battleaxe

packed with enough twists and turns to satisfy the average mystery lover

its very plot driven with all the attention on one overarching mystery (which was resolved very well btw) and all the baby cases it spawned, so you won't see a lot of focus on the characters, their development or their relationships, except as it pertains to the cases, and excluding one supporting character, who did a literal 180 overnight.

the cases were as advertised, shocking, violent and mysterious and there were multiple supporting villains, which was nice.
I really liked the main villain, he was very fleshed out and had all the motivation, delusion, insanity, brilliance, ingenuity, vulnerability and blood thirst worthy of a true villain, but this was more a tell, less a show.
I liked the ml too, he was very grounded, effortlessly held the group together and sought justice without being self righteous.
there's a nice nature v nurture debacle in the story too that's fun to think about i.e. if the brothers had been switched would they still have ended up right where they did or no?

it was too long, this could have been a crisp 24 episodes esp since all they did was solve cases. you can tell even the writer got tired there in the end. there were some plot holes but I don't think anyone really cares.
the group - half of the performances weren't good, it made the drama nearly stray into kids playing dress up territory, nearly. and I was not really a fan of their camaraderie, it was giving "cut!" "action!"
there were many emotional points that should have been the drama's highlights but they were all brushed aside.
people died, people lived, people changed, everything everyone did felt like a setup for the mystery to progress towards its endpoint, which is good for the investigation aspect, but also meant the drama didn't have a whole lot of heart.

if you're watching purely for the investigation and mystery you'll like it, anything else and you may be disappointed.

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like a newspaper comic strip

i didn't know the drama had a source material, but once I started watching I could tell this was based on a webtoon bc it is very paper thin, like a newspaper comic strip, and it remains like that all through. and how much time do I really wanna dedicate to loving/hating something like that?

+
likeable lead actors. the actor is just a tall drink of water, and the actress is a cute delight.
satisfying romance (after ep 4).
some parts were entertaining
it did really feel like a story book, even had a storybook ending

-
even though it's adapted from a webtoon which could account for its flimsiness and the gaps, the writer had over 12 hours of screenplay c'mon! there are two hour movies that have a 1000% more depth/impact in their first half than this entire drama did.
there are more negatives but I don't really think it matters. watch it or not, you won't be missing much either way.

special shout out to the cast and crew for doing all that in that cold weather!

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are you ready to drown yourself in slow motion catwalks and smoke machines? then dive in!

nothing makes sense, nothing is logical. the tiny fl with nary a muscle throws many many punches, and none of them are believable. but she wears combat boots and pants and she holds her ground quite well so we cheer her on! ditto the scrawny ml in all his silent intensity. he's the mc but there's not really much to say about him. and the romance? nothing. not blood, or rain, or sunshine, or dead sisters, or broken bones, or murderous situations, or gun toting/knife wielding onlookers can stop our leads from throwing each other sizzling glances laden with attraction. and for that we thank them for their bravery 💀 and cheer them on! note: they only get together towards the end.

the performances? if you strain yourself you can hear the director in the background yelling more energy! more pzazzzz!! however there are no annoying 2ml/2fls and all the characters were thankfully quite mature.

the story? simple, but we don't care about that bc the director made sure to distract us with plenty other things 😂😂 like the very good looking actors, the odd and loud ost, the stylish camera angles, the whiskey that's clearly apple juice that they all keep gulping, the ml's heart pounding over protectiveness of fl, the four hot brothers, the dark and moody interiors, the gotham like behaviors, outfits and makeup of the wanna be bad guys, and for that we cheer him on! if he ever gets his hands on a bigger budget for his dramas in the future then we're all in trouble 😭😭😭😭

while I found the first half of the drama amusing, I did skip through the last few eps bc it was too long and repetitive. if you have a stronger appetite you may enjoy it more

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dark river's impossible journey to the other shore

i have a fundamental fondness for stories where the protagonists' main struggle isn't against a villain but a concept, a situation, a mindset, prejudice...etc, (e.g. the 1st arch of ancient love poetry) and that's exactly what we got here too. the overarching plot is refreshingly simple: the younger generation of the famous and dreaded assassin guild, led by su muyu and su changhe want better and more for themselves, so they set out to get it. what happens during this journey is the complicated part.

su muyu deserves a big share of the credit for this story's successes. he was a solid main character, arguably imo the best mc out of all the three dramas in this franchise. he was severe, just, cold, precise, skilled, kind, ruthless, loyal, refined yet wildly audacious, authoritative, understood his own strength and how to use it to carve out what he wanted out of life, had principles that didn't make him veer off into self righteousness, that never changed based on his circumstances, but despite them he still managed to remain flexible enough to deal with uncertainty. he also had negatives, like he was too merciful, he was perpetually poor and i lowkey don't see him thriving out there in the light he so desperately wanted, all in all, he was well rounded and the only well written character, a worthy choice to anchor a tale of dark wanting to be light.
i liked all the fighting scenes as well, they were entertaining. uncle su was also a cool character.
i was satisfied with the way it ended, as an adult who also pours a lot of energy into things that do not end up working out, i found it droll, and appropriate.

now-
certain things could be that way in the source material, but it is the screenwriter's job to ensure those things make sense while recrafting the story, o/wise why is there even a drama?
apart from su muyu, a lot of the characters were flat, and that wasn't fun.
i would have liked su changhe more, but his characterization was severely lacking, even that stupid 1st prince had more backstory than him, he was like a seed of promises that never really sprouted, don't get me wrong i'm not mad they kept su muyu firmly in the driver's seat he was the better choice for that but still, they missed an opportunity to do something more with him and challenge their dynamic a little.
mu yumo the pseudo fl: everything about her was a disaster, just no. also i didn't appreciate being catfished with peng xr, while the younger lesser known yang yt turned out to be the actual fl.
the attempted romances: if i never see another romance in a wuxia again i'm good with it bc this took away all my appetite for it. if you can't write it just don't bother people will still watch. which leads me to bai he huai the real fl, she was skilled but her attitude was always somehow off, like she didn't give af about anyone, or she wasn't paying that much attention. the writing for her wasn't good either and the actress really needed stronger directing. and this leads me to the drama's biggest fail.
the directing - it was noticeably lacking. most of the scenes outside the fighting were so terribly bland with the actors clearly just standing around and waiting for their cue.
the mu patriarch and his poison girlfriend - they brought a childish and light energy the drama didn't need imo, and they were really weak, in fact apart from the two mls the rest of the new dark river were paper tigers, which begs the question of how they overthrew the old league in the first place, or how they survived being raised as fearsome assassins.
prince langya - they spent a suspicious amount of time trying to whitewash him and make him sympathetic
tang lian yue - another giant eyeroll. i really wanna ask what yumo saw in him, but since she herself made no sense i'll just let it pass.
i'd say the relationships in general weren't very engaging - the two mls, the doctor and her daddy/su mu yu, the 'other shore' family, etc, i never got around to caring about any of them.
there were still a lot of loose ends by the time the final credits rolled, but i didn't mind.

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youthful glory, but make it grown.

the story is just as described, straightforward and all. it's a decent watch and the performances are okay, but the writing especially for the fl was exhausting. she is innocent, sly, sharp, slow, class conscious,naive, self aware, gullible, genius business woman, vain, smart head of the household, pampered, sheltered, worldly, fragile, strong, child, woman... you get it. basically whatever the story needed her to be, whenever. that actress is funny though, the bits where she 'faints' literally had me lmfao.

the ml wasn't much better either, one moment he is menacing and dangerous, the next he's just a baby boy kicking it with his bros, or uncommunicative just to generate more angst, then hapless, then scheming, then, then! its like they created this very young couple and this youthful storyline, and then kept trying to put more meat on it for wider appeal but it just ended up looking like children playing dress up (think legend of anle)

end of the day I didn't find them satisfying, but I know this is bc I'm definitely not their target audience so. you watch it then decide if you like it. I didn't finish it, I might go back, but idc if I do, heh

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the slacker and her sugardaddy

what I liked
- I adored the leads! their characters, the performances and the actors themselves were all just lovely! this is the 2nd time i've seen them both and they did not disappoint.
- the romance was extremely satisfying. the way they used the fantasy aspect and the soul manor to emphasize their intimacy and deepening bond? I don't think i've ever seen a romance written so robustly in a fantasy drama, when tingyan said in the end that she was content with their relationship, you really feel that as well.
-i liked nianjiu and sima jao's relationship. he really stayed sj's baby all the way until the end and that was just so adorable
- the world building was nice, I like how they moved from realm to realm to realm, it kept things fresh. it was so good you really find yourself wishing the entire thing wasn't a dream in the end.
- production was good, especially the costumes and set. I only heard that one dominant ost though
- I like that the story is very character driven and firmly centered on our two leads, i think the story was so successful bc they didn't bog us down with second leads and side stories.
-tingyan's slacker behavior - hilarious and relatable! made the first half of the drama
-the ending, it was thoughtful and respectful with just the right amount of aching, I really liked it. also watching tingyan dive back into the hustle immediately after she wakes totally justifies all her slacker attitude.

what I didn't like
- no reason for shi qianlu to be around for that long, and the drama's 2nd main villain was also equally underwhelming.
-on this episode of they would never write a man that way: tingyan was a kitten for too much of the drama. if she had been a man (we've seen many such lazy and unambitious male characters e.g xing zhi from shen li, or any of the other mcs in the male centered time travel dramas) , they would still have found some way to empower her. while their romance dominated the story, it did get tiring watching her be kidnapped, strung up, tortured, beaten, bullied, used against her beloved, betrayed, and deciding none of that mattered, her man will handle it. all the romance in the world will never make that palatable.
- its essentially another weak woman and her big strong man drama, only this one is coated in multiple layers of strawberry and cream and it is 'what she wants.' bc she would apparently rather die than learn to defend herself and her dissolute way of life.
- many of the bad things that happened hinged on tingyan resolutely remaining helpless, trusting, naive and defenseless for much of the drama, like a pet. and well that's just not nice
- the 2nd half was generally weaker than the first half even though so many things seemed to be happening.

in conclusion, i think the drama did exactly what it came to do. it has some well written fantasy elements, enchanting romance, and Liao Tingyan, the absolute queen of all self insert characters

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bland, like dry toast

LXY has been locked into playing a formulaic character for a few years now.
first he (character) tries to kill the fl
then he falls madly in love with her
then he spends the rest of the drama simping hard for/mourning/pursuing/obsessing over her.
and that character archetype always triumphs over the rest of the plot each time, just like his shen zai ye did here. like his background, motivations, all the politics, everything must make way for the formula to play out. boring, shallow, predictable and uninspiring.

MXY pouted and fluttered her eyelashes like taohua's life depended on it, although the role did not call for it. but her character was so fundamentally abysmally written that I didn't care about the actress' mediocre performance. also, for someone that was such a victim, not once did taohua inspire any sympathy. she just cosplayed a bad bitch the entire time while running around like an headless chicken lmao.

I did not see any chemistry between them, they had two kisses before I dropped and they were both as dull as ditch water. I do not recommend. dramas that go out of their way to write unbelievably nonsensical fls and scenarios do not deserve anyone's attention or time.

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"...across infinite time and space, there are countless versions of you."

"in a single speck of dust there are three thousand worlds, in half a moment eighty thousand springs pass. three thousand vast worlds in the universe and countless small ones..." - the watchmaker to the fl

the story - fl has a watch that allows her to go back in time, nothing new. where they excelled was in their portrayal of the relationships, between the ml and fl, the ml and 2ml, the 2ml and fl, and the three of them altogether. they all had chemistry with each other. I mainly dislike love triangles in dramas bc they are always so badly laid out and ridiculous, but this drama did it so well. no one was out of place, or just there to make someone else jealous, no it was very balanced and satisfying and I really liked it. so much that I forgot about the revenge at some point, even the fl forgot too lol

I think credit also goes to how well written the 2ml was, and the ml's strong performance (when you don't have to say anything but the audience can still tell what you're on about then you're doing a good job). i'm usually not a fan of golden retriever mls, but he grew on me quickly. I also liked the music, the cinematography and the ml and fl's costumes.

*spoilers below*
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everything i said above only applies until like ep 15. after that the drama is sterilized and quickly devolves into your typical flat republican story, where everyone is suddenly a spy or pro japanese, stripped of all personal identity, emotions, relationships and goals. now merely tools to drive the agenda forward and reinforce the dubious importance of dying for the 'greater good'. I feel catfished and disappointed.

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things pick up again around ep 20 but deteriorate again a few episodes later. either way they never get back to what made the first 15 episodes shine, shame. the ending was lame and sad, but 'filled with possibilities' and incredibly ✨aesthetic✨
music was really nice though

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'at dawn when the sky isn't fully bright, it's the only time night and day can merge'

he's the destined devil, she's the celestial destined to slay him in every life. love interrupts fate's plan
the editing, directing, acting, writing were not really good, 1 star. I skipped a lot.

but there was something about the drama that made me watch till the end idk. like the basic concept was good, and they were able to draw a complete circle with the story, that always pleases me. also by the end I was really rooting for the cp. and that ml actor has those big puffy eyes that are just so lovely and filled with emotion🥺, I really wanted to see him happy.

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a dry record of a mortal's dreary journey to immortality

likes
 - cute actors
 - the sweeping landscape
 - some ost were nice
- there were aspects of han li I liked: he was thorough, deadly, shrewd, careful, sharp, calculated, merciful (every single time someone plead on behalf of a life he relented), he never hesitated to kill to protect himself (need more mls like that), reclusive but watchful, mentally strong, an independent and creative thinker, kinda immoral too hehe
-none of the fls were weird, or thoughtlessly written. As ml centered drama heroines usually are. They were all just quite normal thankfully. I did not have a preference bc they collectively did not take up that much screen time, or space in the story. I also did not mind that there was no romance, the writing wasn't good enough for me to care.
-  I like that he starts off weak with little potential and was continually underestimated and written off. And i liked watching him level up in his cultivation at the start.

dislikes
-after he left the mortal world his progression became boring and lacklustre, dissatisfying even . watching him gather treasure and herbs and artifacts and other loot? yawn. his level ups after that inspired mehs, no yays. 
- I actually think they were going for nostalgia with the aged visuals and stale graphics, but the story progression and characters felt outdated so the whole drama unironically looked like it really was made in 2010. 
- all or most of the cultivators were cold, self absorbed, slow and selfish, including the ml for most of the time. and there was nothing entertaining or inspiring about that, or a journey to become one such as that. And Idc what anyone says, cultivation stories should have an element of inspiration and excitement and satisfaction and fun. this drama had none of that.
-  paper thin relationships - relationships are the lifeblood of any story, doesn't matter what the story is. But this drama didn't get the memo. han li meets many many people on his journey,  but no effort was put into building anything genuine or deepening his connection with any of them. There were flashes here and there, but nothing significant or thoughtful. even if you're a god you still need people. 
- hamfisted adaptation - the writing could have been more nuanced. there were things that shouldn't have been in the drama simply bc 'they are in the source material'. not all themes and subjects keep the same shape and form when translated across different forms of media. e.g hanli repeatedly drugging 2fl bcs she knows too much, a bevy of nonsensical 1D characters that you would typically only ever find in a donghua. 
- the villain: wang chan 2003 just called, they desperately want you back. 
- the drama leaned too heavily on the success of the ip instead of trying to be something that could be considered equally successful in its own right. coming from the team that brought us evernight,  I expected much much better than this.

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the female rage that couldn't

this had a nice concept- a powerful woman, aggrieved, willing to move mountains to address her grievance. and it did start off well, we get to enjoy her crash outs through the flashbacks, but then fwd back to the present and that plot predictably lost its steam, lacked follow through, and a satisfying resolution, and was eventually replaced by an admittedly enigmatic villain. turns out hell doth have more fury than a woman wronged.

I really liked bai lu's performance, especially in the mortal world scenes. that lady really needs her own standalone female centric drama, not like those fake female centric dramas. no a real one like those male centric ones e.g. guardians of dafeng, jol, etc.
I have nothing to say about the ml, he did not really make an impression on me, and was not really written to be a lead main character. he was very pretty though, and he posed beautifully.
I liked the dacheng land, and bai jiu si's outfits, so pretty! gorgeous color palette!
I found the ml's 1st disciple hilarious. every inch of his costume was ridiculous lol
32 eps and I cannot point to a single romantic scene between the leads but I did not mind, they don't really have that sort of chemistry and the story did not call for it. I do not believe Bai Jiu Si had romantic love for Qing Yue, it was more like he loved her bc they were the same/came from the same place. It was more like agape love...which makes sense ig

I did not care for the 2ls, I don't even have a criticism I just did not care, ditto the first 10ish episodes or that entire father daughter plot, or the love triangle between the disciples, or anything else that was happening after a while. I did not finish the last ep.
also none of the emotional scenes really hit, people cried, people died and yeah, meh.
the villain never really came across as threatening imo.
in the beginning the leads were these powerful beings with lives 'as long as the sun and moon,' but the bad guy sure tackled them easily by the end.
watch it, but don't expect a masterpiece, or even to be wowed.
fantasy dramas nowadays have such a childish bend to them, like even more than they used to in the past...heh idk but not a fan

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at some point i started dreading dongfang huaizhu's vacant eyes

pros:
-everything is very very pretty, everyone is very very pretty
-some good interpersonal relationships
-I liked the ml too
-it was fun to see a bunch of popular actors just popping up everywhere

cons:
-it is boring, it put me to sleep many times before I finally gave up. even just thinking about the story long enough to write a review is making my eyes roll back in my head out of boredom.
-the fl gave us nothing. lss can't really do a lot of expressions to begin with but this was... extreme. she might as well have been a mannequin the entire time. I had enough of her annoying sister with a 'heart of gold' too.
-a revolving door of popular actors meant the script had to be stretched wide and thin to accommodate them all which didn't work. I have yet to see an ensemble fantasy romance drama that worked.

I actually think liu shishi and zhang yu long could make an interesting cp, this just wasn't the drama for it.

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the self righteousness wore me out

I liked he yan and her saga, even though I do not think her plight was treated with the gravity it deserved. For someone that suffered so much, there should have been just... more there. but at least the story was almost fully centered on her legend. I liked her cheerfulness and how she was just so happy to finally exist as herself poor girl🥹. and the small smile playing at the corner of her mouth the entire time? it didn't really look right, but it makes sense that she can't control her expressions bc she's worn a mask her entire life.
i also liked cheng lei, even though I think his character was underutilized compared to the 2ml who had a more developed character arc and was more fleshed out, I didn't care though I was just so happy to see him. and he ended up being adequate.
another call out were the fight scenes, esp he yan's, they were forceful and violent, really befitting a general. I like that they took it as seriously as the men's fight scenes, it really added to the character's prestige.
there were few romantic moments between the leads, so its hard to judge their romantic chemistry overall, but in the bits they gave us, they were sweet. and I kinda liked that they eschewed romance to focus on the story, even though all that focus still didn't produce an interesting story lol

let me ignore the main villain and all the loopholes/lol/wtf/deus ex machina moments around the mask, her identity, the switch, her multiple brushes with death and her brother bc i'm just too bored to go there and focus on my main problem, the self righteousness.
cdrama writers, esp when writing female characters often confuse being inspirational for self righteousness. you can distinctly see that he yan was supposed to be the former but oh boy! they missed that mark by at least a mile. I really cannot get with self righteous/morally perfect characters who run around spieling vaguely self involved self righteous rhetoric. after the half way mark in the drama, its like they handed her a mic and a soapbox which she never quite managed to get off, her inspirational speeches to random groups of people just went on and on in every other ep and made what was already an underwhelming story even duller. I'd rather a character someone can empathize with than one who can 'do no wrong' and is just the best of the best in all the rooms at all times.
they tried to make it a 'risen from the ashes' story too but they don't really focus on her suffering or the impact it had on her so her 'rise' doesn't play out properly.
and because they made such light work of her plight in favour of her being this upright figure constantly spouting bluntly crafted motivational messages while perched on her dubious soapbox, her tale wasn't that engaging, like do I really care if she gets her revenge? no. but she also seems to be more pre-occupied with more 'honorable' goals so.
this is the second story of a fml general drama i've seen, and I dislike them equally lol but for separate reasons, I hope to never watch another one.
will I finish this? idc

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made with care

I simply adore carefully crafted dramas! dramas that bite off exactly the amount they can chew and chew it so thoroughly there are only little gaps. mostly everything was well done, the characters, the productions, the osts, the story...every frame looked like a picture. yea they cooked. even if they used a small pot, they cooked.

story is simple and straightforward but stirring and engaging. they skipped some stuff, like the eldest princess' story and the bulk of the politics, but considering we got more of the leads instead, i'll call that a smart choice. I was also a fan of the 5 yr breakup, they both came back smarter, sharper and just MORE, which is the entire point of long term breaks

you won't have any complaints about both leads, in fact they are inspiring, individually and together. they are like fresh rain in a desert of typical cdrama cps. and also a round of applause for our young, talented and capable lead actors! they have such bright futures ahead of them, I really really pray they have competent handlers bc we've seen mannyyy such talented young ones that ended up nowhere. but I can't wait to see what not just them, but the producers, director, costume, editing, etc, I can't wait to see what they all get up to next. I really wish them all well and I hope they land softly at their next stop!

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short and cute

I couldn't get into this at first so I was just skipping through until ep 9 when things finally clicked, then I awww'd alll the way to the end. what a cute little drama! the cp had buckets of chemistry and sparkly tension and the fl's performance especially was lovely. the ml was so sincere it was impossible not to root for him, also I loved all of his clothes, great wardrobe! its nice to finally see that actor in a ml role, hope his success continues, and the actress too.
ps: she should not have been anywhere near his set after the docu was completed. she's his girlfriend not his assistant, and it caused so many problems
pss: totally random that her and her bestie just lived alone in that mansion, but it worked for *aesthetic reasons*
the scenarios are a little silly hence the low score but yea, its good for a one time watch.

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