This is the kind of drama I will probably fall asleep thinking of.
I liked the slow burnt and that the female lead could Do anything for revenge. I like the cast, some of them are my favorite. Princess Wanning is not Who knows what villain but at least shes cruel, tho shes only broken.The Main leads have chemistry and the clothing is nice.
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Probably one of the best drama I've seen
Chemistry: 10/10Kiss : 8,5/10
Breakup? : No
Annoying second leads ? : if we count the ex, yes
Any secondary couples ? : Yes, but we see like nothing of them
Happy ending? : Yes
Ending : 8,5/10
Wedding? : Yes
Any kids ? : Yes
There are so many good things about this drama. Like every drama, there are some flaws, but this drama is still amazing.
1) The acting :
- The leads were amazing, their acting was top notch and we could feel the emotions.
- I think the acting was awesome from everyone, the side characters and the villains did a really good job. Shen Yu Rong, as much as we hate this guy, the actor was great, the princess too.
2) The leads :
- The chemistry was fire, we could feel it from their first encounter
- One of my favorites leads ever : Strong, intelligent and bad ass. I love them so much
- ML was handsome as hell, I love his character and his charisma. He was a cold character, but never an asshole to FL. I love how he was being proud and watching her when she was being badass. He helped her when needed.
- FL : Beautiful, smart, she deserved the world after what she went through.
- Their relationship : I absolutely loved the evolution of their relationship and the romance. I'm not a fan of slow burn, so I would have liked more scenes of them and maybe them getting together a few eps sooner, but it was done well. And we still knew they already liked each other. All their scenes were so good, the chemistry, the tension, the love. All the little details too and symbolism with some of the scenes. I love how they slowly opened up to each other, trusting each other, helping each other and working together. They are truly soulmate and perfect for each other. I also liked how they can be themself when they are for each other. Also, as much as ML was wiped, he didn't become a stupid guy in love. At some point, I wish we would see more ML, he wasn't that present in the first half, but I get it the story is more centered on FL and we got to see more of him later. We didn't get much kiss and skinship, but the handholding and hugs made me giggle and happy. Their hugs always looks so comforting. They loved each other very much and we could feel like with every looks and moments. The wedding made me smile, I wish it was longer and that we could have really scene the wedding and not just the wedding night. I would have loved to see her family, his grandpa, friends, etc... But anyway, we can't get everything. No misunderstanding, no annoying conflicts between them too. A mature relationship.
3) The friendship :
we saw a few friendship through the drama and I enjoyed it.
- The group of 4 with FL + Ye Shi Jie + Jiang Jing Rui + Liu Xu : I loved their friendship at the academy and that it stayed till the end. They help and supported each other, a true friendship that also brought us laughs.
- ML and the emperor : I really loved this friendship. It was good that they also showed us flashbacks of them as kids to understand more their backgrounds and the foundation of their friendship. Trust, loyalty and working together till the end. The little like handshake made me emotional. They love each other like brothers. The emperor was truly lucky to have him.
- FL and Tong Er : Tong Er was so sweet and kind, she deserved better :( I loved this duo and how they became friends and then like sisters. She gave up her life saving FL, we saw in that scene how much they loved each other and they were like sisters.
- FL and Jiang Li : we didn't see much, but we could still see the care they had for each other, how she helped FL and how FL dedicated herself to avenged her
ML and his 2 sidekicks : I'm sill sad that they both died at the end. I loved this trio, they gave us funny moments, bad ass moments, I loved how they worked together.
4) Family :
- Jiang family : even though it wasn't her real family, FL still found a family in them I would say. Like in the last ep, when she was talking with him when they talked about her not being Jiang Li or when she called him father at the end with teary eyes and told him to dress up not to catch a cold. I feel like she actually considered him as a father figure. And with grandma, I loved their relationship and grandma in general. The cousin was the best. After his first appearance, I thought he was annoying, but he became such a good character. It was great how he was always on her side and defending her. Just like his parents actually, I loved them too. Like during the exorcism episode, the 3 of them stayed on FL's side, tried to help her and save her. They were never bad to her. It was nice the last greeting from FL at the end. The father, he did bad Jiang Li because he was blind by his love for the step mom and a bad father, kinda weak but he had his moments. I loved him in the last episodes, I loved his loyalty to the emperor and how he stepped up to help him. Also, even though he probably knew long ago she wasn't his daughter (we could say it was not to lose face and for the family's reputation), he still helped her and I actually think he cared for her for real. It was hilarious his face after she was saved by ML grandfather, ML getting her out of the horse and them hugging. I watched that scenes multiples times. I almost cried with his reaction in the last ep when he was talking to FL about the real Jiang Li. His reaction was sad, he wronged her, but he truly loved her and he will regret it for the rest of his life. The step sister, she was annoying, but she got some character development, I was glad when she finally stepped up to her mom and now that she's free from her, I think she will probably be a better person. Also from the little comments at the end about her, I have hope.
- Ye family : I loved this family, they were the best. I loved how they were kind and they didn't hesitate to help FL. Their dynamic was funny and we could see they love each other. Ye Shi Jie was a good friend and ''brother''. I liked how he didn't become the obsessed and annoying SML, he loved FL, but he didn't forced her or become over the top or chasing her. He helped her and supported her. He knew he had no chance to, it was good at the end when he said he would be like an older brother. 8 years later, they are working together and their friendship must still be strong.
- ML's family : It was tragic to see his parents fate, I felt that. I loved grandpa and I was really happy when they reconciled and I enjoyed their scenes together, the one with FL too. I giggle so bad when she said to him that she was ML's lover ;) he was good and he accepted her instantly as his granddaughter-in-law, he also knew they were a perfect match ;) it was awesome when he appeared and said he would save her. Adding his character at the end was a good chose for me.
- FL's family : They suffered so much, her brother and father are such good people, I'm glad they got justice and that they were alive. The little reunions were emotional. I loved every little scenes, but I wish we would have seen more. The number of eps is limited, but I would have definitely loved to see at least one scene of ML with them (like the 4 of them) or just him talking with her father. But it was good at the end when he said she chose a good man and he was happy for her. It was also funny that one scene with ML and FL's brother. When the father said she had a good eye for choosing a man, I'm sorry but I laughed, I just kept thinking how she chose Shen Yu rong in the past.
5) The plot :
- I think the plot was well written. The plot was engaging.
- Not going to lie, at some point I fast-forwards a little some scenes when it was just talking, I don't think I missed anything important.
- I feel like maybe it dragged a bit too long the revenge against the step mom for Jiang Li.
- The last few episodes were keeping me on the edge of my seat. When I binge watched like the last 4 eps, I was stressing and totally attentive.
- The fighting scenes were well done
- The final battle : I think it was good, it happened a bit fast, but I loved it. The strategies to save the emperor, the fighting scenes, FL speech, everyone doing their parts. Princess coming to help. I was satisfied when ML finally killed the Chen guy.
- I loved that ML recognized her at the very beginning
- I think it's a good change from the novel the fact that she didn't had Jiang Li's face.
- It was good that we could see both of the leads getting their revenge.
- Everything happened fast at the end and feel like it could have had more eps for this plot, but probably because of the regulation of max 40 eps, the plot had to happened more fast.
- I respected the consort at the end. She really cared about the emperor, I was proud of her courage and sacrificed. She didn't hesitated to stay at the banquet and to killed herself for the emperor.
- Revenge : I would say I'm satisfied. The Li family and Shen family got what they deserved. The step mom, okay. Chen guy, the death he deserved. The princess, she was bad, selfish and did many bad things. I think her ending was good, I even felt a bit bad for her, she loved Shen Yu Rong so much, but it brought her to her dismissed. I feel her, she was assaulted and suffered a lot, but that's no excuse for what she did. But I would say, I feel like it was interesting when they showed that she killed their father. Shen Yu rong, I think his death was too easy and ''peaceful'', but anyway at least he's dead.
- The maids were annoying, but it added some comedy and they weren't there long.
- The princess from the other country annoyed me for most of her screentime, but she was useful at the end. She was pretty childish, like girl he doesn't like you, move on and be mature about the situation.
6) Beautiful cinematography
7) Beautiful costume and makeup
- I think it was really pretty the pearls
8) Beautiful ost, I love it so much
9) Ending :
- I was pissed at first when I learned about the ending scene without having watched it, but It wasn't bad after all. After some thinking, we still had some moment in ep 40, the wedding and some scenes of them happy before him going to war. So I accepted it. I would have loved to see them hug, don't know why they didn't give us that, but we know they reunited and that he is still alive. I love how he said he would come back when flowers blooms and he did. Cdramas writers love these ending, the leads reunited for a few secs or just looking at each other from afar. Don't know why, it's such shitty endings ahah. Also it's Youku, I wasn't really hopeful, even if with Blossom in Adversity I did they did pretty good to give a satisfying ending that wasn't too short.
- The extra 5 min after marriage, that was cute. Their daughter is adorable
- I think it was pretty good the closure at the end. ML with his grandfather. FL with the Jiang family and her talk with the father. It was cute to see that they got together after all, the cousin and their friend.
- They could have not done the other battle at the end, not have ML leave and just show us happy moment. All of that seems a bit rushed also. But after some thinking again, it makes sense... Like of course after the Chen guy is gone (he was guarding with the army for years the border) the enemies would attack, I think plot wise it make sense. But again, since the plot had to end at ep 40, the rushness was inevitable
So, to conclude, I recommend this drama. It's a good watch, with awesome characters and story that get you hook.
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the number of episodes is 40+ extra eps, with different durations, some episode is only 46 minutes with opening and ending, but there are also 55 57 59 minutes, if divided into an average of ±50 minutes per eps
for the ost is good, i once hear music of "镜花水月" from dramamaiden holmes" because the singer also sing the ost in this drama
and about the acting, not bad that i think, WJY in this drama her acting not all is feel disgusting (sorry) ，It's OK when she cry silently, but not when she's crying + screaming or ,There are times when her smile is very fake, not natural that just feels very fake and a bit cheesy
and about WXY acting ,its ok and cool but the last eps his giggle is really over for her cool character, especially at that time the conditions were not very suitable for giggling like that. a little stupid smile + stunned is enough.
about princess wanning hmm ,from From the first i thought she is so so so bad ,but after that i feel bad for her , from the start he was just a victim who became a mental victim and became a victim again,
Also, I really don't understand their plans and conversations. They used metaphors, and I knew the meaning of each word, but I couldn't understand the sentence of their conversations, drain my brain,,and he said she do what he want she do ,but what i see is ,she do what she want to do ,he just help her to do that?! and he said its his plan? she never do anything for his plan at first ,she just do what she want and he want it too...
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The drama was extremely addictive with tons of positives. The first 15 or so episodes were amazing. FL falls victim to her husband's heartless plot to kill her because his powerful lover ordered him to. She feels betrayed, confused, and heartbroken. Shortly thereafter, she assumes the identity of a dead girl she befriended and moves into the girl's family home to plan her revenge. The story has mystery and intrigue. I enjoyed watching Li Jiang/Xue Fangfei maneuver through the Jiang family drama, befriend new family members, and outsmart the evil step mother. FL's character was classy and mysterious making me always wonder what she would do next. What I like about this drama is that episode 1 jumps right into the plot. There was no set-up. We didn't need to sit through 10+ episodes for things to start happening.
Unfortunately, which is typical of most Chinese dramas, the story tends to deviate from the main plot into mini-arcs. Here, the story was the most interesting when Li Jiang was in the capital. After she left the family residence to meet the Ye family, the quality of storytelling went down. The Ye family, draught, and imperial diviner arcs were complete uninteresting. As soon as FL started dressing like a man, playing drinking games, and skulking in the mines with ML, the story hit every cliche trope and lost its air of mystery. Also, FL befriending the Ye family and gaining their backing did not add anything to the plot. They disappeared from the story as soon as she went back to the capital and did not re-appear to help her in any way.
One of the highlights of the story was FL and ML's explosive chemistry. They flirted, bantered, shared passionate glances, and were just a step away from ripping each other's clothes off. Unfortunately, due to incomprehensible Chinese censorship, this amazing romantic chemistry climaxed with a very underwhelming chaste candlelight kiss.
The story was worth watching just for the villains. Li Ming did an amazing job as the elder princess Wanning. She portrayed the character exactly how she would've been - conniving, hateful, jealous, resentful, and very very insane. Her smiles were deadly and her threats were real. Walking around and twirling her dresses made her look like the main character in her own story. I normally don't care for villain backstories because there shouldn't be any sympathy for evil. But, boy oh boy, did she gain my sympathy even though she was worth hating. It also made me wonder whether she was a different person before her father sent her to the enemy kingdom to be abused. I also felt like the punishment for every villain was fitting. Wanning killed herself with her beloved hand after realizing that he never truly loved her. Yurong committed suicide after realizing he will never get back what he lost and that his death was inevitable for committing treason. He dug his own grave committing one crime after another without truly taking responsibility for the all the evil he's done.
The ending felt rushed. Some cool characters were killed off in the very last episode just to get last minute emotion from the audience. It did not feel like a natural story progression, just something the writers decided to do the last minute. One moment, Xiao Heng was holding on to the pendant his beloved gave him as the token of her love while awaiting his death from the charging army, the next moment he rides his horse towards Fangfei standing by the tree they planted together. It didn't look very well thought through and felt rushed just to finish the show with a happy ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed the drama. The relationships felt real and mature, the intrigue was interesting, and the acting was brilliant.
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Solid Story, strong FL with determined goal and ML who supports her from the side.
The story is very well written, loved the details about every character, villain, support or leads they were all 3dimensional. The story focuses on the Female lead and her revenge mostly therefore there arent any side romances except for snippets of the cousin and a friend. The cast is verrrry very talented truly I felt every emotion everything was very well delivered the villains managed to steal a lot of scenes which shows how well they embodied their roles. I'm just a little disappointed with the osts because besides Chenle ending song the others weren't prominent enough. Anyways I also don't like the ending much but since we got a special ep I will forgive the director.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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The best historical Drama I have seen in Cdramaland
Edit: I finished it and loved it. I must appreciate the villains of this drama. They did such a great job at playing those characters.I am compelled to write this review because I want to document my excitement. This isn't the best of historical drama of 2024, its just the best historical cdrama. Few more episodes till it ends! I am scared to finish the show and I am scared that once I finish it, I wouldn't get to watch this kind of masterpiece again in a sea of mediocrity.
Story- The story isn't just about revenge but is also about redemption of the male leads. Its about childhood traumas, sacrifice, empathy, kindness and love. The two leads navigate a cruel word by adopting shrewd tactics. They aren't living. They are surviving and tolerating the world to seek justice for themselvesand their loved ones. Every little thing they do take is a strategic step towards the bigger goal. I thought the revenge, sadness and the serious tone would drown my spirit in sorrow but I was wrong. ITS INCREDIBLY THRILLING. If you know a little bit about chinese culture and history, you will enjoy it even more.
There are many small storylines weaved into the story but all of them are connected very well and the story never deviates from the main plot.
Actors - very talented. They do not sell eccentricism and loud acting as good acting which I greatly admire in drama actors. They have an amazing chemistry. Its hard to maintain the intensity and angst in a slow burn romance but they have done a great job. The male lead is going to be in my favorite list now. The female lead, supporting cast as well as the villains are worth admiring.
Direction - The casting is well done. It took a while for me to adjust to the style of direction in the first episode (very short cdrama type of direction). I am not too fond of that style. The slight discomfort immediately ended with the first episode and I was hooked. The way the director has executed the whole drama is what I expect from all historical drama directors...Almost all of them fall short of that expectation. This did not!
The flying of the robes was so cool. The set design is visually appealing and suits the tone of the drama. It isn't too bright or too dark. The clothes look gorgeous. Kudos.
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Exquisitely enjoyable slow-burn romance
The slow-burn romance was exquisitely enjoyable. I love how the ML quickly became impressed by the FL and trusted all her plans while being ready to lend a helping hand if necessary. They took their time openly expressing their feelings for each other, but WE ALL KNEW (including the side characters who saw them together), and when they eventually got there, it felt so rewarding. I lived for those 5-10 mins of main couple scenes in each episode and have rewatched them multiple times.Wang Xing Yue was so good as the Male Lead who was economical with his words but conveyed a lot with his gaze and expression. I had seen him in "Amidst a Snowstorm of Love" but had no idea he could be that good!
The overall storyline was good in the sense that it was complex enough to be interesting, but simple enough to follow (I hate overly complex plots in historical dramas, especially when there are too many characters involved and unclear timelines). However, a bit too much screentime was given to the baddies. I get it that they were trying to make sure they were not one-dimensional, but maybe they could have cut down on some of the baddies' plotting to give more scenes to the main leads. I think they really underestimated the draw of the main couple to viewers.
I am not a fan of the last 10-15 mins of the final episode - it felt unecessary and rushed to add on a new final villain when all the previous episodes had been building up to one set of villains.
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a plot driven drama with some crumbs of romance
Dispite what you've might guess from the title of this review, I LOVED this drama.I'm usually a sucker for romance and, if a drama doesn't give me what I expect it to give on this regard, I don't really like it... as for this one, I'm glad to say it was a plesant surprise.
I must confesse I did fastforward in some moments, since I'm anxious and I couldn't take it, however, this drama was great.
I loved the premise of the story, the acting was superb and the photography as well as the figurines were on point.
Honestly, aside from this drama feeding you basically crumbs of a romance, there's nothing else to criticize about it - and even in this I don't dsre criticize because the chemistry between the leads was so damn real and intoxicating.
I waited 34 episodes for their first kiss, was mad as hell with the camera for slipping away in the edition and not properly showing it, but it was more about frustation than anything else lol
Ou first (and only) proper kiss, is on the last episode, still, I wasn't mad with it, because it was so damn satisfying.
I must confess the ending made me a little mad. It was completely perfect till around halfway through it, than things started to go south, still, the extra episode, which has only 5min, kind of made up for a little bit of it, so it's fine.
Eitherway, this series surely deserves more recognition and love, because the actors are AMAZING and the plot is new and full of plot-twists you don't quite expect and are sure to keep you hooked.
10 out of 10, must watch.
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A bit far fetched
Can not see how jiang xuanbao ever got to be a left or right chancellor, he is too gullible and stupid, believes anything almost anyone says especially his wife. Since there are so many incidents in his family occurring and he doesn’t question anything. Obviously really doesn’t care about his daughter(s) just his reputation and how he looks to others. The grandmother is too passive and must not feel she has any real power either. Pretty much the same with the emperor, doesn’t may sense how she betrayed her brother to help the present emperor ascend to the throne, so she can have a lot of power in the palaceLastly the ex-husband is probably more unscrupulous than Princess Wanning once he learnt to deal with her, had the nerve to be jealous of his former wife, after the other things he did, he just as crazy as the princess they deserved each other
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Sympathique mais manque d'originalité et sur-évalué
Avant la fin de diffusion du drama, cette série bénéficiait déjà de commentaires dithyrambiques et d'une super note avoisinant les 9. C'est une des raisons qui m'a donné envie de le regarder mais j'avoue que le visionnage ne m'a pas laissée aussi enthousiaste qu'une partie de l'audience, peut-être justement parce que j'en attendais trop. Bon j'imagine qu'avec le temps, les choses vont se rééquilibrer et que ce drama atteindra une note plus en adéquation avec la réalité.C'est vrai que l'histoire est sympathique, les intrigues de vengeance sont toujours agréables à suivre, mais j'ai trouvé qu'ici, le scénario manquait d'originalité. Le coup de la FL qui prend l'identité de la fille d'un officiel important à la Cour (celle-ci, comme par hasard, a été exilée depuis l'enfance loin de la famille donc on ne sait pas à quoi elle ressemble, et elle décède bien opportunément), on l'a déjà vu dans Princess Weiyoung, avec tout ce que ça comporte d'incohérences (l'héroïne n'a jamais eu d'amis capable de la reconnaître une fois revenue dans la capitale ?). Les intrigues politiques et luttes de pouvoir, les officiels corrompus, les magouilles visant à rassembler de l'argent pour soutenir un coup d'Etat, la mine secrètement exploitée par des intérêt privés, le casino dont le patron à "l'oreille divine" sait d'avance sur quel chiffre le dé va tomber, c'est vu et revu. Le scénario ne fait que recycler des passages convenus pour les agencer dans un autre ordre. La seule nouveauté c'est que l'héroïne est encore mariée au salopard qui a tenté de la tuer, même si elle est officiellement déclarée morte, donc ce n'est plus une jeune fille pure et vierge mais une femme trahie dans sa chair par celui qui était censé la protéger et la soutenir.
C'est pourquoi, passé le 2ème tiers, j'ai commencé à m'ennuyer sévère. On passe beaucoup de temps à installer l'histoire et celle-ci fait beaucoup de détours pour arriver à sa conclusion, alors qu'elle aurait pu être davantage condensée. Par exemple, le fait que l'héroïne tente de passer un concours d'entrée dans une école renommée est sympathique mais ne sert pas à grand-chose, d'autant que le quatuor qu'elle forme avec d'autres étudiants avait tout pour être solide et intéressant, sauf que cette union aura peu d'importance sur le scénario vu qu'on ne s'intéressera plus trop à ses trois compagnons une fois ledit concours fini. C'est juste un passage obligé qui génère des attentes (une amitié indéfectible entre 4 personnes censées se soutenir et partager les hauts et les bas, ça produit toujours son effet dans les dramas) et finit par décevoir le public étant donné que c'est creux et mal exploité, et qu'on ne les voit plus vraiment ensemble par la suite à quelques exceptions près, qui durent à peine 30 secondes à l'écran. Même l'histoire d'amour entre le cousin et la copine d'école est mal fichue, on n'en verra pas grand chose. En tout cas vers le 30ème épisode ça a commencé à s'éterniser et à me gaver, au point que j'avais hâte que ça se termine.
Quant à la romance entre nos deux protagonistes, elle m'a accrochée au début mais mon intérêt a fini par diminuer au fur et à mesure des épisodes. D'une part parce que le ML n'a pas beaucoup de présence à l'écran comparé à la FL, d'autre part parce que malgré leur très bonne alchimie, la réalisation a osé couper leur 1er baiser tant attendu ! On nous chauffe à fond pendant une trentaine d'épisodes pour faire retomber le soufflé juste derrière, ce qui n'a aucun sens quand on sait qu'on a droit à deux autres scènes de baisers par la suite (certes sages, mais ils s'embrassent quand même... peut-être que c'était plus acceptable une fois le 1er époux disparu du paysage et leur mariage consommé ? Quoi qu'il en soit, plus je regarde des dramas chinois, moins j'ai de patience envers leur censure qui paraît ridicule à côté de ce qu'on trouve chez leurs voisins). Pour finir, je veux bien comprendre que la série a tenté d'être assez fidèle au roman (même s'ils ont changé certains trucs, apparemment) mais était-il nécessaire de nous gaver avec le dernier quart d'heure déconnecté du reste de l'intrigue ? On tremble inutilement pour le ML (va-t-il revenir de la guerre et retrouver sa femme ?), on est triste pour certains personnages ce qui gâche notre ressenti général qui était plutôt positif jusque-là, et on se fiche de nous avec la suggestion d'une romance entre deux personnages secondaires, simplement évoquée au détour d'une phrase dans l'épisode bonus alors que durant tout le drama ils ne se sont jamais rencontrés. Pour le coup ça m'a frustrée, j'aurais aimé voir cette romance secondaire se développer.
En conclusion, l'histoire reste agréable dans sa première moitié, elle nous happe assez rapidement, mais devient très vite convenue. Le casting joue bien, l'héroïne est forte et déterminée, le ML sexy en diable, la plupart des personnages sont suffisamment nuancés pour s'écarter des purs clichés, la photographie est belle et pour une fois j'ai apprécié l'OST, mais selon moi cela ne suffit pas à rattraper une intrigue qui finit par ressembler à ce qu'on a déjà vu et revu dans d'autres dramas. Les ingrédients sont les mêmes, on les a simplement mélangés autrement pour nous faire croire que la recette est différente. Au final, rien de nouveau sous le soleil.
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I was just about to stop binge watching & here comes temptation!
Okay, I have been binge-watching cdramas for a while now & I was about to break out of this habit, but they have done such a good job with characters & finding the right cast, that I gave into this temptation. Here's to hoping that this drama continues being so intriguing & I won't regret spending my time on it.Ep 1 to Ep 5: The beginning of the ep 1 starts with betrayal, the guts of the guy to do her so wrong and still have the balls to pretend like he cares about her! I care about you but I don't have a choice so I'll frame you parent, get your brother killed, & one more, kill you myself. The tears are the worst, how meaningless. Man the kindness at that Zhenvv Hall, here's to hoping the head of the hall receives the same kindness. Poor Jiang Li, Fang Fei is so right, the wicked go unpunished & take pleasure in punishing the kind. I'm of two minds about Fang Fei taking over Jiang Li's identity. One one hand I can see her conviction about making Jiang Li's family suffer for the neglect & abuse she received at the hall. At the same time, it also feels like Fang Fei did it not because of Jiang Li but because she want to get her own revenge. Ep 4 clears that up, she is doing it for both and man is she brilliant! She told the Duke to scold her back for calling him brainless & he come back with her original identity.
Ep 6 to Ep 10: I get that the stepmother is evil, but the father is worse. His daughter is dead because of the both of them. She died without having her name cleared. This is the time, I wish this was a horror story & she would haunt their ass. Still not sure what's going on between princess & the murderer, but I don't feel sorry for the guy at all. Every time he is confronted with what he did to his loyal wife, he has tears in his eyes. Honestly, what good are those tears? That guy had no care for her. I don't know if the romance between the Duke & Li will go anywhere or if they will even get to be together without any issues. I hope it works out well for both of them though.
Ep 10 to Ep 15: I was so excited to see the competition between the two sisters, knowing that our double would win. But I must say that Rua Yao gave a terrific performance, I didn't think that Jiang Li would have been able to top that. But she won for a reason, the emotions she put in her song made it seem so real. I didn't much care for the graphics because for some reason they didn't properly convey her feelings. They were good but I wish they have come up with a better idea. We finally have a little hint of romance popping up, with Li being jealous about the Duke being at the brothel. I like the drama as it is, but I wish the leads had more screentime together, they are beautiful to watch. The Jiang family is so messed up, Jing Rui is the only person I like so far. Ruo Yao & Yu'e deserve each other, but I can see that being married to Yan Ban will not meet Yu'e expectation. What's more, it looks like both the cousins might end up being married to the same guy and none of them are his first choice. He has such a wandering eye.
Ep 16 to 27: I can't believe how good this show is. I messed up my sleep schedule again to catch up on all the episodes! I don't want to wait so long for the rest to come out. I love the progression of relationship between Duke & Li. It is so good to see such well-written characters with minds that gel well. I also feel a certain level of dread that either the Duke or Li might not make it till the end. That would be heartbreaking, but it wouldn't negate the bond they shared. Yu'e marriage ended up as predicted, I'm surprised that Ruo Yao actually did something right for once. I'm sure Jian Li's father suspects Jian Li's identity. I wonder how everyone is going to react once they find out that Jiang Li was murdered by the members of the Hall where she was supposed to be well cared for. I want them to be devastated! Jiang Li deserves that at least. Here's the hoping both Fang Fie & Jang Li get to clear their names & people who murdered them & plotted against them suffer. For a main character, Ye Shi Ji has very little screen time & I wonder how his feelings for Jiang Li will change things. I saw video on Youkou's international page which included a scene that suggested that Li & Duke might have happy ending. However, they were both standing in front of two graves, if one of them was Jiang Li's whose was the other? Here's to hoping Tong Er survives.
Ep 28 to 31: I had hoped that Tong Er would make it! But now she is gone to go be with her lady. I wonder what's gonna happen to Ji Shu Ran now. Was glad to see her maid being dragged away. I do not like waiting for each episode. It was soo good to watch the first 26 one after the other. I must say, this drama is gonna be one more addition to my favs list. For a moment their Fang Fie had me worried that she had really forgiven Jiang Yuan Bai on behalf of Jiang Li. Thank goodness, Jiang Li deserves better. There should be no redemption of any kind for Ji Shu Ran, for all her claims of she was forced to do things, she is the one who reveled in being cruel. She caused the death of little Yue and covered it up. I don't know if she was really pregnant at the time, but if she was, she killed her own unborn baby to frame a little girl who loved her. Framing that little girl led to her death as well. She is the reason so many people have died. I do think the diviner arc was a bit pointless. They sacrificed Tong Er for that arc. Here's to hoping that the Shen Yu Rong meets the same fate as Fang Fie who was buried alive. Okay this drama just makes me scared for everyone's life in there. I kept wondering who's gonna die next, will it be Fang Fie's father, the poison princess, or Wen Ji. Now, I wonder if Zhao prince might ask Duke to marry his sister. Then where would our Fang Fie be? Living Tong Er's dream probably. Poor Shi Jie probably wondering what's happening around him.
Ep 32 to Ep 35: Wow, the brains on Wanning! She thought she might be able to use Xue Zhao in some way so she kept him alive without anyone knowing. Fang Fie's whole plan centered around exposing Wanning & Shen Yu Rong's relationship. Recanting the testimony might again put Jiang Li in the way of rumors. And it looks like Duke Su will be coming to the rescue. (Maybe their marriage begins with this) Well, it is hard not to like Duke Su & Fang Fie being together, especially since both have such a keen understanding of each other. And the trust in each other is so overwhelming, you rarely get to see such a couple in dramas. I can't wait to see the moment where Fang Fie gives him the jade pendant. Shen Yu Rong has gone mad for sure but he clearly has different goals from the wanning & he is willing to even sacrifice his own child.
Ep 36 to Ep 40: I admit like everyone else, I felt for wanning. Had she only taken revenge on people who did her wrong, I would have liked her as a character her, but she forgot that there was a line she wasn't supposed to cross. I wonder if she ever knew that such a line exist. What she did to Fang Fie and countless other innocent people stops me from feeling anything for her now. I felt for the princess who was treated as an object & violated, but not for the one who decided to the same in return and not to the people who deserved it. You gotta hand it to Duke Su, even with the tempting made by Zhao he still rejected the marriage proposal because in his heart he has already made a commitment. So, that's how Wanning & Shen Yu Rong met their end. I'm sad about Wen Ji & Lu Ji, when I first saw them on screen I had a thought that one of them is gonna die. I didn't expect that both would. I think the ending needed to be better planned. It is a happy ending but still it does not do justice to the entire drama.
I did see Ep 40.5: It was kinda okay. It would have been better if there were other characters in it.
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