This review may contain spoilers
Gamble to Survive
Edit: please be aware this review is only for the first 21 episodes LOL everything lowkey went downhill from here as expected.
Wow where to start? I'd just started my little binge of cdramas again and after finishing a very mediocre modern cdrama with 0 chemistry (COUGH passionatelyinlove) this is EXACTLY what I needed. 2 seasoned actors who clearly know what they're doing and the angst + tension + chemistry is all there! I've been seeing a lot of reviews saying they don't see the chemistry between Meng ziyi and liu xueyi and I guess chemistry is subjective, but personally I think they're a great pair. Love seeing Meng ziyi in her natural state (clever, strong, independent) and after watching blossom, while she isn't as clever and self sufficient as she was in there, her character here does a good job of surviving in a whole new nation on her intelligence alone while being poisoned and with the fate of her little brother's life in her hands. This is my first time watching liu xueyi and I really like him! He does moody brooding ruthless ml really well. Now more into the plot:
I've also seen some people mention how this is a harem and they didn't expect him to have concubines and a whole wife before marrying the fl into his house as a concubine. You guys this was really not that serious, he literally paid the other women 0 attention and only interacted with the fl the entire show basically LOL. I think in the novel it was a bigger deal, as in he likely frequently slept with the women and had to actually give attention to them - but usually dramas will water this down for us haha (thank god). Also they're literally all there because their families wanted to spy on him since he has so much power in court. And if this somehow still bothers you (SPOILER! he ends up divorcing all of them except our fl - wow if only all historical men were like him huh?)
It's not exactly a unique storyline but they do have a few factors they stand out, such as the fl coming from a different nation and forming a political marriage alliance with ml. I guess also the fact that even though she's a 'princess' in title, she actually isn't treated like one at all by her royal family. The poison was an interesting touch that drives the plot forward, fl being unable to fully betray either side with her every action but forcing herself to eventually reveal her true intentions. Now the more common plot point is the ml having a lifelong grudge against someone else in power and working his way towards his revenge. One thing I do like about this is that the emperor isn't seen as a good guy who wants to get rid of all the corrupt officials in court, and he doesn't treat the ml as his right hand man entrusting him with everything. He's someone who has to keep both corrupt and good in balance within his court, otherwise he could very easily end up overthrown (similar to the princess royal, where the emperor has one side of a noble family backing him up, and without them there's bound to be major problems). That said, I don't love the guy, but I appreciate the complexity in character.
One thing I absolutely love is the setup for the ml and fl's romance. Ml has never trusted anyone in his life, and very much dedicated to getting rid of anything/anyone that gets in his way. Fl has even bigger problems, she's a good person to her core, yet forced to do bad things for the people holding her brother hostage. Mix that in with her having to lie to ml every step of the way, gaining and losing his trust back and forth, it creates a loooot of angst. I don't think it creates high blood pressure for me, but it's definitely the right amount for what I can handle right now. People seem pretty frustrated with the amount of miscommunication but it's not really miscommunication is it? Fl has a reason she can't say all these things to the ml (hello? spies and little bro gonna die). And it's really not up to her to prove to him that she's a good person when she has time and time again shown her good character. I feel like I could name a million dramas with actual miscommunication and I don't think this is one of them. How else are we going to have things revealed one by one without the curated misunderstandings?
Anyways I'm currently at episode 21, can't believe they have the freaking amnesia trope but whatever. I just hope this is resolved super soon. Also really can't wait to see actual romance between ml and fl because whatever we're getting before is pure hate love relationship. I need to see the ml actually madly in love with her RN. I absolutely LOVE when the dude is in the wrong because I feel like we see a lot of dramas where the fl does something wrong and causes a bunch of trouble for the ml. I can't say I'm gonna love their dynamic once they get together but I hope it's not too lovey dovey otherwise it was a waste of all that angst and tension.
Wow where to start? I'd just started my little binge of cdramas again and after finishing a very mediocre modern cdrama with 0 chemistry (COUGH passionatelyinlove) this is EXACTLY what I needed. 2 seasoned actors who clearly know what they're doing and the angst + tension + chemistry is all there! I've been seeing a lot of reviews saying they don't see the chemistry between Meng ziyi and liu xueyi and I guess chemistry is subjective, but personally I think they're a great pair. Love seeing Meng ziyi in her natural state (clever, strong, independent) and after watching blossom, while she isn't as clever and self sufficient as she was in there, her character here does a good job of surviving in a whole new nation on her intelligence alone while being poisoned and with the fate of her little brother's life in her hands. This is my first time watching liu xueyi and I really like him! He does moody brooding ruthless ml really well. Now more into the plot:
I've also seen some people mention how this is a harem and they didn't expect him to have concubines and a whole wife before marrying the fl into his house as a concubine. You guys this was really not that serious, he literally paid the other women 0 attention and only interacted with the fl the entire show basically LOL. I think in the novel it was a bigger deal, as in he likely frequently slept with the women and had to actually give attention to them - but usually dramas will water this down for us haha (thank god). Also they're literally all there because their families wanted to spy on him since he has so much power in court. And if this somehow still bothers you (SPOILER! he ends up divorcing all of them except our fl - wow if only all historical men were like him huh?)
It's not exactly a unique storyline but they do have a few factors they stand out, such as the fl coming from a different nation and forming a political marriage alliance with ml. I guess also the fact that even though she's a 'princess' in title, she actually isn't treated like one at all by her royal family. The poison was an interesting touch that drives the plot forward, fl being unable to fully betray either side with her every action but forcing herself to eventually reveal her true intentions. Now the more common plot point is the ml having a lifelong grudge against someone else in power and working his way towards his revenge. One thing I do like about this is that the emperor isn't seen as a good guy who wants to get rid of all the corrupt officials in court, and he doesn't treat the ml as his right hand man entrusting him with everything. He's someone who has to keep both corrupt and good in balance within his court, otherwise he could very easily end up overthrown (similar to the princess royal, where the emperor has one side of a noble family backing him up, and without them there's bound to be major problems). That said, I don't love the guy, but I appreciate the complexity in character.
One thing I absolutely love is the setup for the ml and fl's romance. Ml has never trusted anyone in his life, and very much dedicated to getting rid of anything/anyone that gets in his way. Fl has even bigger problems, she's a good person to her core, yet forced to do bad things for the people holding her brother hostage. Mix that in with her having to lie to ml every step of the way, gaining and losing his trust back and forth, it creates a loooot of angst. I don't think it creates high blood pressure for me, but it's definitely the right amount for what I can handle right now. People seem pretty frustrated with the amount of miscommunication but it's not really miscommunication is it? Fl has a reason she can't say all these things to the ml (hello? spies and little bro gonna die). And it's really not up to her to prove to him that she's a good person when she has time and time again shown her good character. I feel like I could name a million dramas with actual miscommunication and I don't think this is one of them. How else are we going to have things revealed one by one without the curated misunderstandings?
Anyways I'm currently at episode 21, can't believe they have the freaking amnesia trope but whatever. I just hope this is resolved super soon. Also really can't wait to see actual romance between ml and fl because whatever we're getting before is pure hate love relationship. I need to see the ml actually madly in love with her RN. I absolutely LOVE when the dude is in the wrong because I feel like we see a lot of dramas where the fl does something wrong and causes a bunch of trouble for the ml. I can't say I'm gonna love their dynamic once they get together but I hope it's not too lovey dovey otherwise it was a waste of all that angst and tension.
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