Utterly disappointed
(Before anything else let me make it clear that Xianxia/Xuanhuan is not my cup of tea and rarely I find myself completing the whole drama in this genre.) The drama is everything what you would expect from Xianxia/Xuanhuan. The set design looked okay but the CGI just didn't do justice to the environment, to accentuate the beauty of the scenes and it looked all flat and lifeless because of it. I loved the way they introduced Reba with that lamp thing and all, she looked beautiful and definitely had the presence of a spirit lord but as we go forward they challenged my notion that anything would look good on Dilereba. Oh my goodness what terrible costume choices. I mean in one scene she is strolling in the market of common folks with such vibrant colour and those dangling headgear, what an interesting way to mingle in the crowd by standing out the most! And it is not just the costume, even the makeup has started to bother me a lot with each passing episode. Why is everyone looking so pale and plastered? They already have a beautiful cast!
In terms of acting both the actors are in their comfort zone...and for the first time I feel Reba should really try some antagonist roles because she ate that one scene as an evil spirit. Loved her hysterical laughter there. Arthur on the other hand is not a grumpy, cold person...he is smiling a lot here, quite a lot that it is overshadowing all other emotions. It is so empty at times that I can't believe he is the same actor from 'Lighter and Princess' and the onus is on poor direction and weak writing. There is so much disconnect that I can't feel the emotions, the chemistry and even the world building is so bad that I don't believe in any character.
None of the side characters, except for the little boy and sml, held my attention and to be honest none of them gave warrior vibes to me. There is so much more than just dialogues to a character to make you look like a fierce seasoned warrior and they look anything but that. They don't feel believable. I was yawning and constantly skipping many scenes where main leads were not involved.
Now that I have seen many dramas where battle scenes are so breathtaking and I know what they are all capable of, it has raised my expectations a lot so here battle scenes in particular did not leave an impact whatsoever. Or maybe it is just because we directly entered into the battle part without much story building and attachment to the characters...for instance take assassin part, did anybody actually feel any pity or sympathy with ML? It was just a passing scene, and with better story building it could have such a great impact. There were some weird editing parts but that can be ignored. I was cutting this drama so much slack only because of the main leads and simply because I have seen their earlier works and I know what they are capable of. Despite having so much potential and interesting plot, it feels soul less and if people are extremely enamoured by it then it is simply because they are fans of the cast and having few lovey dovey scenes is more than enough for them. For me atleast it feels soul less. I have been patiently waiting for a moment where I could really feel attached to it but I was left utterly disappointed. And to think I have been waiting for it for such a long time...I would not recommend this drama to anyone unless they are fans of the main leads only then you will have the patience to watch it till the end.
In terms of acting both the actors are in their comfort zone...and for the first time I feel Reba should really try some antagonist roles because she ate that one scene as an evil spirit. Loved her hysterical laughter there. Arthur on the other hand is not a grumpy, cold person...he is smiling a lot here, quite a lot that it is overshadowing all other emotions. It is so empty at times that I can't believe he is the same actor from 'Lighter and Princess' and the onus is on poor direction and weak writing. There is so much disconnect that I can't feel the emotions, the chemistry and even the world building is so bad that I don't believe in any character.
None of the side characters, except for the little boy and sml, held my attention and to be honest none of them gave warrior vibes to me. There is so much more than just dialogues to a character to make you look like a fierce seasoned warrior and they look anything but that. They don't feel believable. I was yawning and constantly skipping many scenes where main leads were not involved.
Now that I have seen many dramas where battle scenes are so breathtaking and I know what they are all capable of, it has raised my expectations a lot so here battle scenes in particular did not leave an impact whatsoever. Or maybe it is just because we directly entered into the battle part without much story building and attachment to the characters...for instance take assassin part, did anybody actually feel any pity or sympathy with ML? It was just a passing scene, and with better story building it could have such a great impact. There were some weird editing parts but that can be ignored. I was cutting this drama so much slack only because of the main leads and simply because I have seen their earlier works and I know what they are capable of. Despite having so much potential and interesting plot, it feels soul less and if people are extremely enamoured by it then it is simply because they are fans of the cast and having few lovey dovey scenes is more than enough for them. For me atleast it feels soul less. I have been patiently waiting for a moment where I could really feel attached to it but I was left utterly disappointed. And to think I have been waiting for it for such a long time...I would not recommend this drama to anyone unless they are fans of the main leads only then you will have the patience to watch it till the end.
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