Enigma05

Same Formula, Better Actors & Wu Lei Can Have Chemistry w/a Pet Rock.

Watched this solely because I follow Wu Lei and wanted to see both badminton and tennis on a more prominent scale as someone who played both in her youth albeit not professionally. This series was very nostalgic to me because of both of those. Was this show fresh otherwise? No. I've seen at least one other drama very much like this; in other words same formula, better actors & Wu Lei can have chemistry with a pet rock.

Pros: I loved the fact that SC played by WL, essentially played someone his own age but as a ridiculously old soul. Very rarely did his character actually act his age or younger. At the same time because of his love for FL which developed fairly early on, he carried their world on his shoulders all on his own volition. Every goal he set for himself, he met and never backed down. It was awesome to see WL take his character seriously and really train himself for the challenges of tennis. He's already an athlete but this was a different skill set and it was great to see him and the other tennis playing actors be so serious with that. I actually really enjoyed watching all of their training sessions as much as the rest of the story. The FL or LYA was also one who stood her ground. I liked their funny and cute moments but save their "one night stand" when she royally screwed up the next morning, SC's eyes always sizzled when he looked at her in their times alone but hers always had the same gaze. I wish she could have emoted the romance more once that got started, considering her character was a 30 plus year old woman. My only real minus in their chemistry. The comedy though was able to cover for what was lacking there.

All of their friends and colleagues like LN, AN, CZ, DY, JJJ, his mom, Alex, even coach unorthodox evolved from a solid douchebag to someone rather likable and his two assistants and though thankfully she didn't have a lot of solo scenes LT was alright too. I really loved the OSTs, they all fit accordingly. The storyline was split down the middle for me; half of it was great and really had terrific substance while the other half was a mess and I'll discuss that below. The good portion of the storyline was the evolution of each character including the growth of friendships where anonymity started in the beginning ie SC and JJJ. Or when the spoiled rich kid started to understand what being the opposite was like. The final closure for SC, AN, and his mom, getting passed and through trauma both psychological and physical. Most of the trauma was bore by SC though we saw a bit of it on LYA and her parental relations. Switching from badminton to tennis was a great main focus and should have stayed essential to most of the plot and then moved onto now as a professional tennis player, let his story move upwards. This is where, unfortunately we visit the cons.

Cons: The other half of the story was focused on so many problems that were chucked primarily at SC it got to be too much. Or other characters and their plots were rushed through like their asses were on fire, it was unnecessary. Though I understand the point was to show people getting through difficulties, they still didn't need to bring so much junk in. Especially with the company Young Space and its antagonists who never got any real resolution in the end. They were just left hanging. After LYA opened Top Smash that should have been the last time we heard of Young Space or their BS, but no they kept being dragged through with their problems, demands, making things harder for our leads because why? There were no other company they could work with? I understand the need to show the divorce of boss Jiang and his wife but later on with that other asswipe in the company; it was a constant hamster wheel of unnecessary problems. The wild card thing, possible doping scandal, rumors of love affairs and bastard kids, the constant lying and using by boss Jiang and basically everyone at Young Space, signing a deal with the devil, then being accosted when training for crap promotions, only way to get away from the Devil is to go train in Europe (just like in Falling into You and I never compare dramas) and separate the leads for two years after which they decided to get married in the last 5 minutes of the last episode.

Though it was a good touch in the psychological scheme of things, medically they got this wrong; phantom pain only exists after an amputation or if a person is born without a limb or body part, not if something is torn like ligaments, tendons, muscles, etc. the body part will swell, ache a lot, may require further surgery but there's no phantom pain. Really wish they did better research on that part. I looked it up myself as I've had a torn tendon in the past that thankfully didn't require surgery thanks to a top orthopedist but I've never ever heard of any variation of this having phantom pain especially not from him.

Couple number two aka JJJ and LT had zilch chemistry. They were just thrown together for the heck of stretching out the story; everything for them was missing. She was like an overly peppy cheerleader even when she was giving her best RBF and he was essentially bored or annoyed through all of their times together. Keep them separate and it wouldn't have looked any different. At least coach unorthodox and LN had real comedy and no one pushed them together. The other two were just there to be there. Lastly, just like there wasn't any resolution with the antagonists, same went with the parents of LYA and LT, the cancer arc was very predictably chucked in towards the end and then it was just as quickly forgotten; only good thing was that LYA and her mom worked out their differences. The ending was all over the place and very rushed but a happy ending for basically everyone that mattered anyways. Granted the after cut to black part and their after getting married hair cutting scene was too funny but the ending still could have been better.

Would I recommend it? Yes. Though there were a lot of issues with this series storyline wise, I wanted to come back everyday and watch the two episodes plus purchased the express so I did enjoy it very much. Take from that what you will.

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Not Very Shadowy but Loved the Case Solving w/the Majority bringing it Back to the Main one.

I wanted to see WXY in something that wasn't a costume drama. This was republican era so I knew it would be beautiful with costumes and sets. He absolutely handled it very well. I wish more versatile roles for him. The rest of the cast handled themselves well too.

Pros: It all begins with a case from 20 something years ago where the ML's sister and the FL are involved in a kidnapping and child trafficking operation. ML's sister is missing and possibly presumed dead but we don't find out until the very end. The FL ends up having amnesia but ML knows who she is. The initial big case is the one that they are looking to solve as it's a big cold case and yet many of the other cases within the series tieback to this original case as unfortunately, the child trafficking and other horrible things are happening to young women and girls. There are other cases that have nothing to do with the big case which I like the fact that they added sprinkled into the series and that it's not just about this main case. There are a lot of middle villains and many villains that do their part.

When meeting again as adults the ML and FL at first get off on the wrong foot because the ML uses her as bait to lure out the killer(s)/person (people) responsible for his sister's disappearance. After a period of another two years, the FL joins the police force where the ML is an inspector and at first, though not too fond of each other, they do grow to trust each other with the help of an intelligence dude Mr. Du who has a thing for the FL but once he realizes and it takes a while and quite a few people to try to get him to understand that she has no feelings for him and he sees that the ML and the FL have grown to care about each other, he does the gentlemanly thing and gives up. Instead, he and the medical examiner aka Dr. Ding get together.

I guess you can call them the four amigos as they go around trying to solve each case that either rolls back to the main one or find the murderers respectively. Other actors in the support section do a great job too. I have to say that the psycho serial killer with a grin was an awesome antagonist. When someone is so creepy with the way they kill that it makes you think of Silence of the Lambs and Buffalo Bill's line, "it rubs the lotion on its skin", you know that's someone believable.

I like that there was romance in it, but it didn't overpower the main theme. I also like the fact that the flashbacks were necessary, but also didn't overpower the episodes or were repetitive but instead they moved the story along. We got our HE with the ML proposing to the FL and he found his sister alive which is great for them both and the ending was very satisfactory.

Cons: Many people didn't see this as an issue, but it did kind of make me feel strange when the actress who played the FL for the most part, walked around with a frown on her face and didn't properly react to emotions unless it was happiness or love. I have seen this actress before and I do not recall the same. That and she, for some reason would always walk into danger alone. It was like she was a magnet to somehow end up by herself and at the mercy of some thug or killer, though she was always either rescued by the ML or was able to take care of herself; slightly. There had to be a lot of suspended disbelief, especially for the other main antagonist because of how quickly everybody figured out who he was, even though they tried so hard to hide his face in the shadows or behind poles it was quite obvious who he was, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out either.

Another thing that was very strange and unnecessary was to portray both leads as superhuman because they would get shot and bounce back like nothing happened, going after whoever shot them in most cases the creepy serial killer guy. And lastly, how his sister actually survived living in some random village for 20 years vaguely remembering her brother or at least the embroidery that he did for her while other children that were trafficked were killed or harmed, so it didn't really make sense for her to survive unless she was bought by a couple that needed kids. Only rational explanation I have.

Would I recommend it? Despite a lot of inconsistencies and strange things; the series was actually a great watch, even though it only lasted four days. Watch for the cases, for the actors, and of course, the beautiful costumes and scenery that always adorn the Republican era.

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The Answer is: You Are My World

This was a very twisty drama; originally watched because Yang Yang and Xuan Lu are two people that I follow. Plus the plot looked awesome and wuxia dramas are just cool if done right. Wanted to see YY in a costume drama and this one seemed like the one to really show his acting skills. I was pleasantly surprised.

Pros: The chemistry between HFX/FLX and BFX/FXY was off the charts starting in episode one. They were like two magnets, just circling each other. The attraction was real and they made a great team even when they still were very wary of each other and competitive. Best power couple vibes. The fact that they would be together was obvious from the get go. The romance between them was arguably the best part of the series even when it took BFX forever to get over denial (and I ain't talking about the River in Egypt). That pre-wedding, wedding, and afterwards was everything!

Loved that HFX was always many steps ahead of everyone else; though he was great at martial arts, it was his intellect that made him so powerful and scary for even his father. His brains and brawn were on full display here. Though BFX was certainly no damsel in distress, HFX was always there to save her in the knick of time and she in turn helped him as well. Probably his best scene albeit brutal was getting beaten by his father and losing his inner force; I feel YY's strength as an actor shown a lot there; the growth was obvious. Not just physical pain but emotional and psychological was impressive.

I also loved the face stuffing, butt kicking BFX who was the perfect other half to a dashing/smart as heck ML. FQW was a great SFL because usually these characters are the gorilla glue of a show but here to see her get turned down and just shrug it off becoming one of ML's most trusted allies and resources was truly refreshing. She was also a great BFF to BFX turning our poor HFX into a 3rd wheel lol.

Other great characters was the older brother, who though I felt was the most tragic out of the cast, was able to stay on his feet still while supporting FLX throughout everything they had to endure. Han Pu who we lost tragically at the end and who I felt should have stayed behind at the sect, was a cute edition. Purple robe dude was alright though completely oblivious to the walking evil next to him until like 20 minutes of the last episode? All of their sergeants and aides were great for both solidarity and comic relief.

The big bad, YWY was definitely convincing as the main antagonist and I like that they kept him mysterious enough. That final battle was epic; knocking each other through buildings and finally bringing him down in a slash and crash method. Only our power couple could do that and appropriately done by them.

And I'm not the slightest bit worried about HFX and his now white hair because there's still old man Taiyan's flower that people have somehow forgotten about; it does bloom, if properly nurtured, every 10 years and it's been over 10 years since last used so I think our couple will live peacefully in the world for many more years to come, hopefully with children. I think the ending was handled pretty well.

The martial arts I liked a lot though I wish there was more of it through the story without the gaping hole in the middle; the beginning was probably the best with them going around trying to solve mysteries. I loved the battle scenes! Those were real, some even reminded me of the CGI of LOTR or GoT; so very impressive. The OSTs were pretty awesome especially the one by Liu Yu Ning.

Cons: The reason this drama took a serious hit from me primarily is because of how much unnecessary political stuff was introduced in the middle. Instead of growing the FL's backstory and family, the constant infighting between Lord of Yongzhou, junior evil, stepmom, and the rest of that sewer drain that was just unneeded and the ffw button was deployed. It turned an interesting story into a petty fight for power that wasted precious time on things that weren't in the outside world and were more pressing. It was however very satisfying in episode 34 to get rid of most of those morons--in FLX's usual 7 steps ahead way along with the 3 slaps heard around the world--who contributed very little to the main plot but practically hijacked it.

The amount of absolutely useless characters that were seen once but never again. The conspiracy of that Empearyan Token that YWY said he already had but it wasn't revealed until the last episode was inconsistent along with so many other things. Purple robe dude was in the twilight zone of obliviousness the entire time and then out of nowhere it was like "EUREKA, he's been by my side the entire time!" Made me think like "did you just wake up; have the aliens returned you back to earth?!?" Even YWY killing his annoying sister wasn't a thing. The last episode of the 3 main warriors confronting YWY seemed like something out of a twisted church confessional where when they ask him, he just gives up all of his secrets but for 39 episodes for some reason HFX couldn't put those puzzle pieces together? Definitely dropped the ball there among many other places, screenwriters.

Lang Hua being the show's by far the dumbest character can't be forgotten and her literal backstabbing and then just getting away with a no big deal bugs me more then I wanted it to. Han Pu as a child could have run that sect better then her after her father's death (another smart character turned dumb in his final episode; completely the opposite of what we knew). Many characters that were portrayed as very smart, were dumbed down for their last appearances, it was very uneven. And of course I nearly forgot the beyond deflating reveal of FXY's identity; probably why I didn't add it when I first wrote this review. We were all anticipating this big deal because of the buildup that they gave us and then...crickets. Like "oh you're FXY, please pass the bread."

Would I recommend it? Yes for the actual leads, their chemistry, allies, martial arts, and pretty spectacular battles. Also, if palace politics don't turn you off, that's a plus. But it shouldn't have been marketed as a straight wuxia as it was far from it. Definitely has a lot of cons but I do feel the pros outweigh those.

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Multi-Layered Characters

Originally this was added to the watchlist because I had heard that LYR was doing his first ML role and he'd done a good job playing supporting ones so was curious and I'd seen XRH once before though I wasn't very convinced back then; don't know why. Some of the supporting characters were familiar. But the story itself was interesting and all of the characters were multi-layered.

Pros: What set this show apart for me from others I've watched was the fact that this second chance romance brought in the past of the leads first to the episode, than present day including their and the other two couple's participation in the filming of the variety show, that way things were explained and you understood why certain things happened. It seemed to me that all three couples evolved both separately and together as the show wore on. At first you thought FL was a selfish brat because of her actions and in fact she did admit to most of the mistakes from the past as being hers but when you saw her layers of trauma, you understood that though this was a drama, she was still a human being. Favorite character was ML; I like how he was sure of himself, confident, independent and quite obvious that from the two of them he had grown and matured first.

The second couple was weird, toxic, and codependent and at the end she became pregnant and somehow you just prayed the child wouldn't become neurotic like his parents. They were my least favorite. The 3rd couple were called the healing couple in the comments and I agree; even though they were both ridiculously shy to the point of social anxiety; they were always a soothing balm to each other and their friends especially once they got together. I also liked that all 6 people even with all of their shortcomings, were such great friends and support systems to each other to the point that the show ended with the 6 traveling around together. Their friendship started in HS and progressed way into adulthood.

The 3.5 annoying people who played either rivals in love or just one completely unhinged chick all stayed as long as necessary and were then sent packing. Ironically even though YS seemed like the most annoying, when giving advice to the other two women during their "dates" set by production, gave the best advice. And really great way everyone took down the unhinged chick in the 2nd to last episode. Also how symbolic that it was SXR that proposed to LXY in the last episode as a close to the chapter; the marriage-phobe realized that's exactly what she wanted and that near death accident made her understand being next of kin is vital when you love someone.

Cons: Obviously this show was lower budget, but it didn't really hurt it. I do wish the SFL was less baby-voiced viper most of the series. Towards the end, I don't understand why the legal proceedings were published on screen. For starters this was fictional and secondly, the unhinged lawyer chick's crimes went beyond "intentional attempted vehicular homicide", yet she wasn't charged for those. Also none of the civil charges were made public. So either get all of the charges or none. Makes zero sense to do what they did. I think things could have been explained better about the show itself, as well as how SQ met her abusive ex husband. The show should have focused more proportionally on the third leads as we don't know much about TML's or TFL's backgrounds or their parents.

Would I recommend it? Yes. This was a different show that you had to watch to understand the multifaceted characters and how they got to where they were. It's a nice modern drama.

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Dudu & His 3 Personalities were EVERYTHING

Is our Dudu collecting generals again? Yes and no, considering one of his personalities was one himself. 😉 CL has been on a roll this year with his dramas. This one by far the most versatile. His leading lady wasn't too shabby either. They played off each other very well. Hard to have a man with three personalities who were all equally sexy in their own way.

Pros: Deciding which personality to choose is very hard, though at first the vampire with LYN's OST was awesome but ultimately when all three combined into one, that was the best and the fact that how they all complimented each other and you could tell when each one peeked out a little bit. I have to command CL on doing such a wonderful job. This really makes him a versatile actor to be able to play essentially an immortal, a cold ruthless general, and a guy who has amnesia and a puppy dog in love. SML did a pretty good job too from playing someone supposedly innocent to really showing his true colors and then turning into a narcissist sociopath that's obsessed with the FL and won't let go before reality hit him hard that now as emperor he had a whole country to rule not just force a woman who didn't love him to be his empress. The dichotomy of it all was interesting to watch.

Essentially the story is as it's told in the synopsis, ML who had like 5 names so I'll just stick to ML for him, is a general from the state opposing the FL's or LS's so there's constant wars where the common people suffer. He goes out to save his bro the emperor but is tricked by the brainless wannabe empress and the evil reject with black magic essentially losing the fight and gets turned into a vampire but escapes. He needs to drink blood in order to survive and because he escapes and somehow reverts to a child, he falls down a cliff where FL just happens to be fighting his soldiers; her blood ends up on a plant and somehow drips into his mouth and from that moment on they have a blood oath where it's only her blood and he must protect her and only her. His time as a kid was cute but he becomes an adult again very quickly as her scent strengthens him. So they spend the better half of the series falling in love and doing some silly things. Meanwhile in his country; it's chaotic as the fraud with black magic essentially bound the emperor to her and chained him up for what lasted a year. She faked the deaths of the emperor and his brother the ML and stuck her toddler son on the throne appointing herself his regent or fake empress.

Back at the border there are other characters that were important like the doctor friend or LX of LS, MY who was from the mountain that vampire making artifact came from also a doctor, a few fun generals one with a crush on LS who thankfully never went for it. Other great characters were LS' brother, though spoiled at first, grew up through the help of ML and LS, her father was a good man. The emperor bro of ML, the two subordinates of ML. Also the girls in LS' mansion especially Qiao whom we lost but she will always be remembered especially by the man who came to love her. What I really loved about LS was that she gave people second chances who she didn't think were evil like the bandits because they only did what they did because of their circumstances.

The SML or CP/emperor was a narcissistic sociopath. Obviously, starting with the trauma of what his brother did to him and then everything else after a while it’s all about him does not matter who gets hurt or how as long as his bacon is out of the fire he don’t care. An example is the rage killing of his brother, the rock, and then the multiple stab wounds. Than with LS, whom he claimed to love all his life; there's no love behind that none whatsoever it’s possession, obsession and she is the trophy that he must have. The fact that he was never crippled in the first place and literally hid it from everyone, including the woman he supposedly loved was a massive red flag. She only learns this much later when he again forces the whole marriage thing once he becomes emperor. How do you do that at such a young age to be able to hide such a secret from absolutely everyone? BWJ absolutely played that portion of his character to the hilt. Also, the fact that he literally betrayed her, betrayed the ML just to get what he wanted, but ended up being betrayed himself. He trusted the evil reject after meeting him only once which was ridiculous.

We then had the other arc where evil reject removes the jade artifact from ML through force, but he was the only one to do it because originally he'd put it in him using dark magic so he had to use dark magic to take it out. Once that was taken out of him, the ML started to forget what had happened to him the entire year and start to remember his actual life. So we had the arc of him remembering, forgetting her forgetting everything; It obviously wasn't the case once he comes back to his country fake empress is very afraid of him, but she still doesn't give up power. LS fights ML gets captured tortured a little bit, but then he saves her and puts her in a safe house. Long story short he eventually remembers with the help of the second couple (who also rescued the emperor who retakes his throne) and the sociopath gets a redemption arc, that country had no other ruler so they had to make him understand that he couldn't just be tunnel obsessed with her. He had a whole country to run, and he was good at it so while unfortunately, her father died; all of SMY's hypocritical ministers wanted her dead, he faked her death to draw out ML because he finally realized ML loved her more then him and he admitted defeat plus he he admitted he couldn't love her alone, he had the country and the people to run and now they had peace as the real emperor from the other state was restored to the throne.

Leads ran off together; every character was exited out appropriately at the end. The last episode was great. I loved it and especially when we got a chance to listen to LYN OST as our ML vampire crazy train took out half of SMY's team who were fake burying LS. But that ending was great with him and her and just literally exiting everybody out; the second couple talking about marriage, the leads talk about having a kid and the final kiss. Meanwhile, everyone thought she was dead, but she gave some pastries to her brother, so her brother knew she was alive, but he had joined her army and everyone was just basically doing their thing. The fake fraud was captured, but they couldn't kill her because she had done the Black voodoo on the emperor so if she died, he would die so they just stuck her in a cage, I loved the final message that LS gave her that you used all those dirty tricks to get someone to love you who never loved you; that nobody ever loved you because of how disgusting you are and how vile.

Honestly, the only real villain that I saw that played the villain part to the hilt was SML's brother. There was something mentally wrong with him. None of these apples fall far from the tree, but SMY ended up, turning his brain around and understanding facts later on. Costumes, locations, CGI, OST's all of that was on point especially LYN's OST that was really on point. I have to say my favorite scene was of ML and LS fighting troops in the forest and she tells him that she wants to kill someone so he puts his arm to the side. She jumps on it and they just hold still for maybe a second and a half and it is the most editorial and beautiful shot with him in his vampire outfit, mask, eyes everything and she in her red and black with the cool bow and arrow, and then he catapults her into the air. It's phenomenal like that shot was my absolute favorite.

Cons: OK let's start with fake empress and evil reject like those two yes, they were part of the story, but they absolute overdid it for her and the cackling and those fake long golden nails or whatever she wore and her facial expressions and she did not carry any power whatsoever no matter what she did even when it was sadistic and cruel it just looked stupid and overdone. And the evil reject again they cast this actor to be evil; he's always been cast as a protagonist, a comedian, someone funny someone smart, but this is the 2nd time they cast him as someone evil he can't do it he just does not hit the mark and it looks really bad.

The other thing it's a small one, but someone else mentioned it in the comments, and I agree with this person, but the fact that LS literally cried in almost every scene because she happy, angry, sad, whatever the emotion was instead of actually getting angry and yelling and screaming; you are a general! Nope, she just start crying. When it was sadness, sure. However, when it's anger or some other emotion that has nothing to do with tears and that's the result, it takes the emotion out of it and it just looks wrong. I'm not blaming the actress for this. I'm sure this was all the director wanting to show, but it shouldn't have happened. When she was a general and she was fighting she was badass absolutely badass a total power couple with the vampire ML. Even when she was ML's prisoner, she spoke to him like a petulant child instead of a POW. She should've spoken to him then the way she spoke to him when he was still with her maybe that would've helped. And it showed that he started to really get his memories when he saw the sketches of the cave drawings or if in her sleep, she would say that name that she gave him when it was actually something from the past that's what made him start to question what's going on. I mean, you cannot go a whole year with missing memories and not question what the hell happened.

Would I recommend it? Yes I would; it has so many layers to uncover, especially with ML's character. His is the most complex and you really have to see how the actor does it. I think the storyline was solid and it is great for any woman who likes sexy men.

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Beast Mode Activated

Picked this up on a whim when the air date was announced as I had seen HYT (ML) in two republican era detective dramas and this was a totally different genre plus a romance so was interested in how he'd do. I'd heard of ZJY before but never seen her in anything and was familiar with some of our supporting cast especially the main antagonist. This was a female-centric drama about going through hardships and evolving. Not to mention ML's ability to go from quiet and kind to beast mode activated.

Pros: I have to give the martial arts of ML or GYX main pointers here; it gave this review a title. At 6'2 or 6'3, GYX towered over everyone including emperor psycho aka his own uncle (which baffled me when I saw it in the first episode as I had seen the actor who played big bad twice before and thought he was monster sized but here he looked like a mouse in comparison), so when he deployed his martial arts be it sword or fists, he could destroy a human in seconds. This was also funny to me because his fat guard in the brigade who could carry two people at once and the guard he killed upon assuming his post as commander; both actors played bad guys in TLB (ironically the aunt who was raising the kid of the concubine played the main antagonist in TLB too; reunion!), and they were huge there; yet here they paled in comparison. Props to HYT for doing the stunt work himself. The chemistry of the leads was on point as well; they were just too cute together and great partners in crime. Loved how no matter what—even during breakup—he had her back 100%; even if it meant as stealthy Batman. The story was nice about the FL and how she leads her female family out of disaster after disaster while they evolve from dependency on men to independence as the men are exiled north and just in general because once the men returned, they learned of the new normal very quickly. GYX also led the bureau to a change from barbaric to a brotherhood that was united and supported each other. Was also great that his three guards (my favorite was spider monkey guard though CQ was good too), always protected HZ and her family too however they could. It was like the Hua family and them became a massive family. Called the entire bureau the Spider-Man brigade; their ability to assassinate goons in a midst of a food competition at the restaurant while picking up blood drops took the cake. We're talking Cirque du Soleil meets Special Ops action here.

This drama was not short on comedy be it intentional or not. There was always something that made people laugh at any given point. The comment section here was lively. The OSTs and BGM really fit most scenes especially the beast mode ones. Favorite single character was actually very hard but both leads fit, wish we saw more of the SML as he spent like 30 episodes studying lol. The secondary couple (SY and SH) was adorable, SY stole everyone's heart (and boy is her actress versatile; from a cunning seductress spy in MJTY to a young woman with high functioning autism as it seemed here), Ah Jian, empress dowager (who I wish went to the wedding) as mentioned guards, the eunuch (first kind one I’ve seen in any drama next to a nasty emperor), all aunts and cousins of HZ, the maids and their men, one uncle, grandpa and grandma (grandma's death was the saddest thing of the entire show other than Hua Rong's).

Let's talk about our main antagonist; emperor psycho as I dubbed him. Actor never disappoints; you hated his guts from the first episode to the second he died in the last one. Hell has never had a more deserving candidate from a drama. A narcissistic psychopath that only with death could people be free. Though I loved how HZ finally took him to town in 38 and GYX let himself be heard too, the man himself was the absolute monster and played it very well. Costumes and sets were nice as well.

Cons: I wish the script let the leads emote more as HZ was far too perfect and could get through any turmoil without so much as an eyebrow lift. Only saw her really show negative emotions twice, when she was told by the emperor she couldn't redeem the men through money and she went from catatonic to ballistic in under 2 minutes and when GYX took on the palace guards and got himself severely injured, she was shrieking and crying. Same went for GYX, the actor has a difficulty emoting in general apparently as his are very subtle; but when he's fighting, he's not playing around. But his negative or even positive emoting was rare i.e. breakup scene and when emperor psycho croaked were the only two times he cried, I think I saw him really smile maybe three times in the entire show. He smiled more in their BTS when they did the actual scenes; so wonder why director didn't use those scenes.

I had more issues with the script than the acting; though the breakup scene lacked gravitas especially given it was a nobility arc for a change and not a dumb misunderstanding. It just seemed that many important scenes where angst was required, were never given a pause but just rolled along to the next whatever it was. The spy astronomer and last adult prince were more like plot devices to get to the death of emperor psycho; I forgot who that prince even was as he appeared a total of two times prior. Felt very disjointed from the rest of the show. The last 6 episodes were a sprint to the finish line as for a story that large you needed to pack it in. Especially the very last episode. They really sacrificed quality for quantity here, sadly. Instead of focusing on many smaller characters and story lines, they could have chosen less of those and really fleshed out the leads, second couple, SML, a few others and stuck to a more conducive storyline. What we got at the end, was a dizzying amount of people whose loose ends needed to be tied and it was done in 30 seconds or less for each batch while the leads were forgotten for a bit.

Wish the Jurassic sized CGI dolphins didn't take up the ending of the leads as they were unnecessary and made that scene laughable for the wrong reasons. Continuity and dubbing were also visible issues during the show, the other CGI wasn't that great either though thankfully rarely used and mostly for the background and I wish the music didn’t drown out some of the conversations as well.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. Despite the running around and kinks, it was an enjoyable series and one I would recommend especially if you like female-centric with sweet chemistry types of dramas.

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"No One Can Judge Me but Myself"

First underrated gem of 2025! I had no idea this show even existed until I saw the trailer on X and was like wow, this looks good. I knew two of the leads and a few of the support; the writing, acting, storytelling, suspense, surprise it was all there.

Pros: The iron triangle consisting of the leads that knew each other pretty much from childhood though the ML or XTS/XH and SML or SY/HX (but I will use SML in this review because his "adoptive father" had the same initials)lost contact with each other and only met in the first episode. The plots revolved around a main story of the deaths of ML's parents which SML witnessed but because he was hit hard suffered from amnesia and didn't figure out who he was until later in the show thanks to the help of the other two. TS was placed in a foster home run by FL or JC's mom, so that's how they met. JC and SML met at work as he was a cop and she was a coroner. Bring in TS, the arson investigator and they created the iron triangle; a formidable team and great friends especially when SML regained his memories. Now they were up against two narcissistic psychopath serial killers; HP and SY.

This series left you guessing about almost everything; and just as you thought you had figured it out, they threw a surprise that was like holy cow, I didn't see that coming at all! There were individual cases to solve during the entire show but it all came back one way or another to the same two people who repeated the line that is the title of this review. All those cases were great and really showcased the strengths of our iron triangle and their sidekicks and leaders. HP had an identical twin HJ (but were different as humans could be; one was a cowardly nerd that always impressed their dad and one was a narcissistic psychopath trying to get approval from his dad) and one of them died in an explosive car accident in the very beginning and the whole show it was assumed by some characters that it was HP that died while HJ survived and was the kind one. Though everyone had their doubts and rightfully so. He stayed under the radar and didn't start showing his true colors again until the end of the series.

SY meanwhile was the serial killer that killed however he wanted and taunted the police until the very end. He was under their noses the entire time as he raised SML after figuring out that he lost his memory in the explosion that killed TS's parents; orchestrated by him and HK (father of the twins) and carried out by HP. All because they thought TS' dad had discovered their drug operation. SY was also responsible for SML's father's death in a way though that was his first one. Once he adopted SML he basically drugged him in some way to keep him from remembering the past. And though loving and caring; he was manipulating and controlling his "son" for 18 years.

Now I won't go more into the show because then what's the point of watching but this was a show you just wanted to keep watching. I had only ever seen the actor who played SY in protagonist roles so to see him play this horrifying character was pretty neat and creepy as to how he nailed it. He could go from a loving and caring father to an emotionless monster in the flip of a switch. And you could see it coming. With HP, he would be fine and then he would just go ballistic screaming, punching, kicking, hitting. One would do things cleanly and meticulously while the other was a screeching lunatic. There were other villains that were part of this series but obviously less than and when their connection became clear if there was one, you would see just how complex things really were. Some of the cases were related and some weren't.

Sadly, we lost one our leads at the end but her going for that necklace would be the only way to pin the entire thing including her own death on HP and prove which twin it really was without a doubt. Every character was there for as long as they needed to be. The side kicks of all three leads were awesome and there was even some comedy. JC and her mom's arc was actually devastating because just as they more or less reconciled and mom wanted to learn how to be a good, loving mom to her daughter, she lost her forever.

I really wish this show had the proper promotion or any actually because it really deserved it. OSTs, fight scenes, fire scenes, etc were all on point. I can talk about this show and its characters for hours but then you wouldn't have a reason to watch lol.

Cons: Very few; one anticlimactic death of SY, throwing himself off the roof when cornered by SML (many of us thinking that going in for that hug he would have taken SML with him) and couldn't face punishment so as a coward who routinely played God with other peoples lives and thought of them as things and cases, as well as manipulated and drugged the only person he claimed to love, so he took the easy way out and I felt that just didn't really fit his character. He should have died in a fire and slowly; that would have been justice.

When JC traveled abroad to study, though she constantly refused HP's (HJ at the time) creepy offerings to stay at his house that she would find a place on her own, she still somehow ended up living with HJ's girlfriend's house. I thought that was too much of a coincidence. Though no one ever explained it, it was a huge loophole. Also, her coming home to find the girlfriend that disappeared like she was a cop getting herself also kidnapped in the process was just dumb. No idea how she managed to shake the cops following her which was stupid to begin with. That entire thing seemed to go against who she was as a character and her death was also beyond unnecessary. She could have gotten to the necklace and passed out and then recovered at the hospital. But no, they had to make TS lose his training skills as a firefighter when he found her unconscious on the floor and instead of scooping her up immediately and running out the door, he spent precious seconds shaking her before picking her up and walking out in almost slow motion. Like what? Her dying was completely nonsensical. That's it.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. This was a gritty, arson investigation drama that had everything you could ask for and more. If you like these types of shows, I'd have to say this is one of the better ones despite the cons.

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Great Acting by the Entire Cast But Plot Took a Nosedive in the 2nd Half

I'd seen a retro tribute modern drama already with ZLY this year but this one had a totally different premise, so I wanted to see how she would handle a harder plot and though she and the rest of the cast did a wonderful job in their respective roles, the plot took a serious nosedive towards the second half and the end.

Pros: I can't say enough about the acting of this very professional cast. ZLY did a terrific job as XBX, a stubborn, enterprising, reflective, yet very flawed character and everyone else followed. At first, I wasn't a fan of GXY as she appeared like a spoiled rich girl going through a rebellion but it became clear after a handful of episodes that though she was spoiled and bratty, she had a big heart and really cared about TXQ. The "steel trio" of XBX, TXQ, and CYZ were a great bunch who sincerely loved one another even if that sometimes came across as tough love or protection in the form of lying which backfired more often then not. The intent behind it was real.

Other favorite characters were ZL, President Gao, Dr. Su, Su Computer Nerd, and manager Jia; all were wonderful supportive people to XBX and each other wherever they fit. When it came to the good guys, all of their parts were done accordingly. The scenery and OSTs were on point and appropriate.

Cons: While I understood this was a propaganda tribute drama and that it would have a lot of that included in it, what absolutely shocked me was the hamster wheel plot of the antagonists would completely overshadow even that. There were a total of 4 really bad guys, one coward, and one insignificant idiot that came and went. The plot essentially took a nosedive in the second half when the 3 main antagonists/business partners and XBX plus her ex routinely sent each other to jail. It was a literal revolving door of prison sentences. They'd set each other up, beg for someone else to take the fall, or manage to somehow twist themselves loose so many times that all of their illegal deeds combined would probably equal a 25 year minimum for each save XBX.

Everyone of them ended up with some sort of redemption arc in the last few episodes that they didn't deserve. Even though Mr. Wu did turn himself in, in the final 15 minutes of the last episode, the amount of illegalities he'd done throughout the years should have seen him in prison for more then just a year. I didn't like the antagonists at all in this series, though their acting was on point 100%, it was because every time one would get into trouble, he'd get himself out by setting someone else up, rinse, repeat x maybe 8! The storyline hindered them completely which was very sad because they could have really done something more believable in terms of how the law worked.

Speaking of the law, how is it that TXQ got 5 years in prison for kicking XBX's ex in the balls while the latter was choking her to death (murder attempt number 1) and the ex 10 years later only got 1 month after he ran her off the road and threw a metal pipe at her head causing a head injury (murder attempt number 2)? So saving another person from near death is illegal but actually trying to kill someone isn't. In that second case plus with the antagonists, was XBX Mother Theresa? She gave the ex a debit card that she'd deposit money in each month to help him and the kid he adopted. She felt like she owed him; for what? Trying to kill her? Same with Wu, Qiu, and even Dong, they'd set her up but there she goes trying to bail them out. That kind of backwards logic was confusing. Lastly on this topic, they essentially spent the last 4-6 episodes spouting various domestic and international laws that the average viewer wouldn't have a clue as to what was happening.

Another point of contention was with poor CYZ, once it was obvious he had terminal cancer and had little time to live, they kept dragging his death out. It was brutal to watch; they could have had the pier sunrise scene maybe 6 episodes earlier then they did. Made me wonder if they purposefully did it as filler but that's like the really wrong way of going about that. Because even to the last episode, they brought him in as happy and in flashbacks. That would have been way better then what was done with his character at that time.

The introduction of Russian speaking characters that couldn't speak the language fluently like Nina was ridiculous especially to someone whose native tongue it is. The entire Russian arc in the beginning, I fast forwarded because it was off historically among many other things. The last part that bugged me though it wasn't huge were the costumes especially XBX's wedding dress which was straight out of the 1980s instead of the year 2000. Some ppl said she didn't have enough money for a new one but that didn't jive either as by that time she and ZL lived in a huge house and her car was a Mercedes, she didn't drive herself but had a driver and assistant with her at nearly all times.

So though the acting was very well with a professional cast, the storyline/plot started out strong but then just unraveled. Hadn't it been for the great acting, I would have given it a much lower score.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, only if you like ZLY or anyone else in the cast. Otherwise, plot wise it's not strong at all with many factual and historical errors.

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Smarts & Advance Prep Always Win

Started watching for DYX who I had first seen in this year's White Cat Legend and his acting impressed me. Wanted to see him in a different genre and though I try to avoid any and all MGTV dramas (due to the fact that they don't have proper subbers), I decided to give this a go because it was acquired on Viki (though that too became problematic as the subbing was inconsistent at best). I only am familiar with some of the supporting though not all. All I can say is smarts and advance prep always win.

Pros: I'd have to say my favorite characters were our ML or SD and our main antagonist LLZ (whom I had seen in a protagonist role this year only). Them two were as black and white as they come. SD was a man on a mission of both revenge and vindication for his father and family that were framed 16 years prior while he was just a young boy. He only survived because a friend of the family's told him what to do and also pleaded on his family's behalf. He had a lethal exterior earning him the nickname "White Ghost." But what many didn't know or see was that he had a good heart and the exterior was just a front. DYX was able to play both very convincingly. Things changed when he reunited with the FL who had snuck into the detention center he was held in to give him food and they had been friends before his family's disaster. At first they couldn't stand each other (he didn't recognize her and she thought he had really become this ruthless person) and she married him instead of her sister so the marriage didn't start on a strong foundation. That said their chemistry was spot on from the comedic get go to when he started falling for her for real and afterwards realizing who she was and started to put in more effort to actually win her heart. He repeatedly saved her when her reckless actions sent her to death's door but at least she was grateful. I didn't really care too much for the FL other than the fact that she was for the most part really good at solving cases and finding out truths when others couldn't see it. When they teamed up to work together, they really made great teamwork. The chemistry was definitely chemistrying.

Our main antagonist did a fantastic job at playing a very convincing looney. I have to give it up to the actor; he played an obsessed, power hungry, murderous and appropriately nicknamed the "Black Fiend" to the hilt. He was creepy but in a believable, skin crawling way. Ironically he usually wore white which made the fact that he was essentially a cult leader all the more diabolical. His realization that he had been lied to by his mom (he wasn't the son of the late emperor and therefore not in anyway shape or form fit for the throne) and his entire life was a lie at the very end and the way he went out was fitting for his maniacal self.

The other characters I liked were SD's guard, PC, Marshal Xu, XW, JXL; the empress, prince, and princess were all morally grey characters that had a lot of problems with themselves but they were believable. Many died under the Empress's watch like her musician or FL's uncle, Marshal Xu, and YQ while LLZ was rising to power aka falling into SD's trap and the Empress did little to stop that. I'm just glad she finally cleared the Shen family and held everyone responsible for that massive mess. PM Zheng was the other one I'd consider an antagonist as he was responsible along with a few others in the Shen family's mess as well as holding the Yan family "hostage" and trying to use FL as a spy with SD when she married him. I didn't like him at all and that meant the actor did his job. FL's family was ok; I liked her sisters the most. Her mother was a bit too cringey for me.

Otherwise costumes, sets, OSTs were good.

Cons: SFL I had the biggest gripe with. Why was she written that way? Dumb as a brick, sounding like a 12 year old and always being the thorn in SD's side; like mind your own business! Why are you bringing "the divorce" up every two seconds, like it's any of your business? You are getting all cozy with the evil in the graveyard not even understanding what's going to happen. Only time I felt bad for her was when he kidnapped her but she didn't seem to mature after it at all. I legit wanted to slap her, so instead I ffw'd her pretty much the entire show.

The dumbing down of FL who was always on top of things periodically within the show was inconsistent; thankfully these moments were usually short lived. Wish the whole end wedding didn't have to happen the way it did; yes they said words to each other in the palace but she was the one who gave him the ultimatum when it was his choice and she didn't really have a right to demand that; so the whole mini groveling and game playing made the official wedding anticlimactic and uncomfortable. I'm glad though the Empress laughed at it she did tell her that it was important to cherish those around you. I was also glad he pretended to have left so she would stop acting arrogant and understand that if she really lost him, it would be bad. He spent the entire series even when they weren't yet together, essentially saving her life or from pain and getting hurt himself. So the ending deserved to be better and smarter instead of that weird version.

I know DEX is only 19 years old but she has to practice kissing. DYX did all the work during those and it seemed like she legit didn't move or barely. So though we had some kissing scenes and the deed itself done a few times, they would have been much better if the director had the FL practice instead of just go immobile. Or like other actors have done in the past, just don't have kissing scenes if you're inexperienced, uncomfortable. Better than getting them halfway and lopsided, though by the final one, it seemed she kind of got the hang of it.

Also YQ and Marshal Xu's relationship seemed to come out of nowhere and like a total afterthought. There was zero chemistry between them. So when they died together, though very sad about him; her being there at all just took off from the gravitas of the situation. You could tell post production was moving at the speed of sound because there were revealing mistakes like the palace fight, you could tell the people in the background weren't really fighting but moving with their swords in slow motion or in the last episode wedding scene, the blue screen "sky" was visible in multiple takes.

Would I Recommend it? Sure. For the cases and the chemistry between the leads it's a good watch. Now that all of the episodes are out on Viki, you're good to go.

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Speed Skating through Episodes, Big Plot Twist Finale & a Possibility for S2

I had just come from watching XZG in Dashing Youth so wanted to see him in a different genre. CW I had seen twice previously and was familiar with some of the supporting cast, though not the female lead. This being a short with something like 15 minutes per episode, not counting credits, web series albeit with 52 episodes, was curious to see how it went.

Pros: I really liked the cases themselves and how our 3 leads were creative in solving them. Going from strangers to lifelong friends as they worked each case was nice. They never left each other in the lurch especially at the end. All three were equal favorites in their own way and how they made unlikely allies along the way from great martial artists to thieves to the wealthiest man in the city. The main antagonist was the biggest surprise as you really didn't see him coming because of how much he loved his son even though he was a total sociopath. Also it was cool to see how many cases were related to him when it was all said and done and how many of the villains and others were his followers. It being Republican Era as usual the costumes and sets were very nice. The fights were nicely executed. Though telling that one dude to not bring a knife to a gun fight would have helped lol.

Cons: As the title says, we were basically speed skating through episodes. It was one case after another with no break in getting to know our leads backgrounds or having them just shoot the breeze. One ended and in the very next scene you jumped into something else; there was no smooth transition and it definitely hindered the series. We saw why the leads became close but their actual characters weren't really given any deep dives. Like we didn't know SH's dad was a criminal until the last episode; in fact we didn't know anything about his past, who his parents were, where he lived, etc. There were many moments where you're like, how did so and so end up here and why? Like how did at the end the thief know to bring the wounded SH to Mr. He and why would SH know that was a safe zone? Also how did XF follow them so closely and also know this was a safe haven? How did that random bouncer guy know where HL lived and just happened upon the place with a knife and tried killing him while he was tied up on his bed and than was miraculously rescued by that Youlan lady? A lot of the pieces didn't fit at all and you're just watching with a lot of suspended disbelief. If they had less cases and less episodes, perhaps they would have had enough time to properly flesh out the cases and all of these kinks. The fact that they ended it in a way that could possibly suggest a S2, I hope that they understand that less really is more and that characters need fleshing out with proper backgrounds. Did they really stick every one of the bad guys including the mastermind in the same prison?

Another thing, hypnosis isn't an exact science. You can't hypnotize everyone as not everyone is susceptible to it and not that quickly. They made that part of it look way easier than it really was. The OSTs were very forgettable.

Would I recommend it? Despite the many cons, I actually found it entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Give it a whirl.

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An Absolute Slam Dunk of Sweet Victory!

All Xianxias should be like this! PA redemption and a perfect score across the board, which is incredibly rare for me. Obviously watched for both leads in this reunion that blew many dramas out of the water. This was an absolute slam dunk of sweet victory!

Pros: Literally everything! Though I never read the novel, those that did made it obvious that this series followed the novel by about 98% which is very rare. The novel had a solid storyline and this kept it exactly there with apparently lots more comedy. Comedy was good here. Even in the somewhat angsty scenes, it was ever present. Both leads (SL and XZ) delivered stellar performances and their connection started literally from episode one and the mortal realm. Their love transcended all three realms. All of the characters were very layered; though some needed evolution and growth where originally they were annoying. SL playing the powerless chicken while the human XZ takes care of her was just hysterical. Once she returned to the immortal realm, though she still had that prearranged marriage to that annoying FRJ (who up until the end when he finally grew up, I really wanted the maid to hit with her broom), XZ who I nicknamed Mr. Clingy as he clung to her like glue--when he still didn't understand that he was falling for her--and all of their interactions were gold.

There were 3 tragic characters in this story (all done extremely well by their respective actors); MF, and SL's parents. I know people hate on MF about his betrayal but he had no choice as we saw and he explained just before he took his own life. His identity didn't leave him the choice of not betraying her (by killing his own friends in the military but you could tell how much it affected him after the fact) and though at first he was brought up on hatred, it was because of her that he learned about love. But he refused to kill her or harm her and even when possessed fought against the demon FS to help her escape post her "death". If he had the choice, he would have betrayed the demons a long time ago. His own father didn't care about him; which as SL said, he was heartless. MF's only reason for existence according to the two demons was to be a spy and used as a body shell for both. Quite sad and unfair. Her mother was right about being shackled by your identity. Both parents fell in love despite dad being a demon and completely harmless but even they couldn't be saved from the demon emperor. Dad voluntarily had to become the fire seal to keep all the demons in that abyss and mom died shortly after childbirth. Even XZ was shackled by his identity until his death but freed by his long gone friends in rebirth. A fun fact; the actor that played FL or SL's dad, also played opposite ZLY in JOF as someone who was in love with her. And this was also their first collaboration since that show only they played father and daughter here. To have her father save her life through self sacrifice at the end was beyond touching; only time they got to meet each other face to face.

Other great characters were all of the generals, SMY, the maid, lady Jin, Luotian, QY, and eventually FRJ. Each played great roles in the overall story and the lives of our leads. The demon emperor had very few scenes in later episodes and he did ok as a villain; maybe if he played a bigger part in this story, he would have been considered as more but it was FS that offered main antagonist vibes during the entire show. Which being played by this actor who's known for comedic roles was quite a switch up though he was convincing.

Every inch of this show from costumes, CGI, OSTs (LYN's song and two of the BGM's were my absolute favorite), sets, were spot on. Nearly every episode had you rolling in laughter but it knew when to taper that off into seriousness or a bit of angst. I love this modern take on ancient costume drama; the one liners, innuendos, going against the grain, everything was well done and executed. You were invested in the leads and there were no misunderstandings, no annoying guerrilla glue third wheels that spoke in a prepubescent voice and pouted, no tropes, or unnecessary angst. Also no love triangles though SML or MF did love SL, she made it clear right away that no way and that was that. They still fought side by side until the betrayal and even then he was still willing to risk it all to save her. Only other couple were her parents short lived story and the best friend God who was going through trials on earth with the same two women every life cycle but even he was freed. It was so refreshing to see just one couple and the arc of their story as it revolves around times of peace, war, and so forth. Only two full rebirths no more and the ending was great though I wish they spent less time on Lady Jin and her love life and showing them two with her pregnancy and their friends and family in his mortal backyard as it was said in the book. But his proposal and her dropping the baby bombshell leaving him speechless and then chasing her around in the snow was still really awesome. Their love really was eternal.

Cons: I don't think I can call them cons here but more like slight inconsistencies. Like who was MF's mom? Did she even exist or was he born from fire like SL's dad? Or hatched from an egg? The demon emperor didn't have a body towards the end and because MF self sacrificed, his body couldn't be used for his father. But how did he ultimately disappear? Because after FL broke the seal and took off out of the abyss, we never saw him again. Was he in FL's body when he fought XZ and ultimately purified by XZ and SL? Wish that was shown better. And I didn't like the Heavenly Emperor; just as you think he got the point, he turns around and says or does something that makes you want to just send him into that abyss. Only in the second to last episode did he seem to be a bit wiser. Honestly that was it. No other cons.

Would I recommend it? 110% yes! Literally floored me from start to finish. I didn't skip a single thing. An absolute must watch if you want to laugh, giggle, cry a bit, and just enjoy yourself. One of the best dramas I've ever seen out of any country. Forever put into my watchlist.

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17 Steps Ahead of King Schemey McSteamy

This series surprised the heck out of me because I never even intended on watching it. When it was postponed I never really thought twice. Then I saw ZLH in MJTY and was intrigued plus at the time I hadn't seen BL in anything nor any of the other leads though the supporting cast I was somewhat familiar with. I'm not a fan of palace politics but this series got me curious from all of the excitement it generated once the drop date was announced. I nearly gave it a perfect 10 if it wasn't for the very few cons, I couldn't get past. But it really was the 17 steps ahead of King Schemey McSteamy.

Pros: It should be very obvious who the favorite character is; ZLH's acting has improved leaps and bounds. This was his first morally gray protagonist and he absolutely nailed it. He was like a mad scientist in every way. I have no idea how XW's brain worked. It was like he was psychic and planned things as he foresaw them. The story originally started more on the FL's side and she too just knocked her role out of the park. It was her redemption/rebirth story plus reverse harem so our ML had to be the 3rd wheel for a while, something that with his absolutely insane jealousy streak was heart pounding and hysterical at the same time.

YL was Spider-Man; dude had supernatural abilities when fighting in that heavy ass armor that the actor even said was really hard to move in. What made this series really worth watching is that other then our cast which were all absolutely amazing; I can't say anyone screwed up their parts, was that the plot was always rolling along. You kept waiting for what's next. You never had to ffw or you'd miss something vital. Furthermore, the cast filmed during peak summer months and in extreme heat, they were constantly on the verge of heat stroke. I loved every member of the cast the ones mentioned above, ZZ, the princess, JXH, the hilarious and yet awesome guards of XW, fake DF, and everyone else, even the villains sans Lord Pinghead as I think he was used as more of a plot device to get the leads together. I'll speak more about him below.

The leads chemistry especially Ep. 36; people should know what I'm talking about. King McSteamy was born! I was actually surprised how much made it in. Usually after a passionate kiss, it's cut to spotlight and curtains or next scene. Here we saw more and it was great! And so glad that the kisses were real and XW was an absolute panther. I could probably write a whole review on just his love and lust plus jealousy alone. From what I wrote in the comments: That whole “JXN: I want you” bit? Woof! And then of course…Duke asswipe is all “I’m gonna rule the world.” Our boy goes “Hold my Qin. Back up dog, emperor and I got this on lock before I even left!” Who saw that coming?!?

XW, uncle, cousin reveal actually brought a tear to my eyes. It was a brief but beautiful moment. Plus XW's jealousy of his own son liking ZZ was too funny and a totally face-palm moment. JXN needs to nip that in the bud before the son starts picking up dad's negative traits lol. Daughter was too cute too. There were so many great moments in this drama; even the villains did what they had to do and for the most part were intelligent so it wasn't like some trope or cliche.

Costumes, sets, fights, OSTs, were great! I probably will come back to write something I missed or forgot lol. Just too much goodness.

Cons: Very little of these, but the .5 was knocked off for several reasons. Though I wish the modern day wasn't returned to, I understand it was done so because of censorship; I really would have preferred the 7 minute wedding to be in the last episode instead of an extra one plus do it before the scene with kids, instead of her dreaming of XW killing himself per lifetime number one. We're past that, no need to go back. Furthermore, Lord Pinghead's whole arc towards the end felt off to me because, he's supposed to be this murderous insane villain who killed children and destroyed a city but it looked more like just a ploy to get the leads officially together. He really wasn't much of anything. Just a paranoid killer. Duke asswipe had mountains more on him in terms of evil.

Wish they kept ZZ's rebirth arc because otherwise even to the almost end, it seemed he was still pining for her and it felt incomplete. He should have been given his own proper ending. Should have killed loser Xue son as per the novel too. Why was Duke asswipe allowed to stab XW with so many guards around him just because he was staring at JXN? The poor guy was already pin cushioned 6 ways to Sunday. YL and DQ should have finished the job before he even launched himself off the ground. Lastly and this felt the most unnecessary, was the death of FY. They could have killed ZYZ as is, he held her captive and tortured her. Why did she have to grab hold of him and he stab her? He could have just kicked her away and run; he would have been caught regardless and JXN should have delivered the death blow herself like "You think I can't kill you? Watch this, bitch!" FY's death was completely pointless. I don't understand this portion at all.

Would I recommend it? 100% would. It was a gem that I didn't expect to fall in love with but did. The pros way outweighed the cons. The plot was very well handled even the portions that deviated from the book. This is how dramas should be written and done with proper endings. Must watch y'all!

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Realistic Cuteness Overload; A Breath of Fresh Air

Never expected this drama to be so realistic and light. I watched primarily for CZY because I wanted to see him develop into a mature male actor. I've seen several actors previously so I knew it would be a good cast. It really was cuteness overload but probably one of the least toxic c-dramas I've ever seen. It was a real breath of fresh air.

Pros: Favorite character was ML and I'm very proud of how he's grown from playing younger roles to a mature male who let me tell you, when he turned on those eyes of his, he'd melt women of all ages into a puddle. Other than that, he was also probably one of the most caring individuals on earth. Life dealt him a very cruel hand with what his father did and that stalker chick, but instead of curling into a ball and giving up, he just strove to be a better person worthy of the love of everyone around him especially the only one who truly loved every piece of him, our FL SZ.

Most of the story was very well developed. And honestly, other than the stalker chick, there wasn't a single character I didn't like. She was the main antagonist I guess you could say. FL, her parents, bro and all of their friends were just wonderful. I do have to say that I don't know about China but in the US, if you live as a resident in a quad in college, it's beyond rare that everyone gets along so well. I was never a resident but a commuter but my resident friends told me all sorts of stories back in the day. The fact that SZ lived with and got along so well with her roommates just adds to the loveliness of this story.

This story had you mostly laughing at the antics of our leads and everyone else. But it was also very inspirational and sometimes it even made you tear up. SZ was more mature in some aspects then people gave her credit for. Though I do wish many of her inner monologues came out of her mouth instead, she was endearing, kind, respectful, caring, loving, and fiercely protective of those she loved the most.

Everything had its rightful progression to a point. I have nothing to complain about the settings, OSTs, etc. Their moments together once they start coming together were the best and of course the comedy. But there is a con section though it won't be that long.

Cons: While I understand the misunderstandings as people have that makes them imagine or overthink when they're young; but it shouldn't happen when they're adults in a relationship or even by 12th grade in high school. Miscommunication is a known relationship killer. SZ never asks DJX what he's thinking but goes full steam ahead on her own assumptions which are usually worse case scenarios and completely false. DJX also doesn't open up to her and then they end up finding out through other means and how foolish it looks. But instead of learning and not doing it again, they keep repeating it. Even by episode 24, she still thought he was considering breaking up with her.

Then DJX's not dealing with the stalker as soon as he paid off the debt. Why? Her harassing him just complicated things for him both literally and psychologically. If he didn't find out she went after SZ, would he ever have dealt with her? What if she flew to Nanwu to find him?

The thing I wish there was less of were the flashbacks of SZ's childhood. Like once she became an adult, end those. We know what's going on. It wasn't until episode 3 that this drama picked up for me. But I'm very glad I stuck around.

Would I recommend it? Definitely. From all the ones I'm watching it was the only one that made me laugh and love little moments that I would rewind just to get a little bit more. I'm very glad I watched this drama and you should give it a chance too.

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The Story of Nut Sack

The title says it all, doesn't it? I can't say this was a highly anticipated drama for me, but I did add it to my watchlist because of ZLH. At the time, I hadn't yet seen ZJM in anything but was familiar with the SML or CHY and several others in the supporting cast from previous things. I however didn't expect to see so much of the series essentially taken over by SRQ and away from the ML and leads altogether. It was sad and everyone was sick of it. Instead of The Princess Royal, this should have been renamed "The Story of Nut Sack." That's what I dubbed him; even funnier just how many people started using that nickname after I put it out there. I knew we were all in the same boat.

Pros: Everyone's acting. The leads really embodied their characters especially ZJM or LR; I'd only seen her in a modern drama at the beginning of this year. For a 21 year old, she sure knows how to act. Very impressive. ZLH or PWX, though relegated to a virtual supporting character, he was infinitely patient and loved with all of his heart. I don't know how he was written in the novel as I never read those but he did the best with what he was given. Little prince was too cute and I really liked him with QZZ. It was actually funny that he in real life is older than ZJM who plays his older sister. The other characters I liked were SY, SRH, QL, LFB, the eunuch, and the rest of the folks on team LC. None of these characters were cookie cutter good. They were all complicated with problems that they had to overcome and evolve into. That was the part of it that was really good. The sword fights were good; loved when PWX told nut sack off at the end for being so damn delusional and how he had every choice in life number two to change everything but still didn't. I also really loved the OSTs.

Neutral: Before I start on the cons, I just want to make sure people understand that I have no hate towards any of the actors. Though this story of nut sack was played by CHY, the actor did the best he could with what he was given. He himself is still very new in the industry and green. I do hope for better work for him. I think he was miscast here. If you want him in a good drama; check out "Warm on a Cold Night."

Cons: The people responsible for turning this story into the mess it became, was production. The script was absolutely horrendous (we had a second lifetime of do overs to get things right but instead what we got was a convoluted mess); it turned the story away from the leads and to the SML who wasn't even given a billing lead role but as a supporting character. How could they do that to him given how much screen time they gave him? Really unfair to the actor. At every turn, nut sack took most of full episodes of screen time and became essentially an obsessed lunatic with forced second lead syndrome plus producers really wanted to give him a redemption arc, though they still killed him; but his constant glorification was pretty ridiculous. He was vile and stupid; he killed her in their first life, yes with two others but he was probably the first forgiven. If the reason it took her longer to forgive her little brother and SY was because she cared about both more, why the hell did she waste so much time yelling for nut sack to turn back to the right path? Right up until his fiery death, both leads still were trying to get this POS to see reason and become good. It just didn't make any logical sense. Reason and what we were seeing were two different things and this was constant. Say one thing, mean another. Just constant contradictions until you got a damn headache! I can't begin to even really explain what happened to the story but it went from in-fighting palace politics over a throne in two lives that would have still happened to absolute chaos with the SML. A lot of the time, you were wondering; what was even happening and why? Many scenes had you cracking up because they were so absurd.

Nut sack was both Superman and somehow escaped flames for a long time after being stabbed plus he was able to play a song. What in the what? Way too many loopholes and continuity issues; arrow that killed consort Ru came from where? How did her daughter scream without opening her mouth? Cheng 2.0 came from where; was he created from clay? How did nut sack catch up to LR when they went diving off the cliff? When did this turn into a Xianxia? And many others. Suspension of disbelief was a constant must. Wasn't this an S+++ drama? Why the hell was everything so cheap looking? Where did all of the money go?

The ending was rushed obviously because over half an hour was spent on nut sack's last time on earth, though the sword fight with PWX wasn't bad. It was an HE for our 3 couples but very rushed and a lot of the characters didn't even get proper closure as they were just left on the sidelines or disappeared altogether. So now we're getting an extra episode at some point because our leads barely got their 3rd wedding in and the kids weren't shown. My question to producers is, was it worth it? To screw up a great story for one character that should have been kept as is. Only reason this got the score it got was because of the really awesome acting of the actors.

Would I recommend it? Even though the actors were awesome, this story was a mess and I can't with good conscience recommend something so completely out of left field. Even if you didn't read the book (like me), as just a viewer, you'll know very quickly something is very off about the story. All of these actors deserve a better script, so I'd recommend you watch all of them in other things.

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Rollercoaster of Emotions w/a Wicked Witch

Watched this for Yang Yang and the first responder/natural disaster aspect it. I followed this drama as it was filmed last year and was very much looking forward to it. For the most part, it didn't disappoint. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions and even had a list compiled for the most hated character.

Pros: Favorite character was SY or ML; his bark was worse than his bite. As a captain at a fire station, he had to be cool and aloof but he was kind and caring to those whom he cared about the most. When it came to FL that was the only time when he could forgo the world. In the beginning, she chased after him and he didn't want to give in because it meant she might find out the truth. The chemistry between the two of them was very believable. Loved the fire station gang, the other doctors and nurses, and was extremely sad when they lost DP closer to the end. That scene really did require tissues. All of the characters were very well evolved throughout. FL's adoptive brother was creepy as heck for his obsession but I am glad he was given that out towards the end so they could remain family. SJ was very important to the series and to the audience and ZBB played him very well. When he left and was replaced by someone else, all those emotions and changes really made it real.

Who could forget the wicked witch of the west aka the adoptive mom of FL as the main antagonist. I have to give the actress props for acting as well as she did; none of us could stand her. Furthermore, she's only 59 in real life but makeup made her look 70. We all hated her so much, I created "The Kill List" in the comments and the other watchers were very creative in how to kill her. We got to 17 ways and as promised I'll post it here:
"The list is back ONE LAST TIME! We need to kill the wicked witch. So, let’s see how many more ways we can kill her! Our end list looks like this:

1. Drowning in her own pool
2. Melting her with high pressure water
3. Throwing her in the river
4. Leaving her broke and desolate without any power.
5. Leaving her to suffocate when her office building goes up in flames.
6. Broke, desolate, without power in a sewer line.
7. Leave her in the mountains with lots of poisonous snakes and things.
8. Skin her alive.
9. Alpaca pushes the bookcase on her head in a smelly apartment and runs away while WW starves to death and loses her dignity because no one saves her.
10. Gets accused of treason and tortured then executed.
11. Death by 1,000 tarantulas.
12. Tie her to a chair and drill holes into her ever so slowly until a vital organ is hit.
13. Glue her barefoot to a chair and the floor, let the sprinkler system douse her with gasoline and chuck a lighter at her.
14. Suffocation by firefighter foam.
15. Drink snake venom while being whipped.
16. Send the picture and frame into the wicked witch’s head instead of the floor like a missile.
17. Leave her trapped in the tunnel during the typhoon; rescue everyone else."

The comedy was also good and the FL finding out the truth was much needed. I'm happy I got spoilers from the novel readers on when the series would deviate or not, but though not the same issues as in the novel, SY did suffer extremely at the hands of the wicked witch and her connections and I'm proud of FL for growing a backbone and standing up to that crazy old bat! I do wish ZM made her kneel all the way though. Sorry not sorry.

The rescues for the most part were very realistic though I wish they used stunt doubles for many of those scenes instead of doing it themselves. I remember seeing the explosion balcony scene when it was leaked online last year after filming and it was nuts. Both natural disasters were alright, though I wish they used more expensive CGI for them. OSTs, costumes, sets and locations were all on point.

Cons: Though the wicked witch was a great antagonist, giving her a redemption arc unlike the novel was garbage. I felt it was just bad and the drama took a hit for that; because there was no way anyone who's done that much damage to other people should just be forgiven without any jail time that we saw. So in my head, I pictured after the last episode, she'll be found guilty and sent to prison.

The ridiculous propaganda and where they put it was really bad. Like who carries their brigade's flag to the scene of an earthquake? This ain't the Olympics. You're there to rescue people not parade around. And considering how often the speechifying occurred in the middle of really random conversations, you'd think they'd be a bit more knowledgeable in first aid like CPR. How is it that in a fire and rescue house, there're no paramedics or EMT's? Yet the fire department is responsible for crowd control which is the police's job. It was all very confusing. You have two different numbers for police and for the fire department. But when you need all three, then what happens?

Also very obvious that the aftershocks many times were done by the actual actors shaking themselves and the surgical equipment plus table. The typhoon seemed to just be like a bad flood instead of what really happens inside a typhoon/hurricane. It was like they could just drive when they wanted and the wind and rain would stop periodically. Like I mentioned above, CGI needs to be better. So that also bumped the score down.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. The story is for the most part well done other than those cons which you can more or less overlook. The cast did a great job, so get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotion with a wicked witch in the center.

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