godscow

now this is a hidden gem.
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this is typical c drama story, meets creative delivery, with a touch of guy ritchie sarcasm, and korean darkness, sprinkled with slapstick humour (altho a wee bit lost in translation to the simplicity of the english langauge) and topped off with wonderful delivery. they clearly had a very tight budget but managed masterfully compared to SOO many other counterparts. the actors, scriptwriters and direction delivered so well given the simplicity of the story and the very very low budget. id love to see this directors other works. he shot every scene so well - despite the lacking surroundings and budget...very surprised. wonderful acting as well. seriously underrated production and awesome cast on all fronts.
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ps the director himself played eunuch wang according to the cast list

scriptwriters left the building on this one. it was all over the place - but the premise and idea was cute - with poor execution as always. altho FL actress was cute - her character was written as a completely idiotic person. not even believable. not in an annoying way as commonly found in some shows, but literally feels like she has more than a few brain cells missing. they went full retard with her. beyond cringe - especially that episode where she tries out for the chef position - that was excruciating to watch...still somehow the show is watcheable because the main actors were in their own way (even with bad writing) adorable. and as mentioned, the premise is interesting enough to keep you watching even thru gritted teeth during the messy/cringey moments. the island vibe was really beautiful - costumes were cool too. its one of those shows where i genuinely wished it was given to better scriptwriters/editors/director cuz it has a lot of potential and so did the actors.

so far up to ep 14: shout out to the guy who played feng chang. noticed he wasnt mentioned here, but that guy played the heck out of his very complex dual role. kudos to him. hes not overshadowing or better than everyone else..i just felt his role was done superbly but never mentioned here :)

aaand in typical Seven fashion, she went from a character i couldn't stand to one that melts my harsh heart with her adorable-ness. schucks

ill give her one thing tho -Seven portrays a very specific type of 17 year old so well. minus those ridiculously demeaning situations she has to work with, her ability to play an unruly, curious, energetic go getter with confidence and reserved inferiority complex is done very well even in the smallest details.

episode 7 and she and her soft hearted colleague have allowed thieves to get away because of incompetence🤦🏻‍♀️. omfg

i usually like Seven in her roles and how she interprets them,, but by episode 4, and ive never wanted to see someone put FL in her place this bad (like put her on a time out or remove her from the case completely)....my skin is crawling at her unnecessary insubordination, illegal theft of evidence, shamelessness, arrogance, cluelessness, lack of awareness, unprofessionalism, nosy behavior (unnecessary nosy), lack of basic manners of any kind (i mean basics like dont whine when your teacher asks your for something simple ffs)...omfg. im guessing this is one of those "character growth" shows..or so i hope - because it makes no sense how she made it as a constable...considering i havent really seen her do anything "talented" so far that anyone would want to suffer thru a colleague like that for...
gonna trust the reviews and wait for chemistry i guess

she also made a massive sacrifice. she was willing to give up her purpose in life (the army) - to enter a prison (palace) and have to put up with constant schemes and god knows what else (just how consort Xiao told her..being a woman in the palace is 1000s worse for her than being a prince in the palace). she sacrificed her life too..because she knew theyd never live peacefully, and ML was truly the only legal heir who could make a difference and put an end to the mess that was happening and causing people to suffer endlessly. she was actually behaving like a true good empress would. she had foresight. yes she had to coerce him..but he was so delusional in his wants for a simple life, perhaps coercing him was really the only thing SHE could do on her end. she could have easily just left with her father and continued beign a general with no worries except those she was willing to take on (dying on the battlefield) - that would have proven she didnt love him. she explained what kind of woman she was in episode 26 when talking to that cartoon character of a brother of hers. she was just like ML. she had no interest in anything but roaming the lands with her army..and she could have easily had that life..all she had to do was just leave ML. but she couldnt. why? cuz she loves him
she fought with her own future for whats right..and for him. because she loved him and was willing to do anything to protect him.

i loved their flirting and love language. and i loved the repeated scenes of that game in later episodes. but the first time they did it felt contrived and cheesy af considering the characters theyre portraying. this is a well written show in my opinion..with very interesting characters with good depth...and i agree..with great light hearted moments. but little scenes like that..that are out of character in terms of writing/style/aesthetic....just jolt you out and make you cringe like hell. imho. yes i dont appreciate it. i held this show in high regard..compared to a lot of crap that comes out..hence i naturally reacted stronger at any flaws it had...especially when they were that bad. that scene was like some short drama scene. felt outta place and illogical to me

you werent really discussing anything with me. you threw thinly veiled sarcastic comments at me personally attempting to pass it off as intelligent discourse.
and yes. im arrogant. what of it? gonna lecture me on that too? my character beyond your permission?
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i posted knowingly on a public forum. anyones welcome to challenge it. unfortunately butt hurt fans with zero argumentative value do not make for public discussion. it makes for butt hurt trolling at best
thank you. have a good evening as well

actually..unlike you...i made my OWN post stating my opinion. i didnt go under peoples posts who praised her acting and try refute it and argue till im blue in the face there and teaching them the ways of having an opinion..... YOU came under my post. meaning YOU think YOUR opinion is universal. i never commented on someones elses post just cuz i dont agree with them....YOU did. lol. see how that works?
you know why i didnt comment on someone elses opinion on THEIR posts that dont follow my opinion? cuz i have no place doing that. its not my business what others think, its not my place to be entitled to assume everyone should think like me. others words do not spite or emotionally trigger me. i simply posted my opinion on here like everyone else. just cuz it differs from mdls public doesnt mean i cannot post it as long as im not being a troll under someones elses posts.
thank you for your efforts to placate me and set my evil ways straight tho lol

yes im entitled to my opinion. as are you.
also..mass centred opinions arent really a valid argument. but yes. everyone is entitled to opinions...
ps. i never DECIDED her acting is bad. who the hell am i to do that? im just some wordy stranger on the internet. not sure why my opinion has everyone with their panties in a bunch lol.. she decided that herself by unfortunately ruining a pretty interesting character with her lack of acting abilities.

good show. refreshing to see a slightly different caliber of characters. especially liked Zhao Lu Si's take on her character.
ending was a bit lackluster unfortunately. felt rushed

i watched the whole show. hows it prejudiced? do you know the meaning? or is a word you throw around when someones opinion differs?

the premise is beyond ridiculous. show is trying to convince us these cartoon character humans can be great warriors and tacticians.

she also never had a "main lead" role in anything in hollywood. and hollywood isnt a standard. megan fox had main leads....you reckon shes an "actress" too? 🤣

lol...bias sounds like something you have. has hollywood experience so therefore is beyond criticism? bahaha. did you know she also won the "most disappointing actress" accolade to? so umm yea. people are entitled not to like someones performance. hers in this show was abysmal. personally it feels like she either paid her way into the industry or someone backed her.

writers - lets write a story about a powerful general duo from different camps falling in love while brillianty strategizing against each other. and also..emphasize on making the female really smart and strong..and the male regal and wise enough to be a future emperor
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also writers - fl "heres my brilliant negotiation strategy - close your eyes and count to 10 - if i win - you let me go thru a stronghold cjty, if i dont, ill enter the palace and help you rescue the king risking my mens lives" ml "omg that sounds so cool and definitely strategically well thought out,, sure" 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ ml..proceeds to lose cuz woman gave him a kiss on the cheek 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ tf. why do these writers keep writing scripts where generals are complete morons?. is there no better way??

ps..they tried to make the empress seem like a woman who was chess playing her way into protection and power...but instead we got a bored stupid housewife who probably should have stayed being a brothel chick 🤦🏻‍♀️. have writers never met women before? are we all blithering idiots in their eyes?

despite my rant below, i still cannot ignore this show. id give it a 8/10. minus two points for the disaster writing post episode 27 (not disaster in the general sense, but disaster compared to the first 26 episodes. they were realistic, non filler, logical and worth watching). unfortunately, post episode 26 - the writers went into unbelievable territory and forgot the romance part of it assuming they had a good enough story for us without the romance. theyre wrong. their non romance part of the story was boring and muddled. also, what started out as a cool women power story, started to veer into toxic feminism territory in some parts..which was disappointing because i really hoped we finally found a story that can weave feminism into its writing without making it annoying/contradictory.
anyhoo...i still loved the calm and soothing process of this show. but i guess the first 25 episodes raised my expectations so high, that even the slighest drop in quality hit me harder than when watching a shitty show.
wouldnt call this a big romance drama - for those who are particular about that. up until episode 26 yes it is. after that..it fully fizzles out and fails to regain anything romantic tbh. skip if youre particular about the romance