Enigma05

Bit off more then he could chew...

This is my honest review.

I'm going to start by saying this series gets a 7/10 from me and it's 100% on the screenwriter. Maybe it's because I'm used to American blockbusters, maybe it's because I have friends that are screenwriters in Hollywood whose work I've read and given critique on, maybe it's because I'm a professional writer/editor myself and have written scripts and novels over the years, or maybe it's all of the above. Fact remains, this screenwriter bit off more then he could chew and it fell short and I'm just a drama/lead actor fan; never read the novel nor am I into donghua. Though it's not even close to a comparison, Lord of the Rings: first film alone had 3 screenwriters. Maybe it was the arrogance of the screenwriter but he or the director or the production company should have brought more people to help him. There was simply no way for him to be able to take this project and do it justice himself. It is impossible given its size. I know there are people scoring full 10s and more power to them but with all of my experience in this and as mentioned above, this is an honest review that will get constructive criticism.

Under no circumstances can or should DC be compared to his other works simply because it's completely different. With the amount of CGI and other visual effects, it lands in a category of its own. Let me make myself clear, DC is not a bad series, especially for those of us that don't know its history; it's just not a powerful transition from 2D to 3D live action. One thing that is a faux pas for writers and screenwriters; it should not take 13 plus episodes/chapters to introduce main or supporting characters. If there is a concrete lead, that lead should always be around enough to remind the audience of who the individual is.

We were working with 40 episodes, 35 minutes long each (not counting credits) for part 1. I get it, you want to introduce everyone and set up their backstories. Very feasible but you're neglecting the reason the story exists; lead character must grow and evolve too. Between episodes 6-13 there was almost no plot cohesion. It was a roller coaster ride of let's randomly bring more people into the mix while running around doing tasks that don't have a meaning.

Furthermore, those episodes and some additional ones should have been called "The boring nonsense of OuSiKe and Rong Rong." Out of the 7 devils the screenwriter/director/producer made him look like Betty Crocker and his constant artsy fartsy monologues of Mr. Motor Mouth were enough to give most a splitting headache. Personally if he had signed with Prince ugly Eyebrows, left ShiLanKe and opened a theatre academy, I would have been thrilled. Again, I'm not blaming the actor for this as he was acting out the script. His character was the most lackluster and worthless out of the entire bunch. When he and Rong Rong would whine, it sounded like '90s dial up internet gone haywire. I fast forwarded a lot of their scenes as they added no value to the story.

It felt sad that so much good material was wasted. The battles lasted maximum 5 minutes while the conversations and needless explanations took the rest of the time. Growth of characters requires them doing things; just like the saying goes "actions speak louder then words", just dialogue will not evolve a character. Even without the background of the novel, I could tell the evolution of some characters and total standstills of others.

So many anticlimactic scenes and music. The OST's were gorgeous but towards the end were chucked randomly into parts of the episodes that didn't require them. The entire time the 7devils were in MSH towards the end didn't even seem like part of this series. Most were out playing Sherlock Holmes on separate mysteries trying to solve puzzles and save the ultimate villain who already knew everything that was going on. It seemed that the screenwriter ran out of material (shocking) and had to stretch to make it 40 episodes with a lot of nonsense. For 5 episodes, I felt like I was in the game of "Clue". It was a shoddy patchwork job that deserved way better; the actors taking on these roles and the audience deserved better.

I've mentioned some actors above and I'll continue speaking about them in their character sense again (I'll speak about the actual actors later if necessary). Mu Bai who started out as bossy and a total turn off, evolved into a mature and well prepared captain. Same goes for Zhu Zhu Qing, though from the 7 devils other then Tang San, she was my 2nd favorite because of her fierceness and I liked her character's growth. Master and Headmaster along with Ma Hong Jun were also heavily favored because of their comedic reprieve and growth.

I must say episode 40 left me scratching my head but not at the cliffhanger which was expected and yet even that fell flat. There was no great battle for the championship nor a fight between Papa Tang and the Pope. The finale battle was really one dude spouting arrogant nonsense who still got his butt kicked, and the way too obvious revelation of XW being a soul beastie with a side order of Papa Tang smacking the Pope around with his hammer, twice. Tang San trying to protect XW per usual was obvious but his serious lack of surprise about her identity and his proclamation (if the subs were on point) that she was his love or lover were misplaced because it was never shown before. Even in the most dense of moments he never uttered anything save she was his younger sister. Another point off from the script, massive disconnect. I can point out many points of disconnect within the script and this show but then I'd be writing this for days.

There were many people who didn't like XW's character; personally I felt very neutral towards her. She had her good attributes (she always had TS' back, could kick some serious butt in a fight, never backed down, was willing to do whatever it took to get stronger) and she had her weaknesses (sometimes too clingy, didn't understand the simplest things, a bit too bouncy for my taste). Again most of her lackluster traits are attributed to the script because what she read, she did. Episode 39 where she and TS are in the soul beast dungeon and she basically all but said who she was and Tang San was still somewhat clueless babbling theories; really that's like scriptwriting 101 and our pal screenwriter failed. Why wait? Especially when you're not going to make it into like an abracadabra super reveal anyways? Defies logical writing and progression.

Lastly for characters and actors, I want to speak on Tang San and Xiao Zhan. It's because of Xiao Zhan (not a solo fan; multi here) that I watched this. Is his performance Oscar worthy? No. But it was the only thing with a few other characters that kept me coming back every evening for my VIP. I loved his character. Even when it was at a standstill due to the introduction of others. He put everything he knew into it and I give him praise for that. The stunts, both on wires and without were wonderful. For him, I will absolutely watch part 2 (though hopefully it won't take multiple years to get there).

I also hope--because they took such a long time to introduce the other characters--they won't throw them away in part 2. And that they follow the novel a lot closer into the second part. Nothing will ever be 100% adaptable anywhere but it should at least come to some version of close.

Lastly, I want to thank the visual effects department and CGI crew for their hard work because they truly did a fantastic job on all of their parts. My favorite part will forever be the dreamscape or interspace that TS' mother created for him. It was truly beautiful and magical. I know this international team worked hard on all of their scenes and they should not be forgotten as neither should the crew who worked in lord knows what kind of conditions and how many hours. So hats off to them. Thank you Douluo Continent for the teamwork because it does make the dream work and I'll see you all again hopefully in Part 2!

P.S. Please add at least 2 more experienced screenwriters. Much appreciated!

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Those Destined Will Go Far

This drama was on my anticipated dramas of the year list and for the most part it didn't disappoint. I wanted to see BJT in another costume drama and recognized many actors from the TBOY cast here. This must have been a great reunion for them. Those destined will indeed go far.

Pros: The first two story arcs were the most promising and held my attention as both leads and those that became their friends went through literal hell in order to survive. I really liked both leads evolution as they came together due to a misunderstanding that gradually turned into very deep love. BJT can play a lazy rich kid just as well as a military strategist. I loved the fight scenes though there were few of them. Going from one home, then to starting from scratch in a second and yet a third, it was a process we looked forward to. All characters I felt were necessary though I think for being such a ruthless antagonist, LZS didn't get that much screen time. I loved the sworn brotherhoods and sisterhoods around the leads. So it was very sad that in the final 3 episodes, QWZ was killed. Even though that was as many said, in the novel, after so much loss and destruction, this was absolutely heartbreaking and unnecessary. They could have changed that.

Sets, costumes, OSTs were perfect everywhere though I wish they didn't sub them over the lines because it made it nearly impossible to understand.

Cons: The entire palace arc being put into the last dozen episodes seemed like production was galloping to the finish line and I found much of to be too much. So much so, I skipped a few episodes. FY becoming LZS' puppet was obvious and obnoxious but him getting a semi-redemption arc when he was acting like a 12 year old with people's lives made me sick. LZS' demise also didn't seem satisfactory as this nut job killed so many people because of a total misunderstanding was pretty ridiculous. Another one with daddy issues that didn't know the truth. I just feel that these antagonists need more satisfying endings given their brutality.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. For 40 episodes, it had a little bit of everything so give it a go.

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The Boy Wunderkind

I was very surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this drama, even though 2 people I follow are in it and I wanted to see knowing Wu Lei was a child actor and having now seen him in many things as a young adult, was curious how he was as a teen. He met every single one of the expectations and then some for the role. I heard people hated on him at the time this was released; I'd just say they were jealous or had nothing better to do. Many actors that I've seen since in other things, seeing them here was always a pleasant surprise. Obviously, watching a 2018 drama in 2023 is an entirely different ballgame but I go into each drama with literally zero expectations even if it's an anticipated one. Call it a personal pet peeve. Xiao Yan was the boy wunderkind.

Pro: Though called an "idol drama" just for the sheer number of boy banders in it; I viewed it as just another drama. As mentioned above, WL or XY was really great in every scene of his. He was able to hit each emotion and movement on the nose. He was 17 then, 23 now and it was there when he was really angry that I saw a young Ashile Sun or Ling Bu Yi in the making. That smoldering glare of "if looks could kill or at least maim" was very impressive and on point. Am I praising him because I follow him? No. I'm an equal opportunity critic especially since I'm an author/writer myself and know how a character should express their scenes even if I haven't read the material. I know this thing was popular when it aired so obviously he did something right. His evolution was fantastic. I have to praise the author of the IP for the character itself. To go from almost no martial art skills to that of a near God in 45 episodes is impressive to say the least. Truly wish he and many others reprised their roles in the sequel though I know that's not happening. The martial arts scenes were awesome, especially as XY ascended in power.

Had many favorite secondary characters but the one he had the best banter with was Yao Chen or Yao Lo aka the psychedelic-haired genius trapped in the ring. Baron Chen was an absolute riot as him. I would have loved to see more scenes with just them two. They had the best back and forth friendship even though they were essentially Shifu and student. I lost count how many times I was cracking up at their mutual bitching or antics. This relationship was the best tension breaker when Soul Hall was getting out of control with their evil. It was like a grab and release, each and every time.

If I start listing all of the other great characters that molded so well by XY's side, we'll be here all night. But just about every character was an awesome addition, including the antagonists like the Omega (JR Ward BDB novel reference) looking Old Fan, just 86 the evil cackle which always just destroys the credibility of a villain as it makes me think of a Halloween store decoration. I had forgotten Xiao Zhan was in this one way back when he was still a new face on the block. He's one the Yan Sect pact boys I really liked, so it was a pleasant surprise to see his face on screen. Just wish they didn't poof him from 20 episodes only to return him in the last few (but I'm guessing that had more to do with his own filming schedule conflicts). Everyone XY aligned himself with like the snake tribe and its gorgeous queen was awesome. When it came to chemistry and who he was ultimately best with, in part one I couldn't tell because it seemed like Xun'er was the obvious choice and the one he got jealous over, but he played his naïveté so well, everyone's guess is good. Hopefully in part 2, they appropriately address it and have him choose just one and not 471. Head of the academy Elder Mi was more like a father figure to XY than his own father though the latter did everything in secret to protect XY. Also loved his older brothers from the desert. Just too many people to put down, but overall the support from family and acquired friends and allies was pretty outstanding.

Production itself was alright but not super tight; I was actually happy with the less is more concept. Costumes, OSTs, sets, etc were well done and believable for the time. The cliffhanger was pretty well executed even considering audiences 5 years plus are still waiting for part 2. It gave people hope instead of many that just confuse the hell out of everyone. As far as cliffhangers go, it was the best way to do it. I liked it a lot; though I wasn't a fan of Xun'er's betrayal as he's "dying." I hope she gets a crack in the head from him for that.

Cons: As many mentioned, there were plot holes in the series that never were resolved or understood. How did XY's mom stick Yao Lo and a bunch of treasures into a ring when she was so badly wounded and he was already dead? What happened to the Mo Clan after its leader was killed? How did the snake tribe know where to go during that last battle? And the student friends of XY from the academy arrived on scene after everything was cratered, just like "wifey" and her new magical beast. Did some bulletin go out to the rest of the world? Or was everyone psychic and telepathic? Where did his brothers from the desert go? How were they not found before for years but magically when XY is doing that 30 day trial underground, they poof and no clue to whether they're dead or alive. Many, many others. At a time with no limit on episodes, they could have explained a lot of this and better. Didn't like that there were a few episodes without XY at the end just so they could shove in small subplots to make room for the final battle, but it opened the door to even more questions that were never revealed. I also wish they had told him of what happened to his clan sooner, it was very anti-climactic.

Why couldn't they get rid of Han Heng before part 2 because it seemed to me like he possessed more power then even Old Fan and all he did pretty much the entire series was whine, throw his hair around like some cocky Fabio, and try to pin every problem of their lands on XY; it got old quick. How did he even know where the cave was, how to use the spatial ring, etc at the end? It just cut off any logic. The guy was a straight up douche and didn't deserve to outlive other, perhaps better even antagonists. The zombies were just undead people with eye makeup, quite lousy. The camera shook repeatedly and could be extremely noticeable. So I hope in part 2, they bring everything full circle and use better fantastical elements instead of the cheap zombie extras.

Would I recommend it? I would. And am even going to try part 2 despite the change in everything from cast to production. If you want an adventurous, fun, well moving story with great martial arts that's like a blend of wuxia and fantasy, give this a try.

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Love Transcends Timelines

Originally added this to my watchlist because I was interested in ZKY playing the ML only seeing him in a few support roles plus the storyline fascinated me. I have no problem with age gaps, after all we had the hit film "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and there the woman really was 20 years older; in real life as well there was a difference and they still made it work. A few similarities but overall, good. I didn't know the FL at all but some of the supporting cast I knew like the SML and a few others. But this really was the love that transcended timelines.

Pros: ZKY delivered on all counts; all emotions of both younger and older self. I really loved the difference of the two timelines because they weren't abrupt but interwoven so the transitions were smooth as we the audience had to see both characters meeting, growth, evolution. Neither LW or CJ (our ML and FL respectively) were perfect characters. Both were flawed from the get go. That was very important to highlight. As were the other two couples. In the beginning when we meet LW and CJ reconnecting in the current timeline and she learns of his experience abroad and how sick he is basically due to her and their break up, and then we see how angry he is and we see her apologize and it just kind of seems like a flimsy apology so the audience is kind of unsure and angry as we go through the rest of the drama between the two timelines but then as we get toward the end we start to realize that LW has let go of all of that and in the current timeline he's focused now on standing in front of her and getting her back regardless of her indecisiveness, which was very annoying. But we realize that the past timeline isn't about the anger that LW feels but is instead about telling the story of them; telling how they met and all of that and how they got to where they are presently so the audience isn't angry anymore or isn't feeling like she messed with him even though it in a sense was like that, and I will talk about that in the cons. But the fact that we as an audience also evolved as well with the story is pretty awesome because that's usually not something that happens. Also as the story neared the end and they get back together and they were hiding from parents and doing all that other stuff, and though it is comedic at times, we see that she understands how much she hurt him because she admits it to her father and that's a huge step for someone like her. Yes, she was hurt in the past way before because she was divorced with a cheating spouse that was a scumbag, and still is a scumbag in the current timeline, but she was also angry at him and got over him more or less in a good manner of time. She even spoke about that when she and LW first got together in the past timeline. LW meanwhile from the get--I think for him it was love at first sight--was her protector, even if she didn't realize it he always stood in front of her to shield her from anything and everything and continued to do so in the current timeline.

There were two other couples; couple number two got together more or less quickly, though they had a few misunderstandings that were ironed out relatively in a good time matter. Couple number three were a little strange; they I guess were together the entire time but we only found out about it in the current timeline. What was also cool was the fact that as we were nearing the end of the past timeline story, it held off on showing us the current timeline so only when the past timeline ended with the break up and him going abroad and her being miserable and missing him and the way she handled the breakup I suppose, is when we smoothly transition into the current timeline and her realization of her feelings and that's when they get back together.

I like how when he ran into trouble with his business in the current timeline, this is toward the end, this time she stood by his side, no matter what she even went public with their relationship. She didn't care who said what, it was only the two of them together, and she was determined to be by his side and I thought that that was a major evolution for her and great in general. Comedy was nice here both past and current timelines, especially the current one where they were running away from her mom who was a trip all in herself even the actress with the BTS was fun as well as the absolute hysterical portion was the fact that all the BTS is of them kissing in there were a lot of kisses in this one and they were good ones. Chemistry was on point and very spicy. The fact that ZKY didn’t have that much experience, but the director was guiding him and everybody was teasing him because they had to take multiple shots and even Michelle Chen who played the FL was teasing him because his ears would get red all the time and he was very shy so this was such a great environment even during the tense times they would just be joking around and ZKY was a goofball so he would let all the tension out of the room. It was just a great show to watch altogether. She still teased him during the interviews, their livestreams, and promos now lol! Yes, it had some issues but nothing to cry home about, I don't think.

I love her parents. I love how supportive they always were of her past or current timeline so that was great. Both her best friend and his friends were great no toxicity or stupid advice whatsoever. And even the creepy third wheel because he was annoying; got a clue and bowed out gracefully, finally, it took him a while to get a clue, but he finally got it. As this was a modern, drama sets and costumes and everything obviously was fine. OST matched everything perfectly.

Cons: A lot also had to do with her indecisiveness in both past and current timelines. And the way she showed it, was her eyes would just roll around in her head like she was his age or she would just run away. It just looked really strange like you're an adult woman; stop running away from shit! It was annoying as nails, especially in the current timeline because by then she was closer to 40 and she was still acting the same and I am a woman in my early 40s and I don't run away from anything. If I don't understand my feelings or know them or know how to face them I will just say "you know something, I'm going to take a little bit of time and I'm going to think about it," let the other person know so they aren't overthinking. Set an example! But I would not act like that. Grown women, especially who have careers and are successful, don't act like that; it didn't fit.

Even though the break up wasn't as bad as everyone thought, I still thought that the way she handled everything was just weird and strange and didn't fit. For starters, all the lying was so unnecessary she could've brought up the long distance thing, sat him down like an adult instead of a few nights before he was about to leave he found those documents. I thought that was just very immature of someone her age as she was always talking about their age difference in the beginning. She started with long distance and then literally not even five minutes into it, she broke up with him; like what is even happening? I hate the "doing it for your own good" crap. He was an adult. She never consulted him. It was a huge mistake which she later admitted to but at the time I just thought it was absolutely the worst thing she could've done considering his already massive abandonment issues from his entire family, and the reason she brought him from the mountains to school in the first place and gave him a safe Haven. Now she's basically ripping it away from him so the lying and the abandonment where my biggest issues in the break up; the rest of it I get. Even he got it in the current timeline hence he didn't pursue the issue and let her apologize for not handling it well as she said after he called her out on it a few times, she understood, especially after knowing how much it affected his health and that she was basically directly responsible for that.

I'm still pretty unhappy as is everyone that they cut the daughter scene and the him teaching at a university for a class scene that should've been something like six years later from the end of the show, that should've been an extra scene because when they filmed it, there was dialogue. It wasn't like a quick five minute thing, it was like half an episode if not an entire episode. That just left a lot still not brought full circle. And ironically, it's their banner on their Weibo site the very last scene or take from what was supposed to be either part of the series or something extra. Like why leave something so important out?

Also, I wish that at the end when he had the company troubles and he knew who betrayed him I wish that they had perp walked that dude for trade secret infringement instead of LW just patting him on the shoulder and saying something along the lines of "wait for the court to contact you." I think given the fact of how it affected him, the betrayal was so great, it should've been more than just that. I feel like the ending was definitely rushed especially the last episode. It could've been done better and with that extra portion or put it into the last episode; it would've taken maybe 20-25 minutes and it would've been a great way to end. I like the way it ended nonetheless but still. Also, another reason I feel the ending was rushed was because they had the second couple proposal instead of giving us what we wanted. I understand if the FL didn't want to get married right away yet but instead of giving us that whole thing they could've given us that extra portion and the 3rd couple was also very rushed like we didn't even know that they were still together until the last few episodes.

Would I recommend it? I totally would. The pros are way greater than the cons so, go enjoy a great story. Age really is just a number especially when both are of legal age. I'm glad I watched it.

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The Long Journey to A More Cohesive Plot

Pros: I'm just going to delve right into this. It was slightly better then part 1, emphases on the slightly. The script was more cohesive and there were less unneeded characters. The plot was actually finally going somewhere. My favorite portion by far was when Yunhe regains her memories in the volcano in episode 15. It was the only part of the entire thing, I kept rewatching many times.

Definitely favorite character out of the entire thing was LHQ or Lin junior as I called him; complicated and tragic man. No matter what, he could never get who he really wanted no matter how much effort he put into it and how much it cost him. But he never gave up trying for what he truly believed in and though not with whom he wanted to be, he was able to live freely in the end. Even though I didn't really like Yunhe (I still liked Yunhe's character in general and evolution in this part) as Ah-Ji because her constant talking to herself and inner monologues gave me a headache, she still had way more chemistry with Lin Junior than with Chang Yi.

Li Shu, San Yue, and the emperor kid evolved nicely and were given their own paths in this story and though Li Shu sacrificed himself for the umpteenth time, he was also able to return to his lady love. Emperor kid really grew both as an emperor and someone decisive and forthright. For those who watched TLB, he was the same actor who played Reba's character's annoying nephew. It was great seeing him in this way better capacity that could showcase his acting skills.

I don't remember all of their names but the ruler chick of North Abyss who had a yen for CY also did way better here then in Part 1. Kong Ming, Bird Deity, Yunhe's guard friend skinny dude as well as Lin junior's aid all were good and/or passable. As mentioned in part 1, immortal master was the best antagonist and I actually liked the actress who played Shunde's other identity as it was more natural then Shunde and felt right for the actress.

The plot though not entirely on the straight and narrow, was a more functional and understandable one as there was finally one set goal with many parts and places to go step by step before accomplishing it. As in Part 1, costumes, CGI, scenery, etc were breathtakingly beautiful. That was the one thing that remained consistent.

Cons: Even with a more cohesive plot, there were many plot holes that just didn't add up. Like how could an already dead Chen Yu resurrect and become part of Shunde's zombie army? The poor man essentially died twice; he was really pitiful but his tunnel vision loyalty to immortal master was his undoing, so though I did like the character, he really didn't change much. How in the world did most of the supposed dead come back to life at the very end? Very weak explanations if any to all of this. Or how were Li Shu and San Yue able to leave the mountain they were trapped in with the Emperor and his masters but the latter three couldn't?

Shunde, Shunde, Shunde....lord almighty what an atrocious villain. Even after she sucked all of that voodoo mask turned terminator with Freddy Krueger's claws' energy, she didn't become a believable villain. She was still a vicious, self-righteous, drama queen, with a massive superiority complex and the "evil" crazy laugh she had didn't help matters. After the loss of the Immortal Master to repentance, there was no way she could replace him. And they did zilch to evolve her.

Chang Yi didn't change in the slightest save for a few moments he smiled in later episodes. The conflicted block of ice who imprisons Yunhe to "torture" her in the beginning, had only two facial features during the entire series; constipated or stoned. I really thought it would be better but not until episode 15 or beginning of 16 did he slightly defrost and not for long periods of time either.

The continuation of the lies, cover ups, deception to protect kept up with just about everyone until literally the last episode of the show and it really messed up the equilibrium of the show. Why couldn't people just be straight forward as that in the end was what ended up being needed? The leads and other solid couples had about 5 to 10 minutes of happiness before something would go wrong. But though the show was supposed to be angsty, you very rarely felt any of that. Yes, when Yunhe sacrificed herself for North Abyss and then later died in CY's arms; but I felt sadder when Lin junior brought her back and she started to drift from him. Such a huge contrast between robot CY and raw Lin junior.

The largest mess up was the ending. As I waited for part 2 to come out, I read the translated chapters/episodes from a site and the ending could have been way better for Yunhe and CY if the directors hadn't cut a very important scene. Though while I feel if just about everyone else came back, Yunhe did too, a lot more could have been relayed had that ending been properly in place. Everyone else got their version of a proper happy ending but the ones who were toughing out this journey from day one were just brushed aside and it was a great injustice to them. Would have been way better had they just killed Shunde (make a big blast of it for emphasis), left North Abyss together and lived in the world with the freedom they both craved since episode 1 and that piece would have come full circle. Scrap the volcano sacrifice and all the other stuff. It would have been much more fulfilling and proper for them both to end like that.

Would I recommend it? If you watched Part 1, then you need to watch this in order to get an understanding of what was going on there, where it went and how it ended. Also better plot and if you're an actor fan of anyone. For me personally, the entire series was disappointing; could have been done way better. The actors deserved that much and so did the audience.

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The Analysis

At first I was going to watch it the whole way through but then after I got to episode 10 and spoke to various people; I decided to just to do what I did with GoT because I knew I wouldn't be able to make it all the way through though I will watch season 2. This is different from my regular reviews as it's really an analysis from my pov.

Ok what I found solid in the series was the world and story building. Everyone we met started somewhere solid. It wasn't a drama where you were thrown into the middle of it and you had to catch up to with figuring out who was who and what was happening. Episode one was mostly focused on the children and making us invested in their story and lives which I thought was brilliant. Then the transition to adulthood and this where the story really got going. I will now go through the characters as they stood out to me. I will say that every character is flawed in some shape or form but some seemed worse for me.

XY: The anti-heroine. A massive red flag and I figured that out by episode 10. Life imitates art or art imitates life; YZ did well here (I'm usually not too thrilled with her roles; again just my opinion). I think she played a narcissist with abandonment issues who uses men to her self needs like a pro. I would say my favorite arc with her was that first one. It's where she was the most genuine. To her everyone was expendable as long as her needs were met. I felt like she really had no idea what love was. Though TSJ was the one and end game; even when he sacrificed himself and was in a coma, the way she spoke to him just rubbed me the wrong way. She used a lot of verbal abuse towards everyone; she spoke like she was the only one who suffered; yet we knew both TSJ and the demon were imprisoned and tortured. Like ok once, twice, but it got old quick. Saying her mom abandoned her instead of dying on the battlefield was so weird and foreign to me. She got the victim card down on lock. She needs an immortal pet not a lover. It'll never leave her and give her unconditional love. Her reaction to TSJ saying his grandmother essentially drugged him and he was most likely assaulted, just made me freeze. Yes she spit blood later but in the moment, she couldn't even offer words of comfort; it was all his problem and now they were strangers. She just called it quits. I was like what just happened here? I'd be worried, go confront grandma; poison the bitch. Hell, I'd fight for my man from the get go and that's something I think she needs to do evolution wise. She always treated it like whomever had to do something for her first and always. She never gave an ounce of herself and that's why I didn't like her; I couldn't root for her. But I do hope she figures herself out in S2 and what or rather who she wants and makes the necessary steps herself.

TSJ: This was my first time seeing DW in a lead role as I had just seen him previously in one small supporting in a modern. I will have to say that perhaps this role was a bit too complex for him but you gotta start somewhere, right? Hopefully in the future he'll be up to the challenge, he definitely has the potential. The character was complex in the sense that on the one hand he was a killer strategist but on the other hand he was essentially a doormat with the equivalent of Stockholm syndrome (victims that are so broken by their abusers, they love them because they believe no one else will) towards his toxic family; especially his brother who essentially nearly killed him after 3 years of insane torture. He couldn't kill his brother after what brother did to him; he was too timid and yet so easily manipulated even by the woman he loved. And watching her do that to him for her own pleasure made me sick to my stomach. So many times I wanted to shake him or smack him, like "do something, say something, stand up for yourself!" No one else will protect you even XY who promised in the cart they were imprisoned in by CX in the beginning that she would protect him against bullying, never did. Everyone seemed to remember how he broke promises due to the toxic family, but not that she lied and manipulated the hell out of him too and yet he would still die for her. My hope for him in S2 that he grows some balls and starts to go on the offensive. Enough already. I actually like his character as frustrated as I was with him.

The demon: Sorry folks, with so many ppl, this is what I called him. By far the most complicated character out of the entire show. I have only seen TJC in modern dramas up until this point but boy did he nail the demon, I was very impressed. Let me clear something up for people; he never abused XY; in the beginning before I knew he was a demon I thought he was a vampire. And she wondered into enemy territory for her herbs first; there's a war, he on the opposite side and leading troops, so capturing her and the whiplashing is understandable. The biting, her bored expression made me laugh; no one being abused would react like she did. Moving on, he was very smart, he knew when she was toying with him and it'd piss him off and he'd walk away in a huff and I was like "can you teach TSJ how to do that?" How he's able to let himself be entirely a different person with the black wig that's all fun and playboy that even those that know him can't figure out who he is? Love that versatility from the hard ass silver haired demon. His weakness is that country he fights with and the soldiers. He's repaying the emperor who became a father to him and it's very admirable but he should know when to tell them to stop because they're obviously losing as sad and unfair as that is. He falls in love and his love is both refreshing and extremely painful. He's more of a sadomasochist to himself because of her. He gives one of his lives away (and of course there's no gratitude from her) and from what I understand is planning to give his life on the battlefield and also wants XY and TSJ to be end game as he understands no one else will give her themselves. They just don't want to or aren't capable. I feel that the demon likes TSJ the most out of the other options. He admires the doormat's unwavering love even when others complicate things. In my perfect world, end game (not in a romantic way) would be TSJ and the demon as like sworn brothers or good friends living a peaceful life with women that deserve them in a little village; no power struggles, manipulation, wars etc. All the rest could bite the dust for all I care honestly. What I wish in S2 for him which I know won't happen; is for him to survive. But other than that, go out the way you want and make sure you give the two people you want to be together, their opportunities before you do. I really wouldn't change anything about him.

CX: First time ever seeing the actor. CX is complex in the fact that he's power hungry and creepy towards XY. But honestly, even though she only sees him as her brother, I feel that because of her narcissism, he's the perfect match for her. Even though she says even he's abandoned her. I'm over that sob story but I feel like his thirst for power will ultimately be his downfall somehow. I liked the complexity of the character and the actor was convincing. In S2, I want to see how he gets worse and how convincing it'll be.

FF: Actually currently watching this actor in another costume drama, he's an antagonist there. I have more issues with the script than his acting. Here, though he's also part of this harem of men, because he hasn't appeared as much so I'm not sure where to put him. He's friends with CX but is that just to get benefits for himself or whatever, I don't know. Also are his feelings for XY genuine or like hers towards just about anyone it seems; like a business deal? I hope they flesh him out properly in S2.

All the antagonists, I want them dead especially TSJ's toxic family. Make them suffer. The other supporting characters or A Nian are either good from the get go or grow on you.

Overall, when it came out last year and people said that this series was one of those you either love it or you hate it things, I wasn't sure what to make of that. Was there no middle ground? That can't be. It's got great coloring, OSTs, costumes, the storyline is complex and so are the characters.

Would I recommend it? This is my analysis of the show and the characters I felt were important. My rating is based on just that and if you want to watch it, go for it. I think it is a good middle ground story.

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The Most Intense Drama I Have Ever Seen; Regardless of Country.

1) Do not believe the ratings. 2) never go into any series that you watch with any expectations even if you’re looking forward to it just watch it as you would watch anything that way if the show does not meet what you thought it would you won’t be disappointed and if it exceeds, then you will be happy. This is the advice that I can give in my 40+ years living on this planet. 2.5) Oh and never compare shows especially from different genres because it doesn’t make sense since they’re not in competition due to that fact even if actors are the same.

I will start right off the bat; first of all I will reiterate something that many people have said a zillion times before, this is a fan site, nothing real. Only mainland data matters. This show is doing very well on the TV channel that it's currently being broadcast on so if you're interested in it, it's a very hard show but give it a chance, give it more than three episodes. It is definitely worth it. Given what ZLH said on one of the live streams, I was expecting an OE or an HE; we got an OE/HE you have to keep your mind open and understand all the variables going on. Again, this will not be long review due to my health.

Pros: I know that supposedly this was hyped to be a romance thing, but I never paid attention to that because I saw the trailer and it was love-hate and it had the two actors that I wanted to see in a different genre so that was the appeal this show had for me. I wanted to watch the show for ZLH and XZX because this was a new type of genre for both, even though it was a republican era thing for them both because this was a love-hate and lots of villains and you really don't know who's a villain, until the very end turned out that who one thought was a villain halfway through really was not. He wasn't a good guy, but he wasn't the main horrible villain. The real villains were the M mother and sister we never met the father. He died before the show aired; L father, who we thought was one of the main villains was not, but he was a horrible father to QY. The bait and switches were awesome and even the actors that played villainous roles you hated so much you knew they were good. But the fact that both actors put so much into their parts was phenomenon to watch. The reason it's an OE is because QY played by ZLH who's the ML does not die at the end and you know this because he's talking and breathing and he's seeing all his dead loved ones that sacrifice themselves or were killed and his older brother says to him something along the lines of “listen, you brat, hurry up and you get up you have to go back to your wife and your son.” This is not verbatim so we know that he was alive. After that, it just goes off into a dream sequence where it's a happy ending. Also, at the end of the dream sequence, the train that both of the leads were on was headed towards their son, so that was another something that you had to catch if you were paying attention. The name on the train from the city they were to where their son was aka Nanchang to Beichang.

This was spoken by both leads in various interviews that they filmed this other type of ending. What I do wish is that they had shown us him, getting transported into an ambulance and taken to the hospital and at least reunited with her that would've been closer to a happy ending, but what we got was actually not bad at all. I can't stress enough, just how amazing all the actors were from the veterans to the ones with little experience to even the child actor. Also, very proud of XZX for the performance he delivered for an extroverted actor to be placed in an introverted cast, which they all talked about and laughed about a lot on live streams and in interviews, and to have such a serious character where he usually plays someone goofier or nerdy, it really expanded his portfolio and ZLH's as well. You know that both of these actors can play much more versatile roles, which is amazing. I'm not going into the story because I want YOU to watch it. This is a very deep show. This is not a lighthearted show. There's constant anger there's love and hate there's misunderstandings, it's not a lovey-dovey romance so if that's what you're looking for than this show isn't for you. But if you're looking for something with meat and potatoes where you put your heart and soul into it and the fact that I'm actually motivated to write a review (with my bad health now), then give it the try it deserves.

As usual costumes, OST, sets, all of that was great for the genre and I've watched Republican era shows many times. Another thing I will mention about the OST is that every single song was sung by a veteran actor or a veteran singer in any case it was an older person who has been in the industry for 30 at least years and that really brought the show more substance. Na Ying’s outro and the sheer power of her vocals was beyond!

Cons: The reason it got an 8.5 as opposed to anything higher was because primarily of production and how the story was written, the plot just seemed to go on a hamster wheel and the FL only at the end really evolved or was evolved. The ML was constantly evolving, and even though he loved her and there were points where he hated her after the six year break he was finally able to tell her points were like why do you keep pushing me away? Why do you do this? Why do you do that? Things that he should've told her before which is great. Meanwhile she's blaming him for shit, he couldn't control since he was born pretty much. Another thing the real plot with problems started in the last maybe seven episodes and it should've started a lot earlier again this is screenwriting and production. So there were those kinds of things I think that production and screenwriting as a whole could've done better especially toward that ending. They just needed to add a little bit more and it would've been perfect. And I don't care about the AI beginning that was changed anyways because I always skip intro.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. I think that anyone who is a deep thinker in someone who likes a good deep show even if it means angst or anger or whatever it is negative emotions. This is the show for you. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to watch the show every day, but then I would start watching it and I couldn't skip over much of anything unless it was the horrible mother and sister. So please read whichever reviews you want or don't give the show a try and if you're like me, I think you will like it.

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Never Lose Hope in Seeking Justice & Love is the Destiny to Embrace.

(First review of a show in 2026) After seeing Wow the World, I had really wanted to check out CXX's work even more and the first one was LOTTL w/Reba which was decent and I liked his character though this one I already had on my watchlist. I knew LYX from previous other works so I knew she would handle herself as well as some of the supporting cast.

Pros: Though the leads originally met in a VR game designed by the ML or XZY and the VR game was important, it wasn't centered to the plot. XZY was a lonely young man with one friend, one ally, and a small architect firm though growing in fame because of his natural talent. Behind all of that though, was for 20 years harboring a secret for justice and to vindicate his father who he and his uncle Xu knew was framed and killed after a stadium he and his business partner (ultimately the killer and the one behind the tragedy) were building, collapsed, killing 3 people and injuring 6 others. His name and identity was changed by his stepfather (the same psychopath responsible for everything else) and mother (who very conveniently and without waiting too long jumped into the arms of the business partner; I'll talk about her in the cons), XZY whose real name was QXY and he only used it in the VR game; which was his refuge. He studied in the states after becoming independent at a young age, not wanting to use his stepfather's or mother's money; he concentrated hard on earning his own money while also researching and slowly gathering evidence with the help behind the scenes of uncle Xu. By the time our story takes place he had gathered the majority of the evidence except some very key pieces.

FL or HX was a young woman working a job she hated because she studied architecture and that's what she wanted to do. She lived in her childhood home and after being dumped by her crappy fiancé on the eve of their engagement party, quit her job and decided to apply at different firms; the first one she was offered the same position as before so she declined and left. This was a big firm owned by XZY's stepfather that was originally started by him and XZY's father as well as named by him. The firm that she ended up working in was the one owned by XZY as that was her dream place anyways and the two of them met in real life after he rented her place and they had a series of funny encounters. He was aloof for obvious reasons so didn't warm to her quickly though she was bubbly and hardworking. But he did protect her and helped her get back at her ex fiancé among other things. She fell first and he fell later.

As cliche as things have to be, her father was one of those that were injured in the stadium collapse and his best friend was killed as both were engineers building it. This is where a rather unpleasant person comes in aka PZ; he was the GM of the big firm HX interviewed at as well as XZY's stepbrother, one who cheated, plagiarized, and tried to do anything to one up XZY. He hated him because XZY was always better and more natural. Furthermore, he was physically abused by his psychopath father which didn't help matters. First, he tried using HX to get back at XZY but she saw right through him and called him out on it. Than, after she gave him a band aid, he developed some convoluted feelings for her (Buffalo Bill style); but upon learning she was XZY's girlfriend, he exposed XZY's identity and name and the showdown 20 years in the making was about to hit a climax. I do have to say though the actor that played PZ or DX did a phenomenal job at playing him! This actor has done many characters, both protagonists and antagonists in different genres and I have to say he's very versatile.

The rest you'll have to watch yourselves; it does have an HE for all important people so don't worry. Both best friends of both leads were great, the rest of NPC's from the VR game, and FL's mom was alright. Loved uncle Xu, Xie Lyman guy, co-owner and the other employees of D Studio, were all good. The two antagonists were psychopath stepfather (justice was served after 20 years with all evidence found on him and he was most likely going to get the death penalty); ironically I had just watched him play a drug mastermind in a crime thriller before I started this show so he plays these types of characters very well and PZ who though thankfully didn't get a redemption arc because he did too much wrong, he did ultimately apologize properly to XZY for absolutely everything and left the industry (after turning himself into the police) though as creepy as he was, he took the used band aid HX gave him that he kept like a trophy with him. The thing probably already had fungus on it, 🤮.

Cinematography with the VR game was absolutely stunning for Republican era and all of the costumes for that period was beautiful as well as other scenes where you had outdoor shots were great. Oh and the kiss calendar was awesome (all dramas with romance should have them lol!); CXX is a very good kisser, just need LXY to be more natural and actually open her mouth so he’s not kissing her teeth as she pierces her lips together. P.S. There's an extra scene after the credits returning back to the VR game only with a role reversal, so came full circle.

Cons: There were issues with fluidity with the story. Firstly, the synopsis on the site only covered the first few episodes and not what the story was really about, which sucked because it was this huge story intertwined within and we had no clue it had such serious undertones. Next, they should never have had her best friend married because they started by randomly chucking this couple into the show and their scenes felt like very much an afterthought. It was all geared up to eventually show him "cheating". But they both were at fault because he had mentally checked out a long time ago and was solely married to his work while she had just grown complacent and also never really put much work into their marriage. I've got friends that work as much as these characters do plus have kids and still find time for an occasional date night in or not or something to keep things spicy. If there's love there and you want to make it work, you do. If you don't, like he was hospitalized from all that work and the breakup and instead of "let's try marriage counseling," she just said "I choose not to love you anymore," gave her ring to him and walked away. The entire thing was just weird to me; because feelings like that you can't turn them on and off like what we saw with the leads, even when FL broke up with ML more from being pressured by her parents and guilt then because she wanted to after his real identity was revealed, couldn't even function and they weren't married but just in a relationship. He cared about his clients from his new business more than his wife and she didn't see anything nor put in the effort. Both were at fault.

I have 2 small issues someone else mentioned in the comments with the FL; that CNY ML spent with her and her parents and than later was invited by her to sit on the roof when she tried to kiss him. It was most noticeable here because he was completely shut off and hurting and she didn't see it at all. On the roof she just babbled about her dreams and whatnot while the man she cared so much about was going through something and not mentally there and not once did she ask him if he was ok. It's like men are supposed to be able to take pain and loneliness and just swallow it while women can just not see it right in front of their eyes and people blamed him for not seeing her and her feelings. He's dealing with so much and always apologizes for everything even if none of it was his fault. Also, when she did her speechifying without letting him talk which was highly annoying; with the breakup and then after the factory thing. This man has been hunting for the truth for 20 years with only uncle Xu helping here and there and now he's just supposed to open up to you after you've said a bunch of hurtful, untruthful shit to him (after the factory especially) when he's not done a single bad thing to you nor was he responsible for what happened 20 years ago. I understand people say mean things when they're angry but some of what she said she should have apologized for and I don't think she said I'm sorry to him once the entire show. He was the one always apologizing; it was ridiculously unfair. It's one thing when he was in the wrong, ok good, but when he didn't do anything wrong even put her dad up in a private hospital room and gave him all of that equipment. He didn't have to do any of that.

FL's father was fine up until he started blaming XZY for what his father was framed for. When towards the end and they met instead of XZY apologizing again even though his father's name was cleared by then and HX's father knew that, instead of saying "let bygones be bygones" he should have been the bigger man and said "I'm sorry for blaming you for something you never did, were a child when it happened, and that I couldn't see that, letting the injustice continue." That would have been what a real man would say.

XZY's mother on the other hand was a lost cause; she never cared about his father or really him, just herself. She was insufferable, playing the victim while XZY had to essentially grow up on his own and look for evidence more or less alone. What mother wouldn't know that a father would only call their son by a pet name or what that pet name was? If she was dialed in, when that text message supposedly from him came through to her with the wrong name for their son claiming he was at fault for the collapse, she would have known instantly, he wasn't the one who sent it. But she took every opportunity to berate XZY about losing "another family" when he and PZ got into a fist fight without even knowing what it was about, as well as speak up for her new husband and stepson every chance she got. She resented her dead husband without knowing the truth but hopped into his killer's and the one responsible for the collapse's arms and bed before the ink dried on his tombstone. Only went to see his grave when his name was cleared after the psychopath confessed and was arrested. She actually asked XZY why he never told her about his findings after which she apologized to him for being weak, unhealthy, and incompetent which just seemed like weak, BS excuses for not being a proper mother to him basically most of his life. She briefly acknowledged that he essentially did this for 20 years alone without a mother. He thanked her for being with him in the end and she hugged him but by his awkward reaction, it was obvious she hadn't hugged him in a long time. She didn't deserve a son like him, so I was happy she was returning to the US after the divorce was finalized. I didn't want to see her anymore. Just made me want to throw something at the screen; glad they didn't give her a lot of screen time.

Would I recommend it? I would, absolutely. Despite the cons, the pros were more favorable. The story was rich and deep and though it wasn't lighthearted and had a lot to chew through, it was worth it, so give it a go!

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Amnesia-dragging for 30+ Episodes with Decent Small Case Solving & Love of Friends

I think I added this to my watchlist for the SML and TML. It sounded interesting at the time. It's a good thing I go into all dramas without any expectations; saves from disappointment. This drama had a lot of potential but the main plot was literally the first two episodes and the last maybe 6. The rest was amnesia-dragging for 30 episodes with decent small case solving and love of friends.

Pros: The second couple stole the show even if they didn't get that much screen time. YSZ or Prince Rui (PR) was sexy as hell especially when he smiled and showed his dimples and his eyes could melt glaciers. Paired with SK, they were the cutest couple out of the 3.5 we had (the .5 was for mom with Marshal as we never found out how they ended up). Story is basically a fight for the throne with good prince vs evil prince that involves multiple people whose entire family gets wiped out as they learn of the conspiracy and try to tell the emperor but are intercepted. This happens to both FL and TFL. However, FL learns of this and is chased by assassins so she falls off the cliff and gets amnesia for over 30 episodes. The ML being her childhood crush who rejected the creepy groom snatching and was drugged to boot for an impromptu wedding to FL, cruelly rejected her thinking she was just some spoiled little rich girl. He had tunnel vision of vindicating his master posthumously as he and his entire family got slaughtered by bandits working for the creepy prince under the assumption of corruption which was a frame job; he was also TFL's father. But when he found FL at the bottom of the cliff, he rescued her and made her believe she was his younger sister as they headed towards the capital. After learning of her family's slaughter as well, he promised to himself to keep her safe no matter what, now he had to find out and vindicate two families but refused to tell her. He fulfilled that promise but feelings obviously grew between them and it was getting creepy sometimes.

The SML was a great character though sadly the third wheel. I really liked the character because not only did he help in anyway he could with all the villains running around but he saved the FL many times and after her rejection, he didn't become obsessed though it broke his heart. He considered the ML his good friend and sworn brother. Rivals in love but absolutely no animosity otherwise. People may disagree with me but his ending was appropriate. No, he didn't get the girl but why should he forget her? He made peace with it and continued his duties as our prince took the throne; he was content with his life.

What I liked about the show was also one of the things I disliked; it involved many cases of getting women out bad relationships or away from other hardships. FL ever the smart one opened up a jewelry business in the capital and what was equivalent to a day care center and a shelter for abused women was also part of the store. Though she lost all of her memories including her own name, she hadn't forgotten how to run a jewelry business or apparently solve cases either. She was whip smart and could figure things out almost immediately.

Other characters that were good were ML's mom, the marshal, ML's friend and guard YX, the three women she became sworn sisters with, one being SFL and married to the prince and later became the empress, all with FL's help. Even ML's father though seemingly useless, just ass kissing whomever in power, made up for it by sacrificing his life to save his son and FL. The creepy evil prince was a great antagonist as this actor proves time and time again. He has a way to make your skin crawl.

Sets were ok, nothing amazing. Same went for costumes and OSTs.

Cons: As I mentioned above the story made me like it and not so much because the main plot of vindicating two sets of families went on the back burner after the second episode and was only picked up in the last 6 something episodes. Now while I liked the mini subplots, I wish they remembered the main plot in the middle too. The amnesia arc dragged on for far too long. And it seems that each time she got hit on the head and was unconscious, she'd start remembering something. It was kind of ridiculous and unbelievable.

Both leads had an issue with emoting. It seemed like they were stone faced most of the time. Though the FL did smile, everything was tempered down and felt rather dull. You get second lead syndrome here a lot; despite the fact that ML was destined to end up with the FL, the chemistry; to me at least didn't have the same level as she had with SML, who basically wore all of his emotions on his sleeve.

The third couple were so unnecessary and I didn't like TFL at all; she wanted to get revenge for her father but the way she went about was just cruel and crazy. At times I thought she was crazier than the creepy prince. She did seem to pull it together the end but her death was weird after she herself killed said prince; I have no idea how she ended up stabbed also. Their relationship was one of the creepiest ever; he had mommy issues so when she dressed up in similar clothing, he fell for her meanwhile she had Stockholm like syndrome. It was all very bizarre and nuts. First he would beat her up for failing to carry out his tasks, then he would tend to her wounds wanting her to be his wife and all this other shit. Like it was so revolting, you wanted to ffw.

A lot of characters didn't have proper endings but just disappeared like ML's mom, the Marshal, that Qi bodyguard who it looked like had a thing for TFL; there seemed to be 3 love triangles going on in the show. The ending was very anticlimactic in general. Honestly, I have forgotten probably half of the bad things because I couldn't write for 4 days.

Would I recommend it? Only if you have nothing else to watch. It's a good in between drama. It's not bad, it's decent plus most of the actors did pretty well.

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37 minute Film Better Written Than Some Series

Was recommended this by a friend and as I have seen MJTY recently so have become aware of GJM's writing and direction style. Only 37 minutes told the story of two lives and how they became intertwined due to fate. The leads felt their characters deeply and it showed on screen. And there was a proper ending, which was nice. You felt everything one should feel in the dark settings but also hope in the future or at the end rather. Enemies to friends, then protection, facing adversity together, making a sacrifice for the other's safety. But not all is what it seems as the at the end reunion was made even more important and special.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. As mentioned above, just 37 minutes was written and acted better then some series with double the episode count.

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MPD: A Sequel, Explanation, or A Totally Different Story?

8 episodes of something that came a year after the original story which many hoped would tie all of the loose ends "The Psychologist" left hanging. Not only did it not do that in many ways, but it added some more. This drama special legitimately had multiple personality disorder or MPD--which considering the subject matter, ironically fit--because to the very last scene you still couldn't figure out which it was trying to be; a sequel, an explanation of what was missed, or just a totally different story with the same characters and cast.

Pros: What I did like about it and not gave it an even lower score was we finally got to understand He Dun's origins and she was able to reconcile with her stepfather, get over her half brother's death, forgive herself, and as well as stop being afraid of the water. Understanding everything her mothers had been through and getting to a great point with the one who raised her the longest, was an incredible process for HD. If they had focused on just that and her romantic relationship, these 8 episodes would have been in much better shape then they were. QKY was an amazing support system for her the entire time even using many psychological techniques to help her through her PTSD. Their relationship had become even stronger and healthier then before which was wonderful. All of the actors did a fantastic job with acting even when the script failed. The OSTs and scenery were much on point.

Cons: The script was a joke. It had massive holes in it all over the place. The extra stories needed another 30 episodes just to untangle. Like when did Lili and her cop boyfriend get married? One moment, he's meeting her mom for the first time, the next HD calls him Lili's husband. I understand bringing in the An Na storyline was necessary to explain HD's past and have her come to terms with it, but it was done in a very jarring fashion.

Where was Jia Hui's mother? Last we knew she had tried to commit suicide and was taken away in an ambulance. Was she alive? Did she just heavily relapse? That was never explained just short flashbacks were given. They literally turned JH into Batman in this one. We knew he could con people into believing he was anybody and everybody but in this one they gave him some superhuman skills of being able to vanish without a trace in seconds only to somehow appear on top of two shipping containers only moments later. And then within that also humanly impossible timeframe, set off a plethora of explosions at that yard.

What was the purpose of bringing in the professor and Dr. Wen? She came clean to HD about much of her purposes and then later got arrested after they set up a joint counseling session for terminally ill hospital patients. In a sense one could argue that she was there to bring JH's lunatic stepfather to justice, but we never saw that.

What we did see was said lunatic beating up an employee, then kidnapping HD supposedly, who both JH and QKY went to look for and rescue; they were all buddy-buddy again going to HD's book signing. JH got knocked out by his stepfather's goons but then those same goons were beat up by the lunatic for hitting JH too hard. The lunatic even gave his stepson a knife to cut his own leg off in exchange for HD's safe return; that whole scene was straight out of the twilight zone. JH stabbed himself in the leg 4 times but had no reaction to the pain, than as the lunatic grabs the knife, JH says some line about the lunatic deserving to be alone and leaves. Screen fades to black and then there's a time skip of 3 months where HD and QKY are at some school giving a lecture. So was she kidnapped or not? That was a massive hole. JH is then seen with the professor as father and son have a heart to heart and JH is ready to accept all of his consequences. There were so many holes and inconsistencies that it made you forget the original story's loose ends as this added a lot more to it.

Would I recommend it? Only for HD's plot process because she finally got everything sorted out in her own life, forgave those she needed to, learned about her real origins, and got over her PTSD. Everything else was a mottled mess that 8 episodes could never explain.

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Train Wreck in a Fancy Wrapper

Only watched this because I really liked Checkmate and this had the same theme and cast. However, I didn't expect a debacle of these proportions. How this has an 8.4 rating here is beyond me, unless its because of actor fans; but then different strokes for different folks.

Pros: Literally the SML or QCS carried the entire show on his shoulders. His character was intelligent, gutsy, had great martial arts skills, loyal, caring, supportive to all he cared about. Maybe not the full brains of the operation, but very close. Other likable characters were Old man Bai, Adou, and Salim. They rounded out the support nicely. Production when it came to sets and costumes was gorgeous as all Republican era dramas are. That's it, there were no other pros for me.

Cons: I could just say everything else and that would suffice but I will elaborate a bit. The ML had serious issues of laziness, greed, and multiple personalities that only seemed to slightly disappear towards the end. The FL was the usual toxic, prepubescent voiced, self entitled brat that thought the entire world owed her for her father's lack of parenting skills. There was zilch chemistry between the leads other then constant bickering, so them getting all lovey dovey towards the end and getting hitched was very much an afterthought that felt more like incest because they acted like siblings with QCS having to essentially babysit both even during cases, which made things look very unprofessional and half-assed.

The plots and cases were rather dull and unsatisfactory; all suspects confessed very quickly after always repeating the same remark about evidence; there was no real pull between ML and murderer. Like "Yep ok, I confess". The European additions to the cast had to be the worst and what got hit for ratings first for me was the nasty anti-Semitic remarks by both the Chinese and European cast. While I understand the time period and things were up in the air in China politically, Jews never posed a threat and therefore the Fascist comments were not only unnecessary but revolting. Had that continued, I would have dropped the series on principle.

The lack of cohesion of the Europeans speaking English, with their lips moving inaccurately to what was being said was sometimes hard to watch and often caused a headache. Also what was the point of them speaking English to their Chinese counterparts only to switch to Mandarin? It looked very sloppy. The ending was rushed and felt like it was filmed in a day. This was basically a train wreck in a fancy wrapper.

Would I recommend it? No, I absolutely would not. Yes, this was somehow a spoof on something to do with Agatha Christie, but for the life of me, I don't know how or where. This is probably one of my shortest reviews for a show, because it had literally just about everything wrong with it. So, save yourself the headache and find something else.

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An Honest Review

Obviously, I watched this for Xiao Zhan. I also knew this was his first drama and that the thing was low budget, so I wasn't expecting miracles. It's been in my "plan to watch" list for a while. Was it good? No. But it wasn't an unmitigated disaster either. His acting and that of the SML were the best out of the bunch. It was like if Harry Potter met the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with a side order of the X-Men; also just without much of a cohesive plot nor any character development and really bizarre melodramatic characters. The villains were too stupid to ever put together anything really impressive. The 7 minutes of BTS footage after each episode was sometimes more entertaining then the episode itself. It's not something I'd rewatch but I would recommend it for younger audiences who like cheeseball types of dramas. But Xiao Zhan's acting abilities shone through even then at the very beginning of his acting career. I'm really impressed how far he's come in 5 years since the airing of this series. I can't wait to see more of his dramas in the future.

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Live Each Day to Its Fullest, Don't Take Anything or Anyone For Granted & Be Mindful of UFOs

What a beautiful, multilayered journey with very complicated characters! I was watching this for LYN and I can say despite what I think is an OE/SE for his character and those that loved him, it is his best acting to date. Obviously the reunion with ZLS after TLB was something special to see, but this drama was about the realism of life, business and revenge more than romance. It reminded one to live life to the fullest, not to take anything for granted, & always be mindful of UFOs.

Pros: Favorite character for me was LYN as YZJ; each drama of his that comes out is such an improvement over the last and I'm so proud of just how much he gave to this character. Starting out living only for revenge as a morally grey merchant of the west. You really didn't know what his motives were at beginning other than he had a deep grudge against a ruthless bandit leader named LK, his gang of thugs, and two families the Cui's and Zheng's. He was super intelligent, filthy rich, and his plans always included contingencies. It was only when he met DW played exceptionally well by ZLS who herself was struggling just to live a moment at a time as a slave pearl diver (btw though it looked beautiful underwater, free diving is hard as hell and without proper equipment it's even more difficult, so serious props to ZLS for doing all of those scenes herself. Though for safety reasons, they should have hired a professional certified free diver) in some beyond deplorable conditions and her bargaining her life over a pearl just to get herself free and sneaking herself and a little boy named "shrimp" onto YZJ's boat that the seemingly ruthless merchant, started teaching her everything he knew about the pearl and jewelry business as a whole. He didn't just take her in slave and whatnot, but because the woman she thought was always torturing her in the cave was actually her mother (YZJ’s mom’s maid and best friend since childhood) and she taught her accounting and was particularly strict with her because she wanted her to live and her something priceless in her possession that with her dying breath she gave to DW; a blood-pearl that became an essential piece of this entire story. Turned out that the pearl made YZJ recognize DW as the daughter of his family's chief jade carver and who was slaughtered along with his own family when he was a boy as he watched them murdered by the bandits sent by the Cui and Zheng families and three (Xu, LK, & PY) other sinister and powerful figures behind them so they could take the entire jewelry business in different places over as well build the mastermind's power. Meanwhile, YZJ was imprisoned, tortured, and poisoned for 8 years until he escaped with another young boy KJ who later became his best friend and most trusted aid/guard.

I won't go into the entire story because then what would be the point of watching? But that's the essential original connection between YZJ and DW. SML or ZJR traveled undercover and had initially fallen for DW but because of their totally different worlds, he had no chance with her and instead opted to become the best friend and fellow investigator alongside the other two later on. What struck me was that ZJR, Xu, and PY had the same Shifu and were brother disciples but only ZJR was upright and just while the other two were corrupt and murderous. The three of them (YZJ, DW, ZJR) made for a great team. YZJ was the one who relentlessly taught DW how to stop being easily trusting and naive and how to be ruthless when need be. He also taught her the basics of martial arts and how to use a short sword. He saw her passion, will to live and taught her how to stand on her own two feet and rely only on herself which became essential in many situations. In the meantime, she taught him to open his heart and learn to love. She wasn't afraid to call him out on his bullshit and that was new to him. She was warm and caring and stood up for anyone that was being bullied but unlike him who hid that deep within himself, she wore it on her sleeve towards the people she cared for like ZJR, shrimp, Loud, accountant Wei, Yunxia, and the others she met both on the convoy and off of it (like Lady Wu who was her sister for life, though after their stop in Guangzhou, other then through letters, they never saw each other again). Because of that, he started to open up more to her and care/be protective of her. He recognized that they were kindred spirits in a sense.

Their love developed gradually; there were several occasions that she saved him and that's when he told her about being poisoned and that it was almost impossible to cure even more so when the only witch doctor that could cure it was killed by LK when she was also kidnapped but everything was put to the ultimate test during the ambush of the convoy when just about everyone was murdered as those bandits infiltrated the convoy so you couldn't tell who was good and who wasn't. All of it was done by someone YZJ considered to be a brother but all he wanted was the blood pearl. DW went through her lowest period because she lost everyone (with shrimp dying in her arms) and thought YZJ had tried to kill her when in reality he had shot the poisoned arrow that was aimed at her out of the way but his arrow did hit her which all things considered wasn't bad. She also didn't know that it was KJ that arranged for her to be saved by the migrating tribes.

Them reuniting in Yangzhou, the last place they would be together for this series and just how many emotions went into that. The betrayal she felt, the pain at knowing the truth but going the noble idiocy arc route that he decided to shoulder everything himself. Everything was so raw and beautiful; whether you laughed or cried. It was in Yangzhou where YZJ brought the last of the original male Cui family down with his own work. Bringing down the Zheng family proved to be more difficult and dangerous as more evil figures started to pop up as well as the original instigators of the first and second massacre; and this is where YZJ, DW, ZJR (who the entire time was conducting his own investigation with the occasional secret help of both YZJ and the emperor) plus their guards and employees came together.

CSJ started as a morally grey snob who because though she didn't have it easy, her life wasn't impossible compared to what DW went through, so I didn't pity her and wished she had less screen time though they were determined to show her for a while like that before she finally started going through really hard life threatening things that towards the end made her realize just how misguided and wrong her behavior her entire life had been and she finally came together with DW on several occasions especially towards the end to bring down Zheng big bad himself.

The emotions displayed by our leads especially during their best or absolutely worst times really made this storyline whole. The real antagonist here was YCWY aka LK (played very well by his actor); an absolutely rotten to the core human being ruthless beyond measure; even though Prince Ying (PY) was the mastermind; he was just a loud mouse in comparison. And the absolute heartbreak of the ML when in episode 39 he found out the truth, was hard to describe. Though most of us had guessed around the time the ambush happened at the sanctuary as how would bandits perfectly disguise themselves as convoy guards just as YZJ was to set out to meet ZJR and together they'd eradicate the bandits. YC knew of this plan as the master of the sanctuary; he killed the witch doctor, kidnapped DW, then set up the ambush just to get the blood pearl. And many people in the comments didn't understand how someone as smart as YZJ couldn't put two and two together. But when you go back and think about it, he was shot himself by at least three arrows, also sliced with a blade and that pesky poison, the man was barely alive. After which he was scared for DW and when he made it to Yangzhou he had to get back to work with what to do next. He couldn't just put all of that aside and think. So when that reveal happened, he was dumbstruck. He considered this man his brother because YC had done everything in his power to gain his trust and support him including financially but this was the same monster that imprisoned, tortured, and poisoned him for 8 years. I do wish they had lingered longer on his emotions upon reveal; because of just how raw they were. For once he realized how devastating this revelation was both for himself and DW. But he was just a kid when they met again and LK had reinvented himself as YCWY a sanctuary owner for merchants "hiding from the bandits." Which was brilliant for the antagonist.

Ok let's talk about that ending as it goes both in the pros and cons for me. YZJ and especially DW had exhausted all avenues in search for an antidote, his body was breaking down day by day, we saw it. LYN played a man dying of a slow acting poison brilliantly. YZJ had decided to leave and KJ had made all of the preparations for his passing and for all of his money to go to DW. That last scene he was officially in as DW was begging him not to go was heart wrenching; you could tell in his eyes that he was fighting with himself about that decision because he couldn't bear to leave her. After that scene we saw a shooting star (LYN's UFO came to get YZJ) and then next scene DW (who's wearing YZJ's ring and is visibly upset as she talks about not sharing moments with people who couldn't be with them) wins the competition and is appointed Guild head but turns it down and gives it to CSJ who's more appropriate for the position. DW then spends the next 40 years traveling the desert as a merchant as she wanted though we never see her face.

My thoughts on it is that he did leave after giving her the ring which was something he never took off even when he was held captive in the first arc and she rescued him; so it had very special meaning to him and by giving it to the most important person in his life was his way of letting her know that they belonged to each other. But the competition was only 2 or 3 days after we saw him last so he couldn't have passed away so quickly. I think after the competition, she left and met up with him and they spent some time together before he indeed passed away and KJ joined her in the traveling caravan. So to me it's an OE/SE. If he had died immediately, KJ wouldn't have left at all so that wouldn't have made sense as YZJ was his whole life and DW was I guess his sister in law so he would spend the remainder of his days guarding her no matter what. But in this situation, I have no problem with the ending at all.

Everything else was beautiful; costumes (though could've done without the Rapunzel braid for DW), sets, CGI on point, great OSTs & BGMs, and awesome fight scenes.

Cons: After that larger than life pros section, this section is small because my biggest issues were with editing and writing ie production. The second arc had the most problems as it seemed scenes were cut into something and you would get a whiplash. I really wish the noble idiocy arc didn't last for 10 episodes though their paths crossed all the time and almost right away he was secretly helping her. KJ should have stepped up sooner as he was the best wingman ever. But there were many inconsistencies like where did YZJ and KJ find such a luxurious horse and carriage in the middle of the desert after the ambush that had them hiding in caves and with traveling caravans? There was never any recording of time passing especially when you had multiple people walking around a grand desert alone all Willy-Nilly like they were in their own backyard; that legitimately looked absurd. Then the absolutely ridiculous part of first a kidnapped Yunxia, then DW, and then maybe 5 minutes after the first two escaped, ZJR coming to the same inn in the middle of nowhere woods. And he's back hot on their trail to find them yet in an actual town, they miss each other by literal steps. Suspense of disbelief deployed.

Towards the end when they were running the glass business there were times when you weren't sure whether you were looking at a flashback or real time because of the way the shots kept jumping back and forth. I was very confused. The ending, I wish they rounded all of the important people out better not just left them hanging and had actually shown YZJ leaving and how much time passed between that and the competition where everyone was pretty much just left there. Even DW who supposedly traveled on a merchant caravan for 40 years wasn't shown but just a bunch of people covered in black garb on horses and camels with goods looking like Ringwraiths in the desert with an older woman's voiceover being the old DW. This way, that same UFO returned and picked up DW too! It was a bit sloppy. It should have been much tighter and satisfying, even if did become an SE. I'm fine with those, just tighten up the writing and editing.

Would I recommend it? Regardless of some sloppy and loose writing here and there, I absolutely would. This was a realistic live every moment to it's fullest and don't take life or those you love for granted story and it was rich, layered, lush, complex, and absolutely beautiful. Don't pass it by just because it has an OE/SE. It deserves the praise.

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