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This review may contain spoilers
Dark, Full of Twists, & Full of Amazingly Gray Characters, BUT....
UPDATED REVIEW (from 10 to 8.5 for me)
- I wanted this to be a solid 10 and it was for about 15 episodes but things got tedious to watch, unfortunately. Let me tell you why I thought so!
- I was drawn in by the dark nature of the story with wonderful gray/flawed characters with pitiful and tragic backstories. I didn't mind the lack of romance when the chemistry between all the characters was so rich and compelling.
- Acting and Cinematography was amazing. Storyline had promise and held out for a long time before it started becoming "too much" for "way too long". The real issue with this story is the lack of "breathing room" in between all the bad things happening. & don't get me started on the ridiculous and unnecessary time skip near the end of the drama. Why do they do this? WHYYYY? Anywho...
- Even though some things got a (kind of) resolution plot-wise, the initial "Censor Case" plot never really felt tied off properly and when it was passed off as if it had a resolution and then we were quietly moved on into the "salt plot" felt a little MEH for me. If the MAIN plot was the censor case then it should have gone with that strong all the way to the finish. If the plot was supposed to be about various cases and righteousness and smashing the rich/powerful/ruthless via vigilante means... then it should have gone with that and powered through with that, weaving the Censor Case as an important but smaller portion of the plot. (does that make sense?) Instead, we got a plot that after 20 episodes felt watered down and brushed aside in order to make 30 episodes work.
- Another disappointment of mine was making the ONLY other woman in power (besides the Empress) end up a villain. I kind of get it, but, to have a female Empress was fabulous... all the other women in the drama were VICTIMS of pretty brutal crimes, so, having a woman with an upperclass background in a seat of power in court was very nice... making her one of the many, many villains... I didn't like it at all.
- Finally... the ending (while beautifully shot) was pretty anticlimactic. A main consiracy was taken down and the talk of reforms happened and YPA sailed off into the sunset alone. Meh.
Anyway. I liked it. I even loved parts of it, but it fell short of the "amazing" I was hoping for and expecting after the first 5-6 episodes.
more thoughts about the female characters in the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXiijb1j-Io&t=24s 🥰🥰🥰
(((INITIAL THOUGHTS: updating as I watch but first four episodes were amazing and set the tone for a wonderful drama... This drama is chock-FULL of character that do not fit in the "bad" or "good" slot well and I am LIVING for that! I'm going to do a deep dive chat about this drama and am betting it will be a TOP favorite of mine for 2025! Holy crapppp that LOOK at the end of episode 4 from the FL was pure "mask falling off" and was scary! scary good! a TRUE antihero FEMALE LEAD??🍿🎉)))
- I wanted this to be a solid 10 and it was for about 15 episodes but things got tedious to watch, unfortunately. Let me tell you why I thought so!
- I was drawn in by the dark nature of the story with wonderful gray/flawed characters with pitiful and tragic backstories. I didn't mind the lack of romance when the chemistry between all the characters was so rich and compelling.
- Acting and Cinematography was amazing. Storyline had promise and held out for a long time before it started becoming "too much" for "way too long". The real issue with this story is the lack of "breathing room" in between all the bad things happening. & don't get me started on the ridiculous and unnecessary time skip near the end of the drama. Why do they do this? WHYYYY? Anywho...
- Even though some things got a (kind of) resolution plot-wise, the initial "Censor Case" plot never really felt tied off properly and when it was passed off as if it had a resolution and then we were quietly moved on into the "salt plot" felt a little MEH for me. If the MAIN plot was the censor case then it should have gone with that strong all the way to the finish. If the plot was supposed to be about various cases and righteousness and smashing the rich/powerful/ruthless via vigilante means... then it should have gone with that and powered through with that, weaving the Censor Case as an important but smaller portion of the plot. (does that make sense?) Instead, we got a plot that after 20 episodes felt watered down and brushed aside in order to make 30 episodes work.
- Another disappointment of mine was making the ONLY other woman in power (besides the Empress) end up a villain. I kind of get it, but, to have a female Empress was fabulous... all the other women in the drama were VICTIMS of pretty brutal crimes, so, having a woman with an upperclass background in a seat of power in court was very nice... making her one of the many, many villains... I didn't like it at all.
- Finally... the ending (while beautifully shot) was pretty anticlimactic. A main consiracy was taken down and the talk of reforms happened and YPA sailed off into the sunset alone. Meh.
Anyway. I liked it. I even loved parts of it, but it fell short of the "amazing" I was hoping for and expecting after the first 5-6 episodes.
more thoughts about the female characters in the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXiijb1j-Io&t=24s 🥰🥰🥰
(((INITIAL THOUGHTS: updating as I watch but first four episodes were amazing and set the tone for a wonderful drama... This drama is chock-FULL of character that do not fit in the "bad" or "good" slot well and I am LIVING for that! I'm going to do a deep dive chat about this drama and am betting it will be a TOP favorite of mine for 2025! Holy crapppp that LOOK at the end of episode 4 from the FL was pure "mask falling off" and was scary! scary good! a TRUE antihero FEMALE LEAD??🍿🎉)))
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