"Fractured Fairytale" Fails to Fascinate
Firstly, please allow me to state that I don't like to rate shows poorly, and always look for the positive so that a review can be fair and not a waste of the reader's time.There are many positives here. FL and ML both employ excellent acting skills with the roles they are given. I would expect a high standard from ML in particular; I do like both of these actors and consider that they did a great job of showing the way it affects a relationship and the individual feelings of the two people involved when someone is considered to be repulsive or monstrous in appearance.
The secondary couples have to carry a heavy load in keeping the story moving along when it is has such a tendency to drag heavily due to very little action in the plot. I particularly enjoyed the Kitten and the Snake. Their acting was good, their characters credible and enjoyable, and they kept me going when I wanted to give up watching.
The plot was paper thin and many characters alarmingly shallow, to the point of being unbelievably stupid or just downright annoying. One had to suspend logic a number of times. I would expect that in a fairy tale, but when it grates, it means it isn't really working.
For example, the princess was, as some reviewers state, "kidnapped" and therefore well within her rights to behave a certain way. OK. Well, if CZY wants to kidnap me and hold me hostage in a palace with a full time servant, deal me in. Many of the obstacles in the story arose from the princess's own selfishness, sense of entitlement, and lack of regard for other people. She caused a problem in the very beginning by rudely barging in on someone's private space, and that caused an ongoing issue for which she continually blamed the other person and insisted on receiving an apology for, even though she herself was the cause of this and many other misunderstandings. She had no problem with being dishonest herself. I was particularly upset by the princess using drugs to manipulate somebody; the first time was potentially excusable, but by the second time she knew she was doing harm. Nevertheless, she continued to fully believe in and throw herself into her "victim" role.
As such, it was very difficult for me to "warm" to the princess character.
The FL's costumes were gorgeous but ML's make up was a bit dodgy. And a criminal over-use of false eyelashes!
All the usual C-drama tropes were there - do they have to be there or a show doesn't get funding?
*girl whirls under falling blossom
*obsessed unwelcome girl turns up out of nowhere (in dire need of a psychiatrist)
*nasty dad uses innocent victim daughter
*cute child
*spoilt didi
*pushy a-yi
*nasty suitor
*spitting up blood
*camera angle from the bottom end of the sword blade
*slashing self with sword for essential blood products
*heroic self-slaughter
and so on...
Some lovely songs which I shall continue to listen to, and a very creative use of durian.
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Kui Mulang!!
Qi Papa,a human princess finds herself waking up in the Beast tribe,which is presently being ruled by the king,Kui Mulang,who intends to marry her.The main asset of this drama is undoubtedly Kui Mulang,and the actor Chen Zheyuan who played this role perfectly.I even saw a video on YouTube of the pain and hardwork he underwent for transforming himself as the beast king.Hats off to him.Kui Mulang is very gentle,caring,loving,yet domineering.
I felt the romance plot between the leads could be developed but instead for a major time,it only became one sided love from KML.
Wu Xuanyi as Qi Pa was good.
Everything else is good.
As a whole,the plot could be written better and intensified,but it was made into a regular watchable drama.
Anyways,can watch it once for Kui Mulang.
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A Drama of Contrasts
I have many feelings about this drama, but I'll try to keep it simple. In short: it's a drama of many contrasts. The things it's doing well, it's doing really good. But the things it's doing bad, are really bad. It's low-budget and the plot is very weak: Is a true love's kiss really needed to get the pearl? What is the motivation of the villain? How does the pearl actually work? These are the main most blatant unanswered questions (trying not to get too deep into spoilers). One big pet peeve of mine was also here: explaining the story. Especially the villain kept explaining everything, which is just lazy writing. At least incorporate it better or just show it.However, the biggest blunder was the love story. There were no real nuances. She went from feeling meh about him to unconditional love. And her escape attempts and scheming were stretched over the limit. She was still scheming, even 2/3 through the drama. It was entertaining but it got really tiring.
All that being sad, it also had really strong points. The leads had good chemistry and especially the female lead was incredibly funny. I love these kinds of female leads. Also a main reason why I could bear to watch her constant planning. The beginning of the drama was incredibly strong, I wish they would've kept up the pace and didn't start stalling. The male lead was also cute and I actually liked him being hooded (although I'm aware that the hood was just a plot device to keep up the secret identity).
All in all, a very funny drama (I love those) but with plot holes. It's obvious that they wanted a werewolf story and tried to fit everything else around it.
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Stockholm Syndrome drama
Long time heard about this drama and that's not about the good news this drama has. That's why long time weight it to watch this or not. Watch this of course for Chen Zhe Yuan. Just want to watch another work of him after Hidden Love. Yeah... Kind of big mistake....Story taken from Beauty & the Beast storyline. A girl kidnapped by the beast & eventually fall in love with him. Yeah Stockholm Syndrome all over the place, when the one being kidnap fall in love or get used to with the kidnapper. But that's being said out front, this drama can be still messed it up.
What i like:
A little touch of modern society, that's I've never seen in period drama. Like how they discuss travel to other countries.
What i don't like:
- Messed up plot
- The easy ending... The ending made me have to lower the score again. Everything that's happen in the drama feel useless in the end. Ugh!!!
- Little to no confusion from Qi Pa (QP) when she arrived at beast village for the first time. I mean people in the beast village obviously diff from her world, they have ears or nose like animal. How can she's not confuse....
This drama in my book just OK drama. Watch it if you want to see ur fav actor/ess. If not just skip this then...
I gonna wrote spoiler. Don't know big or small, but spoiler indeed. If you don't want to know just stop reading my review...
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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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In Disney version of Beauty & the Beast at least they still manage to make the Beauty fall in love with the Beast himself not the prince hidden inside it. But this drama did the reverse thing. The made the Beauty, Qi Pa (QP), fall in love with Li Xiong (LX) instead Kui Mu Lang (KML). KML over and over said he has to make QP fall in love with the real him, but how can she fall in love with KML while the more handsome man (LX) still in front of her... Or how can QP fall in love with KML when he rarely show his face or give any attention to QP. All the attention is giving by LX not KML... So tell me how can the beauty fall in love with the beast instead with the prince... Ugh!!!
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the only worthwhile adaptation of Beauty and the Beast
I decided to watch this because I really enjoyed Chen Zheyuan in Handsome Siblings and the idea of a werewolf romance was intriguing. I am so glad I did because it's so silly and cute and it's an interesting twist on Beauty and the Beast by throwing in the hidden identity trope (something I don't typically love, but it worked really well here). Now I'm not really a fan of the story of Beauty and the Beast now that I am an adult with critical thinking skills, given it's about a woman basically being imprisoned and teaching her captor how to be kind and gentle and then falling for him in the process, but there are a few things that make this adaptation work imo:1) Kui Mulang kidnaps her because he needs something called the Holy Pearl to save the entirety of his clan, which Qi Pa (unknowingly) has. The point is repeatedly made that if the Holy Pearl only affected Kui Mulang and it wasn't needed for the health and safety of everyone else, he would not have kidnapped her. He understands and sympathizes with her desire to escape back home and is clearly racked with guilt about keeping her in the Beast Clan.
2) Kui Mulang acquiesces without hesitation to basically every request Qi Pa has other than him sending her home. He genuinely wants her to be comfortable and safe and enjoy her time in the Beast Clan and does so many things that are against the rules of the clan to try to make her happy.
3) Instead of Qi Pa having to teach Kui Mulang, he consults romance novels and books that give information on Daxia customs to try to win her affections.
4) Kui Mulang spends a solid half of the show endangering himself and nearly dying to protect Qi Pa.
I loved both Kui Mulang and Qi Pa pretty much immediately and by the end of the show they had both reached near the top of my list for favorite characters in CDramas. I love that the show allows Qi Pa to be angry and hurt and doesn't try to handwaive away her feelings because it wants us to prioritize Kui Mulang's feelings (something that a lot of shows do all over the world bc we live under patriarchy). I loved most of the side characters and the pairing of Liu Jun/Hongxiu was really cute too. Also I honestly liked the "beast" look, it's just unfortunately really underwhelming when you attach the word werewolf to it.
Anyway, I can't bring myself to give higher than an 8.5 bc at the start the romance is just sooooo messy and most of the background romances were super annoying and some of the plot developments are just ????????? But overall I loved this soooooo much and I can't stop thinking about Kui Mulang and Qi Pa, they really are everything once she uncovers the truth.
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Watch for the cast
The overall story was fun and interesting. The cast did a wonderful job especially with portraying their animal characteristics without being over the top or distractingly silly. The main couple and side characters were all very cute and likeable. Even though it was obviously a lower budget show, without much cgi or flashy props/sets, the cast somehow made it convincing. The biggest flaw is the writing. It is supposed to be a rom-com. For those who can't stand the fish peck, don't worry, there were only two in the entire show... the writer made it obvious that true love does not need physical intimacy, only emotional intimacy is important as NONE of the couples kiss or hug or even hold hands, except the main couple a few times in the last episodes. They even went as far as to have one couple be entirely unable to ever have physical intimacy, due to his animal side being a fatally toxic viper. Really curious how that line didn't die out since any contact kills. 🙄As far as the main couple goes, it is sadly true that the FL only has feeling for the ML's beast identity after finding out he's also the hot bodyguard. They literally have her acting physically repulsed at his touch and appearance until then, despite the many touching things he does for her. Weird message for a writer that seems to be stressing emotional intimacy.
I truely don't mind slow-burn shows with little skinship, but in a silly rom-com, with the main theme being about true love, there really should be some sweet moments between the ML in his beast form and the FL before she finds out, if they want the love on her side to seem real. Even a few instances where she didn't physically recoil, but actually touched or held his hand in beast form without thinking, would have been enough to show it really didn't bother her. Without it, all the show's romances just felt sad, mostly believable thanks to the great acting, but sad and hollow in the end.
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Much to be desired unfortunately
Came for CZY, and possibly staying only because of him as well. Lol.Story was all over the place. I was actually quite surprised CZY chose this script after watching his previous dramas aired prior to this (or is it just being aired in 2023 but was shoot long time ago?) Plot was nothing to talk about and I can basically finish this by taking it as a comedy and not taking the plot seriously. Lol. Watched xuanyi before in Duolou and liked her, she was pleasing to look at. But really, her character here really challenged my patience. Lol. Initially, it was quite understandable for her to act the way she did (i mean, who would be happy being kidnapped away from your family and was forced to marry someone you dont know? Of course you would like to go back home) But later on, her behaviour is becoming more and more annoying. Lucky she changes towards the end (even if theres only about 5eps left). I found it quite pretentious of her falling in love with the handsome version and refused to give the monster version a chance at all even though KML treats her so well. I mean, isnt the point of the story is supposed to show the FL’s pure heart and not her shallowness? Lol
Villains were weak and nothing much to talk about. Although im happy that they made JMH repents at the end and found love in Haitang. Su He was annoying as hell, im glad she was stabbed silly. Lol. Ma jiangjung was too silly to be a general tbqh and his sacrifice doesnt made me as sad as maybe it should be?
Ost was nice and costumes were nice and flowy, especially for FL. Even though some appears too modern (i mean, they seem to include Europa so maybe that fits? Lol), but it was nice gowns nevertheless, albeit a little bit sexy sometimes.
That being said, KML/CZY is one thing everyone agrees save this drama i guess. As usual, CZY and green flag character just cannot be separated. You will swoon no matter what.
All in all, dont take the plot too seriously and consider this as a silly romcom comedy and you’ll be fine. Dont think too much or this wont make sense much. Lol
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Watch 1-2 skip to 16 and watch ..if there was an award for most awful lead this FL can easily win
First 16 episodes practically nothing happened he find the woman who took holy bead five year ago kidnap her and keep her in his kingdom .. obtaining beads need true love so all for the first 16 episodes he is trying to convince her to marry him ..while she is trying every silliest trick to run away ..After Ep 16 plot starts to take it's shape ..
The drama is written poorly on FL's part ... Her character is annoying, absurd, selfish, irrational over dramatic Scrooge... Her action will make to hate her to the point of disdain ...may be the reason why villian of this show in not very active till ep 25 ...FL was filling up for the villian ...
Still I will not this drama to any of my frnds because seriously there are a lot better options out there why waste time on something like this ... Yet if are interested you can skip parts of episode at your own convienence from 3 episode to 16
Male lead chen zhe yuan was the highlight he acting was outstanding given he was wearing mask for most of time still he acted brilliantly through his eyes ... Female actor lead wasn't bad either ..only her character was written ridiculously..
I found the parallel lead actress fram cat bloodline better than the FL herself
Ok ok experience
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Very romantic with fun beauty and the beast vibes
I am aware that there are plot holes and certain things that there is no way the FL or ML should have been able to get away with such as:-The fake pregnancy and miscarriage
-ML somehow being able to pretend to be two people and no one suspects why his day time role randomly shows up and has a close position to the queen to be.
-The FL gets away with many behaviours that would not have been accepted such as the auction of peoples items (gloves and mask) and the attempt to get the King (ML) a haram so she can love Li Xiong (also ML) .
However this is a fantasy with light hearted elements, there are some lovely and adorable moments such as:
-Second couple are really sweet in their 'will they wont they' dynamic.💕💕
-The second FL is adorable. 💕💕
-The ML is great in changing his voice for both roles and does actually look different which is believable even if you have seen both his human and beastly form.
-The scenes where the main leads save each other in ep 11 and following are really romantic and well shot. I love the way he grabs her and pulls her round to block the weapon.💕💕
I was surprised at how good and addicting this is by the rating but it really is good, just excuse the lighter and silly elements however I loved these parts especially the statue scenes of David and when he is replaced by a present of a similar statue of the king 😂😂😂😂
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Not very good..
So, I'm on episode 16. Pretty much halfway through.The ML is amazing. He plays his part very well and is why im forcing myself to finish this drama.
The FL. Shes not a good actress. Atleast not in this drama. I cant say for others as I've only seen her in this one. She has barley any facial emotion. She bugs her eyes out for every emotion. Like legit looks like this majority of the time 👁👄👁. Her happiness, sadness, anger, confusion, spacing out all of it are the same. The only difference is how much she bugs/pushes her eyes out. Im trying not to be mean..but i dont understand how no one has pointed this out to her? How was she cast for this? Shes absolutely gorgeous dont get me wrong. But I feel if they cast a better actress this drama could atleast be a bit more bearable.
Theres also NO chemistry between FL and ML. ML tries his hardest but uh...she looks and acts with him like all the other characters. You'd never know he wasnt just some random stranger to her.
Shes also not had ANY personal growth to her character either. Which is the writers fault.
As for story...its also meh..
It started out good and then just lost it. Its the same thing over and over. Shes trying to escape, fails, she almoat gets assassinated, it fails, she tries to escape ans fails..she almost gets assassinated and it fails. Over and over.
She still hasnt learned of his true identity and its just...going nowhere.
Im almost positive ill be skipping through episodes.
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Excellent!!!
I love this drama! All the actors were great definitely will rewatch this drama alot. I like the main leads they had good chemistry. The story was very entertaining. The vision effects were spot on. The story moved along nicely im sad that i fimished the series already. I hope the main leads work together soon.Was this review helpful to you?
Love my werewolf!!!!!
Well worth all episodes!!!! I have watched is about 4 times now and each I catch something different. Writers keep bringing in the funny and spooky dramas. I watched each episode and it gave me great vibes. If I was to wake up one day to find myself in a another world I want it to be there. I reminded me of Halloween. The kissing scenes were on point. Much love for Chen Zheyuan and Aurora great pair. The others I am watching out for you. I love a happy ending with lots of fun in it. This is the best beauty and beast drama for 2023.Was this review helpful to you?
