Scarlet Heart meets Meteor Garden
This is one of my favorite dramas ever. It follows the same story of Scarlet Heart with the girl time traveling back to the Qing Dynasty and getting entangled with the princes and palace intrigue. Mixed into the story are plot pieces pulled clearly right from Meteor Garden. Some of the princes make up the "F4".The overall story is good and kept me interested. It can be silly and goofy at times but I find it enjoyable. There is one area around I want to say episode 10 where they send the female lead to take care of a tomb and that part is kind of dumb and I just skip it during rewatches. I have rewatched this drama at least 2 times. When I finished this drama I was depressed and in a show hole for months!
The opening song was so good it just touches my soul. I do like some of the other songs too.
The cast is great and Yang Mi is my favorite Chinese actress (make sure to watch her in 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms and Legend of Fu Yao too!)
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I found the music beautiful but most was not memorable. The last song gave me butterflies in my stomach when it began which is a drama first for me!
I will say I was not sold on this drama until episodes 3 or 4 and then from there on out I couldn't stop!
You are not a drama addict if you don't try this drama!!
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I love complicated birth secret origin stories and this drama definitely has that for several characters. I love dramas that can jump from comedy to serious and felt this drama did that a lot. The main big part of the plot kind of fizzles and was a disappointment at the end and I was not left feeling complete after the ending. I am a fan of both sad and happy endings and this one...I don't even know which to call it...Besides the ending I felt most of the story was good and was only slow at a couple parts.
I feel it was worth watching but do not think there is much re watch value.
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A delight!
I totally loved this drama and binged it in a couple days around school and work!I love the strong cast! The lead characters are great!
I don't want to give away spoilers but there were several typical Kdrama cliches that I thought were coming a bunch of times throughout the drama and they kept tricking me!
This drama is a great mix of romance and comedy with some mystery too! Anyone looking for a drama that does not involve making you yell at the TV and brings you lots of smiles, this is the drama for you!
I can never state the rewatch value right after finishing a drama. I am saying no right now but I could see that change and could see myself wanting to rewatch the romantic/comedy scenes.
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This review may contain spoilers
A pleasant surprise. No over the top manipulative characters! So refreshing!
I went into this drama with low expectations because I thought I kept reading people upset with how the romance goes and with the ending. I personally loved the drama and couldn't stop watching it until I finished it! I always think I don't like business related dramas but this one kept the business aspect and romance aspect interesting. What I think I liekd overall was the relationships between the characters. Loved the bromance, Han Ji Pyung's relationship with the Grandma, and just all the relationships overall.I found this drama really funny at times and love the parts after the credits every episode. It is always a little pleasant surprise.
The music was nice but nothing that stuck with me while not watching the drama.
While this drama was enjoyable and I couldn't stop watching it I don't see myself rewatching but sometimes I don't realize the rewatch value for a couple months after finishing something. Maybe the romance, bromance, or the comedy parts will bring me back to this drama in the future.
Spoiler Stuff
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I am so mad that I knew Nam Joo Hyuk was the male lead. I miss the days when I was new to dramas and was unaware of who was the lead and was taken by surprise by the romance. I am jealous of those who came into this drama thinking Han Ji Pyung was the lead. I love how the story started with him. I personally shipped Dal Mi with Do San but would also have been happy if she ended up with Han Ji Pyung. I feel Han Ji Pyung missed his connection. When the Grandma first asked for his help he should have just announced he was "Do San". Once Do San got involved I didn't really feel any romantic chemistry between HJP and SDM (but still would have routed for them if they ended up together). I may be in the minority but they never really knew each other. They were in love with the person in the letters from 15 years ago. They were in love with that moment in time and those memories. I wish the Grandma adopted HJP! He is by far one of my top favorite Second lead males. This character put his feeling aside most of the time to help the lead and not get in the way of their relationship which I found so respectful! I loved when he called to tell Dal Me that he might have caused a misunderstanding.
Nam Do San. I loved him because i love when it isn't the typical rich snobby chaebol who finds the lead annoying. I love how Seo Dal Mi isn't the poor ugly duckling. I like that NDS is a socially awkward isn't amused with things like blood type, horoscopes, etc. I really liked his personality and the bromance was fun too! I feel that NDS and SDM support and compliment each other really well and I enjoyed the chemistry. I get that yes he becomes a rich man in the end but he didn't start off rich and didn't do the typically rich tropey things like rent a whole restaurant, bring her shopping for clothes, no annoying rich unaccepting parents, no rich kid PTSD past. I found him refreshing and I loved it.
I constantly feared that In Jae was going to be crazy and manipulative and fall in love with one of the guys and be jealous and annoying. I was beyond happy that nothing like that happened. I loved how this drama didn't really have any annoying over the top characters. Even when they went into the brother revenge plot I cringed at first but it ended up being not over the top like I feared. I usually get annoyed with the "3 years later, separated, no contact for years" plots but I even felt that flowed and made sense in this drama.
I am so glad I decided to watch this drama! It was truly enjoyable!
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Xie Xiang is the most badass female lead ever in a Mulan plot set in the early 1900s!
I highly recommend this drama! I am personally a huge fan of the gender bender genre dramas and this drama did not disappoint!Xie Xiang/Xie Liang Chen is by far one of my all time favorite female leads. I love her character development so much. Episodes 39-41 is where you see her at her best.
I love all the other lead characters and a lot of the romantic/friend chemistry. The cast, including villains, did a great job!
The cinematography is wonderful and I personally love dramas set in this time period. The music is good, my favorite being the intro song.
I actually just finished rewatching and found it just as good as the 1st time. I had to binge even though I already had seen it all! I did fast forward past most parts that did not involve the main students because I already knew the intrigue that was happening around them. There is only one random side plot towards the end that I thought was stupid and just seemed like a time filler that I completely fast forwarded. It just randomly adds a new non main character as a minor non important plot device that the show could do without.
The only downside of this drama for me is the limited romance but the drama is so good that I still rate this drama a 10! Action packed, funny, and I found I like dramas more when there are animated/"real" side characters/friends.
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While the overall drama (minus the bromance) was pretty meh to me I really feel the cast all did a great job, I feel it was the story itself that ruined the romance and not the acting.
The music is great and I can see myself looking to go back and listen to some of the songs.
I don't think I will ever rewatch this drama.
I think this is a great introduction drama to Sageuks as it is "fun", has good music, a great cast and is only 20 episodes long.
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This is a really nice slice of life drama. I am in my late 30s and found Kang Dan Yi's character very relatable. This drama is a breath of fresh air with great characters. I love stories with realistic characters and these are all. No insane over manipulative 3rd wheels. I actually really like the 3rd wheels a lot in the drama. I truly like pretty much all the characters.
The music is nice and pleasant. The story was never slow. I feel most people will enjoy this drama. All the main and minor plots have nice closure at the end.
I don't see myself re watching but it was definitely enjoyable.
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This review may contain spoilers
I personally found this drama quite enjoyable but would have loved it more I think if it was 20 or so episodes less. The filming was beautiful. The music was enjoyable but nothing really catchy. This drama is so long and never really has a lot of scenes that I would be dying to watch again. I really only wanted to watch scenes with the main leads. They are what made me enjoy this drama. This is the 1st drama I can say where while I was dying to see them together I also was very much so enjoying what they were doing apart Usually in dramas the couples become "a couple" and I just want seems of them together. However the leads in this drama held onto being themselves the whole time.,,maybe because of spoiler reasons... Both were so smart and witty and I will miss them both since the drama is over. I enjoyed the Emperor a lot as well as Gu Nan Yi. The story was okay but there were lots of parts I felt were dragging and I did not find any satisfaction with the ending. I recommend though just because of the leads! They are phenomenal and I look forward to watching other dramas they star in. Was this review helpful to you?
The story started off very goofy and comical and became more serious maybe in the 20s-30s? I liked a lot of the leads but I am so over obsessive unrealistic 3rd wheels. who just cant give up and move on! Both 3rd wheels became annoying and I really felt Runyu's behavior didnt fit his character. He does experience a lot of stuff but he gets beyond blinded by love.
The Emperor and Empress are both disgusting heavenly beings.
I am surprised I even finished this drama...I had high expectations and they were not met. I will say maybe it is because even though I found some plot pieces annoying I never really found the drama slow expect some parts in the mortal realm and the last 2 episodes .
Music was okay. I loved the costumes and the scenery.
I look forward to seeing the cast in other dramas. I was very impressed with the actor playing Runyu pretending to be a different character in disguise as Runyu. He did a great job in that scene and you could tell right away who he was!
Will not watch again and probably wont really recommend .
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Would have been great if it was shortened to maybe 20 episodes..
I love dramas with "magic/supernatural" plot pieces so this drama was right up my alley!Pros:
The idea
The leads (until the last 12ish episodes.)
The OST
Cons:
The writing starting around episode 20. It was just a back and forth of "no I'm going to die for you." "No! I'm going to die for YOU!!" Back and forth.
Also when the villain escapes...a least favorite trope is when a villain gets lose after getting caught.
Couldn't stand the 3rd wheel. Never felt he loved the lead but just had a weird obsession caused by his own back story.
So confused by the whole feather handkerchief...turns black at one point and then he isn't human? I don't know, I might have missed something...
Glad it is over...
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is a very fun watch. The cast did an amazing job as I love the whole cast! I love all the silly sound effects in the drama. Up until about episide 12 or 13 I was binging the show but the last 3 or 4 episodes were kind of meh. I couldnt wait for it to be over.
While this drama was fun I will most likely not watch it again. I think the kidnapping mystery is what held my attention the most.
Nice ending and enjoyable side stories. Wish the siblings had side stories!
Maybe spoilers:
Somethings I really loved was the rich parents supporting the romance and there barely being 3rd wheels at all.
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This review may contain spoilers
For the most part I enjoyed this drama. I got a little bored near the end but I think it was me and not the drama itself.Let me start with the cons:
-I was disappointed the song Never that was played in the trailer would be in the drama!!
-No werewolves. Hoping for a directors cut to see some cool werewolf parts!
-The CGI didn't bother me at all but just putting it here because some people don't like. There isn't much of it but I personally think it was great for 2018. It is way better than say the CGI in Ice Fantasy that came out 2 years earlier. If the CGI does bother you feel reassured there isn't a lot of it.
Pros:
-Overall I found some parts of the plot predictable but I enjoyed the ride. I am always a fan of birth secret plots.
-The music was good. Even though they didn't play Never.
-I liked the main characters. Ma Zhai Xing is your typical altruistic female character but she surprised me in the last episodes in couple ways. I enjoyed the character of Prince Bo too. I felt the leads had great chemistry and I am always a fool for the over used childhood friend/crush story lines. My favorite character was probably Ji Chong. He was a great 2nd lead that didn't due stupid desperate things to get a girl who didn't love him. I found him refreshing and was content with his ending. I really liked the night fiends too! I think I would have enjoyed side stories with.
-I didn't hate the ending. It is not picture perfect but there is closure!
Will I rewatch? Probably not? Unless it is released with the cut scenes and then I would just watch those parts.
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