You can skip it!
Started off really strong but after the first few episodes, it spiralled so hard, I lost all interest and barely skimmed through the episodes. Loved the fighting scenes from the start but as the story progresses we see the main leads playing house, which would be fine to an extent, but so many irrelevant side characters like the female doctor and those child proteges, which were probably there just to complete the episode count! Didn’t care for them especially since they are ultimately just written off. The emperor was nice breath of fresh air, and while not a great father per se, he was well written so we understand his motifs! But the lame way he’s killed off, it’s hard to believe that he was the same man who fought for and built a whole country and established him the ruler.The princess gave me so much second hand embarrassment but while there is some character development, she’s still confusing towards the end! The emperor of Jinxu is shown as a prodigal and debauch man but you kind of grow to like him too!
The whole thing with the Shadow league, or whatever don’t care, too contrived, again just to increase the episode count. Could not care less about it!
And when the ML almost dies, every episode there’s something that can goes wrong with his treatment, I was rolling my eyes towards the end of that. I can only care too much and I stopped doing that!
And so many villains, barely anyone had the gravitas to be one that I could take seriously. The Prime Minister was a strong contender but he was killed quite a lot of episodes before the end. If he were to be the final villain, would add more weight to the story.
The Prince of Zennan, the main villain, every episode we are fed new things to highlight how obnoxious he is and the hero is such a good guy, but again when you try too hard, it rarely lands. He wasn’t a villain you could respect either, and carries such a weird love/ ownership of the FL, who he actually almost killed! Like the actions don’t match the love you seem to have!
The 3rd villain, Marquis and the son; while the son may be driven by jealousy, it doesn’t make sense the Marquis who’s a devout follower of the king, will change sides so abruptly, especially after episodes of trying to prove his faithfulness to the kind! No man has such a sudden change of heart, especially something with very strong values!
The drama with the king’s illness was also so dragged, I don’t understand the purpose!
The show had too much potential but wasted due to poor writing and a story all over the place.
I think the high ratings are just due to the ML’s popularity and the romance but personally no romance can save a bad story and writing.
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This was fun but it started dragging towards the end after the Marquis died! Fast forwarded towards the end, the writing couldn’t have been better there!Acting by the ML, Marquis and Shifu was amazing. The initial half was too gory and the ML relied heavily on luck instead of brains there. Towards the middle, it was really amazing with the ML actually using his brain for revenge. But the last 6-7 episodes introduced too many characters and plot twists, some of which were really contrived that it got hard to watch. Over all good, but could have been amazing with better writing. The FL had amazing fighting scenes but otherwise didn’t much care for her.
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Exceptional to watch
This was 10/10! Turely exceptional. For once an actually smart MC unlike dramas in general where characters are only smart on paper but we never get to see that in action!Female lead, Nihuang, and the other strong female character Xia Dong, perfectly written! This is how you write strong female characters. Another notable figure was definitely Prince Jing’s mother, such a smart character and so graceful! Meng was also so fun and refreshing!
Even the antagonists held their own: every actor did a stellar job, all backed by some amazing storytelling! Whoever wrote this, crafted magic, no denying that! Since it’s a strategic show, it does take a minute to build up the world and characters but once you get there, you’re sucked right in!
Special shoutout to the kings rock collection 😂
And you know never to invite MC to your birthday: you will be left with emotional trauma.
And who is doing the choreography for action scenes? The fighting scenes are always shot so on point in C-drama.
Loved it!
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Perfection
This show elicited some strong emotions from me, that a show hasn’t done in a while! Im not generally keen on science fiction but this show did the whole thing right!The music, OST is just stellar. It makes you feel all the feels, even for someone like me who doesn’t speak or understand Korean. But this is what good music should be, transcending language barriers.
The acting; just outstanding and the main cast, stellar. You could feel their emotions when they were on screen. Park Jae Young, a young detective who feels wronged by the police but out to avenge others, Jae Han, the righteous detective, standing for the voiceless and the female detective (Im losing her name) but you could definitely feel her change in personality from a novice, newbie to a great team leader in the current time frame. The trio was just amazing to watch on screen.
Everything was stellar! this had me invested from start to end! Season 2 has big shoes to fill, I hope it does its due. Looking forward to it.
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