Anticipated drama falls a bit short
This was one of the most highly anticipated dramas of 2025, and while this wasn't a bad drama by any means, the fact that it was so highly anticipated means that it does end up falling bit short of my expectations.
Production-wise, everything was visually beautiful, from the costumes to the makeup to the set. However, it was definitely lacking plot-wise for me as the storyline felt overly shallow with a huge focus and screentime on villains that end up being killed way too easily. Oftentimes, side or background characters had to explain and reiterate plot points to the audience, which made everything less impactful when they don't trust the audience to understand something without explicitly saying it out loud. The identity reveal for the FL was also pretty anticlimactic considering how much they've built it up.
I think it's more of a failure of the writers when some scenes don't quite connect with the audience as much as it could, but I would say the two leads did a very good job with what they were provided, especially for intimate scenes. The leads truly had great chemistry and played off of each other very well, and was honestly what made the drama an enjoyable watch despite any plotty shortcomings.
This is a drama that would be perfect for beginners to xianxia, but maybe not so much for regular watchers as it reuses a lot of tropes.
Side note: Absolutely loved the OST, but especially that one main running theme song sung by HMH
Production-wise, everything was visually beautiful, from the costumes to the makeup to the set. However, it was definitely lacking plot-wise for me as the storyline felt overly shallow with a huge focus and screentime on villains that end up being killed way too easily. Oftentimes, side or background characters had to explain and reiterate plot points to the audience, which made everything less impactful when they don't trust the audience to understand something without explicitly saying it out loud. The identity reveal for the FL was also pretty anticlimactic considering how much they've built it up.
I think it's more of a failure of the writers when some scenes don't quite connect with the audience as much as it could, but I would say the two leads did a very good job with what they were provided, especially for intimate scenes. The leads truly had great chemistry and played off of each other very well, and was honestly what made the drama an enjoyable watch despite any plotty shortcomings.
This is a drama that would be perfect for beginners to xianxia, but maybe not so much for regular watchers as it reuses a lot of tropes.
Side note: Absolutely loved the OST, but especially that one main running theme song sung by HMH
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