Realistic Cuteness Overload; A Breath of Fresh Air

Never expected this drama to be so realistic and light. I watched primarily for CZY because I wanted to see him develop into a mature male actor. I've seen several actors previously so I knew it would be a good cast. It really was cuteness overload but probably one of the least toxic c-dramas I've ever seen. It was a real breath of fresh air.

Pros: Favorite character was ML and I'm very proud of how he's grown from playing younger roles to a mature male who let me tell you, when he turned on those eyes of his, he'd melt women of all ages into a puddle. Other than that, he was also probably one of the most caring individuals on earth. Life dealt him a very cruel hand with what his father did and that stalker chick, but instead of curling into a ball and giving up, he just strove to be a better person worthy of the love of everyone around him especially the only one who truly loved every piece of him, our FL SZ.

Most of the story was very well developed. And honestly, other than the stalker chick, there wasn't a single character I didn't like. She was the main antagonist I guess you could say. FL, her parents, bro and all of their friends were just wonderful. I do have to say that I don't know about China but in the US, if you live as a resident in a quad in college, it's beyond rare that everyone gets along so well. I was never a resident but a commuter but my resident friends told me all sorts of stories back in the day. The fact that SZ lived with and got along so well with her roommates just adds to the loveliness of this story.

This story had you mostly laughing at the antics of our leads and everyone else. But it was also very inspirational and sometimes it even made you tear up. SZ was more mature in some aspects then people gave her credit for. Though I do wish many of her inner monologues came out of her mouth instead, she was endearing, kind, respectful, caring, loving, and fiercely protective of those she loved the most.

Everything had its rightful progression to a point. I have nothing to complain about the settings, OSTs, etc. Their moments together once they start coming together were the best and of course the comedy. But there is a con section though it won't be that long.

Cons: While I understand the misunderstandings as people have that makes them imagine or overthink when they're young; but it shouldn't happen when they're adults in a relationship or even by 12th grade in high school. Miscommunication is a known relationship killer. SZ never asks DJX what he's thinking but goes full steam ahead on her own assumptions which are usually worse case scenarios and completely false. DJX also doesn't open up to her and then they end up finding out through other means and how foolish it looks. But instead of learning and not doing it again, they keep repeating it. Even by episode 24, she still thought he was considering breaking up with her.

Then DJX's not dealing with the stalker as soon as he paid off the debt. Why? Her harassing him just complicated things for him both literally and psychologically. If he didn't find out she went after SZ, would he ever have dealt with her? What if she flew to Nanwu to find him?

The thing I wish there was less of were the flashbacks of SZ's childhood. Like once she became an adult, end those. We know what's going on. It wasn't until episode 3 that this drama picked up for me. But I'm very glad I stuck around.

Would I recommend it? Definitely. From all the ones I'm watching it was the only one that made me laugh and love little moments that I would rewind just to get a little bit more. I'm very glad I watched this drama and you should give it a chance too.

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Out with the Ancient & In with the Modern

Finally this elf on a 2 year shelf saw the light of day. I watched this primarily because of LYN and his character as this was again a different role and character for him plus I believe this was his first real foray into martial arts characters. I also knew QJJ from a previous series and a few of the supporting characters. Ironically though they never had a scene together here LYN plays sworn brothers with ZME in Eternal Brotherhood and that was filmed back in 2021, while here the latter was Lucky's Shifu. In any case, I'm glad I watched this as it it was all about out with the ancient and in with the modern.

Pros: They didn't skimp on the martial arts here. That was my number one favorite thing in this entire series. Every episode had at least one great fight be it long or short, the quality was fantastic. From camera angles to the fights themselves. Everyone went all out. Considering they used some actual history here (which I only knew through speaking with others), it looked pretty authentic and believable. From costumes to sets everything was very well done, even the accents of the different region's characters was a nice touch. Favorite OSTs were LYN's and his with JF who played HQ (his lady love). LYN has a very wide range in his vocals so to have someone who can not only match him in harmony, Melody, and power, was impressive to say the least. They made the song sound like something from a powerful western genre.

When it came to favorite characters, I liked MSD aka ML or QJJ the best though ZBF played by LYN came in right on his heels. I like how we didn't know exactly when MSD switched sides because he was always so private and secretive about it, even struggling with it a bit. ZBF was morally grey because of his ambition but a protagonist nonetheless. He was willing to give everything up to live a peaceful life at the end, it's a shame they never got a chance. MSD and ZBF though started out on opposite sides, still respected each other and towards the end there was even a bond between them that was obvious. When these two would lock swords, it was a feast for the eyes. I'd rewind a lot of their fights because that's how awesome they were. Other favorite characters were Gege, LL, Lucky, Getai, the monks, some of the members of ZBF's sect that died, even HQ though she started off whining, she never wavered from her support of ZBF even choosing to die with him.

The story was ever winding and moving, you never felt bored or like it was dragging anywhere. They only found the treasure at the end but the entire thing was about it though with other things too. The ever changing alliances between good and bad also kept things interesting. Not to mention the cheesy introduction that was placed as the opening credits in some of the episodes. When good characters perished, they were given a send off of small clips and a song of how they affected us as viewers or what they wish had happened as opposed to what did. Some really left you feeling the way they died was unfair although you knew the body count would be large. Those clips left you teary-eyed. The show overall was good.

Cons: At first I wanted to add WJL to the pros as he was an important part of the trio and finding the treasure, I really didn't like the way they wrote the character at the end. He was the most stubborn of the three but also the most gullible, naive, and ultimately just plain stupid. He never evolved, in fact he got worse. It was like yes he could recite laws and scriptures but he never knew what any of them of them represented or truly meant. He was dumber than a donkey and it caused him to kill people without even thinking. I hated the way he killed ZBF and HQ (who was technically innocent in his charges to begin with); he executed them by gunfire and a battalion of people; ZBF was severely injured and WJL didn't even fight him sword to sword like he did ZBF's juniors but ambushed him; it was an embarrassment. He went back on his promise to MSD and ZBF in regards to the seal. He literally became the very thing he supposedly despised. The writers really did his character dirty. I would have understood if he never understood why the revolution mattered and stuck to his ways but the fact that he never really understood the very things he learned and became the absolute worse of himself, was de-evolution. In the beginning, he seemed funny because he was like a cat with nine lives, but at the end he just became a repetitive monkey and I was very glad he off'd himself.

LAJ who played the spy aka "lady love" of WJL was probably the worst character in terms of over acting and being horribly unconvincing. If it had been anyone but WJL, she would have been dead long before the third to last episode. I think she was miscast, simple as that. You had all of these actors in both good and evil roles that were nailing it and then you had her and it just fell flat.

Felt like the ending was rushed because they really had to step up the body count; so it took off with YHJ the money whore taking his sect mates, & officially betraying ZBF by severely wounding and nearly killing him twice (second time they were saved by MSD and Lucky), followed by the annihilation of the sect and ZBF and HQ's murders at WJL's and army's hands, bald asswipe general's death, then Lucky, LL, the Japanese spies, and finally WJL himself. All in a span of 2 episodes. Way too much, plus they located the treasure and still had time to give all of the good characters their send offs. They could have spaced that out way better.

Would I recommend it? Despite the flaws as each drama has something; I really enjoyed this one very much. If you like a good storyline, with great martial arts, this is the story for you. Enjoy it.

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Beast Mode Activated

Picked this up on a whim when the air date was announced as I had seen HYT (ML) in two republican era detective dramas and this was a totally different genre plus a romance so was interested in how he'd do. I'd heard of ZJY before but never seen her in anything and was familiar with some of our supporting cast especially the main antagonist. This was a female-centric drama about going through hardships and evolving. Not to mention ML's ability to go from quiet and kind to beast mode activated.

Pros: I have to give the martial arts of ML or GYX main pointers here; it gave this review a title. At 6'2 or 6'3, GYX towered over everyone including emperor psycho aka his own uncle (which baffled me when I saw it in the first episode as I had seen the actor who played big bad twice before and thought he was monster sized but here he looked like a mouse in comparison), so when he deployed his martial arts be it sword or fists, he could destroy a human in seconds. This was also funny to me because his fat guard in the brigade who could carry two people at once and the guard he killed upon assuming his post as commander; both actors played bad guys in TLB (ironically the aunt who was raising the kid of the concubine played the main antagonist in TLB too; reunion!), and they were huge there; yet here they paled in comparison. Props to HYT for doing the stunt work himself. The chemistry of the leads was on point as well; they were just too cute together and great partners in crime. Loved how no matter what—even during breakup—he had her back 100%; even if it meant as stealthy Batman. The story was nice about the FL and how she leads her female family out of disaster after disaster while they evolve from dependency on men to independence as the men are exiled north and just in general because once the men returned, they learned of the new normal very quickly. GYX also led the bureau to a change from barbaric to a brotherhood that was united and supported each other. Was also great that his three guards (my favorite was spider monkey guard though CQ was good too), always protected HZ and her family too however they could. It was like the Hua family and them became a massive family. Called the entire bureau the Spider-Man brigade; their ability to assassinate goons in a midst of a food competition at the restaurant while picking up blood drops took the cake. We're talking Cirque du Soleil meets Special Ops action here.

This drama was not short on comedy be it intentional or not. There was always something that made people laugh at any given point. The comment section here was lively. The OSTs and BGM really fit most scenes especially the beast mode ones. Favorite single character was actually very hard but both leads fit, wish we saw more of the SML as he spent like 30 episodes studying lol. The secondary couple (SY and SH) was adorable, SY stole everyone's heart (and boy is her actress versatile; from a cunning seductress spy in MJTY to a young woman with high functioning autism as it seemed here), Ah Jian, empress dowager (who I wish went to the wedding) as mentioned guards, the eunuch (first kind one I’ve seen in any drama next to a nasty emperor), all aunts and cousins of HZ, the maids and their men, one uncle, grandpa and grandma (grandma's death was the saddest thing of the entire show other than Hua Rong's).

Let's talk about our main antagonist; emperor psycho as I dubbed him. Actor never disappoints; you hated his guts from the first episode to the second he died in the last one. Hell has never had a more deserving candidate from a drama. A narcissistic psychopath that only with death could people be free. Though I loved how HZ finally took him to town in 38 and GYX let himself be heard too, the man himself was the absolute monster and played it very well. Costumes and sets were nice as well.

Cons: I wish the script let the leads emote more as HZ was far too perfect and could get through any turmoil without so much as an eyebrow lift. Only saw her really show negative emotions twice, when she was told by the emperor she couldn't redeem the men through money and she went from catatonic to ballistic in under 2 minutes and when GYX took on the palace guards and got himself severely injured, she was shrieking and crying. Same went for GYX, the actor has a difficulty emoting in general apparently as his are very subtle; but when he's fighting, he's not playing around. But his negative or even positive emoting was rare i.e. breakup scene and when emperor psycho croaked were the only two times he cried, I think I saw him really smile maybe three times in the entire show. He smiled more in their BTS when they did the actual scenes; so wonder why director didn't use those scenes.

I had more issues with the script than the acting; though the breakup scene lacked gravitas especially given it was a nobility arc for a change and not a dumb misunderstanding. It just seemed that many important scenes where angst was required, were never given a pause but just rolled along to the next whatever it was. The spy astronomer and last adult prince were more like plot devices to get to the death of emperor psycho; I forgot who that prince even was as he appeared a total of two times prior. Felt very disjointed from the rest of the show. The last 6 episodes were a sprint to the finish line as for a story that large you needed to pack it in. Especially the very last episode. They really sacrificed quality for quantity here, sadly. Instead of focusing on many smaller characters and story lines, they could have chosen less of those and really fleshed out the leads, second couple, SML, a few others and stuck to a more conducive storyline. What we got at the end, was a dizzying amount of people whose loose ends needed to be tied and it was done in 30 seconds or less for each batch while the leads were forgotten for a bit.

Wish the Jurassic sized CGI dolphins didn't take up the ending of the leads as they were unnecessary and made that scene laughable for the wrong reasons. Continuity and dubbing were also visible issues during the show, the other CGI wasn't that great either though thankfully rarely used and mostly for the background and I wish the music didn’t drown out some of the conversations as well.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. Despite the running around and kinks, it was an enjoyable series and one I would recommend especially if you like female-centric with sweet chemistry types of dramas.

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Great Acting, Hot Mess in a Dress Script

Watched this to see Dilraba taking on a new type of role and recognized 2 other actors from previous series. Also read the article on this as since this was supposed to be based on a true story of an international cybercrime syndicate. So was hoping for something substantial, what I got was great acting from basically everyone but an absolutely lousy hot mess in a dress script.

Pros: Reba should definitely take on more of these types of roles as she was awesome as An Ni. Very convincing be it in her personal or professional life. As I mentioned in the comments, Han Dong is great at playing an antagonist who makes your skin crawl. From the moment he stepped onscreen, you knew something was off about him. The cast couldn't be better and more professional. That however is where the pros end.

Cons: Fire all directors and screenwriters. What happened here? This had so much promise as a based on a true story series and instead it was turned into an alphabet soup of countries where every European looking actor could speak Mandarin and even the courts looked alike, the costumes were either not fitting or too big and the extras couldn't even hold their props. The story took a nose dive in the single digit episodes. I don't even remember how much went wrong but a lot did.

It ended up being about a genius who was abused and abandoned by his mom with massive daddy issues getting revenge on his father while creating a massive cybercrime network that treated its employees like slaves. He himself was the last person one thought would be the one behind it all; but he did show as a narcissistic sociopath who saw nothing wrong with his crimes and whose manipulative behavior made him fall for FL the prosecutor.

The entire thing was like a bad docuseries that should have been made for Chinese law students because whole episodes consisted of speeches about their law system. Just fast forward because no one outside their country understood how it worked. I have a background in law though in the US and the stuff and the speed they spit things out, you couldn't follow. Also their absolute lack of knowledge of other countries laws that seemed to be important to the main case was laughable. Example: to say that a Chinese attorney who got a J.D. and passed the bar exam in California automatically got onto the US Supreme Court was dumb. Firstly he had to be a federal prosecutor, then go through a boat load of nominations from governor, senators to even have a chance. Also had to be nominated/chosen by a sitting president and pass through the senate or congress. It's a huge, complicated process and they made it seem like by passing a bar exam one can get there.

They remembered it was a drama in the last maybe 6 episodes and started just writing lord knows what in. I literally had no words and wasn't even sure I was going to write a review. Some characters that were constant, just up and disappeared and were never seen again with zilch explanation. Even the ending was like someone drunk wrote it. Frankenstein's monster was better put together than this.

Would I recommend it? No way. If it wasn't for Dilraba and wanting to know who A was and the outcome, I would have dropped it long ago. All of these actors deserve better scripts on these topics.

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Welcome to Thunderdome - Challenge Accepted!

Wuxia, wuxia, wuxia! Score! To be honest, I wasn't even going to pick it up originally because other then Xing Fei a bit, I didn't know anyone in the cast. But the fact that recommended sources told me that if I wanted a real wuxia that was written by someone well known for the genre, this was it. And I'm so glad I did. This was close to absolutely everything I had hoped this genre would be. Welcome to Thunderdome - challenge accepted!

Pros: Though I usually start this section with outlining my favorite characters, I have to begin by praising my favorite portion of the series; the martial arts! Absolutely fantastic and in just about every single episode or every other one. Every character performed very well when it came to those scenes, it made you just want to cheer for our heroes when they bagged another slime ball. I can't say enough about how much I personally loved the physicality of each sequence, each fight, each battle. I'd give those scenes 10s easily.

Favorite character was MRF; he was beautifully written and executed to perfection by his actor. This man was essentially living or existing in self-loathing and torture over the death of his sworn brother and wife. Running all over the world trying to find the truth of who the real killer was, was evident with every slump of his shoulders, every fruitless trip he made; seemed that with every betrayal, his eyes got gloomier and more despair filled. Only when he had his daughter did that ease a little bit but even until his dying breath he was protecting the ones he cared for and swore to protect and executing his revenge on the villain who sadly was right in front of him the entire time. A real man of honor. Didn't hurt that he looked like D'Artagnon from The 3 Musketeers with the long hair and goatee.

HF, our ML was also great especially as they showed him growing and maturing. Do wish he was less gullible sooner but those are small fries. As he traveled around and met more martial artists and just soaked up the knowledge and won each time he was put to the test, it was a cheerful moment, kind of like a goal at a soccer match. Probably the most touching moment for me in the entire series was when MRF knelt down and put his hand on HF's neck before he went to finish off TGN in episode 39. That real connection between sworn uncle and nephew, I wish it lasted forever. HF by that time knew MRF was innocent of his parents' deaths and MRF was finishing his vengeance and honoring the oath he made to HF's mother, to protect him. MRF's ultimate sacrifice to save HF and the others, I felt was a bit unnecessary as they could have escaped together as is. Though perhaps to him, death was actually more suitable to release him from all of the agony he'd lived with mentally and psychologically through the years knowing his daughter had her mother to take care of her. He could literally rest in eternal peace. So that one is a catch 22; what's better for the audience or the character.

Both of the female leads did very well. I really liked that though there were romantic feelings whirling around, romance wasn't forced into this series. It was a sad ending for all in that capacity but it did serve a purpose. I do wish things were written differently and that will be discussed below. If I had to choose, I do wish HF ended up with ZY as they had the most chemistry and there was no need to show sparks and whatnot; subtle love is fine too. Both women had their own strengths and helped HF grow while they were with him. Just like other people he met along the way, he became a hero in his own right because of the experiences ZY and CLS gave him.

Other favorite characters included official Zhou and his brothers; they were very smart when it came to their own self interests and when it was time to come and go; they were quite comical at times. The other sect leaders and brothers HF met along the way who taught him stuff and backed him up. I did like MCH but she really wasn't a smart person. In the absolute plethora of villains, the most convincing ones were vampire poison and TGN, though I do wish TGN had way less screen time.

Production was beautiful; from costumes, weapons, styling, sets and some of the OSTs. Very little to pick apart in this section.

Cons: This series nearly became the second costume drama to get a perfect score if it wasn't for the final episodes. This is where the really awesome pacing of the entire series became a runaway horse of we need to tie up every loose end somehow even if it looks completely bizarre. How did MCH know what was happening that she appeared on the gate tower to keep the gates open only to jump down and get shot with an arrow? They were so determined to kill her that this completely in-cohesive situation was created. Did she grow wings, learn telepathy, manifest a sword? It was so out of left field, one had no words. Also the swords vs rifles scenes just seemed very weird; bullets will kill a lot faster then a sword will unless you're a master martial artist or sacrificing yourself to protect others like MRF did.

Let's backtrack a bit to the idiot father-son duo whose arc took forever to end, the nun who essentially manipulated her disciple aka ZY into following her into becoming a nun too, instead of letting her follow her heart and be with HF. I hope the nun doesn't turn MCH's kids into monks but lets them choose their own paths as was decided by both their father and HF. There seemed too much heavy-handed approaches to situations that didn't need them. TGN and NL had way too much screen time and that was really the only time the drama got slightly boring; though she learned the truth in the end and chose the right path, she was too dumb for too long. Though TGN was one of the biggest villains, he was so annoying and childish, you wanted to shove him off a cliff the minute you met him. You knew immediately he was not a good person and that just snowballed from there.

Returning to the last episode, why couldn't CLS's death be written better? They literally waited until then to have her face off against vampire poison and his puny disciples; then when she starts to save HF who of course intervened to save her, she paralyzes him leaving him struggling, gaping like a fish out of water while she does her final monologue? It was all very inconsistent and haphazard. I think she deserved a better end since they decided on that. Killing vampire poison in a flashback HF has in the final maybe 5 minutes of the show was also very lackluster and unsatisfactory considering who he was and what he had done. Literally the last 1.5 episodes of this entire series botched what would have been a perfect score but otherwise the show was/is really great!

Would I recommend it? Absolutely, 100%! The last 1.5 episodes notwithstanding and a few parts in the middle, this series hit every aspect of a terrific wuxia. As far as I'm concerned, the challenge was met, accepted, and won!

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40 Episodes + 4 Couples + Hot Mess "I Need Time" script = 2nd Dumpster Fire of 2024

I added this to my watchlist because I wanted to see HYT in a totally different character and genre. He is known for his aloofness and very little emotion. And while this character was essentially really good for him (smiling, being a goofball, showing a range of emotions) the rest was not. I hope he gets more chances like this but with much better scripts. Because 40 episodes, 4 couples, an absolute hot mess script turned this promising series into the 2nd dumpster fire I've seen in 2024.

Pros: HYT's character, the 4 best friends and their relationship as they were the much needed comic relief of the entire show, LYN's OST and some of the BGMs. Those were the only pros.

Cons: Everything else! This was a remake apparently of some Korean drama but it suffered badly from a horrible script. On top of that it had 4 couples with very little chemistry, 40 episodes of rinse, repeat, please pass the cheese scenarios where I personally skipped 6 of the latter episodes because of how annoyed I was at everyone and every situation. Furthermore, when the actual actors request for script changes to their characters because of how ridiculous and unrealistic the story was, that's a huge red flag. The theme of this show was, "I need time." Time to think about how to be a miserable moron apparently. Let's talk about each couple.

The leads started off with the FL liking the SML who fell for SFL as the ML fell for her at first sight. It was a love quad. Except it never felt like the FL was capable of liking or loving anyone. Instead it was more like a hobby and having any boyfriend would have sufficed. She had little actual knowledge of what love even was until I think the second to last episode even though she and the ML did get together, they had more breakups than I was willing to count and the selfish way she told him that "I never trusted you in the first place", floored me and absolutely solidified that she didn't deserve the ML who spent all 40 episodes bending over backwards for her. Even when his ex and her kid were brought in (as total and unnecessary plot devices), it just highlighted how ridiculously insecure the FL was. I was sure that after that horrendous line, the ML wouldn't go near her but let her come crawling back to him but nope he still thought of her, sent her flowers etc. She was willing to believe total strangers about him than the words and actions he'd shown her from the get go. It was infuriating. Her episode 39 traffic light epiphany about how he loved her but she didn't realize it just seemed contrived because just an hour before she walked away from him for the 100th time unwilling to give him an answer and now like someone shot nuclear EQ into her head, she suddenly understood everything he ever did for her and regretted the way she acted and wanted to love him the same way he loved her. It was beyond unbelievable.

I had originally liked this show because it showed the lives of flawed, imperfect characters in their daily lives but once I realized that most of the women were devolving into morons or already started there and one sounded like a toddler making me ffw her as much as I could, I couldn't back it anymore. There was literally no actual plot to this series save for everyone's relationship issues and it just got boring quick. Only the brotherhood of the 4 guys made it really worth watching.

The second leads issues stemmed from the SFL lack of facial expressions, her traumatic upbringing but the worst was that she took all of her anger out on the SML who didn't do anything but wait for her and quietly supported her. Unlike ML, he wasn't going to grovel and follow her around but let her have her space. He also had an insufferable mother to deal with who never really came around as she just gave up because he still proposed to SFL and got his father and sister to help shut his mother up. It was a group win as opposed to a mother who loved her son and wished for his happiness above her own interests. SFL was also wishy-washy when it came to advice for her even worse wishy-washy best friend the FL; like figure out your own life before you give others advice.

The 3rd couple seemed like very much an afterthought especially with who they cast as TFL; the toddler voiced, spoiled though with a good heart woman-child was somehow to be believed to be a 24 year old postgraduate who was in love with TML, a lawyer with a tragic past of his own, in losing his wife unexpectedly 4 years prior. Now the toddler could act brave and sound mature in the business setting but as soon as that was done, she would whiplash back to acting and sounding like she needed her binkie. Literally ffw'd her through pretty much the entire show. She definitely had her strong moments but they were few and far in between.

Our last couple, had the least screen time together and I called them the married/divorced couple because that was their identity. And though I admired the FFL for how she officially ended their marriage admitting that a lot of it was her fault and she should have come to terms with it sooner, what brought them back together was that she got pregnant but than started blaming him again for the little things including him signing the divorce papers that she orchestrated in the first place! And he again started to apologize; like what in the what? Make it make sense, please.

Overall, everyone got back together, married, engaged, whatever but you didn't feel much sense of accomplishment other than when the 4 friends buried a new time capsule and continued their goofiness, was literally what I considered the ending.

Would I recommend it? No way. I have seen most of these actors in other things that had done them justice but this thing absolutely wasn't one of them. I want a similar character for HYT but with a different script that he deserves; same goes for the other actors. If you cherish your sanity, watch something else.

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Young Jessica Fletcher meets Dick Tracey in a Shanghai Chicago

FINALLY! I got a chance to watch this series. I was quite upset when it first came out and didn't have English subtitles anywhere on any site legal or otherwise. This was my very first Republican Era drama so I wasn't sure what to expect but wanted to watch it because I follow Vengo Gao. It definitely didn't disappoint; quite the opposite and if it wasn't for parts of the very last episode, I would have given it a perfect score which for me is very rare.

Pros: Everything was exquisitely beautiful; from the sets to the costumes, the makeup. Su Wenli was like the epitome of what a modern day woman of even today acts like (she took the initiative to kiss Qiuheng first). Clothing on her looked like she should have been a model. Just about everything in this series was absolutely stunning. The music, OSTs, not a single stitch was out of place.

Both of the leads acting and chemistry was on point from the very beginning. As older actors then the 20 somethings you see in most of their dramas, here the experience and the understanding of both actors was visible. All of the support cast were there for as long as they were needed. The story flowed seamlessly from one murder investigation to another. It really was like a young Jessica Fletcher (from Murder, She Wrote) met Dick Tracey and they added a Chicago (the Musical) flair.

Su Wenli and Luo Qiuheng started off on a bickering note which was absolutely hysterical; as he tried in a lot of vain to prevent her from entering various crime scenes only for her to find a back door. Since every case took up two episodes, they would just about always have someone Su Wenli knew either asking for help or being the victim. With the two SLs Taozi and Xiao'an to add to the hilarity, made each investigation even more interesting.

Su Wenli had a superb eye for detail that helped each investigation. Many people she met from the first episode ended up becoming a part of her extended family; from the two random cab drivers (Tong and San) at the pier that took her home, to Taozi (a maid of family friend's) in the very first murder case who became her assistant and a younger sister and the orphan (Suyun) she adopted after the homage to "Murder on the Orient Express" episode. She had inherited a huge mansion and massive property from her grandmother and her gaggle rag-tag family lived there.

Luo Qiuheng played by the very handsome Vengo Gao was a wonderful, caring, yet upright investigator who took each case seriously no matter who the victims were. We never knew much about his past (other then his ex-gf was the daughter of his mentor) or where he even lived, but his character in no way played second fiddle to Wenli. Both were equals. I have until this drama not seen Vengo in something non-costume but feel he needs more of these kinds of dramas.

It was very funny how the crime busting duo was always bickering or betting on information and yet still ending up solving each case together. Their chemistry even in those most funniest of moments was palpable. It amused me to no end how Wenli would always find a way to go undercover in any situation with just a pretty dress and the power of persuasion; everyone opened up to her without fear.

I loved and was actually quite surprised by just how much made it past censorship; a gay couple was shown in photographs holding hands and being really close as well as the topic of homosexuality was discussed openly without issue. Small amounts of nudity was allowed as well. A mentally disabled boy was involved in 2 episodes towards the end and related to Wenli and he wasn't treated as some freak but with respect and love; usually none of these would be able to get anywhere near one of their dramas, so it makes me wonder if the requirements for Republican era dramas are different then the other genres.

Cons: The biggest reason I couldn't give this series a full score was because almost the entire last episode was screwed up pretty badly and it was the pivotal case. The biggest mystery of the series was that of Wenli's kidnapped and long thought to be murdered younger sister, Wenfei. Though this fact and the man responsible were sparsely spread through many episodes, it wasn't until about the last 6 that that case started to take shape. Ding Rushan was jailed for 10 years on suspicion of kidnapping and murder but escaped.

In the last episode, they turned Wenli into this hysterical, unhinged, crazy woman who goes to rescue Suyun and Qiuheng alone while locking a few officers in a jail cell. It absolutely made no sense, though I understand her being distraught when she came home to find practically everyone drugged and Suyun missing, she knew it was the work of Ding Rushan but then she goes off to the police station and when Qiuheng tells her to stay put she starts acting a plum fool causing him to go alone without backup because someone has to watch her.

For 33 episodes even if she was in grave danger, she always kept a level head and found ways to get out of the situation and always asked for backup from the police or Tong and San or the combination of the two. Here she takes her little gold pistol like a one woman army to go after the most dangerous man in the entire series who's essentially a crazed serial killer. It was ridiculous; what made it even more so was that said serial killer was a nutcase who wanted to sacrifice women to bring his own daughter back from the dead in some twisted "The Mummy Returns" scenario which absolutely made no sense in this very progressive drama.

Of course Wenli was captured and though she retained some of her old characteristics, much of her acting until she was rescued was like some completely different person. It felt like for a solid half hour I was watching a totally different show. There was also a huge inconsistency, in the second to last episode where Ding Rushan had come into their home and cut the phone cord so no one could call, yet in that last episode when Taozi tried calling home to warn Wenli, the phone rang like the line was never cut. Another minor inconsistency was that Wenli was filthy rich but would wear a lot of the same clothing over and over again, even though she had a massive walk-in closet with racks of clothing. It didn't make sense for her to wear the same outfit 2 or even 3 times.

This pivotal point when Wenli finds out where the body of her sister is and the entire mystery is finally solved, the gravitas is completely lost because of this completely out of character and off topic scenario and it makes me sad because it should have been so much stronger than that. It lost its humor, quality, and any actual logic. Thankfully afterwards it regained its previous momentum to be able to finish the last 25 minutes in the same style as what got me hooked to it in the first place.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. That one portion of the very last episode doesn't drown out the rest of this aesthetically pleasing and truly remarkable series that will have you rolling around laughing at the absurd situations, subtle yet very obvious flirting and romance of our leads, jealous and chivalrous moments of Qiuheng, and just fall in love with this bunch of people who, though not blood, are truly a family in the best sense of the word.

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Same Formula, Better Actors & Wu Lei Can Have Chemistry w/a Pet Rock.

Watched this solely because I follow Wu Lei and wanted to see both badminton and tennis on a more prominent scale as someone who played both in her youth albeit not professionally. This series was very nostalgic to me because of both of those. Was this show fresh otherwise? No. I've seen at least one other drama very much like this; in other words same formula, better actors & Wu Lei can have chemistry with a pet rock.

Pros: I loved the fact that SC played by WL, essentially played someone his own age but as a ridiculously old soul. Very rarely did his character actually act his age or younger. At the same time because of his love for FL which developed fairly early on, he carried their world on his shoulders all on his own volition. Every goal he set for himself, he met and never backed down. It was awesome to see WL take his character seriously and really train himself for the challenges of tennis. He's already an athlete but this was a different skill set and it was great to see him and the other tennis playing actors be so serious with that. I actually really enjoyed watching all of their training sessions as much as the rest of the story. The FL or LYA was also one who stood her ground. I liked their funny and cute moments but save their "one night stand" when she royally screwed up the next morning, SC's eyes always sizzled when he looked at her in their times alone but hers always had the same gaze. I wish she could have emoted the romance more once that got started, considering her character was a 30 plus year old woman. My only real minus in their chemistry. The comedy though was able to cover for what was lacking there.

All of their friends and colleagues like LN, AN, CZ, DY, JJJ, his mom, Alex, even coach unorthodox evolved from a solid douchebag to someone rather likable and his two assistants and though thankfully she didn't have a lot of solo scenes LT was alright too. I really loved the OSTs, they all fit accordingly. The storyline was split down the middle for me; half of it was great and really had terrific substance while the other half was a mess and I'll discuss that below. The good portion of the storyline was the evolution of each character including the growth of friendships where anonymity started in the beginning ie SC and JJJ. Or when the spoiled rich kid started to understand what being the opposite was like. The final closure for SC, AN, and his mom, getting passed and through trauma both psychological and physical. Most of the trauma was bore by SC though we saw a bit of it on LYA and her parental relations. Switching from badminton to tennis was a great main focus and should have stayed essential to most of the plot and then moved onto now as a professional tennis player, let his story move upwards. This is where, unfortunately we visit the cons.

Cons: The other half of the story was focused on so many problems that were chucked primarily at SC it got to be too much. Or other characters and their plots were rushed through like their asses were on fire, it was unnecessary. Though I understand the point was to show people getting through difficulties, they still didn't need to bring so much junk in. Especially with the company Young Space and its antagonists who never got any real resolution in the end. They were just left hanging. After LYA opened Top Smash that should have been the last time we heard of Young Space or their BS, but no they kept being dragged through with their problems, demands, making things harder for our leads because why? There were no other company they could work with? I understand the need to show the divorce of boss Jiang and his wife but later on with that other asswipe in the company; it was a constant hamster wheel of unnecessary problems. The wild card thing, possible doping scandal, rumors of love affairs and bastard kids, the constant lying and using by boss Jiang and basically everyone at Young Space, signing a deal with the devil, then being accosted when training for crap promotions, only way to get away from the Devil is to go train in Europe (just like in Falling into You and I never compare dramas) and separate the leads for two years after which they decided to get married in the last 5 minutes of the last episode.

Though it was a good touch in the psychological scheme of things, medically they got this wrong; phantom pain only exists after an amputation or if a person is born without a limb or body part, not if something is torn like ligaments, tendons, muscles, etc. the body part will swell, ache a lot, may require further surgery but there's no phantom pain. Really wish they did better research on that part. I looked it up myself as I've had a torn tendon in the past that thankfully didn't require surgery thanks to a top orthopedist but I've never ever heard of any variation of this having phantom pain especially not from him.

Couple number two aka JJJ and LT had zilch chemistry. They were just thrown together for the heck of stretching out the story; everything for them was missing. She was like an overly peppy cheerleader even when she was giving her best RBF and he was essentially bored or annoyed through all of their times together. Keep them separate and it wouldn't have looked any different. At least coach unorthodox and LN had real comedy and no one pushed them together. The other two were just there to be there. Lastly, just like there wasn't any resolution with the antagonists, same went with the parents of LYA and LT, the cancer arc was very predictably chucked in towards the end and then it was just as quickly forgotten; only good thing was that LYA and her mom worked out their differences. The ending was all over the place and very rushed but a happy ending for basically everyone that mattered anyways. Granted the after cut to black part and their after getting married hair cutting scene was too funny but the ending still could have been better.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Though there were a lot of issues with this series storyline wise, I wanted to come back everyday and watch the two episodes plus purchased the express so I did enjoy it very much. Take from that what you will.

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The Cute Kid Carried 2/3rds of the Show w/Help from the Leads

I have seen some of the cast in various shows before but this just looked like a rom-com that I may have enjoyed. To be honest though, it was very underwhelming. The reason it got the score it did was because of how messy the script was and that I essentially had to ffw most of the 28 episodes. The child actor was the best thing out of the entire show and he was smarter than his parents and all of the adults combined. He legit carried 2/3rds of the series with help from the leads.

Pros: Not too many of those here sadly. As I mentioned the kid actor would probably be favorite because he would be the voice of reason for his parents and their constant quarrels. The leads had a great chemistry when they were together and there was decent comedy. The supporting cast was actually good (save for gorilla glue) when they were by themselves. But when the script started throwing them together at random, it went down the drain. The story had a lot of potential from the past to the present and growing and understanding, it just threw too many monkey wrenches into the mix which will be discussed below. I liked the flashbacks at the end of each episode as it explained what happened 5 years ago in detail.

Cons: So much potential in this script but it was wasted. The past and present at first, it was understandable why both leads would be at odds but then once things started to become clear we still had an FL that refused to let go of her narrow-mindedness and it would just be this constant 1 step forward, 2 steps back. The amount of times something needed to be said or a kiss happen and they were interrupted went from silly to tropey and boring. Felt like their second chance start being interrupted by CJJ and back to the bus accident we went was more of a filler then anything else because it brought the leads to odds again and it either shouldn't have happened or placed earlier so it was more cohesive. It was so mismatched and out of place that it seemed like they ran out of how to move onto a proper reconciliation and needed to throw something in there that was already over with and understood.

Both support couples getting together was so confusing and ridiculous. One ran over her younger dude with a car and then turned into a cougar ravenous after her prey and the other happened like a very bad whiplash. One moment SML is finally going to confess to the FL after 4 years of hoping she'd randomly like him, the next he really likes gorilla glue, baby voiced, stalker chick and is ready to turn himself into a pretzel to show his affection when he couldn't utter two words towards FL. It was so out of any realm of understanding and just beyond confusing. I didn't feel chemistry between either couple. They were literal fillers when they--sans one--could have just been great friends and support systems to the leads. This was essentially two very forced romances on the audience that didn't need it.

What in the what was up with the villain? He wasn't even on anyone's radar other then being a lewd and womanizing bastard and then in the last literally 6 episodes they turned him into a viper of a monster that was ready to sexually assault, run over, beat up, harass, extort people, kill dogs, and lord knows what else. That Ding dude was a more believable villain than CQR because from his first appearance until his arrest, he was a predator. But they didn't do that to CQR, who didn't even appear in a half a dozen episodes. There was no evolution to his character, so to go from like 0 or maybe a 3 to infinity in antagonist land in literally under 10 episodes was ridiculous and a disservice for a person playing a supposedly important antagonist character. There were many other plot holes like this.

The literal flip of FL from "we're not meant for each other" to "yep, we're together", was too spastic and sudden. It could have been done way smoother. ML had promised her a zillion times already that he'd take care of her but only when he spoke for her to CQR after she'd beaten him up, then she was like "ok I'm yours." It needed a much smoother transition. No wonder in the last two episodes ML's heart started to give him problems again. She was so busy with her own life and world that it never even dawned on her that he was in trouble, even when his sister told her that he would hide things so not to worry others. Like that angered me because everyone was feeling bad for the FL but in this case, the man has gone above and beyond and you supposedly love him so much but you can't tell that he's not being honest with you? And you know so much about the heart and whatnot? It was quite unbelievable.

Would I recommend it? Only if you like messy plots. But personally only reason it got this score is because of the adorable kid. And I'm not rewatching this again. A lot of folks liked it and more power to them but it's not for everyone.

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Leads Insane Chemistry is the Lure......Plot/Story is Nonexistent

This is the first drama I've ever watched of this genre and it's not one I watch or like but what caught my attention was the insane chemistry of the leads. It was enough to give me pause and decide to watch. While I'm still not interested in anything in this genre going forward; the two actors themselves I have added to my following list because they are truly unique, multi-talented individuals. Their work, though regardless of genre, I will watch again in the future. For those unfamiliar with my reviews, I never read the source material so go in solely as a viewer.

Pros: As mentioned above, the chemistry of the leads is off the charts. After doing some research on Twitter and watching War's concert-like fanmeet, I realized these two are literally brothers from another mother and it's because of their close friendship and understanding of one another that it can translate so convincingly onto the screen. Both Yin and War embodied their characters very well, I just wish they were working with a strong script (that will be discussed below).

Out of all of their gaggle of friends, the only few I liked were Bar, his bf, and the Dr. Ana character as they were (to me at least), the only ones that were supportive of the leads no matter what and never had any hidden agendas or preconceived notions. Vee's parents win "parents of the year" for their acceptance and protection of not only their own kids but of Mark as well. Vee's brother was also great as both comedic relief and just in general. The lesson dad taught Vee by way of his motorbike should be taken into account in real life as well; if you break something, it's your responsibility to fix it.

The OSTs were also right on point save one that sounded like it belonged in a circus tent and not in the show. Every time it played like in episode 6 when Mark was sick and Vee was taking care of him after apologizing, it just threw the entire scene off. Another high point was the comedy; so many different scenes to choose from that just added a little bit of hope or just made you bust out laughing at the absolute nonsense happening.

Cons: Just as the title says above, this series had literally no plot nor storyline. It was essentially a group of university students acting out emotions. It was very unbelievable, considering that save for the two sets of parents, some thugs, the "token" straight female friend, and a little girl, everyone else was gay. You don't see that in real life; I may be straight but I have many close gay/lesbian/bi friends all over the world that I've met throughout my travels that can attest that's just not the way it is.

I saw someone in the comments saying that the characters getting plastered every night was a normal American thing in college and as someone with 2.5 degrees in America, I can tell you that's not the case at all. Are there parties, people going to clubs, getting wasted? Hell yeah! But not every single night unless they want to flunk out of school; especially blackout drunk. Every single episode or half of one ended with someone needing to be carried home or passing out by the toilet. These folks needed AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)!

The conversations were always about the same thing; I questioned the need for a script even; could have handled everything through improv. It was always who liked or didn't like whom, who should date whom, whining about being alone, innuendos up the wazoo, and what bar they should hit up that night; rinse, repeat, please pass the cheese. There was no ingenuity whatsoever. This script carried very little weight other then heavy on many emotions especially angst and a ton of miscommunication.

Tropes were insane (especially not closing the door in 9; like come on! That was beyond ridiculous and extremely foolish on the production's part) and the same situation kept repeating itself especially with Ploy; felt like we were on a hamster wheel getting very dizzy. Ploy was like a Jack in the Box popping up in the most in opportune of times and I do feel she overstayed her welcome. Also, a bunch of unnecessary characters like the creepy as hell boxer dude who was harassing Mark in episode 9; what was his purpose? Confusion, filler, to make Mark who stands up for himself always, forget how to speak words? Or those random girls hitting on Vee in 10 and then badmouthing Mark behind his back to make him have doubts about his relationship again? These people were completely unnecessary; made me question just how much and of what production was smoking.

The only thing I'll say about that crazy train second ending that I'm still trying to wrap my head around, is that it should have been incorporated a lot better then the way it was and perhaps in the middle of part 2 of that episode somewhere. The first ending really brought the relationship full circle while the second one turned Mark into a combo of Daenerys and a hyena ready to devour its prey with a side order of rock music lol!

Would I recommend it? This one is out of my hands. I leave it to the viewers discretion. For me personally, it introduced me to two young men who I see having very bright futures regardless of what paths they take in life and I want to see them succeed.

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The Story of Nut Sack

The title says it all, doesn't it? I can't say this was a highly anticipated drama for me, but I did add it to my watchlist because of ZLH. At the time, I hadn't yet seen ZJM in anything but was familiar with the SML or CHY and several others in the supporting cast from previous things. I however didn't expect to see so much of the series essentially taken over by SRQ and away from the ML and leads altogether. It was sad and everyone was sick of it. Instead of The Princess Royal, this should have been renamed "The Story of Nut Sack." That's what I dubbed him; even funnier just how many people started using that nickname after I put it out there. I knew we were all in the same boat.

Pros: Everyone's acting. The leads really embodied their characters especially ZJM or LR; I'd only seen her in a modern drama at the beginning of this year. For a 21 year old, she sure knows how to act. Very impressive. ZLH or PWX, though relegated to a virtual supporting character, he was infinitely patient and loved with all of his heart. I don't know how he was written in the novel as I never read those but he did the best with what he was given. Little prince was too cute and I really liked him with QZZ. It was actually funny that he in real life is older than ZJM who plays his older sister. The other characters I liked were SY, SRH, QL, LFB, the eunuch, and the rest of the folks on team LC. None of these characters were cookie cutter good. They were all complicated with problems that they had to overcome and evolve into. That was the part of it that was really good. The sword fights were good; loved when PWX told nut sack off at the end for being so damn delusional and how he had every choice in life number two to change everything but still didn't. I also really loved the OSTs.

Neutral: Before I start on the cons, I just want to make sure people understand that I have no hate towards any of the actors. Though this story of nut sack was played by CHY, the actor did the best he could with what he was given. He himself is still very new in the industry and green. I do hope for better work for him. I think he was miscast here. If you want him in a good drama; check out "Warm on a Cold Night."

Cons: The people responsible for turning this story into the mess it became, was production. The script was absolutely horrendous (we had a second lifetime of do overs to get things right but instead what we got was a convoluted mess); it turned the story away from the leads and to the SML who wasn't even given a billing lead role but as a supporting character. How could they do that to him given how much screen time they gave him? Really unfair to the actor. At every turn, nut sack took most of full episodes of screen time and became essentially an obsessed lunatic with forced second lead syndrome plus producers really wanted to give him a redemption arc, though they still killed him; but his constant glorification was pretty ridiculous. He was vile and stupid; he killed her in their first life, yes with two others but he was probably the first forgiven. If the reason it took her longer to forgive her little brother and SY was because she cared about both more, why the hell did she waste so much time yelling for nut sack to turn back to the right path? Right up until his fiery death, both leads still were trying to get this POS to see reason and become good. It just didn't make any logical sense. Reason and what we were seeing were two different things and this was constant. Say one thing, mean another. Just constant contradictions until you got a damn headache! I can't begin to even really explain what happened to the story but it went from in-fighting palace politics over a throne in two lives that would have still happened to absolute chaos with the SML. A lot of the time, you were wondering; what was even happening and why? Many scenes had you cracking up because they were so absurd.

Nut sack was both Superman and somehow escaped flames for a long time after being stabbed plus he was able to play a song. What in the what? Way too many loopholes and continuity issues; arrow that killed consort Ru came from where? How did her daughter scream without opening her mouth? Cheng 2.0 came from where; was he created from clay? How did nut sack catch up to LR when they went diving off the cliff? When did this turn into a Xianxia? And many others. Suspension of disbelief was a constant must. Wasn't this an S+++ drama? Why the hell was everything so cheap looking? Where did all of the money go?

The ending was rushed obviously because over half an hour was spent on nut sack's last time on earth, though the sword fight with PWX wasn't bad. It was an HE for our 3 couples but very rushed and a lot of the characters didn't even get proper closure as they were just left on the sidelines or disappeared altogether. So now we're getting an extra episode at some point because our leads barely got their 3rd wedding in and the kids weren't shown. My question to producers is, was it worth it? To screw up a great story for one character that should have been kept as is. Only reason this got the score it got was because of the really awesome acting of the actors.

Would I recommend it? Even though the actors were awesome, this story was a mess and I can't with good conscience recommend something so completely out of left field. Even if you didn't read the book (like me), as just a viewer, you'll know very quickly something is very off about the story. All of these actors deserve a better script, so I'd recommend you watch all of them in other things.

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Luxurious Cinematography, CGI, and Costumes---Screenplay Sold Separately.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the fan subbers for doing this entire part for us. Without them, we'd still be waiting. They made it possible. I will be reviewing the parts separately as I don't want one to influence the other. I watched this series because Dilraba is one of the people I follow.

Pros: The only reason this drama is getting a higher score is because of the absolutely stunning cinematography, CGI, luxurious and richly colored costumes, and some of the OSTs. Production spared no expense there. The last time I saw a production even closely resemble this one was ELOD which also starred Dilraba. But this one clearly went full steam with the richness of each location and their gorgeous and bright colors.

While I liked Yunhe and her complexity as a character; I felt she had way more chemistry with Lin junior as I nicknamed him; the one she called older brother. His love and protection of her though falling short many times, was raw and real. I liked him more after I learned his secret and how much he wanted to save those who he cared about most including the entire Wanhua Valley. The man, whether he succeeds or fails in part 2 is already a hero in my book.

Other decent characters were Kong Ming for steadfastly standing on Chang Yi's side and helping him along the way. Head Immortal is a good antagonist and he's evil enough where while you can't stand him, you also understand he's a necessary evil. Can't say I liked old man wheelchair though he didn't need a wheelchair, but when he died and Lin junior was grieving; that was one of the few times in part 1 that tears came to my eyes. The man was a horrible ruler, father, etc and yet....there was always that yet. So a decent character.

Mediocre characters that were confusing and I'm not sure where to place them yet were the peacock that was released from underground, Li Shu, and San Yue; perhaps in part 2 they'll do better. So I'll leave them alone for now. Also immortal bodyguard Cheng Ye and the kid emperor were decent and I hope to see them evolve more as well.

Cons: When I wrote screenplay sold separately, I wasn't kidding. It was a mess. A zillion characters whose names you don't remember nor want to. Every single relationship between every couple was essentially sadomasochistic. Lies, betrayal, secrets kept, scheming to either harm or protect which 9 times out of 10 backfired. I didn't know if I was coming or going. The character Chang Yi didn't offer much; it was disappointing. I didn't feel his chemistry with Yunhe was beyond friendship that was clumped together haphazardly out of thin air. He always looked either constipated or stoned; I hope part 2 shows something more from him.

The annoying butterfly maid drove me batty. In the first 5 episodes, she had more lines and screen time then the leads. And she would yammer nonstop. I legit ffw when she would start. Also the other big bad was Shunde? Really? All she did was throw her weight around and whine. Yes, she's vicious and ruthless but I couldn't take her seriously as a proper villain when she acted like a drama queen and diva 99% of the time. Gorgeous costumes on her but her character was just roll-your-eyes worthy at best.

I don't remember any of the others because they were really that forgettable. It wasn't just one plot with maybe 2 subplots but about 76 of them all running amok where I legit felt like I was in the twilight zone. What the heck were these writers thinking? Just focus on a few things maybe from a few angles but don't confuse the audience with a zillion failed love stories and doomsday scenarios. The best way to describe it was a luxurious mess.

Would I recommend it? If you're a diehard Reba fan, then of course as she embodies Yunhe well and the cinematography is beyond stunning. But in general this is for people who like busy plots with lots of different characters all going in some direction from center. In any case, decide for yourselves.

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My Most Anticipated Drama of the Year & It Landed!

What a journey! My goodness! In the 5 years since I fell into the cdrama rabbit hole, this is the first and only drama that I followed since the very first day of filming (primarily for TJR but was glad that 60% of the MJTY cast was in here too), through the grueling 5 month shoot, every day watching many of the scenes we saw being shot because unlike every other drama, it was like fans were welcome to film whatever they wanted as it was free advertising and no one cared about leaks. The multitude of costumes and that the wrap on set at the end of February to see it come to our screens in late October. It nearly got a perfect score if it wasn't for some writing and editing issues I had. This was my most anticipated drama of the year and boy did it land!

Pros: Lord, I don't even know where to begin. The CGI was phenomenal and it never felt like a computer was doing the work instead of the actors. The gorgeous costumes and sets. I wonder if this was an S++ drama because of how expensive it looked and was. Favorite character was ZYC with ZYZ coming in close second. Both of them, be it their bickering or stronger than platinum bond were such dynamic characters. Both actors are still young and for one this is only his second series to air while the other has had several but both showed tremendous growth from what I had seen from them previously; the versatility was insane. The demon hunting bureau became a family stronger together than many you'd see in real life that had to go from case to case and from tragedy to tragedy as they were being set up by asswipe camp and ZYZ's former best friend who was ridiculously misguided but gained his redemption at the end. BJ was a riot though all the shrieking did kind of get annoying after a while; that said when he was possessed by LL until nearly the end, you missed the kid. PSJ and her puppet brother were also indispensable to the team as was cheesy mountain God YL; he and BJ made a great pair. I have never seen CX act before and felt she gave a strong performance here. WX had her strong moments, being the common sense voice in the group/family and scenes of sisterhood and encouragement with PSJ.

When this thing was filmed, none of us who followed the actors—day in and day out—knew that it would have any comedy in it (it was an original IP after all) so were totally caught off guard with the first episode and onwards. It wasn't a lot but it certainly made for some interesting situations especially when BJ yanked ZYC's hair repeatedly and the sound effects, that part we actually saw filmed as in real life TJR and Lester are really close since their MJTY days and Lester turning 13 on set plus going through puberty, it made for some really funny scenes both BTS and on screen because whether in real life or not Lester/BJ clung to TJR/ZYC like crazy gorilla glue lol! One of those yanks off screen nearly pulled TJR's wig off; it became a DY masterpiece. I'm personally extremely proud of TJR as new and green as he is to show business; with now only 2 series out, 3 filmed and currently working on a 4th. He couldn't play that character any different or better; it’s mind-boggling that he only debuted last year.

While filming, the entire cast including the guests had to perform a certain dance in various locations and we were puzzled about how it would be used; we counted over 30 by the time filming ended. They even filmed one in the snow which was followed by an epic snowball fight that had crew joining in and GJM being lambasted by everyone as he tried rather unsuccessfully to get away. It seemed the cast was giving him payback for the extreme dieting and hours of work. That was made into an MV but when this thing premiered we realized that the dances were edited in a way to become our ending credits that would change every few episodes. It was quite smart and resourceful; because the show was emotionally heavy and the credits added that light and warm touch. So it became a wonderful combination.

All of the supporting cast were great as were the guests. So many wonderful characters to show that not all demons were inherently evil; some were born with fates they didn't want like ZYZ and Fei. And that humans could be far worse like leader of asswipe camp. He became immortal and so many had to sacrifice so much to take him down especially BJ. Losing YL and BJ were the hardest for me; I legit cried. ZYZ, you were prepared, still hard though there's hope for him returning someday. Maybe one of the characters could go into the sundial and wait until he cultivates into human form again, like WX did with the tree.

All of the OSTs and BGMs were amazing but my number one liquid fire favorite was by LYN. It was his first time doing this genre of hip hop/rock and it absolutely blew my mind. I have it and a few others now in my Spotify OST list. Maybe it's because I followed this show from the beginning but I feel like when it ended (after the special episode), it took a part of me with it. Like I'm extremely satisfied but wish we were with our characters longer.

Cons: Though this section is small, unfortunately it still was there. I absolutely did not like how the majority of the character of WX was written; I don't know why GJM decided to make her so one dimensional. She spent many of her scenes for 34 episodes crying and yelling either for ZYZ or ZYC. The writing of this character reminded me of her character in MLC due to the weepiness of it, though there she at least talked and acted tougher and carried a sword. Everyone else who cried which they did often given the amount of tragedy in this had a lot of depth and you felt the weight of their tears but with her it became almost a waiting game of when will she start per episode or numerous times per episode. Even in the end, it threw a heavily emotional scene off; like stop already, do and say something else, please! So the writing threw a monkey wrench into this whole character for an actress who could handle being complex and should have been allowed to showcase that. Also could have had the good guys not lose so much when it came to asswipe camp's strategies. Felt like they were given the upper hand way too much as opposed to the push and pull that would have felt more appropriate.

Editing was off as some scenes came together very suddenly and you didn't understand how this person was there or why. Or wait did she cough up blood? When did that happen? I felt like many scenes were cut altogether which was kind of weird since the episode count actually went up and there was an extra episode to boot. It being a fantasy drama, suspension of disbelief had to be deployed a bit especially when our group was so obviously spied on and they didn't realize it at all or some characters disappeared without a trace and we didn't know what happened to them. But that's it.

Would I recommend it? 100% would! This show delivered in so many ways. The cons were nothing in comparison to the pros; writing and editing but the richness of the story, music, locations, costumes, and the absolutely phenomenal performances by the actors should give you a very satisfactory experience.

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A Wild Goose Chase w/an anti-climactic ending

I fully understand this production had lack of funding and I watched it only because of Wang Yibo. It was a comedy but it lacked a lot. The ending was stitched together like a bad rag doll. Yibo's character getting constantly beat up was hard to watch. It should have been renamed "Where's My Notebook?" There were a lot of plot holes that never got filled, like why did the teacher cooperate with the ultimate bad guy? Or how did the fat guy and Lexi end up with powers? The ending was very haphazard and random. For one of Yibo's first series, I'd say it was a good start and his acting was the only thing that I admired. I won't rewatch it but I look forward to seeing his future works.

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Building 19; An Underrated Show

19th Floor or Building 19 as I think it should have been called because we never really saw 19 floors but the number on the building itself. This show was ridiculously underrated and that's sad. I didn't expect it to be good and only really knew ML, FL, and Bai Shu's characters from a few previous series. But it had a great storyline that never dragged and only a few baubles.

Pros: A show has to be good for me to watch it with AI subs as it's something I very rarely do because they give me a headache. But even before I knew when Viki was actually going to drop with subs, I was invested in watching. I'm so glad that romance wasn't the priority shoved in there like most even sci-fi shows have done. The teamwork and friendships built gradually amongst the players of this life or death game was the main theme. We did end up with two couples ultimately but it was a very toned down process that wasn't forced.

Favorite characters were def ML and FL; the essential high IQ and EQ alpha male (GX) and female (CY) who really in a sense were childhood sweethearts. He had searched for her high and low and they ended up in the game together as her father helped him find and protect her. All of the members of the team went from annoying, having issues, or jackasses to great friends and supportive of each other. Absolutely everyone evolved and grew. I'm actually glad Uncle Lin never regained his game memories because someone else taking over his body and the rest of that would have been pretty traumatic. There were 3 fathers in this series that had daughter issues including the villain but he was just insane. I wish GX hadn't sacrificed himself to save him. I would have let him fry. Thankfully it didn't take GX too long to return to the land of the living and have his memories restored.

The basic premise of this show is that a villain (YML) hijacks a game from two other creators and creates a horror show where players must "die" somehow or figure out a way to pass each level to survive. Players never choose it, but a chip is implanted in their heads because they tried a free VR game and the device implemented it. Those that die in horrible ways, end up in a coma with their lives basically in this dude's hands. And all of this because of his own selfish actions and being unable to save his daughter but because the paramedics didn't get there in time, he blames the world and wants everyone to suffer.

The CGI was truly amazing how realistic they made each world. They showed a video of each level in the game and how it's created. There are comical moments too and tear jerking ones. They also showed each important person's family life and how imperfect it already is plus each night, they get sucked into the game no matter where they are; sitting, standing, on the toilet. All of the twists and turns of this series really had you wanting more. Even YML up until his last episode, you wanted to use a flamethrower on.

Cons: Starting with YML; he was just a loony that deserved jail time or to die in his own game. So him being saved by GX and from just a few of GX's words understanding his mistakes that for 29 episodes he didn't get wasn't very believable. Yes, this was an AI-VR sci-fi show so reality was superficial but this was basic human nature stuff and a leopard doesn't change his spots so fast.

The fact that the group actually believed him when he said he'd remove the chip was poor writing. Also when they sneaked into a high tech building on some occasions but got caught in others was unbelievable. A place like this that had guards and cameras everywhere, how could you not get caught? Or think you were in the clear? It was very unrealistic and this happened like 4 times. Another weird plot hole was that in the last episode the policeman speaking to the press said they'd been investigating this for months and had "the masses" tell them this was going on; what masses? Her dad that was in Uncle Lin's body? Only the ones in the game knew about it and the doctors that were made to disappear or director of the hospital. Where did this mountain of evidence come from that they'd been compiling? The group was afraid to go to the police because they didn't think they'd be believed. Meanwhile, the police supposedly knew and yet didn't do anything about it until they mysteriously and randomly showed up at the place when YML was chucked into reality by GX in the second to last episode to arrest him? Makes no sense.

Personally, though they made weird overtures with that random dude in the last 3 minutes of the show that there may very well be a season 2, I don't want it. Cast will most likely be different and the reason for it wouldn't make sense anymore. Leave well enough alone. Should have just ended it on our group walking away together from that alley fight.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! Just wait for Viki to drop with proper subs; it's a great series if you like sci-fi despite some flaws in the cons. All of the actors did a good job. Worth the watch.

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