= Day Time Soap
I guess this is C-drama version of American Day Time soap and how did it ever get high stars that's just puzzling!7 years of "misunderstanding" due to even tho we were married BUT I am going to believe any A Mao A Gou's words.
Scene started out w/ Evil jealous model followed by Evil jealous sister ex in law
followed by some over dramatic soapy music enters the FL
ML FL hate each other through hearsay. Nasty grandpa comes in chews her head off
Jealous rival of ML has a grand evil plot continues to target FL but no wait, final episode reveal it was over a hamburger!
This is straight up day time soap just needed some hair pulling and water splash on face action
What was good?
hmmm the little kid? Cutest boy ever memorizing all those lines.. Impressive!
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What's not to love about Zhang zi yi?
Yes not having a 16 year looking face is really distracting in the beginning but once you reach ep 10 you'll probably enjoy the story. Even her personality in the story is like a 30 year old so I wish they made the character at least in her late 20s. They also could've slowed down the love between the ML & FL as she seemed to fall for him pretty fast. It picks up more ep 16 on so be patient with this title as the cast, the story is very good. Although the story with political scheming isn't new but the stellar cast makes this drama a good watch. The high quality production with amazing costume design & cinematography is impressive esp ep 28 I was absolutely in awe.Helan Zhen being the stand out character. He played a similar role in Rise of the Phoenix but it was short lived so happy to see him in this role.
Now I am near the end, the story is slow but I can't stop watching it because it feels like a fashion show with the endless costume designs. There are quite a few character's development that made the story have some depth but it's not a captivating. I didn't feel the love story was epic and I felt the love development was a bit quick no fault to the actors of course. The cast of actors were all very good. In the end despite the production / stellar cast , the story is not on the same level as a Joy of Life or Rise of Phoenix.
And I still love Zhangziyi !!
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Started watching for Dai Xu Ending up Loving the story
Surprisingly hooked on this drama! Usually I drop most of Chen Xing Xu's work—The Starry Love being the only exception. Honestly I wasn't looking forward to watching this as ML looks and acts the same in ALL his modern romance dramas. Dai Xu on the other hand is whom I absolutely love. He's practically the professional 2nd lead in many dramas without ever being that traffic actor so I try to watch his works big or small.Is this another typical stone cold CEO rescue the "傻白甜" with a boring nice spare tire ML2? NO it's NOT! I won't go into the synopsis but I'll highlight the things that makes this drama so refreshing!
1. Virtual reality game world with great concept. Excellently done on how the leads met.
2. Dai Xu - a 2nd lead who is a little bad (I am 100% biased but I always love his acting!)
3. FL - imperfect but smart. There's none of that obvious over 5 seconds blank stares of recent K drama slump. Can we just have more of smart cute types?
4. ML - Fine balance of being cold/warm right from the start where it's understandable why he is appealing.
5. Well done tropes. For example, there is the classic piggyback scene but she legit jumped out a window and hurt her ankle, limping for days after. None of the ridiculous simple walk & fall on flat ground therefore guy gives the girl piggyback ride cringe.
6. Slow burn romance done right. Love in ep 8-9 the meaning behind the lines in the game setting pulling them closer. "Love between the lines" title really suits.
Not so great:
A bit OTP skin smoothing
Scenes with Dai Xu is far and few
ML did a decent job but scenes that demands more emotional depth, he's far from ML2.
I feel a little lost now that the drama is over .... going to have to rewatch Dai Xu's favorite scenes from all his past works...
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This review may contain spoilers
Perfect 10 then crash & fall into the typical dreaded C-Drama ending!
Will this drama be remembered as one of the best of 23 or Worst ending of 23?Up to Ep 18:
Legendary actress paired up with OST fan fav = Chemistry Explosion! Unlikely pairing magical to watch!
Granted going into this drama I was already a fan of both leads so my tolerance for possible drama plot holes may be higher.
Already what's working:
1. ML/FL Paring: You have ML Liu Yu Ning who may not be the best actor (but lots potential) has been a fan favorite for his personality and music talent. He is paired up with a veteran actress Liu Shi Shi, who pulls off the badass female assassin way better than idol actresses. She's beautiful & fierce and even though it's been ages since she's done a period costume drama, she still can do those fight scenes well. Together the chemistry is intense with the slow burn romance brewing. By ep 11 it will definitely hit those emotions.
2. Script/Storyline/Execution: The script flows very well with just the right amount of humor. Characters (including the important supporting characters) are multidimensional.
3. Strong supporting cast. The rescue princess group is very entertaining.
-Love seeing Alen Fang playing a flirtatious character rather than the typical serious prince. The character allowed him to showcase his range of acting skills. When he cried, it hit.
-Wang Yi Zhe, the doctor that delivers the one liner at the opportunist time is interesting as well.
-He Lan Dou: The naive princess with the MOST character growth in the drama. She's probably my favorite character.
-Chen You Wei: Such a cute character.
Kudos to the casting & acting!
4. Fight choreography. Superb for actors that are not professionally trained. Superb for Liu Shi Shi who's no longer in her prime. But yes, there's a lot of freeze shots ....
5. Lighting, make up is not crazy pasty makeup in overly dark lit settings.
6. OST - Amazing!
Cinematography is not amazing but good enough. I could use a little less comedic sound effects but all that is minor consider the quality of this drama.
30s episodes in, the drama went into a direction I was NOT hoping for. In too many C-dramas they just kill off all the characters and call it a day (probably they got tired of writing) I get it, much of the drama is about sacrificing for the greater good. When will script writers learn that there's a 1000 other ways to end the drama....
Even though ending sucked to me I still think it's an exceptional drama and worth rewatching until the leads got together.
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Character set up to fail
First impression: Ep 1-2 Proper set up, good production quality. Intro music hits. ML: Wang Xing Yue solid choice for this kind of drama. Mystery murders hook the audience in especially for the ones that love ancient detective type of dramas.Ep 3: FL's behavior is illogical (spoiler section). Huge red flag to lazy writing. Not sure if her acting works for this role. Most of the time she sounds like she's just reciting lines with the same stare. Maybe her acting works for modern youth dramas, but this character requires more complex emotions. Her line delivery dubbed or not doesn't hit.
Ignoring FL's character setup this drama is quite enjoyable. The slow burn serial killing cases being the highlight along with the ML. Pacing is good in the earlier episodes but then the story progression into the mystery lost its way to the point where I just need this Yesha to show up and end it.
***Spoiler ep 3***
Standard bad C-drama writing:
She supposed to be smart and even with evidence, girl stabs ML, makes him take a pill....
"Accident" poison pill, which I can't even with that...
Fire burns, ML has to princess carry her out w/o any internal energy. Scene right after she walks w/o a limp.
I am sure there will be more crappy logic to come but I am just going to put all that aside and focus on the positives.
Sadly, the ending crash and burned for me. Should've drop it when the red thread killing spree ended....
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Thrilling all the way
If you love crime solving mysteries this would be very enjoyable. The story involves the tragic death of a beautiful girl who's life was already miserable. It will hit home with many of us who grew up under these unhealthy cultural norms. It will hit home when the victim's parents yelled out "I gave you life!" Therefore that gift of life justifies controlling the kid's every decision in life ultimately leading to her death. The toxic love that prior generation can't see as an issue until it's too late.As the story continues it also focuses on the FL cop marriage struggles. Her inability to separate her job from her husband. Her mental state deteriorated as the case continued to the point of ruining her relationship with a perfect husband. Although the story ended on a high note, it was frustrating watching that relationship breakdown.
What I loved:
1. Cast. Every actor played their character well. This is the first time I've watched Song Jia (FL)'s work and she's amazing in this role.
Wang Yang - He's been one of my favorite veteran actor.
Hou Wen Yuan (supporting cop) - Hope I see him in more roles in the future
2. Overall story. Satisfying ending with many love & love to hate characters
3. Pacing of the story was very good. I like that the case had few twist and turns but not excessive.
4. Dialogue - Mature, insightful, relatable
Only dislike:
1. FL went overboard IMO by ep 12
It would be cool to see future dramas based off on this FL.
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ML Lipstick ultra Fail
I can't believe so many good reviews for this. The story is nothing new which means script needs:1. ML & FL Chemistry which none that I could feel. I've enjoyed both of the leads in other dramas but this pairing didn't work for me at all
2. Dynamic characters with witty dialogue and..... Lead characters were flat.
3. Great supporting characters, they had potential but not a lot of time were spent on them
Too many scenes with major lipstick fail on the ML. One restaurant scene his lip liner was 5 shades off from his spotty lipstick. It was just all too distracting. Other scenes his lipstick was heavier than the FL. Maybe it should've been a lipstick commercial instead.
Only character that stood out was the Lee Jae Woon, the rich friend and of course ALL other supporting characters were more interesting than the Main couple.
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Typical revenge drama but very enjoyable!
The recycled revenge drama script continues to be the trend. It's one of the better ones though at as the production quality is very nice. It gives off a darker vibe with vibrant colors. Make up / costume design especially unique. Lots more dark reds right down to the makeup & wardrobe of the ML. Compared to a similar drama like Story of Kunning Palace I think this drama did a better job in terms of storytelling, casting, & production. So even if the script is nothing new, and lots of unbelievable scenes, it's still a great watch!FL/ML pairing works nicely IMO. Both are equally mysterious and calculating. The acting's convincing especially the FL's crying scenes.
FL : I am not familiar with her prior works, but dancer background brings that special grace that non dancer background actors can't fake.
ML: I watched some of his prior works and he can act but in terms of characters, this character is the most interesting thus far
Killer Ex husband: His acting is outstanding. Character is more complex than the ML.
Slow romance:
Their encounters were not overly forced, and the development of the relationship is slowly brewing which I am enjoying. Ep 9 on the leads finally starts to have more interactions. The chemistry becomes more evident in ep 11!
Ending..... UGHHHH honestly the last episode was NOT needed. Did they REALLY need to send ML away for yet another battle? Really could've ended before that.
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Love is a repetitive script
Watch if you love the leads as they are both big stars but literally its the same script over and over again. If the story , dialogue is good then a repetitive script with typical otp cliches can be done right. This is not that. Not only that the story was pretty much done for by ep 30 but they dragged it out by another 6.Cliche story goes:
1. A boy who likes a girl in secret ever since a million years ago and never had any other love interest
2. The boy orders the girl around but is secretly helping her
3. Girl is COMPLETELY ignorant and cannot see he's helping her but thinks he's a bully instead
4. Girl is supposedly smart but yet let every one boss her around
5. Mean girl who can't get a clue or won't give up even after the leads got together
6. 2nd Lead who never had a chance but yet won't give up
7. 2nd Lead's confession is 20 ep too late? why not what? and of course the girl had no clue
Supporting couple not strong as well.
Few fun moments but majority is rather dull so if you are a fan of the leads then you might like it. Else skip for a better cliche love scripts that's done right.
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Disappointing script
I love the leads in many of their roles, so I was excited to see the pairing in this promising drama.No fault to the acting but the script is too absurd.
Matched up with some overly annoying support characters like the Madam Yoo , the ex wife of ML, the Mother of 2nd ML, Female office worker.... it was really hard to watch.
The plot of raising an orphan child bride just served no purpose.
Then pops in the ex wife adding to the annoyingness of the whole story
The few parts I did enjoy:
ML's character in general. His awkwardness and comments in the beginning episodes were hilarious. The more awkward he got the more FL finds him cute.
Gay roommate/BFF/BF/Husband. His character is the most lovable.
Pretty much those are the only factors why I continued with the drama.
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Can't escape the typical drama trope
I am sure every XZ fan has been waiting for this highly anticipated drama.This is a big production so definitely some beautiful costumes, sets & cinematography (i.e ep 1 with the dessert)
XZ visuals .... I mean probably the most important reason why I can't drop this drama. It is a shame that they used too much orange tone on his face. Some scenes the lighting makes both his cheeks and eye lids super ORANGE which is completely distracting.
Good supporting cast overall with many familiar faces. I particularly like Zhi Yuan's character, a worthy 2nd lead.
FL .... This is a tough one as I never felt any female lead in his past works ever matched him equal level. Zhao Lusi (in Oh! My Emperor) was pretty good but XZ was the 2nd lead there. Wu Xuan Yi (in Douluo Continent) came very close but I am still waiting for that perfect pairing.
It doesn't help that Ren Min's character falls into that typical drama trope FL (which is not the actress fault). The character never really matured. She's did a decent job but I just don't see the chemistry. She's cute in her own way but not FL worthy.
Ep 31 in that's when the drama gets into the ridiculous misunderstandings followed by a hot mess of an ending:
-Multiple resurrections & death
-Multiple memory loss
-Multiple soul possessions
Sadly this will be a just another ok watch that's completely forgettable.
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Started out strong, downhill ep 12 on
The moment she left the train, all logic lost.The story started out fun & interesting, so I thought it was going to be as strong as the drama "Extraordinary you."
Favorite aspects of this drama:
-ML Byeon Woo Seok did an amazing job and surprised me with that singing voice.
-FL Kim Hye Yoon always does a great job with these kinds of roles.
-The pairing is super cute, great chemistry
Not so great....
-Weak supporting characters & stories.
-Pacing started to slow down midway, and the constant crying scenes got repetitive. Nowadays the most annoying trend is for dramas to replay scenes that JUST happened 10 seconds ago as if viewers need a reminder.
-Ep 12 on the script went south as the FL made illogical decisions. And if you just go with those decisions she comes back to current time, shouldn't she try to find the SAME one-dimensional suspect? Girl has a cop friend/2wk ex/15 yrs 2nd lead she can ask..... Running away from the killer situation is not really fixing the source of the problem.
Downfall of many fluffy romances with strong beginning is the sloppy writing at the end.
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Ruined Potential
I was excited to see Ryan Cheng in a ML role since (A Familiar Stranger) but this is just not it.Classic cringe bad C drama writing:
-Not even 1 ep to set up character's background to establish some kind of emotional connection
-FL being blind randomly gets saved by the ML. I mean why is he even there? Should at least be logical.
-FL not convincing as a male which I never expect looks wise, but if you compare Yang Zi (in Lost Forever) as a male, the way she walked, talked she was very convincing. Or Zhang Ya Qin in Love in Between, that legit is actually caring about the character trying to pass as a guy. Nothing like FL here fluttering her eyes at the ML before the big reveal.
17 ep in:
-No chemistry between the leads IMO (Although I do think the leads can act given a good script)
-No strong interesting supporting cast stories
-Jokes don't hit and often awkward
Potential lost.
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Crash course in proper casting
Honestly I don't understand why the rating is so high for this drama. There are 2 major issues that killed the drama for me.1. Proper casting complete fail
Really no offense to the FL as I've seen her other works, however this is all about age appropriate casting based on the character. Lets say FL's character was around ~22 years old & ~13 years later she should at MOST be in the late 30s. FL actress is 50 and definitely looks older than her age. Literally ALL the other moms looked younger than her. So when there are comments like "Oh she looks too young to be a mom." .... umm she can be grandma status. Needless to say there was zero chemistry between the leads. Scenes were cringe worthy....
2. For a drama that was promoted as a romantic comedy it turned into a dark theme with murder suicide? Whole story line felt forced but predicable.
The only reason I continued is because of the strong student cast and some more interesting characters like Chi Yeol's scretary, the Detective & FL's bestie. This story line would've been better if it was more of a school series like Solomon's Perjury. It's already got the beautiful young talented actors in all the classic student roles. So if you skip literally all the ML/FL's scenes, this drama will be actually enjoyable.
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ML's character officially killed the drama 7 ep in
FL actress is quite good and the storyline started out interesting. There's mystery of why she went into another world or did she? Going from highly privileged life to a girl with nothing. Her character is believable. I like the transferable skillset from her art major to hair and makeup is not so farfetched. She shows how resilient she is proving herself over and over again.The ML's character initially is quite likeable. He's caring and helping her to survive in an unfamiliar environment.
However 7 ep in how the ML acted is so irrational making you think who write's this crap? That neck choke was way out of left field. It's not like she wants to stay here. Why go crazy serial killer on her? Doesn't help the ML isn't a great actor either. He's pretty much unwatchable after that.
I continued watching for the FL. Her emotions are on point and hits so I can see why she is such an upcoming actress. Her crying scenes are superb!
The story developed in a complete direction without things making much sense. Rushed ending to explain what happened and amend all relationships in one episode.....
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