isafellason
A city where no one sleeps
This review may contain spoilers
My review contains a spoiler at the end so skip the part when I say Spoiler. I watched season 1 when it came out and absolutely fell in love with the premise of the story and with the actors themselves. Coming into season 2 with a re-cast, I must admit I was a little hesitant, however since I loved Mike from a couple of his other roles, I decided to give it a try.
The Story:
After getting over my initial shock of the change of cast, I found myself enjoying the drama. The story continues from where it left off in season 1 but most of its major points was touched upon in this season; so if you decide to skip season 1, you won't necessarily be too lost. I wouldn't go as far to say the script surrounding the existence of multiple mutants, a secret organization was the greatest ever, but it was good enough to keep me interested in majority of the episode. (Like any other long dramas, I find the story line tends to drag on 2 episodes towards the end too long)
The Acting/Cast:
Esther Yu as Tian Jing Zhi: As I mentioned before, it took a bit for me to get use to the new cast, but hesitancy was quickly over by episode 2. I think Esther did a good job picking up where Janice left off. When playing a character that has already been established, it's hard to not fall into the trap of completely trying to mimic the previous actor and failing as most do; Esther still was able to pull off her own Tian Jing Zhi, while still staying true to the character Janice had initially brought to life.
Mike D'Angelo as Xue Ling Qiao: Mike is able to deliver the serious and calculating Xue Ling Qiao whose expressions we can't read when it comes to the mystery/serious story line, and, when it is time for the romance and comedy can deliver ALL THE FEELS. As much as I liked looking at Kim Tae Hwan from season 1, Mike gave Monster Xue LIFE. with his numerous facial expressions. His chemistry with Esther was also through the roof. Every time he looked at her, or they got close, my heart fluttered . I really enjoyed all the little romantic moments between the leads, and often found my self replaying their romantic scenes.
Supporting Characters: Overall the supporting cast did great, well, supporting. If I had to choose, Li Ge Yang is probably my favorite supporting cast member. As a new actor, he did very well playing the love teacher of Monster Xue and adorable best friend, Yun Zhen . (Although that may be me being biased to how his character was written. )
The Music:
Wasn't bad. It complimented the story line when it needed to.
Overall: I enjoyed the drama quite a lot, especially because of the casts chemistry, the romance and the adorable littler Xue Changan. When I do rewatch, however, I'd probably only be rewatching for all the cute moments, and just skip all the other stuff.
****SPOILER WARNING: Although I don't go into great detail, it still spoils a little, so read at YOUR OWN RISK****
The Ending:
For most romantic comedies and supernatural type dramas in general, I tend to turn off my brain and enjoy it for what it is. If it wasn't for this, I probably would have given this drama a 10 because I'm the type who easily loves anything. However, one thing ruined for me was how in the last 2 episodes the writers suddenly gave Tian Jing Zhi a complete character change. I understand she was feeling some marriage fears, but I did not understand how the script writers decided to make her seem like she finds her own child annoying and doesn't want to take care of him at all. We just spent the whole season watching her willing to do ANYTHING for her child, to all of a sudden be absent? It literally made no sense, and made me a bit mad because when it comes to endings, I just wanted the last episodes to be filled with mushy gushy romance/ happy ending stuff. I wanted to cringe at how cute their family was being on family dates or just happy feels all around, but the addition of the female lead's lack of motherly connection with her own child put a bitter taste in my mouth.
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Acting/Cast: As I stated above I'm a fan of both the main leads, and they did well in their roles. In addition their chemistry was fantastic and watching them as a sickeningly sweet couple was a joy. As for the rest of the cast, they did well in their respective roles as well, so not much else to say. Although there were parts I skipped, mainly the scenes revolving around Zheng Li's & Bai Yi Ling's love line, because I didn't feel the chemistry and at a times it felt forced. Other than that their characterization of their characters were fine.
Music: Was this the OST of the year? No, but it's still very enjoyable to listen to and did it's job well in the drama
Story/Plot: Overall the story was fine and pretty straightforward, although there were inconsistencies in detail at times, but they were so small it didn't matter in the end. My main gripe is how the writers would start plot lines for the sake of it being a long drama, then we kind of forget about it, then they bring it back and rush to end it. Although, it seems with many other long dramas, this happens as well. I especially did not like the ending because of this, and I wanted everything wrapped in a nice neat bow, but I still was kind of happy in the end. Fully satisfied? No, but it will do. Still enjoyable tho.
Rewatch value: Although I enjoyed the ride, I would only come back for the cutesy scenes between the main leads and the second couple Tang Cheng & Lu Zi Yue. Luckily there are many of those!
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