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Completed
Fall in Love
1 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Jun 11, 2024
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Hidden Gem - LOVED this series!

This series didn't seem to gain popularity, and in my opinion it is underrated. I really enjoyed it, overall a well-rounded series with romance, comedy, historical relevance, action, mystery and intrigue.

PROS:
- Lead couple had strong chemistry; mutual affection, respect, strength, devotion and comedy. It was refreshing to see a FL that isn't weak, helpless or gullible.
- Pacing was good, was not draggy. I found myself skipping because of the suspense, I was eager to find out what happens next.
- The ending was so good - perfect ending to the build up throughout the series. And they ended it appropriately without trying to drag it out for several more episodes
- No unnecessary characters or subplots to fill up screen time

CONS:
- There was definitely an underlying theme of communist propaganda

Characters/Acting:
- ML - he is one of my favorite actors, and he nailed this role as well. He was believable with the different dimensions that his character entailed: bravery, honor, loyalty, tenderness, coldness, heartache, poker face, etc.
- FL - this is the first time I've seen this actress in a series. She's adorable, and definitely looked the part. While her acting wasn't bad, she lacked the depth to invoke utter sadness and heart ache. At certain gut wrenching scenes - the male actors had more tears and facial expressions than she did.
- The 2nd ML who played Xu Guang Yao was actually very likable. Usually those characters are made out to be the antagonist that gets in the way of the lead couple. But you really empathize with his character and I found him endearing and so respectable. The only thing that bugged me was his hairstyle - the weird bangs being held back by a stiff strand of hair.
- All the support characters did an amazing job, their acting was on par with the main characters. Except the ML's little sister. She was kind of annoying and her wig was terrible.

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Completed
The Wind Blows from Longxi
1 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Apr 28, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Amazing acting and storyline - but so boring

I was really looking forward to this series being such a fan of Chen Kun (ML). He's such an amazing actor with unparalleled range, The entire cast also acted very well. The production quality and storyline were great. The reason I gave it such a low score was due to the slowness, it was very boring. I found it hard to stay focused and engaged. Majority of the film was scenes with dark lighting and men talking in low whispers. It was also very difficult to follow along w/ so many characters, and many of them had multiple names which made it even more difficult to decipher who's who and who they were referring to.

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Completed
She and Her Perfect Husband
1 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Mar 28, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Waste of Time and Talent

I don't understand the highly rated reviews for this series. The premise of the story was promising - portraying the unfair glass ceiling for women in the professional world dominated by men. The strong FL with the unconditionally supportive partner/spouse. But the pacing and the editing made it extremely boring. There was no real build up to the climax of the series...just really long drawn out, repetitive dialogue. Tons of screen time showcasing the FL's career as a lawyer. A lot of the legal cases were just ridiculous.

While the lead actors did a decent job acting, as the leading couple they had zero chemistry. Yang Mi usually does pretty good, this is the first time I've seen her in a modern drama. She came across as self-absorbed for her own personal gains, and he came across as a wimpy doormat/servant. This is the first time I saw the ML actor in a series, and it does not make me want to see any of his other shows.

40 episodes was way to long, what a waste of time. I sat thru it, skipping a lot of episodes just to see if the ending justifies enduring the time spent. Not at all. No major sense of happiness or satisfaction with the ending. I was just annoyed for wasting my time.

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Completed
Blossoms in Adversity
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Oct 14, 2024
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good Series but Male Lead Fell Flat

This is a good series, I enjoyed it. A story of injustice from those in power, family relationships, personal growth, redemption, and karma. My main complaint is that the male lead fell flat. His acting was bland and stiff which impacts the chemistry w/ the female lead.

The Good:
- FL did an amazing job. This is the 3rd series I've seen this actress in, and she gets better and better with each role. She's adorable, charismatic, and played this part so well. Fearless, clever, loyal, and righteous but without being over the top saint-like. It's refreshing to see such a strong well-rounded female character.
- The relationship between the main couple was refreshingly open & honest with mutual respect and understanding. No illogical, sociopathic love triangle where people try to break up the couple w/ vicious jealousy and manipulation (except for the Emperor, but that was for a whole different reason).
- The emperor - that actor is type-casted for the villain roles. He nailed it with this role. He kept me guessing: are all his sinister moves for the greater good, and did he genuinely feel love & devotion for his family or was everyone expendable to maintain devout obedience to him?
- Supporting cast was really good as well. Even 2nd, 3rd, 4th supporting characters had natural & believable character development. They way the women and children fell from grace, went through hardships and evolved was really well written and acted. There wasn't anyone who was particularly annoying. Except for the annoying paternal aunt who caused the Grandmother's death - but justice prevailed there.
- Pacing was good, not draggy. I actually did not skip much like I typically do.

The Bad:
- ML fell flat. This is the first time I've seen this actor in a series. His acting was stiff and did not evoke much emotion for me. It wasn't just him playing the typical stoic, heroic tough guy act either - his acting was just bland. His facial expressions were limited to just serious or a wide-eyed deer in headlights. And his wig was distracting - they made his hairline so low that his forehead looked tiny. A role like this would have been better suited for an actor like Leo Wu (Love Like the Galaxy) or Dylan Wang (Love Between Fairy & Devil).
- Lead couple chemistry was just ok. Wasn't terrible but wasn't great either. This type of storyline requires major chemistry.
- The music could've been a lot better for this type of series. It's not memorable at all, and the song that kept playing was children singing like a nursery rhyme just lowered the quality of the OST.

Overall this is potentially a re-watch if I'm really bored w/ nothing else to watch.

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Completed
My Boss
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Feb 26, 2024
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Cute Romantic Comedy with a Good Cast Ensemble

This is a cute light-hearted romantic comedy with a great ensemble cast where the support characters really shined. Yes, a bit cliche tropey storyline with the alpha male boss who falls in love with his newbie female assistant/colleague. But I can overlook that and just watch this at face value as a cute romantic comedy.

Pros:
- Adorable main couple, great chemistry. ML and FL did a great job. This the first role I've seen the ML (Chen Xing Xu) since the fan favorite Goodbye My Princess. The FL is a new actress that can really play the adorable, charismatic role. But she still lacks complex/emotional depth - but that's not really required for this light-hearted drama.
- The pacing was good, not draggy at all - for once I did not skip thru much.
- A realistic modern script without a bunch of over the top ridiculous scenes/plot lines that make your blood boil. There is the typical unrequited love that makes someone do unethical things to damage their love-rival's reputation - but this drama addresses this quickly and serves up justice, rather than letting it be the main plot for the whole series.
- The support characters were so good. This is one of the very very few dramas (modern or costume) that I actually enjoyed watching the support characters on screen. None of them were annoying, over-the-top, or boring scree-fillers. The character Bao Rui was my favorite, he had such subtle comedic timing, he actually made me laugh out loud.

Cons:
- The entire series was so good, but the last 2-3 episodes just seemed to lose steam, and the last episode was rather lackluster. I would've given this series a 10, but took 1 pt off for this reason.

Re-watch: I'd likely rewatch this.

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Completed
All Out of Love
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Oct 5, 2022
70 of 70 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good series but did not need to be 70 episodes

Overall a good show, good storyline and good casting/acting. But it really did not need to be 70 episodes, that is too long especially for a modern drama.

Storyline / Pacing
- The first 1/3 of the series was so promising, I didn't skip thru any of the episodes. Then it started to get a bit draggy and repetitive after that. I started skipping a lot after that.
- Way too many flashbacks of their childhood scenes over and over again
- The amount of times characters were injured and hospitalized was ridiculous, especially the FM Jiang Shen - she was constantly getting in accidents, getting hurt by other people. It got to the point where that you start to expect her to get hurt yet again every few episodes
- Jiang Sheng's internal conflict of which 'love' to choose makes sense...familial/brotherly love or romantic love. But Liang Sheng's perspective...how can he romantically love Jiang Sheng even if they found out as adults that they are not blood related? They grew up together believing they were brother and sister. So there was a bit of a creepy/ick factor that he wanted her to love him romantically.

Characters/Acting
- ML Tian You (Wallace Chung) did an amazing job in this, your heart just ached for him the entire time! You felt joy when he was happy, your heart sank when he was sad, you felt anger when he was wronged.
- FL Jiang Sheng - this was the first time I've seen this actress, she was cute, did a good job. No real complaints, other than she was incredibly so thin that it looked concerning in some outfits.
- Other ML Liang Sheng - acting fell very flat. He just looked like a mopey walking zombie.
- Child actors that played Jiang Sheng, Liang Sheng and Bei Xiao Wu - those kids did an amazing job, really natural and adorable, not the forced over the top cute/sassy kids you typically see in dramas
- Wei Yang - ok, she is literally psychotic and possessive. Her rationale makes zero sense, being jealous that her crush cares too much about his own sister? And justifies her vile actions just because she's loved Liang Sheng and devoted so much time into their non-official relationship? She caused Jiang Sheng to have a miscarriage, she caused her to have a head injury, etc...but then expects that an apology should suffice?
- Tian En - the sociopath brother. I immediately tensed up every time he was on screen. Something so creepy and gross about him. And his acting of trying to appear innocent to his brother Tian You, his acting came across as childlike like a 5 year old, not a college age man! Can't decide who was more annoying, him or Wei Yang.
- Ning Xi - I liked her character. She surprised me. I expected her to start out as a kind, understanding woman who's love was unrequited then slowly jealousy would creep in and she would turn vindictive and scheming. But she didn't! She stayed true to that character quality.

Music
- this was probably the best OST I've heard for a modern drama. Usually historical dramas have way better OST and the modern ones are kind of cheesy or try to hard to be cool.

Rewatch value - no way. Its way too long.

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Completed
Mr. Fighting
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Aug 29, 2022
45 of 45 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Dragged way too long

Plot:
The storyline is a good concept - the harsh realities of a struggling actor trying to succeed in the entertainment world. But it dragged on so slow and for way too long. I considered dropping it so many times, but still watched it to the end to see if it redeems itself...skipping thru most parts of each episodes. It finally started to get better by episode 30! What stood out in this series was all the shouting. EVERY episodes, so many characters are always shouting, excessively shouting even if they're having normal conversations...its shouting at one another. I had to turn down the volume often. It centers around a team of 3 kind, generous but feisty family/friends that rally around to support the male lead to realize his dream as an actor. But it's really illogical how these people literally devoted their time, money and their life to him unconditionally.

Acting/Cast:
- Male Lead (Hao Ze Yu) - I mainly watched this because of the ML Allen Deng because I loved him in Ashes of Love. But I must say I'm disappointed w/ him in this series (and honestly all the other series he's been in besides Ashes of Love). His acting wasn't necessarily bad, but as the male lead, his character was just so unlikeable from beginning to end. He was supposed to be the humble underdog that you empathize with and root for, but he just came across as an aggressive, whiny, unhinged victim that lashes out at everyone who tries to help him.
- Female Lead (Fu Zi ) - this is the first time I've seen this actress in any series, and she's quite good. She was one of only two characters that I really liked in this series. Her acting was sincere and heartfelt. Her innocence and kindness really shined through for this character.
- Fu Shang Fu, the female lead's father. He played the part well, the character was very endearing as a father and as a trusted/loyal friend. Tough on the outside, but funny, sweet, caring, and generous on the inside. His relationship w/ his daughter was so touching.
- Niu Mei Li, the male lead's agent - she really got on my nerves the whole series, up until maybe episode 25 or so when her motherly, nurturing side came out. The last maybe 10 episodes, she was able to pull at my heart strings.

I would not recommend this series. The plot could have been good, but they missed the mark...pacing was too slow and dragged on way too long.

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Completed
To Love
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
May 25, 2022
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

One of the best Cdramas I've seen so far

This is the very first time I've given a 10 rating for any c-drama. I mainly watch historical/costume/wuxi series, but I will occasionally watch modern dramas if there's a ML or FL that I loved in a historical. I finally watched Princess Agents and fell in love w/ the ML Lin Geng Xin (Kenny Lin) so I watched this series. He did not disappoint!

Story:
Action packed, not super predictable. Threw some unexpected curve balls. Almost every episode was a suspenseful cliffhanger.

Pacing:
Good pacing, this is the ONLY show that I did not skip through much. Even some of my most favorite series I did a lot of skipping during draggy parts. This series was not draggy at all. I found myself skipping some parts mainly because I couldn't stand the suspense and needed to know what happens next.

Music:
Good, but not particularly memorable where I would listen to the soundtrack later.

Acting:
- Kenny Lin (ML - Yan Jin) - He is probably my most favorite ML actor at this point, on the heals of watching him in Princess Agents then this show. I think he has surpassed my other ML favorites: Ken Chun (Rise of the Phoenixes), Mark Chao (Eternal Love/TMPB) and Allen Deng (Ashes of Love). Every single scene with Yan Jin was engaging, entertaining, funny or heart breaking. He was incredibly believable with all facets of his character: the handsome rich playboy, the silly brother/friend, the loving boyfriend and the badass tough guy cop. His chemistry w/ the FL was off the charts, extremely endearing, funny and saddening all at once. I can't wait to watch him in his next show.
- FL (Ji Xiou-ou) - first time seeing this actress. She did a good job.
- Support cast was awesome as well. Among my favorite were: Yan Shen (Yan Jin's twin sister), Cheng Rui Min (Yan Jin's best friend)

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Completed
Cupid's Kitchen
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Mar 30, 2022
40 of 40 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good series with some flaws

This is my first modern dram - I usually only watch historical/wuxia/costume type dramas. I waited for this drama to come out solely because of Ethan Juan (who was amazing in Legend of Fuyao). He did not disappoint in this series. Swoon worthy with sex appeal and great acting skills. That in combination w/ the FL (this is the first time I've seen her in any show) who is simply adorable. Her ability to come across as an innocent naïve hopeless romantic was spot on. She didn't do the over-the-top annoying cutesiness. Her genuine kindness and pure heart was balanced out w/ some reactive outbursts to injustice, rather than portraying her as a total Mary Sue type. She balanced out the character w/ some flaws.

Pros:
- ML and FL carried the show w/ their great acting and sizzling chemistry; you just yearn for their scenes together whether it was mentor/apprentice; platonic friendship or romance
- the cinematography, visual and audio of the food preparation was amazing; from high end restaurant scenes to mom and pop restaurants to street vendors; it left me salivating
- support characters - some of them were endearing (Uncle Lin, Kesong's parents, Nina and Da Mai), but most seemed like filler characters to add sub plots

Cons:
- the worst and most obvious was Elise's (and other foreign actors/characters) dubbing, it was painful and awkward, like watching old Bruce Lee movies where the mouth movements don't match the dubbing/scenes
- the antagonists never get their justified karma; its like the last 3 episodes the writers/producers got lazy and rushed it to tie everything up in a nice little bow and everyone lives happily ever after
- unnecessary sprinkling of broken English lines into the scenes - like why was that even necessary? The characters would be speaking Chinese...but then 1 or 2 lines for emphasis was done in English? Very awkward

Overall: I really enjoyed the series, but likely won't re-watch it.

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Completed
The Interest of Love
3 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Mar 11, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 1.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 2.0
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

BORING and worst Female Lead EVER

This is my first time watching a K-drama (I always was C-dramas). This was the worst drama I've ever watched. So SLOW and BORING as hell. And god, the FL has to be the worst character of all time. Not one redeeming quality about her at all, yet all these men fawn over her, and the ML was obsessed but they had no chemistry. She constantly lied, created unnecessary, irrational drama that humiliated or hurt others she supposedly cared about just to concoct a narrative she thinks "is better." She always talked in circles - whenever someone would question her she always answers w/ a stupid rhetorical or condescending question!

Literally a drama full of really unlikeable characters - other than the 2 moms (the ML's mom and the 2nd FL's mom), they were charming and cute.

Every other scene was either a flashback (for the 100th time), a shot of their phone screens either making a call or a text, or the characters staring, blank-faced at each other. The scenes just kept bouncing back and forth, moving onto a scene that leaves you utterly confused, then it goes and replays flashbacks to explain the confusing sequence of events....OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I'd give this a ZERO star if possible.

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Completed
Love Like the Galaxy: Part 2
1 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Jul 14, 2023
29 of 29 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

A bit overrated - its just ok

I delayed watching this because the trailers all made is seem like a silly comedy, rather than a drama. I prefer dramas. The first 1/3 of the series was more comedic, but then it turned into a more serious, heavy drama. Pacing was off, took too long for the love story to build up. It seemed to dragged on too long after the climax of the series...it was like they just recycled random characters who had smaller parts earlier on, then disappeared for most of series...then suddenly reappeared towards the end just to continue the series? Felt forced and odd.
My main issue w/ this series is the main couple - both the ML and FL fell flat in terms of chemistry. I didn't feel it, but you feel like you have to root for them because they are the main couple. I wasn't convinced of any deep, intense love between them.

Acting/Characters:
- Wu Lei / Ling Buyi (ML) - the only other series I saw him in was when he was a child actor in Nirvana in Fire. So it was hard for me to take him seriously as an adult actor in this series. His acting was a bit stiff.
- Zhao Lu Si / Chen Shao Shang (FL) - she plays the cute, funny role fine. She doesn't fit the image of the most beautiful maiden in the capital. Her sad/crying scenes did not tug at my heartstrings, except for 1 scene where she was bullied by the princesses and almost drowned in the pond - when Ling Buyi unaware of what happened came to visit her talking happily....she turned her back and cried out of self pity but tried to hold it in. That scene broke my heart.
- The Emperor - acting was fine. But the script writing for him seems off - I have never seen a period drama where the emperor was so funny and kind. Even if they are kind at hear, they usually appear serious, stern, intimidating.
- Imperial Consort Yue Fei and the Empress - I liked them, it was refreshing that they were genuinely kind people and not scheming like most royals. I liked the spunk and grit that Consort Yue Fei had, and her relationship w/ the Emperor was cute.

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Completed
Legally Romance
1 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Jul 6, 2023
33 of 33 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Song Zu Er (FL) the only redeeming quality

I don't understand the rave reviews and high scores this drama got. It was very draggy where it feels like you're watching the same scene/plot on repeat. The only redeeming quality and why I watched until the end (with a LOT of skipping) is because of Song Zu Er. She is one of the best young actresses with such a range in genuine acting - adorable, witty, fierce, emotional, heart-wrenching...she nails it every time in every series I've seen her in.

I just could not get into the male lead and his hair. This is the first time I've seen this actor in a series, and he was not good...not terrible, but not good. He had zero chemistry w/ the FL.

I did not root for anyone or any couple in this series other than the FL and her father. All the supporting characters and their storyline were uninteresting.

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Completed
Love Between Fairy and Devil
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Apr 1, 2024
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Good but did not tug at the heartstrings

This was a good fantasy series, typical tropes, but a decent watch. The main issue I have w/ this is that this type of love story has to really tug at your heartstrings and leave you w/ lingering feelings long after watching it. I did not get that feeling like I did w/ other love stories (i.e. Ashes of Love, Rise of the Phoenixes, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Goodbye My Princess).

Pros:
- ML lead (Dylan Wang) this was the first time seeing him in a series, he absolutely nailed this role. He was convincing in all the various stages of his character development: cold & powerful, funny & bubbly for the body swaps, tender & emotional. His facial expressions made you feel every emotion he felt.
- 2nd ML (Cheng Heng role) - first time seeing this actor. I liked him - usually I tend to really root against the 2nd ML, but his character was likeable.
- Support characters - usually the support characters are rather annoying, but most were likeable except for Jie Li, she was super annoying. I had zero sympathy for her plight. I special shoutout to Danyin. She character seem to start off as one of those psychotic love-obsessed women that would do anything to steal a love she feels entitled to, but Danyin was an upstanding character rational logic and ethics. She was my favorite support character. I loved the relationship w/ her and the Chang Heng in the mortal realm - her undying/selfless devotion to Chang Heng was sweet and funny.
- production quality was impressive

Cons:
- FL was just ok. I think she was overshadowed by the ML's screen presence. She did not seem to match up to his acting/screen presence. Her cuteness was a bit over the top that it was annoying at times, and came across like a complete fool. And when she did the body swap, she could not pull off the cold/domineering effect. She just looked silly.
- the chemistry between the main couple was just ok, not terrible, but not great either. The chemistry for this type of love story is crucial.
- some of the costumes looks really silly. The headgear of the gods looked very plastic. And the gold flower wrap around the FM character as the Goddess of Xishan looks so cheap.
- the ending was confusing. They never explained why/how Dongfang Qing Cang came back to life suddenly.

Overall it was good. Not one of my favorite dramas but still good. I may rewatch it if I'm bored.

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Completed
Good Bye, My Princess
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Jul 25, 2023
52 of 52 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Started out good, then dragged

The storyline is a good foundation for a great drama/tragedy. The first half was good, then it just dragged on repetitively for the remaining half. The series would've been great if they just ended it sooner. Midway thru the series, the scenes just kept repeating over and over. How many times can a Crown Princess Consort sneak out of the Imperial palace, get into mischief and get saved by her creepy stalker. This type of tragic love story should leave you with lingering emotions after watching it. That did not happen for me.

Acting/Cast:
- ML was just ok, nothing great, nothing terrible. One weird thing that I couldn't get past was his hands...his fingers are freakishly long and bony. Every time I saw his hands I was distracted in a bad way.
- FL was good. She was adorable. But the character was a bit cliche.
- 2nd ML (Gu Jiao) - the FL's teacher/first love - he was probably one of the most annoying characters. He came across as a creepy stalker. And how unrealistic that he stood in the tree overlooking her room in the palace every night. If she can see him...can't the palace guards?! He's always wearing white clothing...standing straight upright on a tree branch in a tree w/ barely any leaves/foliage.
- Prime Minister/Imperial Material Uncle - my god he was annoying, I skipped every scene that he was in. Not sure if it was the dubbing of the voice, but it was like being put to sleep when he was on screen
- Support characters, and the ONLY likeable characters were A Du and Pei Zhao. Loyal and conflicted conscience. But it also irked me that they did not speak up to reveal the injustices, atrocities, misunderstandings.

Pros:
- Cinematography and production quality were great
- Music was beautiful
- Good storyline potential

Cons:
- Dragged on way too long, many repetitive scenes/topics
- No real likeable characters other than the Xiao Feng, A Du and Pei Zhao
- The main couple lacked chemistry. Their intense love when they were in Dachi, just didn't make sense to me. And I still don't understand how they fell in love again in the palace after losing their memories. He was so cruel to her, constantly humiliating & degrading her in front of others - so how could she fall in love with him?

Overall it had potential, but fell flat. Won't be re-watching it.

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Completed
A Date with the Future
0 people found this review helpful
by lemam
Jun 22, 2023
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Adorable love story, one of my favorite modern dramas

I'd rank this as my #2 favorites of modern dramas (just behind To Love starring Lin Gen Xing). Great storyline, great acting, pretty good OST. Overall I gave it a 9. Took off a point for the last 2 episodes dragging out beyond the climax of the story.

*** Spoilers below ****

Acting/Cast:
- William Chan (ML) - he's one of my favorite male leads right now, I've been binge watching a lot of his shows. He's not the best actor w/ a ton of range, but he just lights up the screen with his charisma and adorable smile. He plays the action hero role very well. In this role as a fierce firefighter he shined in every way. He was able to convey the tormented, tough, cold & aloof on the outside, but caring/loyal on the inside persona so well. As much as I adore William Chan, he usually does not have much chemistry w/ his female leads (other than Sandra Ma in Age of Legends). However in this series it's the most chemistry I've seen him with a female lead. They had great chemistry.
- Xu Lai (FL) - this is the first time I've seen this actress, she did a great job. She was believable conveying the sweet bubbly innocence w/out being annoyingly over the top, but also tough w/ grit and rational determination. When she cried you can feel her sadness.
- Dr. Zang Qui (Support Female) - first time seeing this actress. She's beautiful and did a great job being the tough logical sounding board for people. But the flashbacks of her youth she was so sweet and bubbly, and the scene where she broke down crying begging Jin Sichuan to let her see her dying husband...that scene was just heartbreaking.

PROS:
- Storyline - I loved it, it was very reminiscent of Backdraft from the 1990s, one of my all time favorite movies with Kurt Russell, Billy Baldwin, etc. The emergency calls/situations were very plausible, unlike a lot of Cdramas.
- The character development was done well showing how people experience and recover from traumatic life experiences
- The death of Liu Xu and his secret recording being played to his brigade team after dies, oh man that was a tearjerker! Get your tissues for that.
- The scene of Jin Sichuan in the coma...trying to follow the dead Liu Xu into the light...but getting pulled back by Xu Lai. That was powerful. I was on the edge of my seat holding my breath.

CONS:
- Hospital scenes - as battered up as Jin Sichuan gets, rightfully so as a firefighter, most of the hospital scenes he still looks perfect, other than 1 time when he saved Xu Lai from the kidnapper he was bruised and battered. But even when he was supposedly in a coma for awhile (maybe months, as they did not really specify how long) - he had not 1 scratch on him, hair perfectly done, clean shaven, etc. Very unrealistic, but this is pretty typical of most cdramas anyway.
- Xu Lai in the beginning came across as some crazed stalker at first w/ zero boundaries and thick skin.
- The annoying coworker of Xu Lai - dumb as bricks and the trouble she tries to inflict on Xu Lai is lame. But she was barely held accountable by the news station even when caught several times - except for the last straw when she almost killed her.
- Rescue dogs were cute and the scene when Windhound died saving Jin Sichuan - gut-wrenching. But the dogs and dog training got too much screen time.
- The dubbing wasn't always the best. Some voices just did not fit w/ the character/actor.
- The 3rd support couple - Lao Huo and Shi Shi the actress. The entire series he was irrationally obsessed and possessive of Xu Lai, while Shi Shi followed him around like a pathetic puppy. Then suddenly at the end of the series he magically realizes...Oh, wait, ok, I love you now Shi Shi (because he can't have Xu Lai). It felt like an unnatural progression, as if the writers wanted to force some sort of resolution for Lao Huo out of pity.

I've never re-watched any modern dramas (except 1 other one) - but I'd probably re-watch this one.

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