Not sure how I feel about this one?

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this was mostly a “liked”.

Things I liked:
I started watching this for Lee Soo Hyuk and this is one of the few that he’s been in I could actually finish (see my review on ‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’; I’m not criticizing LSH, just rarely finish a drama he’s in). I enjoyed LSH in this. He does stoic bad@$$ very well—but his character also had range and we got to see him happy and sad as well. I liked all the characters, I liked their complexity, I liked their back stories. I like that they took on mental health and suicide—though it is also what made it hard to watch at times. Like most probably, I like the idea of an afterlife where we are rewarded for good and punished for evil.

Things I did not like so much:
Mental health and suicide are not a ‘one and done’ thing. For example, an eating disorder is a lifelong struggle and that episode made it seem like something that got fixed almost instantly. Sometimes I fast forwarded just because the content was triggering.

Honestly, I found myself more interested in the back stories than the stories of the people they were trying to save and often fast-forwarded until we got to back story again. I did not quite get why suicide was treated by that version of the afterlife as something worthy of hell—that seems more consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition (please correct me if I am wrong if you know more about Buddhism or Confucianism). Especially during the era/country when/where Goo Ryun died, suicide was encouraged and expected of widows and women who had been assaulted (at least that is the impression I get, so please correct me if you understand that history/cultural era better).

Minor point of dislike: The actor they chose to play an adolescent PJG could not have been farther apart in looks and build that his 'supposed' adult self. At that age, LSH could not have weighed more than 100 pounds and that kid looks like he has more muscle than the adult PJG he's supposed to be the younger version of. I get that it is hard to get that right and I'm on the fence about whether I prefer the older actors trying to play their own younger selves or just getting younger actors to do it instead (especially when its adolescents who look so much more like their adult selves than kids do).

I kind of wish there would have been more of a resolution between Park Joong Gil and Goo Ryun. Their ending was a bit ambiguous. You can tell that Choi Joon Woong will eventually get together with his girl since it showed their strings connected, but I wish we could have known what would happen between PJG and GR.

Conclusion:
I don’t know how to think about this one. There were times I sincerely cried, there were things I simply could not watch, there were things I thought were misrepresented and could have been done better. There were also things I enjoyed. If you’re a major LSH fan, I’d recommended it. He does well and looks well in this.

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My first JDrama and first JDrama review

This is my first JDrama (I’ve watched a couple of movies, but this is my first ever drama series) so much of my confusion or misunderstanding may come from not yet being familiar with the Japanese culture as portrayed in dramaland.

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this rates a “meh”.

Things I liked:
This may be shallow, but I really liked the FL’s clothing. Her stylists did an excellent job. One thing that bugs me a bit about most c- and k-dramas is that the FL always seems to wear clothes that are too big for her (which may be a fashion trend, so no judgement on those who like it that way), just for me, I liked Harumi Junko’s style (though, of course, a underpaid tutor like her would never actually be able to afford such a wardrobe. And if her back hurt so bad, why was she always in heels!?). I think all the actors did well in their roles, there was no one I felt was just phoning it in.

Things I did not like:
I shipped her with Yamashita Kazuma because (a) he was not her cousin (was she ACTUALLY related to Yakumo Masashi!? Or was ‘cousin’ just a translation of a Japanese term that does not actually mean they’re related?—because if they weren’t actually related, then I truly felt Masashi was the best fit for her); (b) he wasn’t 15+ years younger than her; and (c) they had the strongest chemistry. Then the script writers took a rather lame approach to getting him out of the picture which was disappointing. I’ll probably get hate for this, but a fifteen-year age gap regardless of the gender of the oldest/youngest is going to be hard going for the FL & ML. And I just don’t see someone in their late teens really knowing what they want for the rest of their life—enough to stick out what is going to be a socially/culturally difficult relationship. (Though she brought up all those points so I’m glad at least the script writers had them talk through/think through those challenges). The other thing I felt was lacking was a point to the drama. Getting a kid through a test just isn’t an exciting plot point. It just seemed like a ‘slice of life’ drama about relationships and tutoring which (for me, personally) isn’t exciting enough of a plot.

Since what I liked was less than what I did not like, I rated it a ‘meh’, but I still got through it which is why its not a ‘nah’—(though I have gotten through ‘nah’ dramas before…)

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Enjoyable fantasy/alternative world watch

In my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," and "nah," this rates a "liked" with potential to rewatch.

I watched this steadily and without any time spent "on hold" (which is rare for me). I enjoyed both ML and FL in their roles. I enjoyed the costumes, the sets, the world-building (is this an alternative history wuxia or a true fantasy?), the music. The leads relationship was positive, supportive, and absent of stupid misunderstandings and sacrifices*.

Thanks to the nice discussion started by @CloudA, we find out, however, that the story is a little different in that the book is written mostly about FL and her adventures in the pugilistic world instead of the actual drama which is mostly about ML and his political adventures. That is disappointing to me because, while I enjoyed the drama, I think it would have rated a "loved" if it had been focused on FL instead. The only thing I did not mind was Yu Wu Yuan being the antagonist in this (versus the book, from what I understand), as he did well in that role. I always enjoy watching Leon Lai--I feel like he's starting to play more support roles where he is someone in power. He has a pretty commanding presence on screen (and he's nice to look at...:D).

There were things I did not quite understand/plot holes. For example, why did Bai Fengxi use "I don't want to be an empress" as her excuse to reject Huang Chao's proposal when she totally supported Hei Fengxi's plan to conquer the world? (Which, of course, would have landed her as empress...). (Though her objection about concubines and consorts was totally legit!). Why did Hei Fengxi fight Huang Chao to a stalemate (which btw STILL resulted in loss of life even if they tried to keep civilians out of it) and then suddenly give up and be all "nevermind, I'm fine with you being emperor"? How could Bai/Hei Fengxi take only ten years to become the most powerful martial artists in the entire land? Doesn't it take decades for that level of cultivation to be reached? And how old exactly where they when they started? (On the one hand, that never got clarified, on the other, I don't really mind). Why did Bai Fengxi's "little sister" suddenly accuse her of murder after having grown up with her? She should have known that was not something BF would ever do! How was the actual Princess XiYun so well-loved by her country and family when she was never actually there!? (I also did not like the time skips at the end. It made the ending seem rushed and not well thought out).

My 'burning' questions aside (and there were more, just can't remember them at the moment), I do not feel that this was a waste of time, it deserves my "liked" rating and I'll likely rewatch. If you like true fantasy (as in alternate world) and/or wuxia (though it really wasn't a true wuxia), you'll probably enjoy this drama.

*I take that back. There was sacrifices I disagreed with...you'll get what I'm talking about if you watch all the way to the end.

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There is a special place in my heart for 2K Taiwanese dramas...

In my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh", and "nah", this rates a "liked".

This one took me awhile to get through, but to be fair, I generally have about 10 - 15 dramas on my "currently watching" list at any one time, so it can take me awhile to get through one--and also its rare that I actually get through one all the way, so that should say something about this drama at least.

I started this for Mark Chao since this was an early work of his and I liked him as an actor after TMPB. I also appreciated Vic Zhou's character. And while there is a comparison to Jack Sparrow, I think he pulled it off.

To me, this was a typical, 2K, telenovela-type drama which overly dramatic emotional scenes and plenty of places where logic did not apply--especially towards the end. There were so many times when I was shouting at the screen "Shoot them!" when a "hero" was having a dramatic moment with the enemy instead of just shooting them (a la Indiana Jones against the sword fighter). Or how none of the heroes seemed to be aware that security cameras existed and then were surprised when the enemies knew where they were all the time. I could go on.

Like many other reviewers and commentors, I could not get the romance portion. It was not even a love quadrangle. More like a love...pentangle? Octangle? Let's see if I can figure this one out: Wu Ying Xiong always liked Chen Lin (speaking of characters with zero logic...) but then sleeps with the fake Interpol Agent; Chen Lin liked WYX in the beginning then transferred to Chen Zai Tian (who seemed to return it at least in the beginning?); in the beginning Lan Xi Ying (one of my favorite characters) seemed to like WYX, but then seemed to transfer to CZT (who seemed to return it at times?) but then at the end they implied she now liked Cheng Nuo (the assassin)? And as to who CZT liked...Chen Lin? LXY? He Xiao Mei?...anything with XX chromosomes? And then they never resolved it. Oh & Ma Xiao Ming / Huang Shi Kai who like CL.

This was a good filler drama for when I was bored with the others I was watching or just wanted to turn my brain off for a bit. I don't regret watching it as both MLs were nice to look at, did decent work, and carried a decent (if periodically illogical) storyline. I won't rewatch it, though.

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Chinese censorship makes watching law & order dramas interesting...

In my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh", and "nah", this rates a "liked"/"meh".

What I liked:
I, of course, liked Vin Zhang, but then again, I could probably watch a drama that is just him watching paint dry and I'd be okay, as long as I occasionally got that quirky slightly crooked smile of his. I also like that he is not afraid to play opposite female leads who are older than him (like in "I will never let you go"). I thought both FL and ML actors did their roles well. I appreciated getting to hear their normal voices and neither one bothers me. Of course, I also do not speak Mandarin, so there's that. I liked their opposite natures: ML was cheerful and often irreverent, FL was by-the-book and serious. Their romance was believable (and there was even a kissing scene. If I was Yang Mi, I would have made VZ do that take at least ten times. You know, for science), but I did get a bit frustrated by the FL's unwillingness to let anyone into her life. I loved ML's family. They were hilarious and had a good relationship with their son (and for once, the dad was played by an actor who was handsome enough in his own right to have believably produced a son who looks like Vin Zhang.). Despite the initial drag of the plot, I actually got into it as it moved along.

What merited the "meh" portion:
I'm not really into procedural police dramas and this was definitely procedural. Lots of time spent in conversations about the case and what they were going to do. Thanks to censorship, plenty of patriotic script writing--I had to fast-forward through those bits. And I know this is most likely due to censorship, but I had a very hard time believing in a government agency that had zero infighting, zero bosses under political pressure, zero problems interacting with local police forces, and zero territorial disputes with other agency offices. In a way, that is what ruined the other very realistic-seeming parts of the drama.

If you're really into procedural law & order-type shows, you'd like this one, just be aware of the limitations due to censorship outlined above. I thought all the actors did a nice job and I did not feel I'd wasted my time watching it.

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I'm still on the fence about what I think about this one...

I found this drama to be interesting enough to finish for a variety of reasons. Even though it was the typical 'magical school' premise, it had its unique points, such as the mysterious character that kept trying to interfere with the story, the idea that the whole thing was a book, the 'saloon' and its masked proprietor.

I nearly dropped it a couple of times during the first episode--it didn't seem serious at all. The female lead was initially a bit annoying, but I liked her character development over time. She went from silly to serious in a reasonable and believable amount of time.

I had some serious SMLS with this one for two main reasons. The first and key reason was that I could not ship the ML and FL together. While he never thought of her as his biological sister, she believed they were related for most of the entire time she knew him. So all of a sudden when she finds out they're not really related within a couple of minutes she's already starting to think of him differently? Nope, sorry, do not buy that. The cultural taboo against incest is incredibly strong and would take a good long while for her to get over it. (Honestly, here's how I would have done that if I was the writer: give SML and FL more time together but let FL become aware of ML not being her brother relatively early. All of the stuff SML hides from her comes out at a dramatic moment like their engagement ceremony or even their wedding day and ML is the one that picks up the pieces for her. Let's make sure some actual time passes by...like at least a year from the time she finds out ML is not her brother. In the actual show, they've been brother and sister for three years and less than a year passes by between the time that they go to the magic school and get married. Ick.) That ick factor in the whole thing just kept me from liking those two as a couple (until the end when he basically changes the timeline so she never thought of him as her brother)--and I almost dropped it again for that reason.

Second reason: SML almost never put the FL second in anything (except when he tried to convince the 'evil' sect he was on their side by stabbing the FL--and even then he did not kill her). Especially towards the end, the person who supports her the most and takes care of her without question is the SML. At the very end, when he's the proprietor, he is still so in love with her he decides to see if he, too, can change the story. So, I just couldn't get over it, I guess. Though, a lot of his (SML's) problems would have been solved if he had stopped the SFL from following him around all the time...oh and stood up to his master every once and awhile. In many ways, the SML was the main character of the show since the script spent a great deal of time on his character development.

I'm not a big fan of time travel dramas and if I had known in the beginning that it was part of the plot, I do not think I would have started it. So be warned.

In my personal drama rating system of "loved", "liked", "meh", "nah", this one gets a "liked", but I don't see myself rewatching any parts of it.

PS. I've thought about watching the first Legend of Zu, but do not think I will since, despite my love of William Chan, his hair looks ridiculous (but despite that I still got through "Age of Legends") but mostly because I hate plots where men fall in love with women who look the same as their dead wives (one of the reasons I could not get very far into Novoland Pearl Eclipse). Speaking if an "ick" factor...

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A gem

This might have been my first Asian drama ever. I can't really remember, but I went into it thinking it was more like a Masterpiece Theater. I even had my parents watch this one, trying to get them into Asian dramaland.

I ended up reading the book not too long ago and fair warning, they are completely different. Only the characters are the same. But I'm not mad at either one--I would encourage you to read the book as well, just do not expect much in the way of similarities.

The storyline was good, the characters made (mostly) logical choices, there were funny and cute moments, and suspenseful moments. I liked Er Yang's character and their burgeoning romance was sweet. I'm not going to lie, I also can't help liking a hot evil main character.

It was short but not rushed and you did not feel like you needed any more time or explanation. Happy ending with a bit of a foreshadow for a possible sequel.

Check this one out, its worth it.

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I recommend this one, especially to Asian drama newbs

As always, possible spoilers ahead.

This is another one of my favorites, though, oddly enough, I skipped the latter half of the second arc and just read episode summaries instead. I just could not watch how badly SuSu was treated (seriously, though, she was MORTAL, they could have just sent them down to live out their life in the mortal realm and in six months, Ye Hua would have been back! And Ye Hua's family kept acting like she [a lowly human] had seduced a god [so they must have not thought they were all that great and powerful then if one mere human could cause such havoc] when he was the one who had pulled the wounded bird act so he could stay with her).

The first arc was...meh. Its kind of hard to believe that Bai Qian only felt for her master as teacher/student since she sacrificed soooooooo much to keep his body alive. Though its fun watching Vin Zhang as a demon prince/king (seriously, Li Jing's epitaph should read "Wanted to be a better person but couldn't". If you loved a girl so much you spent thousands of years moping about her disappearance then another period of time begging her to take you back...maybe should not have cheated on her in the first place!? Though I personally would find it hard to refuse anyone looking like Vin Zhang anything...;P).

The second arc I could not finish (see above), but I liked the third arc a lot and that is the one I rewatch. The way Ye Hua looks at Bai Qian when he finds out who she is...whew...*fans self*. And when Bai Qian goes to get her revenge on Su Jin and then the trial afterwards. Very satisfying. And the fact that Bai Qian, once she remembers her past, is not about to let it slide with Ye Hua (well, at least until he goes to battle). And its a happy ending because nothing is worse that wasting hours of time you should be spending on work, exercise, studying, etc. all for it to be a tragedy.

And can someone please explain the logic behind doing all sorts of evil things just to try and get a dude who clearly is just not that into you? Are there actually people like that in the world or is that just a drama trope? Not sure why Su Jin was all surprised when Ye Hua stabbed her. B***** had it coming.

The side romance between Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua was meh. It was cute when she was a human concubine, but he looked so old in that form, it was kind of a bit ick compared to how young she looked.

Random thing I appreciated: The stylists taking the time to put Mark Chao in a different wig when he was going to bed (like Chen Kun in Rise of Phoenixes). One of the great mysteries of both period/costume Korean and Chinese dramas alike for me: Did men wear their hair down when they went to bed!? I get that it requires a wig change from the director's perspective, but as someone who had long hair and regularly wore it up, the thought of wearing it up to bed makes me cringe. So its that just because it requires a wig change or did ancient Korean and Chinese men never really let their hair down? Of course, the other thing I appreciated, was Ye Hua in his jammies in general. Tee hee.

Anyway, to me, it was worth the watch. But then I like XianXia as a genre so I'm a bit biased.

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Unexpectedly enjoyed this

(Likely spoilers below so you're warned).

I got halfway through the first episode of this and dropped it. Then I went back weeks later and finished it. As the title suggests, I unexpectedly enjoyed it. The FL carried the show--the actress did an excellent job and had a way of communicating hilarity that came through even to those of us stuck reading the subtitles.

I felt bad for the SML/SFL in this story, even went into MDL comments on the show to read ahead to see how they ended up. There was definitely some illogic there in how they all behaved, but it worked out in the end.

This is pretty light-hearted. The main actress does an excellent job and she and the main actor do a nice job together. I would rec'd this as a 'palette cleanser', especially if you're one of those who likes the really heavy stuff but need a break in between. :)

As for rewatch: This is on my rewatch list, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

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This is why I prefer the fantasy genre over anything based in reality... :(

'Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," and "nah", I rate this a "liked" but I will not rewatch it, or if I do, it will just be the FL and ML getting to know each other at the very beginning.

As per my title, I prefer fantasy over reality simply because the actual historical events and reality were so tragic and, at times, awful. I deliberately did not watch the last episode, preferring to end everything when she found out she was pregnant and they were happy to be having their first child. I do know how it ends both in the show and historically, I just did not want to have to see it. I thought both leads did brilliantly, their chemistry was amazing, and I agree with the top positive reviews about this show.

Things I felt were lacking: after the resolution of the issue with the "evil" court lady, I felt it went kind of downhill in terms of excitement and action--especially once he became king. I know there was (in theory) a Queen, but the fact that they wrote her out of the script leaves a major plot hole, in my opinion, as she apparently played a larger role in the book. And while I totally get that this was completely normal during that time, the fact that the ML did and would continue to sleep with women other than the FL (even after they finally got together) because that was what was expected of him as king, makes my skin crawl. I can't help it, but that is my modern, Western sensibility interfering with my ability to truly enjoy their relationship (though I think that is what kept her from giving in for so long, too?--she wanted him all to herself and knew that was not possible?).

If you're a fan of incredibly well done historical saeguks, then this is definitely for you. Even if you're not (you're more like me and prefer happy endings, the not-very-historically-accurate shows, etc.), its still an excellent drama. Just beware that this is a pretty accurate portrayal of life in another time (and for many of us) under another culture--not everything is going to be tolerable or understandable.

Random question r/t historical dramas in general: Did no one ever get naked when doing the deed? Those two were almost fully dressed when they woke up after their 'wedding' night. I see this a lot in period dramas (both Chinese and Korean). Is it a cultural thing in the sense that implying nudity on screen is unacceptable? Or a cultural thing in the sense that they really did not take their clothes/sleeping garments off except just enough to get it done?

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I like a good revenge story as much as the next person but....

I started this one because I found a dubbed-in-Spanish version on YouTube (its one of the ways I keep my bilingual skills strong). I liked the premise: young woman seeks revenges against the evil family that destroyed her own family when she was young. However...this one kept pissing me off because it was soooo illogical.

Basically, this young woman is one of the richest people in the country and while I can understand personally wanting to enact revenge against this family, she never acts like she has all sorts of resources at her disposal! Because, if you're one of the richest people in the country and want to enact revenge against a CLEARLY corrupt political family, hire a bunch of really good lawyers to dig up all their dirt, some skilled mercenaries to protect said lawyers while they're digging, and, finally, ensure all of their political rivals get elected instead. *slaps dirt off hands* Done. She could have brought them down without ever leaving Manila (and supposedly she’d been trained in revenge! Pffft!)--andall without getting her beloved staff killed/maimed/hurt. There’s no way I would survive 100+ episodes of this. Even if the ML is adorbs.

PS. The evil lead of the family gave me high blood pressure every time he was was on screen, I wanted to slap the evil female lead every time she came on screen, and the evil lead's heir looked like he was twelve.

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The male lead was just not worthy...

I dropped this because I could not handle the toxic relationship between the FL and ML--or the fact that everyone kept blaming a teenage girl for having a crush on a grown man SHE WAS SENT TO LIVE WITH ALONE! And then when he willingly banished her into a place where (it was implied) she was sexually assaulted by a group of bandits and then he had the gall to say it was best for her to be there--I was done. Especially since the SML was a thousand times better person than the ML (even if he was supposedly evil). It was just too ridiculous and I couldn't take it any more.

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Thank you for making up for the ending of Season 1 but…

…I’m not sure why this couldn’t have just been tacked on to the end of Season 1. Season 1 was 20 episodes, Season 2 was half that. It could have just been one complete season of 30 or so episodes, and it would have flowed just fine. But I guess they had to get our hopes up so that we would excitedly watch S2 and drive the Netflix ratings up?

Anyways, now that the whole shebang is complete (I hope--though a next generation sequel might be interesting or a prequel, set 200 years before when the whole ice stone problem started), using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this is a (one my rarely-given) “loved”. This is taking the two seasons together.

What I liked: That they figured out a way to make a happy ending for Naksu without her having to push someone else’s soul out of their body (well she sort of did that, but it was okay—just watch it if you need more explanation). I don’t think S2 was quite as good as S1 (which is why I wish it had not been a separate season, just the last ten episodes of one, single season), but it was satisfying. Evil lost, good won, Master Lee watched it all with a knowing smile.

What I did not like so much: I wish they would have given the Crown Prince a bit more depth of character, I really thought he’d been playing Jin Mu the whole time, but turns out he really wasn’t and seemingly made an arbitrary decision to go with the good side based on what appeared to be a trivial reason--but I'm glad he made the right decision in the end. I also wish they would have given a hint about who his queen would be and that it would be a smart, capable, and very sassy person :D. Mama Jin made me so angry with the way she treated Naksu. Even the assassin did not deserve that kind of treatment (e.g. being trapped in a room and then the plan to turn her into nothing more than a sow in a gestation crate—omg, those episodes before Jang Uk rescued her made my skin crawl). Matriarch Jin knew Naksu’s history and. sure, Naksu was the one who had killed her husband, he wasn’t exactly a stellar person in the first place since he was the reason beloved first daughter was drowned in the first place! And let’s not forget him deliberately placing a fake in the household with the intention of letting Jin Mu get control of the Jin treasury by soul-swapping the fake queen with Matriarch Jin. Anyways, any points of dislike of mine are minor irritations at best.

Should you watch this? I would recommend watching S1 & S2 as a complete season, which of course is possible because Netflix has them both. If you’re a fantasy person like I am, then I think you should watch it. Its well done. If you prefer hard, gritty reality then you won’t like it—or you could try stepping outside of your comfort zone and seeing what you think. (But I totally understand if you don’t want to because I don’t want to go outside my comfort zone, either, lol!). :D

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Blood is definitely not thicker than water.

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this was a “liked”/”meh”.

What I liked:
This was a very interesting concept. As someone who is getting older myself, I often wonder what it would be like to go back in time with an idea of what is to come—what would my life be like if I got a “do over”? In this case, its less of a do-over, but a pseudo reincarnation into a life the ML never had. Like most reviewers (probably), I thought Lee Sung Min did an excellent job as the patriarch/tyrant/dictator of the Sooyang Group. I liked that the ML’s love interest was a strong, intelligent woman who was not the elegant ‘lady’ that was characteristic of the women in the Jin family. I like that they got back together right before the JDJ’s end and the ML realized what was worth living for by that point. As awful as this sounds, I liked that Jin Yang Cheol did not have a dignified end. No one who has done that much harm to his family and country deserves to go quietly into the night.

What I did not like so much:
It got a bit draggy in the middle with all the business maneuverings. There came a dreary cycle of JDJ trying to bring down Sooyang, Jin family fights back, JDJ triumphs again, rinse, repeat. JDJ was intelligent but a lot of his ‘brilliance’ came from knowing major national and international events and having the maturity level of several decades in a younger body—in addition to inside knowledge about the company (albeit some decades in the future). I argue that he would definitely have started influencing the future (YWH’s past) once he started influence politics and business at regional and national levels. So, the argument that he was unable to influence major events was weak. The farther he got out from his ‘entry point’ into the timeline and the more influential he got in national politics, the less he would be able to successfully predict the future.

I did not like (though I understood) the affection JDJ began to feel for his grandfather. I didn’t think JYC was a person who deserved any affection or love. In my mind, the best revenge YHW living JDJ’s life could have had was to make money by investing based on his future knowledge, marrying the girl, and living his best life far away from the Jin family toxicity—like on a beach somewhere. Obviously, that would not have made for very long drama, but simply not giving a d*** about Sooyang when an entire family was literally trying to murder each other over it is the best revenge.

Minor dislike: I wish they would have used a different actor for YHW. He’s only in the first and last episode and then some memories so picking a different actor would not have overshadowed SJK as the ML. OR they should have done the thing where he has a different face when he looks in the mirror or is in photos. The two men looking identical just didn’t make any sense especially since no one seemed to notice.

Other thoughts:
Holy toxic family, Batman! What, exactly, was the point!? They were all miserable. Jin Yang Cheol was an awful person who loved money more than anything. He treated his wife like dirt, cheated on her, and made her raise his son born out of wedlock (and not sure why she put up with it, since she turned out to be strong and clever on her own). He wanted his children to be strong and independent enough to take over the business after him, but he did not raise them to be that way (because if they were, then they would not obey him blindly in everything). His children, with the exception of one, married whom they were told to marry so no one was happy and no one supported each other—even the in-laws hated each other. Literally no one was happy, so what were they all fighting for!?

Obviously I finished this, so it never caused me to drop it in disgust. I love Song Joong Ki so that’s why I started it and it held my interest enough to finish it. I will definitely not rewatch. The suspense is what kept me going and now that my questions are answered…I don't see any reason to go back.

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It was not the worst of xuanhuans, it was not the best of xuanhuans…

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this rates a “meh”.

Things I liked:
There’s not really much I can put a finger on here. My favorite genre is xuanhuan so I’m already pretty forgiving when it comes to shows in this category. I thought the world-building was decent. I kind of liked the back story with the original Sea Emperor and the Celestial Emperor and his queen. Na Sheng was cute, but she got a bit annoying after awhile to the point where I wondered what Yan Xi saw in her. (I actually shipped her more with the Crown Prince…?) I like that our SML did not do any crazy stuff to get the FL to stay with him. He was always honest with himself and with her. I liked that there was no crazy jealous SFL—that trope is lazy and overused. I got through it, but I was not particularly enthusiastic about any part of it. I felt the same way about this one as I did “God of Lost Fantasy”—a lot of potential that just was not realized.

Things I disliked:
The beginning was very rushed. If you have a complicated back story, you either take your time to put it together (like Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) or you just jump right in but have some really judicious flashbacks—they did neither of these things. They just tried to cram into a couple of episodes instead. It got draggy in the middle—there was way too much conversation and not enough action. Most exciting things happened off screen and then you learned about them because they talked about it. I watched the first ten episodes or so and then put it on hold for a really long time, so some of my ‘dislikes’ may actually be stuff I just don’t remember because I wasn’t about to go back and rewatch from the beginning. For example, I never could figure out Yu Huan’s motivations for anything (but maybe that was explained in the first few episodes and I just don’t remember)? It was like they were trying to make him out to be this complicated anti-hero, but he just wasn’t written three-dimensionally enough to make it work. Despite the fact that their relationship was relatively healthy for dramaland, I did not like how the Sea Emperor was always keeping stuff from the FL. She kept asking him to be honest with her and he would always make all these sacrifices she didn’t ask for and never tell her about them. There was some criticisms about the two male leads’ looks. I thought they looked okay. Li Yi Feng is not conventionally handsome to begin with, but he looked just fine. I think they did not pick a very flattering hairstyle for Zheng Ye Cheng. He looks better either with the Qin-style top knot (like they used when he was portraying the original Celestial Emperor) or the ‘tribal’ style with his hair down and lots of braids—as they used in the beginning. But that is just a personal preference on my part.

I did not dislike this one. If xuanyuan is your thing, give it a shot. It’s a decent one to have on the back burner when there is nothing else interesting.

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