Jina
United States
2017 was a different time. Liked the romance, but some questionable aspects
2017 was really a different time for time-travelling historical romcom cdramas--before censorship on straight-up time travel plots and before voice dubbing became prominent. I was quite surprised and unsettled to hear most of their real voices (that seemed to be recorded on the actual set) and took me a few episodes to get used to it. The narrating voice was a bit unnecessary since it only appeared a few times and was a bit intrusive.
Overall, this low-budget time-travelling historical romcom drama was enjoyable for several reasons.
First and foremost is the main leads/couple Mo Lian Cheng (Xing Zhao Lin) and Qu Tan Er (Liang Jie). The actors' chemistry and scenes carried this show--as proven by their reoccurring roles in the second and third season of this drama as well as their modern drama You Are My Destiny. They look really good together and just work so well together.
Besides them, the MVP of the show is Tan Er's maid Jingxin. She was the best and I love her.
The second reason is Liang Jie's acting as Qu Tan Er and Qu Xiang Tan. She's very good at switching between these two personalities and was very convincing. I had a hard time feeling attached to them at the beginning since both of them were kind of annoying in their own ways, but as their relationship deepens and become more harmonious, the better they both become.
The third reason is the potential of the plot, especially knowing that there's a second and third season. There's the mystery of a bigger story tied to who she is and the orb that's being searched. I enjoyed the deepening of the story and how that eventually explains the title of this drama.
However, there were a couple things that didn't sit right with me, especially regarding the issue of agency with Qu Tan Er and Qu Xiang Tan sharing a body. The disregard that Xiang Tan treats the body made me disappointed and almost dropped this drama. I only kept going because I was curious about how the overall story especially since there are two seasons after this. Characters aren't as complex as they could've been nor had as much character development as they should had. For example, Richards Wang is listed as a "main role" in here as Mo Yi Huai but he didn't have as much appearances as the main roles did and, at some episodes, barely showed up at all.
Overall, I think I'm surprised at the high rating this drama has on MDL, but for its time in 2017, it must had been pretty interesting. And, of course, the romantic scenes are pretty sweet and cute. Other aspects may suffer, but not them.
Overall, this low-budget time-travelling historical romcom drama was enjoyable for several reasons.
First and foremost is the main leads/couple Mo Lian Cheng (Xing Zhao Lin) and Qu Tan Er (Liang Jie). The actors' chemistry and scenes carried this show--as proven by their reoccurring roles in the second and third season of this drama as well as their modern drama You Are My Destiny. They look really good together and just work so well together.
Besides them, the MVP of the show is Tan Er's maid Jingxin. She was the best and I love her.
The second reason is Liang Jie's acting as Qu Tan Er and Qu Xiang Tan. She's very good at switching between these two personalities and was very convincing. I had a hard time feeling attached to them at the beginning since both of them were kind of annoying in their own ways, but as their relationship deepens and become more harmonious, the better they both become.
The third reason is the potential of the plot, especially knowing that there's a second and third season. There's the mystery of a bigger story tied to who she is and the orb that's being searched. I enjoyed the deepening of the story and how that eventually explains the title of this drama.
However, there were a couple things that didn't sit right with me, especially regarding the issue of agency with Qu Tan Er and Qu Xiang Tan sharing a body. The disregard that Xiang Tan treats the body made me disappointed and almost dropped this drama. I only kept going because I was curious about how the overall story especially since there are two seasons after this. Characters aren't as complex as they could've been nor had as much character development as they should had. For example, Richards Wang is listed as a "main role" in here as Mo Yi Huai but he didn't have as much appearances as the main roles did and, at some episodes, barely showed up at all.
Overall, I think I'm surprised at the high rating this drama has on MDL, but for its time in 2017, it must had been pretty interesting. And, of course, the romantic scenes are pretty sweet and cute. Other aspects may suffer, but not them.
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