Should Be Called The Grand Saga of Cheng Shao Shang's Stupidity feat Palace Version
It is even a miracle that I managed to endure and finish this elaborate grand shitshow. The story pacing is too slow. Why were 56 episodes in total required for such a basic drama with this low-caliber storyline? The excellent cinematography was the only saving grace. There was no proper character progression and growth for any of the characters. The romance was not that good either. There was no proper communication between the couple, and both acted independently. Why was such an elaborate separation phase even required if the FL eventually forgave the ML for his mistakes?Key Features of Dumb Yet Proud of Her Dumbness Type FL Called Cheng Shao Shang
1. The most infuriating character here is the FL. I have hardly seen such FL who is so proud of her uselessness (somewhat narcissistic even). There was no change in her character throughout. Moreover, so many episodes got wasted but there was not even a single scene of the wedding ceremony. Part 2 is all about the dumb FL spreading her foolishness in the palace. She is hardly 15 and does not know many things as she claims, but will not agree that she can be wrong sometimes. She even dares to give her self righterious speech to the royal family. If she were not the FL, she would have cost the heads of her entire family because of her reckless manner of speaking.
2. Writers are expecting me to believe this fool has any characteristics that the princesses of the palace would be jealous of. It is odd that they are behaving like street women and bullying the FL just because this foolish FL looks smart, cute, and miserable to the viewers. She jumps into palace politics just because she is there, despite the warning from her fiancé. She has to give her self righterious 2 cents here also.
3. Takes everything for face value. Just because someone spoke nicely to her, she goes all out to help them without thinking about anything. This is not being smart and caring, but rather idiotic, as she will implicate her entire family and her fiancé.
This girl is too straightforward for my liking. Straightforwardness is good, but to a certain extent. If you exceed it you will be called disrespectful and arrogant in my opinion. This FL lacks manner to speak with anybody. I am not telling her to listen all the bogus comments but rushing headfirst to fight like a bull every time you don't like someone is plain stupidity.
4. The audacity of the FL to forge a fake tiger seal that could cause catastrophe in the battle just because she likes the empress and wants to save the crown prince on behalf of her mother, despite the warning from her fiancé. She needs to be slapped day and night by her mother so that she develops some brain. She grew even more foolish after staying with the overlenient empress. She clearly needed a real-life disaster that would harm her for real, so that she finally thinks before doing anything. A little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing.
5. This fool, out of her love for the empress and the injustice of the world, has now turned murder investigator, somehow. Interfere in other people's matters with the bare minimum knowledge. Came to the crime scene and gave the 2ML big speeches about her own relationship and praised how excellent lady she herself is. Then looks for things by locking the door so that she can get kidnapped, and ML can come to her rescue. Now she is boasting about who would have solved the case if not her, as if no one in the world could have found out that hidden room.
6. Oh, she also loves to have an engagement once in a while just to spite her mother. Donated the first one in the name of doing service for the country. Hated the 2nd one for saving her and her entire family's lives. Though I understand her somewhat, I hated her actions after the breakup. Instead of focusing on her career, as she bragged earlier, she went to become the caretaker of the ex-empress. Gave the 3rd one some hope after years and got engaged with him, but broke it again after she saw the 2nd one, whom she could not forget. Then rants all about how ill-fated she is.
7. Knows nothing about swords and any self-defence tactics, but like an idiot, she went to stand in front to pose with a sword in the name of military defence. If she were not the FL, she would have died 10 times over already due to her stupidity.
She is extremely arrogant and rude, who loves to run her big mouth in front of all. As if none of the problems would ever be solved without her 2cents about justice and bla bla bla, despite not having enough knowledge about the matter. If all the young female characters were not written deliberately as jealous, brainless, blindly bullying the FL due to their obsession with the ML, then this stupid FL would have been absolutely hated by viewers.
8. She loves to blame the ML for losing her identity as Cheng Shaoshang. But honestly, did she have any self-made identity ever? Did she make any effort to make one ever? Does she even have the capability to make one? She won't listen to her fiancé, mother, or father or anyone, as she is always right, and she even claims that she is not the one to follow her husband blindly. Does this fool have enough brain to do things properly except for that self-righteous, arrogant attitude of hers? The writer is the main culprit here for writing such a dumb yet narcissistic FL.
Overall, if you like such a FL you can give it a try. I absolutely loathe this type of adult baby type FL who won't ever accept her mistake, nor will she put any effort to improve herself, and will do dumb things that can bring serious problems for other but then will rebel if she is spoken harshly. A FL who self-praises all day without contributing much for real (due to her dumbness), is not really my cup of tea. I absolutely hope to forget this horror show.
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Not A Popular Opinion
This drama started with a bang. The first episode was intriguing and mysterious. But the pacing got quite slow for my liking. The preparation and the elimination of the first enemy took too long for my liking. I dropped the drama twice in between. The acting and cinematography were nice, but the pacing was too slow. There were some thrilling moments in between, but overall, there was not enough balance for my liking. As for the story, the writing was not that good. The revelation of the 3rd enemy was hinted at right from the start, because of the mask. I did not find the main surprise element that surprising at all, unfortunately. Also, the finale did not feel satisfying to me at all. There was not enough tension, and the 3rd enemy got his karma too easily, in my opinion. Moreover, though I understand it was not a romance drama, I unfortunately did not find any chemistry between the ML & FL. The FL was brilliant in the initial episode, but I absolutely did not like how her character later turned out. Though I understand it was a male-centric drama, the character of the FL could have been handled better. The action scenes were nicely choreographed. Overall, the drama was a decent watch. The writing had way too many loopholes. Not too bad, but not that good either.Was this review helpful to you?
How Is This Collection of Flashbacks Are Considered As The Special Episodes
These two special episodes are nothing but old flashback scenes with the voiceover by the ML. I thought that this was the wedding/ life of the leads after the ML came back. But it was none of this. As a viewer, I felt cheated. Though Its better to get something rather than nothing, but is still not a sufficient excuse to post Flashbacks as special episodes. They could have just included it in the main episode.Was this review helpful to you?
Bai Lu Is The Star of The Drama
This is the first Republican drama that I have watched. I absolutely loved it. Xu Kai seemed to be born to play the role of Gu Yanzhen. The casting was amazing. I loved the personality of the 2ML more. I felt his character was more stable for the FL. Sorry, I loved the FL with the 2ML more. The cinematography was really nice. Bai Lu gave it her all. I loved how her character was portrayed. She was the star of the drama for me.Was this review helpful to you?
A Psychological Thriller Done Right
Usually, crime thrillers don't have much rewatch value. Beyond Evil stands apart from the crowd due to its phenomenal screenplay. The two police officers and their cat-and-mouse game with each other is the heart of this show. What I loved about the show is that instead of focusing on the severity of the crimes that many crime dramas focused on serial killing do, the creatives of Beyond Evil focused more on the psychological impact of such crimes on the families of the victims. Though the pacing was a bit slow until episode 6, from then on it was a rollercoaster. The serial killer was exposed on episode 6, but Beyond Evil has managed to keep me totally hooked until the last episode. Exposing the serial killer this early was a masterstroke by the creatives. The entire cast, along with the direction, music, and screenplay, was done just right. I absolutely loved the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
