Fated Hearts

same old trope but better

rehashing old tropes in cdrama is normal. but done right is very few on the list.
this one can be added to that.
a lot of female general was shown this year.
Li Qin is the Best by a mile.
Chen Zhe Yuan was great i like his progression from cheesy to a more mature role.
Production value was top notch.

there were characters that shouldnt have been added in the first place.

like the lady physician i dont get her character.
the kids story although needed they are annoying.

Xia Jing Shi character was weak AF i cant believe he is the main villain. The death camp story should have been explained better for character development. i dont know make him more evil i guess??

but all in all among the series shown in that time period . This was the best for me



thanks director i love a lot of your work.

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Talk about enemies to lovers!!!

I loved this. Even though we are used to the whole enemies to lovers storyline, this was still good. I am surprised I didn't skip through. Chen Zhe Yuan nailed his role in this one again!
There were so many villains in this one and it actually keeps you wanting to see what will they do next.
Everyone else nailed their role as well and it was so good to see Zuo Ye.
With everything that took place, I wish Feng Xi Yan got a better ending as well as Empress Zhuang (she deserved to be put out by Feng Sui Ge)
I loved the fighting scene between Feng Sui Ge and Xia Jing Shi at the end.
Overall it was a great watch, you get the right balance of chemistry and romance between the leads and the political side. I would have given this a 10 if they showed how their lives progressed and maybe a little family….but that is just my preference.

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A flawless series (❤ω❤)

PLOT: The FL, general of Jinxiu Kingdom, reverses the outcome of the battle by firing an arrow at the ML, the 1st Prince of Susha Kingdom. However, shortly after, she narrowly escapes assassins. The ML and the (amnesiac) FL meet, both wounded, in a village of doctors. The ML decides to take her to Susha to uncover the truth behind this unusual battle.

+++ CL with Chen Zhe Yuan (♡‿♡`) & Li Qin, both magnificent, charismatic, just awesome ... (♡‿♡`)
+++ Excellent directors: the cinematography is an aesthetical perfection : sets, costumes, effects, lighting, framing, action scenes. Perfect! Furthermore, the pacing is fast, with no dull moments.
+++ The actors deliver a brilliant performance, bringing to life complex, tortured, yet endearing characters (even Jinxiu's borderline emperor :)
+++ The OSTs perfectly complement the atmosphere.

=> It's an addictive, intense series that I watched in one sitting (I'm definitively a binge-watcher :), and I'll rewatch it with a really pleasure.

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Un "sans faute" (❤ω❤) (❤ω❤)

PLOT: La FL, générale de Jinxiu Kingdom, inverse l'issue de la bataille en tirant une flèche sur le ML, 1e Prince de Susha Kingdom. Cpdt, peu après, elle échappe de justesse à des assassins. Le ML et la FL (amnésique) se retrouvent, blessés dans un village de médecins. Le ML décide de l'emmener à Susha pr découvrir ce qui se cache derrière cette bataille anormale.

+++ CL avec Chen Zhe Yuan (´♡‿♡`) & Li Qin, tous les 2 magnifiques, charismatiques, ... (´♡‿♡`)
+++ TB réalisateur : la cinématographie a une esthétique parfaite : décors, costumes, effets, lumières, cadrages, scènes d'action. Parfait ! De plus, le rythme est rapide, sans temps mort.
+++ Les acteurs font une performance géniale, donnant vie à des personnages complexes, torturés mais attachants (même l'empereur borderline de Jinxiu :)
+++ Les OSTs accompagnent parfaitement l'atmosphère.

=> C'est une série addictive, intense, que j'ai regardé d'une traite, et que je reverrai certainement à nouveau.

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Weird Skin smoothing is super distracting

Just going to start by saying I love the leads in other roles before the hate comes at me. I'll start with the positives:

1. FL: compared to all the other female generals in the past few years, Li Qin is a stronger performer up to those physical demands. Her acting is quite good also.
2. Overall casting choices were pretty good.
3. Some cool fight scenes.

On to the ... not for me ... after 18 ep:
1. Story is nothing new.... unless you are competing with other female general dramas on the level of hate and torture between the ML/FL before making them fall in love with each other. Then this wins the prize.
2. FL/ML no chemistry. Amazingly 2 actors both acting their parts and yeah... not a spark (IMO)
3. Isolated overdone skin smoothing with lots of pink tones while other people in the same frame with no skin smoothing is super weird. Smooth like AI face next to bumpy galore.
4. I get it she's injured (arm only) with memory loss, but I lost count of how many times she fainted and/or requires ML to rescue her.
5. Played out drama tropes to stretch out to 38 ep. Repetitive fall, catch, shine white light on frozen stares, memory loss, vision loss ... *sigh*

Potential lost....

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Well made, with some small flaws

Story

Throughout this series, I was never bored. The story is straightforward. The politics were simple enough so I was never confused, yet interesting so I didn't get bored. Everything made sense. I never felt like the politics were fillers; instead, they felt necessary, they felt like they were a result of the plot rather than the reason for it. There were no "sidequests".

Since the way the first episode was set up (Jinxiu being attacked), my feeling was that I was watching "the other country", because we are used to the good guys being on defense. This was really cool, I enjoyed the dynamic.

Characters

To be honest, I never felt much chemistry between the leads. However, their story is well-written, honest, not marked by misunderstandings. They keep their promises to each other, they stick together through thick and thin. I think it's exactly the kind of love story I want to see from a cdrama. There was a moment when the main characters could have split up "for the sake of each other", I am glad it didn't happen.

Fu Yi Xiao is a nice character. She is smart enough so she doesn't trust anyone blindly. She is decisive both in battles and in love. She was no snowflake. She can withstand torture and she doesn't blink in front of violence. There were many times she could have interfered to save evil characters or to ask for a judgement, yet she didn't, she watched them die.

Feng Sui Ge was a breath of fresh air between other MLs. He is someone that cares about the people around him, but he does not forgive those who betray him. He is serious, composed, but he is also not afraid of expressing his feelings. He does not negotiate with evil characters, he kills them without a second thought. For revenge, he will go miles, and he will punish everyone that tries to stop him. He stands up straight in front of the emperor, he defies orders, he does not submit and he fights for what he thinks it's right.

The Princess of Susha and Emperor of Jinxiu were an unexpected, yet absolutely stunning part of the plot. Such crazy, unhinged interactions between them. A desperate person wanting power and revenge, and a violent tyrant drowning in pleasures, yet never truly happy. They start to slowly find other sides of themselves, but it's late - their love story is tragic. I wished they had a happy ending, I wished I would see more of them. I know cdramas are a lot about justice, and that characters will always die for their past, but I hoped for an exception.

Critics:
- Too many moments when someone is seriously injured / wounded during fights, but then makes a full recovery within a day.
- A lot of last moment saving each other.
- Some of the side stories are not correctly wrapped up.

Overall, 9/10. It would have been a 10/10, but these small tropes and the small lack of chemistry I felt make it a 9/10.

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Fated Amnesia

I am honestly not a fan of the leads, but, definitely they nailed their roles in this drama. At first, I don't have high expectations with this drama. I was thinking this was just another clichéd historical drama. Surprisingly, I got hooked from ep1. FL's character is very likeable. She's a bad ass in archery, swordsmanship and yes, martial arts. Same goes with the ML, the God of war as he was tagged in the drama. At the first arc, I find the enemies stage of the leads quite harsh as they need to go to a point to hurt each other physically and brutally. And yes, I just don't like the idea that they have to always call it even with their exchange of physical battles. I'm also not a fan of amnesia's, so, boy am I glad that the amnesia thing here was given a different approach. Like, no unnecessary drama for the MC. Everything was so direct to the point.

I really enjoyed more than halfway of the drama. From how the MC built their romance, the story behind each character, the humor injected in between, and the most epic part, the lines given by each character. From the protagonists to the antagonists, the sarcasm is so epic.

There are some points I just need to point out like the 3 kids. I don't see the relevance of their character here. It seems their story are just fillers which didn't give much relevance towards the end. Then for Wu Ying's death (Death Camp master), how I wish it was FL who have dealt with her instead of ML. Oh yes, who wouldn't love Aunt An the physician. I feel her. Like, I wouldn't treat a patient too if he's not handsome and tall. Hahaha I so love her character. For Ning Fei, I was hoping for a development of romance between him and Ling Xue Ying but the writer didn't paid much attention.

As always, Empress Zhuang got free from her crimes by suicide. I would like to see her suffer more and pay for her crimes. For the antagonists, like Xiao Wei Ran, Murong Yao and Xia Jing Shi. I was hoping there would be some character development with their characters, but, sadly, the writer opted for them to be villainous till the end. Though, I hate XJS's character but his loyalty for love is commendable. I mean, he pledged that he'll love only FYX in this lifetime and no one else, which he was able to prove by rejecting Feng Xi Yang. Same goes with the nutcase, Emperor Xiang. yes, he's quite a psycho because of his mom, who to be blamed with in the first place. But, I like his wit, when he said to FXY that she should taste her tears because she deserves it after giving up Susha just for her blind love for XJS. It maybe harsh to say but I find it logical. I honestly like his character if it only was given a chance to develop, I believe he could've been a good emperor of Jinxiu, specially after being transformed from his love for FXY. I honestly don't like FXY's character. Her sad fate I guess says it all already.

For the leads chemistry and romance, definitely chemistry is on point. Kisses check, intimacy check....it such that the execution is not as good as how we usually see in short mini dramas. Either the shot was too far or angled and sometimes too short. Oh and not only for the leads, but for FXY and Emepror Xiang's chemistry as well. Oh yeah, I am also hoping for a spinoff for the romance of these two.

So, overall, this was definitely the best historical drama for this year for me except for the finale that I am not totally satisfied with. I said that if this will end as I hope how it should, I would have given it a 9 or better yet 10 rating. But, the finale ruined it for me, so I ended up an 8.5 rating. I'm sure most people are satisfied as ML did follow what his mother wants him to be. Yes, he may have been able to live a peaceful and simple life with FL, but the people of Susha needs him to lead the kingdom. For somebody as capable as himself, he could correct what's wrong in the system of their government. Alongside with him, FL would best qualify to be an Empress and for them together to lead the nation with the help of his sister.

Lastly, I was also hoping for them to have kids in the finale, but, yeah, it was open ended I guess. And the ending, definitely was not a feel good vibe since lots of the vital characters died. Still, this is a good drama not to miss.

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2nd half really dragged...

first few episodes I was like "man I wonder how this relationship will ever even turn into a romance, let alone naturally." despite their extreme initial "enemies" relationship, they did a great job moving it towards romance. Also the main leads had pretty good chemistry.

It's so hard to remember their names, but basically the 2nd ml(??)-- his facial acting was really good at times, but his hands were always distractingly awkward. And I was very confused what direction they were going with his character. It kept looking like he was looking at the ML's sister with some degree of longing which I don't think he was supposed to lol. And then HIS brother somehow becoming a sympathetic character?? idek man. I guess the point was everyone is complicated and no one is good, but it made the established morals frustrating.
the ML can kill everyone for revenge, but the 2nd ML can't?? sure there were other nuances (like getting civilians involved) but there were points where they're arguing and I'm like "... lowkey they doing the same thing tho" lol.

2nd half the couple's relationship suddenly got boring and felt almost on the backburner. they were together but every conversation was the same--- "I'll always be with you no matter what bla bla." They almost had something interesting with the ML going blind or forgetting her (2nd one is a trope I hate but it would have been interesting), but both of those are pretty much resolved in the same episode.
bro imagine if he was blind for like 3 episodes and somehow managed to still have mad fighting skills. that would have looked so cool! but nah, everything has an easy quick fix for the main couple. at least they had a good ending ig.

meanwhile they did my girl the princess dirtyyyy.... I got way more invested in her story just for it to kind of have a crappy ending. I guess I just wanted this drama to decide if it wanted to be a stupid enemies to lovers plot or actually say something about the human condition, and it just didnt do a good job at trying to do both bc I got whiplash...

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Watched it for the crazy emperor and princess xiyang (second half of season)

I watched a condensed version on youtube that just has the second couple's scenes, and was riveted from the start! Their story and their acting were top notch and I enjoyed the love triangle with the brother Xia Jingshi.

Their relationship was messy, abusive, and toxic but interestingly, the Princess matched the Emperor's freak and wouldn't back down. I have their scenes (all 7 of them) on rewatch, and I couldn't take my eyes off them! They said more with their eyes and actions than with their words. There is even humor to the dying end.

Qin Tianyu, the actor who played the emperor won a Wenrong breakthrough acting award for his acting in this role and I look forward to seeing him in more meaty roles in the future! He totally earned it.

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First half ....AMAZING?....Second half......hmmmmm??

​The story utilizes the enemies-to-lovers trope, which I thought was executed exceptionally well and felt very convincing. In a nutshell, the plot centers on the Female Lead (FL), who loses her memory after being shot and falling off a cliff. She is determined to find out how she fell and who shot her, so she joins hands with her mortal enemy, the Male Lead (ML). Together, they confront many secrets and betrayals.


​WHAT I LIKED


.​I liked that the main mystery was resolved relatively early in the show—the female lead quickly found out who shot her (perhaps a little too quickly!).
​I also genuinely appreciate her character. She is incredibly strong and resourceful; she saves the ML many times and is certainly not a pushover. Her philosophy is clear: she repays kindness 100-fold and evil 1000-fold.

.​The ML's acting is superb, and he is undeniably an eye-candy. Similarly, the performance of the Emperor Of Jinxiu was strong, portraying a character who is toxic, but still appealing to watch.

​WHAT I DISLIKED

.​I really disliked how the show went off track in the second half. It introduced too many new characters and focused heavily on unnecessary revenge plots from the side characters.

.​It would also have been better if the writers had more thoroughly explained the villain’s character. They should have shown more of his suffering or motivation. Instead, his character was bland, driven only by a shallow obsession with the FL.

​. Finally, the Princess’s character was living in her own fairy tale until the second half of the show when she finally came to reality. However, she was far too late in grasping many feelings and situations. I don't exactly like or dislike her character overall, but there were times when she was very annoying...

THE STORY THAT FAILS TO IGNITE....

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When your obsession and temptation forces you onto the wrong paths.

Fated Hearts was a series where there were villains which were made, people gave into the temptations of power - injustice done to them which they wanted to avenge can only come with it, in that people lost what they should have cherished the most.Xia Jinghshi lost Fu Yixiao, the emperor lost his family, Murong Yao betrayed his only best friend..Xiyang in the obsession of her love lost her self, Zhuang Shen lost his life and the empress lost herself too…too many people lost so many things, burnt bridges, implicated others, made others suffer…this story was not all black and white…just people giving into the temptation of power and loosing their lives.

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