This review may contain spoilers
Fair drama but fails to deliver truly morally grey characters
This drama is fair, I really liked the first half with how the tension was set, the political plot, the romances had real potential too.
But I was disappointed on the second half (I will say around what happened to the Shousa's Emperor) : amnesia plot was unnecessary, multiple sub-plot that held no purpose for the main plot, some characters weren't explored like they should've been.
The main issue with the 2nd half is that instead of fleshing out characters, make them confront the MCs and this have real consequence on how they see things around them, the writers just made the villains even more bad. For me it's just lazy writing with the purpose of always making the MCs more pitiful and make them win even if the one against them have a point. Because of that, the empathy you feel for the MCs grow thin and you just start feeling more empathy for their enemies.
I still think this drama is enjoyable enough to go through the end, acting and OST were top too, but is it the best I've seen this year ? I don't think so
More detailed thoughts about the drama (Made some modifications on 31/10, 21h29) ⤵️
-1st Half :
The setting of 2 enemies was good for 3 first episodes : they were really hating each other but everything fell apart too quickly, Feng Suige's character actually became too soft.
I loved the impression he was giving in first 3 ep : ruthless, cunning, not bending, ambitious. He really had an aura befitting of a prince but gradually he became soft and gentle, maybe I mischaracterised him but I would've loved to see him more ambitious. Not in the bad way, but I just found his wish to not become a Crown Prince/Emperor stupid and disappointing : I just felt he wanted to against his father's wish while he should've just considered the interest of his kingdom for this action to be good.
Concerning Fu Yixiao, I know they wanted to set up some tension but I found it very stupid of her to always draw knife on Suige's neck. But after some point she showed she was smart and it was cool to see that.
The romance was good without being the best I've seen, it was comforting to see them found someone to rely on but it'll be a lie to say I was moved to death by their relationship.
- 2nd Half : It was boring, fill of nonsense, some of them were acting out-of-character.
The story line with Xiyang, Xia Jingshi and Xia Jingyan was one of the biggest flaw for me. I can't accept the writers giving to Xia Jingyan a "redemption arc" where suddenly we should feel for me or whatever. And it makes even less sense when Xia Jingshi was here, he should've been the one the story focused on.
Besides it was really upsetting to see XJS stuck on his obsession for Yixiao when it's would've made so much sense to make him fall in love with the Princess to spark more complex feelings in him. His relationship with Xiyang was the main reason I decided to like him.
I don't know if it was the writers or the actor who messed up but XJS was clearly shown concerned about her and sometimes even caring. The bond with Yixiao was never really deepened, so it was reasonable to think they wanted to redeem him at some point and develop a relationship with Xiyang, but it never happened.
Even outside this relationship, I thought the writers wanted to make XJS a complex character torn between good and bad but they actually didn't manage to move him beyond a one dimensional personality revolving around Yixiao.
Instead, his character was too inconsistent : one time he's a very bad person, the next he's shown to be actually caring towards his people ; one time he's cunning and very calm, the next he's obsessed to the point of throwing away everything he worked for.
At some point, it felt they didn't know what to do with XJS, and it showed. This is my main disappointment about this drama and it's a shame because he had real potential to became one of my favourite character.
Princess Xiyang was also an another bad point. Why should she be depict as the victim in her story with XJS ? The only good thing he did in the whole story was to actually not toy with her feelings. He was very honest to her from the start and held this position till the end (much to my regret) but she has still chosen to follow him at any cost. So it was annoying to see her throw a tantrum when she made her own choice. Instead of whining about XJS being cruel and transforming her obsession in a misplaced hate, she should've reflected and grow.
The other biggest flaw for me is the constant victimisation of the MCs. It became just exhausting to watch betrayal after betrayal only directed at them. At some point I got frustrated : why are they the only one we should be sorry for ? We saw multiple characters (XJS, Murong Yao & his father....) who also suffered injustices, yet the moral that comes out of it "endure the pain and don't fight back unless you're the MC".
The point isn’t to justify the antagonists' actions, but to show how the narrative never uses the multiple conflicts to make the protagonists grow or reconsider their own sense of justice.
A striking example of that is Murong Yao's story : Murong Yao's revenge against Suige was surely misplaced but did we ever see Suige questioning his father's decision, or the reasons behind it ? Not once, he only cried about how he felt. But honestly, why should his feelings matter more than Murong Yao’s from the viewer’s point of view ?
They tried to create complex characters but they seem to have failed, at the end only the MC’s sense of morality is validated. Their moral compass is never challenged. They listen to other people’s stories, yet they never genuinely try to understand or question their own beliefs but isn't that the purpose of creating complex character? Otherwise, we’re just left with the same old good vs evil dynamic.
In conclusion, this drama is still watchable but it's upsetting because I don't think the plot was written at his full potential.
But I was disappointed on the second half (I will say around what happened to the Shousa's Emperor) : amnesia plot was unnecessary, multiple sub-plot that held no purpose for the main plot, some characters weren't explored like they should've been.
The main issue with the 2nd half is that instead of fleshing out characters, make them confront the MCs and this have real consequence on how they see things around them, the writers just made the villains even more bad. For me it's just lazy writing with the purpose of always making the MCs more pitiful and make them win even if the one against them have a point. Because of that, the empathy you feel for the MCs grow thin and you just start feeling more empathy for their enemies.
I still think this drama is enjoyable enough to go through the end, acting and OST were top too, but is it the best I've seen this year ? I don't think so
More detailed thoughts about the drama (Made some modifications on 31/10, 21h29) ⤵️
-1st Half :
The setting of 2 enemies was good for 3 first episodes : they were really hating each other but everything fell apart too quickly, Feng Suige's character actually became too soft.
I loved the impression he was giving in first 3 ep : ruthless, cunning, not bending, ambitious. He really had an aura befitting of a prince but gradually he became soft and gentle, maybe I mischaracterised him but I would've loved to see him more ambitious. Not in the bad way, but I just found his wish to not become a Crown Prince/Emperor stupid and disappointing : I just felt he wanted to against his father's wish while he should've just considered the interest of his kingdom for this action to be good.
Concerning Fu Yixiao, I know they wanted to set up some tension but I found it very stupid of her to always draw knife on Suige's neck. But after some point she showed she was smart and it was cool to see that.
The romance was good without being the best I've seen, it was comforting to see them found someone to rely on but it'll be a lie to say I was moved to death by their relationship.
- 2nd Half : It was boring, fill of nonsense, some of them were acting out-of-character.
The story line with Xiyang, Xia Jingshi and Xia Jingyan was one of the biggest flaw for me. I can't accept the writers giving to Xia Jingyan a "redemption arc" where suddenly we should feel for me or whatever. And it makes even less sense when Xia Jingshi was here, he should've been the one the story focused on.
Besides it was really upsetting to see XJS stuck on his obsession for Yixiao when it's would've made so much sense to make him fall in love with the Princess to spark more complex feelings in him. His relationship with Xiyang was the main reason I decided to like him.
I don't know if it was the writers or the actor who messed up but XJS was clearly shown concerned about her and sometimes even caring. The bond with Yixiao was never really deepened, so it was reasonable to think they wanted to redeem him at some point and develop a relationship with Xiyang, but it never happened.
Even outside this relationship, I thought the writers wanted to make XJS a complex character torn between good and bad but they actually didn't manage to move him beyond a one dimensional personality revolving around Yixiao.
Instead, his character was too inconsistent : one time he's a very bad person, the next he's shown to be actually caring towards his people ; one time he's cunning and very calm, the next he's obsessed to the point of throwing away everything he worked for.
At some point, it felt they didn't know what to do with XJS, and it showed. This is my main disappointment about this drama and it's a shame because he had real potential to became one of my favourite character.
Princess Xiyang was also an another bad point. Why should she be depict as the victim in her story with XJS ? The only good thing he did in the whole story was to actually not toy with her feelings. He was very honest to her from the start and held this position till the end (much to my regret) but she has still chosen to follow him at any cost. So it was annoying to see her throw a tantrum when she made her own choice. Instead of whining about XJS being cruel and transforming her obsession in a misplaced hate, she should've reflected and grow.
The other biggest flaw for me is the constant victimisation of the MCs. It became just exhausting to watch betrayal after betrayal only directed at them. At some point I got frustrated : why are they the only one we should be sorry for ? We saw multiple characters (XJS, Murong Yao & his father....) who also suffered injustices, yet the moral that comes out of it "endure the pain and don't fight back unless you're the MC".
The point isn’t to justify the antagonists' actions, but to show how the narrative never uses the multiple conflicts to make the protagonists grow or reconsider their own sense of justice.
A striking example of that is Murong Yao's story : Murong Yao's revenge against Suige was surely misplaced but did we ever see Suige questioning his father's decision, or the reasons behind it ? Not once, he only cried about how he felt. But honestly, why should his feelings matter more than Murong Yao’s from the viewer’s point of view ?
They tried to create complex characters but they seem to have failed, at the end only the MC’s sense of morality is validated. Their moral compass is never challenged. They listen to other people’s stories, yet they never genuinely try to understand or question their own beliefs but isn't that the purpose of creating complex character? Otherwise, we’re just left with the same old good vs evil dynamic.
In conclusion, this drama is still watchable but it's upsetting because I don't think the plot was written at his full potential.
Was this review helpful to you?
