When people start gaslighting a show that's mediocre, that's when you'll know it isn't THAT great. I still LOVED…
It definitely had more politics, which I enjoyed a bit less, too. Hopefully Season 3 will meld more of the politics and camaraderie and martial arts scenes like Season 1 did.
I like this s2, Because the plot depened. It's the building for s3, s1 show his witty, brave, but pure so he jus…
He's still a pawn in Season 2, though; am itching to see him come into his own. Now that we know his identity, I foresee that it's just a matter of time and a bit more experience until he can finally outsmart dad... 😉
I still love Fan Xian and his cleverness but I felt like this season was quite disappointing compared to the first…
I at least appreciate that I now know where I stand with his dad/the Emperor. I couldn't figure out what kind of character he was, but I can now confidently say he's a selfish, crooked dude. I finally know not to root for him, and that was a huge step in clarity from Season 1. 😅
The only cute part was the wedding; I didn't like how things went south after the FL found out ML's protector was responsible for her brother's death. She got all unnecessarily unreasonable about it all of a sudden. 🤨
P.S. A couple examples of the fast, clunky pacing from the beginning were the scenes setting up the marriage between…
Ah, I see. Interesting.
Not sure yet! I'll have to do some research and see what I'm in the mood for. A friend is wanting me to watch When Life Gives You Tangerines so we can talk about it, but I've been putting it off because I know it will give me a gut punch and probably make me weepy. 😅
P.S. A couple examples of the fast, clunky pacing from the beginning were the scenes setting up the marriage between…
Me, too! Gave it the same rating. It has more substance than Prisoner of Beauty, for sure, and the leads' chemistry was REALLY good. I'd only seen Liu Yifei in Mulan and she wasn't memorable in that for me, so I'm glad I got to see her in something where she shined. She doesn't have the typical features of most Cdrama FLs either, and I liked that, too. I will have to try Flourished Peony! But maybe I'll wait until Season 2 airs. Does it end on a cliffhanger? I've always liked dramas because, unlike American TV shows, they DON'T do multiple seasons. I hope they maintain their standalone dramas. Though I also hear some of this two season stuff with cdramas has to do with censorship with capping off a maximum number of episodes per drama? I don't understand why that sort of thing needs to be censored.
P.S. A couple examples of the fast, clunky pacing from the beginning were the scenes setting up the marriage between…
Hey! ☺️ I mostly found the romance sweet. It was certainly no masterpiece, but they did a lot better with it than they could have. I'm sorry it wasn't your cup of tea! I also just finished Dream Of Splendor, and that was a better quality drama, I think. Seen it?
Finally finished this one because I lost steam after Viki took so long to post the final episodes. Overall, quite…
P.S. A couple examples of the fast, clunky pacing from the beginning were the scenes setting up the marriage between the Qiaos and Weis.
You don't even know who various Qiaos are yet and then Man Man is sending Da Qiao off and she's already leaving for Panyi. And then when she was in Panyi, the events were rapid fire one after the next, jumping around. Everything happened so quickly that it felt like scenes were missing.
One of the first scenes with Bi Zhi and Da Qiao had him leading her out of the carriage over to a random stool in the middle of nowhere under an arbor/hut thing on the side of the road. Did anyone notice that they edited that scene strangely, where one cut he was walking her over, and in the next she was already sitting down? There were three or four cuts like that. So weird. 😅
So when people were complaining about the rushed ending, I got worried, but it's nothing we haven't already scene at brief moments before in this drama, so rest assured it's not some huge drop-off in quality near the end.
Finally finished this one because I lost steam after Viki took so long to post the final episodes.
Overall, quite enjoyable! I think the team that worked on this took a generic story and, with good pacing and excellent actors, turned it into something pretty strong; the aesthetics were lovely in this one.
They showed the arcs of multiple characters well. Of course, the main leads were the most interesting and well done (they did great showing the slow but steady softening of Wei Shao's hatred for the Qiaos, and the ability to realize hating a whole clan because of one person't betrayal is irrational), but even Wei Yan and Wei Shao's mother had interesting arcs, and tied up loose ends satisfactorily. The last two episodes did feel a bit fast, but to be fair, this drama has never done battles well, and there have always been types of sequences where the pacing was fast (this happened in the first few episodes a lot, too); for the battles, they just have a bunch of people in armor show up somewhere, show some fighting and then say, "Oh, Wei Shao won!" or "Liangya won!" and a few seconds later we've moved on. 😅 Some of those "battle" scenes (like the last one between Wei Shao and Bi Zhi), just don't even make sense. But no matter, it's not what we're here for; we'll leave good fighting scenes to dramas like Ever Night or Joy Of Life. 😉
F4 were very cute even if they were more for comic relief and sweet friendship with Wei Shao than actually doing very brilliant general stuff. A highlight for me was Qiao Ci; he was useful, compassionate and good-hearted (like his sis 😉), a good fighter, and adorable to boot. His interactions with Wei Shao were so cute.
I thought Bi Zhi (anyone else think his scenes with Da Qiao were kind of corny?) was definitely the weakest character, along with the Lord of Liangya. He was just kind of pathetic all around. Lady Yulou was also just a major pill and so selfish it hurt to watch. 😅
But again, overall, an enjoyable drama! The leads did great, and the costumes were stunning. A solid 8.5/10 for me.
Also, Ouyang is reminding me ever-so-slightly of Shen Yurong from The Double, who you kind of feel bad for at…
So, I kept watching, and I have all my questions answered. 😅 He is indeed a first class jerk, and by the end, something of a psycho.So, in this respect, I suppose he has a similar character and arc to Shen Yurong in The Double. There is actually a striking resemblance in their characters!
This was a really wonderful drama! In particular, the first six episodes were fantastic. The rest of the drama is still really solid, but I just loved those beginning episodes as the leads got to know each other and started falling for each other. Their chemistry in those episodes in particular was just beautiful, and super entertaining.
It has a great ending, and I enjoyed all the characters' arcs very much (Yinzhang took a bit too long to get her act together, though; would have liked to see a more gradual arc for her). I did feel like the last 2/3s all being in the Eastern Capital (with all the same streets being used over and over again), made for a slightly less dynamic pace and story (and some slightly annoying side characters get introduced in these episodes; Chi Pan's overreacting did not land for me), so it lost a bit of the gripping charm that the first half dozen episodes had.
I also thought the politics in this were confusing, and whenever it was talked about I'd get lost. I tracked enough of the gist, but it wasn't the easiest to follow.
Poor Gu Qianfan almost dies SO many times in this drama, but despite his many near-death experiences, I loved the teamwork of the main leads. They have a really beautiful respect and admiration for one another (minus their hiccup for a bit near the end, which comes from a misunderstanding and a lack of communication), and the "saving" of each other is nicely balanced between them so that not only one gets all the limelight.
I also loved the more historical feel to it, and all of the social commentary about class and women in society. I love that we're getting more and more depictions of strong couples partnering to combine their unique gifts and strengths!
The Double and New Life Begins are good recs for this one as both have strong female leads, but this is less juicy/lurid than The Double, and without the revenge component. Both this srama and The Double have intelligent female leads gifted with strategic minds. The couples' dynamic is similar, too; this is just more grounded, I'd say, as the The Double feels more fantastical. New Life Begins is similar in that it leans into a female empowerment arc and women finding a voice/not being treated as objects or bargaining chips (though A Dream Of Splendor also adds a component critiquing class divides). Both also seek to portray a healthier relationship dynamic between the main couple than other Cdramas with the more traditionally aggressive, dashing, man-child male leads with large egos. I found the steady, gentle, respectful male leads in this and New Life Begins really refreshing. The restaurant being run by women is also similar.
Watch the untamed, I was hesitant because of its BL tag too. If there was no BL tag, you wouldn't notice it. It's…
I will consider it. People told me The Devil Judge only had just friendship bromance, too, but I felt the romantic tension in that one, which was super confusing because the 2ML was clearly written as a straight male who had a girlfriend who died in the drama. Anyway, apparently since I picked up the queer-coded undertones in Devil Judge, I'd probably pick up on them in Untamed, too (according to some I dialogued with while considering The Untamed), so I figured it wouldn't be my thing since the Devil Judge wasn't my thing. The comment section of The Untamed is also just a lot about their romantic chemistry and the potential it had. 😅 I love friendship stories, but I don't want to be confused and frustrated about what I'm watching if I go into it expecting JUST a close friendship.
Not sure yet! I'll have to do some research and see what I'm in the mood for. A friend is wanting me to watch When Life Gives You Tangerines so we can talk about it, but I've been putting it off because I know it will give me a gut punch and probably make me weepy. 😅
You don't even know who various Qiaos are yet and then Man Man is sending Da Qiao off and she's already leaving for Panyi. And then when she was in Panyi, the events were rapid fire one after the next, jumping around. Everything happened so quickly that it felt like scenes were missing.
One of the first scenes with Bi Zhi and Da Qiao had him leading her out of the carriage over to a random stool in the middle of nowhere under an arbor/hut thing on the side of the road. Did anyone notice that they edited that scene strangely, where one cut he was walking her over, and in the next she was already sitting down? There were three or four cuts like that. So weird. 😅
So when people were complaining about the rushed ending, I got worried, but it's nothing we haven't already scene at brief moments before in this drama, so rest assured it's not some huge drop-off in quality near the end.
Overall, quite enjoyable! I think the team that worked on this took a generic story and, with good pacing and excellent actors, turned it into something pretty strong; the aesthetics were lovely in this one.
They showed the arcs of multiple characters well. Of course, the main leads were the most interesting and well done (they did great showing the slow but steady softening of Wei Shao's hatred for the Qiaos, and the ability to realize hating a whole clan because of one person't betrayal is irrational), but even Wei Yan and Wei Shao's mother had interesting arcs, and tied up loose ends satisfactorily. The last two episodes did feel a bit fast, but to be fair, this drama has never done battles well, and there have always been types of sequences where the pacing was fast (this happened in the first few episodes a lot, too); for the battles, they just have a bunch of people in armor show up somewhere, show some fighting and then say, "Oh, Wei Shao won!" or "Liangya won!" and a few seconds later we've moved on. 😅 Some of those "battle" scenes (like the last one between Wei Shao and Bi Zhi), just don't even make sense. But no matter, it's not what we're here for; we'll leave good fighting scenes to dramas like Ever Night or Joy Of Life. 😉
F4 were very cute even if they were more for comic relief and sweet friendship with Wei Shao than actually doing very brilliant general stuff. A highlight for me was Qiao Ci; he was useful, compassionate and good-hearted (like his sis 😉), a good fighter, and adorable to boot. His interactions with Wei Shao were so cute.
I thought Bi Zhi (anyone else think his scenes with Da Qiao were kind of corny?) was definitely the weakest character, along with the Lord of Liangya. He was just kind of pathetic all around. Lady Yulou was also just a major pill and so selfish it hurt to watch. 😅
But again, overall, an enjoyable drama! The leads did great, and the costumes were stunning. A solid 8.5/10 for me.
It has a great ending, and I enjoyed all the characters' arcs very much (Yinzhang took a bit too long to get her act together, though; would have liked to see a more gradual arc for her). I did feel like the last 2/3s all being in the Eastern Capital (with all the same streets being used over and over again), made for a slightly less dynamic pace and story (and some slightly annoying side characters get introduced in these episodes; Chi Pan's overreacting did not land for me), so it lost a bit of the gripping charm that the first half dozen episodes had.
I also thought the politics in this were confusing, and whenever it was talked about I'd get lost. I tracked enough of the gist, but it wasn't the easiest to follow.
Poor Gu Qianfan almost dies SO many times in this drama, but despite his many near-death experiences, I loved the teamwork of the main leads. They have a really beautiful respect and admiration for one another (minus their hiccup for a bit near the end, which comes from a misunderstanding and a lack of communication), and the "saving" of each other is nicely balanced between them so that not only one gets all the limelight.
I also loved the more historical feel to it, and all of the social commentary about class and women in society. I love that we're getting more and more depictions of strong couples partnering to combine their unique gifts and strengths!
The Double and New Life Begins are good recs for this one as both have strong female leads, but this is less juicy/lurid than The Double, and without the revenge component. Both this srama and The Double have intelligent female leads gifted with strategic minds. The couples' dynamic is similar, too; this is just more grounded, I'd say, as the The Double feels more fantastical. New Life Begins is similar in that it leans into a female empowerment arc and women finding a voice/not being treated as objects or bargaining chips (though A Dream Of Splendor also adds a component critiquing class divides). Both also seek to portray a healthier relationship dynamic between the main couple than other Cdramas with the more traditionally aggressive, dashing, man-child male leads with large egos. I found the steady, gentle, respectful male leads in this and New Life Begins really refreshing. The restaurant being run by women is also similar.
Would definitely recommend!