Kittiechan
New York, NY
Excellent suspenseful drama
This was a superbly done show. The roles were really well and convincingly cast, with great chemistry between the two leads. Even the tension in relationships between more minor characters was palpable.The actors and the director did a great job making each of the characters sympathetic and despicable at the same time, and also revealing story elements at interesting times that made the story unfold in a not entirely linear manner. This was more interesting than just using plain flashbacks or linear time progression.
I probably will watch this again. Really fantastic.
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This review may contain spoilers
Resting Tragic Face
In no particular order:- the split screen close ups. Why?
- just randomly everyone got over the fact the ML SA’d the FL because it was, idk, convenient for the story?
- fairly significant characters just drop off and never return.
- exactly how many wives does the ML have and was it just me or did he keep adding them after declaring himself totally devoted to FL?
- costumes: women are giving Qing, court headwear is giving Ming (?) and men’s’ daily headwear is giving early dynasties. I’m so confused.
- the thing where age is shown by creepy thin mustaches
- should have been 20 eps
- did they even move the fam into the lord’s residence? Everything looks the same.
- why is a prince giving edicts? Why does he have eunuchs?
- lingwei goes and marries what seems to be a decent khan who has no other wives and mom just lays down and does? Why tho? This seemed like a decent outcome considering the local male supply.
- what was the damage with not lifting doctor martial arts aide’s pariah status for so long? Ffs women literally killed children and went about their lives.
- Jirou (mysterious sister wife that went from enemy to friend after Mu Hai You went to the farm) was easily a top 5 character and we saw so little. I’d have preferred the story of Jirou.
- best characters: lord grandpa, fourth madam, Jirou, the two dudes at the farm and dong li. Dong li was a rider
- when dad was named as the rice hull bandit i groaned. I groaned.
Tl:dr - this was too long and made no sense but was entertaining in part. FL had stinky sad face on constantly. Looking like something smells on set is not acting.
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I tried. I tried so hard.
Like others, I wanted to like this so much. I did. But I couldn’t. It was cute in bits and pieces but Jackie Li legitimately carried this show on her back, with an assist from the gentleman who played her parents. They were the only ones aware this was a comedy.The story was okay, but I kept thinking I’d missed something and rewinding to find out no, I hadn’t, just some major plot point had not appeared in the show. Like suddenly the emperor is near dead but who knows how? Somehow she’s his ride or die but I missed why? Whatever.
There were some major unresolved plot points by the end. By that point I was glad it was over, though.
One other thing - the emperor - the entire time no one could do his hair? The emperor looks like a ninth grader? No.
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Excellent series!
This kept me engaged through all 32 episodes. The acting was superb, especially with the juxtaposition of Kam Chang and Xiao Paiyo, the enemy commander.Kam Chang’s wife was also an excellent character and so well played. Their relationship was touching and felt authentic.
The court and other military commanders were all so well acted. The story was tight and engaging. It motivated me to learn about the historical facts behind the story.
I very strong recommend this and send my thanks to everyone involved in this series! So good!
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This review may contain spoilers
Made me a fan of Xu Kai
Don’t get me wrong, I had nothing against him. This was the first time I really loved him in a role. He’s so expressive and does excellent fight scenes.The series could have done with a few less “another obstacle” plot lines, eg, Liu Changfeng’s incessant hijinks, the entirety of Gu Wanniang, the apparently most gullible emperor to have ever hit a script.
Overall, though, a great series with some great action scenes. The scenes in ep. 30 (Old Bao, tears) were compelling and gritty. The series really ratcheted up a notch for me there.
Couple of nits - no costume changes pretty much ever. One dress and we’re good. And, the soundtrack was not my favorite by a long shot - but not horrendous.
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Show did not live up to the promo visuals
The promo visuals looked sexy and fun. The show was super wholesome. The story was good. The secondary stories were cute as well, with the two best friends and their different experiences of aging as a woman.I saw no reason at all for the older ML and the FL to be into each other. Nor for them to bicker as they did at the outset. None of it made sense.
Younger ML was the star without a doubt, may he rest in peace. Stunning and charismatic. Who wouldn’t fall for him once he put on the charm?
The biggest thing though: WORST music of all time. If I ever hear “star loveration” again my head might explode.
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Am I safe? No. I am dangerously bored
After what felt like 437 full length episodes but was in fact only 31 half hour episodes, I’ve crossed the finish line of this interminable slog through the lands of Mediocrity and Predictability.I don’t know why I finished this series. It was kind of like ordering too much food and then finishing it all to make it look like it wasn’t too much food, and then you want to lay down and die in the end. The answer is that you should have stopped at the beginning. I should’ve stopped this series 30 episodes ago. You, if you’re reading, should not start.
The one saving grace is the short PSAs at the end of each episode. Those were well done. I’d like to thank the PRC, I learned a lot.
What was not well done: the absurd torture death machine in the last episode (did a script page get swapped?); the irrelevant drama about Ma Ping Chuan’s daughter and her apparent catastrophic failure in school at the age of 5; not wrapping up the plot lines with lawyer Lin’s boyfriend, MPC and the crew in a cohesive way. ALSO AT WHAT POINT DID CHEN MO AND MU TONG HAVE CHEMISTRY? She has more chemistry with his mom.
This failed to overwhelm. In fact, it was quite bad.
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Surprising excellent
First - the opening theme to this show is just shockingly good. Wow. Instrumental and beautiful.Next - this was a really great show that wasn’t high budget at all but definitely got the job done. Acting was on point, chemistry was great, the story worked and it kept me hooked all the way through.
This was so refreshing. Definitely need more of these quality but not epic production kinda deals, keep them coming!!!
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Has some amusing moments
This show is fine if you’re looking for something low-engagement and short. This is not a show you’re going to invest mental energy and emotion into.That said, there are some good comedic moments, the two male leads are pretty good and played off each other well, and the plot was good enough.
6/10 would not watch again.
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This review may contain spoilers
Absolute Gem!
I haven’t enjoyed a show this much in ages! This was a pleasant surprise from the very beginning. The visuals were absolutely top notch throughout the series, the acting great, the comedy worked and the story was something different.This was lighthearted but still had a compelling and believable love story for the leads. Their chemistry was real and when they kissed, I felt it!
The secondary characters all felt real and evolved during the series. It was nice to see the threads of the storyline come together in small ways, and not all at once. As in, why was the music minister the music minister. What happened to the guy with the scar? Etc.
Highly recommend this show to anyone!
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Could have been 12 eps shorter
Some observations:FSF really sold me on his desire. I believed him. I was ready to be his woman out of wedlock. I’m officially a fan.
Ministry of Revenue seems like a chill place to work. Not totally sure what they do but a good vibe.
There were far, far too many scenes with music and pensive looks. And those scenes were too long. Eliminating those would cut the series by two episodes. This right here is my biggest beef with this series.
Whenever something lovey dovey happened this weird shiny bluish filter appeared over the scene. Like, ATTENTION, ROMANCE IS OCCURRING. PLEASE FEEL ROMANTICAL FOR THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS. I thought maybe there would be laughter and applause signs but no, we only got cues for ROMANCE.
Dowager Empress was a star. Top notch.
The show started out really amusing. Stayed good til like ep 20. Seems like the writers changed or just started picking storylines out of a hat after that. Wasn’t awful, but was a bit, uh, muddleheaded.
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Got better in the last 10 episodes
Honestly I had to drag myself through most of this. 2 ML and 2 FL outshone the leads. Yuan Qingli’s mother was excellent.There were way too many flashback sequences with music, and some oddly bad costumes. Why the cowboy fringe on Lord Ye’s concubine? Why does the only princess of Zhao have only one outfit? And why does Madam Yuan wear an entire Christmas tree on her head at times? I digress.
The single most offensive thing about this drama, the thing I could not unsee, was that someone very clearly took a curling iron to Mo Beiyan’s wig.
Unforgivable.
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The funniest cdrama I’ve ever seen
The comedic timing, the zaniness, the pure randomness of some of the elements and the self awareness of the show - this was a truly excellent show. I wish there was a sequel. I laughed til there were tears in my ears. The lead, the support characters (the other consorts) and even the more minor characters in the palace were all really well acted and had great comedy skills. This was excellently done.Production value isn’t huge, but the show doesn’t take itself too seriously so in my opinion the limitations kind of worked with the comedic premise of the entire undertaking.
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Cute, funny but not world altering
Disclaimer: I’ve only seen a few kdramas, so i tend to compare to cdramas.Positives: FL was a great, charismatic and scene stealing actress. She delivered a great performance and conveyed so much without overdoing it. I’m definitely a fan.
So many of the cast were fantastic, truly. The 2FL, the finance minister’s wife, grand merchant, FL’s husband, even the garrison commander’s daughter - these roles and others were all played so well! Personal favorite for me was the royal secretary/older brother of ML. Actually, no, dead husband was hilarious so he wins. The random English non sequiturs had me rolling.
The 2ML/2FL romance really worked for me and I wish we’d seen more of that. The characters were nice and the connection seemed organic, two people surprised at what they had in common and curious to learn more.
Negatives: ML was clearly too young for FL and for me it made their romantic connection a little less believable. Not sure I totally bought their chemistry - tbh I rather preferred her with her dead husband once he showed up. He matched her playfulness and disregard for rules.
Production value was a bit limited considering the FL seemed to be a star from what I learned. Sets were very limited and costumes kind of eh. Yes, I know she wore white almost the whole time but other people could have looked better.
The worst thing for me though was the music. Oh my goodness the music for this show was off the charts terrible. Awful. Lead actress should put veto rights in her contracts. Such bad music. All of it. Obviously this is just my taste.
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I wanted to love it. I did not.
I saved this one to watch for so long, because I adore Ren Jialun and because the lighting and costumes looked so lush. Much was expected.I lasted about 5 episodes until I realized I neither believed nor cared about the story. The portrayal of the Japanese officers wasn’t working for me, they seemed v casual. The total random convenience of how much RJL carried on with his spy business and convincing his senior officer he was completely normal for having a girl who tried to shoot him staying with him and that the other Japanese intelligence officer was the crazy one … I could not buy it. Also this guy supposedly went to school with Hirohito and so now everything he does is cool? How does any of that make sense? Why would the emperor be at school with a rando?What did work, though, was that everyone looked FINE in their outfits. The military getups and the 1940s hair were giving what they needed to give. I was feeling the wartime love.I was not feeling the cohesive plot, however.
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