Best parts: 1. Characters- Yu Shi San, Ah Ying, Yuan Lu 2. Fight Choreography (imo best ones i've seen so far- every single fight scene was SO impressive and fluid) 3. Costumes (amazing, detailed designs) 4. Main OST (by LYN, but got overused) 5. Overarching plot 6. LYN- I have liked him since his appearance in Long Ballad. 7. Genuinely strong female lead (strength and badassness remain consistent from start to end)
Worst parts: 1. Editing and stitching of scenes (first half was atroscious in this regard). 2. CGI and studio lighting for numerous outdoor scenes (forgivable by Cdrama standards, but I dislike it) 3. Romantic scenes between the leads after they got together- Countless poorly timed scenes slotted in during urgent plotlines that were happening at the same time. Their conversations were also often too mundane and slow for an onlooker to enjoy (would have been ok if not for oversaturation of their scenes). 4. Pacing- The story remained relatively interesting but instead of ramping up during exciting moments- there were weird breaks that messed with the flow of the show's main plot. They rushed through plotlines using montages at times which did not feel right as they could have been fleshed out if they didn't spend so much time on empty dialogue between the leads. 5. Li Tong Guang- Absolutely worst written character in any Cdrama I have ever watched. Extremely inconsistent, insanely infuriating and too easily forgiven time and time again by the leads. A flipping pancake of a character and way too unpredictable to be likeable in any way. You can have a bad yet compelling character that's well-written. He is a bad character that the writers want to be good but is extremely badly-written. He is the WORST aspect of this drama for me. The actor playing it failed to convey any subtle emotions- it was either 0 or 100. But he's new so there is room to grow. 6. Ending- Was fine with the sad ending (this is when Lyn's OST started feeling overused since there were so many consecutive deaths and all used his song+a flashback montage) up till they suggested the ML and FL might still be alive. Hated the last scene- it was visually ugly and the write-off of the leads' deaths felt cheap. Even if there are other interpretations, it was poorly executed.
Overall, such a hard watch from ep 22 onwards. The Liudao hall buddy group, Ah Ying's growth, political fight and battle between the kingdoms kept me going but was still disappointed in the end. Would not recommend.
I'm currently at ep 10 and the leads are cute together. But if it was the ML playing the FL instead, like she is to him so far, audience would not be tolerating it as much.
I'm genuinely curious to know why the ending has upset you? I'm slightly baffled as to why the ending has had…
Happy to answer your question. The buildup of the whole drama honestly gave me an increased hope in him surviving due to the Styx flower being brought up multiple times. Many people fought for LLH's miracle cure and it finally landed in their hands in the final ep.
What upsets me the most is some ambiguous poison (not as serious as LLH's) snatched this priceless cure away. Not only that, it went to an ungrateful and insecure emperor. I understand that as a ruler, he needed to take precautions. However, the show did not give us enough to demonstrate his benevolence (mostly only through LLH's words near the end).
I am in no way saying this show had to have a good ending- but I would have preferred the payoff to be better. This styx flower felt extremely wasted and TO ME, the use felt unjustified. I think what upsets me the most is the fact that the show could have easily gave a more solid ending. The extra ending felt like it was reaching for straws with a weird scene of LLH in his winter fur coat (which he left without) on a beach. I just think it could have been far better had they given him either a definitive death as they KEPT harping about the flower being the ONLY cure. OR they follow the novel and show them interacting with him at the end, taking care of him in his final days of insanity. They have set this up since the beginning. The payoff was too poor, hence my dissatisfaction at the ending.
Hope you now understand why I am upset. The open ending was not a well-done one.
There is a video from the concert's interview when Joseph clearly said they found him on the beach then it's very…
If I'm required to search up the ambiguity of the ending, it wasn't clearly demonstrated as happy with just the drama. Even if they met, you can't deny it was an eyebrow-raise kind of ending.
Can't be the only one pissed off at the ambiguous ending.
Edit: Removing my comment on him becoming monk-like in the end. Hard to explain why I feel this way. I know he is a good, selfless and righteous person lol. But doesn't change how I feel about his demeanour in the last ep. My main point is the ending was extremely dissatisfying. I'm upset bc I really enjoyed the rest of the drama.
"I find women who bring about my protective instinct attractive. I feel like if they are tall, they are going to be fine living alone. I like women who keep me worried. And skinny women tend to be like that."
The whole cast was pretty much perfect and the series was authentic to the source material (changes made were appropriate adaptations to allow the 8ep run). Only nos for me were Kaya, young Zoro and Kuina. Was also pleasantly surprised by CGI and VFX. Buggy was done so well.
1. Characters- Yu Shi San, Ah Ying, Yuan Lu
2. Fight Choreography (imo best ones i've seen so far- every single fight scene was SO impressive and fluid)
3. Costumes (amazing, detailed designs)
4. Main OST (by LYN, but got overused)
5. Overarching plot
6. LYN- I have liked him since his appearance in Long Ballad.
7. Genuinely strong female lead (strength and badassness remain consistent from start to end)
Worst parts:
1. Editing and stitching of scenes (first half was atroscious in this regard).
2. CGI and studio lighting for numerous outdoor scenes (forgivable by Cdrama standards, but I dislike it)
3. Romantic scenes between the leads after they got together-
Countless poorly timed scenes slotted in during urgent plotlines that were happening at the same time. Their conversations were also often too mundane and slow for an onlooker to enjoy (would have been ok if not for oversaturation of their scenes).
4. Pacing-
The story remained relatively interesting but instead of ramping up during exciting moments- there were weird breaks that messed with the flow of the show's main plot. They rushed through plotlines using montages at times which did not feel right as they could have been fleshed out if they didn't spend so much time on empty dialogue between the leads.
5. Li Tong Guang-
Absolutely worst written character in any Cdrama I have ever watched. Extremely inconsistent, insanely infuriating and too easily forgiven time and time again by the leads. A flipping pancake of a character and way too unpredictable to be likeable in any way. You can have a bad yet compelling character that's well-written. He is a bad character that the writers want to be good but is extremely badly-written. He is the WORST aspect of this drama for me. The actor playing it failed to convey any subtle emotions- it was either 0 or 100. But he's new so there is room to grow.
6. Ending-
Was fine with the sad ending (this is when Lyn's OST started feeling overused since there were so many consecutive deaths and all used his song+a flashback montage) up till they suggested the ML and FL might still be alive. Hated the last scene- it was visually ugly and the write-off of the leads' deaths felt cheap. Even if there are other interpretations, it was poorly executed.
Overall, such a hard watch from ep 22 onwards. The Liudao hall buddy group, Ah Ying's growth, political fight and battle between the kingdoms kept me going but was still disappointed in the end. Would not recommend.
What upsets me the most is some ambiguous poison (not as serious as LLH's) snatched this priceless cure away. Not only that, it went to an ungrateful and insecure emperor. I understand that as a ruler, he needed to take precautions. However, the show did not give us enough to demonstrate his benevolence (mostly only through LLH's words near the end).
I am in no way saying this show had to have a good ending- but I would have preferred the payoff to be better. This styx flower felt extremely wasted and TO ME, the use felt unjustified. I think what upsets me the most is the fact that the show could have easily gave a more solid ending. The extra ending felt like it was reaching for straws with a weird scene of LLH in his winter fur coat (which he left without) on a beach. I just think it could have been far better had they given him either a definitive death as they KEPT harping about the flower being the ONLY cure. OR they follow the novel and show them interacting with him at the end, taking care of him in his final days of insanity. They have set this up since the beginning. The payoff was too poor, hence my dissatisfaction at the ending.
Hope you now understand why I am upset. The open ending was not a well-done one.
Edit: Removing my comment on him becoming monk-like in the end. Hard to explain why I feel this way. I know he is a good, selfless and righteous person lol. But doesn't change how I feel about his demeanour in the last ep. My main point is the ending was extremely dissatisfying. I'm upset bc I really enjoyed the rest of the drama.
Have to note it's an old interview though, don't think he has commented on it.