This review may contain spoilers
Had so much potential, couldn't utilise it fully.
UNPOPULAR OPINION!
No hate, I do think it was entertaining. But in a guilty pleasure sort of way, rather than intellectually stimulating. It had all the elements of a satisfying story, but somewhere along the way it lost sight of its purpose.
What I liked:
1. Tian Xiwei as Fan Changyu- TX is apt for the role. Her character has a "Hagrid" energy to it- Brute strength but a softy at heart. Someone who does not know her own worth at the beginning, but later realising and using it. The drama has a lot of situational comedies and she nailed her expressions in them. I hear she herself is a fitness enthusiast and it shows in her movements. She communicates well with her body language as well. I watched some of the BTS and she came across as someone very professional and easy going with charisma. I am not sure I would describe her portrayal as sensual, but that is perhaps because of the second leads in the story.
2. Which brings us to the next thing that fascinated me- The story of the second leads. Yes, it was toxic. But it was also layered, it gave off the images of desire and vulnerability clothed in pitifulness. Both leads played the part and worked together well. Kong Su'er had that sensual quality, and her character displayed intelligence. I read somewhere that her character had actually transmigrated from the future, and that shows, she displays a modern air about her. Deng Kai- Phew. He played that obsessive villain well! The whimpering, whipped, possessive madman had so much to offer.
Which brings me to the parts I didn't like:
1. Wasted storylines- The Second leads packed a lot of intrigue which was criminally under explored. Makes me think the writers actually wanted this drama to be their story, but given the toxic nature of their relationship it wasn't viable so they hid it in the larger premise. I also did not understand why every character had to have a romantic subplot. The Strategist-Grand Princess arc was well portrayed, but could have been avoided to leave some breathing room for the rest of the story. Same with the bandit boss- villain brother arc, with a scene with the cousin. They are not bad, but they made the whole thing so dense and did not feel impactful. The villain brother also had sizeable chemistry with the FL., but to my disappointment it never got explored. The story with adoptive father arc- a long scene with a lot of dialogues, which could've been either shortened, or explored in detail and connected in a larger context.
2. Pacing that destroyed character development: Everything was good initially, but so much of it was "told" rather than "shown". I get that watching idol dramas demands the viewers to suspend belief to a considerable degree, but even fictional universes obey some rules. I see that this is one of the most common complaints about this drama, even fans found it hard to believe the FL climbing up the army ranks just like that. Still, not a big red flag.
3. The Politics: Again another common complaint- I found the mystery extremely confusing. The who is who. The Why's. It is explained, yes, but in the last two episodes! Why are there so many people dying in so many fires? Anyway, my point is that there is no "main villain", instead there are many villains. and it was overwhelming. The motives were unclear, and I found it impossible to track the relationships. Uncles and nephews all fighting with each other. Also, Fan Changyu's mother is also from a General's family but that arc is also not deeply explored. It was tiring to keep wondering what is going on while the acting and the scene setup were gorgeous, affecting the viewing experience.
4. ZLH: He looks gorgeous. So good looking. But I felt he displayed a limited range of emotions, not quite convincing, but not too bad either. His story was overshadowed by the other stories, so despite being told many times that he is traumatic I did not feel the connection. Something was lacking.
I loved Blossom. This one pales in comparison. Maybe that is the problem with the people who rated this one low- they had very, very, very high standards.
No hate, I do think it was entertaining. But in a guilty pleasure sort of way, rather than intellectually stimulating. It had all the elements of a satisfying story, but somewhere along the way it lost sight of its purpose.
What I liked:
1. Tian Xiwei as Fan Changyu- TX is apt for the role. Her character has a "Hagrid" energy to it- Brute strength but a softy at heart. Someone who does not know her own worth at the beginning, but later realising and using it. The drama has a lot of situational comedies and she nailed her expressions in them. I hear she herself is a fitness enthusiast and it shows in her movements. She communicates well with her body language as well. I watched some of the BTS and she came across as someone very professional and easy going with charisma. I am not sure I would describe her portrayal as sensual, but that is perhaps because of the second leads in the story.
2. Which brings us to the next thing that fascinated me- The story of the second leads. Yes, it was toxic. But it was also layered, it gave off the images of desire and vulnerability clothed in pitifulness. Both leads played the part and worked together well. Kong Su'er had that sensual quality, and her character displayed intelligence. I read somewhere that her character had actually transmigrated from the future, and that shows, she displays a modern air about her. Deng Kai- Phew. He played that obsessive villain well! The whimpering, whipped, possessive madman had so much to offer.
Which brings me to the parts I didn't like:
1. Wasted storylines- The Second leads packed a lot of intrigue which was criminally under explored. Makes me think the writers actually wanted this drama to be their story, but given the toxic nature of their relationship it wasn't viable so they hid it in the larger premise. I also did not understand why every character had to have a romantic subplot. The Strategist-Grand Princess arc was well portrayed, but could have been avoided to leave some breathing room for the rest of the story. Same with the bandit boss- villain brother arc, with a scene with the cousin. They are not bad, but they made the whole thing so dense and did not feel impactful. The villain brother also had sizeable chemistry with the FL., but to my disappointment it never got explored. The story with adoptive father arc- a long scene with a lot of dialogues, which could've been either shortened, or explored in detail and connected in a larger context.
2. Pacing that destroyed character development: Everything was good initially, but so much of it was "told" rather than "shown". I get that watching idol dramas demands the viewers to suspend belief to a considerable degree, but even fictional universes obey some rules. I see that this is one of the most common complaints about this drama, even fans found it hard to believe the FL climbing up the army ranks just like that. Still, not a big red flag.
3. The Politics: Again another common complaint- I found the mystery extremely confusing. The who is who. The Why's. It is explained, yes, but in the last two episodes! Why are there so many people dying in so many fires? Anyway, my point is that there is no "main villain", instead there are many villains. and it was overwhelming. The motives were unclear, and I found it impossible to track the relationships. Uncles and nephews all fighting with each other. Also, Fan Changyu's mother is also from a General's family but that arc is also not deeply explored. It was tiring to keep wondering what is going on while the acting and the scene setup were gorgeous, affecting the viewing experience.
4. ZLH: He looks gorgeous. So good looking. But I felt he displayed a limited range of emotions, not quite convincing, but not too bad either. His story was overshadowed by the other stories, so despite being told many times that he is traumatic I did not feel the connection. Something was lacking.
I loved Blossom. This one pales in comparison. Maybe that is the problem with the people who rated this one low- they had very, very, very high standards.
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