Amarina

Round-Robin Fever Dream

First thing to know about this show is that it watches like a fever dream on drugs. Only a few episodes in and the leading theory I personally had was that the ONLY way this show could have been created was if it was a Round Robin writing experiment. This means that the plot constantly changes as it shifts from one seemly random aspect to another, adding bits of parodies and homages of other works here and there. As such, the drama excels at being:

• Fast paced
• Unpredictable
• A mash-up of genres from comedy to horror to wild-west and dark fantasy
• Full of cliffhangers

The music in this drama was a rollercoaster in itself. One minute your listening to a "definitely not" version of Toxic by Brittany Spears, then you're watching a scene with a country-esque song and later you're listening to lullabies and Christmas jingles. The music is varied and shifts along with the various tones.

Because the premise relies on two parties of the opposite sex of opposite strains of virus forming a Pact, this show is also high on the level of intimacy scenes... definitely more than many shows out there currently, despite leaving the audience asking for 'more'.

If there is an issue with the show from a top down perspective, I feel it's that while there is visible character growth from the Male Lead Xie Xinxu, there isn't really any from the female lead Wu Nongyu. She begins the show with one goal in mind, she ends the show with the same goal in mind, all her steps within her relationship with XXX are stagnant steps that have her dragged along. It's a case of "her mouth says one thing but she constantly does another thing". Later plot developments become inevitable and the ending feels out of character.

Ultimately this was a very fun show where even some of the most random plot points were given answers by the final episode. It had a lot of thought and detail tying it together, but at the same time personal experiences are going to be the ultimate determining factors on how the show is viewed. If someone hates seeing "rough kisses" or "manhandling" for instance, this show won't be for them. If someone identifies more with the FL and her feelings then the ending of the show will work more for them than those who identify more with the ML and his feelings.

Final Rating:
Biased: 9/10
Unbiased: 8/10

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The Sacrifices of Upholding "The People First, The State Second, The Ruler Third"

On surface level this was an achingly beautiful tale about two people trying to do what they felt was best for their country. There is angst and heartbreak and tears and sadness radiating off the screen during the initial episodes.

Su Leyu comes off as an upright and honest woman who will always hold true to her promise to protect the country; even if she can no longer trust the man she once loved. She isn't afraid to play the long game in order to achieve her goals and is often a step ahead of those against her. Her biggest weakness though, is her unshakable loyalty to those she grew up with as she naturally wants to believe that the teachings she internalized from the Empress were also internalized by others.

Yin Changyan has an even heavier burden than his female counterpart. As the Emperor he bears the stigma of how he came into power as well as the teachings of his mother the former Empress. The world is his chessboard and he must delicately balance the pieces so as to not topple the game. Because of this he must often work against his own wishes and interests in order to prioritize his future success.

While the acting, chemistry, costuming and even music are all things that evoke strong visceral reactions, they are let down by the story connecting the plot points together. A 16 episode palace intrigue storyline was always going to be ambitious and here it does fall short. There are plenty of loose threads and hand-wave convient plotploints that are either not explained or inferred to have become known off-screen. The Emperor waltzes around outside the palace often each time he needs to help assist his Consort with an investigation. Characters dissappear from the plot and seem to have zero purpose. Sometimes revelations are made to the viewer only for them to later be found inaccurate despite there being no reason for the misinformation to be given originally. Even the very timeline during which the story takes place appears to not match what is "actually" shown during the episodes; the viewer is told the story takes place over three years and yet the actions don't feel like it and there are no time markers of "1 month later", "4 months later", etc.

So, while the acting and relationship between the leads was gorgeous to watch, the actual palace plot, while "good", needed improvement.

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This Made Me Feel Dumb

It was quite odd. The show had the premise that I usually go for and sounded quite exciting, but once you start actually WATCHING there is just "something" missing making it boring and just "there". In fact, I'm rather certain that within 3 months I won't remember anything about this Mini at all.

The plot about coming back and restarting was complicated by both actors not communicating with each other, despite the ML KNOWING the FL came back since it was obvious to him...

The actual conspiracy about who was the traitor honestly made very little sense to me and the characters did so many things that made NO sense that I could only stretch my disbelief so far.

Personally, I liked the looks of the ML and his height but that's personal preference and not really something to base watching the show strictly on since this isn't a high skinship mini.

Overall, I'm just left scratching my head about the traitor plot and mostly just nodding my head and pretending I understand what's going on. And then the VERY last scene was thrown out and I gave up.

It's not the worst thing I've seen but parts of it really made me not care about finishing it rather than actively hating it.

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Starts As One Type of Show, Morphs Into Another

Four Immortals descend from the Heavenly realm at different times in order to collect a series of artifacts and stop the Heavenly Tribulation once and for all.

The show itself is a glaringly low budget Xanxia all the way through. Bright stage lights, bad make-up, awful wigs and costumes, flat cgi backgrounds, and MUCH more. The beginning of the show though treats all of these aspects as a comedy, having you watch the show knowing just how bad it looks and knowing it is deliberately making light of all these aspects. In this way the show falls into a very niche category of so deliberately bad it's amazingly good.

But then the show continues and with each episode there seems to be less and less deliberate comedy infused until suddenly you're watching a "serious" Xanxia but it's still just as low budget and bad looking. By this point you might find yourself wondering whether it is worth it to continue the show; after all, it still is lacking the emotional depth of the beginning and yet the scenes are calling for an emotional response that doesn't seem to want to come.

I finished the show liking it "okay" enough but with an absolute lack of the enthusiasm I'd had during the initial episodes. Instead, it left me frustrated with how to rate the show as a whole production and wondering if there were multiple writers and/or directors attached to the project.

In the end I would recommend this show for anyone who likes "so bad it's good" productions, light-handed absurdist comedy, BUT ALSO, "generic" angsty Xanxia without comedy. If you go into the show KNOWING that the comedy ends and the generic begins around the halfway/three-quarters point and like both types of shows then this will still be an okay show for you.

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Started Out Strong, Becomes Unintentional Comedy

I knew going in there was no way this was going to be a full red flag drama and also had an "idea" about "a" possible ending so I was essentially going in to this with eyes wide open.

I liked much of the first part for what it was, including the jaunt into the village.

Where it broke down for ME was the seeming plothole 2nd cpl love story (maybe scenes were cut idk) and then the brain melting episodes 24-27. I had to literally force myself NOT to rate the entire show lower than a 5 JUST based on those few episodes alone.

But then they gave us episode 28 and it was hilarious to me. I don't think I was supposed to find it funny but I did...

The final episodes made a run for giving me the title of most inappropriate laughter during a show but whatever, at least I didn't want to actively turn the show off during them.

So what is this show? Who is this show for?

This is a baseline popcorn drams you can watch without paying attention to half of what's going on and still understand. It has a deep message it wants to convey and for those it resonates with it will hit hard... but for the most part everyone else will roll their eyes.

I'm not going to say it's not worth your time to watch it... just be aware of what you're getting before jumping in so you're not disappointed.

Full Episode Rating Breakdown:
Initial Set-up - first 5 eps 10/10
Repairing the screen, the hunt, the village - 6-18 8.5/10
Return and Downfall - 19-23 7.5/10 (mostly for plothole reasons with 2nd Cpl)
Qingzhou 1 - 24-27 2/10 Burn these episodes with fire specifically - I could have sworn this lasted more episodes based on how slow they felt, but nope.
🤣 - 28 8.5/10
Qingzhou 2 - 29-31 7/10 People are introduced JUST to die 🤡 FUN!
Final Episode - 32 8.5/10

Final Rating 7/10

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A Very Western Action Thriller

Sitting down to watch Mobius was both a thrilling experience and a slight headache.

Episode one immediately grabs your attention and locks you in; but at the same time the action sequences make little sense beyond to "look nice" and be "thrilling". Somersaults and sideways jumps with bullets blasting are things one would expect to see in your average popcorn action movie, not quite what you think of in a Chinese Web Drama. The constant switch between "Please turn off your brain" and "Please pay close attention so you can follow the plot" meant I could enjoy the show, but I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head often.

One of the personal negatives that I found was that the audience kept being fed tiny bits of details about various side characters sprinkled among the various time loops, and yet we often still learned nothing concrete. Instead everything felt as though you were sitting at a table next to a table where people you know are talking to other people you don't know and hearing bits and pieces of their conversation but not interacting with them at all, just listening. As such, there may be a few stories they talk about where you know the people and the entire story makes sense, and others where you just have the tiny bits that were mentioned and not elaborated on.

While in the end, the main case is solved, some of the small little issues that crept up did not and were left hanging. While there may have been a small montage of scenes where people are shown as a "what happens after" sort of closure, they rang very hollow based on the multiple details learned in each loop. Two characters aren't even mentioned at ALL in the end, even as a quick camera pan, leaving their fates fully and completely unresolved.

One thing I didn't mind was the slight romance aspect. I picked up on the feelings portion between the two characters at the beginning and then followed along in the montage as working in close proximity allowed them to finally become closer without guilt. During the loop days not a lot of time was spent of romantic pursuits because these days would be forgotten so having deep conversations would be mostly worthless. This didn't stop them from still being able to demonstrate their feelings during these loops, even if no words were actually provided, which was nice. And at least he gives more than a handshake.

Ultimately, by the end I was checking to see how much longer I had left in the last episode. When there were no repercussions for that last loops final days outcome beyond those that resulted in the actual apprehension, I tuned out and put it on 2x speed. The final scene made me want to throw phone.

End of day - it's popcorn, not amazing.

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Intense Political Schemes Amidst A Sweet Enemies to Lovers Romance

This show made me wonder how much better it could have been if made even longer and allowed the leads to ALSO be morally grey.

Positives for me:
• 2 vastly different yet similar countries showcasing palace politics
• The first several episodes show casing a brutal enemies-to-lovers that puts the emphasis on them being from enemy countries having tried to kill eachother.
• Not shying away from blood (no pink and your imagination)
• War and fighting scenes "mostly" feel realistic


Negatives for me:
• Plot threads were dropped and "barely" brought up again
• Several things just had to be "just go with it" while watching
• The ending scene explaining what happened to everyone left a LOT of questions in my head
• Once the leads were TOGETHER they became boring background figures where everything interesting was happening elsewhere while they were being "heart-eyes even in dark days".
• The Storm Alliance could have been fleshed out and actually had something DONE with it but instead it felt like a plot convience they slightly expanded upon to give the leads time each episode.

At the beginning of the show my favorite characters were Fu Yixiao and Feng Suige. By the end, I rolled my eyes every time these perfect people were on my screen and my favorite characters were Feng Xiyeng and Xia Jingyan.

Perhaps some of my distaste for the romance of the leads came from the production repeating their songs over and over and over again. I wasn't feeling hearts, or butterflies or tension but instead thinking "really"? The song for the Princess was also repeated A LOT and may have the same effect for other people but it honestly almost came across as an irony when it came on for her each time something bad would happen and tears would well in her eyes so I didn't really mind it as much.

The side characters were interesting but I felt they could have been fleshed out MORE in order to give them a deeper motive. For instance we never quite learn "exactly" what some of the actions people take were supposed to achieve...
• Why did the "masked man" meet up with "person from Jinxiu"? What did the masked man ACTUALLY gain from it?
• Why were there camps in Susha?
• WHY attack the Storm Alliance back then and how was this place SUCH a secret?
(I could go on but that would require spoilers even posing the questions...)


Ultimately I liked the show a lot but it REALLY made me wistful for a thought on what it might have been able to be if made a bit longer and to have allowed the leads to also be grey characters.

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The Definition of "Tolerable"

With a mix of multiple tropes from various big name Xianxia-type shows, this show manages to be "watchable".

There are absolutely periods of time where the level of investment was higher but then the story would shift focus again and go in another direction. If there were anything positive to say about doing this with so many IP homages, it's that there was a level of not 'quite' knowing where the story would go next in a definite sense.

Watching this with bullet comments enabled does add a level of humor to the show as people who have already watched point out JUST how wet and/or greasy the MLs wig looks, and JUST how much the script reminds them of a Wattspad fanfiction written by a teenager.

The acting goes from not bad and actually sort of good, to 'Please close your mouth when you're not talking'. Personally I found the chemistry lacking for much of the show until the last life.

By and large I felt little with each life's death as it was a "rinse and repeat" story plotline delivered with no emotional buildup. If you know that the cycle repeats, basically per episode at one point, why should the audience care?

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Does Stunning Cinematography Excuse Weak Story Development

What this drama showcases best is a stone-cold FL willing to use anything and anyone to her advantage in order to achieve her revenge for the past.

What this drama does poorly is provide a ML with any defining characteristics or a romance that makes you feel invested.

Rather than a strict romance it is a revenge melodrama where every detail is only surface level and you're left to try and piece together a coherent plot behind the pretty cinematography. Things as simple as how the baby was explained to the ML are left unanswered. Details about the 2FL and her Eunuch are swept aside and only explained in the very last episodes. At no time did it ever feel like the ML and FL were a true "couple", even to the very end; rather there was a feeling of "they are attracted to each other and using each other".

By the end, all the build-ups fall flat and had me rolling my eyes. The 2FLs end scenes felt random and used to try and prove that she too was a victim; yet none of it excused how she treated either the FL or her cousin.

For me this was a one time only watch and I'm not even interested in revisiting it through rewatching clips in the future. Falls victim to "if you've seen one revenge show you've seen them all."

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Another Over-Powered Harem Mini

Was this mind-less, brain-less fun? For the most part, yes. Was this some masterpiece? Absolutely not in my opinion. If you have seen one over-powered harem you have seen this one: Multiple girls fall in line for a guy that is obviously VASTLY more powerful than anyone around him but they will call him names and sneer at him until each one falls in line.

The best selling point of this specific show is that they did get a rather engaging OST that honestly IS very good and makes you feel pumped up.

As for the acting, obviously some people have loved it, personally I thought it was awful and the ML couldn't "quite" pull of the "I'm confident in my abilities and don't care what anyone else says" look. Instead for me he looked cartoonish and goofy. The dubbing didn't help either for me.

The villian casting was... odd with the 4th prince specifically mentioned as being "young" and "handsome" but had visible wrinkles on his face.

For the CGI, I have seen plenty of mini-dramas and low budget mid-length dramas, I've seen bad cgi and don't care. It very rarely bothers me. But this does not have "good" and absolutely not "AMAZING" cgi in any way. It was Okay and consistent which is more what I look for.

I do recommend because it's a fun show, but again, don't expect a masterpiece. 🤷‍♀️

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Funny Sitcom-style RomCom... Until it's Not

The majority of this show was rather good and the various situations within the hotel "just" real enough that adding comedic elements to them doesn't make them over the top and hammy. But then the last several episodes refocus the plot in order to be able to wrap it up with a proper ending and this is where it falls apart.

Suddenly you have a more serious plotline happening with very little to no comedy, the best-friend's very minor storyline feels shoe-horned in and out of place, and the 2nd leads storyline realizes the writer STILL hasn't set them up as a CP yet...

Essentially what happens is it feels like the writer asked themselves "how do I write myself OUT of a corner" for a bunch of plotlines and picked the first one that came to mind regardless of if it makes sense or not.

End watching the show when the leads get together and you won't miss anything but your eyes rolling.

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A Palace Revenge Plot to Put Others to Shame

This Mini is what other shows are TRYING to achieve. It has a blend of everything, spice level on the heavier side of medium level, revenge, palace politics, relationship growth, tension, plot twists, sword fights, blood and a nice ost.

The main characters scheme JUST as much as the antagonists and until the very end you're constantly left wondering what's going to happen next; if it will go a conventional route or mix things up and be unconventional.

There WAS some slight editing issues a couple times that took me put personally. One time for instance there were green tracking boxes over the ML face 🤡. But these were mostly minor issues. Otherwise, I loved the costumes and camerawork as they made use of diagonal sweeping shots for instance.

Definitely placing this as a favorite.

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Misunderstandings^2 - ML Is Entitled Baby

This is very much a turn your brain off show. Beyond that it revolves around: how long can a man who has NEVER met his wife continue to have an affair WITH his wife while NOT knowing she IS his wife. That is essentially the plot. Yes there are small other things happening aside from this major plot but they are just that, small other minor plots.

What follows is a woman CONSTANTLY hearing how much he hates her and despises her AS he's kissing up to her telling her how much he adores her as the "other woman". Again, he so thoroughly hates and despises this woman he has NEVER once met.

I was vaguely entertained by the ML's clown acting but overall I just could not turn my brain off enough to enjoy a man who so thoroughly did not care about his original marriage OR her "fake" marriage because only what HE wanted was important.

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Bloody REVENGE with a mere HINT of Romance

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Revenge with a capital 'R' and romance with a lowercase 'r' is the theme of this minidrama. The main protagonist is the FL and the the 'boogeyman' ML is mostly a shadow following her around to provide 'slight' assistance. This is especially true in the first portion of the drama which focuses on her personal revenge as opposed to uncovering the masterminds behind the scenes.

Negatives:
🚫 Short length requires break-neck speed and waving hand over details of the past
🚫 Some revenge is shown in detail and some, the end is left hanging in the end offscreen
🚫 There is no ACTUAL kiss between the leads (personally not a negative but for many I know this IS so listing here)
🚫 Typical last second ending

Positives:
✅️ Nietzsche
✅️ A take no prisoners style FL who isn't afraid of mass manipulation
✅️ Multiple layers of character stories told through lines of dialog and brief flashbacks
✅️ Unhinged OTT acting at it's finest (beyond more than just the leads)

IMPORTANT considerations:
🌸 This FL gets her hands dirty and her schemes may have you wonder if the is the same or possibly becoming worse than her object of revenge.
🌸 You must be able to overlook such things as full facial change and later a character having a 'full skin suit'..
🌸 Background information is given out scarcely and sprinkled unevenly. There is a LOT left unsaid which leaves the viewer either frustrated that 'nothing makes sense' if they can't make logic jumps with 2 lines of dialog episodes apart; OR wishing the story were longer so that the show could be more fully fleshed out and characterized.
🌸 This is pure entertainment value with MANY actual flaws, some seemingly in place because of the sheer nature of the scope of work limiting how the novel could be adapted.
🌸 The show provides PLENTY of scenes presented for 'shock value' but does not actually utilize on-screen rape and/or miscarriage - there are scenes of force and violence against woman as well as men.
🌸 If anything could possibly cause someone who is clapping their hands along with the mayhem to sigh it might be the switch-over from 'act 1' to 'act 2' as my personal reaction was: '....And suddenly there's comedy? The stare wide-eyed mouth open for flies, head cocked to the side, can't believe it sort...' Then... 'Omg I can't... This girl isn't acting unhinged but just plain off her rocker 🤣🤡'

🔥Final Rating: 9/10🔥
This is HEAVILY weighted for enjoyment factor and scenes I feel will leave a lingering impact on my mind.
I greatly enjoyed the style of acting the actors were asked to portray, though the ML with his single tear drop was, in my opinion, a 'choice'.
The music was 🤷‍♀️ - it was background music and it fit the scenes
I doubt I will ever rewatch this show in its entirety again, but if clips came up on my screen or if someone were already watching, I'd sit down and rewatch parts.

I paid for the Express Pass and do not regret it.

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An "Okay" Season One

Overall I'm found it slightly difficult to rate because on the overall show aspect I definitely enjoyed the series. But at the same time, one of the major factors of the show IS the case solving and I was absolutely and completely lost during this aspect.

They would come up with evidence that just made me ask "did I miss something?" over and over again. So in that aspect it became a "just go with it" type show that I had to ignore. THIS I didn't care for.

What I did like was the varied filters and lighting or scenes... the ACTUALLY shooting scenes in the dark when it's night... and the character camaraderie that grows between everyone.

Fair warning, this wraps up fairly well "as is", but it IS a Season One drama. I liked it well enough that I will probably watch Season Two whenever it comes out.

Overall Rating factors in the things I REALLY liked against how much I did not care for the case solving... :
6.5/10

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