Catalyst1999

Thank you so much for your review, PBG. I was utterly lost, especially in the 2nd half of the drama. The characters kept spewing half truths or spoke cryptically. Their actions were also confusing 🤣🤣

Interesting insight 🙂

Well said!

The ML's acting is also quite stiff, even though he has improved since i watched him on Go Ahead.

Thank you

Did drama use ML and FL's actual voices? I can't find info using Google.

Hahaha I don't remember WXY in One and Only. I certainly noticed him in The Double 😆

Just finished this drama, and came looking for your review. Yay...glad that you've shared your thoughts. Your review is always insightful and well written. Same same for this one :)

The director did a very good job for his debut long format project, and the cast that he had. I read that the production team was very strong, and usually worked on S+ dramas. It's good that this drama created ripples in the industry. We will hopefully benefit from it when the drama gods up their game.

Some parts of the script were quite profound, even though these were mixed in with tropey bits. The CP lacked chemistry but it was still nice to get a HE. I'm still not a fan of Li Yun Rui. I think his characted in Love Like The Galaxy ruined it for me. Haha.

Agree that the Song Han and An Su arc was boring. Didn't help that the acting by both the actors was quite flat.

Overall, an entertaining drama. Hope to watch more high quality dramas by director Zen Qing Jie in future.

Give Will Love in Spring and Meet Yourself a go, if you ever feel like some modern dramas. Both are mature romance dramas that are more meaningful than the usual tropey cutesy romcoms. I've got nothing against these romcoms as they are one of my go to genres. Hahaha

Hello Goddess :)

Yes, MDL is acting up for me too. I couldn't link to this comment. Had to search through all your drama reviews to figure out which show I said something. Haha.

I liked Dilraba in the past especially Eternal Love and Long Ballad. She's not one of those character actors than I'm in awe of, but she's cute and likeable. Anle was horrible though. Hope she makes better choices in future.

I can't wait to watch Flourished Peony. I like Li Xian - such a dreamboat. Enjoyed his performances in GGS (not a difficult role but what eye candy), Will Love in Spring and Meet Yourself. Watching one of his early works atm - Tientsin Mystic. Not sure about this one; I'm pegging it as a comedy dressed up as a mystery. Gotta do that to overcome all the ridiculous costumes, hairstyles and quirky characters :P

Happy New Year, PBG 🎉🎊

Went through some dry season in cdrama land recently, which led to me watching this poorly rated show 😂 I watched the whole thing despite the bad writing and woeful performances. Totally agree with your review! Even the styling of the characters needed improvement. Gong Jun managed to look unappealing, and Dilraba’s white wig was awful!

Here’s hoping for better dramas in 2025 (which should be achievable if this drama was the baseline) 🤣🤣🤣

Actually the business portion was used more to highlight office politics, which felt quite realistic. Taking credit for others' hard work and blaming mistakes on your team members. The part that was rather uncommon was the appearance of mentors.

Thank you for your excellent review of this gem of a drama 😊

I didn't think much of Elvis Han on Secret of Three Kingdoms, but he has certainly improved since then. Loved his performance in this drama, especially the chemistry between the leads 🔥 The way their relationship evolved was so organic and believable. It's true that real love stories actually begin after Happy Endings in fairy tales and romcoms.

Ahhh there's a pattern. Just like when there are too many perfect 5's on Google reviews, i always wonder if the reviewers were paid 😬

I can't believe the number of 10s given to this drama! If the show ended when the ambush in the desert took place, then those 10s make sense.

Your analysis is on point. Duanwu should have remained true to herself. Such a waste of Lusi's talents in the 2nd half.

Liu Yining's weaknesses as an actor were so clear in this drama. The director and writer did not play to his strengths.

The casting for the secondary characters was atrocious. Most of them could not act. I kept wondering how they allocated their budget. The main baddies were not scary at all, especially after the gangster boss's mask was removed. At least with mask on, there was a sense of mystery - not that it was hard to guess his identity 🤣🤣

Agree with the 2FL's husky voice. Very sexy and nice to listen to.

So many bits that are disappointing. Noble idiocy was a big one. I would want to know if my loved one was on the verge of death. The time you have left becomes much more important.

Wasted potential indeed.

Hahaha. That was a weird fling 😂

I wonder if there was a real Dan Tuo. His ending was so sad. Couldn't help crying 😢

Thank you for your review. I didn’t know it was based on a true story…I was wondering how the writer did the research. There were lots of details that didn’t seem to be cooked up. Agree that Guo Qilin was not the right fit. Fortunately we had Francis Ng and Jiang Qilin 😄

Thank you for your well-written review. For me, this drama was more compelling than Hospital Playlist (which i dropped). Loved the chemistry between the three leads and brilliant writing. Wished the subs were better as i couldn't understand the medical terms.

Very good performances all around. From the leads to the supporting cast and especially the patients. Couldn't hold back tears for some of the patients, and Li 😢

Just started Ep1 and was surprised that Sima Yi could kungfu 🤣🤣

Haha I was imagining three musketeers but ancient china version 🤣🤣

Oooh…real life romance 💕 Nice 🥰

Did you like the sequel? I’m taking a break from Sima Yi, but want to dive into Secret. Read on MDL just now that the author also wrote Longest Night in Changan, Luoyang and Wind Blows. Very excited!

What do you mean by Dumas take?