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This review may contain spoilers
I completed all episodes in one week but to be honest, I skipped many scenes. There were many characters and side-stories, which were not fully developed and I wasn't interested in all of them. Even the story of the main characters- Ru Ge and Yin Xue, was rushly wrapped- up in the last few episodes. The other characters have open ending as well. The character of Lie Ruge is strikingly similar to Gongsun Li (The King's Woman) which is why I think people say Dilireba isn't capable of other variety of roles. Lie Ruge is close to her seniors who actually love her as a woman. It seems like for Dilireba dramas, there will always be more than one man who love her. She will always protect anyone close to her even in exchange of her life. I was pretty annoyed at her when she tried to save her maid without even investigating if it was a trap or not, given that there's a lot of investigation and secret stalking going on in the entire story. Anyway, I think the role is perfect for Dilireba. She's strong-willed and smart most of the time but her ultimate weakness is her kindness which is why wherever she goes, almost all of the characters are there to protect her. I beg to differ that her character didn't have any development. She did mature and made better decisions as time progressed. I'm glad I ignored most of the negative comments about her and still watched this series. But I did agree that the title is somehow misleading. Lie Ruge did have the power of fire but there's really no "wow" moment where she was able to demonstrate her power. Some synopsis say that her fire power will be unleashed but she just got stronger physically but her power wasn't really used much for her advantage.
Yin Xue is portrayed by Vic Zhou whom I am a great fan of since the original Meteor Garden. He doesn't age at all. The age difference between him and Dilireba is barely noticeable. Although his costume which is always color white did make him older. The story between Yin Xue and Ruge wasn't really completely understood until the last few episodes that's why people say they lacked chemistry. But after watching the finale then going back to earlier episodes, I think he must have truly waited patiently and longed to be reunited with Ru Ge. He did love Ru Ge deeply and sacrificially. I'll be dissappointed if they didn't have a happy ending together or if he died in the end. I didn't really understand how he appeared to have died twice in the series and then came back alive, but apparently, anything is possible for a Chinese historical drama. At least he lived and we have a happy ending. I wouldn't have watched this if it has similar ending as The King's Woman whose finale broke my heart into million pieces.
The character of Zhan Feng was poorly written and lacked depth, even the talented actor Zhang Vin couldn't save this character. Though as usual, Zhang Vin's acting does not disappoint either. He has a strong presence no less than the main lead. I was heartbroken seeing him in conflicted pain all because he believed in a lie about his parent's death which was not properly shown how it came to be. I was a huge fan of Zhang Vin and Dilireba pairing from The King's Woman so I have a slight second lead syndrome for Zhan Feng but he has done foolish things which hurt Ru Ge so I decided he doesn't deserve her. Although in the end, he was able to do the right thing and redeem his character. But it's too late since Ru Ge has fallen in love irrevocably with Yie Xue already.
Yu Zihan is everyone's big brother. May I say his character is almost perfect? He has a big, golden heart. He's quite wise and capable despite his physical disabilities. His only flaw is his being insecure which is why he never confessed his love to Ru Ge. But I think, he will always be just a senior to Ru Ge so it's a good thing they maintained their sibling-like relationship until the end.
In summary, I'm glad I watched this drama and ignored most of the negative comments. It has so much better ending than most Chinese historical dramas I've watched so far. I love happy endings and this drama has one. Most of the beloved characters are alive until the end. Not many people have died just the evil antagonists. I loved the soundtracks especially "Late Maple" and "Listening Snow". I also had last song syndrome for the opening and ending theme song. I'm now searching for new historical dramas to watch preferably with Dilireba or Zhang Vin.
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Reunion for most of the actors
I love Vic Chou in here, he's older than Diraba but I think he appropriately cast since he supposedly an old man that been waiting for reincarnation of his beloved for many many years. For being a feminine male, he acted really beautifully, I can see his lip gives small smile and eye soften with hidden desperation. His luxurious hair fallen on his back just gives impression this man care for himself, secretly waiting for his beloved to mature and come out as a girl replicating her mother - the woman he's in love and want to be with forever. The patient he has to wait, wooing a girl who's in love with another guy, be there for her, all done he's doing it with maturity (not stupidity) of a mature man. The make up done well for him.Yes, got twist of story here and there about misunderstanding Ru Ge and Zhan Feng, as well as intrigue to gain leadership and power in Flame's Lie Huo manor. One thing I don't like most of this drama most the actor was from '10 miles of peach blossom' so the actors were play different roles that contradicted to their previous roles in 10 miles PB such Zhang Bin Bin character married his sister in 10 miles PB or Yu Zi Han (Liu RuiLin) was so in love to Ru Ge, Lai Yi who's the bad guy, to name a few that picked to different roles from the same production company. Like they decided put these actors together again after famous collaboration of 10Miles Peach Blossom & Three Lives Three Worlds, the Pillow Book. Besides Vic Chao, this is just another lazy coordination of 'apple picks' actors.
Not a big fan of Dilraba, she's beautiful indeed, but I think Dilraba and Vin Zhang need to improve their acting - not the same old them again because we've seen their style of acting in 10 miles PB and not different at all. All compliments here are just basically for Vic Chao. The best of this drama was the soundtrack songs, Jason Zhang has a beautiful song, it's my favorite list.
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This review may contain spoilers
STORY: I think the story is alright. I felt really bored and not drawn into it. I usually drop dramas asap, but some urge making me wanna finish it. Maybe cus a huge fan of Ten Miles Peach Blossoms, it made me want to mainly because of that reason. I would prefer this one over The King's Woman, cus I thought that one was really bad. Too bad there are spoiler sypnosis' all over wiki. So don't go read wiki and if you're planning to watch on Viki, warning, many watchers post spoilers in the video commentings so turn those off too. Also, I found out this was based on a novel of the same name. Usually producers always add their own unique twists to movies and dramas, so yep. I felt like this drama was going very slow and the romance in here is not strong. I did a lot of fast forwardinggg. And like what another review said, the fighting scenes really are top notch, the actors trained well and put on a good show on that part.ACTING/CAST: The acting is overall okay, I am quite impressed by some actors in here.
-Dilraba: I was never really a huge fan of Dilraba. I always thought that she is extremely beautiful though. I've first noticed her in Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and felt that she is a very stiff actress overall. But this drama, you can definitely see her improvements. I wanted to applaud her for that. I was most impressed by her martial arts scenes in the drama. I didn't know she could do that!!! She has done so well on her martial arts as if she is a professional. You can tell she worked hard. My jaws dropped and I definitely replayed her fighting scenes and the slow-mo's several times, hahahahha.
-Vic Zhou: Was not a fan of this character he portrayed. Throughout the movie I didn't like him until the last episode, to be honest.
-Zhang Bin Bin: Always pleased to see his face everywhere. I enjoy his sad face expressions that he is usually very good at. I feel he plays the same personality in every drama now, lol.
-Liu Wayne: His acting in this drama is okay. Unsure if it was his expressions that didn't seem so convincing or it is maybe just his face.
-Lai Yi: HE IS SO CUTE. Grew a mini crush on him in Ten Miles Peach Blossoms. I felt he is SO HOT in this drama. Fell deeply in love with him more in this drama because his costume & look made him more outstanding! I also wanted to applause him playing very well as the villain in this drama. Never knew he has this skill since in TMPB, he plays a very kind disciple.
Sun Xiao Lun & Ge Shi Min: Saw that this is these 2 pretty ladies' first dramas, they did such a beautiful job portraying strong women. They both seem very experienced actresses already! They both have a lot of potential!
MUSIC: As a huge fan of music & soundtracks, I usually checkout if soundtrack music is nice and they usually naturally catch my attention, but definitely didn't.
Rewatch Value
I would not rewatch it again... I kinda forced myself to watch it to the end. I doubt that not even in 10 years would I rewatch it.
OVERALL:
I lowkey enjoyed it. I would not say it is the best nor terrible, just very ok. It could been better in some ways, idk. I do not have much to say, I only did it for the liking of the similar actors from Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.
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If only the drama chose to stick to the original story of the novel, i would like it more.
It was because I had read the novel to the end, and read the epilogue of the novel's author. While the drama chose a strange ending, and completely different from that. Let's look together the epilogue of the novel,Xue's body dissipated, and he turned into thousands of rays of light and flew into Yu Zihan's body. Can't you be with her? Does she love Yu Zihan? Then, let him become Yu Zihan's eyes, ears, voice or even legs.
I prefer this novel ending, because it shows that destiny also does justice to true, loyal love. No one loved Ru Ge more than Yu Zihan.
Maybe if you watch the drama, you will see that Yin Xue also loves Ru Ge, but if Ru Ge is not the person in Yin Xue's past, will Yin Xue still love her?
Zhang Feng also once loved Ru Ge, but would someone whose feelings were sincere would easily doubt their loved one like Zhang Feng hurt Ru Ge's feelings?
On the other hand there is Yu Zihan who is always by Ru Ge's side to be her consolation every time when Ru Ge is hurt by Zhang Feng or grieving the loss of a loved one.
Well I will explain a little about the love story of these characters.
As a young girl, Ru Ge gets involved in a complicated love story with 3 men around her. Zhang Feng is the first school brother, and Ru Ge's childhood friend. Then came Yu Zihan at the school which automatically made him Ru Ge's second school brother. (the school referred to here is a martial arts school). Zhang Feng was not very familiar with Yu Zihan because Zhang Feng has no way of communicating with Yu Zihan who is deaf, and crippled since childhood. In contrast to Zhang Feng who was acting cold, Ru Ge had been very warm to Yu Zihan from the moment they met. Ru Ge always found a way to communicate with Yu Zihan. Until then fate got better when finally Yu Zihan was able to hear Ru Ge's words. And the first word Yu Zihan spoke was the Ru Ge's name. Even though Yu Zihan and Ru Ge's interactions were so sweet, it didn't change the fact that Ru Ge's first love was Zhang Feng. After they were old enough, Zhang Feng, and Ru Ge got engaged. Yu Zihan never let Ru Ge know his feelings because Ru Ge's happiness is the most important for Yu Zihan. Then because Zhang Feng thought Ru Ge's father killed his parents, Zhang Feng started hurting Ru Ge's feelings at all costs. Yu Zihan was there to listen to Ru Ge's broken heart. Suddenly a man from Ru Ge's past appears in Ru Ge's chaotic life. This person was Ru Ge's lover in his previous life. This person is pursuing immortality in order to meet his lover's reincarnation, he is Yin Xue. Even though Yin Xue's sacrifice for love looks very touching, I still don't like Yin Xue's way to win Ru Ge's love. Yin Xue knew that Zhang Feng had misunderstood all along but Yin Xue chose to remain silent, and only said it after so much chaos. And I also don't know what Yin Xue's intention is to save Yu Zihan from poisoning. Was it to make Ru Ge unable to forget him or because of his genuine empathy for You Zihan? That's why it's perfectly normal that I prefer the ending of a novel because it does justice to the good, and Yu Zihan's sincerity.
And I don't think Vic Zhou is suitable to play Yin Xue. I feel the acting is too much to describe someone who is flamboyant. I didn't give the casting a 10 because they chose the wrong person to play Yin Xue. But for other actors/actresses they have played the characters well. The side-acting love story is also interesting. Conflicts around the world of martial arts, and government are also very interesting. Although Yu Zihan is physically weak but Yu Zihan's intelligence is very helpful the people around him solve problems in the martial world, and government simultaneously. As a prince, Yu Zihan is not someone who has ambitions for the throne, that makes me like him even more.
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Put the remote down and walk away...
First off, let me say that I LOVE Dilraba - she's probably my all-time favorite Chinese actress! This series was so tough for me to watch and stay interested. I lost interest half way though as the storyline became stale and blah. The 4.5 stars are mostly for the Jay Walk Studio actors. The chemistry between Dilraba and Vic Chou was horrific, and often times unbearable to watch - I think it may be due to the age difference (and Vic Chou is too old and too feminine to play a lead male role with younger cast - IMO). I'd take back the 50 hours spent watching this if I could.Was this review helpful to you?
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Dilraba Dilmurat shines in this show
This show made me cry a few times... I loved Dilraba Dilmurat and what she did with her character. I loved Ruge's sweet nature. The use of color schemes for each character made it visually quite beautiful. I really loved Zhan Feng and Yin Xue and I'd have been 100% okay if she had ended up with either of them.Complaints: villain scenes were extremely boring. I could tell how the scene was going to go just by the first few lines of the dialogue. I skipped or fast forwarded most of the sideplots because they were quite boring. The script writing was really quite weak in places. It also suffered pacing issues - a lot of the sideplots could be cut without affecting the main storyline much, and it's quite slow at certain points.
Yin Xue suffers from the usual issue that lovers in a romance genre face - not much of a story or personality beyond their devotion to the main character.
The last arc in the villain's palace was kinda eh. I'm shallow but that place was ugly.
The good: Vin Zhang was fantastic as Zhan Feng. He pulled off broody, angsty, troubled antihero really well. Ruge was so sweet... I love her so much... her growth was really fantastic. I felt for her, and it was really painful watching her go through a lot of suffering and loss. Her grief every time she lost someone really killed me. I also appreciate how the show doesn't hesitate to kill off beloved side characters. Also, the ending song is fantastic.
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Deserves a higher MDL rating
I debated whether to even start this one because of all the strongly negative reviews, but I ended up happily surprised that the show was much better than its MDL rating implies. If you haven't watched many Cdramas and are comparing it to the top tier dramas, then yeah, it's not going to be anyone's top ten of all time. But if you've watched a number of Cdramas and enjoy the jianghu adventure genre--with good pacing, an interesting and continuously unfolding plot, and decent acting--then I can tell you this one is good. The villains can be OTT, and the chemistry between the leads is a bit lacking, but as a story it pulls you along and keeps you invested in the characters' fates. The TMOPB actors were all very good (BinBin was gorgeously pouty and Wayne Liu's character was fantastic), and the ending was good.Was this review helpful to you?
i still prefer Eternal Love over this. not much of a chemistry between the two main characters, yin xue and lie ru ge.
worth watching but not worth re-watching. credits to vic zhou, hes hot! after all these years he still has that familiar smirk back in meteor garden days. i would love to see him opposite yang mi *wishful thinking*
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Spoiler Alert
So, I have mix feeling for this show. Anyway, anyone notice how the character only shared ‘kisses’ on the early episode but then they start using camera trick?By the way, I wanted to explain my understanding on this series. I saw some people ranting on the actors and the characters but I starts doubting at first but then when I watch it, I fully understand the issue but if you skipped the series, you might not found the explanation.
My favorite is the side couple, our 3rd Miss and our Tribe Jr Sir. Some people said they don’t understand how they fall in love, but being they spent their days together while in Flaming Hills and their journey together, why not? Why she accept him even after he kills her two brothers? She did not agree with her brothers actions and she was treated as an object too eventhough they love her so much, but being them dead really help the Swords Hills to shine.
Although you’ll fill the unjustice to side characters that did do bad deeds and then turn good, I would say, Bi’er deserve Sir Ji. It’s sad there’s no love ending for Zhan Feng and Prince Yu (I’m rooting him with his bodyguard) but they waver and they hurt our FL, so yeah duh.
Our ML and FL love, people said he was forcing himself on her but fmo, he kept claiming her since he was protecting her. She was the incarnation of his old flame, thus he went to that length. They did explain it somehow towards the end.
Although he kept sacrificing himself for her, it is understandable that she once died for him, thus he will do anything to protect him during this life of her.
It is sad that Zhan Feng didn’t get her but his misunderstanding that brought her to ML.
I love the music in this drama. And I heard that Dilireba sang the ending song? Tho I’m not crazy on their same Zither song.
Acting, they all delivered. Even I love the Evil Lead because he is actually quite cute. The climax build up by episode 34 and the plot build up nicely. Tho sometimes you feels like there are things that can be change or cut but well, don’t skip the Lead plots.
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