This review may contain spoilers
When the second half falls off a cliff...
This drama came out of the gate with bang! A red clad female general who is a master archer takes down a prince who is referred to as the Killer God or some version of it? Sign me up!
The sheer amount of razor sharp tension between Fu Yixiao and Feng Suige in the first half of the drama was so good! I was appalled at the violence and brutality they doled out to each other, but somehow since they were equally psychotic I could close one eye and live with it.
What I had trouble with was the return of one Su Rong Qing (from The Princess Royal) who was now haunting my screen as Xia Jiangshi, yet another pathetic villain role. Granted, I can't stand the villain roles this actor takes on because he just does not have a presence on screen and looks like a child play acting as a baddie. So here, the ballad of Su Rong Qing continues...(shout out to the reviewer who reviewed The Princess Royal and said it should have been called The Ballad of Su Rong Qing instead. That has stuck with me until now!)
The first half of the drama was fantastic - our leads work together to piece Yixiao's memory together and find out who is the traitor in Suige's kingdom. Their interactions were so honest and raw; clearly both of them had so much baggage and trauma and somehow together they healed. It was all very bloody and sweet. The betrayal by Yixiao's closest allies was heartbreaking and we see that in a way her memory loss allowed her to finally see things for what they are and to really find and connect with the people she is meant to be with. Suige's trauma flowed through his veins and I especially loved the way he challenged his father and did not care that he was challenging the emperor. I have waited a long time for a drama where the prince doesn't cower and live in fear of his father. It was a nice change!
The palace intrigue on both Susha and Jinxiu sides was so boring though. It was predictable and a real snooze. Susha politics made my eyes cross from boredom and Jinxiu's internal drama made me fall asleep more than once.
The one scene I truly enjoyed was the confrontation Feng Suige had with his father where he sees that the emperor is a depraved power fiend who only wanted his Killer God son to become just like him. When Suige sees his father as a monster and understands how his mother was murdered, it was so tragic yet moving to watch him refuse to become what his father wanted him to be. A huge part of that was Yixiao who had become his ally in every way and the way she stood up for him and protected him was phenomenal. She was truly the MVP of this drama.
By this point Suige's revenge is done and it's only episode 25/26. I'm then thinking to myself what on earth is left that this drama needed 38 episodes? Oh boy.
So off a cliff it went.
I was still on board when Suige gets ambushed and stabbed by the Murong father and son duo. I was horrified, but knew he wasn't going to die as it just didn't strike me as that sort of drama. Plus it wasn't even episode 30 yet...
Then he's buried while barely alive, dug up, taken to some exclusive alliance where everyone gets saved no matter what, becomes blind, becomes un-blind, loses his memory specifically of the love of his life, then un-loses his memory of her by stabbing her and then gets caught up in the internal betrayal of this alliance because the people there were sick and tired of not being able to leave. Why oh why did we need 38 episodes just to go through all this?
The final battle was always going to be Yixiao's revenge which coincided with Suige's revenge 2.0 against Xia Jingshi. I thought that Yixiao would finally confront him about the death camps and what he did to her and then take his head off. Yet, it is Suige who delivers the final blow with Yixiao assisting?? This should have been written better considering Xia Jingshi had wronged her way more than Suige defending what was done to Xiyang.
Lastly. Xiyang. Lord this girl was a pain. I knew she would end up being miserable, but she just continued to circle the drain of misery and not amounting to anything. If you marry someone you love but he does not love you, especially because he has made it clear that he loves someone else, how exactly were you planning to win that fight? She gets mad at Xia Jingshi and throws a hissy fit that he can't just give into her and their marriage. Girl....Also Xia Jingshi is an ass and you really should have known better.
The mess that comes after that was beyond ridiculous and really could have been written better. Also, why are rival kingdoms always written as twisted? Like why did Xia Jingyan have to have kinks and exhibit depravity? Also why do they always have to be styled with all the braids and beads? It makes it seem as if Susha is the "right" kingdom and Jinxiu is not. What's up with that?
Then for Suige to place her in the reigning position of Susha - I would be alright with this if we could remember the girl being capable of doing anything except being childish! When did she suddenly become wise and capable??
All in all, Fated Hearts was fabulous until it wasn't. I would rewatch the first half and pretend that the second half was written better.
The sheer amount of razor sharp tension between Fu Yixiao and Feng Suige in the first half of the drama was so good! I was appalled at the violence and brutality they doled out to each other, but somehow since they were equally psychotic I could close one eye and live with it.
What I had trouble with was the return of one Su Rong Qing (from The Princess Royal) who was now haunting my screen as Xia Jiangshi, yet another pathetic villain role. Granted, I can't stand the villain roles this actor takes on because he just does not have a presence on screen and looks like a child play acting as a baddie. So here, the ballad of Su Rong Qing continues...(shout out to the reviewer who reviewed The Princess Royal and said it should have been called The Ballad of Su Rong Qing instead. That has stuck with me until now!)
The first half of the drama was fantastic - our leads work together to piece Yixiao's memory together and find out who is the traitor in Suige's kingdom. Their interactions were so honest and raw; clearly both of them had so much baggage and trauma and somehow together they healed. It was all very bloody and sweet. The betrayal by Yixiao's closest allies was heartbreaking and we see that in a way her memory loss allowed her to finally see things for what they are and to really find and connect with the people she is meant to be with. Suige's trauma flowed through his veins and I especially loved the way he challenged his father and did not care that he was challenging the emperor. I have waited a long time for a drama where the prince doesn't cower and live in fear of his father. It was a nice change!
The palace intrigue on both Susha and Jinxiu sides was so boring though. It was predictable and a real snooze. Susha politics made my eyes cross from boredom and Jinxiu's internal drama made me fall asleep more than once.
The one scene I truly enjoyed was the confrontation Feng Suige had with his father where he sees that the emperor is a depraved power fiend who only wanted his Killer God son to become just like him. When Suige sees his father as a monster and understands how his mother was murdered, it was so tragic yet moving to watch him refuse to become what his father wanted him to be. A huge part of that was Yixiao who had become his ally in every way and the way she stood up for him and protected him was phenomenal. She was truly the MVP of this drama.
By this point Suige's revenge is done and it's only episode 25/26. I'm then thinking to myself what on earth is left that this drama needed 38 episodes? Oh boy.
So off a cliff it went.
I was still on board when Suige gets ambushed and stabbed by the Murong father and son duo. I was horrified, but knew he wasn't going to die as it just didn't strike me as that sort of drama. Plus it wasn't even episode 30 yet...
Then he's buried while barely alive, dug up, taken to some exclusive alliance where everyone gets saved no matter what, becomes blind, becomes un-blind, loses his memory specifically of the love of his life, then un-loses his memory of her by stabbing her and then gets caught up in the internal betrayal of this alliance because the people there were sick and tired of not being able to leave. Why oh why did we need 38 episodes just to go through all this?
The final battle was always going to be Yixiao's revenge which coincided with Suige's revenge 2.0 against Xia Jingshi. I thought that Yixiao would finally confront him about the death camps and what he did to her and then take his head off. Yet, it is Suige who delivers the final blow with Yixiao assisting?? This should have been written better considering Xia Jingshi had wronged her way more than Suige defending what was done to Xiyang.
Lastly. Xiyang. Lord this girl was a pain. I knew she would end up being miserable, but she just continued to circle the drain of misery and not amounting to anything. If you marry someone you love but he does not love you, especially because he has made it clear that he loves someone else, how exactly were you planning to win that fight? She gets mad at Xia Jingshi and throws a hissy fit that he can't just give into her and their marriage. Girl....Also Xia Jingshi is an ass and you really should have known better.
The mess that comes after that was beyond ridiculous and really could have been written better. Also, why are rival kingdoms always written as twisted? Like why did Xia Jingyan have to have kinks and exhibit depravity? Also why do they always have to be styled with all the braids and beads? It makes it seem as if Susha is the "right" kingdom and Jinxiu is not. What's up with that?
Then for Suige to place her in the reigning position of Susha - I would be alright with this if we could remember the girl being capable of doing anything except being childish! When did she suddenly become wise and capable??
All in all, Fated Hearts was fabulous until it wasn't. I would rewatch the first half and pretend that the second half was written better.
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