Farm Romance

I have seldom given any drama a 9.5 rating, but I have to make an exception here, because this drama is exceptional. Never did I feel even slightly bored so far. The cinematography is top quality. The senior actors are divine, and so, so funny! Slight criticism in terms of the ML. I don't know why, but the male actor gives off an arrogance that I find uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, he's not bad, I just find the SML more likeable, as I did when he was in the piggy and tiger drama... whose name I will be looking up and putting here.... shortly (Love You Seven Times). I prefer actors with "nice guy" energy over those with "arrogance energy". That's just my personal preference, and probably always will be.

This is one of those drama series that really feels local. I mean, the humour and essence of it feels like it could only have come out of chinese culture. The best of Chinese culture.

I can't say enough good things about this series. It's outstanding in every way, and they would have to really mess up the plot for me to stop enjoying it (fingers crossed they don't).

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Two Men Fight For Custody of Their Dog

Internal dialogue before watching:

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Voice #1: Don't watch this, you know it'll just drive you crazy.

Voice #2: Look! Timmy Xu is in it! He's such a good actor!

Voice #1: But Gulnazar is going to be insufferable.

Voice #2: Zhao Shun Ran is in it too! Waaaatch it! Waaaatch it!

Internal dialogue whilst watching:

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Voice # 1: Did she just..... did she just sniff the air like a dog? She just did it again! OMG, she is method-acting her entire role as a canine! The weird facial expressions, the hyper body language.... she's playing the FL as a literal dog!

Voice #1: Did Timmy Xu just.... spin in circles whilst bathing himself in baijiu for absolutely no reason? Yes, yes he did.

Voice #1: Each of my cats have a higher IQ than this FL.

Voice #2: Zhao Shun Ran is such a great actor. Behind his craft is a maturity of character and a sincerity that not a lot of actors have. He has a goodness to him that you can't teach an actor, and very few actors possess it.

Voice #1: These MLs are basically fighting over custody of their pet dog.

Voice #2: I've got nothing to add. Makes Huang Xiaoming seem like a genius actor. She's a piece of wood, but a good-looking yet goofy piece of wood.

The End.

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Sweet and Watchable Martial Arts Story

I am enjoying this short drama so far. It's super cute and high on charm. The story is the most important aspect, and I am finding it sufficiently engaging. Not anything amazing, but definitely watchable. My main and only complaint here is the FL. She is unusually plain looking. No, I don't mean that she is unattractive physically, but the average young Chinese woman on my street is twice as beautiful as this FL. Within the drama, they kept bringing up her good looks, so it was also a character trait that this actress just doesn't have. It didn't help that her character stuffs her face with food at every available opportunity, without closing her mouth while she chews. I know it was meant as a comedic character quirk to make her more relatable, but I found it incredibly unpleasant. The FL is rude, disgusting, and greedy, but we are meant to look past all that because of her peasant status and her good heart. Well, I personally couldn't look past all of this, or perhaps she didn't possess enough redeeming qualities to offset her faults.

It bothers me that wherever there is male friendship, there is talk of BL. Think of what kind of message that sends. Men can't have friendships anymore without being accused of non-platonic relations. It sickens me to think that male friendship can be perverted by mainstream media. Friendship is sacred, regardless of gender, which is also why I am against this genre called BL, because it's exploiting homosexuality. The male friendship in this drama (so far) is its strongest story arch, and it doesn't need any kind of love gimmick to make it more interesting. So far, romance in this drama has taken a back seat to actual story, as it should. I'm a bit worried about where the story is going, but so far, if they hadn't hired a "Zhao Lu Si" type, plain-looking, broad comedy actress, this would have been a really good drama.

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Walking Down a Dark Hallway

"Why can't people have what they want? The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing."
- Ford Madox Ford

Anyone who has seen this drama, will recognize it is like walking down a dark hallway. You can't be certain exactly where you are at any given moment, and whenever there is any light, it gets obscured again by another piece of the puzzle. I have no doubt that the scriptwriter's work was sabotaged by the production crew, backstage politics, censorship, and other such soul destroying production elements. At its heart, this drama was meant to be about how women can't have everything they want, no matter what kind of person they are. It's a grim idea, which I don't personally subscribe to, but it is the overarching theme here.

This series couldn't decide if it wanted to be a comedic satire, or a grim and serious drama. It followed "parasite" in its unfounded disdain of the wealthy. The comic relief came in the form of an eccentric rapist character, a social climber, and an informer "agent/ pimp". All extremely dark characters, made lighter by their comedic aspects, much like in "Parasite".

Our FL is introduced to us as an antagonist. She is a successful business woman who has never been in love. Her business is her baby. A baby she is forced to give up because she doesn't own the company, and she doesn't own the company because she is a woman. We are meant to equally dislike her because of her propensity for manipulation, and feel empathy for her on account of her traumatic life experiences and lack of love.

The SFL has everything that the FL wants, or feels she is missing in life. The SFL wants what the FL has. The ML, will side with whatever woman he feels sorry for, as he is only attracted to women in distress, and as soon as a woman doesn't seem like a victim, he loses all interest in them. The ML has power, but is missing love, the SML has love, but wants power. The SML is made out to be a victim of the showbiz pimp character, even though he plainly agreed to and sought the help of the showbiz pimp in the first place.

Therein lies the real problem with this drama. It doesn't know what it wants to say.

It wants to be another "Parasite", about the rich being just as toxic as the poor, but in Parasite, the rich didn't do anything innately evil or wrong, whereas the poor were absolutely morally bankrupt, and blamed the rich for being so!

The most boring characters are the static "good" victims. The rape victim/ crazy girlfriend, the little boy whose parents become too busy to be with him all day (fuck off, little boy), and the sister of the SML who needs to stop getting involved with her brother's life, and doesn't have a life if her own. The meek victim characters were so obnoxious, and the FL was the only one with enough backbone to tell them to fuck off, as she should. She even tells her younger brother, another victim character to fuck off by the end of the series.

Through flashbacks, it is slowly revealed that all the main characters are victims of something. Some are victims of their own choices (like the SML and SFL), and some are victims of circumstances (like the FL and ML). Within the last two episodes, the story comes right off the rails entirely, so that it becomes absolutely ridiculous, in its "ambiguous" finale. Was the FL equal parts a victim and a perpetrator? Well, that seems to be the suggestion. She is revealed to be a Lady Macbeth character in relation to her brother. What a great character, wasted in a confused and rushed storyline. I hope to see more of this actress, and the actress that played the comic side character (David's ex-wife).

I hope this isn't too strange of a comment, but, I couldn't take my eyes off the FL's mouth. I started to suspect she was wearing dentures, because she talks through her teeth. She doesn't open her mouth when she speaks, which, I'm just not used to seeing that, so it was very strange to me. It suited her character, with that closed armour, afraid of letting human emotion in or out. Anyway, I just couldn't help but make a comment about it. She's a beautiful woman, who was absolutely great in this!

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Doesn't Live Up To The First

Some positive things:

- The fantastic OST used in the original is back.
- Zhang Ye Cheng gets to really show us his skills in this one. Not just his "dark Tang Qing Feng" with the brilliant laugh, but also with body swapping with our Ah Bu Cha Cha.
- Yi, the Dark Tang Qing Feng is awesome!!!
- Tang Qing Feng in the body of Ah Bu Cha Cha is epic.
- Ah Bu Cha Cha in the body of Tang Qing Feng is epic.
- No bad acting at all.
- Yan Wang's unbeatable cinematography is back.
- Most of our favourite characters from the first drama make a small cameo, and it's nice to see them again.
- Ah Bu Cha Cha and Teng Qing Feng being affectionate. This is the sweetest couple of any drama.

I honestly wanted to love this, as I love the original, but here are
Some less positive things:

- Story was even more all over the place than the original! It is a mess.
- Duo Miao Miao has become overly naive and I had a hard time connecting to his character. Also, his naivety became annoying.
- Duo Miao Miao's mom is just way too annoying.
- Villain character, I don't think he was even necessary to the plot.
- Xiao Ba, also unnecessary charcter. Didn't really bring anything to the story or character dynamics. The actress playing her was fantastic though!!
- This is basically a bunch of unrelated stories, being forced into a plot that doesn't work, unfortunately.

I can't recommend this to anyone but those who loved the first one. I'm pretty sure this was made just for the fans of the original. If you are a fan, you will find things to love about this, but it's not a "stand alone" sequel, and it's not a masterpiece like the first one. Zheng Ye Cheng though really stuck out here, and I felt he was overshadowed by An Yue Xi's character in the original.

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Jin Dynasty Cheesy Pleasure

Once in a while, when I want to just turn my brain off and watch something unapologetically romantic, I turn to a guilty pleasure drama like this one.

Why is this a guilty pleasure drama? Make no mistake, this is a cheesy platter of a drama. The acting, and the dialogue are pure cheese! 100% cheesy goodness.

It's about a woman who is trapped and forced into marriage over and over again. Because she is beautiful, she gets used as bait over and over again, in a feudal bid for land.

Many men desire her because of her looks, and there is a love triangle with two men she grew up with. As you might or might not know, I actually like love triangles quite a lot. Especially when a female character has feelings for both MLs. That's more realistic and logical, for a FL to figure out her feelings over time.

What is unique about this particular drama is that it transports you into the world of the Jurchen Dynasty. It's a dynasty that isn't shown very often in Chinese dramas, and when it is, the people of that dynasty, I guess because they were a minority run empire, are usually depicted as somewhat savage, or eccentric, or "ethnic", and rather primitive. Not so with this drama though.

There's nothing very remarkable about this drama. It's a romantic drama with a simple storyline, and there isn't any depth to it. The FL and ML are good in their roles. It's a guilty pleasure romantic drama for when you are looking for one of those.

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What The Heck?!!

What'd I just watch? I feel like what I just witnessed was 75 hrs of wasted money, time, effort, skill, and talent. Admittedly, I skipped most of it, as only about 4 min of each episode were needed for me to figure things out.

My goodness, this had the weakest plot you can possibly imagine, but the acting was nothing short of superb.

Without spoiling anything, this is the most pointless ending of any drama ever made. Nothing is resolved, except for the characters that are confirmed to have died.

The characters are idiots who can't even stay consistantly in character.

Cinematography is excellent. The main antagonists are the best, most interesting characters. Not a single character developes from start to finish. The worst, most useless characters are Muyun Sheng and Pan Xi. Muyun Sheng is the least sympathetic, and his father has a weird need to crown him king over his other sons, who could be better suited, just because his father killed his mother.

The best characters were introduced in the first few episodes, then they just disappeared in the last 20-odd ones. The best, most empathetic characters were Muyun Lu, Su Yu Ning, Muyun He Ge, Empress Nanku, and the dark wizard guy with the dodgy arm, and they all had relatively minor roles! Do not watch this drama. It's a weak plot with weak characters and the answer they found to stretching a story out to 75 episodes, is to keep adding more and more uninteresting side characters to an already uninteresting story.

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Guilty Pleasure Chinese Costume Drama

This was only the second Asian drama I ever saw. My first Asian drama was Yunxi Palace, and I definitely enjoyed it enough to see what else was out there, so I came across this one, and I binged it. Now that I have seen countless C Dramas, this one seems like nothing special, but at the time when I first watched this one, I was absolutely entranced by it all. The cinematography, sometimes I forget that some C Dramas are live-action, just because of the colour editing, outrageous physicality (flying, etc), and the manicured authentics (skin blurring, elaborate wigs, prosthetics, etc). It's all so out of this world, that in my mind, I think of it like watching an animated series.

Anyway, I had nothing to compare Princess Silver with at the time, so I was completely absorbed by watching and learning about C Drama culture: blood spitting, mask-wearing, Chinese royalty, flying around, love triangle, and most of all, the fight scenes. I had never seen fight scenes like these. I still remember the fight scene where the ML flung the FL around whilst taking out the bad guys with the Go game pieces. The fight scene where the SML takes out bad guys with a boat paddle. These look like dance choreography, indeed, they have an element of dance choreography to them, and the colours!! The blue-themed daylight fight scene, and the black-themed night fight scene.

This is a melodrama. There is tons of blood-spitting, revenge, jealousy, over-the-top plot points. The SML stole the show, despite him being given crappy dialogue, he was the only rounded character in the whole thing, and of course, having not only suffered the most, but also having done the most for the FL, she remains cold and dismissive towards him and chooses the ML. Not that the SML was perfect in any way (except looks), but he wasn't arrogant like the ML, and he was a character that wanted to be a good person, but was thwarted at every turn. The FL was middle-of-the-road in terms of both characterisation and acting. Not a doormat FL at least, which was good. The ML is just an immature and arrogant character with no interesting qualities and although he was meant to be a warm character, in contrast to the SML's stoic character, the actor portraying him had no acting skills to apply to make him interesting in any way. Ironically, the SML, who was meant to be a stoic character, was the only charcter that displayed a range of emotions.

The scene/ plot point that was the most problematic to me, was when the SFL essentially raped the SML by pretending to be the FL. This wasn't a big deal to the script writer, since the SFL is still seen as a perpetual victim that the audience must feel sorry for, but this was a bridge too far (and that's saying something about a melodrama!). We later learn that the main antagonist of the entire plot had been raped by the king and father of most of the male protagonists, so rape was the reason for the entire revenge plot, and subsequent death of the only interesting characters. Interesting duality that rape is no big deal if it happens to a male character. The SFL not only rapes the SML, but afterwards, also attempts to kill the FL and frame the SML for her death. The SFL was just as wicked of a character as the main antagonist, and the SML shouldn't have had to die for her.

So, in conclusion, I didn't hate this drama because I had a good time watching it, in all its absurdity. It is a kitchen-sink melodrama C drama, and certainly not worth viewing if you are looking for a good story, with strong performances and good dialogue.

But if you are looking for a guilty pleasure C drama with gorgeous costumes, fight choreography, and a SML to gawk at, then give it a try.

If you want an actually good costume drama, not just a guilty pleasure one, then watch, "A Dream of Splendor", or "The Longest Day in Chang'an".

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Cross-dressing Han Warrior

Surprisingly entertaining short drama. I don't get why just because there is a cross-dressing FL, she has to pose as the most vulgar male student ever just to pass as being a man. The other young men in her class aren't that crass, so why draw unnecessary attention to herself in that way? Doesn't seem very logical to me.

The actress playing the FL is absolutely gorgeous and she was decent in this role. The ML is likewise very handsome, but didn't have much of a chance to show off his acting skills, as he just played the stoic nice guy. FL could have been more rational and considerate of other people besides herself, but then there wouldn't be misunderstandings, and no plot as a result.

Overall, a watchable, low-budget, short web drama, nothing unique or new or different, except the FL can actually act, that is.

Open-ended closing scene is a result of the director wanting to be artsy, but he did say the leads would be reunited at the end, so just imagine the ending as better than it actually is.

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A Girl Just Like Me!

This drama, though not without major faults, was so engaging, high on charm, and well cast, that I couldn't help but absolutely overlook its absurdity and fall in love with it.

Firstly, the FL has to be one of the most relatable female characters in any Chinese Costume Drama. This is despite the fact that she also happens to be a martial arts wizard. That's saying a lot, that the screenwriters were able to make her both a warrior, an ultra-feminine fashionista, and still a caring and warm-hearted rounded female character. The only other female character that I can think of in a costume drama that ever came close was the FL from "An Oriental Odyssey", and that was a far inferior drama.

A FL with a loving and happy family is something I've never seen before, nor am likely to see again. The Ban family is the best Chinese costume drama family ever written, and somehow, you end up loving every single member of that family, even the "servants" (which are treated as part of the family!)

The ML, well, I couldn't stop looking at his nose to be honest, maybe it was the foundation they put on him that made him look like he had plastic surgery on his nose, and it was now too small for his face. I have since watched his earlier works, and he doesn't look odd like he does here. I couldn't be the only one that noticed this, so I am bringing it up, as it was distracting. It was difficult to really like the ML after his suspicious attitude towards the FL almost caused him to have her murdered for absolutely no reason at all. This was a stupid decision by the writers, as I have heard that in the web novel, the ML falls for the FL right away and isn't an asshole towards her at first. Over time, I did start to like the ML more, which was a relief to me, because I wanted to like him for the sake of the drama.

The SML was warm-hearted, dreamy, and a loyal friend to the FL, and of course I would have preferred that she ended up falling in love with him instead of the ML, but I didn't mind the ML by the end, and the chemistry between the FL and ML was definitely there.

There is a lot of absurdist humour in this drama. In the first episode, the FL tosses car keys at a servant after getting off her horse. There is some kind of paintball game with bows and arrows instead of paint guns, and some VR element to it, which was unexpected to say the least, but it was good fun.

All the side characters and even the villains were interesting in their own way.

The CGI here though is awful. I mean, it's just about intolerable. There is the fakest frozen lake scene, and an annoying scene that also has the worst CGI glowbugs ever, but like I always say, story is king, and the story here is engaging and well paced. Definitely watch this drama if you are looking for a good story with characters you will love.

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Survival of the Least Homicidal

Short, easy to binge melodrama with good acting.

It's not anything original, unique, or pithy. Just a story about a bunch of homicidal people, the most homicidal being the social climbers without any ethics.

The FL, in contrast to just about every other female character in this drama, is not homicidal, and whilst I'm a fan of not being homicidal, I am not a fan of the meek, diminutive, innocent, bland Korean woman K-drama stereotype, which is exactly what the FL is. You know the kind that is too "timid" to dare to have a personality? Yeah, that's exactly the type of character the FL is, and it makes me not care about her, even though I'm glad she isn't a maniac like the rest of the female characters.

There has to be a balance between maniacal and bland/demure somewhere for a FL, and most K-dramas don't hit the mark, unfortunately.

Anyway, I am one of the few K-drama watchers that really enjoys a good love triangle, if it is done well, and this was quite a nice one. Would have liked to see the FL have more feelings for the SML, just because it raises the emotional stakes of the drama, but as it is, not a bad dose of romance.

The ML and SMLs looked so similar, and the cinematography was so oddly dark, that I couldn't always tell them apart right away. Sometimes, there were artistic neon lights put on in a scene for no reason other than artistry. The colour grading was all super dramatic, which fits the drama. I loved that the characters were older than usual in a K-drama. It didn't make the characters any less attractive or interesting just because they weren't in their 20's. Was so happy to see that!

This drama was not memorable. I won't be going back and watching it again, and there was nothing new to it, but it was worth binging once, whilst doing something else. The FL was annoyingly bland, but the drama itself wasn't terrible. There were two female antagonists that were the best femme fatale characters I've seen in a K-drama! My hatred for their characters was acute throughout, well done to them! Also, I don't usually get to see middle-aged women with juicy roles like that, so I was happy to see that! That gorgeous actress with the cheekbones you could cut bread with, the one who ran the agency, she was awesome, and I'd love to see her as a FL someday, when FL are better written, and for actresses of all ages.

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Bald Heroine Seeks Assasin's Assistance

As of right now, this drama does not have tollerable English subtitles. It has the worst subtitles you could possibly hope to find, which are auto-translated from Mandarin.

From what I was able to understand, it's about a manuscript illustrator who, along with her coworkers, has lost her hair because of the stress of having a client that could and would not be satisfied.

Our protagonist, having lost her hair from stress, seeks the help of an assasin, wrongly outlawed for a crime he didn't commit. The assasin vows to help the protagonist seek revenge on the unreasonable client, and thus they begin an adventure that ultimately seeks to clear the assasin's name.

It's a Chinese web drama comedy, of the best kind. Light-hearted, well-paced, and yes, quite a few very good-looking actors in it. The comedy is quite funny, actually. Especially the dance duels. I highly recommend if you are looking for something light and fun, but ONLY if you speak Mandarin, or if someone finally adds some decent English subtitles!!!

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Endless Melodrama

I'm trying to recall the positives of this overlong, very forgettable drama.

Bai Lu is a great actress, despite taking on very crappy roles. I can't really fault her except to say her talent is wasted on these mediocre costume dramas she gets cast in. I see so much potential in her to be a character actress, not just the beautiful FL.

The ML, despite having a horse-face (something the British are famous for), can really act! He has the exact look of a male ballet dancer. Again, like Bai Lu, he deserves better roles. He perfectly demonstrates that just because you have a rather androgynous build and a horse-face, doesn't mean you can't create a character that is the opposite of this. That's the mark of a good actor. I don't even find this actor attractive, yet he convinced me that his character was.

The family of the FL is really nice. A good family in a Chinese drama is hard to come by. They weren't nice to the ML though, so maybe they aren't good after all. I don't remember the details of this story well enough to be able to say for sure.

The plot gets more and more dull the more episodes you watch, so I had to drop this, as I could see real melodrama getting painfully out of control in the coming episodes and I wanted to save myself the trouble of waiting till it really took off.

I'm giving it 5 bloody tears out of 10.

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A Pleasant Surprise!

This was a surprisingly fun adventure to go on with the FL. She travels back in time to when she was in her 20's, and learns that she must help manage the new, childish CEO of a corporation, handed to him by his father.

Unlike many, or dare I say it, most dramas, the FL here was not only capable, but also, not an annoying push-over of a female character! Hurrah! She laments her childish nature when coming face to face with her younger self (wouldn't all of us?), and regrets her obsession and unconditional love for her then boyfriend, who we later learn is the antagonist of the drama.

This was a fun, light-hearted and totally relatable drama, with the science fiction element of time travel not being the main focus of the story. I know the beginning, with the FL tearing the hot CEO's shirt was not only in bad taste, since imagine if roles were reversed! But also not keeping with her otherwise very capable character.

If you can forgive the first episode, then I think it will be an enjoyable viewing experience for you as well.

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Life Choices or Fate?

Having watched this drama, I still don't know what to make of it. It's a very, very strange melodrama that I really can't recommend to anyone. I can't even get wrap my head around what the message was supposed to be.

The SML did the right thing most of the time, but the FL still chose the other guy, just because the script made it so that she would choose him. The SML becomes obsessed with her, which is terrible, but she kind of manipulated him into becoming that way through her interactions with him.

Maybe the theme was: choose someone who won't become such a fan of yours that he will turn into a simp? I don't know, but I do know that choosing the bad boy just because he isn't from a rich family is a really poor moral.

I can't prescribe to China's vilification of the rich, as I don't think money, or the lack of it, is a determining factor in the moral quality of a human being, and that's what I think is most important.

The acting of the SML is heavily criticised for not being very good, but I disagree. It is certainly an over-the-top theatrical performance, but this is a melodrama, and there was nothing wrong with it. Actually, it was refreshing to see a male character cry and display his emotions outwardly. He was a sensitive character that I probably enjoyed more than the actual ML.

I was rooting for the SML the whole time, in fact. Even when he became obsessed with the FL. He was a sweet, sensitive soul who gave his heart away to the wrong girl, and I felt bad for him.

Anyway, the story is a huge melodrama mess, and overall this is not a great drama, but I so wish sensitive, sweet characters could get the FLs in Chinese dramas.

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