Early review notes
Jotting down some notes early; I have only watched about 15 eps so far
OVERALL:
The good is very good but the bad is so annoying that multiple plotlines are begging to be skipped. And skipping without dropping is not something I normally do.
THE GOOD:
Everything is beautiful. The costumes. The sets. Everything is boldly colored and elaborately designed. Visually a joy to watch.
Lots of magic. This is fully fantasy, magic is everywhere. The fantastical world is rich and detailed.
The FL gives an excellent performance, taking the role seriously and infusing nuance into the portrayal.
The FL's character writing is much stronger than this genre usually does. She is portrayed as smart and determined, and it isn't just lip service -- it is SHOWN in intuitive ways. She figures things out alongside the audience. She makes strategic decisions and plans based on her knowledge. While there is still a "beauty and the beast" dynamic, (most of) her situations are not just being damseled, she actually has a lot of agency, and even when she doesn't, she still acts appropriately based on the established strength of character. A very refreshing portrayal of FL strength, without just "claiming she's a general" and then failing to show it in practical ways.
A few standout performances by the support cast.
THE BAD:
Rushed romance. Not just for the leads, all the romance plotlines are just suddenly "love at first glance" without any support or transition from actual experiences/scenes.
Obnoxiously over the top humor. There are entire groups that just behave incomprehensibly stupid, which is both frustrating that their motivations and choices constantly don't align, but also that it seems to be just draped in dumb comedy to make it more palatable. It fails. The worst part is that we linger in these situations for very long scenes and return to repeat them frequently. Spending this much focus on entire scenes of people we don't care about and doing things that are not enjoyable to watch, is exhausting.
The 2ML is a very attractive actor that only does 1 note. Perhaps it is the writing's fault for giving him nothing to work with, but either way it quickly goes from being annoying to completely frustrating to watch the same exact loop over and over and always have 1 expression ever on his face.
OVERALL:
The good is very good but the bad is so annoying that multiple plotlines are begging to be skipped. And skipping without dropping is not something I normally do.
THE GOOD:
Everything is beautiful. The costumes. The sets. Everything is boldly colored and elaborately designed. Visually a joy to watch.
Lots of magic. This is fully fantasy, magic is everywhere. The fantastical world is rich and detailed.
The FL gives an excellent performance, taking the role seriously and infusing nuance into the portrayal.
The FL's character writing is much stronger than this genre usually does. She is portrayed as smart and determined, and it isn't just lip service -- it is SHOWN in intuitive ways. She figures things out alongside the audience. She makes strategic decisions and plans based on her knowledge. While there is still a "beauty and the beast" dynamic, (most of) her situations are not just being damseled, she actually has a lot of agency, and even when she doesn't, she still acts appropriately based on the established strength of character. A very refreshing portrayal of FL strength, without just "claiming she's a general" and then failing to show it in practical ways.
A few standout performances by the support cast.
THE BAD:
Rushed romance. Not just for the leads, all the romance plotlines are just suddenly "love at first glance" without any support or transition from actual experiences/scenes.
Obnoxiously over the top humor. There are entire groups that just behave incomprehensibly stupid, which is both frustrating that their motivations and choices constantly don't align, but also that it seems to be just draped in dumb comedy to make it more palatable. It fails. The worst part is that we linger in these situations for very long scenes and return to repeat them frequently. Spending this much focus on entire scenes of people we don't care about and doing things that are not enjoyable to watch, is exhausting.
The 2ML is a very attractive actor that only does 1 note. Perhaps it is the writing's fault for giving him nothing to work with, but either way it quickly goes from being annoying to completely frustrating to watch the same exact loop over and over and always have 1 expression ever on his face.
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