amrita828

Hi Jo, it's been ages! Nice to see you back. :D
LOL, and here I thought the hight of unfunny comedy was Xiao Duo going to get her from the mausoleum, with maid and attendant eunuch departing barking like dogs and the two leads left to read each other's mind. :P

Wow, you complimented my review, but yours is just as well written and wonderfully on point.
I agree on everything - except the generous rating, of course. lol.

Thank you! :D
I can understand being a little upset, when we have loved something we all wished it were so for everyone.
This drama flaws however are so glaring and annoying, I simply couldn't remain silent.

Nah, I'd kill most of my leads. 😉

Thank you for your generous approval and always glad to be of service if I can spare you the headache of this drama, lol.

As for Gu Family Book, not long ago I was talking with my husband about Lee Seung Gi and I said: "you know, the one who played in Gu Family Book?"
And he: "of course! The one who found out the girl was a girl by touching her t*ts".
Trust men to remember the most trivial details... 🙄

I did watch LLTG. I believe I would have appreciated it more, had it not been sold as historical, or regarded as such. Everything in it is highly implausible except for the clothes. But it's very beloved, so don't let my comment deter you from watching and enjoying it. :)

Very true!
I have a bit of a sore spot when it comes to so called historical dramas/movies or even books. There's too much historical revisionism going on and fear to be politically incorrect. We can't apply our sensitivity and modern thinking to history: in so doing, we run the risk of denying horrible things actually happened. To minimize or, worse, ridicule the suffering of some (see women condition for instance), equals to an insult.
Again, this is not a critic to fictional shows, they can be highly entertaining.

P.S. The Red Sleeve is a beautiful drama with a deeper message than the "romantic" setting makes it out to be, imo.

Thanks for replying, ChoNa.
How I know what you mean in regard to Japanese dramas! They have been my very first love and I still think they have a "flavour" of their own that is unique and, at times, very brave, for they seldom adjust to the international taste but remain true to themselves - if that makes any sense. However, it's getting harder and harder to find both raws and subs - the google translated ones are worse than whatching raw. :S

Thank you for this long and informative article, ChoNa! :)

If I may, the above mentioned "historical" dramas are everything but. Regardless of MDL's definition, a show/book/film can only be called historical when it is based on documented facts and set in a very specific period of time in the past. The ones mentioned here are Period dramas, or even better Costume dramas, where historical references are very few, let alone facts, and everything from costumes to characters, from customs to rules are fictional. Not a critic, mind you: a fictional costume drama can be extremely well written and performed, but should not be taken as a reference to history.

My year in review:

- How many 2022 released dramas did you watch?
11 (1 dropped)

What country did you watch the most in 2022?
China

What genre(s) do you usually watch?
Mostly romance or thrillers

What is your top drama listed in this article?
Love between Fairy and Devil

What is your top drama NOT listed in this article?
1. First Love: Hatsukoi - wonderful acting, beautiful photography, splendid music and a tight plot.
2. Mystery to Iunakare - intelligent, funny and sad at the same time, fast paced and with some incredibly adorable characters
3. Under the Skin - original and gripping

How was your drama journey in 2022?
It marked my "return" to the Asian drama world after a long slump, what more could I ask a year? ;)

What is your wish or plan in dramaland in 2023?
More subbed Japanese dramas. A wish - too much planning when it comes to dramas is never a good idea for me.

Perhaps the drama isn't that good?
And before you call me a hater, I entered it with the highest expectations and a very open mind, despite reading unflattering comments about both the scriptwriter as well as the female lead actress before it even aired.
Sometimes bad/not so enthusiastic reviews are simply what they are.

I dropped it despite Wand He Di, imagine that. I have a feeling he's not convinced by his character either...

Thank you so much for this explanation, Deidre. Why couldn't they just follow the novel and give us the "gritty" atmosphere the trailer promised to us? Instead, not only I'm not buying the whole situation, but the love story at this point makes me cringe. It has no development, their touches are devoid of any sensuality or romance whatsoever, the characters are not "formed" or given believable background to let me feel their bond.
Pity, for I was very excited for this drama.

Actually, he hasn't done anything at all. As a viewer, I too don't know what to think of him, simply because, as you rightly say, they are omitting so many important facts. Even if they are given to us later on, they won't have the same emotional impact, as I have already formed an image of these characters in my mind: he is a besotted fool and she's a mood destroyer.

By the way, you have read the novel? In Chinese?

So glad to read I'm not the only one who found the tree scene so disappointing. It was one of those moments that truly needed to be explored a little. How come she wasn't even suprised at seeing him express private feelings in front of her? Until a minute before she was still afraid of him. There's no subtlety in her behaviour and I'm sorry to say it, but this script and its supposed comedy is making him look silly too.

I agree. I find the comedic out of place and, well, not funny. Scenes that should be touching are either skipped completely, or we have the female lead bubbly proposing a distraction of some sort.
The scene in which Xiao Duo's staring at the child's card feeling guilty for his death, one would expect empathy, but here she comes and drags him to the kitchen gardens to unroot some plant, only to be caught there 1 minute after like two chidren with their fingers in a Nutella jar. End of guilt.

The one by the pear tree had the potential to be such a beautiful scene of bonding, but instead of investigating further on his EVIDENT grief, she shoulder pushes the tree to let the flowers fall. It's clear she's trying to console him, but at this point in the narrative, I as a viewer would have preferred to know more via her. She knows nothing of him, just like us, so I have no idea what she feels: is she afraid of him? Is she trying to make him laugh? Is she using him to get free?

Yes, it's definitely due to bad script writing.

In a nutshell, I'm here for Wang Hedi and his gorgeous looks. Fullstop.

I can't for the life of me understand the female lead's characterisation, the tone is unclear (and at times embarrassing) and the editing is all over the place. So we have all these women hanged but nobody gives a dime; a poor child was killed and AGAIN nobody is batting an eye, not to mention the 2 nanoseconds demise of his mother. The FL is clearly intelligent, and yet she keeps on putting the same act in front of this supposedly ferocious eunuch who sees through it but is - for unfathomable reasons - attracted to her. His revenge plan consists in finding the right occasion to kill that Prince Something, without real scheming. The empress has been exiled already on episode 4.
The things that needed time to develop - like romantic feelings - are too fast, those that needed to be explained at least a little are unclear and possibly introduced much later.

I feel like I'm in a forest with a hundred paths but I'm made to take none and instead sit on the damp ground waiting for a way out. I'll give this show a little more time to decide where it wants to go, but I'm kind of pessimistic.

Agreed! I pray for this show to become dark and stay so.

Thank you Dreamer, I'm glad you had a good laugh. After all, we are all here to have fun. XD

Lol, thanks for the empathy! Japanese have got one of the best cuisine in the world, but they should stop reinventing Italian dishes. Anyone should, for that matter... 🤭

@Kate Exactly!
The way I see it, what Shao Shang really looked for was not love, but recognition. She thought she loved A Yao because she was well aware with him she could and would do as she pleased; she was instantly drawn to the Empress who was constantly indulging her and was eventually flattered by this powerful man who declared she was the best woman in the entire world. The only people who dared questioning her choices - that is her mother and Yuan Shen - were branded as either unreasonable or just petty/jealous.