Enigma05

And the Dangerous Delulu Award Goes To? SML! The Rest Was Solid Though

This is the 4th drama of ZWY that I'm watching this year after both LYFs and AYTO. I really like his characters; in this one he really was a chameleon of sorts. RM I'd only previously seen in TLP and I liked her here much more. Familiar with a lot of the supporting. The show wasn't a new concept but what made it good was the intelligence of our leads to outsmart all the schemers and villains. But the unfortunate part was that the SML and his dangerous towards FL.

Pros: As mentioned, not a new concept but strength in smarts. Was very much like the Double where you had a household of scheming wicked women but a very smart FL and her equally on point "3rd brother". The majority show was about how she would swart evil plans of the women in the Luo family. She also had the support of her adoptive mother and grandmother as well as 6th uncle and 6th sister. Though she wasn't related by blood to any of them as that was uncovered later, they still treated her like family. ML meanwhile, while finding out her about them not being related, still had her back and developed feelings first. He though was running an underground organization of fighters trying to overturn an 8 year old case of their master being framed for embezzlement and executed. While he acted like the slow witted guy in a side yard at home; in reality he was intelligent, had wonderful martial arts skills, and was very strategic. All that was brought home when he became the top 3 scorer on their exams; his disgusting father who hated his guts had to come to the realization that this son out did him in everything and even though many of us still didn't like the father after his evolution, at least he wasn't a rotten bastard anymore.

While FL was trying to uncover the secret behind her mother's early passing she also found her biological father who was literally father of the year in comparison to the Luo dude. This man was everything FL deserved in a father. Though the transition to the new family was bumpy, it was a lot better than where she originally came from although all of the wicked women were dealt with or evolved after being married off. By the end both families blended nicely, our leads were married with a baby boy and it was the epitome of tranquility. All of the antagonists plots were overturned by the persistence, patience, and hard work of ML and his people along with everyone who helped which included FL's father the Duke towards the end.

Costumes, OSTs, sets, were nice.

Cons: SML! Holy hell! Literally the most obsessive/possessive delusional 3rd wheel I've probably seen since introduced in whichever episode. He even ruined their wedding by abducting FL and killing people to make it look like her and was planning to leave town with her even though she was someone else's wife, didn't love him, etc. it was sickening. I thought the dude from "Girl Goes to Imperial College" was bad as he actually poisoned FL in the "if I can't have her, no one can" deal but thankfully the leads outsmarted him pretending she died. But this dude was savage; he harmed her, forced her against walls, and if got away with taking her away, probably would have raped her. He was a brute and his death was a total copout because not only did it take half of the last episode but they made it all soft and easy. He took an arrow for her and one minute she was the abductee to crouching and clutching his shoulders. I was in total shock! And I wasn't the only one. Like girl, what are you doing? Your husband is standing right there! Make it make sense please. Knocked half a point off the rating right away. The man made your skin crawl with how disgusting his obsession was and I would have personally sent him through a wood chipper and here she is after all the times he's hurt her and those around her, holding him. It was beyond stupidity. Can't hit my head against the wall hard enough. He took too much away from our couple and their happily ever after.

Also, how weird and creepy was the FL still calling ML "3rd Brother" after they were together, then married and even after the kid was born. Like is the boy supposed to call his father, uncle? Writers majorly screwed that up. It was completely out of place.

A few plot holes with Mistress Qiao's kids at the end; I thought both were sent away somewhere to reflect on themselves especially the scheming daughter but at the end she shows up all worldly with a mention of having married an official. Wasn't she sent to a temple though?

Would I recommend it? Despite the horrible SML whom you can ffw as he just adds more ick than anything else, this show is good and empowering because it has two beyond smart people dealing with both family and justice issues.

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The Korean Version of an Asylum Production

This was horrendous. I wouldn't even call it a natural disasters movie. I would just call it people's random lives that somehow intertwine with no logic with some disaster on the side. This was a typical asylum production that we have here in the states type of film. You can't get into the science of underwater earthquakes and tsunamis adequately because it's done in under two minute scenes. Furthermore, the obnoxious comedy that is unnecessary in the middle of the disaster just makes you roll your eyes.

Only reason it got a 4 and not anything lower is because the CGI was actually pretty decent. Otherwise, absolutely avoid at all costs.

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The World's Smartest Young Man + A Great Martial Artist = 2 Formidable Twin Brothers

Watching a series 5 years after it was broadcast definitely shows how many things have changed. I've been recommended this one for a while now and finally decided why not? Primarily watched for CZY and the difference in his mannerisms. But I'm aware of both leads, the SFL plus many of the supporting cast.

Pros: The martial arts are my favorite. So well done and carefully crafted that you had to rewind some again and again. My favorite duel was between the brothers in the last episode. It was just awesome. All of the other ones were pretty great too. I also really like the fact that they gave an actual back story to the series and why/how the brothers were separated and their parents killed. You don't see that nowadays as it's covered in about 2 minutes with cartoons and a voiceover plus some flashbacks during the show. The twins were supposed to become enemies when they grew up and met each other just as the synopsis says except that didn't happen. There were some tense moments in the very beginning but they grew into actual friends and that was awesome to see especially when they would solve cases and problems together.

They couldn't be more different; one was a prankster trickster that could weasel himself out of practically any situation using his smarts but he was also a chick magnet because from the first one to his ultimate soulmate, there were at least 3 in between that were more ruthless than others, would fall for him immediately and it was quite funny. While the other one was cold, aloof, inexperienced in the world and tried his best to right many wrongs though he did fail a lot especially the first case which I called the Romeo and Juliet scenario. The things that they had in common was a sense of justice and were both warm-hearted. Plus XYR was a whole head shorter than HWQ and when the truth outed itself, XYR jumped like a monkey onto a tree with HWQ. They were the world's smartest young man + a great martial artist = 2 formidable twin brothers.

There were middle of the road villains like the 12 zodiac killers and the 10 great villains (one of whom was actually a good guy that loved gambling); the latter batch having raised XYR and though they ultimately betrayed him, if it wasn't for them, he wouldn't have become as clever and smart as he became though he wasn't as cold blooded and greedy as they were. He like his brother inherited their parents warm hearts and sense of compassion and righteousness.

There were 3 main villains; the master of Yihua Palace who raised HWQ and her sister (though the latter had a warmer heart); it was because of this crazy train master's revenge on the man she loved who was ultimately the twins' father because in her twisted mind, just because she saved him and he was grateful to her for that, he was supposed to marry her. She had no idea that love and other emotions had to be involved for marriage so the obsessed bat set this plan in motion for the brothers to become enemies and HWQ only finding out when he supposedly killed XYR (our smart kid took a special medicine made by his friend the medicine doctor from wicked canyon where he grew up that could fake death) that they were twin brothers so he could suffer for the rest of his existence. I mean how much more evil and delusional can you be? Punishing the sons for her one sided love that didn't happen? The look on her face when XYR popped back up like nothing happened was priceless. Though I did feel for HWQ and the roller coaster of emotions he must have felt as this was going on; first thinking he killed his best friend even though he set out to kill himself, than hearing how the insane one set the revenge plan in motion, that the boys were twins, that he actually killed his twin brother, to seeing that she killed the other "aunt" and wanting to end himself and than when XYR popped up the joy and relief that all of this was his plan and trick and being upset when the crazy bat walked off a cliff. It must have been exhausting to go through so many emotions in such a short period of time. But he did it well.

The other two villains were a father and son duo that were basically causing havoc in Jianghu stealing money and other things while framing good people for their deeds. The son was creepy not just evil, while the father was considered the number one hero in Jianghu and also had a hand in the deaths of the leads parents but more for trying to kill the real number one hero YNT (who was sworn brothers with JF; dad of the boys) and though he crippled the guy's martial arts skills for 18 years, he never mastered the manual he stole. The creepy son got his comeuppance finally from the woman he SA'd and lied to repeatedly; awesome karma.

Other great supporting characters were the medicine man who only pretended to be evil but in reality was biding his time to get rid of the evil around him, YTN and his other sworn brother who pretended to be him while he slowly healed himself. Gambling villain guy was of great help as well as the two assistants of HWQ; both FL and SFL once they stopped crying and pouting at every step and really started to show their smarts and helpfulness, were really great partners to our boys. I didn't view romance as important in this series so I wish it wasn't pushed on us. Comedy fell properly especially with our ML; it wasn't slapstick but well done. I felt that out of the two, the FL evolved the most and she was indispensable to both guys. I also don't feel it was a love triangle but more like a love quad though one that was only connected to whom they belonged to. FL did have feelings for the ML but once she spent time with SML, that's who she really grew towards.

Though at first Little Fairy, that Gu guy, and Murong Jiu were more of unnecessary characters as well as side stories that required fast forwarding, once the amnesia arc took place and MRJ became Ms. Meng and HZZ came into the picture, they made the right kind of sense. Especially at the end when they came to support XYR during the duel. It was nice to see he made friends for life.

Costumes (though I have an issue with HWQ's wig; poor guy had the forehead of a Klingon with it), sets, OSTs were all on point.

Cons: I really wish our brothers had more time on screen together. That was my biggest complaint. After they met officially and figured out that they were supposed to be enemies though no idea why other than an order given by the crazy bat, they kept going their separate ways though solving cases that for the most part were related to that main villain and his uber creepy son. However once they decided on three months to the duel they did spend more time together, even causing HWQ to seriously waver in his mission. I still wish we didn't spend a solid 20 plus episodes with one brother in one episode and one brother in another.

Wish there weren't so many unnecessary side stories that had nothing to do with the main plot and where more women fell for ML. That was also something I didn't understand; was it love at first sight for them all looking at this scraggly kid with patched worn clothes and thinking "oh baby, that's the guy for me?" I mean come on now, not realistic at all. They were already smitten before he opened his mouth. Same happened with both leading ladies, though one evolved and matured, the other one though a total match for him, I had no idea when she had time to fall for him? Big disconnect there each time and there were at least three other women in between.

The endings of both big bads was super anticlimactic. One was crippled of his martial arts and just sent away to live somewhere, while the other in her delusion just walked off a cliff. Like what? These two people brought pain, suffering, and death to so many and that's how they ended things? Not good or satisfying enough for me.

I also wish that at the end, the last scene was of our brothers drinking somewhere together instead of separated yet again but with their significant others. It was very unsatisfactory. The story was about them not their romantic relationships. They could have had the women with them and the foursome standing together and maybe hugging while smiling at each other and swatching the horizon. That would have been perfect and would have left the audience feeling and knowing that they would now forever be together as a real family making up for a lost 18 years with their parents looking down at them from heaven and smiling. That's how I would have ended it anyways.

Would I recommend it? I really would. Despite the annoying cons, this really was a great wuxia and if you like martial arts and a decent story, check it out; it doesn't matter how many years later.

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Watch for the Romance

I was recommended this drama a while back but forgot about it and then was reminded again because I'm watching Tiger & Crane with ZLH and this was his first drama. Though called Maiden Holmes, there's less emphasis on the case solving and more about the Romance of the leads. So watch for the romance.

Pros: I love the Fab 5! Their dynamic is great from episode one. You've got the FL who pretends to be a man by cross dressing to clear her family's name after being what she thought to be the sole survivor of that massacre. Her detective skills are pretty good and she has solved many cases. ML is the prince who is ousted from office by his rebellion seeking uncle (also the main villain of the piece). Thankfully his brother was the new emperor and had a good relationship with him where he could help him out. SFL is a genius doctor and SML is a great martial artist though can't read the room for nothing is quite dumb most of the time. Adding on is ML's teen aid who's a great cook. The chemistry between the leads is obvious especially when the ML turns those seductive eyes onto FL, it's like ok it got a bit warm in this room. Furthermore, the kisses are real! And there are enough of them. For ZLH's first gig ever, he was hella convincing especially in terms of being intelligent and trapping the bad people. The entire group really complimented each other. Misunderstandings if not immediately cleared up, are done so in a smart fashion. There are a few baubles with FL temporarily seeming to lose her sensibility but she regains it more or less quickly. Good fight scenes when they happened.

Obviously a lower budget production but it worked out. The villain was obvious from the get go. The one moment that made me legit shed a tear was when ML's guard sacrificed himself to protect his prince towards the end. That guy was awesome the entire time and it really brought forth their strong friendship. Comedy was decent.

Cons: The cases though leading to the main antagonist weren't very strong and they could never bring someone in alive. Once our group had the evidence, the evildoer was either disposed of or killed themselves. Every single time to the point that it was laughable. You were just waiting for it each time a new case popped up. Also while the SFL thought the FL was a dude, she developed a crush on her and that whole thing was rather cringey. Suspended logic also was a must for a lot of things; like the cave thing because they had to figure out their misunderstanding and realize they were soulmates from a young age, add a really great kiss at the end and then it was worth it lol!

The showdown in the last two episodes was relatively lackluster as it just had the villain walk around the throne room yakking about his plans only to be outsmarted by the ML.

Would I recommend it? Only for the romance of the leads and the moving along storyline. It's a good in between series especially if you like an intense seductive ML ;).

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Modern Vintage

This plot intrigued me. It was different than your run of the mill romance with a touch of weirdness. It wasn't a perfect script or acting by any stretch of the imagination, but it had something unique and attention grabbing. I was unfamiliar with the cast but really wanted to give this a try. It really was a modern vintage.

Pros: Out of the 4 leads, I have to say I liked HCF the most. Even though he started out a bit stiff, he was always aiming to improve and once he fell in love the man was a goner. Their chemistry was very cute (do wish they knew how to kiss better lol), I found myself rewinding all their together moments; just melting cute. Two live together in a cinematography masterpiece and the women blow in by fate. The way we learn about each person's backstory slowly, opens each character to us in both good ways and not so good. Costumes, OSTs, imagery, surroundings, were sometimes straight on point and other times missed the mark.

Though there were 3 antagonists total, the one who lost his mind was the most prominent and understandable probably more to the audience than to the characters until the ending 4 episodes. Plus he was HCF's master so harder to let that sink in. I really liked the case solving in the first portion of the series and how many people they actually helped. But as time went on, it seemed all of that was forgotten. The comedy and the bonds in their community were cute and funny and added that time, in a way, stood still there. I liked SY when she was balls to the walls no nonsense speaking common sense but then she would turn around, her eyes would start rolling around on her face like they were escaping somewhere, it left you wondering where the smart young woman went. Time to visit the cons.

Cons: The script had way too many loose ends. Continuing with SY, why must women constantly in these dramas forget they have an inner monologue instead of just yammering away in public nonstop and then looking all shocked when someone catches them? It never fazes to amaze me. I wasn't at all sure the casting of Xiao An was a proper one as she had a stone cold face even when she cried. I didn't feel much of a connection nor chemistry between her and Robin. He was great as a melodramatic performer to the point of eye rolling but she was just a block of granite.

Then there was Shifu and his total break from reality from his getting out of prison until when he orchestrated the kidnapping first of Robin, then of SY. Why didn't HCF go straight to the police? The same people who he'd helped and vice versa all these years. Plus who was that guy in the park that HCF was supposed to meet if Shifu wasn't already dead and SY rescued? A ghost? It made no sense. How does involuntary manslaughter get you 6 years in prison? Shifu had Robin kidnapped, drugged, beaten, then kidnapped SY nearly killing her, but when he and Robin fight and he ends up dead, could have gone either way there, Robin still must serve time in prison? Something is seriously out of whack with their laws. Many loose ends that didn't get solved though there was a happy ending.

Would I recommend it? Despite much confusion, a young cast, and many loose ends, I still would because it really was a nice and easy drama. Plus it was very entertaining and a new concept one. Not to mention when the leads are together after they're official, they're too stinking cute! So give it a go.

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An Underrated Gem

Personally, I decided to watch this because I'm a fan of Ma Ke or Kyle Ma from his Journey of Flower days. I personally think his character saved that show. But here I wanted to see him in something modern and more of a detective type series. All three of our leads did a fantastic job and the stooge detectives were funny and sincere in their practical adoption of ML. The ending was sad as our ML lost both his brother and father on the same day and just as he met/reconciled with them. I had expected it but the emotions were still very real. ML reminded me of the young version of Gil Grissom from the original CSI (for any Americans that may read this); first super awkward young scientist on bugs but gradually warms up to everyone and they all want to learn from him and protect him. Ma Ke plays SML with a dark secret that he keeps from his youth that he was basically used as a tool to kill someone when he was barely a small child. A lot of interesting twists and turns and feeling bad for SML because both brothers got the short end of the stick with all of the conspiracies swirling around them and people constantly wanting to harm them or blackmail them. This is a psychological show and a serious who-done-it. I really fell in love with all of the characters except that one woman doctor that did end up dying but I didn't feel sorry for her because she just stuck her nose into SML's business way too many times and it led to her undoing. Ultimately though, everyone behind all of the murders were either arrested or killed. I would highly recommend this because it just grabs you by the hooks and keeps you. Only real negative was the 5 versions of the same flashbacks. Very unnecessary. But do give it a go if you're into detective shows, with many winding parts, and secrets getting revealed.

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Wonderland Power Couple

Finally a good series for XK. I've watched two misses he was in and knew if only the story was good enough, he could have a better shot at winning. Though far from perfect, the story did carry itself and our leads had wonderful chemistry hence I dubbed them the Wonderland Power Couple.

Pros: I think XK is one of those actors that can have chemistry with a pet rock. Not to take away from JT as she nailed her character as well. But XK has the ability to go from deadly to smoldering gaze in a heartbeat. Their love story was epic because it began from competitors to confidants to lovers and the transitions were nice. I also loved their sidekicks Taozi, Ear, PY, the brothers in arms, her dad, Consort Xiao, the kid, general Han (another immortal that got sent off a cliff harpooned but reappeared to save the day) and even LYN with his guest magician appearance.

The only real villain was Sun Jiang; once his arc ended it was only dumb villains. The ending was overly dramatic but nicely done. I love all of the fight scenes. Fight scenes for me, make a show extra special and this one had plenty. The ultimate "big bad" was nothing to cry home about. But what was done extremely well were the deaths of ML's brothers in arms; that was prolonged agony on the audience as well as the FL's fake death as both sets took at least two episodes. Those two moments in the drama broke your heart and made you cry but they were done exceptionally well and made for the ending that much sweeter. Sets, costumes, and a few OSTs were memorable.

Cons: The father and brothers were dumb villains as well as Ms. Gu and batshit crazy LCF. I ffw'd them as much as possible. I also didn't like how the FL threw tantrums and blamed ML for shit that wasn't his fault even when he came up with solutions to help matters. It made her seem like a child. She and her father pushed him to be CP; but she still wanted to marry him, keep the Cui army from disbanding, etc, as they were knowing full well what the dumb as nails king was like. Even in the second to last episode before her miraculous revival, the king was willing to believe the corrupt minister over his own son that had been instrumental in every war and strategy success for the kingdom. It hurt my head watching that stupidity.

This series would have been much better if it was only 25 or 30 episodes long, where you didn't have to deal with the stupidity of the useless loser villains that just made a mess of virtually everything. ML could be CP and marry FL and not have the rest of that garbage happen. It's like logic fell apart after the real villain was killed. Even father and son reconciling felt off because father was a hot mess. I spent a lot of time ffwing and just watching for the leads and the good guys.

Would I recommend? Despite the second later half being a mess; the leads and most of their friends pulled off a very watchable series. I hope XK gets even better scripts in the future as do the others.

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Good vs. Bad; Fantastic Fight Scenes, Awesome CGI, Storyline? Eh Not So Much. An OE in Need of S2!

Wow, what can I say? Wanted to watch this for YY and know WD to be a good villain and even a funny one. Sad that 10 episodes were cut from this as that's where I think most of the storyline would have been.

Pros: I loved that we got to see HL's cultivation journey from a poor family in some village without a name to a master cultivator figuring the art of teleportation and getting the heck out of dodge. Many people said the CGI and fighting/flying was poor but I disagree because I'm not a fan of the Xianxia genre to begin with especially when they deploy colors bright enough to scorch your corneas. So having subtle CGI colors in formation array and weaponry was perfect for me. I really liked their flying and way of fighting. The entire series; apparently season 1 was centered around ML or HL and his cultivation plus every friend he made and lesson he learned. He was incredibly lucky in a lot of things including evading death. Loved the little mouse that lived with him and was sad that he had to leave it behind but I think it survived. His road wasn't an easy one and he lost friends and his Master at the end. But he was always not one to be a follower but one that walked his own path to cultivation and helped whom he sensed was a good person after learning the hard way who wasn't. Those who met him and liked him, ended up not ever wanting him to leave or wanted to follow him.

WD played who I called sarcastic evil or the bad guy and had more like one or two lines when facing HL (who used his old friend's name when he ran into trouble), but he himself was trying to get a foothold in his own kingdom as even the good sects betrayed their friends to join team evil for the strength and power. Greed was always a factor. But WD though bad, he was comic relief as he and his two monkey assistants were always cracking me up. He acted like a jilted lover as HL had become his inner demon when HL at the end used some ancient teleportation artifact to bail off the continent and who promised one day to return and reduce the evil sects to dust.

The costumes, rock and other OSTs, and certain outdoor locations were quite nice.

Cons: Other than for the ML, no real storyline or plot. No character really had a backstory other than Ms. Mo and the puppet dude. But everyone appeared and disappeared without rhyme or reason. This series had more holes than a planet dusted with craters be they characters or the plot itself. Once ML joined Yellow Maple Valley, many of the Masters spoke of "that person" like who? Uncle Bob? You couldn't say Demon Grandmaster Yunle as we wouldn't know who that was as we don't meet him until the second to last episode anyways? And that he and Master Hongfu used to be together and had a daughter but he hid his identity from her and she was already in love and pregnant by the time she found out. So he decided to start this war to get her back? Yeah great idea for an all powerful creep with a superiority complex; still lost even when he killed ML's master and her real love.

The ML didn't know what love was nor understood it but every woman he met fell for him automatically and you literally had to beat them off with a stick. He wasn't interested; though he treated them all with respect, only Miss Mo he treated like a sister giving her things to protect herself and whatnot but she would find every opportunity to be close to him even when she knew they couldn't be together and he made it obvious he wasn't interested. It was eye roll worthy as this was repeated about 3 or 4 times. The time could have been spent on something important. It was like when they cut those 10 episodes, things were just thrown into chaos and not properly edited so things would make sense. Even the FL felt like a supporting character. This show needs a season 2 and maybe even 3 with the same actors and I hope we don't have to wait for 10 years for it.

Would I recommend it? I would for the pure entertainment of it and HL's cultivation journey. Everyday was fun because there was a fight scene and cool things. Plot wise, obviously not one to look forward to unless you know the donghua. Just relax and enjoy the show.

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All Over the Place Drama w/a Hard Nosedive Finish

It had a good premise and started out decent but then just literately took a left and it left. The drama was all over the place. For those who know how I rate and review, I always wait until I finish watching. Well after episode 31 and the return to Africa things took a nosedive. Anyways, let's do this.

Pros: My first favorite character was the kid! He was smarter than all of them combined. Great child actor and very believable; like a mini old soul. 2nd favorite character was SML, he was the most consistent and even funny. I've seen him in several costume dramas so first time seeing him in a modern and he was the one to watch. His relationship with SFL was goofy and cheesy but a worthwhile watch. I'm very glad he got his own chance to prove himself towards the end; that was great to see. While I enjoyed all the doctors and others as well as their lives outside of the hospital, I wish more of that was explored. OSTs were on point as was chemistry of the leads. It was watchable where you didn't have the need to fast forward or at least not too much. A lot of people had an issue with Xue lawyer guy, but I thought he added humor and care for FL when ML slacked off and even if he didn't win her over, he always took care of her no matter what. If nothing else, he was a fantastic friend and protector. Sadly, other than that this drama had no other pros.

Cons: The African arcs were beyond unnecessary and really poorly done. The blatant disregard for the continent as a whole and its people as third world monsters who could only rely on savior China for peace or treatment was pathetic. One doctor could stop a war? Give me a break. Propaganda wasn't even trying to be realistic. The fact that they were neurosurgeons but could only diagnose and treat cancer was laughable. There are many diseases these doctors could deal with but c-dramas have developed a flavor for cancer and that's what medical dramas (unless they are disaster relief) all show. It's like no other disease exists except cancer and they're number one at treating it.

The flashbacks in the beginning though I understood their purpose were very cringeworthy; FL was basically stalking the ML the entire time up until out of nowhere she confessed and wham bam boom they're getting married. It was so creepy. She basically bent over backwards to get him and their marriage was just as weird. This series would have been more then enough with only 30 episodes, with the leads getting hitched before her father passed. The fact that they kept putting it off to add that secondary African arc and his incident not to mention the illegality of a director of a hospital taking an unconscious ML back to China without telling his fiancée and the last 3 episodes of whatever, everyone searching for him as his family who begged her to save them at one point, kept her in the dark for months and 45 minutes of the last episode of him having amnesia and remembering how to be a surgeon but not her? Are you kidding? After everything, that's how this series ends? Just no.

Would I recommend it? Nope. The awful African propaganda, the amount of illegalities and inconsistencies plus that dumb as nails ending. Had potential but almost immediately went haywire. Way better medical dramas out there to watch.

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The Female General's Story or What the Title Should Have Been.

This was an entertaining story of a strong, resilient, hardworking military woman and how after going through life made to disguise as her "brother" to bring the family fame she was ultimately betrayed and thought to have been killed. While quite a lot to deal with, none of it was Legendary. I added this story to my watchlist because though I knew CL could handle his own, ZY was a wild card. I knew several of the supporting characters as well. But this series should have been called the female general's story because anything else was plain overhype.

Pros: Again my favorite part of this series were the battles. The choreography, the synchronization, just fantastic! Honestly, if this show just had them and the leads romance plus the comradeship of the soldiers in their garrison, I would have been happy. Probably would have gotten a higher score too. But that's not possible. ML or XJ was a powerhouse, whether as a commander in his army or pleading for his soul at the end; the man showed and acted every emotion suited for his character. He had to clear his father's name along with those 30k troops that were killed and framed when a corrupt chancellor and several lackeys made deals with an enemy state. So that was when his path crossed our FL's or HY who had to start from scratch after surviving everything her disgusting and pathetic brother threw at her. Just as a lowly soldier in XJ's camp she quickly caught his eye, first as possibly a spy and than as that was disproven, she became the most dedicated soldier in his garrison, slowly climbing that ladder step by step. Also turned out the two of them were in school together when they were younger but she always wore a mask since she was young and couldn't even see her own mother. She, however, no matter what was thrown at her obstacle or even a royal decree if she didn't want to live that way, she didn't care if the person telling her what to do was a general, an emperor, or a God. She was going to live her life only the way she wanted everyone else be damned and I really appreciated that about her, giving other women the same message of empowerment. Others saw her frame, small stature, and voice not commanding enough, and I thought that was the whole point; because of these limitations, she had to prove herself more than a larger woman would have with the same qualifications. I would have to disagree with some points that I read that HY was too much of a clown or too cutesy in the barracks to be believable; but that's actually what happens in the barracks if she was a dude, ppl would not be complaining about it. When it was time for serious training, she was spot on, number one serious but when it was time off why couldn't she have some fun? Even in the current military, you see military women doing TikTok dances, and all sorts of things people are allowed to let off steam when they are not on active duty.

Once all of the fog is cleared away and they realize they're on the same team, they start working together, closer and closer until ice cold ML melts and love built on trust sets it. The second couple, originally annoying and foolhardy, became great sources of help as well as his guard, her 4 friends from the garrison, YH, the remaining general after the other 7 were ambushed and killed by the real NRF, her disgusting brother that never did a thing in his life and yet wanted all the glory and accolades for himself. He's relegated to the cons, don't worry. They had quite a group of great friends and ML's brother and his wife as support. If the series had ended in episode 33 or beginning of 34 by just marrying off both sets of couples (really wanted a spicy wedding night for the leads); I think it would have been great but we would have missed that great battle sequence in 36. The rest of it was better to be left in the trash because those people were all trash, emperor included. Also FL finally getting her General's name back and ML's father's name and those warriors cleared, was also a great I believe episodes 32 and some of 33; other than the bipolar emperor (in the cons). The only believable antagonist was the chancellor and that's because this particular actor has played an antagonist before, so there was no mistaking his treachery. And he played him well; a little too well because at the end, when all of his crimes were exposed, he still didn't get he did anything wrong. I think that's whatever is in the water in that city that caused people to have delusion. Costumes, sets, battle scenes, and OSTs, were all on point.

Cons: Oh boy; where to start? I will start with the FL because of the whole legendary thing. I think it was just a title to slap on in English for the production company. When you think of someone who is legendary it is someone who has had to have a career in any industry or in anything else for decades and help hundreds of thousands of not millions of people. On another note, it's like saying a movie or a TV series is a cult classic; this means this particular work of film has captured the hearts and minds of many generations. Examples would be Gone With The Wind, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Titanic, The Crow, or actors like Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Chen, Kara Wei, Clint Eastwood, etc. So calling her a legendary General just did not fit. Someone who had only been doing it for a few decades at best and not even as herself, but someone constantly covered by a mask like the man behind the mask, played by Leonardo DiCaprio because he was forced in there. It was also very unrealistic that even from the get-go when she was in school in the mask that it was completely obvious that she was really a woman. Forget the fact that she had a chest that she bound; she was short, she was slim, and she had curves. Common sense doesn't apply here. I also have to agree with a few other people that wrote in their reviews saying that HY did have hardship, but it wasn't shown so we as viewers couldn't experience that hardship with her. It was like all this happened to her; she was poisoned, blinded, stabbed, and thrown into the river off a cliff, but we all know cliff diving people always survive; her master saved her which of course we don't see, but that's OK and gave her medicine to help her see again as well as clear the poison, and recover at his place so though she went through all this hardship that was spoken about, it was never actually shown to the audience and I think that would've made us feel the depth of HY's character more.

Moving on to prune face aka NRF. Lord help me, I never thought I'd see the day, I'd put Bai Shu in the cons! But it had happened and all because he took on his first antagonist role and that scrunched up face made me laugh like why lord almighty? Dude wasn't cut out to play an antagonist and one that lived off of others awards never having done a single thing himself but the arrogance was sky high. They couldn't have killed him fast enough but I'm glad it all happened as they exposed his and the chancellor's treason. I just hope he never plays an antagonist again. He too came down with bouts of delusion in prison later on though for the rest of the series he harbored full belief in his own grandeur, which literally amounted to nothing.

Delusion seemed to be the name of the game because the one who had it the most was CZ. This dude was like an undetectable mosquito throughout the series though that chancellor was his master and he was a very dutiful disciple. That said, he always had flashbacks of his dying mother which obviously shaped his unhealthy psyche. XJ pegged him as someone not to be trusted immediately but because HY was friends with him he was quietly cautious but none of them could have to go full throttle delusional psycho Warren Bates because he saw them kiss when they got engaged. So after he officially goes bananas and lets his brains run out of his ear, he runs to the emperor and tells him that even though ML and FL are in love they are generals of two armies, which, of course makes the paranoid, bipolar emperor scared for his throne (when both have shown him they were always loyal to him) make a decree that they cannot marry, but the FL has to marry CZ. Another thing about this character and the series that just didn't make sense was the fact that this guy other than maybe doing a good job on the imperial exam, had no real qualifications or experience, but kept getting promoted to higher positions. At first, perhaps it had to do with the fact that the chancellor was a corrupt official, but after the fact, it still didn't make any sense and why the emperor made him the director of the secretary of war when this POS had no knowledge of war, warfare, or what any of that entailed. And that when the war broke out and in fact invaded the most powerful two armies had to be split because CZ the complete and unqualified idiot made the advice to the emperor, but remember the emperor has to make the final decision which he did based on his new little buddy's advice. It was literally a time bomb, which ended up killing a lot of people including the unnecessary death of YH. I really wish HY had slapped him when she gave him that reality check. Because he deserved to be decked so hard that it knocked all the delusion out of his head. CZ's little voiceover after he realized his mistakes were crocodile tears, and when it was all said and done, I wish both he and the emperor were stripped of their positions and exiled to the borderlands for making such a asinine and stupid decision that cost so many lives and it was completely unnecessary. Let the Empress govern, she has more brains than her bipolar, nasty husband.

Would I recommend it? It's a good watch in the sense of, don't spend too much time nitpicking. Just enjoy the show.

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Psychological Thriller with Incorrect Diagnoses

Picked this randomly as it looked like a different role for Joseph to take on and though it does need a second season, I understand why it didn't do well over there back in 2020. Not sure why it has the horror tag as other then a few jump scares, there was nothing scary about it. It's a psychological thriller but with a very wrong diagnostic for the lead.

Premise is that the lead may hereditarily inherit schizophrenia at age 24 like his mother and brother did but they never really explored what the disease actually is or what the symptoms are. ML did have a mental disorder but it wasn't schizophrenia, it was multiple personality disorder or MPD which has completely different symptoms then schizophrenia and isn't known to be a hereditary disease but one that is caused due to childhood trauma. Instead of focusing on this main topic and really probing it deeply, the series focused on the ML, his idiotic love interest, and best friend who also was acted out way too over dramatically solving mysteries like a bunch of detectives all over Hong Kong. The HK scene was nice to see.

I have to give Joseph or LJ a hand for turning into essentially Eric Draven in the last episode when he finally learned the truth about the professor he thought was there to help him was actually trying to get him to have a psychotic break. The second professor finally telling him the truth and that switch to the alternative personality which was foreshadowed since episode 1 with the half eaten green apple, either at the end or somewhere in each episode.

Other than the ML, the doctor assistant, and a character nicknamed Sharp were done well. I'll give some credit to the professor villain and best friend for at least always being there. I can't say any of the other regular characters were necessary. Ramming romance in there was awkward and extremely unnecessary. Not to mention the love interest character was very cringey and childish; she matured only briefly when going through her own crisis. Lots of plot holes like how did LJ learn to understand Cantonese in just 2 months?

Reason I gave this a higher score is essentially because of how much I loved Dark LJ wailing on the professor and his office and how they dedicated an entire episode to Sharp's passing. I was very angry with FL for running to change the stupid lightbulb leaving Sharp to essentially die alone in that hospital bed. Was that light bulb more important than his final moments? Maybe it was her denial but it was poorly executed. Wish they had given an entire episode to Dark LJ instead of the last 15 minutes.

Would I recommend it? As an in between series maybe and Joseph really did well in acting here as well as the actor who played Sharp. They were my favorites.

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Multifaceted Mind of a Sketch Artist

Had watched "Are You Safe?" with TJC and was very impressed with his acting so wanted to see more of him and this was recommended by some trusted sources. He didn't disappoint and this 20 episode drama really was a breath of fresh air in terms of sticking to a flowing storyline. Seeing his character use his strengths in the face of some pretty hard blows, was awesome. We really see inside the multifaceted mind of a sketch artist.

Pros: Favorite character was, of course, the lead SY played by TJC. Even in his hardest moments of dealing with a repressed memory and PTSD, he was this calming force. His iron willpower and acknowledgment that he was able to do amazing things was one of the many things that helped his character be as plausible as he was. I'm very much hoping there will be a season 2 given the open-ending with the same cast especially him.

The storyline never dragged, each character was there for as long as they needed to be. SY's partner or DC at the bureau definitely started off being a cynical grouch for all the right reasons but it was great that he thawed fairly quickly and their friendship was built on trust, respect, and even their rough history. All those hardships helped build them to be what they became by the midpoint.

Loved how interwoven the main plot was with the sub plots that were very well and handled properly; the antagonists were also placed very well and even the big bad behind the original murder that brought everyone together, was expertly placed and executed. All OST's, CGI, explanations behind how a sketch artist worked, and other procedural techniques were very understandable. It even had a few bits of comedy where SY would always fall asleep in the car as DC would be explaining a case to him or when he would bolt out of a room without telling anyone and people would just be left staring like "what just happened?" This was a great crime drama.

Cons: This drama was on its way to get a rare perfect score from me but it had just one problem I couldn't get beyond. SY was a sketch artist, a fantastic one at that, probably a prodigy in art and in his field but when they gave him a gun, strapped a vest on him, put him in the field, or had him interrogate suspects, get evidence for them, basically made him a Jack of all trades, it was very unrealistic. There's no way a sketch artist in any police department of any country would ever be a detective, interrogator, etc. Everything else was wonderful but that one portion just took a bump down; they should have just kept him in his element; even teaching makes sense but not that. Like when did he get training? He never went to a police academy.

Would I recommend it? 100%! That one negative doesn't negate an excellent story, characters that make sense, no forced anything. If you like good acting, great writing, and crime dramas, this show is definitely for you. Very glad I watched it.

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An honest Review

This series had its pros and cons for me but I was happy to watch it and the ending was quite satisfying for our leads and other couples. So let's get into this review, shall we? I never read the novel but knew from fans who had that production deviated heavily from it but am not surprised as many series and films do on an international scale. Let's get the bad news out of the way first.

Cons: As a writer and published author myself, plot and character development are essential especially when creating a character or making a written one into a 3D version of itself. There were so many useless or underdeveloped characters that it was honestly confusing to follow the storyline sometimes. For starters, why so many villains? A proper series needs maybe maximum 4 antagonists but they need a base and development where you could see them progress with the series, not just laugh evilly, narrow beady eyes during conversations, and disappear without a trace somewhere towards the end with a soft explanation (ex. Yu WenZhi). I legit lost track of the bad guys and had to ask someone. Some were turned into bad guys but the attempts were lackluster at best. The two real proponents of evil in this series were Shen TianShu and Pathetic Clam. The two of them would have been enough. And of course Yin Pei's transformation but his entire storyline was very short lived and wishy-washy. Perhaps add the Eunuch but for more then a few episodes that killed Xie Yun's father as an extra.

So many great or interesting characters were never really explored or were given fast deaths like Phoenix, the lady in red as I called her who fell for ZF's grandfather or Old man Chonquio while useless characters like the 3rd prince and I don't recall his name weak kid who had a crush on Ah Fei but his family was massacred and he joined Yin Pei's cult of crazy were created to confuse. There are probably other characters too but they were so underdeveloped that I forgot all about them.

It was also sad that even though Xie Yun was the ML his backstory was barely explained in tiny flashbacks. I wanted to know; how did he get poisoned? Where was he? Why? Who gave that order? Why the worst poison on earth? He was just a kid. This was a fascinating arc which was never properly explored. Where did he learn his footwork from? How did Yu WenZhi know him and vice versa? Not to mention the whole mystery of The Color of Ocean and Heaven; no one knew what it was, but ppl got killed for it and I felt like I was in a game of "Clue".

Continuing on to costumes and scenery. This was probably one of the saddest parts; this production had such a huge budget and I wonder what it was used on? The forest surrounding the fortress and every other location was so fake it was cringeworthy. They were filming in Hengdian where there's great terrain all over the place; why not use that? There are trees and bamboo and forests that were perfect for every outdoor scene. Rocks and hills could always be built in. The leads ever changing costumes made me dizzy. Why so many? Pick a few really well made ones and stay in them. The fake facial hair was atrocious at best. I can now understand Zhao Liying's post on Weibo last year after filming wrapped showing two hamburgers; one was the real deal and one was half the size of the original with discoloration. The first was of the expectation for the series and the second was the reality.

Ok, now that I have everyone depressed, let's get onto the good news.

Pros: The primary reason I watched this in the first place was because I'm a fan of Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo. She was the first actor I saw in c-ent that I really liked in Princess Agents and she pulled me into this rabbit hole. Wang Yibo I first saw as many did in CQL a month later and so started following him as well. Knowing that this was ZLY's first wuxia drama since PA and since her pregnancy, I was very excited and she didn't disappoint. I wanted to see Yibo in a totally different character to the ones I've seen him play, now as a chatterbox with martial arts and sweet talk; he too pulled it off.

I loved their playful banter, their bond before love set in. Though he was the flirt, there was a difference between that and when he really started to have serious feelings for her. The same thing happened with Ah Fei, she was stiff at first always smacking him or pulling her sword on him which made for very comedic scenes, but it was obvious with her too when just liking him as a friend or traveling companion turned into love. There wasn't a hot and heavy romance but it was still obvious and most importantly they formed the bond of trust and friendship before love. Both actors gave their all and it showed. Does this mean they stop growing in their profession? No. Yibo still has a long way to go but with time and different roles, I believe he will be a wonderful actor; at 23 he's already accomplished so much that he's really a prodigy in many ways. Liying has done many different roles and I appreciate all the hard work she puts in, I look forward to more things from her and already added both of their upcoming works to my watchlist here amongst others. The other actors that impressed me were named above but sadly weren't given enough screen time to have their stories flushed out. The second leads held their own but Ah Fei's female cousin I wanted to strangle. She acted 12 and her voice was like nails on chalkboard; if it wasn't for Bonehead and the doctor dude with the snakes for some comedic relief, I probably would have skipped more if not all of her scenes.

To tally it up;
The winners were Ah Fei, Xie Yun, Shen TianShu, Pathetic Clam, Yin Pei, Madam Nichang, and Xie Yun's masters on Penglai Island.
Ok characters: Li Sheng, ChuChu, Bonehead, Poisoner snake dude, Grandpa Li, parents of Ah Fei, Mr. Bai, General Wen.
Sadly not developed: Phoenix, Lady in Red, Old Man from Qi School, Eunuch killer.
Everyone else had massive character flaws, were unimportant so didn't need to speak about them or they didn't belong and should have been cut. Not the best series I have seen but certainly not the worst and there were very cute scenes between our leads to rewatch.

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