News 
8
1
Brilliant Premise That Squeaks to a Halt.
Where the Mask Ends began with a bang, buoyed by the performance of Tian Xi Wei, who played the dual role of Jun Dai and Wei Rao. It was a horrible experience getting through the first 10 minutes because Jun Dai was a nightmare. I genuinely thought of dropping it; but the Wei Rao arc appeared and the story began to truly immerse itself into its namesake.
Wei Rao is one of the reasons why I would suggest anyone to try this drama because her character shines through till the very end. She never forgets her roots, neither does she forgive her perpetrators. Tian Xi Wei's brilliant performance elevated the whole experience. But, that's as far as the story goes for me. As for Wei Rao's romance with Lu Zhuo... I don't know. It was rather lukewarm.
The first 15 or 16 episodes is where the drama truly managed to engage me. The actors were excellent, the costumes and music blended in, the tension was taut. Then, it began to utterly lose my interest.
It is a paradigm example of why I keep giving up on Historical Chinese Dramas. I experienced the same issues with last year's Prisoner of Beauty, but this one was abysmal when it came to the execution of certain points that required momentum. It went from nerve-wracking tension to plain boring.
Several female characters of the drama, particularly Lady Li, Wei Rao's mother and some of the Wei family women, were utterly despicable to me. They did manage to win me over, I'll give them that, but the story lost its magnetism, particularly after a major reveal.
The last few episodes did manage to capture my attention once again, but it wasn't bold or captivating as the first half. To be honest, I bunny hopped through till the end for the sake of seeing how it all wraps up. It's okay, but I won't be revisiting it anytime in the near future.
Wei Rao is one of the reasons why I would suggest anyone to try this drama because her character shines through till the very end. She never forgets her roots, neither does she forgive her perpetrators. Tian Xi Wei's brilliant performance elevated the whole experience. But, that's as far as the story goes for me. As for Wei Rao's romance with Lu Zhuo... I don't know. It was rather lukewarm.
The first 15 or 16 episodes is where the drama truly managed to engage me. The actors were excellent, the costumes and music blended in, the tension was taut. Then, it began to utterly lose my interest.
It is a paradigm example of why I keep giving up on Historical Chinese Dramas. I experienced the same issues with last year's Prisoner of Beauty, but this one was abysmal when it came to the execution of certain points that required momentum. It went from nerve-wracking tension to plain boring.
Several female characters of the drama, particularly Lady Li, Wei Rao's mother and some of the Wei family women, were utterly despicable to me. They did manage to win me over, I'll give them that, but the story lost its magnetism, particularly after a major reveal.
The last few episodes did manage to capture my attention once again, but it wasn't bold or captivating as the first half. To be honest, I bunny hopped through till the end for the sake of seeing how it all wraps up. It's okay, but I won't be revisiting it anytime in the near future.
Was this review helpful to you?
