No character consistency
This drama had potential, with a decent plot and the mystery elements but fell short in character consistency.The Good
The drama started off strong with the 2 leading characters Pan Yue, played by Liu Xueyi, and Yang Cai Wei, played by Zheng He Huizi. The story was intriguing with the crime solving elements and decent chemistry amongst the characters. The acting was strong and made it an interesting watch. We also had Shangguan Zhi, played by Ju Jingyi, introduced as the obsessed 3 wheel who brought a twist to the story. The costumes and visuals were really nice and the OSTs were also good. That’s as about a good as it got and then it went downhill…
The Bad
The main issue was the lack of character consistency after the face swap. Besides her appearance, her character arc/personality completely changed from being either of the 2 characters. On the one hand, we understand that she is pretending to be someone else but at the core she should have pretended to be Shangguan Zhi. Yang Cai Wai was reserved, calm, independent, with her guard up. Shangguan Zhi was possessive, cold, calculating and mean. Introducing Ju Jingyi as the main leads, she was neither of these things. Once the two girls switched, there was a clear difference in the characters and it was hard to connect Ju Jingyi as either Yang Cai Wei or Shangguan Zhi. This further made things unconvincing to know that she was actually the original woman. I’ve seen Ju Jingyi in lots of dramas and have enjoyed some but can’t help but think that her character is a little type cast, in which she is a copy paste version of the same character in every show she is in. I don’t see clear differences in her acting style from one project to the next. The directors should have also known better to make sure that there was consistency with the characters because old habits die hard. No matter if their appearance changed, the underlying essence/nature of that person would not.
Some people or fans of the leads may enjoy this. I myself am a fan of Liu Xueyi as he is an amazing actor but I had to drop this one because even his acting could not keep me interested. Make your own decision on whether to watch. It was a no for me.
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Things doesn't seem to be what most of the watchers think.
At first I also feel flustered when I saw yang cei Wei was played by other actress instead of JJY(in ep1 and 2).But the think at that time pan yue doesn't have proper feelings for yang cei Wei because they haven't met since 10 years and even if he loves her the most he didn't know how she looks like after 10 years when he saw characteristics of her and token then after he concluded that she is her childhood friend yang cei Wei. After body swapping he really fell in love with yang cei Wei in JJY body(at first he only wants to marry her because she was her best childhood friend and also a marriage contract was also there) so at first he didn't care about looks and wants to marry her(not because of love) but as they spend more time with each other(when JJY plays the role) he really fell for her.
This review is for those who dropped this drama because of body swapping and all.
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Face swap success!
Face swapping, changed identity, murder mystery, and a take on child abuse. This drama was interesting from the trailer. The actors were on point and intriguing. I thought the casing was very good and each one fit their part. Although I must admit the initial Yang Cai Wei (woman with the scar) was so good that I did not think the FL Shangguan Zhi would fit the role. I was wrong, she took over immediately and owned the FL role.This drama had a lot of depth to it in that some of the focus seemed to be on abandonment and child abuse. It becomes sad at times. The detective cases were handled quickly so it was not boring.
I like the production the costumes were great, especially ML who wore something different every time you see him, and it looked good. FL's wardrobe was so, so. In all of the movies I have seen the FL she seems a little anorexic (IMO) so her clothes do not look great.
The soundtrack was good, nothing I remember.
The ending was a little underwhelming but still satisfying as it was a happy one. They left room for a 2nd season but not a watch for me.
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A (perhaps) unpopular take on the 2nd m/f lead relationship…
A lot’s been written about the plot and the leads that I agree with, and I wasn’t going to write a review but look, I finished this show last night. I am now working and out of nowhere, tears sprang to my eyes because one scene in particular popped into my head: 2FL drops her head back, fighting back tears, after she opens 2ML’s fist to find a piece of candy.Sorry, guys, but the relationship between 2FL and 2ML may not be the storybook prettiest, but it is definitely the most REAL. It happens like that, sometimes the guy ends up with the backup girl, sometimes they find comfort in each other, and sometimes that winds up being the best thing for both of them. Sometimes it ends badly.
In the end, I can honestly say that their story, even over the main leads’, is what moved me. As much for its realness as for it being cut short before either of them had an opportunity to figure it all out together.
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Awesome story but filmed weirdly
I believe it's awesome and has enough angst to satisfy me but it's filmed weirdly because it's somehow not made with all scenes to be explained properly...while a play with swapping faces and stealing FL's identity is to many people done like they couldn't have done it better? To me it's not that big of a deal plus I rather accept it as it was played out even if how could they have done the face so very identical to a FL and guest FL in a short time lol but the weirdest thing to me is a battle in a funeral or memorial hall with Pan Yue when they stabbed his belly and he fell like he died and after it he just went on the boat standing and sailor sailed him that scene is confusing to me...I noticed that this faint abd stab aren't the only plot holes but there are more if them and I don't understand why but the story us good a d their acting is entertaining but still it's a drama with quite a number of plot holes but it could be better if it was made with all the understanding and properly presented events but it is like rather averageWas this review helpful to you?
A mixed feeling of "ahh!" and "huh?" and "oh.."
This drama gave me a mixed feeling of "ahhh!" and "huh?" and "oh...". While going through the first few episodes, I felt this drama had potential... But as the drama rolled on, I actually took a break from it and came back because I wanted to know what happened to our second lead couple. The drama follows Yang Caiwei (played by Zhang He Hui Zi in the beginning 2 episodes and then Jujin Yi later as the main role), who became a coroner after the downfall of her family. Life was quiet, until Pan Yue ( Liu Xue Yi) popped back into her life to fulfill the engagement promise during their childhood years. Caiwei finally gave into her heart and said yes to Pan Yue, but fate had other plans in store for them. Zealous Shangguan Zhi decided to kidnap Yang Caiwei on the day of her wedding and swapped their faces to marry Pan Yue, but was murdered shortly after. This murder case will eventually pull our main leads together as they find more clues towards a bigger conspiracy.The storyline was acceptable, but not enough to awe me. I didn't care much about the cases they were solving because it was there mainly to keep the storyline moving for the next clue.
Yang Caiwei's character was a bit confusing for me to accept after the third episode. I believe it would've flow much better if they just use the same actress from the beginning to the end for our female lead. It was a little hard for me to accept Jujin Yi as Yang Caiwei throughout the drama after the first actor because Zhang He Hui Zi was great as Yang Caiwei in the first two episodes and left an strong image of Yang Caiwei's character. When Jujin Yi jumped in to fill the role, she felt like a different Yang Caiwei.
One thing the writers did correctly was Pan Yue. He's character was consistent with the flow of the story and his feelings and actions made sense. One of the many reasons I kept watching was to see Pan Yue's battle with himself trying to understand why he's suddenly falling in love with a woman whom he loathe in the beginning. His arch made me realize that we fall in love with the soul and not the flesh.
Our second lead couple was cute to watch despite the limited screen time they have. One reason I came back to finish the drama. Their love was like a seed that sprouted but didn't end satisfactory.
Overall, this drama is "eh". Will I rewatch it? Nope, once is enough (Not unless they add a new side story of Bai Xiao Shang and Zhuo Lan Jiang .^_^.)
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This drama is sadly underrated. It was not super popular, or so I'm told, in China. I cannot claim to know why, but maybe that is because of the other shows airing at the time... or perhaps, the audience was looking for something more fast paced? Whatever the reason, it deserved more love.
General Plot:
On the eve of her wedding to her childhood friend, Yang Caiwei is abducted by Shangguan Zhi-- a cruel woman who craves her betrothed, Pan Yue. After being forced to swap bodies, Caiwei escapes only to discover Shangguan Zhi has been murdered. Killed, it would seem, in her stead. Armed with nothing but a stranger's face and her skills as a coroner, Caiwei embarks on a journey to unearth a conspiracy that goes back twenty years... to the murder of her parents. Pan Yue is also on the case, but could he be her killer?
Liu Xue Yi, who plays Pan Yue (male lead), took what might have been a simple character and turned him into a brilliant one. I must admit to being more attached to him than the female lead I was supposed to be rooting for! His expressions, nuances, and subtle gestures portrayed a very private individual's inner turmoil expertly. His emotions--even when the character was hiding them from other characters--were evident to the audience. His heartbreak and grief was palpable. He was confused over the change is "Shangguan Zhi" and loathed himself having feelings for her. Was that not a betrayal to the woman he loved?
Some people say Pan Yue should have caught on sooner, but in the character's defense, there is no magic in this world. Any supernatural instances are disproven with science and practicality. If someone I knew showed up and started acting like someone else, would I assume a body-swap? Not likely. Not ever, to be honest.
The female lead was alright. She wasn't my favorite, but she grew on me. I enjoyed the story enough to ignore a little inconsistency in the character when the actresses switched. Ju Jing Ye reminds me of a 'type actress'. She often plays herself--which is fine because she seems to be genuinely nice person. Her character was very resourceful and clever, and she had the perfect eyes for the part. Red rimmed and pleading... but that might have also been allergies. There were times I really wanted to get her eye drops.
Overall, I truly enjoyed the story. Why not a higher score? Primarily, it was the disappointing ending for some of the secondary characters. One in particular was very heart wrenching, and while his 'fate' was tied into the plot, it could have been done differently. What can I say? I am a sucker for happily ever after.
If you are a fan of Liu Xue Yi, this is a much watch.
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Great start!
I love love loved this plot! I was hooked by episode 3. FL has swapped bodies with a woman the ML can’t stand. It was very interesting, because we know he’ll want nothing to do with her- which leaves lots of room for development in their relationship. I liked most of the characters too, both leading and supporting.While watching I did notice a large amount of comments regarding the FL’s acting and how “horrible” it was. I must say, I don’t understand this at all. She was perfectly fine to me. I’d say she was on par with the ML if not better at times. Perhaps she’s had a poor performance in a past series that gave people the bias to criticize her now, but from her portrayal here I did not see anything wrong with her. She is also GORGEOUS, her hairstyles and outfits here are all so pretty.
My main flaw would be it’s runtime. I think it should have been condensed down to 24 episodes. With the 32 we got it feels very long and drawn out sometimes, especially during their investigations. I didn’t mind the romance being a slow burn, but the rest of the story did not need so much space. By the final 10 episodes I began to feel numb to all that was going on, it was very hard for me to stay focused. But the first 2/3rds of it were fairly good. I initially had it at an 8 while watching, but as it lost it’s footing a bit I’ve decided to drop it down to a 7.
It’s good enough!
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Great romantic chemistry
This is a romance drama with some gothic fantasy elements. The production and acting was great and the story was very entertaining.Caiwei was a young woman with a troubled past . She was a serious character who lived quietly as a coroner and inadvertently found herself mixed up in murder mystery. After the face swap, this characterization was completely gone. It's not that Ju Jing Yi (JJY) is a bad actress. She is typecast to play a specific character. So, herein lies the problem with characterization by JJY where she portrayed a variation of Fu Rong and Yunxi, instead of a solemn girl introduced by Zheng He Hui Zi. Curiously enough, her characterization of the original Shangguan Zhi was on point. The showrunners should've done a better job at coaching her about the role because she obviously can act outside her usual stereotype.
The romance was nicely written. Pen Yue's original obsession with Caiwei was a bit off-putting. But as he rediscovered the "new" and "improved" Shangguan Zhi (SZ), he slowly started falling in love with her. The writers did a good job showing the personality change, that SZ was no longer a mean-spirited woman, but a very nice person. I loved Pen Yue's and SZ's interactions and situations they were thrown in where Pen Yue gradually started seeing the differences between the old SZ and the new SZ drawing similarities between the new SZ and Caiwei. I also liked that Pen Yue went through internal struggle feeling guilt over the fact that he started developing feelings for SZ while still mourning his dead wife. Not to mention, the chemistry between the actors was amazing. This is one of the fewer romance dramas where adults act like actual adults, instead of awkward teenagers.
I did not love the ending. Some good characters were wasted just to draw an emotional reaction from the audience. And, instead of tying up all the loose ends, it ended on a giant cliff hanger not revealing who the actual mastermind was. Will this lead to a sequel or are we just supposed to wonder? Who knows.
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CSI Meets Crime Solving in 16th Century China
A disfigured woman is shunned by society due to her “ugly” looks and knack for reading the dead becomes a lead investigator in unraveling a myriad of conspiracies in the town of Heyang. The cases and her investigative methods (along with the help of her love interest, the ML) were interesting as were the layers surrounding the crimes that revealed a bigger conspiracy.Even better was the big conspiracy was simple, yet intriguing. However, in the last 10 episodes the story started to lose steam. The episodes begin to drag and spent too much time on story threads that were boring or made the main story thread more complicated than it needed to be.
Though the leads were passible as a couple, they looked good together. I actually preferred the ML with the original actress who played the FL when she was scarred and “ugly.” They had good chemistry and I liked the idea of the FL not being this raving beauty. When the storyline called for the FL’s face to change it took several episodes for me to warm up to the new actress in the role. Moreover, when I did warm up to her, I begin to find interest in her interactions with the SML. I liked the potential that was their relationship. It was too bad that there was no chance for them to explore a romance considering their natural chemistry, which wasn’t quite there with the ML.
The acting was good from everyone. Both FLs were the strongest actresses out of the younger cast. The actor who played the ML struggled, at times, when he had to get emotional. The “love” story was anemic at best. I think the leads worked best when they were in that mode of distance and “sexual” (though there wasn’t much sexiness going on. lol) tension rather than when they became a couple. Some of their “romantic” interactions were awkward. I think because their chemistry was mediocre at best.
Thankfully the series didn’t spend much time on their “love” as the focus was on solving the conspiracies at hand. The show started off really good but meandered towards the end on unnecessary storylines. The story could’ve been tightened and completed in 18-20 episodes, rather than 32. That said, this was worth watching. Is it worth a rewatch? Maybe.
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I nearly missed out on this drama because of you-know-who
I was here for ML after Blood of Youth and Destined, but I hesitated because of You-know-who, but was assured in the comment section that she's "improved'.She has indeed improved, but I'm not sure whether is for good or worst.
What I'm trying to say is, this drama is a good one, give it a chance. ML and the rest of the cast really shouldered the show properly.
I wish the original actress was kept instead of.... because that face swap thing doesn't make sense at all, what with body figure (one was obsessed with being thin), voice, height even but we get the reason behind the switch. Hmmm.
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The bone structure thing bugged me LOL
Rated= 6~ 25/50 ~ 5RPG Scene // Fairy leading me off a cliff on the Mountain Pass. I think the Battle Axe is a flower
This started off not bad and I was genuinely enjoying it (and the accidental asmr in episode 2) but once the two characters got together, I kind of lost interest. There was also a disturbing scene that happens in a school that actually shocked me, that the chinese censorships let this through. I think that was my breaking point. I had decided to give it a rest for a while but after some time, I've just genuinely lost interest in the show.
Plot - The face swap thing kind of seemed a bit silly to me. A soul swap would have made more sense. We have a guy who can train bugs and the face swapping seems to have been done by witch doctors/dark arts practitioners anyway, so why not? Just peeling off someone's face isn't going to change bone structure or the body. If it was just her face, she would still have her body but the FL talks as though she is in another body entirely. (Or maybe it was just my subtitles.) So my brain kind of winced at that logic but I went with it. I did however, really love the slight chase between the FL and the ML because that is a perfectly understandable drama there. He thinks the FL, with her new face, killed the love of his life and the FL thinks the ML wanted to kill her.
Once we get through that trial, it becomes more of a build up romance with the leads that you would expect.
I felt like the characters kind of accepted this face swap like they had ran out of milk. It seemed more like an inconvenience than holy snowballs, I have a completely new face and body and along with that a completely new identity and lifestyle. That would really traumatise me and feel like maybe that should have been showcased a little more, esp for the FL. She goes from being a very bullied and hated woman because of her job and scarred face, to being someone who is supposed to be the most beautiful woman around, also from a wealthy family. That's quite a jump that's not really explored fully. For the most part, the FL just mentions that she's stolen the other girls identity and she must be mad for being murdered in her place. Umm, honey, she stole your identity LOL
The side couple was just sad to watch. The side ML was clearly devoted to the FL and suddenly, and the most randomly I've seen so far, the side FL is in love with the side ML and acts jealous. It just comes out of nowhere. It has 'rebound' all over it.
I have read spoilers to the end of the series and if I continued watching, I don't think I would feel sad for the couple. I would feel sadness from a friend perspective.
Acting - The ML is really at good crying. I felt that.
There are complaints about the FL's acting not matching the portrayal of the first actress. I kind of agree to an extent. It does kind of feel like a slight dissonance between them. They tried to use the flower petal plucking as a habit but I feel like they should have used some sort of personal expression to bridge the visual crossover for the audience. Like each girl having a set of habits and expressions that the audience could pick up on, other than good girl and bitch, so when the switch is made, it feels more natural for the viewer to see the character just change faces. Instead, it does feel like there's a personality change as well. The FL as the second actress, although still very intelligent and kind, does seem a lot more outgoing. If this is the character's natural personality, it's not shown very well in the first two episodes.
Music- I remember liking the background tracks to this one, although nothing to add to my playlist.
Rewatch - Since I've decided to drop this, I won't be rewatching.
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