littlecotton

Here lies another victim of censorship and the 40-episode rule. You watch the show and see how everything is going well in terms of the production, storytelling, and writing; and then it reaches the middle and it falters. And it's all because of the weird cuts you know well that something should have been there. It's such a shame. But Zeng Qingjie has outdone himself, though—I think this is better than Blossom. For Zou Yue, I still think Coroner's Diary is her best work (especially in terms of the romance, but I guess that's more of a personal preference).

STORY:

Like I said, it started REALLY good. I even wrote a lengthy comment before about how the exposition in Lin'an County really set the stage for the events that will happen in the middle part of the show. The Lin'an Arc was so good, I just wanted to stay there. And even when the show ended, I wanted to go back. It's just so PEAK to me. But then, we reached the middle part and despite the several aura farming scenes and Fan Changyu's AMAZING fighting scenes—don't get me wrong, they're cool and I loved every second of them—I feel like the show really fell short when it came to telling the story of the battles they faced. I feel like they focused too much on the "Yan Zheng hiding his identity" plot instead of enriching the story about their life in that military camp, because from what I understood, they were in that camp FOR MONTHS and yet the only thing I clearly remember was the plotline about Xie Zheng hiding his identity (which, they could've written better, by the way). And towards the end of their Military Camp Arc, it was also so obvious that there were LOTS of cuts and I'm guessing it has something to do with censorship (maybe it was too violent?) Because one moment, this is happening. Then the next, another thing is happening. And then all of a sudden, an important general is dead? Didn't even show us how it happened. But it did. And we just have to accept it. And now, Fan Changyu is bedridden and OH she also discovers a BIG secret about her identity. It was all too abrupt. It was obvious that they were rushing things to have space for the Capital Arc.

I say this with no offense meant but maybe they wouldn't have the need to rush important plot points if they took away some of Qi Min and Yu Qianqian's screentimes. It was so unnecessary. I don't understand what they're trying to build up about their relationship and even in the end, it just didn't MOVE me. It's also so frustrating because we get full scenes of Qi Min and Yu Qianqian UNSOLICITED, but for the main couple, we have to beg for scraps of their scenes that they obviously filmed (based from the behind the scenes and leaked clips) but didn't make the final cut. I saw some people blaming Zou Yue for this, but she only writes the script. She doesn't decide what ends up in the final cut and what doesn't. It's the director. And obviously, these scenes were filmed so I really want to know what's going on with Zeng Qingjie when he decided to explore their relationship and dynamic for nothing.

Now, for the final arc—it was all over the place. The climax was dismal. And resolving the conflict of the show with dreams and chance discoveries? It's pure lazy writing and I will die on this hill. I remembered how chaotic the writing was in the last arc of Coroner's Diary, too and I'm faulting Zou Yue for this one. But I loved the reveal about Wei Yan, though. Truly a compelling villain (if we can even call him that; he's more of an anti-hero for me). I wish they explored Xie Zheng's dynamic with Wei Yan more. It was just so interesting to see how he's Wei Yan's pride and joy, but he's also the one person who can beat him in his own game and I think it unsettles him. I also wish they explored Xie Zheng's emotional turmoil more. I think he is complete as a character in terms of merits. He became a Marquis at a young age and it's well-deserved because he is both a good strategist and a good fighter—and it's pretty much established. But I feel like there's something that falls short in terms of his emotional struggles—especially his feelings about his parents, his uncle, his cousin, and basically his life before Changyu and how they related to her. It feels like they just dumped some scenes here and there about his interactions with them as a child and called it a day. There's no depth in it aside from what they want to evoke from the audience during that exact scene, which they try to get away with through editing.

As for how they showed Fan Changyu—from her humble beginnings as a butcher from Lin'an to her rise to power as a Great General—NO NOTES. I loved seeing every chapter of Fan Changyu's life. It's like seeing my little baby grow.

Last thing: I wish we got more of the alternate universe. I would really pay to see more of Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu being childhood sweethearts. (Instead, it feels like they set up everything for that specific scene at the end. But, whatever. Good to know that Qi Min and Yu Qianqian won't involve themselves with each other in their other life. They're physically repulsed by it. I'm repulsed by the idea of them, too.)

ACTING/CAST:

Like I have always said, my only criteria to say that an actor is good is when I'm able to enjoy the show while watching him or her. If the actor delivers what he has to deliver and make me feel for their character, then they're good in my books. For this show, everyone has done a good job in doing that. I felt for every character, whether good or bad, whether I love them or I hate them.

Special mention to Tian Xiwei because she really brought Fan Changyu to life. She has always been one of my favorite actresses, and I have trust in her acting skills, but seeing her as Fan Changyu was still a pleasant surprise, even as a long time fan of hers. She has improved so much over the years and I'm just so happy to see her getting the recognition she deserves through this project.

As for Zhang Linghe, I'm not particularly a fan of him, but I tend to end up watching his shows because for some reason, he always ends up in good shows. And from what I've seen, it's clear that he has also improved a lot. He was convincing in both personas as the ruthless Marquis Wu'an and the gentle matrilocal husband Yan Zheng. It was such a joy to see his pretty face on screen, I'm not going to lie. This is the best he's ever looked on camera, and mind you, he has always looked good.

I would also like to applaud the actors for Yu Bao'er and Fan Changning because they really held their own in their scenes, especially the actor for Yu Bao'er. These kids are definitely going places!

Special Mention 1: To the actor who played the Emperor. He's so convincing as a useless emperor, I couldn't help but roll my eyes whenever his scenes come up. But at the same time, I also couldn't help but feel sad for him in the end. He's a victim in all of this and things would have been better for him if he remained a prince. It's clear he had no ambition, but he was suddenly thrust into power and given more than enough food than he could chew. The actor did so well in portraying the helplessness of it all.

Special Mention 2: To the actor who played Wei Yan, Yan Yikuan. NO NOTES. Truly amazing performance as Wei Yan. It's also so convincing that he's Xie Zheng's uncle. They really look like they share the same genes, even Xie Zheng's mom. I think this is one of Zeng Qingjie's strengths—picking the perfect actors to play as family members and finding the perfect actors to play as the younger versions of other actors.

MUSIC:

The OSTs of this show are all ICONIC and the way you can associate certain scenes or know what kind of scenes will be shown from the OSTs alone show how effective they are in bringing up the whole atmosphere of the show. I especially love "Pure As I Am" by Yisa Yu because I really love the tender moments between Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu. They're just so sweet and heartwrenching in a good way.

REWATCH VALUE:

I will DEFINITELY rewatch this for the Lin'an Arc. Their domestic life was just so cozy and like I said, I really wish we could just stay there. It's such a memorable arc for me and I want to return there again and again. What I feel about Lin'an is like those trends on TikTok where they caption it with: "Not my place, but I know my way around." Because even with the petty fights with the neighbors, even with people looking down on them despite the big destiny they hold, Lin'an is still home.

OVERALL:

I initially said above that it's such a shame that such a good show faltered midway. But then, I can't deny that this is still an amazing work. So, congratulations to the casts and crew because this is really a memorable show in a sense that it was a very enjoyable watch and I've never felt so excited about watching a historical show since Coroner's Diary.