Michael_0718

Venturing into the Eternal Darkness to claim their mortifying death | The Wedding Ceremony ㅠㅠ

"The end of this world is definitely not darkness" - Yang Yitan

First, I just wanna say that the climax and ending ruined the story for me. Like, how could they romanticize and try to rationalize the ending as if its the best? I am so sorry if I'm a sucker for happy endings but this dramas ending just wouldn't do it for me.

I don't know how else I can start this review aside from expressing my disappointments utowards this drama's climax and ending...

The story started great—promising, specially since they have Liu Shi Shi but dang! I did not expect them to pull off such ludicrous climax and such a tragic ending! It feels like the information and reminders they accumulated from travelling in the future didn't taught nor benefited them at all. A wasted opportunity—specially towards the Mask Group's team members.

I want to dissect its ridiculousness so let's start with the Climax a.k.a the ultimate battle (whic they've been preparing for eversince).

They came 20 years in the future, was warned of the demise they'll suffer but still ended up defeated in the most humiliating way. /Sighs/ Huh! Sorry not sorry but I wouldn't be this agitated if they've "at the very least" put up a decent and honorable fight, however, not even a bif of their confrontation with the Demon Fox was decent. They literally went there, got the most weak-willed members controlled to kill each other. What infuriates me the most are their "self-sacrificing" acts! Oh, please! I didn't watch this show to see such foolishly altruistic display from y'all.

- Zhang Zheng's death is unacceptable. I love Qing Muyuan but her being controlled was just so frustrating and disappointing. Her sacrificial death felt like a well deserved aftermath.

- Li Quzhou getting manipulated after being told that he was the only survivor of the Mask Group from 20 years in the future irks my patience very much! Did he even think it through to prepare?

- Li Zizai's death was completely wasted in all honesty. He went there to face their enemy but he ended up fighting his brother and even sacrificing himself to save him. I really hate sacrifices specially for those people who doesn't learn and undeserving. Life exchanging talisman my ASS!

- Yang Yitan... oh man! I don't even wanna speak about this person. I have immense disappointment towards him. I expected so much from him given that he was warned directly by Mu Mie and even went personally in the future. He doesn't only killed Wangquan Zui but also killed Deng Qi Yue. I just cannot with this character.

- Dongfang Qin Lan - Lastly, oh man finally! I got so much to say about this pampered kid. I adored her character halfway through but I still don't get how useless of a character she is. During the Yang Family's conflicts, she was told to stay on guard for any possible dangers. However, she only contacted Huai Zhu after almost everything had happened and it's too late for Mu Xiao Wu to even be rescued. Like, Girl? Where are you? What are you doing? Grr! Not to even mention how she performed after Huai Zhu let her escape. She can't just make anything done. An unreliable person.

×× Moving forward because I will be ranting non-stop if I don't. Lol! ××

Chemistry & Synergy of the casts is the greatest selling value of this drama for me. All the pairings have their own interesting stories and are all visually attractive. If only they're not a sucker for tragedy. Hayyss...

CGI, Colour Scheme and Costumes were all great too. I love how their costumes complemented each one of characters and I also appreciate how the CGI looks great all throughout. Special mention to the Masks worn by the Mask Group. Love them ♡ Except from Wangquan Hong Ye's... Well I gotta say that it has become his trademark which makes the show more fun to watch, so I will just give where the credit is due. Haha~ But hey! At least he got a beautiful and intricate one towards the end thanks to Huai Zhu.

Lastly, I wanna dedicate this part to Liu Shi Shi to appreciate how insanely attractive and incredible she is. ♡ This show is truly a flaunt of how effortlessly beautiful and amazing LSS. From her fluid exhibitions to her precise and flawless fighting choreographies. Hoping for her to star in more Wuxia and Xiaxia dramas.

P.S. I also want to commend Zhang Yunlong for his outstanding performance after the Mask Group was almost entirely obliterated. His acting and emotions greatly resonates as I can feel the excruciating pain and trauma he was going through after it all happened.

Story - 8.5, The build up was good and although I think they lack the cliché interactions, I feel like the leads "July 7th rendezvous" made up for it all. I would say that the direction leans towards maturity and being dependable storywise. The only unfortunate thing about this drama is how the climax was done and oh god, the ending!

Acting/Cast - 10, From the main leads, to the supporting roles and even down to the guest roles were all satisfying! A star-studded show (I mean they have Neo Hou and Peng Xiaoran in it). Let's not even talk about the acting here, they delivered and nailed it.

Music - 10, I really love the songs as it triggrts the emotions necessary for the scenes they're played on. Songs used are all beautiful and melancholic. Just thinking of it is making me visualize LSS's carefree and dying scene— Which is brutal as I am imagining them both at the same time. Huhu

Rewatch Value - 8.0, I don't think I can watch this again as a whole. But watching LSS's part is of course, a non-argumentative for me. She made me reconsider on giving this considerably high rating.

Overall - 9.0, Although I detest the climax, I would still say that I enjoyed the story and the journey they went through. I even grown to understand the ending and why it was necessary for them to go all through that extreme anguish. A drama in all honesty if you do not consider how foolish the climax was written.

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Braving the cold and winning thru the calamities of life to find a HOME | TRUST above eveything else

Is it really that hard, exhausting and heartbreaking to find a home?

I feel so bad for Zhuang Hanyan for having to suffer all those traumatic and inhumane experiences growing up; only to experience a more intensified and horrifying events after she went back "home" when all these times, going back means so much to her as it gives her hope to finally feel the warmth and comfort of a family she never really got to experience growing up.

This drama seriously deserved the popularity, all the praises and everything it received. I was utterly speechless on how grave the situation and all the occurences was on the 1st episode and I thought it was just an opening act of how crazy this drama is but soon it shall be lighter...but man! How wrong was I for thinking that way. They placed the intensity and chilling aura on top and never really tried to lower it down even once! Even those romantic and seemingly lighthearted scenes always ended up on a terrifying comfrontation I never really expected at all.

Consisteny on this drama is top-notch. What's more astonishing is their decision to keep the drama's vibe grim and dreadful till the very end! I say, the scriptwriters deserves a whole round of applause for this impressive masterpiece. From ZHYs remarkable first appearance infront of the Zhuang Mansion, to how she stirred some troubles to see everyone's true color and intension towards her really made me realize that she shouldn't be underistimated in any way.

I mean, she should've been buffled that the one who welcomed her was her father's consort whose kindness felt suspiciously dangerous but no she was not! Not to mention the treatment she received from her Mother and Grandmother during her first week on the household—getting refused to meet them + the blatant words her Mother threw at her were like daggers piercing-through-deeper each moment. The emotional burden and torment must have been tough but she carried on and was still able to fend for herself every now and then. Although she fails oftentimes to see through the schemes, what I like about her is that she was always ready for a counter-attack. And at the end of the day, those experiences served as a good reminder that she shouldn't be complacent and should always be alert as the danger lurks around her 24/7.

Additionally, Zhuang Hanyan never schemed to harm her family despite the countless betrayals from them—all she wanted was to give them a warning, a lesson. So It really must be painful for her to see them attack her with all their might to the expense of her life.

"Saying the softest words while doing the doing the most ruthless things." ZHY to ZSY.

The line above etched in my mind for how accurate it was. I say, a well deserved spotlight goes to Zhuang Shiyang (Hanyan's father) for how cunning, cruel, manipulative and ingeniously vile he is. Man should win the MVP & Best in Scheming Award for how seemless his plans were and how great he was in feigning ignorance and portraying this kindest-man-ever role while seemlessly manipulating eveything in the shadows. Man was a shit of a husband and would pass as the shittiest beyond salvation Father that I have ever known in my entire drama watching journey in this lifetime. A malevolent and an evil incarnate person—Purely diabolical! The type of person who doesn't deserve to be a Husband, more so a father. He deserved to be unlove and to suffrt the most painful death there is.

Chemistry between our main leads are actually good. I love how both of them sought one another not for love but for a different purpose yet still ended up together. I also like how it's the male lead who ended up helplessly in love and is always in agony for every expected yet unexpected betrayal from Hanyan. He love her already but still did all the scheming so he's expecting her to be mad but never really expect her to go as far as try killing him every single time. This man is easy but at the same time quite complicated to love. So I was really glad when they started to truly help each other at the end. Specially after Ruan Xi Wen told Hanyan that it is not love and affection that's important in a relationship but TRUST! So it feels nice and fulfilling to witness that they've finally become a couple who have developed mutual understanding and trust towards each other.

Lastly, the trademark of this drama should have been blood-stained Hanfu's. Althrough out the drama, what truly stood out to me are the Hanfu's who's stained by blood—specially Zhou Ruyin's when she was cleaning her son's (Zhuang Yu Chi) blood, Zhuang Shiyang when he stabbed Ruan Xiwen and Yuwen Chang'an and Ruan Xiwen's during their wedding banquet.

Talking about the Wedding Banquet (that turned into the Last Supper) surely is the most heartbreaking scene of this drama. The bittersweet taste still lingers in my mouth and I still can't shake off this disappointment and heavy feeling off my heart everytime I am reminded of how they ended up together but shortly aftet had to experience the most painful and traumatizing way of death (Night of their wedding day). They surely would've been a wonderful couple for sure. Too bad we were not given the liberty to witness it, and I curse Zhuang Shiyang to death for that.

"That day, the warmth I just gained in my life turned into a cold corpse once again." - Zhuang Hanyan's statement witnessing her mother dying in her own arms...

Story - 10, An emotional roller coaster than never never tried to keep the intensity and momentum down a bit the moment it started on Ep 1. The emotion on this drama may seem light but is truly heartbreaking. Every scenes are filled with words and actions meant to kill physically but oftentimes emotionally.

Acting/Cast - 10, I am really happy with the cast, specially Chen Duling! Been seeing her to a lot of dramas I watched all throughout the years and been always wonderding why she's not really that famous yet given how beautiful and good she is in acting. So watching her attain that in this project made me feel happy for her. + I know Xin Yunlai by face but doesn't really know him that much but I am glad for him too. While I have this mixed feeling seeing He Hongshan here. I am quite irritated on her acting ever since I watched her on The Legend of Phoenix. Lol - P.S. Yu Entai and Wen Zhengrong deserved to bag all the acting awards they'll be nominated for portraying their roles in this drama.

Music - 10, Emotionally touching and pensive songs that can make anyone feel lost and melancholic. I was truly moved and touched. Great set of music for sure.

Rewatch Value - 10, This is not even a question at this point. I am not the type of person who likes riding the wave of popularity of dramas but this one genuinely deserves it.

Overall - 10, Everything about this drama is perfect for me. Specially since I am one "Emo" guy. Lol I appreaciate everything on this drama—from the very first episode till the last. I love all the things (Heartbreak, joy, excitement and thrill) it gave me and would surely love to experience it again. Highly recommend!!

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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A combo of bad writing & terrible direction + A blatant disregard to basic palace norms & etiquettes

Welcome back to me! Lol. So after a total of 83 days, I finally completed this one hell of a ridiculously challenging drama. And I would say "Whoah! That's a LOT". I don't even know where to start at this point.

Anyways, let me start this by going through the most problematic aspects of this production as a whole, and that is...the Direction and Writing itself—Dang! I can't even count how many times I complained about how bad both are throughout my entire experience of this drama. It's a combination of bad writing and amateur direction which resulted into a complete chaos. A terrible, ludicrous and disgraceful show to be very honest.

One thing I cannot understand is how are people giving this a Perfect 10 when it doesn't even deserve an 8 or 9, more so a 10!? Like, the heck are those people thinking? This drama feels like a food you want to throw away after taking a big bite of it expecting it to be delicious but turned out to be one of the nastiest food you have ever tried so far. I got fooled so bad by the good reviews and the fact that Jeremy Xu is here. I definitely did not expect him to have this kind of stupidly absurd drama in his arsenal. This production did him dirty! No wonder he's decided to retire. Geez!

The story per se maxed the hell out of my patience and drained every little piece of tolerance I have had stored as a back up. One of the MDL reviews I read stated that they finally matured after the first 10 episode and from then on, has started acting more matured and attentive. BUT I am here to counter that! Like what the hell does that person meant by episode 10? I was on Ep.26 and is still complaining on what is the director and writer thinking while supposedly directing and producing this drama? 85% or more of the events that's transpired does NOT make sense at all. The direction was straight out BAD! It was like a scratch paper of an amateur director trying various things to gain experience. It was not even bare minimum, it was lower than that—a total lackluster and disappointing show.

This drama is in a competition against itself on how ludicrous it is. Each and every episode, something absurd always happen—like several times!! Which never failed to surprise me and got my eyeballs rolling non-stop each time. It's fascinating how can it topple its previous episodes on that specific category every single chance it gets, which made me grief so hard on how ridicuously unrealistic and nonsensical those scenes are! Its consistency on that entire area was bewildering to the point it has become disgusting over time.

Another major aspect I can't bear to overlook because of how deliberate it was are the times they just do not conform to the Palace rules and etiquettes. Few examples are:

× Ye Ning Zhi (FL) arguing with the Empress even when she's just a Maid at that time.
× Not bowing to both the Emperor and Empress as if they're of the same status and even suddenly leaving their presense without proper "Farewell" salute/bow.
× The multiple occasions where she acted on her own whim as if she's not on the palace grounds and many more.

I mean, I understand that they want her to portray this lively, free-spirited and vibrant character but she just went too far that it has become an impertinent and insolent action as time passes by. I am sure all people in their era knows how different the Royal Palace is and how you should be "Treading on thin Ice" while you are there but she's different. She doesn't seems to care about all that and I guess the Director wanted her to appear as someone "Unique" but to me she's more of an ignorant and mischievous person who went to the palace to get killed. She was clumsy, careless and doesn't even follow the common rules. She would have died already if it was on a different "Proper" period drama. Her writing got so exaggerated that I feel frustrated and irritated watching her.

The way it was presented to us/viewers seemed like they meant to do it that way. Maybe to stand out or something? I don't know if it's some kind of marketing strategy and/or promotion to gain publicity but surely they captured my attention...in the most awful way. I mean, I understand negative publicity is still publicity. However, I believe there should be a limitation to that...right?? 1-2 times is alright, 3-4 is fine, 5-6 a bit much, 7-8 excessive, 9-10 overdoing it but 11-20 and even more? Isn't that just straight out being rude and stupid? This drama's such an insult to those intellectually analytic people. It's as if they've abandoned their common sense and have decided to go on with this drama without considering such things, which is techinically the most important basic ethics out there. Oh God!

Lastly, is the incompetent Emperor who never fails to disappoint till the very end. He's such a disgrace that watching him infuriates me. Also, it's funny how Ning Zhi feels like the one running and front lining the palace against the Royal Princess because both the Emperor and Empress are ill-tempered and rashed! Hasty and doesn't do much thinking when they do things.

Overall, I would say that this production meant to showcase the growth of the Female lead—as someone who rises from the lowest rank to become a spectacular figure head; and they accomplished that at the very end but at the expense of ruining the entire context of the show because of the foolish route they've chosen to proceed with to finish this drama.

Story - 5.0, I am still trying to give credits (Happy Ending + the healthy relationship between the Empress Dowager, Empress and Imperial Consort) where it's due at this point. But aside from all that this drama can be categorized as nasty trash. The way it disrupted, disregarded and ruined all the basic common knowledge in the Royal Palace will forever leave a foul taste on my mouth. Unacceptable!!

Acting/Cast - 7.0, I got no issue with the cast, their acting otherwise made me feel some things a lot of times. I do not know if they were merely following the directors guidance and instructions but most of them acted as if this is some kind of a "Role" they're trying hard to play. I mean, the acting was there but the obvious effort to deliver it was very evident all throughout, which threw me off countless of times. P.S. I am not used to Jeremy Xu being all smiley and playful at times so seeing him here brings me utter joy and fascination.

Music - 9.0, Honestly, the only thing I truly love about this drama is the OSTs used. Opening Song is sorrowful which helps set the mood of the drama + the insert music on each scenes are neatly done too. I just want to include this here as well...Dubbing reminded me of Chinese drama's decades ago which are always obviously dubbed.

Rewatch Value - 1.0, NOPE. NEVER! I will never put myself on the same situation again where I would lose my passion and appetite in watching dramas just because I stumbled upon a ridiculous nasty one.

Overall - 5.5, Considering everything, this is the best I could give for this drama as a whole. The story could've been promising if they didn't incorporated so much nonsense and did not blatantly go against the basic palace norms. I can never recommend this drama to anyone. This is definitely one of the toughest drama for me to finish. I endured a lot. Geez! Never again.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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The badass Female assasin & Liu Dao Halls' 5 elite squad assembled!

"I'm not consulting you. I'm informing you." - Ren Xin

I hereby declare personal grudge against the writer (Zhang Wei) of this story. I want to be impartial and just be nice because this drama has brought me so much happiness and entertainment; but, how can I do that when she turned such a promising and amazing drama into a stupid tragic path? I'm extremely dumbfounded at the same time furious over her disgusting and treacherous act. This drama could have been a happy ending but for some reason her crazy mind went wild and decided to kill the main characters one after another, continously... and even if she implied that Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ru Yi magically survived and is alive at the end—through their "kids". I still cannot take that to comfort me and make me feel redemptive over this excellent story that was unfortunately ended tragically. NYZ and RRY is parenting the entire squad like they're their own children and yet she decided to slaughter them one by one. Gosh! My Parents deserves better treatment!

I want to conclude this rant section of my review by saying, I got so much beef with the writer of this drama and I think it will last forever. She excels in making good story unfortunately she also got a strong obsession in turning everything into a tragedy.

Disclaimer: Even after all the things I stated above, I still won't deny how good of a writer she is. The script is exceptionally well written and god knows how blowned away I was watching the exchange of words from the characters of this story.

Moving forward, I want to say how much I enjoyed this drama as a whole. The intro was perfect and so does the suceeding episodes until the tragedy I mentioned above started. I love how their love story started naturally as strangers who accidentally encountered one another but didn't immediately fall in love; rather, they allow us to witness their suspicions that gradually developed into trust to mutual affection then finally, love.

In terms of chemistry, I'd say they're straight out insane! It's crazy how their very first interaction which was an intense scene turned out to be full of sparks and charisma; and don't even let mention how compelling their following future scenes are, because I might spend my entire time fanboying over how perfect they are together. I also want to mention here how Ren Ru Yi's 'I want to have a baby with you' to NYZ has lived and explored entirely free in my mind. My imagination runs wild with this two (NYZ as a surrogate Father lol). Also, their infatuation and indenial moments are the cutest! I cringe so much in a good way because of them.

Next thing I want to talk about are the supporting characters. I don't usually do this, but I feel like each one of them deserves to be acknowledged for their excellent role and portrayal in this story.

"You've trained a sparrow in a royal cage into an Eagle" - Princess Yang Ying

Princess Yang Ying/Prince Li Heng portrayed by He Lan Dou is the MVP of this drama for me. She went from a fragile and docile cub into a full grown tigress. This is one of those times I realized how good the writer is. She transformed the weak and damsel in distress Princess and made her a tough decisive one. Of course, this wouldn't happen without He Lan Dou's acting prowess and versatility. I love her a lot in this show.

Yuan Lu played by Chen You Wei is one of my favorite out of all the characters of this drama. He's cheerful, bright and overall entertaining. I'm so proud of this guy, he's the epitome of positivity and good vibes. I'm the most disheartened when the writer finally decided to kill him. Grr! I guess, I'm just grateful that he died full of pride and valiantly.

Li Tong Guang played by Chang Hua Sen by far is the most overrated character of this story. This man's emotionally unstable and I find it unbelievable how he broke down in the middle of a losing war. I admit that he's good looking and charismatic but his physical appearance alone doesn't fill the gap in his character for me. Chang Hua Sen's acting here is great though. I often find him amusing, specially during his mental breakdown scenes for his Master Ren Xin.

Yu Shi Shan played by Fang Yi Lun - This is my first time to watch him play a lively and carefree role and I must say he nailed it! It feels refreshing to watch him be annoying and mischievous almost all the time compared to the previous roles he's acted on.

Qian Zhao played by Wang Yi Zhe for me is the serious brother of the gang who played the role of a Vice captain whenever NYZ is not around. Wang Yi Zhe impresses me on how he portrayed this character so well.

Sun Lang played by Li Huan is the least favored character for me. I feel like the writer doesn't like him that much base on how little his screentime are the whole show.

Special mention to Zhang Song played by Zhang Lei. His acting on Episode 3 alone made me realized that Vetaran actors are a cut of their own cloth. The lines were written eloquently and provocatively but the way he delivered it gave me real chills. His control and command of his actions and facial expressions hightened the tension of his scenes for me.

I know this is getting lengthy so let me just mention some unpredictable scenes which I have mixed feelings of.

First is the pairings and love teams. It changes so constantly and unexpectedly that I don't know anymore what to expect. This aspect of the storyade me disappointed and dumbounded a lot.

Second is the death of the main cast! Dang! I still can't move on! I know that they all died in a reasonable way and with great valour but then, I still can't let go of my 'supposed' happy ending. (Sighs)

Lastly, I just want to commend this drama for its slick, refined and smooth exhibitions of their fight scenes. Martial arts choreography is Mad! Specially Liu Xi Xi and Liu Yu Ning's. My satisfaction of them is at its peak!

P.S. My favorite moments of this drama is when the Main casts are all together casually hanging out and having fun. + Why do I find them cute when they all finally assembled? Hahaha! What an adorable bunch. <3

Story - 9.5, Although I hate the fact that the entire Main cast was killed; I guess, I'm just glad that it was done in a logical and valorous way. Like I mention above I can never do this drama dirty just because I hate its ending, so I would still give credits where it's due. Also, it's one of those dramas where both leads are cool and highly skilled; and coincidently the two fo them wanted to live peacefully and normally but how dare the Writer give them an actual eternal peace!

Acting/Cast - 10, I believe my above sentiments is enough to explain how satisfied I am with the casting and acting on this drama. So, let me take this time to mention how great of a choice for them to cast both Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi. First of, I wanna say that I'm mad at those people who are hating on Liu Yu Ning just because he's not handsome enough? when his role doesn't require him to be one! and he's so damn fine from head to toe. So whatdaheck!? Liu Shi Shi on the otherhand is a full package for her role. Beautiful that's goddess-like and a real badass seductress! Her stares hypnotizes me to the point where I'm down on my knees every single time. Lol

Music - 10, I will boldly declare and claim that this drama's Music Team is on the same level of those in K-dramas. All the music used are endearing and perfectly fits each of the scene they're used for. This is also the first time in 2 years? where I literally downloaded and added the songs to my playlist for offline listening (Spotify).

Rewatch Value - 10, Honestly, I would still rewatch and will also highly recommend this to everyone. I mean, the cool and badass scenes each episode are enough to make me rewatch this. Not to mention how entertaining this show is as a whole.

Overall - 9.5, I still feel bad of the tragic ending but this drama is simply not one of those craps out there that I can derate solely for it's ending—because this is more than that! Nonetheless, I would like to encourage everyone to watch this drama to experience the entertainment and pleasure I felt when I was binge watching like crazy.

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A goofy and sweet semi-xianxia drama | Healthy love rivalry | Irritating and hateful 2nd FL!!

A piece of advice I want to give to people before watching this is to always remember that this is an Idol drama so keep your expectation for crazy plot twists and character development at bay and make sure that you stock a pile of chill pill because you will need lots of them watching this. Take note that I lost all of mine while on the process. Hahaha!

I already expected this drama to be overly clichė-d yet I still found myself cloyed over some of its scenes. Although this show is full of goofy-slapstick comedy skits we often see on a comedy drama; I must say that they did a great job on keeping all those ridiculous stuff in bare minimum that it doesn't made me completely tired of it.

One factor I truly love about this is the healthy love Rivalry between the Male Leads. Each dude sure got their own advantages but I'm just glad that they didn't use it to harm one another and I must say that I truly enjoyed all the jealousy scenes between Chu Ye, Shangguan Ya and Yun Chuan. + I love how both of them are genuinely concern of the FLs welfare and safety above everything else.

The only time I felt sick and tired of the drama is when they introduced Tong Er. She's like that unnecessary pest who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to ruin the show and I must say that she successfully did because my mood turned sour and salty—indifferent, until the end of the drama.

I feel like 24 episodes is even too long for this story. 16-18 would have sufficed and never introducing Tong Er would have made this story even better. I mean, after I accepted that this is a light and sweet idol drama you will suddenly give me a bratty character? Like, who asked for that? This show is better off without her!!

Lastly, I enjoyed Li Fu and A Jing's story a lot. Although their scenes were as short as it can possibly be, I appreciate the fact that they were there to divert and balance the overall mood of the story. I love that they are both childish yet reliable at the same time + I'm also grateful that A-Jing stayed the way she is until the end. About time we let women choose the person they want to be.

Story - 8.5, I love the healthy rivalry and positive vibe the story has shown me and it would have been better if they didn't introduce Tong Er at all. Her role on the drama totally ruined it for me. She's that unwanted guest no one ever wanted to see but still came to wreck the show. A curse!

Acting/Cast - 9.0, I'm fairly contented with the acting, although some of them might have been too much at times but they're still bearable. I'm familiar with almost all of the main cast and it's fun to see them goofing around like that. I'm just glad to see them in a new light portraying a softer character specially Xiao Yu Liang. P.S. I watched this because of Tian Xi Wei! ♡

Music - 9.5, it's nice overall. I love the cute and playful opening theme and I also like all the insert BGMs they used throughout the show. Nothing to hate about it in all honesty.

Rewatch Value - 7.0, I'm still being considerate at this point. This is one of those dramas I am glad I was able to finish. It feels like an achievement for some reason...like I deserve all the bragging rights for bearing all through the shits Tong Er has brought to this show. She spoilt my mood so much It lasts till the very end of the story.

Overall - 8.5, If you are planning to watch this because of one specific actor you are following, then go ahead and do so. However, if it's not, you better be prepared to get irritated to the 2nd FL and how riduculous some of the scenes are. It's nice and decent but finishing this drama was a bit of a challenge for me because the 2nd FL effect has taken over me till the final episode. Lol

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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The miserable and melodramatic love affair of the so called Heroes'.

First of all, Welcome back? Hahaha! I can't believe it took me 2 months to finish this drama. It was dragged so much I almost forgot to continue watch it. I seriously got plenty to say, so shall we start?

Why is this Wuxia full of unnecessary dramas!? Can we just focus more on Fighting, shall we?

My disappointment and distaste over this show started when they first revealed Nan Lan. Her character introduction was a big turn off and maybe it's my intuition but at that very moment I just knew something eerie is bound to happen and I prove myself right because as the drama goes on the more horrible the story progresses. My expectations gradually getting tarnished and eventually crashed by how they terribly transition the story from all the great Wuxia action into a melodramatic mess they got themselves into. I was dumbfounded on how they took a huge leap from having the best raw and realistic martial arts executions into a brow-raising and overly tiring dramatic display. Like, how am I supposed to digest that?

It felt like the show was suddenly terrorized by some unknown disease that made it heavily focused on Love and Family affair. Even at this point, I still have that lingering irritation from the amount of tolerance I invested to finish all those episodes because I hate fast-forwarding and leaping through scenes and episodes. It's like I paid so much money to watch my favorite show only to be served by some crappy and bland illustrations. Just imagine how disappointing that was! It doesn't even help that Miao Renfang as a Husband is a total red flag. I mean, come on! I understand that it's his greatest mission to find the killer of his sworn brother but man! You got a wife and daughter to take care of. I was so pissed cause he's so irresponsible and selfish that I even find Tian Guinong a better father and husband. Well, he techinically is. He just lacks better opportunity to fully demostrate it as he was consumed by his ambition to be hailed the best.

Moving with our 3 main Leads, I feel like every single build up they did to make their characters romantically connected all went to drain. Hu Fei and Zi Yi's parts were actually great and I enjoyed it a lot but I would lie if I say I hope for them to be together. I feel like Zi Yi's personal dramas exhausted me almost the same as Miao Renfang and Nan Lan's. Her reasons were logical and understandable but she's just too complicated to my liking. Cheng Lingsu on the otherhand is my best pick. Her vibrant and amiable aura automatically made me drawn to her. Not to mention her prominent expertise in both medicine and poison. It's just too bad the script writer hated her so much. They went all out with the 'Love and Family Affair' theme only to destroy it all at the end. How tragically fucked up is that? Unbelievable!!

There are only 2 things I would commend this drama for. First, is their mind blowing martial arts execution for almost all of the fight scenes. It is more Human-like—authentic, raw and realistic. It is very different to all the Wuxia's I have watched all these years who had indescribeable and ridiculous Kung Fu skills. Second, is how satisfying they carried out the deaths of all the major antagonists on the story. I love how Feng Yiming got his death right infront of his father while Feng Tiannan getting slaughtered felt extremely satisfying. But above all, no one can beat Tian Guinong's unuttered defeat. Man was clobbered down, HARD! Incapable of fighting while pierce through by a sword and eventually got pierced again by a spear. Real definition of Vanquish!

P.S. I won't mention those pathetic Disciples of Medicine Valley and the Poison King himself cause I find them irrelevant. I don't even know why they persists till the end when they could've been eliminated much earlier. Honestly, those pathetic fools doesn't deserve recognition. They're like the guinea pig of this story... bunch of sacrificial lambs.

Story - 8.5, I'm being kind and considerate when I decided for this score. Thank god they still got prominent Martial Arts executions to vouch their lack of better decision when it comes to their absurd story progression. + The satisfying deaths of the Antagonists made it bearable and fulfilling.

Acting/Cast - 9.0, I don't really have any specific preferences when it comes to the artists but I must say that I'm quite pleased by the set of actors/actresses of this show. Specially, Xing Fei & Lin Yushen.

Music - 8.0, Among all the music from this drama, I only appreciate the Ballad song they usually use on the sad/tragic scenes. Aside from that everything is non-existent. Well, I can also remember the opening theme. I kinda like the suspense build-up tone to it.

Rewatch Value - 6.0, Sorry not sorry! But I won't watch this again. God knows how this show made me stray away from watching dramas for 2 months simply because I can't just leave a drama hanging and watch another one cause that's not my thing and I take my reviews/commentaries seriously. I guess, I'll just avoid Qing Dynasty dramas since it feels like they're more on the overly dramatic theme I'm not that fond of.

Overall - 8.5, I contemplated quite a bit with this rating but I just realized this is the highest I can go with this drama. The story's sudden transition to the Love and Family affair ruined it for me. It felt like they got no better plot in mind so they've decided to just go all out with it...which is really disappointing for me. I'm not even lying but it feels like this dramas is consist of 15% Wuxia and 85% Love affair. Doesn't that sound crazy and tiring???

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Brilliant but unnecessary ending + Needs better scene arrangement & sequencing.

Just to give a quick insight about this story, I wanna say that It was wonderful yet sorrowful. They did so well in making the plot well-balanced despite their straightforward takes of its unexpected turn of events... however, still managed to make the whole narative look manipulated and misarranged.

First of, I wanna commend this production for consistently staying away from clichė plot till the very end. That was very unexpected and satisfying! Just the thought of not having to bear through such ridiculous scenes already made this experience more delightful and light to me. Not to mention how we were given such spectacular and highly intelligent protagonists who were capable of taking absolute control of any situation they were thrown into and overcoming them with outstanding wits and teamwork. Made this drama even more amazing for me.

But!! we must bear in mind that no matter how good something is, It can never be imperfect. This story, in spite of executing most of the scenes in a viewer-friendly manner can never escape some questionable plot holes and glitches that can be found at the most crucial places. The way they dealt with the antagonists felt so wrong... Like you knew it was a bad decision but refused to judge it since you're not even half through the story yet. But as it progresses the more you find your opinions right and reasonable.

After finishing this show, my opinion still stands firm about how Lu Yuan deserves to be the final antagonist. I honestly think that everything went weak and bland right after they've dealt with him. Like he is the truest antagonist there is! so right after he passed away, the other major conflicts on the story has immediately become a child's play. Xie Hao is simply an overconfident official who thought highly of himself by pulling some grand scheme he can never control. While Wang Mian is an old man who's planned on his revenge for more than 2 decades only for it to be trampled right in front of his eyes. No matter how and where I look at it both of these guys just doesn't have it. They have aspiration, will and is bold enough, unfortunately, they're both incapable of pulling it off successfully. And, Oh, Please! Do not let me start with Grand Consort Sun and Shen Leqing! These two deserves to die even before Lu Yuan but they never did and I will never understand why no matter how much anyone try to explain it to me. Cause they may have been useful to create some discords and conflicts but they were never relevant enough to last that long! God, gracious! An utterly bad decision to keep them till the last 10 or so episode of the story.

Lastly, "It's all in the past" is my most hated phrase in this drama. The way they use it as a means to move on from the death of Shen Tingzhang and Shen Zhi gives me so much grief. I know it was wrong to keep yourself caged in the past but I also stand firm that we need to occasionally look back at those events to realize how some people deserves the worst from us.— Never forgive those who're unforgiveable.

P.S. Evil is hard to extinguish. Once an Evil, Always an Evil.

Story - 9.0, Would have given it a 0.5 rating higher only if they gave us a happier ending. I can never accept the fact that they went over tons of clichė plots all throughout the story yet still pull this kind of ending. I have long accepted that they misjudged their plot arrangements and all but I never predicted them to do it once again. Overall, the drama is good. They just tend to eliminate the wrong characters at the wrong time and keep some for longer time for nothing.

Acting/Cast - 9.5, Main CP is good. Although, it took me few episodes to fully absorb their chemistry but right after that it worked out magically. Lu Yuan and Xue Hao have been exemplery all throughout and I've got little to no complain about the side characters. The only thing that probably stood out to me the most is the inconsistency and awkward acting from Herman Li and Deng Ying at times. Specially during the first half of the drama. P.S. Ren Yun Jie is one of my fave character in this drama and hello, there Tian Xi Wei!

Music - 10, I love how it sounded natural and authentic which is very suitable to the time/era the drama's set. + Excellent and I'd say even perfect control and choice of music. I vibed so much on how laid back and comforting it sounded all at the appropriate and accurate moments.

Rewatch Value - 8.0, The overall story is good. Good pacing and character progression but watching it over again will be tough for me. Considering how displeased I am with its ending and the way they eliminate their characters in a wrong time really left a bitter taste in my mouth. I'll forever complain on how they misarranged those events and characters which impacted the story so much. This drama could've honestly been better with proper arrangement and sequencing.

Overall - 9.0, After intensive deliberation and consideration... and even after all my rants and complains. I feel like this drama and production still delivered a good story that can be enjoyed by different types of people. It just that I have my own conclusion and expectation for this story thus it made me feel so many things. All I can say is that bear my words in mind and watch this cautiously with expectation.

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The newly married CPs journey to overcome their doubts, worries & insecurities.

Just an early advice to never let the lefthangers at the end of each episode frustrate you because this drama is really good in turning the plot into something light, funny and entertaining. + As much as possible don't take the negative reviews seriously. Just watch and enjoy!

Where to even start? I procrastinated the most watching this drama yet I can't call it bad. It was smooth sailing and simple but I can't claim that it didn't bore me at all. It was a crazy feeling of uncertainties and hesitations whether to like or love it and despite all of my worries, one thing's for sure... and that is, I can never call this bad or even hate it... and let me explain why.

After some deliberation, I can only think of 2 major reasons why I was so frustrated and annoyed of this drama. First is the countless tiring wedding jitters and concerns FL has that lasted for more than 10 episodes which greatly affected my overall mood. Second is the sympathy and consideration 2nd ML has shown to the main antagonist that made the drama unnecessarily longer.

The love-hate emotion I have had for the first 10 episode was insane. I initially love it for their usual lovey-dovey moments only to be interrupted, and later ruined by FLs immature, selfish and foolish issues that will ended up being resolved by the MLs wise and romantic methods. I never thought it would be this crazy. It's like a rollercoaster ride each episode and as time passes by it made me dizzy and exhausted. The Male lead saved me from dropping this show early on, honestly + the fact that I adored them so much during S1.

I was never a fan of showing compassion and sympathy to Villains that's why when the 2nd ML let the main antagonist go, I already knew what's about to come... and I totally hated it. I think its stupid to do it that way cause they just unintentionally revealed what's about to happen even without saying anything, and that ruined the excitement of the story for me. Instantly, it has become an open book... bare and predictable.

Moving to the positive end of the show...

The most important factor I love about this drama is how straightforward, fast moving and uncomplicated the story flow and overall plot is. The main leads got tons of issues and misunderstandings as a newly wedded couple but one thing that surprises me a lot is that they never let an episode end before solving it. It was such a breath of fresh air from the usual overly clichėd idol dramas that will use all possible ridiculous means to make everything worse and dramatic.

Unconditional trust and love from the Main leads. I feel like the main purpose of this story is to show us how strong and impregnable the relationship of the main couple has become. That no matter how huge of an issue or problem anybody throws at them, they'll not—even once! lose their trust and faith to each other. This sequel was created to slap us with the fact that we don't need to worry about the Main leads falling apart because of various problems and misunderstandings cause they simply won't. Like, Never Ever! and this entire S2 is to flex their indestructible love for one another.

Overall peaceful and harmonious set of events. I've got so much to mention but I'll make sure to take my time to enumerate them properly. First, the non-toxic love rivalry and equal exposures of side couples. If all production can just do the way this drama did it, everyone would probably be satisfied. The way they covered every significant character decently and ended the drama without leaving anyone behind felt perfectly satisfying for me. Second goes to not so wicked, even reasonable antagonists and how the Main leads befriend and made peace with them. This is one of the reason why I was never bothered of this drama going downhill... Simply because I know they will never. Onset of the story, this drama already left us an impression and assurance that everything will go accordingly so no need to worry. Just sit back relax and enjoy the show.

Story - 9.0, I would have rated it higher only if they didn't wore out my appetite early on the show. The way they showed the Main CPs unconditional love and understanding for each other is wonderful but also annoying. Specially with how the FL constantly has issues to offer after another is truly exhausting. The rest of the plot is great and I really love the overall message and value this show has for its viewers.

Acting/Cast - 9.0, I was elated to see them keeping the original casts back. The only issue I got is most probably with their overly-cringey acting. I mean, it's understandable cause this is an idol drama. But I felt like they got too comfortable executing their roles and I started feeling vicarious embarassment for them. Don't get me wrong, they acted so well here! but it's just too much for me at times.

Music - 9.0, The opening is really good and I love it! same with the random sound inserts. But it just doesn't make sense to me that they're using such modern funny and comical sounding tunes on a costume drama. I like how they use it but was also flustered to hear them as well.

Rewatch Value - 7.5, Probably not. No matter how good of a story this is overall. I just can't imagine myself watching it again. The amount of time I've spent to finally finish it is enough proof that it would be hard for me to do it again. Ghad, the FLs wedding jitters really ruined it for me.

Overall - 8.5, After thorough deliberation, I feel like this is the best I can give to this drama. Again, the overall story is really good. It exudes positivity, harmony and cringey-adorable love but the way they started it really took a big blow to me. That constant issues the FL has truly made my mood sour and indifferent... thank god they were able to redeem and recover from it very quickly. It was nonetheless a good drama. I recommend everyone to just skip some early parts if you want to avoid those annoying moments.

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The peace & people-loving Hei-Feng Bai-Xi and their mighty & passionate conquest for love.

From now on, we'll be drunk together (referring to kissing) - Feng Lanxi

My desire to get highly critical with this review is strong but I have decided to let my fun-loving drama passionate side stay rational by giving this production an impartial and honest feedback. So, rest assured that all informations stated are base on how I genuinely view this drama as a whole.

Plot twist, revelations and overall scheming - Most of the time I spent guessing with this dramas outcome was really satisfying and unpredictable. Kudos to the writers for making sure that we're still getting the elements of surprise throughout the solving and brain racking moments.

Pacing went too fast and felt too rushed. Sequencing may seemed alright but it's rather lacking as well. I feel like more than anything else this drama needed more time and episodes to make a lot of its scenes more detailed and effective. They dwelled so much in imperial struggles and throne infighting that they kinda forgot how much episodes they've wasted on it already and how many more is left for the climax and finale.

Fighting scenes - Most of the early fights were flawless, extremely good and greatly executed specially with our Main leads. However, towards the end everything just felt lacking and unimpressive. It feels like they were short of budget to make it 'actually' happen or simply because they got limited resourches to do so. Overall I'm still grateful and glad that we still got a lot of decent and even great combat scenes.

CGI, Graphics and Editing - This production survived because of their magnificent editing team. CGI is outstanding and I'm impressed on how detailed and well coordinated they all are. It's just that they have 'too much' of it that it gradually felt lackluster. They off-screened a lot of supposed great scenes and it's just a huge missed opportunity from them.

Climax and ending - Full of Recaps, Cuts and Off-screens... Climax should've been the most detailed and eventful part but it overall felt rushed and disappointing. The way they transition the events felt like they wanna wrap it up in the best way possible while still showing the necessary contents; although it kinda worked out, it still felt wrong the more you think about it. Ending is good and quite reasonable but I think they could've done it a lot better than that.

Main leads relationship and chemistry - It was refreshing to see that both of our leads have a pre-established connection through rivalry and countless interactions during their introduction as it served as the greatest foundation to further develop and strengthen their relationship. + Their constant bickering was more than enough to make me go insane!

Feng Xiyun / Bai Fenxi - What made this character really unique is her ability to befriend and attract anyone just by being carefree and unbothered. Not to mention how brave, skillful and sassy she is that made her even more interesting to watch.

Feng Lanxi / Hei Fenxi - I just wanna say that I really love his simply yet classy carriage. Hahaha! It contributed a lot to make his calm, composed and intelligent character be even more convincing and attractive.

Other character rants (mostly about Lanhua & Sect leader Bai) - This two character made me uncomfortable and rolled my eyes 10x or more. I feel like for a leader, Master Bai seemed so weak, fragile and vulnerable. While Lanhua just didn't deserve any screen time she has had in this show. Her character is the greatest downside of this story and I just hated how immature, unprogressive and stagnant she is even when the show's halfway done.

P.S. This drama doesn't need any skips because they do it for you. /Sighs/

Story - 9.0, Story flow is actually good and considerably packed with details. It's just that they spent 3/4 of the show to build up the climax and finale only to become unimpressive due to the lack of episode, countless recaps and off-screened scenes.

Acting/Cast - 9.5, Impressive main and supporting leads, specially Zhao Lusi, Yang Yang, Zhang Haowei, Lai Yi and Liu Ruilin. I just think that some of the side actors/actresses felt weak in showing the approriate emotions and body language.

Music - 10, Overall BGM were properly placed and in-synced to every scenes and I just love the songs they used in this drama. Lots of good ballads I'll surely add on my playlist.

Rewatch Value - 9.0, Despite all the rants I mentioned above, I still won't neglect the fact that this story is enjoyable and exciting to watch. Heck!!, I finished it in 3 days. Just be wary on the countless off-screened cuts that may spoil your watch experience.

Overall - 9.0, It could've been more impressive and satisfying if they could've added atleast 10 more episodes to it. It felt too compressed and rushed that I feel like something important is missing. It may have wrapped up 'decently' but this drama deserves better. Specially since it has Zhao Lusi and Yang Yang in it.

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A Light, Fun-Filled and rather Fast-Paced Idol Wuxia Drama~!!

Hmm, that was unexpectedly light and fun despite all the unjustifiable killing and story manipulation.

Actually.. I have mixed feelings for the story itself and would've ranted my way all throughout this review if they took the bruised and broken path; but I guess they have a clear plan for this drama as a whole that they were able to execute and conclude the story pretty well despite all those questionable plot holes.

I don't really wanna dwell into the con's of this drama but let me just mention a few to summarize some of it.

× The relentless killing just felt odd to me. I understand that most of them were the sacrifial lamb for the story build up but the way they do it just felt so wrong in my opinion. They introduced and killed the suppossed important characters like it's no ones business.

× The expected yet sudden change of FLs love affair. Like, woah. I myself find it really weird that they build her relationship with the 2ndML for more than half of the story just to finally pair him with the ML at the last 15 episodes of the drama. I mean, that made a lot of sense but everything felt so incredibly rushed that I myself don't know if I'll be glad about it or not.

Anyways, aside from those mentioned above, the rest either felt good or decent to me. There might be some other scenes that affected the drama but most of them are just minor stuff and aren't worth mentioning anymore.

One great thing they did that made this drama redeem itself is how they kept the last 10-15 episodes rather calm, slow-paced and sweet. They toned it down so much and build a lot of romantic and fun scenes between the main leads that they were able to salvage the entire story and kept all of it intact and in proper places.

Above everything else this drama is truly fun to watch and is considerably a Good Idol Wuxia drama.

Story - 8.5, It wasn't perfect but definitely not bad either. It is in between good and fair. For a 36 episodes drama it is indeed lacking in terms of plot progression and I think they could've worked on it a little more better to make the story more worth it... but overall it was decent.

Acting/Cast - 9.5, For an Idol drama it is really good. Acting is fine since most of them doesn't really include heavy scenes that requires more emotions. But I must say that even those scenes were executed really well. I'm satisfied with the Cast and their overall acting and synergy.

Music - 9.5, It was enjoyable, something that truly fits the energy and vibe of the drama. It's just that my preference is quite weird and I was quite sad about the intro not being a Ballad. Lol~

Rewatch Value - 8.5, It was fine. A drama I would watch again if someone asked me to watch it with them. There was nothing really remarkable about it so watching it once is enough.

Overall - 9.0, I would've given it an 8.5 but they were able to fix a lot of the parts i was unsatisfied with and brought lots of justice to the other CPs so I would still give it this rating. Overall feel of the drama is fine and nothing really much to criticize or pick-on with. I would just say that they could've lessen the scenes between FL and 2nd ML and instead gave more romantic scenes to the Main Leads. Cause, that's how it should be. Come on.

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Extreme and Flawless Deceit with Unpredictable Twists, Turns and Tumbles ~!!

A Masterpiece covered by it's great scheme and some irritating and useless characters.

Lemme start my review by praising how Patriotic and Genuinely compassionate Zhang Xiao Jing (Lei Jia Yin) is and despite his shortcomings he's able to pull it through without tainting himself against his own conscience. A well written character, 100% ~!!

Next is how utterly useless Li Bi (Jackson Yee) is and how his Ignorance and obliviousness always gives the people around him so much disadvantage. He's the greatest flaw of this entire story honestly. At the Finale, I was even glad that Xu Bin (Zhao Wei) was the one getting the spotlight. Such a dissapointing character.

The "MVP" of this drama would be Xu Bin (Zhao Wei) like damn, this man hid himself so well and was able to create those extravagant scheme without getting discovered. I don't find him relevant till the last 20+ episodes but he's surely the Most Well Played character in here.

Something I like about this drama is how they're able to squeeze the entire 48 episode into a 24 hours period of time without making it feel dragging and purposedly slow paced. They did great in putting up each pieces into the puzzle one by one.

Although the Ending is totally unclear when it comes to how they end the war of throwns. You can still get a quick glimps of how it actually went through just with them showing the littlest act needed. Nonetheless it was satisfying and absolutely deserving of high praises.

Story - 10, Story can be kinda confusing at first (that's how it usually is watching Period Dramas) but it'll eventually show you how the story goes and will keep you on your seat the entire time. As I mentioned above, the story has the most unexpected twist, turns and tumbles that will surely blow everyones mind. Satisfactory level is 100.

Acting/Cast - 10, This drama is fully-loaded with such great actors. Everyone has performed beyond expectation and was able to highlight their characters in each scenes. The characters made me feel so much and was able to sway me till the last moments and that is only possible because of it's performing actors.

Music - 10, Honestly, IDK. I tend to skip the ending credits because of the excitement to watch the following episodes but the insert songs specially the sorrow sounding ones do provide the color and mood to the scenes. Still a perfect 10 since it never bothers me.

Rewatch Value - 10, This is such a masterpiece that I would recommend to anybody who love such genres of drama. A Great and Must watch!!

Overall - 10, Despite my negative feedback towards some characters, It won't hide the fact that the story is well written, with high budget, A+ acting and satisfying production and overall display. So I would never take away it's well deserved acknowledgement and praises.

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Don't you dare lookdown or even underestimate Househusbands + Deserved more appreciation and views.

I have decided to write this review as I feel like this drama deserves more attention and appreciation.

This is such a feel-good & comical drama I never expected to enjoy. I started having doubts with its 1st episode but everything has gotten better and better all throughout as the story progresses.

I have always appreciate fatherly love on dramas and this is one of those that made me felt warm and comforted watching it.

It may seem corny and weird at first but it was indeed enjoyable and worth all the time I spent watching this piece.

Story - 9.5, Actually the story itself has nothing special in it and it's not even following any kind of direction. It's more of a day to day experience of a father striving to be a better househusband and each episode it offers something fun, new and comical.

Acting/Cast - 9.5, They all performed great. I mean there are a lot of lines which i felt like would be hard to be delivered (since it's so awkward) but they did just that and that made this drama so special. I even love the silent laughs from the Lady Boss whenever it felt like she over-acted her gestures. HAHAHA

Music - 9, The BGMs are decent and are on point. I even have the main song downloaded on my spotify. Da-Ice - Citrus. You all should give it a try.

Rewatch Value - 8, It is indeed good. But i probably wouldn't watch it anytime sooner since my drama list is piling up but it worths all the time. No doubt. 💯

Overall - 9, Just base on my review I'm sure I was able to rely my thoughts about how good and fun this drama is. A must watch!!

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An Excellent Surprise!! Exceeding expectation and Serving the Best Quality~!!

DEFINITELY A MUST WATCH!!

This production proves that anyone can create an exemplery drama with minimal and limited funding.

Honestly speaking I got so used to Low-Mid Tier budget drama serving just the bare minimum, something that is created to simply catch it's viewers attention and I never felt wrong about that as it made me enjoy it even more due to the fact that I can avoid unexplainable and ridiculous plot scenes and such.

BUT, this drama is indeed a cut among the finest piece. Almost everything about this drama is well planned and is comparable to those High Budget excellent dramas. So, lemme enumerate them to the best I can.

First and Foremost is the Excellent Writing and Plot allignment. These days most of these are being overlooked and neglected just to cater to the audiences liking but this drama used it in a more favorable way by making sure that they're not only serving what's on-demand and highly sought out but also made sure that it's with 'Great Quality'.

Next, Graphics, Cinematography, Lighting, Costume and Production. It feels like the director and all the people behind this project made sure that they'll never miss a single spot unless out of coincidence and/or inevitability reasons cause the entire time I was watching it, never, even once, had I encountered any distraction and aloofness towards the drama. Instead, I was expecting for more greatness each coming episodes.

Last but not the least is the Artist/Cast. The Main Leads look so good together + their chemistry is on point. While the 2nd Lead has their own charm for being unique, comical and entertaining 99% of the time. Also, our adorable Fei Yuan whose appearances tend be on the sidelines but never failed to deliver consistency with his acting and emotions.

Story - 10, Excellent Writing. This drama really went all out with their Solving Case Scenes and executed to nearly Perfection while making sure that it won't ruin the plot and story even one bit.

Acting/Cast - 10, Spectacular set of Artist who's delivered impeccable performances and emotions. I never felt awkward watching them cause they really felt natural and in-character the whole time they're ON with their respective scenes.

Music - 9.5, Music is decent but I usually have 1 or more songs I truly like out of the all tracks in a drama BGM list yet for this production nothing really stood out the best for me. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it and never once got bothered about it.

Rewatch Value - 10, This drama deserved more views and positive word of mouth to people around the C-drama community because it truly went above and beyond the usual expectation to most Low-Mid budget dramas.

Overall - 10, Anyone who will tell me otherwise is welcomed to fight me. I would never forgive any slander over this drama as it truly went over the 'norm' and usual general expectation. Highly Recommend~!!

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FLs the Master of talking back, fronting face, scheming and faking it! — A Drama Queen!

Before anything else, I wanna say that Zhao Lusi gave her AAA+ in playing her role in this drama and deserves a Top Actress Award for doing so. Damn, I cackled so hard whenever she says or does anything. She offered and gave so much 'drama' and comedy to her character which is something I've never seen before—one of a kind. I will be forever in love on how calculating and scheming she is, a badass capable lady!

This first part is all about the process—struggles and obstacles someone must go through in their lifelong Journey.

I kind of contemplated to write this reaction after finishing the first 27 episodes (Part 1) because I feel like it shouldn't really be cut-off in the middle and it's just a continuation without any timeskips or so happening, but I still decided to do so because I feel like it has been giving me the best enjoyment and it deserves this early review to serve as a commendation to how excellent this drama has been going thus far.

I never expected this drama to be this good in all honesty. I'm just glad to finally watch another ZLS & WL drama after quite a while but this masterpiece hook me from the very beginning till this very moment. It's a 'one in a thousand' type of production you'll got no choice but binge and get addicted to because of how crazily addicting and great it is.

Cheng Shaoshang as a female lead has been giving me nothing but pure joy and excitement. I feel like she was born and created to give non-stop color to brighten up my day. Every scene she's in felt like a whole damn amusement park ride— exciting and thriling. Take note that, not even once have I felt bored watching her. She's got a whole variety of entertainment in her that never cease to amuse me.

I also love how the story didn't dwell much on her sufferings with her relatives, Instead, they gave us another twist by showing us how parental love can be hard, rough and tough. It was indeed cruel I would say... and up till this moment I still can't agree that her Mother's way of disciplining her is correct. Heck! I even hated her mother a lot of times for using an 'Iron-Fist' to educate her because it hurt her even more. Not to mention how often her mother tells and shows her how someone is better than her and that she's nowhere close to how good her cousin Yangyang was. It made me upset so much to the point where I wish that she can just disown her mother and give her love to her 3rd Aunt instead because her real mother doesn't deserve it. But at the end of the day I just understand why her mother is doing it that way as well. It was because her mother loves her so much but didn't understand and know her at all. Her mother's lack of understanding of her made them drift miles apart as story goes by and I just hope that they can slowly reconcile and gain mutual understanding of each other in the next coming episodes.

Another thing I wanna mention is how lively and comical her entire family is. They were like a Circus troupe full of funny and unexpected tricks you'll never get tired of. I love how her Grandmother is greedy yet ignorant and how the rest of the remaining family and friends around truly loves and cares for her. Special mention to her Father, Maidservant, Qiqi and Brothers for being a great support and companion— specially during their silliest times.

Next is set of fine men who love and adores her...

×× Ling Buyi, I'm always satisfied with his character. He's always been respectful and honest with his own feelings and not even once disrespect the FL. Although he kind of lack the basic knowledge of how equality works, I just know that he'll do great in the future.

×× Lou Yao could've been a really great Husband and Partner to our FL but I'm just glad it didn't happen because I still want Ling Buyi no matter what. One thing I wanna mention is how pityful yet outstanding his character is. He's simply well written and would love to see him succeed and live a happy life with his Wife.

×× Yuan Shen is just like his Master. Cautious and coward to express his feelings. I just know that he'll be regretful and will suffer from a brokenheart for eternity because of how taciturn he is with his real feelings.

P.S. I badly need to mention how entertaining it was to watch all of them interact. Very different from the usual Jelousy scenes I was expecting but still very satisfying. It clearly shows how some men of the ancient past deals with Jealousy and stuff through their wits and imposing way.

Story - 10, It deserves beyond that honestly. Story is well-written and on top of that very funny and entertaining as a whole. No dull moments even once considering how l've finished Part 1 now.

Acting/Cast - 10, Solid and Perfect set of actors and actresses. I've never been this satisfied before with any dramas entire cast. I feel like they've got the best characters for each role and they also made me realized what real acting is. God, gonna mention how Zhao Lusi's acting is insanely one of the top and Wu Lei's imposing posture and body! whooa! He grew up so well from the Fei Liu (Nirvana in Fire) I've known and adore.

Music - 10, I'm really satisfied with their choice of music. I also love how the flute and its sound fit so well whenever Shen Shaoshang's playing it. I really thought they would murder it but they did extremely well in making it sound and look pleasant. P.S. Dubbing is really good too!!

Rewatch Value - 10, I would rewatch it again and again whenever I want to. It is one of those dramas that can never make you feel off and bored even one bit.

Overall - 10, Come on! This drama has been nothing but a masterpiece so far and i'm expecting it to constanly progress with the same intensity and satisfaction. I highly recommend this drama to everyone and I'm very excited to watch the Part 2.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know

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Perfect balance of slapstick comedy & staggering emotional depth | Potential Comedy "Wang/王" Hedi.

"If one hit strike can't kill it. Then, Run!" - Xu Qi'an

Before anything else, I want to say how Dylan Wang is the real embodiment of Xu Qi'an and has become the undisputed face of the entire show. He fits his character like a glove, to the point where you can't imagine anyone else playing it once you watch his performance. His execution is one of the best I have seen so far for male leads—like this role was crafted specifically for him. Perfect casting!

This show was a total comedy skit from the very beginning. If I were to describe this drama in a single phrase, it would be "no dull moments." From start to finish, it never—not even once—failed to entertain and show its humorous side. Heck, they were even able to pull off comedic scenes during the most intense and serious situations naturally, without making it look weird or awkward.

A couple of great examples are:

• When Xu Qi’an (ML) crawled under the table to ask Wei Yuan for forgiveness, acting all cutesy and being extra clingy. It was a full-blown aegyo show that was surprisingly irresistible.

• When the Statue of the First Sage (Tianyu Dharma) appeared, and the Xu family decided it was the perfect backdrop for a portrait instead of being worried and fleeing to safety. They're so unserious! It was made even more hilarious when they attempted various poses, such as a star-shaped formation. Haha!

They are just effortlessly hilarious. They’re so extra—I mean, EXTRA! They never fail to insert a comedic skit into any situation, anytime, anywhere.

I honestly wanted to write more in-depth insights about the story, but how can I when all I can think about are the goofy scenes? Haha! They must have had a blast filming this because so many moments felt truly wholesome—unedited and full of the actors' pure reactions. It feels like we’re watching bloopers without knowing it because we assume it's acting, but it's actually their genuine, out-of-character reactions. The slapstick comedy they’ve provided never feels forced or irritating. So, I really appreciate the editing team for preserving those scenes in the final cut.

A great example is in Episode 9, when the Copper Gong Trio (Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao) just finished their mission and were just talking and having fun. I won’t spoil the scene, so you'll have to watch it yourself to see what I mean. It was such a vibe!

"The strong urge to live will bring out one's potential." - Xu Qi'an to Xu Xinnian

One thing I find particularly noteworthy is the sense of togetherness surrounding Xu Qi'an—whether it’s within his family, the Nightwatchmen Bureau, or among his Heaven and Earth Society members.

The Xu family dynamics felt off to me at first because of how greedy Madam Xu (Li Ru) seemed. However, as time passed, her true, caring nature eventually emerged. She may value wealth and riches, but during the toughest times, she is someone you can count on. She is willing to sacrifice everything for the safety of her family. They're the true definition of the "family that comes together, stays together" mantra.

The Nightwatchman Bureau, being such a massive organization, surely has its own internal issues. However, one thing I love about them is the unexpectedly strong bond they share with Xu Qi’an. One of my favorite scenes was during the climax, when all the Gold Gongs—including the Breeze Hall Gongs—appeared alongside Xu Qi’an’s Heaven and Earth Society members to protect him against the Imperial Guards and the Emperor himself. It was a truly satisfying and proud moment. Above all, my favorite dynamic was the bond between Wei Yuan and Xu Qi’an. I love that Wei Yuan genuinely cares for him like a son.

Additionally, I had a lot of fun watching how equally chaotic both the Nightwatchmen Bureau and the Heaven and Earth Society are. I truly enjoyed watching all the beef going on among the Gold Gongs, as well as the personal vendetta and undeniable chemistry between Li Miaozhen (#2) and Chu Yuanzhen (#4). Both groups are equally crazy, which complements Xu Qi’an’s personality and amplifies the show’s vibe as a whole.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel any disappointment about this show. Rather, there were a couple of things that surprised me while watching it.

First is the female lead's (FL) appearance. This is the first C-drama I’ve seen where a considerably famous actress doesn't show up in the first four episodes. She had a "soft launch" in episode 5, but her actual introduction wasn't until episode 6. Beyond that, her screen time throughout the entire show was surprisingly limited. It likely bothered me because I expected her character to have much more relevance than she ultimately did.

Second is the cliffhanger ending. I didn’t realize that this was only the first half of the story—a prequel. I was completely lost when, with only two episodes left, they were still unfolding an entirely new plot. I really should have read the synopsis more carefully! Nonetheless, I’m so used to these "split-season" tropes in C-dramaland that I accepted it almost immediately.

Lastly, Xu Qi'an seeking justice for Zheng Xinghuai was incredibly satisfying. I wept with profound grief at the brutality and injustice of Mr. Zheng’s death. So it was such a gratifying moment when Xu Qi'an publicly convicted and executed the main perpetrators; it was a relief so massive, it felt as if a boulder pulling me down had finally been removed. It ensured the crime wasn't swept under the rug and that the deceased weren't left with their reputations unfairly sullied.

P.S. Let me treat y'all with my favorite Xu Qi'an line from that execution scene.

"I, Xu Qi'an, killed those two culprits not to vent my anger or to take revenge but to do the right thing, to clear Mr. Zheng's name, and to send the court a message: You're paid as a court official. You live off the people's resources. You can easily oppress the common people, but you can't fool the heavens."

Story - 10, I loved how the story stayed cohesive, flowing naturally through every beat even though it's only the first half. Prequels can be hit or miss, but this one definitely hit the mark. It managed to stay grounded while pushing the comedy to the absolute extreme. A fantastic watch!

Acting/Cast - 10, What an unexpected but perfect comedic duo! Wang Hedi and Tian Xiwei fit their roles so well. I’m obsessed with the chaos they bring—they are both goofy ASF! Even the supporting cast is just as good. The casting for this show is spot on!

Music - 9.5 Its OST is one that grows on you the more you listen to it. I wasn't initially crazy about the soundtrack, especially the ending theme, but the more I watch the show and feel its vibe, the more I start to jam to it. It gives off a happy, funky adventure vibe. I'm not really a big fan of rock and rap, but the upbeat and exciting tunes eventually won me over. It fits the drama's overall theme perfectly. The ballads, on the other hand, are really lovely—I've liked them from the start.

Rewatch Value - 10, This is one of those shows I can watch over and over again, regardless of when or where. It’s the ultimate example of a perfect balance between humor and emotional depth.

Overall - 10, I don't think I could give this show a lower rating—I love it so much! It's one of those shows I just couldn't stop watching. I literally binge-watched the whole thing.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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