I started watching the "cut" version on YouTube last week & realized Viki just got it. I would say half enjoyable romantic trash & half eyerolling tropey trash? I do like my enjoyable romantic trash, okay! There were soooooo many eye-rolling moments & I think I scoffed out loud a couple of times. The FL had some amazing moments of being an intelligent, outgoing, likable character & I watched the writers keep sliding her into stupidity the further we got into the show. There was pretty good kissing/skinship chemistry between the leads once they got there, grandma was a treat & the 2nd couple ended up being adorable.
Anyone else think they tried to mimic My Lethal Man a little bit in the close-ups of the eyes, the lighting & camera movement in the emotional connection scenes of the main couple? They didn't feel organic to the show to me...
The ML savior scenes became HILARIOUS after I just let go of the fact I would be conducting multiple eyerolls in this show: cue lighting, camera focus is on his walking feet from behind, footsteps only clop-clop-clop in somewhat slow motion then Bahn-na-na-na comes the (imo jarring) music & here he comes strutting his stuff to catwalk time so he can save the girl. #eyeroll
Such a cutie, though he seemed slightly socially awkward (or shy?) on the programs I've seen him on to promote his dramas. I wonder what he's like in front of all his fans like that. I'm glad he's getting lots of love, though!!! <3
Currently trying this out on Viki bc of the actor playing the ML & the genre. On episode 10 & feel very little to no romantic chemistry, which is why I like to watch dramas. I can see he's trying to spark something with his little smiles, but I'm just not feeling it. Now that I know it's a sad drama, do I stick it out because I'm not really attached to anyone or do I drop it & find something I'm much more interested in? A dilemma! Because if I liked the couple & found out it was going to be a sad ending 1/3 of the way in, I would stop watching.
Gosh, I love Viki but I hate the delay...we only have 24 episodes right now, waaahhhh. I am resisting watching it bootlegged on those ad-laden tracking sites like drama cool.
This is just adorable, btw. ML is not my usual cup of tea but really grew on me with the dual identity concept. FL is intelligent, bold & so confident. She's fun to watch, though I often feel bad for the ML because she's constantly scheming. She's really giving him a run for his money, lol.
I've put the condensed version of 1 hour episodes into a playlist for easy finding. :)https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN6JnAmEPTV8ZrdP66P2d_-JGymuDsIrP
Liked this actress in Princess Silver but after reading all the comments, I've decided to drop this one at Episode #2. Not into liars who don't get a comeuppance in their story arc.
So full disclosure: I LOVED this & loved everything about the FL & ML & how the story progressed & how grown-up & mature it was. Niiiiiiiccceeeee. The story & characters for the leads is pretty much a gender role reversal in every way! The show throws a lot of shade on social conservatism & gender roles & targets asian culture too much for me, though, since I found it rather harsh. (I don't think in the western world the public would be accepting of her free-wheeling attitude toward dating, either.) I still loved her & loved them & found the second couple pretty nice eye candy. Great pacing to this one....it's like that Pringles ad: once you [start], you can't stop.
This was such a fun watch! Just the right amount of romance & xianxia fantasy for me, though their romance felt like a friends in High School kind of first friends that turns into love kind of relationship. Yes, I know he was supposed to have been in love before, but obviously that must have been something else (infatuation, maybe?) if Suying had no feeling for him & was able to hurt him w/o remorse like that. I see this as his first "real" love. Great production quality, too. China has the fantasy genre DOWN!
Clocking in at about 3 hours, this was fully deserving of my time. Fun, well-told story. Enjoyable romance, fun characters, likable leads & the assassin angle had its charm. Different kind of story than TKIAR which people have been comparing this to in the comments, so try not to compare too much in order to enjoy this one.
So I mostly watch dramas for the romance, but occasionally there's a show done well enough that it gets me without it. And I actually finish it, as I did this one. (That's kind of a big deal for me, lol. I drop dramas all the time.) At first, I couldn't get into it; maybe I just wasn't in the mood. But on a second attempt, it snagged my attention for the building mystery & strong female lead. Hyungsik is a draw here as well since he's real pretty to look. dat Boy is fiiiiiiiinnnnnneeeeee. He may not be your taste, but there's no denying it. What's great is that as you watch him, you remember wait, that's right, he's also a great actor. I think the FL is the best cross-dressing girl I've seen in a saeguk in a while!
Yes, there is a romance but it is the slowest, lowest burn ever--I mean, I think the water barely simmered & when there was a little heat shown, it looked mostly one-sided. It was such a source of frustration that thank GOODNESS the rest of the show makes up for it. There are some great characters & encounters in this drama that I feel are different, or at least off the beaten saeguk plot path. You realize everyone is on point with their acting. This had one of the most memorable scenes with secondary characters I've ever seen. I was stunned by the performances of both actors (the queen & the right state minister one specifically). A well done drama, but not exceptionally memorable, I'd say.
wow, the trailer on Viki makes this look so good but now reading the comments & reviews, I am hesitant to put in the time when there are so many other things waiting for me....like the new Bai Lu/Leo Luo drama.
I'm a sucker for good chemistry in a romance, though, so I may try this out. I can forgive so much in exchange for the romance: crappy story telling, bad editing, & uneven pacing if the couple is believable & fun to watch.
cute! Great chemistry between the leads: skinship, PDA, kisses, yay!The editing has some issues, unfortunately. It lost a bit of steam toward the end, but ended on a sweet, romantic note. (I will probably not watch season 2 if they make it, though.) I really enjoyed the love triangle in this. Will be searching for other things the actor who played the ML is in now...
Anyone else think they tried to mimic My Lethal Man a little bit in the close-ups of the eyes, the lighting & camera movement in the emotional connection scenes of the main couple? They didn't feel organic to the show to me...
The ML savior scenes became HILARIOUS after I just let go of the fact I would be conducting multiple eyerolls in this show: cue lighting, camera focus is on his walking feet from behind, footsteps only clop-clop-clop in somewhat slow motion then Bahn-na-na-na comes the (imo jarring) music & here he comes strutting his stuff to catwalk time so he can save the girl. #eyeroll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weTddrf6w1c
@5:05
This is just adorable, btw. ML is not my usual cup of tea but really grew on me with the dual identity concept. FL is intelligent, bold & so confident. She's fun to watch, though I often feel bad for the ML because she's constantly scheming. She's really giving him a run for his money, lol.
Yes, there is a romance but it is the slowest, lowest burn ever--I mean, I think the water barely simmered & when there was a little heat shown, it looked mostly one-sided. It was such a source of frustration that thank GOODNESS the rest of the show makes up for it. There are some great characters & encounters in this drama that I feel are different, or at least off the beaten saeguk plot path. You realize everyone is on point with their acting. This had one of the most memorable scenes with secondary characters I've ever seen. I was stunned by the performances of both actors (the queen & the right state minister one specifically). A well done drama, but not exceptionally memorable, I'd say.
I'm a sucker for good chemistry in a romance, though, so I may try this out. I can forgive so much in exchange for the romance: crappy story telling, bad editing, & uneven pacing if the couple is believable & fun to watch.