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the starting was great but...
I was really excided for this drama, and the drama was great for the first half. The female lead was actually badass, the story was good . The character development was also great.But then they killed off 3 characters very suddenly in 1 episode,and in the next episode more died. the ending was super rushed and very unsatisfactory. The scene in the palace with therevealation (that the disabled prince is the villian) had absolutely no context and was very sudden with zero build up
That being said i still think that if the ending was better and they didnt kill more than half the people in the end it would have been a marvelous drama
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Wasted Potential
If the plot and pacing could be on par with its characters building and their acting, this will be my top drama of all time.Acting: The chemistry between the two main leads is really great! Their acting is wonderful, and I really enjoyed watching them interact. The supporting characters' acting are good, with some better than others.
Storyline: Pretty good, but some plot points and dialogue can be predictable at times.
The tiny nuggets of comedy (accompanied by the impeccable sound effects timing) in the drama are gold, highlighting the characters' relationship and personalities.
The first half of the show makes this my new favorite c-drama, while the second half is a big let down. The pacing was thrown off and the plot became messy. The story became rushed and I find myself unable to enjoy it as much. I feel that it became needlessly too heavy, with things happening (character deaths) seemingly for the sake of it and served no true purpose.
The beauty of this drama lies in its characters and yet the chemistry between the characters are butchered and lost in the plot and pacing of the second half. Such wasted potential of incredible characters and their personalities and acting.
Rewatch value: 100/10 for the first half, 3/10 for the second. That being said, I would still recommend this drama if you are looking to experience some romance, laughter and tears. Hope that you will fall in love with the characters, main or supporting, just like I did.
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The type of FMC I've been looking for!
I was initially skeptical of the cdrama when it looked like Ren Ruyi was a weak FMC at the start of the first episode. But imagine my surprise when it turned out she was just pretending to be weak and was actually a strong FMC the entire time! I love strong female characters, but I love it even more when they have fighting skills. When Ruyi's skills were revealed, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite FMCs of all time.Princess Yang Ying's character development was on par; she went from someone who cries whenever something goes wrong to someone who is levelheaded and assertive. Props to the screenwriter for that!
The OSTs were everything. I loved every single track. I frequently use the BGM OSTs as background music for when I study; they're so motivating.
The thing I disliked most about this cdrama was the ending. It was just death after death—the heroes, along with Ruyi, end up dying. It was overall a very unfulfilling ending in my opinion. The ending closes with Chu Yue and Ning Shisan (apparently the son of Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou), and I agree with everyone out there who says it should've closed with Yang Ying instead of Chu Yue. Chu Yue wasn't even part of the delegation, and her character only becomes more prominent near the end, so it didn't really make sense for the story to close with her. I also think that some characters who died should not have died (e.g., Wu Di, so many sacrifices had been made to save him only for him to die?).
There were so many missed opportunities for Li Tongguan's redemption. It kept getting dragged out! (He did get there eventually, though.) He's like a kid throwing a tantrum, and his character is inconsistent and unpredictable—there are times when he's levelheaded and other times, not so much, because of his jealousy towards Ning Yuanzhou.
Despite the unfulfilling ending and a few minor flaws, I did enjoy this drama!
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This review may contain spoilers
Long time watched a good drama except ending.
Li Tong Guang character is the one worst character, his world shrunk into romance for the Ren Ruyi. His obsessions are irritating, he can't see meaning of master and disciple, he romanticize and some times tooke advantage, a weird kind of obsession in other meaning a stalker like individual. One of the worst character. Ren Ruyi always stayed her boundaries and but he always crossed the boudriries .Ren Ruyi character action scenes always emphasized by writer. Ning Yuan Zhou character action scenes under utilised. Writer gives better and same improtance for ML it's give better impact.
Overall, visuals and story is good each and every scenes captivating. Except the ending of the drama everything is good. Writer can write superficial action scenes but didn't give the better and happy ending for main leads. Even, Li Tong Guang character and same as support roles got good ending but main leads got sad ending.
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amazing
such an amazing drama with an amazing cast ... not to mentio tha t they act fabulously... most of the characters have character development... just amazingliu yuning and liu shishi slayed.. devoured... must watch... to be honest the first drama wihout a single boring episode.
i loved the visuals, acting, fight scenes aka fight choreo, direction, quality etc etc..... the costumes the twists th e story line .. whoa youare in for a feast
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Liu Yuning killed it
Must watch. It's tied with the Long Ballad now for me.Wonderful bromance is what I liked most in this drama. Also the performance of Liu Yuning and Alen Fang. But actually all the main actors gave their all. The characters are just extremely loveable. You get very attached to them and it's a tragedy when you have to lose them.
Also sensible love story. No irritating misunderstanding every 5 minutes, no one-sided love for 3/4 of the drama. It's the story of two lovers who share adventures, troubles, fun and just life together. My favourite kind of love story.
Yes, I would prefer all the brothers to survive in the end. That's what took half a star off for me. But at least I'm 100% certain the main leads are alive and well in the end. I know most people think the opposite, but my opinion isn't just blind belief in the happy ending. I'm truly positive about what I saw and I saw that they are alive and have children.
This is actually not the first time. I remember watching Blue Whisper and they show the main leads in the last seconds of the drama. Yes, it's short, but it's the way the director chose to tell us everything is OK. The same here. The boy plainly says he has parents, he says the name of his mom and the names of his sister and himself - the names only the main leads could give to their children. I don't see two variants here. They survived.
Anyway, an awesome drama. Loving Liu Yuning more and more.
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Tragedy and loss
I really enjoyed the love story btw the two leads. They supported and cared about each other w/o all the drama. Also, the camaraderie and trust with the soldiers. Ning Yuanzhou was a great leader with his unique fighting skills. I have seen him in other dramas but in this drama he won me over. You really got to know each person and cared about them. The storyline wasn’t the best especially the end that left a big hole in my heart, but the characters were interesting. Like the female assassin, the playboy, the student searching for his master who he was madly in love with etc. It had me glued to the end. Not a rewatch for me it’s to heartbreaking.Was this review helpful to you?
Skipable
I watched this by skipping most of this, and I was still able to follow the plot. It was an incredibly boring drama. I only watched this for Liu Shi Shi, who didn't disappoint. Was very happy to see her as the main lead again. She's one of the best, and she is very likeable on screen.This was a snoozefest though. Could have been a 40 minute film, and it would have covered the story just fine.
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A very disappointing ending for many viewers
The drama started well with comical and entertaining scenes and strong storyline. One viewer labeled the heroes 'Power Rangers' as their camaraderie was endearing and close knitted. Many viewers had assumed the ending would be happy, and two-thirds into the series, some started dropping the drama when we saw the lead actors dying, which brought us bucket of tears.It was heartening to see the Wu Emperor changed and became a better person. His eventual death was expected too. His decision to let male lead choose the next Emperor was an interesting outcome.
Nonetheless, many viewers were left angry on seeing both lead actor and actress dying in the ending episode.
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A truly strong FL ,but stupid writers had to ruin the ending
They ended the one show that a actually had a strong FL this badly!!!. LTG and YY has so much potential,only for it to be wasted away ,and show us a watered down version at the end. All this progressive talk about wars and feminism and ruined over them dying for the same pointless war. Also killing of all the people just for shock value.Truly dissaponting ending and what's worse is this show could actually have been a top show because of its wonderful characters ,but no the stupid writers ?.
I don't think I'll bother with watching the last episode and just delusionaly beleive they all ended happy.
Again stupid writers!!!
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Best set of cast!
Casts are perfect for their story portraits! Liu Yuning, Liu Shishi and the rest really did well in their acting and gave good impression to the story itself! Story is really good, a combination of action, thrill, romance, comedy and a lot more! Would love to see Liu Yuning making more tv series in the future! His mere face tells a lot of stories already! Good luck to the whole team!Would love to see Liu Yuning making more tv series in the future! His mere face tells a lot of stories already! Good luck to the whole team!
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