Enigma05

Bless and honor all of frontline personnel fighting the pandemic!

Though not watching on CCTV and without subs, most of it is pretty common sense, I'll rewatch on the 23rd once the subs go up. The 8th episode with the doctor who got ill and the entire co-op was yelling "Jiayou" brought tears to my eyes. Not going to lie that I came to watch for Zhan and though he only had 5 minutes of the entire two episodes, his interaction with others were very cute. This mini-series is to honor all those on the frontlines fighting this pandemic. G-d bless them all. May all of their courage be a blessing to everyone because we have to remember we are one world, one people under one sky.

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A Slow-Burn Love Sci-Fi Drama Where the Antagonists were more Modernized than the Protagonists.

I can say this was in my more anticipated dramas this year as I wanted to see the pairing of Reba with CXX as well as ZL as the awesome villain she can play and the sci-fi aspect as that's rare in cdramas. Now while the acting by literally everyone was spot on, the storyline had a lot of issues after the halfway mark. Let's discuss.

Pros: The chemistry of the leads and everyone's relationships be they team evil or good was the top contender. We had an ancient enemy known as the fiends that in their non-human forms looked like aliens that wanted to take over earth and a group of hunters appointed by an ancient king called the Nanshan or South Mountain Hunters and this duty was passed down from generation to generation. What the hunters didn't realize until the ML or YT met the FL or NJL was that the fiends had found a way to take on human forms and only those that still lived underground looked alien-eske. They were living amongst humans and the one in charge or LRX played by ZL had a whole farm where she used generations of actual kidnapped humans as "blood bags" or basically every inch of their body is consumed by a fiend who than looks like that person and is stronger than humans. But they are careful in their selection as they don't want to attract too much attention.

YT's parents and sister (about her we learned only briefly at the very end but not how) were murdered because his father owned a mine which could be used by LXR--or fake Lin as I called her because she took on YT's mom's name after the fact--for when the fiends went through their transformation to human. So Fake Lin and her posse of fiends plus the humans she employed—lord only knew why they were so loyal to her—raised YT and an unrelated sister that was born, to later be used as a blood bag herself. YT didn't know the truth until he grew up and found his mother's diary and from then on both he and LL (the sister) who also knew the truth lived in constant fear and had to conduct themselves appropriately but he was definitely trying to learn the truth and find ways to free them both.

It wasn't until he met NJL that everything changed. NJL was a sculptor by day and a Nanshan Hunter, one of the strongest because she wielded the Mad Blade as it was known. Her mother was one as well but was presumably killed 20 years ago and not seen again until the end. NJL was trying to quit the hunters but it kept coming back to her. She too lost her family to the fiends; first her mother and then her father took his own life from depression. She was raised by uncle Jiang who was the leader of the hunters and he and another woman trained her when she was a child and gave her, her blade which she had to accept by giving her blood as she was a direct descendant.

Through a series of encounters with YT, NJL learns to her horror that the fiends are now walking around in human form and this is why the last 20 years when they patrol the mountain it's been relatively quiet. Her relationship with YT starts off as combative but as he proves with information that he is trustworthy, they slowly become friends, than partners who help each other when wounded and other times and than it turns romantic. It's a slow burn which is expected given that romance isn't the primary storyline. To YT, NJL is the hope he's been looking for in him seeking the truth.

Meanwhile, fake Lin starts to suspect her "son" is finding out more than he needs to. We never really learned what plans she had for him other than helping her run her huge company filled with unsuspecting scientists and other people who do research on different DNA and other things meanwhile all of that is used in her quest to turn more and more of her kind into human form. She does charity work and other things on the side like investment and marketing that are legitimate to hide her side business. We start seeing clashes between fiends, their human sidekicks and hunters when one is kidnapped briefly and while he is released, Jiang-Shu and 4 others are taken and this is the start of everything that culminates in the battle at the end.

There's a second couple of LL and the doc friend and sponsored by fake Lin named Lv Xian who are pushed together because the only way LL can become a blood bag is if she gets married and has kids. Fake Lin feeds her raw meat and drugs her with milk. But the two become friends and later more than that. He helps YT and even NJL later rescue LL from the house; he also knows the truth but only reveals it to YT at the end. But YT gets caught, first with his mother's diary for which he is imprisoned at home for at least 15 days and than because a jealous hunter XS who has a thing for NJL, says his name in the exchange of prisoners with fake Lin which is when she realizes that YT "betrayed" her when he and his whole family "should be grateful to her for everything she's done." Delusional doesn't begin to cover it. So he's imprisoned in the mine for over a month and when NJL and another hunter rescue him, it's obvious he's gotten severe trauma. It takes a long time for him to come out of it; but he does with the help of NJL's now blended family; her caretaker, LL, and a dumplings guy who was also saved from the fiends when he harbored LL for a bit.

YT and NJL's romance picks up more at the end after her selective amnesia goes away and they have their "reunion" kiss and another intimate moment though not shown, it's understood. It's an HE for all intents and purposes; creepy ending notwithstanding. The entire story I won't tell but it's pretty cool in the first half. The second is as well but the storyline takes a dip at YT's mine time and never really recovers; but that'll be in the cons. Usually I list the characters that I liked the best, but honestly every single one did a great job. The leads and ZL were the best but I can't point to my favorite character because they all pulled their weight. The fights were great except the last one; my favorite was the one at the farm between NJL and fake Lin.

The amazing CGI especially of the non-human fiends, and that red cave thing where the earth demons dwelled plus the membrane NJL's mom put her in where YT rescued her from. I think that's why this show got an S+. The entire soundtrack fits perfectly as did costumes, sets, etc.

Now let's head to the cons. Sadly, there were a lot of those.

Cons: They started cutting scenes around the time YT was in the mine and the rest was spliced together; things you'd see in previews or official photos, you never saw on screen. There were so many plot holes, you could fall into one. Some of the examples are: They hadn't trained in 20 years; everything was outdated and they were at a severe disadvantage which is why the final battle was a hot mess. They weren't even physically strong to take on the human fiends let alone their non human counterparts. When was the last time any of them went to a gym? It's like YT knew how strong fake Lin was because she lifted him off the ground with one hand when he was locked in the house but he used the tranq gun like a bat? I mean really? He couldn't shoot her? She disarmed him in under 3 seconds and shot him instead. Make it make sense, plz. Uncle Jiang knew about the earth demons (NJL's mom being the only one who retained her consciousness) but never told the hunters and XS only read half of it from a book but never studied further to know they would take out their own brethren. Everyone was waiting for a serious battle because of the build up and we got that?!? The writers did put the hunters at a serious disadvantage by making them not modernized like their enemy was. They could have used Mad Blade's blood to make real bullets with real guns, so much could have been adapted.

The fiends had adapted with resources, modern tools, even drones at one point, while the hunters looked almost embarrassing in comparison, stuck in outdated methods. Viewed from an outside perspective, the hunters seemed like a poorly maintained car garage, while the fiends operated like the Italian mob when they had real power. In that final battle, the hunters were pretty much slaughtered and that’s because they spent 20 years sitting on their asses eating, joking, and not training and their equipment was 20 years behind schedule, AT LEAST. Then there was the fact that they could not watch each other‘s backs and that’s why SQ was ambushed, which by the way was so out of the blue; like he barely got a chance to fight. But all the strong hunters had to sacrifice themselves one way or another or get badly hurt to kill essentially 2 human fiends because NJL with her "Mad Blade Medicine", took out the two huge non-human ones. But at least Jiang-Shu got some revenge and killed the dude with the blade who killed him, but I think he was glad that he did that. Fake Lin just stood by the side waiting for YT (who by the way basically shot maybe three times the entire time; otherwise he just ran around and pointed that rather useless tranq gun) and NJL. And the anticlimactic non-fight between fake Lin and NJL. We were really building up to it and literally nothing happened; other than talking but then they stabbed each other and it was over as NJL fell and then mom came flying in and decapitated fake Lin. 32 episode built up to that; what a waste!

Also when YT was rescuing FL from the membrane, his hands were red and blistered but next scene, they're fine. And probably the most ridiculous part was the selective amnesia. She remembered everybody except him. Every single time something was brought up she remembered the fight, she remembered the people. He was there alongside her, by her side every step of the way and yet nope, she didn’t remember him. Thankfully that lasted only 1. 25 eps. There were more but I already forgot them.

Would I recommend it? Despite the absolutely insane amount of plot holes in the cons and cut scenes, the series itself is still quite good. Hence it got the score it did. The acting was phenomenal and the overall story is good. Watch and judge for yourselves.

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Amazingly Better Than the First

After watching the first one; I didn't want to watch this one because that one was a mess. I like Jason Statham so decided why not; I'm bored. I'll give a whirl. Other reason I didn't want to watch it was because though I'm a scuba diver, I have a phobia of octopi and knowing essentially I'd be looking at the kraken with huge tentacles gave me the jeebs. Thankfully, that part of the show was towards the end and minimal. But though things were messy and far from perfect (antagonists were subpar at best but thankfully most were eaten fairly quickly); the comedy and bantering between the characters was amusing even in dire strait situations. It's not a film for everyone but if you want to just relax with some popcorn and have a chill evening, go for it. It is actually amazingly better than the first. That said, I hope they don't make a 3rd lol.

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Rushed Chinese Jurassic Park with a Volcano Instead

I'm a natural disasters nerd and have been for nearly 30 years; I've read and watched everything I could get my hands on when it came to tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, rogue waves, meteors, comets, asteroids, and occasionally hurricanes. Was just cruising Prime Video for any not so great natural disaster flicks and came across this one. Was very surprised that it was a Chinese film and found it here on MDL. It came out on prime two years after its initial release in China, so all of the actors voices were completely dubbed over but done well. I was familiar with only a handful of the actors; though the science wasn't there, this was like a rushed Chinese Jurassic Park with a volcano instead.

Pros: What I liked the most was the CGI which was top notch and all of the actors really played their parts well. Very typical of a state of the art hotel built on an active volcano; so greed over safety. It was entertaining to watch and I gave it the score I did for these pluses. The story needed to be longer and it would have been better if done so.

Cons: The total lack of science. First of all, an explosive eruption doesn't happen in just 20 minutes. This was a typical cone shaped volcano but both of its eruptions resembled those of Krakatoa, Tambora, and Vesuvius though on a much smaller scale. The fact that no one took the time to explain that those ash clouds racing down the mountain were pyroclastic flows that could reach up to 500 mph in speed and 1,000 degrees F, was ridiculous. ML aka dad survived not once but twice even though he was in the open where the flow reached him even if he hid in the hole in the ground; just look at the citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum for that explanation. It's literally impossible to survive at all with just minor burns; each person would be incinerated alive. The ejections out of the volcano are called lava bombs and not only do they explode but they create their own lava flows.

I wasn't looking for a whole lot of accuracy it being only 1.5 hours long but just some basic volcanology would have sufficed; something they teach you in elementary and middle school science class.

Would I recommend it? Yes; as just a natural disaster flick with special effects and good acting. Grab some popcorn and relax.

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After All It Was David Who Beat Goliath

Watching a 2019 show in 2023 just hits differently; especially with 55 episodes lol. I haven't watched a series with that many episodes since 2020. Only reason I watched it is because I wanted a series where Allen Ren actually was convincing in acting, because what I've seen of him thus far wasn't all that great. Other than looking constipated while saying his lines, I wanted more substance and a trusted source recommended this.

Pros: In the very beginning, I wasn't at all sure he could pull it off, but once he fell for FL, I was pleasantly surprised that he was able to emote and really give his all to his character. Seven Tan I really like and think she does a great job when it comes to strong feisty characters be they in costume or modern dramas; though here she too annoyed me a lot in the beginning. But I actually have to say that the character that caught my attention the most was the morally gray Zhan Lanye; many a time these kinds of characters are played by men but here though she was basically obsessed with the main antagonist, killed many people, but still had a soft spot for SX and helped her out as well as get one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle to turn on big bad. It was good when all of the characters evolved because in the beginning you wanted to hit a few with bricks like Xie Xiao (I'll talk more about him below). All of the people the leads met along the way that became their friends or extended family were great. The big bad, Goliath aka Yan Shifan though a vicious, obsessed, greedy killer, was a good villain up until he crossed a few lines, then you just wanted to off him immediately. The storyline actually for the most part was decent until in the late 40s and early 50s of episodes; this series could have done much better with just 40 or 45 episodes. LY really was the David that brought down Goliath, I just wish it was more satisfying. Costumes especially for the embroidered guards were quite rich and beautiful.

Cons: The tired trope of "your father killed my family so I have to take revenge on you even though you were like 10" was first introduced in the late 40s and into the 50s and it was a mess then on out. Killing off a good character essentially without rhyme or reason in the last few episodes was just dumb. As mentioned up top the character XX was essentially a 12 year old in an adult's body. Some people called him comic relief, I considered him fast-forwardable. His crush on the FL going onwards past two rejections was pathetic. The love triangle or quad took like 40 episodes to resolve and had really blockheaded men I wanted to smack. It was just unnecessary from the main plot. The emperor was a very peculiar man; didn't trust anyone supposedly but really let himself be led by the nose by the Yan family for decades, killing innocent people just on words and false evidence. Ironically the actor looked older in this series then in The Blood of Youth where he too played the emperor which was filmed over a year after this was released. Maybe it was the wig.

One concern I had was how they threw rape around with the bad guys like it was nothing. Especially with that one who wanted SX and had 9 lives; stabbing didn't kill him, falling off a cliff didn't either, but some poison in some noodles in a jail cell and adios. Very unbelievable. Big bad was also pro rape and torture but his death was a total copout in the last episode. Beheading? Really? Y'all tortured smaller fries but the one who had orchestrated it all....nothing, zilch? Not to mention his nasty foot fetish and obsession with Dr. Ling plus what he did to Jinxia.

That last episode was taken from some LSD playbook and didn't make any sense. Why would LY act so rashly and out of character? I watched it being very confused. Many of the interior sets looked like they belonged in a carnival funhouse or a Bollywood musical. And lastly, why the closeups of the leads' eyes? That reoccurring theme looked ridiculous and had me laughing; the camera would be so close you could tell Allen Ren was wearing contacts and Seven Tan had an occasional pimple. No one needed that.

Would I recommend it? If you like the leads and good mysteries, then yes. But the fast forward button may be required especially with certain characters and when the plot took a downward turn in the late 40s.

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There Are Way Too Many Wheels on this Car

Only watched this for Yin Anan Wong and I have to say from last summer to this miniseries, his acting has improved a lot. I do however in the future wish he would get a role of the protagonist for a change. Not saying Rico Suave here wasn't a delight to see but I don't want him to be typecast as an antagonist before he really had any experience in mainstream entertainment. Because this miniseries is an anthology, my manner of review will be different than usual. Based on a true story usually means that while dramatization exists, the basis is real and therefore I will discuss each character as I saw them psychologically.

Mei - The original 3rd person, played the victim a lot and though I understand different cultures have their roles, she blamed way too much on karma instead of taking responsibility for her own actions. While the start of her relationship with Thiu was anything but consensual, pretty much every other thing she did on her own, had very little to do with bad karma and a lot to do with very poor decision making. She could have taken herself out of both equations at any time instead, she just dug herself a deeper hole. I was very glad that it took the car accident and her dear friend to finally make her wake up to the truth.

Thiu - Master manipulator and I have no idea how he wasn't in jail for sexual assault. If it really happened the way it was portrayed, then he got Mei drunk and forced himself on her when she essentially said no and tried to leave a few times. After that, he kept forcing himself on her even at the office, I had no idea how she felt love towards this man. Was it desperation, a weird version of Stockholm syndrome, you start to sympathize and love your attacker? His actions towards his wife were nothing short of verbal abuse. The man had zero concept of being in the wrong. I would classify him as a sociopath.

Atom - For someone who loved one night stands with random women, this walking STD still had some pride and wherewithal to take care of his own girlfriend though he was jobless. His relationship was salvageable because he and his girlfriend were both equal train wrecks. They both had vices that used other people for their own gain. He and Mei got the most out of whatever they had; they used each other and then it imploded. One could see it coming from a mile away. Would he really change? Who knows?

Khim: One loud mouth diva who made some kind of nasty masks that harmed others and considered herself an online influencer dishing out advice she had essentially no right to give. While Atom cheating on her left, right, and center wasn't a good thing, she could have just broken up with him and called it a day. Instead she turned herself and Thiu's wife into APEX predators by hounding the woman both men were seeing. One bad decision led to many others. Who really needed the confrontations, hair pulling, attacks and whatnot? It was really trashy and could have gotten her in trouble with the law had Mei decided to press charges. One of the reasons I think her and Atom would work out because they were both low class people.

Oil - While in the beginning I saw her and the baby as the only real victims in this story, her introduction to Khim, brought out a very nasty side in her. Who brings personal life to work? Even if it's an affair, get HR involved, don't show up unannounced and start a ruckus. She ended up being no less toxic then Khim. I hope for her sake, she divorces that hot mess of a husband and takes him for everything he owns, then it'll be revenge. She needs to think about her baby not threatening to throw acid on someone. That's a very harmful and unstable threat and makes Mei look like she was the only problem in that situation; when her husband started it all. Three sides to every story; his, hers, and the truth.

The miniseries was obviously very low budgeted because it seemed like actors either wore their own clothing or at least paid for it. Production used cheap locations and surroundings for places like the office or hotels. None of the places looked like real lived in homes. The car "chase" was laughable honestly, they were going no more then 20 mph while Khim swears she's flooring it. While the story itself makes sense as a cautionary tale, it's still very obvious that the Thai entertainment industry is new in comparison to others in the region. I hope for future works, they get more investors and better ones. Wish there was less screaming and yelling in each episode, definitely don't binge this unless you want a headache. This is an interesting miniseries for people studying psychology or psychopathy; you learn a lot about human nature.

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6 Piece X-Men

Was watching SOTM and the actor (Wang You Shou) who played He Na grabbed my attention, and though I ended up dropping that show, this one with him was recommended to me and I decided to give it a go. I loved the 6 piece version of X-Men just without the fantastical elements. This drama didn't disappoint me at all.

Pros: Loved the mystery and intrigue and how with the ML you never knew exactly what he was thinking and how many steps ahead he actually was. Also how even if he didn't have a plan, he could weasel himself or others out of nearly impossible situations under near death circumstances. There was a constant question of what was really going on but it never dragged until the end and nothing was what it seemed. My second favorite character was of course the reason I started watching or Wang Kuan played by WYS; man was like a walking Siri, encyclopedia Brittanica, and fortune teller wrapped up into one dude. He never told a lie, was loyal to a fault, and a wonderful friend and later on partner. Zhang Jian and Xue Ying were also great and I loved their strengths and weaknesses. Each character had flaws and that was very important.

I'd have to say my least favorite out of the 6 were Ya Nei because he was too flashy and though he did mature a bit as time went on, his arrogance just couldn't be tapered down. Also Ah Jing, she was the least qualified and though I felt that she did grow in strength as the series progressed, her outfits and the baby voice with which she talked made you constantly think you were leading a kid along on dangerous missions. It didn't make much sense. I wish they had evolved her more to fit a grown woman as the series continued. Even with WK by her side as protector and love interest, she still never came into her own. Hopefully that'll happen in part 2.

Other favorite characters from both the protagonists and antagonists side were Dean Lu, big bro of our Jack of all trades, old thief, instructor Liu, Old man minister of war, and even the creep Ding Er (I can't spell his other name). He really was the perfect antagonist and repulsively creepy at the same time. But it made him believable and therefore, he shall stay.

Loved the scenery, martial arts were awesome, OSTs, costumes, etc. just a nice round off of a lot of things.

Cons: With so much going on, many little variables were just left alone. Though the plot didn't drag until the end, it seemed many questions were left unanswered after each mission was completed. Like move on to the next one and the audience will forget. The last arc was an absolute mess. What was the point of any of it? To return Ding Er to annoy everyone and Dean Lu to have his final showdown, only to show YJX propose to ZJ and all be awesome and literally two scenes later in the same outfit and in the same location find out from the gang that the creep escaped from prison, kidnapped her, her father and sent a note to the team saying "he'll take good care of his wife and father" opening up the official season 2 approach. It was way too messy and could have been done way better.

All things considered a lot of the plots and subplots could have been executed tighter. That said, this is still pretty good for a lower budget 2019 drama.

Would I recommend it? If you like mystery, intrigue, light comedy, and great friendships, then yes I totally would. I'm very much looking forward to part 2 myself since they literally wrapped filming it a few days ago.

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CSI in Costume Drama

I watched this on the recommendation of two credible sources and am glad I did. It was witty, intelligent, and was a very serious whodunnit. What I liked about it was that all characters including the leads were very strong and equal to one another. I do wish there was at least one real kiss between the leads. Everyone had each other's backs and there was no jealousy or backstabbing amongst them. I enjoyed another drama without the cliche or tropes that these dramas are famous for. Very obvious the drama was lower budget but it really didn't need a large budget as it didn't have anything save martial arts which were done really well. Also obvious the main cast was compiled by new actors but they all held their own and were very convincing.

What I wished there was more or less of was more of our leads and their friends and less of the palace politics. The old evil eunuch guy looks like Grima Wormtongue and sounds like Gollum (for anyone who knows LOTR). I wish he was done away with sooner and the way he went was a total cop out considering this was a CSI crime solving story, not very convincing. The ending itself could have been done better and smoother for our two leads, especially since the literal last scene was of their marriage. Definitely some bumps and holes along the way but other then that, it was something that I'd recommend especially for crime drama loving people.

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An Honest Review

I watched this series for Dilraba and Ma Ke respectively as I'm a fan of both. I had read a lot of different reviews but I always like to watch and make up my mind myself. This drama is first and foremost about action, competition, and learning about teamwork. Romance is dead last. But I was expecting that. Ironically the most satisfying relationship was between the two instructors of LHSD. There was a romance triangle or quad. Two guys liked the same girl, and a 2nd girl all but stalked the main lead.

Cons: The title should have been LHSD not Hot Girl; didn't fit. The constant repetitive flashbacks weren't needed and were very annoying. Almost like the screenwriter thought the audience would forget who said what and when and to whom. What's the point of watching then? Least favorite character by far was Pink Panther aka Tianqi. She fell for the lead and literally stalked him; she had photos of him in her apartment everywhere. And in a secret box where she recorded every conversation they ever had. Yet when a celebrity entrusted their agency for the exact same purposes; she had a stalker, that person was considered psychologically unwell. He too had photos of her everywhere, followed her everywhere, and made constant phone calls. Yet Pink Panther's actions were considered normal even encouraged! It was mind boggling.

I felt bad for the male lead because his feelings towards the female lead were constantly trampled on by "but you can't hurt Pink Panther" or "you must be with her." Why should he be with a woman he doesn't care for in that way and a creeper to boot? It was a huge issue for many episodes. What compounded matters was the whole real probability of FL and ML actually being siblings after they fell in love. But even when that was cleared up, the FL was still pushing ML away towards the creepy Pink Panther; like girl are you really that dense or just dumb as nails? When first finding out that ML may be her brother, she turned cold and heartless towards him without any explanation. He was as much of a victim as she was. He meanwhile saved her life countless times and never gave up on her. What made it even more pathetic was that their "reunion" in the second to last episode was about as emotional as two old ladies playing cards. Very poorly written. She owed him an apology at the very least and a kiss would have been nice. As mentioned above the instructors relationship had more fireworks.

Sorry but Pink Panther is getting the punching bag here and it's because on top of being a creepy stalker that literally no one realized, she also spied on all of the people she supposedly cared for and worked for in order to help a competitor/misguided antagonist who hated the founder of LHSD. The SML was a dumb jock who couldn't take no for an answer, in love with FL and had the whole "if I can't have her, I'll just (try and) beat up everyone around me to show my manliness and endanger everyone's lives by joining the antagonist to show my jealousy." Very passive aggressive and just proved his uselessness.

Some scenes had me questioning the validity of anything they ever learned. In the second to last episode when SML holds FL hostage with first a gun, then a knife goading the ML to kill himself, the FL couldn't even subdue him? This entire time she was showing her almost gravity defying superiority in fighting and yet she can't get out of a hold? Probably the fakest scene out of the entire thing save for the paragliding experience which was obvious the production had a very low budget.

Next question, in 2015 or whenever this thing was filmed, was cancer the most popular thing people could come up with? Just about every other character had it. No variety or ingenuity whatsoever. Lastly the slow walking to music really brought back that Baywatch vibe and not in a good way.

After so many cons, how can this show possibly have any pros? But it does in fact.

Pros: I loved the idea of the show and the thing that made it more interesting is that they weren't just a group of bodyguards but also private investigators it seemed. Just about every client they had was shady or had additional problems that required further investigation. Nothing was ever cut and dry. I enjoyed the fact that they all started out as snotty, arrogant know it all's but learned how to work together and even appreciate the "she-monster" instructor who in fact just wanted them to succeed through hard work. FL and ML went from largest rivals, to friends, to falling in love though with a lot of hiccups. But in the entire time they each grew and matured.

Many side characters helped like the old man cafe owner; he was sort of like their shrink when they were stumped. The bullies got weeded out fairly quickly and were eliminated. For a good chunk of the episodes, it was all about their training which was more like boot camp for the military then bodyguards. Life and death situations brought people closer and helped them learn to rely on one another both at and outside of work. The synopsis talks about the FL becoming this legendary bodyguard. I wouldn't go that far because she wasn't alone. The final group all became great bodyguards, she just became a more responsible leader. So over all, I give this series a 7/10 because I knew I wasn't going to find a romance but more of an action drama and in that aspect, it didn't disappoint in the slightest. So watch for action, character growth, teamwork, friendships. If you're looking for romance, this isn't the drama for you.

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Section 8 Overshadowed Section 7

I originally watched part 1 this year so it wasn't a 4 year wait for me like many others. Going from 40 episodes and mostly comedy with intelligence to 27 and a much darker tone, set part 2 apart greatly from part 1. That and the fact that we met 3 members of section 8 that were destined to die and to me at least, they completely took over the series in terms of both action and caring about them from our beloved 6 heroes.

Pros: I really liked section 8's 3 members and felt that when they were on screen, they were much more important to this part than our main leads. Though they still managed to grow and mature while away plus the really random three year time leap that was stuck in there for whatever reason. I'm very glad that Pei Jing grew up as her character was the deer in the headlights always, hiding behind Wang Kuan. The drama made me feel the saddest when section 8's members were killed because even in their small amount of screen time, they made us really care about them and their martial arts skills were pretty awesome; on par if not better then Xue Ying's. Also when WK lost his arm, he being my favorite character, was really a sad and hurtful time but at the same time, it was good to see that even the best and brightest were only human. We got one smooch finally from our second couple but both couples had a few sweet moments here and there. Wasn't sure how I'd feel about the new actor replacing Bruce He to play Ya Nei but he fit the part really well. I'd seen the actor before in a modern, so he impressed me with going from doofus with the facial expressions to serious and realistic.

Big man YH was a great antagonist; he was ruthless, a great strategist, and just freaking huge. It took a lot to put him down but I'm glad they finally did. Was really the only real antagonist that made sense, the others were just dumb ants between his feet. Other good characters were PJ's brother, the dude who thought PJ was a dragon God but was there for comic relief more then anything else, YN's dad, the girl leading the military who had a thing for XY but she disappeared from the scene without an explanation. Costumes were great as were some of the sets, though not all. OSTs were nice too.

Cons: More plot holes than you knew what to do with. What started out as a rescue mission for ZJ's father ended up being an assassination plot just to help NL? In reality, they just wanted to prevent a war. But to understand all that took many episodes then necessary. Why so many stupid characters; Ding'er or Ning Ling, his mom, the son of sections' Chief; that character was bipolar....he's evil but he's also there for comic relief? It didn't make sense and threw the scenes off. Glad when he was off'd, just a waste of time and space.

What was up with all of these fathers? Obviously there was a time jump in the beginning but the way it was shown and expressed made zero sense. One faked treason but we never saw what information he delivered, the other appeared out of nowhere to cripple his own son for 3 years that he didn't even consider a son? That guy was a bastard. He didn't even go after YH in the end but let S7 do it and then just left. Like what was his point? You have insane martial arts skills that you prance around for a few episodes here and there but when it really counted, you just took on a few guards? Useless!

Lord, those horse scenes. I have no words. Them faux horseback riding and it going on and on and on was like watching a 1940s Western with color. Yes, this had a larger budget than season 1 but where did it go? Because that's like sticking a human on a mechanical prop that you don't even show but they're making riding motions et voila!

The ending was so underwhelming plus the misplaced ending credits. The only way S7 brought down mountain man was because they had help from a solar eclipse and a sandstorm which was apparently calculated by the ML and told to us in the second to last scene but it was truly a 🤦🏻‍♀️ finale fight sequence, can't even call it a battle. I only gave it an 8 because of the acting and music and the fact that it finished out a cliffhanger storyline, so watchable.

Would I recommend it? To finish out part one yes. But I definitely liked part one more because it made sense and was better written.

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Rare Occasion When SML & FL Deserved Each Other More

This drama has been a proverbial elf on a shelf for 2 years. It's low budget with a fairly unknown cast. Personally watched only for XYL, who played Ma Zi Xuan and not only did he deliver but plowed over pretty much every male character and some of the women. This to me was a very rare occasion when the SML and FL deserved each other more and fit way better; though thankfully wasn't a love triangle. I've never seen a doppelgänger drama before so the plot fascinated me as well.

Pros: Very proud of XYL as MZX, as he was able to show a very broad range of emotions from best friend and protector to vulnerable, wearing his heart on his sleeve while crying his eyes out where your heart just ached for him. And then of course as the mafia boss type just wailing on people and getting justice for the woman he loved as well as the man he would always consider his best friend. Though he didn't get the woman he loved, he still was able to be in the lives of the two people he helped protect and their son as the cool uncle. I hope this series allows for XYL to get better and more versatile roles because he can definitely handle them.

The doppelgänger storyline was cool but a bit cringey when they swapped lives in the beginning and made decisions that would snowball the other's life in some direction. My other favorite characters were doppelgänger junior and his group of friends because though they start out as annoyingly voiced children, he especially grows into someone who is resolute in his decisions, knows right from wrong, and has a solid determination of who he wants to protect. Most of the comedy was appropriate.

For a 24 episode series, this had way too many antagonists, but the one that stood out the most and made your blood boil was Jiang Xia. Her thought process and actions were that of an obsessive lunatic only caring about that she got LM, forget what means she used. Her dirty, underhanded tricks and getting that petty Lo Man to help her was rotten to the core. However, that's what made her a great villain that one didn't really suspect until the later episodes.

Cons: The plot could have had way better structure and needed to tie up a lot more loose ends like; how did Lo Man get into cahoots with Wang Tong or Jiang Xia in the first place? What happened to her afterwards? Did LM also get better from the mental disorder? Because that entire portion was completely forgotten. Where was HYY and how did LM find her? She had essentially fallen off the face of the earth that even MZX with all of his resources couldn't locate her but a year later, she and LM were back together, she'd successfully published a book, and they were raising their son with the help of MZX. The timeline didn't make any sense.

LM was a ridiculously weak ML character. In the beginning it was understandable because he didn't have to face much other then letting his girlfriend down by not getting married with dumbass excuses but once the villains deployed their scheme all he could do was sit, get drunk, stare blankly at a wall and let others like his junior and MZX essentially fight his battles and find out what really happened. He was what I would call a wuss. In episode 21, when MZX ran to beat the stuffing out of him after the "alleged affair", the difference between the two men's reactions were staggering. Both love the same woman, but one is willing to go to the ends of the earth for her and to get justice while the other one is just a blubbering sack of self-pity. It really just brought home how much even though MZX could be extreme in his handling of things, his love and protection were pure, guaranteed, and never faltered, so out of the two, he was the best choice if there was one.

Putting a huge mess, breakup, investigation, secrets, and villains revealed into the literal last 4 episodes was very dumb. It should have been in the middle or not at all. Already had the doppelgänger story to work with. Furthermore, OSTs and other characters were very forgettable or annoying like Wu Sai's stuttering brother who took years off your life before he could get a sentence out. Editing could have been way better there.

Would I recommend it? Only for XYL and the doppelgänger's storyline. Otherwise, it's relatively a boring and confusing one. Though auto-translated originally on IQIY where I watched it, it is available for free on a YouTube channel now with proper subs thank the lord; so favorite parts are easier to rewatch.

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A Hot Mess

This is what happens when screenwriters use outlines to put together a script as opposed to a fully flushed out plot with character development and cohesion. This was a huge mess. I understand 24 episodes but they were all over the place. No proper introduction to them and on top of that what was originally believed to be 3 fictional characters out of a diary, ended up being crossed over from Babylonian/Akkadian history. The only reason I didn't drop this like the majority of people I spoke with was because WRC or Richards Wang's character essentially carried the entire show on his shoulders plus the historical and international locations were beautiful. He was the only not over the top personality that honestly played his character without screeching, squeaking, and not making sense. I liked him in The Long Ballad as King of Mobei and he was able to do the same here and believably. Wish he had more screen time in both and I look forward to better roles from him in the future. For all of the insanity during, only one couple had a semblance of a happy ending while the others just matured but had to be heartbroken and separated by thousands of years and a different dimension; a real let down if there wasn't enough. Truly wish I hadn't started watching it. This series is only good for people who like chaos and insanity without a straightforward plot. Otherwise, please avoid.

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Aviation Fail

What promised to be a show about the aviation industry and people working hard within it, devolved into toxic office politics, an equally toxic relationship quad, an FL that was bashed with everything humanly possible and an ML with the EQ of a human rock formation. This isn't to dissuade people to watch if they're enjoying it but for me the constant stream of negativity was too much. I put it on hold for a while and now after thinking carefully, have decided not to pick it up again. Hope for those eagerly waiting for the ML to thaw, to get their wish. But I absolutely do not recommend this one. Plenty of others to choose from.

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The Road Long Traveled

A coming of age drama that spans a decade. I won't repeat the synopsis nor what many others have written. I was pulled to this drama for WRC and he didn't disappoint. For a 24 year old, his acting is actually quite good. He has a very good sense of range of emotion. His past characters have all been arrogant yet sexy men, and here he brings that essence with him. But at the same time there's an immaturity, yet loyalty to those his character considers to be a good friend. As the 5 best friends go from high school and into college (well 4), they face more challenges but also the story grows in angst. This part I felt could have been tapered down a bit. Even when there is unrequited love in a series with 36 episodes, with multiple characters, and a group friendship dynamic, more of it should be shown.

The time lapses worked fine until the very last one which literally made no sense. I put full blame on the screenwriters. From what I understand, they were trying to create a happy ending from a sad one; and while I applaud that (the proposal was epic to say the least!), the separation of the leads should have been handled way better and not for 5 years. The disconnect starts in episode 33 and just snowballs throughout 34. 35 is well structured and quite funny and of course 36 takes the cake.

I loved Tao Tao's character because she knew her own worth and grew quite quickly and who doesn't want a best friend who hands the reigns of her own wedding to her two HS friends one of whom wants to propose to the other? She dropped her college boyfriend after he was less then committed but still managed to part ways in peace. They all grew a lot but I feel her character evolved the most.

What would have given this series a higher score from me would have been more of their group dynamic in college, less angst, no needless additions of the two completely useless characters to further make misunderstandings and separate the leads who then disappeared without a trace, and a more cohesive way to separate the leads for a period of 2 years max so they could both grow into their own selves as working, independent adults.

Shi Yi's reasons for going should have been because he was getting an amazing opportunity to study medicine, that he wanted to step out of his father's shadow, that he would always return even with the tweak that XJ didn't give him the answer he wanted; it's not like he had proposed to her, so what exactly could be expected? The ebb and flow of a cohesive transition was not there and it hurt the ending a lot. Cut ties and run and make sure she wouldn't get to him in time? I'm sorry but even writing 101 would stick a failing grade on that setup.

I would also have rewritten the Lin You arc because Chen Lang deserved way better then being left in the cold despite her and ex bfs history. Because she ended up with a foreign husband back in China; which made even less sense. She obviously broke up with her ex, she could have just as easily reconnected with CL and they could have conversed long distance until she returned and even he could have visited her abroad; that would have been a more mature and realistic way to properly close that out. That was another plot slip for the screenwriters.

I would rename this series "The Road Long Traveled" as a tick off the Robert Frost poem. Shi Yi's emotions and his ways of expressing them sometimes made me think the dude was bipolar but I understood that he frequently had the "talk first, think later" approach. But when he was proposing to Xiao Ju, I could tell he had grown a lot. My probably favorite moment of that last episode was when she said yes and he closed his eyes in relief. It felt like over a decade and 200 pounds were lifted off his shoulders. He finally got the girl he'd loved before he even knew he did; the first overtures came in episode 8.

Is this series worth watching? Sure! Does it have problems? Yep. But I'm still glad I watched it even when I wanted to smack them for their lack of balls or to stop being so angsty. Everything for just about everyone worked out in the end and the best part was that the 5 best friends that went to the Yun Hai beach after finishing HS, were all back together in the same room and still had that group dynamic that made them so lovable and strong in the first place.

So I say, watch it and form your opinions for yourselves. :)

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Not perfect but binge-worthy show.

First meeting these characters in TMPB, I actually liked them a lot more than the two leads there. But knowing this was a totally separate story, gave it a go once it was fully uploaded and translated here. What can I say, I like to binge watch. Though, absolutely beautiful costumes, CGI, and script. It got a 9 from me because it got off to (in my opinion) a slow start. I love the chemistry between the leads and the humor of practically every character. The main antagonist could have laid off on the “evil laughing” all the time as it was not convincing in the slightest. Wish there was a more rounded ending of our two leads as that seemed a bit rushed. But overall, I’m satisfied with this series and would recommend it to friends.

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