CristyRawks

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME

I got through this with a lot of fast forwarding. The best part of this whole drama was the fashion, the ins and outs of the entertainment business, the mental health issues, and at the beginning when Ji Mo was sensitive to the heavy set woman's fashions. Other than that, it was pretty irritating and boring with such a lack of chemistry and PDA with the Leads. The Supports had better kisses than Ji Mo and Ruo. I also detested the ML a lot so many times throughout this long and tedious drama, and I felt the strong independent FL let the ML Jerk, get away with way too much. But then that is the fault of the writers and the director. I made it thru but barely and I had to take long breaks from it.
My suggestion; don't even start this one. It's a huge disappointment.

Read More

WHAT A JOURNEY INTO THE OVER 30 CROWD'S HUMAN EXPERIENCE

To a much older woman, I am enjoying the introspective look through the thoughts of the over 30 crowd, especially the men. I don't give a crap what others think negatively I think it's good. It's mostly this new gen who think that are all so woke and they just have gone off on some close minded trip with these trending words like misogyny. smh To me this generation is anti-men for some reason. Don't compliment her outfit men or else she will scream sexual harassment. These are the ones who are tearing down this drama. My astonishment comes from the fact that they are crying about one of the tamer dramas in Dramaland. My gosh, how many MLs throw the girl on the bed or up against the wall to force kiss her? How many dramas has the woman being the aggressor and yet NOTHING is said about that. What about the rich witch who imprisoned her boy toy, Fei, and emasculated him at every turn (which seems to be this generations intention in reality) and made him feel less than nothing with surveillance cameras and her men tailing his every move? Huh?
Listen, 98% of the dramas are far worse in PDA than this, as a matter of fact the PDA in this one has been disappointingly low, almost non-existent. Which is one of my only complaints. What happened to you Zhang Han? You were the passionate one who made us women swoon with your kisses. And yes close-minded ladies, we love the romance with PDA such as beautiful kisses in our dramas! And? Anyway, where did you go ZH? Now you're boring with just hugging. Like the actor Jin Han. He is very boring. Anyway, this is really a good example of brotherhood and being over 30 and single. The women pitch in, which gives the other perspective. It's intelligently written and with the different occupations and obstacles and problems, it's very in depth and thought provoking. Going back to the brotherhood, that is special, that is what true bonding is. How many of us can say we have that beautiful experience, with the ladies in their lives, being by their side, seeing the great partnership and also having their own bond. The meetings over dinner and drinks all together is tender, even when it gets harsh. It shows how they work it through. I for one, even being American, am fascinated by the Transportation system that Tong Yu was designing. And watching the sweet cakes being eaten made me salivate and wonder if there was a way to order those delicacies to be sent here. lol One bad note and that is, while I am all for age gap romances, heck I've been in a few myself when I was young and cute lol, but I do not like Guo in the first place so I am against Amy being with him. She is so alive and he is so dead. ha He is a hot mess and is all screwed up. At one point he had 4 different women running through his head. Even chasing one of his buddies interests and then trying to discourage another one from his other buddy. One other woman, that he didn't want, but when she started dating someone else, he got jealous. Then of course the one that got away. What a stodgy bore!! Sheesh he will hurt Amy for sure. I feel for Fei with that horrid woman that he shockingly loves. And now for her to be pregnant is horrible for him. I love the CP of ZH and Wang Xiao Chen and how they finally went from enemies to collaborative partners, showing the extreme intelligence of both of them. EXCEPT, like I said already, the lack of PDA. sigh... Oh well there are plenty other dramas with romance, I just miss ZH's lol.
Let me finish by saying that this gen is too stuck up and stuffy and don't understand that this drama is far more than the two incidences they all are so hung up on. They must see the bigger picture, unless you are too young in your maturity to get it. Oh and just a suggestion, you should start watching all these other dramas that will have you screaming your lungs out over the "misogyny". smh In the meantime leave this drama alone with your bitching and Directors, give us more of the deep exploration of the human condition please and ignore the haters. End of story.

Read More

Ending A Big Disappointment

Unless it had been longer or a Part 2 to follow, this is a big sad nope for me!!
I loved it at first and up until the ending was loving the interaction of ML and FL as they solved cases together with their own capabilities, falling in love in the process. UNTIL THE END and that's all I can say. If they have a Season 2 to finish it and make each episode longer, I will watch that for sure because I love the reversal in roles where the FL is the powerhouse and the ML is the "weaker" of the two as far as fighting skills, but adds his strength with his detective skills . I love Male and Female detectives working together in solving cases in ancient dramas to see how they did it back then. So please Directors, do better next time.
*This is MY opinion though and not to dispute anyone else's if they liked it.

Read More

Very Sensitive issues, Yet Unforgettable

How can one love a tragic story such as this one? With the enthralling complex plotline such as this along with great direction and acting, it's easy. As for the ending, so angry about that, it left me dumbstruck as to what happened to the Main character of the whole story, at the end? But up till then, the heart sadly follows Nan Ya and watching her whole life be one horrible occurrence after another, and the judgment of a gossipy town for one woman who was humble and low-key and never bothered anybody. But because she was beautiful, she was judged as a seducer of men, a schemer and everything else they could think of. I felt her pain when she was abused, and I felt her happiness when she started to accept Zhou Lou. Because she was finally feeling what normal friendship and yes love really felt like for the first time. Then of course the ins and outs of who did the killing of Xu Yi. The "scenario" ZL and NY were coming up with until the one passionate kiss. The different past "lives" if you will, that continually frames this whole storyline. And finally, even though the police were less than sensitive about an abused woman, I still liked the different emotions that this drama put me through.
Despite the ending, which to me, it should have been NY who walked up that street towards ZL and her daughter, I will never forget this drama for a very long time.

Read More

Don't waste your time

First of all, what was the point of these 3 Extras? There is confusion at the very beginning when it seems they are replaying the beginning of the first episode, and suddenly this extra episode totally negated the entire ending of the original drama. I am left so confused that I'm disgusted. Why are they suddenly married for 5 years, especially when the first extra says that it's 3 years later? It seems as though the ending of the first drama which had me crying was for nothing.....you go onto the extra episodes for the continuation of this love story and wham you are hit in the face with confusion and to be honest just stupidity. If they were doing extras, why did they end it at 3 for no reason that left the viewer with just more puzzlement?

Again I tell you, don't waste your time.

Read More

BINGE WORTHY

10 episodes may seem like there wouldn't be enough drama material to be interesting. But they packed each episode with excellent characters and scenes, plus with the storytelling, that you could start at noon and be done by 10 pm. The actors all made this drama a very unique entertainment.
I liked Jing Bo Ran in "Road Home", but he surpassed himself on this one. I will now be on the watch for more of his dramas in the future.

I must say that when we find out that He Ran was the one who ratted Fei Ke out, I really wouldn't have cared if she had drowned instead of him. I cried really hard when he gave his life for hers, cuz she didn't deserve it. What a tragic life he lived all because he made that terrible decision in the beginning. though.

I really didn't pay any attention to the music because frankly it didn't stand out to me. The rest of the drama rates very high to me however and I may even rewatch it down the road sometime.

Read More

A GREAT POWER DRAMA FOR 2023

Last year there were many power dramas that kept us happy, this year not so much. But fortunately, we have one in Story of Kunning Palace. It has the actors (some A-listers) playing intense parts with martial arts skills in a great plotline with gorgeous costumes and a superb soundtrack that adds to the different scenes in a wonderful cohesion. I don't usually give dramas a 10 rating, but the story and the acting just makes me riveted to this exciting drama. There is also its share of light-hearted moments and characters. Case in point; the actor who plays Dingfei gives this otherwise serious drama the comic-relief that is needed to keep it from becoming too gloomy. I highly recommend this power drama to binge on. Happy drama-watching.

Read More

FORGET THE LITTLE DOWNSIDES, IT'S TOO GOOD TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEM!

Was hooked from the get go. I loved the FL and her elegant cold yet soft inside character. She is such an incredible beauty! I'm all for He Yu, my gosh such a sight for these old eyes. Here for him bc of "Speed and Love". Such a different character but still hot as hell. But even if he was ML, if the script and plot and acting don't get me, then I drop it no matter who or what. I've dropped dramas before even tho I am crazy about the actors bc the script or execution or direction didn't hook me. This wasn't any of that, I loved it all!! When she finally confessed I was beyond gone, it was so beautiful and his face was ecstatic. I didn't think I could move on from shipping He Yu and Esther Yu, but I did and I did without guilt.
His struggle with this poison was very hard to watch, he made it look so real. She showed such aloofness but still cared about his burden.
One thing that confused me was that it was never revealed to anybody not even the Crown Prince, that she had another person inside her. ?? EXCEPT for Prince Qin when he was dying. As it should be.

WTH moment: I was very confused that she was having such attacks from the Consort and having to fight for her life and her "girls" so I kept expecting her father and brother to show up in force to rescue her. But they virtually disappeared from the drama after her confession.

I was excited about Jeremy Tsu being in this drama, but suddenly I was noticing the same facial expression and mannerisms that have followed him in drama after drama and it got annoying. Yes that is what made him famous especially his intense eyes, but an actor HAS to move on from that and develop other mannerism according to the character and plot. He made a good villain however and I was very glad when he died. His constant stalking and obsessive behavior became insufferable, but Jeremy Tsu being the good actor that he is, executed it perfectly.

Another WTH moment: The 2FL is supposed to be a man and yet the cold Prince falls in love or seems to be falling for him/her before he knew she was a she. His actions were so blatantly in love and yet NOBODY mentioned that it was two "men" acting all weird. I hated that they disappeared to run off to be together long before the ending. I loved Bu Shu Lin and wished they used her more, but I understand that she had to leave to be a woman. However, I really thought that since they found a replacement that she would keep acting as the replacement. But I guessed wrong.

3rd WTH moment: What was this coming back from the dead stunt at the end? Commenters have said that one has to watch the Special Episode to get what happened, but I still didn't get it. I will have to re-watch the final episode to see what I missed. I didn't understand HOW he came back and where was he all this time? Very frustrating. BUT I still cried when she saw him standing under the tree. It was a bit strange that she just took it for granted that he had returned after 4 years. BUT, It still was a touching moment.

Special Mentions: His death scene. I was so sure that they would rescue him and give him acupuncture or whatever, I was already tearing up though. Then when I fully realized that he really did die lying beside her and she stayed with him in that snow, I lost it. I cried so long and hard I gave myself a headache.
Her dream of him and her and their little boy all together. At first I was confused, thought she was imagining him but the little boy acknowledged him and I thought then that it had to be a dream and it was and I got choked up over that.
When Bai Chen was writing out all the things for each year he knew he wouldn't be around for to teach his son. (I'm choking up just remembering this) Then his Mother reading them to him later.
Bei Chen giving his men their special roles after he's gone.
Tian Yuan's fierce love and loyalty for his Crown Prince. His crying over his condition, his death and then when he got the handkerchief, the joy. I loved this kid and his character. I hope to see him more. Maybe as a ML one day. His acting is up to par for that.
I loved watching the back story of the Emperor and how he became his Father and finally WHO actually poisoned him. I thought it was sad that it turned out to be the Empress Dowager who seemed to have loved him. Retribution of her going mad when she realized she killed her biological grandson, was a good scene.

In the end, I give this a 9, bc to me Pursuit of Jade, which I gave a 10, is still the best for 2026. thus I can't give other dramas a higher score than 9. It ranks up there though as being another great power drama!

Read More

When The Giant Meets The Fairy

The first thing you'll notice is the extreme height difference, but they are so cute, and the chemistry is great! Brand new actors but they do really well. (the acting isn't the best since they are fresh faces to dramas, but they did pretty good for newbies) The plotline was fun, and funny, but then the ending episodes are tearjerkers. Then a happy ending. I liked the ML more in the costume parts then the modern parts and I'm really hoping he does a full fledge serious costume drama. He has a good career ahead if he wants it. And by the way, he is drama's new heartthrob in my opinion. The FL is adorable and tiny and cute. Hope to see her more too. I loved the plot twist, and you really can't guess who is who or what is what and that my Dramalanders, is what keeps the attention. Great job Cast & Crew!!

Read More

WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK

If there is a Season 2, count me out. My take? Terrible script, terrible acting, terrible drama as a whole. I loved the different countries and places they showed in this otherwise lackluster drama, but that's about it. If there isn't a Season 2, then shame on everyone involved in this kind of ending. Couldn't they at least have done a 15-minute extension? But I suppose this is to be expected from what I consider a bad drama. Good riddance everybody and I hope the actors get with a better script and director to save face from this disaster. One Side Note: I did love Siqi's gown at the entrepreneur's competition. BTW did they ever announce the winner?

Some things I noted was, if they were in Australia, how come nobody had the Aussie accent? How come everybody is not in love or passionate enough, not even Siqi and her hubbie after they got married, to where there was more kissing amongst the couples? That in of itself makes it boring when it's supposed to be a Romance story. Why all the episodes before revealing Song, the ex, and then have him in one episode? Then why all the eps after, that were redundant and lagging? They could have cut it down to 24 and save the last 2 eps for the wedding and the runaway bride scare to be solved in the final episode. But then, that's just me. If you actually watch this, you will either love it or not love it. Me? I didn't love it. Especially the ending. Now to go wash out my brain and watch a better C-Drama to forget this one.

Read More

FL MAKES IT HARD TO STOMACH. ML MAKES IT WORTH IT.

I'm not sure what to say because I don't want to ruin this drama with the ML, singer Evan Lin, being so dang good in his role...well until the last few episodes. I blame the director. One thing is for sure...I hate the FLs character. The worst I've ever seen. And if I detest her so much, what does that say about the actress because I'm not sure why they had her acting the way she is. From beginning to end, one role after another makes her so cringy and hard to watch. If Evan Lin (really adorable and good singer) does another CDrama and I really hope he does (his sight impaired scenes were amazing), put him with a better Director and Female lead. He would learn a lot from more seasoned actresses who have a kind and patient nature such as Dilraba or Zhao LuSi. As for this drama, I am torn whether to recommend it because it may be my own critical nature that finds so many scenes with FL Wan Peng hard to stomach. Watch it at your risk and with an open mind. HOWEVER, Evan Lin does make it worth it.

Read More

If this were in America, it would sweep the Oscars!

This is the drama to beat of 2024! The acting is Oscar-worthy., the soundtrack is Oscar-worthy, the Production and plot and the CGI are all Oscar-worthy. Unfortunately there is nothing like this in America. But fortunately, we get to watch it on different platforms. I am glad we were given this opportunity to watch something so exciting and riveting and beautiful and tragic and of course the Ending being simply PERFECT!! The chemistry between Xingzhi and Shen Li was so palpable and sizzling, you just could feel them as Thee Romance of the history of the 3 Realms. And in real life, the drama couple of the year.It will be very hard to move on away from the 3 Realms and all the excellent characters. I hope there is something like the Oscars in China, that will hugely recognize Legend of Shen Li. Good bye, Lord Bicang and Your Excellency. You will be missed.

Read More

Actors great, but directing suffers

I will start by grouching about the directing. It really stunk in many places as though it was a high school production. Except that nowadays, they are even better. However, I loved the acting when the directing wasn't in the way. I have never seen such emotion and execution of CZYs character and what he needed to portray as Li Zan's illness in any drama. The PTSD and survivor's guilt acting was breathtaking and had me crying many times with how his tears flowed as though he was really experiencing the nightmare. CZY should be up for an award for this part. Liang Jie was no slouch either with the emotions she portrayed with CZY and the different scenes of what the war was making both of them go through. The support actors were just as amazing in their portrayals, and I'll say it again, except where directing got in the way.
Disappointed that there wasn't more interaction with Ben and Dr. Pei. It could have made for a great 2nd leads story. I wasn't a fan of Sa Xin who acted like a lovesick schoolboy around Ben, whereas Ben was just a teasing big brother. Don't know what that boy's story was about. I also can't figure out why SB left before the unveiling of the name and the photo with the kids. If she had to leave, she should have been seen loving on the kids before going. Then contemplating her time in Eastern Country and how she changed for the better. I cried hard when Ben died. He was such a great character and I love the actor who played him
I'm perplexed by the amateurish directing with the messed-up dialogue with weird pauses. The actors all made up for it though.
The ending was apropos as Ran said in the note to the parents, Li Zan will never get better, and instead of affecting those that they loved, they will go off on their journey of simple life. For those fans who want a S2. Why? After this heart wrenching depiction of the horrors of war, destruction of local people, especially the children, the effects of mental illness and showing that the victims aren't always the sick ones. The loved ones are affected too. Who wants to see that all again? Besides, Zan is suffering and only Ran can be his miracle. But not in that he will overcome it, just that she is the only one for him and so thus we must leave A Zan and Ran alone to continue their venture and elopement, inseparable.

One final aspect of this drama is the OST. My gosh, I absolutely loved Chen Xueran, he sings 3 songs, all of them fantastic, especially what scene it was played to. Other songs were noteworthy such as Te Amo, Beach Castle, Find My Way Back to Life, and The Wish Under the Olive Tree. My gosh the OSTs were spellbinding and made me cry rehearing them. This is a MUST WATCH, just get past the bad parts, it's worth it.

Read More

SEASON 2 CANCELLED

ADDENDUM: Season 2 was cancelled. Probably due to bad ratings that were around 3.2 or something.

Dumbest ending ever. The Director should be fired!! I am stunned over fooling all the viewers, what were you aiming at? I hope you get worse ratings. I feel sorry for the actors. Also it seems the FL has just stopped making Dramas in 2017. Wonder what happened to her? The ML however has gone on to make quite a few, ones that you will recognize.

Anyway, watch this if you dare. The ending is a shocker and actually more of a ridiculous one that I have to just shake my head at. I doubt this would make any ratings AT ALL, with todays fantastic dramas that are coming out.

Read More

I'VE WATCHED BETTER BY BOTH ACTORS.

After Love Between Fairy and Devil, this is somewhat of a disappointment in what we've seen Esther Yu do. Also Zhang Bin Bin has shown a much deeper capability in acting compared to this. Their OST, however, is cute and my first time hearing Bin Bin's voice. It's really super sweet with great vibrato.

All in all, it's a cutesy drama and a sweet little love story. I still adore Esther and her cute little face, and Zhang Bin Bin has far too many great dramas under his belt to let this fluff piece ruin his rep. It's all good.

FYI: This is a warning to other actors who do back to back dramas. If one is excellent, the next one had better be too or it puts a wrench in showing the fans your skills. Esther, be more careful in your choice of drama next time, little one

Read More