Story, acting, pacing, CHEF'S KISS
I never write reviews. Literally never. I've been watching cdramas for seven years now, and this is the first time I was so impressed that I had to write a review. Never before have I watched a show where the pacing was consistent the ENTIRE WAY THROUGH. Not one boring episode. Not one scene I wanted to skip. They made each scene count, and knew exactly when to cut to another one to keep the story moving. There was one episode I watched in the second half where I thought to myself "Ooh I wonder what's happening in Jinxiu now" and a second later, the scene switched to Jinxiu. Absolutely brilliant. Anyway, if you want more specifics about why you should absolutely watch this drama, here they are:
Acting: I'm not just talking about the main leads here, but even the supporting characters are phenomenal actors. You can feel their pain, their sorrow, their joy, their anger. A great drama like this one needs great actors to support the story alongside the main leads. And this is exactly what this drama has.
Enemies to lovers trope: This is enemies to lovers done WELL. They truly hated each other in the beginning, and when they started to catch feelings, it was mutual and gradual and made sense given what they'd gone through together. No big annoying miscommunications that separate them for episodes on end, no betrayals, just good communication and respect. And yes, it's a happy ending for the main leads.
Pacing: I've already explained a bit of this but I must stress that the pacing of the story is this drama's strong suit. Not once does the story slow down or get bogged down by boring filler episodes. Every scene matters. Every episode matters. And they don't annoy viewers by spending too much time on villain scenes. They only show what is necessary for understanding the villains' motives and what they're plotting.
Villains: This is a unique drama in that all of the villains' actions are motivated properly. The audience can understand what brought them to the point where they became villains. I've watched dramas before where the villains are evil just for the sake of being evil, OR their actions aren't justified and seem to extreme for their reasoning. HERE, the actions of the "villains" make sense for what they have suffered, and as a result, you can't fully hate them with a passion. Really, it just goes to show that villains are made both by their circumstances, AND how they choose to REACT to those circumstances. And nothing is ever truly black and white. There is nuance.
Plot twist: This drama is somewhat predictable in the sense that you can probably guess who the bad guys are. HOWEVER, it's unpredictable and full of twists in the sense that there are some people who start out as villains and turn into beloved characters, and other people who start out as good, honourable people and turn into villains by the end. Once again, this goes back to the fact that nothing is ever black and white—more morally grey.
If you haven't already been convinced by my review, I implore you to go and watch the drama! See for yourself what a masterpiece this is.
Acting: I'm not just talking about the main leads here, but even the supporting characters are phenomenal actors. You can feel their pain, their sorrow, their joy, their anger. A great drama like this one needs great actors to support the story alongside the main leads. And this is exactly what this drama has.
Enemies to lovers trope: This is enemies to lovers done WELL. They truly hated each other in the beginning, and when they started to catch feelings, it was mutual and gradual and made sense given what they'd gone through together. No big annoying miscommunications that separate them for episodes on end, no betrayals, just good communication and respect. And yes, it's a happy ending for the main leads.
Pacing: I've already explained a bit of this but I must stress that the pacing of the story is this drama's strong suit. Not once does the story slow down or get bogged down by boring filler episodes. Every scene matters. Every episode matters. And they don't annoy viewers by spending too much time on villain scenes. They only show what is necessary for understanding the villains' motives and what they're plotting.
Villains: This is a unique drama in that all of the villains' actions are motivated properly. The audience can understand what brought them to the point where they became villains. I've watched dramas before where the villains are evil just for the sake of being evil, OR their actions aren't justified and seem to extreme for their reasoning. HERE, the actions of the "villains" make sense for what they have suffered, and as a result, you can't fully hate them with a passion. Really, it just goes to show that villains are made both by their circumstances, AND how they choose to REACT to those circumstances. And nothing is ever truly black and white. There is nuance.
Plot twist: This drama is somewhat predictable in the sense that you can probably guess who the bad guys are. HOWEVER, it's unpredictable and full of twists in the sense that there are some people who start out as villains and turn into beloved characters, and other people who start out as good, honourable people and turn into villains by the end. Once again, this goes back to the fact that nothing is ever black and white—more morally grey.
If you haven't already been convinced by my review, I implore you to go and watch the drama! See for yourself what a masterpiece this is.
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