This review may contain spoilers
A good storyline fo a short drama
I ignored this one when it first aired and only watched it when I run out of in-betweenies. Well worth it, as good a quality as your average main dramas, with storyline, acting and production.
Things I liked:
Storyline - different from the usual plot lines, although it is about a girl transmigrating to a script, the premise of butterfly effect in changing the iconic script is fresh. It keeps one engaged. I liked how light hearted it was, even the sad scenes had a feel of ‘not all is lost’. The storyline didn’t pretend to have any more sophistication than usual teenage drama, it maintained that naivety and simplicity of characters, well, apart from last few episodes, which I mention in bits I didn’t like, and so if you’re looking for something light and uplifting, this is a drama for you.
Acting - although still not up to the calibre of the A-list actors, they delivered a solid performance, ML especially, a genuine talent, I hope to see him in many more dramas. 2nd leads were also good, albeit average, I saw JZX in Mirage - she seems to be typecast as a childlike ditzy character, which suits her, and so here she was likeable. The baddy ladies were believable, clearly enjoying cruelty, except for the empress which was a grey character, you can definitely feel that what’s driving her is not a being a psychopath, but beliefs and concepts which are not beyond redemption. I think she had the most complex role acting wise as she had to play a bad person with micro expressions suggesting there is more going on beneath the surface. Kudos to her for solid delivery.
Chemistry - good chemistry, between the main leads, the first kiss scene was hot hot hot.
Production - better than most short dramas, it definitely gave the feel of a main drama in all aspects. The fight scenes were pretty much carried by the ML, his gymnastic talent definitely paid off here, he’s spot on and I think he would do well as ML in any main wuxia drama, his future is bright if the Chinese netizens give him enough support.
OST - the end song is amazing!!!
Ending - 2 alternate endings and both happy!!!! 😃 normally if you see alternate ending it is because the first one was depressing, not here, you get to be indecisive about which ending is more fitting. I would love to know more about the symbolism of the butterflies - did they represent the legend of Butterfly lovers or were they symbolising the Butterfly effect running the storyline? Either way, you’ll like the endings.
What I didn’t like:
Acting - the FL is good in Luminosity Behind the Palace, but here, although she delivers a good performance, often her facial expressions felt fake and not credible. Perhaps she needs to develop into a more versatile actress. The 2nd FL, emperor’s real daughter was a bit of a lampshade, I didn’t feel like her character contributed anything to the story except for maintaining the plot.
Chemistry - the kissing scenes after the first awesome one were not so good, felt too staged and so lacking the feeling of the first scene. There was no credible chemistry between 2nd leads, but that’s more to do with the way the story was scripted, as it is, it felt like they were all just good mates.
Fight scenes - mostly way better than other short dramas, but some of the choreography had weird pauses before action making it look a touch clumsy.
Production / script - towards the end, there were far too many convos about how much they love each other, I know that the intention was to make it feel deep and profound, alas after a 3rd convo the opposite was achieved, in order for something to be profound, one shouldn’t spell it out in such repetitive, and over emphasised manner.
All in all, I give it a high 9 - this is definitely a short drama which upped its game and didn’t compromise quality in casting, production, OST or costumes. Loved it. 💗💗
Things I liked:
Storyline - different from the usual plot lines, although it is about a girl transmigrating to a script, the premise of butterfly effect in changing the iconic script is fresh. It keeps one engaged. I liked how light hearted it was, even the sad scenes had a feel of ‘not all is lost’. The storyline didn’t pretend to have any more sophistication than usual teenage drama, it maintained that naivety and simplicity of characters, well, apart from last few episodes, which I mention in bits I didn’t like, and so if you’re looking for something light and uplifting, this is a drama for you.
Acting - although still not up to the calibre of the A-list actors, they delivered a solid performance, ML especially, a genuine talent, I hope to see him in many more dramas. 2nd leads were also good, albeit average, I saw JZX in Mirage - she seems to be typecast as a childlike ditzy character, which suits her, and so here she was likeable. The baddy ladies were believable, clearly enjoying cruelty, except for the empress which was a grey character, you can definitely feel that what’s driving her is not a being a psychopath, but beliefs and concepts which are not beyond redemption. I think she had the most complex role acting wise as she had to play a bad person with micro expressions suggesting there is more going on beneath the surface. Kudos to her for solid delivery.
Chemistry - good chemistry, between the main leads, the first kiss scene was hot hot hot.
Production - better than most short dramas, it definitely gave the feel of a main drama in all aspects. The fight scenes were pretty much carried by the ML, his gymnastic talent definitely paid off here, he’s spot on and I think he would do well as ML in any main wuxia drama, his future is bright if the Chinese netizens give him enough support.
OST - the end song is amazing!!!
Ending - 2 alternate endings and both happy!!!! 😃 normally if you see alternate ending it is because the first one was depressing, not here, you get to be indecisive about which ending is more fitting. I would love to know more about the symbolism of the butterflies - did they represent the legend of Butterfly lovers or were they symbolising the Butterfly effect running the storyline? Either way, you’ll like the endings.
What I didn’t like:
Acting - the FL is good in Luminosity Behind the Palace, but here, although she delivers a good performance, often her facial expressions felt fake and not credible. Perhaps she needs to develop into a more versatile actress. The 2nd FL, emperor’s real daughter was a bit of a lampshade, I didn’t feel like her character contributed anything to the story except for maintaining the plot.
Chemistry - the kissing scenes after the first awesome one were not so good, felt too staged and so lacking the feeling of the first scene. There was no credible chemistry between 2nd leads, but that’s more to do with the way the story was scripted, as it is, it felt like they were all just good mates.
Fight scenes - mostly way better than other short dramas, but some of the choreography had weird pauses before action making it look a touch clumsy.
Production / script - towards the end, there were far too many convos about how much they love each other, I know that the intention was to make it feel deep and profound, alas after a 3rd convo the opposite was achieved, in order for something to be profound, one shouldn’t spell it out in such repetitive, and over emphasised manner.
All in all, I give it a high 9 - this is definitely a short drama which upped its game and didn’t compromise quality in casting, production, OST or costumes. Loved it. 💗💗
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