Enigma05

Man in White Seemed 1 Step Ahead but YM was A Master GO Player

I added to my watchlist after I saw TJC in UTS before his breakout role in LYF. I didn't know he had a comedy background so was very interested to see how that would play to his versatility. Also him being a professional ballroom dancer helped in the last episode. I was only familiar with certain supporting characters including the main antagonists from other roles. Man in White for a good chunk of was one step ahead of everyone and killed more people than we could count. But he didn't count on the brain power of YM or ML.

Pros: I liked most of the comedy and the friendships amongst the two couples as they got together. Yes, YM was my favorite but I also really liked WKW and the antagonist. The best part about this show was that they didn't reveal who the antagonist was other than a vicious predator who killed everyone and everything standing in his way. Had us guessing though most guessed right as even netizens dug into things like the ear and mole similarities lol. The Faceless as these assassins called themselves which had to be one of the cheesiest names ever but whatever, their ruthlessness was obvious. The MVP of this show hands down was Envoy Kang or Uncle Kang that raised both AS and "Fatty" to assist them in bringing all of the people down even though he didn't get to see that day himself. YM's parents, WKW's friends, and for AS to avenge Uncle Kang each delivering a blow to MIW who turned out to be AS's prince brother but just from a different mother. Bastard was power hungry and would kill literally anyone standing in his way.

I really liked how the East and West Court went from hating each other to being a family and winning the alliance with the other states as well as standing up for one another. YM went from an immature money grabber to someone who his parents would be very proud of. It wasn't until AXY lost SS to MIW that he realized what real priorities were and who and what was important in life. His father was absent but cared in his own way; still I don't care about that relationship. Mr. Yu was essentially YM's adoptive father and I loved their relationship. Other great characters were all the envoys, Duomi, his bodyguard, the ministers too, Ji and Shen, YCH with WKW best 2nd couple!

The story moved along quite well and I liked how they were able to work once they understood Sifang Pavillion was a family. Comedy always ensued when alcohol and even a pet snake was present. Or just general tomfoolery. Costumes especially from the different states, OSTs, were done very well. Some of the sets were nice.

Cons: What I didn't like about the series is that it AS started as a squatter in YM's home and ordered him around like she owned the place. Who does that? Only because he had a good heart did he allow that, had it been anyone else, she would been drop kicked into another location. She was really ungrateful, even landing him in prison for her own misconduct. But it was how quickly their feelings developed that was really a bit whiplash-ish. From all that, to fine roommates and then beds together and smooches.

I also feel that YM got bullied a lot by her and then later her royal maids. Like the man loves her and sacrifices a lot for her and she doesn't even tell him her plans and throws her weight around just because she was the recognized princess by Yong but from Yanle. I'm not a fan of those kinds of tactics. Making the woman seem stronger by bullying isn't the right way to do it.

The CGI, costumes on guards appeared very cheap. Also I saw someone mention it in the comments but the bad guys aka Mutu, LTQ, and even big bad himself MIW got a lot dumber. Maybe because he was on home turf and he didn't think YM could find connections to take him out. The other two were never smart to begin with and so everyone of the good guys working together and even using MIW, took them out, though as mentioned above, the last and much deserved assassination was the most deserved and done by the 3 people he harmed and thought he got away with it. Just shows to never let your guard down no matter what. Also the ending was rushed with the wedding, pregnancy, etc and the 7 minute little extra, tying some loose ends could have been better incorporated into the last episode. But it did show proper humor because comedy was ever present in this show.

Would I recommend it? I would. It was very entertaining and funny. There were some misses and a lower budget but worth for all those moments even the tear jerking ones. I say, it's worth it.

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1001 Reincarnations

This was put on my list because of Hani Kezi as I had seen her in Ultimate Note and she impressed me. I wanted to see what she'd be like in other genres. I was unfamiliar with the rest of the cast. This was a different type of reincarnation story than what I have seen and it didn't have a "Final Destination" vibe which I don't like. It was 1001 Reincarnations and in each episode to boot.

Pros: I enjoyed HK's appearance here as Ashina Yueling or YL. The ML or SY who is quite new as he just graduated from the Beijing Drama Academy a few days ago, but he was able to handle both the soft and hard aspects of his character. The martial arts were on point and that was probably my favorite portion. How many times one died or they both did started from episode one but it evolved with not just them returning to life thwarting any assassination attempts but also gave them the ability to see the future. In the end though YL I think sacrificed her life unnecessarily when the emperor was in danger as there were a zillion soldiers standing around essentially forgetting there was still an enemy in the room, the no longer supposedly working jade pendant that had brought them to life with their life blood, now needed a tear from SY for its last act that brought her back to life. I really liked the tacit understanding between the two main brothers (SY and the emperor); stupid second brother finally understood family was more important than pride in the very end. The story developed nicely; he caught feelings first but she wasn't far behind. I also like how they incorporated HK's actual national heritage into the show. HE for 3 possibly 4 couples; one with kids and one pregnant. Though I liked YL's brother and SN; I felt he was too stupid for too long and she was the brains and pants in that relationship. The costumes and the few sets were nice as was the music.

Cons: Ultimately there were really two antagonists but they weren't really giving me the vibe of pure evil. The uncle cackled and of course you know how I feel about that. I rolled my eyes and waited for his death. The general who "killed" YL was an afterthought loser and I wish they hadn't brought him in. There of course had to be a gorilla glue character (whom I ffw'd as much as possible) that was obsessed over ML but ultimately because she was poisoned, when she recovered, she forgot who he was altogether. This script had a lot of cringey aspects and the ending felt kinda rushed and all over the place. They really didn't share much about the close relationship between the emperor and SY which would have been great but I understand they had to focus on the leads and their 1001 reincarnations thanks to fate bringing them together and their pendants that were always meant to be together. I do wish YL didn't misunderstand and pout as much, that's my only gripe with her.

Would I recommend it? This is a low budget, new faces drama but it's good for when you have nothing to watch. I'm perfectly ok with it; give it a chance.

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An Absolute Fantastic Rollercoaster Though without An End

I haven't had a show suck me in like this in a very long time. I'm still in somewhat of a stupor. I've never seen any of these actors before save for some in the older generation and SFL so absolutely blown away by their talent and believability. Every episode had me and pretty much everyone else trying to come up with theories of who was really good or bad. It's like my mind was taken away and placed elsewhere. This drama was a fantastic rollercoaster though sadly with no real ending.

Pros: I will try to not write a novel because this had everything one wants in a mystery wuxia; great martial arts, theories, not everything is as it seems, stunning costumes, scenery, cinematography, OSTs, heartbreak and love. Every single character for the most part was multifaceted and layered. The 2 main gray characters and then learning their stories and understanding where they came from. I'm not even sure I have a favorite character here. The actors absolutely just annihilated it! So amazing; the truth, the lies, the scheming, the understanding, love, hate, insanity. Good vs evil plus good that was evil from episode one. The gradual building of feelings. So ML (ZY) and FL (YWS) together and separately were great, SML (SJ) and have to give props to the newbie who played his little brother; how someone so young can play a convincing obnoxious creep with a smile that sends chills down your spine, is beyond me. TJR or YZ is the standout in this cast of amazing performers for sure. I personally called him Junior poison or little shit depending on how he acted. YQ, Raven papa HYS (who was on the dark side but ultimately had a good heart), JF and our seal diving elder sis plus all the young masters from the back mountain were refreshing and sometimes you were left in stitches from elder sis because she added the sunlight to this predominantly dark drama. All the dynamics were great as were relationships between people. Though I only saw real romantic connections between the leads and later on the odd couple, the second leads were in a game of cat and mouse and though he did ultimately fall for her, I didn't feel what many others felt. Theirs was like two vipers circling each other.

Trying to get everyone and everything is impossible because some assassins are real and others actually have hearts and want their freedom. The fact that in the final episode it is revealed that only 3 months passed since the start of this journey, your mind is blown because you feel it's been years. Each episode is an hour long and leaves a cliffhanger with lots of theories for you to discuss with fellow watchers. WuFeng or assassins creed as I called them are an organization led by fear and though most were absolutely ruthless, they had/have many weaknesses. They were the main antagonists but they weren't alone. Actually many of us figured out who the other ones already in the mansion were and it was just a matter of time before that was confirmed.

It was also mind blowing when the reveals started happening, just how much was actually done. And so funny to some of the commenters in this section that kept saying ZY didn't deserve to be SW, but SJ did because ZY was somehow either cheating or being helped, come to find out that SJ was secretly helping him too. Felt good for those of us defending ZY lol.

Cons: Ok, this section will be smaller but there are a few reasons why this drama didn't get a perfect score. As many before me, the ending or lack thereof was just ridiculous. You had such a captivating story and then to make the literal 4 minutes a cliffhanger that looked like it belonged in a different drama looked lazy. Yes it could be hinting at the potential of a season 2 but it could have done it way better. I've written my share of cliffhangers and regular endings and though I'm no maestro writer/director, I would have just ended it without a cliffhanger because one can still leave an air of mystery and end something satisfactory. It made both leads do things completely out of character with what we've seen. So that was a huge point buster.

SGQ got away way too easy. It didn't seem to me that she suffered much if at all with her constant crocodile tears and lies. She was a pathological liar that was also a narcissistic sociopath. Her raven was right that she only loves herself. But though the dynamic with SML in scheming against each other worked, I felt unlike everyone else that was consistently there--good or bad--evolved in some way except her. Would have been good for her to also have growth.

Last detail is the smallest but it was a personal peeve and reminded me of another drama I watched this year where they had each special skill a character made pop up on screen in massive white letters even though it was verbalized; very unnecessary. Looked 90s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Plus it was subbed twice so all that lettering on the screen was very busy and hard to understand.

Would I recommend it? 100% would! Despite those last 4 minutes of the last episode, this was fantastic. So much so, that I think it has its own force field that doesn't let you leave even once you finished it. Really, really good especially if you like the wuxia genre.

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20 Episodes 10 Minutes Each w/1 Smart & 1 Dumb Lead Each

First time watching this type of drama where the episodes are 10 minutes each. Wanted to check it out because the ML I've previously seen in antagonist roles, so to see him play a protagonist was too good to resist. If you're a TBOY fan, you'll understand. I love Republican Era dramas as they're beautiful when it comes to costumes and sets. This review will be short. Again thank you @Lian for providing subtitles on Kisskh; couldn't have watched without your phenomenal work!

Pros: ML or FGY is very good at being a hard ass and a stubborn one at that and here it played to his advantage very well. You got to see the character's vulnerability, trying to save his childhood friend at all costs even when said childhood friend was a total moron. If I hadn't seen him play ruthless asshats in TBOY and Destined, I would have thought he was just really good at being deceitful while trying to save everyone that mattered to him. Though SML or HWJ finally grew a brain cell in the last episode and I really liked the church shootout sequence plus the actor played him well, I can't really find much else in the pros with him. LTT was a good addition for as long as she needed to be. Costumes (when they weren't oversized), sets, OSTs were beautiful. The comedy was good for the most part.

Cons: The storyline though understandable was edited very roughly. It went from as serious as a heart attack to comedy club funny in 2.5 seconds and it just made things very shaky. I wish we knew who the other characters were played by like the antagonist, the traitor, the girl who helped them out. Plot hole of HWJ being basically brainless to all of a sudden possessing extraordinary martial art skills and being able to fire a gun in the last few episodes was very questionable. For a good portion of it, you wanted to hit him with a desk for just being so stupid, it hurt your own head.

Would I recommend it? This series is really one of those in between ones that you watch when you're bored; it's short and sweet. But I am glad though short and small, I was able to see DK in a protagonist role for a change. He needs more of those and I hope he gets them in normal length series in the future.

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Heal the World; One Heart at a Time

I wanted an easy on the brain rom-com without tropes and this was exactly that. I know both leads from various other series but the first time watching them in a modern. They had great sparks from the first episode and it really was like healing the world, a heart at a time.

Pros: The comedy and strength of the leads chemistry even before they get together. It's a slow burn but not to the point where you don't know whether you're coming nor going. The ML played by Joseph is a breath of fresh air in a modern lead where he's optimistic, loyal, kind, always has the FL's back no matter what the situation is. He keeps bringing her out of her low-self esteem stage due to her childhood. She in turn starts to grow and expand in her element as a doctor before our very eyes. It's quite lovely to see.

The two supporting best friends as someone mentioned in a previous review, don't just bust out with unhelpful comments and advice but who take real life into account and always offer advice that will lead to the best outcome. It's quite realistic. There aren't any overbearing parents, in fact both sides are very supportive of their children. No stalker, clingy ex's either or really dumb misunderstandings. Everything is real, mature, and worth the watch and the laughter.

The first antagonist was dealt with properly and maturely. Wish same went for the second one.

Cons: I really wish we got to see what happened to President Gao. He created so much havoc towards the end and then there was just a small message of "oh he went to jail". For what? That could have been shown better. I had to fast-forward the beginning parts a bit because though they were comedic, they were too slapstick and not my personal preference. Also wish the second couple got together a solid 5 episodes before the finale, it would just have flushed out their storyline better. Lastly, wish that our FL didn't wear her hair in that weird bun looking thing; either hair down where she looked liked an adult or a ponytail. Just made her look like a kid. Other than that, I saw no other cons with this series.

Would I recommend it? Yes I would. Especially for people who like easy, funny rom-coms. This is definitely the way to go. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.

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Rescues, ML, Friendships, & 3rd Couple Were The Show

Picked this one up because I like natural disaster and rescue type of shows. I have seen only the actor who plays Xiong Fei in a small supporting role two years back and Janice Wu also in a guest role last year otherwise, relatively unfamiliar with the cast. Have heard good things about Leo Luo, so paid attention to what he could do. The rescues, ML, friendships, & 3rd couple were the show.

Pros: The rescues were pretty good for a regular series that didn't call itself a docuseries or documentary. If people were looking for something more realistic, then they should just watch the Discovery Channel. The only really unbelievable portion was the ML in the last episode, climbing through an entire mountain to find that magical doorway up above that somehow dumped him by a river far away. I loved the friendships of the crew; that was more pleasing to watch than the romance aspect.

Favorite character was LB or the ML; every emotion, every action was well placed. Started out as a kind of cocky know-it-all, but then just defrosted into a regular human being with faults. I really enjoyed Leo Luo's portrayal here and will look out for him in future dramas; I do however wish that he didn't look so gaunt, it's worrying. Other favorite characters included LB's sister LY who played a mute speaking in sign language quite well, XF and his kind heart who had a way to mediate even the gruffest of situations. He didn't let his past get in his way and his match up with LY was perfect; they were the main couple for me in this series. They complimented each other really well.

Other favorite characters were the captain, who as we all saw was a very flawed person but was trying his best to make up for all of his mistakes especially the life altering ones. The rest of the LCR crew were great, like Falcon who everyone lost and missed, even gruff Dapeng who grew on you. The OSTs, mild CGI, costumes, and scenarios (save the one mentioned above) all fit well.

Cons: This was one of those dramas where romance really should have been tapered down not given 3 couples, one of whom (I nicknamed them Ding Dong and Ming Mong) was annoying as nails, had to be ffw'd frequently, and really made the show take a hit. On top of that, the robotic FL and her total lack of chemistry with the ML just didn't do any favors. Yes, she was a doctor and had to deal with life and death all the time, plus the trauma of her childhood; she could have been portrayed way differently. I'm not sure the casting was done well here. From the beginning to end, I was waiting for there to be some form of connection between the two and I just didn't feel it. They could have been bickering cousins and it would have made more sense. She was always cold and stubborn and he was always apologizing for his feelings needing to justify them even when she was in the wrong. It didn't make any sense nor was it realistic for any form of relationship. The nasty mother of MM, Dr. Weasel, and Ai Rui'er, were all given nearly last minute redemptions from their idiotic portrayals but they were also the types of characters that really were unnecessary, because you had already so much going on.

The show had way too much propaganda given what they were trying to portray and more times then not in sensitive situations, it felt off. Like you need emotions here not flag and country; y'all aren't military but a non-profit organization, keep it that way. I never compare dramas but this show was trying way too hard to be "You Are My Hero" and it didn't come close. It needed its own formula not a repeat of someone else's.

Would I recommend it? I would have given it a lower score if it hadn't been for the rescues, friendships, ML, & 3rd couple. That said, some people actually like everything I disliked or vice versa, so decide on this one for yourselves.

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A Dark and Gritty Drama; Worth It.

This was my first ever Light On series to watch because though I do like the whodunnits and CSI type series, they never spoke to me before. But because I follow and highly respect Zhao Liying, plus this was such a different role for her from what she'd previously done, it intrigued me even more. The only other actor I have seen previously was Geng Le (Li Lan) but he only had a bit part and was killed off in the first episode.

Pros: I knew this was only a 16 episode series though these Light On ones were usually 12, so I felt that 4 extra episodes were a bonus. I loved the richness of the actual story and how within the first 3 or 4 episodes, all 3 characters had come into there own. I think this genre really suits ZLY because she fits the creepy sociopath very well. She was so convincing at times that, it honestly almost made your skin crawl. I've done my share of research (close to a decade) on serial killers, their psychopathy, and crimes and each had different Modus Operandi. I was very interested in which angle they would take with this one.

Episode 12 gave a serious shock but a very, appropriate cliffhanger that shifted the entire case and story in a completely different and unexpected direction. I think that was my favorite part. As a novelist, I've written many cliffhangers, so getting one that was that well written and executed was rare in cdramas.

I loved the interconnections with the leads and those in their everyday lives. They were all portrayed as very flawed and at times quite selfish individuals. It spoke of the rawness of humanity at our bad or worst times and yet at some moments they showed the best of us. Every emotion from fear, anger, sadness, despair, obsession, helplessness, determination, and so forth was shown in nearly every episode. Even if all three were in a sense going towards the same goal; finding the truth, they still managed to do it separately which many a time worked and other times seemed a bit off.

One thing that the series never lacked was just rawness; whether it was in emotion, action, or dialogue. The simplest "how are you" like when XM visits SY in jail in the last episode carried with it a seemingly 17 year burden of truth both characters must forever carry, though they both found out their own versions of truth. The series was powerful and nothing could be taken away from that.

Cons: For starters, there were several inconsistencies and disconnections that were never answered or corrected. Like why did SY's father get so angry at Hu that he beat him up, making the latter leave the hospital and than when little SY asked her father who Hu was in the library, her father was very angry that she asked and that was just left alone. SY's friend in the wheelchair seems to be important but he appears and disappears without fanfare and we literally know nothing about him, which is quite odd considering how SY literally had no other friends.

Both SY and XM seemed to have very lackadaisical schedules where they could walk in and out of their respective places of employment whenever and do whatever they wanted. It was rather strange how much a rookie cop was able to get away with during his own private detective work. Why had SY been able to get away with everything else she had done aside from sending the poor man falsely accused into a coma? Also, the very much unneeded psychological warfare on XM and how doctors just handed out patient information without notifying the patient for consent. Another point, how did SY's father know where the murderer was during the XJ murder? Out of the entire city he just happened to walk by him there and recognized him in a mask and cap after not seeing him for many years? Zilch cohesion.

The reveal of the actual murderer was a bit underwhelming because there was this huge lead up after the bombshell at the end of 12 but it didn't deliver the wham of the killer. His confession was typical obsessed psychopath with a one sided relationship with his victims story; a rookie profiler fresh out of Quantico (school for future FBI agents) could have done better. Even his reasoning wasn't imaginative, though he made it sound very sinister (hats off to the actor). Now I'm not saying all serial killers look like monsters; as a matter fact more often then not, they look like your next door neighbor. It wasn't about the looks, but about how he was cornered, in a restaurant that allowed a random stranger who'd slept amongst their trash the night before cook dishes in their kitchen? Come on now, that's not even soap opera writing. It felt like the writers were just tired of this story and wanted to add just random components into it and hope something clicked. It could have been done so much better to make for a satisfactory ending.

Lastly, there were times in the middle that the episodes did get draggy but then they righted themselves. This series could have stood to explore the pathology of criminals a bit more to make up for the inconsistencies and lack of cohesion in many places.

Still though, I think this is a very strong series and I would recommend it to both people who enjoy crime dramas and fans of ZLY who want to see her do really well in this dark and gritty role.

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It Grows On You

I picked this up for the two male leads as they have both impressed me with their characters in several previous series. The story line was also kind of different so was curious about it. I will say that I dropped it twice before just jumping to episode 5 and fast forwarding until 7 when the plot actually picked up. But it did grow on me.

Pros: I really liked the group dynamic and how they were--once formed--very "leave no man behind" no matter what the situation is. Because this was a transmigration into a book thing, the characters could be reborn or healed by unlocking certain elements of the game. Both ML and SML played their parts well and I was happy to see more differences and versatility from them. When they were together with the two female leads (both of whom had their own strengths and abilities plus evolution) and the kid, they really were a force to be reckoned with. I like the different mysteries that they solved on the path of eliminating an evil woman; this was another drama where demons were often misunderstood and way better than humans.

The ML was half demon and actually the author of the novel as well as a series of books which the FL was a fan of and followed but when this novel came out, it was really bad as it was his first book that he wrote when he was a teenager and diagnosed with a disease that could only be treated when he was an adult and his parents fought all the time so he was writing from a place of anger and dejection. So both he and the FL were thrown into the book with her determined to rewrite the ending and him not knowing anything really or pretending not to until the very end. To make it more predestined, they had actually met in middle school where he developed a crush on her (but his first book ended the way it did was also around the time that the FL left the school due to the loss of her father) and as he grew up he basically wrote all of the books for her. As he saw her comments online which encouraged him, he grew to love her even more and after going in for surgery decided to revise that first novel. It was while he was in surgery that his trip happened while for her it was an overnight dream.

Costumes fit each character accordingly, as do the OSTs, sets, and CGI.

Cons: Though it did grow on me; the fact that I couldn't watch the first 5-7 episodes without dropping or fast forwarding due to the beyond ridiculous slapstick humor that didn't land from the FL and the plot not going anywhere was hard. Dramas need to hook you from the beginning and this one just didn't. If it wasn't for the people I really wanted to see in different roles, I probably wouldn't have stuck around though it got a lot better with more episodes.

That ending was a total mess. It's being questioned whether or not it's an HE or OE on Weibo by fans. What were the editors thinking? Did they unscrew their brains for a day or something? The ML filmed the actual ending as he calls the FL's name; he was there! Yet they cut that part and had just his voice say her name and her stare beyond the camera in shock and then smiled as the paparazzi behind her all called his name and said that he was coming. What in the what? They had the kid and his grandpa in the real world selling ice cream at the event location, but they couldn't show the ML coming over to her and at least hugging her or holding her hands? Plus what happened to the second couple? They don't get roles in the real world? They were just left without proper closure creating that ladder to heaven and that's it? Someone help me out here? It's ridiculous! I was very displeased with that and it knocked .5 off my rating automatically. Endings are as important as beginnings; so if they're screwed up, the drama will take a hit.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, this is a good drama if you need something to tie you over between something anticipated or if you're a fan of any of the actors, then sure. All in all, a decent watch.

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The Quality of Death is as Important as the Quality of Life

I wasn't expecting to like this series at all because though I follow LHK and was only watching for him, it was obvious to be a lower caliber series. In that sense, I wasn't wrong. The writing wasn't strong and even though the series had a fantastical premise; many things especially in the last two episodes, were just beyond even basic standards of not done well. It was very obvious when the actors were in front of a green screen and much of how unnaturally they acted was due to inexperience with such things. As well as the dispersement of the budget was a bit questionable; some things seemed more expensive than others and that also showed some inconsistencies.

JBJ's zombie-esque jacking off the pavement twice and flying to save others was very dramatic and quite comical. The first time he flies off the morgue slab and ends up walking on ceiling as well as the growling mutation scene, reminded me so much of Twilight sans the blood drinking and sparkling. This series should have premiered around Halloween, it would have filled the genre nicely. A lot of comedy was included which also helped move the story along. Funniest by far was JBJ running away from the goose!

What drew me to it the most was the absolutely tactful way the series dealt with the topic of death. One lead was essentially immortal and the other only had like a year left to live. Yet she was able to be a pain reliever to him and he's watched practically everyone in his life pass away and couldn't join them. She also faced death with a healthy attitude; living each day to its fullest while still trying find a cure for her rare illness. Also spoke a lot about the importance of organ donation which like death is an unavoidable and very necessary for people to know about and discuss with their families. I personally have connections to both topics so that's probably another reason I was drawn towards this drama.

They were able to deal with death and dying just like it was just another part of a journey. As many know, death is a taboo topic in many cultures and is regarded as morbid if one talks about it. But the simple fact is that, sooner or later we also must deal with it. No human is immune to it. Not even our characters. Our immortal/invincible male lead or JBJ has been trying to get rid of it for 100 years. And though at the end of the series, he finally becomes a mortal again, it is an open ended question to whether JXY has found a cure as well. I'd like to think that by the time they get married in the very last episode, if not a cure, there's been at least some form of treatment to prolong her life. So that the two of them can finally lead a good, normal, human life.

The OSTs, especially one called "Together" by Yang Chuyun is hauntingly beautiful. I love all the side characters, even the annoying Cheng guy who kept trying to break them up in his own misguided way of protecting JBJ. The only inconsistent characters were the villains; they had some bizarre reasons for wanting the immortality meteor and didn't really come together in a cohesive manner. Could have been much better written to make them better antagonists and some version of believable. But all of the loose ends and backstories were eventually explained.

Would I recommend it? As a filler drama, yes I absolutely would. It has many great components and many errors. But if you want a dose of realism in a fantastical premise, give it a go.

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Big Beautiful Mess w/Fantastic Acting

Xianxias are my least favorite genre so made myself watch for XZ and hoped that the storyline would hold. Other actors were familiar to me as well and did very well however the plot was a bust. Every actor was commendable in doing their part just wished for a good story.

Pros: Favorite character was hard because there were several that did very well for different reasons. SY as ML had to go through the myriad of emotions and evolutions and he did so very convincingly. XZ didn't disappoint in this role; it was far different than what he'd done before and I like that he doesn't have a box he sticks himself in but tries different characters and styles. Of course, however, it being a costume drama, a flute made an appearance which brought a smile to my face. CM as the 7,000 year old mystical bird was hysterical, sometimes you wanted to smack him, other times hug him. I've never seen the actor before but he did a good job. Alan Feng as ZY, was also very versatile but I did feel his was a tragic character; that said, he did play good and possessed pretty convincingly. Lastly, I have to give it up for Han Dong or High Priest who was our biggest morally gray character in the entire thing. Usually this actor plays crazy antagonists but here he actually cared about someone other than himself and sacrificed himself for that person.

All of the other characters for the most part were there as needed and played their roles well. This was a big budget production so obviously CGI, costumes, sets were stunning as were the OSTs.

Cons: This storyline absolutely threw me; hence the low score. I know the standard operating procedure for xianxias with the baby voiced, talking to yourself, gorilla glue FLs, the misunderstandings, deaths and multiple resurrections, so on and so forth. But this had to have so many subplots and boring portions that didn't make sense that I legit had to skip episodes. Honestly, you had the merfolk/dragon plot, the palace politics nonsense, cultivators and their lives, and if that wasn't enough throw in a Sauron looking character who wanted to possess two rings not one and an ice clan that left midway and returned out of nowhere. Plus the Sauron thing could possess people by jumping them. Only thing missing was Frodo and the fellowship. Those two last episodes looked like they belonged in a totally different series; like something out of a Marvel film; very sci-fi. It was a very big beautiful mess with fantastic acting.

What was up with that ending though? When I saw "BE" trending on Weibo, I wasn't sure what to think but then when I saw it for myself, I understood. So our ML dies yet again, and a year later is resurrected when FL just randomly chucks the petal into the tree where they first met as kids from said petal. But is he real or a ghost because they stand like 10 feet apart just smiling at each other before credits role. Couldn't they at least show them hugging? And couldn't she have sent that petal into the tree earlier so he could come back? It really defies logic.

Would I recommend it? Only if you like xianxias and are a fan of any actors. Otherwise, the story is not worth it though like I said the actors did a fantastic job. I wish better scripts for the actors; with all of their skill and talent, they deserve that.

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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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An Academy Award deserving series!

This is the 4th Chinese drama that I’ve watched but it is by far the best. The professionalism and chemistry of all of the actors is hard to beat. Coming from the US, being a writer of fiction myself, I love the amazing character development. The directors and producers absolutely did a fantastic job with casting. I’m one of the few fans out there that do not view WYB and XZ or their characters as a couple though I understand that’s what the novel said. Instead, theirs is a brotherhood and bond rarely seen nowadays and brings memories of the 1940s and comrades in war (and I mean that for both the actors and their characters). The younger generations today aren’t used to this. I do wish there was better continuation within the series as many scenes were a bit out of whack. Thank you for a wonderful series Tencent that I can’t stop rewatching since mid-December! This series deserves an Oscar because it rivals many shows on TV from many countries especially here in the US. I can’t wait for Oath of Love, Legend of Fei, Doulou Continent, and every other production these young and talented young men will do. A million times thank you!

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Double Trouble Power Couple: Pawn & Wife

Initially wasn't going to watch this but decided to pick it up for WXY as I've seen him in one costume and one modern and he did great jobs with both though they were support roles. I'd never seen WJY or much of the supporting cast sans a few. It turned out to be a wonderful choice. Though the last 1.5 episodes were a poorly edited jigsaw puzzle (with things that didn't happen in the book and shouldn't have happened); the rest of the show was wonderful and the extra episode was great too. We had a double trouble power couple, AL/XFF being both pawn and wife.

Pros: This series was lit. All of the actors did a phenomenal job in their roles and the plot carried through each episode. It was all about vengeance and clearing several people's names. The romance aspect was incredibly subtle though our leads chemistry was there from nearly the beginning. And with all of their word play, reading between the lines was even better when you had to constantly be on your toes outsmarting the villains. Favorite character was XH or our man with the fan as I dubbed him. His persona and entrances and exits were awesome. Loved his fans and wardrobe; he was always ahead in his chess game and if something didn't work, he would adjust it to fit his next plan of action. Meeting our FL or AL/XFF was the literal match made in heaven; they were evenly matched in smarts and plans ahead. She was stunning and logical not a damsel in distress. They essentially grew a brain cell and would work off of each other. They were completely a cohesive and organic couple. Each of their plans played into the other’s plans so it moved very very smoothly even with bumps they always managed to work around them. After being buried alive by her sadistic husband and being saved by the original JL and Tong'er, she grew her spirit to go back and not only get revenge for herself but for JL as poor JL died and she took JL's name and identity to seek her justice.

The tit for tat with our leads was the best. I honestly am not sure who caught feelings first, I think it was him but she was not too far behind. Loved all of our side characters especially those that didn't have to die like Tong'er (though with her I understood because the actress had to return to school; so that was top priority) and the JiJi guards. Also loved cousin turtle, grandma Jiang, Liu Xue, our third wheel YSJ, the emperor, general Biao, XZ, dad Xue, and in the end Grandpa Xiao. Let's talk about our antagonists. Ji Shuran took too long for all her failed plans but I'm glad justice was finally served on her, though going insane and living in a nice house was rather soft with just how many people died because of her or were framed by her. It was sad that she wasn't locked away in some prison left to rot. The Li family that didn't own a house until the end but always met in a cave like a bunch of dwarves was funny. They chose the wrong side and spent too long being arrogant and doing illegal things, so when their demise came at the end, it was like ok, good. Out with all of the trash. Jiang dad, I didn't feel sorry for him at all. He was spineless and never cared for his daughter so I felt it was a gracious thing on XFF's part to tell him some of the truth of his daughter's actual death. Now he can live his life out in regret for being a dumb as nails person; always trusting the wrong people or just standing by never stepping in.

SYR and psycho princess were our main antagonists and he turned out to be the last one standing until he didn't. They were both great well rounded psychopaths and lunatics and we hated them both so much which is a sign of great acting. At first thinking about it, I wanted them to both be executed like the book readers had said but their deaths here were actually more symbolic. She was poisoned by SYR and then she used his hand to kill her with the hairpin he gave her. The only person she ever loved, stole from his wife, arranged for the deaths or captures of the three Xue family members; turned around and with borrowed time killed her. His obsession with his first wife upon first seeing her return from the dead grew and grew until he became as bad if not worse than psycho princess. His death by suicide after being shot with two arrows by XFF was his own cowardly way out. The entire time he never took accountability for any choice he made and pushed the blame on others. He was a victim and it was so disgusting. So him diving off the platform as XFF walked away only briefly pausing, was his only way. He was a coward from start to finish. But both were remarkably convincing and did such a great job at their roles. It was psycho princess actress's first costume drama and she nailed it.

Costumes were awesome especially XH's; just embodied his character to a T as were sets and OSTs. This was the first drama I bought PPV for and couldn't wait to watch with my fellow MDL-ers at midnight my time every night and discuss in the comments. One episode took 4 hours just to get past a certain scene because of how awesome it was and satisfying so I kept rewinding. Comedy was great especially when our man with the fan would get jealous or do something else. Just so much goodness in this show. Sadly, it did have cons that I couldn't get past.

Cons: Lots of loopholes; like how did Jiang dad finally figure out it was XFF and not JL at the end. He had clues but seemed rather wishy washy about it? What was the real story with Ji Shuran and the baby? Did she miscarry it, abort it, and then blame it on JL? I'm sure there were others I just don't remember.

Those last 1.5 episodes were so poorly edited and cut. The war where the two guards died that never did in the book, should have been put into the middle after the capital battle and let them live; that was painful and so unnecessary, it made my stomach churn. Then have everyone get their retribution, our leads get married, close out characters and end with the daughter and 8 years having passed. Not the choppy mess we were left with and the Xianxia type ending, where the extra episode was required to give more context from the actual book. No idea what the directors were thinking since there were three of them. Also wish the actors complained more to have them follow the actual book. There's creativity and then there's creating an unnecessary mess. Maybe it would have been more understandable if this was an original IP but it wasn't; there was a book they were working from. Should have followed the source material. Despite it all, I still think it was a happy ending given all we have and worth the watch.

Would I recommend it? 100% would. Despite that ridiculous last portion, this drama made you want to howl with laughter, shout with satisfaction, and sometimes wipe away many tears. It's definitely a sleeper hit of June 2024.

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80K Di Troops + 30K Naval Forces + "You're the Crown Prince" = Messy Script w/Plot Holes

I go into each drama I watch without any expectations and that makes for shows like this to be a wise decision because then I'm not surprised or disappointed when things go south. In this case the people I watched for were Reba and LYN both of whom did good jobs in their roles as well as some of the side characters which I'll list below. But the storyline was just a mess in a dress; this series is best watched for entertainment purposes only and to suspend all logic possible. Because it's literally 80K Di Troops + 30K Naval Forces + "You're the Crown Prince" on constant repeat.

Pros: The revenge plot made the most sense and they should have just stuck with that. As mentioned up top FL and SML were convincing in their characters and as were a few of the side characters like LL, An Ning, and WS. But even with them, this wasn't their strongest drama. I really feel the script failed everyone. Both the empress dowager and the emperor were the best villains given their circumstances with this script. Costumes, sets, OSTs were beautiful. CGI was ok, could have been better.

Cons: The script was just ridiculous, you had the FL for about a dozen episodes act like fake gorilla glue towards ML. People surviving things they could only do in Xianxias; like being pierced with a ton of arrows and sail off a cliff. Cliff diving seemed to be a favorite sport of a lot of the characters because 3 did it after being mortally wounded and survived, ML did it twice. The show dragged a lot for only being 39 episodes and many scenes were very anticlimactic. You were just watching going "that's it?"

This was the first time I had ever seen GJ act in anything and I have to say that HY seemed to have facial paralysis. He said his lines but there was no emotion even when it came to sarcasm or announcing something. I don't know if that's how he always acts or they edited him that way because BTS and interviews, it was like a totally different person. I understand playing aloof characters but you need to be able to emote with your eyes at least and I didn't see any of that. It came off as largely robotic to me. Hopefully it's just because of this drama as even those that I listed in the pros, their characters weren't the strongest they've played or were edited weirdly and if I see him in the future, it'll be different and better. There are extra little clips on Youku of the ML and FL's life together that wasn't shown in the show that seems like a different drama. Their interactions there are way better than in the show. They could have put those clips into the last episode instead of keeping the ML on the mountain for 1.5 episodes refusing to go down without any rhyme or real reason.

MB or LB whatever his name was who also played an antagonist was so much of an afterthought that the character went from loyal to who he really was plus they made him randomly weirdly stalkerish when he revealed his "real self" just made no sense. It felt like that whole war plot was created just to kill off AN and send ML off the cliff going blind. What was the purpose of fake DZY and all of her bathing scenes? To make us roll our eyes more? The revenge plot and war/aftermath plots seemed like they belonged to different shows. And how did DZY's hair turn black again? I can't even count the amount of plot holes; I know I forgot most of them. I'll just say, it had a lot of potential considering what novel readers said, but came up ridiculously short.

Would I recommend it? I'll divide this one; if you're looking at this from a good storyline perspective, then no. But if you're just wanting to be entertained and not think, then sure go for it. Anyways, the choice is yours.

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Out Scheme the Schemers

Though I don't play chess, this series was essentially exactly that as the moves were strategized in people's heads and then we as the audience saw the results including flashbacks of how we got somewhere. In general I picked this up as I've seen and liked how Chen Xiao had previously done as well as some other actors. It was really a battle of the schemers in a wuxia-like environment.

Pros: I personally like anything wuxia related so the fight scenes though there weren't a lot of them because that wasn't the premise of the series, were very well executed. From YX, our ML to every other "good" character, what I really enjoyed was that they were all morally gray. None of them were these goodie two shoes protagonists we see frequently on the screen. Each and everyone had secrets, lies, flaws, past experiences that shaped them into who they were and nothing was ever black and white. I'm also glad that the romance portion was profoundly tapered and didn't steal time from the main plots. Was YX really the ingenious one? That's hard to say, he certainly out-witted everyone in the end but he wasn't without flaws or mistakes he made which he did own up to. Originally everyone was a pawn to him, but gradually many became friends and even sworn brothers. He planned his revenge for 15 years but even then, there were many factors he couldn't count on like falling for SYN and even though she was the opposing sect's eldest child, they both broke many of their respective sects rules by having faith in each other and that ended up actually being their benefit in the end. Plus having and trusting friends as mentioned above.

Really liked the characters of SMY, KML, JB, LGC, MBF, and KQ even though we lost the latter two and that was just very sad. Another positive that just about every character stayed for as long as they needed to and then either bailed out or was killed off. Favorite antagonists both survived; one was half evil and half just grey and I feel like he should have returned to round out team good grey in the end. His leaving just seemed kind of odd and like it wasn't properly finished or balanced. NGF was the vicious, best evil schemer half to YX but he should have been offed properly not just had SYN cut off the family jewels (not that I didn't enjoy that very much), but I felt he was just given more of an opportunity to grow his evil, vicious side, with the pirates.

Costumes, scenery, and OSTs were great and on point. All quite appropriate and placed well.

Cons: Here I find that the plot strayed a bit and then took off like a galloping pony towards the end. Plot holes included who the real SYN was and where she was and why did KLY take that name? And the entire mystery surrounding WC; that was just left by the side of the road somewhere. The entire premise of this was for YX to find out who the mastermind and executioners were of his village but by the time that happened, it was kind of just put by the way side as other conspiracies took over. Again, he let NGF live! Though Prince Fu was the mastermind and died a totally copout death by suicide in flames; NGF did most of it, yet sans his meat and two veg he was allowed to live with pirates and grow strong again. A decision YX made! Made no sense to me. Most of this series was about revenge but when it was right in front of him, for a different purpose, he let it go. He was now no longer scheming but would live a peaceful life with his lady love and sworn brothers. That part I was fine with, but the rest was a bit of a let down. Most likely had a lot to do with that race to the finish line where the script took a hit.

The whole revelation of Prince Fu being the mysterious Master of the Yuntai sect was beyond lackluster because everyone knew it by the time it happened. They kept dragging it on for too long and others were ruled out and there was no one else left. SYN's bro was the stupidest, greediest, power hungry moron that killed his own mother and was ready to help NGF to rape his sister, should have been just discarded immediately. The only positive here was the actor that played him did so very convincingly. But glad SYN took him down finally.

Would I recommend it? I would; other when YX forgetting his scheming ways in the last 8 episodes but coming back strong along with everyone who mattered in the last two, the pros outweighed the cons. This is a good, engaging, and entertaining drama to watch.

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