This review may contain spoilers
The first half was so damn good that I had to go find the book.
Out of all the dramas starring Li Qin, this happens to be the one where I found her character to be the most likable. It felt as if it was written for her, by the scriptwriter not the author of the original book coz that's another story.
For me the first half was so good, I wanted to know more and had no patience to wait for all episodes to come out. For that reason, I went out looking for the book and god was I disappointed. This was one of the few times when I thought the book was a mess and the drama script improved upon it. This made me think very highly of the scriptwriters and the other decision makers in this drama. They fixed the immature characters, giving us Fu Yi Xiao and Feng Sui Ge that were fully fleshed out, indomitable, and charismatic.
At the same time, I felt that they dropped the ball during the second half of the drama. They did fix the two leads, but they just butchered Xia Jing Shi's character. Honestly, he was one of the best parts about the book, his story that riveting. (It was about his impotency and how despite that he became the Emperor with the support of his court, ministers, soldiers, and people.) Turning him into this mess only to be discarded was a bad direction to take. (Of course, had i not read the book, I would only know of Xia Jing Shi in the drama and he would still have seemed like a character that went nowhere.)
Also, for the first time I felt that Chen He Yi was not a right choice for this role. I have liked him in other dramas but in this, he just felt out of place.
The only part I liked about the second half of the drama was the disturbing infatuation Xia Jing Yan had for Feng Xi Yang. His ending was predictable but still left a strong impression. By the end of it, it didn't even matter who inherited the throne.
For me the first half was so good, I wanted to know more and had no patience to wait for all episodes to come out. For that reason, I went out looking for the book and god was I disappointed. This was one of the few times when I thought the book was a mess and the drama script improved upon it. This made me think very highly of the scriptwriters and the other decision makers in this drama. They fixed the immature characters, giving us Fu Yi Xiao and Feng Sui Ge that were fully fleshed out, indomitable, and charismatic.
At the same time, I felt that they dropped the ball during the second half of the drama. They did fix the two leads, but they just butchered Xia Jing Shi's character. Honestly, he was one of the best parts about the book, his story that riveting. (It was about his impotency and how despite that he became the Emperor with the support of his court, ministers, soldiers, and people.) Turning him into this mess only to be discarded was a bad direction to take. (Of course, had i not read the book, I would only know of Xia Jing Shi in the drama and he would still have seemed like a character that went nowhere.)
Also, for the first time I felt that Chen He Yi was not a right choice for this role. I have liked him in other dramas but in this, he just felt out of place.
The only part I liked about the second half of the drama was the disturbing infatuation Xia Jing Yan had for Feng Xi Yang. His ending was predictable but still left a strong impression. By the end of it, it didn't even matter who inherited the throne.
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