This review may contain spoilers
In short, our leads carried the drama
Denial is a river. Yup, that's me, hence i wait for everything to sink in and not rushing to give my share. You know, that feeling when you've been waiting for so long and insisted to devour it no matter what or how the outcome just because you've been waiting long enough.
In short, i'm that novel purist who lost it. Just like the plot, lost.
Let me put it upfront, my expectation for the plot isn't that high since i'm very well aware it's impossible with all this damn regulation. So when it started by cutting 2 families, merging character, change character's background etc etc, i was still okay, really. However, it was weak. The beginning isn't as impactful as i expect to be and the moment they make Xiao Jue found He Yan real gender, it's snapped, "Oh, we're gonna have more romance than the novel." Even until the moment i write this, i don't know if i like it or not. The thing is, the novel isn't focus on romance or—in my humble opinion—revenge. It's more about self-discovery and self-development, it's focus a lot on women. Truly female centric material.
All in all, they butchered up a good material into something simple, way too simple, in a not so feel good way.
What saved this, what makes me in denial and reluctant to give harsh rating is the cast. Our leads are awesome, they did amazing job to carried the whole show. I was excited from day 1 with them. Zhou Ye is perfect for me because the thing about He Yan is she's not masculine. Everyone just unable to connect the dots coz the idea of her isn't male is bizarre. So i personally fine with Zhou Ye not so masculine feature and slender figure. Cheng Lei, i don't need explanation, that man is made to play general in costume drama. An easy pass. Their chemistry is good enough. Honestly, i feel like they could deliver more if the script allowed it.
Everyone else also doing good, even SML :) We all hate him for reasons, which means his acting is delivered. I dislike him both in novel and drama lol but at least he was too busy scheming to have delulu about He Yan in novel. Although the last sudden engagement was soooooo unnecessary but i've watched enough cdrama to know the concern was valid. Unnecessary but valid.
I just wish we could have more of yezhou garrison squad coz their bond is so underdeveloped to the point i can't bring myself to empathize with them. At least they got different ending in drama.
To wrap it up, i think it could be decent watch to someone who haven't read the novel. Those detail that irk me probably means nothing if you come with blank sheet.
In short, i'm that novel purist who lost it. Just like the plot, lost.
Let me put it upfront, my expectation for the plot isn't that high since i'm very well aware it's impossible with all this damn regulation. So when it started by cutting 2 families, merging character, change character's background etc etc, i was still okay, really. However, it was weak. The beginning isn't as impactful as i expect to be and the moment they make Xiao Jue found He Yan real gender, it's snapped, "Oh, we're gonna have more romance than the novel." Even until the moment i write this, i don't know if i like it or not. The thing is, the novel isn't focus on romance or—in my humble opinion—revenge. It's more about self-discovery and self-development, it's focus a lot on women. Truly female centric material.
All in all, they butchered up a good material into something simple, way too simple, in a not so feel good way.
What saved this, what makes me in denial and reluctant to give harsh rating is the cast. Our leads are awesome, they did amazing job to carried the whole show. I was excited from day 1 with them. Zhou Ye is perfect for me because the thing about He Yan is she's not masculine. Everyone just unable to connect the dots coz the idea of her isn't male is bizarre. So i personally fine with Zhou Ye not so masculine feature and slender figure. Cheng Lei, i don't need explanation, that man is made to play general in costume drama. An easy pass. Their chemistry is good enough. Honestly, i feel like they could deliver more if the script allowed it.
Everyone else also doing good, even SML :) We all hate him for reasons, which means his acting is delivered. I dislike him both in novel and drama lol but at least he was too busy scheming to have delulu about He Yan in novel. Although the last sudden engagement was soooooo unnecessary but i've watched enough cdrama to know the concern was valid. Unnecessary but valid.
I just wish we could have more of yezhou garrison squad coz their bond is so underdeveloped to the point i can't bring myself to empathize with them. At least they got different ending in drama.
To wrap it up, i think it could be decent watch to someone who haven't read the novel. Those detail that irk me probably means nothing if you come with blank sheet.
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