Not my kind of drama - 70% Wars/Battles + 30% Palace Politics & Scheming
Overall Rating: 7.0
Subjective Rating: 5.0
Objective Rating 8.0
Instead of just looking at my rating, please read my reasoning first. This is a very difficult drama to rate because it’s not that “Singing All Along” is a horrible drama, instead it’s a solid one. It’s just that I am not in the mood and it’s not my cup of tea. Since I watched this as part of a challenge, I did not drop it.
Why did I not like it? My biggest criticism is that the drama spent 70% of its time in wars/deserts/battles, and then the other 30% in palace politics, scheming evilness and harem fights. Not that I don’t like any of this, as I expected them in a C-drama historical drama. My dislike is the uneven distribution of these elements. 70% of wars and battles is too much for my liking. After a while, everything feels repetitive. As a romance lover, sometimes romance can help me get through some of these more serious elements. Unfortunately, the romance does not move me, despite a solid and faithful relationship between the leads. I was never too sad, emotional, happy, or giggly. For someone who usually doesn’t skip scenes or increase the speed, I ended up watching most of the drama at 1.25-1.5x speed, and then 1.75x in the last episode so that I can finish this ASAP. I wasn’t even paying much attention. This drama has become background noise to me. And because of that, I am giving it a subjective rating of 5.0 - purely based on my viewing enjoyment.
However, that would not be a fair rating for a pretty good drama. If I have to rate this objectively, there are also many elements I enjoy.
-Strong female lead, mentally and physically. Yin Li Hua is a consistently strong female warrior from start to end. She was never the damsel in distress and she actually saved the day a few times.
-Other few strong female characters - those who are smart and can fight.
-Good acting all around - from those with minor roles to our leads.
-Beautiful costumes and accessories (when they are not in battle gear).
-Surprisingly decent dubbing even though this drama is from 2016. I’ve seen some 2024 dramas with worse dubbing.
-I got to see baby Mao Zi Jun and Qin Jun Jie
Unfortunately, this is not the drama for me. But this could be a drama for you if you enjoy wars/battles and palace politics.
Completed: 4/20/2024 - Review #429
Subjective Rating: 5.0
Objective Rating 8.0
Instead of just looking at my rating, please read my reasoning first. This is a very difficult drama to rate because it’s not that “Singing All Along” is a horrible drama, instead it’s a solid one. It’s just that I am not in the mood and it’s not my cup of tea. Since I watched this as part of a challenge, I did not drop it.
Why did I not like it? My biggest criticism is that the drama spent 70% of its time in wars/deserts/battles, and then the other 30% in palace politics, scheming evilness and harem fights. Not that I don’t like any of this, as I expected them in a C-drama historical drama. My dislike is the uneven distribution of these elements. 70% of wars and battles is too much for my liking. After a while, everything feels repetitive. As a romance lover, sometimes romance can help me get through some of these more serious elements. Unfortunately, the romance does not move me, despite a solid and faithful relationship between the leads. I was never too sad, emotional, happy, or giggly. For someone who usually doesn’t skip scenes or increase the speed, I ended up watching most of the drama at 1.25-1.5x speed, and then 1.75x in the last episode so that I can finish this ASAP. I wasn’t even paying much attention. This drama has become background noise to me. And because of that, I am giving it a subjective rating of 5.0 - purely based on my viewing enjoyment.
However, that would not be a fair rating for a pretty good drama. If I have to rate this objectively, there are also many elements I enjoy.
-Strong female lead, mentally and physically. Yin Li Hua is a consistently strong female warrior from start to end. She was never the damsel in distress and she actually saved the day a few times.
-Other few strong female characters - those who are smart and can fight.
-Good acting all around - from those with minor roles to our leads.
-Beautiful costumes and accessories (when they are not in battle gear).
-Surprisingly decent dubbing even though this drama is from 2016. I’ve seen some 2024 dramas with worse dubbing.
-I got to see baby Mao Zi Jun and Qin Jun Jie
Unfortunately, this is not the drama for me. But this could be a drama for you if you enjoy wars/battles and palace politics.
Completed: 4/20/2024 - Review #429
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