For me, this drama went from great to okay in the latter episodes. Could be because I binged them rather than waiting for new episodes, but the storylines seemed to just bleed into each other. I had to liberally use the fast forward button, especially for scenes that seemed more like side quests than the actual plot. I feel like we did not properly grieve for the beloved and important characters that died. When tragedy struck, the sad scenes kept rolling one after the other. So it felt like everything was snowballing. The plot twists and reveals didn't land impactfully. My biggest gripe was that I was not sold on the romantic chemistry of the leads. It came across as more platonic friendship and trauma bonding kind of relationship. Their love or attraction for each other was not directed well. They both were amazing as individual characters but the moment they came together, they seemed more like comrades than lovers. I became completely bored after Xie Yong Er's and Mr. Bei's characters died. The Qiang state poison thing was a head scratching arc for me. Everything happened so perfunctorily in that arc that I didn't feel anything for HuaHua or YWY's sadness. YWY's grief and dealing with the sad demises were completely lackluster and expressionless. It's almost as if she took everything in her stride just like she had from the beginning of her transmigration. I couldn't understand how can she be so unaffected by the whole sadness/tragic domino effect. It's almost as if she was not affected or only superficially cared about the series of deaths. For someone who was painted as a caring and forgiving character, her lack of proper reaction just screamed poor direction. Almost as if she was the one who was treating them like 2D characters and hence not that important, instead of Xiahou Dan being the one thinking that. When the story is trying to paint it the other way around, supposedly YWY being the champion of humanising the 2D characters. Overall, the whole debate of whether 2D characters are humans as well and should be treated as such, was not skillfully handled in this drama. Even the reveals like Bei being the impostor corpse or whatever the hell they did with Hua Hua were very transparent and could be caught from a mile away. Overall, I had great expectations and I really enjoyed the first three quarters of the drama but the last part was a bit of a let down. The only exciting parts in the end were the war scenes and Xiahou Bo's incredibleeee scenes. Thending scene in the modern world was literally a minute long and felt it was just scotchtaped on top of the plot to somehow end the drama. It didn't have any impact of celebration of relief that they're finally together. The momentum of the plot, ending and pacing was very uneven. It's 7.5/10 for me. Cheng Lei, Hu Yi Xuan , Tang Xiao Tian and the actor who played A Bai were the standout performances for me. They knocked it out of the park with their amazing and outstanding acting.
Also saw not many people talk about it, but-100 points for the boulder! Never found a more adorable boulder before!…
I have to say the boulder was amazing but what really impressed me was Daddi Tang's acting. Soooo convincing omg. I was sold on the pain, anger and frustration. So well done.
I think they telegraphed it too much. In the previous episode you just knew it was coming. It was so obvious that…
I don't think it was only due to the foreshadowing. I somehow got the message that Yu Wan Yin was not devastated enough. If she had cried even 10% harder, I would have been heartbroken. But it all seemed so chill and formulaic, like here say your dialogue and send her away on a raft. Like Yu Wan Yin didn't seem that affected which is why I thought the direction was a bit hit or miss. It all happened in a blink of an eye. It was such a loss of a golden opportunity because Hu Yi Xuan excels at crying and emotional scenes. It could have had 10x more impact than it did if only they had directed or edited it better.
I feel like Xie Yong Er's death was very unceremonious. I don't know if it's because of poor direction or censorship, I feel neither we nor the characters got enough time to mourn her. It looked aesthetic and somber and there was that 2 sec montage, yes, but it felt a bit superficial. Like the whole thing was over in 2 mins. It seemed incomplete and rushed somehow.
She is brilliant here - alluring sweet girl. 🥰Watched her in Love Never Fails, sadly she didn't shine there…
She truly shined when she played the female lead in The Sleepless Princess, Unforgettable Love and A River Runs Through It. She is equally exceptional here. I am glad for her.
I am starting to think like the comedic moments don't suit the darker tones of the drama anymore. It's weird to go through a lot of trauma and then see the hotpot scenes
This drama is making me miss Dream within a dream drama. That was also a fun ride. That and TROTAR are probably the only transmigration dramas I've loved.
It's so funny to me that HYX is actually 4 years elder to WCR but she's playing the meimei character. Both the girls did a fabulous job in making it believable.
I have to say, i usually don't notice these things, but I really love the lighting and contrast of this drama. The warm flickering candlelight on the faces of our characters creates a realistic atmosphere even in a fantasy drama like this.
I hope Xie yong er comes to her senses what happened to the gal who said she will take revenge in the first episode?
She was going to take revenge against the villain of her story which were Yu Wan Yin and the tyrant Xia Hou Dan. For her, Prince Duan is her happily ever after hero.
FL is too soft for her own good. She is trying hard to pull SFL towards her side but few sweets words from SML…
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that SFL is a written character with her set goals and prejudices. Even Xiahou Dan points this out that XYE is a 2D character and doesn't know the truth the way they do. She thinks YWY is a demon consort who drowned the original Xie Yong Er so she sees her as the most evil villain of her story. On the other hand, not only her but the entire kingdom thinks the world of Prince Duan because that's how he has brainwashed everyone. She only sees the good side of him and not the evil side. Even when she questions him, it's from a personal and emotional point of view, that he ignores her. She never suspects that he is evil or lacks integrity. Hence, his sob story works and she immediately reconciles with him. Because that's how she is written.
watched 14 episodes so far and decided to drop it. a pity because i was so invested in the first few episodes…
Same, I gave up at ep 20. I just lost interest, there was nothing to hook me. And the glaring plotholes just completely turned me off along with the FL's character and acting and the flat chemistry between the leads
Director: Zeng Qing Jie
ML: Liu Yu Ning
FL: Hu Yi Xuan