I cannot express in human words how overhyped this show is. I remember when I was first introduced to Arthur Chen…
From the comments on here, we are probably amongst the few that have similar opinions on this drama. I think it's highly overrated with the highest rating being on MDL and the lowest being 5.5 on Douban, which is the only real rating that producers, directors, and actors care about because it reflects the Chinese audience. As much as I like Arthur Chen, I had to drop this drama. He's received criticism before by many who claim that he doesn’t fit costume dramas and I'd have to agree. He plays a 500 year old 'villain' character but his acting lacks the maturity to carry it off. I could see Luo Yunxi, Liu Yuexi, or Ren Jaliun nailing this role. Before watching the drama, I'd already heard criticism about the FL, mostly about how her visuals did not match Arthur Chen but I decided to give the drama a chance because I wasn't familiar with the actress. I only watched up to ep. 9, but her acting and facial expressions are the same since the 1st episode. With good dramas, I tend to binge watch them, but not with this drama. I even went off to watch variety shows because I wasn't invested in it.
This drama was beyond my expectations. How did I not know of Jing Bo Rang before this. He's phenomenal. At first glance, you'd think the leads were mismatched as a couple, but their superb performances made you forget it was acting. Their on screen chemistry was very natural and real. I found myself skipping scenes when the lead actors were not in it. The romance was sweet, kissing scenes were amazing, and the love story was beautiful. What more could you ask for in a romance drama.
The drama is a decent watch if you're a fan of the lead actors, which I am. However, with that being said, I still think it's overrated at 8.7. First off, here are the good points: fast paced, solid acting, great martial arts choreography and fighting scenes, Cheng Lei's visuals are striking in this drama. Now for the bad. The bad editing resulted in a choppy drama. The title is misleading. The story is supposed to be about a powerful bad ass female warrior, yet the ML had to save her many times. Although I'm a fan of Zhou Ye and enjoy her other works, I don't think she fit the character due to her small frame and stature, which didn't resonate with me. This is not about her acting but the casting. Zhou Ye did not capture the aura and fierceness of a battle hardened general who led her troops to battle victories. Liu Shishi in A Journey to Love was more convincing as a top bad ass female warrior. I also found He Yan's character to be inconsistent since she alternates from strong and determined to cute and bubbly. I cringed very time she said "Dudu". Folks are gushing about the chemistry between the leads, but honestly, I'm not feeling it. Yes, their chemistry is natural and genuine, but like brother and sister. Even their off screen interactions when promoting the drama seem like that between a brother and sister. For off the chart chemistry, I'm looking forward to Mo Li, starring Bai Lu who's considered the queen of chemistry.
Liu Xue Yi saved this drama. These types of roles are made for him, where the character is cold, ruthless, cunning, and misunderstood. Meng Zi Yi's character is supposed to be smart, but her life had to be saved on numerous occasions. She had no chemistry with LXY and her acting couldn't match his intensity. That being said, it's not as bad as everyone says. Started out well, fizzled in the middle, then picked up again. I hung in til the end because of LXY. Supporting characters were decent. I could even feel sympathy for the evil 3rd prince.
OMG, this is the same actor from An Ancient Love Song? How did he become so hot? The only drawback about the casting is that the FL looks quite older than him even though their real biological age gap is not that big. SML stole the show with his cringe over the top acting. Nice OST.
Sometimes my alter ego craves dramas with red flag/sexual tension, and this drama fits the bill. Although at times, the plot execution is bad, the chemistry between the leads makes up for it. Have to admit I started this because many viewers on TikTok said it was a steamy drama, but I didn't find it anymore steamy than many other short Cdramas. Even though the male lead was the better actor, the female lead wasn't as terrible as many viewers commented. The ending hints at another season.
This drama gave me 'Romance of Tiger and Rose' vibes with more angst and drama. It was a compelling watch from episode 1. Liu Yuning keeps getting better with every drama. I may be in the minority but I like this more than the Prisoner of Beauty. It has comedy, intrigue, action, plot twists, and not to mention that the costume styling and film sets are beautiful. My first time seeing Li Yi Tong act and I feel this character was made for her, although there were times I wanted to scream because of how she treated Nam Heng but realized that her character was written that way. I thought she had good chemistry with Liu Yuning. The cast of supporting actors also did a great job. The added bonus is Liu Yuning sang the OST beautifully.
Reading through the comments, seems that I'm the only person who thought it was overrated. It started out well, but I lost interest in it half way to the extent that I left to watch other shows, then came back. With great dramas, I tend to binge watch them, but couldn't do that with this one. I only stuck with it because of Xiao Zhan, although episodes were skipped. I didn't feel the chemistry between the 2 leads. Although, I'm a fan of Zhang Jing Yi from other works such as Lighter and Princess and Blossoms in Adversity, her acting in this drama wasn't convincing for me.
How did this get such a high rating? I admit the star studded cast and beautiful cinematography were highlights but those could only hold my interest for half of the drama before I dropped it. There were too many side characters and the storyline did not make for a compelling watch. Sadly, this is the second Liu Shi Shi drama I dropped this year.
I was hooked from ep 1. It has everything drama lovers would want to see, from action, revenge, intrigue, humor, and romance . The plot is fast moving so it doesn't drag. The dialogue between Wei Shao's subordinates and their behavior are hilarious, especially when everyone recognized that he was falling in love with Man Man before he did. The supporting cast deserves high praise. Liu Yuning also delivered another stellar performance. He seems to be made for historical dramas despite the criticism from netizens that his looks are not good enough for a leading man character. He's not handsome in the traditional sense but he makes it up with great charisma and a strong screen presence which is why his last 3 historical dramas were all hits. In the story, at least one can understand the reason behind Wei Shao's pain, trauma, hatred and motivation for revenge after having witnessed 3 members of his family being killed and having to carry the burden of being the leader of his entire kingdom. By today's standards he would be a toxic male, but early on in the drama, he protected and defended Man Man from his mother and cousin and by the end he made the ultimate sacrifice by letting go of his hatred and revenge just for her. On the contrary the FL's character annoyed me. In the drama, her character was rewritten as a strong smart woman which differed from the novel. But it was she who plotted, schemed, and urged her brother-in-law to build a secret road which was later used by the enemy to attack and because of this Wei Shao had to lead his outnumbered troops into battle. I found Song Zu Er to be a capable actress who delivered emotional scenes well, but I must be the only one who's not crazy about her visuals and upturned mouth which when filmed from the side profile, looks like she always has her mouth open. This drama was a good watch but the rewatch value for me is not high.
A sweet drama that's more than just about romance. It's well written and well acted. Although I think it should've been shorter because it kind of dragged at the end. The chemistry between the leads was so good that I found myself skipping scenes when they weren't in it. This is my first drama with William Chan as the male lead and I was pleasantly surprised at how good of an actor he is, which makes me look forward to his next upcoming modern drama with Zhao Lusi. ZRN delivers snother stellar performance besides the First Frost.
Rewatching this series, what is the age difference between ML and FL? In the flashback scene when they were kids,…
Yeah, that part doesn’t make sense because they almost look the same age as kids although she did refer to him as 'older brother' when they first met as kids. Realistically, it should be a 4-5 year age difference because she was saved in the earthquake at 15 years of age and he was a rookie firefighter. Supposedly, he trained to be a firefighter straight out of high school, which would've made him 18 years old at the time. The training itself would've taken 1-2 years before he could actually work as a full-time firefighter . So by the time he saved her he should be around 20 years old and she was 15.
Watched this for ZZH; it's a shame he was blacklisted at the time his career was rising. Despite that, I'm surprised by the high rating. Although I tried to hang on as much as I could with much fast forwarding but had to drop it at ep 32. The story features some of the most insufferable female characters including the FL, her sister and the princess. The FL's character is a headstrong, immature, know-it-all, who wants to save everyone; but in the first half of the story, she and her sister nearly had to be saved by the ML or SML in every episode and to add insult to injury, the guys get injured every time. The storyline is illogical when you consider that it takes place in conservative society in ancient times when women rarely ventured outside on their own in the daytime, let alone at night. Yet, the female characters are always running around alone and get into all sorts of trouble. In the second half, just when you think the FL has changed and becone more mature, she has to be saved again. If it weren't for ZZH, I would have dropped this sooner.
This drama was a decent watch. Some scenes were a bit incredulous but solid acting all around helped to redeem it. It was my first drama starring FXY as the ML and he carried most of the drama with a compelling performance, made more impressive considering his young age. If this is what his acting range is like in his early 20s, then, we can look forward to many more years of great performances as he matures as an actor. Many people commented on the FL's acting, but I think her performance aligned with the way her character was written.
I held off watching this drama even though Bai Lu is one of my favorite actresses because I'm picky and previously dropped 2 other highly hated dramas in the same genre that depicted slice of life and slow burn romance such as Meet Yourself. But after reading the comments, I decided to give it a try and it exceeded my expectations. I felt this drama should've rated higher because it's a masterpiece as a heartwarming drama with great storytelling and well developed characters that were authentic and imperfect. This was the first drama I've watched with the Male lead actor and found him to be a very good actor. Besides that, it had one of the best ensemble cast acting which delivered the most perfect dialogue. Every episode was compelling and worth watching.
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mostly about how her visuals did not match Arthur Chen but I decided to give the drama a chance because I wasn't familiar with the actress. I only watched up to ep. 9, but her acting and facial expressions are the same since the 1st episode. With good dramas, I tend to binge watch them, but not with this drama. I even went off to watch variety shows because I wasn't invested in it.
Every episode was compelling and worth watching.