Amazing plot with amazing acting
My first impression before starting on this drama was that this must have been one of those arranged marriages with a quiet despondent young master who only marry after being forced by the family.
I never expected to see an ML who is so ruthless, fierce and full of hatred lord of the clan as portrayed in Episode 1. He didnt even bat an eye to refuse the marriage ordered by the martriach of the family, my fav Lady Xu. It took a battle for him to finally agree to the marriage, and it was only done for his pride and not because he bowed to the family’s wish. He is resolute, he is strict, but has a soft, kind nature that he didnt like to show much outwardly. He held back this nature because he didn't want his hatred and grudge towards the Qiao clan to dissipate hence failing to avenge his grandfather, father and brother’s death due to Qiao’s inaction in a battle 14years prior. I’d say the ML is actually the one who went through a full-fledged character development, from a ruthless, blood-thirsty, power hungry, vengeful warlord into someone filled with love and cherishes a woman born into the enemy’s clan.
Meanwhile, Qiao Man the FL has become one of my favourite FL of all time, despite me always leaning towards physcially strong with martial ability FL all this while. Although the FL here was physically weak and possess no martial prowess at all, I think she still stands with the badass of all badasses FL out there. Her intelligence and strategical prowess is top notch, and she is able to tactically curb any hurdle that came her way with ease, without needing much saving from ML. Her mental strength is even sounder than ML itself. While ML was almost swayed by the silent enemy, it had not been the same with FL. FL is someone who is extremely eloquent with amazing debate ability and extremely calm and coherent composure. She didnt need to raise her voice or snap at people to gain the upper hand. Her arguments are flawlessly calm which can stun even the fiercest lord. She knows when to advance and when to retreat like a true born strategist. I like her character on screen better as she is more fluid and scheming than the book FL. The book FL is just a flat, straight arrow with vision only to capture ML’s heart enough so he would extinguish the hatred towards her clan, nothing more nothing less. There was not much strategizing by her in the book. On a side note, the actress is dang good at crying! All the heaving and sniffling and hiccupping, i’ve never seen a crying scene as convincing as hers! It’s so close to reality. Kudos to song zu er!
I really love the 2nd ML Wei Yan portrayed by Liu Duan Duan. I have seen him in Joy of Life as the Third Prince and The Rebel Princess as General Song. I can see that he has the tendency to adopt weird characters with rather heretic nature. In TPoB he plays the cousin of ML who lusts after FL. Although he was infatuated with her, he knows he cannot move beyond his imagination. He still holds the brotherhood with ML quite dearly, and when he could no longer contain the situation, he immediately retreats to his paternal family to mend his broken heart. All three characters I have seen him play have a certain eerie demeanour with sinister look, as if he had something evil brewing behind the scene. Theyre really interesting characters which add darkish colours to each show. On a side note, the 2D portrait drawn by Wei Yan was the first portrait that i saw bore exact resemblance to the actual person. In other shows I always wonder how the hell do they find people with portrait that looks nothing like the person they were drawn after. 😂
I am happy to say that this is the first tv show that I watch on streaming platform which I never use the fast forward button. Every scene is worth watching and I have no interest at all to skip. I especially love the side couple Wei Liang-Xiao Tao who became most anticipated than even the main couple. Their antics are amusing yet fiery. Usually with goofy side couples like this one i’d just abuse the FF button and skip them all, but not on this show. Unbelievably the FF button stays pristine all throughout the show. What a feat on my part!
If xiao tao-wei liang won my vote as my favourite couple, the four Wei generals - Wei Liang, Wei Qu, Wei Xiao, Wei Dou - won my vote for most favourite side characters. Unexpectedly, they became the source of comic relief for this show in contrast to the fierce and ruthless look they pose in the first 2 episodes. Wei Xiao had been hell bent on killing FL in the first few episodes, eager to shoot her dead with his deadly arrow but at the end he was the one entrusted to escort and protect her to Boya to get reinforcement for ML’s troops. Such an irony and a full swing turn of event indeed.
Another thing that I love about this show is that all misunderstandings or conflicts are resolved in a timely manner with no excessive over-reaction involved. The plot is even more engaging than the actual novel it was after. Events in the book are mostly flat and non-dramatic (other than battle scenes) compared to the adaptation, which is why i totally love the TV FL compared to the book FL. Although I usually dislike adaptations that don't adhere to the novel’s plot, it is not the case for this show. I truly think the adaptation is even better than the novel. Although the novel is filled with spicy, dark and lustful side of the ML, I actually liked the innocence of the couple on screen more. They definitely hired the right people for this production.
The only thing dragging down my rating is the songs. They're not too catchy and memorable. I only have plans to add 1 of the songs into my playlist, the rest are really just so-so.
I never expected to see an ML who is so ruthless, fierce and full of hatred lord of the clan as portrayed in Episode 1. He didnt even bat an eye to refuse the marriage ordered by the martriach of the family, my fav Lady Xu. It took a battle for him to finally agree to the marriage, and it was only done for his pride and not because he bowed to the family’s wish. He is resolute, he is strict, but has a soft, kind nature that he didnt like to show much outwardly. He held back this nature because he didn't want his hatred and grudge towards the Qiao clan to dissipate hence failing to avenge his grandfather, father and brother’s death due to Qiao’s inaction in a battle 14years prior. I’d say the ML is actually the one who went through a full-fledged character development, from a ruthless, blood-thirsty, power hungry, vengeful warlord into someone filled with love and cherishes a woman born into the enemy’s clan.
Meanwhile, Qiao Man the FL has become one of my favourite FL of all time, despite me always leaning towards physcially strong with martial ability FL all this while. Although the FL here was physically weak and possess no martial prowess at all, I think she still stands with the badass of all badasses FL out there. Her intelligence and strategical prowess is top notch, and she is able to tactically curb any hurdle that came her way with ease, without needing much saving from ML. Her mental strength is even sounder than ML itself. While ML was almost swayed by the silent enemy, it had not been the same with FL. FL is someone who is extremely eloquent with amazing debate ability and extremely calm and coherent composure. She didnt need to raise her voice or snap at people to gain the upper hand. Her arguments are flawlessly calm which can stun even the fiercest lord. She knows when to advance and when to retreat like a true born strategist. I like her character on screen better as she is more fluid and scheming than the book FL. The book FL is just a flat, straight arrow with vision only to capture ML’s heart enough so he would extinguish the hatred towards her clan, nothing more nothing less. There was not much strategizing by her in the book. On a side note, the actress is dang good at crying! All the heaving and sniffling and hiccupping, i’ve never seen a crying scene as convincing as hers! It’s so close to reality. Kudos to song zu er!
I really love the 2nd ML Wei Yan portrayed by Liu Duan Duan. I have seen him in Joy of Life as the Third Prince and The Rebel Princess as General Song. I can see that he has the tendency to adopt weird characters with rather heretic nature. In TPoB he plays the cousin of ML who lusts after FL. Although he was infatuated with her, he knows he cannot move beyond his imagination. He still holds the brotherhood with ML quite dearly, and when he could no longer contain the situation, he immediately retreats to his paternal family to mend his broken heart. All three characters I have seen him play have a certain eerie demeanour with sinister look, as if he had something evil brewing behind the scene. Theyre really interesting characters which add darkish colours to each show. On a side note, the 2D portrait drawn by Wei Yan was the first portrait that i saw bore exact resemblance to the actual person. In other shows I always wonder how the hell do they find people with portrait that looks nothing like the person they were drawn after. 😂
I am happy to say that this is the first tv show that I watch on streaming platform which I never use the fast forward button. Every scene is worth watching and I have no interest at all to skip. I especially love the side couple Wei Liang-Xiao Tao who became most anticipated than even the main couple. Their antics are amusing yet fiery. Usually with goofy side couples like this one i’d just abuse the FF button and skip them all, but not on this show. Unbelievably the FF button stays pristine all throughout the show. What a feat on my part!
If xiao tao-wei liang won my vote as my favourite couple, the four Wei generals - Wei Liang, Wei Qu, Wei Xiao, Wei Dou - won my vote for most favourite side characters. Unexpectedly, they became the source of comic relief for this show in contrast to the fierce and ruthless look they pose in the first 2 episodes. Wei Xiao had been hell bent on killing FL in the first few episodes, eager to shoot her dead with his deadly arrow but at the end he was the one entrusted to escort and protect her to Boya to get reinforcement for ML’s troops. Such an irony and a full swing turn of event indeed.
Another thing that I love about this show is that all misunderstandings or conflicts are resolved in a timely manner with no excessive over-reaction involved. The plot is even more engaging than the actual novel it was after. Events in the book are mostly flat and non-dramatic (other than battle scenes) compared to the adaptation, which is why i totally love the TV FL compared to the book FL. Although I usually dislike adaptations that don't adhere to the novel’s plot, it is not the case for this show. I truly think the adaptation is even better than the novel. Although the novel is filled with spicy, dark and lustful side of the ML, I actually liked the innocence of the couple on screen more. They definitely hired the right people for this production.
The only thing dragging down my rating is the songs. They're not too catchy and memorable. I only have plans to add 1 of the songs into my playlist, the rest are really just so-so.
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