geechoo

he's really good at doing that smouldering gaze lmao there's an earlier scene where he's on a boat looking at her that also gave me butterflies

same. I hope the rest of the drama measures up to the great start. I feel like this might drag a bit because the scope of the drama is fairly small.

liu yi fei's fame has actually died down a bit in recent years. her movie Mulan was a flop in China and she hasn't acted in a drama since 2006. she's a big name definitely but that's not enough to guarantee a well received drama. See: Yangmi's last couple dramas that got low ratings

there's a couple big name dramas coming this summer but this one is def the surprise hit so far

sometimes there isn't enough votes

ok I just finished binging up to episode 12. I seriously LOVEE this drama so far. The acting, set, cinematography, etc are all close to perfect for a cdrama. The two leads have so much chemistry it's insane. There is a small scene in episode 12 where he watches her while she's preparing tea and the chemistry is palpable.

the green screen is only really noticeable in the boat scene.

she's always been famous for her beauty in China but it's true that she was criticized for wooden acting in the past. she improved a lot in this drama imo.

I'm up to episode 5 right now and I really like it! I'm impressed by the cinematography and scenery. It almost looks movie like? It doesn't have the "fake" feel of other cdramas. There was one scene in episode 1 or 2 where they were on a boat and it was so obviously cgi/greenscreen but other than that, the filming has been gorgeous.

Acting wise, I have no complaints. I've never been a fan of Liu Yifei in the past because I find her a wooden actress but she has really improved in this drama! I seriously think this is the best she's acted in anything. Chen Xiao hasn't really gotten much to do so far but I know he's a good actor from past work. His character is just kind of the typical strong and silent prototype. On the other hand, I love how strong the female characters are so far. I hope they don't mess up the characterization later on.

All in all, this is one of the most gorgeously shot cdramas I've watched in recent years. I'm definitely impressed so far and I hope the later episodes are just as good.

I liked him a lot in AOUAD. Physically, he's perfect to become a male lead. Acting-wise he could still use improvements. There are parts where he comes off as very wooden but then there are other parts where his charisma is insane. Hope he finds the right balance because I really would like to see him become big.

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. Yes, it's about zombies but the human stories are very realistic and touching. There are definitely plot holes but I kind of take those for granted in this genre. The characters make poor choices but since they're teenagers I can forgive them.

Some highlights:
- I love LOVE the main cast. I know people have complained about the acting of some (like Onjo) but I thought their awkwardness was very realistic. You can genuinely feel the friendship between them (esp the boys) which is why even with little backstory, I still felt bad when certain characters met their demise.
- Action scenes are well down. The library scene looked amazing and I don't even know how they filmed that without stunt doubles (I'm assuming it was done by the actors themselves since you can see their faces). I wish the girls also got to do more in this regard.
- The humor is underrated. There are some very funny laugh out loud parts without being slapstick-y which served as a nice juxtaposition to the grime setting. I think some people mistook the show to be completely serious when it's not. It's almost a dark comedy at parts.

There are definitely things that could've been done better, such as the message about bullying which felt half baked, but overall I would give this a solid 8/10. Yes there are inconsistencies but those will always exist in zombie genres. I choose to suspend my belief when I watch these.

Yes, GJ does not get enough flack for being one of the causes of XF's traumas. LCY did use XF to get close to her grandfather's camp but at that point they were strangers and he had no attachment to her. GJ however grew up with her and his was a much bigger betrayal imo. One of the plotholes is when XF regains her memories and doesn't hate GJ anymore when before she jumped into the spring, she wanted LCY to kill GJ..

I think LCY is a very morally grey character. His actions make sense within the context of his position as someone vying for the throne in war time China. I think he's the most fleshed out character in the drama particularly because he's the protagonist and antagonist all in one. A lot of male leads in these romance dramas are very "恋爱脑" (someone who only has love on their brain) and it makes no sense. For LCY, power >>> love, and I found that very realistic.

Gu Jian was seriously annoying. He was wishy washy and always made the wrong choice at the wrong time. One of the things that happens to him at the end was supposed a big emotional moment but I felt nothing because of how inconsistent his character was. LCY is hateful but you're not supposed to like him. He's almost a villain of sorts.

I wouldn't even consider it a love story. The original novel was but it was much shorter and told from the female lead perspective. The drama was more about the male lead's life and rise.

The male lead makes this drama imo it's a role that's rarely seen in these types of historical romances and requires a ton of emotional range from the actor. The political intrigue plot completely elevates this from another boring romance drama to something with more substance. The female lead in comparison is so disappointing and one dimensional. She’s the stereotypical “傻白甜” innocent and sweet female protagonist that is abundant in cdramas. This might be why the romance plot was not as interesting for me because I couldn’t wait to get to the political scenes where the male lead maneuvers his way to the throne. I also must give major props to the costumes and cinematography. This drama was filmed on location for many of the earlier episodes and it looked gorgeous and grand in scale. Much better than the green screen mess that plagues cdramas.