Jewel224
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The Never Ending Misunderstanding Love Story
It had a interesting synopsis at first, until I sat down to watch it. Ma Zhai Xing is portrayed as headstrong, stubborn, curious and intelligent girl, willing to solve a mystery, but for the life of her can't figure out why her Wolf boy isn't the same boy she knew or why he keeps pushing her away. The first 3 episodes went well, but the 8 afterwards went quite slowly. I know it was for character building, but the pace was too slow for my liking. It picked up after Xiao Zhan's Ji Chong showed up in episode 11, and quite frankly, I was interested more in his story arc than hers so would fast forward Lord Bo and Ma Zhai Xing scenes to get to his because it was a lot of "I'm pushing you away because I don't want you to get hurt because my adopted father may kill you because he knows I love you" and for her it was "Why can't you love me? Why can't you be Wolfie (Wolf Boy depending on which translation you're watching) and I know you're Wolfie, stop lying". It dragged on too long, and I seriously wanted to slap her in some episodes.It bothered me a lot how she reacted to Lord Bo treated her so badly - in most dramas, the bad treatment is usually in private and in public cold but civil; but the scene where he humiliates her in public, in front of three men who previously proposed to her and the city's castellan, and the almost rape scene were maddening. At times she's brave and commanding, then others a lovesick teenager with terrible expectations of love. The almost rape scene in particular - she tries to push him away and say no, and when he stops, her behaviour is apologetic and then tries to encourage him into it by saying she wasn't prepared for it but he can continue if he wants. She is essentially chasing him for nearly half of the series until she realizes his secret, which wasn't even really his fault. That Ji Chong fell for her is understandable - but it becomes the whole nice guy never wins; it's always the bad boy. You felt more for Ji Chong's unrequited love than you do for Ma Zhai Xing and Lord Bo. He changed for her; from the free wanderer back to the reluctant royal prince, helping her to gather her troops and wage war against Lord Bo & Chu Kui to gain her revenge. I will admit, she does redeems herself in the end - the one part I'm thankful for is for releasing Ji Chong, Lord Bo, and pretty much everyone in the entire series. It just took her character a long time to get there. A lot of the things that happened, could have happened much more quickly.
Fave characters - Other than Ji Chong; the Night Fury - Wen Yan, Ha Die, Mo Xiao and Yao Ji, and Bao Na. Loved them. They brought character to the series.
The acting in the series was quite good - Xiao Zhan in particular. Ji Chong's character had charisma and he shone in his role and in this series. Li Qin's Ma Zhai Xing was believable and I can't blame her for the storyline or the direction her character was given. Hard for me to believe that she's an intelligent, forward thinking leader, when she spends half her time wishing the red string didn't break or wondering what she did to make Lord Bo so distant with her. Darren Wong is more believable as Lord Bo than Wolfie/Wolf Boy, and at times I felt he was acting, versus Xiao Zhan's Ji Chong. He was Ji Chong; Darren was acting as Wolfie and Lord Bo.
The Rewatch factor isn't there for me - watching Ma Zhai Xing and Lord Bo interact is so difficult and made me nearly tear my hair out. I really had to fast forward their scenes. I get all the people who talk about misunderstandings, but there were just too many. And it bothered me she couldn't get past the fact he grew up - she held on to Wolfie for far too long; and made the person who did everything for her so unhappy.
Why watch this? If you love Xiao Zhan, you'll love him in this role too. He makes this series and thank goodness, he has a happy ending; although it was a little hard to believe he and Bao Na have a romantic relationship because everyone felt she was a little girl with her spoiled behaviour. Overall - I gave this a 7. If Ji Chong wasn't part of this series, I couldn't have gotten through it.
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Great story - production, editing, and costuming could better
The story was great - two immortal brothers, one of royal blood, one of questionable lineage, are each other's protectors. Throw in a mortal love and other characters from different clans, and you have Ice Fantasy. The storyline is the best part - Ka Suo and Ying Kong Shi have a fantastic relationship; the mortal Kingdom Guardian Li Luo (Ka Suo's love), and an unrequited love in Princess Lan Shang (another mortal). The clan leaders that come to support both are great characters. The only actor I had an issue with Princess Lan Shang - she's a mermaid, but she's flighty and kinda dumb. Which was sad given all the strong female characters in this series.The production and costuming weren't the best - the Fire Lord, Huo Yi - had the worst hair; think 80's Wonder Woman, literally, as did one of his sons. And the costumes - I know it's fantasy, but it's set in olden times. Li Luo's main outfit/armour has a zipper!!!! She also wore heeled boots that she had a hard time walking normally in.
The editing probably drove me up the wall the most - I know it's a romance, but the episodes could have been whittled down if they didn't replay every scene all the paired lovers and brothers had when they were reminiscing. I can recite all of Li Luo's lines.
If you can get past those, you'll probably enjoy it. I do wish it had a second season as I'd like to know if they found the ancient book in the Snow Spirit Mountain.
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Fantastic Intrigues and Plots Keeps this Story Going
Loved the ingenuity of this storyline - sci-fi historical drama, which I couldn't figure out how it would work. But the premise of going back into a different time knowing what you know now, is definitely worth exploring. I initially thought this was a typical romance story, but it definitely isn't! The storylines of almost all the characters all come into play and are intertwined with each other's - royals versus commoners, politics, care of lives of all people no matter the station, loyalty, revenge, and kung fu masters are just some of the themes throughout the series.What I loved about the series is that it didn't matter whether they were male or female - most characters were depicted as intelligent, curious, strong, loyal, and smart. Some of the comedic moments were a little cheesy, but overall helped to ease some of the seriousness of the storylines. Definitely a season 2 is warranted because it can't possibly end like that.
Definitely a strong cast of Zhang Ruo Yun, Chen Dao Ming, Wu Gang, and even Li Qin - I actually prefer her character here than Ma Zhai Xing from the Wolf. Great supporting cast too - I can see why Xin Zhi Lei was cast in The Wolf as well with her portrayal of Hai Tang Duoduo. Liu Duan Duan as the Second Prince, Li Xiao Ran as the Royal Princess, and Calvin Yu as Shen Zhong were fantastic in their roles. Xiao Zhan's role as Yan Bing Yun while small was definitely the opposite of his Wei Wuxian role in the Untamed. Much more like Lan Zhan's - definitely great to see the variety in his roles.
Overall, great storyline and different plots with the political intrigue. Would definitely recommend and thank goodness, a season 2 is happening!!!
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