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virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Underrated Gem - Amazing Lead Chemistry and Acting
7/18/2021
After watching almost 200 K-dramas and C-Dramas, I am compelled to write my first review of this amazing show. This show is so underrated compared to shows like "The Long Ballad" (which I like as well, but not as much as FuYao). It took me a while to pick up this show and I was probably deterred by the 66 episodes, because long C-dramas tend to drag in the middle. I am glad I decided to finally watch this.
Lead Characters/Romance: This is my second Yang Mi drama after "10 Miles Peach Blossoms" and my first of Ethan's. Their acting was sooo good. I like Yang Mi's (FL) acting here more than in 10 Miles. Ethan (ML) is a surprise and I can't see any other actor playing this role but him. He reminds me of Chen Kun in "The Rise of Phoenixes". Such amazing acting for a character with so many layers. He is not what I would consider a typical handsome lead, but his presence and charisma are so there. FL and ML have amazing chemistry. When they are not on my screen, I miss them. They both have great character development throughout the show. FL is not the annoying, naive little girl, even when she was younger. She is smart, independent and a badass! ML is funny, flirty, sly and mature. They are such a great pair. The romance was developed nicely and they have such a mature and open relationship. There is no silly misunderstanding and they talk to each other openly about their feelings. It's not just ML declaring his love, but FL also expresses herself, which is rare in a C-drama. They supported each other's decisions and stand by each other. The love carries throughout the drama through actions and words. I love this pair so much.
Story/Plot: The first part of the drama is great. You are introduced to the 5 kingdoms and the world building. The first 35-40 episodes went by so fast and kept you engaged throughout. It has a good combination of comedic moments, wuxia fighting, palace politics, wars and romance. The second half of the show definitely slows down. There's more talking and less action, and the lighthearted moments reduced (probably due to a more stable romance and less flirting from ML). I feel that they could have cut down a little bit on the TianSha arc and also the love triangle/family angst of the King/Queen/Queen's Brother, and spend a little more time on the actual ending. The ending felt a little rush after the big "fight" at the end. There are some more minor plot holes in the second half. The one I remember the most is when FL needed to take a poisonous pill to save ML and the bride. They made a point to show the flashback of the pill and pan the camera to the facial expressions of FL and Little 7, yet the show didn't say anything about the after effect of the pill at all when the crisis is over.
Acting: Aside from the great acting of the leads, the supporting cast is just as good. It's no surprise that the more seasoned actors and villains are good. But the younger ones are not bad either. I do have a problem with the 2ML (Vengo Gao) always opens his wide really really big when he's angry. The 2FL is ok and I did find her a little annoying in the beginning but she got better. I like her acting here than in "Love in Between". Lastly, AMAZING acting for the lead characters in the last episode. Just WOW!!!!!
Production/Costumes: The sets and the costumes are amazing. You can see how much money they spend on the building all the sets of the different kingdoms. The leads have so many different costumes and I particularly enjoy the color themes of each kingdom. At first I was wondering why ML's emperor outfits are so "black" and then I realized the white comes when he's back becoming the Crown Price. You can distinguish each arc/kingdom by the color of the costumes - from white, black, gray and red.
Fight scenes: For a wuxia drama, I expect good fight scenes. But with a C-drama, I also expect slow-motion fight scenes with a lot of spinning (which I dislike). This drama shows some good fighting choreography, but I still find the fighting to be a little too "slow mo". I like live fighting speed, esp. when it's a serious wuxia drama. The fight scenes are not bad here, but I wanted more. However, there's no wimpy fighting. All characters acted well, even for the female characters. They are no weaklings and I enjoy seeing them saving themselves and putting in the effort to contribute in fight scenes. I do think FL gets knocked out by others secretly a little too often in the first half of the show, when she's supposed to be such a badass.
Overall:
Positives - great acting, amazing lead chemistry, strong/mature romance, good pacing (esp first half), beautiful costumes, good cinematography
Negatives - minor plot holes in the second half, too much time on certain plots without the leads, not as interesting secondary romance, rushed ending (last episode)
p.s. can't believe I write such a long review. Thanks for reading till the end.
After watching almost 200 K-dramas and C-Dramas, I am compelled to write my first review of this amazing show. This show is so underrated compared to shows like "The Long Ballad" (which I like as well, but not as much as FuYao). It took me a while to pick up this show and I was probably deterred by the 66 episodes, because long C-dramas tend to drag in the middle. I am glad I decided to finally watch this.
Lead Characters/Romance: This is my second Yang Mi drama after "10 Miles Peach Blossoms" and my first of Ethan's. Their acting was sooo good. I like Yang Mi's (FL) acting here more than in 10 Miles. Ethan (ML) is a surprise and I can't see any other actor playing this role but him. He reminds me of Chen Kun in "The Rise of Phoenixes". Such amazing acting for a character with so many layers. He is not what I would consider a typical handsome lead, but his presence and charisma are so there. FL and ML have amazing chemistry. When they are not on my screen, I miss them. They both have great character development throughout the show. FL is not the annoying, naive little girl, even when she was younger. She is smart, independent and a badass! ML is funny, flirty, sly and mature. They are such a great pair. The romance was developed nicely and they have such a mature and open relationship. There is no silly misunderstanding and they talk to each other openly about their feelings. It's not just ML declaring his love, but FL also expresses herself, which is rare in a C-drama. They supported each other's decisions and stand by each other. The love carries throughout the drama through actions and words. I love this pair so much.
Story/Plot: The first part of the drama is great. You are introduced to the 5 kingdoms and the world building. The first 35-40 episodes went by so fast and kept you engaged throughout. It has a good combination of comedic moments, wuxia fighting, palace politics, wars and romance. The second half of the show definitely slows down. There's more talking and less action, and the lighthearted moments reduced (probably due to a more stable romance and less flirting from ML). I feel that they could have cut down a little bit on the TianSha arc and also the love triangle/family angst of the King/Queen/Queen's Brother, and spend a little more time on the actual ending. The ending felt a little rush after the big "fight" at the end. There are some more minor plot holes in the second half. The one I remember the most is when FL needed to take a poisonous pill to save ML and the bride. They made a point to show the flashback of the pill and pan the camera to the facial expressions of FL and Little 7, yet the show didn't say anything about the after effect of the pill at all when the crisis is over.
Acting: Aside from the great acting of the leads, the supporting cast is just as good. It's no surprise that the more seasoned actors and villains are good. But the younger ones are not bad either. I do have a problem with the 2ML (Vengo Gao) always opens his wide really really big when he's angry. The 2FL is ok and I did find her a little annoying in the beginning but she got better. I like her acting here than in "Love in Between". Lastly, AMAZING acting for the lead characters in the last episode. Just WOW!!!!!
Production/Costumes: The sets and the costumes are amazing. You can see how much money they spend on the building all the sets of the different kingdoms. The leads have so many different costumes and I particularly enjoy the color themes of each kingdom. At first I was wondering why ML's emperor outfits are so "black" and then I realized the white comes when he's back becoming the Crown Price. You can distinguish each arc/kingdom by the color of the costumes - from white, black, gray and red.
Fight scenes: For a wuxia drama, I expect good fight scenes. But with a C-drama, I also expect slow-motion fight scenes with a lot of spinning (which I dislike). This drama shows some good fighting choreography, but I still find the fighting to be a little too "slow mo". I like live fighting speed, esp. when it's a serious wuxia drama. The fight scenes are not bad here, but I wanted more. However, there's no wimpy fighting. All characters acted well, even for the female characters. They are no weaklings and I enjoy seeing them saving themselves and putting in the effort to contribute in fight scenes. I do think FL gets knocked out by others secretly a little too often in the first half of the show, when she's supposed to be such a badass.
Overall:
Positives - great acting, amazing lead chemistry, strong/mature romance, good pacing (esp first half), beautiful costumes, good cinematography
Negatives - minor plot holes in the second half, too much time on certain plots without the leads, not as interesting secondary romance, rushed ending (last episode)
p.s. can't believe I write such a long review. Thanks for reading till the end.
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