jubies33

I finally finished this one. It was a decent watch but it fell short of being satisfying, which is why I would hesitate to recommend it.
What I liked-
1) The main leads. I know some people didn't like the fl. Personally, I liked her spunk, and how she led with her heart. This was a good match for her shifu- a more aloof, logical thinker. I could feel their caring and they were sweet and sometimes funny together, but the shifu-student relationship lasted quite long, making this a very, very slow burn. I wished for more intimate bonding scenes that would lead us to feel a deeper connection between them as lovers. I really loved Chong Ming- this vain bird gave so much comic relief. At times I wanted to smack him, at others give him a big hug. Yuan, played well by Alen Fang- my heart ached a lot for this character, up until he exasperated me with his dumbassery.
2) The acting- Xiao Zhan- This isn't the first time I have seen him. He's a good actor and I thought he did well with the material given. The actress, Ren Min, was new to me but I was pretty impressed
3) The costumes were great. Some of the cinematography was absolutely stunning. The scenes that were filmed in the Gobi desert making for some breathtaking shots. Good cgi in some parts, not so great in others.
What sucked for me:
1) Crap hitting the fan that could have been avoided if there was communication
2) The gray characters of the Uncle and that one girl( the sister)- They were not complex enough to be interesting. The side couples were forgettable.
3) The subplots. Holy crap was there a lot of plot going on. Not in a chaotic, fun way, but in a messy and boring...I can't wait to finish this just to get it off my list kinda way.
5) The Ending- TF was that??? I am so done with this type of crappy nonsense C drama ending. It almost makes me want to give up watching them.

Good point about not being invested because it's just one of their timelines. I guess that's another reason to not take it too seriously.
It's so true what you said about heavenly emperors never being good. Why is he so set on both ml to do love trial and even threatening the marriage pavilion if they can't find him a wife? seems kinda sus
I agree about fl. Even though I technically know why she is trying to avoid the entanglement, I don't feel a sense of urgency to warrant her behavior, unlike the ml who has the world on his shoulders, and the pouting is almost always annoying. They have a few aww scenes though.
I do find the whole repeated love trial fascinating though. The ml was quite lovable in this life, so I think it will be better if the fl forgot who she is in the next one.

Oh my gosh, the costumes and cgi are to die for. Ding Yu Xi looks so fab in all his robes 😭
but...I am struggling a lil bit. Currently on ep 8, and even though the plot seems to move fast it feels dragging. The first couple of eps were fun but now it gets serious and boring palace politics. I keep wishing for them to die already and move on to the next trial. Part of it is the extra wheels. They are already annoying and seem to serve no purpose other than to get between the leads. Please tell me they won't be in their every trial...dang, I am exhausted thinking about it 😩
Also, the characters (even the leads) have little depth. It's like the writer jumped headfirst into plot development without developing any character, but without it, why I should care about the plot?

I will keep watching though because I am curious to see what/if changes about their personalities based on who they are in each trial, and how they process their feelings and experiences from each one, cuz yeah, I do have hope that character development will come.

Turkish dramas are long so I cannot get through them but I watched 1 season of Hercai and this one time-travel set in a hotel ( i forgot the name) those were interesting and the acting was phenomenal.

I haven't Who Rules The World either, but I've heard good things. We'll see lol. I recently had a discussion with someone and was saying how much I enjoyed King The Land and she said she absolutely hated it T.T. Rated it like a 1 I think. It had me wondering if everything she hated about it was what I liked. Personal taste indeed lol.

you gotta run fast when you disturb an actor's fan hive 🤣 Even if you have mostly good things to say they will pick out the one negative. This is the reason I zipped my lips while watching Hidden Love.
I also have some choice words for TLP but didn't get my chance to cause trouble yet XD

It can be darn hard giving up on dramas. I keep hoping they will get better, and once I'm halfway through, well, in for a penny, in for a pound T.T At most some go on hold indefinitely. You have my sympathy.

I find it more fun to share opinions with other watchers whether in comments or on feeds. It's interesting to see how wildly different people's perspectives can be, but if comments get ugly, I leave.

I do apologize if I misinterpreted your comment. Whenever I have seen statements like " just drop it. No one is forcing you to watch," It is usually with the intent to shut down opinions they don't jibe with.

Too many dramas ruined with BE lol. Anger is understandable if it's directed at the drama only, but more tolerated in a feeds post. No one there minds a good rant hahaha

I've recently finished TLP, but I only briefly checked out the comments section. It did seem to go downhill so I quickly got out 😅 I agree about actor fans vs drama fans. In general, anything remotely resembling criticism even of the drama seems to be taken as a personal hit. Sometimes it's easier to avoid idol drama discussion.

I appreciate your viewpoint, and I agree that personal attacks are hurtful and should be discouraged, but the actors and creators all work hard for every drama and movie. Realistically, not everyone is going to like every work, even if they appreciate the effort behind the scenes. The comments section is here for all to voice their opinion freely, as long as the discourse is respectful. Personally, I would find it dreadfully boring as well as misleading to come to a comments section to only find positive comments. I would be like "Is this drama made of gold?" and be horribly disappointed. It can also be lonely if you are the odd duck out not enjoying it. Some of the best discussions I have had is with people I disagree with, and I don't see how a person expressing their personal opinion on a drama can be insensitive, as long as discourse is kept civil.

This scene had me laughing so hard!

The male lead's not a bore. He's a boar 😂

" I'm in debt. You're gonna have to pay for our honeymoon."😂

This was a nice, simple, and realistic love story with memorable closing lines. Don't miss the bonus scene during the credits.

aww yes that smile... he didn't choose to be born to such a wicked woman, and neither Shifu nor ZY saved him. Sucks to be him.

The fl is really doing a great job with the subtle differences when she's playing Zhu Yan vs Yao Yi, as well as her decoy's lifeless doll version.

I find It gets better and more addicting the more I watch

When he suggested to SY to "steal the bride" and he would be with him all the way hahaha. Too bad SY couldn't be convinced😂

I love how Chong Ming has done a 180 and nags at Shi Ying about his love life 😂

He acted like her plan wouldn't have worked at all, but it seems like he was the only one who knew what was up until the sorcerer tried his mind control. If not for their nefarious plotting, they might be holding a funeral for Zhu Yan.
He said her desires are in her hands, even though he knows it was an Imperial edict and she couldn't refuse without getting her family in trouble.
He scolds her for not reaching out to him for help, when he has used every means to push her away, including sending her a congratulatory message for a wedding he knew she didn't want.
He gets angry for putting her life in danger by running away, instead of telling her parents when/if she finds out her in-laws are plotting something against her- this the most lacking in logic. If she hadn't run away and been dragged back by him, neither of them would have known of the plot before it was too late. He would have left without knowing what was happening to her, and she would have become a puppet being used by them, and a lot more people would be suffering then.
Poor Ke Er Ke though 😢 a nice dude who just wanted a happy married life with his new bride but she runs away from him, only leaving behind a fake one, who gets dead by sand demon 😲Then the real one comes back 😀but reveals that mommy dearest was plotting to murder his bride and use her as a puppet 😭