savvygl
This review may contain spoilers
Plot holes
Before I start - let me say that Zhao Lusi and Leo Wu make an awesome pair and I definitely will look forward to their future collaborative ventures.
The drama overall was poorly edited, had inconsistencies, and lacked logic. The cinematography/Direction was awesome. Now for the rant -
The king greatly favored the ML character (Ling Buiyi) and treated him as his son. Had Ling Buiyi informed the King about his real identity and the person who killed his family and clan, there is no way the king would not have supported him in his quest for revenge. Moreover, Liang Buiyi himself revealed to the King in the last episode that he had so much power that he could easily usurp the Crown Prince. Why did Ling Buiyi decide to avenge without informing anyone and choose to abandon his relationship with FL (Shaoshang/Niao Niao)? This in itself was the biggest plot hole in the drama.
The main characters had very good chemistry, but this was not properly explored in the drama. I thought Shaoshang forgiving Ling Buiyi was rushed and almost emotionally forced - she was too upset over the fact that he did not survive the fire. There was angst in their separation, but I felt that Ling Buiyi did not make any attempt to regain her trust. This meant that even though he was dishonest in their relationship, he was still forgiven without any effort on his part to forge and build trust.
Too much screen time was given to the actress playing Empress Xan - the scene where she requests the king to depose her, and her death scene was exhausting to watch - the scenes should have been cut short to less than 5 minutes instead of almost 30 minutes of airtime.
Ling Buiyi literally falls from the cliff edge and STILL survives and lives to see another day. How? Magical wings...I mean strings?? A pregnant woman (He Zhao Jun) in labor falls almost 10 feet below - no harm to either her or the baby. It felt like I was watching an old irrational movie.
The story dragged in part 2 - Unnecessary plots such as Lou Ben's crime and subsequent death and the last episode where Shaoshang saves the Guo village - she would not have survived had her family not come to save her. By the way, how did they know that she needed help??
Why they had to show that Shao Shang gives up her family/friends for 5 years and lives a secluded life with the ex-Empress? Her character was that of a strong woman who never backs off from a challenge that life throws at her. I hated to see her mellowed and lifeless. To top it off, wasn't 5 years of separation way too long?
Throughout the drama, Shao Shang's character is that of a smart, intelligent woman but after 5 years of living a lonely life, she loses all her senses and brain cells - she travels with Luo Jitong and Lady Lou on 2 separate occasions even though she knew that one lied about her relationship with Ling Buiyi and the other bullied her in the past.
Last episode - I would have preferred if the drama had ended at episode 51. However, in order that Shao Shang forgives Buyi, there were unnecessary last-moment illogical tracks. Not to mention, the main characters gazing at the stars and gushing long boring dialogues made the last couple of minutes a drag. There was no display of passion when they meet again after 5 years of separation.
On the acting front, they could have got some good actor playing the role of Lou Yao (the actor looked like a kid who is obsessed with his teacher), the Actor playing Crown Prince Yuan - whether it was the actor or the character, he was irritating to watch - no personality at all - maybe it was intentional, but I did not like both the actors and hence skipped through their scenes. Many did not like the character Yuan Shen as he was the third wheel - I thought the actor played his role well. I read some comments on the ML having a blank expression throughout - I agree he does carry deadpan expressions in a few scenes, but I believe he made up for the shortfall with his body language. Kudos...for such a young lad, he sure has a bright future and time for improvement.
I would have normally given an overall rating of 5 or less. The only reason I scored it 6 was because of the main leads.
The drama overall was poorly edited, had inconsistencies, and lacked logic. The cinematography/Direction was awesome. Now for the rant -
The king greatly favored the ML character (Ling Buiyi) and treated him as his son. Had Ling Buiyi informed the King about his real identity and the person who killed his family and clan, there is no way the king would not have supported him in his quest for revenge. Moreover, Liang Buiyi himself revealed to the King in the last episode that he had so much power that he could easily usurp the Crown Prince. Why did Ling Buiyi decide to avenge without informing anyone and choose to abandon his relationship with FL (Shaoshang/Niao Niao)? This in itself was the biggest plot hole in the drama.
The main characters had very good chemistry, but this was not properly explored in the drama. I thought Shaoshang forgiving Ling Buiyi was rushed and almost emotionally forced - she was too upset over the fact that he did not survive the fire. There was angst in their separation, but I felt that Ling Buiyi did not make any attempt to regain her trust. This meant that even though he was dishonest in their relationship, he was still forgiven without any effort on his part to forge and build trust.
Too much screen time was given to the actress playing Empress Xan - the scene where she requests the king to depose her, and her death scene was exhausting to watch - the scenes should have been cut short to less than 5 minutes instead of almost 30 minutes of airtime.
Ling Buiyi literally falls from the cliff edge and STILL survives and lives to see another day. How? Magical wings...I mean strings?? A pregnant woman (He Zhao Jun) in labor falls almost 10 feet below - no harm to either her or the baby. It felt like I was watching an old irrational movie.
The story dragged in part 2 - Unnecessary plots such as Lou Ben's crime and subsequent death and the last episode where Shaoshang saves the Guo village - she would not have survived had her family not come to save her. By the way, how did they know that she needed help??
Why they had to show that Shao Shang gives up her family/friends for 5 years and lives a secluded life with the ex-Empress? Her character was that of a strong woman who never backs off from a challenge that life throws at her. I hated to see her mellowed and lifeless. To top it off, wasn't 5 years of separation way too long?
Throughout the drama, Shao Shang's character is that of a smart, intelligent woman but after 5 years of living a lonely life, she loses all her senses and brain cells - she travels with Luo Jitong and Lady Lou on 2 separate occasions even though she knew that one lied about her relationship with Ling Buiyi and the other bullied her in the past.
Last episode - I would have preferred if the drama had ended at episode 51. However, in order that Shao Shang forgives Buyi, there were unnecessary last-moment illogical tracks. Not to mention, the main characters gazing at the stars and gushing long boring dialogues made the last couple of minutes a drag. There was no display of passion when they meet again after 5 years of separation.
On the acting front, they could have got some good actor playing the role of Lou Yao (the actor looked like a kid who is obsessed with his teacher), the Actor playing Crown Prince Yuan - whether it was the actor or the character, he was irritating to watch - no personality at all - maybe it was intentional, but I did not like both the actors and hence skipped through their scenes. Many did not like the character Yuan Shen as he was the third wheel - I thought the actor played his role well. I read some comments on the ML having a blank expression throughout - I agree he does carry deadpan expressions in a few scenes, but I believe he made up for the shortfall with his body language. Kudos...for such a young lad, he sure has a bright future and time for improvement.
I would have normally given an overall rating of 5 or less. The only reason I scored it 6 was because of the main leads.
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