This review may contain spoilers
Infinitely patient man & pigheaded woman .fell from 9* to 7*
It started out a 9/10 and ended up 7/10 (& it's only not a 5.5 because the first 5 or 6 episodes are so endearing!)
The Good:
There are ALOT of handsome men
All the actors do an exceptional job
There is a happy ending
The OST was subtly beautiful
The costumes were amazing
The leads are very attractive & have alot of chemistry (with some sizzling moments).
The Dumb:
SO many attacks by gangs of "ninjas"
2 people Voluntarily fall off a cliff & survive ( 2 separate times.)
SO many men are fixated & crushing on the female lead ! why?
2 endings
Reason male lead mother died
The Bad:
in the last 1/3 there is alot of war & politics
Filler material
Female lead's character
See the explanation
The Honest:
too many episodes
I don't need/enjoy historical dramas heavily infused with feminism
The Break Down
<& it's long because I really loved this and all the actors/characters, so it needs alot of explaining why I went from 9* to barely 7*>
The drama starts out with alot of warm fuzzy moments that build the lead's relationship. The leads have reversed roles strength & social standing wise-which is presented in a light hearted way & it's quite fun.
Around ep. 14 the drama has become much darker, with more fighting (the stabbing, slashing, war kind).
About Ep 16/17 it drops from 9/10* to 5/10* as there is a nonsensical prerequisite romantic spat which separates the leads. This is going to be a reoccurring trope as the female lead will go around arbitrarily making decisions for other people & has a tendency to hold a grudge for those who do it to her.
This is the crux of the problem with the drama:
as a historical fiction they haven't melded that aspect of it well with the feminism they are trying to infuse it with-especially when they go all hyper serious about it. At first it works because it's light hearted & we are teased into believing that this will be a story about a man & a woman who will have each other's back. That is not the case as the modern feminism just overwhelms the story, sacrificing the heart of the story.
***Short Spoiler Break***
When I say that the drama takes on & continues in a darker tone :
that starts Around Ep. 18 where everyone in the town where the female lead lives is massacred.
Let's take a break from the shock of that & mention :
The Kisses:
For the bulk of the drama the Female lead is unmoved by the males lead's first 2 kisses. Can she be anything other than a bone headed widget when He gives her 2 really meaningful kisses & she can't even lose herself in the moment !?
We have to wait until the end of the drama for the female lead to appreciate & enjoy the kisses (which will turn satisfyingly steamy.
***************************************************************
Back to the mostly Non spoiling parts:
The longer the drama went on the less I liked it ,as all the lovely moments the leads created in the first half evaporate because: as long as thier agendas align, she's appreciative of his support. As long as the male lead is physically weak, the female lead acts caring. When he's not weak, she is distant towards him .
She stubbornly refuses help (as if she disdains weakness), so what does that say about how she really feels about the him she knew that was weak ? It feels less like a romance . Is she on a power trip? Is she afraid she might have to give up something ?
She doesn't seem to want to be equals & her caring is here one moment gone the next.
She's a short tempered, willful ,hyper focused , bossy, grumpy feminist with tunnel vision on the one thing of the moment at the expense relationships or safety.
You see the same type of character in the village women & the grand princess. All these "I can look out for myself women" are ironically AND constantly getting themselves into trouble.
By Ep 27: we're dealing with a full blown & literal pride & prejudice situation. She is uncompromisingly, pridefully pigheaded (pun intended) , while at the same time claiming that it would demean him to be with her: so she will "set him free". I'm sure they meant to make her come across as making a noble sacrifice, but instead she seemingly cares more for convention than she does for him.
And still the male lead keeps proving himself over and over and over & it is not enough for her.
Getting through the last episodes was a chore as the already bloated drama lags with politics, which, while necessary to tie up all the lose ends, still feels like filler . Some episodes are saturated with over sentimental montages remembering dead characters.
(Someone please kill the montage trope !)
What is with 2 endings ?
the weird & incredibly inclusive happy endings all around leaves you feeling like you may have watched 2 different dramas
Final Spoilers/rants:
********************************************
He takes 104 lashes in order to marry her & YET when he asks her she can't just say yes, she says "we're already married "...he's bleeding & in great pain & she can't just say yes for him?! She makes his sacrifice as if it were nothing.
After resisting the "love poison" , while still under the influence of it, he gets all snugly & they end up in a hot tub. Whatever the drama thinks that we think happens there is an impossibility as neither a tub of hot water, nor the abundance of clothes (which they still have on later) is conducive much less possible to achieve the imagined activity.
WHY is the villain pushing SO hard to be Emperor when he's been on death's door since the drama started ?
How did the lead's sister escape the second attempt to kill her ?
The female lead returns to a town that was decimated but is now booming with people cheering her on...wait wasn't she the pariah of the town & isn't this a small village in the middle of no where ?
The villain DIDN'T die from the fall that smashed his head ?
Does he get poisoned in prison or just die of his injuries ?
male lead's mother's reason for death is really stupid
proving my point:
Female lead really hated being left an orphan AND YET , she leaves two children behind as she trots off to battle with her husband.
they are part of a trio of people running the country:
HOW are they living in the country then?
If they fall in battle, who will run the country ?
WHY does the drama actually end on the villain, who in that moment is NOT a villain ?
Between this drama & Unveil Jadewind- (both recent & with similar plots) - thier overtly feminism infused characters/plots-have me swearing off watching any further newer Chinese dramas as they have ruined the historical Chinese drama for me. I don't need male leads to have an abundance of machismo nor for the female lead to be swooning, needy incompetents. But trading toxic masculinity for toxic femineity is no win. There is better out there, I've seen it & I'd rather re-watch those instead of investing alot of hours in content that fails to give satisfying entertainment & only offers good actors that are good looking. Call me picky but I need more than that-check out the historical dramas I rated 9 & 10 & see if you agree.
The Good:
There are ALOT of handsome men
All the actors do an exceptional job
There is a happy ending
The OST was subtly beautiful
The costumes were amazing
The leads are very attractive & have alot of chemistry (with some sizzling moments).
The Dumb:
SO many attacks by gangs of "ninjas"
2 people Voluntarily fall off a cliff & survive ( 2 separate times.)
SO many men are fixated & crushing on the female lead ! why?
2 endings
Reason male lead mother died
The Bad:
in the last 1/3 there is alot of war & politics
Filler material
Female lead's character
See the explanation
The Honest:
too many episodes
I don't need/enjoy historical dramas heavily infused with feminism
The Break Down
<& it's long because I really loved this and all the actors/characters, so it needs alot of explaining why I went from 9* to barely 7*>
The drama starts out with alot of warm fuzzy moments that build the lead's relationship. The leads have reversed roles strength & social standing wise-which is presented in a light hearted way & it's quite fun.
Around ep. 14 the drama has become much darker, with more fighting (the stabbing, slashing, war kind).
About Ep 16/17 it drops from 9/10* to 5/10* as there is a nonsensical prerequisite romantic spat which separates the leads. This is going to be a reoccurring trope as the female lead will go around arbitrarily making decisions for other people & has a tendency to hold a grudge for those who do it to her.
This is the crux of the problem with the drama:
as a historical fiction they haven't melded that aspect of it well with the feminism they are trying to infuse it with-especially when they go all hyper serious about it. At first it works because it's light hearted & we are teased into believing that this will be a story about a man & a woman who will have each other's back. That is not the case as the modern feminism just overwhelms the story, sacrificing the heart of the story.
***Short Spoiler Break***
When I say that the drama takes on & continues in a darker tone :
that starts Around Ep. 18 where everyone in the town where the female lead lives is massacred.
Let's take a break from the shock of that & mention :
The Kisses:
For the bulk of the drama the Female lead is unmoved by the males lead's first 2 kisses. Can she be anything other than a bone headed widget when He gives her 2 really meaningful kisses & she can't even lose herself in the moment !?
We have to wait until the end of the drama for the female lead to appreciate & enjoy the kisses (which will turn satisfyingly steamy.
***************************************************************
Back to the mostly Non spoiling parts:
The longer the drama went on the less I liked it ,as all the lovely moments the leads created in the first half evaporate because: as long as thier agendas align, she's appreciative of his support. As long as the male lead is physically weak, the female lead acts caring. When he's not weak, she is distant towards him .
She stubbornly refuses help (as if she disdains weakness), so what does that say about how she really feels about the him she knew that was weak ? It feels less like a romance . Is she on a power trip? Is she afraid she might have to give up something ?
She doesn't seem to want to be equals & her caring is here one moment gone the next.
She's a short tempered, willful ,hyper focused , bossy, grumpy feminist with tunnel vision on the one thing of the moment at the expense relationships or safety.
You see the same type of character in the village women & the grand princess. All these "I can look out for myself women" are ironically AND constantly getting themselves into trouble.
By Ep 27: we're dealing with a full blown & literal pride & prejudice situation. She is uncompromisingly, pridefully pigheaded (pun intended) , while at the same time claiming that it would demean him to be with her: so she will "set him free". I'm sure they meant to make her come across as making a noble sacrifice, but instead she seemingly cares more for convention than she does for him.
And still the male lead keeps proving himself over and over and over & it is not enough for her.
Getting through the last episodes was a chore as the already bloated drama lags with politics, which, while necessary to tie up all the lose ends, still feels like filler . Some episodes are saturated with over sentimental montages remembering dead characters.
(Someone please kill the montage trope !)
What is with 2 endings ?
the weird & incredibly inclusive happy endings all around leaves you feeling like you may have watched 2 different dramas
Final Spoilers/rants:
********************************************
He takes 104 lashes in order to marry her & YET when he asks her she can't just say yes, she says "we're already married "...he's bleeding & in great pain & she can't just say yes for him?! She makes his sacrifice as if it were nothing.
After resisting the "love poison" , while still under the influence of it, he gets all snugly & they end up in a hot tub. Whatever the drama thinks that we think happens there is an impossibility as neither a tub of hot water, nor the abundance of clothes (which they still have on later) is conducive much less possible to achieve the imagined activity.
WHY is the villain pushing SO hard to be Emperor when he's been on death's door since the drama started ?
How did the lead's sister escape the second attempt to kill her ?
The female lead returns to a town that was decimated but is now booming with people cheering her on...wait wasn't she the pariah of the town & isn't this a small village in the middle of no where ?
The villain DIDN'T die from the fall that smashed his head ?
Does he get poisoned in prison or just die of his injuries ?
male lead's mother's reason for death is really stupid
proving my point:
Female lead really hated being left an orphan AND YET , she leaves two children behind as she trots off to battle with her husband.
they are part of a trio of people running the country:
HOW are they living in the country then?
If they fall in battle, who will run the country ?
WHY does the drama actually end on the villain, who in that moment is NOT a villain ?
Between this drama & Unveil Jadewind- (both recent & with similar plots) - thier overtly feminism infused characters/plots-have me swearing off watching any further newer Chinese dramas as they have ruined the historical Chinese drama for me. I don't need male leads to have an abundance of machismo nor for the female lead to be swooning, needy incompetents. But trading toxic masculinity for toxic femineity is no win. There is better out there, I've seen it & I'd rather re-watch those instead of investing alot of hours in content that fails to give satisfying entertainment & only offers good actors that are good looking. Call me picky but I need more than that-check out the historical dramas I rated 9 & 10 & see if you agree.
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