Missed potential
This drama started good. The middle was nice but the characters that were smart in the first part, in the middle they become pretty dumb. The last part was like watching a different drama, but a stupid drama with no real writer that was above 14 years old. The actors work really good with what they were given, costumes nicely done. Just a small thing named THE SCRIPT lacked big times especially after ep 24. I am upset that I watched it? NO. Will I recommend it? Again: NO! It is a drama that gets lost in the middle of the pack of wuxia dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
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LOVED it but tighter writing/less episodes would have made it a 10 for me!
I loved this drama and the ending was expected for sure. The only thing I would have changed would be that I think it could have ended in 24-28 episodes. (RARE for me to say because I watch ALL the 70+ dramas hahaha) BUT I feel like tighter writing from episodes about 18-32 could have been helpful. A lot of what happened after the Crown Prince's situation was kind of unnecessary and drawn out and even the scenes leading up to that starting at the "Hunting Grounds" episodes were kind of almost skippable. cut the last 12 episodes into 6 and the drama would have been much better. Not only that, but, the ending wouldn't have been as "surprising"? to some watchers... the hope was drawn out too long/over and over again only to have it dashed in the end. (imho) Tighter writing would have avoided that problem and maybe the same ending would have been a bit more acceptable and expected.Was this review helpful to you?
When the Actors Shine, But the Story Falls Flat
WHAT I LIKE:- The Actors: For me the actors save the Messy story. Non only the Main Role who act amazingly, but even the Support Role act wonderfully. You know it when you hate the story, you skipped and speed up a lot, but you still cried when they cried, and laughed when they were happy.
- The Chemistry: Two Thumbs Up for Wu Jin Yan and Liu Xui Yi. At first I was worried that LXY might not keep up with WJY (because her act always a TOP NOTCH). But surprisingly LXY act SO GREAT. Their Chemistry is no kidding. When they teased each other, hugged, even kissed, all seems so natural.
- The Kiss: The kisses are just right. Sometimes its a light kiss with a sweet feeling. Sometimes its a deep kisses, but they don't overdo it, not a steamy kisses but intimate one.
- The Music: Good Job Director and Editor, the song match PERFECTLY with every important scenes.
- The BEAUTY: This is might be BIASED, but I dont care. I LOVE LXY!!! I'm a fan of handsome and cool man, not pretty boy like most of the Cdrama actors.
WHAT I DISLIKE:
Simple answer... THE STORY. Its just MESSY with alot of BORING scenes.
I think the writer just want to create a surprise attack with the SAD ENDING. I cried, but I didnt feel that sad because I am not attched to the story that much.
In my humble opinion:
When a writer creates a great story like the Drama "A Journey to Love", the Sad Ending will leave a VOID and HEARTBREAK on the audience, that is the criteria of success!!!
SUMMARY: I give 8.5/10 for the ACTS and MUSIC.
But DEFINITELY will not rewatch.
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Soaring high before gliding down
The first part of this drama was phenomenal, the actors were absolutely amazing, the fighting-scenes breathtaking, the chemistry between the leads sizzling, the OST wonderful - I was clearly watching a 9 or 10-drama...... that is until the death of villain nr. 1, the crown prince. From then on it faded away.
I had the feeling that the writers tried desperately to find a new villain but couldn't decide which one to choose, the story became a little dragging, some characters were overdone (as the King of Xiyan), some characters were just there to fill in whenever they needed someone to help/do something but noone was fit (Luomei), Mei Li died again and again (falling into a coma or else), leaving Jinghe heartbroken again and again ...
And why, just why did she deny him this long? I get the reasons, but at that point they were already clear about it. Some sidestories made it just boring.
The second part was no more than a 6.
It's such a pity, the acting was topnotch! The leads hat an amazing chemistry.
All in all I loved it none the less and absolutely recommend it. The first part is so good you don't want to miss it. Just make do with the second part.
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A brilliant, thrilling first half and a touching ending don't makeup for a lost, floundering middle section . . . Warning: This is a tragedy
Some mistakes you can't recover from. In the first half, the momentum is high with our male and female lead teaming together on a path of revenge. They both are attractive, talented, and have excellent romantic chemistry. As the first storyline nears its end, there's still a big looming problem: Murong Jinghe in his darkest, most cruel moments poisoned Mei Lin without securing an antidote. What will happen when he tells her? Will he be able to make it up to her and cure her?
When Mei Lin finds out she will have none of it, and leaves him. Good for her. But then what? Then what indeed . . . from there Murong Jinghe mopes, and pines, and hoovers not sure how to make it up to her, but still desperately in love with her.
The acting is great, the themes are solid, it's beautifully shot, but this easily could have been 24 episodes instead of 32 and not lost anything.
Despite it all, this drama will stick with me. Greed, power struggles and revenge often take the beginnings of a good life and turn them into tragedy. Endearing life-long love stories are hard to come by in times of struggle, uncertainty and war. In the midst of the darkness, do we truly understand what we're giving up until it's too late?
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Worth it
It's the first chinese series ever to have me bawling my eyes out for more than 20 minutes. The last episode messed me up. The sad ending is so fitting, it couldn't have been different. Watch all of it, even the annoying parts, ignore the plot holes and some miraculous comebacks, and let it wash over you. And allow the tears to cleanse you. Truly artful the way it was delivered.Was this review helpful to you?
I renewed my youku sub for this?!
Hello, I’m almost halfway through watching the series as I write this review. It's not as captivating as "The Double." I found myself getting distracted and realized that the show was still playing while I was tinkering on my phone. In my opinion, there were tons of plot holes and unnecessary scenes. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two leads; I'm sorry, but I just couldn't see or feel it.I was really looking forward to watching this show, so much so that I renewed my Youku subscription, as it had more available episodes than Netflix. To be frank, I am quite disappointed. I loved The Double, even though I wasn't a big fan of the female lead; I just couldn't watch her face for long.
They could have improved the plot; there are more dragging scenes than watchable ones.
The male lead was so pleasant in the eyes, and I like how he rarely smiles but when he does, oh my! :)
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A tale of revenge flowing into romance
When I first noticed this drama by watching shorts of it on TikTok, I was immediately sold. The promos showed me a villainous male lead, a badass female lead and a plot filled with revenge and action scenes.The story follows that of Murong JingHe (a third prince from Yan whose life is under constant threat from his brother the crown prince) and Mei Lin (a survivor of the great fires of Qingzhou picked off the streets by the Shadow Works, an assassin organisation).
The first couple of episodes already had me on the edge of my seat and that tension didn't go away for quite a while. I loved the way they introduced certain characters. Jinghe, once a famous general, was responsible for the fires in Qingzhou and is now known to be a mass murderer and an outcast. His own people either hate him or fear him and he puts that to good use to put forth a certain image of himself. He gave all the red-flag vibes I wanted and more.
With lots of flashbacks we get to know the characters more and more. Usually I'm not a fan of flashbacks or timetravel things in dramas but these scenes actually had something to add to the story. It made me realise how difficult Mei Lin had it in the years after the fire in Qingzhou destroyed her home and family and added to her character.
Positives:
- The acting of this cast was A+++++. They had me immersed into the story and kept me wanting more and more. I vowed to myself never to start another ongoing show due to this one. I could barely wait for new episodes to air and was unable to watch anything else in between.
- I have never seen anything from Baron Chen before and I don't think I will ever be able to watch anything he's in after this role. Not because he did a bad job but because he did such a good job at portraying such an incredible douche-canoe that I gagged everytime he came into focus.
- The romantic development between the main leads. I thought it was really pure how it went from enemies-to-lovers. I loved watching JingHe realise his mistakes and go from a "I only want to fight battles and win them" to "I want to fight battles to protect those I love". Mei Lin pierces through his cold exterioir and finds the man within. It's a beautiful love story that gives us the raw and sweet moments of a romance within a revenge plot.
- A badass female lead who doesn't take bullshit from her surroundings. She knows how to take care of herself and her fight scenes are amazing!!
- The OST!! I've been playing its theme song on repeat for days!
Negatives:
- There was a love story between the emporer and his peace-making-concubine who wasn't even 20 years old. This one didn't sit well with me. I know it's part of historical reality. I mean.. emporers at that time did have wives of a third their own age but it just made me want to skip their scenes. Especially when she became pregnant with his child. It was a big no-no for me. He could have been her grandfather....
- The second lead romance. I really didn't understand why General Yin eventually fell for the crown prince. All he did was manipulate her into things even going as far as rape (okay.. he didn't go through with it, but still) her into a marriage. His entire character was build up to make the audience hate him. Redemption was far from being realised, in my opinion, so having general Yin fall in love with him, carrying his memorial tablet... it made me dislike her as a character.
- The eternal back and forth in the later parts of the series. Mei Lin is still poisoned by the Momai poison at that point and the amount of things they have to turn to in order to heal her... it made no sense. Everytime they came close it fell through at the last minute only to have them not succeed at all in the end. Or the fact that they kept saying she would only survive for so long and than have that period extended by a little more time. It just became ridiculous at some point.
- The ending. Although it's an okay ending to the story.. I wish they could have done a little better. With the way they've done it, it feel a little draggy and rushed at the same time and now the story feels unfinished to me.
Overal I really loved this drama. It's the best Cdrama I've seen in 2024. Maybe even drama of the year for me. It was everything I needed and everything I wanted.
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Stolen Heart
Kill Me Love Me has a dark foreboding look and feel in the first half, with great camera angles and positions. There are beautiful shots and vivid colors for this captivating Chinese drama. The cinematography is through the roof. There is great dance choreography for the Martial Arts. Kill Me Love Me has a highly charged sensual undercurrent to the storyline. Kill Me Love Me is an eye feast.Strong dramas are built off of two strong leads. Kill Me Love Me has two of the strongest Chinese leads available. Chinese actress Wu Jin Yan was a strong revenge seeker in The Double and plays an assassin in Kill Me Love Me. She does well in period Chinese Costume dramas because of her strong abilities to make her martial arts moves believable. Her haunting nature adds mystic to her characters. Wu Jin Yan gets these alluring dramas of late. Actor Liu Xue Yi is a very fine actor, who has great emotional and character range. He was the most impeccable and captivating villain in another great Chinese Costume drama ‘Destined’. Even playing against Bai Jing Ting, Liu Xue Yi stood out for me. His star quality looks made me secretly adore this bad boy. Liu Xue Yi is the type of actor who springs out of nowhere to make you fall in love with him. His full presence is in every scene he is in. All of his facial features are so perfectly symmetrical. Liu Xue Yi may not be on everyone’s list yet, but he will make most lists of actors whose name you want to remember after you see him in Kill Me Love Me.
Kill Me Love Me was an astonishing and sensual drama that constantly held my attention. The strong storyline, the slow pacing of the dialogue, and the unique visuals gave Kill Me Love Me a wonderful artsy look and feel. The ominous closing scene of episode one, I replayed half a dozen times. The visuals were so stunning. Kill Me Love Me is weirdly, but oddly artistic cinema.
The back ground music is expertly orchestrated, using a full cinematic orchestra instead of a band. This is less usual for Asian dramas. The music gives the drama an American feel. I loved this drama.
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I feel scammed
There are already several lengthy, well written reviews that detail how this show's potential was squandered. I'm here merely to 2nd those. What a magnificent opening and then they just completely obliterated the characters they introduced and gave us something else entirely. I detest both the male leads now. They're both effing insane. While they did allow the female lead to retain some of her badassery, she still wasn't the character they led us to believe she'd be. The story didn't go where they implied it would. In the end, I feel lied to and betrayed. I don't even want to watch the rest.Was this review helpful to you?
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Kill me…”love” me…bore me,…completely lost me
This series was unique from other “revenge/conspiracy” shows in that early on it revealed the villain. Thus the direction of the main plot was exposing his evil deeds. Sometimes it can be difficult for this type of story to work because the enemies of the leads is no longer a mystery which eliminates much of the intrigue in the plot. This was painfully apparent here.At times the story could be interesting, especially in the beginning but it started to drag due to nothing much happening half way through the series. Or something would happen and it would drag out too long.
The conspiracy plot just wasn’t that good and the revenge plot was non existent. The love story between the leads was good until it wasn’t. Going completely off the rails into angst for no other reason other than drama for drama’s sake. The 2nd “love” story between the Crown Prince and the General was ridiculous at best. He was a horrible person who’d been obsessed with her since he was a teen while she was in love with the ML, Jinghe. She vehemently rejected the Crown Prince’s marriage proposals then suddenly after one major event claimed he was her “beloved.” It made absolutely no sense as there was no built up whatsoever to her falling in love with the him. Literally one episode she was vehemently rejecting him. The next episode she was reluctantly accepting his proposal (mind you after he drugged and planned to r*pe her but changed his mind out of honor towards her RME), then the next episode she was claiming him as her beloved with whom she was deeply in love. It was ridiculous.
Moreover , she had to be the worst general I’d ever seen. Though she held herself to a high standard of goodness and integrity when she learned the Crown Prince killed thousands of innocents due to his personal vendetta against his bother she slapped him a couple of times then resumed the relationship. She continued to “love” and comfort him, and allowed him to be by her side despite his monstrous behavior. She had much potential but unfortunately she was turned into a mindless pushover driven by “love” instead of a smart badass who could love but be intolerant of evil and thus not hesitate to strike it down.
The show started to go south around episode 20 with some senseless twists in the story but nosedived into absurdity around episode 22 which is where I dropped this series.
The actors were really good in this. The leads had nice chemistry but the love stories and the conspiracies failed to live up to their potential.
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What Is Going On?!
I may need to give this another try but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m dropping it for now.The actors were great, especially Liu Xueyi in the first few episodes. He was captivating as Murong Jinghe. However, I got so confused at the story and thought it was just not for me. After giving it a chance, I decided to stop in the middle of episode 25 because.. what is going on?!
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