This review may contain spoilers
A surprise!
Came across this without having one single clue about this drama before, just suibian trying. Lol. It was a nice surprise though. The plot makes sense, doesnt really stray much from main theme and the fact that it was only 18 episodes with only less than 30 mins each episode means that it progresses fast and able to capture my attention well. Maybe it drags a little towards the end during the force wedding alliance arc, but before that, i was able to marathon the first 14episodes in one sitting in a span on one night, thats how it can capture my attention. Main theme was of course revenge (with a pinch of romance), and it was all suitably dark revenge theme initially, however i was surprised they decided to go a little bit darker with the forced sexual act between the FL and SML. Not many dramas i usually watch did that, preferring to keep their FL pure and innocent commonly.
Seeing as this is a short drama, it’s understandable that the ML and FL was not that big name (or someones i usually heard of). Initially, i found the ML familiar (i thought it was the love child in Word of Honor or Man Man’s brother in Prisoner of Beauty at first, turns out i’ve probably seen him in The Starry Love before and just didnt take note of him much. Surprisingly, he acts well. Even though his face is quite babyface (i cant believe this boy is 27 yo!), surprisingly his acting is quite mature and he can carry the Prince Jing heir apparent (and later Prince Jing) title well. This is also my first drama of the FL. And yesss I was surprised as well with the way she acts, far surpassing even half of the FLs in full length dramas. Even though thin built like any other FL, but she was able to portray the might of a female general from start until the end, and her shifu persona as well. It was quite rare to see a younger prince falling in love with an older shifu (it was usually an older prince with a younger disciple kinda trope. Lol). Another worthy to mention character is Jiang Kui. This actress really carry the mad and silly killer but can be innocent and protective at the same time. I really enjoyed the Jiang Kui’s character.
Fight scenes are a feast to the eyes (at least, when you are coming from Youthful Glory). The sword clashes and the fighting choreo was fluid and convincing, something that is missing in YG. The costumes are also nice (especially the garb for the Prince Jing and other leads and monarch). I applaud the costumes designer, the costumes for Prince Jing makes him appear convincing as a prince even with his body built and babyface. Once again, a fail in YG. Goes to show that you just cant depend only on the leads’ handsome face to built a character, the costumes and the hairdo also play a role.
Ending is brief, but atleast it was a happy ending. Lol. Overall, it was a nice surprise watching this. Totally recommended.
Seeing as this is a short drama, it’s understandable that the ML and FL was not that big name (or someones i usually heard of). Initially, i found the ML familiar (i thought it was the love child in Word of Honor or Man Man’s brother in Prisoner of Beauty at first, turns out i’ve probably seen him in The Starry Love before and just didnt take note of him much. Surprisingly, he acts well. Even though his face is quite babyface (i cant believe this boy is 27 yo!), surprisingly his acting is quite mature and he can carry the Prince Jing heir apparent (and later Prince Jing) title well. This is also my first drama of the FL. And yesss I was surprised as well with the way she acts, far surpassing even half of the FLs in full length dramas. Even though thin built like any other FL, but she was able to portray the might of a female general from start until the end, and her shifu persona as well. It was quite rare to see a younger prince falling in love with an older shifu (it was usually an older prince with a younger disciple kinda trope. Lol). Another worthy to mention character is Jiang Kui. This actress really carry the mad and silly killer but can be innocent and protective at the same time. I really enjoyed the Jiang Kui’s character.
Fight scenes are a feast to the eyes (at least, when you are coming from Youthful Glory). The sword clashes and the fighting choreo was fluid and convincing, something that is missing in YG. The costumes are also nice (especially the garb for the Prince Jing and other leads and monarch). I applaud the costumes designer, the costumes for Prince Jing makes him appear convincing as a prince even with his body built and babyface. Once again, a fail in YG. Goes to show that you just cant depend only on the leads’ handsome face to built a character, the costumes and the hairdo also play a role.
Ending is brief, but atleast it was a happy ending. Lol. Overall, it was a nice surprise watching this. Totally recommended.
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