This review may contain spoilers
Overall, this was one of the better traditional dramas I’ve enjoyed. Most of the episodes were fast paced, the costumes and sets were beautiful and the chemistry between the main couple was also pretty sweet, in spite of how I normally don’t go for the ‘enemy to lover’ trope.
Most of the Chinese historical dramas I’ve seen are palace dramas with a whole court of characters kowtowing to an emperor, so it was refreshing how this one focused on warlords and their rivaling kingdoms- which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I just felt that it was a nice change from the standard palace drama. In here, these warlords still serve the emperor, but the emperor cannot go against them either, especially if they have a strong army. So they have a certain amount of freedom and self governance away from the main court.
I actually wanted to rate this higher, because while I did like the progression of the couple’s relationship, how the female lead proved herself as smart and capable and how practically every actor/actress here performed well with what they were given, there were certain things in the plot that I questioned and felt dragged the drama down a bit, mostly found in the last six episodes.
My main issue is that the main male lead was portrayed as somewhat incapable and incompetent. There was a part near the end where the Liangya army makes a surprise attack on the Wei state (the male lead’s kingdom) due in part to a secret tunnel the female lead’s family builds. I understand why Wei Shao felt angry and betrayed, but the scene made it appear as if he was sulking because he had no choice but to go to war unprepared and that he had no other back-up strategy to counter this attack.
This made no sense to me, because the character of Wei Shao is portrayed as battle-tested. Not only would his territories be fortified against such attacks, but if they actually turned out to be vulnerable, an in-character Wei Shao would be able to come up with a strategy to address it. I’m not against a vulnerable/flawed male lead…I’m not even against a female lead being smarter than the male lead…but I don’t agree with making one person stupid in an area where he/she is supposed* to be skilled, so that another character can shine.
If the said male lead is said to be good at something, then they might as well show it. Wei Shao is supposed to be experienced and skilled when it comes to warfare and tactics, how else could the Wei clan have gained such a reputation after his grandfather, uncle and brother were killed?
It also made no sense to me how Manman, the FL, kept crying about ‘having to send her husband to war to fight for her.’ The main reason why the Qiao’s wanted to marry her off in the first place to the Wei clan was because they had one of the strongest armies and were good at warfare. They didn’t offer her so they could sit around a campfire and sing kumbaya with the Weis..the marriage alliance existed so that the Weis (assuming they could let go of their past grudges) could lend military assistance... since the Qiao’s were rich, but did not have a strong army. Wei Shao's going off to war sulking was akin to having Genghis Khan crying because he had to get on a horse and fight.
I understand they did this so Manman could help him and show that she was good at strategy- thereby repaying her family’s past sins. While I appreciate the gesture, the plot device they came up with (her destroying that dam) and just giving a speech where the Liangya army just…seemingly out of the blue, were convinced and decided to give up and turn back- was too unbelievable to me.
The Evil Uncle / Liu Yian the main antagonist - The part where the Qiao uncle turns evil and sides with Liangya was not the issue. It’s the fact that he was too stupid. Earlier, Manman was engaged to Liu Yan of Liangya, but when the Weis came into the picture, they gave her to Wei instead and with a bigger dowry, because the Wei’s are* the more powerful bunch. What made him think that Liu Yan would not resent this past offense and would keep his word to give back the Panyi territory? They also don’t explain how Liangya all of a sudden had a bigger and better army than the Weis...
Lady Yulou and Wei Yan - Both the actor and actress did a great job portraying a scheming, Cersei-like villainess and a morally gray (but ultimately good) ally, respectively. But I feel that these types of characters are better served in an ensemble setting like Game of Thrones or even Nirvana in Fire. I found their parts boring here and wanted to fast forward to watch more of Wei Shao and Manman….but I am sure I would have appreciated Lady Yulou’s machinations or Wei Yan’s ambiguity in a different type of drama.
The part about Lady Yulou's ‘Huidian’ (that symbol on her forehead) was downright silly. When she becomes a criminal on the run from Wei state, they ask guards to look for a woman with this symbol in their forehead…and all she had to do was to wipe it off :/ The scouts didn't even bother to look at the appearance of the woman in their wanted posters. Later, when she gets disfigured and has to wear a mask, she comes up with a ridiculous story on why she has to have the mask on and Liu Yian (who earlier on, struck me as a good villain) is suckered into believing it. How can this crafty person suspect nothing?
TBH, I really loved the first 28 or 29 episodes; I feel that they should have ended the drama with Wei Shao presenting Manman to his ancestors. It would have given the best closure.
Historical dramas do not necessarily need to have good battle scenes and strategies, but this is one of the few that needed it, given the setting. Unfortunately, what I saw was not even average. After the Liangya army lost (because of Manman’s ’speech’) Wei Shao has to go off to war again to rescue Panyi ( cue Manman crying out of guilt, when she should take a tip from Queen Gorgo) and for some reason, Liu Yan knew that there was an area that would collapse because of the destruction of the dam and that Wei Shao’s army would get affected en route…but somehow, Wei Shao didn’t know about this…didn’t Manman tell him earlier?
With the Wei army off to rescue Panyi, for some reason the Wei state is not fortified, but it’s a good thing Wei Yan offers his assistance with his own army.
The ending battle is decided because their cousin in-law Bhi Zhi (who, for some reason, is an even better fighter than Wei Shao despite not having as much experience and starting off as a stable hand) decides to switch back from Liangya to Wei. They owe their victory to Bhi Zhi.
Most of the Chinese historical dramas I’ve seen are palace dramas with a whole court of characters kowtowing to an emperor, so it was refreshing how this one focused on warlords and their rivaling kingdoms- which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I just felt that it was a nice change from the standard palace drama. In here, these warlords still serve the emperor, but the emperor cannot go against them either, especially if they have a strong army. So they have a certain amount of freedom and self governance away from the main court.
I actually wanted to rate this higher, because while I did like the progression of the couple’s relationship, how the female lead proved herself as smart and capable and how practically every actor/actress here performed well with what they were given, there were certain things in the plot that I questioned and felt dragged the drama down a bit, mostly found in the last six episodes.
My main issue is that the main male lead was portrayed as somewhat incapable and incompetent. There was a part near the end where the Liangya army makes a surprise attack on the Wei state (the male lead’s kingdom) due in part to a secret tunnel the female lead’s family builds. I understand why Wei Shao felt angry and betrayed, but the scene made it appear as if he was sulking because he had no choice but to go to war unprepared and that he had no other back-up strategy to counter this attack.
This made no sense to me, because the character of Wei Shao is portrayed as battle-tested. Not only would his territories be fortified against such attacks, but if they actually turned out to be vulnerable, an in-character Wei Shao would be able to come up with a strategy to address it. I’m not against a vulnerable/flawed male lead…I’m not even against a female lead being smarter than the male lead…but I don’t agree with making one person stupid in an area where he/she is supposed* to be skilled, so that another character can shine.
If the said male lead is said to be good at something, then they might as well show it. Wei Shao is supposed to be experienced and skilled when it comes to warfare and tactics, how else could the Wei clan have gained such a reputation after his grandfather, uncle and brother were killed?
It also made no sense to me how Manman, the FL, kept crying about ‘having to send her husband to war to fight for her.’ The main reason why the Qiao’s wanted to marry her off in the first place to the Wei clan was because they had one of the strongest armies and were good at warfare. They didn’t offer her so they could sit around a campfire and sing kumbaya with the Weis..the marriage alliance existed so that the Weis (assuming they could let go of their past grudges) could lend military assistance... since the Qiao’s were rich, but did not have a strong army. Wei Shao's going off to war sulking was akin to having Genghis Khan crying because he had to get on a horse and fight.
I understand they did this so Manman could help him and show that she was good at strategy- thereby repaying her family’s past sins. While I appreciate the gesture, the plot device they came up with (her destroying that dam) and just giving a speech where the Liangya army just…seemingly out of the blue, were convinced and decided to give up and turn back- was too unbelievable to me.
The Evil Uncle / Liu Yian the main antagonist - The part where the Qiao uncle turns evil and sides with Liangya was not the issue. It’s the fact that he was too stupid. Earlier, Manman was engaged to Liu Yan of Liangya, but when the Weis came into the picture, they gave her to Wei instead and with a bigger dowry, because the Wei’s are* the more powerful bunch. What made him think that Liu Yan would not resent this past offense and would keep his word to give back the Panyi territory? They also don’t explain how Liangya all of a sudden had a bigger and better army than the Weis...
Lady Yulou and Wei Yan - Both the actor and actress did a great job portraying a scheming, Cersei-like villainess and a morally gray (but ultimately good) ally, respectively. But I feel that these types of characters are better served in an ensemble setting like Game of Thrones or even Nirvana in Fire. I found their parts boring here and wanted to fast forward to watch more of Wei Shao and Manman….but I am sure I would have appreciated Lady Yulou’s machinations or Wei Yan’s ambiguity in a different type of drama.
The part about Lady Yulou's ‘Huidian’ (that symbol on her forehead) was downright silly. When she becomes a criminal on the run from Wei state, they ask guards to look for a woman with this symbol in their forehead…and all she had to do was to wipe it off :/ The scouts didn't even bother to look at the appearance of the woman in their wanted posters. Later, when she gets disfigured and has to wear a mask, she comes up with a ridiculous story on why she has to have the mask on and Liu Yian (who earlier on, struck me as a good villain) is suckered into believing it. How can this crafty person suspect nothing?
TBH, I really loved the first 28 or 29 episodes; I feel that they should have ended the drama with Wei Shao presenting Manman to his ancestors. It would have given the best closure.
Historical dramas do not necessarily need to have good battle scenes and strategies, but this is one of the few that needed it, given the setting. Unfortunately, what I saw was not even average. After the Liangya army lost (because of Manman’s ’speech’) Wei Shao has to go off to war again to rescue Panyi ( cue Manman crying out of guilt, when she should take a tip from Queen Gorgo) and for some reason, Liu Yan knew that there was an area that would collapse because of the destruction of the dam and that Wei Shao’s army would get affected en route…but somehow, Wei Shao didn’t know about this…didn’t Manman tell him earlier?
With the Wei army off to rescue Panyi, for some reason the Wei state is not fortified, but it’s a good thing Wei Yan offers his assistance with his own army.
The ending battle is decided because their cousin in-law Bhi Zhi (who, for some reason, is an even better fighter than Wei Shao despite not having as much experience and starting off as a stable hand) decides to switch back from Liangya to Wei. They owe their victory to Bhi Zhi.
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