a filler season with a good cast and strong visuals
With only 13 episodes, Zhang Chu Lan and Bao Bao that disappear for large chunks of episodes (or for entire episodes altogether) and close to no mention to the events of the first season, I really can't help but think of this one as an expensive filler season that will guide the viewers to a bigger, hopefully longer (and in the making) season 3.
If I had to use one word to describe it, “bridge” would probably be the one.
In terms of visuals, it looks cleaner, darker and a lot more high budget than season one, with a camera work worthy of a serious, proper Hollywood movie, especially when it comes to fighting scenes.
The episode that looks best so far, in my opinion, is the one centered around the Bunker, Chen Duo and Mr Liao. It had some pretty solid shots and angles, with zero unnecessary and overwhelming special effects, and top acting from the two protagonists.
Mature, serious and well acted. I simply loved it and it's the one episode that grabbed back my attention with this new season, since the previous were rather a miss for me and I found myself tempted to skip through most of them on one too many occasions.
Season one was fresh and dynamic, a little silly and always over the top, more manga than tv show, and the humour of the first half actually made me laugh and repeat a scene over and over. It got me hooked in from the very beginning and I found all characters interesting and with great chemistry, be it a bond of friendship, love interest or hatred.
Although not all of them were greatly fleshed out and some felt rather cartoonish, it made sense for the tone the writers were aiming for and they all left some sort of impression on me, to the point that I can still remember most of them clearly.
I'm not a fan of the second half – what comes after the martial arts tournament, basically – because it all felt rather rushed and very, VERY confusing, and I was expecting some sort of closure or explanation in this new season.
It didn't happen (so far), but, rather, it feels like a completely different series if not for the presence of Chu Lan and Bao Bao – albeit calling it a presence might be a bit of a stretch. They're more like guest roles than main leads.
Which I generally don't have much of a problem with. I prefer choral narrations and more “dynamic” points of view, seeing roles shifting and exchanging, but at the same time I kind of feel lied to (they are still referred to as main roles alongside Chen Duo and Wang Ye) and I don't really like how they seem to be unchanged from how they were at the start of their journey. It's like all of their character growth was lost and I'm still confused at how much time passed between the final scene of season one and the start of season two.
As I said, if not for those two characters, this would feel like a whole new show very remotely related to the first season, not an actual sequel, and that's when I realized why I found it dragging and not as interesting.
The secret to enjoy this season is not to compare it with the first one, although at times it can't be helped, especially going in with the very first couple of episodes.
When I started to think of it as something new, unrelated, I finally began to see its merits and stopped feeling like dropping it once I was done with x episode.
Most of the characters still feel rather one-dimensional to me and they are not as memorable as, say, Master Lao or Wang Ye, but I believe that's mostly due to how short this actually is and the writing.
The actors are not at fault – their performances are all pretty solid and some of them even go above average –, but 90% of these characters are newly introduced and there's just not enough time to flesh them out properly in 13 episodes, let alone give us their backstory, motivations and inner conflicts. Even the ones we already know feel rather... flat, in comparison to what they were previously.
(And a presence of an older, more experienced cast in season one really helped with supporting the weight of the show, no matter how incredibly talented some of the younger actors are).
It lacks the humour and freshness of season one and it never really hooked me in – it's nothing memorable, really – but it's still worth a watch and all in all this season would be pretty good as a stand-alone. More than good, actually.
The acting is great, the fighting scenes always exciting and the CGI looks good (amazing compared to other c-dramas). A very solid production with a taste of sci-fi, sects and powerful secret organizations that I really enjoy.
It just needs more time to develop, a little more build up to the characters and their single storylines.
So, if I compare it with season one, I do feel rather disappointed with the results, but when I look at it as its own thing, I would actually recommend it to fans and non-fans of the original work, because they are actually doing great with the little time they were given.
We're a little past its half as I'm writing this review and I'm looking forward to the last episodes, hoping they won't crash and burn like with season one.
And if season 3 really is in the making... hopefully they will keep this quality in visuals and acting.
- Mei
If I had to use one word to describe it, “bridge” would probably be the one.
In terms of visuals, it looks cleaner, darker and a lot more high budget than season one, with a camera work worthy of a serious, proper Hollywood movie, especially when it comes to fighting scenes.
The episode that looks best so far, in my opinion, is the one centered around the Bunker, Chen Duo and Mr Liao. It had some pretty solid shots and angles, with zero unnecessary and overwhelming special effects, and top acting from the two protagonists.
Mature, serious and well acted. I simply loved it and it's the one episode that grabbed back my attention with this new season, since the previous were rather a miss for me and I found myself tempted to skip through most of them on one too many occasions.
Season one was fresh and dynamic, a little silly and always over the top, more manga than tv show, and the humour of the first half actually made me laugh and repeat a scene over and over. It got me hooked in from the very beginning and I found all characters interesting and with great chemistry, be it a bond of friendship, love interest or hatred.
Although not all of them were greatly fleshed out and some felt rather cartoonish, it made sense for the tone the writers were aiming for and they all left some sort of impression on me, to the point that I can still remember most of them clearly.
I'm not a fan of the second half – what comes after the martial arts tournament, basically – because it all felt rather rushed and very, VERY confusing, and I was expecting some sort of closure or explanation in this new season.
It didn't happen (so far), but, rather, it feels like a completely different series if not for the presence of Chu Lan and Bao Bao – albeit calling it a presence might be a bit of a stretch. They're more like guest roles than main leads.
Which I generally don't have much of a problem with. I prefer choral narrations and more “dynamic” points of view, seeing roles shifting and exchanging, but at the same time I kind of feel lied to (they are still referred to as main roles alongside Chen Duo and Wang Ye) and I don't really like how they seem to be unchanged from how they were at the start of their journey. It's like all of their character growth was lost and I'm still confused at how much time passed between the final scene of season one and the start of season two.
As I said, if not for those two characters, this would feel like a whole new show very remotely related to the first season, not an actual sequel, and that's when I realized why I found it dragging and not as interesting.
The secret to enjoy this season is not to compare it with the first one, although at times it can't be helped, especially going in with the very first couple of episodes.
When I started to think of it as something new, unrelated, I finally began to see its merits and stopped feeling like dropping it once I was done with x episode.
Most of the characters still feel rather one-dimensional to me and they are not as memorable as, say, Master Lao or Wang Ye, but I believe that's mostly due to how short this actually is and the writing.
The actors are not at fault – their performances are all pretty solid and some of them even go above average –, but 90% of these characters are newly introduced and there's just not enough time to flesh them out properly in 13 episodes, let alone give us their backstory, motivations and inner conflicts. Even the ones we already know feel rather... flat, in comparison to what they were previously.
(And a presence of an older, more experienced cast in season one really helped with supporting the weight of the show, no matter how incredibly talented some of the younger actors are).
It lacks the humour and freshness of season one and it never really hooked me in – it's nothing memorable, really – but it's still worth a watch and all in all this season would be pretty good as a stand-alone. More than good, actually.
The acting is great, the fighting scenes always exciting and the CGI looks good (amazing compared to other c-dramas). A very solid production with a taste of sci-fi, sects and powerful secret organizations that I really enjoy.
It just needs more time to develop, a little more build up to the characters and their single storylines.
So, if I compare it with season one, I do feel rather disappointed with the results, but when I look at it as its own thing, I would actually recommend it to fans and non-fans of the original work, because they are actually doing great with the little time they were given.
We're a little past its half as I'm writing this review and I'm looking forward to the last episodes, hoping they won't crash and burn like with season one.
And if season 3 really is in the making... hopefully they will keep this quality in visuals and acting.
- Mei
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