This review may contain spoilers
My goodness, it's incredibly beautiful visually speaking. The sets and costumes are lavishly designed. They really went all out. Lots of light textiles, jade, scarlet red, and gold. The background music is top-notch, with intoxicating strings and choirs. Always a pleasure to start an episode knowing that the music will be there to delight our ears. I really love that solo cello with the echo around it and the pauses between phrases ; it creates a sense of suspense. Lots of ninth chords and open fifths. It's all so, so lovely ! Beautiful, nostalgic songs during the climactic moments. Overall, the music is always exquisite and charming. Everything is sublime.
Episode 1 doesn't reveal much, doesn't really introduce any plot elements, and yet it remains captivating. But… I must admit that the beginning really tested my patience. I understand why the first five episodes were released all at once. We clearly see the heroine receiving secret messages, but we don't know why. She talks to an imaginary friend at times. It's unclear, this whole thing, and they don't revisit it, so oh well... And then, what were we doing in the Lishan Mountains that keeps coming up all the time ? We'll see. Or maybe not. (perhaps)
In any case, as soon as I saw Bai Lu in the cast, I decided to give this C-drama a chance. And you quickly realize that you have to let the series unfold at its own pace. Just enjoy what’s being offered.
I watched this alongside Ashes to Crown, where, on the contrary, a lot happens in every episode. What a contrast. It took a full 13 episodes for the husband to start questioning all those suspicious deaths linked to his wife, just as she arrives in the capital. What a phenomenal coincidence. Anyway, here we are at episode 20 out of 40, and we're still wondering what the series is even about. Everything remains so vague. And mesmerizing. We're denied access to the characters' thoughts and motivations.
"Don't let your life be nothing than a show for them"
Bai Lu first plays a bubbly, lively young bride. She goes for a run every morning in her gilded cage. She sneaks a drink. She makes people happy with her radiant presence. But she's playing a double game, just like her husband. Cheng Lei plays a more reserved role, with intensity ; at first withdrawn and on the verge of exploding, then letting his frustration and anger at being trapped in the past spill out. We're left in the dark about these two characters' pasts and why they act the way they do. The more we learn, the more interesting it gets. But I was disappointed by the slow pace ; the "revelations" don't live up to expectations.
These two spouses are going to get to know each other. They heal each other, thats really the heart of the story : they're both fixing each other. A forced but happy marriage… well, okay. Let's go with that. And they're the most formidable couple in the empire. And they lived happily ever after and apparently didn't have any children ; fine by me.
"_From now on, we'll have each other. No matter what path you take, smooth or thorny, I'll be with you. You won't be alone anymore.
_Once I'm better, I want to hear that again."
Not many fights, but they were all beautifully executed. Bai Lu in an alley. Or the wheelchair fight in episode 22 ! My God, that was classy. And then the spear fight ! Definitely some of the best scenes.
When the show first aired, Bai Lu was accused of firing the writing team so she could rewrite certain episodes to her liking. But I don't quite understand how that's possible. With 40 episodes, a sudden change in the writing would be noticeable, especially since the series is apparently faithful to the novel it's adapted from. So, I don't know, it seems unlikely for such a lavish production. And should we blame an actress for this (if that's even true) or should we be concerned about the production's lack of backbone when dealing with its stars ? If you sign a contract to star in a series, you act, you don't write and you don't fire people. It's easy to pin everything on a woman after you've failed.
Episode 1 doesn't reveal much, doesn't really introduce any plot elements, and yet it remains captivating. But… I must admit that the beginning really tested my patience. I understand why the first five episodes were released all at once. We clearly see the heroine receiving secret messages, but we don't know why. She talks to an imaginary friend at times. It's unclear, this whole thing, and they don't revisit it, so oh well... And then, what were we doing in the Lishan Mountains that keeps coming up all the time ? We'll see. Or maybe not. (perhaps)
In any case, as soon as I saw Bai Lu in the cast, I decided to give this C-drama a chance. And you quickly realize that you have to let the series unfold at its own pace. Just enjoy what’s being offered.
I watched this alongside Ashes to Crown, where, on the contrary, a lot happens in every episode. What a contrast. It took a full 13 episodes for the husband to start questioning all those suspicious deaths linked to his wife, just as she arrives in the capital. What a phenomenal coincidence. Anyway, here we are at episode 20 out of 40, and we're still wondering what the series is even about. Everything remains so vague. And mesmerizing. We're denied access to the characters' thoughts and motivations.
"Don't let your life be nothing than a show for them"
Bai Lu first plays a bubbly, lively young bride. She goes for a run every morning in her gilded cage. She sneaks a drink. She makes people happy with her radiant presence. But she's playing a double game, just like her husband. Cheng Lei plays a more reserved role, with intensity ; at first withdrawn and on the verge of exploding, then letting his frustration and anger at being trapped in the past spill out. We're left in the dark about these two characters' pasts and why they act the way they do. The more we learn, the more interesting it gets. But I was disappointed by the slow pace ; the "revelations" don't live up to expectations.
These two spouses are going to get to know each other. They heal each other, thats really the heart of the story : they're both fixing each other. A forced but happy marriage… well, okay. Let's go with that. And they're the most formidable couple in the empire. And they lived happily ever after and apparently didn't have any children ; fine by me.
"_From now on, we'll have each other. No matter what path you take, smooth or thorny, I'll be with you. You won't be alone anymore.
_Once I'm better, I want to hear that again."
Not many fights, but they were all beautifully executed. Bai Lu in an alley. Or the wheelchair fight in episode 22 ! My God, that was classy. And then the spear fight ! Definitely some of the best scenes.
When the show first aired, Bai Lu was accused of firing the writing team so she could rewrite certain episodes to her liking. But I don't quite understand how that's possible. With 40 episodes, a sudden change in the writing would be noticeable, especially since the series is apparently faithful to the novel it's adapted from. So, I don't know, it seems unlikely for such a lavish production. And should we blame an actress for this (if that's even true) or should we be concerned about the production's lack of backbone when dealing with its stars ? If you sign a contract to star in a series, you act, you don't write and you don't fire people. It's easy to pin everything on a woman after you've failed.
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