This review may contain spoilers
So Good at First, Then a Bit Messy
The cinematography, chemistry, pacing, story (up to episode 20-ish), everything is top-notch. Watching this drama really made me excited for what comes next, and I was always eagerly waiting for new episodes. The female and male leads are also really good-looking. The CGI is just okay.
But in the later episodes, the story kinda goes downhill. There are a lot of plot holes, and many things are left unexplained. I even ended up reading the novel because I wanted answers, and it turns out they changed a lot of things in the drama. Maybe it’s because they had to fit everything into 40 episodes, but it ends up feeling incomplete.
In the novel, the main “traitor” is actually Fan Changyu’s maternal grandfather. Her father marries into her mother’s family and is also involved in the grandfather’s betrayal. But her mother still stays with him despite that, which makes Fan Changyu believe her father is innocent.
Meanwhile, in the drama, her father is the main “traitor”, and she believes he’s innocent because of how her parents act toward each other. Like??? Love can be blind, and maybe her mother is just a lovesick fool. The novel makes a lot more sense.
When Xie Zheng finds out that Fan Changyu is the traitor’s daughter, he just accepts it. In the novel, you can really feel his inner turmoil, and he even tries to stay away from her.
Another thing I didn’t like in the drama is the lashing scene. It was carried out by Wen Yan. He even had the audacity to point fingers at Fan Changyu’s father, while knowing he’s the real reason why everything happened. In the novel the punishment was carried out by a retainer of the Xie family under Xie Zheng’s orders. He punished himself first before getting back together with Fan Changyu.
And the final battle… that’s it?? It only lasts like 10 minutes. They also did Fan Changyu dirty. She actually fights in the novel, unlike in the drama.
Fan Changyu was adopted by Grand Tutor Tao to elevate her background, and they even have a fight because of this. But after they return to the capital, somehow it’s never mentioned?
After the final battle, General Meng was given a title. But who is he? Why is he relevant? If I didn’t read the novel, I wouldn’t know why.
There are a lot more plot holes and things I dislike, but I’m too lazy to list them all. It’s such a pity they didn’t cut down Fan Changyu’s gang or the second couple’s screen time to fix these issues.
Despite all that, it’s still a good drama, and I’d recommend it.
But in the later episodes, the story kinda goes downhill. There are a lot of plot holes, and many things are left unexplained. I even ended up reading the novel because I wanted answers, and it turns out they changed a lot of things in the drama. Maybe it’s because they had to fit everything into 40 episodes, but it ends up feeling incomplete.
In the novel, the main “traitor” is actually Fan Changyu’s maternal grandfather. Her father marries into her mother’s family and is also involved in the grandfather’s betrayal. But her mother still stays with him despite that, which makes Fan Changyu believe her father is innocent.
Meanwhile, in the drama, her father is the main “traitor”, and she believes he’s innocent because of how her parents act toward each other. Like??? Love can be blind, and maybe her mother is just a lovesick fool. The novel makes a lot more sense.
When Xie Zheng finds out that Fan Changyu is the traitor’s daughter, he just accepts it. In the novel, you can really feel his inner turmoil, and he even tries to stay away from her.
Another thing I didn’t like in the drama is the lashing scene. It was carried out by Wen Yan. He even had the audacity to point fingers at Fan Changyu’s father, while knowing he’s the real reason why everything happened. In the novel the punishment was carried out by a retainer of the Xie family under Xie Zheng’s orders. He punished himself first before getting back together with Fan Changyu.
And the final battle… that’s it?? It only lasts like 10 minutes. They also did Fan Changyu dirty. She actually fights in the novel, unlike in the drama.
Fan Changyu was adopted by Grand Tutor Tao to elevate her background, and they even have a fight because of this. But after they return to the capital, somehow it’s never mentioned?
After the final battle, General Meng was given a title. But who is he? Why is he relevant? If I didn’t read the novel, I wouldn’t know why.
There are a lot more plot holes and things I dislike, but I’m too lazy to list them all. It’s such a pity they didn’t cut down Fan Changyu’s gang or the second couple’s screen time to fix these issues.
Despite all that, it’s still a good drama, and I’d recommend it.
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