A wonderfully purple mess that had a lot going for it
I had such high expectations and I was fully ready for this to climb straight into my all-time favorites list…so when I tell you no one is more disappointed that I dropped it than me, I mean it. I think the combination of a lot of the things I'll mention contributed to my overall subpar experience with the drama. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad which is why my score isn't LOW low. But it was disappointing enough FOR ME that I have to rant about it a little bit.
I actually took notes while watching, so this is basically me revisiting my own descent into disappointment.
Firstly, the overall look and directing. I’m sorry but… why does everything look so fake? The budget wasn't even that low so why does everything look like it was made out of styrofoam and the paint job done yesterday? The color palette is aggressively whimsical to the point where it feels like I’m watching a low-budget live-action Disney remake. And the aesthetic choices?? The bright moon palace with those weird, almost LSD trip looking floors that somehow extend into the entire decor… that was certainly a choice. Not a good one, but a choice nonetheless. Idk it felt like the aesthetics were targeting a very young age demographic. I also do support the show having a purple theme but the use of the color was not done very well which only made the production look cheap in my opinion.
The directing didn’t help either. There’s this constant wind effect making everything flow dramatically, except it just ends up looking awkward and distracting. Add to that some very questionable editing and scene transitions, and it genuinely feels like I’m watching a drama filmed in 2020 with outdated, slightly corny camera work. The frustrating part is that with better scene selection and tighter direction, this could have been elevated so much!!
Now, the cast and characters.
Ao Ruipeng? He looks great. He really fits the anti-hero vibe to a T. his angular features work perfectly for a morally grey character, and also… he looks fantastic in blue and purple. No notes there, I enjoyed every second he was on screen. His acting was great and I'm so happy he's getting lead roles. His makeup was also really nice and fit his face very very well.
Bai Lu though… something about the makeup felt off for me. She is such a beautiful actress but the makeup looked weirdly heavy on her and it kept distracting me. Character-wise, I do appreciate that she’s not written as completely clueless, she makes rational decisions and actually uses critical thinking (a rare win). But at the same time, the plot armor is already doing the most. So whenever she does make a decision the payoff feels unearned because the plot armor did most of the heavy lifting. We’re supposed to believe she’s human at this stage (to our knowledge), yet she’s surviving things that absolutely should not be survivable (the volcano?? be serious). I get that it’s early on, but still.
Her dynamic with the second male lead also didn’t land for me at all. These are supposed to be people with deep history, someone she saw as family, as a brother, and yet their interactions feel cold to the point of disconnect. I understand the anger over being lied to, but the hostility feels off, and their scenes end up being more disappointing than emotionally impactful. Their dynamic felt like a missed opportunity.
As for the main couple… I don’t know, I’m just not feeling it. The romantic tension isn’t there, even though the male lead’s little helper kept hinting at his feelings in the beginning. It feels like the groundwork for the romance just hasn’t been properly built. And don’t even get me started on the memory loss trope, they really pulled that out just to fast-track the relationship, which felt incredibly lazy.
At this point, I’m already kind of bored, which is the worst place to be with a drama like this. The side characters aren’t interesting enough to compensate, and the main couple isn’t compelling enough to carry it. I'm literally so close to the end of the show and yet there is nothing in it for me to finish it. Especially after reading how everyone calls the ending "bittersweet".
There’s just… something missing. And it’s frustrating because this had so much potential.
I actually took notes while watching, so this is basically me revisiting my own descent into disappointment.
Firstly, the overall look and directing. I’m sorry but… why does everything look so fake? The budget wasn't even that low so why does everything look like it was made out of styrofoam and the paint job done yesterday? The color palette is aggressively whimsical to the point where it feels like I’m watching a low-budget live-action Disney remake. And the aesthetic choices?? The bright moon palace with those weird, almost LSD trip looking floors that somehow extend into the entire decor… that was certainly a choice. Not a good one, but a choice nonetheless. Idk it felt like the aesthetics were targeting a very young age demographic. I also do support the show having a purple theme but the use of the color was not done very well which only made the production look cheap in my opinion.
The directing didn’t help either. There’s this constant wind effect making everything flow dramatically, except it just ends up looking awkward and distracting. Add to that some very questionable editing and scene transitions, and it genuinely feels like I’m watching a drama filmed in 2020 with outdated, slightly corny camera work. The frustrating part is that with better scene selection and tighter direction, this could have been elevated so much!!
Now, the cast and characters.
Ao Ruipeng? He looks great. He really fits the anti-hero vibe to a T. his angular features work perfectly for a morally grey character, and also… he looks fantastic in blue and purple. No notes there, I enjoyed every second he was on screen. His acting was great and I'm so happy he's getting lead roles. His makeup was also really nice and fit his face very very well.
Bai Lu though… something about the makeup felt off for me. She is such a beautiful actress but the makeup looked weirdly heavy on her and it kept distracting me. Character-wise, I do appreciate that she’s not written as completely clueless, she makes rational decisions and actually uses critical thinking (a rare win). But at the same time, the plot armor is already doing the most. So whenever she does make a decision the payoff feels unearned because the plot armor did most of the heavy lifting. We’re supposed to believe she’s human at this stage (to our knowledge), yet she’s surviving things that absolutely should not be survivable (the volcano?? be serious). I get that it’s early on, but still.
Her dynamic with the second male lead also didn’t land for me at all. These are supposed to be people with deep history, someone she saw as family, as a brother, and yet their interactions feel cold to the point of disconnect. I understand the anger over being lied to, but the hostility feels off, and their scenes end up being more disappointing than emotionally impactful. Their dynamic felt like a missed opportunity.
As for the main couple… I don’t know, I’m just not feeling it. The romantic tension isn’t there, even though the male lead’s little helper kept hinting at his feelings in the beginning. It feels like the groundwork for the romance just hasn’t been properly built. And don’t even get me started on the memory loss trope, they really pulled that out just to fast-track the relationship, which felt incredibly lazy.
At this point, I’m already kind of bored, which is the worst place to be with a drama like this. The side characters aren’t interesting enough to compensate, and the main couple isn’t compelling enough to carry it. I'm literally so close to the end of the show and yet there is nothing in it for me to finish it. Especially after reading how everyone calls the ending "bittersweet".
There’s just… something missing. And it’s frustrating because this had so much potential.
Was this review helpful to you?
