Great acting carries otherwise uneven script/storytelling

Positives: Gong Jun and Yang Mi are top notch actors and carry this drama series on their shoulders. Gong Jun's acting especially is a pleasant surprise to see - the range of emotions he goes through are remarkable in how it is brought to live very believably. This excellent acting makes the DFYC character a joy to watch on screen. Yang Mi has great moments on screen projecting private/ hidden emotions although the scriptwriter/director could have done her justice with more of such moments to help the audience emphathise better- as it stands the script doesn't do her acting skills justice and requires her to be the stoic/unbending strong leader most of the time. Good CGI and beautiful production sets, costumes are a great plus (sorely lacking in many xianxia c-dramas).

Negatives: The series has its emotional high moments that really draw-in the patient viewer with rewarding storytelling but overall has strangely choppy editing at times, uneven pacing (slow/bland storytelling style at the start and only picks up episodes 9-10 onwards and the final 10 episodes are action packed), oddly bland choice of background music at many key moments, and comes across as having rookie scriptwriters at times. Could this drama have been a victim of the editing room/censors to squeeze into only 36 episodes and only 45 mins per episode. Why they don't make use of 1-2 more episodes to allow more meaningful storytelling (especially final 6 episodes felt like key scenes had been removed with seemingly key actions left unexplained).

Overall: The reason to watch this are the very good acting by GJ and YM, good production values. The actors are the key reason the drama is still enjoyable to watch.

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Sumptious light comedy romance detective show in beautiful historical setting for relaxing watch

Combination of factors makes for a thoroughly enjoyable watch: 1.) Great acting by very capable actors makes you laugh during funny moments and immerse during emotional scenes 2.) The production value (sets, camera work, art direction) is very high, great quality and has obviously been designed with lots of care - loaded with artistic shots and a feast for the eyes 3.) Script is well written - has good combo of comedy, suspense, plot discovery, touching romance (as with all shows, there are ups and downs with slower phases during the 40 episodes but this does not detract from the overall feel the creators are striving to evoke) 4.) Plot/themes - particularly liked the focus on what genuine/true love means (not the angsty/immature/ revenge type theme that seems too common in many c-dramas) , family, empowerment of women, at times ingenious use of the shapeshifting plot for good laughs, logical plot that explains itself

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