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A GAME OF CHESS
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗗
✅ Production quality
✅ Directing
✅ Acting
✅ Plot
✅ Dark/Serious atmosphere - No comedic elements
✅ The emperor: Finally an emperor that is actually capable and not a puppet like usual or just there for decor
✅ Suspenseful, super entertaining and also quite ''poetic'' from beginning to end
✅ It was the perfect amount of episodes
✅ The strategies of the characters A+
✅ Great ending
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥
❎ There are some typical ''supernatural'' Chinese medicine things, but honestly wasn't that bothered
❎ Fight scenes were generally good, but sometimes when way too many people were fighting one person, we had the usual "You could have killed him while his back was turned" problem.
❌ I will pretend that last scene in the special didn't exist
❌ Plot armor of the ML that could be avoided in one simple move
❌ Some slight editing problems
𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘/𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗜 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗:
👏 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒
There is no sugar-coating and characters being saved just because they have an important role in the series. A mistake can kill anyone no matter who they are.
👏 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
In most series you know from the get go which characters will play an important part, which ones will die, which ones will stay alive till the end. Here 😂😂😂
You see someone that feels like a main character? Dies next second. That was the magic of this series. Nowadays, everything feels way too predictable. But here, you couldn't tell who will be next.
👏 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃-𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒
There are no kind-hearted characters and no pure villains here. All of the characters are calculative, cold blooded and smart and they have their own stories to tell. They are important in their own ways and all are equally vulnerable and also powerful.
👏 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐒
Huaian may be the ML, but he doesn't feel omnipotent, cause everyone around him, the people he is trying to kill, are equally smart and dangerous, something that I rarely see in dramas.
Most of the times in works like this, we have the super important main character, a couple of villains that many times are not even that powerful and everyone else is just there to play a minor part in the main character's plan.
Here most of the characters are important in their own ways. I am not sure how to explain this, but all characters feel like mains even if they barely have any screentime. They are all part of a chessboard, where any move can be fatal and no win is gained without sacrifice.
👏 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄
Huaian is a ruthless character that is not scared to stain his hands with blood to achieve his goals and that is one of the main reasons why this series stands out for me. He doesn't hesitate. He knows how to take advantage of people and control them. I like that he is not portrayed as a hero, but as someone who lost way too much and is about to make others go through the same pain and even worse.
✅ Production quality
✅ Directing
✅ Acting
✅ Plot
✅ Dark/Serious atmosphere - No comedic elements
✅ The emperor: Finally an emperor that is actually capable and not a puppet like usual or just there for decor
✅ Suspenseful, super entertaining and also quite ''poetic'' from beginning to end
✅ It was the perfect amount of episodes
✅ The strategies of the characters A+
✅ Great ending
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥
❎ There are some typical ''supernatural'' Chinese medicine things, but honestly wasn't that bothered
❎ Fight scenes were generally good, but sometimes when way too many people were fighting one person, we had the usual "You could have killed him while his back was turned" problem.
❌ I will pretend that last scene in the special didn't exist
❌ Plot armor of the ML that could be avoided in one simple move
❌ Some slight editing problems
𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘/𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗜 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗:
👏 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒
There is no sugar-coating and characters being saved just because they have an important role in the series. A mistake can kill anyone no matter who they are.
👏 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
In most series you know from the get go which characters will play an important part, which ones will die, which ones will stay alive till the end. Here 😂😂😂
You see someone that feels like a main character? Dies next second. That was the magic of this series. Nowadays, everything feels way too predictable. But here, you couldn't tell who will be next.
👏 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃-𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒
There are no kind-hearted characters and no pure villains here. All of the characters are calculative, cold blooded and smart and they have their own stories to tell. They are important in their own ways and all are equally vulnerable and also powerful.
👏 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐒
Huaian may be the ML, but he doesn't feel omnipotent, cause everyone around him, the people he is trying to kill, are equally smart and dangerous, something that I rarely see in dramas.
Most of the times in works like this, we have the super important main character, a couple of villains that many times are not even that powerful and everyone else is just there to play a minor part in the main character's plan.
Here most of the characters are important in their own ways. I am not sure how to explain this, but all characters feel like mains even if they barely have any screentime. They are all part of a chessboard, where any move can be fatal and no win is gained without sacrifice.
👏 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄
Huaian is a ruthless character that is not scared to stain his hands with blood to achieve his goals and that is one of the main reasons why this series stands out for me. He doesn't hesitate. He knows how to take advantage of people and control them. I like that he is not portrayed as a hero, but as someone who lost way too much and is about to make others go through the same pain and even worse.
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