LotteHagemeier

Exactly what I expected

So I think anyone watching a Guo Jing Ming drama needs to be prepared for what they're getting themselves into. I appreciate his dramas because the cinematic visuals, costumes, make-up, and ost are always incredible. The actual story on the other hand? .. not so much. And that is exactly what Veil of Shadows gave.

Let's start with the bad things first: cause what even was this story really? It was incredibly convoluted, I think it could have easily filled all 29 eps by focusing on 2 or 3 of the storylines, instead of what felt like 20. There is so much going on, so many characters are introduced with the impression that they are really important, but then forgotten about. Character connections, relationships, and backgrounds are super confusing, made more confusing by the fact that everyone plays so many characters (I think Yan An and Tian Jia Rui played 10 characters between the two of them, and then some of them ended up being the same character? I'm still confused...). So if you care about character development, give up, you will not be able to keep track of it here.
Second, GJM plays really fast and loose with the rules in his magical worlds, because huh? Don't even bother to remember power, rules, and hierarchies established in the first couple of eps, because they are completely disregarded later on (one example of this I really dislike is that GJM's female leads are always introduced as incredibly powerful, magical beings, yet halfway through the story he seems to forget about this fact... anyways). This makes the stakes of the story feel super low. Although usually GJM's dramas have a tragic ending, which I don't love cause it feels too extreme (i.e. half the characters dying), Veil of Shadows has the complete opposite extreme, where every character died at least once, came back to life (multiple times), got their happy ending, but it still did not feel satisfying. I think GJM's endings are usually quite weak, the solution to defeat the villain is somehow figured out at the last minute, in the most confusing way, and you're just there like ... sure I guess. Like, what do you mean Ji Ling has to go back in time to make sure Wuyi was never created and thus none of the bad things could have happened, yet he brings her out of the past, to the present, with him? Does that not defeat the purpose? And why is Wu Shi Guang the only one who remembers the past? So many questions.

But, I still finished the drama, and enjoyed it lol. What saved it for me is exactly what I mentioned before: everything and everyone looks beautiful, ost is great, and I am just a sucker for an ensemble drama. All the actors did a really good job with the crazy story; their chemistry (not just chemistry between FLs and MLs, but between ensemble as a whole) and acting skills still managed to suck me in and made me care about the characters. Loved the relationship between the sisters, loved Chen Du Ling and Ju Jing Yi together (wish we got a nice conclusion between them though..). GJM does funny, light-hearted, and tender moments really well, and you just end up falling for that. So, if you want to watch this unseriously and are okay with being confused most of the time, you'll have a good time!

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Worth watching!

Disclaimer: I did not watch Red Moon Pact, but started watching this because of the cast, and they delivered! The only weak link in the cast/role was Jin Ren Feng, which is no offense to the actor; I find that often in Cdramas villains have petty motivations and are very one-dimensional as a result, making it hard to take them seriously as villains in the story. I had to skip some of Jin Ren Feng's scenes because it was just eye roll stuff. This was helped by Jiu Huo Lin and Jia Lan, who, although didn't necessarily feel super threatening, their motivations at least made sense, and actually kind of made me pity/root for them in the end.

The pacing of the story is good, I love how Huai Zhu and Hong Ye's relationship progresses and Lui Shi Shi and Zhang Yun Long are incredible in this drama. Hong Ye is this notorious warrior but ZYL plays him in a way that he becomes such an endearing softie around Huai Zhu, it's really cute.

Another thing I LOVE about this drama and the acting is how they handle what happens emotionally after the 'final battle'. In most dramas, this aftermath is glossed over very quickly and tied up with a neat bow for a perfect ending. I love that this drama takes the time to show the horrible trauma that the characters have suffered and the pain that comes with that, and the distance between Huai Zhu and Hong Ye as a result. It feels very real, and I applaud LSS and ZYL for their performance with that.

Two things I did not like though:
1. Zhang Zheng and Qing Mu Yuan's story. DYX and MZY have great chemistry, and I felt like there was such potential for how their relationship and story were going to develop, especially with Zhang Zheng's identity issue. But their story ended before it barely even started, which I feel was a lost opportunity.
2. After the final battle, when they are safe back home and have taken steps to move past their trauma, Huai Zhu and Hong Ye just never meet Qin Lan or Qu Zhuo again??!! What?! This really annoyed me cause it was super unbelievable that Huai Zhu would forget about her sister and that Hong Ye would ignore his (basically) brother, who was also the only other person that survived the battle. Come on, dumb.

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