Maheshiky

Tbh I don’t get the hype about this series. I felt that the series that could have been wrapped up into around 45 episodes were dragged to 54. Because some scenes were dragged and I felt as if some scenes were even repeated. Some important scenes were missing as well. I also personally didn’t like the fact that female characters were given almost no screen time.

Other than that the costumes and the character development of male characters were pretty darn good. Also acting is also pretty good. Loved the fighting and the martial art scenes though there were very handful.

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Overall good viewing experience but a story with many loopholes

Alright, let me start with the stuff I actually liked about this story. First off, the music was fire. The OST Burning Petals blew me away the first time I heard it — it had this East Asian vibe, almost like something you’d hear from India or Sri Lanka. I’ve honestly never heard a Korean series use music that heavy and emotional, with those deep vibratos and sliding notes. Since I grew up around East Asian music, it hit me hard every time it played in the background. It really pulled me into the emotional scenes.

The casting was also spot on. Lee Jae Wook just has that aura about him, and Jo Bo-ah was super versatile. Her crying scenes? Damn, she nailed them — they felt so raw and real.

Now, onto the stuff that bugged me. The writers totally skipped giving us the villains’ backstories, so we never really understood what made them tick. And some of the characters were just… dumb. The sister and older brother had no martial skills, so you’d think they’d at least be smart and strategic, but nope. Only Hongrang managed to balance fighting skills with some actual thinking. Like seriously, how do you not realize the consequences of walking around unarmed when people are literally chasing you? And don’t even get me started on Jae-Yi’s escape attempt — broad daylight, by ship? Girl, that’s just asking for trouble. She ended up putting a bunch of lives at risk because she couldn’t plan properly.

And the older brother’s storyline? Total letdown. He started off as the calm, grounded one who was a real source of comfort for Jae-Yi, but then they flipped him into a villain once Hongrang showed up. It’s the same tired trope you see in so many Korean and Chinese dramas — the love triangle where the “good guy” gets turned bad, never gets a real chance, and is dragged along until the end with no satisfying resolution. Honestly, it’s played out and boring at this point.

And that wedding scene… seriously, what were those two brothers even doing? These guys were ready to throw their lives away at every other moment, but when it came to actually saving their sister, they didn’t have a solid plan until the very end? Like, come on. And did they really think nobody would figure out their scheme with the third wife? Even I saw that twist coming a mile away.

Also, what's with the little brother seeing snow man in his dream and the opening scene where he ran into Snow man? That explanation was never given.

Also, not gonna lie, I wasn’t feeling the whole “sister catching feelings for Hongrang” bit. Especially when she wasn’t even sure if he was her real brother or some imposter. That was just… weird.

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Literally a LONGEST promise!

Ok this is drama really loved up to its name. The LONGEST promise ever. The drama was crazy long and boring to me. I started watching this for XZ as most did. But I regretted starting it from 3rd episode on and I'm not someone to leave series half way. So i forced myself to watch the rest. Thankfully I found a new obsession. Alan Feng. He was the sole reason why I watched the rest. And they did him very dirty in the end. The merfork never had a day in the series where he was happy.

Anyway the movie was a slow burn until 35th episode. I wish the story was as eventful from the beginning but they cramped up everything that was supposed to be spanned out over 40 episodes in the last 5 episodes. I was annoyed at the FL for her hyperactive and intrusive nature where she is disturbing the ML and has her nose in everyone's business from the beginning. But her character became more tolerable finally when she had a purpose other than chase after her master.

The costumes and some of the CGIs were very nice to watch. But in some parts of the story it was very obvious that it was greenscreen. It kinda gave me an ick. Also what's up with the subplots and characters popping up at random part of the story like the ice clan, Ruyi and Sumo. I felt like the story line was all over the place and was not consistent for most characters.

Again all the characters went through all these for no one to end up happy. It was emotionally taxing to watch this drama and I won't recommend this to anyone.

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The screenwriters, directors and actors ate! and left NO crumbs!!!

This series was so well executed and it had my full attention from the start to end. I rewatched certain scenes several times, just to make sure I missed no elements because it was literally like putting together puzzle pieces to figure out what is each character's next move and still you would be surprised because it's nowhere near what you guessed. At times i wondered how the writers didn't get confused and lost when writing this plot. There were twists and turns in every episode. And still in this chaos the series didn't lose my focus one bit. This is definitely not one of your light-hearted series you can watch to sit back and relax. But that was the fun in LOZH.

And man, you could trust no one in this series. everyone had their own goal they were trying to accomplish. everyone in the story had an amazing story line. At one point I convinced myself that the Marquis was actually a good guy. That is how complex the characters were. And I love how the ML is finally not the most physically or spiritually gifted and is instead relies on his intelligence and strategy. Also the FL rocks. In this story she is the one with the badass moves and sword skills which she uses to protect her man. We love a strong FL. ZH had around him truly supportive and loyal couple of friends even though everyone else in the story were treacherous.

And the master has my heart. Shifu is the best and I cried when he died at the gate for ZH's safety. Oh that was such a selfless act. This story had everything. Everything good. Would 100% recommend to anyone. This is actually in the top 3 of the c-dramas for me. I would also re-watch once my mind settles down :)

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Prolly one of the best dramas with best casting ever!

I enjoyed the first season. No don’ doubt about that. But I lived the second. It’s been almost a month since the last episode aired and I still can’t seem to move on. AOS part 2 posts still appear on my social media explore pages and I keep going back to Netflix to re-watch certain parts of the episode.

What really captivated the fan base? I think it’s the casting of the series. While I loved Jun Somin’s acting skills, I loved the energy and the vibe Go Young Jung brought to the set. She is such a heaven made pairing with Lee Jae Wook. They have the best chemistry. So did with other actors. Like the crown Prince, Park Gangu, Jin Cho Young, Yul. And even between lord Park and manservant Kim 🥹. They were all great and gave their 100%.

I’m just sad that it ended in just 10 episodes. Would have been great if there were around another two episodes as I felt like the part two episodes were too rushed. The story like got a bit complicated towards the latter part but it kept us on the edge and gave us a lot to think about! I will definitely recommend this to everyone as I’ve already got alot of my friends to watch it 😅.

I hope to see Jae Wook and Young Jung be casted together again. I’m not the type to think this, but they have crazy chemistry! Love you guys, everyone from AOS cast! 🫶🏽

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