Why do we need to appreciate the willingness to discuss polyamorous relationships. Are they that important significant.…
I appreciate any drama that tries to take on looking at different types of relationships outside of the conservative viewpoint - and, yes, they are important and significant.
I dont think I FF'd though a drama so much as I did this one - that is how draggy it was. It is a 30 episode drama the they could have done in less than half of that. Waaaay too much time spent on them reminiscing about high school and the epilogues were completely pointless. I mean come on already, these are all 30yr old adults and they spent over half this drama talking about high school - move on already! HATED the best friend/business partner and wife - the annoying couple who have no filter and cant read a room to save their lives (especially the husband - he was the worst!) FL was the typical - super-conservative, kind of shy, nerdy, book-worm - albeit genius at work, but NO emotional intelligence and the emotional maturity of a teenager. You never quite get why she is hesitant and while they try to play it off as having to do with her first crush - turns out they didnt even really date and she is the one who walked away - she just let people think he ghosted her cause it was easier the way. So, it all just doesn't make sense beyond her own self-imposed angst. I mean, they worked, mostly, once we got there (far into the second half of the drama) - but by the time we did, I didnt much care anymore, cause they were kind of boring. They tried to make it up to us with pretty good kissing scenes - which were good, I always appreciate it when both participants can actually kiss - but it all comes so late in the game. I also did appreciate that they communicated well, no real love triangles and supportive parents. And the biggest miss of all was that they didnt give enough time to Cheng Hui and the actress story - this really was the most interesting of them all (which says volumes on how poorly the story is written when the best couple and characters are your third team and not the main couple). I hope we get to see Wu Jun Ting as a lead very soon - he was fantastic!
Just finished and not so bad quick binge given the short length of each episode. Clearly they were going for the film-noir vibe - but didnt quite pull it off. Not horrible, but not great either. Whoever did the sound affects on this - just stop - they were waaayyy too loud and someone was clearly obsessed with the sound of footsteps - it was a bit weird and overplayed. Best characters were the ML, the aunt and Mr. Thirteen - by far. FL was just ok - but mostly because they couldn't decide what they wanted to do with her. Starts of the tough-cookie, but then becomes the damsel in-distress, then back to smart tactician, then back crying all over the place. Then add on the horrible trope of constantly running into the middle of dangerous situations with NO ability to get herself out of it because she needs to know something or wants to help (while at the same time, not taking help from the ML who can actually help - oh no, has to solve it all on her own - ugh!!). I honestly had a hard time thought a lot of this understanding why the ML liked her besides that he wanted to 'save; her and she was cute.
I finished this - and it took a lot to do so. But, my foremost thought is that I didnt get the point of it. Most dramas/story are here to impart a moral to the story and this one left me wondering what that was. Everyone ends up either dead or sad, and you get very unsatisfactory endings for all the bad characters - so, what is the point! FL is left with the loss of her beloved ML dies without the real truth coming out and public thinking he is a bad guy SML ends up with position he wanted - but at the cost of losing everyone he loved The doctor and ms dong dont end up together King dies - but the truth of what he had done never goes public - she, he basically gets to die with dignity. Pe Yan's mom gets sent to a monastery to live out her days after causing numerous deaths and a wake of chaos Enjoyed the 2 main male leads - the moral ambiguity gave them great depth of character - they were both pretty bad and pretty good a the same time - showing the not everything is black and white. FL character was not my favorite - she was pretty one-note and you could have told the whole story without her. The first half she was the annoying teenager who thinks they are an adult, but they aren't. Second half she just spends whining about her shift/aunt. One o f the more annoyingly naive girls who takes FOREVER to figure out what is going and even then, most of the time doesn't get the bigger picture at play (she does kind of get there towards the end, but, by them, I just wanted her to go away). She does have a few times that she does make a good choice to go help the ML - but mostly she keeps making really bad choices along the way. It is filmed beautifully and if you enjoy super-angsty, tragic endings - you might enjoy this one.
this one was just ok for me - seen worse and seen a lot better. I wanted appreciate the willingness to take on issues like foster kids and polyamorous relationships - they just did it so poorly. All three of the sisters should have had some serious mental health counseling - which is all I could think about every time I saw them -especially Ja Yeon! Got so tired of FL's constant whining about her mom didn't pay enough attention to her - and while I get that as a kid, having all these foster kids in her house coming and going, was probably hard - but, come on! she is 33yrs old now - deal with it (hence the need for some mental health help) And, even then I could have gone with it until she makes the comment towards the end with Ja Yeon about how she kept her around because she say the pain - ummm, this is exactly your mom! the complete disconnect was annoying. In general, I just didn't find this character to be all the pleasant - maybe because I dont find being petty funny. This seems to be a theme with female characters in dramas that I dont like. I had a hard time feeling bad for her since her mom was taking in broken. battered and abandoned kids while she had a fully in-tact family and home. Then weirdly - this is the 'trauma' they wanted to focus on for her instead of the ACTUAL trauma which was that her dad got murdered - hello!! this is just skimmed over. Didnt quite understand the third sister in the polyamorous relationship as they don't give you much background on her besides that she was one the foster kids. Had no issue with her relationships as they were all consenting adults - but it's just this weird thing to throw in there, given everything else. Break up at end was just done poorly as well - I get her reasoning and she was right - he needed to go find himself - she just did it in a really awful way - because, once again, it was easiest for - not him. I mean seriously - at a funeral - come on! Annoyed that there we NO consequences for her ex - he cheated, took her work - not once, but twice - and he is just let off (actually rewarded really) No real resolution with Gyu Hyun's mom and all that happened (she basically tried to destroy a number of people's lives and pretty sure she was responsible for Ji Uk's mom leaving) - but, yeah, lets just not deal with that at all. So much stuff just thrown out there and then left hanging If you like Shin Min Ah - you may like this - this character is somewhere in between her Oh My Venus and Hometown Cha Cha Cha characters - I enjoyed her Oh My Venus, but HATED her character in HTCCC- which then makes sense that this was just ok for me.
Have a Google at south Korean politicians fighting in parliament.
I have seen it and just speaks to the violent culture that is SK - if it's ok to do this in parliament - must be ok to do everywhere. There are some serious anger management issues on going all over the place!
the exaggerated violence is an ongoing trope in the show so if it's bothering you this much you may not want to…
Its just the plain fact that being abusive, in any setting, is just not ok and certainly not funny - there is nothing 'playful' about the way she full-out choke-holds him to the point of him not being able to breath. it would be one thing if it was a light-hearted, grab around the neck and give him a noogie - but this was way beyond that. And I am finding it even more disturbing the number of people who are trying to make excuses for it
They are just playing that's how both of them behave when u continue watching u would see one ep where he does…
choke-holding is not playing and its not funny - dont care that they both do it - they are adults, not children. That choke-hold in ep 1 was no joke - she is cutting off his breathing, mom has to come in and stop her - there is nothing 'playful' about this. I am even more disturbed to think he would do this to a grown woman. And yes, mom is clearly not calm - but this is beyond just not being calm - she is violent and has serious, serious anger issues. You can be angry and not calm without resorting to this level of violence.
I just started and have to say - the amount of violence happening is really turning me off (it's only ep 2 and my god!) Mom has some serious anger issues and the FL isn't far behind (of course she learned it from mom - cannot believe I am watching a grown woman choke-holding a grown man and people are thinking this is funny or cure somehow - its not funny - this is so not ok.
You are really only sticking through this hot mess for Xu Kai. Two of the worst female lead characters - couldn't stand either the FL or 2FL - both just so immature, spent most of their time pouting about something, crying or throwing a tantrum and neither one of them was all that bright. It felt like watching two 8yr olds trapped in grown women's bodies - just annoying beyond compare. Main FL spends the first half of the drama being obsessed about marrying the ML (who has expressed numerous times he doesn't want to get married and the whole engagement thing was a misunderstanding) - but she just wants what she wants and doesn't care how he feels about it. Then there was the whole thing about having a home - 1 minute she is crying and pouting about not having one then the next minute, crying and pouting that her home is the sect and she cant leave it - it was whiplash all over the place. Then there was the mind-numbingly stupid, blind loyalty to the Master - all cause he 'saved' her - this whole narrative just drives me bonkers. The 2FL was just a pointless character to me - really just a plot devise and served no real purpose. She had absolutely no understanding of Kunlun Mountain or the sects, couldn't help in any capacity around anything, caused way too many problem all because she had an inferiority complex (for no apparent reason that I could discern) and goes full-on cray-cray in the second half just because the boy doesn't like her??? And that was just weird cause they had very little interaction that was even remotely romantic. Chemistry was way off between main couple - they felt more like siblings than lovers - mostly because the FL is so childish in her actions that I just could take her seriously as a lover. Plot is just all over the place and the ending is just weird - some very clear pieces were missing that just leaves you shaking your head.
a legendary thief who is pretty bad at her job - seems to get caught or cause some huge bumble on every mission she is given I know they were trying to go with a sassy FL - but it just came across as entitled brat - she gets better at the end, but for the majority of the drama she is quite an annoying character. Production quality is not great - but I have seen a lot worse Can we PLEAS, PLEASe stop with the leads having known each other as children - its just such an overdone trope at this point. ML is a bit stiff Fight scenes are not bad Flying through air senes are pretty bad though- especially the thing at the end Luckily its only 24 episodes and if you need a filler while waiting on something else - go ahead, but dont expect much from it.
this one was just ok for me - mostly because whoever wrote this script did a really pisss-poor job. Character growth wasn't really there, solving the cases dragged on way too much, romance part was a bit of a hit and miss, and the story just goes off the rails in too many places. Enjoyed watching Ding You Xi - this was a good role for him. VERY apparent the FL is young and new to this and she didn't quite hold up to the DYZ's presence. It didnt help that the FL character was also written really poorly. They tried to thread the needle of super-smart detective (who is only 18 yrs old - but brilliant!), but constantly needed rescuing. Super-naive about the world but thinks she is the most clever person in the room and the only one who can solve things. Clueless about most things outside of her job, cant discern when boys like her - just wants to be everyone's 'friend', always more concerned about everyone else instead of herself, super-noble, fighting for justice, but slow to the uptake on what is actually going on in the bigger scheme of things. She becomes kind of annoying in too many places. It also didn't help that when she was her bestie - they turned into 12yr old girls instead of professional women - like they couldn't decide if she should be a young girl or a young woman. Villain was kind of boring - just that he was the typical wounded child who felt entitled to something and got overly obsessive - seen it a bazillion times. Ending didnt quite work for me - the typical rushed happy ending because you spent too much time on the front end dragging out story arcs - the a VERY late separation to then rush the end. Cdrama writers really need to work on this part of their game - cause they are really bad at it.
way too long (although this was norm for 2018) So have a hard time with romanticizing palace life/institution - it was an awful, awful practice (still is in some-places) Second half is better than first half - mostly because the first half is just rinse and repeat stories about harem/palace life intrigue, the FL showing how "clever; she by outwitting everyone. I actually got annoyed after a bit - just wanted her to shut up and have some sense of control with her mouth (it was just too unrealistic that she would have been able to do that all the time without any real consequences) While I did enjoy the playfulness/pettiness/childishness that Ying Luo and the Emperor shared (they were a perfect match on that level) - it was hard to really get behind them given what it was based on (his subverting her marriage to Fuheng and her scheming). But I got it. All the actors did a great job, really good production quality and the costumes are amazing If you like historical dramas - this is pretty good, but it is long and draggy - so be prepared
just started this and your review of the FL character (well, really all the lead female characters) was exactly where I am at already and is making me question finishing this - but probably will just for TJC.
just started this (on ep 5) and man is the FL character annoying. She scams her way into town, gets caught and yet, somehow the ML is the bad guy and then she continues to bully and take advantage of him. So not getting the connection right now - but will persevere on for TJC. Also struggling a bit cause I am not a big fan of the stupid, slapstick humor - hoping it will moderate out as the story progresses.
so, I accidentally rewatched this. Was in my queue for some reason and had been so long since I first watched, I totally didnt remember what it was until I started it, then it seemed familiar, so came over here to see that, indeed I had completed it. Definitely worth a watch, but the rewatch wasn't as good. Actually downgraded my rating. There are definitely good parts (the whole downfall/escaping Yangzhou was so well done) - but definitely bad parts (could the FL stop crying every five seconds) I did appreciate the main leads partnership - once they got there. Very communicative and supportive. At the same time (and this is totally because of script, direction and I am sure censorship) - absolutely no intimacy between them (literally dont get a kiss until ep 27) - it was just so unrealistic to the point of absurdity. While they certainly have a connection - it's the want of cdrama land to have this super-chasteness going on - like neither one of them have any sexual desire AT ALL - especially the female character. And it just didnt make any sense after a while - especially after escaping Yangzhou and having a near death experience and they're just like, lets just sit here and hold hands (barely). The whole thing just felt off. And what was with the kid at the end - its only been 5 years (she would have been pregnant for 9+months) and this kid looked like he was 7-8 yrs old - big fail there Also didnt like what they did with the General Qin - so unnecessary and leaves an unmarried emperor on the thrown - makes no sense. A bunch of really unsatisfying endings for most of the evil/bad characters
overall - this is a pretty good one. Loved all the actors in it - everyone did a really good job in their roles. Story was pretty good - although gets draggy in places - but nothing too horrible. Zhang Wan Yi was fantastic in this and such a different character from LYF - his comedic timing was just spot on. And, man does he just have the most soothing, sexy voice. Great FL character that they kept strong and independent throughout. So happy that they didnt turn her into some childish character (especially when she loses her memory - which is where they would have normally done this). Great couple that respected and admired each other - even when they hated each other. True power couple when they came back together. Bromance with the doctor/best friend was fantastic. Chemistry with leads was mediocre - in that they clearly loved each other and true partners - but not a lot of passion here (and that was probably totally due to script and directing). Second couple was fun - but same issue. For both couples, seemed like they exchanged/replaced bickering/bantering for passion. Which for the most part is ok - but where it ultimately fails is on the wedding night - this should have been full of passion having fought so hard to get there - instead you get a drunk groom showing up and her basically nursing him - it was such a dud. Loved the Empress character and did just wish we had more time with her and Emperor actually falling in love - dont really get this until the very end. But she probably had some of the best character development.
I just finished this and your review said everything I thought as well. This was a filler for me - so I could wade through, not being that invested in it - but really was a waste of a strong female lead character - which is what annoyed me the most - luckily, it was only 24 episodes - if it had been longer, I may have thrown in the towel.
Waaaay too much time spent on them reminiscing about high school and the epilogues were completely pointless. I mean come on already, these are all 30yr old adults and they spent over half this drama talking about high school - move on already!
HATED the best friend/business partner and wife - the annoying couple who have no filter and cant read a room to save their lives (especially the husband - he was the worst!)
FL was the typical - super-conservative, kind of shy, nerdy, book-worm - albeit genius at work, but NO emotional intelligence and the emotional maturity of a teenager. You never quite get why she is hesitant and while they try to play it off as having to do with her first crush - turns out they didnt even really date and she is the one who walked away - she just let people think he ghosted her cause it was easier the way. So, it all just doesn't make sense beyond her own self-imposed angst.
I mean, they worked, mostly, once we got there (far into the second half of the drama) - but by the time we did, I didnt much care anymore, cause they were kind of boring. They tried to make it up to us with pretty good kissing scenes - which were good, I always appreciate it when both participants can actually kiss - but it all comes so late in the game.
I also did appreciate that they communicated well, no real love triangles and supportive parents.
And the biggest miss of all was that they didnt give enough time to Cheng Hui and the actress story - this really was the most interesting of them all (which says volumes on how poorly the story is written when the best couple and characters are your third team and not the main couple). I hope we get to see Wu Jun Ting as a lead very soon - he was fantastic!
Clearly they were going for the film-noir vibe - but didnt quite pull it off. Not horrible, but not great either.
Whoever did the sound affects on this - just stop - they were waaayyy too loud and someone was clearly obsessed with the sound of footsteps - it was a bit weird and overplayed.
Best characters were the ML, the aunt and Mr. Thirteen - by far.
FL was just ok - but mostly because they couldn't decide what they wanted to do with her. Starts of the tough-cookie, but then becomes the damsel in-distress, then back to smart tactician, then back crying all over the place. Then add on the horrible trope of constantly running into the middle of dangerous situations with NO ability to get herself out of it because she needs to know something or wants to help (while at the same time, not taking help from the ML who can actually help - oh no, has to solve it all on her own - ugh!!).
I honestly had a hard time thought a lot of this understanding why the ML liked her besides that he wanted to 'save; her and she was cute.
Everyone ends up either dead or sad, and you get very unsatisfactory endings for all the bad characters - so, what is the point!
FL is left with the loss of her beloved
ML dies without the real truth coming out and public thinking he is a bad guy
SML ends up with position he wanted - but at the cost of losing everyone he loved
The doctor and ms dong dont end up together
King dies - but the truth of what he had done never goes public - she, he basically gets to die with dignity.
Pe Yan's mom gets sent to a monastery to live out her days after causing numerous deaths and a wake of chaos
Enjoyed the 2 main male leads - the moral ambiguity gave them great depth of character - they were both pretty bad and pretty good a the same time - showing the not everything is black and white.
FL character was not my favorite - she was pretty one-note and you could have told the whole story without her. The first half she was the annoying teenager who thinks they are an adult, but they aren't. Second half she just spends whining about her shift/aunt. One o f the more annoyingly naive girls who takes FOREVER to figure out what is going and even then, most of the time doesn't get the bigger picture at play (she does kind of get there towards the end, but, by them, I just wanted her to go away). She does have a few times that she does make a good choice to go help the ML - but mostly she keeps making really bad choices along the way.
It is filmed beautifully and if you enjoy super-angsty, tragic endings - you might enjoy this one.
I wanted appreciate the willingness to take on issues like foster kids and polyamorous relationships - they just did it so poorly.
All three of the sisters should have had some serious mental health counseling - which is all I could think about every time I saw them -especially Ja Yeon!
Got so tired of FL's constant whining about her mom didn't pay enough attention to her - and while I get that as a kid, having all these foster kids in her house coming and going, was probably hard - but, come on! she is 33yrs old now - deal with it (hence the need for some mental health help) And, even then I could have gone with it until she makes the comment towards the end with Ja Yeon about how she kept her around because she say the pain - ummm, this is exactly your mom! the complete disconnect was annoying.
In general, I just didn't find this character to be all the pleasant - maybe because I dont find being petty funny. This seems to be a theme with female characters in dramas that I dont like.
I had a hard time feeling bad for her since her mom was taking in broken. battered and abandoned kids while she had a fully in-tact family and home.
Then weirdly - this is the 'trauma' they wanted to focus on for her instead of the ACTUAL trauma which was that her dad got murdered - hello!! this is just skimmed over.
Didnt quite understand the third sister in the polyamorous relationship as they don't give you much background on her besides that she was one the foster kids. Had no issue with her relationships as they were all consenting adults - but it's just this weird thing to throw in there, given everything else.
Break up at end was just done poorly as well - I get her reasoning and she was right - he needed to go find himself - she just did it in a really awful way - because, once again, it was easiest for - not him. I mean seriously - at a funeral - come on!
Annoyed that there we NO consequences for her ex - he cheated, took her work - not once, but twice - and he is just let off (actually rewarded really)
No real resolution with Gyu Hyun's mom and all that happened (she basically tried to destroy a number of people's lives and pretty sure she was responsible for Ji Uk's mom leaving) - but, yeah, lets just not deal with that at all.
So much stuff just thrown out there and then left hanging
If you like Shin Min Ah - you may like this - this character is somewhere in between her Oh My Venus and Hometown Cha Cha Cha characters - I enjoyed her Oh My Venus, but HATED her character in HTCCC- which then makes sense that this was just ok for me.
And yes, mom is clearly not calm - but this is beyond just not being calm - she is violent and has serious, serious anger issues. You can be angry and not calm without resorting to this level of violence.
Mom has some serious anger issues and the FL isn't far behind (of course she learned it from mom - cannot believe I am watching a grown woman choke-holding a grown man and people are thinking this is funny or cure somehow - its not funny - this is so not ok.
Two of the worst female lead characters - couldn't stand either the FL or 2FL - both just so immature, spent most of their time pouting about something, crying or throwing a tantrum and neither one of them was all that bright. It felt like watching two 8yr olds trapped in grown women's bodies - just annoying beyond compare.
Main FL spends the first half of the drama being obsessed about marrying the ML (who has expressed numerous times he doesn't want to get married and the whole engagement thing was a misunderstanding) - but she just wants what she wants and doesn't care how he feels about it. Then there was the whole thing about having a home - 1 minute she is crying and pouting about not having one then the next minute, crying and pouting that her home is the sect and she cant leave it - it was whiplash all over the place. Then there was the mind-numbingly stupid, blind loyalty to the Master - all cause he 'saved' her - this whole narrative just drives me bonkers.
The 2FL was just a pointless character to me - really just a plot devise and served no real purpose. She had absolutely no understanding of Kunlun Mountain or the sects, couldn't help in any capacity around anything, caused way too many problem all because she had an inferiority complex (for no apparent reason that I could discern) and goes full-on cray-cray in the second half just because the boy doesn't like her??? And that was just weird cause they had very little interaction that was even remotely romantic.
Chemistry was way off between main couple - they felt more like siblings than lovers - mostly because the FL is so childish in her actions that I just could take her seriously as a lover.
Plot is just all over the place and the ending is just weird - some very clear pieces were missing that just leaves you shaking your head.
I know they were trying to go with a sassy FL - but it just came across as entitled brat - she gets better at the end, but for the majority of the drama she is quite an annoying character.
Production quality is not great - but I have seen a lot worse
Can we PLEAS, PLEASe stop with the leads having known each other as children - its just such an overdone trope at this point.
ML is a bit stiff
Fight scenes are not bad
Flying through air senes are pretty bad though- especially the thing at the end
Luckily its only 24 episodes and if you need a filler while waiting on something else - go ahead, but dont expect much from it.
Enjoyed watching Ding You Xi - this was a good role for him.
VERY apparent the FL is young and new to this and she didn't quite hold up to the DYZ's presence.
It didnt help that the FL character was also written really poorly. They tried to thread the needle of super-smart detective (who is only 18 yrs old - but brilliant!), but constantly needed rescuing. Super-naive about the world but thinks she is the most clever person in the room and the only one who can solve things. Clueless about most things outside of her job, cant discern when boys like her - just wants to be everyone's 'friend', always more concerned about everyone else instead of herself, super-noble, fighting for justice, but slow to the uptake on what is actually going on in the bigger scheme of things. She becomes kind of annoying in too many places.
It also didn't help that when she was her bestie - they turned into 12yr old girls instead of professional women - like they couldn't decide if she should be a young girl or a young woman.
Villain was kind of boring - just that he was the typical wounded child who felt entitled to something and got overly obsessive - seen it a bazillion times.
Ending didnt quite work for me - the typical rushed happy ending because you spent too much time on the front end dragging out story arcs - the a VERY late separation to then rush the end. Cdrama writers really need to work on this part of their game - cause they are really bad at it.
So have a hard time with romanticizing palace life/institution - it was an awful, awful practice (still is in some-places)
Second half is better than first half - mostly because the first half is just rinse and repeat stories about harem/palace life intrigue, the FL showing how "clever; she by outwitting everyone. I actually got annoyed after a bit - just wanted her to shut up and have some sense of control with her mouth (it was just too unrealistic that she would have been able to do that all the time without any real consequences)
While I did enjoy the playfulness/pettiness/childishness that Ying Luo and the Emperor shared (they were a perfect match on that level) - it was hard to really get behind them given what it was based on (his subverting her marriage to Fuheng and her scheming). But I got it.
All the actors did a great job, really good production quality and the costumes are amazing
If you like historical dramas - this is pretty good, but it is long and draggy - so be prepared
Also struggling a bit cause I am not a big fan of the stupid, slapstick humor - hoping it will moderate out as the story progresses.
There are definitely good parts (the whole downfall/escaping Yangzhou was so well done) - but definitely bad parts (could the FL stop crying every five seconds)
I did appreciate the main leads partnership - once they got there. Very communicative and supportive. At the same time (and this is totally because of script, direction and I am sure censorship) - absolutely no intimacy between them (literally dont get a kiss until ep 27) - it was just so unrealistic to the point of absurdity. While they certainly have a connection - it's the want of cdrama land to have this super-chasteness going on - like neither one of them have any sexual desire AT ALL - especially the female character. And it just didnt make any sense after a while - especially after escaping Yangzhou and having a near death experience and they're just like, lets just sit here and hold hands (barely). The whole thing just felt off.
And what was with the kid at the end - its only been 5 years (she would have been pregnant for 9+months) and this kid looked like he was 7-8 yrs old - big fail there
Also didnt like what they did with the General Qin - so unnecessary and leaves an unmarried emperor on the thrown - makes no sense.
A bunch of really unsatisfying endings for most of the evil/bad characters
Zhang Wan Yi was fantastic in this and such a different character from LYF - his comedic timing was just spot on. And, man does he just have the most soothing, sexy voice.
Great FL character that they kept strong and independent throughout. So happy that they didnt turn her into some childish character (especially when she loses her memory - which is where they would have normally done this).
Great couple that respected and admired each other - even when they hated each other. True power couple when they came back together.
Bromance with the doctor/best friend was fantastic.
Chemistry with leads was mediocre - in that they clearly loved each other and true partners - but not a lot of passion here (and that was probably totally due to script and directing).
Second couple was fun - but same issue.
For both couples, seemed like they exchanged/replaced bickering/bantering for passion. Which for the most part is ok - but where it ultimately fails is on the wedding night - this should have been full of passion having fought so hard to get there - instead you get a drunk groom showing up and her basically nursing him - it was such a dud.
Loved the Empress character and did just wish we had more time with her and Emperor actually falling in love - dont really get this until the very end. But she probably had some of the best character development.