Peridot83
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Spectacular Cinematography, Some Amazing Scenes and Star Power Ruined by Heavy Handed Moralistic Treatment . .
Can we talk about this ending? I want my hours back.
The first half of part 2 gets more violent and cinematic more Godfather or Infernal Affairs or Oldboy than a romantic drama. There's highly interesting framed scenes, and you often feel the visceral thrill of violence and revenge as Ling Bu Yi pursues his goals.
Where is Shao Shang in all this? Struggling. Realizing that she may be living her worst nightmare and desperately trying to stop it. This completely undermines the whole premise of Shao Shang as some sort of equal partner to Ling Bu Yi and robs her of her charisma. It does, however, create adrenaline and drama and compulsive watching, and there are some excellent plot twists.
Then the drama completely flips for last half . . . just a terrible horrible last ending
All the strategy, all the planning, all the intelligence drops out of the plot. Rescue scenes are repeated - Shao Shang is under threat in the exact same way as she has before. She always stumbles into a situation, bravely tries and fails to get out of it on her own, and then gets rescued. The rescue scenes just get more unhinged, and unrealistic and flat out nonsense each time. Just the browbeating lesson that Shao Shang is VERY SILLY TO THINK SHE CAN MAKE IT WITHOUT LING BU YI.
And then it just . . . . ends. With them all just staring at the sky - no last words of poetry, or aching love, or triumphant end nothing. . . Some might say the implication is they are all stars in the galaxy together now - all the family including Ling Bu Yi - no longer one moon or sun pulling the focus - but that is not said - or illustrated in any real way - I'm just making that up.
----
Leo Wu was allowed to show more acting range in the second half but it really feels like he has only a few switches, bad ass killer, face twisted in remorse/sadness, and eager puppy. Zaho Lu Si was given very little to work with in the second half. Their kiss at the end was one of the worst chemistry kisses I've ever seen.
ALSO huge credit to Li Yun Rui as Yuan Shen | Yuan Shan Jian. He absolutely stole the show and the producers kept cutting his plot lines and not knowing what to do with him. He was highly charismatic and just kind of left to hang around and show how he couldn't do rescues like Ling Bu Yi (indeed he had to endure being rescued by Ling Bu Yi himself).
Music still has that one excellent piece of instrumental that is wistful and sad. Could potentially watch some individual scenes, but the rest I want to burn. I want my hours back.
---
I grade on other criteria:
Themes: 5.0
Be honest with your partner and trust them to support you in supporting the state. In times of turmoil, devoting your life to the state and the people is the most rewarding thing you can do. Who wants some foppish thinker, or kind obedient boy, when you could marry a highly intense, compulsive liar, military man who can rescue you?
Character Growth: 7.5
Ling Bu Yi suffers the humiliation of realizing and despair of making a life changing error and it makes him become a bit more flexible and human. Shao Shang becomes almost frozen - the vibrancy gone.
The most touching character growth (more in the next bit) was Shao Shang's mother.
Complex women: 9.0 (A highlight!)
Shao Shang, her mother and her cousin have a really interesting well explored relationship on the dangers of favoritism and rewarding obedience. The only time I was touched to tears was when Shao Shang's mother realizes that the very things she was trying to suppress and beat out of Shao Shang, were what made Shao Shang special - and she wishes she could take months of undermining her. Also the frank exploration of difficult relationships between the grandmother (mother in law) and the other women in the family and how difficult the grandmother could be in her worship of her sons was excellent to see as well.
There was also Shao Shang's healing relationship with the Empress. How both Shao Shang and the Empress got to attempt the mother daughter relationship anew and how it healed them both.
Shao Shang also starts relating to her cousin better and makes strong female friendships.
I'd really like to give a 10 except the amount of jealous, delusional, back-stabby minor characters was really abnormally high and started to detract from the rest.
Cinematography and Production Values: 8.0
Cinematography was extremely strong, especially in fight scenes, certain wide and tracking shots. Some of the best larger battle scenes/fight scenes I've seen in dramas. Lots of production value was put into the fight scenes generally. Costuming and other sets were a bit subpar in comparis.
Can we talk about this ending? I want my hours back.
The first half of part 2 gets more violent and cinematic more Godfather or Infernal Affairs or Oldboy than a romantic drama. There's highly interesting framed scenes, and you often feel the visceral thrill of violence and revenge as Ling Bu Yi pursues his goals.
Where is Shao Shang in all this? Struggling. Realizing that she may be living her worst nightmare and desperately trying to stop it. This completely undermines the whole premise of Shao Shang as some sort of equal partner to Ling Bu Yi and robs her of her charisma. It does, however, create adrenaline and drama and compulsive watching, and there are some excellent plot twists.
Then the drama completely flips for last half . . . just a terrible horrible last ending
All the strategy, all the planning, all the intelligence drops out of the plot. Rescue scenes are repeated - Shao Shang is under threat in the exact same way as she has before. She always stumbles into a situation, bravely tries and fails to get out of it on her own, and then gets rescued. The rescue scenes just get more unhinged, and unrealistic and flat out nonsense each time. Just the browbeating lesson that Shao Shang is VERY SILLY TO THINK SHE CAN MAKE IT WITHOUT LING BU YI.
And then it just . . . . ends. With them all just staring at the sky - no last words of poetry, or aching love, or triumphant end nothing. . . Some might say the implication is they are all stars in the galaxy together now - all the family including Ling Bu Yi - no longer one moon or sun pulling the focus - but that is not said - or illustrated in any real way - I'm just making that up.
----
Leo Wu was allowed to show more acting range in the second half but it really feels like he has only a few switches, bad ass killer, face twisted in remorse/sadness, and eager puppy. Zaho Lu Si was given very little to work with in the second half. Their kiss at the end was one of the worst chemistry kisses I've ever seen.
ALSO huge credit to Li Yun Rui as Yuan Shen | Yuan Shan Jian. He absolutely stole the show and the producers kept cutting his plot lines and not knowing what to do with him. He was highly charismatic and just kind of left to hang around and show how he couldn't do rescues like Ling Bu Yi (indeed he had to endure being rescued by Ling Bu Yi himself).
Music still has that one excellent piece of instrumental that is wistful and sad. Could potentially watch some individual scenes, but the rest I want to burn. I want my hours back.
---
I grade on other criteria:
Themes: 5.0
Be honest with your partner and trust them to support you in supporting the state. In times of turmoil, devoting your life to the state and the people is the most rewarding thing you can do. Who wants some foppish thinker, or kind obedient boy, when you could marry a highly intense, compulsive liar, military man who can rescue you?
Character Growth: 7.5
Ling Bu Yi suffers the humiliation of realizing and despair of making a life changing error and it makes him become a bit more flexible and human. Shao Shang becomes almost frozen - the vibrancy gone.
The most touching character growth (more in the next bit) was Shao Shang's mother.
Complex women: 9.0 (A highlight!)
Shao Shang, her mother and her cousin have a really interesting well explored relationship on the dangers of favoritism and rewarding obedience. The only time I was touched to tears was when Shao Shang's mother realizes that the very things she was trying to suppress and beat out of Shao Shang, were what made Shao Shang special - and she wishes she could take months of undermining her. Also the frank exploration of difficult relationships between the grandmother (mother in law) and the other women in the family and how difficult the grandmother could be in her worship of her sons was excellent to see as well.
There was also Shao Shang's healing relationship with the Empress. How both Shao Shang and the Empress got to attempt the mother daughter relationship anew and how it healed them both.
Shao Shang also starts relating to her cousin better and makes strong female friendships.
I'd really like to give a 10 except the amount of jealous, delusional, back-stabby minor characters was really abnormally high and started to detract from the rest.
Cinematography and Production Values: 8.0
Cinematography was extremely strong, especially in fight scenes, certain wide and tracking shots. Some of the best larger battle scenes/fight scenes I've seen in dramas. Lots of production value was put into the fight scenes generally. Costuming and other sets were a bit subpar in comparis.
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