emotional whiplash with some payoff; lesson: miscommunication will be the death of you.

I came after watching the main couple in Legend of Yunxi and I can say with complete confidence that they are much sweeter and cuter in this drama. This story in general is not as politically intense as Yunxi, but that's good for folks who aren't very interested in the politics.

It's funny that I learned that this drama script and production took a long time to get going because it makes a lot of sense now that I've seen the whole drama. You can tell that the drama is in three distinct parts--I assume from a bunch of rewrites and changes. It wasn't really finalized until 2019, which makes me even curious if they imitated some scenes from the popular drama Goodbye My Princess (aired in 2019) as there are a couple similarities lol but I don't mind. Also, I assume that, because of all the troubles this show went through, there's also strange editings especially for the main couple. Sometimes, it feels like their scenes got cut short. I assume we'll never know truly what happened with this.

This drama can be split into three parts:
1) the first third was establishing the foundation for conflicts later on and groundwork for relationships, especially for the main couple and second couple. The main couple, strangely, doesn't get much screentime together during this part although they do meet many times. This part was the more romantic comedy sense and was a lot more lighthearted and simple. Unfortunately, this is the only time where the "power" of the dreams really come into play. It appears later, but not much.

2) A bit more angsty and drama driven but finally more screentime with the main couple and deeper development into their relationship. The political/serious plot during this time is kept to a minimum, honestly, as I think there was a time where the antagonist barely showed up at all for several episodes lol. So this was the part with more development of relationships like the second couple as well. There were some angsty and emotional moments that were very good and well done.

3) The final third part of the drama came back to the political/serious plot, but definitely felt a bit chaotically put together, seemingly as if the writers fell back on old tricks/illogical moves just to create emotional tragic scenes and move the plot along. Ex: more misunderstandings that made me rolled my eyes and strange plot turns that, by the last 5 episodes, I was just like "Okay, this might as well happen."

Overall, although the story kind of spluttered out by the end, this drama delivered on what was expected of it. This drama, I believe, understood its audience and what they wanted: cute and sweet moments with the main couple (and even with the second couple); tragic and sad emotional scenes to enhance our feelings for the show and characters (no matter how illogical we got to those points); pretty faces and pretty scenes.

This drama wasn't completely a romantic comedy but wasn't solely a political drama. It's a fun mix between, which was good, although I think the drama spluttered toward the end because they wrote themselves into situations that they didn't know how to get out of and so took easy solutions out.

In the end, this is a drama to enjoy for the pretty faces, the main (and secondary) couple, and their sweet and angst scenes. I didn't get too invested in the political/serious plot once it became too ridiculous and instead just enjoyed the emotional ride, the highs and lows, of the main couple--because seriously, this couple can be so sweet but then also frustrate me so much that I had a lot of emotional whiplash--from feeling teary and so sad for them in one episode to the next episode being so glad and happy for them. I still love them very much but I think the writers utilized the 'misunderstanding' trope a little too much toward the end that it was more frustrating than sad. Fortunately for this show, the sheer couple power of Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jingyi took me to the finish line.

I think that's the bottom line. If you're here for zhehan and jingyi, you'll enjoy many parts of this drama and finish it for its happy ending. You'll get pluses, like the cute secondary couple. If you're here seeking a strong and logical political plot alongside the romance...this is not the drama for that.

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A low key, curious drama with a unique main couple and interesting side couples

Note: this drama was decently English subbed on YouTube until around episode 9 and after that, the subtitles were awful. The only reason why I was able to keep watching was because I was able to discern the general idea of what was going on and I also understood some phrases every now and then. So, I didn't get to watch this drama with full emotional investment. Regardless, this is a pretty decent modern romance drama with a bit of futuristic technology involved and a bit of the supernatural. I recommend that if you know enough Chinese to get by, you can still enjoy many things about this drama. However, if you're completely new to Chinese language and typical plots/dialogue in Chinese dramas, I don't recommend starting this drama due to bad English subtitles.

In the way that the drama "My Girlfriend Is an Alien" only explored the FL's lead's alien identity on a basic, surface level & doesn't enter the realm and consequences of "What would the world do if they find out there are aliens?", the FL in this drama and her "superpower" ability is also in this similar vein. The FL is born with an ability--something to do with the energy and waves of her body which can become dangerous when heightened--and the consequences of the reveal of her ability is limited to the world of the FL and the ML. Groups like the media and government don't get involved in this modern romance drama because that would go out of the scope of this drama.

Anyway, because of her ability, it affects her past and created her current personality as a mature, cool-headed person, which makes her quite refreshing from the typical "cute quirky" modern FL lead in a romance drama.

The ML at first gives off a playboy vibe and comes across as goofy and unserious, but it's intentional on his part. He quickly becomes adorable and likeable.

With a mature FL and a cute ML, their encounters and growing relationship carries the strange beginnings. The first several episodes will be very confusing due to the mention of her ability and how it isn't explained right away. I only kept watching because I was fascinated by their dynamic--FL wasn't interested at first and ML was deeply curious about her and so their chanced encounters became more interesting. I adored how he always wanted to know more about her and was subtly jealous but wasn't an asshole about it. Most of the times, he was honest about it.

The supporting characters are interesting too--and in this drama, they do get a pretty good amount of screen time.

One of my favorite supporting characters is the FL's guy friend Junhao. I love how his relationship with the FL is never seen as romantic. They're platonic friends for over twenty years and so they care about each other as friends do.

Minzhen's growth from a whiny princess type to a more open-minded woman is so good.

Yuesheng gets a lot of flack as he does mope a lot, but if you really consider his perspective, you do feel bad for him.

Lu Qiao, the female antagonist, does get quite annoying but I'm glad for the ending that she does get.

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Well done typical modern romcom w/ refreshing leads, subplots, and secondary characters

A modern romcom with many memorable moments and strong cast, you'll enjoy this if you are a lover of this genre! There are many things this show did right with a good amount of nuances. (I typically have a hard time finishing modern cdramas because they can get so illogical and dramatic, but not this one!)

1) Not trivializing the FL's mental illness: I'm always wary at how cdrama dramas tackle mental illnesses and this show does good in not turning completely into a medical show but also not just brushing off her mental illness. It's the FL's driving force as she tries to cure it and it's handle with a good amount of seriousness.

2) FL is so adorable!: I love the actress so much for being able to portray so much range as Fang Yan! Fang Yan is such an adorable character and the actress did so well in some incredibly hilarious scenes. I'd say she's the best actor from this drama. I was really impressed.

2) ML is soft and strict at the same time without being a complete asshole: I really enjoyed this aspect of the ML. In some extreme dramas, the ML is just a very mean-spirited jerk and that is such a turn off. This ML, however, is shown to misunderstand FL and so is, at first, cold to the FL (despite his initial good impression of her) but he isn't super unreasonable and softens soon enough.

3) The FL and ML's super cute love: the premise of the show is based on their (somewhat unwilling) cohabitation and that's a very typical premise for a romcom, of course, but what I loved about their love is just the cute domestic portrayal of it and how, once they both accepted their feelings, they were just so cute. The way that the FL and ML will just hug each other or give each other quick kisses or how the FL will pout about wanting a physical touch--I love it so much. It's a realistic portrayal of a couple that isn't overdone with super dramatic romantic gestures; it's cooking for one another, praising one another, and teasing one another. I'm very satisfied with this. (Also, there's something to do with a goose...and I loved that so much. I laughed so hard and also delighted in it so much!)

4) The second ML is a flawed complex character: his character and arc is very memorable. I won't spoil, but I enjoyed the reveals about him and how that relates to other characters. There was a moment where I really disliked him but I grew to like him again.

5) The second couple leads, Zuo Yao and Hao Ying Jun (and Zuo Yao's son Zuo You): characters with distinct personalities, I enjoyed them a lot and their kind of love.
I love that Zuo Yao was a strong independent single woman raising her son. That itself was such a refreshing move for me from a cdrama. Of course, in true cdrama fashion, it shows some of the downfalls of not having a second parent or a father--in which a child can be insecure about it--so there is a push for her to find a husband or find a father for Zuo You. Most of this pressure is mostly coming from Hao Ying Jun though, lol, who is still adamantly in love with Zuo Yao. Their past history, though, makes it hard for Zuo Yao trust him and so they must learn to trust each other again.

This is a drama that definitely focuses more on the romantic plot and there is a suspenseful serious plot, but it's less to do with their jobs and more to do with something else...that I won't spoil. Anyway, it's a good romcom drama to watch when you're looking for cute actors and cute scenes. :)

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beautiful faces, designs, props, potential plots but boggled and ruined by terribly storytelling

I tried so hard to finish this--for wang zhuo cheng and meng ziyi--but I just couldn't. There are two kinds of bad dramas: 1) ones that are so ridiculous that it becomes endearingly funny and enjoyable, and then 2) the ones that are so ridiculous that it's just frustrating and angering. Legend of Two Sisters in the Chaos is the 2nd one, sadly.

There are several things that I couldn't deal with this show.

1) The characters had ONE defining trait and that was pretty much it: it was like the story writers just needed to fill a trope or character type and then just did that instead of fleshing them into real and logical characters. This was most obviously frustrating when it came to someone like Fu Jinzhan who is possibly one of the worst FLs I've ever come across. The writers wrote her SO bad. She is ~good at fighting~ and short temper and literally nothing else. Almost everything about her decisions are SO bad. The writers tried to make her come across as "someone with a code--helping whoever in need; not killing needlessly" but even THAT doesn't come across organically. In the end, Jinzhan becomes one of the most confusing and frustrating characters as she, at one point, SET FIRE TO THE PALACE AND PRETENDED TO BE DEAD FROM THE FIRE so that she can escape her current union to the King. What the fuck? It was so thoughtless, so stupid, so emotionally damaging to everyone else just because she couldn't wait. Sure, you can argue that it's in line with her personality, but at what cost? Her character makes such illogical decisions that it's so hard to care about her. (Many other characters are like this too, so. I just chose Jinzhan because it's what I remember.)

2) Inorganic sudden love and feelings: I'm truly not a fan of main couples falling in love with each other right away because it's usually done badly. When it doesn't feel organic, it feels very forced, and that's how I feel about the two main lead couples. (Maybe it's also due to a chemistry thing too; they are pretty faces, but they don't feel in love...)
There are shows that makes 'suddenly in love' interesting:
"Love in Lost Times" - The main couple falls in love fairly fast in the beginning, but due to a plot point, it is only the FL who remembers their love and not the ML, allowing them in a way to re-learn to love each other.
Or, for example, I started (and didn't finish yet) the drama "Legend of the Phoenix" where the FL falls for the ML first and the ML seems resistant at first but actually likes the FL too, and they decide to be together early in the series to go through trials together--no back-and-forth, pointless angst. (They also had really good chemistry.)
In this drama, I disliked so much how Fu Yuzhan apparently liked Xue Rong already by like ep2?? (And some of their scenes were very illogical. I believe in ep2, when assassins were coming after Fu Yuzhan, Xue Rong told her to run away while he fought them, but then she just STOOD THERE WATCHING IN FULL VIEW OF THE ASSASSINS--putting herself at risk STILL and so he had to do some super move to save her (and got injured). I couldn't believe it because she's supposed to be intelligent! And yet??? She couldn't, I don't know, hide??)
Or how Jinzhan and Jiang Shao already had feelings for each other by like ep10??? When they barely knew each other for like 2 weeks?
The romance just feels so forced.

3) So many characters that you grow to not care about: this goes back to how the characters are written badly, and so, when supporting characters are introduced and given a tragic motive to turn into villains and whatnot--like Huaijin--I didn't care.

4) The Princess lady--Huaijin's mother--the big villain is killed and shown through a flashback: I couldn't believe they did her dirty like that. She was literally the main, conniving villain of the first half of the show and then they just killed her off like that. What was the point of having a Big Bad Villain like that when you don't even give her the storyline and screen time she deserves?????

Ultimately, this drama had some high potential, but the execution and story in general was just to wonky and frustrating.

Maybe one day when I'm bored, I'll return back to finish this drama for wang zhuo cheng and meng ziyi, but, at this point I have no desire to finish it.

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Interesting premise, characters, sweet promises, but as always for BL kdramas, it falls too short

If you hate short dramas and hate dramas that don't follow through on most or every plot thread, then you don't want to watch this. This is more like a preview than anything else. Each episode is about 15min long with eight episodes, so ultimately, you only get about two hours of the drama--so more like a movie than anything. Because of this limitation, not everything will be addressed--and there are several threads that are so intriguing but ultimately isn't given the attention. Also, *trigger warning* for suicide--I can't remember the exact episode but I want to say it's episode 6 or 7.

This drama is solely focused on the two main characters and their growing relationship, but mostly shown from Choi Yeon Woo's POV. The premise is that in this human world, there are humans with the condition of "mono," meaning that they see things in grey and grey colors only. This is different from colorblindness, though, because monos have a chance to see colors if they find their "probe." The driving tension is that Choi Yeon Woo fears finding his probe due to the many cases of monos going crazy without their probes and ultimately doing horrible things to their probe--like murder. He doesn't want to become like that. The driving emotional tension is that Choi Yeon Woo's mother, also a mono, disappeared four years ago. So, he goes through stages in reconciling with the absence of his mother.

Aside from the discontent that comes from an interesting premise that isn't fully filled, this drama otherwise is beautiful. Strong cinematography with beautiful actors, it is at many times moving. The actor for Choi Yeon Woo carries the show on his back as, again, he's the main focus and the one where we are seeing the world from, so he has a lot of scenes with varying degrees of seriousness and emotions. The actor for Go Yoo Han was fine. Nothing extraordinary, just fine. I think if the drama was longer, he might've had more chances to show different emotions.

Overall, a drama that deals with some hard and dark themes but with a dash of hope and sweetness that comes from the main leads.

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Strong story, acting, comedy, & angst but dinged half point due to ending & 1 characterization

***This is a general review, but the bottom half of this review will contain spoilers***

I've watched a lot of romcom historical dramas this past year and they are generally cute with more focused on the romance and less to do with serious consequences tied within the serious or political plot. The Sleepless Princess, however, balances that very well, giving us a romantic comedy and also providing compelling plot threads that makes it an interesting watch throughout. Even more, the show does well in balancing comedy and angst. It begins as a romantic comedy, but the foreshadowing of future sad/tragic scenes are hinted in the beginning as well and I am impressed when I watch the show again. It's a well directed drama. It has great actors who make you feel the full swing of emotions.

Before I talk about things I liked, I want to make sure I mention that there are TWO endings. Folks watch the show and are disappointed by the end, but there is a "special episode" aka an "episode 36" that may satisfy those people. For others, though, episode 35's ending was fine even if it was ambiguous.

ACTING & CHARACTERS
Everyone was great in their roles, but especially have to give it up to our two main leads: Zheng Ye Cheng as Xue Yao and Hu Yi Xuan as Xu Chuyue. They have incredible chemistry together and are a perfect match. They both balance the lightheartedness and romantic well with the serious and angst. Their happiness makes you happy and their sadness makes you cry along with them. I was thoroughly impressed with them and really hope that in the future, we get to see them act in another drama together.
Xue Yao is a cold and cautious general and that leads him to do some harsh things to the FL at the beginning, but you can sympathize with his character when you think about how much he and his family has gone through and how the loss of his brother affected him. A confident person who isn't arrogant to keep being mean to the FL once he realizes his mistakes/misunderstandings. When he realizes his mistakes, he always tries to remedy it and becomes kinder and softer. His complexity is well written and well acted by Zheng Ye Cheng.
Xu Chuyue is such a lovable wonderful character. She's naturally cute and her comedic timing is great. I adore her so much. (On a personal note: I'm so glad she doesn't pucker her lips out to make her look cute because it's so annoying to me.) She is similar to the "naive cutesy clumsy girl" type in romcom historical dramas, but what I love is that she doesn't do pointless screaming/yelling at ML and is often pretty smart herself. She's at times naive but she's not clueless.
Xu Xingchen: Oof, I came to really appreciate him. In the beginning, even with his cute face, I was suspicious of him, but he is a righteous man after all and his devotion and care for his sister wins in the end. I appreciate a character with this kind of dignity.

STORY:
As I mentioned above, sometimes in these romcoms historical comedies, the "serious" or "political" plots aren't taken as seriously or explored as seriously, but not this one. The political and serious plot threads are connected to their romantic development and the twists that are revealed is shocking and heartbreaking as our leads deal with the knowledge. I enjoyed it greatly and appreciated this balance.
At times, there were some misunderstandings between the main characters that frustrated me, but it is often resolved within an episode or a couple episodes, so it's not dragged out for an outrageous amount of time fortunately. Even more, the story makes it believable to see how the characters realize their misunderstandings, so it feels natural.
The supporting characters like Xu Xingchen, Taoyao, and Su Nannan have really good growth and depth that I appreciated. I can't say the same for Naxi (I talk about her characterization under the spoiler line.)
There are some really great comedic scenes that made me laugh so much. There are also some great angsty and sad scenes that are very well written, well directed, and well acted.
Essentially, this drama has a lot of scenes that are original, well acted, well directed and so it was very memorable.
That ending, though, was good, but could've been better. And less ambiguous and sad. (I talk more about this underneath the spoilers line.)

SOUNDTRACK:
Strong osts with strong vocals and lyrics, really cementing the mood of the scenes. For example, Henry Huo (and Yisa Yu) sings the main song (he has also sung an OST for The Romance of Tiger and Rose). A show's soundtrack can really make or break the show. There are one or two songs that are upbeat and light-hearted, but the rest of the songs are moving ballads. I've been listening to the album all week and can still see the scenes in my head when I hear the songs. Well done, truly.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
What can I say? Chinese historical dramas always have great visuals, props, and designs. The CGI is always worrisome but fortunately there's not a lot of that in this drama. There are some really beautiful costumes in this drama and a lot of great shots. The action scenes aren't edited too much, so it flows pretty well and looks natural. Props to the director because this show could've been handled messily, but it wasn't and it was given the thoughtfulness and detailed it deserved.

*********SPOILERS BELOW. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE DRAMA*****************
*********SPOILERS BELOW. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE DRAMA*****************
*********SPOILERS BELOW. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE DRAMA*****************

One specific thing I love:
The fact that Xue Yao became the author and took over for his brother Xue Mu. That broke me in a good way. Also, XUE MU. He is SO SOSOSO good and we only got a few things about him, but I love him with my whole heart. His death hurt me so much. Tao Yao's death too. Ugh. :(( they were both pure people.

This is where I talk about some suggestions/changes I would've done to make this drama a 10/10 for me.

1) Naxi: they straight up made her a villain and her story to revolve around romance and wanting Xue Yao. That was my biggest disappointment with this show. She was cunning and manipulative, which made her a good antagonist, but the whole thing behind her about wanting Xue Yao--that reasoning was disappointing and made her character fell flat. Instead of her wanting Xue Yao because she "truly loves" him and wants him for her husband, I wish it had gone a route like this: she wants Xue Yao so that she can kill him for Xue Yao's killings of her father & people. And so then her friendship with Xu Chuyue, which becomes actually genuine, makes Naxi conflicted because she grows fond of Xu Chuyue and doesn't want to hurt her friend, but she still made a promise to avenge her family. This would've been a more compelling storyline.
Also, the whole thing with Prince Ning...it was hilarious and that one moment of Prince Ning disregarding his life for her is kind of believable, I suppose since he's kind of a dummy, but anything to do with them getting together is impossible. Also, Naxi might've been moved a bit by Prince Ning's actions, but not to an extent where she would go back for him or whatever. Their little side story is not the best part of this drama.

2) THAT ENDING: Look, Xue Yao would NEVER hurt Xu Chuyue so he would NEVER jump off a cliff so that they both die together. Even if the show wants it to be open-ended with that possibility, I'm shutting that down right now. He was at a weak moment where he missed her dearly, but he would never do that.
Here's my version of the ending:
Xue Yao finishes telling the story to the kids who all run away. Xue Yao is a little disappointed that she didn't wake up right at that moment and maybe he walks away for a second to breathe and get fresh air (get it? Fresh air? So he doesn't cry? Callback to like episode 3.) and then Xu Chuyue calls his name. He turns around and she's smiling brilliantly like that one time when she was going to get on the carriage. She's awake and healthy and beautiful. He goes to her, still crying, and she kisses his tears. They hug and kiss and smile and are happy. THE END.

This would be a proper happier ending than the "special happy-ending episode" where there are continuation issues. The special issue gives them a kid and have them go travelling around, which is fine, but the last part about the Naxi and Pring Ning.....no. Just, no. They apparently got together during the time she saved him from the poison smoke, but that would be impossible since Xu Chuyue already changed the timeline, so. That's impossible. That part of the special episode, I don't agree with.

Also, I get why Xu Chuyue couldn't just "come back" because throughout the entire series, they already said that she would become a living dead person, even reinforced by her father. So, on an emotional level, I GET it that it's not that easy for her to just WAKE UP. But then, I truly wish the storyline had embedded a thread of a possibility to save her through some other means and have Xue Yao spend time looking for that alternative way to save her. Her sacrifice to save everyone was monumental, but c'mon, this is a romcom historical, why can't we get a happy ending for our lovers, who went through SO much already? Give us that happy payoff after all this angst. COME ON.

*edit after some days of thinking and rewatching some scenes*: so, her father DID say that being a living dead person is the worst way to die because she'll outlive everyone but won't be able to respond to the outside world. Since that is the case...then I would accept Xue Yao taking her and them dying together. Because at least that way she actually gets to die with him and not him dying while she lives around. In a way, it's a mercy for Xu Chuyue. But I don't know how I feel if Xue Yao took them both to die so early and so young...

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A sweet slow burn detective romance with well developed supporting characters and subplots

This is a gem of a detective romance historical. I've watched a couple of this genre (Miss Truth, Maiden Holmes--both I liked very much too) but this is the first one that is of this length (55 episodes) which allowed for expansion of subplots and supporting characters' growths. When watching this show, you'll want to pay attention. Skipping through will take you out of the mystery and investment in characters. This drama is kind of like if our main characters (and supporting characters) went on side quests (in this case, on cases) and all of it relates back to the main plot of fighting the antagonists. The majority of the show is the characters on that journey and away from the capital where the ministers and emperor live.

There are some focus on the political plot and several names--that I personally never quite connected to who is who--but I like that it's not a big mess about ministers fighting and scheming against one another. It's mostly one main clan/villain group from the ministers VS our main characters. When the story show scenes about those ministers, emperor, and talking, it doesn't take too long. The main focus is the characters figuring out mysteries in the cases and trying to get evidence to fight the antagonist.

Allen and Seven's acting and chemistry as Lu Yi and Yuan Jinxia is a perfect combo. Allen plays a perfect cold stoic imperial guard who gradually shows his feelings. Seven's Jinxia is lovable with perfect comedic timing and also perfect tearful and sorrowful expressions. Her tears make me want to cry too. And she can fight! Like actually fight and hold her ground. A lot of times, the FL is written to be clever but not able to physically fight, which is frustrating as then she becomes a bit of a burden and in need of saving. Jinxia generally fights her way through things and it's only through the real tough situations that she needs saving from. (In fact, she saves the male lead a couple times! Love it.)

This is your classic dislike-to-love couple and their slow burn romance is well done. Truly, I think this is one of the slowest burn romances I've seen in a Chinese drama. They're not going to fall in love within the 5th or 10th or even 15th episode lol but all the set-up of trust and believing in each other's capability is there and it's SO good. It's well written and organic.

The supporting characters too had my hearts. One great thing is that the actors really look like characters from this time and era. I don't know how quite to explain it. For some dramas and some actors, they look like they're actors wearing costumes rather than genuine characters in this time setting. I love that the characters in this show all look like genuine characters.
I adore Shangguan's development and her romantic arc with Yang Yue and their romance is also well done.
Xie Xiao is a hilarious character, at times a bit annoying, but endearing.
Lin Ling and Uncle Begger! I adore them too.
Han Dong as Yan Shi Fan, the antagonist/villain, is great; he has such a beautiful face, but he's so evil. I love to hate him because he's such a terrible person with such a beautiful face. Well done, Han Dong! I hate your character so much.

I only have two criticism:
1) the panning into their eyes or fists is not a good directing move. Maybe to general viewers, it's not as abrupt, but I never got used to those cut close-ups. Yes, Allen and Seven's expressive eyes are great, but I would like to see their whole face rather than just their eyes. It's too awkward to see just their eyes personally.
2) Sometimes, the political subplots or the antagonist don't feel connected to the main story with the main characters. It's not as strongly connected. I'll be watching our main characters and then we'll have a cut away to something happening back in the capital and I'm like "oh right, there are some schemes happening here. Forgot about that." Ultimately, our main characters come back to the capital and these schemes become stronger, but I think since our main characters are away for quite a while doing their investigations, the stuff happening at court is put in the back of mind. Also, I think because of this issue that as the series reach about mid-way point, the plot does feel a tiny bit dragging. Because the main characters are off on their own plots, the subplots feel irrelevant and dragging even though it'll become important later.

Overall, a delightful and interesting show with a strong cast and acting. The 55 episodes is a little bit intimidating to get through, so watch this when you're in the mood to pay attention and for detective historicals with slow burn romance.

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Compared to the 1st season, lacking in some areas though still packs emotional punch

I loved season 1 because it was cliche but fun! It was a delight to see the great chemistry between LQ Wang (who plays Liang Weiwei ) and Ryan Cheng (who plays Jing Qing). They are such a power couple and I hope they do more dramas together. Anyway, combined with a strong OST, good humor, solid acting, memorable scenes and the right amount of angst to pull at heartstrings, the first season was perfect.

Season 2 unfortunately doesn't live up to the standard. It leans too much into the silliness and focuses too much on letting the actors/characters try to be funny in the first episode. It starts to pick up around 1/3 of the entire series and actually has an interesting and expanded storyline from the first season, but it lacks strong directing and so suffers by being forgettable, as in, the scenes are straightforward and doesn't have much aesthetics (other than the costumes). Furthermore, the lack of use and lack of new and memorable OSTs is unfortunate. (I think there's one song that came through at the end but not soon enough.) They reused the first season's OST for the ending theme but really, they should've created another version or a different song altogether to let season 2 stand on its own.

What still holds up: when there are emotional (or death) scenes, it is still angsty and beautifully painful. The cute and sweet scenes also still hold up because they both are so cute together. It is perfectly acted by LQ Wang and Ryan Cheng.

So, honestly, what holds this series together is LQ Wang and Ryan Cheng. You watch this series for them and for Liang Weiwei and Jing Qing. They are likeable characters with a love story that crosses dimensions and you want them to cross all obstacles and be together.

Overall, this is like a low budget version of Eternal Love. It keeps coming back by popularity (and MGTV"s cashgrab attempt) and it flips the script by letting the characters play different roles this time around. It's interesting, but not as fun as the first season.

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A delightful and entertaining drama that still holds up in 2021

This surprising hit web drama from 2015 still holds up in 2021. Despite being a very low budget production, it got everything right with the actors, drama, humor, and its surprisingly poignant themes. (No wonder it has a cult following and also inspired a Korean adaptation 2021 drama Mr. Queen and launched the careers of many of its actors.) If you like parodies of costume romantic comedy dramas and want hilarious entertainment, this is a great one.

PLOT: The playboy Zhang Peng, while escaping from ex-girlfriends, jumps into a pool to save a different girl. However, he gets kicked in the head and sinks further into the pool...and ends up back in time in the female body of Zhang Peng Peng, the consort of the Crown Prince Qi Sheng. Grappling with this new reality, Zhang Peng Peng tries to stay alive among palace politics and assassinations while also indulging in his desire of women around him and resisting his slowburn interest in Qi Sheng.

Things to know/think about:

First: this is a VERY low budget drama compared to "low budget" dramas from recent years (2017-21). A typical low budget drama nowadays would be the 24-episode dramas like "The Romance of Tiger and Rose" or the first season of "The Eternal Love." However, the production makes it work for them and makes it part of the comedy. The clothes are fairly plain (or has a modern-like style) yet so bright, several neon-like colors as the clothes or decoration on the pavilions and rooms. Literally, the "war" outfit that the princes wear are so strange and hilarious with its carved out abs.

Second: the actors are fantastic, especially Crystal as Zhang Peng Peng. She's flawless and acts so great in this comedic role of a man in a woman's body who's lustful after other women while also upholding his/her own morals and virtues. I never got pulled out of the acting and was laughing along or crying along with her. Absolutely fantastic and believable.

Third: the themes of love and gender are decent! Zhang Peng Peng has to go through a journey of acceptance since there was no sign of him returning to his modern times. At the same time, he/she was also falling for Qi Sheng, so it brings up some interesting point about love and body acceptance. I don't want to spoil anything too much but it felt well done for a 2015 drama and 2015 China c*nsorship. I suspect that this drama, if it had attempted to air now in 2021, wouldn't pass c*nsorship and wouldn't air at all. There are even very sexual and sexy scenes that aired!

Overall:
This is a silly and entertaining romantic comedy drama that is at times profound. It's definitely not meant to be taken very seriously but everything just came together and worked really together. The actors, the couple's chemistry, the female main character's steadfast goal in staying alive and her growth as a character is tremendous.

You might like this if you like time-travel dramas, soul-switching dramas with a twist of a man's soul in a female body, a cold male lead, a comedic and smart female lead, concubines who are supporting characters and not conniving but more like friends, slapstick humor.

You might not like this if you expect a very serious plot or a very serious political plot with war and fights and action. All of that is in the background and the production doesn't have the budget for a full scale fight.

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Been wanting a drama that is mostly romance focused? This is it for you.

Due to lukewarm reviews, I waited on this drama but fortunately I saw friends who were watching it and creating content for it. I decided to watch it for myself and I surprisingly liked it a lot! My advice for people is to always give the drama a try for yourself. You never know what's going to latch onto you. I truly didn't think I was going to like this but I did. The biggest thing to understand to set your expectation is that the drama is like 90% romance and romance-related points. Any serious suspenseful plot threads are not touched upon often enough but will come to the foreground toward the end of the drama.

PLOT: A lone dragon king, Yuchi Longyan, while going through trials to ascend into immortality, gets hurt and drops into the mortal realm. A sweet and kind servant Liu Ying takes care of him (at the request of her Miss, Xia Hou Xue) and their relationship develops as her care and personality intrigues him and he learns more about humans. To repay her kindness, he promises to marry her--which ends up being a promise that hurt them both when Longyan learns a secret about Liu Ying and Xia Hou Xue and he ends up needing to protect Xia Hou Xue for three lifetimes to protect Liu Ying. The drama then is about those lifetimes, their sorrows and joys, and whether they can reunite happily.
The drama also has the second couple's storyline which was quite well done in terms of their organic development and reveals. The bird demon Qing Qing is on a mission to get rid of the meteor mark on her forehead (which has ruined her status and beauty as the prettiest bird demon) and will do whatever it takes--even if it means breaking into the Lord of Luofeng Pavilion's home and stealing an item. However, when she is caught by Xue Qianxun, the Lord of Luofeng, she is punished to be his maid for 100 years. Xue Qianxun is suspicious of Qing Qing and keeps her around to see what she is really up to and why she has an effect on him.

CHARACTERS AND ACTORS:
-Yuchi Longyan is your ML who loves once and loves forever and will do everything and sacrifice his own life if necessary for his beloved. He was fine as a character and Dylan's portrayal of him is either a hit or miss. Because Longyan is a lone dragon and doesn't get much social interaction and is mostly ostracized or feared by other gods/immortals etc., he can be awkward and expressionless. I think Dylan did well in that aspect. He may be thousands of years old as an entity but is also like a child in the human sense. However, some people might find Dylan's acting too wooden and stiff. For me, I just got used to it. I didn't really like his aesthetic and looks on this drama (something about the hair and his eyebrows...) but I also just got used to it.

-Liu Ying is such an interesting FL! Because of the different lifetimes, she gets to have different personalities and backgrounds and it's quite fun! Bambi's acting is perfect for this role. I totally forgot that she was one of the female antagonists in "Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" and so I didn't even realize that she could act "evil" or anything like that! She was perfect as a sweet and pure girl and then, later down the road, as other kinds of personalities too.

-Qing Qing is such a cute and funny second FL. She's loyal and protective and isn't afraid to express herself. Pan Meiye was also perfect for this role. I never felt off about her acting and thought she was just adorable.

-Xue Qian Xun is a stoic and cold second ML and Deng Wei totally did him perfect. His cold expressions that slowly opens up because of Qing Qing, he and Meiye were a delight to watch together.

OST:
The OST can really make or break a drama and fortunately for this drama, it really made it! The OST is moving and memorable. I especially have a couple songs on repeat right now because it hit me deep. Some singers that some folks might recognize like Henry Huo. My favorite is Shuang Sheng's Flowing Back song. Oof, it hurts.

The CGI is a bit rough considering that this is like a middle-level production, but it has surprisingly good moments like a fireflies scene. The costumes and overall set production is good enough. I don't have any specific memory of a favorite outfit but it was good enough that made it distinct.

This drama is good for people who enjoy cheesy or typical romance of historical/costume dramas who don't want to get bogged down by a lot of political or serious plots. You don't have to think too much while watching this drama and can enjoy the sweetness and comedy of the couples. It's also surprisingly at times poignant and leaves several deep impressions. There are two kinds of coupling here so you can enjoy the deeply dramatic romantic couple AND the comedy romantic couple.

This drama is not good for people who wants historical accuracy (the physical setting of this drama is not based in any real historical setting; it's a different world), who wants serious complex and complicated plots.

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[review was based on seeing 8 episodes so far. I've dropped the drama after 14 episodes.]

I started this drama because of wang zhuo cheng (who plays Yi Ming Jun) and although he wasn't the main lead, I was able to get into the drama and the main leads because of their personalities and bickering/bantering. Most of the humor (especially from the main leads) carry this drama.

CHARACTERS:
The two main leads--An Ning & Long Hao Tian (as spelled from the Youtube subtitles)--are your typical romcom types: the sweet, kind, & strong girl with the rich CEO boy. What I liked about An Ning is that she stands up for herself. I think the actress herself pulls off this character well. Also, her backstory is strong and makes her character really feel real.

Long Hao Tian, in the first couple episodes, seemed like the arrogant, cold type, but because of his predicament, he needed An Ning's help, so he isn't outright rude and mean to her. He'll make some remarks here and there, but it isn't like a lot of other dramas out there where he is straight up mean. So, I like that he isn't overbearing. He's basically like an awkward rich boy who's trying to please his father.

Yi Ming Jun, who I came to watch for, is a strange character. The trailer characterized him as a "playboy" but he doesn't quite fit this type. He loves girls and would want to be with them or get with one of them, but when he becomes interested in the second main girl lead--Xia Tian--he only focuses on her. He doesn't try to play around with other girls? So I'm confused why he's labeled as a playboy. He also quickly can become genuine/sincere...so I can't quite grasp his character yet.

Xia Tian - she is the character with the least screentime (compared to the above 3), so her troubled past is ushered in really quickly and we rarely see her by herself and understand her more thoroughly. It's disappointing because her character has a lot of potential, but we don't see much of her. It feels like they slapped some heroine traits on her and then didn't let her have much of a personality...

RELATIONSHIPS:
An Ning & Long Hao Tian: as I said, I will keep watching this drama for these two. Their bickering is funny because they're both kind of stubborn, both kind of idiotic, so it's fun to watch two dummies bicker and then be nice to each other. I laughed out loud to many of their shenanigans.

Long Hao Tian & Yi Ming Jun: they're best friends so we see some scenes of them together, but not much. Their relationship is adorable and we'll see where it goes.

An Ning & Xia Tian: best friends, but we rarely see them together just girls hanging out and girls helping each other. It felt like while Xia Tian was going through hard times, An Ning was barely there...

MUSIC:

It's okay. It's bubbly, it's cute, so far.

CRITICAL REVIEW:
There's a third couple that I tried to care for, but I didn't. I like the potential of where it's going, but currently, I don't care much for it. My biggest critical review for this drama is that for how short it is, 24 episodes, they probably should've just focused on the two main couples and developed them more rather than forced in this third couple.
Currently, this drama feels like they slapped on some romcom tropes and ideas and then the main leads' chemistry are holding this drama together. Some things needed to be slowed down and shown more (like my girl Xia Tian), but alas, we have this drama that is trying it's hardest to be quirky but deep, funny but also asking serious questions. The balance is precarious right now.

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