Sundy
Good drama, just too long!!
So, apparently this review turned out to be an essay so I apologize in advance…!
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I kept reading of how amazing this drama is but I always put it off due to its length, but I finally decided to give it a chance since I had a week off work and a lot of time to spare! I have to say that I was disappointed. (I am going to put this in the list of high rated/acclaimed dramas that didn’t live up to the hype for me).
For me this show's downfall is its length. Too many characters, too many side stories that take more time than they should, that kept making me lose interest and pay no attention to my screen. I mean there were episodes where I looked at the screen for a total of 10 minutes out of 45 and honestly did not miss any part of the plot (I don’t speak nor understand Chinese, so it was just background noise). From some point on I think we also saw more of the supporting characters than the main cast. At the second half of the show Ru Yan (2nd ML) had more airtime and character development than the main couple combined and at some point, the main couple became side characters in their own story!
To a more positive note, the acting was really good, it made you interested in the characters and really care for them. The main couple has chemistry and it’s what keeps you interested and invested in the drama. Also, the acting was exceptional from all 3 Main Leads.
I had seen the FL on Go Go Squid before this, but she really blew me away here! What a performance. She portrayed all the variation of her character so convincingly, from innocent & carefree, to wise and calm , to broken and dark!
The ML was Incredible as well. Usually Chinese Male leads have a hard time portraying sweet/caring and cold and stern at the same time. It’s either one or the other, but he managed to do so effortlessly. You could also feel his sadness every time. As for the 2nd ML his acting was on point he went from gentle, sweet and calm , to broken, to buts**t crazy seamlessly and he portrayed all of those brilliantly. He also had a scene where he got to act silly (when another character pretended to be him) and you could immediately tell he was supposed to be someone else!! He really is a brilliant actor I am goanna search for another drama of his to watch! Ohh and the soundtrack amazing!
The best part of the show - story wise- for me was their time at the mortal realm, which should have been the shows primary focus. It had the perfect balance of humour, romance and drama. At the first part of the drama it was too much comedy and after the mortal realm just too heavy and dramatic.
The CGI was surprisingly good if we take into consideration that this is a TV production and no matter how high the budget it is never going to be enough for mind blowing CGI.
Also shout-out to the demon princess the best character in this show! Strong, level-headed, rational!
If this were a 40- 45-episode drama it would have been excellent. I mean the last episodes where brilliant. Do not even get me started on the wedding episodes, Game of Thrones who, but if half of your episodes need to be boring fillers with flashbacks in order to fill in 60/63 episodes (depending on the version you are watching), then maybe you don’t have enough story or material for a 60-episode drama! I mean it’s not great when you are on episode 55 and your reaction is “Thank God, there are only 5 episodes left”!
The first 20 episodes could have been summed up in 15, maybe even 12, then we spend 3-4 episodes on Run Yu’s back story which was too much. 1 would suffice. Then after the return from the mortal realm we have 10 episodes that all could be summed up to 5. In general, all those filler episodes made this drama frustrating for me. Episodes 33-44 basically useless and could have been summed up into 2 or 3 episodes!!
Due to this, some amazing episodes such as ep 45 lost impact and momentum! This is the closest I’ve come to dropping a drama, since I got frustrated by all those unnecessary filler episodes, but I never drop since I think you should always have a full picture if you are to complain or praise a drama.
At the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t because it was a good drama and worth the watch but boy the road there was rocky and I don’t think I have enough patience to ever rewatch!!
--------
I kept reading of how amazing this drama is but I always put it off due to its length, but I finally decided to give it a chance since I had a week off work and a lot of time to spare! I have to say that I was disappointed. (I am going to put this in the list of high rated/acclaimed dramas that didn’t live up to the hype for me).
For me this show's downfall is its length. Too many characters, too many side stories that take more time than they should, that kept making me lose interest and pay no attention to my screen. I mean there were episodes where I looked at the screen for a total of 10 minutes out of 45 and honestly did not miss any part of the plot (I don’t speak nor understand Chinese, so it was just background noise). From some point on I think we also saw more of the supporting characters than the main cast. At the second half of the show Ru Yan (2nd ML) had more airtime and character development than the main couple combined and at some point, the main couple became side characters in their own story!
To a more positive note, the acting was really good, it made you interested in the characters and really care for them. The main couple has chemistry and it’s what keeps you interested and invested in the drama. Also, the acting was exceptional from all 3 Main Leads.
I had seen the FL on Go Go Squid before this, but she really blew me away here! What a performance. She portrayed all the variation of her character so convincingly, from innocent & carefree, to wise and calm , to broken and dark!
The ML was Incredible as well. Usually Chinese Male leads have a hard time portraying sweet/caring and cold and stern at the same time. It’s either one or the other, but he managed to do so effortlessly. You could also feel his sadness every time. As for the 2nd ML his acting was on point he went from gentle, sweet and calm , to broken, to buts**t crazy seamlessly and he portrayed all of those brilliantly. He also had a scene where he got to act silly (when another character pretended to be him) and you could immediately tell he was supposed to be someone else!! He really is a brilliant actor I am goanna search for another drama of his to watch! Ohh and the soundtrack amazing!
The best part of the show - story wise- for me was their time at the mortal realm, which should have been the shows primary focus. It had the perfect balance of humour, romance and drama. At the first part of the drama it was too much comedy and after the mortal realm just too heavy and dramatic.
The CGI was surprisingly good if we take into consideration that this is a TV production and no matter how high the budget it is never going to be enough for mind blowing CGI.
Also shout-out to the demon princess the best character in this show! Strong, level-headed, rational!
If this were a 40- 45-episode drama it would have been excellent. I mean the last episodes where brilliant. Do not even get me started on the wedding episodes, Game of Thrones who, but if half of your episodes need to be boring fillers with flashbacks in order to fill in 60/63 episodes (depending on the version you are watching), then maybe you don’t have enough story or material for a 60-episode drama! I mean it’s not great when you are on episode 55 and your reaction is “Thank God, there are only 5 episodes left”!
The first 20 episodes could have been summed up in 15, maybe even 12, then we spend 3-4 episodes on Run Yu’s back story which was too much. 1 would suffice. Then after the return from the mortal realm we have 10 episodes that all could be summed up to 5. In general, all those filler episodes made this drama frustrating for me. Episodes 33-44 basically useless and could have been summed up into 2 or 3 episodes!!
Due to this, some amazing episodes such as ep 45 lost impact and momentum! This is the closest I’ve come to dropping a drama, since I got frustrated by all those unnecessary filler episodes, but I never drop since I think you should always have a full picture if you are to complain or praise a drama.
At the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t because it was a good drama and worth the watch but boy the road there was rocky and I don’t think I have enough patience to ever rewatch!!
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