Characters Needed Work
I had to drop this drama, after many attempts at picking it back up. Mainly because I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters enough to try to properly identify the different clans and their kin.
Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a Wuxia watcher. Maybe you need to care about the Martial Arts World to watch Martial Arts centered dramas. I couldn't believe that the FL was played by the same dough-faced actress I hated so much in "Love Between Fairy and Demon". Could her role have been played better by a much better actress? Absolutely. But, she wasn't bad. She just doesn't have depth to her, naturally. She looked absolutely ridiculous in her wig, which was too large for her head. In scenes where she was supposed to outshine the other potential brides, she looked remarkably plain in comparison. Now, I am a huge fan of the moral story of a prince that chooses not the most beautiful, but the most innocent bride as his, but true goodness of character has to be expressed by the bride for us to fall in love with her.
The SFL is one that I fell in love with. They showed her vulnerability in flashbacks. They really fleshed her out. Not to mention that her beauty outshone the FL many times over.
The FL kept being saved by the SFL, the ML, and others, and without beauty, or character (like the SFL), I needed a reason to root for her, yet I found myself unable to come up with any except that she was the FL. I hated seeing the other female characters being harmed. I cared for them more than the FL, even though I knew less about them than I did about her. Without being able to care what happens to the FL, there was no tention left for me to care what happens next.
The cinematography was above and beyond the standard. It was big-budget cinematography, and bursts of colours were used sparingly and to good effect in high-drama moments.
It's not a boring drama, exactly. Just.... you have to really care about the main characters to keep your interest, as their lives are the "stake" of the entire drama. Without the two main characters, there wouldn't be a story, so if you can't care about the main characters, then you're really out of luck.
Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a Wuxia watcher. Maybe you need to care about the Martial Arts World to watch Martial Arts centered dramas. I couldn't believe that the FL was played by the same dough-faced actress I hated so much in "Love Between Fairy and Demon". Could her role have been played better by a much better actress? Absolutely. But, she wasn't bad. She just doesn't have depth to her, naturally. She looked absolutely ridiculous in her wig, which was too large for her head. In scenes where she was supposed to outshine the other potential brides, she looked remarkably plain in comparison. Now, I am a huge fan of the moral story of a prince that chooses not the most beautiful, but the most innocent bride as his, but true goodness of character has to be expressed by the bride for us to fall in love with her.
The SFL is one that I fell in love with. They showed her vulnerability in flashbacks. They really fleshed her out. Not to mention that her beauty outshone the FL many times over.
The FL kept being saved by the SFL, the ML, and others, and without beauty, or character (like the SFL), I needed a reason to root for her, yet I found myself unable to come up with any except that she was the FL. I hated seeing the other female characters being harmed. I cared for them more than the FL, even though I knew less about them than I did about her. Without being able to care what happens to the FL, there was no tention left for me to care what happens next.
The cinematography was above and beyond the standard. It was big-budget cinematography, and bursts of colours were used sparingly and to good effect in high-drama moments.
It's not a boring drama, exactly. Just.... you have to really care about the main characters to keep your interest, as their lives are the "stake" of the entire drama. Without the two main characters, there wouldn't be a story, so if you can't care about the main characters, then you're really out of luck.
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