Confusing
In episodes 1 through 4 of VEIL OF SHADOWS, viewers are introduced to a cacophony of characters–humans and demons, multi-tailed foxes and magical entities. Some are allies, others are mortal or immortal enemies, quite a few seem to be in disguise or ludicrously made up. Sword play, CGI, romantic tension, and overacting abound–-wuxia up the wazoo. Someone has been murdered, someone else is getting married (or not). Who, what, or why? Enquiring minds want to know.A few of the characters exchange witticisms and barbed remarks. The fighting scenes are choreographed like a ballet. Still—most of the actors appear to be just phoning it in. No one seems to be taking the plot all that seriously.
If they aren’t, why should I?
After about 20 minutes of chaos and confusion, I give up and consult Dr. Google to see if I can sort out the strum and drang. I can’t. One reviewer assures me that if I hold on until Episode 5, all will come clear.
I do, and it doesn’t. (Or, truth be told, I just don’t care anymore.)
Someone else informs me that the problem is – ME. I’m culturally ignorant and not proficient in the stylized vocabulary of this particular art form.
Well...OK. It’s not as if there’s a dearth of dramas awaiting my perusal.
Guess I’ll move on to something less veiled and shadowy.
Was this review helpful to you?
Morally Simplistic
I watch a drama for one of three reasons: to learn something, feel something, or be entertained. So far this drama is weak in all three.In the first 14 episodes, people have been slaughtered by the hundreds–all as various factions struggle to acquire power. The repetitive and boring fight scenes take up a huge percentage of each episode. For me, at least, the different combatants are hard to differentiate, let alone care about.
Our hero, Ning Que, is a fighter. He has a personal score to settle. Other than that, he just wants to survive in this treacherous world. He’s skilled in swordsmanship, talented in calligraphy and martial arts, and attractive to the ladies. The bad guys, dressed in black, are mostly a bunch of uglies who aim to install the child of Hades as ruler of the world–so we know which side to root for. As I said–pretty simple-minded.
The violence is sanitized, so the audience doesn’t have to feel upset when someone is murdered. We’re anesthetized to the torture and murder taking place in the name of glory and “courage.”
Ning Que seems really fond of his engaging little maid, Sang Sang. Of course she has to obey his every whim, but she seems happy to do it. While ignorant and self-centered, NQ wants to gain knowledge through cultivation–mostly to gain more skill so he can overcome his enemies. That seems to be his main goal.
Ning Que, is mostly an unknown at this point. If there’s more to his character, we haven’t seen it yet.
Have to admit I’m a sucker for mystical teachings and magic special effects, and those abound in EVER NIGHT.
I also love seeing the flora and fauna of the Chinese landscape.
Two questions:
1. Why is Sang-Sang always obsessing about her “dark skin” when she appears lighter-skinned than Ning Que?
2. Hey, writers! Why all this hatred toward crows? Crows are wonderful, intelligent birds. And while our ancestors feared them, please don’t encourage cruelty by showing people throwing rocks at them.
Later: As there’s very little character development in this series, I decided to watch a more substantial drama. BUT... if you decide to do the same, at least watch episode 60 before you go. This episode shows a grand battle between two major antagonists (I won’t say who--no spoiler here). The CGI depiction of this fight is the best, and most original, I’ve ever seen.
Was this review helpful to you?
Outstanding Cast
A-list Korean actors in this series save it from being another banal treatise on the excesses of the super rich. Kim Ji-won does an outstanding job as the brittle, cold, and superficial FL (Hong Hae-in) who is fabulously wealthy and--as it turns out--tough as nails. The ML, Kim Soo-hyun plays the kind, honest, handsome, athletic, intelligent Baek Hyeon-woo, who (for some reason) can’t get enough of Hae-in, who deigns to throw him a crumb now and then. In spite of the threadworn plot, the writing and acting give this drama a boost and elevate it to a higher level.
Unlike other Korean series, this one showcases some secondary characters who can actually hold the viewers’ interest.
Was this review helpful to you?
Bonkers
I very much like the two leads in this drama, but in places the plot got so bizarre it took me right out of the story. At times, the over-the-top silliness just broke my brain. Of course not everything has to be high art, but at some point I could no longer suspend my disbelief.There’s one scene in particular on a plane where our whack–a--doodle FL passes herself off as a doctor and volunteers to heal a rando patient who turns out to be... sorry, not going to spill the beans here. Let’s just say, it’s quite a coincidence.
And that’s just the tip of the bonkers berg. I couldn’t really get what the ML, a rich, spoiled dude, saw in someone who was obviously cuckoo for cocoa puffs–pretty enough, but spouting the language and folkways of Joseon Korea. Wouldn’t your average bro be turned off just a little? And, for that matter, what did the FL see in a guy who alternated between concern, contempt, and even bullying to get his way. I guess I’m not sure the writers did the work of making the attraction between these two believable.
This drama makes me think that we women are trading the exercise of our intelligence for romantic fantasies and mindless baloney. But maybe that’s not always such a bad thing--if you keep part of your brain in the real world.
So in spite of the foregoing, if you’re not opposed to a (sometimes unbelievable) series where an arrogant, supercilious chaebol gets kicked around by a feisty female--you’ll probably enjoy MY ROYAL NEMESIS.
And, by the way, the actress who plays Grandma is amazing and lovable. Who wouldn't want to have a grandma like her.
In my case, ngl (not gonna lie), I kinda liked it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Schizophrenic
I watched this drama to the end. Many viewers will probably like it, but for me it was too contrived – with a unpalatable mixture of silly hijinks, gratuitous violence, sadism, ridiculous wishes, and bogus profundity. It had a convoluted plot with too many secondary characters, and a lot of elements that just didn’t come together in a cohesive whole.In the beginning, the ML is a a big goof ball of a genie who can do anything with a snap of his fingers. Somehow he’s also Satan. He can put out a raging fire or catch someone who’s fallen off a tall building, He can appear and disappear and travel through time. He can fly, burst through the walls of buildings, and deflect bullets. No problemo.
As for the FL, she just doesn’t give two figs about anything because she’s a psychopath (or maybe not). She’s trying to be decent, but she has the soul of a killer. Why should the viewers care about either of these absurd characters? There’s nothing at stake. Neither of them want anything–-or anything substantive–-either from the world or from each other.
As the story progresses, wishes are granted, wishes are postponed, unforeseen circumstances arise. When a romance develops, it seems completely unmotivated.
When are the good people at Netflix going to hire writers who can actually construct a story with heart and nuance–one that doesn’t rely on gimmicks?
Was this review helpful to you?
Slow to start...
People have told me that LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY is a fantastic drama. I believe those people. I read the reviews, and they all said the same thing.In Episode 1, we meet the cast of characters, a large, unpleasant, bickering family. A war’s raging on the border, and Mom and Dad are just back from the frontlines. They haven’t seen their daughter Cheng Shao Shang for ten years--nor have they made any real attempt to contact her. Why?
It’s not clear. We’re told that Chen Shao Shang has been cared for by neglectful relatives. She’s been starved, mistreated, and deprived of an education. The poor girl’s health is supposedly precarious.
But with a couple of winks, the girl lets the audience know that she’s faking it. Also, the actress in question looks particularly well-fed–so, not to worry.
We hear over and over about the travails of Old Madame Cheng–the blubbering, melodramatic grandma. I counted twelve(!) different speeches made by this woman in the first two episodes. She whines and complains incessantly. There’s also a thoroughly wretched uncle who’s been embezzling armaments–and a stone-faced general who comes to investigate the crime. Everyone argues about who’s filial and who isn’t.
There’s no hook, nothing to convince me to keep watching this series.
In addition, this entire series is 56 episodes long! Judging by the first two episodes the pacing is going to be sloooowww. I'm sorry. I can only go by what I’ve seen so far. Your mileage may differ.
Was this review helpful to you?
I fell asleep three times
I tried to like this series–but I just didn’t–mostly because of the FL. During the first few episodes, she had a never-ending bored smirk on her face, as if she could hardly take this production seriously. If you want to see a top-notch Arthur Chen drama, I suggest you watch LOVE STORY IN THE 1970s–one of the best of the year.Was this review helpful to you?
Life's too short...
This one's not for me. Let me give you the low-lights. In episode one, the ML, who's a doctor, keeps sneaking furtive glances at the FL. She wonders what he looks like without his surgical mask. Other people comment on her beauty and his good looks. She brings a friend to her next appointment, so the friend can evaluate Dr. McDreamy. But he isn't there. Instead there's an older doctor substituting for the younger guy. Horrors! A betrayal. She sees McDreamy on the street and lashes out at him for "standing her up!" As if the whole medical thing is some kind of a dating service. He seems to buy into it. (Oh, and why does she care anyway? She already has a boyfriend--supposedly.)It's true that a lot of series don't catch fire until the second or third episodes. But I'm just not curious about either of these people. I need something more substantial to keep me watching-the hint of a mystery, some depth of character, an intriguing plot device.
Was this review helpful to you?
