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Won't say its perfect but....
I also won't say this is the worst drama I've ever watched either or that its the worst one out there. I was interested in the story to the very end. Granted there a lot of things they really could of done better. Number 1 thing being not making the fl the most hated character ever. No one liked her decisions all the way through this drama, but even through that the actress did great playing this character. Also really enjoyed the male lead here to hope to see him in more dramas.I really enjoyed this drama and have stopped letting the whole "I am going to hurt you with my words to get you to move on" thing to bother me. There are so many dramas that do this it is one thing that they love to do. I really wanted to watch this and with each episode it made me want to watch the next to see what will happen. Is this a happy love story no it is not it is more of a revenge story. You have a little bit of love in some of the episodes but the characters will not stop until they have succeeded in their revenge and that is made clear by even hurting people you love to make it happen. The chemistry between the two leads was also something to watch. Yes the fl hurts the ml most of the time but their scenes together at least kept me watching.
The one thing that I think actually annoyed me with this show was them trying to redeem the 2ml at the end, and actually having the fl feel bad for him. Why do they keep trying to do that with evil second male leads, and not being able to make up their minds if they want to do a sad ending or not. This I guess technically doesn't have a sad ending depending on how you want to interpret it. The leads are still alive at the end. Any more with dramas if one can keep me invested all the way through it without me getting bored that is what I look for, and this one succeeded.
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How to make a drama 42 episode of pain
Man, watching that show felt like a chore halfway through. It’s like they grabbed three random storylines and mashed them together like, "Yeah, this'll work." Spoiler: it didn’t. I didn’t even hate the ML, dude's just straight-up unhinged. But honestly, he’s the only one bringing any heat to the series. The FL though? Pure dumb. I get it, revenge for the fam and all, but girl’s out here causing him more pain than the actual villains. And to top it off, she’s out here targeting the wrong dude. Like, c’mon. And ZYY’s final moments? Comedy gold. That man was a walking L, thinking he’s the mastermind but looking pathetic the whole time. The fact that he was the “real” enemy? Yeah, I ain’t buying it.Then there’s Daisy Li with that half-smirk in the last episode… like, what was that even supposed to mean? Trying to act all deep and mysterious when the whole plot is already in shambles.
Honestly, the story was trash. Made zero sense, confusing as hell, and don’t even get me started on the non-existent character development.
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Steamy kisses
You need to know some important things in order to enjoy this drama, or it may trigger your emotional responses so you cannot perceive the love story of this ill-fated couple.The male lead survives miraculously by the sheer willpower of his love and determination to get back to her. If you have watched fantasy historicals, you know that heroes can survive unimaginable wounds, sometimes by taking a magic pill. The magic pill is love in this drama. I could visualize him climbing out of a pile of dead bodies by the force of his love. His miraculous survival continues right to the end, and it's like nothing can kill this man! This is a testament to the undying power of love.
I have never watched a man who would do anything, endure anything for his wife like this hero! And I've watched over 1688 Asian shows since 2002. He is almost superhuman, but his heart is all human, vulnerable, and affectionate. He is a hotblooded lover, and the steam-bath is both amusing and entertaining!
The female lead has loved only one man in her entire life. I watched the version where 42 episodes were put into 20 episodes, and you need to watch half the episodes to understand who that man always was and always will be! Meanwhile, this production may fool you. It certainly will evoke opposite reactions in viewers.
The little boy is great. The princess is one tough cookie. Prince Su is a good friend. Besides the main couple and these characters, no one else stood out for me. This is a drama that is not readily understandable unless you watch it from good translation editors. AI subs just don't cut it, and much meaning is lost without the written text being explained. The main couple sang the Closing OST, and if you watch with the lyrics, that is a special bonus. I, for one, like the fully-edited product.
Dramas like to play on the viewers' emotions so be forewarned about the ending episode. All is not what it seems until the very end! The screenwriter likes plot twists and turns. However, love wins the day!
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Warning Signs Were There, But I Chose Violence (and 38 Episodes)
Man, this drama had me EXHAUSTED lmao, and I’ve seen my share of them...Between the ML’s deranged behavior and his Olympic-level manhandling of the FL in the beginning, I was already questioning my life choices. And the repeated attempts to assault her? Like, yeah, I enjoy a good red-flagged ML (it’s my guilty pleasure, don’t judge), but this is just not it.
And the FL? OMG. She frustrated me for the entire 38 episodes that I somehow survived (idk how, send thoughts and prayers). I genuinely don’t think I have the energy to continue, and I’m pretty sure these 42 episodes just keep recycling the same 1-2 plot points like a never-ending fever dream. A huge clusterfluff, bro. Emotional damage.
And judging by the comment section? Yeah, we’ve all collectively been going through it. Should’ve just read the warning signs and yeeted myself out before episode 1 even ended. My bad.
In conclusion: I had high hopes because of the leads—both have been great in other dramas, but here? Idk if the issue is the directing, the writing, the editing, or some cursed combination of all three, but this mess was NOT worth 42 episodes. Just no. Abort mission. Save yourselves!!
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Story Dragged
This show was way too long. The story lost me around episode 20 but I held on until about episode 30 and couldn’t continue. The plot isn’t anything new but it’s a mini drama and fast paced so I assumed it wouldn’t be a drag. I was very wrong.There were so many redundant repeated scenes and it got very old and tiresome. They dragged the main misunderstanding for far too long into the story so it became boring to watch. The overall acting wasn’t that great but not necessarily the worse. I felt that mostly everyone was overacting and didn’t come off natural.
I would say the main couple were passionate kissers and that was the only natural, decent thing about the show. Outside of that, the characters weren’t written that well. The decisions they were making were unnecessary and cliche. Too many tropes.
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This drama needs a content warning. Trashy, violent melodrama should have been a 2 hour vertical
I love mess. I'm the first to watch a trashy melodrama. Sadly, this drama is too long at 10 hours for what it is and how thin (and illogical) the plot is.Let me warn you right now: this isn't just a "red flag ML". This drama leads with sexual assault and choking/strangling. I know a lot of people think choking is sexy, but unfortunately it's really dangerous, so even though I was fully prepared to take this drama as a trash drama, the repeated attempted stranglings really annoyed and bothered me. The ML also sexually assaults the FL repeatedly. This is framed as dramatic and sexy, so please know what you're stepping into.
The setup, even the camera angles, colors, editing, are very much like a vertical melodrama. In a 2-2.5 hour drama, the plot does not need to be fully sketched out, since the point is to "jump to the point". The point being the dramatic fighting, crying, arguing, face-slapping, torture, and love scenes. Unfortunately, this drama is a little over 10 hours long, which is too long for its plot holes and repetitiveness. Instead of jumping to the point, it's ambling in circles.
One example of the plot holes is that the mother in law character is supposed to be terrifyingly capable, with spies and connections all through the government. Yet she can't seem to do simple math and figure out that her daughter in law's child is not her son's child. Furthermore, this daughter in law, the FL, does not seem to calculate that her son is in danger from the mother in law. Why would the mother in law willingly raise a cuckoo chick? When you have secrets and revelations this obvious, and a story with such big holes, it's hard to concentrate on the drama and suspend your disbelief.
What the drama tries to do is have the ML and FL work seemingly at cross purposes to each other but secretly help each other. This would have worked much better in a very short drama where you don't have time to logically think through how little the mini conflicts in each episode make sense. Plus, a vertical watcher will forgive the plot being sketched out in shorthand. An example would be when the ML is deliberately poisoned to "draw out the moles" in the army. This is like a story pitch, and in a vertical, with limited time, you would simply accept this at face value. We know this trope. However, in a 10 hour drama, we expect some sort of explanation for why ML needs to do this and why this would draw the moles out. We do not get it.
The ending: I am not sure why there is confusion about the ending--this is a pure trash drama and a revenge story and the ML and 2ML both had bad karma. If anything the creators self-indulgently drag out that death scene longer than a Shakespeare play. But whatever, it's fine.
The acting: Zhou Jun-Wei played a supporting role in Love & Redemption and it's nice to see him be the lead, but I will say his acting is a bit wobbly. He doesn't have the subtlety of a Liu Xiu-Yi to play a violent, controlling scumbag who still has some gears turning upstairs and more complicated emotions. Instead, he veers between playing "sincere" and "psycho". It doesn't really work. Given that the script is bad, and the director wants you to go back and forth with his character at first, I get it, but it is about the quality you would expect for a forgettable vertical. Daisy Li was really great in this, and I wish the writing was better so that her many melodramatic mental torture scenes would have been more moving. For me, usually, the story needs to set it up for me to care. She went through a huge range of emotions in this drama and I hope she will go on to do great things. I looked at her filmography and she does have good ratings on MDL for a lot of her main roles, I just haven't seen them. The support roles are well cast, although the emperor lacked presence. Most of them aren't given justice, either by the director and editor, or by the script.
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ML Xiao Chu Yi died in the end but the filming team make him alive
What I can't go over is how you grieve over Chu Yi's death in the end of the drama only to watch episode till the end where after the scene of Chu Yi's death the old man tells this story to audience abd another middle aged man come and tells that he did not die abd we see it actually be true and I'm like I grieved an alive person wow but luckily I did not really shed my tears for him because I smelled that the drama quality is not worth emotions other than surprise and shocks like when you get overly surprised on how the hell he ended up alive in the end when he actually died that's already a shock but could Cdrama screenwriters and filming team please stop making a stupid forced endings??? Especially when it's as stupid as this one...this one ending is the worse st ending ever and really stupid and miserable and wack and all the single stupid things it's just terrible that I really pity the team and screenwriter and quality but a story wasn't bad over all it's just that when you waste your emotions on something like this it feels wrong like you are really wasting your beauty crying and wrinkling your face for sadness and pity of ML who end up dying and is not dead in the end like he isn't even immortal or demon but a mere mortal and still die and devi e like immortal/demon...completely pointlessWas this review helpful to you?
I love this series
I love this series it’s good …… some think not …….but it’s straight to the point not like others that are filled with nonsense just to make a episode long enough. I’m going to enjoy this spicy short drama . I highly recommend watching this…………………………………………………………….Was this review helpful to you?
