1
Trauma and healing... but still missing something
This show has a solid premise and blockbuster feel, as well as some thoughtful themes, and I’m still trying to figure out why I didn’t enjoy it more.
The two leads are pretty complicated, in a good way. Both FL and ML are smart and capable people with some serious past trauma. Their relationship starts out a bit frosty, but soon develops into a mutually supportive affair. I especially love how the FL, despite her colder personality, comes in like a ray of sunshine to the ML’s life, determined to help- but it is gradually revealed that she struggles with some deep-seated issues of her own. The leads learn to heal and take care of each other, which is heartwarming to see.
On the villain side, things are also pretty interesting and complicated. Some characters do hateful things but I also sympathize with their situation- it’s a blurry spectrum they’re all on. The empress dowager, for example, is some bad and some good. The best context for thinking about her is probably Wu Zetian. She didn’t get to where she is by erring on the side of mercy (or morality), but she is also a good ruler and has a conscience too.
With these more layered antagonists, as long as the show acknowledges their complications (which this one mostly does), I find that they generally add depth and thoughtfulness, but at the same time make it harder on my emotions as I can’t decide who to root against and how I want things to ideally end.
As the plot moves forward with revenge and restitution, it also slowly reveals past events. I think this is done well, with just the right hints so that we know the right amount as the story develops. The gradual unveil also builds up a decent amount of pathos.
As I was watching, my main complaints were that I felt uncomfortably sympathetic to the troubled Prince Li, and somewhere in the 20s of episodes they kill off a character I liked. These are actually fairly minor and I did really enjoy many parts of the show, like watching the leads heal and support each other, and following the story of the FL’s mental and emotional state.
But, less concretely, I also just wasn’t that into the show. Most of the character and relationship development- things I really enjoy- seemed to be in the first third of the show (aside from the Lishan arc much later in, which I did really like). By the middle, I was already losing interest. Actually a lot of the plot is simply about power struggles, none of it that special. It felt like the plot turned very procedural, eg unraveling schemes and executing revenge. There are splashes of meaningfulness and insight, like with the multidimensional antagonists or the healing process the FL needs to go through. But the rest of it just didn’t engage my emotions that much. I found myself taking lots of breaks as well as watching it sped up.
Actually, the show has some pretty great side characters that I did get emotionally attached to. I liked the leads but stopped caring that much about them, so I was excited for these side character developments- only to have them promptly abandoned by the plot. Some of them did not even get a wrap-up by the end.
Also, the final arc is quite weak, just too one-dimensional and boring. I would say that I had already lost a significant amount of interest by then, but at that point it became a true struggle to watch, even at 1.5X speed. I agree with another comment that this screenwriter- whose previous works I’ve enjoyed- is not good at sticking the landing for her shows.
For the acting, I thought it was fine. People did a good job, though I didn’t notice anything particularly impressive. The production is in general good, like top-tier stuff. The fight choreo and execution are quite good, a bit brutal at times. I did think, though, that this is not the best styling or camera angles for either Cheng Lei or Bai Lu. I feel like I’ve seen them both looking better in other shows. But to be fair, I’d rather a show focus on other things than making the actors look good.
For music, I thought the OST is ok- not bad, but probably nothing I’d listen to afterwards. But I really love the BGM, especially but not limited to that contemporary-sounding violin piece. It’s not my usual style, but it just created such delicious tension. There are also other really nice BGMs.
On balance I’m giving this show a 7 (“Entertained but not a masterpiece”), reflecting that I really liked the character and relationship development that we did get, but my enjoyment was significantly muddied by a lot of less riveting plotlines that I didn’t quite care for. And unfortunately most of the good stuff was at the beginning so it is less forefront in my memory. Even the pathos of the late-arriving Lishan arc is nullified by the agony of struggling through the last story arc not too long afterwards. The production (mainly the music) is almost good enough for me to give it a bump... but not really.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
This show has a happy ending. Some side characters die throughout the second half, which is slightly upsetting, but the major characters make it through. The conflicts are resolved into pretty much the best outcome the leads could hope for, they should be satisfied. We do not get a view of the future, but the show still ties up nicely with a bit of reflection (FL voiceover) and then a bit of hope (Lishan opening again).
MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD
Well. The leads might be satisfied, but *I* wasn’t satisfied. Prince Li is the final boss, but his arc lacks depth. Neither side acknowledges the complications of his situation- just poof, forgotten, so much for multidimensional antagonist- and even Bai Lu’s expression in her final confrontation with him is weirdly neutral.
The show does a better job with the empress dowager, because there is some discussion of the complications of HER situation. But actually, I rather objected to how that all ended up shaking out, with her so heavily and publicly condemned. I think I have more sympathy for her than Ye Li or the other characters, seeing how her evils were partially shaped by institutional sexism and limited opportunities for women, and that she continues to be judged more harshly than all the historical men who also rose to power via bloodbath- both points she made that nobody else in the show seems to acknowledge.
Do her good and bad deeds offset? Ye Li, and the emperor, and the court, all say no. But as a modern person, the institutional sexism probably bothers me more than it would bother the characters in their historical setting. And I kind of don't think it's fair to dismiss all the progressive changes she made as a wise ruler.
The two leads are pretty complicated, in a good way. Both FL and ML are smart and capable people with some serious past trauma. Their relationship starts out a bit frosty, but soon develops into a mutually supportive affair. I especially love how the FL, despite her colder personality, comes in like a ray of sunshine to the ML’s life, determined to help- but it is gradually revealed that she struggles with some deep-seated issues of her own. The leads learn to heal and take care of each other, which is heartwarming to see.
On the villain side, things are also pretty interesting and complicated. Some characters do hateful things but I also sympathize with their situation- it’s a blurry spectrum they’re all on. The empress dowager, for example, is some bad and some good. The best context for thinking about her is probably Wu Zetian. She didn’t get to where she is by erring on the side of mercy (or morality), but she is also a good ruler and has a conscience too.
With these more layered antagonists, as long as the show acknowledges their complications (which this one mostly does), I find that they generally add depth and thoughtfulness, but at the same time make it harder on my emotions as I can’t decide who to root against and how I want things to ideally end.
As the plot moves forward with revenge and restitution, it also slowly reveals past events. I think this is done well, with just the right hints so that we know the right amount as the story develops. The gradual unveil also builds up a decent amount of pathos.
As I was watching, my main complaints were that I felt uncomfortably sympathetic to the troubled Prince Li, and somewhere in the 20s of episodes they kill off a character I liked. These are actually fairly minor and I did really enjoy many parts of the show, like watching the leads heal and support each other, and following the story of the FL’s mental and emotional state.
But, less concretely, I also just wasn’t that into the show. Most of the character and relationship development- things I really enjoy- seemed to be in the first third of the show (aside from the Lishan arc much later in, which I did really like). By the middle, I was already losing interest. Actually a lot of the plot is simply about power struggles, none of it that special. It felt like the plot turned very procedural, eg unraveling schemes and executing revenge. There are splashes of meaningfulness and insight, like with the multidimensional antagonists or the healing process the FL needs to go through. But the rest of it just didn’t engage my emotions that much. I found myself taking lots of breaks as well as watching it sped up.
Actually, the show has some pretty great side characters that I did get emotionally attached to. I liked the leads but stopped caring that much about them, so I was excited for these side character developments- only to have them promptly abandoned by the plot. Some of them did not even get a wrap-up by the end.
Also, the final arc is quite weak, just too one-dimensional and boring. I would say that I had already lost a significant amount of interest by then, but at that point it became a true struggle to watch, even at 1.5X speed. I agree with another comment that this screenwriter- whose previous works I’ve enjoyed- is not good at sticking the landing for her shows.
For the acting, I thought it was fine. People did a good job, though I didn’t notice anything particularly impressive. The production is in general good, like top-tier stuff. The fight choreo and execution are quite good, a bit brutal at times. I did think, though, that this is not the best styling or camera angles for either Cheng Lei or Bai Lu. I feel like I’ve seen them both looking better in other shows. But to be fair, I’d rather a show focus on other things than making the actors look good.
For music, I thought the OST is ok- not bad, but probably nothing I’d listen to afterwards. But I really love the BGM, especially but not limited to that contemporary-sounding violin piece. It’s not my usual style, but it just created such delicious tension. There are also other really nice BGMs.
On balance I’m giving this show a 7 (“Entertained but not a masterpiece”), reflecting that I really liked the character and relationship development that we did get, but my enjoyment was significantly muddied by a lot of less riveting plotlines that I didn’t quite care for. And unfortunately most of the good stuff was at the beginning so it is less forefront in my memory. Even the pathos of the late-arriving Lishan arc is nullified by the agony of struggling through the last story arc not too long afterwards. The production (mainly the music) is almost good enough for me to give it a bump... but not really.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
This show has a happy ending. Some side characters die throughout the second half, which is slightly upsetting, but the major characters make it through. The conflicts are resolved into pretty much the best outcome the leads could hope for, they should be satisfied. We do not get a view of the future, but the show still ties up nicely with a bit of reflection (FL voiceover) and then a bit of hope (Lishan opening again).
MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD
Well. The leads might be satisfied, but *I* wasn’t satisfied. Prince Li is the final boss, but his arc lacks depth. Neither side acknowledges the complications of his situation- just poof, forgotten, so much for multidimensional antagonist- and even Bai Lu’s expression in her final confrontation with him is weirdly neutral.
The show does a better job with the empress dowager, because there is some discussion of the complications of HER situation. But actually, I rather objected to how that all ended up shaking out, with her so heavily and publicly condemned. I think I have more sympathy for her than Ye Li or the other characters, seeing how her evils were partially shaped by institutional sexism and limited opportunities for women, and that she continues to be judged more harshly than all the historical men who also rose to power via bloodbath- both points she made that nobody else in the show seems to acknowledge.
Do her good and bad deeds offset? Ye Li, and the emperor, and the court, all say no. But as a modern person, the institutional sexism probably bothers me more than it would bother the characters in their historical setting. And I kind of don't think it's fair to dismiss all the progressive changes she made as a wise ruler.
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