HOP2020

Thanks so much for the info. I suspected the voice sounded similar, but the lips didn't match the dubbing in the Eps. 1-40 it felt weird. But, in 40.5, the voices matched the lip movement.

Now, I understand what AvenueX meant by the last battle being so unnecessary, and these 5 minutes could have been included in Ep.40.

All in all, it is a good drama if you are not picky with attention to detail. There are some mind-boggling plot holes here and there.

Another thing is that their actual voice is so much better (Ep. 40.5 extra), so the filmmakers should have used it. SMH at C-drama and its weird and off-putting film-making practices.

I do hope they learn how to end dramas properly. There is no need for all the dramatic and open-ended endings. It's uncalled for. It means they need to learn how to tell a story.

However, she mentions it earlier in the episodes to her brother, which is why her brother doesn't challenge her face-to-face (the Emperor).
In the earlier episodes, she alluded to all the sacrifices she made as a hostage, which secured her brother's throne. Essentially, her brother got the throne because she was taken as the kingdom hostage.

Okay, I will be reducing my initial rating from 9.5/10 to 9/10. I felt something was missing by the time the curtain fell on the drama. Also, I did not like that they didn't show Nan Ya in the events that took place 6 years later or any of his other friends. They placed too much emphasis on the police characters. Then they should have made them the main leads, instead of those described as leads. phew!
All the same, it is a great C-drama which shows China's progress in modern drama production.

It is understandable. Partly because he still likes Nan Ya and partly, because of guilt of him not doing more to help her when they were teenagers. He also feels even more guilty learning he technically was the cause of her first assault (if he hadn't invited her out, her useless step-brother would not have had the chance).

Ok, I am just here to rant about this freaking awesome series. I just finished Ep.15 and am on the edge of my seat. I am giving it a 9.5 now and if they carry on like this and round it off nicely, this will be one of my 10/10 rating C-drama. Great cast and cinematography right here. Great work to the cast and crew so far!

No. I meant attempt to kill them as children. She succeeded with FL’s older brother.

True. However, greed isn't enough to kill grandkids. The whole premise makes no logical sense. A detailed background about her would have sufficed instead of just focusing all the story on the main lead.

So, why did she hate the family so damn much? It wasn't stated or clarified. I waited and waited until the show just ended. It seemed the writer just wanted to create a super villain just for the sake of it.

Looks like the last 3 episodes were drama for the sake of drama. Also, it wasn't properly explained why that woman villain had so much hate for the Hong family to go as far as trying to kill kids. I mean, she not being treated well by the Chairman's children isn't enough reason to have such hate. Also, I thought he was probably her son's father or maybe the family was responsible for her jail time, but none of that was mentioned. So, they made her super evil to create drama. SMH! Even the son's obsession was over-exaggerated for drama's sake. Phew! I was emotionally invested just to be let down (all the tears I shredded were for this???) Anyway, I am glad it has ended.

Very grown-up series. I enjoyed it even with its flaws. I love when C-dramas aren’t just idol based with grown characters acting like teenagers. Thanks to Avenuex for the recommendation. In as much as I like C-dramas that are costume based, good modern dramas are very useful in understanding and improving Chinese language.
Another good thing about this drama is it focused on the female characters and they remained the focus until the end. Not making it all about romance. It’s nice they were able to stick to their theme.

True. It felt like someone just wanted to hire her and conjured up some sense as a storyline for her.

After entertaining me for 11 episodes, it didn’t do justice with the last episode. They should have told more of the story and less on special effects 🤣

Finally finished this. A 10 for me! Regardless of whatever little loopholes it had, it’s worth an absolute 10 😀. Beautiful slice of life drama. It didn’t even show perfection. The world isn’t a perfect or fair place. Example: (little spoiler)




I liked how they suddenly didn’t make Sheng Yao have low marks just to prove the 5 students improved. He still surpassed all of them showing someone who’s smart, will always be smart regardless. And the world isn’t perfect or fair.

Also the divorce, & no relationship showed that childhood sweetheart doesn’t mean you have to be together permanently or even actually get together.

Just halfway through the last episode (Ep.30) and I’m crying so much. The anxiety I had during the results waiting. Oh my! What a drama.

Yes, I follow her too. I acknowledge it’s her channel, it was I mentioned human bias playing a role sometimes in her reviews. I agree! We always need to checkout dramas ourselves then form our own opinion 😊

Exactly! The CGI is even better than expected (with how she described it, I had low expectations). I find her inconsistent too. But, I guess humans are ultimately ruled by their bias. They put quite a bit of thought to the drama.

I still felt she had a connection with LBFD, because how she praised it and then demonised other dramas with even better acting and cinematography was very contradicting.

I’m actually taken aback by this drama. I love the suspense and mystery. I also just kept clicking the next button just to find out what happened. It’s really interesting.

I heard it first from Avenuex. Although she was criticising the CGI. But I actually find it pretty good. It’s a whole lot better than other dramas she would praise the CGI (hint: Love between Fairy and Devil 🤭).

Bonus point: good actors and Huang Xuan is fantastic as usual.

I would check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.

The actress playing Cheng YuShan has really improved acting wise. I couldn’t stand her in the drama, Perfect and Casual. But, I realised that drama was in 2020 and she was so much younger (about 20/21 years then).
She embodies the character she plays here so well. Maybe because this is also a much more serious role and doesn’t need to act all cutesy.