eggcellant

There are moments of mystery, suspense, thrill and usual good guys vs bad guys. The special effects in this drama are top notch and not burdensome, and really brought a magical vibe to this world. Music is good and the action scenes are tastefully done. The ending, especially the last 3 episodes brought it an overall calm tone to it. Worth checking out this drama.



I like how the drama spent the last 2 episodes to help viewers emotionally prepare to what was to come. The ending was what you could say is a a realistic conclusion of a "demon hunter's" romance with a human. Still you couldn't help but root for the characters, Banxia and Xuanye, to be together knowing how much they like each other. Xuanye as a character is so sincere and respectable, no wonder Banxia would fall for him. And Banxia being earnestness and caring, and being the first girl to give attention to Xuanye, no wonder Xuanye falls for her too.
( To be honest, I thought there'd be an epilogue, like 12 years later seeing Banxia, Xuanye, and their child or something. But I guess this would've been cliché and the drama rather took an alternative route).

In a way, how their relationship presents in the final episode is the trade off for saving the lives of many of the characters that were killed while fighting against the "bad". Though the time reversal thing Xuanye uses to bring things back to "normal" can be seen as an action done in line with his character, it can also be seen as a device needed to be done otherwise the storyline would've become more of a tragedy.

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This is my first short c-drama, and I was pretty impressed by it, so much so that I think it would've been better if the episodes were longer, at least 30 min. minimum. That way some more the back story can be developed, and pad up the romantic aspect between Ning Jinyi and Master Pei in order to show the origins of Master Pei's devotion (to death) to Jinyi and country. What I also liked was the actors looked right for their roles. The make up for Jinyi was done so that it toned down her female features. Her character is one of the more convincing portrayals of a woman pretending to be a young man that I've seen. The music and action sequences were pretty good for a short drama. The lighting could be better, but it is a short drama so gave it a pass (production probably had a budget to stick to). Ultimately, everything all comes together giving this drama a Shakespearean or dramatic tone to it.


And, hope to see more of Huang Haoyue (Jinyi) and Li Geyang (Master Pei) in bigger projects in the future.

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What to say about this drama. This drama is a tragedy that starts off under the guise of revenge.
First, what happens to the characters is tragic. Second, the story development is tragic. The acting, martial arts sequences, and overall filming (minus the music) were good, but not enough to pull the story line which disconnectedly shifts tone or perspective. Sometimes I felt this drama would've been better off as a mini-drama. And yet, still ended up watching until the last episode (sometimes fast forwarding), only because I wanted to know what resolution can come to the characters, especially Mei Lin (played by Wu Jinyan) and Murong Jinghe (played by Lui Xueyi), who endured much cruelty in their lives. In such a violent, tragic world they live in, the most natural course would be their deaths, which happens ultimately.

In short:
If you want to see Wu Jinyan do neat martial arts scenes, then you can see it in this drama.
If you want to see Lui Xueyi shed tears beautifully, then you can see it in this drama.
If you want to see a drama that is doing revenge, check out The Double (which also aired in the same year) instead.

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This drama is amazing, even looking back now. The storyline is layered so different interpretations can be made. And has a dash of everything (to name a few: mystery, suspense, action, fantasy, human relations, politics, etc.) that is sprinkled so right to not overpower the storyline. And the concept of using a flute to wield control over demonic energy was refreshing to see.

Viewers watching costume C-dramas these days might think the costumes are not elaborate enough, but for me prefer it this way since when in the olden days were outfits that fancy. And sometimes simple is more. (Why I say this is Lan Wangji styling).

This brings me to casting. The casting of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo is just wonderful. Their acting and visuals so complement each other. Xiao Zhan was so expressive and portrayed Wei Wuxian's character development so well, from youth to anti-hero. (Especially liked it when Wei Wuxian when into his dark mode). On the other hand, Wang Yibo portrayed a character that speaks little. But his micro-expressions said so much. Like you didn't need to know what he was thinking. (I was so impressed that I even looked up who this actor is, only to find out he was 20 years old when he filmed this. ) Actually, every character visually matched their characters and carried out their roles well. For me, this goes to show that the directors knew how to guide the cast to bring the storyline and character dynamics to life.

About the wire work/action scenes/visual Sfx. C-dramas are known for this and it isn't my first watching wire work in C-dramas, but for me I it is unforgettable how Wang Yibo portrayed Lan Wangji. Him flying in or doing martial arts scene just felt like art, graceful but powerful. The production did so right in bringing Lan Wangji to life. Viewers of today might think the visual Sfx leaves more to desire, but for me I was not bothered by it at all (keep in mind this drama was released in 2019 ) and did not overpower the storyline likes of which can be seen in some C-dramas. I like that you can see old-school style visual Sfx too.

Overall, had an eggcellant time watching this drama. Would recommend.

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I watched season 2 because I enjoyed season 1. I guess after the popularity of season 1, the production got more budget since the sets, scale and special effects look better.
For season 2, viewers continue to follow Su Wuming, Lu Lingfeng, Pei Xijun, Ying Tao, and Fei Qiao as they encounter mysteries in their journey west away from Changan. Also viewers learns about Lu Lingfeng's royal background too.


Recommend to watch this drama. Haha, will probably check out Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 3 since I enjoyed season 1 and 2. Hope the production team and cast can keep to the elements that captivated viewers.

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An enjoyable, smoldering, hot drama revolving around revenge, double identity, and deception. The drama did a smart job of keeping focus on the revenge storyline and not let the mutual attraction that arises between Xue Fangfei and Duke Su become the focus. By doing this, it made the romance, the tension actually better between these two main characters. And simply put, Wu Jinyan (as Xue Fangfei) and Wang Xingyue (as Duke Su) were just hot together, visually and acting wise. You could feel their acting chemistry bleed thru the screen. These two leads did a solid job with their characters. In fact, I would say all the side characters were portrayed with solid acting, including that by Li Meng (as Princess Wanning) and Liang Yongqi (as Shen Yurong). And this drama very much made me notice the relative newcomer Wang Xingyue.

Cinematically, the production team definitely put a lot of emphasis on beautiful composition. Although there were moments, and they were by far few, when the close-up and slow motion effects could have been toned down. But given the attractive leads, Wu Jinyan and Wang XingYue, I just started enjoying the close-up shots of these attractive leads. The one scene I felt did not fit with the tone of the drama was when Xue Fangfei was portrayed flying to heaven as a symbolism of her prowess on the zither. The symbolism is understood, but the visual SFX made it seem like a fantasy moment, and this drama is not in realm of fantasy at all. Fortunately, the rest of the storyline did not get detracted by this fantasy moment.

Overall, would definitely recommend The Double.

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