This review may contain spoilers
A potentially riveting show that fell prey to misunderstandings and clichés.
This show is one that I kinda watched out of spite because of how gravely disappointed I was with everything that went down after the initial few episodes.I was hooked by the charming & intelligent general whose strategy in times of unrest were rivaling that of our male protagonist and despite them being on the opposite ends, both vying for the same power they were forced to cooperate-? How cool was that??
They both were giving the vibes of fighting with tooth and nail without ceding an inch and the chemistry between the secondary couple was also really cute BUT....That's where everything started to go downhill and in the end it became a landslide that buried a potentially amazing story to cliches, dog blood and characters doing extremely illogical things out of "love" but the thing was the Li Ni & Ayin from the initial episodes would never let go of their interests even n the face of their feelings, they'd be vigilant towards each other and would be scheming behind each others back!
The thing was they caught feelings wayy too fast and after that came the usual MISUNDERSTANDINGS--Utterly absurd!
The antagonists in this show survived for so long just because of the misunderstandings between the main characters- they were extremely 2D, lacking any depth and their motive was what- LOVE? Like babes are we fr??
I hate when female antagonists are reduced to baseless caricatures lacking any intellect and losing everything for the sake of love and just to push forward the romance line of the main characters aka becomes the spices for drama
the same case was for the second male lead, the absurdity of everything really made me wanna yank my hair out- the political plot was also sidelined for the romance which well was ofc hopeless.
The ending-??? Whyyy???Her jumping out of the coffin was..ugh not fun at all.
Overall,
A Slower burn with more time for the feelings to develop & marinate, less misunderstandings, antagonists with logical motives, more about them surviving the political uprising together would've made this show a much better experience.
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Striking Visuals, No Misunderstandings, Clear Communication, strong female lead- A drama done well!
What I really liked about this show was the Female Lead, and ANY show that does its female characters well is a great show.The initial episodes really had the high energy, tension, intrigue that was tantalising though the middle part got muddled through, a little draggy even but there were moments that made me really stick to and complete the show.
Not strictly enemies to lovers as marketed but the strong dislike between the leads due to their original roles/ duties were clearly palpable and carried out really well by the actors.
I really liked the casting and acting of the characters especially with Fu Yuxiao, Li Qin really brought this red clad general to life, she was absolutely the formidable general one who's capable, composed and intelligent.
I also loved how the characters were really consistent to their original goals & ideals. Ml doesn't end up becoming the emperor but instead left the governance to his sister. (love women in power)
They also have the most equal relationship. She literally lashed him back so they could be even to cooperate, the chemistry absolutely fire. They both experience betrayal together, help each other through the grief, protect each other and COMMUNICATE, NO MISUNDERSTANDING, He ALWAYS asks for her opinion and help cuz she's his partner.
Also I kinda didn't mind how the second couple went-? Loved the Princess's arc (possibly a villain arc but she was just collecting the dues) And the chemistry between her & the emperor was absolutely divine- he needed to be useful, to be worth enough for someone to ask for his help and she wanted her revenge. I loved how she went from this naive & sheltered Lil princess who thought she can fix him to scheming and using all her wits for revenge.
The Emperor was cunning, but also a philander in ways the contradiction in itself made him interesting, loved this arc, kinda saved the show as it went through the draggyness.
I was totally expecting more depth into the alliance and how it'll affect the main plot, kinda felt that it was underutilised.
💌 In conclusion-
The show is totally watch worthy with strong female character who's a general and behaves like one,ML who's kind, understanding ISN'T GRUMPY OR BROODY, CLEAR COMMUNICATION, NO BREAKUP, NO MISUNDERSTANDING, HE ENDING. Also doesn't help that the action scenes and visuals were absolutely gorgeous.
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