WilliamOconnor
Had potential and then it was horrible
The story started strong, then about episode 10 or so the plot became nonsensical. Smart people doing outrageously dumb things over and over. At about episode 20 the decline in the show started going exponential. 24-28 are comically awful. I'm only watching along with fast forwarding to see just how awful this show finishes.Almost every single actor is putting on a bad performance. The male lead started strong but as soon as he became stupid in his decision making and became mr. Lovey Dovey his acting went downhill right along with the story. His King Simp status and horrible acting from episode 20 on is one of the worst character arcs I've seen. The female lead is bad in all her roles as she can't convey any emotions with her always staring blank face. At least she smiles a few times a episode in this show. She has zero onscreen charisma.
Every single secondary character is uninteresting and poorly acted, especially the prince of xiyan and the general. Every scene that doesn't have the leads can be fast forwarded after the initial episodes. Whether it contains the emperor, the concubine, the general, the crown prince etc etc. All of those listed are giving horrible performances, besides the concubine.
From the male leads disappearance during the hunt, around episode 14, the story just kept getting worse each episode. How does the male lead go from being extremely smart to our dumbest character? But apparently the writers needed that to finish the show in the worst possible manor.
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Another disappointing k drama
Another poorly written k drama where the overall story isn't very good and majority of characters are unlikable. I only like 1 character and that's the male lead, Kim Young-dae. After ten episodes he's starting to wear on me as well as he's becoming a total Simp. The female lead is a selfish, whining, immature 40 year old. Her character as a teenager is exactly the same as her older self. Shin Min-a is doing a good job acting it's just her character is unlikable. Almost every other secondary character is unlikable; the 2 sisters, the ex boyfriend, the ceo, the ceo's parents, etc etcfour episodes in you can start to fast forward through lots of uninteresting scenes, most of which have to do with every side character especially the Ceo and the 2 sisters. The only scenes worth watching include the leads or the ex boyfriend and his girlfriend. Episodes 9 and 10 i watched less than half of each episode as the 2 sisters scenes are unwatchable as i could care less about their storylines.
I'll finish the series just because i like the 2 lead actors and i want to see how poorly the writers wrap this up. Of course fast forwarding a lot will help.
The last episode was awful just like the rest of the show after ep 4. Very disappointing
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Must watch period drama
One of the top c dramas there is to watch. It has great characters, with great writing,(til final stretch of episodes) supported by great actors. If you love period pieces this ranks as a must watch. This show was my first introduction to Chinese dramas and because it was so great it made 99% of c dramas unwatchable as they are lacking in every way in comparison.I find most c dramas have male leads with very little to them besides being 1 tone throughout entire show. Either being complete puppy dogs or total jerks. Only SSS and Joy of Life S1 compare to this show with such diverse personas and well written characters.
Most c dramas struggle from the midpoint on, this show was amazing until the final stretch of episodes. Which in itself is impressive for the number of episodes. But i have to rate based on the entirety, 9.5 stars and with a stronger close it would've been a ten for me
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One of my favorites
This is by far one of my favorite chinese dramas that i've watched. Great story, great characters, great writing. Only con was some action scenes. But I'm big on story and character development and this is top notch.Every main and side character was extremely well written and interesting. The characters were anything but 1 tone like 90% of c dramas. Look forward to season 2
Rise of Phoenixes, joy of life season 1 are the only c dramas that compete with this one in my opinion
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Good but not quite great
I thought the acting was pretty good especially by the leads. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the 2 leads and their interactions throughout the show. The female lead was outstanding and truly carried the show.The story was enjoyable for the most part, however like many k dramas the last stretch of episodes the quality decreased. Too many fantastical occurrences and somehow the male lead survives them all. Besides the ending, i couldn't stand how often the male lead cries in every episode.
For me it was a tier below secretary Kim, Mr queen etc etc as the writing wasn't as good.
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Another bad k drama
People giving this a ten rating are crazy. Its one of the worst shows I've watched this year. The show has some good actors, but not 1 of them is putting on a good performance. I can't really blame them as the story is garbage from every aspect; the main lead romance, the second lead romance, the families, the friends, all boring with no chemistry. This year has been really bad for k dramas as the writing and stories have been subpar except for a couple of shows.The male lead is completely unlikable, he's an emotionally stunted jealous child in a grown man's body. Besides his character being poorly written and unlikable, his forced acting is the worst of the bunch. This is the 3rd series I've seen him in and he doesn't have much range in his acting.
The female lead i loved in alchemy of souls, but add her to the list of bad performances.
I'm hate watching now hoping they all end up miserable, except for the daughter of the second male lead as she's the only character i like.
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Good beginning but already declining before the midpoint
Really enjoyed the initial episodes, lusi was carrying the show but the writing and story were interesting as well. But around episode 12 the writing and story were becoming quite uninteresting to me. Every scenario now follows the same program on repeat as they move around to the next people to take down. I went from binge watching and looking forward to the next episode release to struggling to get through episodes 15 and 16. I fear there's no way this holds up for 40 Episodes and will struggle like almost all c dramas do to finish the show.I like the male lead and his acting but don't feel any chemistry between him and lusi, and as their love interest is becoming a part of the story i feel his acting is getting worse.
The other males aren't very good actors either, including the second male lead. The worst of the bunch is the character Cao. The females in the show are doing a much better job of acting.
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Great drama
Wang Juan delivers another great screenplay. My 2 favorite chinese dramas are his adaptions. Both Joy of Life and Sword Snow Stride have great main and secondary characters. All are well written and have interesting aspects that are integral to the story. By far the best written male characters that i've seen in all the chinese dramas that I've watched, with by far the most variations of personalities as well. I look forward to the second season.Was this review helpful to you?
Horrible writing, terribly boring
Normally c dramas have great beginnings and go downhill from the midpoint on. This show doesn't waste time even trying to be good. Episode 1 was one of the worst first episodes I've seen in awhile. Episode 2 was awful as well. Couldn't get through either episode without fast forwarding through every song that's played or the horribly boring dialog between most of the characters. It took a lot to finish the entire second episode.The female lead was fine acting wise, while every other character provided bad to sub par acting. The male lead acts identical in every role, always a non charismatic emotionless role. Talk about always having 1 note performances.
You can tell nothing but fanboys of the lead actor and actress rating this show nothing but perfect tens. This show is far far away from being perfect.
Cons
Editing is horrible.
Introduction of each character especially the second leads was poorly done.
Dialog is awful.
Characters are all uninteresting, specially the female lead comedian who isn't funny.
Pros
Both the main and second female leads are attractive
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