This review may contain spoilers
It's an entertaining drama, as long as you don't think about it too much. If you do, it falls apart.
In short:It's very entertaining to watch, just make sure to turn off your brain while you watch it. If you like superheroes, vampires, fantasy, men who act like puppies or Cheng Lei being shirtless, this is the drama for you.
In long, for people who cannot turn off their brain:
I'm still not sure what the plot was intended to be.
You might want to think it's exploring the meaning of loyalty, war and peace - except nothing like that is actually expressed at any point, and nothing that happens ultimately has any deep meaning or impact.
You could say the story is exploring the concept of identity - except ML never really shows any signs of identity confusion at all, and there is no actual conclusion to the question of his identity.
What kind of person was ML when he was still Prince Annan? Why is Jin'an the way he is? Was Prince Annan secretly a puppy all along and has just been putting up a menacing front? How does Jin'an feel when he remembers being Prince Annan? Does he regret the things he did while he was Jin'an? How does Prince Annan feel when he remembers being Jin'an? Does he regret the things he did while he forgot about being Jin'an? Did being Jin'an change Prince Annan? Who does he want to be? Who is he in the end? It would've been interesting to find out but we'll never know, because we weren't told.
So why watch this then? Because even though the writing is a mess, there are many other things to like about this drama.
The acting is pretty good, the costumes are some of the best I've ever seen, the cinematography is great, there are some really wild transitions and effects, the music is fun and genre-breaking. Some more rare and unique concepts are incorporated, such as superheroes in ancient times, blood magic and powerful women.
A picky vampire superhero that looks like he walked straight out of some trashy anime with his own theme song who is a puppy by day, what more do you really need?
This drama is extremely entertaining to watch because it's flashy and crazy, which is why I have to rate this much more highly than the writing warrants.
Unfortunately there is a lot of untapped potential because the premise failed to really deliver in the end. But while this drama could've been a lot better than it actually was, it's still pretty good.
Cheng Lei's aura as Prince Annan is great. Jin'an and his superhero alter ego are pretty novel characters, and his acting brings out the difference between his identities. Prince Annan's costumes and styling are amazing; the capes, the velvet, the studded leather gloves, the beaded hair chains - he's the most fashionable prince I've ever seen. Even his raincoat and horse look stylish. The only thing I disliked is the face mask, which made him look like Ancient Chinese Hannibal Lecter (not in a good way).
Li Shuang is great as a fairly strong FL with a surprising amount of agency, in the beginning of the story at least. She gets to take control and take initiative in her love life; she's authoritative and kind at the same time. Song Yi's acting was very good. She was hilarious while taunting and rage-baiting Prince Annan. Towards the end Li Shuang unfortunately lost her agency, but that's business as usual for this type of drama. It's a shame that she wasn't even allowed the agency to take part in deciding her own outcome. In the final episodes, everything is decided for her by other people and she just goes along with whatever happens to her, seemingly depressed and apathetic and then in the very last episode, suddenly happy. This made what could've been a really great character fall flat.
Empress Dowager Qin was amazing as a villain. Her main motivation is jealousy over a man, so she should've been a terrible character. But because everything about her is completely over the top, from the extremely campy acting and the jewelled claw-like rings she wears to the way she goes full dominatrix mode on her little minion, she was actually hilarious instead of annoying. Her crazy minion was a little confusing as a villain because we never really got to find out why he was so devoted to her to begin with; I guess maybe he just really liked being whipped and couldn't find anyone else to dominate him. When he wasn't getting whipped, he went around telling anyone who would listen illogical nonsense in an attempt to manipulate them. He was terrible at making up convincing stories, but for some reason many people fell for it. It was kind of funny.
The writing was quite smooth until episode 22 or so, where things started going downhill. The last 8-10 episodes were the weakest part of the drama for me. Characters started acting increasingly strange just to drive the plot forward. Stupid things happened for no reason and with no payoff. The premise of the story fell flat because the emotional state of the characters was left entirely blank. What could've been meaningful and tragic ultimately felt a bit frustrating.
In the end, the story still managed to reach an ending that felt appropriate for what the characters were like during most of the story, but the process of getting there was questionable. Characters didn't communicate or act when they should have, or instead deliberately deceived and acted weirdly just to create or resolve any situation the script wanted.
Way too much time was spent on the rivalry of Taijin's princes, which wasn't interesting and ultimately pointless. Su Muyang's character was whatever the plot needed him to be at any given moment. He was kind and benevolent, cowardly and weak, just pretending to be weak, turned evil for contrived reasons, pathetic and selfish, corrupted by power, completely delusional, a terrifying psychopath, impulsive and destructive out of petty jealousy, and finally he got a last-second redemption arc and was pronounced "a good emperor who led the people and nation with compassion and diplomacy." If his redemption was that easy, did he really need to go crazy for so long? His craziness wasn't even fun to watch, it was just a collection of the worst and most annoying tropes.
The biggest problem was the execution of ML's memory loss and remembering his identity. I love a good amnesia plot, but here you have no idea what ML remembers and doesn't remember at any given time. During his transitional phase from starting to forget his time as Jin'an to resetting to his old self as Prince Annan, his behavior resembles neither Jin'an, Prince Annan, nor a mix of both. His actions are essentially completely random for maximum dramatic effect and trying to fabricate a false sense of tragedy and a few flashy scenes where the actors get to look cool.
The worst offender were episodes 30/31 where ML seems to have remembered many of his old memories, but doesn't tell FL anything and instead deceives her and uses her in order to secretly assassinate her dad at his birthday party. Not only that; when the killing fails he flees like a coward, leaving her behind alone to deal with the fallout. He was only in a position to attempt this because FL trusts him, so she is culpable for his actions. Therefore when he decides to betray her in that situation, he's completely destroying her reputation and future by implicating her in treason.
If at that point he couldn't remember who she is anymore, this might have been an acceptable and very tragic plot. However, he still claims to love and remember her right after the assassination, which feels jarring since at the same time he has zero intention of taking any responsibility for his actions. Hell, he doesn't even admit his identity to her; she has to find out who he is from her jealous crazy ex.
What exactly is this supposed to show us?
Tragedy due to fate? No. If he'd suddenly forgotten about her completely just before they lived happily ever after and then accidentally "betrayed" her by killing her dad, setting dramatic events in motion, that would've been a tragedy of fate. If he still remembers her, it's not fate since he still has the agency to make choices and control the outcome.
Tragedy due to him having to make a hard decision between loyalty to his wife and his country? No. If that were the case, he would need to completely remember everything in order for that choice to have any impact at all. There is no such thing as making a hard, tragic choice when you don't remember the majority of the considerations and stakes.
It seems like ML simply has brain damage at this point of the story and behaves erratically because of it, but that's not very satisfying nor meaningfully tragic.
The character setting of Prince Annan is lacking in general. ML spends most of the drama as Jin'an, and his "original personality" as Prince Annan is just an inconsequential cameo. He shows up for a few minutes in the first episode and then for a few episodes in the end. They didn't show much of him, and yet they couldn't even make the little bit that they did show consistent. Is he cunning and scheming or aboveboard? Is he ruthless or actually a really nice, upright guy? Is he warmongering or does he want peace? The writers weren't sure.
Why has he been waging war for so long? Is it for honor? For his brother? For territorial expansion? Is it because Taijin has good grapes and he really likes grapes? All of the above, apparently.
If was just for the sake of grapes that would at least be believable, because he really does seem to love grapes: If you look closely, he almost always has a plate of grapes on his table, whether he's Jin'an or Prince Annan, in his military tent or his residence, in Li Shuang's residence or his dilapidated luxury prison. The poor boy just wanted to wage some war so that he could eat better grapes, but instead in the end we had to make him pretend that he's been waging war because he's the most virtuous and righteous person who ever lived and the tiniest amount of territorial expansion will definitely fix all of Yao's issues and let the people of Yao live in prosperity forever. Wait, wasn't he just bragging about the territorial expansion that Yao has already undergone thanks to him? How come the people are still perpetually on the verge of starving then? Oh well, better go and wage war on Taijin some more; I hear they got great grapes.
The whole setting is contrived. Between Taijin and Yao, which one is stronger? Why have they been at war for decades? Taijin is supposedly prosperous with a weaker military, while Yao is barren with a strong military. Somehow Taijin only has one army with just 20K soldiers and exactly two capable generals (FL and her dad), while Yao has an infinite supply of armies of 50K soldiers each and their generals seem to grow on trees. Empress Dowager Qin slaughtered ML's entire army? No problem, there's 15 more armies in my secret underground dungeon. ML beheaded three of their generals within a few days? Who cares, there's another 234 generals where those came from. If Yao is so barren that the population is constantly on the verge of starving, where are all of these soldiers coming from?
In the end, suddenly there is peace because the script said so. All the people that have been stubbornly warmongering for who knows how long suddenly decide that they're extremely committed to righteous peace and prosperity. It came out of nowhere and felt cheap because seemingly two scenes ago, everyone was still very much committed to waging war. Either their past warmongering was a grave mistake and now that everyone has seen the folly of their ways they should at least express some genuine regret about their past actions, or this sudden peace means absolutely nothing.
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Great story BUT HORRENDOUS pacing
The pace of this drama was horrendous. From a strong start to the most boring middle and a very strong finish... You really have to be a fan of Cheng Lei (or other actors) to stick to it without dropping it in the middle.This being said the cinematography, color palette, light, and photography was top notch. The whole drama was gorgeous served by very strong performances by the main cast. The story was great too, although the 2ML did raise my blood pressure quite a bit at some point.
Apart from the pace my biggest complain, which is more personal taste than anything, is that I wished we had spent more time with Prince Annan than with Jin An. Dark and brooding Cheng Lei is the best🥵🥵🥵
The biggest plot-hole remains Cheng Lei's hair length variations which were all over the place during the last arc. Once you start to notice, it's just impossible to unsee.
This would have become an ultimate favorite had it not been for this awful pacing. The pop music surprisingly fitted the show as well. As it stands, it was a very good one-time watch.
8.5 for me.
Liked the journey but I doubt I'll do it twice.
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The show started nicely, though kinda odd with the whole witchcraft shenanigans and many plot holes but I didn't care.
After 6 or 8 episodes (can't remember) I put the show on hold because it became boring, slow and I felt there's no development (only ML & FL bonding) I found the Jin An identity of the ML to be unappealing, boring, flat. There was no real interest in finding out who he is, which is weird, if you lose all your memory, won't it bug the hell out of you? There was no real mystery when there should have been (even though we know who he is from the first ep).
I expected the 3 identities to add a ton of angst and mystery but for the most part, there was almost none or at least, not enough.
I think the premise was really good but the script, and the execution were lacking.
The actors were good, CL is one of my favorite actors and the only reason I completed the show and didn't drop on the 3rd episode. Tbh, SY (FL) is an actress I can barely stand, I find her really annoying, but she was good in the show and bearable 😂.
The fight scenes were somewhere between good to meh, the fact that the FL shoots arrows from such a short distance looked too unreal, and in some scenes you could tell the actors were tied to ropes.
The best thing about the show was Prince Annan Identity and he should have came way sooner than he did, at least they should have gave us flashbacks!
I almost gave this show a 8.5/10 because the last 8 episodes made me forget the previously 20 something boring episodes.
7.5/10 and I think I'm being generous enough.
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Overall Lovely But Requires Patience
Over all, this is ultimately a lovely show. However, the story line bogs down quite a bit. First it is a slow start on the first act, taking several episodes to engage the audience in the characters. Then it slogs through the second act where the characters develop. But when it gets to the third act, it suddenly rushes through to the finale. Some plot tension threads are just dropped as everything is okay now without really understanding what changed and why. The acting is spot on even with some seriously contrived writing. The costumes are gorgeous. Music is very lovely.Was this review helpful to you?
For those who love excessive romance
I don't disdain romantic dramas if done well and for Cheng Lei (Ryan Cheng) I can stand the romance genre.But here we went to the extreme. From ep. 12 to 22 is a succession of images between the two protagonists who play doves. Very few advances in the plot and I was about to drop it from frustration, fortunately then the action resumes after ep. 22.
This is the classic case of a writer who wants to try her hands at something she doesn't know.
Hong Wan Ling is an accomplished web novelist with lot of her works adapted into dramas, all of her novels are Xanxia genre but here she wanted to try her hand at Wuxia genre with little elements of Xuanhuan failing miserably.
The plot revolves around the war between two states and the Palace intrigues with the addition of the romantic part between the female general and the OP ML (Xuanhuan element) ..... too bad that the part relating to the warfare is utterly superficial and ridiculous. Little fighting, no scouts, a military camp in the middle of the forest exposed to easy ambushes with a general who is more often at home than in the field.
The palace intrigues are childish. A Crown Prince who is publicly humiliated by his Prince brother is an absolutely inconceivable thing for the time. But everything is fine as long as there is romance.
The actors had to adapt to all this and did it in a very good way despite the drag of 10 episodes full of honestly boring dialogues (I don't know how they resisted). The last episodes she cry and cry and cry and ....cry.
The actress Song Yi is not suited to the image of a general, too skinny and her voice when she gives orders is shrill. Unfortunately, she failed to convey to me the image of a strong woman who grew up in battle
Ryan Cheng has proven once again that he is a great actor who manages to go from a cold and imposing character to a kind and smiling one in a second. I've always said that his eyes speak volumes.
ZYY Empress Dowager Qin She was exceptional in her role, she perfectly conveyed the weakness and madness of a woman consumed by her obsession.
In the end, if there hadn't been endless moments of geekery and repetitive dialogues about how good, strong and perfect she is (but how many times does she have to hear it to be satisfied?) it would have been a much deeper and more apt drama
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This review may contain spoilers
at first I didn’t really enjoy this drama partially also because I couldn’t move on from tlofg, Cheng lei’s other drama. But I saw the trailer and was drawn to his character in shadow love. First few eps were rather slow and boring but starting from ep 12 onwards IT GOT SO GOOD!!! The ost eats and they’re not overplayed. Ppl who say main leads don’t have chemistry is WRONG. I’ve seen enemies to lovers but lovers to enemies?? That’s new! I rly lovee Prince annan soo fine omg and song yi’s acting was rlly good! This drama is on par with tlofg… I fear Cheng lei only pick GOOD scripts Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hating it until episode 31
This is a tricky one because there’s 38 episodes at approximately 40 minutes each. They obviously spent a bit of money on this and the cast are all really good looking people and the acting was pretty good.However, for the first 30 episodes I thought I was going to score this a 1 because I really hated the fact they kept falling for the villains schemes and traps willingly. I get the trope and I get it’s a vehicle to move the plot forward but the story just felt terrible and I thought it was a pile of horse crap Because they just kept letting the villains go every time they stopped one of their despicable schemes which were all targeted at their deaths.
Anyway, the story got good from episode 31 when he remembered he was a prince and I thought the story was actually good but I couldn’t forget how frustrated I was for the first 75% of the drama hence why I can only score at a five. I liked how the main villains all got their comeuppance and we got a happy ending.
Again, I understand the story was romance driven but the sub plots and political intrigue were lacking. Style over substance..
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MASTERPIECE !!!
I STARTED WATCHING THIS DRAMA ONLY FOR THE ML & SERIOUSLY WAS EVEN POSTPONING WATCHING IT SINCE SONGYI WAS THE FL ( I hadn't seen any of Song Yi dramas before ),BUT ONCE I FINISHED WATCHING SL,
SHE REALLY BECAME MY NO:1 FAVOURITE CHINESE ACTRESS ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
HER ACTING FOR THE PLOT & HER CHEMISTRY WITH THE MALE LEAD GAVE AN EXHILARATING FEELING ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
IT'S REALLY TOOOO PAINFUL SEEING SO MANY HATE COMMENTS EVERYWHERE ON SONGYI (DON'T KNOW WHOSE FANS ARE MAKING THOSE COMMENTS ) -> ABOUT HER APPEARANCE , ACTING AND COMPARING IT WITH LOTFG ACTRESS & SAYING THIS DRAMA GOT SAVED ONLY DUE TO MALE LEAD !!!
TO BE FRANK, SONGYI WAS MUCH MORE CONVINCING AS A FEMALE GENERAL & THE BEST PAIR FOR (THE ML IN THIS DRAMA ) !
&
REALLY I HAVE NEVER BEEN THISSSSSS INVESTED IN ANY DRAMA BEFORE ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ ITS GIVING WORST EVER WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS & WILL ALWAYS REMAIN MY ALL TIME MOST FAVOURITE DRAMA ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
&
EQUAL CREDITS GOES TO ( CHENGLEI & SONGYI ) AND THEIR CHEMISTRY 🔥🔥🔥 🔥🔥FOR THIS DRAMA'S SUCCESS !!!
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This review may contain spoilers
Where (shadow) love conquers all ?❤️
💕 Romance 💕To start, I didn't expect too much from the show? It's my understanding that that same lack of expectation was pretty widespread, and that the show ended up surprising a lot of viewers. 🤣
When I tell non-drama watchers about Shadow Love, I say it's sort of like some Marvel superhero meets a historical Chinese drama. I think that's a pretty accurate comp to make, lol.
Now let's take a moment to appreciate Cheng Lei in all three roles: Jin An, Man in Black, and Prince Annan, as well as some combination of those three at various points of the show. He impressed me when I first saw him in MJTY alongside Tian Jia Rui (yeeeeee, crazy poison Didi and tsundere af Gege really stole that show!). But I didn't realize just how talented he was until I saw his range in one show.
The character development was top-notch imo. Li Shuang goes from being a tough, duty-bound general by adoption to a lovestruck heroine who has to make tough decisions. Repeatedly. Song Yi captured Shuang's honorable, serious side but also her adorable, softer sides as she allowed herself to be vulnerable with Jin An.
I'm not gonna lie, I watched this show before LoTFG. It gripped me a lot quicker, honestly. The premise was just too good: enemy generals fall in love through some blood pact, doomed to eventually fight one another.
Earlier this month, I had praised When Destiny Brings the Demon for its romance. The romance in that is still applaudable. But I actually think Shadow Love’s romance topped it. From Jin An creating magical moments all for Shuang (peach blossom pastries, sweetening bitter medicine, that plain but precious hair pin) to Shuang risking everything for her beloved, to their emotional bond overcoming the Jade Linglong, and the blood pact, and war, and AMNESIA.
~SWOON NOISES~ (o゜▽゜)o☆
I also can’t ignore the side characters. Lu Xin and Mo Yin were a delight to watch. Though their love story was calmer, I still loved the way Lu Xin gently teased Master Mo and made herself completely at home at Wuling Mountain. The smile on Mo Yin's face every time he realized just how much he liked this bold healer was priceless. And the friendship between them and Shuang/Jin An was touching and well-written!
😂 Comedy 😂
There wasn’t excessive comedy in this one, but the lighter moments really worked. I laughed out loud when Prince Li called Jin An Shuang’s wife while Mu Yang got stuck with the concubine label 🥴. Mo Yin and Lu Xin brought a playful energy to their scenes, and Jin An was quietly adorable throughout.
🌀 Plot 🌀
I felt like everything was wrapped up quite nicely. I was relieved that Su Muyang was able to turn himself around in the end. I was worried there. And yes, he made some questionable decisions before we reached the finale, but the guy went through a lot.
Satisfying poetic justice deaths:
💀 Prince Li
💀 The Evil Empress
💀 Emperor of Taijin
💀 Jin Wu Jian
🎶 Soundtrack 🎶
There were so many great tracks in this show! Of course, Jane Zhang and Liu Yuning's songs were 👨🏻🍳💋 (That Jane Zhang ED theme is rivaling how often Kpop Demon Hunters' "Golden" gets played in my car. Sorry, kids! lol)
Apparently Cheng Lei himself sings "Caressing Shadows", one of the most haunting tracks. Omgggg… and Song Yi sang a track as well? I don't think "Waiting for You" was played as much, but it’s also a lovely piece.
My favorite might be "Bringing Peace" by Huang Xiaoyun. That song is just… it’s so Jin An x Li Shuang 🥺 "Old Age" was another gorgeous piece. This drama did not suffer from a shortage of Spotify-blastable music.
🌏 World-Building 🌏
The world-building was adequate. I was definitely left with some curiosity about the Jade Linglong and the Wuling Mountain sect, but the primary story was set in Taijin. The political strife was designed well, and I was satisfied with the ending. I especially loved how the leads got to live together freely with peace in the realm, just like Li Shuang always wanted.
👁️ Visuals 👁️
This drama had some of the most gorgeous sets, somehow, without it being a xianxia. That floral loft Jin An created early on for Shuang? Their wedding bed in Wuling Mountain? Shuang's little paradise prison during her stay in the Yao kingdom (after Prince Annan moves her out of the dungeon, ofc). These two had some truly beautiful scenes with settings to match.
📈 Binge Factor 📈
The only reason I wasn’t watching 8 episodes a day at first was because I was juggling other dramas (When Destiny Brings the Demon, Blossom). But by the end, it was nearly impossible not to stay up all night for “just one more episode.” 😉
🎭 Acting 🎭
Cheng Lei in three roles = brilliance. His range blew me away and cemented him as one of my favorite rising leads. Song Yi balanced strength and vulnerability perfectly.
The supporting cast also shined. Lu Xin’s warmth, Mo Yin’s subtlety, and even the villains leaned into their roles with conviction.
🔥 Conflict 🔥
The stakes were always high, but I think the most emotional to watch from this show was when Jin An had his memories back and was torn between vengeance for his brother, whom he thought was dead, or the life he wanted as Jin An with Shuang.
⭐ Final Thoughts ⭐
I posted a meme about the existential crisis one experiences after finishing a series. I definitely felt that with this one. It's hard to move on. It will be on my mind for a long time, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes action, great storytelling, and swoon-worthy romance.
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BEST DRAMA OF THE YEAR
Honestly, no words needed.I love the ML for the versitale acting, FL for EVERY emotional scene. Chemistry between them - one of the best that I've seen.
Princess Agents and Eternal Love are my favs and I'm still missing them and watching them on repeat. This drama gave me a subtle vibe of both. Everything was thoughtful and done with the taste. Tempo was amazing, not too fast and not too slow, enough to catch attention.
This drama finally gave me the fresh air. I highly doubt that I'll watch something better this year(and I'm quite happy about it).
Love Cheng Li in this drama. I hope he'll take more projects like this.
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Ryan cheng aced all three characters with superb acting
Story is well paced. I read the novel . I think drama adoptation is a lot better than novel. All three characters .. jinan being pure innocent and a green forest, xuan yi ke being brave and enigmatic and duan aodong being cold ruthless and intellegent person ..all character aced by ryan cheng. He deserves a lot more appreciation and acknowledgement for his work.Was this review helpful to you?
