Celebrity 
This review may contain spoilers
Great until the last 6 episodes completely ruined it
This series was one I locked onto the moment I saw the leads. Revenge stories are one of my favorite genres in Chinese dramas, so there was no way I was going to miss this one. In the early to mid parts, the ratings on this site were looking solid, which made the wait for the ending almost unbearable. But once it got closer to the finale, the scores dropped sharply, leaving me wondering what on earth happened. After finishing it, I completely understood why the ratings tanked so hard.
The series starts off interesting and the middle is intense. The male lead Yan Rui is a character who’s smart, capable, doesn’t care about anyone, larger-than-life, and intimidating—everyone fears him. The female lead Qing Yuan is intelligent and excellent at planning, but in the later parts she ends up having to wait for the male lead to save her far too often, even though she was strong in the beginning. Xu Kai in this role is the most interesting thing about the whole series and the main reason it still has some entertainment value. He clearly differentiates the dual personas and radiates presence every time he appears. Zhou Ye’s performance, for me, felt a bit ordinary. I like her eyes, but sometimes her acting comes across as a little stiff. The chemistry between the two of them is good—I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the moments when they were together and working as a team. The cinematography, costumes, and production are beautiful. But as many people have said, the last 6 episodes are really bad. The male lead who I said was what made the show fun almost completely disappears from the story. Everything becomes way too easy.
The thing I disliked the most is Qing Ru. How does she get a Happy ending with a personality that terrible? She never shows any remorse or learns any lesson by the end. Qing Rong at least gets a redemption arc and turns over a new leaf. Qing He is a good person who was suppressed the entire time yet still doesn’t end up with a life as good as hers. I genuinely don’t understand why Qing Ru, who used to bully others, ends up with the best life in the story.
Overall, it’s a series that’s fun from the beginning through the middle. The leads have good chemistry, the supporting cast is solid, and the visuals, costumes, and production are beautiful. But those last 6 episodes are so bad that it left me feeling like I might as well not have watched it at all.
The series starts off interesting and the middle is intense. The male lead Yan Rui is a character who’s smart, capable, doesn’t care about anyone, larger-than-life, and intimidating—everyone fears him. The female lead Qing Yuan is intelligent and excellent at planning, but in the later parts she ends up having to wait for the male lead to save her far too often, even though she was strong in the beginning. Xu Kai in this role is the most interesting thing about the whole series and the main reason it still has some entertainment value. He clearly differentiates the dual personas and radiates presence every time he appears. Zhou Ye’s performance, for me, felt a bit ordinary. I like her eyes, but sometimes her acting comes across as a little stiff. The chemistry between the two of them is good—I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the moments when they were together and working as a team. The cinematography, costumes, and production are beautiful. But as many people have said, the last 6 episodes are really bad. The male lead who I said was what made the show fun almost completely disappears from the story. Everything becomes way too easy.
The thing I disliked the most is Qing Ru. How does she get a Happy ending with a personality that terrible? She never shows any remorse or learns any lesson by the end. Qing Rong at least gets a redemption arc and turns over a new leaf. Qing He is a good person who was suppressed the entire time yet still doesn’t end up with a life as good as hers. I genuinely don’t understand why Qing Ru, who used to bully others, ends up with the best life in the story.
Overall, it’s a series that’s fun from the beginning through the middle. The leads have good chemistry, the supporting cast is solid, and the visuals, costumes, and production are beautiful. But those last 6 episodes are so bad that it left me feeling like I might as well not have watched it at all.
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