Michelle Topham

FWIW, I didn't find the first two episodes interesting but it really ramped up for me during and after the red bird battle ( and the spirits in the trees attack). After Ep 4, I'm hooked. 😀

So, if it's not grabbing you either, my suggestion is give it a few more episodes and it might.

Btw, Dilraba and Arthur are doing a phenomenal job, and their chemistry, which doesn't really kick in, IMO, until Ep 4, is on fire. ( And no, I'm not a particular fan of either of them - don't like them or dislike them - but I give credit where credit is due).

Not a Dilraba fan at all, but her performance is superb in this.

😂😂😂 Couldn't have said it better myself. 😅 Then again, I've always found 'fandoms' exhausting. 😀

Same. And also don't like/don't hate either of the lead actors. Can take both or leave both. Just surprised this isn't holding my attention so far, as I was looking forward to it. But midway thru Ep 3 and I'm a tad bored, as the acting isn't great so far (Arthur is decent, several others not so much, not sure about Dilraba yet?), and it's tediously written. Hopefully it will improve.

Edit: Started to really grab my attention by the end of Ep 3/begining of Ep 4, btw. Writing has also begun to improve. Looking forward to Ep 5 now. 😀

One thing I am surprised about for such a big budget drama, both the opening and closing themes are bland AF.

Would have expected at least one of them to be epic. But no.

Opening graphics tho are gorgeous.

First two episodes are slow and not that interesting, IMO. Dynamic pretty much non- existent so far. But, as this was one of my most anticipated C-dramas of the year, I'm willing to give it thru about Ep 10 to see if it improves.

You may want to wait to see what the consensus is after 5 or 6 episodes if you're unsure if you'll like it. Especially if you're not particularly a Dilraba or Arthur fan ( I'm not. I can take or leave both of them, although I did enjoy her in Sword Rose and he gave a superb performance in When Destiny Brings the Demon ( in the 9 eps I watched before I put it on hold).

EDIT: For what it's worth, I'm hooked after Ep 4. 😄

It's super annoying that MAL allows this. Especially when you get idiots that downrate/ uprate all 40 episodes. Sure, you can't fix stupid, but MAL could at least make it more difficult for the morons. 🤪

No, no delay. Most longer C-dramas release 4 episodes the first day, then 2 new episodes every day afterwards. Until, towards the end, they release the last 5 or 6 episodes altogether for people who are willing to pay extra for them, while the rest of us get one episode dropped daily for the last 5 or 6 days. That's usually the same for both Chinese and international audiences.

And btw, welcome to the world of C-dramas. You have thousands of amazing series to look forward to. 😀

You've got two fangirl groups rating it -- Dilraba and Arthur's, so you will never get an accurate rating for a drama like this. Personally, I thought the first couple of episodes were dull (expected more due to the trailer) but... we'll see if it improves.

You're welcome. 🙂. And I did some research to find it as the song is sooooo pretty.

Here you go, including the lyrics in English :) -- https://baozibuns.com/whats-opening-theme-song-for-c-drama-the-inescapable-who-sings-it/

Excellent commentary, and agree with all of it. Really struggled to finish Season 2 as it felt like it went on forever, whereas, like you said, a few more episodes onto the excellent Season 1 would have finished up the story without all the drag.

There's losing weight for a part and there's putting your health in extreme danger. She has a history of being painfully thin. So much so, fans have been calling out her anorexia for years (huge hoopla about it in S. Korea a couple of years ago, but she obviously hasn't learned from it).

I just can't support anything she's in anymore as it's SO unhealthy for young girls to watch her and think this is "healthy" or "normal". None of this is healthy or normal -- for a drama part or not.

It's pretty entertaining, and the writing is decent. The relationship between the two leads is cool, and Guan Yue gives his usual excellent performance.

If you're looking for a short drama that's entertaining, it's enjoyable IMO.

Just finished Episode 1 but, Ye Gods, the visuals in this are stunning. Gorgeous!!

Honestly, I wouldn't bother. I made it thru Episode 24 and couldn't possibly continue any longer. Every decent person dies, often for no good reason, the ML is a useless fool and Bai Lu's character is one-dimensional. Writing is also poor and there is ZERO character development.

I also couldn't care less if there is romance or not, I'm fine with either, but even with the little romance there is in this, there is still no chemistry between the leads. At all.

Overall, it starts out very well. So much so, I was obsessed thru the first 15 episodes or so, but the last half does NOT hold up to the promise of the first. Plenty more excellent C-dramas out there. I wouldn't waste your time on this. Not unless you're a big Bai Lu or Wang Xin Yue fan and just HAVE to see everything they appear in.

EDIT: And btw, the ONLY reason it is still being rated an 8.2 is because of Bai Lu fangirls. If it wasn't for that, many people would have dropped it midway, IMO, and moved onto something else.

1. At the end
2. Nope :)
3. Nope
4. Yep
5. Yes, but a mature one with two absolutely brilliant leads -- one who is a very strong and independent woman. And they're just so funny and cute together as they bicker. Even at the beginning when she really doesn't like him :)
6. At the end :)

And btw, if you watch it, don't fall into the trap of thinking he's a terrible person. He's not. At all. And that becomes obvious as you watch more episodes, and you realize he really is absolutely lovely (and a very interesting person) but hides his true self because he's afraid of getting close to someone . He's just his own worst enemy in the earlier episodes (well, and later too :)

It also has a brilliant ensemble cast of characters. (And the actor portraying each one is phenomenal). Loved every single one of them. Hope that helps :)

Just watched this for a second time, and it's just as enjoyable and the characters are just as wonderful as they were in the first viewing. Easily one of my favorite C-dramas of the last few years. Will probably do a third viewing at some point :) 10/10. Still.

It passed its review back in December, so should be getting a distribution license soon.

Don't know if you ever watched it, but I'm just chiming in to say it's excellent :) A huge surprise for me, as I didn't expect much from a low budget production.

But the production quality is high, especially for the budget, the acting is superb right down to the guy with two lines, the plot is interesting, and it's great to see so many well-known veteran actors suddenly appearing. I'm only on Episode 5, but highly recommend it if you haven't already watched it. And yep, like Lilybilly says, ZERO annoying supporting characters.

I'm the type of person that gets bored easily in a slow-moving drama, and this is slow during the first few episodes (I've heard it speeds up for the last half), but on every episode I've watched so far the credits suddenly start playing and 40 minutes have magically passed. :)

One of my faves of this year so far.