Drama Addict
New Zealand
It is the on-screen chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba that shines through
There are a lot of negative reviews about this drama on mydramalist.com, which is a surprise to me. I think this period drama is underrated here. I thoroughly enjoy the drama and think that it is very well produced, although I must say there are some sub-plots that could have been better. Part of the reason I am able to accept the drama better is I have not read the original novel and do not have the loyalty baggage to the original story.What I like about this drama:
1. The initial few episodes are hilarious as Ren Anle (Dilraba) flirts shamelessly with the Crown Prince in a bid to get his attention and to get close to him. Her boldness is really humorous.
2. The story keeps you in suspense: will the fake Ziyuan succeed in marrying the Crown Prince? Will the Ziyuan camp succeed in getting justice for the Di family? Is the enemy Qin infiltrator going to undermine the defence of the Jing? Of course, I already know some parts of the story from the trailers released. But it is more of how the story would develop and whether the good guys would be hurt before they win.
3. I am one who have been quite hardened by the emotional tricks used in dramas, as I watched too many of them and mostly the good ones. But when MingXi (Liu YuNing), the second male lead, is executed because of diverting the army to save ZiYuan (Dilraba) and violating the military order, it really rend my heart. The chemistry between Liu YuNing and Dilraba really shines through. Dilraba does marvellously well as she weeps over MingXi's death. This scene manages to stir up my rather stagnated emotions.
4. In dramas I had watched earlier of Liu are he was always acting the bad guy. But this time, he is an upright capable but sickly man holding onto what he is entrusted with. I hope this drama is going to elevate his acting career further. He wins my sympathy and this is one drama where I would have been quite happy for the lead female character to marry the second male lead instead, because he deserves it for all he has done for her.
5. The ending theme song is rhythmic and melodious and the lyrics are beautiful and Liu has a beautiful voice. It is also very apt that Liu sings the ending theme song - the lyrics seem to be singing about MingXi's dedication to ZiYuan rather than the Crown Prince's dedication to her.
6. LinLang's dancing, particularly of the initial few episodes is very well choreographed, instead of some lame duck dances I see in many dramas.
7. Seeing the emperor as a loving father (although not a terrific emperor) - is a refreshing break from the usual story of a emperor father suspicious of his crown prince son.
8. Of course, the other hygiene factors are also present: the CGI, and the costumes, and a good looking cast who acts their part well.
What I think are a bit lacklustre in this drama:
1. Gong Jun acts the Crown Prince whose character is a bit uptight, so it hinders the on-screen chemistry between him and Dilraba, the female lead. He is always playing the dodge with her. When situation like this happens, it always compromise the on-screen chemistry. But they both act their part very well.
2. I nearly stop watching the drama after the episode when ZiYuan presents the case of the Di family's innocence as it seems the climax is over. Then the start of the war when the enemy is attacking after thoroughly infiltrated the Jing's defence begins a new chapter.
3. However, from the point when Han Ye, the Crown Prince, takes over the defence pushing ZiYuan away, the story become quite stupid. As a rather meticulous and clever man, he chooses to fatalistically stand alone against the on-slaughter of the massive Qin army. He could have plan better: save the people he cares for and wins the war. And cliches after cliches happens: falling off the cliff and goes missing, becoming blind and then regain the sight. What really trips me is the hair turning white: a fashion returning this year. I call these cheap thrills - conveniently added to dramatise the story but with very little new creativity.
4. There are more insults to the intelligence of the audience: pretending to be marrying someone else to draw out the true lover - surely this is the best way to push away someone who is already keeping away; hiding away ignoring that they might be hurting the people including the father, who care about them.
5. And then there is this: keep the truth from the person they most care for, when they have done so much for them. When there is credit, claim it for goodness sake. When the credit is not yours, don't.
6. The ending trailer gives too much of the story away. So when it happens in the drama, it dampens the effects.
7. At MingXi's death amidst fireworks in the background, there could be more to stir up the emotions - opportunity missed.
But overall, it is a lovely romance and suspense story. So watch it and enjoy. I am debating whether it should be a 9 or 9.5. Well, 9.5 wins.
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Highly humorous and secrets keep unraveling...
This drama was highly humorous. I watched it a second time and added this first paragraph. After five years, I could not remember many of the sub-plots while watching season 2. Season 2 made a lot of references to events in season 1. Then I realised how good this drama was. Exchanges were witty and the characters were scheming enough. I kept wonder what Fan Xian was going to do next when sabotaged.If you are reading this review to figure out whether you should watch this period drama, I say I highly recommend it. It had all the hygiene factors of an excellent drama - interesting story, excellent acting, handsome lead actors, pretty actresses, lovely costumes, beautiful cinematography and melodious theme songs - elements that many contemporary Chinese dramas exhibit. The story around the lead character was mysterious. Things were always not what it seemed to be. Just as the story unveiled a perpetrator behind the assassination of Fan Xian, another revelation was uncovered. This is only season 1, and the story ended at less than the mid-point of the story.
However, if you are watching this because of Xiao Zhan, then you might be disappointed. He only appeared towards the last few episodes and he was a far cry from his outstanding performance in the Untamed. The role in this story did not suit him at all. The character was like a block of wood and did not give him the chance to perform his best. It is likely he would appear in future seasons and I hope he does better.
Chinese dramas can be very creative but in general tend to demonstrate a lot of weaknesses in the stories as well. In this drama, the link of the story to the writer and professor was quite redundant. Even if this link was removed, the drama could have proceeded well, so creating this link was really not necessary.
The actress playing the part of Fan Xiao's mother was a rather poor fit. When the episode showed her coming out of the mysterious temple, I was expecting the dramatic appearance of someone exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, but was rather disappointed to find a seemingly silly teenage girl with crooked teeth. She might have done well in a role of a bubbly teenage girl but did not fit the important role of Fan Xian's mum who was to have an immense impact on the politics and a highly successful business woman. Since it was a very short appearance, it seemed like she was just conveniently roped in - perhaps the more established actresses do not want the role.
I think details in the stories are something that Chinese dramas need to work on to perfect their dramas. Even successful epics often demonstrate illogical bits, highly stretched parts that do not gel together well or scenes conveniently thrown together to make the story progress as desired. Someone needs to fine-combed through the scripts to sieve out these bits without dampening the story, or better still, enhance it.
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If we have a chance to relive our lives, can we change our lives? Or is it all fated?
Wow... completely mesmerised.Jiang Xue Ning was an unscrupulous woman who schemed and plotted her way to the position of empress. But her reign was short-lived as Xie Wei, someone she had once saved, rebelled and seized the capital together with Yan Lin, her childhood sweetheart. As Xie Wei stormed her palace, she pleaded with him to spare the life of Zhang Zhe, a righteous man who had loved, pitied and helped her, but was sentenced to death as a result. She regretted her evil ways and offered her life for his.
She fell to her death, but to her surprise , she woke up as her 18 year old self. Armed with the knowledge of the 'future', she set to right the wrongs she had done. But along the way, things started to happen again as what she had experienced in her 'previous' life. She wondered whether it was all fated. Were things going to turn out differently for her? Would all the tragedies happen all over again?
What I like about this drama?
1. The story was very interesting. Although there had been a lot of back to the past type of dramas and movies, what made this interesting was someone had the opportunity to redress her wrongs. So you would be wondering how things is going to turn out for her this time. The previous and the current lives were very well intertwined.
2. The chemistry between Bai Lu and Zhang Ling He, the two main leads, was amazing. More accurately, the chemistry between Bai Lu and all the three male leads were amazing. What made it more interesting was that it was difficult to tell in the earlier two thirds of the story who she would choose among her 3 suitors, or would she somehow end up with Prince Linzi again, this time against her will? Even though she said to Yan Lin she only treated him as a good friend, but would his sincerity changed that? Would the stern and scary Xie Wei win her heart? And when she and Prince Lanzi ran into each other again, would Prince Lanzi mistook her for his love and rekindled feelings for her? Would she and Zhang Zhe whom she felt so indebted be together in this life?
3. Zhang Ling He was an amazing actor. He portrayed such a diverse set of emotions so well - the evil traitor, the psychotic, the stern dignified teacher, the jealous lover and the emotional nephew when he saw his uncle. He is one of the few actors who looks handsome when stern. And of course Bai Lu was very good too: the nasty resentful teenage girl, an empress full of regrets and the determined girl fighting for the people she cared for.
4. The overall cast did very well with very little shortcomings among them.
5. The costumes were beautiful and the backdrop was good.
6. The drama started with the scriptwriter not wanting to end the story as a tragedy was interesting: a departure from a scriptwriter drawn into the story as one of the characters. Also, this hit a note with me as I dislike tragedies which left me unhappy.
7. Although an intense drama, there were light-hearted and seriously humorous moments, for example when the carriage driver flipped the carriage curtains only to revealed Xie Wei kissing XueNing, to her stunned father, in old conservative China. And the way the fake Dingfei made fun of his 'father' was rather amusing. When his annoyed 'father' told him he was a disgrace to the family, he gleefully offered to change his surname to Yan (the rival family), and I burst into laughter.
8. There were touching memorable moments, for example the series of events leading to Yan Lin going into exile - Xie Wei recited a poem at Yan Lin's coming-of-age ceremony - the poems were all hinting at what was to come - and his playing the qin at the city gate when he was exiled.
8. This was one of the few occasions when I actually liked the ending. There were the last moment twists.
What I dislike about this drama?
1. There were some comments on Mydramalist about flashing bright light in the background but I was so engrossed in the story that I did not notice.
2. Music was generally good and two of the theme songs were melodious, but not outstanding. I must say music standards seemed to have deteriorated in dramas released since the pandemic. I did not come across many outstanding pieces that left a lasting impression except for those in Till the End of the Moon.
3. A couple of scenes were rather contrived, for example the two scenes that Xie Wei ended up in bed with XueNing.
What I liked about this drama largely outweighed what I do not like. You can therefore understand why I gave this drama a rating of 10.
This time I made an effort to check on the director and screenwriter as well. The director is Chu Yui Bun whose accolades include Starry Love, The Blue Whisper, The Long Ballad, Skate into Love, Eternal Love of Dream, Ashes of Love. Success of a drama production depends a lot on the teamwork: excellent cast, director and script are the obvious, then there is the editing, makeup artist and more.
To add an advice: don't watch any trailer on how the drama would end. Let it hold you in suspense until the end. Then the twist and turns would be less predictable and more striking.
Finally, it would be great if there could be a prequel to this drama. I was wondering how XueNing became the empress given a domineering Dowager who had someone else in mind for the position, and a scheming rival who more than matched her wit. But the main cast for the prequel must match this drama. Of course, this would be a tall order as I had not seen many sequel successfully completed or had seen sequels which were disappointing flops.
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Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow
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Nothing much to rave about but certainly an interesting wrap-up
This is a sequel to the Alchemy of Souls with an open-ended and frustrating ending. At the end of the first series, Jang Uk was killed but was resurrected by the Ice Stone. Three years later in this sequel, he becomes a soul shifter killer, hunting down the remains of those who had escaped in the first series. While hunting a soul shifter, he runs into a beautiful woman who is held captive by her mother and begs him to help her escaped.This sequel pales in comparison to the first. There are not much to look forward to. The identities are all revealed even that of this new Jin Bu-yeon is revealed to the audience. I thought the writer should hold on a few more episodes before doing that. I guess it is all to quickly allay the frustrations of those who watched the first series watching MuDeok died.
It becomes a bit of a drag - the identity of the new Jin Bu-yeon is known to the audience but not the characters involved. Jang Uk is in the dark and so are a lot of people in the drama. So the story revolves around them finding out one by one, and also how the 'righteous' people turn to the dark side.
I watched it as I wanted to know how it would all ends. So if you have already watched the first series, you would want to watch this one too.
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This review may contain spoilers
Gosh... nearly every key individual dies
Initially I thought this is an abridged version of the Royal Nirvana and did not pay attention. Then someone mentioned this was an epilogue that would explain who was Xu Chang Nian. So I started watching it to my regrets.The prequel, Royal Nirvana ended on a positive note - the Crown Prince was entrusted to go to the border to calm the situation as his uncle was assassinated. Lu WenXi was happily pregnant awaiting her baby and presumably the return of her prince.
Gosh, in this sequel nearly all the key people died. If you enjoy an emotional torment, go ahead and watch this. For all my ranting about the pessimistic story below, it was a good production. You can stop here if you do not want to know the rest of the spoiler as I am going to spell them all out.
Encouraged by the head of maids Jiang, the empress feeling sorry on how she had neglected her youngest son, the fifth prince, killed herself in an attempt to help and keep her youngest son stay on in the capital. The fifth prince turned evil, plotted against the Crown Prince, was set up by WenXi and was caned to death with the emperor not attempting to save him. Zhang Shao Yun was shown in a positive note as an anticipating uncle as his sister was expecting but was killed by Feng-en's soldiers when delivering medicine for the Crown Prince. Li Ming-An was killed by Feng-En. Gu Feng-en, embittered by the assassination of his father wanted the Crown Prince to overturn the emperor and claim the throne. When the Crown Prince instead plotted against him and decrowned himself to declared him a traitor, he committed suicide.
The Crown Prince returned to the capital disgraced, depressed and committed suicide. His son was born an orphan - the mother WenXi committed suicide after giving birth to join her husband in the next world. Xu Chang Nian as it turned out was the son of the Xiao DingQuan's uncle, the former crown prince who was forced to kill himself. The emperor put all hope on his grandson and appointed Xu as his tutor - I am surprised with his suspicious nature that he would appoint him as tutor knowing Xu was actually his nephew and had possibly a claim to the throne.
Actually, I blamed WenXi for all the trouble (or more correctly the writer for crafting it that way). If she had not misinformed the fifth prince to set him up, all the sequence of events would not be sparked off. She could have shaken off the control of the fifth prince by simply telling the Crown Price that the fifth prince had captured her brother to control her. In the earlier sequel, her father and brother was imprisoned because she failed to pass a message as she went searching for the lost seal and were eventually killed. Her interfering did not end well in both instance.
In the previous sequel, while it was a sob story but at least it ended in a positive note. In this sequel, the good turned evil; the evil who started to show their human side died. The Crown Prince after all his effort to safeguard his position killed himself. I would rather have kept the positive image of Feng-En and the fifth Prince as righteous people. Also Shao Yun and Li Ming-An did not deserve to die as they were good people. This sequel practically killed all belief in the humanity and the fight for righteousness.
Also, while explaining who Xu was, it created more mystery - why the fifth Prince said that if Xu was indeed the son of the previous Crown Prince, then he (the fifth Prince) was as good as dead was incomprehensible.
This sequel was certainly one of the most tragic story I had watched so far, beating Nirvana in Fire in being tragic. Nirvana should not be used in this drama - this is supposed to be the ultimate state of bliss and final goal of Buddhist - in this drama, it is the ultimate suffering.
I applauded the cast for their excellent acting but condemn the production team for being masochistic and taking pleasure in pain. If I were the writer, I would have crafted this sequel to focus on the story behind the death of Xu's father as that would have been sufficiently tragic and more interesting.
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An Epic Production in the same league as Nirvana in Fire
This drama is under rated on mydramalist. I say it is in the same league as Nirvana in Fire and a similar genre.It is a rarity to see Zhang Zi Yi in a drama. For those of you who have watched Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon which is an international success, she acted the rebellious girl who ran away from a marriage.
This drama is very well produced. The story is convoluted and captivating, and the cinematography is fantastic, with costumes and a good looking cast to match. The acting is excellent and the chemistry (or animosity) of the various couples are impressive. There are many sub-plots, each with suspense and mysteries that keep you glued to your seat to find out what is going to happen next. The ending theme song is melodious. The backdrop is beautiful and the battle scenes are very well choreographed.
It talks about Princess ShangYang who is the daughter of the Prime Minister Wang Lin. She is in love with the Third Prince and aspires to marry him. They are forced apart by the Prime Minister who wants to strengthen his power and she is betrothed to a outstanding general from a commoner background, Xiao Qi. She is forsaken on the wedding day as Xiao Qi leaves her behind in the capital. Xiao Qi is in a bid to avoid being roped into the political side of the Prime Minister although he has become rather fond of her after a couple of encounters. Being captured by Helan Zhen who is exacting a revenge on Xiao Qi is the start of their adventure and the Princess shifts her affection to him when he risks his life to rescue her.
I feel a bit sorry for the main villain in the story. He is overly ambitious, very cunning and ruthless. Yet he has this soft side to him as a father. He is a capable person but unfortunately has set his eyes on the wrong goal.
I think this drama is almost perfect. There only two things I do not like about this drama. The first is the length - it is too long. With 68 episodes, you can expect some draggy moments. But overall, it is well paced. The second is the ending. I think the ending is a very weak - the choice of the eventual emperor to ascend the throne is too cliche, perhaps influenced by the last dynasty. I do not think there are many of such emperors in history. With no strong empress dowager behind them, they would all be overthrown by their imperial relatives.
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Excellent for most part except the end
This drama was excellent for the first 42 episodes. In my mind then, I was going to rate it a full 10. On the positive aspects, the lead actress was stunningly pretty and the lead actor very handsome, and they had amazing on-screen chemistry which made their flirting scenes very romantic and sometimes amusing. The story was interesting, romantic and full of suspense, characters were complex and the cinematography was great. If there had been a tightening of the plot, this drama could have rivaled some of the other top drama productions.But after the 42nd episode, it started going downhill, the plot weakened and it ended with a ridiculous ending. It was melodramatic. Xiao Feng spent a lot of time with Gu Jian but the two did not have much on-screen chemistry. There was a lot of screaming and shouting at each other. The three lead characters were going absolutely crazy, each insisting on getting ahead with their own ways and refusing any compromise. The ending was meant to be dramatic but it ended up as an anti-climax. After all that ChengYin did for her, I was expecting Xiao Feng would eventually be won over. It reminded me of the ending in 'The Rise of Phoenixes' - a let-down.
The christian teaching of forgive and forget could give the characters a life. The princess was so driven by hatred, she did not know how to love properly. The crown prince was so possessive and vindictive. Had he cut some slack, the princess might have been won over.
If you absorbed by the tearjerking you may overlook some of the flaws in the plot.
Chinese dramas always mixes in some ridiculous wuxia medical methods which always mysteriously cure someone of severe injuries. And this drama is no exception. I can accept this in a fantasy (xianxia) story. For a supposedly historical romance epic, it spoils the realism of it. And the 'forget thy love' ravine was a further strain on this.
Additionally, there was some major illogical views - the crown prince pretended to be nasty to the crown princess in order to keep her from harm. I do not understand this logic as no one was planning to harm her. In fact, it made the empress more angry with his concubine and made enemies out of the princess and the concubine.
There were a lot of stupidity in the story. The crown prince was plotting for the empress to fall into his trap of trying to assassinate him. Yet there were no hidden bodyguards near enough to protect him and he ended up severely injured.
A weak script spoiled it for the production team. However, it is still worth watching if you are not too critical.
I thought I was going to re-watch it but after the ridiculous ending, I decided not to because it had spoiled my mood and impression of the drama.
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Justice comes at a price
Overall, I rate this drama highly. This detective story was interesting - it was difficult in most part of the drama to pinpoint the real villains and there were some surprises.Zhang Ping, an impoverished orphan who did not know who his parents were, went to the capital city for the imperial examination and ran into Lan Jue. Zhang Ping was an impetuous fanatic who wanted to become a detective with the Imperial Criminal Investigation Bureau. Lan Jue was a well-groomed mandarin who was secretly investigating the case of his father's treason. He believed that his father was righteous and wanted to prove his innocence.
Zhang Ping and Lan Jue started off at loggerheads over the case of a stolen bead on the belt of a foreign merchant. Zhang Ping was convinced that Lan Jue had something to hide and was the one behind this thief. As the drama progressed, they were drawn into the investigation of various murder cases. These eventually led to uncovering a massacre which dated back 20 years and the uncovering of two hidden identities.
What I like about this drama?
- The most important success factor in this drama was: the story was interesting and full of mysteries. Who was the mastermind behind the massacre 20 years ago? And who was the culprit behind the series of murders, and why was he doing these?
- The main leads especially Jing Bo Ran, Song Wei Long and Hong Yao performed their parts very well and so did the rest of the cast.
- The camaraderie and bromance among them were very well played out, with no suggestion of homosexuality - that's how I prefer it. I am not homophobic but do not appreciate display of same sex affection - it does not arouse any empathy with me.
- The story was very tightly woven, so you won't be left wondering how things fit in. And there were no questions unanswered.
- Most importantly, justice was served. I am happy that the mastermind behind the massacre was uncovered and punished. However, I did feel a little sorry for the murderer who was actually a victim of this hideous massacre - for him, the price of justice was high.
What I dislike about this drama?
- Some details were a little laughable. For example, when attacked by a poison mist, the advice was to cover their face with a wet cloth. Had anyone tried this? You don't get killed by the mist but you would get killed by suffocation.
- The English translation of the title is deplorable. A league is a group of people, countries or groups. So Nobleman is a grammatic mistake. The plural version Noblemen should be use. But Zhang Ping was not a nobleman, so this is wrong as well. Then, it could be A League of Noble Men, with the meaning of Noble being honourable. But Gu was not an honourable person. Perhaps a more literal translation, A League of Gentlemen is more appropriate, accepting that Gu was a gentleman despite being a little evil.
I give it a thumbs-up. If you like detective stories or mysteries in a period setting, you would likely enjoy this.
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A woman with four suitors
It is a really good production: an excellent cast who acted well, good looking actors and actresses, CGI is good, cinematography is great and costumes are lovely. So all the hygiene factors are there.What I like about this drama?
1. Yang Zi had excellent chemistry with her 4 suitors. And she acted according to her relation to them: fear of the demon lord yet fond of him, anger with the betrayal of her real lover and dignified jealousy of his fiancee, gentleness and devotion to her lost cousin when she discovered him, and polite respect for her last suitor on the scene, who demonstrated his fondness of her. I think she was at one of her best. And she looked stunning dressed as the princess.
2. The story was well paced and interesting enough to keep me pursuing the drama to the end. Out of the 39 episodes, I can only recall one episode which was a little draggy. And this was probably because I had mistakenly skipped this episode and went back to catch up with it and I knew what was going to happen next.
What I dislike about this drama?
1. I felt that while Xiao Yao's selected fiance was a good choice, his relationship with her was the most shallow. So I felt it is a bit of a shame.
2. And since the drama ended prematurely, the conspiracy behind the Tushan family was unexplained and the lover's betrayal was not clarified - poor guy who was so much in love with Xiao Yao and had done so much for her.
But overall, I would give this drama a thumb up and highly recommend it.
It looks like there is a part 2 to this drama. Frankly when I watched some of the trailers of the follow-on, it looked trashy, with the main character Xiao Yao (Yang Zi) nearly marrying every of her suitors, and two of them died. I do not like tragedies. I like to have a good feeling after watching a drama, not sick in the stomach.
However, if I should ever write the ending of this drama, I would give it a twist and end it like this:
Cang Xuan ascended the throne on the support of the clans in the central plain. He fulfilled his promise to Xiang Liu and gave one of the mountains as a burial ground for the dead ChenRong warriors. Hong Liang, the ChenRong last defending general was impressed. He proposed a peace truce on the condition of a marriage alliance with the heir apparent (would be Crown Prince if the kingdom had not fallen) of the ChenRong royal family and Xiao Yao who was both a princess of HaoLing and a close cousin of the new emperor, therefore representing both kingdoms. The heir-apparent's identity and whereabout had been kept secret all these years to protect him from assassination. And he requested for all treasures of the ChenRong's royal family and the rebuilt ChenRong palace to be returned as a dowry for the princess and all the remnant ChenRong warriors to be pardoned.
CangXuan did not like the idea that an heir apparent existed and could potentially gain support for the re-built of the ChenRong kingdom. While Xiao Yao tried to get in touch with Xiang Liu to find out what was going, but he passed a message to her that the heir apparent was good looking, capable and in love with her, and encouraged her to agree to the marriage.
Before any decision, Cang Xuan revealed his love for Xiao Yao and promised that if XiaoYao should marry him, she would be the new empress as his current wife was only a concubine. Possibly, the old emperor was leaving the empress position for Xiao Yao when he decreed that Shen was to be the concubine and not the queen. Xiao Yao replied that she loved him as a brother and did not have any romantic feeling for him but want to support him with all her ability to bring prosperity to his kingdom.
Saddened by the news that her real lover had just fathered a child, Xiang Liu's indifference and her shallow relationship with her fiance, she agreed to the marriage alliance to bring peace to Cang Xuan's kingdom. Her father, King of HaoLing, supported her decision to breakup her current engagement and marry the ChenRong heir apparent. Her fiance was heart broken. Cang Xuan however promised only the palace as dowry as the treasures of the ChenRong kingdom had long been awarded to the different mandarins who helped in the overthrow of ChenRong and to pardon all the remnant warriors if they lay down their arms. But the King of Haoling backed his daughter up with a generous dowry.
On the wedding day, the ChenRong heir apparent fetched XiaoYao from the ChenRong's mansion in a red cloak with a hood covering his face and a crystal mask. At the ceremony altar at the palace, Xiao Yao could see through her veil that he looked familiar. Xiyan anti-ChenRong faction with the silent approval of Cang Xuan and her ex-fiance, attempted to assassinate the heir apparent. In the fight, the red hood and mask was lifted from his head and it was revealed that the heir apparent is Xiang Liu! Xiao Yao was surprised and stunned for a moment but stepped in to defend Xiang Liu. The assassination failed as Cang Xuan ordered his guards in to protect her. Xiao Yao suspected that it was Cang Xuan's conspiracy to murder her husband and left with Xiang Liu to QingShui where they lived in seclusion. Her real lover, after realising his marriage is a sham, arrived only to see her leave with Xiang Liu. So Xiao Yao was lost to Cang Xuan, her ex-fiance and real lover forever.
Like my review or ending, give it a thumbs up. Let me know which you like in the comments. lol
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This drama has a very young cast - the key leads are mostly less than 30 years old. It seems the China drama industry is replacing an entire generation of older established well-known artistes who are now in their late 30s or older, with a younger generation of new heartthrobs.
The male lead Chen Xing Xu does a great job acting 4 different characters. I must say the make-up specialist/s did a great job too. If you observe carefully, the four characters look slightly different with YouQin looking a bit more chubby, Mei looks much thinner, La Mu very scruffy and Wen Ren very refined, in their features.
With a theme of a mixed up in the wedding carriage, you would expect a lot of humour, and it does provide a lot of comic relief. And the drama is packed with actions.
Of the Chinese dramas I have watch post pandemic (but did not check whether they are produced pre or post), numerous are very good productions. This drama, Till the End of the Moon (still my favourite post pandemic production), The Blood of Youth and so on are all very good.
Improvements I must say the Chinese drama production needs are
1. New themes and creativity. The Chinese drama industry is seriously in need of this. After watching the huge number of Chinese dramas as I had, the dramas started to look the same although the storyline might be different. Boredom is somewhat setting in. This is of course going to be a big challenge. Producers like to emulate the themes of successful earlier productions and what have been tested, succeed and allowed in the greatly politically controlled environment. This is precisely why The Untamed did so well - of course the leads did fabulously well but most importantly the storyline was quite unlike the rest.
2. For this drama, it is overall very good but lack memorable moments like Nirvana in Fire and Ten Mile of Peach Blossom, or intense emotional expressions like those of Luo YunXi in Till the End of the Moon and Ashes of Love.
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A lovely romance story
This fantasy drama appeared on my YouTube recommendation, likely because I watched a lot of Chinese dramas. Initially I was not quite sure I wanted to start on this. In this era where names like Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Luo Yunxi, Dilraba, Zhao Lusi, Bai Lu etc dominate the drama scenes, it was difficult to envisage that the lesser known actors and actresses like Sun Yi, Jin Han and Tan Jian Ci would lead any top tier dramas. But I was pleasantly surprised. Once I started on episode 1, I was captivated. However, don't watch the version on YouTube - it mute whenever the music is playing and you will miss a lot - search for a website with the music and opening theme song intact.The story started with WenXin as the sole survivor of a brutal rebellion started by General Lu YuanTong, that lasted 7 years. When she was finally killed, she met a mysterious spirit Er Yu who sent her back to 8 years ago as she wanted to stop the rebellion and prevent the deaths and destructions she had seen. Back to the past, the first person she met was Feng Xi, a charming mandarin who was smitten by her and gave her the name DongYue as she could not recall who she was. When she regained her memory, she warned him that his subordinate and himself would be killed by the General.
Unwilling to be associated with a corrupt mandarin, she left Feng Xi to strike out on her own and walked into the third prince Pang Yu. As she retained the memories of her previous life, she told him that a snow storm was coming which would stop the drought in the capital. He did not believe her initially as it was middle of summer until she was proven right. DongYue built for herself a reputation of a half-deity as she was not only able to tell the 'future'; she could heal herself when injured by dipping in water. The story got complicated as FengXi and Prince Pang Yu were linked by a secret of the past, FengXi was not what he appeared to be, and both of them fell in love with her. Times and again, it looked like DongYue was unable to stop some events from happening. So would she succeed in preventing the rebellion that lasted 7 years and prevent FengXi from being killed?
What I like about this drama?
- the romantic setting: it was a combination of the on-screen chemistry between the male and female leads, the endearing looks between them, the backdrop, the verbal exchanges, the cinematography and the music that conjured up this romantic feeling.
- there were very few music pieces in the drama, but they were all very good, especially the opening theme song and the flute - I love them.
- the on-screen between the female lead and the two male leads were fantastic. It was difficult to tell initially who she would choose.
- the male leads are handsome. Jin Han (Feng Xi) is a bit unusual in his look with his slitty eyes and a high nose bridge - not the typical look of a Chinese actor. And Tan Jian Ci (third prince) has this innocent but sad look about him which fitted the character very well. And of course, the actresses are very pretty.
What I do not like about this drama? There are very little I do not like the drama except for the following:
- Like a lot of Chinese drama, the ending was always a bit disappointing - it was open-ended leaving the audience to guess whether the woman waiting for the hero in his garden was the heroine. And if it was, why did she return and how?
- If DongYue continued to exist and WenXin was still a young girl, so there were actually two WenXin co-existing? In a way, it was clever, now both male lead characters would end up with the woman they loved, as the young girl had chosen the other 'side'.
- I do not like that the capable ended up not working for the emperor - wasted talent.
I think this drama is underrated on mydramalist.com. But reading some of the reviews, I guess you may end up either loving or hating this drama. Nevertheless I highly recommend it.
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'Sob' opera - Tears of the Crane
This drama focussed on the romance between Crown Prince Xiao Ding-Quan, an out of favour prince and Lu Wen-Xi who was trying to save her father and brother. The synopsis on mydramalist.com is fairly accurate, so you can always read that to get an idea of what the story is about - not always true for some dramas. So I shall focus on my reaction to this drama.The chemistry between Luo Jin (the Crown Prince) and Li YiTong (Lu WenXi) was amazing. And their tears were like a tap that they could turn on and off at will. Overall the cast was outstanding and played their parts well. The silly Zhang Shao Yun (acted by Dong Chun Hui) is worth a mention - he looked clueless and was quite pitiful as his love for WenXi was not reciprocated and was eventually framed by her. And so did the actor who did the role of the eunuch - this seasoned old actor was amazing especially toward the end of the drama.
I have always like Luo Jin's acting - very realistic and very expressive - especially after watching Princess WeiYang and this drama. Unfortunately I think he is becoming one of the more mature actors who are getting forgotten as the newer faces like Xiao Zhan, Wang YiBo and Gong Jun steal the limelight.
For Li YiTong, there were some mixed reviews of her acting skills. But I must say she was absolutely brilliant in this drama. One of the problems perhaps was she was always acting the well-behaved well-bred ancient ladies - characters that are not quite that exciting. This drama suited her as there were a lot of emotional scenes and she reacted them well, although as yet another well-bred lady.
I was not quite keen on the story. It was very intense with a lot of heart-rending scenes. Generally I do not like dramas where the villain always win and the good are always placed on the defensive. This drama was on my watch list for a long time before I started on the drama - as I knew it was going to be heavy. The Crown Prince was repeatedly sabotaged by his elder brother who was vying for the throne, and his cronies. The emperor favoured the eldest son but kept Ding-Quan as crown prince because of his promise to the late empress' brother, General Gu for his help in seizing the throne. He was a jealous father who felt that his son was closer to his maternal uncle who commanded a 200,000 strong army than him.
The reason Lu WenXi stayed at the palace seemed quite lame as she did not play a big role in helping her father's and brother's case. Time and again she was supposed to leave but stayed on for some equally lame reasons. In the drama, she was repeatedly blamed for crimes she did not commit and was severely physically punished - but of course that always open up opportunities for the hero to save the damsel in distress.
The last few episodes were just sobbing and draggy. I think the writer could have ended the drama five episodes earlier. The complicated plot that Lu WenXi fabricated to get the villains to confess their crime dragged it on for a few more episodes and finally lead to the finale, and also sealed her fate as she could not now reveal her identity. I think China has a lot of acting talents; but drama scripts always lack realism.
All other elements are great - gorgeous costumes, beautiful backdrop and excellent cinematography and one of the ending theme songs was lovely.
For a title, I would call it 'Tears of the Crane' which would be closer to the Chinese title instead of 'Royal Nirvana'. In Buddhism, nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism. (I am not a buddhist but checked out the meaning.) This story was far from it. Crane in this drama represented the Crown Prince, and he was always crying.
In spite of my criticism of the story, the drama managed to make me stayed up for several late nights as I was keen to find out what was going to happen next. If you do not have depression and enjoy heart-rending dramas, this is a drama worth watching.
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This review may contain spoilers
It's a pretty dark ending
If you have depression, do not watch this drama. The ending is very dark: no couples are eventually happy, the country is thrown into chaos and yet another child emperor ascends the throne.On a positive note, the support cast is good looking and does a very good job. There are some good music pieces.
I come across a lot of positive reviews of this drama but I think it is mainly because of Bai Lu and Ren Jia Lun, the current popular heartthrobs. The chemistry between the leads is excellent.
For most part of the drama, it is the romance between Cui ShiYi (Bai Lu) and Zhou ShengChen (Ren JiaLun), so there are a lot of building up of their romance and emotions. It is mainly all the lovey-dovey moment - loving each other and could not express and having to hold back, each with their constraints. If you are not into these, it is also very slow moving. Battle scenes are quite lacklustre as these are just secondary.
There are a lot of comments that the story is great but I differ in my opinion. I say the production and directing are great as it brings out a lot of emotions - if the ending is that dark, with good directing it is hard not for anyone to cry although I did not.
The story is rather strange and rather unrealistic. And here are why I say that:
1. Minister Cui Guang supported the child emperor to the throne expecting his niece Cui Shi Yi to become the next empress only to find to his horror that the new Empress Dowager has other plans - to keep her as crown princess by appointing the child emperor's elder cousin as crown prince. She has become the fiancee of the new crown prince instead. Unless this story is not of Chinese background but of some minority tribe - passing a fiancée to a cousin is hardly acceptable in Chinese culture much less appointing an elder to become a successor. But with a surname Liu, it is implying the Chinese Han dynasty. And why appoint an older successor - just to avoid marrying the mute Cui ShiYi?
2. Minister Cui then requests for Prince Zhou Sheng Chen to become his niece Shifu (teacher). Again very weird: pushing a young girl into the care of a bachelor prince although he might have vowed to stay single and not to have children. Perhaps for the protection of the Prince for the Cui family?
3. Prince Zhou stubbornly refuses to leave the entrapment when the conspirators uses the Liu royal family and court as hostages. Why would a general with a peerless track record of success on the battlefield be suddenly so stupidly bigoted. His military advisor arrives in time to save him. If his advisor is smart enough to come to the rescue, surely Zhou knows better to leave at the urge of his own team and his hostages. Eventually the hostages are massacred and he dies of torture. Why would a big 'killer' be so easily swayed especially since these hostages are not close to him? I expect him to be a better strategist.
4. When someone important jumps from the city tower, why do the soldiers not try to help but instead concentrate on driving helpers away.
These are all important turning points in the story. The development of the story is not naturally and is very obviously to dramatise. All movies and dramas dramatises, but there is a difference between doing it realistically or creating obvious conveniences, and this story sounds more like the latter - it needs great skills to do that realistically.
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Could have been better
This drama has an interesting start to the story - a swap of souls between the emperor and a maid. This leads to a lot of hilarious moments as the maid is infatuated with an imperial guard captain. Demonstrating her affection in the body of the emperor, it causes a lot of misunderstanding that the emperor is gay.The story goes on to give a twist - there is a double conspiracy going on. The maid is not who she thinks she is, and the emperor has other hidden agenda. This twist is interesting if the transition is properly developed, but unfortunately it is a bit awkward.
But the second twist in last episode was the worst. There seems to be this obsession with time travel, crossing dimension type of science fiction in Chinese drama. When it is not well developed and does not flow naturally with the story, it really spoils the drama as it stands out like a sore thumb.
For 20 episodes of half hour each, this is a very short drama. If you are not too concern about the flaws in the story and are in just for a laugh, this makes a light-hearted comical entertainment.
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If you like soap operas, this is for you...
The cast has this ''cry-on-demand'' ability and comprises very good actors/actresses. I watched this drama because of the lead actor Kim Ji Han (aka Jin Yi Han) as I was mesmerised by his performance in Empress Ki - he speaks not only through words but also his facial expressions - and of course his good looks. And for the guys, there are plenty of good looking actresses.The story centred around 3 ''orphans'' from different backgrounds - one is actively searching for his roots having lost his memory, one knows his roots and has a secret to hide, and the third is kept in the dark by the father who refuses to reveal the truth. Complications arise as they meet each other, fall in love, unaware of how their past lives have crossed and how they are related.
You would be glued to the drama as you pursue the mystery of what happens in the past and what is going to happen to the different characters. Get ready your handkerchief for the sobbing moments. Romance, sadness, humour - you will experience all these watching this drama. It is a trigger for a wide range of emotions.
What I really appreciate of this drama, aside for the range of emotions it evokes, is the diverse combination of personalities portrayed: kind and considerate but naive, kind but outwardly cold and smart, a ''bum'' but actually has an outstanding hidden skill, appears calculating but actually is very caring inside, scheming but has a soft emotional side, evil and non-repentant, brash and unpretentious but upright, and the list goes on. A very realistic portrayal of human personalities - none of those perfect non-existence character who is good in everything. The story as a whole is very well woven together.
However, the story is not entirely realistic - the bad guys seem to conveniently overhear important secrets at the right moment so they could scheme. Similarly the good guys would overhear those same secrets to be shocked or find out the truth. Since I cannot even figure out what my colleagues are talking about across the office, I could not see how people could pick up secrets so easily. Characters are always just keeping secrets and telling a white lie in the premise of saving others from getting hurt by the truth, or as they are too proud to admit their pain - this theme is so cliche, or is it cultural?
This was a long 122 episodes melodramatic soap drama although each episode is only a short half hour long. Still that would make over 60 episodes of the typical hour long drama series. There are a lot of draggy moments. I tapped the 10s forward icon a lot when the conversation got lengthy and not a lot was happening, when watching the drama. The ending is not quite strong - so very typical of long dramas. The evil ones should be punished heavier. It seems like writers and directors are just happy to have hold your attention to the end and not quite care how they end it.
In spite of some shortcomings, this is a very entertaining drama. If you like romantic soap operas, this is for you.
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