Two Steps From Heaven

A brilliant novel done wrong by the screen writers. It has that Game-of-Thrones-ending kind of storytelling where parts of the story were nothing short of disrespectful to the audience's intelligence. Still, it's worthy of the 10 star rating because ALL the actors brought their A-game.

Might I also commend whoever styled Zhang Ling He's wardrobe and makeup. Gone are the white, sweaty, pasty makeup from his previous dramas where his lips were always rouged in red, detracting from his performances and even somewhat made a mockery of his talent. More importantly, his acting skills have evolved, gaining abilities far beyond what we've seen from him or perhaps it's just being in the company of so many phenomenal young actors that jolted him from complacency; whatever it is, ZLH's star power remains undefeated. Can we talk about the excellent Tian Xi Wei who shone the brightest in this ensemble cast of young, beautiful actors. I could never take my eyes off of her.

Then there's the MVP of all C-drama villains - Sui Yuan Huai - played by Deng Kai whose expressive acting ensured we knew exactly what he was thinking, making his brand of cruelty both maddening and endearing.

Anyway, you won't go wrong by setting a few hours aside to watch this. 👌🏾