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This review may contain spoilers
The plot had so much potential, but the delivery and character writing was awful.
Let me preface this by saying I actually LOVED the first 9 or 10 episodes... but it all went downhill for the last 2/3's of the show. Which sucks because the plot and setting of the show had so much potential.
I was actually pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the short web drama or vertical drama actors here and thought they did amazing in the beginning. But once the show moved away from the lightheartedness and tried to get more serious and have that psychological warfare - the gaps in their acting really showed. Even the FL wasn't immune and I could easily guess the plot twist based on her expressions (sister dying, marrying Bai Luo, etc.), maybe this was on purpose but it completely removed any shock value when the plot twist was revealed.
The main gripe I have with this show is the poor character writing and this applies to almost everyone. It felt like the writers just arbitrarily made the bad guys good and the good guys bad. For most of the show I was rooting for the 2ML only for him to have half an episode at the end to be one of the main villians; no build up to it, just a short explanation from him when he was caught and it made no sense how they were acting for just a big plot twist. Same goes for the sister -- the beginning made it seem like they would be the main antagonists and then they just turn around from one moment or conversation. There was no actual character growth before they're meant to be forgiven by the audience.
Same gripe with the main leads. After the first 3rd of the show - I just couldn't root for their romance and found myself fast forwarding through their romantic scenes. I enjoyed it more and only continued watching for the scheming and to see justice for the antagonists (which kept popping up out of nowhere with little to no tie-in from earlier episodes). I loved how smart both the FL and ML were when it came to strategies and execution but it was like they were clueless when it came to strategy and communication with each other. Imagine how much more they could've done if they worked together instead of deceiving each other over and over and over again.
But I'm giving it 5 stars for the beginning and the potential. I love historical dramas around female empowerment and LOVED LOVED the setting around a matriarchal family and culture. The setting around a tea culture was also a fun addition and loved learning more about it in the whole power through wealth and power through nobility set-up. Also loved all the scheming and plot twists (even if done poorly).
I was actually pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the short web drama or vertical drama actors here and thought they did amazing in the beginning. But once the show moved away from the lightheartedness and tried to get more serious and have that psychological warfare - the gaps in their acting really showed. Even the FL wasn't immune and I could easily guess the plot twist based on her expressions (sister dying, marrying Bai Luo, etc.), maybe this was on purpose but it completely removed any shock value when the plot twist was revealed.
The main gripe I have with this show is the poor character writing and this applies to almost everyone. It felt like the writers just arbitrarily made the bad guys good and the good guys bad. For most of the show I was rooting for the 2ML only for him to have half an episode at the end to be one of the main villians; no build up to it, just a short explanation from him when he was caught and it made no sense how they were acting for just a big plot twist. Same goes for the sister -- the beginning made it seem like they would be the main antagonists and then they just turn around from one moment or conversation. There was no actual character growth before they're meant to be forgiven by the audience.
Same gripe with the main leads. After the first 3rd of the show - I just couldn't root for their romance and found myself fast forwarding through their romantic scenes. I enjoyed it more and only continued watching for the scheming and to see justice for the antagonists (which kept popping up out of nowhere with little to no tie-in from earlier episodes). I loved how smart both the FL and ML were when it came to strategies and execution but it was like they were clueless when it came to strategy and communication with each other. Imagine how much more they could've done if they worked together instead of deceiving each other over and over and over again.
But I'm giving it 5 stars for the beginning and the potential. I love historical dramas around female empowerment and LOVED LOVED the setting around a matriarchal family and culture. The setting around a tea culture was also a fun addition and loved learning more about it in the whole power through wealth and power through nobility set-up. Also loved all the scheming and plot twists (even if done poorly).
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