Great drama, no boring moments
I've watched a lot of chinese wuxia/xianxia , historical dramas (e,g TMOPB, Tiger and Rose, Nirvana in fire, Ashes of Love, Minglan, Eternal night, Fight breaks sphere...) and modern dramas as well. However, lately it's been getting harder to find quality ones, as most of the new ones coming out have repetitive, oftentimes ridiculous storyline/script. This drama has enough novelty/twist in the plot that you don't feel like you've seen everything before, and has good logic to keep you interested . I rarely skipped scenes, and I enjoyed the performances of all the casts. I liked the ending as well.I do wish there were more romantic scenes between the male leads, and less animation ( e.g. would have loved to see Li Changge and team perform the dance competition for real in Mobei). Kudos to the director, scriptwriter, actors and production team. Surprisingly, I looked up the other dramas by the same director on here, and found that I've seen a few of his work and have enjoyed them as well. Now, I check who the director/scriptwriter of upcoming/have not watched dramas first before investing my time in watching them.
Was this review helpful to you?
One of my favorite wuxia drama
I enjoyed this at the same level as Ever Night 1, and I've rewatched this several times. I like wuxia dramas especially those focusing on cultivation and underdog type stories. The ML's journey and progression as to how he acquires his skills were well paced. There were some dragging moments that I don't care for i.e., plot concerning palace/royals and zombies/puppets. The battle scenes were executed well esp the finale.The main reason I liked this drama is that they were plenty of highlights. The battle scenes where he shows off his power were alloted enough screen time and done right, i.e., you can see how powerful the ML is. I hate Wuxia dramas where the ML is supposed to be the most powerful and yet getting beaten often or needing to be rescued.
I wish they'll make season 2.
Was this review helpful to you?
Gets more interesting around ep 16
I have rewatched episodes from 16 to end multiple times after finishing the drama the 1st time. The first 16 episodes were too slow and the villains (evil concubine and daughter) were too annoying for me. So this is one of the few dramas where I skipped to future episodes after watching first 1-2 episodes, and then came back to watch the earlier episodes I skipped (to understand the plot better).My favorite parts were the polo matches, FL's relationship with her grandmother, FL's relationship with her friend (wife of ML's general friend in latter episodes), scenes where FL solved problems for empress, and when FL/ML started living at their own place/FL running her own household.
Others were confused that FL appeared not to notice/understand ML's feeling for her right away. IMO, she knows how ML feels for her, but also knows that feelings can be fleeting and may not be enough for a relationship to last. She was guarding her heart so she would not be devastated if the worst happened.
I loved the interactions between the FL and ML. Sad to see that it didn't last for them in real life.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good story
This drama doesn't really dwell on the romance between the leads, but more on the FL overcoming the challenges of being a teacher to spoiled kids from the royal/affluent families. It was good to watch the students change to responsible individuals. The SML was funny. The hairstyles are a little weird though, and the makeup/styling of the FL is unflattering. The ML's acting is too stiff for my taste, and his character was too bland imo.If you are looking for a feel good drama, this is a good one to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Highly entertaining
I liked this drama a lot, because of the good acting and the comedy. Even though it seems low budget, every actor performed their role well. Other than the leads, I especially like the FL mom's acting and the FL/ML assistants. Sumo was funny when he was being flirtatious. The romantic scenes were well acted, sweet and believable.The parting scene in the last episode was well done and reminded me of an american movie - Somewhere in Time, w/c starred Christopher Reeves. Waiting for season 2.
Was this review helpful to you?
My guilty pleasure
I just started watching lakorns recently and this was my 3rd. I saw Kleun Cheewit and Game Sanaeha prior this, and this is my favorite so far. Most reviewers were annoyed with the constant bickering and that their sweet moments (realization that they like each other) came towards the end. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the ML chasing the FL (albeit maybe subconsciously) for most of the episodes. It was funny to watch how he tries to extend the time he has with her/make each moment last longer and how he would constantly seek her out even if it was just to annoy her. I do not have a problem with FL playing hard to get either. That for me is self respect. It doesn't matter if she likes the guy, she still needs to be treated right and respected before she gives in. The female lead's family dynamics e.g. supportive siblings were a joy to watch as well.The negatives for me would be the annoying mother and daughter tandem, and I didn't care much for the side love stories of FL's siblings.
If you like Cinderella stories, multiple guys chasing one girl and very good looking leads then this one is for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good time travel drama
I didn't like to watch this drama at first, because I didn't really like the bald styling of this era. I ended up watching the korean version first, but dropped that because I didn't enjoy it for some reason. The korean version had young, good looking actors "with hair", but the acting just didn't do it for me and it had way more drama e.g. ML with mask/scar w/c I felt was unnecessary. Here, the acting was on point and the storytelling was well executed and made sense. The ending was satisfying, and to be expected from this genre.The beginning soundtrack is great, and good to listen to over and over.
Was this review helpful to you?
Have rewatched several times
This is one of the few dramas that I enjoy rewatching. I always like dramas about underdogs rising to the top, w/c helps me feel good/entertained during these trying times. I especially liked the relationship between the ML and Chen Pipi, and ML and his teacher (loved the old guy). I did not care for the ML and FL relationship, and felt a little "uneasy" about it, considering ML raised the FL since she was a baby. The height difference also does not help. The emperor was funny and charming as well.I like how they ended the drama, even though there's a season 2. I have watched Season 2 and sad to say, I did not like that as much as this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Worth the watch
I'm not really into detective/Sherlock Holmes type of drama, but I do like the martial arts aspect of this one. I find the ML charismatic, and I enjoyed watching his facial expressions/acting. The FL has a strong character, independent and not "whiny" or acting childish like a lot of the other dramas.The 1st 20 episodes were fast paced and suspenseful, the middle was a little dragging (evil sister kept coming back, boring cases), and the ending was not the best . It is still a happy ending though, but they left it open for a 2nd season w/c may not happen at all.
Was this review helpful to you?
Unexpectedly good
This is one of those dramas that I didn't intend to watch but ended up watching because I couldn't find anything else. This turned out to be my liking. It has a simple story, and the villains were not over the top bad (maybe one sister was). I would' ve preferred to see a real love triangle (like to see the ML getting jealous more), but there was only a short lived one with the childhood friend.This is a good one to try if you just want a relaxing, happy ending historical romance to watch. I thought it would be too childish based on the ML being in a previous drama that I did not like. But his acting was good and mature in this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Dropped initially, but later finished and have rewatched several times
I was so looking forward to this after watching TMOPB. However, after initially watching the 1st two episodes, I decided to stop for awhile because it felt very much like a repeat of TMOPB. I decided to give it another try and instead of watching where I left off, I skipped to episode 21 to finish, then went back to watch the episodes I skipped. I am so glad I did it this way, because my favorite parts were the episodes starting from her aunt's wedding to dream of aranya, mortal realm, later episodes (in this order). My least favorite part was the beginning when she was a fox staying in the heavenly kingdom. I have since rewatched it multiple times. I just enjoy seeing the beautiful costumes, setting, and good looking actors. The story is much lighter, happier compared to TMOPB.Was this review helpful to you?