Delicious baddies could not save this meal
You know I hate to say it, but I loved the men in this one!
Ashes to Crown presents a pretty typical historical Cdrama FL and ML: A smart royal princess with a pixie dreamboy love interest, both of whom enjoy a good old 'for the state and the people' moment. I will henceforth refer to the ML as 'Triangle Boy' because he was all shoulders and no waist. Anyway. I had zero time for their romance.
But our three male supports, on the other hand, ATE. Were they super constrained by a plot that made them play out the same back-and-forth three times over? Yes. Did the writers give them barebones backstory and substance? Also yes. Did the actors commit to the bit and deliver stellar performances anyway? Hell YESSSS
Boy, give me vocal fry like Wang Rui Chang playing Xiao Xun!! Do you know how many cute girls I could pull with a voice like that?? hot daaaammnn
Also, what a delight to see Tang Xiao Tian go from playing a goodie-two-shoes character in Pearl Girl to eyeliner scheming baddie with a feather fan in Ashes to Crown. I love a man with raaange!
And last but not least – I demand justice for Deng Yi. His intentions weren't really that impure compared to the FL's – but like whatever, I guess. My baby deserved better <3 Keep up the side eye energy mate
Mrs Gong is so on point when they say in their review: "The drama is at its best when it lets its smart characters be smart, showing us their calculations through actions rather than telling us through voiceover."
Because, yes, my beautiful baddies aside, Ashes to Crown had so many let downs. Bad lighting choices. Blatant gen AI. Uninspired and uninteresting puppy dog moments from Triangle Boy.
What kept me going to the end were the aforementioned stunning performances. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it past episode five.
Ashes to Crown presents a pretty typical historical Cdrama FL and ML: A smart royal princess with a pixie dreamboy love interest, both of whom enjoy a good old 'for the state and the people' moment. I will henceforth refer to the ML as 'Triangle Boy' because he was all shoulders and no waist. Anyway. I had zero time for their romance.
But our three male supports, on the other hand, ATE. Were they super constrained by a plot that made them play out the same back-and-forth three times over? Yes. Did the writers give them barebones backstory and substance? Also yes. Did the actors commit to the bit and deliver stellar performances anyway? Hell YESSSS
Boy, give me vocal fry like Wang Rui Chang playing Xiao Xun!! Do you know how many cute girls I could pull with a voice like that?? hot daaaammnn
Also, what a delight to see Tang Xiao Tian go from playing a goodie-two-shoes character in Pearl Girl to eyeliner scheming baddie with a feather fan in Ashes to Crown. I love a man with raaange!
And last but not least – I demand justice for Deng Yi. His intentions weren't really that impure compared to the FL's – but like whatever, I guess. My baby deserved better <3 Keep up the side eye energy mate
Mrs Gong is so on point when they say in their review: "The drama is at its best when it lets its smart characters be smart, showing us their calculations through actions rather than telling us through voiceover."
Because, yes, my beautiful baddies aside, Ashes to Crown had so many let downs. Bad lighting choices. Blatant gen AI. Uninspired and uninteresting puppy dog moments from Triangle Boy.
What kept me going to the end were the aforementioned stunning performances. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it past episode five.
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