This review may contain spoilers
Too contrived
I wanted to drop this series several times, but persisted to the end mainly because I like Bai Lu. But honestly, it probably wasn't worth it. The ML was not my favorite, although his acting was good. The real problem with this series was the storyline. There were strangely 4 different stories in the series, the first 10 episodes or so, then the Mo River story arc, then the part after the Mo River arc and then 500 years later the finale arc. Having so many different story arcs in which the actors portrayed different characters entirely was hard to follow. The characters would fluctuate wildly between good and evil. And worst of all, the plot felt very contrived as many Xinxia series do, but this was worse than usual. So many weird magical artifacts used to fill in plot holes and illogical actions by the characters and situations created simply to achieve an outcome to mess with the viewer's emotions. Overall, I would just recommend that you best avoid this series altogether unless you want to stagger through a nonsensical mess that can't seem to stick with one storyline.Was this review helpful to you?
Quantum Leap of Ancient China
Watching this show, I couldn't help but be reminded of the old Quantum Leap show where the main character leaps backwards in time to try to right the wrongs of the past and change the future. This show basically has the same premise except that the ML character leaps back in time along the same timeline and further back in time each time. This was rather unique, but not something that I think worked out that well and likely was the weakest part of the show. It just felt like you were reading the last chapter of the book before you had started the first. In many ways, the rest of the show was ruined for me by knowing what the eventual outcome was going to be. The writers tacked on an ending after the "ending," but it felt underwhelming and not very satisfying. I will say that I really enjoyed both the FL and the ML, especially the FL. She did a good job acting multiple different ages throughout the show's episodes. This is a short series with only 14 half hour episodes, so things move along quickly. Overall, an enjoyable series, but I just wish that they had not tried so hard to be unique with their backwards time jumping plot.Was this review helpful to you?
Revenge drama with political intrigue
Felt like a pretty standard revenge drama, similar to the Legend of Zhang Hai in many ways in that the main character uses their intelligence rather than their fighting ability and it is their love interest who does the fighting. Felt like a big budget series with amazing sets, costumes and overall production value. The plot dragged at times, but overall was engaging enough to keep me interested. For those expecting a romance, there is definitely some of that, but not as much as you would see in a series more focused on it. This is mainly going to be a revenge drama, the romance is secondary.I would say that they had some unusual casting choices though. I really liked the ML actor. They aged him up so that the 12 year or so age difference between him and FL wasn't as obvious, but the similar situation in which the emperor was 29 and his consort was in her 40s was quite a bit more apparent. It was a bit jarring to see the FL looking like she was in her mid-30s playing a character that should be around 21 at most. The acting from the FL was good, but she just doesn't look the part. I really liked the Tong'er maid character played by Ai mi. She's going to be a star someday.
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Succeeds more than it fails
I would say that the best part of this drama is the interaction between the main characters. Their little "team" of investigators each with their own skillset, working together to solve cases was by far the best part of the show. The middle part of the series kind of devolved into a palace political intrigue plotline, but for the most part, the series involved the main characters solving cases that ultimately led them to the conclusion.In terms of the weak areas, I would say that the biggest has to be the acting. I am someone who almost never complains about the acting in shows, but this time I have to make an exception. Zhang Linghe has really improved by the time he got to Pursuit of Jade, but here, he looked like someone mechanically reading his lines with some occasional overly dramatic facial expressions. But almost all the characters were guilty of having exaggerated facial expressions, and I can only assume that it is something asked of them by the director. The show suffered a bit from looking low budget at times, but overall I did enjoy it and watched it to the end, mainly because I enjoyed the close camaraderie between the main characters.
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This review may contain spoilers
An entertaining short series
The first thing to know is that this is a short series in which each of the 28 episodes is only about 22 minutes long. Despite it being a short series, they manage to cram everything into it that you would expect to see in a longer series, including even a romance arc for the supporting characters. I thought that the FL was very good, the ML was kind of stiff, but that is the personality of his character. The plot was okay for me, it felt like you could see the eventual ending coming from a mile away. The ending was a disappointment for me, felt a bit contrived to get the eventual outcome. For me, it didn't seem like the FL even needed to make the sacrifice that she did. Couldn't she have lived her life to the end and then made the sacrifice on her deathbed? It's not like the villagers would know the difference, they seemed like they were in stasis.Was this review helpful to you?
Pedestrian Storyline hampers otherwise excellent drama
For me, Zhan Zhao was a tremendous watch on many levels. The best part was the more traditional wuxia fighting sequences. I am so tired of the CGI firework show passing itself off as martial arts. This drama was a welcome return to true wuxia roots. The acting of all the characters, the sets, the costumes, were all top notch. The only thing which I felt held back the drama was the plot. I was hoping for a Jin Yong type of story, but what we got instead was just another run of the mill "investigating corrupt officials" storyline. I realize that they are likely trying to get on the good side of the government censors, but seriously, isn't there any show that doesn't have the same plot? For those hoping for romance in the story, there really was next to none. And those people who cannot stand watching episodes where the villains are seemingly on top, then you may be frustrated. Zhan Zhao himself is too powerful to have a storyline if he is at the peak of his powers, and so he is nerfed for all of the show by injuries, poisoning or both. And both the villains and heroes were guilty of letting the other side off the hook when they were down instead of finishing the job. Purely unable to explain their actions. The ending was somewhat satisfying without really explaining how it got to that point, which is another point of frustration. Overall, this series was excellent in every way except for its plot, which treads a well-worn path and doesn't always give the viewers what they had wanted to see.Was this review helpful to you?
