Why stop at second chances?
A light but enjoyable watch for me. Even though it was 40 minutes per episode like a regular drama, it felt like a web drama production. The plot moved at a good pace, and the issues were resolved quickly. Some silliness here and there but overall, the humor was good. It did come across as a lower-budget drama and the sets and props were not impressive. However, what the show lacked in budget, it made up with good fight scenes and lovely outfits, particularly notable in the dresses, accessories and hair-styles for the FL.The story was interesting, and refreshingly unique. There has been a lot of "second chances" dramas lately but this one went beyond that with the opportunities to "do-over" in multiple episodes.
The romance was sweet and the leads looked good together, with the chemistry between them adding to the appeal. I liked the leads - both seemed pretty new and could certainly use more experience improving their acting. However, the potential is there, and they already have a good start with their good looks and charisma. Hankiz Omar is gorgeous, and Yan Xu Jia is attractive even though I think he could have been styled better, especially his wig.
The OST was nice, my favorite was the romantic song (不宣 - Bù Xuān: Unannounced by 司鴻博 - Si Hongbo) that came on during the poignant scenes between the leads.
The supporting cast felt mostly amateurish and certain characters were over-the-top annoying for the most part. However, the ending was good, wrapping things up, showing character development for most. Given how fast-paced the show was, the ending felt appropriate rather than rushed.
Overall, I would recommend this if you are looking for a light-hearted and engaging diversion.
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1001 Reincarnations
This was put on my list because of Hani Kezi as I had seen her in Ultimate Note and she impressed me. I wanted to see what she'd be like in other genres. I was unfamiliar with the rest of the cast. This was a different type of reincarnation story than what I have seen and it didn't have a "Final Destination" vibe which I don't like. It was 1001 Reincarnations and in each episode to boot.Pros: I enjoyed HK's appearance here as Ashina Yueling or YL. The ML or SY who is quite new as he just graduated from the Beijing Drama Academy a few days ago, but he was able to handle both the soft and hard aspects of his character. The martial arts were on point and that was probably my favorite portion. How many times one died or they both did started from episode one but it evolved with not just them returning to life thwarting any assassination attempts but also gave them the ability to see the future. In the end though YL I think sacrificed her life unnecessarily when the emperor was in danger as there were a zillion soldiers standing around essentially forgetting there was still an enemy in the room, the no longer supposedly working jade pendant that had brought them to life with their life blood, now needed a tear from SY for its last act that brought her back to life. I really liked the tacit understanding between the two main brothers (SY and the emperor); stupid second brother finally understood family was more important than pride in the very end. The story developed nicely; he caught feelings first but she wasn't far behind. I also like how they incorporated HK's actual national heritage into the show. HE for 3 possibly 4 couples; one with kids and one pregnant. Though I liked YL's brother and SN; I felt he was too stupid for too long and she was the brains and pants in that relationship. The costumes and the few sets were nice as was the music.
Cons: Ultimately there were really two antagonists but they weren't really giving me the vibe of pure evil. The uncle cackled and of course you know how I feel about that. I rolled my eyes and waited for his death. The general who "killed" YL was an afterthought loser and I wish they hadn't brought him in. There of course had to be a gorilla glue character (whom I ffw'd as much as possible) that was obsessed over ML but ultimately because she was poisoned, when she recovered, she forgot who he was altogether. This script had a lot of cringey aspects and the ending felt kinda rushed and all over the place. They really didn't share much about the close relationship between the emperor and SY which would have been great but I understand they had to focus on the leads and their 1001 reincarnations thanks to fate bringing them together and their pendants that were always meant to be together. I do wish YL didn't misunderstand and pout as much, that's my only gripe with her.
Would I recommend it? This is a low budget, new faces drama but it's good for when you have nothing to watch. I'm perfectly ok with it; give it a chance.
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Started good
I liked the idea of the premise in general with the pendants and « dying-coming back », I found it I interesting. I liked the leads and I thing the second couple was cute. I really like ML. Sometimes FL was annoying. Both strong leads who knows how to fight.It’s good that their identities were out pretty early.
The brother (ML’s brother) was so annoying, he was there for comedy relief, but personally I wasn’t laughing, I was annoyed.
Also that princess who wanted to marry ML, she got on my nerves. This is one of the worst kind of character. Has one side love for one of the leads, but the leads never showed any romantic interest or interest at all in this person and this person is obsessed in love, want to marry them at all cost (even ready to force it), thinks the leads « stole him », etc…. Completely unnecessary to the plot, to drag and add nonsense angst. Just like the annoying brother.
I enjoyed a lot the first eps, when I got to like ep16, it’s like my motivation and interest dropped so bad. I almost forced myself to finish ahah I got more invested again at the end. I don’t know ahah I was getting stressed at the end with the general. I went through different stages : oh he betrayed them, then no maybe not and he killed the uncle (Chen guy) I was surprised, then finally oh he’s against them after all ahaha
I liked that his brother the emperor never became a bad guy and they stayed close till the end.
Decent ending, happy ending for the 3 couples, I think it was good they went to FL’s country.
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Death doesn't stop them! They keep coming back.
They have died in so many different ways in 22 episodes, killed by the same arrows, impaled by swords, poisonous food, toxic gas, killing oneself to save other and more. They have died and come back 10 times so far and I loved it. At first, I thought that this was a mini drama. I'm glad it wasn't. The story doesn't drag, they have paced it out well for the duration of 24 episodesThe south princes is so cartoonish, and so is the north prince when they get together. Their brother the emperor seems so scared of the prime minister it feels so real. According to the north prince and emperor's plan, it might be a facade but it seems so damn real.
Although I have not seen the FL in anything else, she reminds me of actress Zhou Ye with her hair done up. She did such a good job. I did see the ML in Oh My Emperor, but his character wasn't that memorable, but still I kept thinking I have seen him in something so I had to check. Anyways, these two worked out well together. They have good chemistry and the characters trust each other when it is needed. There are no unnecessary tantrums or misunderstandings.
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Dont take the trailer seriously
Originally i had meant to pass this show, thinking it to be one of those low budget, over-the-top , silly dramas that have no plot or acting, cause the trailer totally gave those vibes. The only reason i gave this a try was because of the high rating score on viki. Im glad i did.The regular cdrama warning of "Dont get attached to any character" can be taken lightly.
The acting of every actor in the drama is nice. The actress playing the FL can emote very well with her eyes. All actors have good chemistry.
The story is fast paced and tight-knit. The drama is like one of those goodish web dramas but with some fleshed out story by adding some side-story and context. There are some filler parts that may be skipped, but dont feel very draggy overall. The 24 episodes length seemed perfectly adequate. According to me when we have a smart emperor character, the story is generally nice.
The drama is mostly centered on FL-ML romance, ML bromance, and FL bromance (she has a brother). The FL's brother is really goofy and kind-hearted. He's her ultimate support system. I wish I had a brother like him.
The ML-FL romance is written well. We dont get to see a damsel in distress scenario at any point. The ML and FL are written to be well matched, equal characters. This is also the 1st time ive seen the ML take cognizance and protect the FL's dignity. I dont mean it as a euphuism in-leu of sexual consent or virginity or 'reputation', because dignity of a person is more than that. It also relates to social standing, ambition and many more things.
There are some minor misunderstandings between the leads but the get resolved very quickly. The message there being they love each other so much, and have such good tacit understanding, even with radio silence and misunderstanding, they still cant be separated.
Overall the drama maintains a very light-hearted tone, despite of dealing with very serious topics like racism, inequality(and that too not frivolously).
It is a lowish budget drama, as noticed by the limited wardrobe of the characters, but honestly that felt a little realistic.
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NOT AT ALL DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!
Considering the budget of the drama, though there were some loose ends, the plot over all was comletely new and refreshing. Not to mention the costume of the FL.... I AM MESMERIZED. The ML and FL had a beautiful chemistry. ML did a fabulous job once again, and FL was also not at all cringe at any point of time (unlike the other dramas where the FL is forced to change her tone of takikng). Well that's it, since i wanted a change in atmosphere and something refreshing this drama was absolute perfect to me. If you end up reading this review, i truly urge you to watch this drama without hesitating!Was this review helpful to you?
Adorable historia de amor
Es un drama muy lindo; no es una historia muy compleja, pero es muy disfrutable porque es muy fácil enamorarse de los protagonistas. La princesa es una chica hermosa, adorable intrepida, valiente y algo traviesa; pero también es muy compasiva y ama a su pueblo por lo que lucha valientemente por su bienestar, a veces también es algo impulsiva y toma malas decisiones, pero para eso esta su hermoso príncipe del norte, él es el hombre perdecto, es dulce, tierno, apoya a su amada y la cuida ante cualquier cosa, literalmente dando más de una vez su vida por ella, además es muy inteligente y siempre encuentra la mejor solución a cualquier situación que se le presente; la relaciónde ambos es preciosa, va avanzando poco a poco, hasta que tienen una relación tan fuerte, que trabajan perfectamente juntos y confían plenamente el uno en el otro. El príncipe del sur es otro personaje memorable, se supone que es uno de los "villanos" de la historia, pero es imposible no quererlo, aunque es pretencioso, orgulloso y torpe, también es muy divertido, es muy gracioso que todos sus planes para separar a la princesa y al príncipe del norte terminan uniendolos más, es malo siendo malo, por lo que al final es un aliado más; al fin y al cabo el pobre hace todo eso porque se siente inferior a sus hermanos por ser ilegítimo; pero se nota que en el fondo es una buena persona. El final de la historia es simplemente hermoso; como dije, no es un drama muy complejo, pero precisamente por eso es perfecto para cuando estas cansado de ver series cargadas de drama y angustia, y quieres ver algo que sabes que sencillamente te hará feliz; así que obviamente la recomiendo muchoWas this review helpful to you?
