Moonlit Order

Was This Good? Maybe?

Another drama from Huang Jun Jie! I was really excited for this one at first because I love both Huang Jun Jie and Hankiz, but honestly… it didn’t fully meet my expectations. Still, it turned out to be a decent and enjoyable watch.

The plot was easy to predict — especially figuring out who the prince was and who the immortal was. But I did get surprised when the real Xue He Xu appeared. I seriously thought there wouldn’t be a real one at all, that it was just him pretending.

The romance part, though… felt a bit flat for me. Xue He Xu suddenly falling for Feng Zuo Ren was giving “huh??” because I didn’t really see the buildup or the turning point where his feelings grew — aside from the childhood connection, and even then he had his memory lost. So the falling-in-love arc didn’t hit as much as it could’ve.

And the biggest surprise? I didn’t expect this to be a comedy at all. The trailer looked so serious and dramatic, but the drama turned out to be way more unserious and goofy. Not complaining though because Gu Qian Fu was hilarious, and I didn’t expect to love Yan Zi Xian in this kind of role either.

Overall, it’s a fine drama. Not my style and not exactly memorable for me, but definitely watchable if you enjoy light comedy and fun characters. Even if it wasn’t for me, it might be perfect for you!

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Underrated but Solid

Compared to its competitors, Moonlit Order does not boast a star studded cast or a unique plot and (to my knowledge), it is not inspired by any C-Novels. Given this, Moonlit Order does a fantastic job at drawing us into the story.

The plot can be smelt from a mile away and viewers can probably easily guess how the other 23 episodes will play out just by watching the first episode. While predictable, the aptly placed comedic relief and complex, changing roles of each character bring the story to life and make Moonlit Order subtly different from the recent influx of historical dramas featuring strong FLs who are all either generals or commanders.

Huang Jun Jie pulls off his role quite nicely as ML, but if I had to cite a flaw, it would be that his portrayal of characters is too overt. I find that he lacks the ability to subtly convey a character's nuanced emotions or change of heart. In this role, that didn't work against him too much as his character is a more down-to-earth, forthright fellow. HJJ could shape up to be quite a household name if he learns how to do this and becomes a little more charismatic in his acting.

Hankiz Omar was quite a surprise as the FL. As she is of Uyghur descent, she probably is most often compared to actresses like Dilabra and Gulnezer. Of the three, she probably is the least expressive when she acts and has had trouble gaining main roles. While there was significant improvement in her acting, she still has very flat expressions and emotions which make it difficult for viewers to understand the character's mind. The one thing that did catch my eye was her exquisite hand movements during martial arts sequences where she is unarmed. The sequences were most likely inspired by wushu and is reminiscent of 80s-90s Hong Kong style martial arts films. Not only was it a nice touch to highlight her strengths as an actress, it gave credibility to the character as a true martial arts practitioner (and not just another 'strong' FL suited in armor).

The support cast did a nice job as well (huge props to Yan Zi Xian for playing the bad guy, the good guy, and the comedic relief). The production was good as there were no discrepancies in audio, visuals, transitions, etc. The costumes did not look tacky and off-putting. All in all, it was an underrated drama that was solid in execution. Its current rating (at the time of this review) is 7.7 which is slightly lower than it should be when compared to other Cdramas of similar ilk and their inflated ratings, but is truthful in its reflection of the drama.

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