Robs

So, here we go...

I finished this drama a while ago, but it took me THIS long to gather enough courage to actually write a review about it.

First of all, thank you, Minghao, for making other dramas like Love in the Clouds and Glory. And thank you, Ai Mi, for making dramas like Love in the Divine Tree. Why am I saying this? Because The Key to the Phoenix Heart literally feels like a vertical drama with an absolutely chaotic script. If this had been their first drama, I honestly don't think they would have become famous after this. It is THAT bad.

First of all, there are SO MANY random cuts. Every single episode introduces some new conflict, and somehow they resolve it within the same episode. And how do they resolve it? By killing everyone.

Seriously, I lost count of how many characters were simply discarded because they died.

You know when you watch CSI or The Mentalist? There is a main villain, nobody knows who the hell they are, but every episode still has shootings, fights, explosions, and absolute chaos. The Key to the Phoenix Heart is basically that, but 30 times worse.

And I'm NOT saying CSI or The Mentalist are bad. Quite the opposite. If this drama had even HALF the storytelling of either of those shows, it could have been amazing.

Another thing that drove me insane: the female lead is constantly described as a GENIUS weapons designer. A literal prodigy when it comes to creating weapons.

Girl...

She is so clueless half the time that you would NEVER guess she is supposed to be some kind of weapons genius. Where is the badass woman they kept telling me about?!

And then we have all those familiar drama tropes: enemies to lovers, slow burn, forbidden love, misunderstandings, political intrigue, revenge, secret identities, childhood connections...

THEY THREW EVERY SINGLE TROPE IMAGINABLE INTO THIS DAMN DRAMA.

Every time I thought, “Okay, maybe NOW the story is finally going somewhere,” they would introduce another plot twist out of nowhere.

At this point, I'm getting stressed just THINKING about everything I went through while watching this.

I literally ate the bread the devil kneaded watching this drama.

But okay. I survived.

What actually saves this drama?

The OST, the acting, and the visual effects.

Those three things were genuinely good and, honestly, they were probably the only reasons I managed to finish it.

I actually dropped this drama once. Then I forced myself to go back and finish it.

Worst decision I ever made.

But hey... at least it's over.