3
3
1
You can cast the boy out of a cinnamon role, but you can’t cast the cinnamon roll out of the boy.
The first twenty of so episodes of this drama are very good. It totally fulfils the “fit for purpose” specifications of a historical action romance. There’s a whack of very good chemistry, sweet romantic interactions, some deliciously dastardly baddies, a couple of kick arse women, lots of good supporting roles and a plot that meanders along with enough in it to keep you on your toes.
Admittedly there’s the obligatory total suspension of disbelief required in some areas, not least of which concerns our reputedly ruthless hero, Xie Zheng played by Zhang Ling He. Sorry, but however much he frowns and barks: looks like a cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll. I’m probably going to be pickled in brine and strung up to cure for this remark, but then again, I’m known for saying it like it is, so —I genuinely think he was miscast. He simply doesn’t have the hard edge of suppressed emotions to pull off tsundere, which is what this role required. But I have to admit he makes a perfect, sweet, romantic lead.
You know when someone has been working too hard with not enough sleep, because the plot gets infected by fevered dreams and all types of ridiculousness follows. Look, I’ve watched a lot of dramas and I’m prepared to accept a heap of wince-making unbelievable situations before I totally give up on something that I decided to review. But starting about half way through, the shenanigans around false identity and military procedure got way beyond the rolling eyes and LOL stage and had me banging on the pause button and going off to do anything other than endure any more of it. I did my best not to give up and it was an excruciatingly close call. Episode 26 was the low point and I did think if anything else happens, I’m out. If you’ve got a strong enough stomach to survive that episode on top of what comes before it, then the rest is plain sailing, if a little predictable.
Until the last couple of episodes that is, which were badly edited and try to solve too many plot lines at once in a disjointed hash of scenes that don’t have enough time to really impact properly. Some of the plot lines needed more support earlier to be tied in properly. The unfolding of mystery should be a procession of tempting tasting dishes that lead you to the finale and is not best served by starving everyone then slopping everything on a plate at the end in an as-much-as-you-can-eat buffet, followed by pie in the sky to finish it off.
The prize for the most romantic line, sweetly delivered in a love scene goes to Xie Zheng for “Every morning I woke up to the sound of you slaughtering pigs.” And the prize for the sexiest psychotic villain that I’ve seen in a long while goes to Deng Kai for his portrayal of Sui Yuan Hai. Irresistible…
So it’s a very compromised rating, the start is an 8, the middle is a 5 and the end is a 7 which I’ve balanced out to a 7 overall.
Edited to add: Oh, I've just discovered, to my great amusement, that I align with the official Chinese government line on Zhang Ling He's portrayal of Xie Zheng! There's always a first time...LOL.
Admittedly there’s the obligatory total suspension of disbelief required in some areas, not least of which concerns our reputedly ruthless hero, Xie Zheng played by Zhang Ling He. Sorry, but however much he frowns and barks: looks like a cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll. I’m probably going to be pickled in brine and strung up to cure for this remark, but then again, I’m known for saying it like it is, so —I genuinely think he was miscast. He simply doesn’t have the hard edge of suppressed emotions to pull off tsundere, which is what this role required. But I have to admit he makes a perfect, sweet, romantic lead.
You know when someone has been working too hard with not enough sleep, because the plot gets infected by fevered dreams and all types of ridiculousness follows. Look, I’ve watched a lot of dramas and I’m prepared to accept a heap of wince-making unbelievable situations before I totally give up on something that I decided to review. But starting about half way through, the shenanigans around false identity and military procedure got way beyond the rolling eyes and LOL stage and had me banging on the pause button and going off to do anything other than endure any more of it. I did my best not to give up and it was an excruciatingly close call. Episode 26 was the low point and I did think if anything else happens, I’m out. If you’ve got a strong enough stomach to survive that episode on top of what comes before it, then the rest is plain sailing, if a little predictable.
Until the last couple of episodes that is, which were badly edited and try to solve too many plot lines at once in a disjointed hash of scenes that don’t have enough time to really impact properly. Some of the plot lines needed more support earlier to be tied in properly. The unfolding of mystery should be a procession of tempting tasting dishes that lead you to the finale and is not best served by starving everyone then slopping everything on a plate at the end in an as-much-as-you-can-eat buffet, followed by pie in the sky to finish it off.
The prize for the most romantic line, sweetly delivered in a love scene goes to Xie Zheng for “Every morning I woke up to the sound of you slaughtering pigs.” And the prize for the sexiest psychotic villain that I’ve seen in a long while goes to Deng Kai for his portrayal of Sui Yuan Hai. Irresistible…
So it’s a very compromised rating, the start is an 8, the middle is a 5 and the end is a 7 which I’ve balanced out to a 7 overall.
Edited to add: Oh, I've just discovered, to my great amusement, that I align with the official Chinese government line on Zhang Ling He's portrayal of Xie Zheng! There's always a first time...LOL.
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