Avari20
Our hero is not an alpha, and I love alphas. That being said, our dear hero isn't a pushover either. And as competent as our heroine was in the office, at home she was a complete disaster, which I appreciated. They really shined in their respective roles as boss/employee and then flipped with housekeeper/housekept (is that a word? It should be).
That being said, there were parts that kept this from being perfect. I wasn't a fan of the secondary couples' screen time. There's a problem that gets resolved a little too handily, in my opinion, but overall? You will not regret watching.
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The Good: Her characterization was refreshing, even if you have to close your eyes to a few things (where exactly did she learn to fight?). Our ultimate hero is pretty swoony. I love his unique profile, and that fact that he never gave up on the woman he loved. He pretty much always insisted on being seen as a man rather than a friend, but he never pushed her too hard or was an asshole. That's pretty rare in dramaland. When our MC's heart got broken, I really felt for her, so the acting here is relatively good.
The Bad: The palace politics were unecessary and dragged on forever. I skipped so many scenes because they had nothing to do with our main leads and didn't fit at all. I could not have cared less. I'm also in the tiny minority in which Hu Ge does nothing for me, so I had a hard time getting into that romantic aspect.
I actually really liked the end, and the fact that when our leads get together the story doesn't just end. They're lovely together.
I just rewatched it (but only the parts I liked) so it's not like I'd never see it again.
Overall, give it a shot.
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Very Meh
While Jeremy Tsui is a great actor and there were characters on both sides that were both morally good and bad, there just wasn't enough to this story to make it worth the watch. It would need much tighter story telling. It's also a bit boring to see two people yearning but never making any progress. Nothing ever grabs at the heartstrings until the end, and frankly, that's for the side characters rather than the main couple.Speaking of the end, the emotional pacing becomes really uneven. You start to feel like you've seen the same scene on a different day. I wanted so much more for the characters. Worse than being frustrated, I didn't feel much of anything at all.
An overall disappointment that should be skipped.
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The good: The heroine is friggin' adorable. She's funny, sweet, and totally relatable. She was bullied in middle school and decided to make a "new" her by changing schools. I liked the story of her personal journey, ie learning to start conversations, making friends, etc. She was also totally adorable with the "angel" boy.
The bad: That friggin' devil. The first twenty minutes made me hate his guts. There is nothing likable about him. He force-kissed her, grabbed her by the chin roughly, and yelled in her face so many times I wanted to reach into the screen and punch HIM. He was the really cheap version of Tsukasa Doumyogi, who had least gave me hints that he wasn't all bad. I waited and waited for his character to go through some kind of transformation, at least to realize he's being a complete and utter asshole to her, but it never happened. I was actually mad at HER when she started looking at him differently, because he had literally done nothing to earn her trust or affection or even friendship. He was an asshole up to the very end.
I would not recommend this to anybody, much less someone who is actually looking for real romance in a film/drama.
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I had very little expectations of this movie. I didn't really know the story and I definitely didn't know the actors, which meant I was a blank slate.
It was a wonderful experience. First of all, the romance feels real. You can see them falling for each other piece by piece, and it's that deep, profound affection kind of love. They like being around each other. Second, the villain. He really did it for me—as in, I could totally get behind our heroine trying to protect the hero from him, because Dude was legitimately off his rocker. That's the kind of thing not many stories pull off well; it just reads as noble idiocy. I was so pleased that this was not the case with this movie.
Next, the look and feel of the film. It's nothing amazing, but it feels and looks good, especially the mountain scenes. The end scene is also awesome. I also have to mention the music. It really carried the mood, and was never intrusive.
Last, the actors. They're natural, have wonderful chemistry, and I really enjoyed watching them. It might be a stupid point to mention, but I also enjoyed the fact that the lead actor is not a stick? Like, he LOOKS like someone who has spent his life dedicated to martial arts?
The end isn't for everybody, but if you're in the right kind of mood, THIS is the movie to watch.
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But a few years later, I gave it another shot, and this time it took. Besides better subs, hanging in there for a few more episodes gave me a better understanding of her mindset. She genuinely considers this all a vacation and doesn't take anything seriously. Trust me when I say that changes. Her relationship with the lead is complicated. First it's light, but as time goes on and they have to rely on each other more, the viewer is rewarded with a couple that you KNOW is really in love with each other. They don't just say it. They prove it.
That being said, the story could be a bit uneven toward the end. It's like another drama. Still, I liked the second female lead (comes in way at the end), who wasn't just plain evil; she was complex, and I felt for her.
Great acting, laugh out loud in some places, a couple to envy, but not without its flaws.
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In the beginning everything was great. It's rare for me to like a contemporary C-drama, but this one really drew me in. Our heroine is funny, with a personality that made me instantly like her. She's someone that seemed very real. I liked the way she handles certain situations that would make me want to die of embarrassment. I was a little misled by the poster as to who the hero was, but I have to say, I was really digging the fresh faced puppy that's really a mafia assassin (?). It was easy to believe that no one suspected him, because seriously, nobody ever would. He pretty much fell for her from the beginning, and it was a damn delight to watch him work for her attention.
The story kept me engaged up to about episode 15. After that, unfortunately, it went flat and never recovered. I was left feeling vaguely unsatisfied when the end came around. Basically I didn't think they had enough conflict to last the duration of the show and had to really reach for things. That was really sad for me; a subpar ending to a visually gorgeous drama.
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Acting and initial set up were fine. A prince falls in love with a noble lady and is somehow kept apart from her--and then we flashback to the beginning to find out how.
I think everybody did a great job with what they were given. The problem here was that there was zero tension. Most actions didn't seem to have big enough consequences for me to sit on the edge of my seat, or really keep my eyes glued to the screen to watch the fallout. It's hard to put into words except to say that I never really felt how HEAVY any of their choices were. They just sort of...made them and moved on. It ended up creating a lackluster drama overall.
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The drama starts out pretty solid. We see a conflict between the two main characters, then go back to explain how they got to that point. I'm always a fan of that, since it catches your interest right away. Our hero falls hard and fast—almost a little too fast, though part of that is belatedly explained. Our heroine struggles with equating her feelings for him to who he is to other people; a warlord.
There were really good points to this drama. I liked the story for the most part. The acting was dramatic, but whatever, when I'm in a certain mood I like that. I even liked the part where the hero made a decision of asshole proportions, because it caused REAL drama, the kind of thing I'm totally here for.
What kept me from loving this drama was that bits of it were overdone, even for a melo. There were also parts that dragged on. I felt that they could have cut down on chunks of episodes and created a really good, solid drama.
I won't say that you should or shouldn't watch it. Just be aware that the drama has flaws that might impact your enjoyment.
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What might put you off: it's not high budget.
What would suck you in: It's set in Japanese-Occupation Era Korea, which has lots of levels of society that are typically ignored but get their moment in Capital Scandal. Opposites Attract couple: he's a flashy rich boy who is just floating with the tide and she's a relic of a bygone era who is willing to go the distance for her country. We have a Bet Trope to start off their journey, but that's a tiny part of their overall development. There's essentially four leads, each with their own wants and goals. We have angst from past betrayal (not romantic), unrequited love, genuine friendship between men and women, amazing comedy, pining, full character arcs for everybody, badass women, the ManChild to Man trope, and the end, which was a real nail biter for me.
I cried. I laughed. It was amazing.
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Neutral: The story isn't incredibly original. This is mainly driven by character development rather than plot.
What disappointed me: The male leads got a ton of development--which is great--but it was so much so that it made it obvious how much the leading lady...didn't. I would have put this drama in the great category if she had had more of a goal. All of her wants, while understandable, were directly connected with the men in her life. She was awesome, so I wanted to know more about HER dreams and wishes. You don't get to see that in the drama. Her arc was more of a flat line than anything. She doesn't change as a person at a all, while both the main and second lead had full arcs.
Would I recommend it? Not in a OMG! way. It's a good one to binge one when you're in a lull, or you're just in a particular mood.
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When tragedy strikes (and it does, often, since this is a war drama) you just want to curl up and shake your head in denial. I would never watch this again for the sheer fact that it hurt too much, but oh god, the ride was worth it.
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Story: A man fell in love with a woman at first sight and married her, but their marriage is cold and more than a little dysfunctional. The way the story is framed, the audience starts when they're married. I think as a viewer it's important that we know he's in love with her, even if she doesn't, but I never once felt that. Even selfish characters need to to have something that keep me watching, and this drama just didn't. The pacing was slow, and I was supremely uninterested in everything that was going on outside of the main couple. Decisions that they made had no logic to them, and I think I was supposed to feel bad for the main lead. However, I cheered every single attempt the female lead tried to get out of their relationship.
The drama itself is shot beautifully. The individual actors are really good. I especially liked how the main actress played her character. The way the story played out, though, erased any pleasure I got, making it impossible to finish.
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Falls into the Same Trap as Other Dramas in the End
This starts out as charming and dynamic. I loved the chemistry between the leads. They felt like a real couple despite the fantasy elements, because their personalities compliment each other and they see each other as people. All of that disappears about half-way through the story. When we get to the immortal segment of the show, the male lead becomes too serious and boring. It never feels like she loves this new him, but the old him that she used to know. And since he's essentially a wooden block because immortals apparently can't have personalities, I can't say that there's much to love there. Beautiful music, incredible acting, but oh man, the story did them dirty half-way through to the end.Was this review helpful to you?
A Surprisingly Well Written Story
I think I slept on this drama to be honest. I started watching out of boredom but it quickly grabbed me and gobbled me up for three whole days. If you're in your thirties, you'll probably appreciate it more, but I think most women would enjoy this drama.The story is about a woman in a society that seems to have very strict ideas about what you should be doing and when, especially as a woman. Graduate by a certain age, achieve a certain social status, get married, have kids. Every woman in this drama is at a different age and experiencing her own customized version of the story. Our FL is 32 and has never dated, while her brother dates around constantly.
She just wants to experience love and dating, but when her heart jumps for a much younger man, things get interesting.
The ML is very swoony, though the SL is wonderful too. It's a really interesting take on family, society, and a woman's role in both, but never boiling it down to JUST that. Everybody is fun to watch. It's very slice of life, and can be serious one moment and fun the next. I was with the FL all the way (probably because I'm in her age group).
More than that, the story is well written. There are Easter eggs planted everywhere, and none go unaddressed. When the dots connect for you, they pretty much do a big bang version of it.
I would say anybody looking for something light but likeable would really enjoy this.
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