Don't understand the hype
This was such a popular show so I decided to give it a try and honestly I have no idea what the hype is, there is nothing new or anything we haven't seen again and again plot wise in xianxia. The CP is incredibly lacking for me , maybe my taste is just not aligned with the masses but I fail to see where the "sizzling" and "passionate" chemistry is with the leads, yes they have decent kisses but thats it, LYX was not giving me anything emotion wise, I just couldn't feel her deep undying love for the ML. This is not the first time I have issues with LYX's acting as I find she lacks emotional depths and there is no intensity in her facial expressions. She is much more suited for light hearted modern day drama/comedy shows.Was this review helpful to you?
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Underrated Gem!!
Casting: I can't emphasized how spot on the casting is for not only the main leads but also the supporting characters. XK did not disappointed as our aloof and quiet MZY, some people may find his character boring but thats just exactly how his character is supposed to be. XK played wonderfully when emotions were not needed but when it came to the emotional scenes, boy did his eyes delivered. I am officially a fan of TXW, the way she portrayed the flirty, fearless, sassy but innocent cat lord was magnificent, I usually hate cutesy characters cause I find actresses often over do them and end up cringey but TXW managed to carry that out in such a charming and lovable way, I literally cannot get enough of her character.CP: these two are sooo visually stunning and just screams compatibility. The short promos I see of them makes me think that they would be a hot duo in a modern drama. The kiss scenes are so well done ❤️❤️, I've never seen kisses so sensually done, it screams sexual tension in a classy way. TXW is one of the few C-drama actresses i feel knows how to kiss. XK as a good kisser is a given lol.
Cinematography: this is one of the new dramas that I actually don't mind the CGI, and its hard to come by! The backdrop, setting, costumes (I still can't get over how gorgeous all of TXW's costumes are) are so beautifully filmed, it makes you feel like you're immersed in the world. The soundtrack is also fire.
Plot: while the story is rather unique, it does contain tons of Cdrama tropes: crazy 2ML, amnesia, misunderstanding etc. The story is enjoyable to follow, was it perfect? No, I do think they should've focused more on the ML instead of the crazy dalulu 2ML, and instead give more screen time to our CP especially after the misunderstanding and the divorce, it would've been more satisfying to see how they made up post conflict. While I agree the ending is a bit rushed, I am just happy its a happy ending. The way the final battle ended, it could've went either way but I'm glad director/screenwriter decided for a happy route.
All in all I really enjoyed this drama and it deserves a much higher rating as I've seen dramas that are 10x worse than this ends up with higher scores. Over I Highly recommend! 🌟🌟🌟
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A jade totally worth pursuing ❤️
What a wonderful joy ride this drama has been, and this is coming from someone who's read the novel multiple times and is able to make the comparison between the drama and novel.I'll start with the visuals and the cinematography, I'm just in awe of how amazing this director is with his craft. As a fan of Blossom, I knew his cinematography would not disappoint, but dang, he seriously up an entire level with POJ. Every scene, frame, and transition is with thought and purpose. His style of filming, especially during the first arc of the village life really made me feel like I'm immersed in their world. The glimpses we get of people's lives in the village, really gave off a sense of authenticity and tranquility and just so captivating. I will continue to follow this directors work for sure!
Casting. I cannot emphasize how perfectly casted to have ZLH and TXW as the cold but handsome marquis and the sweet, whimsical, straight forward, no BS, and strong butcher girl, respectively. To not only have 2 visually stunning actors take the lead but also matching the novel's descriptions of them both, is simply peak casting!!! ts almost like the characters were written with them in mind. I'm curious if the author had a say in the casting 🤔. TXW really stands out from start to finish, she carried out this role exceptionally well and has definitely lived up to the character of Changyu. TXW's emotionally range and versatility is something we don't see in most Cdramas. Bravo my girl! ⭐️⭐️
POJ has had the best overall casting that I've seen in a long time, aside from ZLH and TXW , all the supporting characters, even the child star has had their spotlight moments, every actor/actresses carried out such memorable performances. I'm confident to say that this drama has given a much needed career boost for alot these talented actors.
As for the storyline and plot, I would say the drama follows about 60-70% of the drama at most. In the beginning it appears the drama was choosing to faithfully follow the novel, besides the early development of Changyu and Xie Zheng's relationship in the village (a very welcome change 🤭), everything else was pretty much on par with the novel's progression in the first arc. Honestly, I think the first arc up to when they reunited at the camp was just excellently done 👌, the pacing and development was so engaging. Unfortunately, it is when they hit the military and Changyu's general arc that it started deviating from the novel and while I don't mind some of these changes, in fact, I even enjoyed some of them, I just felt there were certain parts they should've been faithful to: an example is when they changed the part where Xie Zheng chooses to break up with Changyu after finding out about her family, how he torments himself physically and mentally, and then goes chasing to be with her after accepting punishment. This was such a emotionally powerful arc that was not portrayed on screen and its such a missed opportunity cause ZLH would've slayed it. 😢 Another scene I would loved to see on screen is their official wedding, it was such a symbolic ending to the novel as the leads started with a fake marriage and ends up falling in love, going through thick and thin, preservere and finally having their happily ever after. A full circle moment. ❤️
Last but not least, our CP 😍🔥🔥🔥🔥. Seriously don't even know where to start as I'm sooo obsessed with their chemistry!! Even a glance at each other is making my toes curl - yes, big credit goes to the director for his emotionally impactful direction, but like I said before, there is only so much that camera angles and filters can help with bringing out the chemistry, the leads' acting is as equally as important as the director's artistic vision. ZLH and TXW has elevated the level of chemistry in Cdrama and will be hard to match for me. I'm really praying for a second collaboration between this two !!! 🔥🔥🔥😭😭
This is definitely one that I will re-watch ♾️!!!! 😭⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Don't expect tooooo much
This is not a terrible watch but the plot is thin and I think they could've fnished this at 30 eps max. It seems like there was a lot of sub plots that didn't really play into the main plot. The chemistry was ok... the leads acted like siblings throughout most of the show so there wasn't much romance or skinship, and when there was, it was.. alright. I appreciate stories where the ML regrets rejecting the FL's love and ends up desperately fighting for her but this drama just kinda held back for me. The main leads are average at best.Was this review helpful to you?
Love the first half, hate the second half
As a fan of TSY I was very excited for this and even planned my holiday to binge this drama. The premise of brocade being the theme does not sound entirely exciting to be honest but with TSY leading I was confident it would be a great show nonetheless, for the first half, it truly was, but after ep 30 it all went downhill and there was no saving grace for this drama.The chemistry between the leads are amazing and I was eating up all their interactions especially after they got married which to me was the highlight of the show. The tone from the beginning gives off a very light hearted drama with minimal, if any, angst so was I in for a nasty surprise when the entire tone shifted from ep 30 to a very dark, bloody, and angst where nothing really makes sense cause prince bai who is supposed to be this cold cool villian with a big political agenda suddenly turns into a pathetic delusional love boy, throw in some uncessary character deaths just for the sake of shock factor that actually adds no real value to the plot, this show went down a landslide. Don't get me started with the so called happy ending.... its like the writers ran out of steam from the last 10 ep and decided to give 0 effort in the ending.
Overall, it's not a show I'll be rewatching anytime soon.
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An easy watch with good romance
This was overall a very easy plot to follow and the love story was sweet when the leads got together. Despite the setting of this drama taking place in a corporate world it is not at all heavy on boring mundane business talk, rather it only serves as a backdrop for the leads to get together. The FL was a bit stoic and expressionless in the beginning but she eventually warmed up as the plot developed and I ended up loving her cuteness and affection with the ML. A con is that I wish the editing included more sound effect or music during romantic scenes, sometimes I find there was a weird silence when a scene was supposed to come off emotionally charged but I was missing that sound effect to make me fully invested. Overall it was a good watch.Was this review helpful to you?
An unexpected materpiece!!
What an absolute masterpiece!! I initially decided to give this drama a try purely based on hype as I'm not fimilar with the leads so I didn't really know what to expect, but am I ever glad I gave it a try cause I absolutely love everything about this drama and it's definitely on my rewatch list.The CP between the leads is absolutely captivating. The romance portrayed here is not the scorching hot and sizzling kind of relationship, but it is more of the passionate, deep, mature, and everlasting love kind of romance and that is what drew me in from the beginning. MZY and LYR did an amazing job bringing their characters to life and all their interactions from simple stares to kisses and small nuances with their interaction really gives the audiance the image of a solid mature love without the unnecessary and immature drama we often see in Cdramas, and I'm all for it.
The concept of rebirth is not unqiue but thats fine since how many Cdramas nowadays are really that but it's a matter of how the cliche is brought to life that sets it apart from dramas of similar themes, and I think Blossom did a wonderful job in setting the tone of the drama since ep 1. The specials effects are stunning, the pacing is very reasonable, the plot development was on par with very few plotholes, and the character developments, even for the supporting cast was done well. I didn't find any characters that were particularly one dimensional or flat, everyone played a pivoting role that further the plot.
Because of Blossom, I am now a fan of MZY and LYR and is looking forward to their next project. I'll have to say acting wise I do think LYR is a bit stronger than MZY as I find he was a bit better portraying emotions and seems to really embody the cold but kind hearted general Song Mo. I still can't get over the dreamy silver hair look in the first episode!!! 😍
10/10 in my books and I am currently rewatching as I'm writing this.
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