Anyway, this is my first time seeing Eugenie Liu and I instantly like her, I'm always into badass, femme fatale who can kick ass and wouldn't go into the damsel-in-distress route once the 'prince' arrived.
She has a good chemistry with Jasper Liu, and their kissing scene is bam! Maybe because this is Netflix, so less of those frozen lips kisses and this one has been pretty satisfying. This is only the 2nd Jasper Liu drama that I've seen, the first one is his first drama with Puff Kou. I think that he has matured as an actor, and if he's given more chances to do more variety of roles, he'll be one of the best.
The other characters, especially Din Din and Angie's right henchmen, Liu Guo, gives the comedy relief for this drama. It was a surprise that they were given their own storyline, which makes this drama funnier and 'more open' to other love possibilities.
Angie's fiance, Eddie Kim, is pretty hot, and the twist at the end could mean that we'll be seeing more of him if there's a second season. BTW, he also the right chemistry with Angie and you can see that sparks did fly when they meet again as adults, if I'm not so biased with Jasper, I think Eddie and Angie's storyline has a great potential.
The story might be trite, but this drama is overall fun, something that will warm you up when its cold and would give enough sunshine during gloomy weather. Since this is only 6 episodes, might as well binge-watch this.
Oh....it also has a cool soundtrack, particularly the english song they played. Anyone knows the title?
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This review may contain spoilers
A Believable Love Story
Story >>> One of the strongest suit of this drama is their love story. People complain the beginning is slow and boring, but that what made their story believable, the writers really build that foundation. None of those love at first sight shit, but a well-thought plot on why these two strangers would fall in love. The slow burn start had us pining and yearning when they were temporarily separated, and cheering when they finally got together. ML and FL are so emotionally-mature for their supposed age in the drama, and that's also believable because both of them were hardened from their past experiences.The writers also showed us why Xigu Lane and Lin'an is important to them, so when the seige happened, we wanted them to kill the Sui's before even they thought about it, because we fell in love with the people, too.
The supporting casts stories were also lovely, they weren't written like background wallpaper, but their stories contribute to the plot.
The humor is topnotch, the number of times I replayed the parts that made me laugh should be studied.
I think one of the downsides in the story is the political strife, like I hate politics and all that, but it fell short in a way PM Wei's actions in the past felt so flimsy on why he took the villain role.
Acting >>> I've first seen TXW in "Wrong Carriage, Right Groom", so I'm glad to see her in this another spunky and badass character. Saw some bts how she was quite humble with her action scenes, when she already did martial arts before. Anyway, her Fan Changgyu portrayal is so cute, like how can anyone hate her? Her Changgyu looks really in love with Zheng and her family. Love her action scenes, too! Her in action is just so fluid and natural.
As for ZLH, I got to this drama because of him, basically, I'm looking for revenge dramas and saw Princess Royal and Kunming Palace, which he also starred in and in PR particularly, he had an arrange marriage and divorce problems, lmao. People complain he is just a face card but since I've seen his earlier works, his acting here have drastically improved. He has learned to use his eyes, which is so important because he had a lot pensive and staring down scenes and he nailed it. All his "entrance" in this drama are so cool, even during his wedding where he was in a crutch, it was still cool.
The Sui's were great, too! Sui YuanQing should have lived, haha, like what do you mean he almost died a thousand times, keeps coming back, and the only reason he dies was because he cut his head off?!
Among all the adults, PM Wei just nailed it. He always held himself with dignity even in death.
Production >>> Not really acting, but more on production side, some of the war/rebellion scenes weren't as grand as I expected, especially the final one before the uncle and nephew faced-off, like wdym it started and ended just like that?! Like the Jan 6 insurrection in the US has more production value than that!
But the other battle scenes are good, particularly the dam break, Changgyu's first time in battlefield, and Xie Zheng's headdress haha. Those feathers/horns (?) make up for everything!
Setting >>> I'm more an autumn fan because winter is just too cold to flirt with anyone, lol, but the winter scenery here was a perfect backdrop to their love story. Only downside is you can never see air when they speak, haha, which is common when its cold.
All in all, if you want a love story to captivate you, and take you with their journey, this is for you.
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For those who have doubts!
I had lots of doubts before I decided to give this drama a go. First, the plot is old and has been recycled a lot, I was like, what is that something new that they will add to this drama? Second, how can I unsee Zhang Yu Jian as Yan Mo? Third, I really hate Xu Xiao Nuo's character from 'About is Love' and its hard to separate her from that because I'm afraid that she'll be the same pushover from that drama. Nevertheless, I still gave this a try since I'm a sucker for contract marriage plot, multiple couples/side stories, and Kido Gao whom I liked after 'The Kings Avatar'. Well, here is my quick review of the first 3 episodes.Plot- as I've said earlier, nothing new that the guy is rich and that the girl is struggling (at least she's not dirt poor, she has a nice apartment, decent job that pays well, and ample savings), nothing new that the guy is in love with someone else, but the turnaround was that accident that started it all. Its cute that the first two times they met, it was Youyou who is saving Yi Han. Their contract marriage is more like a 'saving face' marriage for Yi Han, although Youyou has always liked Yi Han as a singer, but the marriage is more advantangeous to the guy. But what I'm really excited to see are the two other couples. One is Yi Han's manager aka his first love who is totally oblivious that her talent has been harboring feelings for her, and Li Tian Nuo's aka Youyou's childhood friend who has always liked her. I like to see how their love story will intertwine with Yi Han and Youyou.
Acting- It was quite easy to unsee Yu Jian as Yan Mo because he acts well. It was refreshing to see him smile and just be casual. Moreover, my favorite line, so far, of Yi Han are those words he said before he proposed to Youyou while in his car, it was really sweet coated with a hint of desperation. Youyou isn't that irritating, she's quite feisty actually and I hope she will not lose that zeal. I like Yi Han's manager, Kan Di, too. She's such a femme fatale as a manager, but weak when it comes to love. I would like to see how she'll react when she realized Yi Han's true feelings. The other characters weren't too significant yet like Ran Zi Shu and her future boy toy.
Verdict- the first 8 episodes was easy to watch, there's a right amount of comedy and drama, a bit of backstory for us to have a glimpse of Youyou and Yi Han's past, and some swoon-worthy moments to highlight our OTP. Our OTP's chemistry is still starting, there's fizzle, it needs a bit more push, but they are going in the right direction. I will continue to watch this to see the growth of our 1st and 2nd couple, but if it gets overly dramatic or draggy, will drop this.
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I guess one of the best things about this drama is that its well written and properly paced. The actors and actresses are great too, especially Mark Chao for having the best face angle for a kiss that you will end up rewatching all his kissing scenes. I was initially annoyed at Yang Mi's voice but I like how she transitioned from an immature Si Yin to a well respected Bai Qian. Dijun is also one of the best characters for being insanely smart, which is also a big hindrance for him to open up his heart. Also, as much as I love Dilireba as an actress, this drama showed how limited she still is and needs tons of workshops to shape her up for such a demanding role.
58 episodes was just a breeze because this is such a good show, losing some sleep is worth it. However, I have to caution everyone that after watching this drama, everything else you've seen will definitely look mediocre compared to this gem.
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