i fucking love this drama
i don't really write official reviews for dramas unless i absolutely hate them, but oh my days i loved this so much.
the cinematography, the colour grading, the fight choreography, the story, the acting, the cgi, the whole visual identity... just ughhhhh. everything came together so beautifully. every frame felt so deliberate, almost painterly at times, and the action scenes were actually creative instead of just people flying around for the sake of it. idk why this wasn't a huge ass hit because i genuinely, genuinely loved it.
this HAS to be ju jingyi's best role. she's improved so much since Novoland and i don't even think it's close. Lu Wuyi is such a lonely character, and somehow ju jingyi's usually blank, restrained eyes actually became one of the character's biggest strengths instead of a weakness. you can literally FEEL the isolation radiating off her. and those last few episodes bro i was holding it together SO well until she completely broke down over Ji Ling. ughghibkfdnhhhjdfksbnlkdfjvbjnsdksnfabjndfiognidsnviabdf. i actually cried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
tian jiarui's Ji Ling was such an enigma for the longest time. i genuinely couldn't predict what he was going to do next, and i couldn't figure out where his loyalties or intentions actually lay. that's honestly such a rare experience in cdramas because most of them practically spoon-feed you every motivation and plot twist before they even happen. with this, i actually had to pay attention and think for myself. i LOVE plots that trust the audience enough to put the pieces together instead of explaining everything five times.
chen duling REALLY suits these mature 姐姐 roles. Wu Wangyan had such a calming, grounding presence that every time she appeared on screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to her. she's effortlessly charismatic without ever trying too hard, and she can really hold her own as a lead. she is such an amazing actress ughhh i love her so much.
zeng shunxi lowkey impressed me with Wu Shiguang because OMG he portrayed all of Wu Shiguang's conflicting emotions so well. he never made the character feel one-note, and you could genuinely see the constant push and pull between love, guilt, and grief.
the story itself was wonderfully complex, and i found it so refreshing not being spoon-fed every piece of information or every plot point. it trusted its audience, and that's something i wish more dramas would do. it never felt confusing for the sake of being confusing either!! it just let the mystery unfold naturally, and i was hooked the entire time trying to piece everything together.
i also loved how committed the drama was to its own visual style. it didn't just look pretty for the sake of it because the colour palette, lighting, costumes, and cgi all worked together to create this really distinctive atmosphere that made it stand out from every other xianxia/wuxia i've watched recently.
i think this director did a bloody good job. put him in a cage with zeng qing jie, fei zhenxiang, and guo feng, and don't let any of them out until they've made another ten dramas together.
the cinematography, the colour grading, the fight choreography, the story, the acting, the cgi, the whole visual identity... just ughhhhh. everything came together so beautifully. every frame felt so deliberate, almost painterly at times, and the action scenes were actually creative instead of just people flying around for the sake of it. idk why this wasn't a huge ass hit because i genuinely, genuinely loved it.
this HAS to be ju jingyi's best role. she's improved so much since Novoland and i don't even think it's close. Lu Wuyi is such a lonely character, and somehow ju jingyi's usually blank, restrained eyes actually became one of the character's biggest strengths instead of a weakness. you can literally FEEL the isolation radiating off her. and those last few episodes bro i was holding it together SO well until she completely broke down over Ji Ling. ughghibkfdnhhhjdfksbnlkdfjvbjnsdksnfabjndfiognidsnviabdf. i actually cried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
tian jiarui's Ji Ling was such an enigma for the longest time. i genuinely couldn't predict what he was going to do next, and i couldn't figure out where his loyalties or intentions actually lay. that's honestly such a rare experience in cdramas because most of them practically spoon-feed you every motivation and plot twist before they even happen. with this, i actually had to pay attention and think for myself. i LOVE plots that trust the audience enough to put the pieces together instead of explaining everything five times.
chen duling REALLY suits these mature 姐姐 roles. Wu Wangyan had such a calming, grounding presence that every time she appeared on screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to her. she's effortlessly charismatic without ever trying too hard, and she can really hold her own as a lead. she is such an amazing actress ughhh i love her so much.
zeng shunxi lowkey impressed me with Wu Shiguang because OMG he portrayed all of Wu Shiguang's conflicting emotions so well. he never made the character feel one-note, and you could genuinely see the constant push and pull between love, guilt, and grief.
the story itself was wonderfully complex, and i found it so refreshing not being spoon-fed every piece of information or every plot point. it trusted its audience, and that's something i wish more dramas would do. it never felt confusing for the sake of being confusing either!! it just let the mystery unfold naturally, and i was hooked the entire time trying to piece everything together.
i also loved how committed the drama was to its own visual style. it didn't just look pretty for the sake of it because the colour palette, lighting, costumes, and cgi all worked together to create this really distinctive atmosphere that made it stand out from every other xianxia/wuxia i've watched recently.
i think this director did a bloody good job. put him in a cage with zeng qing jie, fei zhenxiang, and guo feng, and don't let any of them out until they've made another ten dramas together.
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