One of the more interesting shows in 2025 so far
I quite enjoyed this show. it had a lot of military intrigue with the focus primarily being on the female general. I think overall the show was well done.The Good
I actually appreciated that the romance took a backseat in this show. It was subtle and more natural instead of forced and in your face. The main plot was pretty interesting and overall was a well written story. Of course there were moments where logic got a little lost but the main plot didn’t lose its edge. I like that the story stayed in focus for majority of the show. It didn’t have a whole lot of sub plots. I also enjoyed the progression of the female general as it was truly like a comeuppance story. The flashbacks were well placed and added to the story building. The acting was pretty decent for most of the characters and our leads had really good chemistry. They were well suited for their roles. Overall, production value was decent. I’d give the war scenes a 4 out of 5 with well coordinated fights.
The bad
I think Chu Zhao’s character was sort of unnecessary. For me he didn’t really add much to the story. It was almost a way just to fluff up the conflicts, but I think it could’ve been written better. As I mentioned, sometimes logic got lost in some of the war scenes. And I know this was probably put in place to accelerate the romance, but it was almost unnecessary for some of the scenes. The ending with the king was also a little unnecessary. I think they could’ve wrapped up the final couple of episodes a little differently as I think that conflict at the very end is sort of a waste. I also felt like there were scenes missing from the show as I watched throughout because sometimes the transitions would be abrupt or I felt like I missed something. To wrap it up, the final scene was a little unsatisfactory. It didn’t end bad but it was sort of flat for me. Didn’t evoke too many emotions.
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No character consistency
This drama had potential, with a decent plot and the mystery elements but fell short in character consistency.The Good
The drama started off strong with the 2 leading characters Pan Yue, played by Liu Xueyi, and Yang Cai Wei, played by Zheng He Huizi. The story was intriguing with the crime solving elements and decent chemistry amongst the characters. The acting was strong and made it an interesting watch. We also had Shangguan Zhi, played by Ju Jingyi, introduced as the obsessed 3 wheel who brought a twist to the story. The costumes and visuals were really nice and the OSTs were also good. That’s as about a good as it got and then it went downhill…
The Bad
The main issue was the lack of character consistency after the face swap. Besides her appearance, her character arc/personality completely changed from being either of the 2 characters. On the one hand, we understand that she is pretending to be someone else but at the core she should have pretended to be Shangguan Zhi. Yang Cai Wai was reserved, calm, independent, with her guard up. Shangguan Zhi was possessive, cold, calculating and mean. Introducing Ju Jingyi as the main leads, she was neither of these things. Once the two girls switched, there was a clear difference in the characters and it was hard to connect Ju Jingyi as either Yang Cai Wei or Shangguan Zhi. This further made things unconvincing to know that she was actually the original woman. I’ve seen Ju Jingyi in lots of dramas and have enjoyed some but can’t help but think that her character is a little type cast, in which she is a copy paste version of the same character in every show she is in. I don’t see clear differences in her acting style from one project to the next. The directors should have also known better to make sure that there was consistency with the characters because old habits die hard. No matter if their appearance changed, the underlying essence/nature of that person would not.
Some people or fans of the leads may enjoy this. I myself am a fan of Liu Xueyi as he is an amazing actor but I had to drop this one because even his acting could not keep me interested. Make your own decision on whether to watch. It was a no for me.
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A wonderfully written story…
Flourished Peony took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. A truly captivating story. I really enjoyed seeing Mudan defy all the odds of the societal standards set on women during the Tang Dynasty. Part 1 wrapped up nicely and I’m anxious to see how Part 2 will complete her journey.The Good
The production value is one of the best I’ve seen with the costumes, makeup, hairstyles, etc being true to Tang Dynasty. They paid very close attention to detail. The plot was executed nicely. Although some may not enjoy the trauma inflicted on the FL, it’s an accurate depiction of how women especially those who deviate outside of the societal standards will be treated. I also appreciated that the directors didn’t turn Mudan into a damsel in distress. She worked to solve most of her own problems with Jiang Changyang offering support when necessary. The chemistry, connection and bond the two leads share was very natural. I loved the friendship they developed and how their feelings are slowly growing. This will make for a better watch in season 2. I loved each supporting characters story. Those like Shengyi’s and Yulu were truly heartbreaking. I appreciated the real take they gave showing that you can’t save them all. The acting was a strong point. Everyone did such an amazing job and brought life to their characters. I also enjoyed the OST.
The Bad
Of course there were some exaggerations used as plot devices and to make the come up story seem more impactful. TV land always add these sort dramatic scenes to dramatize it even more. Even with that said, it doesn’t take away too much from the overall story.
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Not the best but not the worse
Not too much positive to say about this drama. Pretty basic story, recycled plot, a lot of exaggerated angst created just to create a heightened story but no real depth. This story does not have much story building, it’s just a bunch of random things happening to the FL each episode to draw out the angst of their relationship; no real substance. On the positive end, the acting wasn’t bad but not the greatest. Costumes and sets weren’t the worse but pretty mediocre. OST was decent enough. This is definitely a one a time watch and wouldn’t necessarily recommend but can serve as an in between angsty drama while you’re waiting on your anticipated dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
Dull
This took me a while to get to the halfway point of this show. The story is dull. I think the biggest fault I had with this show is the characters lack depth and everything seems surface level with the main 2 characters are just going through the motions of the script.The Good
It has some decent acting from some of the supporting cast. It was one of the reasons I kept watching. I was hoping they would give more story to some of the other characters. The main characters were mature and had a healthy relationship up to episode 23. Although there was the cliche hidden identity storyline, it got resolved quickly once it was out in the open. There were decent fight scenes for the few I saw.
The Bad
The two leads were the most problematic characters. Both were dull, almost robotic with their scenes. Neither of them displayed more than 2 emotions and/or facial expressions. Their characters didn’t feel like real characters in the story, whereas others like Shao Yao did. I couldn’t connect with them at all, their love story was uninteresting. They didn’t seem like they would be a couple unless someone told them to be, no chemistry. Almost seemed awkward. Both characters were predictable in how they handled situations, no fluctuation or deviations. It became repetitive. The next problem was the lack of character building with most of the other characters. There were so many characters in this show but who are they really!? After 23 episodes, we know hardly anything about any of these character’s stories and motivations. Lastly, there is no actual world building, we only see them in like 4-5 limited view places; the dungeon, palace hall, Prince Ling’s meditation room, the tree, and Hua residence. This limited view makes us have to rely on the characters but they barely built that up so it all falls flat. Barely any interaction out in the town or world. This isn’t always a bad thing but can be if they don’t build up the characters. Production value was basic and not much to talk about.
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One not to miss…
Absolutely loved this story. The focus being primarily on women’s rights was amazing and executed beautifully. Also loved the secondary plot as well. This is definitely a mini drama you don’t want to skip over. The plot was very compelling, fast paced and kept me on my toes with all the twists and turns. The cast did an amazing job, especially the leads. Our FL definitely shined throughout and will be checking out more of her works. I appreciated that her character had balance, both strong and vulnerable. Very relatable, very human.Pros
1. Engaging
2. Strong acting
3. Good amount of romance
4. No slow moving parts
5. Women’s rights
6. Good fighting scenes
Cons
1. Had the usual cliches
2. Make up on ML was overdone, became distracting at times.
3. FL was an obvious woman
4. CGI wasn’t great. Especially those fake butterflies.
5. Dubbing. It was off at times.
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Entertaining but with a strong message…
I really enjoyed this drama and think that it got better the more episodes I watched. At first I was skeptical and it almost lost me early on but I’m glad I stuck it out because it turned out to be a good drama and one I’d recommend.What I liked:
The plot was really strong. The idea of the filter and different personas was an interesting, unique concept in CDrama land. The story was executed well with an overarching theme of self acceptance. The acting was also a highlight of this drama. It was very strong from the entire cast with many versatile actors both showing their funny and serious sides. I also really loved the camaraderie between Su ChengCheng, her sister and best friend and Tang Qi and his best friend. Such strong relationships and I’m glad this drama highlighted that. We see so many dramas with awful friends and family. Loved that this one showed us a different side. The last point I’ll make is the comedy. It was natural and very funny.
What I didn’t like:
As mentioned, this drama almost lost me some at the beginning because they dragged on the personas longer than I’d liked but as I kept watching, I realized the necessity of it. I’d still say, they could have wrapped it up just a bit sooner. I also wish they kept some things a little more logical but maybe that was the point. For example, so many times Su ChengCheng wouldn’t just silence her phone, turn it off or block the individual she wanted to avoid. Not sure if this was to show us more about her personality or if these were plot devices to get her caught. Several other instances like this happened. The last thing would be the romance between Su ChengCheng and Tang Qi, although, I did enjoy their relationship at the end, part of me wishes they would have left that bit out because after all they went through, logically it’s hard for me to understand how they can like each other.
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This was a okay solid watch.
I enjoyed this show, not necessarily one of the best watches so far this year but it was pretty decent and one I’d recommend because this has the same director as The Blood of Youth and Love and Redemption (some of my top watches) and it shows with the action sequences.What I liked:
This was very action packed which I appreciate for a Xianxia because they are usually drawn out and angsty. Some moments were very engaging and fast pace and I didn’t find this to be too angsty. Had a good ending. I also enjoyed the acting, it was decent throughout and everyone played their character well. I especially enjoyed the FL since she played two characters and you could gradually see the change in her acting style to fit her separate personas as the story progressed. Next, Elder Tu/Tu Jiuyan stole my heart. I resonated the most with her story with Wei Ju. I rooted for her happiness throughout. I really liked the story progression with Ranran becoming more and more powerful and I enjoyed the plot setup of her trying to prevent her disciple/master/lover from turning into a demon.
What I didn’t like:
Although I enjoyed the overall plot, there were some things in there that I didn’t enjoy. I found there were lots of plot holes in the story such as their ability to heal with the magical pills when convenient but not when it was in relation to other characters that were sick or dying and this is just one example. Not going to lie, I also felt that the FL didn’t care much about her sister. Although both ML and her sister harmed her in the first life, she clung to the ML more and disregarded her sister. I wish they built up a more convincing sisterly bond especially when she regained her memories. Almost felt like they weren’t related. The story also focused on several different aspects such as reincarnation, master-disciple relationships, enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, amnesia, sacrifice, etc. All the same ingredients found in every other Xianxia. So it wasn’t uniquely written. There were also moments where I felt the story was progressing too slowly which got slightly boring. Finally, one of the main opportunities they had that needed improvement was on character development. There were so many random characters throughout that had no story behind them. The FL’s other senior brothers and sisters had zero story to them. They were just there but I wished they would have delved into their backgrounds and backstories or showed us more of them outside of just being with the FL. They only appeared when she was part of the plot in their scenes. Many other characters like that such as the ML’s two servants, members of the other sects, the Crown Prince’s consort, etc. I’ll also add that I didn’t really care for the main couple’s love story, Mu Ranwu’s love story with the Crown Prince or Mu Qingge’s disciple. I couldn’t connect with them. Elder Tu and Wei Ju’s was much more interesting.
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Another Hidden Gem
This show definitely wasn’t what I expected. It’s definitely a hidden gem and I binged it within a couple of days. It’s not your typical cute fluffy fantasy idol drama and will be for an older mature audience.The Good
The story was well written and I appreciated the lovers to enemies storyline. It reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. Star crossed lovers who were doomed because of their families/identities. In this story, the main theme was about the demon race vs the human race. It had a deeper story than just love. I enjoyed the fact that the FL didn’t blindly love the ML but also hated him as well. The portrayal of love and hate was done well. I liked how it didn’t suffer from most of the major tropes we see in Fantasy dramas like amnesia, childhood friends, I’m doing this for your own good, etc. The two main leads also had really good on screen chemistry that made their love feel natural. I also loved that they were smart of enough to tell this story within 24 episodes and not drag it out to a 40 episode drama. It would have suffered from a lot of filler episodes which wasn’t the case in this drama. The pacing was steady throughout. The acting here was good from everyone. Everyone played their role well for the character type they were assigned. I liked how it did not have constant loud soundtracks or odd sound effects constantly playing in the background as most fantasy dramas do. The music was more subtle and tolerable, even had lots of scenes without music. The OST was also pretty decent.
The Bad
Of course it wasn’t without its issues. For one, this is a lower production. The CGI wasn’t that great but wasn’t the worst either. The makeup was cakey at times. They didn’t do a lot of skin smoothing and over harsh lighting which was a positive but also a negative because we could see the bad makeup jobs. This drama still wasn’t without some tropes but that’s just inevitable with dramas, whether they are CDramas, Kdramas, JDramas, Hollywood Dramas, etc. The tropes play on the predictability factor unfortunately. Next, because this was a shorter drama, there was less character development for some of our villains. This made them fall a little flat and one dimensional.
This type of drama definitely suffers from lower ratings because there are no big name traffic stars or extremely pretty people. I’d say judge the drama for yourself. I found it to be better than most of the Fantasy dramas that aired this year with high ratings.
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Quite Enjoyable
Nice mini series! Definitely one of the more entertaining ones with a complete story and decent ending.The Good
Great chemistry between leads. Lots of romance that was done very well. I appreciated that it was a more mature drama with mature leads. Well placed comedy. Fast paced so the story kept moving along. The plot wasn’t anything new with the transmigration but stood out a little from some of the other ones of the same type. Acting was decent enough but not necessarily the best.
The Bad
Poor lighting which had some scenes too bright. Low production value. Filmed in a couple of locations. Cheap costumes, wigs, etc. as previously stated, acting wasn’t always the best.
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Trash TV
This is what I call trash tv. Very low budget, poor script, poor acting, but it can be a guilty pleasure and you just want to see how terrible it can get. A lot of laughable moments and I don’t mean this in a good way. They put all the bad things that can happen to the characters in a story and wrapped it with a nice bow. Scheming, attempted murder, lies, neglectful parents, sexual assault, stabbings. You name it, this show had it. It was really ridiculous. The only reason I give it some stars is because the actors tried.Was this review helpful to you?
Hidden Gem
This was an amazing story and one I’d highly recommend for those looking for a coming of age story! First off, this isn’t a romance drama and not sure why MDL tagged it as such. I suspect that many who are looking for romance would be disappointed in this one. I would also say this is for more mature audiences. It’s heavy on the realism and does not contain fluff. It’s definitely not an idol drama.The Good
The story was well written and had a strong execution. This was one of the best high school dramas I’ve seen and left a deep impression. There were many profound moments and life lessons portrayed in this drama. The female lead Luo Qiqi was an extremely relatable character and had me rethinking my youth, thoughts, actions and choices made during those times. Every character was very complex, not perfect and had their own interesting story to tell. There was so much character growth and development seen that it left a deep satisfaction at the end. In my opinion, this was Zhao Jin Mai’s best drama that I’ve seen from her lineup through 2024. It really showed her acting range. All the remaining cast also did an amazing job and portrayed their characters very well.
The Bad
It’s a slow drama and requires patience to sit through as it’s 30 episodes with 50 min runtime per episode. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Though I enjoyed every episode and it kept me engaged, of course this drama still has the misunderstandings we’ve come to know in CDramas. The difference here is these are more realistic, relatable and understandable situations. It’s a basic production with a not memorable OST. The ending may leave some dissatisfied.
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Not Unique but Entertaining
This drama does not necessarily stand out from other modern dramas of the same category. It doesn’t have any unique aspects or issues but it was entertaining.The Good
The characters were easy to connect with. They were your everyday average people whom weren’t over the top. They didn’t have extreme personalities or major childhood traumas that affected their daily life. It was your average run of the mill, guy and girl meet, then fall for each other. This show had pockets of comedy that kept it entertaining and even though the leads were inexperienced in love, neither did anything that compromised their integrity. Also, a strong plus was there weren’t any evil love triangles. The secondary couple was also quite interesting to watch since they were more experienced in relationships and faced a completely different issue than our main couple. I would definitely say this is a more mature/normal take on relationships. Lastly, the acting was decent all around.
The Bad
Number one thing is it doesn’t stand out from other modern dramas. The plot didn’t offer anything new and some may not find it interesting. Although I mentioned that it’s a more mature drama, there were some aspects that were a little immature such as the FL clothing style but it didn’t bother me much.
I’d recommend a watch if you are looking for a light Rom Com but don’t expect anything mind blowing.
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Everyday Relationship
Let me start by saying this was a pretty decent story that depicts an everyday type of relationship. The story wasn’t mind blowing but it wasn’t typical either. My review is based on a fresh take since I’ve never seen the original Korean version of this show.The Good:
Adding on to my original comment about the story not being typical, there wasn’t a lot of CDrama tropes nor was this a fluffy romance tale that didn’t depict the negative sides of a new relationship. If you’re a person that likes more realism in shows, this one may be for you. The acting was okay and I feel that each character was well represented and casted appropriately for this type of story. Lastly, I enjoyed the OST as the songs were very chill and had a sense of mature romance which paired well with the scenes.
The Bad:
Although I enjoyed the story, of course there were still some nuances that frustrates or makes you question the characters/writing. This is a slow burn so if you do not like the draggy bits, this may not be for you. Next I will say again that the story was okay… it’s a good and bad thing because sometimes the characters were a little dull and either expressed odd emotions or not enough emotions for the situations. It led to a little bit of over acting or under acting at times. Lastly, there are parts where it becomes monotonous and nothing new or exciting was happening. Again, it’s a slow drama that depicts everyday life when dealing with relationships so it could be boring at times.
This won’t be for everyone but check it out and make your own decision.
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Very fun indeed!
As others have pointed out, the production is very low budget, random terrible acting, laughable CGI that looks like different webcam backgrounds, arcade game sound effects but none of that even matters. The story was very interesting and held my attention throughout the entire show. No throwaway episodes whatsoever. The one thing I would say that I didn't like was the portrayal of all of the women, besides his mom and Pavillion Master, were insane. Most were overacting but the immediate accusations thrown at him upon meeting him was a little strange. Other than that, the ML was very cool. I would love to see these types of characters in more shows. Glad this drama left out all the xianxia tropes including the hopeless, angsty romance that dooms the ML. Would be nice to have a season 2 for this drama.Was this review helpful to you?
