2
4
Frost_edelweiss
mixed feelings
I had mixed feelings about this drama because of the main female character "Lin Hangjing" whose guts I hated thoroughly until perhaps the four last episodes. Chen Duling is not at fault if the script specified that she should convey the impression of a deep frozen fish haughtily playing the role of poor orphaned martyr.
Most female characters in that drama, except the peace loving Qi furen, were just awful snakes or stupid hens, in my opinion. As for the male ones, they were obstinate or for some, frankly evil, but at least had some or a lot of heroic spirit, which carried the drama. Shawn Dou was quite professional, and the character he played elicited some pity from me.
So it was still watchable, although I'll admit I was tempted to drop it several times, the compulsory romance ingredients including accidental kiss being, to say the least, not very redeeming here. Besides, too much was predictable in that drama.
The music, although not unforgettable, is good.
Despite all this unpromising matter, that drama still topped the charts the past end of May weekend, so the audience in China must also have found some qualities in the story and be fond or tolerant of "flawed characters" too.
I found the historical background interesting, so went to dig deeper for a refresher course on the Beiyang army, the life of Zhang Zuolin, the events from 1912 to the Nanjing decade and the story of railroads in the Dongbei until 1937, because there was a mention of a fish from the Songhua river travelling at great cost to the table of the Xiao siling 萧司令 (such details tickle me lol).
It also had me rewatch the 2016 movie "Railroad Tigers" (with Jackie Chan, Z.Tao and Wang Kai), although the action in that movie takes place on the southbound stretch of the railroad from Tianjin. Anyway that movie is well worth rewatching as an antidote to the worst of the irritating scenes in LifoW, like the totally incredible ace driving under gunfire on the wharf to save the life of a traitor and inflict a virtual slap in the face of the Xiao fusiling.
Since I stayed till the end and because the story triggered my interest in accessory watching and reading, I still give it a decent vote. But I doubt it could ever become my favorite go-to romance in Republican era setting.
Most female characters in that drama, except the peace loving Qi furen, were just awful snakes or stupid hens, in my opinion. As for the male ones, they were obstinate or for some, frankly evil, but at least had some or a lot of heroic spirit, which carried the drama. Shawn Dou was quite professional, and the character he played elicited some pity from me.
So it was still watchable, although I'll admit I was tempted to drop it several times, the compulsory romance ingredients including accidental kiss being, to say the least, not very redeeming here. Besides, too much was predictable in that drama.
The music, although not unforgettable, is good.
Despite all this unpromising matter, that drama still topped the charts the past end of May weekend, so the audience in China must also have found some qualities in the story and be fond or tolerant of "flawed characters" too.
I found the historical background interesting, so went to dig deeper for a refresher course on the Beiyang army, the life of Zhang Zuolin, the events from 1912 to the Nanjing decade and the story of railroads in the Dongbei until 1937, because there was a mention of a fish from the Songhua river travelling at great cost to the table of the Xiao siling 萧司令 (such details tickle me lol).
It also had me rewatch the 2016 movie "Railroad Tigers" (with Jackie Chan, Z.Tao and Wang Kai), although the action in that movie takes place on the southbound stretch of the railroad from Tianjin. Anyway that movie is well worth rewatching as an antidote to the worst of the irritating scenes in LifoW, like the totally incredible ace driving under gunfire on the wharf to save the life of a traitor and inflict a virtual slap in the face of the Xiao fusiling.
Since I stayed till the end and because the story triggered my interest in accessory watching and reading, I still give it a decent vote. But I doubt it could ever become my favorite go-to romance in Republican era setting.
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