Finally completed. What a ride for our main leads (and for the audience!). Absolutely loved this series - what a fantastic cast! Excellent writing, no loose ends and every character was believable - their actions, intentions, decisions, vulnerabilities were very consistent. Some scenes were so emotionally powerful, they really hit hard. I rooted for ML and FL all the way through. Their love for each other was deep and whilst some may criticize their decisions and break down in communication, no relationship is perfect and what they experienced in their marriage is a realistic portrayal of trials in many relationships. Overall, this was a fantastic watch and I hope to see more dramas of this quality.
The best way to watch this drama is to binge it. It’s so engaging and less stressful for some reason. The angst…
Can see why they put a photo of their happy family in the end early on - People need to know theres’s light at the end of the this torturous tunnel to keep watching!
I keep seeing people blaming FTY for putting him on that "road" and now wanting them to stop, but it's…
I agree. She was only 18/19 at the time, thinking only how to survive and what she has been taught all her life from grandma is to rise up in social status. So her behaviour is consistent with character. And if she didn’t send them on that road, what story would there be to tell. She matured regretted that decision but they are no longer able to back out. When I look back in her earlier episodes, she was so much more innocent, naive and inexperienced. I’ve never watched FL before this, and have been wowed by her portrayal of the character. I’m glad she’s not ‘perfect’ and ‘invincible’ (and ML for that matter). They’ve both done a stellar job at portraying two characters trying to survive, thrive and adapt whilst learning about politics and struggling with their own principles.
Right now, I’m watching episode 24, and I didn’t expect to see ML like that. I wish they hadn’t included…
Whilst it may be uncomfortable watching, it is consistent with his experiences of trauma and his character before FL arrived. You can see the conflict within ML which isn’t easily resolved but healing is happening. He has lived in survival mode for 15 years and at a time when domineering males was the culture so it’s not surprising his character behaved that way but his guilt afterwards towards FL is a reflection of values from our current times. So I do feel Ryan C has portrayed his character really well and given it the depth that embodies both cultures from the past and present. Just my take.
This drama has made me a fan of Arthur Chen. I think period drama suits him.
There’s defo something quite distinctive about his acting. I like his style. His characters always seem to have different shades which he portrays really well.
A generous 7. As much as I love both leads the story telling just wasn’t there - they threw in a bunch of tropes to try to make it a blockbuster. I just didn’t feel it. The cast did a good job with what was handed to them.
Congrats to Ryan Cheng for gaining almost 500.000 new followers 👏🏻🥳💕Fans complimented him for perfectly…
🥳 Been following him since a Familiar Stranger. Glad his talent has been recognised. He stole the show in Journey to you and had a fun cameo in Fangs of Fortune also. Pleased for him.
This exceeded expectations. A little rushed at the end. I would have loved to see WS to return from war with his army so we could take in all the raw emotions from the build up: joy from seeing his new born for the first time, grief from losing his beloved general , pride for his cousin who came back to the rescuer etc. This followed by the epilogue would have been closure for me. But an enjoyable watch anyhow.
I am just re-watching whilst waiting, the music is great and a love how they slide in the lighter more amusing…
Also love how consistent all the characters have been throughout the show, especially WS. His character growth was so gradual but we still saw flashes of his ruthlessness and commanding presence he had from the beginning when the situation brought it out. Same with big Qiao, although I’m not a fan of her decisions and behavior, both were consistent with her character and take on life from the start. Great script writing.
All the one star reviews on douban are about ML looks - they’re not even critical reviews about the drama itself annoyingly. But I briefly watched an interview with ML and I think he mentioned something about being able to distinguish between constructive feedback and hate, and those hates no longer mean anything to him. Thank goodness.
Can’t tell who is who in the trailer.