This review may contain spoilers
If you like Scooby Doo, Halloween-type mysteries this is for you...
The one thing that impressed me the most with this drama was how graphic and racy it was for a cdrama. There were an abundance of three scenes here:
1. Graphic/gory images (you won't be enjoying any meals while you watch this show)
2. People vomiting (another reason why)
3. Violence against women
I did not care for #3 but I can handle these topics as long as they are being presented as issues that our leads are fighting against. If you are sensitive to topics about abuse towards women and children, r*pe, slavery, cheating, etc... I would skip this entirely.
Although the topics are scandalous, the cases are solved pretty seamlessly by our leads. You're never really worried at any point that things won't go well for Qin Wan and Yan Chi. They are both always the smartest and the luckiest people in the room, as well as the best looking. If you are the type that likes to watch a little more of a challenge, than you will be waiting the entire drama for the main, over-arching case to be solved. Despite having committed sinister and horrible crimes, all of the villains (except the performer) are all pretty ridiculous. They are all the whining Scooby-Doo type with extreme mental instability and no remorse or real purpose for their crimes other than being self-serving. They were just as sloppy as they were rotten, no intelligence or intriguing characteristics at all. Which I guess helped to keep the overall vibe more silly than serious for me. Also, there was a decent amount of comedy that oddly worked well. I found myself laughing pretty hard at the parts that were meant to be funny so I feel like the comedy was better executed than the mystery at times.
Our main CP clicked from day one and are basically Sherlock Holmes and Watson together. They have separate strengths that come in handy at the right times and compliment each other well. Yan Chi is forest of green flags. It's always a good sign a guy is actually a good guy if he's got multiple aunties/older women who love him like a son. And he loves everything about Qin Wan. At one point, after she awkwardly ends one of their intimate moments, he basically tells her he is the only one who can handle her eccentricities. And he's absolutely right. He keeps her grounded, supports and protects her. Yan Chi is perfection and carries a lot of this show.
The romance wasn't great. Once they confessed all passion was gone and they acted like they have been married for 40 years. I'm trying to justify it by telling myself the show was trying to be realistic to their personalities. It was nice that there were no serious love rivals or silly break ups or misunderstandings. It just kind of felt like with their romance the sweet scenes were misplaced or forced in towards the end. Like in the middle of solving a case the writer's were just like "are we forgetting something? oh yeah the romance!" I mean this CP even talked about work during their wedding night.
Other characters: I loved Yue Ning and Fuling and how much they loved Qin Wan. Bai Feng and Yan Li were also a highlights. I'm a sucker for sidekicks and they are now on my favorites list. But sadly, for a lot of the Moonlight Mystique alumni, they all played less likable characters in this drama. Qin Shuang did grow on me by the end, but Qin Xiang was such a waste of screen time. After she showed no appreciation or character growth after being rescued from the murdering doctor, I figured they'd make her a full blown villain. And then she'd play some sort of major part in the end. But nope, she never served any other purpose but being bitter and annoying. As for the royal family it was nice to see one so closely knit. But by the end that kind of faltered.
The ending: Happyish. There were still a lot loose ends and questions I had about some of the side characters. I wasn't thrilled that the main mystery and villain had a manic, but silly vibe to him as well. There were a few disappointing things in this drama keeping it from having a higher rating for me. I doubt I'll be rewatching this but it was interesting enough to be worth completing.
OST and Cinematography: not terrible but not memorable either.
1. Graphic/gory images (you won't be enjoying any meals while you watch this show)
2. People vomiting (another reason why)
3. Violence against women
I did not care for #3 but I can handle these topics as long as they are being presented as issues that our leads are fighting against. If you are sensitive to topics about abuse towards women and children, r*pe, slavery, cheating, etc... I would skip this entirely.
Although the topics are scandalous, the cases are solved pretty seamlessly by our leads. You're never really worried at any point that things won't go well for Qin Wan and Yan Chi. They are both always the smartest and the luckiest people in the room, as well as the best looking. If you are the type that likes to watch a little more of a challenge, than you will be waiting the entire drama for the main, over-arching case to be solved. Despite having committed sinister and horrible crimes, all of the villains (except the performer) are all pretty ridiculous. They are all the whining Scooby-Doo type with extreme mental instability and no remorse or real purpose for their crimes other than being self-serving. They were just as sloppy as they were rotten, no intelligence or intriguing characteristics at all. Which I guess helped to keep the overall vibe more silly than serious for me. Also, there was a decent amount of comedy that oddly worked well. I found myself laughing pretty hard at the parts that were meant to be funny so I feel like the comedy was better executed than the mystery at times.
Our main CP clicked from day one and are basically Sherlock Holmes and Watson together. They have separate strengths that come in handy at the right times and compliment each other well. Yan Chi is forest of green flags. It's always a good sign a guy is actually a good guy if he's got multiple aunties/older women who love him like a son. And he loves everything about Qin Wan. At one point, after she awkwardly ends one of their intimate moments, he basically tells her he is the only one who can handle her eccentricities. And he's absolutely right. He keeps her grounded, supports and protects her. Yan Chi is perfection and carries a lot of this show.
The romance wasn't great. Once they confessed all passion was gone and they acted like they have been married for 40 years. I'm trying to justify it by telling myself the show was trying to be realistic to their personalities. It was nice that there were no serious love rivals or silly break ups or misunderstandings. It just kind of felt like with their romance the sweet scenes were misplaced or forced in towards the end. Like in the middle of solving a case the writer's were just like "are we forgetting something? oh yeah the romance!" I mean this CP even talked about work during their wedding night.
Other characters: I loved Yue Ning and Fuling and how much they loved Qin Wan. Bai Feng and Yan Li were also a highlights. I'm a sucker for sidekicks and they are now on my favorites list. But sadly, for a lot of the Moonlight Mystique alumni, they all played less likable characters in this drama. Qin Shuang did grow on me by the end, but Qin Xiang was such a waste of screen time. After she showed no appreciation or character growth after being rescued from the murdering doctor, I figured they'd make her a full blown villain. And then she'd play some sort of major part in the end. But nope, she never served any other purpose but being bitter and annoying. As for the royal family it was nice to see one so closely knit. But by the end that kind of faltered.
The ending: Happyish. There were still a lot loose ends and questions I had about some of the side characters. I wasn't thrilled that the main mystery and villain had a manic, but silly vibe to him as well. There were a few disappointing things in this drama keeping it from having a higher rating for me. I doubt I'll be rewatching this but it was interesting enough to be worth completing.
OST and Cinematography: not terrible but not memorable either.
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