maybe it could have worked if it only had 24 episodes
it had too many episodes and not enough story to tell, so the poor fl who according to the story's logic should be smarter than everyone else got saddled with the role of vapid village idiot to stretch out what little story they had, and yea it was a disaster.they definitely should have put the masked persona on the poster as well so we know before going in, bc that incredibly stupid plot went on for too long.
waste of good actors, concept and costuming. smh.
what a giant eyeroll of a drama, do not recommend
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the ml's beautiful costumes were more interesting than the story
visually wise this is very pretty to look at, i liked all the costumes, each character's styling, the locations, and all the other details they put into production. lyx is also fun to watch, when his character is being edgybut omg
this was sooo boring and sooo slow with zero emotional stakes, and the boring fight sequences where we got to see the ml show off his impressive dance skills just went on and on and on and onnnnn, it felt like punishment.
the story, told at a glacial pace was pretty dry too: mysterious and misunderstood guy falsely accused of killing big bro is continuously set up by insane and aggrieved former bestie bro aka thanos lite and his cohorts while he (ml) makes a bunch of friends and finds love (probably?) - that was it, until i dropped it anyway. there was nothing to look forward to in each ep apart from the pretty outfits. also this has a large cast, but they are somehow mostly unmemorable.
the main actor does what he does best - he coughs up blood, he's tragic, he's beautiful, he's frail, he knows something you don't, heh.
i'm adding this to the class of dramas i'm temporarily calling the lookables - dramas that look good but are just narratively dry. think fof, love in pavilion, etc.
this drama gave me cherry blossoms ptsd
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note to self: try and avoid this writer's work in the future
they also wrote immortal samsara and ashes of love which featured some of the most insufferable fls in cdrama land. but i had to at least check this one out bc once again its my girl yang zi and just deep sigh.i've watched 5 eps and tbh it is hard to empathize with mudan's plight. if she wasn't firmly established as such a sharp character then yes i could feel bad for her situation but girl even an idiot could see those people were animals and finna kill her at any point. she should have been long gone immediately her maid died (smart as she was she could have come up with an excuse) but she never saw them as a threat (the same people that blackmailed her into marriage, killed her mother without blinking, then robbed her and her family blind) or treated her situation as the grave emergency it was, and for someone so smart that is just unbelievable and makes her story unconvincing.
i think i'm just not a fan of this writer in general, its like they always have this idea that the fl should be complicated but don't quite know how to execute it while maintaining their story's integrity ( a la zhao paner in a dream of splendour) so one ends up giving way, in this case so far its the story's integrity bc what was she still doing in that house after the third episode?? why was she leisurely and casually packing up her stuff like her in-laws weren't unrepentant greedy murderers?
a few positives:
miles wei's chararacter - that boy got his head shoved all the way up his own ass it is hilarious! but the actor plays him with such a gravity that does not make him immediately despicable.
the lighting - warm, natural and gorgeous!
yang zi - she looked so beautiful i could not take my eyes off her!
the ml - he brings a certain liveliness that the drama needs
idk if i'm gonna continue this, just those first five eps took me days to complete. and the slow pacing isn't the issue here either, the story is just really boring and dissatisfying, and its best to call it early now bc i have yet to see one yang zi costume drama or any drama by this writer that had the appropriate amount of emotional payoff at the end.
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