This review may contain spoilers
Stayed to watch the capital palace intrigue towards the end (epi 34-40)
The chemistry between the leads was incredible and they made you believe they were truly in love with each other early on. And while I loved the acting of the FL which was solid and consistently showing her growth throughout, I was let down by the acting of the ML as I had expected the ML to be edgier and colder from the start (like Murong Jinghe from KMLM), and for there to be more of a change in his personality as he softened and fell in love with Chang Yu. I just didn't see it as he was such a loveable guy from the start!
I especially loved the actors who played the puppet emperor and Xie Zheng's cunning uncle, Wei Yan. They stole the show in the last 10 episodes and I couldn't keep my eyes off their riveting, sympathetic performances of characters we should be despising for the acts they have committed. They all deserve acting awards.
The capital arc and court palace intrigue felt more grounded in reality and was told from multiple perspectives, Rashomon style. (The story was apparently based on a real historical female general in China, although I don't know how much of the palace intrigues were real). I won't spoil it but the last 10 episodes are like a murder mystery with the leads trying to figure out what happened to their parents and why and holding the culprits to account,
Storywise, while it was better than you're typical historical period piece, I felt there were certain plot points that were missed or not elaborated upon (e.g., when he finds out the FL is the daughter of his family's sworn enemy, Wei QiLin) that I wish he struggled more with before deciding to get together with the FL. Instead of giving him pause, he told her he was aware of her connection and would help her clear her father's name. No self-respecting general (simp or no simp) would go this far!
Also a major plothole was why he would drop a 17 year old family blood feud with Wei Qinlin if, after opening up a whole investigation into the Jinzhou massacre and finding his family's sworn enemy, Wei Qinlin's family, was still alive and even going to the Northwest to further investigate? Also, what's with all the parental suicides? That was unbelievable too and come on, let the bad guys get away with murder sometimes (as they often do IRL).
Otherwise, 9/10 story. It noticed a lot of similarities between Pursuit of Jade and Kill Me Love Me (e.g., live in husband, the general who was wronged, the stay in a village where the couple develops feelings for each other, the final stand off with the relative to vye for court control (in KMLM it was the crown prince and in POJ it was the emperor and his main ministers/advisors).
I especially loved the actors who played the puppet emperor and Xie Zheng's cunning uncle, Wei Yan. They stole the show in the last 10 episodes and I couldn't keep my eyes off their riveting, sympathetic performances of characters we should be despising for the acts they have committed. They all deserve acting awards.
The capital arc and court palace intrigue felt more grounded in reality and was told from multiple perspectives, Rashomon style. (The story was apparently based on a real historical female general in China, although I don't know how much of the palace intrigues were real). I won't spoil it but the last 10 episodes are like a murder mystery with the leads trying to figure out what happened to their parents and why and holding the culprits to account,
Storywise, while it was better than you're typical historical period piece, I felt there were certain plot points that were missed or not elaborated upon (e.g., when he finds out the FL is the daughter of his family's sworn enemy, Wei QiLin) that I wish he struggled more with before deciding to get together with the FL. Instead of giving him pause, he told her he was aware of her connection and would help her clear her father's name. No self-respecting general (simp or no simp) would go this far!
Also a major plothole was why he would drop a 17 year old family blood feud with Wei Qinlin if, after opening up a whole investigation into the Jinzhou massacre and finding his family's sworn enemy, Wei Qinlin's family, was still alive and even going to the Northwest to further investigate? Also, what's with all the parental suicides? That was unbelievable too and come on, let the bad guys get away with murder sometimes (as they often do IRL).
Otherwise, 9/10 story. It noticed a lot of similarities between Pursuit of Jade and Kill Me Love Me (e.g., live in husband, the general who was wronged, the stay in a village where the couple develops feelings for each other, the final stand off with the relative to vye for court control (in KMLM it was the crown prince and in POJ it was the emperor and his main ministers/advisors).
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