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Take a breather before you dive into the next one!
Where do I even start? It was a magnificent and absolute perfection to watch! I'm still reeling from it and definitely in need of a breather before I watch another drama.The story had me from the synopsis and was well executed in the entirety of the drama. The manipulation of romantic cliches was superb such that I didn't get tired of watching them happen severally in one drama... It is seven lifetimes (that brought on the waterworks each time) we're talking about. I absolutely loved how time was taken to develop the supporting characters and have their stories painted in the overall plot. Discovering the true villain halfway, made me feel as though I had been on a wild goose chase with the one who was supposedly the villain. Having the past being relived instead of being mere flashbacks was more than I expected to find when watching the drama.
This is not the first drama I'm watching that cast Ding Yu Xi and he delivered a stellar performance in this drama as well. I cannot fault his acting especially since there was no disconnect throughout the various roles he played. It is my first encounter with Yang Chao Yue, so I have nothing to compare with. I think for this role, she nailed the delivery of the FL character. I liked how she matured with every lifetime experienced and still retained her 'current' personality. The supporting actors were also on point given that I didn't feel as if there was stalling in between scenes or that the plot was rushed.
OMG! The music! I instantly knew it was Faye with the intro OST of the first episode. I'm leaving this drama with a richer collection of OSTs. They were perfectly timed and in tune with the emotion of each scene which made the drama all the more impactful. Even the instrumental bits. The instrumentals for the tense/ominous scenes is still ringing in my ears.
All in all this drama deserves all the love it's getting
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Watching for the Main Couple
For me, it was like at first episode. The plot is intruiging with both leads being reborn in their youth, something that was different from the usual rebirth stories. I feel like this added a lot to the plot armor of the story. It felt fuller and richer because both leads were aware that they had both reincarnated.The main couple really delivered acting out an old married couple yet young in the sense of discovering each other again once the misunderstanding was cleared up. Although its a drama in which the FL is more dominant than the ML, the ML has his own mind, plans, wits and makes sure to align everything to achieve the FL's goals. I love, love, love the pettiness the ML shows during his jealous fits with the FL and SML. I also love that the FL grows to trust in her relationship with the ML as secrets continue to be uncovered about all that had happened in their past life. Overall, I liked the development of the main couple especially as they pushed the theme of open communication and weathering the battles together instead of making a decision for each other.
The second male lead's reincarnation was a nice plot twist, though I feel one can already guesse it within the first couple of episodes. I kept hoping that even the crown prince had been reincarnated, but oh well, we can't get everything we want. Otherwise, it was interesting to see how the different characters made their choices given a second chance to alter the course of their lives.
Aside from the love line, the politics of the palace were interesting to watch. I honestly thought I would skip over those scenes but I actually sat through them, remembering who did/said what. For me, that was really impressive since I don't usually stick around for palace dramas. I especially enjoyed the tango between the ML and the SML as they dealt with the court affairs. In this part, I felt the supporting characters were well developed to move the story forward. The music was great, just that sometimes it felt ill-timed.
On to critisism: I agree with most of my fellow reviewers, at some point, the SML's role was redundant and having more screen time, even as a villain made it worse. After the FL came to terms about her relationship with the ML and also about her feelings for him, it was confusing and frustrating to see her expecting something out of her entanglements with the SML as if it would change her mind/heart. The long farewell with the SML in the final episode was honestly tiring to sit through. Even in his final moments I couldn't sympathise with him. I really wanted the final episode to be about the main couple. I was left wondering if the Princess Royal finally gave birth to her baby. I also wanted to see the big wedding. Sadly, the final episode didn't really deliver.
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Expectations Met and Lost
First off, the show is an absolute watch. I remained hooked from the first episode to the last... Had to take breaks though since I'm not really into the dark themes 😅.The overall theme of justice was very moving and I found me asking myself the hard questions on my own sense of justice and that around me. I think having a 'judge from hell' showed the failings of the human laws especially in dealing with those who have the means to pay their way out... but also how the law can be manipulated for other crimes, because in all essence, Kang Bit Na made her rulings according to the law. It also depicted quite literally what it means to take the law into your own hands and the 'true justice' scenes were amazing to watch as the tables are tuurned on the criminals. I like that this was consistent throughout the drama.
Kim Da On's character was interesting in its evolution. From the easy beguilement when he liked the judge thinking she was on his side, to the rejection when their views clashed and the ultimate choice to side with a demon for his own goals...His character feels very human being that it is being contrasted against a demon who has very different rules for her own court. His cuteness was very endearing to watch.
In the overall direction of the drama, my expectations from the blub and trailer were met. The cast was amazing, the acting great, the OST (mostly the croossroads one) an earworm but the story kind of fizzled out in some areas. We're shown KBN ending up in hell by mistake and Justitia taking possession of her body, but even as the story ends we still don't know what happened to the real KBN...It honestly wouldn't have been a problem if somehow in 30secs we're shown her being sent to the right place, but there're scenes where she's running/discovering hell which gave the expectation that she'd return somewhere down the line. Also, does this mean that even for the other possesions those people ended up in hell by accident? I also expected the scene where KBN would return to hell we'd have the 'original' Justitia since she had a different face from KBN...Satan's fight was waay underwhelming, I thought he was second to Baal! I honestly expected Justitia to summon Bael to fight him since she's lower ranked than him....For all the power Bael showed at the beginning, he ended up being a redundant demon, basically playing a messenger between Justitia and Lucifer. I was even confused about the deal to make Justitia human when in the entire drama she didn't show any inclination of wanting to be one. So was Bael being a good master/plotting something?
The romance was 50/50 for me. The scenes and moments were cute and endearing but some felt out of place. When the humanizing changes started happening, it felt wrong to assume that it was love based on the character settings for the drama. Everyone telling KBN that she was in love made her beleive it too. Don't get me wrong, but I felt with the emphasis that was being placed on the lady judge statue, the development of emotions would have been developed torwards why her eyes were covered or something... Also why is love the only treasonous emotion and how is it okay for Arong get away with obsessing over Justitia to the point of interfering with her romance?
My review is kinda all over the place(sorry) and ended up being a ranting(very sorry)... But the show is amazing to watch, its just some plot holes that were left unfilled.
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Prepare tissues for the tears
This drama was just mwaah!! It was such an emotional roller coaster, at some point I think I cried through 4 consecutive episodes T-T.What I liked:
- An exemplary execution of the storyline. I liked that the comedy kept going until the end. Most dramas leave the comedy when things start to get serious and try to leave it to the final episodes. But in this drama, it broke through even when you're in the middle of crying. There's also the execution of the transmigration trope. I especially liked that repeated scenes were fast forwarded such that we didn't have to sit through every single detail again. It developed organically, in terms of being branded as witchcraft at the start, to prophecy somewhere in the middle (when the screenwriter joins) and everyone accepting that it truly is a scripted world. I also loved the butterfly cookie left for the audience that showed up when the charcters tried to deviate from the iconic scenes. This meant that they didn't just happen magically but as a sequence of actions taken, masterfully covering that plot hole. I also liked the palace drama, which I thought I would skip through, but I actually enjoyed every minute of it.
- The ML. This is the first drama I am encountering Liu Yu Ning, and he was just perfect for this role. Carrying three characters was not easy but he managed to execute them beautifully. The ruthlessness, cuteness overload, heartbreak, beinged wronged were just so on point. When his tears come, you also feel like crying with him. I also liked that his character was smart, not just taking everything at face value, especially when faced with his stereotype in the 'script'.
- The side characters development. Given that we only knew of the FL's POV from the start, since she only read about her scenes, it was amazing to see the side characters being developed. The liveliness of the FL's sister, the redemption of the emperor and 18th prince, and the Nightwalkers. Their antics made the drama so much more wholesome and made it so that driving the plot forward did not entirely rely on the ML and FL.
- The BGM and OST were perfect. Sometimes I focused on the BGM since the lyrics were so hilarious, that I had to rewind to catch what the characters had said in between.
What I did't like:
- The FL's character development. Because she was a self-proclaimed salted fish, I expected her to act like one, but she was too proactive. It would have been interesting to see what would happen if she took all measures to be locked in the house until the iconic scene setting passed. She was too stuck on the script to notice the changes around her, like her sister doing her own independent things, or Nan Heng not actively seeking her out as much as before. Even when confronted by the ML she still refuses to admit that things have changed. I was even screaming at my screen that she doesn't deserve the ML 😆. In a way, she was reduced to being the support character, where she brought change in others but not herself, kind of like a guide.
- Failing to redeem the SML. It felt so unfair that the emperor, the chancellor, the 18th prince (where were all the other princes BTW?), and even the shady screenwriter were redeemed yet everyone gave up on CGH. He aired his grievance of being pushed to fit in a small box of his preset character, but unlike the ML who had an alternate identity to explore change, nothing is really given to the SML to explore change as well. I feel like that there should have been even tiny thing to slightly change his mind, even at death, since not everyone can be perfect.
100% recommend to anyone looking for a cdrama to dive into.
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Not Your Typical Fairytale
From the synopis, one would think that the movie would follow the 'Sleeping Beauty' trope. That couldn't be farther from the truth!I like how the stage is set for the characters in the beginning. Once the ball was rolling, all the characters did an amazing job in giving justice to the plot. The character development is well paced throughout the story. My ratings are short of 10 just because I don't like sad endings.
The music was excelent. It gives the movie its fairytale vibes and is a nice touch to have it as part of the narration.
Rewatch value gets a 5 since I rarely rewatch movies, even if they were amazing😅. It will depend on you.
All in all, a good watch especially if you're in a lull between dramas
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