This review may contain spoilers
Before watching the drama, I had hoped that the FL was truly powerful and on par with the ML. I had hoped that they didn’t make her an annoying, whiny character out of nowhere, and, in my opinion, that didn’t happen. He Yan was powerful and strong when she needed to be, and she acted cute and endearing in front of the ML in private – which for me was the most perfect outcome/illustration of her character. Writers have a habit of making a strong FL but as soon as a man is involved (usually the ML) they make the FL weak, but I, personally, didn’t feel like that was the case in this drama. She truly was both a beauty and a brain (and she had amazing fighting skills). I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t include the full scene where she had to prove her worth by fighting 1v10, but I felt like her power and her skills still got shown throughout the drama, so it didn’t bother me that much.
I think the directors wanted to show a female lead, who was strong, but not only physically. Yes, I am also annoyed that they didn't show her iconic moment, where she had to fight 10 soldiers to prove that she is capable of being a female general. But I feel like her character would've fallen even more flat, if they had focused on showing her physical strength more, and therefore had shown less of her smartness and her knowledge regarding war and battle tactics.
I have seen criticism regarding the very last battle that they fought. Some people think that it was too short. Yet, I am over here thankful that it didn't last any longer than it did. Around half of the last episode was about war and their last battle, but I had hoped that they would've added the last battle into the plot for episode 35 or something, because, personally, I like when the last episode is just filled with happiness and romantic scenes. However, I felt like we saw enough of their dating era, and the drama had a happy ending, so overall I am still very content!
I truly felt so sad for He Yan and her story, because from a very young age she had to pretend to be someone else, and she just never experienced any peace since childhood, so it was so relieving and satisfying to watch her take it all back and get proper revenge in the end <3. I will say, that the story is pretty fast paced in the drama, so if you haven’t read the novel it might be a bit hard to follow along, BUT I didn’t read the novel (I did get some information from watching tiktoks and reading some comments about the plot in the novel), but I wasn’t confused. Also, since it was a bit fast paced I never felt like it was boring. For me, not a single episode was boring – but of course everyone has different opinions, so some people might not like that it’s fast paced.
When watching the drama, I actually felt like she became stronger when she was fighting together with Xiao Jue, if anything. They were the perfect power-couple every time they were on the battlefield or in the courtroom. I was actually so happy that Xiao Jue figured out that she’s a woman so early on, because I would have hated if they had dragged it out for no reason.
Let’s talk about He Rufei now: I was so mad when he said that it was crazy for a woman to gain military merits WHEN SHE ALREADY DID. The only reason why the brother felt the right to be so arrogant was because she had done it all in his name, so he became delusional and wanted to take back “his” achievements, but in reality, it was all her doing. Every time he appeared on the screen, I physically felt the need to sigh out loud, that’s how much I disliked his character. I will note: that it didn’t stop me from enjoying the main couple, the side couple, and the drama’s overall plot!! I couldn’t bring myself to hate him that much, since I absolutely LOVED Bai Shu’s character in Youthful Glory. I will say, that from what I have heard, the writers changed He Rufei’s character a bit from the original novel. In the novel, he never wanted to become a general. He genuinely hated war, but this aspect of his character was never shown in the drama. This was, for me, one of the drama’s biggest flaws. It wasn’t only He Rufei, it was all of the enemies, all of their characters felt so flat that it ruined the plot a bit. I watched this drama with almost zero expectations – I had been waiting for its release for around a year, but I didn't really have any expectations regarding the plot. I watched this drama purely for the romance, and did they deliver that perfectly? Yes. I loved the slow burn, I liked the angst and the yearning. I also liked that Xiao Jue found out the truth about her past, before they got in a committed relationship.
Overall, I really loved this drama, and it lived up to MY expectations (though other people might be a bit disappointed, I didn't have major expectations). The romance, the slow burn, and the tension between He Yand and Xiao Jue was beyond perfect. If you want to watch this for the romance - I would totally recommend!! If you want to watch an amazing drama with many fighting scenes and a really detailed plot - then this might not be for you (yet again, it might be idk). I, personally, felt like this drama delivered everything I was looking for perfectly.
I think the directors wanted to show a female lead, who was strong, but not only physically. Yes, I am also annoyed that they didn't show her iconic moment, where she had to fight 10 soldiers to prove that she is capable of being a female general. But I feel like her character would've fallen even more flat, if they had focused on showing her physical strength more, and therefore had shown less of her smartness and her knowledge regarding war and battle tactics.
I have seen criticism regarding the very last battle that they fought. Some people think that it was too short. Yet, I am over here thankful that it didn't last any longer than it did. Around half of the last episode was about war and their last battle, but I had hoped that they would've added the last battle into the plot for episode 35 or something, because, personally, I like when the last episode is just filled with happiness and romantic scenes. However, I felt like we saw enough of their dating era, and the drama had a happy ending, so overall I am still very content!
I truly felt so sad for He Yan and her story, because from a very young age she had to pretend to be someone else, and she just never experienced any peace since childhood, so it was so relieving and satisfying to watch her take it all back and get proper revenge in the end <3. I will say, that the story is pretty fast paced in the drama, so if you haven’t read the novel it might be a bit hard to follow along, BUT I didn’t read the novel (I did get some information from watching tiktoks and reading some comments about the plot in the novel), but I wasn’t confused. Also, since it was a bit fast paced I never felt like it was boring. For me, not a single episode was boring – but of course everyone has different opinions, so some people might not like that it’s fast paced.
When watching the drama, I actually felt like she became stronger when she was fighting together with Xiao Jue, if anything. They were the perfect power-couple every time they were on the battlefield or in the courtroom. I was actually so happy that Xiao Jue figured out that she’s a woman so early on, because I would have hated if they had dragged it out for no reason.
Let’s talk about He Rufei now: I was so mad when he said that it was crazy for a woman to gain military merits WHEN SHE ALREADY DID. The only reason why the brother felt the right to be so arrogant was because she had done it all in his name, so he became delusional and wanted to take back “his” achievements, but in reality, it was all her doing. Every time he appeared on the screen, I physically felt the need to sigh out loud, that’s how much I disliked his character. I will note: that it didn’t stop me from enjoying the main couple, the side couple, and the drama’s overall plot!! I couldn’t bring myself to hate him that much, since I absolutely LOVED Bai Shu’s character in Youthful Glory. I will say, that from what I have heard, the writers changed He Rufei’s character a bit from the original novel. In the novel, he never wanted to become a general. He genuinely hated war, but this aspect of his character was never shown in the drama. This was, for me, one of the drama’s biggest flaws. It wasn’t only He Rufei, it was all of the enemies, all of their characters felt so flat that it ruined the plot a bit. I watched this drama with almost zero expectations – I had been waiting for its release for around a year, but I didn't really have any expectations regarding the plot. I watched this drama purely for the romance, and did they deliver that perfectly? Yes. I loved the slow burn, I liked the angst and the yearning. I also liked that Xiao Jue found out the truth about her past, before they got in a committed relationship.
Overall, I really loved this drama, and it lived up to MY expectations (though other people might be a bit disappointed, I didn't have major expectations). The romance, the slow burn, and the tension between He Yand and Xiao Jue was beyond perfect. If you want to watch this for the romance - I would totally recommend!! If you want to watch an amazing drama with many fighting scenes and a really detailed plot - then this might not be for you (yet again, it might be idk). I, personally, felt like this drama delivered everything I was looking for perfectly.
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