This drama had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I don’t know where it went wrong bc when I look back at the earlier episodes and compare them to the later episodes, it baffles me that it belongs to the same DRAMA. The earlier episodes were so fun and had so much spark. There was witty banter, comical situations, & hilarious tropes! Our leads were so cute and lovable. Our villains were....well, villainizing as they do. & then it all went downhill from episode 24+. Characters got weird and their actions became inconsistent.


Things I love about the drama:

1. Xu Kai. Funny ass hell. Serious when needed. Finally a male lead with a personality. But halfway through, he lost his charm. Sad to see such a fun character get ruined by terrible writing.

2. The Sheng Family. Their playful banter and family dynamics gives such a refreshing taste to the screen. Especially with a father who enables his children’s crazy, silly antics ?. And a mother who realizes that her children’s lives are much more important than building a “name” for their family image.

3. Lu Ying Ying. Although she is the daughter of the villains of the story, she’s got more balls than all the men included. She stands up for her family. And has gotten them out of sticky situations at the risk of her own comfort. And she’s super perceptive & smart. Just sad that she always ends up getting the worst end of the stick due to her idiot father and brother. I really like her though. She’s a little naive at times but she means well. It’s also great seeing a villain’s daughter not follow their family’s footsteps. She was kind towards everyone she knew even her father’s enemies. She didn’t “plot” against anyone or she didn’t get “even” with others as you’d expect of a villain’s daughter.

Things I didn’t like about this drama:
1. The utilization of characters is terrible. Which is crazy bc they have such an amazing and talented cast! I’ve never seen a drama just throw characters to the side so blatantly as if they cease to exist. Lots of characters just pop in and pop out episodes with no rhyme or reason. They’ll go missing for tons of episodes. Pop up. And then go missing for the next 5 episodes. If you ask me, that just screams lazy poor writing.

2. The terrible case of the missing male lead. Oh my god, I see Prince Zhao (a second lead) more than I see our main male lead. How does that even work??? There’s literally episodes where we don’t see Xu Kai at all. And he hardly has scenes with the main female lead!!!

3. Too many petty situations that doesn’t further the bigger picture. For example, Princess Xinnan’s “marriage” dilemma. That was dragged out for far too long for no damn reason??? That entire arc could’ve been edited out and it wouldn’t have affected the main story one bit. That’s just one example, there’s multiple more that I don’t want to spoil for ya.

4. And on top of that, the Empress is literally her own worst enemy. All the crap that happens to her (& others) is literally caused by her. She is the root cause of everyone’s pain. Separating lovers, separating friends, commanding the killing and beating of innocent people without a fair trial. And then end up regretting her actions. I was so over her!!! She was the true villain of the story of you ask me!!!

5. The pacing was sometimes too quick for me. Some scenes needed to be soaked in to feel connected to these character but often times, they were rushed and quickly moved on to the next. Didn’t give us any time to soak in the emotions the actors were giving us. One second a character could be alive, and then the next second is their death? Like at least give us some build-up. Jeez.

6. Relationships. I wish they gave more screen time with all of the romantic relationships. That way we could see why two characters have become attached. Sometimes I’m just like why does she/he like you again?? Y’all only seen each other twice??? You fell in love just like that???? There wasn’t really a buildup. We’re often just given “hey they’re in love, accept it. Don’t question it.” So it makes some of the romantic relationships fall flat. But I will say that Yan Zi Feng’s love storyline intrigued me the most. Until it got weird & lowkey kidnapp-y rapey-ish. Idk.


****** SPOILER******
7) Yan Zi Feng is the dumbest character next to the Empress. He’s soooo darn yummy to look at. But his actions are stupid & makes no sense. One minute he’s not in love with Lu Ying Ying, & then the next he’s in love with her. Don’t get me wrong. People’s feelings can change. But we didn’t really get to see where & how he came to that realization. His declaration of love for her came outta nowhere after tons of episodes of him pushing her away and telling her he didn’t like her. Then all of a sudden he wants to rescue her from a situation HE PUT HER IN. So yeah, a little emotionally abusive to say the least. Thank god Lu Ying Ying didn’t give into his love so easily after he confessed his feelings. I’m happy she gave him lots of shit for it! Oh & he also kidnapped a lot which isn’t cute. So please scriptwriters: STOP MAKING KIDNAPPING A CUTE THING, IT’S NOT.

******END OF SPOILER******

OVERALL:
Anyways, this drama was the most disappointing drama I’ve ever watched. SO MUCH POTENTIAL. But it all got lost in the terrible writing. It was like the writer got tired and didn’t want to finish the story so they just jumbled a bunch of scene together that didn’t even make sense anymore. I’m just sad at the waste of all the good talented cast members!