This review may contain spoilers
A bit too much political drama, a bit too little romance - only slight hints at spoilers
I was slightly disappointed with Part 2 of this amazing series. After finishing Part 1, I immediately jumped on Part 2, hoping to get a bit more fluff from the main leads' relationship. But unfortunately, I did not get such satisfaction.The plot of the series remains to be spectacular, with numerous twists, and exploring difficult themes such as death and betrayal. And the political bit of the series was captivating, with ML seeking revenge, and the involvement of many other high-ranking officials as well. I love how the King, Queen and Royal Consort, always remains to be supporters of LingBuYi and ChengShaoShang, especially loving CSS's relationship with the Queen. I was missing scenes of CSS with her family, as she mainly stays in the palace for training, but this was redeemed with the Queen acting as her mother.
While ML and FL do have their sweet moments, they have always lacked communication. And this issue was never resolved, even until the end of the series. I felt that the ending of the series was too shocking, and let me down quite a bit, as I did not expect such a thing to happen, nor did I want to see such a short reconciliation. Both leads had ideals and beliefs that were too conflicting, even basically opposites, and this conflict was never resolved between them, with neither of them seen to reach a compromise. This leads to a worrying question - if a similar situation arises, won't that mean a certain break-off of their relationship?
While binging all 56eps have certainly kept me on my toes, and I did not feel bored even after finishing the series. I thought the sweetness of the romance was quite lacking. Although romance may not have been the only main focus, it should've been more elevated. And communication should've been established between ML and FL, with mutual trust, which was sadly sorely lacking in their relationship.
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A bit draggy, a bit disappointing
So I had high expectations for this, especially after watching MRIAD, but I'll try not to compare these two except for this one fact, there is a lot less bromance.The cases did start out interesting, especially with Murder on the Oriental Express (an Agatha Christie og), but I'm currently up to ep15 and have been feeling that the cases are all incredibly long and a bit too complex. They are dragged out through episodes and have made me lost interest gradually.
I don't like the characters' personality, especially that of our great Mr. Detective. Unlike his counterpart in MRIAD, this one lacks any kind of personality, except maybe for the fact that he's mysophobic (if that's a word) and loves to find out the truth. His 'Watson' aka Mr. Rich Policeman, similarly lacks any personality except for him being loaded and prideful maybe. FLs on the other hand, were done much better i would say, they're skilled and have the brains to actually help with solving cases.
Overall, I haven't found this series to be very interesting, and giving it a 7 is generous to me. Hopefully it will get better.
Edit: I'm currently up to ep17, and I've unfortunately decided to drop it. The mystery of the plot truly either drags on too long, or is way more complicated than it needs to be. For some, the complicated cases might be interesting, but it really hurts my brain even though I'm even trying to use it in the first place. I'm really sad that there's no bromance, and Mr. Detective's monotone character and voice is really making me drift off to sleep.
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Unexpected gem, a definite must watch
I honestly started off with no expectations, the title seemed meh, the synopsis was slightly interesting, and I had only expected to see lots of fighting and revenge.But this series really exceeded all expectations, there was fighting, yes, but lots of teachings and stories that the audience could really connect to. Especially those who might have family issues similar to those of our two main leads. The series touches on so many topics, and they really delve deep into them, and it brought me to tears countless times. Redemption, bravery, learning to be independent, learning to break free of control .. It was a brutal eye-opening to how a terrible up-bringing could ruin the lives of countless children, and how Deuk Pal's guidance literally brought them back to the right paths.
For my fellow BL fans, as we know this is adapted from a BL novel, but they turned it into a bromance (super unfortunately I might add). I've always enjoyed bromance series as well as BL ones, as they give off quite a different vibe for me. I really did enjoy that there is no romance in the series, and I imagine having it would make the story turn out quite different with a possible stronger focus on the love-line. That's why I usually treat any bromance adaptation as separate from their source material - which also means I will be on a desperate hunt to find a place where I can read the original novel in English (pls anyone help with this?)
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A masterpiece, a seemingly cute and bubbly series, but with pretty dark themes
One thing I must say, it's very rare to find a BL with such a special setting - transmigration. This is a pretty rare trope used in BL, and as a huge fan of this setting, I think that they had executed it perfectly in this series. The 'game' setting is well-written, and I love that there are consequences for MH to change the storyline of YW, and not just the typical butterfly effect without any serious consequences that many transmigrators experience.We see MH as a seemingly kind(ish), up-beat, supportive Sunbae, but what we don't see (and what the series later explores), is what's hidden deep inside his protective barrier. His darker, vulnerable, hidden side. The series had taken an unexpectedly dark turn around halfway through, and I nearly cried at what MH had to go through. YW is such a cute character too, and I nearly got whiplash when he did a 180 in the way he acted towards MH haha.
I had many questions even after the series had ended, question that aren't super important but I wish they had clarified in the series. The last few eps of 7-8 weren't exactly easy to understand, but you will as long as you decide to switch on your brain if you hadn't already (since I usually watch with my brain turned off).
I enjoyed this series a lot, it's a hidden gem in not just KBL, one of the most special and heartwarming series I've watched yet.
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Watch it - for the bromance if not anything else
This is my favourite Lost Tomb series - the reason is simple - we have 2 equally attractive bromance cpls here and I'M ALL HERE FOR IT. PingXie already takes a chunk of my heart, not HeiHua comes along?? Gosh I'm gonna faint for sweetness overload.The plot of the series itself is quite interesting, just the right amount of mystery, comedy, emotions, relationships, and of course 'robbing graves'. I love a good action series, and this is one of them, sprinkled with extra sweetness on top too.
If you're interested, you can check out the other series in the Lost Tomb, but honestly I'm personally still confused as to the chronology of the series. Nevertheless I still watched it for PingXie, and they never fail to shine, especially the relationship between the Iron Triangle.
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The only reason I'm not giving this a 10 is cuz I'm stingy
First off, what I loved the absolute most, and also what stands out the most to me, is that they actually gave the 2nd ML his own character and personality. One that doesn't involve simply devoting his life to chasing FL and getting sad and jealous when he fails. GuangYao's character made this entire series just that much better for me.The setting of the Shanghai Warlord times during the Revolution was superb, and themes of deception, lies and betrayal run through the series. The realistic touch of history and the evil side of humanity really brought life to the series, and I love how they portrayed the greyness of reality, how nothing is truly good and nothing is truly evil.
I love both the main leads to bits, both are cunning little sly foxes with genius minds. They would do anything to save each other, and I'm glad to see that even FL had her own power and charisma, something that we don't often see in Chinese dramas.
Tan XuanLin (ML) was such a cunning character, he had me fooled multiple times with his marvelous acting, and yes I'm talking about the acting skills of both the actor and the character himself. It was absolutely fantastic and on point!
I did wish that the main leads could communicate a bit more to each other regarding their plans, but there was also a very good reason they didn't. What I love about this drama, is that there were not any cliched plot points to push the main leads together, and no miscommunication as well. While they may not have told each other everything, it was not due to miscommunication, but out of necessity and protection. Besides they are smart enough to figure out the other's plan anyway ><
The side characters, although not having as much screen time, had their own precious plotlines, where we see cute and dramatic relationships developing. They have often make me cry my heart out, or laugh my head off, or squeal just cuz of how cute they are. The couples in this series just hit that sweet spot and creates endless sugary treats for me.
PS do be prepared to cry sometimes. get some tissues.
If you're still hesitating, please don't. At least give it a try, you will be captivated since the very first episode.
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Two words: WATCH IT
This is one of the most unique and heart-warming shows in my opinion, and I've rewatched it multiple times by now.We see 2 beautiful couples who grew up as childhood best friends, they know and understand each other better than anyone ever could. What makes this series so special is how it portrays real-life problems that many people face, chasing your dreams and its many many barriers.
However, it is precisely when these barriers arise that these best friends turned couple are able to support each other through difficult and challenging times, and I find that incredibly endearing and beautiful.
Acting was top-notch and the story itself contains deep messages, the pace was perfect for me neither rushing nor dragging at all.
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What struck me was how the vibe between them were like WangXian
If anyone doesn't know who WangXian is, please go watch The Untamed or reading the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (aka MDZS), or watch the anime or read the manga, or listen to the audio drama. Wide range of entertainment to enjoy it from, just do it.This series was particularly funny to me, as Tinn's pov is kinda what i imagine lwj's pov to be like whenever he's around wwx. Kinda unhinged, completely head over heels, and of course crazy fanboying. Both likes to put on a cold front, but inside they're literally just squealing like a fan and it's absolutely adorable!! And obvi Gun is the wwx equivalent, dumb and oblivious, super cheerful all the time and surrounded by friends, but of course he lacks the brains element here haha.
I haven't completed the series yet as I'm currently only on ep3, but this was important enough to make me jump here and write a review. But I'm really looking forward to see how their relationship develops
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I did not want to give this ratings, as it would be unfair, so ignore that and read the review only.
I did not really attempt to watch this, and I got through episode one and had a feeling that YooHan would not be here. And reading the other reviews, it seems I was right. The main reason I had wanted to watch season2, was entirely because I wanted to watch YooHan and YeonWoo's relationship develop, while solving the mystery of the disappearances.While the mystery bit seems to be present, YooHan is not. And that is a huge no for me since there was no point for me to continue watching if not for their relationship. S1 left me hanging as I did not feel romantic sparks from them and I came for s2 for that, albeit there was sparks in s1 but I couldn't really say they were very romantic per se. I gave it a 7 so it doesn't affect the overall ratings that much.
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