Even if you avoid transmigration, give this one a chance
I liked this more than I expected. My usual tendency is to avoid any sort of transmigration or rebirth stories. They just reek of Mary Sues and OP characters. This one was an exception to the general rule. Not totally revolutionary, but certainly a move in the right direction.
I especially liked the relationship between ML and FL. It wasn't the explosive sort. But subdued one where before being romantically involved they are friends/allies.
The only reason I'm saying this is because of characters like Xiahou Dan and Xie Yong'er. I loved them so much. They weren't perfect, faced inner turmoils and had layers to them. They weren't one-dimensional characters. And the actors pulled through. They revealed the characters' emotions, and it made me love them even more. They were written with intricacies, taking into note the reality of transmigration (if it was possible). I also loved Bei Shuo. Whenever they were on my screen, they had my attention. Especially with the side characters and their tiny funny antics.
Wang Churan is really pretty, and she certainly made Yu Wanyin adorable. But at times, I did feel she was extremely stiff. Especially during her crying scenes or in high-stakes emotional situations. I could just tell with her that the director told her to cry, scream, etc. Her character also wasn't layered. I don't know anything about her motivations. She felt quite one-dimensional to me when compared to characters such as Xiahou Dan or Xie Yong'er. Not OP though.
For the villains...they were just dumb. Part of the reason the 'heroes' won was because of the overwhelming incompetence of the villains. There were so many inconsistencies in the plans made by the protagonist that one could easily see through their subterfuge. But the writers deliberately, all of a sudden, made the so-called competent villains unable to see the holes.
On the point of villains, oh, how much I hated Xiahou Bo/Prince Duan. When he got his compunction, I cheered (Episode 30). Kudos to the actor, though. His expressions and all the geezer act certainly made me want to punch him through the screen.
That being said, what I do think the drama should've been 30 episodes long instead of 32. The last two episodes felt like a long epilogue and lost my attention. The OSTs were also too loud and overused.
I especially liked the relationship between ML and FL. It wasn't the explosive sort. But subdued one where before being romantically involved they are friends/allies.
The only reason I'm saying this is because of characters like Xiahou Dan and Xie Yong'er. I loved them so much. They weren't perfect, faced inner turmoils and had layers to them. They weren't one-dimensional characters. And the actors pulled through. They revealed the characters' emotions, and it made me love them even more. They were written with intricacies, taking into note the reality of transmigration (if it was possible). I also loved Bei Shuo. Whenever they were on my screen, they had my attention. Especially with the side characters and their tiny funny antics.
Wang Churan is really pretty, and she certainly made Yu Wanyin adorable. But at times, I did feel she was extremely stiff. Especially during her crying scenes or in high-stakes emotional situations. I could just tell with her that the director told her to cry, scream, etc. Her character also wasn't layered. I don't know anything about her motivations. She felt quite one-dimensional to me when compared to characters such as Xiahou Dan or Xie Yong'er. Not OP though.
For the villains...they were just dumb. Part of the reason the 'heroes' won was because of the overwhelming incompetence of the villains. There were so many inconsistencies in the plans made by the protagonist that one could easily see through their subterfuge. But the writers deliberately, all of a sudden, made the so-called competent villains unable to see the holes.
On the point of villains, oh, how much I hated Xiahou Bo/Prince Duan. When he got his compunction, I cheered (Episode 30). Kudos to the actor, though. His expressions and all the geezer act certainly made me want to punch him through the screen.
That being said, what I do think the drama should've been 30 episodes long instead of 32. The last two episodes felt like a long epilogue and lost my attention. The OSTs were also too loud and overused.
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