Everyone is Duplicitous, Trust No One
All caught up to episode 21 and I've just about had enough of this dramaTRUST NO ONE. The evil sisters are clearly evil and the good sisters may also be evil. The suitors who are sweet and protective in the beginning will be conniving and spiteful later on if they are not chosen to be the FL's lover. The ML and FL clearly do not trust each other at all, they are constantly doing things behind each other's back and spying on each other, as if both of them doubt that they will stand on the side of justice and the greater good in the end, so they intentionally mislead and deceive each other.
TOO MANY CHARACTERS. There are way too many characters. Too many suitors, too many sisters, too many aids and confidants and enemies. How can one survive in a world where you don't have just a couple of enemies that you have to watch out for, but over a dozen? And they are all slowly becoming more villainous and dangerous to you over time. Just as you pacify/silence one threat, 3 more appear, each with distinct motives for why thy want to oppose you. Like you are in the tea making business, life does not need to be this dramatic. And the cast list is like a balloon waiting to burst. So many characters get introduced, and then you look at the cast list and they are like #15 on the list. So I am supposed to pay attention to these scenes that are all focused on your conflict/betrayal/scheme, knowing that there are at least a dozen other more important character arcs that I need to remember? This screenwriter was all over the place, too many distracting side characters that should have been left out for cohesion and storytelling (I'm looking at you, Mr. Song, a character I'm sure most people will forget about by episode 10).
THE MEN ARE TOO OBSESSED WITH ROMANTIC PURSUITS. I was really misled the MDL synopsis of this drama. I saw the words "magistrate", "murder case", and "battle of wits" and thought there would be some great court justice and power plays. But instead, it is a story about a single matrilocal family trying to play match maker for the eldest daughter, while every other sister is running 100 schemes to dethrone her. Constant petty fights, schemes that are malicious at their core (and sometimes even murderous), adult men growing crazed and betraying their conscience because they've "fallen in love", and grown-up women whining and pouting and throwing tantrums like they are 5 years old (and I'm not even referring to the mentally handicapped sister).
And the "search for a son-in-law" really dragggggged along. Such an uninteresting plotline about testing all these non-main/barely supporting character suitors that just kept going around in circles, and that almost exclusively takes places inside of a single household for many, many episodes. All this for the sake of one woman trying to pick a suitor amongst a handful of suitors that NEVER LEAVE HER HOUSE, even after she picks (and then picks again).
EVERYONE IS A BAD PERSON. Why would a writer create a world in which 90% of the characters at a certain point do something that is unforgivable? Whether it be murder, framing, betraying family members, abandoning children, scheming in a way that ruins someone's future, or scheming in a way that only benefits oneself regardless of whoever suffers because of it. Being an unjust and cruel boss, being a gossip who sows seeds of distrust, division, and resentment in others. There were way too many people for whom I saw there actions and thought "okay, I am no longer tracking with how evil and inhumane you can be. Unless you are designed to a pure villain whose motivations are past all understanding and purely written to dramatize the plot, there's no reason for you to behave this way." Thinking this was about one character is fine, I guess (although the signs of a really well written script is when even the main adversary is understandable, you don't agree with what they are doing but you can understand all of the circumstances that led up to this person choosing to behave in such a way.) But multiple characters making you feel this way is very unrealistic and just takes me out of the show entirely.
Even the FL is pretty flawed. How she handled the court case at the midpoint of the series was pretty underhanded. It seemed like she committed perjury and only stood on the side of justice in the end because she was put in a corner (although maybe we are supposed to believe that was her plan all along). I don't really like any character at this point, so why should I care to see how your story unfolds? The entire Rong family is pretty rotten to the core and deserves to fall into ruin, even though they aren't necessarily producing any evil in their society, just look at the ruthless, selfish, sinister daughters that they have produced? The ML may be the only good guy, but he alone cannot shoulder the entire drama. And the drama is firmly hinting that any other redeemable character you still see at the midway point will soon devolve into villainy as well.
TL/DR; Everyone is a villain at some point. Too many narcissistic, mal-intended characters left unchecked. Too many sisters from hell and jealous SMLs out to destroy the main CP. And there is an unnecessary web of characters that should have been thinned out and can be attributed to sloppy writing. I felt more moments of frustration than peace while watching. so I don't want to continue.
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Secrets, Secrets, Secrets, Masterfully unearthed layer by layer
What a masterpiece! It will have you sitting at the edge of your seat with every reveal until the very end! Like an onion, the dark truth about what happened in the 1990s has layers upon layers, and just when you think you are getting to the core, there are several more layers hidden underneath.The actors did a phenomenal job, especially the two main leads. I started this show for Ma Si Chun, who delivered yet another outstanding performance here. Every beat, every emotion, is always perfectly captured in her expressions, she fully embodies every character she plays, and Wu FeiFei is no exception. And Zhang Ruo Yun was excellent here as well. in the first few episodes, I did not understand why his character was so recklessly obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his birth mother, but by the end he delivered a performance that pieced together Gao Feng's character very nicely.
If you really like to be surprised and constantly caught off guard by how creative a screenwriter can get with their plot twists and big reveals, then this is the drama for you. Not a single character has the full picture (even the mastermind behind it all), and each episode you are encounter a new revelation alongside them.
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It's Not Amazing, Not Bad, Just Watchable
It’s not bad. The storytelling is not boring enough that you wouldn't want to tune in for tomorrow's episode, but also not interesting enough that you would be raving about it to all your friends. It's not infuriating in that there is no plague of "noble idiocy", unreasonably villainous characters, unnecessary conflicts springing up out of nowhere solely for the purpose of giving our CPs a reason to be pushed together. This author has set up a complex and logical world and the characters are logically flowing along in it.And the ending is tragic but they set you up well for it (even if you don't have any context from the other drama/books, you should be able to guess who will survive or not if you're listening closely to what the characters say). And there’s not unnecessary tragedy and losses along the way.
+10 points because every male actor is incredibly good looking and makes watching super enjoyable.
I am a long time Ding Yu Xi fan, but before this drama I was starting to doubt his acting ability when re-watching his older dramas (they kind of lose their spark after the 3rd/4th watch). But now in an ensemble cast where he is not the ML and I can do side by side comparison with other lead actors at his level, I can pick out what makes him so great. The way he uses his facial muscles, how his expressions are actually distinct from one moment to the next. The way he tried to give the impression that he is reacting to the situation in real-time and is not just the plot armored “perfect guy”/ “always keep his composure as if I know what’s coming next in the script”. So this drama was good for restoring my appreciation for DYX.
So nice production overall, but only an 8.0 because it has no re-watchability factor.
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A Modern Sci-Fi Comedy Done Well
PROSGreat writing, even greater comedy than anticipated, and I’m IN LOVE with the 羊驼 (alpaca) song. And this drama is yet another data point to convince me that Gao Han Yu (Gu Yu's actor) only knows how to play incredibly likable characters.
CONS
The ML and FL had flaws in the beginning that I was not fond of (the FL was too quick to assume the ML’s bad intentions once or twice, and ML was unnecessarily unapologetic about his rude, yet truthful comments on appearance). Upon reflection, if I were in their shoes I would have acted the same, but I like to place an unrealistic expectation on drama characters to be more righteous, logical, compassionate and merciful than I am (which may be unreasonable, but it is fiction - people should be better and more ideal than real humans). Luckily the flaws were minute and not recurring, and the characters were mostly lovable and cleared up all misunderstandings and gave all necessary apologies in the end.
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The One Fatal Flaw is the FL's Acting
This was another perfect, well crafted story written by the masterful author, Mo Shu Bai.This is the first adaptation of a Mo Shu Bai work where the main CP has not already been married for years before the drama begins (The Princess Royal, Light Beyond the Reed), or is not forced into a marriage by the end of the first episode (Destined). For once, we're not seeing a married couple learn to fall in love again (or for the first time), but we're seeing two individuals who have no ties to each other weighing the costs and benefits of letting a little stirring of emotions turn into a lifelong commitment.
While fundamentally different from the past works, it is a love story could have worked if executed well. And while Mo Shu Bai set up this couple perfectly to be successful, Victoria Song's basic lack of understanding of the character caused the main CP to crash and burn in a way such that even Ding Yuxi's acting couldn't save it.
CONS
The main CP was the worst, most uninteresting couple to watch and it was entirely Victoria's fault. Honestly their romance peaked when it was just a one-sided love from DYX, but once she started reciprocate his feelings and they tried to "Fight For Love", I was annoyed with them. The main flaw was that Victoria misunderstood CY's character entirely, and instead of acting as a mature, complex woman, she acted like a child blind-sided by a love confession, and then later blindly motivated by love without any plausible reason for romance to be blossoming. They truly had almost no chemistry (I say "almost" b/c DYX can truly have chemistry with a broomstick). And their "love above all else" attitude was infuriating at times, because in reality their love was not so great, was not worth fighting for, and should not have gotten so in the way of the bigger picture like it did.
PROS
EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER had depth, had a purpose, was never tiring to watch. Every side story, side romance, side conflict, was intriguing and worth slowing down for. And I loved every choice made by every character (except for the main CP when it came to choices made regarding their relationship). The story was constantly subverting my expectations with how great these characters could be. And I've watched enough C-dramas to see supporting characters, SMLs, side couples, etc. make infuriating, choices or "noble idiocy" moves or irrationally villainous choices that I was constantly expecting them, but every single time it didn't happen! I felt like I was constantly waiting to get betrayed by characters that I was growing fond of and that never happened (Song Shilan, I am so glad that I was able to root for you until the end, you had all the makings to become a villain or a backstabber, but you were not).
The politics were also great! Every time I avoided picking up the show again for fear of being disappointed by the main CP, we actually shifted focus to the war, to politics, to the bromances, to the great virtues of every side character, and I was pleasantly surprised and not disappointed after all.
I cannot give it more than a 9/10 b/c the show is called "Fight For Love" and that is essentially the only plot line that I hated, but everything else I loved and every actor was a rockstar (except for Victoria). Even though this is the lowest score I've ever given to a Mo Shu Bai work, all of the redeeming qualities came from the additional characters that she wrote, and I can tell that this drama might have even been a 10 out of 10 if 1) The FL was differently cast, and 2) the drama was allowed to do the original rebirth/reincarnation plot line that was in the book (which unfortunately had to be dropped from the drama adaptation due to China's outlaw of reincarnation plots in C-dramas). So I have no doubt that she is still a Top Tier writer and will only produce 10/10 works in the future.
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The Jiang Ci Rule: A RANT
There is a special spot in hell reserved for this drama.The only way that this drama can possibly work is if you imagine that it takes place in an alternate universe that completely revolves around one person - Jiang Ci. Everyone lives for Jiang Ci, everyone’s happiness is contingent on Jiang Ci’s safety, everyone’s goals, ambitions and shrewd lifestyle of precaution and careful planning can be thrown out the window the moment that they lay eyes on Jiang Ci.
This, what I’ve termed as the “Jiang Ci Rule”, is the fundamental rule of this world that the ML, the SML, and even her “Shifu” are all enslaved to live by. And every time you begin to understand a character - their motivations, their backstory, their train of logic - and their role begins to take life as a more 3-dimensional character with depth, the Jiang Ci Rule must be invoked to trample them down into a 2-dimensional puppet whose only purpose is to behave in whatever way because “the screenwriter said so.”
The show was promising in its exposition, but quickly derailed off of the tracks in a way that is unsalvageable.
THE EXPOSITION
The initial relationship between most of the characters made sense. The ML and the FL were true enemies, they didn’t know each other’s identities but they knew that they were not standing on the same side, as their plans were constantly being thwarted by each others presence. And while I disliked how Jiang Ci’s meddling always successfully ruined the ML’s well-crafted schemes, I understood that was her intention all along, as she did not know what he was scheming and why. And based on how they met, and on the upstanding man that she believed the SML to be, it is totally rational that, in her ignorance of the ML’s justice mission, she would default to taking the SML’s side and positioning herself as the obstacle to all the ML’s plans. While it is annoyingly that she is so presumptuous as to try to be the hero all the time and interfere in this political conflict for which she has no context, her actions can be reasoned away by her naivety and narcissistic “defender of justice” hero complex (unlikable, but not far-fetched).
THE CATALYST
** Spoilers Hereafter **
The first major sin happens after the elderly couple that had been helping the ML behind scenes are publicly tortured and killed by the SML. They would have never been captured and killed had the ML’s plans worked out up until now, but their deaths were caused by the multiple cracks that the FL over-eagerly wedged into the ML’s perfect schemes. And the ML seemed to agree with this conclusion before this scene, as he had just been water torturing the FL in prison because he blamed her for every comrade that died, or was maimed, had to go into hiding thanks to all of the FL’s interferences. So naturally he should blame her too for this (and the FL should’ve also realized her guilt at this point because she had not stopped to consider who she might be harming whenever she helped expose the ML’s plans). When the FL requests to meet the ML next, you would expect to hear some remorse, apologies and recognition of her guilt on the FL’s side, and a lot of blame and increased animosity towards her on the ML’s. But what does she do instead of apologizing? She launches into a story about a stray cat that once died and makes parallels to that and the death of this elderly couple to show that she can empathize with the ML. She assumes no fault at all and compares the lives of this loyal, misfortunate, suffering elderly couple to that of a stray cat. A logical response for the ML at this point in their relationship is to take offense at this and for his hatred for her to not be pacified. But this is the first time that the “Jiang Ci Rule” goes into effect, and the ML is softened to the FL as if their whole negativity history has been wiped clean by her pathetic attempt at sympathy. Somehow this, of all things, is the turning point where the ML chooses to forgive all the things that the FL has done to get in his way and inadvertently harm his people, and does a complete 180 degrees - going from wanting to manipulate, silence, and seek retribution from the FL, to wanting to defend, protect, and fall in love with the FL. It just makes no sense.
THE JOURNEY
Now that the leads are no longer enemies, the FL often tries to find a way to “save” the ML when she thinks he might get in trouble. This FL, who has no martial arts ability, no context for the political struggle going on, and no insight into the intricate plans that the ML is weaving, cannot let go of her meddling nature and allows herself to continue to be the catalyst for things going south in all of the MLs plans. Like when the ML goes to such lengths to help her escape from the SML after the ordeal in Nanning, and then she immediately returns, rendering all of his efforts in vain, because she needs to “save him” from having his identity as the assassin revealed thanks to the matching arrowhead. And how does she do this? By stealing the arrowhead in broad daylight and then running straight to the ML’s room, leaving muddy tracks leading right through his window to further incriminate him. If they weren’t fully convinced that he was the assassin before, those actions were most certainly the nail in the coffin. Moreover, as clever as the ML is, he too would’ve already figured out that the arrowhead would’ve incriminated him and came up with a backup plan, but after Jiang Ci’s actions there was no more denying it. And the most ridiculous part of this whole thing? When she arrives in his room, she begs him to not let the SML find her, don’t let him take her away. WTH???? He already did so much for you to escape before today and you threw it all away, and now you show up and say “I’m back, you have to protect me again now.” Does she not realize how much of a liability she makes herself by staying with him, or does she just not care and expect him to be fully willing to take on her baggage, no questions asked? But the Jiang Ci Rule exists, and so of course he hides her, he houses her for days, and he sorrowfully listens at night when she complains about “when will we be able to leave this place? My shifu’s waiting for me. My shifu, my shifu, I’m gonna miss my shifu.” HE ALREADY SENT YOU TO HER AND YOU CAME BACK OF YOUR OWN VOLITION TO CAUSE TROUBLE FOR HIM. What right does she have to complain in front of him and guilt him about her missing the meetup?? He should be growing annoyed with her by now, but instead I’m supposed to believe that these are the situations that make him fall in love with a bullheaded brat like her?
Or how about when they are in Yueluo on the day of the City Lord selection when he tells her to stay home, and she deliberately sneaks out and shows up in the city center. Because of her, she and Yu Lian and Le are spotted in the crowd by Hong Jie and they are later kidnapped in order to threaten the ML into handing over the jade hairpin. Hmmm, If only they weren’t spotted on that day, then they would never have been discovered as the ML’s affiliates. Hmmm, if only someone knew to tell them not to be seen outside that day… smh
With all this, every action that the FL makes has proven to be a thorn in the ML’s side, whether intentionally or not. And she never recognizes how much trouble she has caused, never takes responsibility for it, and still acts so brazenly wherever she goes, as if she deserves to hold her head high in front of everyone, because she’s just a carefree girl who has done them no harm. You cannot convince me that there is a romance developing between these two leads unless the ML has no concept of cause and effect. Maybe in his eyes, the FL is fearless, loyal, and stick to her own principles. But her fearlessness combined with willful ignorance and lack of ability constantly backfires on him. Her loyalty is an obstacle whenever the loyalty is blindly applied to those who stand on the opposite side of the ML. Her principles lead her to constantly thwart the ML’s plans as she does not what he instructs, but whatever she thinks is best in the moment. But the “Jiang Ci Rule” allows him to only see the virtuous causes of her actions, and not their disastrous effects. So much so that she becomes the person for whom he would constantly alter his well-crafted plans, and put her wellbeing and desires above the justice of the Yueluo people and the redemption of his father’s name that he had spent years of his like committed to seeking.
And then there is the SML, which is another extreme case of this. A man who had planned for years just to make a name for himself and redeem his father’s legacy, suddenly becomes obsessed with this one girl and would constantly sacrifices his reputation and his goals in order to forcefully bring her back into his household. He looks crazed half the time whenever Jiang Ci is mentioned, and I don’t even know why because they don’t have that much history with each other, and she told him very early on that she was not interested in him. Yet in every scheme he makes, he seems ready to sacrifice lives until he hears that Jiang Ci might be there, and then he’s running like the wind to protect her, and only her. Without reason she has become this prized jewel that does not have to do anything to earn undying devotion from him.
THE BREAKING POINT
So all this was frustrating, but I thought I could just grit my teeth and make it through the show if I just told myself that the SML is a lunatic that was written/acted poorly to be portrayed as a nonsensical love-obsessed archetype rather than a rational human being. And then I just had to close my eyes and pretend that there was no romance happening between the ML and FL, and he was tolerating her because he has way too much foresight and is playing the long game, so her little blunders actually are trivial to him.
But I absolutely had enough when the shifu entered the ring. This woman shows up on the day of what would be the final battle between YueLuo City and Lu Yu’s Liang forces, and she enters the battlefield dressed in a Liang army uniform and thinks, “this is the perfect time for me to attempt to reunite with my disciple. I see her on the battlefield, trying to protect the YueLuo people who are clearly being oppressed and about to be annihilated, and it is the perfect time for me to make a scene because everything is all about me and my disciple.” Like hello??? There are bigger things at hand right now than you and Jiang Ci. Didn’t she say that she was fond of YueLuo and always yearned for their bitterless congee? Now that they are fighting for their life, she thinks it is a good time to engage the ML (who is clearly the leader of YueLuo’s army) in combat and fight over this one girl? The women, children and elderly behind those city walls will all die if they lose this battle, but you really think this is an appropriate time to settle personal scores??? This can only be explained by the Jiang Ci Rule. Unless this entire world is meant to revolve solely around Jiang Ci, there is no way that the shifu would choose this battleground to make a move unless she really is a ruthless, evil person worthy of bring the main villain of this drama. Anyone whose behavior sends the message “whole cities may fall, and I will not be concerned, as long as I get my disciple back,” is not supposed to be viewed as a good or even neutral character in a show. And yet, when Jiang Ci sees her shifu fighting the ML, she behaves the exact same way! She starts crying like a baby and yelling “I’ll never forgive you if you hurt my shifu,” and her whole awareness of the battle that they are in is completely lost. Suddenly it is all about protecting the shifu from the ML, who is suddenly a bad guy in her mind? He wasn’t even trying to fight the shifu, he keeps telling her to calm down and he’ll explain things after the battle, but she refuses to back down and continues to attack him like a rabid animal unable to listen to reason. Yet in the FL’s eyes he not only is attacking her shifu, but he must have approached her intentionally from the start just so that he could hurt her shifu. Why would she jump to that conclusion in that moment??? The shifu was dressed in enemy army attire, it is more likely that he is attacking her thinking she is a member of the enemy army. But in her eyes he must immediately know who the shifu is and must be so desperate to harm her that he would prioritize attacking her now over finishing the battle to protect YueLuo that he is LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF FIGHTING. Because the world revolves around Jiang Ci and the people around her, everyone else is expendable. Just a few episodes ago the entire city BOWED DOWN to Jiang Ci to thank her for her efforts in curing the pandemic, and now on the main battlefield she is ignoring their plight to cause a scene and distract their leader from winning the battle, because the single life of her shifu is that much more important than every life saved in the city? And in doing so she obviously exposed herself as someone precious to the ML and the enemy took advantage of the conflict to kidnap her for use as a bargaining chip with the ML later. Thus, once again a decisive victory for the ML is thwarted by the FL appearing to endanger herself and give him a weakness that his enemy can use against him. The FL has forever been written to be a thorn in his side.
This was the breaking point. The ML, the SML and now even the shifu have been acting in ways that are unreasonable and can only be explained by blind obsession with and devotion to the FL. And it has blinded them all so much that the shifu directly inserted herself into the situation causing damage to the greater good, the SML has long lost sight of the greater good, and the ML still fights for the greater good but willingly humors the FL’s immaturity, self-serving sense of justice, and ignorance-fueled fearlessness that gravely hinders the greater good. As soon as the FL was captured I turned off the screen and refused to watch any more. Every character is insufferable and not worthy of a good ending, whatever misery comes next is well deserved. The ML and the people loyal to him are the only characters with redeeming qualities, but his indulgence of the FL will cause every one of them to be harmed in the end, and that’s not something I want to see.
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Great Acting from the Whole Cast, Captivating Plot, But Too Many Tragedies
This is a great story. The acting from everyone is done very well, and I love that I am getting certified evidence that Ren Jia Lun is a captivating actor, despite the criticism I often hear about his wooden, copy&paste acting or his "No Kissing Rule" (which is true, and is in effect here, but he has time and time again proven that you can really sell a romance without any explicit intimacy).PROS
The Main CP Falling In Love - Despite the opening scene showing a rather forced marriage between 2 people with no affection, the immediate next flashback arc (which lasts several episodes, and really should’ve just been the chronological exposition of the show) was like perfect sugary romantic candy. And their relationship is so believable and goes so deep, and has so many real, non-superficial, marital issues that they deal with with so much grace towards the people around them. So the main CP is a win win WIN, and all of the side couples are also very enjoyable (everyone is so dang attractive in this drama).
The Rizz of Ren Jia Lun - RJL has so much charisma, this is the drama that made me realize that his face is actually attractive. It has attractive angles, a manly eyebrow bridge and cheekbones, glistening eyes, and the fiercest eyebrows you’ve ever seen. And he seems to have a very stern, furrow-browed default facial expression, and that perfectly, perfectly fits his character as the Emperor. It is a deadpan look, but it is the kind of deadpan look that gives you the impression “I am the one in charge here. De facto. My aura alone commands everyone’s attention.” And seeing this expression always mixed with some very whipped, lovesick boy idol drama-type behavior is the most satisfying juxtaposition, it gives “I am a man, and I am not afraid to love you” <333. And on top of that, he also has some great micro-expressions that I remember him also pulling out in previous dramas like DHR, so it's definitely not a fluke. An example is early on when he tries to get accepted into Fenglai Pavilion and he wakes up after they’ve tied him up; when he recognizes his surroundings, processes the situation, and then quietly says to himself “I let my guard down”, there were SOOOO many small expressions and beats in that realization moment, and it gave so much context as to who his character is. I’m telling you, some may see his acting as stiff, wooden, and always the same, but the proof is in the minor details, this guy can ACT.
The Brotherly/Sisterly Love - This drama features really strong bromance between siblings who should’ve been rivals for the throne, but instead trusted and understood each other like no one else (all this in the face of a mother who vehemently tried to pit them against each other their whole life to get her biological son to fight for the throne?? Like not only did he not give in to this manipulation to grow animosity towards the ML, the emperor, but he even spent his whole life pretending that he was somewhat in agreement with his mother in order to protect his older brother). And then there are so many touching sibling moments between the ML and his 2 younger siblings that I just had to repeat (XY coming to ask her gege to allow the boy she likes to like her back, in the middle of the night while he is sleeping on the empress’s bed, whiel giving him the biggest most innocent puppy dog eyes, after she spent most of the drama plotting to murder him before she fell in love with someone). So many people are used as pawns to destroy the ML’s life, his siblings, his wife, and yet he never falls for it and always recognizes that someone else is pulling the strings, so there is no retaliation, no enemies with the middle man, and no bad blood. We need more smart, perceptive, cunning, cool-headed ML’s like him.
Fierce Battles w/ the ML Coming Out On Top - And then there are so many great battles that the ML is in. Like he has been an emperor since he was a teenager or younger, not even the type that needs to go to war and lead troupes, and he has his own secret service - why is he such an OP fighter? And this is even when he was born weak and has lived with a fatal poison in his body since birth. I love, love, love over-powered ML’s, but this drama doesn’t even need to have one since it is a romance+politics drama, so the fact that it has that is just icing on the cake.
Epic Reveals - And also, there are some really great “satisfying” reveals, particularly in episode 17 when he reveals his Emperor identity to Kumor, after beating him in a physical combat 1-on-1x and then flexing on how much power and reinforcements he has, and then choosing to show mercy and give in to all of Kumor’s demands. What a boss-like reveal + negotiation, I literally replayed it several times.
Jam Packed with Sweet, Happy Moments - Like in Episode 24, which was the “calm before the storm”, when everything is going right, the main villain is presumed defeated, all the side couple are coupling up and the main CP is even expecting a baby. The first 2/3rds of this drama had so much fluff and cotton candy, anyone would be full on all that they gave us.
CONS
Bad Ending - I haven’t seen how they do the ending yet, but **spoiler alert** I know that everyone dies, and this is pretty upsetting because the ML has been set up to be so OP and cunning and 5 steps ahead of everyone else that it is almost inconsistent with his characterization to ultimately lose in the end (lose in the sense that he may stop the bad guy, but he will be unable to protect the lives of anyone he loves or even himself).
Too Many Realistic Tragedies - There were too many tragedies that I had to skip over because my heart couldn’t take (e.g. when the FL miscarries their child due to a punch in the stomach from the ML’s sister of all things, and she’s not even evil or an adversary, she was just weak and manipulated through hypnosis). I don’t know how the ML/FL can still function immediately after all that, but I sure couldn’t.
So I'm docking points because it made me sad, and docking points because the ML seems too good to die, both of which, will limit the re-watch ability of this show for me.
And also, I still have 5 more episodes left, but it really seems like we are in the last battle, especially since we’ve already seen so much tragedy and death of leading characters. So I am concerned about how they will drag out this battle for 5 more episodes, and how many more smaller losses I’ll have to sit through knowing that the ML and FL, SML and FML, and everyone else will probably lose and all die in the end. I don’t anticipate any more scenes that will be making me happy, and that’s a lot of tragedy to sit through, so I don’t look forward to finishing this drama.
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The Best Adapatation in the TBOY Series
So amazing!!!! The peak level of friendly platonic bromance! And the constant subversion of expectations when your main characters are all bad guys just trying to be good.THE CHARACTERS
Su Chang He (Chuang Hua Sen's character and SML) was PERFECCCCTTTTT!!! I know everyone is agreeing that he is the standout character/actor in this show. So complicated, but ultimately motivated by such intrinsic goodness and loyalty. So willing to lay down all power, control, prestige, for his friends. Gains everyone's following and the highest leadership title so early on, and yet forever acts subservient to others. A real humble king-like character: super OP, but always taking the humblest position.
Gong Jun's character really grew on me as well! It was nice that he was not always a goody two shoes, took justice into his own hands, trusted and understood SCH so unconditionally, and only really got murderous when it was to avenge SCH.
THE FLAWS
The worst 2 parts were 1) the romance, and 2) the unrealistic way that so many people lived for the sake of loving the "art of the sword", and treated every conflict like there were no real issues of life and death or strife in the world. Like when the city is under attack and the OP guys are somewhere playing chess and just commenting on how power is changing hands right now somewhere nearby (like why don't you do something about it and lend a hand???). People have important missions and they are willing to abandon them mid-mission just to fight a "worthy opponent" (unprovoked, not their enemy, just happens to be present). And if they get defeated, they just brush it off and fly away like it was not important to begin with. Most fights have no meaning, most people live so frivolously that you wonder how their society is functioning, because who is actually earning money, doing agriculture, running the city, building infrastructure, etc?
And the romance was just such an obnoxious deterrent from the ICONIC bromances going on, every last one. The only saving grace for this is that **spoiler** none of the CPs worked out in the end ;)
BETTER THAN TBOY
But this is so much better than the other stories in this world - The Blood Of Youth and Dashing Youth - b/c there was actually some MEANING to most of the battles. The Blood River folks had a purpose for their fights and power struggles. They never just fought to test out their skills (even though some non-Blood River people did), but they were fighting to the death to gain the title of the Patriarch, and then to free themselves from their patrons, and then to gain allies to help them re-write their name in society. Always a tangible goal, and always a fight that if it was not won and both sides made it out alive and unscathed, they could not allow the other to continue. Not like TBOY where **spoiler** they had so many fights in the first 10 episodes over the guy in the coffin, and then ultimately he just walked out on his own and kept going in the direction that everyone was trying to take him to (which was the SAME direction btw, I don't even know why they had to fight in the first place).
And also, the friendships here were so real, deep, and full of history, unlike the TBOY friendships that were formed on the fly in real-time and resulted in loyalty and proclamations of brotherhood that seemed to come out of nowhere and be rooted in knowing nothing about each other, very unrealistic.
All in all, so many positives that it cancels out all of the negatives and warrants a near perfect score.
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Showcasing the Light that one can experience after Trauma, but the Traumatic Experience is Very Real
It was excellent. As expected from writer Mo Shu Bai (also wrote Destined, the Princess Royal). Vin Zhang is truly an amazing, amazing actor. I don't know if his physique or his demeanor or just impressive acting skills, but he always fully embodies what it looks like to be a “man”, he is the kind of person that is essential to have by your side if you go through what MXT's character has gone through. And I am happy that it wasn’t so traumatic and they masterfully highlighted all of the light in the midst of such a dark synopsis. MXT is really cute here too.**spoilers** I do wish more people got convicted in the end, there were too many "turn over a new leaf" moments at the final trial. They made it so only one guy was the villain, but it would’ve made for better, vindicating storytelling if his wife, the secretary, and Chuchu never repented for their ways and faced the full repercussions of their actions.
I also wish the husband didn’t go to jail for 2 YEARS, but I understand why it has to happen because the CCP requires all crimes to be properly brought to justice in modern dramas, and the intent of his crime was grave enough to warrant the jail time, even if he surrendered before fully following through (and his crime was probably so grave because those were the actions he took in the book, so it had to be true to his character).
Anyway, I’m rating it a 9.5 rather than a 10, not because of the few critiques I listed above, but simply because it’s such a heavy story that I don’t think I could ever watch it again. So 0 re-watchability.
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Suspend All Your Disbelief, And Then Some More
This... is pretty awful. There's not a single character or plot point that is believable.NONSENSE PLOT AND MALE LEAD
The ML becoming super strong and well trained like an assassin after being left alone in a cage for 4 years where he was able to observe and imitate drug cartel training is... entirely unrealistic to say the least (you mean to tell me that he became an expert in hand-to-hand combat without every sparring with another human being? And he learned how to quickly assemble and aim a gun in record time without ever holding a gun - just by imagining it?). And then after the memory loss, every time he gets into a fight (and there are sooooo many of them), his fighting abilities download in memory form like a video game - way too cartoonish and surreal.
And then there are the villains who are completely irrational; they seem nerfed, petty, and appear to have endless free time. There were way too many fights in the first few episodes simply because the ML thwarted their plans once and they kept trying to gang up on him in a fight and vent/get their revenge (like once okay maybe, but they went after him like twice per episode for a while there to no avail, as if the only purpose for their stubborn revenge was to create circumstances for the cops to arrive and cross paths with the ML, and paint him in a negative light in their eyes).
NPC SIDE CHARACTERS
And then some characters do some completely out of left field stuff, and the way that the others just brush it off as if it is not a big deal is alarming. Like an heiress climbs to the top of a skyscraper building complex because she's sad she got dumped, then she nearly falls off the building and the FL and ML rush to save her in the nick of time (and their reflexes, upper body strength, and defying of time and gravity in this scene is totally unrealistic and unbelievable to say the least). BUT THEN - they just bring the girl down and take her to the police station casually, and only the FL feels like this suicidal girl needs to be dealt with or lectured in the slightest - everyone else thinks that she should just go on her merry way, no contacting her family, putting her on suicide watch, obtaining medical/psychological examinations. Her friends are not worried for her either, but are instead like, "let's throw a party, we heard you found a new love interest!" Like HELLO??? Was this scene really that inconsequential? It can only be so if these major plot points are only done for the sole purpose of making the ML look like a hero and giving the CP more chances to interact. All other side characters are 2-dimensional, so of course none of their actions are met with the amount of gravity they deserve.
BAD ACTION SCENES
Another gripe is the unrealistic action scenes (the girl loses her grip on the FL's hand and begins to fall before the ML lunges forward, yet he has time to jump down to a lower beam, THEN jump across to the adjacent beam, AND THEN grab the girl's waste before she can fall even TWO FEET... ok, sure. ).
POOR VISUALS
Then the last thing is the OVERALL UNATTRACTIVENESS of everything I'm seeing on screen. Many of the scenes have poor color grading, and the characters end up looking super pale but also super green, like they are sickly (or aliens). And the ML is styled TERRIBLY. The actor himself is already not good-looking, and then in the first few scenes he has long hair, but not a cute long haircut. And its evenly long around the head, so that the front strands are longer than the back, and the hair falls to the sides of his face in a middle part, looking like an emo teenager who wants to hide his face. And on top of that, with the thin facial hair, the best way I can describe it is looking like Vasco from Lookism (which is not attractive, but more like creepy, doofus ahjusshi). So I thought he could only look better once he cut his hair after returning to China - AND I WAS WRONG. They give him this hideous bowl cut (what's with these "mom cut my hair" teenage boy looks - are they doing it to make him look younger because his character is supposed to be 27 but he looks like he's 40). I think he looked best in the flashbacks of him celebrating his dad's birthday when he was a teenager, he needs to LOSE THE FACIAL HAIR and style his hair up, not down. And when you look that unattractive, you should at least be a great actor to make up for it. The ML's portrayal is very wooden, no emotion, no expressiveness with the eyes, no sub-context, no micro-expressions, - his acting is like watching paint dry. Ma Si Chun looks BEAUTIFUL AS ALWAYS (like her eyes, her nose, her lips, how can one look so angelic?), and even though they over did it with her whitewashing (she and ML straight up look like they are different races), I can't deny how beautiful she is. And of course her acting is good too, the only cringe moments the FL has are when they give her an excessive amount of flashbacks (but that's not her acting, that's the post-editing, making her character more lovesick than is believable).
flashbacks, Flashbacks, FLASHBACKS
Also the LAST last thing - TOO MANY FLASHBACKS. Every fight scene is filled with flashbacks galore, and every time the CP parts ways with each other, they have to give them at least one flashback scene to show that "I've been thinking about you", "I'm probably falling in love right now".
CONCLUSION
These writers are so bad at writing a convincing plot, and the producers are even worse at cutting the scenes together in a way that produces good storytelling. I kept trying to find comments on the Youtube clips for each episode hoping someone else felt the same way I did, but all the fans are clearly delulu. I'm dropping it after episode 9, I'm giving it a 4.5 because I can't bare to give one of my most favorite actresses (Ma Si Chun) a low rating, but if it weren't for her this would probably be a 1.0/2.0.
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