1
The visuals looks fake. The story is REALLY a mess. The fight is so lame.
The reality of this drama doesn’t live up to what its dramatic trailer promised. Its impression management is overblown, while in truth, many substantial aspects are neglected.
For example, take the storyline. The drama provides too little background, leaving the audience unsure what the story is about, where it’s headed, or what kind of ending to expect. In episode 1, without any introduction, we’re suddenly thrown right into the middle of the plot. The background is revealed only in fragments through bits of dialogue and disjointed flashbacks.
Moreover, there’s no proper character introduction. Even by episode 18, I still find myself asking, “What exactly is Tang Lici? Who is he? Where does he come from? Where does his power originate? What does he want? What is his purpose? What is his history?” The same goes for the villains. Take Lin Yan, for example — “How close was he to Tang Lici in the past? Why does he bear such an extreme grudge, to the point of madness?” There’s no adequate explanation, which makes his character feel one-dimensional. Likewise, Gui Mudan is shrouded in enigma, yet his motives remain vague and undefined. And Puzhu, who is he? How is his relationship with Xifang Tao? Full of mysteries.
I think the producers of this drama poured too much of their budget into aesthetics, CGI, and effects, and beautifying Tang Lici and the villains. As a result, the dramatic aspects that should have been grounded in realism were poorly developed. This drama is supposed to be wuxia — but where’s the action? And when there is action, where’s the blood, the intensity, the impact of the battles? The story is set in the jianghu, yet where is the jianghu? The worldbuilding is unsatisfying. The forests and palaces look plastic. It mentions an emperor, a kingdom, this alliance and that alliance — but where are all these things, other than in dialogue? Too much reliance on dialogues to tell the story.
There are far too many unrealistic elements. For instance, how on earth does Tang Lici have such a luxurious ship? Where did it come from? Where does the power of the ship originate? And once the scene ends — where does the ship go? Likewise, A Shei’s blood supposedly has healing powers — but how, and why? Or, Shen Langhun with his shadow technique, and Chi Yun with his lightness skill. The techniques and martial arts are never shown being trained or developed. Suddenly, everyone just possesses immense power, and their clashes always make it blatantly clear who’s stronger. And why is it that in every battle, only Tang Lici gets hurt or feels the impact? The other characters merely stand around like spectators, coughing up a bit of blood for effect. And, only main characters can fly and doing magical martial arts. Others are just ants waiting to be killed.
Moreover, the dialogue is overly cryptic — confusing, full of riddles, and unclear in meaning. There are too many questions and delayed answers, which drains the drama of tension. The acting, too, is excessively dramatic. Every reaction comes with long pauses, as if the characters are thinking or processing something, but it all feels stiff and unnatural. The storyline also fails to deliver any real emotional punch. Where is the climax? Where is the downfall? There isn’t a single character I can fall in love with or feel invested enough to follow through their journey. None of them evokes sympathy, annoyance, or hatred. The humor is half-hearted. The angst is half-hearted. Even goodness is portrayed half-heartedly — and so are evil and cruelty. The romance is half-hearted too!
And, there is no substantial character development. Tang Lici is too powerful and controlling since the beginning. They are saying he is injured and going to die, but his bearing is still arrogant. Is there still a room for positive or negative changes for him? In every episode, I just saw his costumes changing, while others still wear the same outfits.
Even though this drama isn’t particularly good, even really bad in certain area, I’ll still keep watching just to see Luo Yunxi on screen. But rather than watching him dance around and dress like a peacock, I’d much rather see him in action — as a sharp, mature, composed martial artist who lets his movements speak louder than his words.
For example, take the storyline. The drama provides too little background, leaving the audience unsure what the story is about, where it’s headed, or what kind of ending to expect. In episode 1, without any introduction, we’re suddenly thrown right into the middle of the plot. The background is revealed only in fragments through bits of dialogue and disjointed flashbacks.
Moreover, there’s no proper character introduction. Even by episode 18, I still find myself asking, “What exactly is Tang Lici? Who is he? Where does he come from? Where does his power originate? What does he want? What is his purpose? What is his history?” The same goes for the villains. Take Lin Yan, for example — “How close was he to Tang Lici in the past? Why does he bear such an extreme grudge, to the point of madness?” There’s no adequate explanation, which makes his character feel one-dimensional. Likewise, Gui Mudan is shrouded in enigma, yet his motives remain vague and undefined. And Puzhu, who is he? How is his relationship with Xifang Tao? Full of mysteries.
I think the producers of this drama poured too much of their budget into aesthetics, CGI, and effects, and beautifying Tang Lici and the villains. As a result, the dramatic aspects that should have been grounded in realism were poorly developed. This drama is supposed to be wuxia — but where’s the action? And when there is action, where’s the blood, the intensity, the impact of the battles? The story is set in the jianghu, yet where is the jianghu? The worldbuilding is unsatisfying. The forests and palaces look plastic. It mentions an emperor, a kingdom, this alliance and that alliance — but where are all these things, other than in dialogue? Too much reliance on dialogues to tell the story.
There are far too many unrealistic elements. For instance, how on earth does Tang Lici have such a luxurious ship? Where did it come from? Where does the power of the ship originate? And once the scene ends — where does the ship go? Likewise, A Shei’s blood supposedly has healing powers — but how, and why? Or, Shen Langhun with his shadow technique, and Chi Yun with his lightness skill. The techniques and martial arts are never shown being trained or developed. Suddenly, everyone just possesses immense power, and their clashes always make it blatantly clear who’s stronger. And why is it that in every battle, only Tang Lici gets hurt or feels the impact? The other characters merely stand around like spectators, coughing up a bit of blood for effect. And, only main characters can fly and doing magical martial arts. Others are just ants waiting to be killed.
Moreover, the dialogue is overly cryptic — confusing, full of riddles, and unclear in meaning. There are too many questions and delayed answers, which drains the drama of tension. The acting, too, is excessively dramatic. Every reaction comes with long pauses, as if the characters are thinking or processing something, but it all feels stiff and unnatural. The storyline also fails to deliver any real emotional punch. Where is the climax? Where is the downfall? There isn’t a single character I can fall in love with or feel invested enough to follow through their journey. None of them evokes sympathy, annoyance, or hatred. The humor is half-hearted. The angst is half-hearted. Even goodness is portrayed half-heartedly — and so are evil and cruelty. The romance is half-hearted too!
And, there is no substantial character development. Tang Lici is too powerful and controlling since the beginning. They are saying he is injured and going to die, but his bearing is still arrogant. Is there still a room for positive or negative changes for him? In every episode, I just saw his costumes changing, while others still wear the same outfits.
Even though this drama isn’t particularly good, even really bad in certain area, I’ll still keep watching just to see Luo Yunxi on screen. But rather than watching him dance around and dress like a peacock, I’d much rather see him in action — as a sharp, mature, composed martial artist who lets his movements speak louder than his words.
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