Forget the romance - just enjoy the stunning visuals and beautiful soundtrack.
CY has captivated me since MLC, so I’ve really been looking forward to his future works. Among all his upcoming dramas, I personally picked this one because of all those gorgeous costume photos and the “love storyline” they mentioned on Wiki and MDL — which made me think, “Okay, this is gonna be a good romance drama.”
But honestly, if they hadn’t branded this series as a “romance drama” or part of the “iQiyi Heartfelt Theater,” I think it would’ve done a lot better. People would’ve gone in with different expectations and probably enjoyed it more. The so-called “romance” mostly happens with the 2nd and 3rd male leads, which feels like a big joke. That misleading “romance drama” label really backfires by the end.
The first half of the drama was great — it built up nicely and hit its peak around episodes 12–13. Those episodes gave me so much hope for a solid love story in the later part. But after that… the story just went off track, and logic basically flew out the window. Even though the original Wangquan Arc was short, I still believe this could’ve been a masterpiece if the production team had a clearer direction, because the potential was huge. Instead, it feels like they didn’t really care and just went wild without a solid story plan. There are many choppy cuts that make the story feel disconnected and messy.
Even if the main focus was supposed to be WangQuan FuGui’s life journey, they could’ve still added the romance along the way — it’s totally possible. But they just didn’t. So personally, I’ll just pretend the Wangquan Arc only runs from episodes 1 to 13, and the rest are just bonus stories.
I’d give this drama 7/10 — mainly for CY’s stunning visuals (those costumes were gorgeous and stayed perfect till the end), his acting in emotional and fight scenes (though I still think his performance in MLC was stronger), and the amazing OST, especially 焚爱 (Burning Love) by Rainie Yang in episode 12. That song is still stuck in my head until today!
But honestly, if they hadn’t branded this series as a “romance drama” or part of the “iQiyi Heartfelt Theater,” I think it would’ve done a lot better. People would’ve gone in with different expectations and probably enjoyed it more. The so-called “romance” mostly happens with the 2nd and 3rd male leads, which feels like a big joke. That misleading “romance drama” label really backfires by the end.
The first half of the drama was great — it built up nicely and hit its peak around episodes 12–13. Those episodes gave me so much hope for a solid love story in the later part. But after that… the story just went off track, and logic basically flew out the window. Even though the original Wangquan Arc was short, I still believe this could’ve been a masterpiece if the production team had a clearer direction, because the potential was huge. Instead, it feels like they didn’t really care and just went wild without a solid story plan. There are many choppy cuts that make the story feel disconnected and messy.
Even if the main focus was supposed to be WangQuan FuGui’s life journey, they could’ve still added the romance along the way — it’s totally possible. But they just didn’t. So personally, I’ll just pretend the Wangquan Arc only runs from episodes 1 to 13, and the rest are just bonus stories.
I’d give this drama 7/10 — mainly for CY’s stunning visuals (those costumes were gorgeous and stayed perfect till the end), his acting in emotional and fight scenes (though I still think his performance in MLC was stronger), and the amazing OST, especially 焚爱 (Burning Love) by Rainie Yang in episode 12. That song is still stuck in my head until today!
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