Enigma05

What's Love Got to do with Business?

Had been waiting for this because I've never seen XK in a modern and also to see how he and Seven would work out chemistry wise. Overall, the story in particular didn't disappoint. I had seen a few of the supporting cast before but was unfamiliar with many others. The story had a few couples but the main theme was separating business from emotions, what love really meant, and not regretting the choices you made; giving those that deserved it a second chance. A play on the famous late Tina Turner song, what's love got to do with business?

Pros: The chemistry between the leads HT and JX was off the charts. They were just too stinkin' cute and you were laughing at the silliness and being giddy with all of the sweetness. Plus the comedy from the others, was great or when you had a sad/tense moment, a little comedy made the scene so much better. XK nailed the part of the domineering, ruthless CEO HT with a heart of gold to a T. Man could undress a woman or in this case JX with just his eyes any day of the week. It was sugar and spice and everything very meow. For the most part, the story was incredibly realistic and refreshing when it came to real life world things and people. Both leads had great friends and wing people. JX was a person who started at the bottom of the business ladder and slowly rose to the top, though of course with HT's help. My other favorite characters were XM, LL, LLJ, SZZ, TS, XYX (though he sucked in relationships, he was a great friend to HT and others), and unlike many others, I had no problems with QZZ and SYC getting together, though I really didn't know why, after her wedding, QZZ basically disappeared from the show. Also LLJ's mom, JX's parents, and grandpa Han were awesome as they weren't toxic but just genuinely worried about their kids and did the best they could to help/advise them.

The other couples ended up being QZZ and SYC but they seemed to get together quickly, like the show was trying to rush along their stories as well as XM and LLJ; though both liked the other, they didn't really get together until the end and the love triangle of LL, XYX, and SZZ. Honestly, felt like LL and XYX were the most compatible but it was also understandable that he had serious insecurities that he hadn't worked through and SZZ finally grew up enough to deserve her as she slowed down to understand that she really needed stability and not just money and power. So in this case had they shown XYX working through his issues for her, they would have worked out too. But at least he became a good friend to her as well admitting where his faults lay and that he lost her because of them but to not regret letting SZZ go. So that was very intelligently done.

HT and JX got together really quickly and the phrase "I love you" popped out way too soon. Their biggest issue lay in their very horrid lack of communication. He kept business secrets from her that she should have known about and important as well and she basically ran her business with her emotions, even listening to ZD (a villain) over her own boyfriend; here's an intelligent woman doing really dumb things. She treated all of her employees like they were supposed to be friends; which when they backstabbed her, she was shocked about but it was her own fault. Furthermore, she couldn't separate love from business (hence the title of this review) and her view of love was a little too grandiose to reality while his was subtle and in the way of "actions speak louder than words" manner which is more realistic. Their breakup was needed and mandatory to grow into evolving themselves. That said, I will speak more about that in the cons.

The antagonists (4 in total); cousin (who finally towards the end figured out that blood was thicker than water and to leave HT alone or he would ruin her), Zhu asswipe (a criminal that kidnapped JX and really hurt HT; hopefully got life in prison), Chang He (HT's competition but also did plenty of illegal things himself like enable Zhu and other business dealings, got arrested), ZD. I will talk about her in the cons because out of the 4, she was the worst and probably the most annoying antagonist. She started morally grey and then they turned her into a stalker and I was done.

All of the settings, especially faux Germany was really nice, glad they taught the leads some basic German. The OSTs and most of the costumes fit too. Also the fact that not only had he loved her since college but that they had actually met somewhat as kids was a nice touch of how truly destined they were. I like the extra episode as it shows what his version of love for life meant.

Cons: I have to speak about the break up because even the book readers said it was off. I was able to fast forward most of it and not miss much because while HT was poisoning himself with alcohol, crying, lighting sparklers, just pining in pain; other than their initial argument, JX didn't shed a single tear. Sure she was sad but she cried more over her breakup with SYC than HT. She just went home, moped a bit, and then quit her job, leaving her company to merge on its own and flew to Germany to study more. Like what even? She opened his safe without permission to find documents; that was so weird to me, a total invasion of privacy. I don't know why he didn't call her out on it. If it wasn't for HT she wouldn't even have had her company let alone what it became. There were some things he couldn't have told her due to confidentiality agreements, yet she threw a tantrum at him. As soon as things she didn't like in her personal life happened she bailed out on her company and left. Yet returned to a VP position. She was upset when some other company had thousands of employees go jobless overnight but her own team; she was ok to dump on LL and SZZ like it was no problem. In the real business world, that's a career killer right there. Like damn girl; emotions and business aren't the same thing! They should never be combined. He apologized 7 (no pun intended) ways to Sunday including during their public forum and even after the kidnapping thing when he was already very injured; meanwhile she never uttered the phrase “I’m sorry.” He was always her buffer and it wasn't fair to him especially in business at all. Yet she was as much part of the problem as he was, if not more so. In her mind, he had to conform to her standards but she didn’t have to reciprocate. I hate it when they gloss over women's accountability like that. According to readers, a lot of important conversations weren't included and that would have helped bring more gravitas to that part of the drama.

Also her lightning quick transformation into understanding business and finally pulling emotions out of it was way too fast. It was like a flip of a switch. Wish there was more cohesion and a smoother transition of that. Furthermore, how he just randomly came upon her in Germany though he was looking for that same guy she met, also could have been done smoother. Another contention I had was what I call the "Superman effect." When characters charge into a dangerous situation alone without backup or with backup far away. She was kidnapped and held on a high floor of an abandoned factory at knife point and you don't call the police until you're literally nearly there? Why bother? Because you're Superman and you can take a beating with a lead pipe to the back and fall 4 flights into a very conveniently placed air mattress set up by first responders because they somehow telepathically know exactly where you might fall. For a realistic modern drama, that was a huge issue.

I wish they had shown CH and ZD being led away in handcuffs for their actions in everything they had done against the leads both personally and professionally. As mentioned up top, ZD started as a morally grey gorilla glue character to HT, who never gave her the time of day in that way, but then she just didn't stop; no matter how many times HT told her to back off and even sold her shares and after he got hurt in the end she was still there like a bad dream asking him whether he regretted it and trying to get into JX's head a second time about how he'll cheat and lie in business to her again but thankfully this time JX didn't let her get the upper hand and stood her ground. This crazy idiot grew up with him and thought she owned him; she followed him to Germany, started a company in the same industry as him, and so forth just so she could somehow be with him. It's scary and quite pathetic that a person couldn't or wouldn't have their own identity just because they were so obsessed with someone. By the end of the show, I wanted her gone. Out of all of the antagonists she was the most ridiculous and annoying one and hardly realistic; no idea why HT never got a restraining order against her.

Only real point of contention with JX's clothing was why she had to look so matronly in the beginning? ZD and LL working in the same industry looked like professional businesswomen; only after her return from Germany that second time did she finally look and dress her age and like the VP she was.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! Despite the cons, the pros definitely outweighed them. Though I do wish they had stuck some things from the novel as it would have made it better, it was still a very good show. I really hope XK does more of these types of modern romance dramas; he's very good at them. If you like great comedy, romance, and an overall good story that's very realistic, this is the show for you.

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60% Business to 40% Romance

This was good but it didn't rock my world. Elvis Han can handle being sexy for sure. I had dropped MMC for lack of chemistry and too much propaganda but this seemed like something easier. I lived for the leads interactions; flirting was actually a lot more subtle than what I'm used to or was expecting. And it was really 60% Business to 40% Romance. Will review this a bit differently than usual.

This was short; only 14 episodes but over an hour each. Really showed the lives of Asian cube monkeys working hard and overtime. Though many have said that it's only in Asia or China that this happens, it is often seen here in the states too. A lot of it reminded me of my time in the corporate world. The long hours, little to no positive reinforcement from your superiors, nasty coworkers, etc., one of the many reasons I left that world. I ffw'd a lot in the beginning because I didn't want to remember what that was like, plus there was very little actual interaction of the leads. And I didn't really pay much attention to the sister and her weird way of finding love getting stuck with a possessive stalker. Why didn't they go to the police after the spy camera was found? That's breaking a serious legal boundary. The regular Joe she ended up with was great but because of how little time they actually shared on screen and I think he was only introduced 3 episodes before the end, though they had chemistry, it did feel rushed.

I loved the FL's second supervisor! Now that's the type of manager you want to have; great mentor too. The 3 or 4 people in both of the leads lives that tried to harm them before and then apologized afterwards or thanked them, just seemed unrealistic because rarely if ever would that happen in the real world; those redemption arcs were unnecessary. The leads times together once they became an official couple in episode 8, was a time to treasure but I still felt like they were just not given enough screen time together to really work out their relationship properly. A lot was said or spoken of but not expressed. Could have been the time crunch of episodes and you never knew how much time passed as obviously there were time lapses. I'm glad the FL and ML finally decided to slow down work wise when something serious happened like her multiple health scares and him realizing he wasn't essentially a robot.

Their sexy times were great and so was the marriage proposal; it was different and fit who they both were. The OSTs were cute and fit them.

Would I recommend it? If you are looking for a business drama with romance as the secondary factor, then give it a go.

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What in the Dafeng?

(Last review of a 2024 show) A man transmigrates from the modern world into a fantasy game where using modern techniques he unravels mysteries and solves cases. He goes from a bumbling, arrogant hot blooded doofus though with smarts to a powerful, super intelligent man with the love of/and for family, amazing friends, boss, sidekicks, and even a tactless princess. Though he appeared lucky, the dark side was always lurking around him and at the end of what we hope to be season one the dark evil took all that away from him in a very well written cliffhanger (there's a scene after the ending credits folks, don't miss it!), leaving everyone going what in the Dafeng?

Pros: I have only ever seen Dylan in a very poorly written modern drama, so wanted to see him in something with a good storyline and characterization. Glad I stuck around even when the beginning was driving me batty. This was one of the those few dramas where it actually got better as the episodes progressed. Dylan as XQA knew just how how to blend emotions and thoughts (albeit I still wished he didn't have to do the over dramatic ones), like comedy, intelligence, being one or two steps ahead of just about everyone but Lord Wei and of course the Supervisor. His love for his super extra family was evident. His best acting was in the final arc of Chuzhu city and the atrocities done there and then what happened with Mr. Zheng. The emotions of sadness, rage, injustice that he felt, just melted from the screen and you became him. You wanted revenge in the worst possible way and he got it. Very impressive.

My other favorite characters were LW as he did such a great job as a protagonist this time. I was used to him playing antagonists all the time so this was quite refreshing and he did a wonderful job as the surrogate father and boss to XQA. His death saddened me at the end but I hope he can come back to life in season 2 (again please let there be a season 2, with the same cast and not in 5 years)! The entire Xu family though could be very extra in the over dramatic sense, loved XQA very much and had his back as much as possible. The Scooby gang as I called his friends/sidekicks at the bureau, realm, and guardian places were the best. Those 4 guys especially were indispensable to him and they were a part of him as much as the realm sect folks were. I liked the supervisor as well. He saved people, didn't murder them and he was quite upset by what happened in the last arc and Mr. Zheng's torture and death. Even the monk in XQA was of great help.

I don't believe for one moment anything that came out of dark robe dude's aka XQA's biological father's (Luke, I am your father moment) mouth about the supervisor being the one who wanted the destiny inside XQA because if that was the case, he would have taken it for himself 12 years ago instead of the dark robe dude stealing it and implanting it into his own child while he himself killed hundreds of thousands and aligned with smaller villains (like the asswipe emperor, his brother, having a corrupt court) to play a constant game of chess with the supervisor. If he was such a good guy, he wouldn't have erased everyone's memories of XQA leaving him truly alone in the world (though apparently the supervisor knew since he was also the creator of the game in the real world). XQA figured it out and I don't think he will side with the evil monster just because of that and the secret of the destiny. For all that, he is a good antagonist and I hope he loses miserably in season 2.

Originally, I had thought that I was going to be very depressed when everyone forgot about XQA, but when looking from a writer's standpoint, it actually wasn't that bad. Sad yes, but it was part of what a cliffhanger ending is about. You leave parts unfinished to make sure people don't forget what they watched and want more. Just like the scene after the credits; it's to leave us wanting more and fast. But most loose ends were tied which is also rare in dramas unless they are to be continued.

Costumes, OSTs (especially the opening hip hop one, I never missed), sets, and fight scenes with magic were all great. My sincere hope for season 2 is that, XQA upon knowing the whole truth still doesn't team up with his bastard father, but sticks with the supervisor, everyone gets their memories back, bring back LW, and are able to fight the forces or force of evil together. That would be ideal. I guess we'll see if and when it happens.

Cons: I'm sure many are wondering why I didn't put FL in the pros and that's because I didn't like her very much (the character not the actress); I felt romance here was quite unnecessary. Thankfully, that genre wasn't all that important and we saw only bits and pieces of it. She did grow on me towards the end a bit but I think that part could have been just left alone. There were just too many moving pieces and things going on that didn't require her at all. Though I will say that the two kisses the characters had were well done.

Initially, I was thinking that my rating was going to be in the 8s somewhere because of how lackluster and slapstick it started and that's just not for me. Also many plot points were talked through instead of shown and it would have been better if we understood that through seeing it or not having it sped through like the whole duchess abduction thing and rescue; I literally had to rewatch it twice before I understood what happened. Also XQA becoming a silver gong was just explained and several missions were just thrown around through speech. Show us, don't just tell us! We're not reading the book, we're viewers. How the 4 Scooby gang guys were stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean somewhere and only reunited with XQA for a short time at the end. At least their experience was shown in form of a puppet play.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. What brought the score up to a 9 was when things turned serious and comedy landed properly and that entire ending arc with Dylan's wonderful portrayal. This is a show no one knew how it would do but boy did they show everyone. Season 2 is an absolute must with the same cast. Definitely one I'm glad I kept watching.

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Total Departure from S1 & A Completely Miscast Main Antagonist.

I wanted to watch this because it was S2 from S1 which had been a sleeper hit. The main actors were the same and though time passed, it would be just as good, right? Sadly not. It was a complete departure from S1 with a completely miscast main antagonist. This will be one of those reviews where pros and cons will be mixed together.

The story started strong just like normal, with a case and had the fab 4 plus big bro helping out. But then things begin to slide downwards. Though it's understandable that in 3 drama years both of the fab 4 couples would be married, they didn't have to make their husband such simps around their wives. ML was still as whip smart as ever but because the enemy was now a different country it seemed like they were constantly missing something. It didn't help that there was a spy called Peacock that came literally out of nowhere. He was the leader of the spy network deeply entrenched in their capital which they only figured out as time went on. If in season one, we had an understanding of who the main antagonist was and he fit the mold, in season two we needed Jack the Ripper by the time he revealed all of the atrocities (skinning people alive, whipping them with the same whip that was used on him when he was a child, or feeding them poisonous bugs until they incubated long enough to burst out of the stomachs and kill others; very The Mummy or Species diabolical) he was responsible for but instead we got friendly Joe from next door who mows your lawn and gets paid in chump change. This particular actor has never played a real antagonist; always as a protagonist in modern or costume dramas so to stick him in a role so complex was absolutely was unbelievable, I don't know what production and casting was thinking. He could scheme sure so could play the role of a small villain but not the ultimate villain; it was truly laughable by then. Especially the issues in continuity where in his last scene, one minute there was no blood on his dagger, the next there was, and it kept going back forth, the other actors delayed reactions or movements was lazy editing. And his ending, with the academy award speech before thrusting the knife into his own heart or stomach, was so even more anticlimactic than the rest of it. Truly eye-roll worthy.

I also don't understand how the emperor of Da Tang could constantly listen and obey orders from an envoy of different country like the guy had any real power; fatso as I called him; now he could have played the ultimate villain. But we spent the first half of the show one step forwards two back because the enemy was with them all the time. No one would believe he could be the biggest threat because he just didn't have the personality for it even when it was revealed he was Peacock. It wasn't spoken about again; all this time trying to find this spy and by the time it was realized, it was forgotten. After they finally found some upper ground with the fake syphilis and started bringing down the network, they were sent to join big bro, who still acted the same and I wish had more screen time to weed out what we learned was the poisonous bug network and he too ended up with a love interest but sadly that wasn't properly explored. It just seemed on a case by case bases if there even was such a thing, things were buried and not properly clarified or just forgotten. Or why did CC's dad suddenly appear out of nowhere, with no warning in the middle of nowhere, so he could get kidnapped and than CC was as well; it just didn't make sense. These type of instances happened a lot. Or when the big web unraveled it was one giant conspiracy with several minds behind it but again the one that mattered just didn't hit the bar. The killing of two characters especially the guard was sad.

I also wish the ending was different; exit out characters, don't leave them hanging or poof like big bro and his woman. Also wish instead of another imperial decree, they showed the leads with kids as opposed to them making plans to travel while the second couple was going to get married again. It just felt incomplete; like even production gave up on it.

We did have a higher budget, some decent comedy, decent OSTs, nice costumes, and sets.

Would I recommend it? Honestly unless you want to see the progression of the Fab 4, no. It just didn't have the same uniqueness and difference from so many other shows. It seemed lazy on production's part and it could have been a great show.

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Art Brought Back to Life

A painting from the Song dynasty has art imitating life. A time where justice was served more vigilante style than through the court system as that seemed broken. "Only evil can counter evil" but is that really true? Is there no light at the end of this dark, gritty treacherous tunnel? That's what drew me to this show. I liked the mystery solving, regular people predicaments with a slice of life comedy. Just about every show I watch of the historical costume variety has rich people or royalty dealing with betrayal. This one was of I guess you could call them the lower middle class with clothing everyone else wore. Didn't make them any less smarter or capable than their peers with large homes and a multitude of servants. The paintings brought art back to life.

Pros: The storytelling was wonderful. The five main ones created a patchwork family that took care of each other and loved each other. Each case tied back to their own histories and families as only two were related to each other. Ultimately there was one main villain that took an episode and a half to bring down but who caused oppression and tyranny with everyone he killed. And he wasn't brought down by any epic war or battlefield fight, but through the concentrated effort and meticulous evidence gathering of ZBY or ML. He connected the dots for himself and others better than most. Though not without flaws, his biggest was burning that diary and not letting the kids know who their real father was (letting someone take advantage and nearly cause a catastrophe). Which was then brought before the public and governor in a trial for all to see.

All five in this family held their own; WY, whose family save brother (he comes in at the end as a psychopath who was from the extreme opposite of the main antagonist so also no redeeming qualities as he used others as much as the villain for his revenge, while keeping himself safe; a total coward) were massacred and she became a pirate/assassin who quit instead of murdering innocents and found her life with ZBY and his father. Her intelligence and fighting skills came in handy. Then there were the two kids; ZB and ZM. ZB wanted to be a physician but was too strong and became an excellent coroner instead helping on many of the cases. ZM was as rigid as a ruler when it came to his belief in rules and regulations but was impulsive and naive in many situations. Lastly, the supposedly senile patriarch was really the 11th brother of the emperor and apparently the exact replica of him but he helped in putting a lot of small pieces together through the secrets he kept/knowledge he had.

On top of the actual family, their friends like GZ and WF at K-court were on hand with both the case solving and comedy. Silly YH the actual coroner who couldn't perform an autopsy without hurling to save his life. Lady Wang towards the end to help GZ. The painter came in just the right moments to help with his Eagle eye view as he's the reason these stories are known now. The neighbors and other East Capital residents who helped in a big way at the end and throughout. This was very realistic where great characters lost their lives due to injustice and you felt the pain of the main characters; like just as ZM made a friend, he lost him. I do think that ZM given today's parameters fits on the autism spectrum with his personality.

A lot of things we see in today's society we saw in this series, the lack of justice being one but also how good people are framed and whole families decimated because of that. We saw a regular family just trying to buy a house, fail over and over due to corruption. From the way the cases were done and murders happen (especially the human paint brush) made you think you were in Dante's Inferno.

Costumes, sets, and the makeup which made two actors as father and son even though in real life they were only 7 years apart in age was remarkable. Opening credits were very creative. That last scene made it seem like they were possibly thinking of a season 2; we knew SZ was alive after that jump off the bridge but who's that dude he was bowing to? So I guess we'll see though I think just this season was enough as justice was finally done though it took 20 years. Better late than never.

Cons: I don't remember any of the OSTs honestly. The bgm was also forgettable. I had some issues with WY as an assassin; her facial expression lacked the gravitas when she fought. You can be cold and collected but it wasn't even there. Only when she felt pain did her face move. Assassins are colder, less human, more fierce and that just didn't happen with her. The short storyline of ZM breaking from his rigidity to just get swayed by one conversation with SM to do something as extreme as blowing up a bridge when he's never done a single bad thing. Yes, one can argue he had his mind blown with what his biological father did though under duress and SM probably drugged him when he planted those ideas in his head, we had seen him be so controlled that it was completely out of character and than after the cry fest with WY where only pro was their acting their hearts out, how quickly he snapped back to his former self. It was a bit of a whiplash.

Why were there only 4 guys from K-court fighting that large group of big bad's guards in the last episode? On the boat all the other K-court were all "we're not afraid to die, let's go get him!" But when it really mattered, they were nowhere to be seen. Were they babysitting the bridge after the threat was neutralized? Like what? They all rushed in after the fight was over. It made zilch sense. And we never knew how ZBY pulled off the master plan that included the story teller, his neighbors, the butcher, and everyone else who helped. We were used to seeing little flashbacks but other than the one with his father we had no idea how that was organized. Little things here and there could have been more fleshed out.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! This was great storytelling and it felt more real than a lot of the costumes dramas with wealthy people. I only knew BBH, Gala Zhang and a few of the supporting from the cast prior to this; but boy did they do a great job. Definitely give this a go if you're looking for a high quality drama.

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Finally A Xianxia with A Proper HE

I could say that about The Legend of Shen Li too but that one I consider to be more fantasy. Anyways, I picked this because of DW as I had seen previously in both LYF's and as a small supporting role in a low budget modern years back. I wanted to see his range of emotions and acting skills in general.

Pros: I think DW or SYS has improved a lot. He was able to be cold and even devilishly evil, jealous, stubborn as well as happy and in love. We all know he can cry and spit blood well lol. His chemistry with the FL or MQG/XRR was on point. I have to say that this plot wasn't new by any means and we figured out fairly quickly who the big bad was even though he technically didn't appear until episode 30. SYS' unconditional love for MQG/XRR was palpable when he did everything within his power to reincarnate her and then also fell in love and vice versa with XRR. The amnesia arc wasn't too bad but I wish it didn't stretch out as long as it did because our leads barely got any together time until the last 3 episodes and a few in between; in order to break the amnesia curse he had to fall for her yet again which he did of course as some part of him still retained memories and feelings; especially his fantasy dreams lol. Though SYS definitely gained ground with 3 kids in 13 years (very much working on a 4th) and with the wedding. This is how a Xianxia should end as opposed to looking at each other from a distance not hugging or anything in the last 5 seconds of the show. They got rid of the bad guy, had a proper wedding and then left the sect in the hands of their friends to travel the world and build their own home around the reincarnation tree.

What I loved about XRR was that she wasn't the damsel in distress type that needed to be saved. She was willing to get in the thick of things to fix a problem; she sacrificed herself the first time around, then helped others, and went after him when he sacrificed himself. She was like ok cry for about five seconds and then get down to business. She was resolutely against just resigning to what fate gave her; willing to challenge heaven's will at every turn. She was bright and airy, made many friends easily and for life. Was always willing to give people a second or third or zillionth chance as long as that person could return to the right path.

I have to say that a huge chunk of the TBOY cast was in this one which was great to see them play different roles. Her 3 friends when she joined the sect post reincarnation, ZY the exasperated other senior who was always keeping SYS in check or trying to. He was the sounding board. The alcohol and other talisman plus medicine sect guys. I called him goofy lukewarm evil WJ was comic relief. You couldn't take him seriously; DK played him very well. ZFH was a good person and even took in batshit crazy MRW at the end. The few other sect people were good as well as the people who they met along the way and helped, returned the favors. Only real good thing about the main antagonist was just how many plans he had to get where he wanted to go. I liked when they went around solving cases DT would throw their way.

Costumes, CGI, and some of the music was pretty decent too. And most importantly, plot never really dragged or you felt the need to skip episodes.

Cons: DT though the big bad that caused a lot of harm; his one note expressions weren't great. Furthermore, this actor is known for playing protagonists, so as the main antagonist, it didn't suit him. The other two villains of the piece were the sister of MQG aka MRW and the crown prince. One was ridiculously jealous because she was just ordinary; wanted all power her sister had. The crown prince was twisted obsessed with MQG and was willing to do whatever to get her to be his including harming others. He got a rather blah redemption arc at the end where he killed a shadow person of SYS and himself so DT's plan ultimately failed. The sister's whole collapse into insanity after watching someone she never cared about but had unrequited love for her die, all of a sudden she wanted that guy. Like what? Didn’t you just spend 30 something episodes trying to get the CP to love you? Just whiplash madness that made no sense. I would have preferred her to die a horrible death for all the harm she caused to her sister and others.

Can they please start writing inner monologues for the FLs in these dramas? XRR spend up to half episodes just walking around the sect talking to herself and then would be all surprised when someone caught her. It was annoying to the point that I had to ffw her a few times. A guy would have maybe say one line out loud and the rest would be inner thoughts, but women had to look like lunatics walking in circles talking to themselves. Furthermore, her voice as XRR was so much higher than MQG and it felt like she was a 12 year old at times not 18 or 19 or whatever it was. I was glad when her memories combined and she started speaking like an adult again.

It was sad that given that Hengdian has such lush forests and scenery they still needed to use fake woods a lot of the times. Not a fan of that. This show could have easily been 35 episodes and still been fine.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I would. It was a nice watch and if you're interested in DW's improvement in acting, you'll like him here. Originally, I was going to give this an 8 but upped to an 8.5 because of that awesome ending.

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Love & Shine with Billiards

Watched this for WL and the sport aspect. Also was interested in the fact that they traveled to various foreign countries to film. This was the second time I'd seen WL in a sport-modern drama but this was more romance focused. I think I was only familiar with a few of the supporting characters. It was love and shine with billiards.

Pros: I didn't read the novel as I never do so can only review from a viewer's prospective. One thing this drama drove home about WL (LYY) and his acting was that the guy has the ability to give both bedroom eyes and looks that can drop an entire army. In this case, straight from episode one, he knew who and what he wanted. This was a case of love at first sight and he was hooked.

The story was really about pursuit and he gave his all. Furthermore this drama could do loss very well like losing his coach just as he finally returned home properly. That legit made me weep as it brought back grief that I've been personally dealing with. The FL (YG) was alright though I liked her more when she acted maturely as opposed to the pouting as that got old quick. And the supporting cast were awesome and fun especially MXD and JY were great when paired with LYY; so comedic it was like the 3 stooges.

All of the OSTs, scenery especially in Finland and France was beautiful. I really liked the rock/techno compilations when the leads and friends were in competition and ready to kick ass. The sport aspect of it was great, wish there was more of it and explained. The chemistry between the leads was very sweet and it got funny when in the comment section we had a very long discussion about did they or didn't they and if they did, which they did (I admit it lol); when was the first time? The fact that this show could bring about mile long conversations is what made it very successful.

Cons: Now while I did enjoy it very much, it wasn't without problems. For example why didn't they show MXD and LL's love line through to the end? It was very unsatisfying to leave them hanging when MXD was essentially the SML and a great friend/cousin to the leads. Their relationship should have been aired out more. Also why wasn't MXD there at the proposal at the end or in the 3 year time lapse rounding out? LL was but he wasn't? It was weird.

I wish they had balanced the billiards portion more with the romance side of it. There was so much of the getting the leads together and their relationship before we ever got to what they both loved doing. I'm great with fluff but it should have some meat and potatoes too. Would have also been great to explain to the audience what 8-ball, 9-ball, and snooker actually was and how it was played. Also, though I understand cultural differences and whatnot, the FL pouted way too much and the ML did most of the heavy lifting even emotionally. At some point, I said to myself that a 23 year old woman should act her age. That tantrum she threw and then expected him to call her when he didn't do anything wrong but was the one that was sad and needed comforting in the one "fight" they had made me roll my eyes.

The weird hosts that turned an international competition into a dating show was unnecessary and unprofessional when you're trying to show an actual competition on an international scale. Is it so common in cdramas or in China in general for everyone to be so nosy? Everyone wants private stuff to be public. Obviously hiring some actors that were referees who couldn't even speak English made it even more unprofessional looking. If you're going with an international event, you have to make it look as realistic as possible not just certain things that had just a tad too much propaganda which was also 7 versions of unnecessary.

Would I recommend it? Yes. It's very good despite the cons and will have you laughing, crying, and cheering in all of the right places. Definitely give it a whirl.

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Mediocre

It took me a while to remember why I had decided to add this series into my watchlist because it was a toxic train wreck for the first maybe 17 or 18 episodes and then I remembered that it was because of the SML lol. I had seen him in a costume drama earlier this year and wanted to see him in a modern. Though his character delivered, the rest was mediocre at best.

Pros: Very few; SML just stole your heart and the show. He wasn't just eye candy but he played a professional young director very well. I thought that if they had switched the women for couples 2 and 3 it would have actually made much more sense. I refuse to fault actors for crappy storylines and therefore I think both ML and FL did the best they could under the circumstances. The opening credits were far more exciting and interesting than the show itself. OSTs were on point. Only reason this series got to a 6.5 and not far lower is because once all the toxicity was vented out and Ding Dong some version of matured, it was pleasant to watch. Also liked the supporting characters and the real mature kissing.

Cons: I don't understand why they stuck the SML with Ding Dong, ML's baby-voiced sounding sister. That really felt like a forced relationship even on the few occasions towards the end when she acted her age. The budget was obviously nonexistent here because the ML who owned a massive company had maybe 3 or 4 suits and shirts to his name. FL had the same exact hairstyle for all 24 episodes; a basic messy bun which she even sported on her wedding day.

Also how do you string someone in a harness with ropes that are tied haphazardly? Any drama we've seen, it's wires and cranes all super secure with people as back up. So we're supposed to believe that the mega rich producer couldn't afford a crane? Plus the one rigged into it was going to be his own sister? And that when the accident happened only SML ran to save her like Superman while others were just standing around with pads clasping their hands? What even? Suspension of disbelief was required a lot.

Ok the biggest elephant in the room was the absolutely psychotic way the FL behaved for a solid chunk of the show; the creepy wall of ML's photos, "couples clothing" when they weren't even together, copying his signature into a journal a zillion times, not to mention the beyond ridiculous confession and forced kiss. First she spent about 4 or 5 episodes reminding him of his failed attempt at a relationship which was like rubbing salt into a wound and was sadistic at best. Then the forced kiss and the phony sounding confession "I like you because you're handsome, rich, and loyal", either she's a gold digger or describing a poodle. Yes he rejected her, but she acted like he just murdered her best friend. He didn't owe her squat honestly even if he was getting ready to admit his own feelings for her, she became this one woman vengeance train. Even when he did everything he could for her (like take her to the hospital and watch over her), the things she said to him were just plain mean. Furthermore, who confesses at the workplace? That's so unprofessional! She could have asked him to a restaurant or something.

Not saying his own stalking traits once he decided to "woo" her weren't questionable; like moving across the hall to her new place, following her on her blind dates, telling her she shouldn't go on them (just because you're courting her, doesn't mean others can't) acting jealous at every turn, elevator semi-forced kiss. I'd say overall, she was worse of the two of them but all the creepy stuff did show they were made for each other.

Would I recommend it? No. People in the comments are saying that only young people don't like this series; it's quite laughable because as a 40 year old professional, I want to watch a drama with substance but not one with a psychopathic mindset passing for a romance; life is crazy enough. The actors are better off watched elsewhere.

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Lots of Comedy, Scheming, Lies, Truth, Many Strong Bonds, Untouchable Love; Oh & Some English!

I was watching back to back transmigration stories and I was really curious how this one would pan out. I like both WRC and CL and they really did do a good job here. Seriously, give this awesome series its dues, it really deserves it!

Pros: "How are you? Fine. Thank you and you?" In English no less! There was no way that was going to be how they met after she transmigrated into the historical book from the modern world and yet that's exactly how it happened and it was hysterical. The comedy was fantastic. Because the original concept of the story was cheesy and FL didn't like it, upon meeting the ML aka "tyrant emperor" she decided that she was going to rewrite it the way she saw it especially after she saw how things really were, that it was the SML that was the tyrant while the ML was considered the puppet by the wicked witch of the west (who had been poisoning him ever since he transmigrated into the novel and probably even before then) and the SML who took his vengeance and whatnot for the wicked witch out on ML. Once the audience learned that ML had been stuck in that book not as long as the FL but for over a decade, a lot made sense and your heart went out to him. CL's range of emotions was also impressive; he went all out for this one. Huge props to him for really embodying the character. He had secret guards and a crossing dressing master fighter (Bei Shu) as well as another army general/martial artist (A Bai/ General Lin) who came to protect him but he was still incredibly lonely until the FL popped in.

They went through a lot to make the emperor formidable against the two enemies; wicked witch and the SML. As well as turning the SFL from the bad side to the good side. The majority of the drama had a lot of comedic elements which were all spot on. As the drama progressed however, a more serious tone was introduced but it never took away from the eventual love that blossomed between the leads. Especially when the FL learned the truth about ML being stuck in the book for as long as he had been through the long letter. We the audience learned that he was drugged and SA'd by the wicked witch and some maid so a CP was born. It was horrendous all the stuff he had to go through as a kid. A lot of double crossings from people but FL was also very clever and used her modern day knowledge to outwit the bad guys. There's so much that I can't put it all down, you have to watch it. We did lose some good guys like 3 of the original 6 scholars, the Shu master, and Yong'er which was hard especially Bei Shu. You just wanted to shield ML and go, “stop hurting him!”

I loved how we ultimately learned that the prophecy in the synopsis was real but FL was not going to give up and with her and A Bai working nonstop, they along with the doc, found a cure. Also the ending though they did return to the modern times, right before, her in that red gorgeous dress at their dual coronation and his proposal using their real names to her amidst fireworks was chefs kiss. A lot of great characters that haven't been mentioned, the harem girls that evolved, the Eunuch, secret guards, etc. I have never seen TXT in an antagonist role but he absolutely nailed it as did the Empress Dowager actress, though I think I've seen her before. Both played exceptional villains. Costumes were gorgeous as were sets. And the ending came full circle with them reconnecting in the subway and the "How are you" greeting being used. It was maybe 2 minutes long but it ended just how they met originally. Third transmigration series that had a good HE without some nonsense off screen.

Cons: Last few episodes had a lot of dialogue as if trying to stuff in as much as possible. On top of that, it was more confusing because after ML was cured, you didn't know how much time had passed because there was never any thing written on screen in regards to time skips, and it was quite obvious that there were quite a few of them. But the most annoying thing and that got the .5 ticked off was that the OST's drowned out both the dialogue as well as obscured the faces of the actors speaking. The translations of the music covered the actors faces; even if you didn't understand what they were saying, you were stuck, trying to read the subtitles as they were whizzing by the screen and still be able to somehow focus on the characters. Things were definitely sped up in the last few episodes, especially dialogue wise to the point where you had to actually slow things down or rewatch things because you couldn't keep up with what everyone was saying at the speed they were saying it plus if there was music with words, you couldn't see who was saying what or why as faces were obscured. And when people were speaking and the music was playing, even if you had the subtitles, you couldn't hear what was being said because the music drowned everyone out. The powerful rock ballad in the final fight was important but the lyrics could've been put anywhere else on the page even sideways the way they were done in Mandarin. Same went for the enthronement and proposal scene; turn the damn volume down and move the lyrics.

Also felt that during important moments meant for the ML and FL; the scholars scenes could've been less. Otherwise, I had no problems with them. Lastly, though ED was a formidable antagonist they could've stopped her from cackling as that automatically brought down her evilness level in my book; people who have read my reviews before and seen my comments know how I feel about cackling, evil characters, and how that makes them seem like Halloween store witch decorations. That's it; no more cons.

Would I recommend it? 100%. The cons were annoying but minor. This story has a little bit of everything and don't underestimate it because of the comedy, it's quite powerful with the was it's told with all of the twists and turns.

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Great Acting but the Storyline was a Choppy Mess & the gun was STOLEN not lost!

I only came about this series last minute because I had previously watched DYX in 4 costume dramas this year so wanted to see him in a totally different genre. Now he and the rest of the actors (some I've seen while others I haven't) did a phenomenal job at their characters but the script was just a choppy mess and I was so sick of them talking about the gun being lost and how he had to take responsibility when the dude was knocked out and the thing stolen off his person.

Pros: Honestly, just the acting of the actors; DYX did a wonderful job, just wish the script was strong. Every character was believable and did their part for as long as they were needed. DLE or as I called him the Hawaiian shirted gangster was literally the comic relief of the show. How everyone was able to convincingly speak in whichever dialect of mandarin that was, was very cool. Mastermind was truly cruel and used everyone to his advantage. The worst was NF; because he killed her father but made her believe he was her benefactor until right before she was shot by the SWAT team. He manipulated this poor girl her entire life into becoming a spy and assassin for him and then called it her atonement for what her father did. Losing LTY, then her, then Bao Ge (though that was inevitable) was hard. But the mastermind being very smart that he planned everything for something like 12 years and his actor played him well. Sad part was that LTY didn't like nor trust him from the beginning but no one believed him and than he was killed by the guy, that one hurt the most.

Cons: The storyline was a mess. Ok there's a mastermind that had ML's gun STOLEN but that was constantly referred to as a lost gun and he was suspended over it not to mention yelled at because all of these other cops SML included would somehow be super human if knocked over the head with a metal pipe and be able to retain his service pistol. That was a crock of shit. The cops themselves couldn't catch a bad guy red handed if he came to them on a silver platter which included whole departments, SWAT included. Meanwhile WBB (ML) and his best friend LTY were always in the path and somehow either slowed the person getting away down or caught him for said flailing cops.

Furthermore, no one could really tell when ML met NF; one moment you think they just got to know each other a little while ago and he just has a crush on her and then a few episodes later you find out he’s been in love with her since they were young. That’s what I mean by choppy and messy. There was absolutely no need for romance in this drama or even the slight possibility of it. And the way it was written, was screwed up as well.

For 26 or so episodes, the bad guys were running circles around the cops. They couldn’t put 2 + 2 together to save their lives. The flashbacks in the beginning were slowly necessary more or less to piece together who the mastermind was and why (he was of course right under their noses) but his why was just a self justification for the bad things his "nephew" did and why his sister and husband died. I also had problems with the way LTY and even NF died; they weren't given proper deaths; like ok killed, next scene. At least Bao Ge had a funeral but the main antagonist's death was a total copout happening in literally the last 5 minutes of the series with the reinstatement of WBB as an officer before stupid words about characters being charged (who cares, this was fake!) and role credits.

Would I recommend it? Honestly only for the acting because the storyline was just really dumb especially when you start to realize what's happening. It's a good in between anticipated dramas show but that's it. DYX did a good job; hope he gets better scripts for modern dramas in the future.

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Dashing Around with Helen of Troy

I really loved TBOY so wanted to see what the prequel was like. It was also cool to see a lot of TBOY actors play their fathers or masters or ancestors or even themselves for 3 individuals. There was a lot of connections in understanding TBOY. But the storyline and timeline overall was really all over the place hence it felt a lot like it was dashing around with a Helen of Troy character. I feel this review will have pros and cons mixed so won't separate them.

This was a bitter story for the SML or YDZ who only lived happily for a smidge of the time and for a woman or WJ who though swore she loved him, left him every chance she got by acting really gullible and naive. The ML or BDJ was the sole true carer and one who would do or die for the SML as soon as they were reunited after being separated for a decade. TML or SKCF was another great friend to BDJ, though I wish he had more screen time to show their bond. I found that SML's screen time was also very small in the beginning until we were finally bringing about his end. The fact that the series made a mad dash through the timeline with much in narration and art form or cartoons reminded me a lot of The Long Ballad. I wanted to see those wars and fight scenes just like they were shown in TBOY not just the CGI--though impressive--didn't have the same feel as a wuxia with swordsmen going at it where you could see it. And forget about ages, we couldn't figure out how old Wuxin or XS were or whatever it was. The producer and screenwriter had a lot of math problems.

Much like in TBOY, XS was the one surrounded and protected by pretty much everyone who didn't want to kill him; here it was BDJ and HMH played him really well. Same went for the other male leads. I actually liked that they fleshed out Prince Langya's character here. Because in TBOY, we were made to believe that he was this holier than thou person that deserved to be emperor who didn't want it. In this one, we saw him as a morally grey person with a blind belief in his brother the emperor even when it came to decisions that ultimately led to dire consequences for the very people in the country. Like others, I don't understand why he couldn't help YDZ take the woman he loved, why stop him? Just because his brother supposedly loved this one? He had a ton of women. At least he cleared YDZ's father's name though YDZ was dead by that time so to me it seemed like he was trying to get himself some merit. But I don't dislike the character, just glad they showed us more of him. Also wish we got to see the birth of LWJ and maybe the death of LMS as that would have tied even more into TBOY, since we saw just about all the other leads. Loved how they added two of TBOYs OSTs in to it.

TWT's old leadership and that Qing sister's obsession with YDZ made a lot of no sense. But White-Haired Deity and the Purple Robe one were like the best of TWT. They were the epitome of bonds/loyalty to each other, their new chief, his child, etc. in a way it made TWT look more loyal than Beili; because even SKCF said he was disappointed in the country because he thought things would change after Roujin took the throne. I also agree with BDJ blaming WJ for YDZ's decent into demon hood and ultimate death. That woman was a walking catastrophe; originally she felt that she had no choice but after Roujin did what he did, she should have never returned. Listening to that TWT member she met once without verifying the information and just going without waiting for YDZ to return, was the ultimate betrayal. What made me really think she didn't love YDZ as much as he her was when he slit his throat, it was BDJ that caught him and was trying to save him and pressed his hand against his throat; WJ just collapsed, whimpering where she was standing. She didn't even rush over to him until he was almost gone. That's not how a woman who loves someone badly behaves. Even Wuxin wasn't as important to her; with a mother and father like that it's now no wonder Xiao Yu turned into who he was in TBOY. Woman had no real contemplation of love; she'd follow whomever as long as she was free. I think the only thing she did for Wuxin was return to the palace to keep the 12 year deal in place and for her monster of a husband to not try anything. But that pales in comparison to the fact that because of her, the Helen of Troy in this story so many innocent people died due to a war that wasn't needed including the man who loved her the most and meant so much to many. Your heart just hurt for YDZ and HY brought him to life to perfection.

I feel the ending was all too much because we went from such gravitas and BDJ brokering the 12 year deal for Wuxin's essential safety to then BDJ riding off to get married to YY. It was very broken feeling. Especially since we didn't see what happened to the remaining young elegant gentlemen. There was a lot of disconnect between the characters that we knew in TBOY. Like BDJ was so much connected to Wuxin because of YDZ entrusting the child to him but yet in TBOY BDJ just appears occasionally and never actually meets Wuxin as he promised. A lot can happen in 12 years true especially him losing YY, just wish the very obvious inconsistencies weren't there. That would have been the epitome of "stick to the script." The other OSTs, sets, costumes, CGI, etc was on point.

Would I recommend it? Totally. While it was no TBOY, it was incredibly entertaining and the fact that I loved the opening OST so much that I always wanted to listen to it before every episode says a lot as I usually ffw them. Some people have said to consider it as a stand alone because of all of the inconsistencies but that's in the eye of the beholder really.

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A Story of Friendships & Love Built in a Tiny Courtyard While Overcoming Personal Hardship.

After watching LX in Will Love in Spring and hearing good things about this one as another slice of life story, decided to check it out. Glad I did; he was able to play a more smiling, joking character though with no less responsibility on his shoulders. I've only seen Crystal Liu in A Dream of Splendor where she did very well. This was a story of friendships and love built in a tiny courtyard while overcoming personal hardship.

Pros: I really love the friendships that were built in the courtyard and how they went beyond the courtyard but into the rest of the village and were intergenerational. Also though FL or XHD lost her best friend in the first episode, she was never far from her mind especially when she finally told her new friends about her. ML or XZY (lovingly called A'Yao) was my favorite character because of just how much he shouldered and was always still joking and smiling. He was essentially taking every major project from the village on himself. When HD and A'Yao became friends, it was nice to see that it wasn't a rushed romance but a real bond that grew. We saw that he caught feelings first but she wasn't far behind. The other great characters were DM, NN, HY, Mr. Ma (when he wasn't flipping his hair), granny Xie and a few of the other grannies, XC, XX (girl) and XX (guy). The 4 kids were cute too. Joseph Zeng's two episode guest appearance was surprising but good. How all the courtyard folks and others would rally around those going through a hard time was very heartwarming. Brought hope to humanity.

Chemistry between the leads was awesome and comedy within the story was pretty good. I really wish they had more time on screen as a couple as opposed to giving that up to her 3 episode leaving and town revitalization towards the end. Their kisses were very good so that as always was an added bonus. The OSTs and BGM, locations, were all very on point. Though there were times when there was maybe a bit more verbiage than necessary, a lot of it was beneficial. Really loved the growth of the characters into better versions of themselves. Found out afterwards that the person who played XC's ex-husband was actually the show's assistant director. Pretty cool when the directorial staff can play extras or do cameos.

Cons: Too many side characters and plots that I felt took up too much of the story. You already had so many important supporting characters that everyone else should have been left alone. Most of the time that XQ girl that had a yen for A'Yao for a while or the embroidery lady who had a heart attack but for the life of me I couldn't remember who she was, there were others too but I don't remember. The leads could have had more together time since this was billed as a romance and they only technically had 9 episodes but most of that was taken up by things and people not important to the story. It would have been easier to focus on the quality not quantity and have the leads maybe get engaged by the end. Show more couple time in those 9 episodes. Wish NN and male XX's friendship/feelings were better fleshed out too.

Forced propaganda was so unnecessary here. You can revitalize a village without sticking propaganda into it. Even the poor kids were singing an indoctrination song. It stuck out like a sore thumb especially when the friends in the courtyard would be just shooting the breeze drinking and making toasts to each other and out of nowhere someone pops out with "may our country prosper"; like who says that when they're just hanging out with friends? It's not a political or even business meeting. Made me role my eyes on more than on one occasion because it was not the series for that. If you're going for a country living romance with friends, you just don't need that. Not realistic at all when there's a juxtaposition to everything else.

Would I recommend it? Despite those few baubles, I enjoyed this story and glad I listened to people in the other comment section. Look forward to LX's future dramas. Check this out if you haven't yet.

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The Hibernating King of Big Air Made this Show Watchable

I picked this up for LY and the snowboarding aspect of it as it's one of the sports I watch during the Olympics and it seemed they really wanted to showcase the sport. Sadly, between wrapping filming and broadcasting, the series lost 12 to 14 episodes due to review and very negatively affected the show. The hibernating king of big air made this show watchable.

Pros: I'm starting to think that LY is one of those actors that can have chemistry with a pet rock. I have no idea how and why he or SC was attracted to WZ or FL in the first place other than her looks and optimism. I certainly wish for him to get better scripts because this was definitely not the one. I loved his character even when he was stubborn, I also really liked that even though he had to deal with a lot of trauma like his sister's accident and than his own, he never gave up on his dream to return to snowboarding. The cutest couple was his sister SS and DD; they melted your heart because he would never leave her side even if she stayed in the wheelchair for life. The other characters like the FL's bestie, his snowboarding crew, goofy as they were, they made things real. His parents and even the 3rd wheel once he got over his delusion, was a good friend to have. And FL's studio girls including SS. Even though this wasn't meant to be a snowboarding documentary, it still had a lot of those aspects in it. I wish it had more. Also a lot of the comedy was well placed.

The scenery was gorgeous and I think they mentioned that they traveled to 8 places to film in 4 months which is pretty nuts but worth those stunning views and shots. The FL here was optimistic, hardworking, and the cheerleader as well as very protective of the people she cared for. She gave people second chances that didn't deserve it. I did like how at the end the guy who originally made the mistake of following asswipe boss by making false claims, came clean publicly and left the company and everyone else pretty much walked out with him.

I loved the World Cup event even though a lot was obviously done by AI and actual professionals and Olympians, wish we had more of that. For a show that had a lot to do with snowboarding, what we did see though great and cool, wasn't that much. But tying that in with the proposal fails until it finally worked was great and having all of his friends, sister, and her bestie there was great.

Cons: My greatest problem with this series other than the cut episodes and what they had to shove into the ending because of that, making for many whiplash moments and unnecessary things happening, was the FL. WZ was a walking contradiction. She acted and spoke like a toddler for most of the series which made it hard to connect with her. We knew that she lived a sheltered life due to her over controlling parents but even though she was optimistic in solving problems, she kept getting herself into situations that were unlike what she appeared moments before. The gibberish that came out of her mouth was not understandable if it wasn't for the subtitles. Her most used phrase in the entire series was "what do you mean?" It was like she couldn't understand the simplest things being said or happening around her. Her best friend had to spell it out for her as if she was impaired or something.

The breakup; noble idiocy arc wouldn't even had to happen if she had just told him what she told him only several episodes later when they reconciled. I was aghast at just how oblivious she was to his heartache and pain standing just feet from him while she's just blabbering on about herself and how happy she is. Meanwhile, this man has had his heart broken and ripped to shreds by how her parents treated him, as if he was less than. And she was present during a lot of those conversations? Did she think her parents ripping into him for his middle class life was normal? Then she had the balls to be angry at him for breaking up with her even when she didn't understand anything. Like what even? Are you 25 or 3? At any time, she could have reached out to him but nope, she waited until they met again and he started his usual taking care of her before she spoke up. This man had to play coach, babysitter, boyfriend, bodyguard, etc for what essentially amounted to a kid. Someone, who forget snowboarding, couldn't learn much else and always made everything someone was trying to show or teach her a total chore, throwing tantrums (as the doctor appropriately said when she got hurt on a slope she was forbidden by him to go on).

Personally, it was very creepy to me when even when they got back together, she still called him "Shifu" or Master. Like girl this is your boyfriend, he's got a name, use it. It was also very weird that though she had her own copyright and pen name stolen by a false contract, she didn't fight for that until after the asswipe went after her new work that didn't have anything to do with the company. That's when she got a lawyer and everything. Why not do it before? Why not talk to Manman before that way? You could have saved a lot of people, yourself included a lot of time and problems.

Her parents whiplash from what they said and did to supportive parents that only care about their daughter's happiness was a plot hole a mile deep and had to do with the cut episodes, so I'll leave that there.

Esther will be Esther. But seeing her in MJTY blew my mind because I'd been avoiding her dramas due to that voice where people will argue is real or not; that's not up to me. The fact that she was able to portray the FL in a GJM drama and do so effectively was eye opening for me. It made me hope that in the future she would take more of those types of roles because believe me, nothing about GJM's work says cute (even though at almost 30 all of that is creepy not cute), toddler sounding adult. This drama made me cringe every time she opened her mouth and they made her even cringier by making the character essentially an airhead that both ML and SFL called her out in person.

I personally believe this is a persona she created for herself and it's worked with fans as many famous people all over the world do that. I also got a little suspicious in their Hi6 episode together because there were times when she was talking and her voice was a lot lower than what we usually hear and once or twice she caught herself and quickly went up several octaves, so that lay more credence to my theory. But whatever it is, I hope she's not too late in typecasting herself in these types of roles and leaves them behind altogether. This series could have been a lot better and funnier if she and the writers/director made her less childlike. I do wish her the best.

Lastly, why was FL more often than not in granny wear or a combination of something a kid would wear and what her grandmother would? This is literally the 4th modern drama this year I'm seeing this. These stylists need to go back to school.

Would I recommend it? Honestly if it wasn't for LY, snowboarding and the supporting cast being so good, I would have probably dropped the drama. But I did give it the extra .5 for LY and his range of emotion. So I honestly can't tell you guys. This one hangs in the air for me.

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Luxurious Cinematography, CGI, and Costumes---Screenplay Sold Separately.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the fan subbers for doing this entire part for us. Without them, we'd still be waiting. They made it possible. I will be reviewing the parts separately as I don't want one to influence the other. I watched this series because Dilraba is one of the people I follow.

Pros: The only reason this drama is getting a higher score is because of the absolutely stunning cinematography, CGI, luxurious and richly colored costumes, and some of the OSTs. Production spared no expense there. The last time I saw a production even closely resemble this one was ELOD which also starred Dilraba. But this one clearly went full steam with the richness of each location and their gorgeous and bright colors.

While I liked Yunhe and her complexity as a character; I felt she had way more chemistry with Lin junior as I nicknamed him; the one she called older brother. His love and protection of her though falling short many times, was raw and real. I liked him more after I learned his secret and how much he wanted to save those who he cared about most including the entire Wanhua Valley. The man, whether he succeeds or fails in part 2 is already a hero in my book.

Other decent characters were Kong Ming for steadfastly standing on Chang Yi's side and helping him along the way. Head Immortal is a good antagonist and he's evil enough where while you can't stand him, you also understand he's a necessary evil. Can't say I liked old man wheelchair though he didn't need a wheelchair, but when he died and Lin junior was grieving; that was one of the few times in part 1 that tears came to my eyes. The man was a horrible ruler, father, etc and yet....there was always that yet. So a decent character.

Mediocre characters that were confusing and I'm not sure where to place them yet were the peacock that was released from underground, Li Shu, and San Yue; perhaps in part 2 they'll do better. So I'll leave them alone for now. Also immortal bodyguard Cheng Ye and the kid emperor were decent and I hope to see them evolve more as well.

Cons: When I wrote screenplay sold separately, I wasn't kidding. It was a mess. A zillion characters whose names you don't remember nor want to. Every single relationship between every couple was essentially sadomasochistic. Lies, betrayal, secrets kept, scheming to either harm or protect which 9 times out of 10 backfired. I didn't know if I was coming or going. The character Chang Yi didn't offer much; it was disappointing. I didn't feel his chemistry with Yunhe was beyond friendship that was clumped together haphazardly out of thin air. He always looked either constipated or stoned; I hope part 2 shows something more from him.

The annoying butterfly maid drove me batty. In the first 5 episodes, she had more lines and screen time then the leads. And she would yammer nonstop. I legit ffw when she would start. Also the other big bad was Shunde? Really? All she did was throw her weight around and whine. Yes, she's vicious and ruthless but I couldn't take her seriously as a proper villain when she acted like a drama queen and diva 99% of the time. Gorgeous costumes on her but her character was just roll-your-eyes worthy at best.

I don't remember any of the others because they were really that forgettable. It wasn't just one plot with maybe 2 subplots but about 76 of them all running amok where I legit felt like I was in the twilight zone. What the heck were these writers thinking? Just focus on a few things maybe from a few angles but don't confuse the audience with a zillion failed love stories and doomsday scenarios. The best way to describe it was a luxurious mess.

Would I recommend it? If you're a diehard Reba fan, then of course as she embodies Yunhe well and the cinematography is beyond stunning. But in general this is for people who like busy plots with lots of different characters all going in some direction from center. In any case, decide for yourselves.

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My Most Anticipated Drama of the Year & It Landed!

What a journey! My goodness! In the 5 years since I fell into the cdrama rabbit hole, this is the first and only drama that I followed since the very first day of filming (primarily for TJR but was glad that 60% of the MJTY cast was in here too), through the grueling 5 month shoot, every day watching many of the scenes we saw being shot because unlike every other drama, it was like fans were welcome to film whatever they wanted as it was free advertising and no one cared about leaks. The multitude of costumes and that the wrap on set at the end of February to see it come to our screens in late October. It nearly got a perfect score if it wasn't for some writing and editing issues I had. This was my most anticipated drama of the year and boy did it land!

Pros: Lord, I don't even know where to begin. The CGI was phenomenal and it never felt like a computer was doing the work instead of the actors. The gorgeous costumes and sets. I wonder if this was an S++ drama because of how expensive it looked and was. Favorite character was ZYC with ZYZ coming in close second. Both of them, be it their bickering or stronger than platinum bond were such dynamic characters. Both actors are still young and for one this is only his second series to air while the other has had several but both showed tremendous growth from what I had seen from them previously; the versatility was insane. The demon hunting bureau became a family stronger together than many you'd see in real life that had to go from case to case and from tragedy to tragedy as they were being set up by asswipe camp and ZYZ's former best friend who was ridiculously misguided but gained his redemption at the end. BJ was a riot though all the shrieking did kind of get annoying after a while; that said when he was possessed by LL until nearly the end, you missed the kid. PSJ and her puppet brother were also indispensable to the team as was cheesy mountain God YL; he and BJ made a great pair. I have never seen CX act before and felt she gave a strong performance here. WX had her strong moments, being the common sense voice in the group/family and scenes of sisterhood and encouragement with PSJ.

When this thing was filmed, none of us who followed the actors—day in and day out—knew that it would have any comedy in it (it was an original IP after all) so were totally caught off guard with the first episode and onwards. It wasn't a lot but it certainly made for some interesting situations especially when BJ yanked ZYC's hair repeatedly and the sound effects, that part we actually saw filmed as in real life TJR and Lester are really close since their MJTY days and Lester turning 13 on set plus going through puberty, it made for some really funny scenes both BTS and on screen because whether in real life or not Lester/BJ clung to TJR/ZYC like crazy gorilla glue lol! One of those yanks off screen nearly pulled TJR's wig off; it became a DY masterpiece. I'm personally extremely proud of TJR as new and green as he is to show business; with now only 2 series out, 3 filmed and currently working on a 4th. He couldn't play that character any different or better; it’s mind-boggling that he only debuted last year.

While filming, the entire cast including the guests had to perform a certain dance in various locations and we were puzzled about how it would be used; we counted over 30 by the time filming ended. They even filmed one in the snow which was followed by an epic snowball fight that had crew joining in and GJM being lambasted by everyone as he tried rather unsuccessfully to get away. It seemed the cast was giving him payback for the extreme dieting and hours of work. That was made into an MV but when this thing premiered we realized that the dances were edited in a way to become our ending credits that would change every few episodes. It was quite smart and resourceful; because the show was emotionally heavy and the credits added that light and warm touch. So it became a wonderful combination.

All of the supporting cast were great as were the guests. So many wonderful characters to show that not all demons were inherently evil; some were born with fates they didn't want like ZYZ and Fei. And that humans could be far worse like leader of asswipe camp. He became immortal and so many had to sacrifice so much to take him down especially BJ. Losing YL and BJ were the hardest for me; I legit cried. ZYZ, you were prepared, still hard though there's hope for him returning someday. Maybe one of the characters could go into the sundial and wait until he cultivates into human form again, like WX did with the tree.

All of the OSTs and BGMs were amazing but my number one liquid fire favorite was by LYN. It was his first time doing this genre of hip hop/rock and it absolutely blew my mind. I have it and a few others now in my Spotify OST list. Maybe it's because I followed this show from the beginning but I feel like when it ended (after the special episode), it took a part of me with it. Like I'm extremely satisfied but wish we were with our characters longer.

Cons: Though this section is small, unfortunately it still was there. I absolutely did not like how the majority of the character of WX was written; (this is no reflection on the actress at all; only about the writing of the character) I don't know why GJM decided to make her so one dimensional. She spent many of her scenes for 34 episodes crying and yelling either for ZYZ or ZYC. The writing of this character reminded me of her character in MLC due to the weepiness of it, though there she at least talked and acted tougher and carried a sword. Everyone else who cried which they did often given the amount of tragedy in this had a lot of depth and you felt the weight of their tears but with her it became almost a waiting game of when will she start per episode or numerous times per episode. Even in the end, it threw a heavily emotional scene off; like stop already, do and say something else, please! So the writing threw a monkey wrench into this whole character for an actress who could handle being complex and should have been allowed to showcase that. Also could have had the good guys not lose so much when it came to asswipe camp's strategies. Felt like they were given the upper hand way too much as opposed to the push and pull that would have felt more appropriate.

Editing was off as some scenes came together very suddenly and you didn't understand how this person was there or why. Or wait did she cough up blood? When did that happen? I felt like many scenes were cut altogether which was kind of weird since the episode count actually went up and there was an extra episode to boot. It being a fantasy drama, suspension of disbelief had to be deployed a bit especially when our group was so obviously spied on and they didn't realize it at all or some characters disappeared without a trace and we didn't know what happened to them. But that's it.

Would I recommend it? 100% would! This show delivered in so many ways. The cons were nothing in comparison to the pros; writing and editing but the richness of the story, music, locations, costumes, and the absolutely phenomenal performances by the actors should give you a very satisfactory experience.

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