monstersnroses

Awesome acting, directing & music meets tired plot with cop-out ending.

Wow the acting was so good, especially considering many scenes were probably difficult to stay in character, due to cgi or cheesy script. But ML and FL were truly believable with awesome chemistry. Directing was really good, everything was beautiful, sexy and exciting. Music elevated the scenes and pulled the story into cohesion. Costumes and makeup were budget-excellent.

But the plot is cliche af, and the story/script are loaded with cheese. This could have been overlooked if the ending was satisfying, but it isnt. So very worth one watch, but idk about a rewatch though.

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We need to talk about this ML

I had written a review that I *thought* encompassed all my thoughts on this drama. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to scrap it and start over. This drama is lo-budget in so many ways, and the natural compulsion is to be kind of dismissive, and I had written "what an excellent cheap thrill". WHICH IT IS. But it's more than that. So I think it deserves a more serious review. So let me get serious.

First off, stylist needs to be fired. Let's just get that out of the way. And that is probably the main weak link in the show. It should have been styled by whoever did Fake It Till You Make It. But it wasn't. So to appreciate this drama, you have to kind of look past the stylist's choices more often than is comfortable, and it makes this watch awkward. So, immediately, points off. At least nobody had their hair wrecked. The hair is good. Idk bout yall, but for me this is kind of a real factor in show enjoyment. It shouldn't be, I mean that's silly. But it is. Bad hair can just destroy a show's spark. Fortunately hair here is good, or at least plenty good enough. At least the bad styling choices err on the side of caution, and nobody is wearing a dress shirt covered in mini stuffed teddy bears, or a leather polo shirt, or a belt that looks like a literal alien designed it.

Also music person needs to be fired. It's annoying and out of step, imo. But that's neither here nor there, because you just turn it down when it gets intrusive for a few mins, and it's fine. The crappiness of it didn't destroy the show or anything, it's just that it's not good. It didn't ADD to anything. It's mainly ignorable, and that's the best I can say about it.

With different styling and music this could have been very EITDN-level hot, but coulda woulda shoulda... that part is a fail imo. And is the reason for the points-off on the score.

With that having been said.

What I really want to talk about, that to me is the highlight of this drama, is the ML character himself. First off, this actor - Zhang Fei Ran - just poofed into existence out of thin air like some ML genie. Go look at his page. There's nothing on it. He just started his acting career. This performance he gave here, was GOOD. Really good. The character he plays doesn't have a lot of range, or at least not yet by ep 17. So we don't know what all Fei Ran is capable of yet, or what all his strengths are as an actor. But I am very encouraged by what I see so far.

Here, he plays a total red-flag character. But it's not your typical red-flag. This character is kind of borderline psycho, not even kidding. Kind of stalker-like around the edges. Possessive and obsessive. Huge power imbalance between he and FL. He's kind of coercive. But ALL this is played so so low key. The ML and the way the director frames him, makes him seem innocent and sweet and safe and harmless. And in a way he is.

So this is classic Luo Zheng CEO vibes, where the dark humor and dark intentions of the ML are wrapped up up in ribbons and sweet bows like "haha haha this behavior is fine because I'm wearing a pink sweatshirt and holding a puppy." And I know this is the exact behavior that alarms feminists, but personally I love the strange and twisted, and I love this brand of red-flag. It reminds me of Dia di los Muertos art, it's cute and innocent mixed with sinister and unsettling.

So take Luo Zheng, and give him less pretty-boy looks and more boy-next-door looks. And make him a closet scorpio --> cool, aloof and self-possessed but secretly an unbridled s*x maniac who's into monogamy due to total obsession with one woman.

The way Fei Ran plays this character is wicked hot. He manages to exude down to earth humility and shyness, and complete confidence and self-assurance at the same time. It is swoonworthy. He doesn't overact. If anything your gripe after watching might be that he is a little bit "wood plank". I like it when actors stay calm, grounded and subtle in their performances, because it makes it easier to watch tiny shifts to their expressions happen, it makes you watch people's faces closely. So I loved it. I liked how his acting was understated but still really confident. Giving kind of Arthur Chen/Elvis Chan vibes... because he doesn't come off as serious necessarily (like Deng Wei, Deng Kai or Leo Wu), he just comes off as quiet and calm with a self-assurance that's really sexayyy, with a tendency to err on the side of underacting instead of overacting. And yet still lets himself be emotionally vulnerable to the camera ---> goofy smiles and puppy dog pouting are not off the table for him.

So as long as you can appreciate a true red-flag ML, I'd say this is a do-not-miss in the realm of short-lengths, just for that alone.

The story is SIMPLE, and feels elegant and purist in a way, precisely because it is so pared down. It is unapologetic about the fact that it's tropey. It doesn't try to pretend it's super creative or that it has some unique twist. It is only trying to be the best version of itself. And that was refreshing to me. The facepalm moments are kept to an absolute minimum. The director and producer work within their budget to give you a smooth, fresh-feeling story. The pacing is nice. The FL is a seasoned FL who knows how to lead a show, and she's really beautiful and very believable, and she did great here. She could probably carry a hi-budget production and bring good performances out of A-lister co-stars. I love her brand of pretty. She's strikingly pretty, and her smile is so vulnerable and sweet, so is her crying. I mean her crying could use a little work, but she at least makes it so that when she cries, you empathize with her.

The supporting cast are all pretty/handsome in their own right, and solid actors in their own right. Maybe not top-shelf, sure. But really easy on your eyes and on your mind. Well-cast, thoughtfully cast.

THE SPICE IS HERE, folks. It is here. It is so so good.... and there's even good kilig in this one, which is hard to come by, especially in spicy short-lengths ---> something about spice and kilig usually don't mix. Usually kilig moments happen better in angsty romances, slo-burn romances, frustrated love or forbidden, repressed kinds of romance. But surprisingly there is some here. And ML has some really hot lines, kind of like in a similar way to how EITDN and Koi To Dangan had ML delivering some HOT lines of dialogue. We get some of this too. This show just spoils you rotten with romance. But you HAVE to like it dark to appreciate it. If you lean green-flag, the chances of this ML's brand of loving a woman making you uncomfortable are really high, consider this your second warning. You've now been double-warned. If you can't handle creepy CEO Luo Zheng, you won't be able to handle this guy either. He is a shameless manipulator, and his fixation on her is.... probably unhealthy.

This drama is deceptively cheap, deceptively simple. But really LOOK at it. Don't write it off right away. Its actually effin good, for it's genre. It's seriously a case of the stylist murdering the potential of the show. Do you know how much more boring and stupid EITDN or Fake It Till You Make It or Love And Bid Farewell would have been if they'd had sh*tty stylists? Also the director needs more practice and experience... he's not the worst but not the greatest. But overall, this is seriously a really decent cheap-thrills watch. I would recc this to any red-flag spice lover.

I really wonder what Fei Ran will do with his career, and he's got me interested.

Like... I hope you get what I'm telling you.... that there now exists in our universe, a Luo Zheng CEO only minus plastic surgery, and plus twisted, and plus SPICE. That's sort of lowkey holy sh*t u guys this is awesome.

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Best acting I've ever seen from Luo Zheng

Since the first time I saw Luo Zheng in a drama, I've been fascinated by his looks. That strange blend of alien and sexy. His onscreen personality seemed so odd and awkward, yet also sweet. And at the same time, he pulls off some really dark twisted comedy sometimes that's both creepy and hilarious. So many facets to his personality, he is much more than the strange sexy alien he appears at first.

I'll watch anything he's in. Past few years he's managed to break out of the CEO romance ML he'd been typecast into. At first I liked this, because I wanted to see him in other roles. But his roles have been wildly experimental, and I haven't always liked them. This is another experimental drama, and it starts off confusing as hell. In fact I had no idea what was going on until maybe ep 13-15.... It's *that* kind of drama.

However, if you just let the drama take you where it's going to take you and let your logics sit back and relax, eventually these characters start to become more and more vivid, they take on more and more depth. The actors are giving really good performances, and the screenplay's dialogue is intelligent, multilayered, and psychologically adept to the point that sometimes a few lines of dialogue will transcend into something approaching true art. The settings and wardrobes are thoughtful, deliberate and restrained, as is the OST/BGM.

In the center of all this is Luo Zheng's performance, where he displays a depth - and range - of emotion that honestly I didn't even know he had in him. Especially after that one he did where he played a steelworker, omg what even was that. His projects lately have not been instilling a confidence in me that his career is thriving. But this drama is probably (so far) the highlight of his career in terms of acting. It shows he deserves to be taken very seriously, not just as a hot weird lookin CEO ML, but as a talented actor in his own right.

As much as I'd love to see him back in another CEO romance (or indeed anything that's fluffy/dark) he can do more than just that. This script showcased his abilities as an actor, but it's not the funnest watch. It's a very "make you think" watch, very artsy. I'm optimistic now about what Luo Zheng's future holds because he's shown he can take on bigger and more adventurous projects.

This would not have been possible without the FL Zhao Yao Ke and other supporting characters being able to match his pace and tone, and bring the script to life, and they did such an incredible job... If I were involved with the creation of this project, I'd be very proud of it. It's not the best drama out there. It's unassuming, quiet, it takes it's time to leave it's impressions on you. It is understated and deals with heavier subjects like spousal abuse, rage, victimhood, divorce, miscarriage, fame, obsession, heartbreak, etc. But despite not being a candidate for Drama of the Year, imo it would be a valid and interesting submission to Cannes. It has artistic merit, and it has sexy Luo Zheng giving a really amazing performance.

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Racy kiss scene and good actors can't rescue this slapdash drama.

Theres a slight ending spoiler in this review, just fair warning....
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The plot was "not bad". I didnt like the vague open ended tragedy-ish vibe of the ending, but the story itself was kind of creative and had some fresh twists.

Screenwriters took that creative plot and doused it in mediocrity. Director took that mediocre script, and used it to make a drama that looks like they spent about a week shooting scenes for. Everything seems really loose n fast as far as direction: Actors lacked conviction of their characters, had not developed chemistry with one another, performances were tepid, action scenes were boring, sets and costumes were extremely 'typical'.... the director didn't care.

Then in the middle of this snoozer, theres a kinda racy love scene, with a french kiss and everything! But (and I cant believe i'm saying this) it wasn't really that hot. It was just curious and odd. Because it felt like the lead-up to it wasn't really there. ML/FL don't feel like they have much chemistry going with eachother. Once again, I blame the director, because both of these actors ARE capable of better, more electric performances. But no one can do their job when theyre being rushed, and that includes actors too.

What an absolute waste of a french kiss, my goodness.

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A decent story with a good amount of spice, but missing that je ne sais quoi...

In many senses this drama was "very good".... there is good chemistry between the leads, acting was good, styling and aesthetics were good, story was good, and it's spicy enough to give you some good cheap thrills. And the soundtrack was very very good, and served to elevate many scenes, while never at any point becoming too intrusive.

But for all that it had going for it, I wouldn't call this exemplary. The story was told in a kind of blocky, disjointed way that leaves viewers with a few questions afterward. The plot unfolded in a way that could have been made less confusing, although it was good enough that you could basically follow along. The actors are great and their chemistry is good, but neither of them is displaying a lot of charisma. (At least their kiss scenes are somewhat satisfying, so that was nice.) The settings and wardrobe were supposed to reflect money and sumptuousness, but they just felt a little bit cheap sometimes (not too bad though).

The plot itself was a little bit ho-hum... it was too makjang to feel realistic, and too realistic to feel makjang. The subject matter was predictable and tired, and didn't throw a lot of twists at the viewer.

For me, 8 is the threshhold score of shows I think are really satisfying and worth a re-watch. I gave this a 7.5 because there's nothing that *wrong* with it, and yet it just didn't quiiiiiite come together in a way I felt was truly satisfying -- but sooo close though.

Basically the highlight of this drama is that it has a spice level that's higher than most shows. So it's good for if you want a few hours of viewing that will give your heartrate a goose. But I wouldn't go into this drama very serious-minded or expecting something epic. I would recc it for a one-time watch to someone who wanted an "Inbetween-shows-show".

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Way better than your average short-length C-drama...

Style is devastatingly on point. Wardrobes are so beautiful, and that's exceedingly rare for a c-drama. Actors are HAWT, and actresses are cute and sexy. Settings and aesthetics are satisfyingly luxe and gorgeous with sumptuous colors.... (really REALLY amazing achievement considering I'm sure they had budget constraints). Ep 1 WHIPS you into the story immediately. Pacing is really good. Chemistry is fire. Kilig? Yes. Spice? Yes. And oh my GOD it is so. frikkin. FUNNY.

Issues ---> the pacing is almost too fast because you just want to slowww down and enjoy every second of it..... the subtitles are really rough going..... some of the soundtrack is buffed out because it's like a youtube thing or whatever... and the basic plot they build off (writer gets sucked into their own drama, and slowly realizes that the villain is actually the ML), is pretty tired in current year. Finally, the biggest problem imo.... not enough kisses. I think there's only 2 or 3 kiss scenes, and they are pretty decent. But considering this couple's chemistry and the fact that it's a short length series, there should be more.

Definitely worth a watch, and likely a rewatch too.

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It should have been good...

It started off cheesy and hilarious and sexy. So idk what went wrong. But it's like a snoozefest sandwiched between a hot beginning and a hot ending. The middle is SUCH a slog. I mean the kisses were great. But the kilig is really really missing, and it didn't have that My Lethal Man over the top makjang crack-addictive plot. You think when it starts out that its giving MLM, but really it's totally not.

We know these two actors are hot enough to burn a hole in my CPU. Not only that, but they are also really good at the actual act of 'acting', which is more than can be said for many (coughcoughcoughkaisosocoughcough). So what went wrong. How did this happen. Answers to these kinds of questions are above my paygrade, and outside the realm of my psychic intuition. Needless to say, it was just a disappointment.

It's times like these I find myself alone on a hilltop, the stormy night howling through the billowing sleeves of my black sequined dragon robes, my full length ice white hair alight in the wind, my hands outstretched shooting mad bolts of lightning into the sky, crying in confusion, "JUSTWHY!"

So anyways. I regretfully have to give it a 6.5... and what that means is it's actually a 6 (that's right, I said SIX, I know what I said) but with a spicy kiss as the thoughtful after dinner mint that comes on a little tray when they bring you the check.

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This is not so much a romance as it is a serious work of art

This is not a linear romance story. This is the story of an event (a teacher and a student getting together and falling in love), and how that event came to be, and how it impacts the future and the world around them. If you are looking for a strict romance story, then drop this drama. I can see from the comments that some girls with hearts in their eyes for the ML, watched this and took it as a romance. But it's clear that was not the intention of the creators. This is for people who are looking to appreciate a deliberately crafted piece of cinematic art.

Taken as a romance story, this was total crap. Taken as a piece of serious cinema, this was absolutely stunning.

(SPOILERS FROM HERE ON)

Art does not shy away from controversial subject matter, and neither does this drama. Some people have rated this based on the level of disgust it evoked in them. That is completely unjust. The drama depicts their relationship through the lens of realism. It doesn't ask you to condone it, or to judge it. It simply tells it's story.

We have an ML whose mother has transferred her romantic feelings for her late husband onto her own son (an only child), and buries herself in work and part-time romance with another man, to try to escape this truth and hide it from herself. The ML needs to get away from her claustrophobic feelings for him but is barely conscious of the unhealthiness of their dynamic, and doesn't really have enough self-awareness of the situation to rise above unconscious reactions. So he is an isolated, indifferent "bad boy".

We have an FL who is a walking identity crisis time-bomb waiting to happen. Her father is overbearing and strict, emotionally cold and distant, and withholds approval to get what he wants from his family. Her mother seems content with this, but she is not.... not at all. Her fiancee "needs her", but what he really needs is not her, it's the IDEA of her, he needs what she symbolizes to him: sex, stability, a sense of pride in being a man. He seems so unconcerned with her true feelings about the relationship, that he doesn't even realize that it's a bad sign that after 7 years of dating, she still can't cook for shit. Or that you shouldn't give your GF a halfassed proposal in your boxer shorts at 2am and toss a ring at her and call it all good. She didn't like that, and it was visible that she didn't like it. He paid no attention. At work, the FL is the bottom rung of the teacher totem pole, being only a 26 year old teacher. She's too young to be a respected teacher, and too old to be respectable as a single woman. There is seemingly nowhere where she fits in for who she is.... only her making herself fit in to be appreciated for what she is.

When these two people meet, they cannot resist what the other offers. ML is the opposite of every man she knows. He is sweet, considerate, listens to her, and sees he for who she really is. He encourages her to open herself up more, and discover what she really wants. FL bears an eerie resemblance to ML's mother, is everything his mother is, only FL is warm and emotionally available and gives him the kindness and balance he needs in his life. Needless to say, they fall HARD for eachother. Not only because of the love they share, and the attraction.... but also because each one is a manifestation of something the other yearns for deep in their wounded psyche.

And then..... the aftermath.

Because the relationship they have shakes every other relationship and interpersonal dynamic around them to it's core, the relationship itself becomes their vehicle to freedom (a theme that runs through the drama), and without it, they are trapped and utterly lost in their own lives, over which neither one has any degree of personal agency. But when they follow their hearts, the ways in which others have them trapped in codependency begin to crumble, and their unhealthy relationships with others start to topple. So they find that increasingly they cannot live without eachother. They don't want to live without eachother.

Yet their undertaking is enormous: He was an unsuspecting child, who suddenly becomes completely responsible for a grown woman who is emotionally stunted and avoidant. He is totally unprepared both logistically and emotionally. She was used to relying on everyone in her life, because most people treat her like a perpetual dependent, and now she has a 17 year old boy she has to protect and raise up into a man by herself... so she also is totally unprepared to be a provider and an anchor for someone. Since she is avoidant, she has to summon up a lot of willpower to keep her heart open to the ML no matter how afraid or upset she is. Both of them fail many times as they learn to bring out more of themselves for eachother They attempt to break up multiple times, until they finally come face to face with the fact that they NEED eachother or they'll die of sheer despair.

When they fall in love and run away together, everyone who was dependent on them to hold up their own psychological illusions begins to deteriorate and flail around. Should they stay apart to hold up their families? Or should they begin a new family, and let everyone who was misusing them falter and crash? On it's surface levels, it appears as though their love for eachother is killing eachother and those around them. But on deeper levels, their romance is the only thing keeping them - and therefore everyone who depends on them - alive.

The acting was on fire. The script was a thing of beauty.... there were many silences built into the script to give the directors and actors room to create genuine emotions and evocative scenes, and the grasp on human psychology was totally brilliant. (For example, when ML runs away with FL, he realizes out of the blue that he wants to visit his long-lost paternal uncle... because now he needs to grow into a man, and is desperately looking to any other man in his life or connection to his deceased father to give him some direction, or even just a hint of a direction... it's so poignant) The cinematography and use of visual symbolism were on point, and gave added meaning to the story. I do think the music and soundtrack was where everything kind of fell down. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the other elements that went into this, it wasn't as thoughtful and elevated as it could have been.

It was painful, thrilling, moving, sentimental, passionate, and all in all a really great watch.

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ML/FL chemistry fell flat, and story loses focus about halfway through.

This held my attention well and had me interested until about halfway through, and ML and FL have their first kiss. I had been hoping this was a sweet slow-burn, where the attraction ramps up as the story moves along, but it was clear from that first kiss scene, that there is no chemistry between the actors. This appears - to me - to be the fault of the FL, but honestly there's nothing coming from either side that feels like attraction or passion. ML looks like maybe he could act more passionate if it were a different FL. But FL looks like she can't convey attraction, no matter what ML would have been cast. She has a limited range of emotion that she can act. There are some emotions that she does act out well. Sadness, kindness, humor, she is very good at that. But to me, she shouldn't really be doing anything involving kiss scenes.

Because the chemistry fell flat, the drama lost my attention, and I had to really slog through the back half of it to finish it.

Which is a shame, because I was really liking the way they interpreted the story of splash splash love, I liked the problem-solving stuff involving the irrigation and that kind of thing.

At the core of any romance story, should be two people who can convince the viewer that they are actually attracted to eachother. Without that, the romance falls apart, and the story loses its soul. All I got from these two was a comfy plantonic "buddies" vibe, that worked well for the humorous scenes, but not for the actual "romance" part of the romance story.

6.5 because of the way this drama fell off for me at the halfway point. In retrospect, I'd say it was not worth my time. For me, 7's and above are for things that at least I thought were worth watching ONCE. This wasn't.

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A mixed bag of pros and cons with a few pretty good kiss scenes.

I know Cheng Yu Feng (the ML) is capable of some pretty brilliant performances, but this isn't one of them. However, his portrayal of this character was solid, and I think he did the best he could with what he had to work with, considering the mediocre script and rushed feel of the production. For the FL, this was sort of a breakout role for her and I think she also did pretty well. It wasn't anything super spectacular, but you could tell she was putting effort into taking this lead role seriously and I think with experience she will grow into a really amazing actress.

The bgm/ost were actually not terrible, which to me is a nice surprise for a short-length c-drama. The wardrobes were very nice, and some of the settings were beautiful and interesting -- although some of the interior shots were tres tragique. The script had some points that could have made it really great. But it also was packed with a lot of npc-level dialogue, cliche moments, and storyline fails. The side characters and backstories are not fleshed out properly, the whole thing feels like a half-baked budget production that just wasn't planned out carefully.

I found it particularly annoying that the ML and FL don't share a lot of onscreen chemistry moments. Their kiss scenes are really good, and there are some scenes where you can feel a little angst and passion rise from the actor's performances. So I know the chemistry COULD have been there. But actors just can't give their best performances when they're being rushed and poked and prodded at by a director and production team that won't devote the effort and time it takes to create the right atmosphere for their actors to actually ACT.

I wish ML and FL all the best on their future projects, they are both far better than this mediocrity. Is it worth a watch? Yes, if you're truly bored and without anything else to watch. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen. It just isn't very memorable.

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Starts off kind of promising, but then turns into just a montage of CEO cliches.

The basic problem with this story is... well.... the story.

ML starts off as a domineering, powerful, cold, calculating badboy. But when he realizes he's in love with the FL halfway through the drama, he suddenly becomes pathetic, grovelly, sweet and spineless. It's like he turns into a completely different character altogether.

For those of us who like badboy ML's, the way he falls apart and turns into a simp as soon as he realizes he loves her, is a huge turnoff. It's not cute, and it's not sexy. It's just extremely cringe.

In the beginning, there was some novelty to the way this couple becomes closer. But at that halfway mark, suddenly the ways the ML and FL are pushed together through the story become really insultingly cliche. He hurts his hand so she has to tie his tie. The power goes out and they have to talk in the dark. Just really stupid basic shit with zero imagination.

Really disappointed in this one, because the way it started off was so promising that I'm surprised at how cheap the writing became as the show went on.

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Excellent palace intrigue story with endearing but spiceless romance.

Acting was excellent, especially the emperor and main leads. Story was intricate, deliberate, and well made. Costumes and makeup were fairly good. Soundtrack and ost were absolutely awesome. Characters had some depth, and the complex relationship between the ML and FL was fun to watch and well acted.

My biggest beef with this one is the fact that the romance lacked spice and passion, it was very sanitized and theres no sexual chemistry lighting up between the main leads, the kiss scenes are soulless.

There is also a forced kiss scene thats pretty stupid. I find some forced kisses hot and fiery but not this one. FL acts like a prude nearly all the time through the story, but at least shes a likeable prude. In the forced kiss scene she doesnt act like shes denying her desires... she acts like ML is actually assaulting her, as if she finds him repulsive or as if shes afraid of sexuality. Which for this drama and these characters, doesnt make sense.

I'd rewatch this for the entertaining well-made story, but not for the romance.

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Great beginning slowly marches toward a predictable and unsatisfying ending.

Starts off with great chemistry and plenty of swashbuckling and sexy scenes peppered here and there. All leads are very good in their roles.

However this director/ screenplay has a hard time balancing the plot with the sense of romance and excitement. As the plot progresses and becomes more involved, the leads gradually lose their spark, and you kind of start to wonder why theyre going through all the trouble.

FL, while pretty and charming, is -imo- not quite right for the part. She is supposed to be a proud, dignified, and vengeful person. But the way this actress portrays it comes off too harsh and awkward and I found several of her "strong proud woman" scenes to be nauseating and tedious. However, she's not THAT bad. She was decent.

Now, the SML / SFL couple is where you will really emotionally invest. Right away you'd notice that they violate the c-drama rules for a happy ending, so logic would tell you from the start that theyre doomed and won't live. And indeed they don't. But it wont stop you from emotionally investing. Therefore by the time they died, I no longer cared about what happened to the main couple. The second couple is funnier, sweeter, more exciting, and WAYYYY sexier.

The plot was involved, but not very gripping. The villain is unpleasant and gets too much screentime. Main couple gets very little screentime together through the middle/end of the story.

It doesn't feel like a happy ending, although technically you could get away with calling it one.

The whole thing lacks a firm artistic vision, and often seems like just a hodgepodge of scenes tromping blindly ahead through the prescribed plotlines, to the point that finishing some episodes felt like a chore. The director on some level knows this, and attempts to use the ost to pump up the emotional amperage of what is basically a somewhat flat story. Which just makes the ost sound aggressive and intrusive.

In this case, it was the 4 lead actors who had to hold this crappy story up, and they do a very good job of it, but they cant rescue the drama from its phoned-in direction, muddled script, and letdown ending.

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It will occupy your attention... but it probably won't leave much of an impression.

I liked this one for the easy, mildly interesting plot, and the way the pacing flows so nicely through the beginning and middle.. I also liked the actors. The leads had some chemistry, the kiss scenes were decent. FL was wisely cast -- she was the only thing elevating the show into something that could almost be taken seriously. ML did his best and it wasn't bad at all, he just needs some more acting experience under his belt and he will improve.

The problems: The way the story unwinds towards the end starts to get laggy and a little bit boring. The storyline, plot devices, dialogue.... all of it is really tired and cliche. The main couple kind of loses a little fizz in the final few episodes. Some of the soundtrack was slightly overdone to try to boost the dramatic or emotional content of the scenes.

I thought it was a little bit refreshing and ambitious for them to try to miniaturize an epic wuxia into something compact like this, and they didn't do too bad of a job. They just didn't do too good of a job either. This is a good between-shows watch with some decent kiss scenes, but definitely not of rewatch caliber.

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