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Toxicity taken to the next level
First of all, I am definitely not dropping this one cuz everything about the ML infuriates me!!!!(and I wanna know how it ends...)Also, Youku is on a roll this year...!!! I mean- most dramas that have been released this year are from Youku, and all of them are are somewhat successful!!!
But back to the drama(10 eps in)- the story is not anything new, though, it is a bit more racy than most chinese dramas.
Just to be clear, (right now) this is not a romantic drama- athough it certainly has mildly sexual content. It depicts a "relationship" between an abuser(ML) and his victim(FL) and illustrates the ways he uses to emotionally and physically abuse her. In my humble opinion, the ML has no redeeming qualities whatsoever- he acts as if his behavior is justified, since he has suffered a trauma in the past ,so that later on, when there is a 180 degrees change in his personality(i guess, I am only halfway through) and he is suddenly nice and sweet, we forgive him- I certainly won't.
Believe it or not, so far, the FL in here is not being overly annoying, stupid or dramatic- that is hard to find these days.
I do care about the characters- I despise the ML from the bottom of my heart, pity the FL- that is probably a sign that the acting is good.
In fact, it's more than great, especially for a short-length drama(sld). Moreover, the cinematography/good production value were another aspects of this drama that surprised me-in a good way. I am so happy that "I don't know who" decided to invest more money in sl dramas so that quality wise, they are on par with the better ones of normal-length dramas. If only it had more episodes coming up!!!
Unpopular opinion (don't hate me, pls): It's not like this drama is a masterpiece, but I was more immersed in this drama + the acting here was more convincing than in some other popular dramas airing right now *cough*...back from the brink..* cough*
Overall, it might be one of the best short-length dramas. I was pleasantly surprised by the cinematography and the acting, but I deducted 2.5 stars because honestly, I think it is irresponsible to release a drama with such a toxic message/plot.
I know that won't be the case, but I still hope that in the end, FL teaches ML a lesson and gets as far away from him as possible.
edit ep 11- the story got a bit more bearable, it is already in the phase where the FL is not a prisoner anymore but is clearly suffering from stockholm syndrome ...
edit after watching all episodes- the plot evolved the way I expected it to, which is kinda disappointing because that man is a monster no matter how heartwrenching lines he says and how sweet he could be at times- he doesn't deserve her. But at least he was depicted as unlikeable throughout (nearly)the whole drama,
I thought when they broke up the first time that that would be it but no they went on and off again .
If that last scene was cut out that would have been the perfect ending for me- well it seemed more logical to me to end it like that .
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a c-drama that ticks all the boxes
I recently rewatched this drama after a year or so and unexpectedly, I still feel the same way about it. I am not gonna bore you with a lengthy essay -here are the things I liked and disliked:
What I liked
→ they changed the setting quite a few times for such a short drama (I mean all the different storybook worlds)
→ it had the right amount of nearly everything : romance, fantasy, a bit of action, comedy, and mystery+ drama
→the fast pacing of the story i.e. the story was not dragging
→ likeable main leads- believe it or not the FL wasn't treated like a rag doll
→ I appreciated that the story revolved around the main couple alone and there were no side characters that stole the spotlight
→ the ending was satisfying (though still predictable)
→ they did not rely on CGI much and that way prevented the drama from looking too cheap
What I didn't like that much
→ maybe too few episodes
→ it was perhaps too simple of a storyline for my taste (no actual development in any sense )
→ it had one of the most annoying tropes (you' ll get what I mean when you watch it- let's just say I am not a fan of " fate brought us together...")
→ the insta love or should I say " from not so friedly strangers to lovers in a couple of days" trope
Overall, this drama definitelly deserves more hype. The production quality was surprisingly good- with so few views on yt, I originally thought this was gonna be one of those "strikingly low budget" dramas that look like the cameramen would get a better shot using an iphone camera. Yes, it is not super complex(because it has 12 ep),however, is one of the few dramas that do not have scenes that make you cringe, feature a relatively healthy relationship, have a bit of every genre, and have you eagerly waiting for what is going to happen in the next episode- it was a pleasant surprise . Give it a try!!!
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When bad writing brings the doormat
The drama started pretty well: though overall mediocre with countless plotholes, inconsistent characters, and failed attempts at comedy, it was still so addictive that I was able to look past all these shortcomings and enjoy the show... that is up until the episodes 15-17 when I realized that the relationship bettween the leads was VERY unsettling.
If you compare the characters in ep 1 vs 17, you realize it is not a character development that that main couple goes through, more like a change of personality.
First of all, the female lead is not leading anything, she is basically a doormat being dragged around by the ML. She is supposed to be a modern-day working woman, but in a span of a few episodes ,behavior wise, changes into to a simping teenager. As a character she is flat and boring- she has no wit, no achivements, no interesting past, no hobbies (sleeping doesn't count)- She is just that generic "good person". The screenwriters even make a desperate attempt to make her have some goals and it is mentioned that what she wants in her life the most is to live comfortably, but that is not anything specific to you, girl, you just described what everyone wants in their life!!!
As any other "weak " woman she needs to be constantly saved by the ML, so many times that it becomes annoying. We are being constantly reminded how she is the powerless one compared to the ML and the one time she saves his life is by doing a kind of a romantic/sexual favour- so basically it is implied that only romantic love can save him and he would be screwed if there was anyone else around wanting to save him. Additionally, the scene itself is so underwhelming and awkward, as saving his life doesn't cost her ANYTHING, there is no price to be paid (and there should be) and it just serves for the two of them to get together. Then it gets even more disturbing when they (let's not forget they are STRANGERS who have known each other for just a few moths) have basically invaded each other soul manner, which is said directly in the drama to be the MOST PRIVATE PART of your existence where NO ONE should be allowed and even couples in the cultivation world do not let each other in as it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and this stupid girl instead of panicking or being concerned that she did this with the ML, who she only a few weeks before feared would killl her, starts thinking : it didn't kill us doing it, so it must be true love, and I was like eww,eww,eww, are your really that stupid girl, use your brain and RUN AWAY. Because let's be honest it is just lust at this point that she feels, and it is revolting how something like this is served to the audience as "love".
On the other hand, the ML is a patchwork of all the typical "cold male lead" traits, so therefore, he is full of contradictions. We are told that (except for his mother he has never met) NO ONE around him has ever sincerely loved him , or even liked him, he spent most of his life locked away alone because of some assholes, so one would say he must be deeply traumatized and have a twisted idea about love and affection (or even more logically, since he is full of hatred, he is probably not interested in love or has even a capacity at this point to truly love), yet, in the drama he not only does have it but also knows quite well how to behave in a relationship, how to show affection in the right way, which is just bizzare. You can't give what you don't have or haven't seen how it should look like and therefore, if we have to have him in a relationship, it would make more sense for him to have a bit twisted idea of love, which could be then explained by his past experiences. The second thing is that the "true love between them" heavily relies on the actor's looks/age - if you swapped his face for someone in their 40s - 50s (as his character is over 500 y.o. vs FL in her 20s) there would be no love story. If she really was from the present then I would assume that she would not normally date a guy who could be her dad. Similarly, I don't understand why he would even fall in love with HER, there is nothing that makes her different from others and I believe that if he used his magical powers he would be able to find some other confidant who sincerely has no ill will towards him. If he really went by his character set up in ep 1, the FL lead with her suspicious behavior would be long dead, and we would be spared of this shit show.
But no, we are told that it is destiny for the two of them to be together, which if you ask me is a great set up for domestic abuse later on, but on that some other time.
Overall, their dynamics is just so off and the two of them from the get go assume their respective stereotypical roles where the ML is the strong, cruel one consumed by resentment, determined to get his revenge. But paradoxically, later in the drama, he becomes sweet as a marshmallow and keeps favouring the FL so much (and for no logical reason if you ask me) that if I were one of the characters around her, I would hate her too (because in this drama as in other similar fantasy dramas - if you are with a "strong" man everyone is jealous and after you 🤦🏻♀️ ). She doesn't do anything to make us belive that she deserves to cheat her way in the cultivation world and to achieve (obviously with the help of the ML) just in a few weeks a cultivation which would take other hundreds of years. I can't stand her as she is so unlikable and bland, with no ambition in life (she literally said this about herself) and her only purpose in the story is to care about ML's "feelings" and to be his romantic...,whatever she is.
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