch through, you actually feel differently than the first time. That's because the first time you watch, you are seeing things from the male leads perspective in terms of understanding the female lead. We only see action but can't really make sense of what motivates her besides the typical "for peace and justice!" mind set they give to EVERY male and female lead or just pure "revenge!". The second time around, I felt way more emotional earlier on because I started to notice things I didn't understand before in a different light. So basically, I'm not seeing things from the perspective pf the male lead anymore but as someone who understands the female lead already.
Overall, everything was great. Music, set, costumes, casting, script and filming. I would watch this again and recommend it for anyone who wants to appreciate how two lonely and traumatized leads meet--and wrap themselves around the others wounds with their love and support for one another. A great drama with an amazing team of cast and production!
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