Lamia Jahan

A Highly Overrated Trashy Piece of Nonsense Paired With Absolute Cringe Acting of The Female Lead.

This story was so cringy that it forced me to question the high ratings of this show. I forced myself to watch it till the last due to its high rating, thinking it would get better. The female lead was absolutely irritating and dumb to the point of making my blood boil. I liked the female lead only in the opening scene, where she showed me that she can act. But later, all she did in the entire drama was Seon Jae this and Seon Jae that. She had no life of her own. I absolutely hate such female leads who have no life of their own other than thinking about the Male lead. I lowkey felt like the creators of this show hated the FL. Because otherwise, you can not write such a dumb female lead. The over-the-top acting of the actress made the drama unbearable as well. The male lead was far better in terms of acting and as a character. Though the music of the drama is very nice but it couldnot save this cringefest. Though the last episode was bearable, the experience was spoiled for me due to the uncomfortable expression of the FL which felt like the ML was the only one in this relationship. She looked visibly uncomfortable to me in response of the ML's affection, which made no sense to me as she was risking everything earlier for the ML. Overall, this was an absolute torture of a drama that can be recommended to others as a punishment.

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A Vomit Worthy Overly Cringe Teenage Fantasy (I don't Why The Writer Called It A Love Story)

Positive Points
1. The cast was good, and the family of the FL was really healthy & supportive, which was a delight to see (especially the interaction between the FL and her brother). It was probably the reason I was able to watch this drama till the end.
2. The cinematography and editing were good.

Negative Points
1. It was nothing but just a cringe fantasy of a schoolgirl that came true only because it was a drama and not in real life. There was no depth in their relationship for me. I understand the ML's struggle and family problem, and his character was a green flag (which I really appreciate) and was written well (Not too great but not bad also). But I really did not find much reason for the ML to be in love with FL (I get it he felt alone and was facing a hard time, and FL's supportive words boosted him, but I did not like the execution at all). Later, his feelings towards the FL changed suddenly, I felt. Sometimes, it even felt like he was lowkey interested in her when she was still a minor (a big negative point for me). The biggest issue is how their love life was written. I felt the FL and ML did not have much chemistry. Except for a few scenes, I don't think they had a proper, deep conversation. Both were behaving like teenagers and were all lovey-dovey all the time (probably because the targeted audience was high school teenagers). Their relationship felt very superficial to me.
2. The character of the FL was written too poorly, who was daydreaming about her crush throughout the drama. Her thoughts were very childish (I tried to understand that it was due to her age), and she was too obsessed with the ML. Furthermore, after episode 8 when she had a reality check, her actions finally felt somewhat mature and rational to me, and I was almost liking her, but then her resolution did not even last for even an episode. She very dramatically cut off her wish to get into the Yihe University as she had misunderstood that ML had a girlfriend (she originally chose this university because her crush lives there and later she did not want to have any connection with the ML, but later she still went there to attend Yihe University, I mean what nonsense). What I hate most is a FL who has no sense of independence and is unable to think about anything but the ML all the time. I am very disappointed with the writer for doing this. Also, the troubles she faced during her internship and all felt like that problem was created by the writer just as an excuse to relate this to ML's problem. Moreover, even after she got together with ML as his girlfriend, she kept on calling him brother (it was an old habit, I get it. But why did it continue almost till the end/). This was very uncomfortable and weird to me as a viewer.
3. The ML's reaction on finding that FL had a crush on him since she was very young did not feel realistic to me at all. The FL was too obvious in her expressions that she had a crush on the ML. How come anyone didnot notice it?
4. FL was talking in a baby voice all the time. It was damn annoying sometimes. Especially when she turned legally adult and kept on saying she was an adult now and bla bla bla, but still talked in a baby voice all the time.
5. The choice of the production team to make them interact in class 7 (felt okay to me) and in class 11 (felt absolutely cringy to me due to how the FL was behaving) made me quite uncomfortable.
Overall, if you prefer a lovey-dovey, overly unrealistic diabetic love story with cringeworthy dialogues (suited for teenage lovers living in their bubble) go for it, otherwise, you might vomit like me.

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Pursuit of The FL Whom The Screenwriter For No Reason Suddenly Turned Into An Background Wallpaper

This drama started brilliantly. The entire 1st half and world buildup in Lin'an was done perfectly to the T. I was really invested in the story, and Changyu was brilliantly portrayed and written. She had nice fighting scenes and her character progressed nicely. The cinematography was just breathtaking. The main leads had natural chemistry and companionship. Later as the story progressed and Changyu found out about the real identity of the male lead, the writing became rushed and Fan Changyu's character was compromised. The screenwriter spoiled the consistency and character progression in FL's character for the comedic relief and that is something I am utterly disappointed with. Furthermore, her own journey towards becoming a female general was absolutely butchered. Her character regressed and as a viewer, I could not relate to her becoming a general at all. It did not feel natural to me due to the writing. The writing and character progression of her character was sidelined and towards the end, I felt like she was just a general in name only and was reduced to an wallpaper who is the love interest of the ML. The screenwriter gave too much time in the first half and later rushed to compress everything together. The casting though was brilliant and everyone performed brilliantly. Overall, the first half was a beautiful watch and the 2nd half was a decent watch only due to the mindblowing cinematography of the director.

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If This Is All You Can Write Then You Should Have Let Zhuge Yue Marinate Under The Ice

Positive Points
1. Cinematography, direction and editing were top-notch. It was probably the reason I could bottle down this absolutely messy, vomit-worthy writing.
2. In terms of casting, only Li Yun Rui managed to pass with flying colours as Zhuge Yue. He was one of the reasons that I managed to finish this shit show. Though his character was not spared from "Operation Turning Every Rational Character Into An Impulsive Clown", he still managed to make me feel that the cool, composed, smart planner Zhuge Yue was still here, somewhat. He was the saving grace of this sinking ship. May he be blessed with proper written scripts in future.

Negative points
1. The main problem (I would rather say crime) of this drama is the script itself. This is probably one of the most horrible butcherings of characters I have seen in dramas. The most intelligent and rational character here was the pet donkey of General Huan. Even if you had to change the script and could not follow the novel due to plagarism issue, this is no excuse for turning every rational character into a love brained imbecle in the drama. The main beauty of season 01 (And the novel of course) was its complex characters (at least for me). The producer and production team claimed this to be based on the novel. I have read the novel, and I definitely did not find any resemblance except for the name of the ML, Zhuge Yue. This is severely misleading and insulting for the viewers and fans. If they could not follow the novel, why did they even make a S02? Were they trying to mock the fans of S01? The writer and everyone related to the script writing should consider changing their profession, if this is all they could come up with.
2. Except for Zhuge Yue rest of the casts were mediocre. The producer and casting director should have paid more focus while casting Yan Xun and Chu Qiao. This is completely unacceptable. While I agree Zhang Kang Le and Huangyang Tian Tian were given a very poorly written script, but it cannot be denied that they were hardly capable of handling the weight of their characters. The comparison with the season 01 cast was bound to happen, especially when the entire cast of S01 had given one of the best performances of their careers (at least in my opinion). I tried to watch with an open mind, and still I hardly felt they were playing Chu Qiao and Yan Xun. The producer adamantly had cast a minor FL with a grown man 10 years older than her, just because she resembled the FL of S01, is utterly foolish. Unfortunately, she could hardly act like the FL of S01. She felt more like a child trying to act like an adult to me.
3. All of the budget got used up in cinematograpgy it seems, as the drama lacked a proper dialogue writer who could write better than these plain, straight cringe dialogues. Except for Li Yun Rui, none of the others had a good makeup or proper costumes. Why did they even think that making everyone's complexion dark for no reason was a good idea? Moreover, who the hell wrote the dialogues? Especially, Chu Qiao sounds like a naive child. No one will believe this one is a military general fighting wars.
4. Now lets come to the writing inconsistencies. Princess Chun, who was discarded, suddenly became very powerful, who can kidnap Chu Qiao and Yan Xun in Yanbei. When did any character, especially Zhogue Yue was so expressive? His main trait was caring from behind the scenes always. He never showed it directly nor said it in words. Zhuge Yue, who was an utterly calm planner, suddenly became impulsive and had poison to save Chu Qiao. What happened to Chu Qiao? She is suddenly all about Zhuge Yue, forgetting her own dream of a slave free world (she later remembered her mission towards the end, but only for giving speeches). Suddenly, everything is about love. She is losing her memory, losing eyesight, all because she fell into a frozen lake. She is risking her life and setting herself as bait to confirm Zhuge Yue is alive. Yan Xun is jumping and falling in lake for love. He suddenly left his ambition for love. Is there any character here who is not foolish and an idiot, except for General Huan's pet donkey? Yan Xun leaving a traitor like Cheng Yuan alive is even more unbelievable, and he even agreed to give away his consort to him for love. Cheng Yuan objected Yan Xun's marriage with Chu Qiao at every opportunity he got, but later ran away with Yan Xun's consort, whom he had conspired with and had done everything to appoint her as Yan Xun's Princess Consort. Drunk writing totally. Moreover, this new Li Ce is actually foolish instead of the S01 Li Ce who was actually pretending to be a fool. It was so painful to watch. Who thought it was a good idea to replace a pretend-to-be-foolish crown prince with an actual, useless crown prince? Disaster after disaster. The empress doubted right from the start about the identity of the FL, but let the FL and Li Ce enough time to prepare and rehearse their fake story. Chu Qiao was injured and unable to hold a sword properly. But baam she drowned in the pond and suddenly can fight once again. Water is playing a supporting role here. What even was that poison drama, drawing all attention to Chu Qiao. Wasn't she sneaking out? Then fighting outside, coming back, playing the role of a patient by actually taking poison. There was no decoy, so who was the doctor treating even this whole time? Furthermore, is she even training a private military or a band of circus, even I am confused. What even happened at episode 19? A 3-person palace coup. You must be joking. After all the drama of running away, drowning in water and memory loss, the best war strategy this so-called famous lady general came up with is to surrender to Yan Xun just because people told her to surrender. The general in charge just surrenders even though she can win as she has the geographical advantage. She is a general, purely driven by emotions. She took revenge for Li Ce but has now caused the entire command chain in chaos. After creating the entire mess thinks about who will solve the mess. Later she appoints herself as the acting empress or whatever and plays dressing up for a while and leaves for her love once again. In the entire drama all battle strategies our so-called genius female general came up with were disguising herself as a slave/ princess/ giving herself up for exchange. What an upgrade. A military general entering an enemy camp alone right before the battle for whatever negotiation (as if it is believable). Fighting all and getting injured, and the mighty hero came to save her at the right moment. Who made this imbecile a general with this small brain? Now Yan Xun is coming to take her away and Chu Qiao's husband Zhogue Yue is leaving his wife in his mortal enemy's care. I am having a headache.
What is with this 7th prince and General Huan romance angle? Who attacked them out of nowhere just to create this gaging moment? (Oh the enemy brother of the pitiful prince). Ahh now another female general is abandoning her duties temporarily and escorting an injured mortal enemy while war is on the horizon. The 7th prince turned bad and killed his brother and took the throne but suddenly became good again as soon as he heard the self-righteous speech of Chu Qiao for a few minutes. Zhao Che is so smart that he even made plans for the king. But he blindly trusts Zhuge Yue. Ordering Zhuge Yue to arrest his wife Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue obliges and abandons his wife immediately. What a foolish crown prince or king whatever. Also, Wasn't Zhao Che is a military general who was well-trained with vast experience? You are expecting me to believe that Zhuge Yue managed to defeat him within 2 to 3 moves. Furthermore, what even happened to that fake faceless god? What the hell was even that ending? Who died and who is alive I didnot even understand as I was banging my head out of frustration the entire time. I wish to shake up the writer so badly. How drunk do you have to be to write this high-level shit? Here, all the fools are competing to see who is the biggest fool. What is this drama even about? I have no idea.
This drama is an absolute waste of time, and I would suggest to all, especially if you are a fan of Princess Agents (like me) or even the novel fan; do not watch this drama to maintain your sanity.

PS. Who thought making all the actors floating like dead goldfish in an aquarium was a good idea for the opening title?

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The Cringe Romance of A Self Proclaimed Female General (Can't Be A Legend With Such Poor Skills)

The title of the drama itself is misleading. The title promised to be a dark military drama promoting women empowerment, but instead it delivered an underwhelming romance drama of the suppossed to be Female General. The story is lacking in many senses, and even the excuse of the scene cut by censors cannot save it. The entire cast seemed to have delivered the worst performance of their entire career. None of them was convincing at all. All of their emotion seemed superficial. The biggest negative point is the FL herself, who can't act. Sorry to say, the FL did not look like a general to me from any angle. She is supposed to be a general, but she was only doing stunts in fancy costumes while delivering empty, big speeches about women's empowerment. There is no coherence in the character of the FL. As a general who is well-versed in warfare, FL should be proficient in making strategies that show her brilliance. But all those nice scenes from the novel were NOT in the drama. Nor is there any character development of both the ML & FL. While it gets a bit better in the middle but gets completely ruined at the end due to the writer's obsession with the 2ML. The 2ML had better character growth in the drama. The overdose of the 2ML ruined the drama for me. The original novel was so nice and beautiful, which was utterly ruined by poor script, acting and direction. As a viewer, I could not connect emotionally to any of the cheracters especially the FL's. The show is seriously overhyped in my opinion.

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The Tale of A Idiotic, Half illiterate But Yet Somehow Unrealistically Smart, Self Righteous FL

Positive Points
1. Top-notch cinematography and direction. The cast was decent, also.
Negative Points
1. The production team and producer were probably short on money, I guess, as it seems they did not invest money in the script. This is one of the dumbest and most idiotic female leads I have seen in a long time. FL is a naive idiot, completely. I don't really like the FL so far. She has her own strength, but the writer failed to highlight it so far in part 1 at least. 27 episodes gone, but there is not been much productive growth of the FL so far. Though she is good in math and all but she is a complete idiot, honestly. She hardly knows 100 characters, and she is somehow a math genius. She learned carpentry just by watching the carpenters and helping them somewhat. Is this shit even believable? She was not that interested in Lou Yao. She liked that he was simple enough for him to obey her in everything. Her mother was right to be concerned about her choice of the groom. The FL became adamant about the Lou Yao only because her mother was opposing the marriage. How foolish that is. She absolutely gave no thought about the family she will be marrying into and the impact on her life due to her future husband's weak personality. Both the FL and her parents are responsible for the FL's dumb behavior. It's a wonder how she attracted 3 possible suitors (2 of them are high profile) at once with this dumb, impulsive, foolish personality like hers. Yuan Shanjian's words to the FL about seeking freedom through marriage sounded bitter, but it was indeed true. But this foolish FL is instead arguing with the 2ML instead of admitting her dumb decision. She talks back to everyone and causes chaos without thinking about the consequences. The writer kept the other high-born women annoying and bullying the FL, just to hide how idiotic this FL actually is. She is illiterate but won't take criticism and won't work to improve her shortcomings. She is self righterious idiot who thinks she is always right. Why would those high-born be jealous of her? Did the writer wrote anying in the FL's character to be jealous of? She only escaped without any serious lifelong damage with this foolish but stubborn persona of hers, only because she is the FL; otherwise, she would be completely useless.
2. The ML Ling Buyi is also nothing special. His expressions were too stiff for my liking. Also, if he was so adamant about revenge and all, then why did he drag an innocent woman with him? I honestly did not find his character to be interesting personally. His actions are also somewhat red flag. He is loyal to the women he likes, which is the only good point. He makes suggestive remarks about him and the FL in front of the FL's fiancé and her parents. He also defends her honor and protects her, true. But he also proposes a marriage without the consent of the FL and her parents. He did not even consult this with the FL first. She was right to behave rudely with him. But she was also too dumb to accept the marriage proposal just to irritate her mother. Her mother was also wrong to criticize her daughter like this publicly. This would not have happened if the ML had consulted the FL and her family first. She did not like the ML and would not have agreed to marry him if the ML had asked her beforehand. So the ML, without the FL's consent, forced her into a betrothal with him because he liked her and was worried lest she marry someone else. A big red flag.
3. Very Slow story progression. The first part has 27 episodes, but except for the nice cinematography, there is no character progression, nor is much happening in terms of story progression.
Overall, if you are a fan of the lead actors, you can give it a go but in terms of story, character depth, and progression, this is a very basic story with an utterly dumb but never accepting her mistakes female lead along with equally dumb 3 male leads (Now 2 are left) who are also smart in name only as they are all obbsessed for no reason with this foolish but proud of her foolishness type FL.

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This Is How You Do A Revenge Drama

This drama is one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever watched. The acting, cinematography, music, and direction; everything has been top-notch. The music album, including the background scores, was probably one of the best I have ever listened. It really elevated the viewing experience for me. The chemistry between the ML & FL was so good and natural. The adaptation from the original novel has been really good. Though I had read the novel, the drama did not disappoint me at all. I loved watching a different version of the novel. What I loved the most was how this drama treated the women. Regardless of whether it was the protagonist or the antagonist, all were written beautifully. Their flaws, pain, and sufferings were handled with dignity. You cannot like them, but you cannot hate them either. The acting from the entire cast was top-notch. Their pain, emotion felt deep and complex. The pacing was really fast, and though it slowed a bit in many places, it did not feel boring to me. The story did not lose its main focus, which is the revenge of the FL. This drama was an absolute visual treat.

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Could Have Been Excellent But Went Nowhere Due To The Writer's Attempt To Overcomplicate Things

Positive points
1. Good Cinematography, Direction, and Music.
2. Zhao Lusi was great in her portrayal of Xu Yan. A grey-shaded character suited her well. Those in charge of her makeup and costume need a raise. She was looking so classy and beautiful.
3. I really loved the portrayal of the healthy relationship between Xu Yan and her in-laws. Though Xu Yan's relationship is toxic with her parents and with her sister, she has a good relationship. I appreciate that the writer avoided showing a toxic relationship between the sisters.
Negative Points
1. The first half was so good, and I was totally engrossed in the story and was very interested to know about Xu Yan's journey of self-independence. That phase started really well and my god Zhao Lusi was really good in those scenes. But, then the writer suddenly decided to change the focus of the drama from romance to half-baked, unrealistic, poorly developed so-called women empowerment plot filled with potholes and multiple subplots without adding any value to the main story. Within all this the main focus of the story lost focus. Where is the character growth for Shen Haoming, honestly? Why is not Shen Haoming's mental state during the separation period was not explored in depth? If you don't show his perception at all, how will viewers relate to the couple's love story. Who wants to see Xu Yan's and Shen Haoming's business problem in so much detail? It's a romance drama mainly. Why is the focus not on their relationship and communication that much? Due to this, I can hardly relate to Shen Haoming's character. So, his sudden possessiveness and jealousy over Xu Yan's investor feels a bit off and turns his character childish instead. Moreover, during the 2nd half the writer has turned the ML, specifically the medium of comic relief that completely contradicts his personality shown in the first half. Instead of focusing on unrealistic subplots if the writer had invested time in the proper story development for the reconciliation of the leads, it would have been much better. The methods the ML used were honestly extremely childish and irritating.
2. Even when the writer chooses to focus on the startup and a completely unrelated career (unrealistic) for the FL should it not have any logic, honestly. It just downplays her character development. Within the 30days cooling off period, Xu Yan is doing livestream for selling clothes, groceries, chicken feets. Then she quits her job and launches a startup, makes sample, does video shorts, tries to convince tons of investors for funds, goes on a vacation with Shen Haoming for a charade. Comes back and launches a physical outlet and still 1 month is not finished. How many days are there in a month?
Xue Yan calls Shen Haoming to remind him about the divorce tomorrow. But he pretends to be out of the country for a few days. But a few days later its the next day 8th. Did the writer not notice the time line at all before writing it. This just spoils the viewing experience. Also, even if I can ignore it, Shen Haoming's out of character behavior without any proper buildup feels empty to me honestly. They also spent so many time on Qiao Lan's ex. This is just idiotic. Too many subplot and lost main focus.
In order to add comic relief and jelousy angel between ML and Jiang Liang the writer downplayed the character of the FL. It seemed she really didnot have much idea about a startup. It lowkey felt to me a decision taken on impulse. They could have added element that showed her competence. This jalousy angel between the ML and the investor really downplays the FL's capability. It felt like that she got the investment for her startup more likely due to Jiang Liang's personal interest on her instead of the potential of the business. It is dissappointing honestly. No effort from the ML to actually know the real Xu Yan, her past and her childhood that actually shaped her choices. It would have been nice to see that. Also, Xu Yan is hardly solving her startup problems on her own. I know its a team effort why is the ML is solving problems for her? This support without any finances could have been shown in a better way.
3. How did the FL not get suspicious that her in-laws did not run a background check on her? Her husband literally ran a background check on her down to the point that he knew that she loved her grandma's jam, when she had pretended to apply for a job at his shop just to get an interview. So, such a suspicious person would not run a background check on her for a big event like marriage. Moreover, only 4 people attended the wedding from her side, and the in-laws did not question her at all after the marriage about her family.
4. How did the Shen family blindly trust the DNA report so easily? It does not matter that the people in question were their family friends. It was a life-changing event for their only son. How did they accept a false report so easily? Did they not double-check it? Also, how come Fang Lei changed the DNA report? Is it really easy to forge one? Why did she tell Xu Yan that her father does not know about his other daughter giving birth to Haochen? It does not make any sense. Shen Haoming runs a background check on everyone, but didnot cross check if he was the baby's father.
5. It is also odd how Zhou Zeyuan seems to know so much about Xu Yan's family situation, as they were not from the same village and met in Jingzhou. Also, I don't think knowing Xu Yan's character, she would voluntarily tell a stranger about her family's situation in detail.
6. What is happening in Episode 19? Why both are roaming in strange clothes and get up (I know it is to impress that russian couple) But it looked like a stunt for comic relief and I don't think it suited either of their characters, and rather it looked forced. They did such charades together before to convince investors, but it did not look this odd.
7. Why waste time on Lin Tao so much? Also wasn't Qiao Lin's parents biased towards her always? How come they did not even contact her when she is starting a startup, facing so many challenges? How about they have explored the dynamics between the parents and Xu Yan?
8. It was very irresponsible of Xu Yan. Was the startup a breakup project for her? As soon as her relationship improved with her husband, she forgot about her business, leaving everything on Qiao Lin. I understand it is okay to take a break and focus on her relationship, but the business is in the initial phase. Is it that easy to establish a startup? What are you on, writer? If you can't write properly about the problem and tie all loose ends to make it consistent, why bother to introduce this angle in the first place? Was there not any other way to make Xu Yan independent?
Overall, a great 1st half but completely loses its' way due to a very poorly written second half. Now, the only thing I remember is that Zhao Lusi had absolutely gorgeous outfits in this drama.

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A Healthy Portrayal of Enemies To Lovers

This drama had a nice, healthy relationship portrayal of the Enemies to Lovers trope. I felt the character of Wei Shao was toned down a bit too much from the novel, almost making his character a bit unrealistic. The drama version was a lot better, though I felt the writers toned down the novel's dark vibes a bit too much. But still, the casting, visuals, and OST were great. I loved that the leads had a respectful and healthy relationship. They always talked things out between themselves. It was a very nice change. The cinematography was gorgeous. The costume and makeup of the female lead were top-notch. Song Zu Er was looking so gorgeous that I could hardly take my eyes off her. I enjoyed watching this drama.

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A Laughter Riot With Solid Story & Acting

The comic element in this drama was absolutely amazing. The entire cast has done a nice job. The actress has absolutely nailed her character. I loved watching her perform. The screenplay was done smartly, so it did not get repetitive and boring. The suspense element was maintained until the last episode. Though I felt like it could have been shortened a bit, it was not a major problem. But I am not satisfied with the ending at all. The chef coming back to the present spoiled the experience for me quite a lot, as I personally felt like the king got cheated. Nevertheless, it was a very nice watch.

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