im always watching Wu Ji An’s series, I just love her characters. But Liu Xue Yi was such a nice surprise! Never seen him in anything before, and now I’m 100% checking out more of his stuff. Plus, he looks so good in those period costumes
I get the feeling that Chinese series, especially the historical ones, are getting scenes or even whole episodes cut to the point where the story feels shallow and superficial. They shorten the episodes, but the plots are still dragged out. There are good actors with great chemistry, but the script behind it often just doesn't make sense.
And that’s unfortunately what happened with this series. I haven’t finished it yet, I’m on episode 24, but it’s obvious that there was probably a lot more that couldn’t make it on screen, and that leaves me feeling a bit frustrated.
Is this something entertainment companies are pushing for? Cutting down the number of episodes to save on production costs? Or maybe it’s due to the actors' busy schedules? Or even censorship? So many questions. Aside from how I feel, it *is* a good series, the first 5 episodes are REALLY GOOD and didn’t deserve the rest of the series, haha!
The two have good chemistry, but I found the story hard to keep up with. And some small video editing choices really bothered me, like certain scenes in slow motion (when it wasn’t necessary). It felt like there were cuts for some reason, and to get the episode to the right length, they used that technique. Obviously, it's a minor detail, and if I’d enjoyed the story more, I’d have ignored it. But it got to a point where I was frustrated with the female lead, the male lead, the assassin, the queen dowager, and the prince—I couldn’t like any of the characters at all.
The main couple had great chemistry and strong performances, but I found the story poorly structured. They realized…
btw, I’d love to see Jin Mai and Zhang Ling He in a modern-day drama! She’s definitely not used to period dramas, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ling He in something without a wig. I’ll be waiting for a project like that from them
The main couple had great chemistry and strong performances, but I found the story poorly structured. They realized too early that both had traveled back in time, and their utopian good intentions made the plot feel unrealistic. I'm used to historical dramas with more complex characters, ambition, and moral dualities. The Princess, though strong-willed, only acts for the kingdom's good and Pei Wen Xuan, while smart, exists solely to follow her, which became tiring.
What really made me finish watching was the great performance by Jin Mai and Zhang Ling He. Jin Mai, despite being young, convincingly portrays a woman who’s already lived half her life. Not to mention she acts very well in more intimate scenes with her co-stars, which makes the love feel believable—something that’s quite rare with most actresses, who seem to get scared of the male leads with even the slightest touch.
The cinematography was beautiful, but the story lacked depth for me. I also want to praise the actor who played Su Rong for his excellent work—he might be one of the best-written characters in the story. Overall, it's a good series, one of those where the acting carries the show. Even though I didn't like the plot itself, I would rewatch it because of the performances, and that's why I give it the rating I did.
Don't come for me... but I feel like the princess's storyline with Su Rong is way more interesting than with Pei Wen Xuan... (I'm still on episode 17).
@MariaEduardaPrado is that Li Yi Tong on your profile picture? what drama is that from?
yes! it is Bloody Romance... I was watching it around the time I created my MDL account. The story has some plot holes, but there's something really beautiful about it. It had a low budget, but the story was completely different from what was being released at the time. Not to mention that I found the scenery and costumes absolutely gorgeous. If you’re not too picky, I recommend watching it!
i blame tiktok tbh. i miss when kdramas were a niche genre. ever since squid games, it opened up more audience,…
Yeah, that makes sense. And this happens more with Korean dramas. With Chinese dramas, you can still have healthy debates about the plot (of course, there are fan wars, but in my experience, I still have healthy debates about the plot with fans of Chinese series). With Korean dramas, you can’t disagree about anything without it being seen as a hater. I’m just commenting and giving my considerations... that’s how we used to use this site.
And oh yes, I hate those tiktoks that spoil the series I skip them quickly to avoid seeing them 😭 😭 😭
I think the problem is that you guys don’t understand the difference between someone commenting ABOUT the series and someone HATING on the series.
In No Love No Gain, for example, the comments are pure hate and misogyny. Here, it's just people commenting on the series itself, the plot, the characters. Anyway I don’t know how this place became so toxic in just a few months. I constantly receive rude comments when I’m just using the function to comment on the series itself. Or I see extremely sexist and misogynistic comments.
And that’s unfortunately what happened with this series. I haven’t finished it yet, I’m on episode 24, but it’s obvious that there was probably a lot more that couldn’t make it on screen, and that leaves me feeling a bit frustrated.
Is this something entertainment companies are pushing for? Cutting down the number of episodes to save on production costs? Or maybe it’s due to the actors' busy schedules? Or even censorship? So many questions. Aside from how I feel, it *is* a good series, the first 5 episodes are REALLY GOOD and didn’t deserve the rest of the series, haha!
What really made me finish watching was the great performance by Jin Mai and Zhang Ling He. Jin Mai, despite being young, convincingly portrays a woman who’s already lived half her life. Not to mention she acts very well in more intimate scenes with her co-stars, which makes the love feel believable—something that’s quite rare with most actresses, who seem to get scared of the male leads with even the slightest touch.
The cinematography was beautiful, but the story lacked depth for me. I also want to praise the actor who played Su Rong for his excellent work—he might be one of the best-written characters in the story. Overall, it's a good series, one of those where the acting carries the show. Even though I didn't like the plot itself, I would rewatch it because of the performances, and that's why I give it the rating I did.
And oh yes, I hate those tiktoks that spoil the series I skip them quickly to avoid seeing them 😭 😭 😭
In No Love No Gain, for example, the comments are pure hate and misogyny. Here, it's just people commenting on the series itself, the plot, the characters. Anyway I don’t know how this place became so toxic in just a few months. I constantly receive rude comments when I’m just using the function to comment on the series itself. Or I see extremely sexist and misogynistic comments.