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Addictive 10/10 First Half, Mediocre 7/10 Second Half Finish!
A thought - "Where the Mask Ends" - I guess never, once you don one, you have to live as another, and keep wearing more masks to make up for the previous one. And the way the show ended, I think there would another season and more masks to be worn.
This drama has 2 halves - the first half dealing with the real identity of Wei Rao [FL] and the latter half dealt with palace politics and how FL deals with it with her wits and allies. For me, the drama was 10/10 during the first half. Given it's cliche, we know what will be the end result and yet the journey towards the revelations, how the FL uses her wits to take her place, how others continue to plot and help her - it's addictive, you want to b!tch-slap people and root for the FL to win. It was amazing and I watched it as it aired - and could hardly wait for the next episode.
The 2nd half of the show - slows down, the rush and addiction is not there. I still watched it cause I wanted to see it to the end, but the plot feels convoluted and written in a rush and many scenes/episode feel like a drag or filler. It was interesting, but I was not looking forward to it. They could have easily ended it after 15-16 episodes and I would have been happy and gave it a 10/10. The twists and turns felt forced, unlike the first half where it progressed naturally. Therefore it became like 7/10.
Still, overall, this is a good drama. I have not watched many C-dramas, but "Reset" and "Legend of Zang Hai" are my absolute favorites. I have been meaning to get into C-dramas, and in a way this drama will hold a special spot for making it happen. Too bad that they did not finish it well, as the first half. Happy to have come across the talented actress in the role of the FL - she was really good in the double role - she was fierce, beautiful and soft - when needed. She was the soul of the show - and I will definitely look forward to her other works. The ML was good - but paled in comparison in terms of how his character was written and in terms of acting. Rest cast were doing well, as they had to - nothing too great or bad to note or comment on.
This drama has 2 halves - the first half dealing with the real identity of Wei Rao [FL] and the latter half dealt with palace politics and how FL deals with it with her wits and allies. For me, the drama was 10/10 during the first half. Given it's cliche, we know what will be the end result and yet the journey towards the revelations, how the FL uses her wits to take her place, how others continue to plot and help her - it's addictive, you want to b!tch-slap people and root for the FL to win. It was amazing and I watched it as it aired - and could hardly wait for the next episode.
The 2nd half of the show - slows down, the rush and addiction is not there. I still watched it cause I wanted to see it to the end, but the plot feels convoluted and written in a rush and many scenes/episode feel like a drag or filler. It was interesting, but I was not looking forward to it. They could have easily ended it after 15-16 episodes and I would have been happy and gave it a 10/10. The twists and turns felt forced, unlike the first half where it progressed naturally. Therefore it became like 7/10.
Still, overall, this is a good drama. I have not watched many C-dramas, but "Reset" and "Legend of Zang Hai" are my absolute favorites. I have been meaning to get into C-dramas, and in a way this drama will hold a special spot for making it happen. Too bad that they did not finish it well, as the first half. Happy to have come across the talented actress in the role of the FL - she was really good in the double role - she was fierce, beautiful and soft - when needed. She was the soul of the show - and I will definitely look forward to her other works. The ML was good - but paled in comparison in terms of how his character was written and in terms of acting. Rest cast were doing well, as they had to - nothing too great or bad to note or comment on.
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