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An okay watch, just didn't quite hit emotionally
I had pretty high expectations for this show because I’ve liked other works from this screenwriter, but I ended up kind of disappointed. It was just an ok watch, good enough to pass the time- but not something I really felt invested or interested in.The FL, Xin Mei, is ok. She’s fairly strong and capable. Her best trait might be her ability to think for herself, which is a great and all... just unfortunately there isn’t that much else to her. She shows the most personality in the first story arc, and after that she’s just a generic heroine. It also doesn’t help her character development that she’s unconscious half the time. Overall she’s just not that interesting, and I wasn’t particularly rooting for her or feeling for her.
The ML is better, with a great backstory, and I did feel emotionally connected to him at times. But his story is not executed that well either. I understood what he’s doing, but I would have felt much more emotionally invested if they did a better job conveying how badly he wants it and why. His goal actually touches upon a thoughtful philosophical question, and contrasts sharply with the Immortals and their own existential crisis. But the show doesn't push this point, instead treating it more like a hero’s quest.
The romance between the two doesn’t develop so much as jump around a few times before stabilizing. Although it is puffed up with plenty of dramatic manufactured moments (eg saving each other back and forth), I just didn’t really feel it. I understood it’s there, but I didn’t care that much.
I had a similar attitude towards the plethora of side characters and all their interlocking stories. There are too many characters, so inevitably nobody is developed enough for me to care about. I did like some of them- some had a little more depth- and I disliked others, but only mildly, and I’d forget about them after they moved out of the story again.
For the plot, I liked the first story arc, but after that it seems to drag on for awhile. I felt most of the show is a ceaseless parade of slightly upsetting events involving too many characters. But everything is also overly dramatic, from the played-up romance scenes, to the fights filled with big fluorishy movements and poses, to all the angsty moments and dramatically performed dialogue in between.
Along those same lines, this is apparently the kind of world where a character wanting something badly enough, or having enough emotion, can make miracles happen. I am too jaded to like this sort of fairy tale stuff anymore.
I liked the show better as it approached the end. There is a break in the angst, just a nice period of sweet and not-too-dramatic existence, as well as finally some clarity on the true nature of the conflict. Also, by this point, many of the characters finally accumulated enough development for me to care about them a little. And I was fairly satisfied with the final villain, who is interesting enough but still easy to hate, making it easy on my emotions. All of this wasn’t enough for me to fall in love with the show, but I did watch with interest for the last 10 episodes or so.
Thematically, this show has echoes of the thoughtfulness and philosophy that I loved about A Moment But Forever (its “sequel”). Ideas explored include using power to oppress vs help the people, questioning rhetoric, living a long life vs truly living a life, etc. In theory these could be done well, but this show somehow slightly misses the mark. The social themes, for example, aren’t subtle or thoughtfully presented, so they come across as preachy. And the giant existential crisis faced by the Immortal sects would feel more meaningful if it were cast in a more philosophical light. Overall with the themes, I felt it flirted with the idea of being deep and then didn’t quite land the hit, making it somehow even more disappointing.
Acting wise, I thought Allen Ren and Wang Herun both did ok, but it’s not the best I’ve seen from either. They both spend a lot of the show with furrowed brows and sour expressions. I also didn’t appreciate that wispy, breathy overtone the FL’s voice actress added to her voice. Many of the side actors I have seen before and like, but watching them enact some of the overly dramatic scenes made me cringe a little. It might be more about the scenes than the actors.
The fighting is overdramatic but decently performed and the CGI is pretty good. I like the costumes, especially the Bei Xiang outfits which look distinctly different. For the music, ...the OST sure has some very specific lyrics... that aside, some of the songs really grew on me, and there is one instrumental I like, but I didn’t really care for most of the BGM.
Overall, I think this show is watchable for some shallow entertainment, but doesn’t really stand out. I know I wrote a lot of negative points- it’s actually not that bad, I just think it missed some opportunities to be a lot better.
By the way, this show happens in the same universe as A Moment But Forever, which I personally really liked (also Love of Thousand Years, which I didn’t watch). There is a common mythology and one crossover character (confusingly played by a different actor), but the stories are fairly independent, so you don’t need to watch one for the other. There are a few things that I knew how they would turn out because I’d seen the other show, and a few references that would not have made sense otherwise. I do feel it made me appreciate the reality of A Moment But Forever better, especially where the human race is at, knowing all this infighting that happened just 20ish years before.
By the way #2, I rather like the gender portrayals, or rather lack thereof, in this show. There are strong, weak, smart, dumb, good, bad, characters of either gender, which I thought is pretty cool.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
I consider this ending bittersweet.
There are a ton of sacrifices as we approach the end. I’d say at least half the characters end up dead. But, as shown in a nice two-episode denouement wrapup, those who are left learn to move on- which is true to the themes of the show (seeking immortality vs learning to be ok with the cycle of life, death, and renewal).
Both main characters survive, but the ML loses his memory. I love that this show acknowledges and addresses that without his memory, he’s basically a different person. The FL is still able to find him at the end, but we never find out how that works out.
A big chunk of the last episode is dedicated to the main characters of the follow-up shows, A Moment But Forever and Love of Thousand Years. I think these segments are nice for anyone who’s watched those shows, but probably a little confusing and not too meaningful for those who haven’t.
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I do think 10 years is a lot when you’re 17. But I always try to see the characters and not the actors, and I also think they both did a good job portraying their roles. Ai Mi doesn’t look as young as some other 17-year-olds so the visual age gap is not outrageous, and she IS a young character. The show also avoids kiss scenes for this reason, but it is still a romance they need to sell, so there are plenty of gazes, hugs, cuddles, hand holding, etc. I don’t think the show is any worse for avoiding kisses.
For me personally, my knowledge of their creepy age gap was always sitting in the back of my mind, and I couldn’t help subconsciously cringing as I watched them try to sell the romance. I had to either believe it and get creeped out, or not believe it. I think somebody who is better immersed would probably not have this problem, so it’s a non-issue for some viewers. And for the rest of us, we may not agree with the casting decisions, but if we can look past it then there is still a decent story to enjoy.
The FL is kind-hearted and smart at engineering, but especially at the beginning, she is naïve and somewhat ditzy about the rest of life. Normally I like savvier FLs, but one unintended consequence for me of Ai Mi’s age is that the FL looks so young that I didn’t mind her innocence so much, or the way the ML is always watching out for her behind the scenes. I even found it cute. And then a big part of this show is about the FL growing up to become somebody who can stand up for herself and the people she cares about. Her growth and maturity are shown well, including the cost to her innocence.
The ML is a classic archetype of good guy with a bad rep, but I thought he’s done better than most. He really is a nice guy who gets little recognition for his good deeds, and I especially like how he tries to hang onto his friendship with the SML. He has all your classic ML traits (smart, good fighter, noble cause, etc) and the added drama of a ticking time bomb. Not that unique, but good use of tropes.
For supporting characters, some are interesting and some are fun, but I was never so attached to anyone as to wish they had more time. Maybe the emperor- minor character, but I liked how he sees through all the schemes but hates the whole game. The SML kept me on my toes. I found the show less stressful when I gave up on him early, but I was never quite sure which side of the fence he’d fall on. The villains are a mixed bag for me, some I hated and some I felt a little bad for.
There are also several strong female side characters. In general, this show does girl power well. The FL isn’t the only woman who has goals and dreams that she can fulfill through her own skills. There is also a conscious focus on women’s agency and freedom, which seems a popular theme for shows in the past year or two.
The pacing is in general decent, fast but not too choppy. The show skips a lot of details and procedure, like how people figure things out, which I discovered is ok with me. But I was confused by all the relationships and titles- the backstory is revealed satisfactorily but there are some aspects I never fully figured out (eg SML backstory). Everything is enough to get the gist though, and perhaps it’s for the better- details often don’t stand up to scrutiny anyways.
In the middle there is a patch where I think the pacing is too fast- big things happen abruptly, and the plot is pushed forward by not-quite-believable behavior. Closer to the ending, things also get rushed. I got some massive whiplash and confusion from schemes revealed in retrospect (plot twist style), along with various gaps and holes- some things underdeveloped, other things unexplained, other things glossed over. I think this show could have used more episodes, but honestly, I was kind of over it by then. Maybe pontificate less about the common people and use that time instead to plug plot holes
For the acting, I think people in general did a decent job and are believable. You just have to forget about the age gap. Peter Ho always gets so much praise, but actually I thought his dead-in-the-soul acting was too extreme. But he cried so well, it activated my mirror neurons and I actually started crying with him.
The fight choreography is pretty good. Some of the fights are very flashy (eg the first and last battles) with posing and stills. The CGI is... ok. Those fireballs were remarkably accurate, lol. In general I think the production is decent but not the best- the only part that stood out to me was the music. I like both the OST and the background music, which I thought set the tones really well. But sometimes the music cut back and forth between different songs too abruptly.
Overall it’s not a bad show. I liked the beginning better when I felt the ML and FL had a cute dynamic and there is a little humor. But then there is periodic heartache throughout and I ended up losing some interest, though it might have been self-protection to save me from feeling too upset.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
It’s an ultimate happy ending for the two leads. After a time gap, the ML is saved by deus ex machina (I almost never complain about this). The SML ends up falling on the side of good, which is a relief. He’s lonely at the top, but we all know it’s a decision he made. The story ties up pretty well, even without a view of the future stretching forward. There is also a post-credit scene with a small plot twist.
MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD
The Eagle King is the final baddy. He does lots of bad things, but I also felt sorry for him because he’s so sincere to Lejun- he is too smart to fall for her crap, but still chooses to indulge her. Their story together seems to be missing many pieces, as if scenes were deleted, creating much confusion and an ultimate villain that feels underdeveloped. But from what I glimpsed of it, I still didn’t feel good about how it went down. I don’t like being sad for somebody I’m supposed to hate (though maybe it would have been easier if he were uglier, lol).
To be fair, though, he also doesn’t even seem that important to the story. The guy is smart but didn’t really stand out from any of the other villains along the way.
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You cry, I cry, we all cry
Well, this show was quite a ride. While watching, I could not tear my eyes away- glued to my screen, binging past bedtime every night. But by the time I came back the next day, I felt nervous and reluctant to resume.So first, yes, it was riveting. I couldn’t look away. But that's partly because I was trying so hard to figure out what’s going on. This show is on the confusing side. Even after you figure out roughly how the world works (which took me approximately one muddled story arc), subsequent story arcs still manage to introduce more jumbled backstories and secrets revealed in tangled ways. It’s hard to keep track of everything, and sometimes it’s not clear what’s plot hole vs world building vs important clue.
That said, each time the reveals are finally out and the pieces come together (minus a few lost along the way), I did find each story to be interesting and touching. So I could also say, the plot is full of twists and turns and is constantly moving, which keeps things exciting.
It also yanks your emotions around on a leash, which brings me to the reason I felt nervous to watch. This show is just too absurdly tragic sometimes. eg people suffering out of selfless love, kind people forced into heartbreaking situations, etc. If you pull out of immersion for a bit, you might call it emotionally manipulative. The characters were constantly crying, and so was I.
The saving grace is that it is pretty clear how to feel. Everyone- me, the characters, other audience- could all feel bad together. This doesn’t totally make things ok, and tragic story following tragic story really does get tiresome. But the sense of commiseration helps a lot. Ji Ling is a good example: I badly wanted the best for this super likable, sympathetic character, and it made me so happy to see other characters step up for him.
So the show is emotionally taxing, but not in a frustrating way. It’s nice that the protagonists are mostly on the same page, with minimal miscommunications, while the ultimate villain is pretty clear-cut and evil. There are five actors listed in main roles and the show really does have five leads- they all have their own backstories, personalities, and goals, as well as different interlocking relations. I really like how this show is able to distribute the focus and maintain so many different kinds of positive relationships. The two romances are very sweet. There are also some very likable side characters.
By the way, the two foxes seem to be going for an alluring, seductive, and otherworldly vibe, especially at the beginning. This distinct character type does match the classic nine tailed fox, but I wasn’t sure I could take it from main characters that I have to watch the entire show. Luckily it dies down, I’d say within 10 episodes or so, as the foxes get down to business.
The show gets wilder towards the end. The plot gets whiplashed around a bit, sometimes via deus ex machina plot devices. For example, dramatic sacrifices are subsequently undone by some world mechanism that was never hinted at until now, repeat again and again. But the show is only a trim 29 episodes so you just get yanked around for a bit and then it’s over.
Acting-wise, I think people in general did a good job. I really like Tian Jiarui’s character and that might be why I think he did such a great job, so adorable. Ju Jingyi is very pretty, but I’ll be honest, her classic-beauty aura is just not my thing- eg the way she will slightly tilt her face from here to there, like she’s letting us admire it from different angles. It might be the director’s decision to capture a certain vibe. I also, sorry to say, think Yan An is too good looking that it’s distracting. I kept admiring his face rather than focusing on what his character is doing (I ended up really loving his character’s story, though).
But in general I wasn’t a huge fan of the styling. I think Joseph Zeng and Chen Duling have both looked better in other shows. All around the faces were too pale and smooth- even more unnatural than the normal Cdrama.
The cinematography is quite artistic (it’s a shame it came out right after Pursuit of Jade which still did better). The fighting is a good mix of CGI and performed choreography. I thought it’s done really well, both technique and choreo, and fun to watch. I really like how different demons and hunters have their own unique weapons, skills, and spells. This would make a super fun RPG.
But this show also really loves poses, wind machines, and thumping techno music. It actually worked on me a few times (ie I thought it was cool) but mostly I thought it was trying too hard. In fact, a lot of parts of this show are overly dramatic, like all the slow speech with lots of pauses, and the pretty-crying with a single tear. It sometimes made me cringe, just a little.
In general I liked the music (yes, even the techno!) The show tends to play soft and gentle tunes during the most dramatic or heartbreaking scenes, which turns out to be a sure formula to make me cry. The OST also played at all the right moments, to good effect.
Overall, I like this show because it’s emotionally engaging, has some really sympathetic and likable characters, and is just... riveting. It’s full of plot twists that kept me on my toes- in a steady haze of mild confusion, yes, but aside from some parts not quite adding up (perhaps it’d be clearer on a rewatch), things mostly straighten out into touching stories in which it’s clear who to root for. The excessive, nonstop tragedy gets a bit exhausting sometimes, and the overly dramatic plot whiplash towards the end is a bit much. But I guess the emotional manipulation worked on me, because even though I didn't particularly like the ending either, I felt so attached to the characters and story that I still walked away with a real soft spot for this show.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The ending is... confusing? It’s not as tragic as this director is known for, but that’s not saying much.
Throughout the story, likable side characters were getting killed off left and right, so it’s no surprise that this trend continues right up to the end, even adding in some of the main characters. I was honestly kind of immune to the tragedy at this point.
But it is all undone by time travel stuff. The time loop makes as little sense as it ever did in a Cdrama. For some reason Wu Shiguang is the only one who seems to remember “old reality”, and we get some scenes from "new reality" but not enough for a clear picture of the situation. The time travel allows many people who died to be alive again, but this never made me feel better, because with a different set of memories they’re pretty much just different people.
WuWu couple still gets to be together, but Wu Wanyan has no memory of him. As for Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi... ok, I have no idea what happened inside that star thing. But at the very end there is some scene of them living as normal humans and meeting again. I don’t know if it’s an alternate universe or reincarnation or what, but since they don’t have their old memories anyways, as far as I am concerned the Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi we followed through the story are gone. ...which is actually really upsetting. Like come on, after all that?
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Artistic and beautiful cinematography dressing up a just-ok plot
The main thing that stands out about this show, to me, is its sheer artistry. The cinematography is amazing. The director’s use of colors, light and shadow, framing, symbols and motifs, etc creates such a lingering and evocative ambience. Even the posing and slow motion scenes- normally I can’t stand them, but here they were so artistically done that I actually liked them. This show is beautiful to watch.On top of that, everyone looks so good! Especially the male characters- good or bad, major or minor, this show is overflowing with hot guys. I mean, kudos to everyone’s face of course, but at this scale I have to credit the styling (hair/makeup), lighting, camera angles, even directing to avoid less flattering expressions. The director made everyone look good. So next time you look away from the show and wonder why everyone around you is so ugly, keep in mind that it’s kind of artificial.
As for the plot, I wish it lived up to the great directing. The first 15-16 episodes follows the two leads in a small town. It is sweet and nostalgic, full of warm and fuzzy vibes. This part feels more slice-of-life. I tend to appreciate this sort of thing more after the leads have gone through some crisis, so I thought it was a little slow, but still cute and enjoyable.
After that the series explodes into action, battles and a mess of politics. Some of it is a little draggy (eg manufactured drama between the leads), and then I had a hard time piecing the backstory together from the fragmented clues scattered throughout. Even after the answer is given, the pieces don’t seem to add up. It doesn’t help that the last few episodes feel so rushed, but also I think they just left out some information from the book. In general, I think the backstory is good but not conveyed well, leaving people puzzling over the tangled mess rather than being properly emotionally impacted.
Plus, I kind of soured on the main character. Fan Changyu in the first half is the kind of down-to-earth FL I like. She’s kind and sincere, ready to provide for her new house husband. She’s also really tough and an excellent fighter- not in, like, a realistic way, but still in a fun way. Her impressive skills made her somewhat unrelatable to me (we don’t see her train, she’s just a genius), so I liked her but felt a bit distant.
As the show progresses, though, her super strength and martial ability get overdone to the point where it’s just ridiculous. Perhaps her flaws should make her more relatable, but I found them annoying. Her impulsiveness and emotionalism result in some hot-and-cold treatment towards the ML, which is mostly just frustrating to watch, and her lack of education is endearing until it's not. For example, her sneaking off during an imperial decree is probably supposed to be funny, but I thought it’s really disrespectful. And the way she celebrates her undeserved promotion without worrying about how she’d actually do her job- carefree and confident are good and all, but there’s something to be said about some self-awareness.
Well, I seem to be alone on this, so take it how you will. Either way, I had a harder time rooting for Changyu as the show went on, which made the last 10 episodes a bit of a struggle.
On the other hand, for a ML we get Xie Zheng, one of those perfect dreamboat MLs constructed to fulfill your fantasies. Badass, highly skilled, and commanding, yet gentle, supportive, and totally devoted towards her. He loses his composure a few times in the middle, just enough to make him feel human and convey how much she means to him. I wouldn’t have minded if he had more depth, but overall I liked him.
The romance is well done, mostly thanks to the cinematography which creates a simmering tension between them, the kind that makes your heart skip a beat. There are two other romances in the show that also benefit from the director’s skill- one of them is smoking hot (and highly toxic), the other is cute and sweet. The female characters involved are also highly (and unusually) skilled at one thing or another, and have good relations with Changyu, which is nice to watch.
There are several other likable side characters as well- like the FL’s squad, the ML’s sidekicks, etc- though I felt they didn’t all get the attention they deserved.
On the villain side, the true political villain takes some unravelling and isn’t clear for a long time. In the meantime, there are several intermediate villains, like two crazy brothers that are so obviously psycho you can't look away.
But of all the villains big and small, I ended up feeling sorry for quite a lot of them, even despite some irredeemable actions. I don’t really like feeling this way- kind of sour- but my consolation is that many other audience members seem to feel this way too.
Acting-wise, I thought Tian Xiwei does a good job. I’m really impressed by how physically strong she is. Zhang Linghe seems pretty good too, though maybe I am most impressed by Lin Muran who conveyed the crazy, taunting energy of Sui Yuanqing well. A lot of the supporting actors had great performances.
The fight choreo is pretty good, not too flashy but solid- like the weapons actually have some weight- and, not surprisingly, generally quite artistic. Tian Xiwei looks pretty good with fluid movements into solid hits. I was less impressed by Zhang Linghe’s hand-to-hand, but I thought his horseback fighting (choreo and execution) was quite good, as was his riding.
I really like the costumes, especially the working-class clothing and the armor. The music is the kind of songs that I like now because I have emotional association from hearing them during iconic scenes of the show. There is some CGI that is surprisingly bad, but the rest of production makes up for it.
Overall I think this show is artistic and beautiful. But the plot is not the best, with the politics and backstory told in a confusing way, draggy bits in the second half, Changyu sometimes annoying, villains I also feel deeply sorry for, etc. I still think it’s worth a watch for the excellent cinematography, but don’t expect an equivalent mastery from the plot. Readers of the book might enjoy it more (or not) and I had to benefit from their forum posts to understand some of what’s going on.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The last few episodes are quite rushed, and the backstory is not fully revealed until the very last episode where it is unceremoniously narrated. But at least most of the last episode is reserved for wrap-up. It is a happy ending for our leads and most of their friends. Villains get their due and the country returns to stability.
We get a 5-year-out view of the leads to know they are doing fine, which is nice, though I wish we saw more of the side characters. We can assume they are mostly doing well- except maybe Li Huai’an, poor guy- but we don’t see it. I found out from book readers that Yu Qianqian is a transmigrator... what a detail to whittle down to a mere hint in the show.
In the last 10 or so minutes we get an “alternate reality” version where the old tragedy never happened. Then some of the sympathetic villains can be good people, tackling issues alongside our protagonists. I was looking forward to this bit to feel good, but actually the main point seems to be that Qi Min and Yu Qianqian cannot be together even in an alternate life, which I thought is a dumb final message.
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Not my show, didn’t like FL
I’ll admit upfront that I didn’t finish this show. I watched about 25 episodes, then skimmed the rest. This was the first show I quit after a really solid effort to stick with it. You can decide if it invalidates my review, or read ahead to see why ;-)Ultimately I think this just wasn’t a show for me. Many other people liked it, I just couldn’t quite get into it.
From the description, this show promises to be a feel-good story of female empowerment. The setting is the Song dynasty, which I believe was a bit more liberal (but don’t quote me, I can’t find the source anymore), making it possible though still difficult for women to succeed on their own.
The main couple, Zhou Pan’er and Gu Qianfan, get off to an amusing start. I liked the banter between them, legit funny at times. They get together fairly early and have a good, healthy relationship. Thanks to Song dynasty liberalism (maybe), they are able to go on many lovely dates.
At the same time, Zhou Pan’er is making her name as a teahouse owner, along with her two gal pals. They even pick up another down-on-luck girl later. It’s the perfect setting to watch these young women defeat stereotypes and rock the world. That so much of the drama simply shows Pan’er and friends overcoming daily obstacles is probably why some have called this a slice-of-life drama.
I think my main issue with the show comes from my inability to connect with the female lead. Pan’er is a capable leader who solves problems with confidence. This by itself is great; Blossoms in Adversity has a similarly capable FL doing similar things, and I really liked her. But I think Pan’er- who in the source material was, I believe, actually a courtesan- is going more for a graceful, classic-beauty persona, and I personally just did not like it that much. I tend to like down-to-earth personalities.
Liu Yifei is a veteran actress and I believe she’s very good, but somehow I just couldn’t connect with her portrayal of Zhou Pan’er. Her mouth was hanging open a bit too much. And she was doing something with her voice… this show was, I believe, not dubbed (good for them!), which means occasional audio issues. But her voice seemed to have this weird sheen on it- that was not audio issues- as if she were trying to make it sound ethereal. For the first few episodes, I thought it was really pretty, but by around episode 10 it was driving me crazy. It just felt so pretentious. I even tried it myself, to confirm that it can be done on purpose and isn’t just her natural voice.
The voice thing seems like a minor detail, but for me it combined with the rest of her “elegant and beautiful” act to make the entire thing seem pretentious. It’s definitely not what they were going for, but if you start to see the FL as putting off saintly airs, then the show becomes much less enjoyable.
As for the ML, Gu Qianfan is a great, devoted boyfriend. I seem to see these a lot in Cdramas. I like his casual style and swagger, that’s done well. What’s done less well: he is supposed to be some master fighter, but he keeps hyperextending his shoulder when swinging a sword outward. It makes his fighting look messy and weak.
Similarly, Yinzhang (already everyone’s least favorite of the sisterhood!) is supposed to be an amazing pipa player, but her nails are SO long. Although I haven’t played a pipa, I would think anyone who’s played a string instrument should know to cut their nails.
These are all quibbles, but I guess I was hyperfixated on these details because I just didn’t like the show. I noticed them right away and then couldn’t stop seeing them.
Then there’s her ex-fiancee. At the point I stopped watching, it was undetermined just how much of a scumbag he is. But up to that point I had some sympathy for him and felt her campaign against him, as well as what happens to him, was over-the-top. It seemed so artificial, like show writers wanting to give justice to all wronged women while demonstrating Pan’er’s mettle (it might also have been a plot device, I’ll grant that). The much more realistic thing would have been for her to just swallow the insult and move on with her life. It made me empathize even less with her… like, if they made me feel sorry for her, I might have liked her more, but they went the opposite way.
I liked Sanniang as well as some of the other characters, like Zhaodi and Chen Li. But at the point where I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes whenever the main character showed up, which was often, I decided to just stop watching the show.
All this aside, I do think this show is incredibly beautifully shot. The city has lots of canals, and the cinematography is just beautiful. I love the setting. So the show gets a 5 from me (which is what I give a show I’m not into), but +0.5 for the beautiful setting.
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