Drama Addict
New Zealand
Keep you guessing
Emperor WenZong was locked in a deadly power struggle with the formidable Duke Qiu Zhi Liang, a highly skilled eunuch who had attained great power and dominated the court. The emperor and his ministers started the Dew conspiracy in an attempt to overthrow Qiu Zhi Liang.Sensing that the Dew conspiracy was unlikely to end well for the imperial family, QiYan the emperor’s younger brother took side with Qiu and assisted in defeating the conspiracy to earn his trust. The Prime Minister Wang and his family, and many who participated were massacred during the turmoil. His two granddaughters escaped severely wounded and were separated.
Years later, WenZong was poisoned and died under house arrest. QiYan, his younger brother ascended the throne with the support of Qiu. Planning another conspiracy, Emperor QiYan schemed to overthrow Qiu – an attempt which his brother had failed. Qiu Zhi Liang was now assisted by Qiu YanZhi, his beautiful foster daughter and a great strategist, was ever more powerful than before.
On the young emperor’s side was the Purple Velvet, a group of female fighters. This group unfortunately was on a decline. The emperor’s new sword holder who was both a bodyguard and potential new head of the Purple Velvet, was a pretty naive young girl by the name Cheng RouYu. Emperor QiYan was rather disappointed.
The relationship and trust between Qiu and QiYan had always been on thin ice. However, it became apparent there was a hidden third party in the game, planning to drive a wedge between them further. Who was this third party and what was their motive? Was romance going to kindle between the young emperor and the beautiful scheming YanZhi or the pretty naive Cheng RouYu? Was QiYan going to succeed with all the odds against him? Was QiYan gong to pay with his life for success?
What I like about this drama?
1. The Cast
The cast was excellent, acted well and very good looking. I could name a long list of outstanding actors/actresses in this drama. But I am going to just pick three.
ChengYi (QiYan) was absolutely outstanding. I was not a fan of his, but I have become one with this drama. In the past, I thought he was rather monotonous and expressionless - very much a single character actor. When he was ‘dying’ in this drama, he told his love one to leave the palace, marry someone else and lead a new live after he was gone but he was going to be so jealous. That scene was heart rending and he carried it through marvellously. His on-screen chemistry with his female lead was great.
Xuan Lu (YanZhi) was stunning and very beautiful in female attire and was excellent as the second lead. (She was the lead actress in Luoyang.) We are seeing the rise of a generation of actresses in their 20s ready to over take the generation of those already into their 30s. When she started playing the harp in glee over her success or impending success, it was quite a sight.
He ChengMing (Qiu Zhi Liang) was the absolute perfect villain. The way he flickered his eyes and flipped his sleeves when he was angry was so iconic. From the YouTube comments, many among the audience were imitating his gestures.
2. The convoluted story
The story was very convoluted – the path to uncovering the third person was quite lengthy. It kept the audience guessing who the third person was and why they were doing what they were doing.
And whether Prince Guang, the emperor’s uncle was a villain and whether his kindness was a hypocritical act was undetermined right to the end – leaving it to everyone’s guess along the way. Guang was portrayed to be undecided and eventually only decided at the last moment. Only then it was clear whether he became a second villain or a hero.
It took 48 episodes of various attempts to contain Qiu, so the audience were kept on edge whether each attempt would succeed and who might be sacrificed along the way. Vicious and brutal retaliation were expected from Qiu if he should discover who were against him.
Aside from fear of Qiu’s retaliation, there were internal discord between the various parties against Qiu. They were not cooperating and not communicating, but instead second guessing each other. YanZhi and RuoYu were pitted against each other while RuoYu was wondering who YanZhi really was.
3. Emotional roller coaster and hygiene factors
Chinese dramas are excellent in tear-jerking and this drama is no exception. There were many opportunities for reaching out for the tissues. But there were moments of humour as well. It brought the audience on an emotional roller-coaster.
The hygiene factors for a successful drama were there: backdrop was beautiful and appropriate, music was good, costume was elegant – all the technical aspects were excellent.
What I dislike about the drama?
1. The villain kept winning and you have 48 episodes of that. The story seemed draggy at parts because of some recurring setbacks. And it went on and on based on the same themes I am elaborating below.
2. The suspense was built on keeping a secret: A lot of the suspense was built on a secret kept from Cheng RouYu. If she had known who was the real enemy and the real friend earlier, the outcome could end a lot better but the drama would be shorter as well. But the unwillingness of YanZhi to tell RuoYu the truth caused a lot of misunderstanding. When they could have cooperated, the strong-headed RouYu chose to fight instead. I really wanted go onscreen to slap some sense into the two stupid girls. Can't you see that honesty here is best. And this fight kept recurring again and again.
3. RuoYu becoming a baggage: To protect her from harm, RuoYu was told to leave several times for her own good. But she kept turning up at the wrong moment and became a baggage QiYan or YanZhi had to deal with. She was smart and yet stupid. I was wondering when QiYan was to come to his senses that she would not leave, started using her effectively and involved her in his plot.
4. Adult acting like kids – appealing? I could also highlight the female lead, Zhang YuXi (Cheng RuoYu) as outstanding. But I do not quite like immature silly girl character, so I discounted her. One of the problems I think is because most actors/actresses acting these characters in Chinese dramas are already mature adults portraying teenage/late teenage characters and somehow, that innocence does not come across realistic – it looks more like adults acting as immature kids, which is not appealing. Perhaps this is part of the appeal for some – exactly as it was – adults acting like kids.
5. QiYan getting stabbed: He either stabbed himself or got stabbed. How many times could a man take that? Somewhat masochistic.
6. Realism: Although very entertaining, the story is a bit short on realism. It was really a complicated way to get rid of a tyrant and certainly sacrificed a lot of innocent people.
However, overall I would give this drama a thumbs-up and recommend it strongly.
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Burden of the Past
There is no doubt that Korea still holds a major position in dramas in Asia in spite of the rise of China in this industry. This story is very interesting and well-developed - with the story spanning across centuries. The twists in the story were unexpected and very craftily woven. The two lead actors are good looking. Good looking actors and actresses often help.In comparison to Chinese dramas, the male characters in Korean dramas tend to be more chauvinistic in behaviour. This may because Chinese dramas have been under scrutiny not to portrait certain values or indeed Chinese society especially in the larger cities have become a lot more receptive to women's status in the society.
The English title of this drama, however, was very poorly translated. A goblin is an ugly dwarf-like creature. But the lead character is handsome and tall - a complete mismatch. Wonder whether the translator knew this. A better title could be Immortal, Demi-god, Burden of the Past or the like of these.
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The earth star mutants seem to be of an ancient Chinese culture coincidentally, given the hundreds of different cultures in the world. A little limited in originality - appears to be more of an extension of xianxia (fairytale/fantasy) story into a science fiction.
In a number of parts, audio was being altered and stitched in and a poor job was done as I could hear the change in volume and voice.
The actors and actresses acted well. The story is interesting although it lacks originality and creativity. The bromance is a little stretched - it seems to be the fad of the time to have suggestions of homosexuality in dramas in the like of the Untamed.
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The story was slow moving. It took 7 episodes for Da Ji to enter the palace. The story was based on a legend that had been featured on an earlier drama by Fan Bing Bing, Ma Jing Tao and Zheng Bin Hui. So the story became somewhat predictable and lacklustre. Fan Bing Bing's depiction of Da Ji was difficult to match - the extreme of her bitchiness as the fox controlled seductress and the kind-hearted original Da Ji was very pronounced.
The plot for the failed rescue of Da Ji was poorly developed. Why the need to bring Yang Jian into the palace to fetch Da Ji - just send her out quietly in the guise of someone else.
Additionally the voice dubbing of Da Ji was strange - it sounded like a reading from a script. I am about two-thirds of my way through. For this far, I had been watching Yang Jian and his disciple sister messed up with their impetuousness and immaturity. I am going to pause and watch something else. If I do get back to complete the drama, I may update my review.
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What's the rave about?
I am into the third episode and about to give up. It is produced in a very old Chinese style - with dim indoor lighting and rugged clothings. Realistic - yes, appealing - no. The audio recording was muffled and difficult to make out so I have to rely on the subtitles. All I see up to now was a lot of people running around, horse galloping, shouting and drum roll in an attempt to create an ambience of urgency and excitement. But the story is not developing fast enough and it is not keeping me interested.One of the earlier reviewers advised to watch until the tenth episode into the story but I do not think I have the patience. Also a reviewer did not declare there is a spoiler in her reviews which spoil it further for me. I do not understand why it was so highly rated on mydramalist.com. It is not my cup of tea.
Unlike 'The Untamed' which I did not like it much initially, but I got to like it very quickly by the second episode.
I am going to push on for a little while. If I change my opinion about it, I would come back to correct this review.
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