Loved it, but lots of missed potential!
It started out really well, but the characters got progressively dumber. Or rather once the plot veered too far away from the original novel's plot, the screenwriters couldn't figure out how to keep things moving without forcing the characters to make really obvious mistakes which were completely inconsistent with their character settings. Plus the ending was a hot mess, but it wasn't actually any worse than the original novel, so can't complain about that.Also I wish they had done a better job with post production. The sound editing for Ling Jiushi's dialogues sounded like it was meant for an animated series rather than live action. I know most Chinese dramas use voice actors, but somehow it just too obvious here.
But honestly, even with all the flaws, the series is definitely worth watching. It was fast paced, with no boring parts. I binged watched all the episodes within 4 days. Every character was well developed, even the cannon fodder. Ruan Lanzhu's portrayal was brilliant. I was expecting to be disappointed because it seems like such a difficult role to play in live action but the actor managed to portray the core of the character really well, even with all the changes made to make it less BL.
Was this review helpful to you?
