conster03

Let’s be completely honest: this drama was absolute trash, and pushing through it was an exercise in pure endurance. I skipped through an embarrassing number of scenes just to survive, because sitting through the initial drag in real time was painful. The entire first half was an aimless slog—it didn’t even border on watchable until episode 17, and it took until the final five episodes to resemble an actual, functional story. The endless, juvenile push-and-pull between the leads was infuriating to watch; rather than building genuine tension, it just drained the narrative of any real momentum. It wasn’t until the tail end, when the plot finally dropped the petty games and introduced genuine external conflict and real stakes to resolve, that the show offered anything of substance. The tragic ending hit hard, but the bittersweet parallel universe payoff at least gave some much-needed closure after all that frustration.
The singular reason I didn't drop this entirely comes down to the face cards. The entire cast looks stunning, but Zhang Linghe in tailored suits and waistcoats is on a completely different level. His styling carried this production on its back, and the visual payoff of seeing him styled so impeccably was the only reward for sitting through such an exhausting script. It’s a 5/10 purely for his aesthetics, but as an actual drama, it’s a mess I’d never revisit.