Puppet Prince: Equinox Flower (2019)

A must-see to complete this couple's story

Thank you Productive Procrastination for the translations!
This movie is a sequel and continuation of where the story left off in Puppet Prince, which you should watch first. The story in this movie is set three years after Puppet Prince, where the FL is trying to save the ML from his vegetative state. It honestly was more frustrating than the first movie, but not gonna lie the twist near the end got me. Did it absolve the frustrating bits beforehand? Somewhat... but in general I wasn't here for the angst done to the FL.

PROS
❀ The FL remains as optimistic, fun, and good-hearted as always | In my review of the first movie I noted how hesitant I was about the FL, but I ended up really liking her, and in this movie she stays great! I love how determined she was to save the ML and to regain his memories. When she realized she was overstepping her boundaries, she steps back. She's also smart and capable though, and ends up figuring things out on her own despite people going against her. We stan a heroine who knows kung-fu and uses her brain!
❀ Those twists near the end got me | The first 45 minutes got me low key upset, lol. I felt like the FL deserved so much better and there were more romantic scenes between the ML and the 2FL villainess. BUT the plot was saved by those twists near the end. I like how everything was fast-paced so watchers get to figure out the bad guys along with the main characters. I think both movies were unpredictable in some ways which really turned the storyline for the better. My only complaint is all that angst leading up to the twist.

CONS
✕ Not a huge fan of the amnesia plot | I guess you can't expect an epic Chinese story without an amnesia plot (/sob... why must they be like this). Anyway, this amnesia trope was hard to watch in this movie because the ML felt so cold towards the FL who had only the best of intentions. Like - sir!!! But future watchers should have more faith in him (at least more than I did, lol), because there are ~reasons~ why frustrating things happen. Y'all's patience will be rewarded. :')
✕ Not a fan of how much screen time they spent on the ice puppet | At one point I felt like I was watching a totally new couple (with the ice puppet as the FL) and my eyes rolled so hard. There's a limit to how many scenes I can bear where the actual FL's feelings get stomped on!! They even gave the ice puppet a flashback scene. All in all she was a pretty annoying character but at least she had good character development.
✕ Misunderstanding level: 9/10 | Bruh, even *I* as the watcher was misunderstanding the ML. All in the name of noble sacrifice.

OVERALL
Sad to report that while this is about the romance between the couple from Puppet Prince, there aren't romantic scenes surrounding them. I mean, the feelings are still there, but they're too busy trying to save the other (lmao). I'd say watch this if you're okay with investing a bit over 2 hours for both movies. The story is still pretty exciting (a lot is fit in these movies) and while I would have liked more ~romance~, at least we get a happy ending for our main leads.

(Note: My rewatch value is set to 5.0 always as a default as I'm not the type to rewatch dramas EVER. Thus, I do not take it into account when calculating overall score.)

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