Katie Cruz

Sizzling Hot

Okay, now this… THIS was a well made drama. Congratulations to all that was involved in this production. Truly breathtaking. I’m a sucker for anything supernatural and lovers to enemies to lovers trope. I first saw Cheng Lei in My Journey to You. He was great there, but I only saw one side of his acting which was the cold part. Now here, he plays three characters. Someone made a comment on a video online saying it was unfair that Prince Annan only had a few episodes, and Prince Annan was better than Jin’an. What do you mean? He’s the same person. He just forgot Li Shuang for a bit, but the memories resurfaced, and that’s all it matters. I couldn’t imagine any other actor who would play this character. Cheng Lei nailed his parts. He was so sweet, funny, and caring as Jin’an, super badass as the man in black, and cold and ruthless Prince Annan. The scene where they fought outside the gate. OMG it was heartbreaking to see them fight. My heart was beating crazy, like I wanted to jump in the screen and shake some sense into Prince Annan. I wanted to yell STOP THAT IS YOUR WOMAN!! I’m just glad he treated her well while she was a prisoner under their Yao state. I loved how he slowly fell for her again, thanks to the memories. I loved every character here. The actors did a great job playing their parts. I’m glad the second ML did the right thing in the end when he tried to lure out Prince Annan. That was a risky move, though. He could’ve been ripped to shreds. I loved the ending with them spending some time together taking care of the orphaned kids. ML was just too cute whenever he talks to the FL. The music made me cry every time it came on. Everything was just pure excitement. There was only one slight mistake with the editing. It was when she was being strangled by the man in black up in the air, one scene had one dagger in her right hand, and next scene both of her hands were holding ML’s hands. Anyway, other than that, this drama is a perfect 10 for me. I loved everything about it. Looking forward for more Cheng Lei dramas. I highly recommend this drama.

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My husband recommended this show to me telling me to give it a chance. I already knew what I was going into. As usual, I didn’t had any huge expectations. The episodes were pretty short. I had mixed feelings with the ending. While it was great that everything was wrapped up, I was a bit unsatisfied with what happened to Min Yul-Hee. I wanted to see her in prison and end up being miserable. Park Woo-Jin needed to rot in hell, too. He killed a person and he beat the cr-p out of Kim Hae-In. He’s just going to walk away scot free?? I love Cha Jin-Wook’s and Lee Sa-Rang’s roles here. I can’t believe Cha Jin-Wook was Black Dog. It’s funny how he revealed himself just like that. As for Baek Je-Na, I really wanted to like her character, but she’s so stiff. She doesn’t know how to hug her friends when they’re crying. She remains that way throughout the whole show. But she’s still okay in my book. I wondered what that note on the tissue was at the end of season 2?? Hope they’ll have a season 3 because I really want to see the two killers go down. I want them to suffer for what they’ve done. I can’t blame Kim Hae-In for what she did. She needed to survive in that place and had to do risky things in order to obtain what she wants. It’s just too bad that her character suffered so much then things had to roll the right way. The FL was really messed up, too. She was a little blinded and used Kim-Hae In’s tragedy to get benefits. I’m glad she realized it later on and did the right thing. This was a fun watch but it was just a little messy, to be honest. The writers could have done better.

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Crazy in Love

I started watching this on Netflix when it only had a few episodes. Big mistake. I should have waited! The waiting game for new episodes was really hard. I’m a fan of the FL since watching her in My Journey to You drama when she was paired with my fave Cheng Lei. I had never paid attention to Hou Ming Hao before. I did watch him in the Lost Tomb but his acting there didn’t really caught my attention. Now, after watching this drama, I can say I’m officially a fan. He was so good here. Everyone was right when they said that he was way better here than his Back from the Brink drama where his acting was a little wooden. The FL Ming Yi was really cute and I love how she slowly fell for Ji Bozai. At first, I didn’t like how she was using Ji Bozai to get to the Golden Millet Dream, but then again Ji Bozai was the same who was also using her. But I’m glad they didn’t hurt each other. I hate toxic couples in other dramas who hurt each other. It makes my heart ache when they do that. Anyway, they formed a bond along the way. I love the fake relationship they had and it slowly blossomed. I love it when they save each other and are completely in sync and just know what to do in certain moments. And the kisses while they were at the pool? *chef’s kiss* So hot. I was like OMG, my heart, be still. There was also another scene at the beginning of episode 23 where he said, “Say my name” while making out by the bedroom door. I melted into a puddle of goo. I just love them together. That scene where they walked the magpie bridge to carve their names on the marriage stone to prove their identities and their love. From there, they now share a heart imprint. The way Ji Bozai took all the lightning hits and he was so persistent when he kept carving Ming Yi’s name. The dedication he had at that moment even though he knew deep down her name wasn’t really Ming Yi. So many hot moments. Episode 25 was my most favorite scene because I was smiling and giggling like crazy. He suspects that she is the real Ming Xian. She pointed the sword artifact she forged and pointed it at his throat. He pulled her towards him and kissed her. After that he asked her if Ming Xian was still in the way. He’s jealous of the person who’s actually in front of him. But of course he doesn’t know that. Never a dull moment in this drama. I would go on and on about how I love this drama so much but it’s not enough space, to be honest. I enjoyed and loved the whole drama. The setting, the CGI, the costumes, the acting skills, and the music were all so well done. Great job to the whole crew! Thank you for giving us a perfect happy ending. I highly recommend this drama and has a special place in my heart. This is my number one on my top list of Chinese fantasy dramas.

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What is a Moonlit Reunion?

I started watching this because I’m a huge Tian Xi Wei fan since watching her in New Life Begins. Not only that, the title had the Moonlit word and I’m a sucker for titles that have Moon in them. The FL was introduced as the half human and half Demon Cat, who’s the ruler of the Demon world that is built right under the city of Chang’an. Wu Zhen is the daughter of the Duke and the sister of the Chang’an empress. It’s very unique. I enjoyed the whole story. I went right into it without huge expectations. The ML, Mei Zhu Yu is a taoist from Changxi palace that was destroyed long time ago. He ventured down from the mountain to secretly investigate what happened to his parents 18 years ago where a heavenly fire broke out and killed a lot of people. The ML respects the FL’s boundaries and doesn’t mind her going to the Ruyi Pavilion to have some drinks. The costumes and set’s gorgeous. The characters were great. I love the FL with her kitty ears when she’s in the demon world. Tian Xi Wei was truly perfect for the role. Xu Kai’s character was mostly quiet in this one, sadly. I admit, their kisses were great though. As for the ML’s cousin, Mei Si, he was very funny. The actor was great with his role. I saw his comedic and emotional side, especially when Xuan Hui, the black snake died. Xuan Hui was locked up for a while under the demon world as a punishment. He was supposed to ascend as the rain dragon but was unable to because his heart was mixed with human affairs. I cried when he passed away. My heart was crumbling when I saw him in that box and Mei Si was holding him. I also understood why the snake demon lord acted the way she did. Can you imagine falling for a human and you get hate just because they saw your snake form? Truly heartbreaking. Mei Si was a good guy. He accepted demons, and even though he found out that the real lady liu died, he rescued lady liu after finding out that snake poison was being scattered around. I also love the twist where ML’s father was the original Cat master. That was a good one. The second ML actor was great as a villain here. Too bad, he harbored ill intentions. I admit, there were some parts that I got bored so I had to fast forward. Overall, it was a good drama. I just hoped the ending was a little better. Don’t get me wrong, it was an okay ending for me. I hate how little time they have in the end, that’s all. It didn’t felt very satisfying, to be honest.

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The Rise of… Third Brother

After watching the whole thing, I really hoped they named this drama with a different title. The Rise of Ning wasn’t t just about Yi Ning. It was mostly about Shen Yuan’s quest to rise up to the top and avenge his teacher and fellow disciple. It’s a beautiful drama. The FL calling Shen Yuan “Third brother” up until the last episode was just kinda weird. I know they’re not blood related, but still. How can you have feelings right away with a person who’s from the same family and you call him “Third brother” all the time? Anyway, I know it’s fiction, and I’m not the writer. The adoptive sibling trope is a little tricky for me. There’s not much romantic scenes between them. Kisses were meh. I wanted to see more. Great acting goes to the actor of Lu Jiaxue. Great job. He really got under my skin. I adored the fight scenes very much. I love the female empowerment message here. Love the characters, especially Duke Ying. Best dad ever! I just wish they didn’t spend so much time on the wedding scenes. We all know what happens in wedding scenes anyway. 40 episodes should have been cut down to 32. A lot of people were complaining about how Yi Ning should be more successful having a business. I mean, she does have a business. They had their struggles. It became successful with the help of her sixth uncle and his wife overtime. We don’t have to see everything. The FL is pretty, but her voice. OMG it’s like listening to a little girl. I get a little distracted by that. Especially when she keeps calling Shen Yuan her brother here. I blame it on the writers. Overall, I’m happy with the ending. I watched this because of Zhang Wan Yi. He’s a great actor to me.

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Love So Divine

I finished this in 11 days. When I watched the first episode, I wasn’t really expecting a lot from it. I had to watch it because when I first saw the first trailer last year, I got so excited. It looked really promising. Plus, Deng Wei was the ML. Tbh, I did not like him in Lost You Forever even though he was the endgame there. I did like him in Miss the Dragon, though. That’s where I saw him first. Anyway, I just finished watching Moonlight Mystique and that show really made me feel empty because I just loved it so much. So glad I watched this show. I enjoyed the whole thing, from beginning to the end. It got me engaged. I’m so sad it’s over. Ugh. I love reincarnation stories. The storyline of the reincarnated FL, Mu Qingge, who was called a demoness in the past life, a sovereign from Wester sect, was now reborn as Xue Ranran. She was born along with a little plant named Ling Xiao who always protected her. Ranran meets her disciple, Su Yushui, now the sovereign of Wester sect, who has a half mask on due to the scars he got from a curse given by Qingge before she passed away. Using half of his golden core, he used it for the reincarnation tree he obtained from heaven. I just love everything about the show. The two actors had so much chemistry. First time watching Julia Xiang here, and she was amazing! So cute and funny. Deng Wei was awesome here as well. He did not disappoint! Lots of blood spitting as usual. The kissing scenes were alright. Music was heart gripping. The CG effects were great. I enjoyed the part where Ranran uses the soul controlling technique to become a small plant puppet. The actor who played Su Yu was great as a villain here. I remember he played a boring character in The Double. I saw his acting skills here. Everyone else did a great job. As for the sister, Ranwu, OMG. I don’t know what to feel for her character. Let’s just say I feel sorry for her. It’s just sad that she didn’t end up apologizing for what she did. She was pure evil. I hated her guts. This was truly a wonderful show. It has a happy ending. It definitely didn’t kill off characters you loved. I recommend it second to Moonlight Mystique. 5/5 for me.

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It was.. alright.

I started watching this back in March 2024 and JUST finished it yesterday. Tbh, I stopped watching it because I got a little bored. I gave this a chance because I adored the main leads in previous dramas like FL in Celebrity and ML in True Beauty. I’ve never read the whole Webtoon, just an episode and that was it. It looked interesting from the start but it really didn’t pull me in the way I hoped. The main leads were super cute. That’s a given. They portrayed their roles well. Okay, maybe the FL only, in my opinion. Honestly, Cha Eun Woo was way better in True Beauty. At least I saw more of his acting skills there. He needs to work more on his craft and hopefully he could get more different roles in the future. I agree with the people that he has the same cookie cutter roles. I want to see him act differently. Maybe a villain next time, you know? I’m afraid he’s stuck with the Webtoon only characters and that’s not good for his career. I enjoyed the FL’s family, and Yul, the ML’s nephew. The supporting cast did an awesome job for making me laugh. I enjoyed the FL’s fashion style as well. FL’s dog form was super cute. Can’t miss that. Another great thing were the kisses. Now that’s how a couple should kiss! No dead fish kisses here. A yay for that. Now let’s talk a out Bo-gyeom, the mountain god. He’s supposed to be a SMART mountain spirit. His character irritated me so much. At first I liked him, but when I found out what he was really like and how he wanted revenge, I was like wait, what?? NO. WAY. How did he NOT see what really happened? Give me a break. How stupid and selfish of him to give FL’s family a curse and then at the end he disappears like it was nothing?? No apologies or whatsoever. What a POS. You can’t change my mind about him. What a horrible person. I found myself skipping the parts whenever he was in it. I had to skip the repetitive memories of their past lives. It was just too much. With that one episode with the epilogue at the end, I thought it was over. Then I remembered there was a total of 14 episodes. Bring in more chaos to the mix. The more, the merrier, right? I heard that the show’s episode was posted like once a week and there were postponements as well. I don’t blame them, I’d probably drop it too. I can’t really stop you from watching it, but do give it a try if you still want to watch it.

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Hauntingly Cute

I saw a lot of people talking about how good The Haunted Palace was so I went ahead and gave it a try since I’m a fan of the ML actor, plus it’s about a haunted palace. I’m a sucker for anything haunted. When it started, the narrator was talking about how a dragon was supposed to ascend after 1,000 years, but unfortunately fell from the sky while a war was raging at the time. I have a soft spot for any dramas that have dragon characters, so I was like yeah I’m going to stick with this. I didn’t realize the dragon character’s spirit took over the royal scribe’s body. It was interesting to watch. I love the ML’s playful personality. He hated humans but grew to like them along the way after experiencing life inside a human body. It was funny and sad at the same time since one of the topics here was about the loss of loved ones and how we forgive and let go of our grudges. The ML started following the FL who was only 13 years old at the time. She thought he was an evil spirit. The FL actress was a little bland. I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just her character for being that way? I don’t like dead fish kisses. Their lips barely even touched, and it just makes me laugh whenever I see them kiss like that. Anyway, I liked the ending. I’m glad they didn’t follow the usual trend of ending dramas on a sad note where one of the leads die. Especially with fantasy dramas. That irks me so much when they do that. It starts off so well and then… kaput. It’s a decent drama for me. I watched it without expectations and it did not disappoint.

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Editing Could Have Been Better

I started this drama around August 2024 but I decided to stop watching it and went to watch something else. I wasn’t pulled in at the beginning. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot from it. I picked it up again on 09.30.2024 after almost a month later. I told myself that I’ll give this drama a chance. I actually enjoyed every bit of it. The actors were all amazing with the portrayal of their characters. One of the things I loved about this drama was there’s no second aggressive, jealous type male lead vying for the FL’s love. We’re only focused on with the main leads, that’s it. I love the friendship they all shared here. They really grew on me. I’m so sad it’s all over. 36 episodes. It was really great. I just didn’t like how there were some loose ends and some bad editing. I wish they showed the uncle. He just gave away his remaining life to the pearl. I wanted to see the reaction of elder Zhu. He was really rude to the group of friends throughout the whole story. I wanted him to get down on his knees and say sorry for everything he has done. I wanted xingzhen to see JY. He really believed that JY was innocent. The fight after the wedding was so abrupt. No transition at all. It was so quick and they did a time jump after 3 years later. They said JY burned to ashes but will be reincarnated. It’s hard to understand how he was brought up, but it’s ok, as long as they are together in a happy ending, I’ll take it. I wished they showed the little talisman genies one last time. They were so cute. They spent too much time on her mom’s back story and how the three men loved her so much. I don’t understand why the mom didn’t say anything to her friends, at least warned them about Ying Zewei. It’s a little ridiculous. Love the magic effects, the set, the costumes, and THE MUSIC. There are dramas that have music that don’t stick with me. With this one, OMG. Perfect song choices. It tears up my heart just listening to them. Zhang Ling He did well in this drama. Bravo! I loved this and My Journey to You. I did not like The Princess Royal that much. Although, the writers were to blame for the sh-tty rape scene they added in. That was absurd. Anyways, I give this drama a 4/5 because there was no dull moments and kept me engaged until the end. Hope to see more of Zhang Ling He’s dramas in the future. He was great as a demon here.

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I’m Over the Moon

Three letters. O.M.G.

This Chinese drama was soooo good. This tops Love and Redemption and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in my list of dramas. The actors, the acting, the storyline, the set, the costumes were all amazing. They did a great job pulling my heart out. What a great performance from the whole staff! I’m a huge Bai Lu fan, so of course I had to watch this after watching her in Till the End of the Moon. The drama title had “Moon” in it, so it gotta be good, right? She’s perfect as Bai Shuo. I love her in costume dramas, I swear. She’s like a true goddess. This is my first Ao Rui Peng drama, so now I’m an officially a fan. You know, Ao Rui Peng looks like a cross between Dylan Wang and Deng Lun. I’ve never watched him in other dramas before, but him as a demon lord here impressed me. They acted so well here. I cried buckets, seriously. I was sick while watching this so I kept crying and blowing my nose at the same time. I love purple so much and this show had a lot of purple colors in it. The villains were great as well. The whole message of this story is all about sacrifices and walking down your own path. It was repeatedly mentioned throughout the whole story. I devoured it within a week. I did not have huge expectations with this show because I once read a comment from someone saying Moonlight Mystique wasn’t as good as they thought. Excuse you?? Just kidding. Well, that’s their opinion. At first look you’d think it looks similar to the Cdrama Love between Fairy and Devil, but it’s really not. It’s actually far from it. I love the demon lord there, the Moon Supreme Dongfang Qingcang played by Dylan Wang. But honestly, out of all the demon lords I’ve seen, Ao Rui Peng’s demon lord character’s the best for me. Followed by Dylan Wang’s. Now I’m looking forward watching his other shows. It does have a lot of character deaths, though, so be ready. I love the twists and turns, the friendships, the chemistry between the couples, the music, everything is just pure perfection. I love it so much. I don’t know how much I can stress this. I’m in love with this show. But now that this drama is over, I feel empty inside. Bummer. This is how I always feel after watching a really good drama. It’s like a group of friends that you won’t be able to see anymore. The story’s done, so it’s time to move on to another one. There are so many dramas out there that starts out so good and then the amazing factor just dwindles halfway through. Perfect example would be misunderstandings. This story doesn’t have that, and it has a happy ending. This is a perfect rating for me. It’ll hold a special place in my heart. I’m consoling myself by watching the Behind the Scenes clips on how they made it. I feel so happy how this group got along so well. The casting director did a great job choosing the right people for the show. And thank you to the writers for giving us a healthy couple. Love sure has no bounds.

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Quite Intense

It’s really funny how the ending scene of The Romance of Tiger and Rose was at a hospital. Now Ding Yu Xi’s character is in a hospital, too. It’s like seeing Han Shuo again. Yay! It’s also funny because in Tiger and Rose, he was an actor. In this drama, his FL is an actress. Anyway, the FL is too annoying at the beginning. Like when she was hospitalized and wanted to get Zhou Shuyin’s attention, she runs around chasing him all dressed up. Even bringing him a cart full of food inside his office with some lights around it. Like, ma’am, you know you’re under observation, right? I thought that was ridiculous. Glad Doctor Zhou sent her home. Then when he invited her to his ancestors worship, she gives him a hard time by not giving him an answer right away. Then when it was too late, she gets mad because he left her. But good thing he waited for her outside her apartment after she went out to do some shopping spree. When they stepped inside his car, she demanded him to put the buckle for her. I don’t get this part. You can buckle your own self, geez. I know she’s just trying to be cute for him saying he needs to guarantee her safety. I admit, I’m a sucker for arranged marriages. Especially when the ML looks uninterested in the FL, but deep down he really likes her. When they went back to his grandmother’s house and we meet the little sister. OMG. She really got under my skin. How old was her character supposed to be? So childish. I hate how they always say that “yingying is still young. Don’t take it to heart.” Well, they’re enabling the little brat. And every time they wanted to kiss, they would always get interrupted. Especially by Yingying. Ugh. So annoying. In the end when she wanted to get the part of a leading actress, Shiyun talks to his producer friend, but before he could even ask for a favor, he thought about it and changed his mind. At the wrong time, someone saw them hugging. She found out the night she came home after she got selected. That really hurt her. News spread online that she got the role because of Shiyun. I don’t understand why Shiyun didn’t explain. He remained silent throughout the whole time. At least tell her that you almost did. Of course they needed that for the drama. Wu Di mentioned it to her that that Shiyun didn’t brought her name up to the producer. Jinbei is still hurt for what he did. I hate the translation for this drama. Drives me to the wall. Some things don’t make sense sometimes. She went back to her hometown and he followed. She refused to see him but her conscience tells her that he’s a good man. She runs out to find him and he proposes. They kissed. They kissed again when they were talking inside the bedroom. I’m just glad that the misunderstanding part didn’t drag on for episodes. It’s only natural for a couple to have their down moments. When they went home to visit the grandmother, she was a little nauseous. She said she might be pregnant. They were sleeping separately all the time so how did she get pregnant? I already knew she wasn’t pregnant. It’s funny because Shiyun is a doctor and the first thing he could’vetold her is to check just to make sure. All those symptoms could be anything. It happened to me before. Wu Di was the one who told her to check. She found out she wasn’t pregnant. I love how the drama ended. No big Wedding scene, no pregnancy, no babies. Just the two of them spending their sweet time together as newlyweds with their cute little cat, Wutong. I’m glad she mended her relationship with Zitong, and Jiawei respected Jinbei because she was engaged. He also found his love, Yingying, and Yingying found her love, Jiawei. I love the music, and I love their kisses! We have a lot of steamy kisses in the drama. And I’m glad they’re not dead fish kisses which I hate.

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Too. Much. Flash.Backs

This was a cute Chinese Fantasy drama. It’s a bit similar to Eternal Love ( aka Ten miles of Peach Blossoms) when the female lead, Liuying, saves a wounded white snake who’s really the dragon king who has cultivated for thousands of years. The dragon accidentally kills one of the female characters, saves her soul, and in return, promises to guard Liuying’s reincarnations through three tribulations. I watched Dylan Wang (Meteor Garden) to see how he played this role. I guess he was ok here. Just a little stiff with some scenes. The female lead Barbi Zhu (Eternal Love) carried herself here pretty well. I watched her as the villain in Eternal Love and she was amazing in that drama. The side characters were pretty great. Be warned, though, that there’s a lot of flashbacks here, and I was a bit annoyed by it until the last episode where it wasn’t really necessary. They could’ve shown us a good ending, too. I can’t say it was sh-itty, but then it wasn’t that good either. I was heartbroken at the end. Boo.

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A Slow Burn Romance

I watched this for Ding Yuxi so I haven’t had any huge expectations. I started this right after watching Melody of Golden Age because I’m a huge fan of him since Love Game in Eastern Fantasy. I was browsing MDL to see who’s the female lead. I noticed how she looked a bit older than him. When I checked their gap, I confirmed she was older. Anyway, the story starts with a woman in red dancing on a bridge. Her name is Chu Yu. A female general who fought at Fengling city along with her father who died in the war along 30k soldiers. The Wei troops come in after winning a war. The first one to come in was Wei Yun, the seventh son, and one of the generals of the Wei Army. She stops and professes her love for Wei Jun, the first son of the general. Wei Yun seemed to develop an interest in her from the very beginning when he saw her doing a sword dance up on the bridge. He’s always sneaking around whenever Wei Jun and Chu Yu meet. He’s very playful and carefree during this time. Chu Yu is not really in a relationship with Wei Jun. She only wanted his help to investigate the death of her father. She has the piece of mechanism of an octagonal crossbow that was used to kill her father and injured her brother, Linyang. The whole Wei army set off for another war with North Qi. Chu Yu shouted that she’ll wait for Wei Jun’s return. Wei Yun was looking at her when they were on their horses as they left the city gate. They draw sticks and Wei Yun got the rear guard. Of course. He was the one who was left behind while the father and his 6 older brothers go to Baidi valley. It was a stupid move, if you ask me. How did they underestimate their enemies? The battle was intense, and just like that, they all died. Ding Yuxi really delivered a great performance in this one. The emotions he has shown during the funeral procession was amazing. I was crying so much at that scene. Chu Yu came in a red dress saying she promised to marry Wei Jun, and she’ll become his widow of the first branch of the Wei family. She was doing this to get into the arsenal bureau to investigate. That was so wrong of her to do that. But she did help the Wei family by saving Wei Yun from prison. She endured a lot especially when they all knelt down outside in the freezing cold weather. As the episodes go by, I couldn’t really see them as a couple. He was always trying to get close to her, but she remains indifferent. I didn’t really see any chemistry between them. I did enjoy the friendships shared between all of them. The second male lead, Gu Chusheng, earned my respect for being a good official and he knew he was defeated by Wei Yun, so he didn’t do anything drastic to break them apart. He did try to pursue Chu Yu again, but failed. They all worked together to protect the Great Sui. I couldn’t stand the crown prince, but glad he had character development and had ascended successfully as the ruler of Great Sui. I hated his father, emperor Chunde. He tried so hard to separate Wei Yun and Chu Yu because his country needed a god of war, and in order for Wei Yun to be one, he shouldn’t have a weakness. No emotions. He’s so stupid. He even gave Chu Yu a title to trap her in the in the inner chambers, so she can never remarry. In the end, he makes Wei Yun guard the border for three years. He’s really something else. i admit, whenever Wei Yun makes his move to get closer to Chu Yu, it pisses me off when she dismisses him. Like OMG where is the fudging romance?? But then later on I realized, not every love story can be an instalove. Not everyone can fall for each other at the same time. In Wei Yun’s case, he fell in love with her first and was stuck in a one sided romance for quite a bit before romance developed. He decided to go for it. I was squealing with excitement when he told Gu Chusheng, “She could be my wife,” after Gu Chusheng reminded Wei Yun that she’s married to Wei Jun. He was like, “You said it yourself. It was just a cover, why can’t I marry her?” Damn. That was the start of him pursuing Chu Yu. His sister-in-law, Chun, reminded him that fatal knives are not just on the battlefield, but the words of people can kill her. Gossip went around town because their relationship was wrong to them. Anyway, we didn’t get to see a lot of romance, but it was an entertaining story. Episodes could have been shorter. Too much screen time for other couples. I didn’t really cared much about the others, especially her b-tchy sister, Jin. Glad she had character development as well. The most funny character goes to Lu Qiba. He’s the commander at Arsenal Bureau. He helped Wei Yun and Chu Yu so much. Everyone helped as well. The fighting scenes were so good, I love it. Wei Yun’s scenes were always a treat. I never dared skipped his scenes. He always looked like a little lost puppy whenever he was with Chu Yu. Song Shilan was another favorite of mine. He’s the son of a concubine who left his civil career for a military one. He’s comes from a military family, so it’s his deep
ambition to become a well known general. I love how the Song siblings all have a good relationship with each other. It’s really sad that the eldest Princess Chang Ming killed herself because she fell in love with the wrong person. What a tragic love story between her and Zhao Yue. This story tells us a lot of lessons about family, friendships, trust, passion, and love. We didn’t get to see the main couple get married or have any kids at the end which is okay. Not every story needs to end that way. Like I said, I watched this for Ding Yuxi, and that’s all it matters. I wasn’t disappointed with his performance here. There was one quote from Chu Yu that I loved:

“This is not a dead end. We will surely find a way out. If the road ahead is full of thorns, let’s cut through them. You and I are each other’s swords. Even if the sky falls, I will face it with you.”

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Decent Watch

For years, I’ve always passed by this drama cover whenever I’m browsing around C dramas. The synopsis wasn’t enough to pull me in, I guess. I only watched it after 5 years later just because of the actor, Cheng Yi, who was the star of Love and Redemption (2020). According to reviews, this was the drama where Cheng Yi got recognition for. I actually loved the relationship between the main characters and how they’ll go through death just to save one another. Acting wise, I’m not really impressed with the main lead actors here. I know they’re really popular celebs, but I just didn’t see it. Maybe I’ll try their other dramas someday. Cheng Yi, who plays Lin Jing Yu, who was the main male lead’s best friend, was one of the best here. He delivered his role pretty well. His emotional scenes were always the best. He also had an amazing fight choreo with his teacher (see video). I’m not a fan of the hairstyles of the guys in this drama, though. Costumes are gorgeous and CGI was good. Fight scenes were awesome. Music used was memorable and made me so emotional. The most annoying character was the foster sister. I couldn’t stand her! Anyway, I found out there was a third season, but sadly, the original main leads are no longer a part of it. Bummer! I hate it when they do that. To be honest, I actually grew to love the original actors. Never mind, I won’t be watching it. (Cries) On second thought, maybe I will. The only reason I stuck through 2 seasons was because of Cheng Yi, and he’s still going to be in season 3. I can’t imagine anyone else playing his role here.

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Keeping Up With the Bans

I started watching this after Back from the Brink because I’m a huge fan of Hou Ming Hao. I just read the synopsis here on Mydramalist and decided to go for it. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I certainly didn’t have huge expectations for it. It’s my first time watching the actress who played Ban Hua. I’ve been watching Cdramas since 2019, and I’ve never heard of her. Anyway, her acting was not bad. She was pretty good. As for Hou Ming Hao’s character, Rong Xia? Well, not so good. He was a little stiff and not consistent with his character. One moment he likes Hua, then later on he seems to be on the path of revenge against the Ban family, so he can’t like Hua. I’m not sure if it was the actor or the writer of the dramaI to blame, but I had to watch the whole thing because I was already invested in it. It felt like the roles were reversed. The FL was more like the ML. I love the Ban family. They are so cute and funny, especially the dad and her younger brother, Ban Heng. The villains did a great job for getting under my skin. In court, we have a few powerful families like the Bans, the Yans, the Shis, and the Xies. We see each family scheming against each other, and in the end we see who really were the allies with the Bans. It’s a shame with Shi Feixian, the second male lead’s younger sister who was in love with Rong Xia. She already had a second chance in life when she was saved from jumping off the cliff. Instead of doing good and being grateful for being alive, noooo, she had to choose evil. She wanted to be empress by using the second prince Luo for her benefit. I felt bad for her because her grandfather controlled her to be perfect her whole life. He instilled in her mind that she has to be the best. He wanted her to be empress of Daye. He said those words to her up until his last breath. No remorse or whatsoever. Her grandfather was to blame for everything they had to go through. Can you imagine your grandfather wanted you to lie for the sake of his position in court and you get to be exiled? The second male lead was a nice man. He knew right from wrong. He was the only one with the right mind among his family. Even his sister, who was the empress of Daye, didn’t stop from plotting to kill Rong Xia. Like what the hell? Glad the crown prince turned Emperor asked her if she loves him or she loves his throne? We all know it’s the latter based from the expression on her face. I’m glad the Xie family became allies with the Ban family at the end. When the grandmother, Princess Royal, was dying, she asked hua why was she wearing red? Was she marrying someone? She’s trying to be funny even in her last moments. We didn’t have a lot of deaths but the grandmother and her nephew, who was the Emperor of Daye. I’m glad the emperor wasn’t so bad and he just really wanted to protect the Ban family. As for the crown prince, I’m glad he stepped up in the end instead of retreating from his responsibilities. He was so silly for deciding to abdicate the throne to Rong Xia. Feixian and the former prince Luo were exiled as commoners out in the countryside somewhere. We could see at the end how he started having mental problems. He’s now living a life of regret. Even the Empress Dowager and the princess were taken away for punishment. What a shame. The princess was Hua’s best friend but she ended up believing a snake. There were a lot of cute and funny moments in this drama. The The kisses were a little meh. Not a fan of dead fish kisses. I don’t like it when they kiss, both their eyes are opened, like nah, that’s not romantic. But I’ll give it a pass. I ended up enjoying the whole drama. 40 episodes was a little long, in my opinion. They could have shortened it down to 30 episodes. There were times I honestly got bored and just wanted to finish the drama already. I love how her brother’s wife is ready to give birth, and Rong Xia’s guard’s wife, who was one of Ban Hua’s maids, was also pregnant. Surprise surprise. Twin bliss. But we don’t get to see little ones from our main couple. Not gonna lie, I was a little sad. Oh well, that’s reality. Not everyone can have kids right away. It’s a really nice drama and I’m just happy they get to have a lot of scenes together.

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