This review may contain spoilers
Overhyped and confused
I almost dropped the series multiple times for a number of reasons. But there was just enough of a plot where you felt the need to see it through its conclusion. This should be labeled a romance series that is also trying to imitate drama/comedy/action/politics but just ends up imbalanced.
Negatives:
-- The initial premise was intriguing but dwindles rapidly into a full-on love story where the main leads are like high school kids continually flirting with one another.
-- The main male lead is depicted initially as a ruthless leader with a lifelong grudge. Yet they do a slow motion shot of him pretty much falling in love at first sight, which really diminishes his character and his passion from the onset.
-- While I'm all for an intellectual and capable female lead, they went unrealistically overboard with her character. So much so that apparently, the accomplished male leader who led wars and ruled over clans for years suddenly needs constant saving from her.
-- Then the pet peeve of mine that occurs across multiple similar series. When someone is supposed to be a war veteran, etc. who are used to getting wounded and then when they get a paper-cut at some point, a huge deal is made about it. They also didn't budget much on the visual of the wounds.
-- The relationship with the couple is supposed to be unique in the sense that they are enemies, but it's not much different than any other arranged marriages with trust issues. They mush for each other so quickly that it's utterly unconvincing.
-- The series throws in a few graphic scenes of violence and death, lots of lighthearted and fun banter, tons of sappy romance, political manipulation and some war action. It's as if it tried to take little pieces of what made other series successful and forced it together awkwardly.
Positives:
-- The positives also come from the negative listed in the last bullet above. The few graphic scenes does emphasize the seriousness in the grudges, the fun banter between the characters does create chemistry and comradery, and there are some romantic development scenes that are humorous.
-- There are many familiar faces in the series who do a good job in their roles though not at the level of truly seasoned actors. And while Song Zu Er's acting for me was subpar in The Demon Hunter's Romance, she shows a bit more range in this one.
If you're into the romance genre, can definitely see this one being rated on the higher end. But if you're expecting more serious undertones, unpredictability, or action, this is probably not it. There was a lot of potential with this one if they were able to properly balance the different elements or just stayed in one lane. I completed this one with a good amount of fast-forwarding.
Negatives:
-- The initial premise was intriguing but dwindles rapidly into a full-on love story where the main leads are like high school kids continually flirting with one another.
-- The main male lead is depicted initially as a ruthless leader with a lifelong grudge. Yet they do a slow motion shot of him pretty much falling in love at first sight, which really diminishes his character and his passion from the onset.
-- While I'm all for an intellectual and capable female lead, they went unrealistically overboard with her character. So much so that apparently, the accomplished male leader who led wars and ruled over clans for years suddenly needs constant saving from her.
-- Then the pet peeve of mine that occurs across multiple similar series. When someone is supposed to be a war veteran, etc. who are used to getting wounded and then when they get a paper-cut at some point, a huge deal is made about it. They also didn't budget much on the visual of the wounds.
-- The relationship with the couple is supposed to be unique in the sense that they are enemies, but it's not much different than any other arranged marriages with trust issues. They mush for each other so quickly that it's utterly unconvincing.
-- The series throws in a few graphic scenes of violence and death, lots of lighthearted and fun banter, tons of sappy romance, political manipulation and some war action. It's as if it tried to take little pieces of what made other series successful and forced it together awkwardly.
Positives:
-- The positives also come from the negative listed in the last bullet above. The few graphic scenes does emphasize the seriousness in the grudges, the fun banter between the characters does create chemistry and comradery, and there are some romantic development scenes that are humorous.
-- There are many familiar faces in the series who do a good job in their roles though not at the level of truly seasoned actors. And while Song Zu Er's acting for me was subpar in The Demon Hunter's Romance, she shows a bit more range in this one.
If you're into the romance genre, can definitely see this one being rated on the higher end. But if you're expecting more serious undertones, unpredictability, or action, this is probably not it. There was a lot of potential with this one if they were able to properly balance the different elements or just stayed in one lane. I completed this one with a good amount of fast-forwarding.
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