204
552
121
9
4
7
4
3
9
7
4
7
1
2
4
7
4
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
11
Legend of my undying patience with this show.
Me during the first few episodes: Why are these episodes so short? Why aren't they 45 minutes long?
Me during the last few episodes: Why are these episodes so long? Why aren't they 30 minutes long?
That would sum up the decline of my enjoyment as I was watching the drama.
I want to be perfectly clear - I am not one of the people who were unable to enjoy it because of their expectations. I had zero expectations, I saw no promo materials. I went into it blind and willing to accept whatever they threw at me. I just did not expect them to start throwing bullshit.
It started well. Solid set up for the female lead, explaining why she needs to climb the military ladder from the bottom. We had fun “mulan-esque” plot lines that made me sing “I'll make a man out of you” as she was kicking ass during the practice. The tension between her and Xiao Jue was great. And then it slowly started to hit me how little generaling we have in this story about a female general. How the drama does not really have much plot, not substance. How the most interesting character is actually the second male lead. How the villains are empty shells that make me feel nothing.
Why did it happen? I think every plot line, every interaction, every motivational speech and feministic message did not have proper set up. Things just happened and we moved on to another scene. They kept telling me how bad women had, how she is this brave and strong and the idol for all the other women, but I did not really see much suffering or discrimination. Don’t get me wrong - inequality was clearly visible, but they presented with dialogue a completely different level of suffering than what was actually shown. It left me with a feeling of dissonance.
Not everything was bad. Outside of her preachy monologues I actually liked He Yan a lot. I appreciated how she was not this cold, stoic man like warrior. She was witty, cheeky and at times even bubbly. She had a bright and fun personality, but also knew when to focus on work. That made her far more enjoyable to watch.
Even if underdeveloped, I also enjoyed Song Tao Tao and Cheng Li Su. They served a good contract to both leads. Tao Tao had little to no physical strength, but was motivated and because of her knowledge in poison, was not a defenceless damsel in distress. Cheng Li Su might have seemed like a spoiled nuisance, but was also loyal and dedicated.
Sadly, that’s where the positive aspects end. Sure, the acting was good, but does it matter when the writing was not? I don’t even want to talk about the production value. What was that crayon blood? They did not even try to fake the injuries and wounds - they just smudged some red pain on their faces with artistic vision. Yes, Cheng Lei looked hot with that fake blood, but it was still too fake to ignore. There were also issues with the continuity of the shots (eg. blood being there in one cut, and not in the other from a different angle). The whole last arc (last 3-4 episodes) were so ridiculous I wanted to cry.
Overall, I should have dropped it, I have no idea why I finished it (I do, Cheng Lei’s face).
Me during the last few episodes: Why are these episodes so long? Why aren't they 30 minutes long?
That would sum up the decline of my enjoyment as I was watching the drama.
I want to be perfectly clear - I am not one of the people who were unable to enjoy it because of their expectations. I had zero expectations, I saw no promo materials. I went into it blind and willing to accept whatever they threw at me. I just did not expect them to start throwing bullshit.
It started well. Solid set up for the female lead, explaining why she needs to climb the military ladder from the bottom. We had fun “mulan-esque” plot lines that made me sing “I'll make a man out of you” as she was kicking ass during the practice. The tension between her and Xiao Jue was great. And then it slowly started to hit me how little generaling we have in this story about a female general. How the drama does not really have much plot, not substance. How the most interesting character is actually the second male lead. How the villains are empty shells that make me feel nothing.
Why did it happen? I think every plot line, every interaction, every motivational speech and feministic message did not have proper set up. Things just happened and we moved on to another scene. They kept telling me how bad women had, how she is this brave and strong and the idol for all the other women, but I did not really see much suffering or discrimination. Don’t get me wrong - inequality was clearly visible, but they presented with dialogue a completely different level of suffering than what was actually shown. It left me with a feeling of dissonance.
Not everything was bad. Outside of her preachy monologues I actually liked He Yan a lot. I appreciated how she was not this cold, stoic man like warrior. She was witty, cheeky and at times even bubbly. She had a bright and fun personality, but also knew when to focus on work. That made her far more enjoyable to watch.
Even if underdeveloped, I also enjoyed Song Tao Tao and Cheng Li Su. They served a good contract to both leads. Tao Tao had little to no physical strength, but was motivated and because of her knowledge in poison, was not a defenceless damsel in distress. Cheng Li Su might have seemed like a spoiled nuisance, but was also loyal and dedicated.
Sadly, that’s where the positive aspects end. Sure, the acting was good, but does it matter when the writing was not? I don’t even want to talk about the production value. What was that crayon blood? They did not even try to fake the injuries and wounds - they just smudged some red pain on their faces with artistic vision. Yes, Cheng Lei looked hot with that fake blood, but it was still too fake to ignore. There were also issues with the continuity of the shots (eg. blood being there in one cut, and not in the other from a different angle). The whole last arc (last 3-4 episodes) were so ridiculous I wanted to cry.
Overall, I should have dropped it, I have no idea why I finished it (I do, Cheng Lei’s face).
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