Orchid Blossom
Atlanta, GA
This review may contain spoilers
I read this was one of the best dramas that would come out in 2018, was it the team-up with HK's Charmaine? Maybe? I'm not familiar with many of the actors in this drama, as it's the first time I've seen most of them. But I thought it was an interesting story, and the ending was not what I expected. I liked the build-up and character development on this drama. The palace intrigue is very dramatic and will rank high up there in terms of killing each other's babies and poisoning each other.
One of the reasons I didn't think the ending would turn out the way it did, was that Ying Luo actually loved the emperor. I always felt their age difference and acting didn't really emit that there was love between them (but that's just me). Sadly, I was hoping she'd realize her love for Fu Heng, but I guess not.
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I however, was more drawn to the chemistry between the two leads. The story line seemed all over the place to me, and confusing. At times, I'm still not sure who Fuyao is, and where she comes from. After reading the reviews, I finally realized there are moments where Fuyao blacks out = breaking seals, but there were times where she blacks out and it was more than 5x. When the last seal broke, I thought it was like the 6th or 7th time.
I pretty much just enjoyed the cast.
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First off the cast here is superb. I felt all the actors did such a great job, I even loved the bad guys and supporting roles. Starting with Lan Yan Zhi, I loved how Zanilia takes on this role of super smart and bad ass chick, but also shows other range of emotions (unlike Princess Agents lol, sorry for those true fans). For example, she does get to be lovey-dovey, and shows her emotions after she accidentally causes the death of her friend's parents. I thought her acting was pretty good in here (compared to other dramas I've seen her in).
Her nemesis/bestie Feng Man Na (played by Tao Xin Ran), oh man and OMG. I felt so BAD for this character, I hated and loved her at the same time. Two thumbs up for this actress. Her character was so relateable that even when she went crazy, I didn't hate her for it. I totally related with her all the times she is betrayed by who she thought was her good friends. Poor Man-Na. The actress is also very pretty, I'm sad she onyl has 3 dramas listed under her in MDL.
All the male actors did a fantastic job as well. I really came to like Song Mian and Zhou Yu Hao, I was thrown off by the plot twist, with what I thought would he the couples in here. Someone needs to find the male actor that played the doctor. HOT STUFF. If I could change the ending I'd pair him up with Feng Man Na. Song Mian (Yuan Mickey), wow, cute! I loved his character because it was so vague. At times I was watching, I was wondering how they'll pair him up with Zanilia, and if he actually loved Tianmu. HM! Zhou Yu Hao (Lu Yi), I thought he was so ugly at first, but he emerged as a very likeable character. I love how his relationship with Lan Yan Zhi gradually built up, like they weren't too typical, of building up their relationship (i.e. constant bickering).
Storyline is impressive. I loved the plot and how it developed. I loved for the dark side of the Japanese imperialists. So enjoyable to watch it progress. Sometimes when I have a drama I'd spoil myself and read the ending. I didn't do it for this drama. Ending with the Communist spiel was cheesy.
Overall fantastic. Ending was happy and on point. I'd watch again.
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Story - too long, boring, not creative or unique.
Acting - The cast grew on me. At first I thought ZXF was ugly asfk (still do). I thought JY and CSS were more likeable and liked whenever they had screentime. The female cast is great, and they're all very pretty. But too many annoying romances that you don't get to dive into and clear up what happened i.e. Senior Brother Wan & You Ji (Bi Yao's aunty). IDK why, but the Azure Dragon (William Yang) really caught my eye.
Rewatch value: NOPE.
Note: I kept reading reviews and comments, and so many people kept labeling this as "bro-mancey" with ZXF and JY, I mean yea they were pretty bro-mancy but there is obviously love between Bi Yao and Zhang Xiao Fan!
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The storyline can get somewhat "annoying" with all the love triangles, there are many love storylines in here and it's too interwoven at times, and too "convenient" that some of our brothers fall in love with the same girl their nemises is in love with. Towards the end of the drama, I was sick of 6th son love drama, on how the girl he was friends with went psycho. I skipped past most of the scenes with her in it, it was too much for me. However, some of the love scenes are quite cute. I was fond of Peter Ho and Ceciliu Liu's roles, as well the General Yang and his wife. If you like a drama with lots of intense emotions, this one will suck you in. Every scene that involved 4th son w/ his parents had me on verge of crying.
Acting: This drama has a superb cast. It's not as big as the 1980's version made by TVB (which featured TONS of TVB actors at the time), but it's pretty decent. I thought the 1,2,3 sons and their wives were pretty plain and not memorable. 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th sons are played by Peter Ho, Chen Long, Hu Ge and Eddie Peng, excellent cast for the younger bros. Their little sister, played Zhao Zi Cun is just adorable!! She's probably one my favorite characters in this drama.
The actors that portray General Yang and his wife take the cake on this drama. You would think Hu Ge is the main actor in here, but nope. Those two did a fantastic job of their parents. Dad is strict, stoic, and often torn between family and state affairs. Mom is strong and the backbone to the family. Such a awesome couple.
Overall, it's a pretty good drama. Don't expect too many happy endings because in the legends and in history, there were no happy endings.
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The ending was also great, it wasn't terrible as some other drama's I've seen. I also enjoyed the side arc/story of Fala Chan, who did a fantastic job. She looked great in this series.
The costumes in this drama are also very beautiful. I love all the outfits the ladies of our drama on.
LASTLY, the reason I cannot get ENOUGH of this drama is because of Eddie Peng. He is so handsome! Just having in him in the drama is enough for me.
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I'm not sure this would fall under "mystery" but there are aspects that make it mysterious and keep you guessing the outcome. Very unexpected.
I enjoyed Hu Ge in this series, as well as his "bromance" with the other characters.
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This review may contain spoilers
This sequel picks up where they left off, Jiang Zi Ya and his crew have a face-off with the 4 lackies (Shen Gong Bao, Su Da Ji and her two sisters), and add in the 1-eyed dude. Unfortunately, the fight ends in a draw as more characters are brought back into the fight. We lose Shao Mei, so the opening scene is Wu Ji mourning over :(Mao Zhao De is also switched out with a new actress because her face gets burned off. I guess I ended up liking the actress from part 1, so the switch was not good with me. The new MZD is more mellow (at times) but also gets into the antics. I think this actress was too pretty for the role, so seeing her get all crazy wasn't the same.
I ended up dropping this drama, as it just got too repetitive. As mentioned in my other review, the 4 lackies continuously cause the same troubles to Jiang Zi Ya and his crew, either trapping them or framing them for murder and then sending a high level martial artists after the crew.
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