Reviews

Standard but sweet ☕️

In the tiny niche of vertical dramas starring musical theatre actors and created by musical theatre production crew, this is probably among the best? I appreciate what OA Live is trying to do by bringing musical theatre to the mainstream, and I gather this was really cool for fans of Seungan and Nahyun to have screen media of this iconic duo! Seeing the protagonists' relationship develop was honestly really cute and healing. I had some issues with the editing and framing, but nothing too egregious. The story is wholesome and bite-sized, but if you're looking for something that does something new with the vertical genre, you won't find it here. Loved seeing some familiar Daehakro faces.

*with the power to create MDL entries comes the power to review obscure shows. I will wield it well.

Leia Mais

IDK: what I hope the story would be (SPOILERS)

Honestly I was hoping for a really toxic and tension full dynamic and little more insane ml. Like it started off so addicting and like hot but then the ml turned out to be a HUGE fluffball (i dont hate it) like when it went cutie pattootie vibes it was entertaining just not what I was hoping for. Like it had such a solid foundation that could turn the plot into so much more. They could’ve expanded on this shared hatred and their clashed beliefs. Like they turned him into a hero, I just feel like it could’ve been a DARK ROMANCE, like in this he became an angel almost literally a benovelent general (again i dont hate just had hoped for dark romance). They turned Mei Lin into a damsel in distress, SHE IS MEI LIN, one who withstood torture for this revenge and you’re telling me she wasn’t upset at the fact that she couldn’t get revenge. The ML’s battle with his disability and pride was such a good struggle to highlight, literally broke me so much when he couldn’t hold his bladder. That loss of dignity and people should’ve flamed this vengeful side of him. His insanity shouldve been higlighted more like the part where he digs her body, or his possesiveness in terms of she CANNOT die(they could also do the “I decide wether you live or die” typa thing).The Plot went offcourse though, should mainly focus on revenge plot not repeating the fire massacre situation and including xiyan plot very unecessary. A simple plot with a detailed content goes a long way. They are way toooooo merciful with the villain, even gave him a love interest.

Leia Mais

First half the best but second half lost that charm .

Overall, a very good drama despite its many flaws I listed below. One of the very few period dramas I really enjoyed from the first to the last.

What I liked
1. First half is just beautiful. The leads, every single characters that you come across has a personality and you recognise their quirks at the get go. Even the Xigu Valley is a character in itself. This is so rare these days to see that kind of immersive narration.
2. The leads. Their acting and chemistry from the get go is sizzling. The Linan arc for them is just so so fresh and good. I loved how they setup the leads. The way FL recognises that ML was the one who fought those goons at the house was chef's kiss. She is not dumb and naive. She is strong, resourceful, smart and kind. I love that about her. She is such a lovely character through and through. ML as well . You can see from the get go that he is not someone he pretends to be with his subtle expression changes.
3. The child artists specially ChangNing is such a cutie and did so well.
4 The little detailing and having almost every character shelved out well.
5. Absolutely loved the cinematography. The lighting, the setup, costumes and makeup. Both the leads looked stunning throughout in their different attires. Be it in village, military or noble attires. Specially ZLH look was the best out of all periodic dramas he did so far.
6. Comedic effects in the first half was too good. I laughed out loud many a times.

What could have been better and ended up dropping my overall rating

1. Second half in general. It was rushed with a lot of cuts confusing what is going on. I guess 40 episode limit was the major culprit.
2. Rushed growth of FL. Yes they showed her learning but it was not enough for the level of growth they showed. She is treated equal to ML by episode 35 which seems unrealistic.
3. Ridiculous court scenes. The comedic route they took for court scenes and the emperor did not work for me. Specially the way FL treats the senior members of the court too was a bit too arrogant considering her status compared to others. I know she is a simple village girl but when she knows how to behave in front of judicial officer back in Linan it is not like she is naive enough to speak rudely in the court. I know they are bad people but that does not mean a newbie can talk however they want. Her breaking Li grandfather's carriage was something I loved because she did that in private but not the court scenes. It felt as if FL had too much leeway just because she was FL and the director need to show her brave and strong. She does so many questionable things throughout like drugging ML, knocking out a commander officer when she just joined army minutes ago with zero repercussions. Instead the commander kneels to her and apologises because he thinks he was wrong. What!
4. Too much preachy. I have seen that many of modern sensibilities are sort of forced on these periodic dramas which pulls me out of the story. In the story setting, ML is older and has more experience but even then they have the need to show that when they fight she is holding back if he wins. When they are in battlefield, she has to fight beside him and refuses to stand behind him. Instead she gives the option whom to fight with to ML so she will fight whoever he leaves out. That does not make sense. He is Marquis and she just joined at most a few months back. I don't get it. It is so unrealistic in a historical setting. Women can be strong but still be second to someone more experienced. They are mutually exclusive. FL can be allowed to be second to ML and other senior officers in terms of prowess (not in the relationship mind you). That does not make her weak. It shows her grit to better herself . But no she will not entertain such things.
5. Too many unnecessary scenes of villain forcing himself on the woman he is obsessed with. Showing one or two scene was enough for us to get the equation. But they literally have more kisses and so called sensual (it is r**e scene basically ) scenes romanticising them which did not sit well with me. Instead they could have showed more of leads.

Leia Mais

❤️ My internal clock woke me up at 4:00 a.m. to watch this for a week.

Story

The story was surprisingly accurate. When I did a comparison between plot lines in the novel versus the drama I was surprised to see that the drama stayed very loyal to the book. And I say surprised, because it felt, especially towards ep 26-30, that the drama was falling behind. That said, it’s because it was missing a lot of context that was left in the novel.

I completely understand the choice to cut out some of plot lines and missions (ex: the bear, interrogating/breaking out prisoners, the multiple battles in the capital…) for time. But where they cut, they also included a lot of scenes for other characters. For instance, QM and YQQ barely had any of their own pov in the novel, while the drama devoted almost 1/3 of its time to them (and I do appreciate the toxic love story). But the screenwriter decided to incorporate the side stories into the main story, thereby taking away time from the main story.

So we missed a lot of plots surrounding our main characters in exchange for other characters. But for what they kept, they stayed really faithful. Almost word for word.

The story stayed very faithful the characters in a lot of ways, but also deviated from them somewhat. For instance, for XZ/YZ, we barely get any context about his mother’s suicide and how it affected him beyond nightmares and hints about self loathing. In the book, it’s deeply tied to his reluctance to fall in love, how he doesn’t want to end up like his mother falling in love with someone that when they die it kills them. He blames himself more than anyone, and when he finds out that his mother killed herself to save him from his uncle, it completely floors him. It was a huge moment in the book where he went to confront WY at his parent’s graves. Or when they realize that her father was WX and he actually leaves her and throws himself into the war to try to get her out of his head, injuring himself repeatedly, then going to his family and asking to be whipped 108 times because he committed a grave sin by falling in love with her and deciding he cannot let her go. I mean, the angst!! Dial it up by x20 in the novel.

And I can excuse those changes for needing to cut time. I think the change I disliked the most was ep 26/27 when after he’s drugged, he doesn’t kill the opposing side General like he does in the book. That was one change I was genuinely confused why they would do that. It just prolonged that plot point for that guy to come back for 2 seconds and be killed in a 1 second. That was, I think, the only change that actually annoyed me. Because in the book, after he wakes up, he goes to fight in the battle before seeking out CY, having confidence that she could take care of herself and that if she couldn’t his people would take care of her, even though he was worried.

Generally the show did an amazing job. If I didn’t read the novel, I would think this still an amazing watch for its plot. Still 10/10.

And I do love some the changes they made in the show. XZ/YZ is infinitely nicer and less of a dick to people. And while some people may complain that he’s not showing the power of being the feared marquis, I appreciated the change. We still see the depth of his power because he can mobilize people to do what he wants and his reputation is as feared general and he has so much arrogance from his achievements that he doesn’t even kneel for the emperor. I like that we see him be nice to Changning and to Bao’er, especially in the village.

I like that the mains relationship had a lot more consent in it. I think the mains relationship was so beautifully written and perfectly performed (I’ll get to that later).

Despite the fact that it cut into the main story line, I love that they included the side stories and added the complexity to the other characters (WY, QM, SY…)

My general review for the story as a whole was that it’s a good story. Having read the novel, of course I’m disappointed that parts I consider pivotal weren’t included, but I’m not that mad about it because of how the drama came together as a whole.

I definitely think my understanding of the drama is probably affected by the translation. I saw online someone say that the translations lost a lot of the formality and context. So hopefully I can either learn mandarin or someone can do an in depth translation with guides on the jokes or important verbiage that are lost on those who don’t speak the language.

I think overall, too much time in the village, that could have been cut down and devoted to more background in their families and backstory. I don’t know if it helped that I read the novel so I knew what was happening, or if it hurt because I knew what should have been happening.

Acting/Cast

When I say that the best part of this drama was the actors, I am not lying. The actors understood the f*cking assignment, and I applaud them heartily.

Our leads ZLH and TXW had peak chemistry. I have watched their other works before and I do not know if I’ve ever been this obsessed with them. They’ve never looked better, they’ve never acted better.

I swear to god TXW eyes did more acting in this drama than some veteran actors in their entire careers. And ZLH’s microexpressions and his jaw. HIS JAW!! Did so much acting!

Now, yes they are both very pretty people and do benefit from the pretty privilege where you can ignore bad acting. But I genuinely think they did act very well in this series. This is a director who knew what he wanted and got it from his cast.

I also watched the behind the scenes footage and was surprised by how much say the actor’s had in what they wanted to do considering how intentional this director is with his choices in the drama.

Besides our leads, our side characters were also outstanding. DK and SK’s chemistry was on fire. While toxic obsession stories are not my cup of tea I give them all the props for their chemistry and flawless acting. They played incredibly nuanced characters. LQ and YZL also gave an amazing performance of their pure love story. And LMR is a new young break out actor I hope to see more of.

Special mention to the young actors playing CN and YB. They did amazing.

Music / Cinematography

I have nothing but love for this director and his way of capturing the story and the characters. He is so deliberate about his choices, the coloring, the focus, the details are just so layered and intentional.

The music and composition was beautiful.


Rewatch Value
10/10
Would rewatch, would reread, have been rewatching, and rereading.

Leia Mais

Overyhyped but still worth a one time watch

The plot is weak. Nothing we haven't seen before. Also, the show doesn't seem to care about anyone else besides the female lead. Everyone we got to know for half the show were killed off.

Major problem of the show is turning male lead into a girl and changing the female lead's personality too much. She didn't need to become a general to be seen as a strong woman. The audience can see she already was.

Also, the fact that she all of sudden was so good at fighting. Like, sure, I expected her to be good at pole fighting but dual wielding too? On top of that, she's on par with people who probably trained their whole lives.

Then the dumb decisions she made throughout the show boils my head. She runs around doing nothing and causing trouble for the male lead.

The number 1 thing i hate about the FL is that she was given SUPER STRENGTH. A woman doesn't need super strength! She is perfectly capable of doing everything in the show without it. They gave her that to have the "edge" over men.

The main problem of the show is them being in the village for TOO LONG, like 20 eps!. Should've moved way pass that around ep 11-16. That's why a lot of ppl dropped the show. The ending was rushed because of this one reason!

One other thing that bothered me was how many times Sui Yuan Qing was caught but escaped. Dude has the ultimate plot armor.

OOOOH. The terrible plot twist of A TIME TRAVELER. How ridiculous can this show get? I'm so disappointed. The show was so good in the beginning.

Leia Mais

Beautifully done

It was beautiful.

Casting was so well done, everyone was absolutely stunningggg. Tian Xi Wei looked divine in Moonlit Reunion and even better here. . I have no words to explain her besides that she looks like an angel and her acting range is insane, can only think of one or two actresses that could pull it off. Nothing felt stiff, from fighting to kissing, everything flowed very naturally and nothing looked toooo absurd. Yes, she killed a general with two strikes but also has anyone complaining about this ever seen an actual PIG? They are huge. If a girl can carry a damn pig like nothing, then she can kill a man with two strikes, it makes sense, you know? Linghe also never, ever looked better and he could do both things he does best: brood and cry, and he did not disappoint. He does yearning very well, he does psycho very well and was able to masterfully navigate between the extremes of hot and cold. Honorable mention that hot scenes were hotting (god bless).

Aside from that, most characters had names, stories and personal motivations. Side stories were not boring, second couple did AMAZING, to the point of being as important to plot as the main couple. It did not have the usual (and useless) sidekicks around leads, with no boring plots or filler episodes, everything had a purpose.

Cinematography was a work of art. Lightning, camera work, angles, composition, and the color graaaaaaading!! There is a video the studio released about the color grading work, it is stunning. Costumes, wigs, scenarios, make up, soundtrack was not groundbreaking, but also very well done. The director has definitely add one more line to his already great record of very well executed projects.

And all of this allowed what I have rarely seen around: beautiful story telling. It allowed feelings to be expressed in actions/images, and avoided overexposure of information to explain events or actions, which is what often creates the sense of disbelief in us as consumers of the final product. This is why we often can’t tolerate some costume dramas: it looks staged, it feels fake. If I can’t connect with the story, characters, scenarios or world, I will lose interest in it, and this was not the case here. We got so many beautiful, unique, well done shots and angles. It was creative sometimes, poetic in others, and even cheesy at some point, but it was so so so pleasing to watch, we were weeeeell served.

Now, I do not ignore that the plot had some issues, but as anyone who knows a bit about how media control works in China, it is nothing new. The limitation of episodes, duration, removal of actors involved in scandal and other cultural requirements often lead to this outcome in this type of media (unfortunately). I also disagree with comments that talk about lack of creativity or absurdity of plot, and I can only presume those watchers have not been around for long, because denying the quality of work and content is absolute blindness or lack of experience.

Of course there is room for improvement, for example, further deepening of the ML feelings would have been great to the overall plot. The strength of the feelings that drove the Sui princes to madness is what made them so magnetic (besides being hot as well). The complex of the relationship between the second couple was soooo well done, it made the conflicts of the main couple seen a bit plain. It was hard to connect to that bone deep solitude that made the Marquis the cold and distant man he is at the begining of the story. We could watch and understand Changyu’s sorrows, but we saw very little of what made Xie Zheng who he was. This is a second strike for Linghe, because his role in Our Generation had the same exact issue. Do better handsome!

Personally, I would also have loved to see more ML fighting scenes. Seeing the FL rock it was great, she is main character after all, but I expected more from the Marquis. It was funny that the only scene he actually fought he was using a mask, which made me wonder if it was a skill issue…however, he did have fighting scenes in other productions, so I prefer to believe it was a very conscious choice. His aura was 1000/10 tho, no comments.

Regarding timeline and pacing, which are also very important for world building, both were great during the first 23 eps, the development of the relationships and plots felt real and solid. Rhythm got a bit wonky after that, but nothing that is not seen in every other production out there. And well, it affected the ending, which felt rushed and shallow when compared to everything else. I must say I would have preferred a single solid ending over the fan service they chose to do, with the random scenes from the alternate ending. But it is a HE and this girl likes a HE, so I will take my win.

Finally, well, I looooved it as the love story it is. It is not a heavy political, vengeance drama. It is not a comedy nor a parody. It is a love story, very sweet and very emotional/highstake, with lots of yearning (and kisses 🙏🏽). It has definitely earned a place within my all time favorites list and I think anyone who likes romance and costume/historial drama should give it a try, I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Leia Mais

Un pedacito de historia increíblemente contado

Una serie que tiene de todo y que lo entrelaza increíblemente bien: Historia, protestas, movimientos sociales, romance, pasión, música, poesía, pujas de poder, etc etc. Nos sitúa en un momento histórico clave que atraviesa y mezcla todas las historias de los personajes que se ven obligados a pararse de un lado de la historia, o la protesta o el status Quo, entre eso, el amor, el miedo, los errores y el desarrollo de todos los personajes que sucede de una manera muy realista y entretenida.
No tengo palabras para definirla porque se fue llevando mí corazón, la producción, las actuaciones INCREÍBLES, los colores y la música siempre protagonistas me metían directamente en la serie. Las historias son tan pasionales y emocionantes que llore en casi todos los capítulos, con escenas de maravilla, como los mensajes por medio de los libros, esos viajes sin rumbo, esas miradas, los panes que no se quieren separar, la incondicionalidad del padre. Realmente hermoso.

Pero como suele pasar en las historias realistas, no todo es color de rosas y el final me dolió muchísimo, no se si lo cambiaría porque es como si fuera un cierre genuino pero si muy tragico. Me hubiera encantado que Veera pudiera estar con Dhavi, y ni hablar del sargento con el periodista, pero este último siempre estuvo demasiado complicado :( la ame pero me rompió el corazón

Leia Mais

Sweet love story

Just finished this drama and honestly… it’s a simple, sweet love story 💛

It’s not overly dramatic or complicated, which I actually liked. The pacing is nice, and since there aren’t too many episodes (each about an hour long), it’s an easy and enjoyable watch. This is exactly the kind of drama I usually go for—short, emotional, and not dragged out.

Even though there isn’t a lot to deeply analyze or talk about, it still leaves a good impression. It’s definitely not the best drama ever, but it’s far from the worst—it’s just a nice, feel-good story you can relax with.

And I have to say… I totally fell for U bin’s smile 😭✨ So cute!

Overall: simple, sweet, and worth watching 💫

Leia Mais

I rewatch this one on the regular

I watch a lot of bl. This is a really good one. I get the sense that some of the unimpressed reviewers should avoid (this brand of) Japanese bl because the flow of the story isn't for them. No disrespect to the haters here. It's just that there are different flavors of bl, and this can be both well done and not to your liking at the same time.

For me, this series was spot on, and I miss these two so much. I cannot even remember how many times I've watched it already. I enjoy the story, which I do not think is about a toxic relationship. Clumsy, but not toxic. This is the arrangement they entered into. It's not master/servant, but it is dom/sub or brat tamer or something of that ilk. (I will leave the finer points of that assessment to someone with a deeper knowledge of such things.) If that's too much for you, ignore that piece and focus on the story: one person is desperately wanting to be reassured that they are loved and appreciated while the other wants to be reassured that their complete devotion is understood and reciprocated. It's actually very sweet and loving. And sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's heartwarming.

I also think the acting is strong, the production is good, and the writing flows. The leads are gorgeous and have good chemistry, but that won't carry the whole project without the other pieces in place. This is one of my all-time favorites. You should watch, especially if you like Japanese bl. And don't give up before the end! You need the entire story to truly appreciate this drama.

Leia Mais