This review may contain spoilers
Flawed but I loved it for the wonderful characters
I was spoiled going in so when I watched AJTL, I was looking to see if a) the character deaths were foreshadowed and b) they were narratively justified. The answers are a) yes and b) kinda sorta but it should've been done better.
But let me start with what I loved: My favorite character by far was Yang Ying. Her journey from a fearful princess who was used as a sacrificial lamb by her family to a badass ruler who understood how to be a true leader was inspiring. Big standing ovation to He Lan Dou for her performance, it was the strongest in the drama IMO
I also adored our main ship. It was a truly egalitarian relationship built on shared values and mutual respect. They healed each other's wounds and always supported one another. It's rare to see this kind of love depicted in any country's series.
I got very attached to the Liudao crew. Each individual was well developed and I loved their friendships with each other and how they were mentored by the leads. Special shout-out to Alen Feng as Shisan and Chen You Wei as Yuan Lu, they both made me love their characters and broke my heart at the end of the story.
I also loved the critical lens the drama places on selfish rulers and the toll their actions take on ordinary people. Nearly every royal in this drama is the absolute f**** worst. The leads and Liudao crew serve the rulers but only in order to try and prevent a catastrophic war. It was compelling seeing the characters struggle between what they want and what they need to do for the greater good. Given the critique I was surprised the drama passed censorship but perhaps it was because a few of the royals do have redemption arcs and end up ruling justly.
Now we get to the ending, which a lot of people hated for a good reason. There's pretty heavy foreshadowing about people not making it out alive, especially Yuanzhou and Ruyi who become weaker and weaker as the story progresses. Also we're told up front that Yuan Lu has a terminal illness so no surprises with him. But I hated that our leads died protecting Li Tongguang, who is framed as the ruler who will finally bring peace with Yang Ying at his side. LTG simply doesn't mature enough to justify having that role in the story. He's a whining baby who only wants his shifu. Sorry to be gross but it was almost as if he wanted her to be his nursemaid.
Had they shown us his character develop the way they did with Yang Ying it would make sense that Yuanzhou and Ruyi died so he could survive. Instead their sacrifices felt like a waste. I was also really hoping Ruyi would have a baby so at least their child could survive but alas ðŸ˜
But even with the flawed ending this was an incredibly well written drama with complex characters that grapples with philosophical questions relevant to today, especially with this weekend's N0 K1ngs pr0tests. One of my fave watches in a year where I've watched some very good dramas.
But let me start with what I loved: My favorite character by far was Yang Ying. Her journey from a fearful princess who was used as a sacrificial lamb by her family to a badass ruler who understood how to be a true leader was inspiring. Big standing ovation to He Lan Dou for her performance, it was the strongest in the drama IMO
I also adored our main ship. It was a truly egalitarian relationship built on shared values and mutual respect. They healed each other's wounds and always supported one another. It's rare to see this kind of love depicted in any country's series.
I got very attached to the Liudao crew. Each individual was well developed and I loved their friendships with each other and how they were mentored by the leads. Special shout-out to Alen Feng as Shisan and Chen You Wei as Yuan Lu, they both made me love their characters and broke my heart at the end of the story.
I also loved the critical lens the drama places on selfish rulers and the toll their actions take on ordinary people. Nearly every royal in this drama is the absolute f**** worst. The leads and Liudao crew serve the rulers but only in order to try and prevent a catastrophic war. It was compelling seeing the characters struggle between what they want and what they need to do for the greater good. Given the critique I was surprised the drama passed censorship but perhaps it was because a few of the royals do have redemption arcs and end up ruling justly.
Now we get to the ending, which a lot of people hated for a good reason. There's pretty heavy foreshadowing about people not making it out alive, especially Yuanzhou and Ruyi who become weaker and weaker as the story progresses. Also we're told up front that Yuan Lu has a terminal illness so no surprises with him. But I hated that our leads died protecting Li Tongguang, who is framed as the ruler who will finally bring peace with Yang Ying at his side. LTG simply doesn't mature enough to justify having that role in the story. He's a whining baby who only wants his shifu. Sorry to be gross but it was almost as if he wanted her to be his nursemaid.
Had they shown us his character develop the way they did with Yang Ying it would make sense that Yuanzhou and Ruyi died so he could survive. Instead their sacrifices felt like a waste. I was also really hoping Ruyi would have a baby so at least their child could survive but alas ðŸ˜
But even with the flawed ending this was an incredibly well written drama with complex characters that grapples with philosophical questions relevant to today, especially with this weekend's N0 K1ngs pr0tests. One of my fave watches in a year where I've watched some very good dramas.
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