Rumi

Promising plot with unique storyline and horrible writing. An OK rom-com, thanks to Wang Hedi

The series nudged on the topic of social roles in ancient and imperial China, with high focus on the oppression and discrimination against women: this is my first time learning about the burial rites in ancient China where (childless) concubines and palace maids were buried alive with the deceased emperor. Aside from Wang Hedi, the unexplored and rarely told story about this funeral custom made me pick up the drama despite the mixed reviews it garnered.

The storyline also explored themes of death, revenge, and domestic abuse, although the narrative did not heavily focus on those.

Comedic bits were inserted in between scenes, which actually worked, and they were neither awkward nor forced. The comedy made the overall tone lighter and digress from the heavier and darker aspect of these subjects.

The first episodes were slower in setting the pace, but this improved in the succeeding episodes. However, a struggle in consistency is notable as the story progresses.

What initially gripped me made me want to skip a few minutes of some episodes because it fails to anchor on the message and theme of the story.

The story lacked depth and the usual revenge and star-crossed lovers tropes did not even allow me to develop a deep emotional investment for the leads and other characters.

It is important to note that a number of scenes, especially the steamy ones, were omitted due to censorships, but upon checking, the said deleted scenes do not hold much significance to the development of the story, unless (steamy) kissing scenes are a prerequisite to your good romance.

For the romance aspect, Wang Hedi delivered. He makes a successful tsundere who’s down bad for the female lead.

This is my second Wang Hedi drama coming from Love Between Fairy and Devil (LBFD) and based from the two series of Wang Hedi I’ve watched so far, I can see that he has the ability to build chemistry with his co-lead. Yes, his handsome face is enough to give you butterflies in the stomach, but he also makes use of facial expressions in conveying emotions that are very effective.

In contrast, I feel Chen Yuqi (as Bu Yinlou) fell short in acting. She was average in some scenes, but overall, I cannot identify the emotions she wanted to convey—by making her eyes appear larger and doing these rapid eye movements, what does she want me to feel exactly? Grief? Joy? Or is there an incoming gag that I need to anticipate so I could break into laughter?

Bu Yinlou is actually a rare female character type who’s clumsy and funny but has a thinking head on her shoulder. Often times, Bu Yinlou is independent and does not need saving when stuck in a dire situation. It's a shame this character was not portrayed better, effectively, and consistently.

The secondary characters have their own story, too, but the narrative did not dwell on these and clearly, the focus of the story was to resolve the conflicts of the main characters.

From a technical standpoint, the writing is definitely askew and the inconsistency is jarring. The plot holes (life of concubines in the inner court, Deer's Reed Residence tunnel, to name a few), though, would not require much effort to ignore.

Wang Hedi’s fight scenes have good choreography and again, to underline his acting skills, he was able to depict the strength and tenacity of his character during these scenes. Some scenes had stunts which were unnecessary (I remember Wang Hedi was just trying to climb into the bed, but he had to flip awkwardly in the air like an acrobat just to do that).

It’s a shame for a drama with unexplored topics like ancient burial customs to make a sharp turn downwards due to horrible writing, but for those looking for an instant fluff, especially Wang Hedi fans who want to admire his good acting (and face), this could pass as an enjoyable watch.

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Even Ding Yuxi’s school of acting couldn’t save this…

I have absolutely no problems with overly used tropes:

1. FL
- has an emotional intelligence of a five-year-old
- terrible in academics
- amiable among her peers

2. ML
- smart without even trying
- school’s sporty heartthrob
- eccentric
- huge tsundere
- most importantly, someone who is head-over heels for FL

3. Misunderstanding on top of other misunderstandings due to lack of or terrible communication

4. Love square

After all, these are effective formulas for a successful romcom.

However, the execution is so terrible.

In fact, there are subplots (FL is pretty insecure about herself; SFL and ML have family issues) which they could’ve played with—they can probably be used these as a device for character development or even as an accurate portrayal of what people their age go through.

It’s just such a shame that these were not properly utilized nor explored and were left to disperse in a corner (though I doubt they could execute these properly). I’m just not aware if these are things that will be resolved in the end, but I’m afraid I could no longer wait for it as I’ve really run out of patience with this one…

I have a huge admiration for Ding Yuxi; it was actually because of him that I picked this up. And it breaks my heart to be dropping this as this is ½ of his youth dramas.

I would love to see him in school uniform doing romcom, but unfortunately, my love for him (plus plenty of fast-forwarding scenes) alone couldn’t make this work.

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