addicted2dramas
India
A pleasant surprise - the black horse of 2022 Cdramaland
2022 is at its peak right now when it comes to Cdramas. The ones with all biggest names and budget have been airing with little gap between premieres and to stand in between all the action is a feat in itself. While I had no clue that something starring Dylan Wang / Wang He Di and Esther Yu would be "struggling" in any way, it seems like everyone had low hopes from this drama including the cast themselves. But they exceed everyone's expectation with it!
PLOT:
Although this was marketed as a Xianxia, I beg to differ. This drama for me is just a fantasy one where a Fairy literally falls in love with the "Devil". I was lowkey hoping for a dark romance but the drama has been quite light since the beginning. The first episode was a bit weird and I couldn't really get into it till ep 8 or so. I must say I was writing it off as a silly romance based on its initial episodes and the cutesy and ditzy FL. The ML was also serving as more of a comedy element than a character with actual depth. However, this drama has surprised me on more than one occasion. Every time I thought the plot was juvenile or too cliché - it just kept surprising me and was on a roll.
CHARACTERS:
I have seen some good Cdramas but I must say this is surely one of the better written ones. The characters in this are all well-rounded and their growth is natural. Nothing felt forced to me in the drama. Usually the transformation of a positive character to dark or vice-versa seems like a one-off thing than a natural progression of plot. Here most of the things that happen make sense. The naïve FL grows and the ML is also not one without flaws. The characters all make mistakes, get hurt from some assumptions but in the end manage to pull through. The supporting characters are also fleshed out well and even the villain(s) seem to be morally grey in some areas - which was quite an interesting take.
ROMANCE:
I think the reason Wang Hedi catapulted to fame (although he was already getting there) is owing to the romance in the drama and his Romeo type character. Most people watch xianxia / fantasy romance dramas in hopes of watching a good romantic plot. I must say this drama delivers well on that front. The FL falls for the dark ML and he's so completely devoted to her! The unwavering love the leads have for each other is what progresses the plot and remains the centre. Although I didn't feel like Dylan and Esther had too much chemistry, they looked good together and kisses were ok too (BTS clips were better). The romance will definitely a big pull for the romance genre lovers.
ACTING:
I admit to brushing off Esther as a bad actress, she did a decent job here. I do think someone else dubbing for her would have been a better choice but the different phases for her character were really believable to me. I would say the same for Dylan. While his acting wasn't groundbreaking- he did it well too. The reason I'm most glad for picking this up is because I discovered Zhang Ling He from this and now he's straight to my favourites list. Man can act fine and he's such a beauty! I also liked the other supporting actors and there was no one who was "ruining" the drama for me.
OVERALL:
While I would have been fine with a simpler ending, few things were made complicated for no reason. It does end happily so it's all good. I think the drama is worth investing time in- however, I do not think I would ever rewatch it again.
PLOT:
Although this was marketed as a Xianxia, I beg to differ. This drama for me is just a fantasy one where a Fairy literally falls in love with the "Devil". I was lowkey hoping for a dark romance but the drama has been quite light since the beginning. The first episode was a bit weird and I couldn't really get into it till ep 8 or so. I must say I was writing it off as a silly romance based on its initial episodes and the cutesy and ditzy FL. The ML was also serving as more of a comedy element than a character with actual depth. However, this drama has surprised me on more than one occasion. Every time I thought the plot was juvenile or too cliché - it just kept surprising me and was on a roll.
CHARACTERS:
I have seen some good Cdramas but I must say this is surely one of the better written ones. The characters in this are all well-rounded and their growth is natural. Nothing felt forced to me in the drama. Usually the transformation of a positive character to dark or vice-versa seems like a one-off thing than a natural progression of plot. Here most of the things that happen make sense. The naïve FL grows and the ML is also not one without flaws. The characters all make mistakes, get hurt from some assumptions but in the end manage to pull through. The supporting characters are also fleshed out well and even the villain(s) seem to be morally grey in some areas - which was quite an interesting take.
ROMANCE:
I think the reason Wang Hedi catapulted to fame (although he was already getting there) is owing to the romance in the drama and his Romeo type character. Most people watch xianxia / fantasy romance dramas in hopes of watching a good romantic plot. I must say this drama delivers well on that front. The FL falls for the dark ML and he's so completely devoted to her! The unwavering love the leads have for each other is what progresses the plot and remains the centre. Although I didn't feel like Dylan and Esther had too much chemistry, they looked good together and kisses were ok too (BTS clips were better). The romance will definitely a big pull for the romance genre lovers.
ACTING:
I admit to brushing off Esther as a bad actress, she did a decent job here. I do think someone else dubbing for her would have been a better choice but the different phases for her character were really believable to me. I would say the same for Dylan. While his acting wasn't groundbreaking- he did it well too. The reason I'm most glad for picking this up is because I discovered Zhang Ling He from this and now he's straight to my favourites list. Man can act fine and he's such a beauty! I also liked the other supporting actors and there was no one who was "ruining" the drama for me.
OVERALL:
While I would have been fine with a simpler ending, few things were made complicated for no reason. It does end happily so it's all good. I think the drama is worth investing time in- however, I do not think I would ever rewatch it again.
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