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Nothing new (or great) here. At all.
Clichéd. For me, it was a run of the mill palace intrigue (scheming empress dowagers! Surprise villain! etc) mixed with heavy mommy/daddy/terrible parenting issues (everywhere) and just a smidge of romance. Overall, I didn’t find anything or anyone super interesting. No chemistry, just adequate actors doing their jobs adequately with one standout (see last para).
The first third or so of this drama is the best part; the leads were way, way more engaging and watchable as enemies than lovers.
The love story between leads had all the passion and longing of a potted plant; ML was doing all the heavy lifting but there wasn’t much to work with, FL is a stunned, barely there lamppost much better suited to be a friend. Such a bummer!
The melodrama really amps up in mid-20s eps with crank-the-volume-down wailing royals, goofy death plots, bad decisions, and revenge arcs that feel so dull. All of this has been done to death and there’s nothing here rises above in any way.
Chen Zheyuan’s boyishly handsome looks are sometimes at odds with the character. FL had a strong start, but character was reduced to only saying flat, inspirational lines and quotes and being like a mommy/friend advice giver.
The cruel/callous/spoiled/apathetic/whiny playboy Emperor of Jinxiu (Qin Tian Yu) was by far the most watchable character of anyone and he absolutely chewed up all the scenes he was in. His twisted little hurt-me love obsession was the most interesting thing of the whole saga. Towards the end, he was the ONLY character I thought brought energy (albeit negative) to this drama and gave it a pulse.
The first third or so of this drama is the best part; the leads were way, way more engaging and watchable as enemies than lovers.
The love story between leads had all the passion and longing of a potted plant; ML was doing all the heavy lifting but there wasn’t much to work with, FL is a stunned, barely there lamppost much better suited to be a friend. Such a bummer!
The melodrama really amps up in mid-20s eps with crank-the-volume-down wailing royals, goofy death plots, bad decisions, and revenge arcs that feel so dull. All of this has been done to death and there’s nothing here rises above in any way.
Chen Zheyuan’s boyishly handsome looks are sometimes at odds with the character. FL had a strong start, but character was reduced to only saying flat, inspirational lines and quotes and being like a mommy/friend advice giver.
The cruel/callous/spoiled/apathetic/whiny playboy Emperor of Jinxiu (Qin Tian Yu) was by far the most watchable character of anyone and he absolutely chewed up all the scenes he was in. His twisted little hurt-me love obsession was the most interesting thing of the whole saga. Towards the end, he was the ONLY character I thought brought energy (albeit negative) to this drama and gave it a pulse.
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