I almost gave it high score because I loved the directing and the way it tells the story and I really liked the…
The sexuality was absolutely necessary for this movie as it uses the historical account of King Yeonsan as base. In fact, it is still far from what actually happened.
It seems it was written by a scorned man himself! Such quick end to the game was refreshing to see after watching hundreds of scorned losing years of their lives by doing it the sensible way.
I feel like ML’s acting is worse. I can’t understand the way he acts. There are many great C-dramas out there,…
Well he is the typical ML template with a small twist. I have watched and read about similar characters to the point of insensitivity. FML was the star of the show. Except for all the Tai Chi fiasco, I liked her very much.
So many that at the end, their happy faces made me dislike the drama. I literally wanted each of them to lose everything till they lose themselves, both were bonafide monsters.
Aside from the monstrosities, really loved YDK's character and the second couple very much.
How is the rating so high when all of the comments either hate it or are lukewarm? Is it worth the watch?
It is a general rule to wait till the ratings number at least 2000 to form an opinion of any drama. What you are looking at are the ratings from people who strove hard till the end, forgot about the hardships before, got attached to the characters and formed an opinion of them after they ran out of content.
This rule is extremely important for Chinese dramas as their composition rarely keeps non-Chinese hooked for long. It is improving, more substantially with short term series, but still its ways off.
I am someone who can't ignore ridiculous plots and nonsensical execution. Perhaps that's why Chinese Dramas have never ever reached good standard in my eyes.
Everything other than romance reduce it to an ok fair overall. There are addicting parts and then there are really oddly executed plots, that make you wonder whether the writer is perhaps the amateur or maybe the direction is. All of these plots could have been executed in much better, more engaging ways, there are so many tried and true examples as well. But the production lost it all in trying to make them original with glaring mistakes.
As its a Chinese drama, a lot of actions and behaviors are over acted, but they are bearable. Except the stereotypical evil characters which are annoying and just too cliche. Even the arch-nemesis(s) are one dimensional overused characters.
One of the recurring gripe was the FML's Tai Chi poses which have two major problems. In the first portion of the serial, they do not match her posture nor do they make any sense.
They portray her as a professional even though she is just a fledgling. So what happens in the later stages when she is training and all, is that you do not see any viable improvement in her demeanor or skill. All of that training mantra falls completely flat throughout the second half.
I was a fan of Wan'er because she was a cute character, with her chicken leg and all. I was content with her and…
I also don't like Wan'er but I am not sold on the monogamy with you. As its just because the current law systems in much of the world are like that, so people can't think or even find the urge to have multiple wives. But my country allows it and I am completely fine with having more than one.
Fan Xin has now gone to this new world and he will never return to his world anymore. He is not all powerful, he can't flatten armies and get his way by force. He can't mingle nor achieve his goals unless he leaves his 21st century mind behind.
And as already seen that he has changed aplenty, in fact he has changed so much that he may never fit in his 21st century reality anymore. He is merciless and ruthless, his schemes are blunt and except for his people, he increasingly does not feel much for others.
The first Chinese drama that I can say that I am loving to watch. No Chinese drama has ever achieved this standard for myself. I hope it keeps up till the end and not end up forgotten like all before.
It seems that I find other actors better than the ML or younger MLs in Chinese dramas. Same case here as the ML comes off too stiff in important scenes. While all others are completely in character.
And an honorable mention to the uncle-niece relationship between David and Esther is really cute and always something that I look forward to.
Thanks for revealing that there is a love triangle and no kiss scenes to boot! I would have bore with the triangle but no kisses makes me too angry at the end.
I would say overall it was a happy ending but also kind of bittersweet.
I haven't found it as the case for Koreans. They do not care about the fan feelings for series like these.
Essentially they don't have to, as the biggest selling point of K-dramas is the airing period which has only one season. It is not the later BD or streaming sales. And the audience for the most part is limited to Korea.
But western shows actually have to run for multiple seasons and with audience spanning multiple countries. The biggest revenue sources are actually streaming sites and BD sales. To be deemed a success, fan feelings and ratings overtime matter. This is untrue for only adapted series which have a set narrative already defined.
So at best what I have seen is that the writer will hold a press conference to justify her choice.
I would say overall it was a happy ending but also kind of bittersweet.
It could have been 20 episodes, which is what usually happens with such high profile productions. This is clearly a pre-produced drama as it started filming from August 2019 and not shot episode to episode depending on ratings. The production planned to go with 16 episodes, not that they were short on time but they decided for it to be.
Suffice to say, I can justify this being a bad move in many ways and I am left with this bad feeling which will haunt me for so long. Even though the premise with NK pretty much foretold a bad ending but I certainly did not wish for them to eternally suffer like this.
I would say overall it was a happy ending but also kind of bittersweet.
What an idiotic ending, its like a joke from the writer, enjoying their struggles and love, just because she could do it, she did it.
Not having him at all would have been a lot better and they could live a happier life with someone else. While reminiscing about their lost loves, and in lieu of that the countless other separated families, the writer could better portray the noth-south divide; eventually push for normal visa processes leading to possible visits and in longer term immigration.
So the drama was an ok fair, I did skip some scenes as the overall criminal hacker premise only gets enough exposure in the last episodes, before its just eye wash and weak.
The romance was also ok, nothing too good. The whole drama shifts from the cliche troupe of AI with feelings to a human with feelings with one unique thing that both are the same so the heroine had an easier transition.
K-Drama 
So many that at the end, their happy faces made me dislike the drama. I literally wanted each of them to lose everything till they lose themselves, both were bonafide monsters.
Aside from the monstrosities, really loved YDK's character and the second couple very much.
This rule is extremely important for Chinese dramas as their composition rarely keeps non-Chinese hooked for long. It is improving, more substantially with short term series, but still its ways off.
Everything other than romance reduce it to an ok fair overall. There are addicting parts and then there are really oddly executed plots, that make you wonder whether the writer is perhaps the amateur or maybe the direction is. All of these plots could have been executed in much better, more engaging ways, there are so many tried and true examples as well. But the production lost it all in trying to make them original with glaring mistakes.
As its a Chinese drama, a lot of actions and behaviors are over acted, but they are bearable. Except the stereotypical evil characters which are annoying and just too cliche. Even the arch-nemesis(s) are one dimensional overused characters.
One of the recurring gripe was the FML's Tai Chi poses which have two major problems. In the first portion of the serial, they do not match her posture nor do they make any sense.
They portray her as a professional even though she is just a fledgling. So what happens in the later stages when she is training and all, is that you do not see any viable improvement in her demeanor or skill. All of that training mantra falls completely flat throughout the second half.
Fan Xin has now gone to this new world and he will never return to his world anymore. He is not all powerful, he can't flatten armies and get his way by force. He can't mingle nor achieve his goals unless he leaves his 21st century mind behind.
And as already seen that he has changed aplenty, in fact he has changed so much that he may never fit in his 21st century reality anymore. He is merciless and ruthless, his schemes are blunt and except for his people, he increasingly does not feel much for others.
It seems that I find other actors better than the ML or younger MLs in Chinese dramas. Same case here as the ML comes off too stiff in important scenes. While all others are completely in character.
And an honorable mention to the uncle-niece relationship between David and Esther is really cute and always something that I look forward to.
Essentially they don't have to, as the biggest selling point of K-dramas is the airing period which has only one season. It is not the later BD or streaming sales. And the audience for the most part is limited to Korea.
But western shows actually have to run for multiple seasons and with audience spanning multiple countries. The biggest revenue sources are actually streaming sites and BD sales. To be deemed a success, fan feelings and ratings overtime matter. This is untrue for only adapted series which have a set narrative already defined.
So at best what I have seen is that the writer will hold a press conference to justify her choice.
Suffice to say, I can justify this being a bad move in many ways and I am left with this bad feeling which will haunt me for so long. Even though the premise with NK pretty much foretold a bad ending but I certainly did not wish for them to eternally suffer like this.
Not having him at all would have been a lot better and they could live a happier life with someone else. While reminiscing about their lost loves, and in lieu of that the countless other separated families, the writer could better portray the noth-south divide; eventually push for normal visa processes leading to possible visits and in longer term immigration.
The romance was also ok, nothing too good. The whole drama shifts from the cliche troupe of AI with feelings to a human with feelings with one unique thing that both are the same so the heroine had an easier transition.