WAY better than I expected.
I watched this largely because I had seen Zhang Jing Yi in Legend of Zang Hai. But the synopsis made it seem like a pretty lightweight rom-com sort of drama so I wasn't expecting much. Boy was my expectation off. This was one of the better dramas I have watched recently and although not perfect, nailed all the most critical things I look for in a series.
First the negatives: The makeup was .... not good at times. Kinda amateurish. Especially bad was the 'wound' on the face of the ML in the early episodes. And wounds in general were pretty poorly rendered. High school drama-club stuff. Also some of the 'special effects' - were a little weak - notably with the scenes on the ships out on the water. And while most of the costumes were great, at times they were a little flat and didn't feel authentic period.
Then the positives: Everything else. First off, the script is just excellent. This is a mature adult drama with human characters talking to each other like real humans. Especially the two leads. I can't say enough about how pleasant it was to have two leads who consistently talked to each other like adults. Who didn't hide things unnecessarily and create contrived, unnecessary drama between each other. Not that they didn't have secrets. But the ones they had were real and understandable and they didn't get in the way of their slowly growing romance between each other.. This was a couple that respected each other and always came through for each other. In addition, this script almost never resorted to awkward plot contrivances. They avoided stupid annoying love triangles and no memory losses or long, drawn out forced separations or betrayals caused by misinformation or really any of the usual soap-opera gimmicks. They did include a 'Secondary ML', but after establishing pretty firmly and quickly that he was not and never would be a romantic competitor for the ML, he was allowed to grow into a great supporting character.
One last thing to say about the script: Be prepared for some tears. Most of the tone of this show is positive. But when sad, emotional things happen, my god this show does not spare you. If you don't tear up on some of the emotionally tough scenes in this show then you are perhaps really a robot. The cast performances in these scenes is powerful. Perhaps the most moving scene was the scene when Hua Zhi lies on the bed next to her grandmother, played by the venerable Liu Jia. I won't spoil it, but man that scene had my eyes watering badly.
Gotta talk about the cast. Zhang Jing Yi just knocks it out of the park as a strong, brilliant and compassionate Hua Zhi - without having to be a physical martial arts princess (such as she was in Legend of Zang Hai). Instead of a physical fighter, she is mentally strong willed and determined and most of all, observant and brilliant. She solves problems creatively and consistently with awareness and compassion for everyone concerned. And her co-lead in all this, Hu Yi Tian as Gu Yan Xi , does a fantastic job of being an equal partner in this romance. He is, of course, a very different character being very much a physical killing machine at times. And he is constrained by his position to sometimes do things he would not choose to on his own. But it's very clear early on that he has true compassion and shares Hua Zhi's moral compass. His nature fits like perfect yin/yang complement to hers. The two 'get' each other immediately and have great chemistry that makes their near telepathic connection feel real.
The rest of the cast is loaded with veteran actors who you should recognize from other dramas. Too many to list off. This is a big cast. And I don't think anyone delivers a poor performance. Almost every supporting character has depth and complexity. Only a few of the external characters are 2-dimensional
Oh, also want to give a big nod to the fight choreographer. This is not a drama that is overly heavy with fight scenes. It is not the focus at all. But WHEN this drama has fight scenes, the choreography is absolutely top-notch. I especially like how they use a lot of empty-hands techniques. It isn't always flashy weapons being swung around.
First the negatives: The makeup was .... not good at times. Kinda amateurish. Especially bad was the 'wound' on the face of the ML in the early episodes. And wounds in general were pretty poorly rendered. High school drama-club stuff. Also some of the 'special effects' - were a little weak - notably with the scenes on the ships out on the water. And while most of the costumes were great, at times they were a little flat and didn't feel authentic period.
Then the positives: Everything else. First off, the script is just excellent. This is a mature adult drama with human characters talking to each other like real humans. Especially the two leads. I can't say enough about how pleasant it was to have two leads who consistently talked to each other like adults. Who didn't hide things unnecessarily and create contrived, unnecessary drama between each other. Not that they didn't have secrets. But the ones they had were real and understandable and they didn't get in the way of their slowly growing romance between each other.. This was a couple that respected each other and always came through for each other. In addition, this script almost never resorted to awkward plot contrivances. They avoided stupid annoying love triangles and no memory losses or long, drawn out forced separations or betrayals caused by misinformation or really any of the usual soap-opera gimmicks. They did include a 'Secondary ML', but after establishing pretty firmly and quickly that he was not and never would be a romantic competitor for the ML, he was allowed to grow into a great supporting character.
One last thing to say about the script: Be prepared for some tears. Most of the tone of this show is positive. But when sad, emotional things happen, my god this show does not spare you. If you don't tear up on some of the emotionally tough scenes in this show then you are perhaps really a robot. The cast performances in these scenes is powerful. Perhaps the most moving scene was the scene when Hua Zhi lies on the bed next to her grandmother, played by the venerable Liu Jia. I won't spoil it, but man that scene had my eyes watering badly.
Gotta talk about the cast. Zhang Jing Yi just knocks it out of the park as a strong, brilliant and compassionate Hua Zhi - without having to be a physical martial arts princess (such as she was in Legend of Zang Hai). Instead of a physical fighter, she is mentally strong willed and determined and most of all, observant and brilliant. She solves problems creatively and consistently with awareness and compassion for everyone concerned. And her co-lead in all this, Hu Yi Tian as Gu Yan Xi , does a fantastic job of being an equal partner in this romance. He is, of course, a very different character being very much a physical killing machine at times. And he is constrained by his position to sometimes do things he would not choose to on his own. But it's very clear early on that he has true compassion and shares Hua Zhi's moral compass. His nature fits like perfect yin/yang complement to hers. The two 'get' each other immediately and have great chemistry that makes their near telepathic connection feel real.
The rest of the cast is loaded with veteran actors who you should recognize from other dramas. Too many to list off. This is a big cast. And I don't think anyone delivers a poor performance. Almost every supporting character has depth and complexity. Only a few of the external characters are 2-dimensional
Oh, also want to give a big nod to the fight choreographer. This is not a drama that is overly heavy with fight scenes. It is not the focus at all. But WHEN this drama has fight scenes, the choreography is absolutely top-notch. I especially like how they use a lot of empty-hands techniques. It isn't always flashy weapons being swung around.
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