The show just continued to lurch from moment to moment with the expectation the audience would tell the story in their own minds. Weak.
The standout for me was the actress who played Lin Lang. She needs to get more roles. She played the unrequited love role really well.
Dilraba should try to get more roles like the one she had in this drama. I think she's at her best when she plays a slightly more upbeat, carefree and mischievous character. I liked her better here than in The Long Ballad as an example.
This is going to be walls of text with spoilers up to Episode 20:
The problem I have is we've spent 20 episodes getting nowhere. The male lead and female lead have done almost nothing to this point. They've looked at each other. Talked to other characters about how they want each other but can't have each other. But fair enough fans or book readers will claim this isn't a romance story. Fine. So lets talk about the revenge plot.
She's tried to insert herself in as crown princess since the first episode and that has barely moved. Some will say it wasn't her goal to become crown princess and again fair enough. So then the questions become: Who is she winning over for her revenge plot? Since episode 1 it has been her and Luo Ming Xi who is a lovesick puppy who may have ulterior motives. They haven't introduced sympathetic ministers, they haven't introduced the Luo family being sympathetic, they haven't shown any real plan to de-throne the Han family. What's worse is they're not even being smart about it. A corrupt and treacherous Gu family could have been useful tools you dispose of. But instead they help Han Ye and the emperor get rid of a corrupt Gu family making the Han dynasty look better.
I'll take that back what I said about the show not introducing potential allies - they introduced the Mo family through a princess and we find out bodyguard of Princess An Ning is the prince sent by his father. And it's unclear how much he has been working with Dilraba's character or Luo Ming Xi.
We're over halfway through and things have not moved in a substantial or meaningful way. Worse - nothing has been set up either. The show has spent over half its time introducing an extremely short list of characters and revealing some of their motivations in a very vague sense. The Mo prince is here to do something probably not good for Jing and the Han dynasty. Dilraba's character wants revenge but loves Han Ye. Luo Ming Xi wants Dilraba's character to love him and while he might have his own plans he'd probably give them up instantly if she said "marry me".
The show is okay but I think the people behind it think they're much more clever and experienced in making good television than they actually are. It's watchable TV for sure but that's because of the cast and not their dialogue or scene choices by the directors.
This is legitimately the first show since Heroes (US) and "my father's research", "save the cheerleader, save the world" where I can audibly recall identical lines of dialogue. And I remember Heroes fondly. This show is kind of "meh but I like some of the performances by the cast and it's worth sticking it out for that".
Anyways, I think this is okay, I like some of the performances. I'm disappointed by the story pacing and the lack of romance so far. Yeah there's still half the show to go, I haven't rated anything yet but so far I'd say average like a 7/10 or something as I tend to rate the way teachers grade. B- because they have a strong cast from the leads right down to supporting cast.
Anle won't let anyone forget about her 30 k soldiers dowry lmao..even in her intense scenes she somehow brings…
It's a bit nonsensical because the backstory for this entire show is that the current emperor slaughtered 80K Di soldiers because he thought they might be rebelling. I understand she hasn't dangled it in front of the emperor too much but the fact she used it as a bargaining chip once should be enough to set off alarm bells.
I think the writers and director(s) have no idea how to move this story forward coherently. The show just lurches forward from moment to moment like it's a daily soap opera. Whatever a character needs to be in a given episode... that is who and what they are.
I'm not here to bash soap operas. People like them but it's not my cup of tea just like musicals and anime aren't my thing either. I was hoping for a different show and it seems more and more likely I won't get what I wanted. It's unfortunate too because I think this type of role - the mischievous plucky female lead suits Dilraba a lot better than more serious ones like The Long Ballad.
I enjoyed it but it was bittersweet like Nobunaga Concerto (JP) or Running Man (TW). They dealt with similar issues of fate despite the time travel being different. I think 14 episodes was the right length. It was good.
Im on ep 3 plzz anyone explain how she remembers him if they are meeting in reverse order.. She first met him…
The female lead is experiencing things in a normal order of events. The male lead is experiencing things in reverse.
Lets use fictional dates and pretend the female lead lived from the years 490-530.
The male lead is the only one going in reverse:
He meets the female lead in the year 530 in episode 1. He meets the female lead in the year 520 in episode 2. At the end of episode 3 the female lead claims to know him so in future episode he will travel back in time again.
The below is not a spoiler, I want to make things clear. It's just to help understand the logic:
Lets pretend he travelled back in time 10 times in total. The first time he travelled back to 530 and then second time to 520. Lets pretend the last 8 times he travelled one year earlier each time.
So the male lead is travelling 530->520->519-> etc... to 512. The female lead living her life will meet the male lead for the first time in the year 512 and then again in 513, in 514, in 515 so by the year 520 and 530 she knows him. But he doesn't know her because he has not experienced the years 512-519 yet.
Let me know if someone subtitles this or if the Mango subtitles are manageable. Also funny the actor Zhuang Han has an ancient costume on for his profile pic. First time I have seen a profile pic in full costume.
Moxi is the character nobody wanted or asked for but everyone falls in love with because ??? why not. Of course there have been a lot of male leads like her in the history of TV but at least they're good at something. Her character was supposed to be street smart but in order to make her not-scared of the male lead they made her street dumb. For about 10 episodes she's looked like an idiot and I've had enough.
I'm sure some like it but there is no plot movement, every man is tripping over themselves to fall in love with Moxi and who knows why and the majority of the drama has been the two sisters moping.
I get it's a comedy but the female lead is actually the bad guy. She's the definition of the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Maybe it's her blinding stupidity that attracts all the other characters. The writers have dug a hole in the romance story and now to dig their way out and salvage the romance they've made her a moron.
It's better than a lot of the short dramas that tend to jump around and not make much sense.
I think it kind of suffers from the opposite problem Extraordinary You does. The Korean show goes on too long, it's slow and the writers can't really figure out how to wrap things up and end it. This is kind of the opposite in that it's a little too short and the writers simplify an interesting concept a little too much.
It's a good show but it's a short webtoon style show.
I hope the female lead can get some full length main roles.
It's interesting. For Yun Xiang it's always been a back and forth of trying to keep his composure and seeking revenge... now he has a reasonably good understanding of what happened. But the Su children are nothing like their father. Will he be able to see that? Is he able to see that if the Su father is responsible in his eyes that there are many people who might see Yun Xiang as responsible for the grief they have suffered? Many men and women have been manipulated and killed by his plans.
This has been my favorite revenge story since Nirvana in Fire.
I like this show. Part of me is wondering if he's just lying about the 10 breath thing. He's doing 10 breaths for now to save his internal life force until that moment where he will go past 10 breaths to get his revenge at the cost of his life. Qi Tian Feng has already suggested this as a possibility.
Am I crazy or does the synopsis not match the first few episodes at all? The parts that seem accurate are - she's a twin, she's a bit precocious and the male lead does not want to marry. That's about it.
Also yeah.... 8 minute episode show. It's not that bad all things considered but it's not easy to follow as someone who watched the first 4 Viki episodes (whatever that equates to for the 8 minute episodes). It jumps around and the characters reference important events I am almost positive were never shown to the viewers. And I'm not talking about referencing a backstory. I am talking about important events to the story itself. IDK maybe something is wrong with Viki. The comments don't seem to make much sense either.
Just a mess all around. It's not horrible and I like the female lead, the male lead isn't too bad either. They deserve chances to show off their acting skills in other dramas going forward.
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The standout for me was the actress who played Lin Lang. She needs to get more roles. She played the unrequited love role really well.
Dilraba should try to get more roles like the one she had in this drama. I think she's at her best when she plays a slightly more upbeat, carefree and mischievous character. I liked her better here than in The Long Ballad as an example.
The problem I have is we've spent 20 episodes getting nowhere. The male lead and female lead have done almost nothing to this point. They've looked at each other. Talked to other characters about how they want each other but can't have each other. But fair enough fans or book readers will claim this isn't a romance story. Fine. So lets talk about the revenge plot.
She's tried to insert herself in as crown princess since the first episode and that has barely moved. Some will say it wasn't her goal to become crown princess and again fair enough. So then the questions become: Who is she winning over for her revenge plot? Since episode 1 it has been her and Luo Ming Xi who is a lovesick puppy who may have ulterior motives. They haven't introduced sympathetic ministers, they haven't introduced the Luo family being sympathetic, they haven't shown any real plan to de-throne the Han family. What's worse is they're not even being smart about it. A corrupt and treacherous Gu family could have been useful tools you dispose of. But instead they help Han Ye and the emperor get rid of a corrupt Gu family making the Han dynasty look better.
I'll take that back what I said about the show not introducing potential allies - they introduced the Mo family through a princess and we find out bodyguard of Princess An Ning is the prince sent by his father. And it's unclear how much he has been working with Dilraba's character or Luo Ming Xi.
We're over halfway through and things have not moved in a substantial or meaningful way. Worse - nothing has been set up either. The show has spent over half its time introducing an extremely short list of characters and revealing some of their motivations in a very vague sense. The Mo prince is here to do something probably not good for Jing and the Han dynasty. Dilraba's character wants revenge but loves Han Ye. Luo Ming Xi wants Dilraba's character to love him and while he might have his own plans he'd probably give them up instantly if she said "marry me".
The show is okay but I think the people behind it think they're much more clever and experienced in making good television than they actually are. It's watchable TV for sure but that's because of the cast and not their dialogue or scene choices by the directors.
This is legitimately the first show since Heroes (US) and "my father's research", "save the cheerleader, save the world" where I can audibly recall identical lines of dialogue. And I remember Heroes fondly. This show is kind of "meh but I like some of the performances by the cast and it's worth sticking it out for that".
Anyways, I think this is okay, I like some of the performances. I'm disappointed by the story pacing and the lack of romance so far. Yeah there's still half the show to go, I haven't rated anything yet but so far I'd say average like a 7/10 or something as I tend to rate the way teachers grade. B- because they have a strong cast from the leads right down to supporting cast.
I think the writers and director(s) have no idea how to move this story forward coherently. The show just lurches forward from moment to moment like it's a daily soap opera. Whatever a character needs to be in a given episode... that is who and what they are.
I'm not here to bash soap operas. People like them but it's not my cup of tea just like musicals and anime aren't my thing either. I was hoping for a different show and it seems more and more likely I won't get what I wanted. It's unfortunate too because I think this type of role - the mischievous plucky female lead suits Dilraba a lot better than more serious ones like The Long Ballad.
Lets use fictional dates and pretend the female lead lived from the years 490-530.
The male lead is the only one going in reverse:
He meets the female lead in the year 530 in episode 1.
He meets the female lead in the year 520 in episode 2.
At the end of episode 3 the female lead claims to know him so in future episode he will travel back in time again.
The below is not a spoiler, I want to make things clear. It's just to help understand the logic:
Lets pretend he travelled back in time 10 times in total. The first time he travelled back to 530 and then second time to 520. Lets pretend the last 8 times he travelled one year earlier each time.
So the male lead is travelling 530->520->519-> etc... to 512. The female lead living her life will meet the male lead for the first time in the year 512 and then again in 513, in 514, in 515 so by the year 520 and 530 she knows him. But he doesn't know her because he has not experienced the years 512-519 yet.
Moxi is the character nobody wanted or asked for but everyone falls in love with because ??? why not. Of course there have been a lot of male leads like her in the history of TV but at least they're good at something. Her character was supposed to be street smart but in order to make her not-scared of the male lead they made her street dumb. For about 10 episodes she's looked like an idiot and I've had enough.
I'm sure some like it but there is no plot movement, every man is tripping over themselves to fall in love with Moxi and who knows why and the majority of the drama has been the two sisters moping.
Maybe it's her blinding stupidity that attracts all the other characters. The writers have dug a hole in the romance story and now to dig their way out and salvage the romance they've made her a moron.
I think it kind of suffers from the opposite problem Extraordinary You does. The Korean show goes on too long, it's slow and the writers can't really figure out how to wrap things up and end it. This is kind of the opposite in that it's a little too short and the writers simplify an interesting concept a little too much.
It's a good show but it's a short webtoon style show.
I hope the female lead can get some full length main roles.
This has been my favorite revenge story since Nirvana in Fire.
I've found the pacing to be really strong. The story moves along. The characters and their lives progress.
It's probably my favorite historical of 2023 so far.
Also yeah.... 8 minute episode show. It's not that bad all things considered but it's not easy to follow as someone who watched the first 4 Viki episodes (whatever that equates to for the 8 minute episodes). It jumps around and the characters reference important events I am almost positive were never shown to the viewers. And I'm not talking about referencing a backstory. I am talking about important events to the story itself. IDK maybe something is wrong with Viki. The comments don't seem to make much sense either.
Just a mess all around. It's not horrible and I like the female lead, the male lead isn't too bad either. They deserve chances to show off their acting skills in other dramas going forward.