Every villain got what they deserved.
The show started off real fast paced (but slow burn towards the middle) as FL was carrying out an assassination on ML, Peng Cheng Wang (Prince of Peng City), the regent of the historical Liu Song Dynasty. The assassination turned out a disaster (of course, duh). She hid in an orphanage and was later found by Madam Shen who recognized the jade bracelet she was wearing, immediately identifies her as the Shen’s long lost daughter abducted as an infant during a battle in the north. The bracelet was actually given by her best friend (another assassin of course) with a promise to help find her birth parents, before the bff died as a distraction so FL could flee the botched assassination venue. FL grabs this chance and takes refuge in the Shen Mansion, a family of top general of the empire, as she plans for her next move to finish her failed assasination on ML and Minister of War Lu Yuan. It seemed like the team of assassins were driven by the belief planted by their master that Lu Yuan was a corrupt official and Peng Cheng Wang was an incompetent ruler who covers up for the corrupt officials in his court. They both needed to be killed because of their crimes to Liu Song Empire and its people.Ironically, as she keeps on failing to kill Lu Yuan, she met a merchant who was also investigating Lu Yuan and this dude manages to convince her that killing won’t stop Lu Yuan’s corruption as another would just fill up his spot. The merchant, whom FL calls as Old Man (she was 18 and the dude was supposed to be 30+), convinced her to team up with him and topple Lu Yuan using rule of law. Things happened and they later developed feelings for each other. Then the decree came that the daughter of Shen family is bethrothed to Peng Cheng Wang as reward for their contribution in winning the war in the North, and FL decided to take this chance to kill ML on their wedding night. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan’s smuggling of weapons for private army was foiled, but the Shens were implicated as Lu Yuan slips out of their grasp with a mere slap on the hand by ML. This only angered FL even more and her hatred for ML grows. She got her biggest shock on the wedding night, as she only saw the face of the Peng Cheng Wang she hated to the core as she stabs her poisoned dagger into his belly, and he turned out to be the Old Man she fell in love with. She tried to kill herself after stabbing ML as to not implicate the Shens for her assassination crime, and because she regretted her actions, but ML instructed his personal bodyguard to take her away so the imperial guards wont catch her. Later things happened, plot after plot, surprise after surprise, villains after villains, misunderstandings and slanders came one after another, and they stick together through thick and thin.
I love the FL character, she’s one badass assassin who doesnt let injustice to happen. She thrives in jianghu, and is smart and witty enough to stand up against the palace harem bullying (yeah come on how can anyone bully an assassin, right?). And having an elder sister (the first wife) as back up does wonders to her too. She doesnt really need any saving, she can take care of herself although of course ML will need to be the saviour every now and then, even though he’s inferior to her in terms of fighting skills and brawn, so he depended on his power as regent and his scheming and manipulating skills. She is also very intelligent and isnt one of those characters who love to panic and jump to conclusions with baseless suspicions . I guess she learnt a lesson after being fooled by her master into wrongfully thinking that ML is a bad person when he was not.
One of the most pitiful but righteous characters must have been Princess Consort Xie, ML’s first wife. He had to marry her in accordance to the emperor’s decree, but never loved her. Never consummated the marriage and Empress Dowager had to make it a rule for him to have dinner at specific dates at the Princess Consort’s place or he wouldnt have even visited her at all. For someone who loved her husband in totality, her heart was so pure that she never envied the love FL gets from their shared husband when she entered the household as concubine. Instead she saw FL as a companion, BFF, whom she was willing to protect and support. I almost thought the Empress Dowager would be able to corrupt her mind against FL due to envy (like the plot of most drama), but it never happened. She stayed true to her character to the end.
Although I like this show, i find that the repetetive plot of getting poisoned, memory loss, faintings, fake deaths to be pretty annoying. I love the part where they dismantle the villains plans, but the journey to get there is quite annoying with things that I mention above. I find the scenes after ML got stabbed by FL was pretty dramatic and admirable, him braving his way through the pain for several days before succumbing to his injury and went into coma, as to cover up for his newly wedded wife’s actions.
Also I cannot wrap it around my head how come these assassins dont know how their target looks like? That is so messed up. The production couldve made the merchant’s disguise better and not reveal his face throughout their time together, maybe FL recognizing ML as the merchant on their wedding night using the tokens they exchanged if anything at all, but they didnt. It was quite early through the show that FL saw through his fake moustache and took it off (revealing his true face), I really thought she would identify him as Peng Cheng Wang but she didnt! So the whole team of badass assassins didnt even know how their target looks like before killing them?! These righteous assassins killing corrupt officials to keep them from ruining the prosperity of the nation didnt think that knowing how their target look like so they dont kill the wrong person was important. Really? 😑🙄 So messed up.
There were so maaaaaaany fillers and side love stories which I fast forward most of them, but I just need to give a special mention of FL’s handmaid XiaoXin as super duper annoying with her loud and unruly character. Looks much too exaggerated. So they wanted to make her that fun character who brights up people around her, it just went overboard. Characters like this would never survive in the palace as palace maid, she’d be dead by day 2! I was fascinated by ML’s personal bodyguard Xu Zhan too, he looked so feminine that when he wore full body armour and helmet during the North war, I didnt recognize him and thought he was a female character i hadnt noticed before! I also cannot wrap it around my head how they could let Zijin tag along to the north border for the war too. I could understand when FL wanted to go cuz she definitely has the qualities to fight a war, but Zijin? I almost thought she had hidden talent or skills to contribute, with those dramatic horse riding, serious look on her face and wearing full body armour including helmet, but when they were ambushed by the enemy, she became a burden to Shen Zhi (her love interest who is also FL’s eldest brother of the Shen family) as he needs to fight while holding her hand to protect her. What a disappointment. So they made her go to the north so ML, as regent and commander of the north army, could grant them a marriage 🙄 just for that. Bleerghh that is just too cheesy, man. Another annoying characters are Shen Leqing and Lu Wan. One a conniving scheming vengeful ungrateful person who didnt know when to stop, while another was super naiive and stupid who wasnt even sure of her bro’s crimes and yet think that he was wronged and decided to get revenge. Such easily-manipulated expendable pawns.
———-*SPOILER BELOW THIS LINE* ————
I *love* (-_-) how every good characters can get sliced and stabbed with swords, stuck with arrows and still can jump around the next day (or in an instant in FL’s case) as if nothing happened. With exception of Shen dad and elder brother, their deaths are pretty gruesome and tragic. But the rest of the characters are a-okay with all those injuries, so no worries!
The ending is one of those with question marks. At first I thought FL killed herself so Peng Cheng Wang would not be stuck between his love for her and the emperor’s decree of not sparing her as she was an assassin. It went pretty dramatic with ML’s joyfully running to meet with her only to see the place empty, dropping the decree he was holding. Then there were flashbacks of the FL drinking (poisoned?) wine and later looked dead, but the next thing they show was events three years later with ML doing great in court, and later went to the secret place FL brought him once upon a time, and there he dined with the joyous FL. So another fake death? Sheesh.
I thought they’d have kids by then though. I was a little disappointed that there was no 3yo dining with them at the end. Though I can say it’s a happy ending. At least to me. But because I am one of those who hates sad and open endings, I’m taking off 1 star due to this horrible Ep53. Wished they had ended the show at Ep 52.
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I just hope it has a happy ending right now i'm serioul,y waiting for ep 25,The lead boy is okay I'm not saying he is bad at acting I think he did I quite good job ,i like the character and personality of the main male lead And For me is worth to watch.
This drama is airing so you can't know if is worth to watch the whole drama I just hope the rest episodes get interesting and doesn't go down the hill, So YH
edit:
I think this drama started pretty good but through the episoded went abit down I can't really tell exact what I didn't like because I watch it airing and I had to wait for the episodes which somrtimed I didn't really remeber what happened last time ,the ending was abit dissapontibg but realistic but could of been better but at least it is a happy ending From what I remember I will not rewatch it again but don't regret wathcing I still thunk that the FL dad and brother didn't had to die:(
I'm kind of disappointed in this drama started pretty good but it went down the heel
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I don't have enough patience for this.
It's weird because I really enjoyed Wei Young which is from the same writer, but this one is a huge disappointment for me.The leads' acting and chemistry were great but right from the start, I felt like the pacing was very slow and the plot was quite repetitive. After 33 episodes, none of that really changed. I found myself in an endless cycle of one-dimensional bad people being bad, the leads (allegedly) being poisoned in every other episode, *spoiler alert* rising from the dead and back to beating bad people's asses. I was so sick of all the fake deaths that I reached the point of wanting everyone to die for real. Except Jing Ling, maybe. We couldn't have done it without him. The amount of times he saved everyone was ridiculous ...
I rarely watch shows with 50+ episodes, but when I invest so much time, I want to be captivated by the story throughout the whole thing and that was just not the case here. I'd not completely advise you against watching this, just know that it's gonna be a long ride with a lot of tropes.
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Really Addicted Something Bad
I spotted it on Viki and I actually liked the simple thumbnail for it and I told myself I will give it a try. Yeah, well after that I can safely say the rest is history.Now, I am not going to comment on technical stuff, script issues etc... because I tend to look at the overall picture that being the running story and the characters.
That being said, now I can only say that I LOVE IT! Never saw that coming, but OMG I love that story and the two main leads. It is nice to see that Lige is a total badass and I also like that though she has been train as an assassin, she does have a moral compass. That is key in terms of her character development and relationship with the male lead Prince Peng Cheng. I do like him, he is lovely and any scene with the two of them has become my happy place putting a huge smile on my face.
I hate with a passion that Grand Consort, that main bad guy the Protector General and that little adoptive sister. I have to give it to the actors because hating them also makes me happy.
Frankly great show! Cannot wait to see the rest.
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A Promising Drama Undone by Its Ending
I was really disappointed with the way this drama ended. After investing in 53 episodes, I expected a stronger and more satisfying resolution, but the finale left too many unanswered questions and felt rushed and confusing. The pacing throughout the show sometimes dragged, and by the end, the story didn’t deliver the closure viewers deserved.There were also some character arcs that felt wasted or underdeveloped, and certain choices didn’t feel true to the personalities we had come to know. It left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled.
The only reason I’m rating it a 7/10 is because I genuinely enjoyed the leads, Shen Li Ge and Liu Yi Long, especially in the earlier episodes. Their chemistry carried much of the show, but unfortunately, the ending undercut what could have been a powerful conclusion.
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Series revolves around a female who is fighting for good and a male lead who was misunderstood, though not too long.
What I like: it’s consistently eventful, the plot develops well, their is some great character development reveals, the relationship between the leads was nice and the fight scenes are great.
What I didn’t like: after a while it got tiring, the leads had a good relationship but lacked chemistry. Bad guys seems to have the upper hand most of the time. The relationship between the leads felt more like close friends than lovers or a married couple. In truth it just felt like it was missing sincerity. Although the acting was good, it just felt like a well rehearsed script verse the person embodying the script.
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I don’t know why a lot of people rate this 5.5 but this drama is good!
At first when I saw this drama, I saw a lot of bad reviews. Some people said this drama was boring and stupid. To see if it was actually that bad, I started watching this drama. It was not bad at all.Shen Li Ge is an assassin and tries to kill Lu Yuan with her martial arts brothers and sisters. They were unsuccessful and were killed. Only three of them survived, including Shen Li Ge. They escaped and formed a medicine shop to hide their identities.
She went back to her orphanage and meets her mother.
When Shen Li Ge’s sister died, she gave Li Ge a bracelet. That bracelet was the evidence that, that person was her mother. Shen Li Ge pretended as her sister, and took the identity.
Shen Li Ge sought revenge and that is when she meets Liu Yi Kang.
They both are on the same boat investigating Lu Yuan.
Shen Li Ge tries to kill Lu Yuan, but fails again.
Shen Li Ge goes back home and that’s where more problems appeared.
Shen Le Qing gets jealous because her foster (Just call them foster for now) parents (Shen Li Ge’s parents) liked Shen Li Ge better and the guy she fancied like Shen Li Ge. She hates Shen Li Ge and starts to scheme.
Another problem is Lu Yuan. He caused Li Ge’s family and herself to go to prison a lot of times. A lot of people say girls like scheme a lot, but this guy schemes a lot too.
There’s more but I’m too lazy to write everything.
This story had a lot of twists and turns, but there were never any misunderstandings. Even if Li Ge tried to kill Liu Yi Kang, she regretted it and tried to save him, while Yi Kang forgive her. Shen Li Ge never gets jealous, which I love a lot in a person.
If you want to cry then you can watch this drama because a lot of sad things occur, like how her mother forgets that Shen Li Ge is her daughter.
I saw a lot of reviews that the ending was horrible. Well it wasn’t. I mean like at least there was a happy ending! I don’t want the story to have the goodbye my princess ending.
I usually don’t like dramas that occur in dark places, but this drama literally caused me to devote into it.
You might not understand some of the scenes, so you shouldn’t skip the scenes like what the other people did. They skipped so they didn’t like the drama. So don’t be like them!
Also the ones with bad reviews to this drama probably don’t understand Chinese, so they don’t get the story. They said that the scriptwriter was bad. It’s not like they can write any better.
Hope you like this review and the drama!
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Frustrating, but fun ride!
I don't really have that much to write after binge watching it over 3 days. I watched this for Li Qin as Lige and she delivered!The villains were villainy. To the point of being ridicilous, but hey, that's what you can expect from most chinese dramas with lots chess back and forth. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy it, but I dislike it when villains get away from things, despite the amount of evidence. There were some inconsistencies here and there, but I've seen far worse so I let it slip.
The Shen family was great, the royal brothers were great too. In fact, most of the characters had a purpose and were acted well. The fighting scenes were usually fun, albeit a bit unbalanced here and there. The one thing which always dissapoints me in these dramas, is when they try to depict a large scale war. Yes, I understand that it is costly to produce something which shows a grand scale. But showing maybe 100 people marching, then saying that it is a detachment of 10.000 ... ? It breaks immersion and believability. This series is not the only sinner to do this, so I'll give it some slack.
Episode 1-25 - Great.
25-45 - Decent
46 - 52 - Poor. (I ended up fast forwarding here and there)
53 - Great. It wasn't exactly what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised.
All in all: It had its fun moments, frustrating ones and the ridicilous ones. What you can expect and probably what you're also looking for.
Recommended.
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Should have been shorter
The first half of the series was pretty good. It's one of the rare ones where the female lead is actually truly able to hold her own. The beginning is action-filled with the assassination theme before it teeters heavily into war scenes and palace politics. But here's what trailed off for me:-- The female lead was a tough character initially but she softens heavily once she acquires a family and a lover. Although you still see some of her initial traits throughout, she does change quite significantly.
-- The chemistry was there between the ML/FL initially but after they FINALLY get together, there was too many lovey scenes of them having repetitive small couple talk. I skipped through a lot of this.
-- Although there were plenty of traitors as with the typical palace politics, it was nice to see some steady loyalties between the characters and particularly with the unloved Empress. But they really just offed too many people and the antagonists got off way too easy.
-- The plot was initially also pretty intriguing but it gets more and more muddled. The insertion of the couple's happy times also weren't really placed very well especially after so many deaths. There was also some random inserts of characters that felt really off like the youngest son's love interest. It's as if she was a filler for the sake of balancing out the tragedies.
-- And man, over 50 episodes were way too long for the point the story was trying to make. After uncovering too many layers of masterminds, it started to get numbing.
-- The poisoning aspect was also really over-repetitive.
-- The last episode was completely unnecessary and should have been left out.
Overall, it's one of those series where you feel compelled to finish because there are enough interesting characters involved and you've become invested. I did choose to make the effort to speed through the latter half for completion.
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Not finishig storyline perfectly and don' t like too much flying scence
I don't know what happend to Lu Wan ( girl), do they execute her? I think she did not use poison. she was in the trap and also the sixthe prince did not help her. The Emperor got injured with the knife with lover and there is a forgivness for the poor girl does not have nobody help her. Sorry no justice and fair. I think Six brother is not true love, he is dumb, and I think the doctor ( the senior) is true love for her, he came and save her took her in trees. I wish they continued the story for her. The edning is always is puzzle, and I don't like. The Actors and Actresses played awesom job, but the director should bring Kevin Yan and Wallace Hue and there is another Wallace from Hong Knong these 3 Actors play awesom jobs as a role of Emperor. I think their face and their voice is good for historical, coustme and drama movie. I wished they brought Wallace Hue as a Emperor of Wei, we could have more drama part with that swordwoman. The Lu Wan's brother played awesom job in this film. Everybody played awesome job. Is there possiblity they make song of glory number 2? I don't know why at the end Fourth brother hand something on branches of tree. It means that she is alive or Fourth brother killed himself because he knows that sixth brother follow his rule and law. That is why I don' t like the end it likes puzzle.Was this review helpful to you?
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A Pretty Good Historical drama that doesn't really drag much... BUT....
I went into this drama researching a bit because its an average 50+ episode story. When there's that many episode, of course you would hesitate watching it if it doesn't turn out good, you wasting your time watching part of it and may drop it down the line. Let me tell you this, royal politics is not new and the repeated similar plot that has always been use to drag the story line out as much as the show intended to become. This show still holds its very much interest til the very end once the main OTP knows and devoted themselve to each other. One thing I never liked in a drama is the miss opportunity that the leads find out about and misunderstood each other, almost reveal their identity but got interrupted, or got somehow coincidently miss the right moment to see and know each other. This drama gave me the angst to all those moments and there were a LOT of those moments til they find out about each other. Although it took some episodes, it eventually reach there and after that, the show smoothly ride out til the end non stop. I for one watch it over 2 nights and completed on the 3rd morning due to work, otherwise I would probably finished it on the second day. Don't get me wrong, but I did skip some parts that doesn't show much progress with no lead in them but you can still comfortable watch it without skipping. Ending has been miss interpreted but non the less, I truly believe it's a happy ending. I recommend watching this for the character fun chemistry. It is rewatchable for me, I may probably rewatch it again down the line. Plot line has been used, don't expect much beside thinking who is the culprit to all of this. Every evildoers get what they deserved.Was this review helpful to you?
Great historical, romantic, political series, with a lot of martial arts.
PLOT: The FL, expert in martial art, is part of an assassins group headed by a Master. His order is to kill the Prince Regent, the ML. During an assassination attempt, almost her entire group is killed, and she remains in the capital assuming the identity of her dead "sister", the lost daughter of a general. The FL and ML fight anonymously together against the Great Villain, General Lu. They get married. The Great Villains work in the shadows, helped by the jealous sister. Attempts to assassinate, seize power, overthrow the family, etc.+++ 2 very great leads
+++ excellent support actors
+++ Well-written, intelligent story and effective production without downtime, with superb cinematography.
+++ Good OSTs
### Multiple levels of somewhat complex conspiracy.
### Long series
### Slightly enigmatic ending (realistic but not very satisfying)
=> Excellent romantic & historical series
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Gde fresque historique, romantique, politique, avec bcp d'arts martiaux.
PLOT: La FL, experte en art martial, fait partie d'un gpe chapeauté par un Maitre. Son ordre est de tuer le Prince Régent, le ML. Lors d'1 tentative d'assassinat, presque tout son gpe est tué, et elle reste dans la capitale en assumant l'identité de sa "sœur" DCD, fille perdue d'1 général. La FL et le ML combattent anonymement ensemble le Great Villain, le général Lu. Ils se marient. Les Great Villains travaillent dans l'ombre, aidés de la sœur jalouse. Tentatives d'assassinat, de prise du pouvoir, de renverser la famille, etc.
+++ 2 très great leads
+++ d'excellents acteurs support
+++ Story bien écrite, intelligente et réalis° efficace sans temps mort, avec une superbe cinématographie.
+++ Bons OST
### Multiples niveaux de conspiration un peu complexes.
### Série longue
### Fin un peu énigmatique (réaliste mais pas très satisfaisante)
=> Excellente série romantique & historique
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