1
Lazy storytelling at its best
This show thrusts you into the life of Jiang Si and follows her as she struggles to change the fate she experienced in her previous life and save the ones she loves in order to live out her second chance at life in peace. As she encounters old foes and new plots she uses her knowledge of her past and newfound inner strength to counter those that would do her harm. Si Jin is a beautifully styled drama with elegant costuming and picturesque sets as the backdrop to what ultimately ends up becoming a drama about constant female maliciousness and blatant unchecked corruption leading the plot in circles around one villainous character after the other.
Simply saying this story is fast paced is a bit insulting to the art of story telling. It does move quickly but the change in scenes is frequently jarring and the lines connecting the plot are flimsy due to little background and characterization often rushing from one dramatic scheme to the next without providing any motivation or logic. The show gives flashbacks to Jiang Si's previous life but because the viewers are not provided with an understanding of the overall picture the flashbacks often feel superficial. The many villains provided are also portrayed in cartoonish ways with their behaviors driven purely by arrogance and privilege. They are not multifaceted characters and instead only have one trait that defines their personality which many times is just cruel for the sake of being cruel. The narrative also relies heavily on using the female lead's beauty as the reasoning for others to go against her making jealousy the lead trope. Episode 16 is a perfect example of the writers reliance on convenient story telling, ridiculous single minded villains, and cheap over the top drama. There are many instances but that episode specifically contains everything that is wrong with the way this show has been written, acted, and produced. The constant shifts from one scheme or crisis to the next without any character development or real life progression in the middle feels like lazy story telling.
I am familiar with the main leads and a handful of the older actors but there are a significant amount of new faces here and that is felt in the overall acting with scenes often feeling immature or incomplete due to overacting specifically with the villains and the people around them. The script also relies very heavily on convenient story telling where things just happen to make the story work but not because the actions are logical. Unfortunately the female lead also is unable to carry the emotional scenes. Her crying and sadness is unconvincing but so is her anger or indignation. The male lead is far more versatile and it is actually fun to watch him in this less mature role for once.
While I am invested in the two main leads story I still find this frustrating to watch and would not recommend it to others looking for an intelligent and cohesive plot. Having completed this series I can now confidently say that I would not recommend this and would instead provide a very long list of better dramas.
Small Spoilers-------------
Things I mean by convenient story telling: a character that is established to not be able to swim but manages to save himself from drowning; villains leaving large clues in writing behind when fleeing or people just saying confidential or important information not checking or caring where they are or who is around; a character being kidnapped and held in a secure location with many guards but is easily saved by another character that can then stay hidden, etc.
Jiang SI's character is also dramatically inconsistent. I like that she is strong and outspoken with the courage to go against others but then the flashbacks make her seem so incredibly meek that the two versions of her make it difficult for me to accept that it's really her in both lives. I also hate that they never give any real explanation for the flashbacks in the frontier and why Jiang Si is there and how they meet.
I'd also like to complain about the lack of reasoning for a majority of the choices made in this show. Can the villians not be given motive? Okay I can play off that the first guy was just after money to pay off his debts and wouldn't end the engagement, the second guy was just a psycho because his father was strict, but the princess does all this evil stuff just because she can and no one in the palace notices? There is a smuggling ring kidnapping not just poor women but also noble women that are traveling or are married and no one says or does anything after the county magistrate does shit about it? I'm supposed to believe that a devoted husband was suddenly seduced by a note to kill his wife without ever meeting the person he was doing it for?
And finally the lack of time perception in this show is astounding. The show makes it seem like little time passes between events but then things like opening a store, training to be a competent martial artist, healing from a deep wound, etc happen as if those things don't take weeks or months?
Simply saying this story is fast paced is a bit insulting to the art of story telling. It does move quickly but the change in scenes is frequently jarring and the lines connecting the plot are flimsy due to little background and characterization often rushing from one dramatic scheme to the next without providing any motivation or logic. The show gives flashbacks to Jiang Si's previous life but because the viewers are not provided with an understanding of the overall picture the flashbacks often feel superficial. The many villains provided are also portrayed in cartoonish ways with their behaviors driven purely by arrogance and privilege. They are not multifaceted characters and instead only have one trait that defines their personality which many times is just cruel for the sake of being cruel. The narrative also relies heavily on using the female lead's beauty as the reasoning for others to go against her making jealousy the lead trope. Episode 16 is a perfect example of the writers reliance on convenient story telling, ridiculous single minded villains, and cheap over the top drama. There are many instances but that episode specifically contains everything that is wrong with the way this show has been written, acted, and produced. The constant shifts from one scheme or crisis to the next without any character development or real life progression in the middle feels like lazy story telling.
I am familiar with the main leads and a handful of the older actors but there are a significant amount of new faces here and that is felt in the overall acting with scenes often feeling immature or incomplete due to overacting specifically with the villains and the people around them. The script also relies very heavily on convenient story telling where things just happen to make the story work but not because the actions are logical. Unfortunately the female lead also is unable to carry the emotional scenes. Her crying and sadness is unconvincing but so is her anger or indignation. The male lead is far more versatile and it is actually fun to watch him in this less mature role for once.
While I am invested in the two main leads story I still find this frustrating to watch and would not recommend it to others looking for an intelligent and cohesive plot. Having completed this series I can now confidently say that I would not recommend this and would instead provide a very long list of better dramas.
Small Spoilers-------------
Things I mean by convenient story telling: a character that is established to not be able to swim but manages to save himself from drowning; villains leaving large clues in writing behind when fleeing or people just saying confidential or important information not checking or caring where they are or who is around; a character being kidnapped and held in a secure location with many guards but is easily saved by another character that can then stay hidden, etc.
Jiang SI's character is also dramatically inconsistent. I like that she is strong and outspoken with the courage to go against others but then the flashbacks make her seem so incredibly meek that the two versions of her make it difficult for me to accept that it's really her in both lives. I also hate that they never give any real explanation for the flashbacks in the frontier and why Jiang Si is there and how they meet.
I'd also like to complain about the lack of reasoning for a majority of the choices made in this show. Can the villians not be given motive? Okay I can play off that the first guy was just after money to pay off his debts and wouldn't end the engagement, the second guy was just a psycho because his father was strict, but the princess does all this evil stuff just because she can and no one in the palace notices? There is a smuggling ring kidnapping not just poor women but also noble women that are traveling or are married and no one says or does anything after the county magistrate does shit about it? I'm supposed to believe that a devoted husband was suddenly seduced by a note to kill his wife without ever meeting the person he was doing it for?
And finally the lack of time perception in this show is astounding. The show makes it seem like little time passes between events but then things like opening a store, training to be a competent martial artist, healing from a deep wound, etc happen as if those things don't take weeks or months?
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