News 
This review may contain spoilers
The Dark Lord, Ye Tianzi, was filmed in the burning summer of 2017, extending into the cool and rainy fall. Adapted from a historical novel by Yueguan, the story was transformed into a heart-stirring tornado on screen by the same author.During the dynasty of Ming, Guizhou Province in the southwestern corner of China was ruled under a tribal system. The rulers in the system were hereditary, and also formally appointed by the royal court. The protagonist, Ye Xiaotian, was originally head of a prison following his father’s foot step. Due to a financial drought in the family, he decided to take a trip of more than a thousand miles to Guizhou to deliver a will of an executed official under his watch, with a promised pay. The moment he stepped out of the capital, the moment he reached the landscape of Guizhou…are the moments that changed his life. The rainy season of Guizhou did not start pouring abruptly, but it gradually turned into a thunderstorm. The storm was so brutal that Ye Xiaotian’s life was barely spared each time. One could also say that he outplayed all his competitors by his wit, his persistence, and most importantly, by his love for Xia Yingying.
The story is not your usual story about power struggles and undying love. Ye Xiaotian is also not a prince, but a nameless prison head giving up his job to earn quick cash. But after watching the whole series, you will come to understand that the story is about those encounters, the rite of passage. Beautiful or cruel, they change you, shape you, lift you up to another stage of life with no point of return.
The series is not only equipped with the wonderful cast, delicate and sometimes massive props, but also fast-pacing plots and funny lines which drive you right through Ye Xiaotian’s journey.
Xu Haiqiao has done a fascinating job in portraying the protagonist, injecting emotional energy into his performance and into the minds of the audience. The emotions will be so real that they explode in your heart.
Song Zu’er played the beautiful and innocent Xia Yingying. She is the sweetheart of Ye Xiaotian, also the sweetheart of the whole series.
Liu Guanlin played the arch-enemy of Ye Xiaotian this time. The life transformation also happened on him drastically.
There are also so many veteran actors and actresses, who are, just like what Haiqiao has commented, looking exactly the way their characters should look like.
The journey of Ye Xiaotian in Guizhou has long been over, but his adventure in Guizhou will not be stopped when the tornado is still elevating its capacity. The series comes to an interim, and one can expect even more intensive plots ahead. But Ye Xiaotian won’t stop his steps even when the tornado is over. When he looked back through the opaque veils of rain of Guizhou, how he started the trip and ended up doing everything just to marry Yingying. Like our lives, they just move on. While we will always remember how we came to be who we are, sometimes we just don’t understand why.
Was this review helpful to you?
too slow but with some good NSFW scenes, start at episode 6 or 8
Overall: I initially dropped this after 3 episodes but sped thru the rest and my advice is to watch ep 1 around 12 minutes and then skip to episode 6 (and watch on a faster speed). 10 episodes about 1hr each. Aired on iQIYI. Re-aired on 9NAA YouTube channel. 9NAA also produced Check Out and I Am Your King series.Content Warnings: manhandling, harassment, kick
What I Liked
- established couples
- NSFW was well done
- sibling relationship
- the title was hilarious
- production value (which makes sense because there was a lot of product placement)
Room For Improvement
- as a viewer I need to want the two leads to be together in a romance series, however, I didn't want these leads to be together, I didn't understand what changed Sky's mind and I think Venus was too harsh towards Sky for way too long, they could have had a five minute conversation but the viewer had to slog thru hours and hours of nothing to get to a mutual understanding
- most of the scenes could have been cut or shortened, watched it on 3x speed, as an example you could start episode 9 after 12 minutes and miss absolutely nothing
- when the beginning scene took place was unclear for awhile, flashbacks/forwards without clear transitions
- who interrupts like that and then continues to have a conversation, get out of the room! (episode 1)
Was this review helpful to you?
I actually didn't know I'd like the cast as much as I did. Shinohara Ryoko did such a great job in portraying her character. I wasn't really all too thrilled with the portrayal of Sakura in the beginning, but her funny, loyal, over-the-top self managed to grow in me really fast.. Which applies for the rest of the cast as well.
As for the music, there was nothing that stuck out to me. Everything was very fitting for this drama, but nothing too extraordinary to mention. Overall, I enjoyed watching this a lot. This kind of drama goes to prove that you don't need the young, popular idols in order to make a good drama. The type of friendship and romance this drama portrayed was enough for me to stick around all 11 episodes. It'll make you laugh, possibly even cry depending on which guy you root for, and will show you the value of friendship and real every day situations. I would definitely watch this again, one of the best J-Dramas I've seen this year.
Was this review helpful to you?
Novel transmigration with cute romance and reverse gender roles
Don’t let the negative comments about the ending stop you from watching this! I really loved everything about this drama except the censored ending. But thankfully we have the secret clip from douyin that wraps up the story (link below).This drama is about the female lead who is transported from the modern world to a historical novel. In the novel, the Peacock City is run by women and women have the same rights as men. The female lead drops from the sky and is appointed as the Peacock Holy Envoy. The male lead is the Minister of Rites who seemingly befriends her but has secret schemes.
POSITIVE:
- Bad boy with a good heart male lead.
- Cute romance and kiss scenes.
- Great chemistry between the leads.
- Frenemies to lovers trope (push and pull dynamic).
- Mix of political intrigue, investigations and revenge.
- Reverse gender roles.
- Smart and quirky female lead who uses her science knowledge to bypass the plot.
- Mostly light-hearted with great comedy moments + a bit of angst towards the end.
- Similar vibes (not plot) to The Romance of Tiger and Rose.
- Prophetic dreams (I loved that bit).
NEGATIVE:
- Censored ending. However there is a secret clip on douyin that wraps up the story. So the drama is still worth watching. Scroll below for spoilers and link.
- Some small parts lack logic but it’s part of the charm and comedy for me.
- Female lead is a bit of a baby sometimes (not a lot).
OVERALL:
If you want a light-hearted transmigration story with reverse gender roles and cute romance, watch this drama.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It’s a shame that this got zero promotion. I’m going to guess and say it’s because the male lead had issues with the government and had to leave the industry. So they not only censored the drama by giving us an odd ending but also cut it to appear as a short drama (perhaps short dramas pass easier?). I’m pretty sure this was originally done as a typical full length drama (each episode is 20 minutes, that’s around 20 full episodes if it’s 40 minutes each).
SECRET CLIP:
1. Douyin (provided by @Suzette Ser):
https://www.douyin.com/user/MS4wLjABAAAA8Gft2z08CjrLcEI3BGbNk6CLkePD5pUTxQbD0haYQBF7uU0hiAy4KW651lRC_yAL?modal_id=7360304476701396239
2. Twitter:
https://x.com/Fatum____Tempus/status/1782076978369061012
BONUS: BTS of the modern world scenes
https://x.com/Fatum____Tempus/status/1786669698790367614
ENDING SPOILER:
In the finale episode, the female lead dies and is transported back to the modern world. She reads the novel, the story is now changed and doesn’t include her (which we see that play out on screen). There are ambiguous details to suggest the male lead is aware of the book change. END of drama. NOW, thanks to the secret clip uploaded on douyin, we can see the male lead (sports jacket) is reading the same novel in the modern world. The female lead calls his name and he turns around to face her. So they end up meeting each other in the modern world too.
Was this review helpful to you?
Unmyeong (Fate) is a strange thing.
"BOSSAM: STEAL THE FATE" overally is not something very good but it's moderately average and worth a one time watch. But Bossam indeed is a different kind of Sageuk (historical Kdrama) and let me first time tell why you should watch it.1. The drama's basic plot is totally new. Bossam being an old Korean tradition could be something new for the natives but it's undoubtedly unknown to the huge number of int'l audiences.
2. The first of the drama basically is a romcom-story happening in the premise of a historical period. Royalty, Nobility and system, everything is related but politics and diplomacy have minimum involvement.
3. Be it joyous or melancholic, this drama has many warm poetic moments unlike other historicals which are full of tragedy with lots of angst.
4. Whatever amount of diplomacy has been shown in the script, it is very very skillfull. And it's like there's lot more diplomatic progression than wars and fights or stunts.
5. Jung Il Woo goes shirtless in the 1st episode itself showing his bulky transformation :p (not a spoiler at all) and that's quite a sight to witness. Also, he runs a lot in this drama.
STORY & SCREENWRITING:
Bossam is set up in the premise of Joseon era and is based on a age old traditional custom. Bossam basically is the forceful abduction of a widowed woman by wrapping them inside a sack and marrying them off with a man. Even though it has politics and diplomacy, as it should've since it's a sageuk, it has equal amount of warm slow-burn romance story and basic storyline involves cohabitation and mutualism. It's about how Bossam-ing a widowed woman by secret local peddlers changes the fate and lives of all the people involved as well as influences the entire system of a nation. The plot line development is very nice till the 8th episode with a vibe of uniqueness but after that a major revelation took place which changed the entire drama and made it a typical historical Kdrama where certain influential Minister is after the King's dethronement to get hold of the power. And after 10-11 episodes things become repetitive like someone plotting treason, scheming to kill another, preparing to defeat another in courtroom, rescuing someone in need, getting caught, etc etc... All these things happened back ti back in an alternative manner hence became boring and uninteresting to a certain level. They should rather have made it a 16 episode drama without dragging the story by writing the same thing over and over again.
DIRECTION & SCREENPLAY:
Well, it is the same as I described the story writing above. The screen-editing, organization of scenes and sound editing were pretty good till the major climax of 8th episode but after that the director could not do much given the script turned typical. It ain't that bad till the end though it could have been a lot better. So I would say the entire 2nd half is still finely bearable.
CAST & ACTING:
The casting for the respective characters is actually good. Jung Il Woo and Kwon Yu Ri picked a good script and justified their characters pretty much good. Other supporting characters were nice too but the problem is with the drama characters developed by the writer. The Female Lead showed a character development to a certain extent tbh but Jung Il Woo's character went downhill with a major revelation about his past. I expected a stronger him after the twist but the character instead lost it's essence. Shin Hyun Soo's character is very very annoying; he plays an important role in all the tragedy and helps the leads many a times, however he ruins many a thing in the 1st half of the story for his stubbornness and stupid desires. The little kid Ko Dong Ha who played Jung Il Woo's son did great in whatever he was given but after first half that pretty nice character didn't have many scenes and finally became lost towards the end. The supporting roles by Shin Dong Mi and Lee Joon Hyuk were pretty funny and compatible who made us laugh at many instances. Kim Tae Woo as the King has a complicated character. He gets charged up most of the times screaming and throwing things. Lee Jae Yong as the main antagonist played his character very very well and his acting his highly commendable.
OSTs:
To be very honest, there are plenty of OSTs and all of them are very good. Most of them depict either warmness or melancholy which were produced given the storyline. Even though the story becomes typical after the 1st half, the sound editing and OST organization is good. Special mention to the OSTs titled "Love Song", "Song of Destiny",
"Along the Trail", "Collar" and "Song of Bau". I loved especially "Song of Bau" which has a touch of traditional Korean music and it's so heart touching. "Angular Stone" is a track which is melodious and catchy one. Notably, in most of these songs traditional Korean musical instruments have been used.
There is no significant work of cinematography in the drama but the camera works is beautiful at places where they intended to capture hearts with the scene's warmness.
ENDING: It is rushed. I had a hunch from the ending of 18th episode that the last 2 episodes will be rushed in order to bring the drama to an end it did happen for which I wasn't surprised at all. I am okay with how the drama ended because at least that is reasonable but again I hope they would have ended it at 16th without dragging.
To be honest, I expected them to keep the storyline and screenplay as it is for the first half of the drama where they lived a common life staying in small houses, dealing with poverty and facing the odds together and. Even the kid's to part should be have been seen more. I would have loved to see the entire drama as a modern day story happening in a historical period with least politics, that'd have been a unique thing in the group of sageuk. So I am a bit disappointed to be honest.
So Overally, the drama is not bad rather I would say it's moderately average for which I give 7/10 hence indicating that it's worth giving a one time watch. I feel they dragged the ending to some extent for which many things became repetitive but in the end they had rush IDK why. They had the potential to do better but so be it since it's a over anyways. I started it because of the high ratings that I saw in articles saying it is MBN's highest rated Kdrama in their 10 years of history. Historical dramas getting immense recognition from Knetz is actually a big deal and It indeed is the best among all the MBN dramas tbh but it could have been better. You should try watching first 6-7 episodes and decide for yourself actually.
P. S. I will simp for the first half of the show.
Was this review helpful to you?
Before writing this review I was thinking how would I state my opinion about this seeing all the good reviews; should I be diplomatic or what? then I just decided to frankly spill it all out.
2-Storyline/Plot : It wasn't bad but it wasn't one of the greatest storylines that I've seen. The first episodes were somehow captivating but then it took the wrong turn, the kind of turns that made me skip many parts to get over with it.
3-Acting/Cast : Lee Min Ho was the main reason that I didn't drop this, I got to see him in a mature role after Boys Before Flowers but his character wasn't that appealing and it's all due to the stupid setting of the storyline.
Son Ye Jin wasn't bad as and actress but she was really annoying character since it was one of tthose usual dumb Korean female lead.
The supporting roles were good enough to get this drama going.
4-Music : It wasn't bad. Sometimes, it matched the scenes.
5-Rewatch value : Not one of the dramas that need to be rewatched.
6-The ending : It was your usual rom-com expected ending.
7-My impression: To be honest; not in a good way. At first I literally devorated the episodes but then I was waiting for the end.
I just lost intrest in the middle and I couldn't find my way back because there were too many boring moments that made me skip many parts.
8-Overall : I respect people who really loved this but it wasn't that special for me. I won't recommend it or cut it off, I just stated my opinion, you need to let your taste decide for you.
P.S: If you're not Min Ho's fan then don't waste our time on this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
LOVED IT SO MUCH
There were many negative reviews on this one but this most comes from international viewers, since many don't tend to watch long running weekend family dramas and have high expectations. I watched this ever since the start week after week and it's honestly the best family drama I've watched not in terms of story (!!) . The story was meh as people say because it does not have many dramatic plotholes or out of the ordinary. But it's worth your time if you go and appreciate this show as its own, family, friendship, love, comedy, forgiveness, and abit of revenge plots here and there but it isn't HUGE. This drama is purely warmth and love, we watch villains in this drama and some go through huge character developments along the way and change for the better. You will cry for the antagonists. You will cry for the protagonists. Chemistry between all couples and families is amazing and the cast is really the best, they all look like actual families. I've really grown attached to this family and show. The last 2 episodes made me cry alot, was really touching. Proud to say this is one of my life dramas (인생드라마) . Loved it alot alot. I'll miss Samgwang alot.Was this review helpful to you?
1
2Progressive Message: Quality of life increases with the degree of truthfulness (not scham&pretence)
"My Liberation Notes" is a ray of hope within South Korean series production.In short: The lives of young people in their prime (+/- 30) are at stake here. Considering their groaning under the pressure of the competition in the workplace, the dazzling promises of the modern lifestyle industry, and the claims of society and family traditions, this could all be pretty depressing. But amazingly, it's not. The protagonists manage to give their lives something like dignity - quietly, impressively and with gentle intensity. They walk the way that lies before them, spraying their personal touch, a little bit, but nicely, thus leaving color and warmth on their trail.
The KDrama presents itself as a Netflix co-production and is thus in a certain way 'pimped' for an international audience - you don't see anything of the typical and rather special elements like makjang, slapstick, glitter & glamor of Jaebeol, or traumatic childhood secrets. Just life, every day, like everywhere else. Without spectacular ups and downs. As if someone had blindly reached into a pot full of addresses from a random location on the outskirts of metropolitan Seoul and then simply turned the spotlight and camera on the family living there for a while. In principle, it could be any family living near the terminal stations of the Seoul subway network. This, however, identifies the KDrama as specifically South Korean. Finally, the story is high KDrama quality, when it comes to a carefully, multi-layered narrative with deliberately reduced pace and space for the sensitive moments in between.
----------------- SIDE NOTE: --- Provincial life in the metropolitan area around the capital Seoul ---
So the KDrama simply tells about the normal life of relatively normal people around 30. They don't live in the megacity of Seoul (while almost 10 million people do) or in Incheon (with almost 3 million inhabitants), but in the sprawling province of Gyeonggi-do, which makes up the majority of the metropolitan area around Seoul in terms of space. The provincial population makes up ca half of the population of the more than 25 million inhabitants of the entire agglomeration around the capital Seoul. (And this in fact is about half of the inhabitants of South Korea altogether). An insight into the living environment of those provincial residents thus also offers an insight into a good deal of current South Korean life issues.
The fictional 'Dangmi Station' is actually Line 1's 'Seonghwan Station'. Crucially, most people who work in Seoul (increasingly) cannot afford to live in the city. Every workday they commute about +/- 2 hours to do their job in the city. With the evening company dinners and collegial come-togethers, a day becomes very long. There isn't much time left for a life of your own outside of work. While it is convenient in many respects to remain in the family home until marriage, this further reduces the amount of free time you have at your disposal. Especially if the parents still do a bit of farming and the help of the 'children' is required here and there.
City and country clash, almost every day. Accordingly, different life plans collide, which either fit more into a fast-paced, hip city life or rather into a rural, decelerated provincial life. In reality, however, new hybrid variants are needed that function as a flexible joint between both realities that are equally relevant to everyday life - city and country.
You might want to think about the meaning of life. About goals that you would like to set for yourself. What is life? What does it offer me? What would I actually like to do? Or, wait a minute, is it better not to think at all? It is up to the young people of the recent and the following working generation, to grope, to stumble, to develop new, visionary as well as down to earth attitudes and inspiring blueprints to life in a South Korea from the 2020s onwards...
------------------
"My Liberation Notes" sails in this field of tension. Other than that, tension is not on the agenda. "My Liberation Notes" is processing the wisdom, the questions and the insights that the protagonists come up with over the course of the story - sometimes quietly to themselves, sometimes in conversation with friends.
The focus is on 4 protagonists who practically all live together in the provincial suburb of Seoul. Three of them are siblings and work in Seoul, the fourth is a stranger who helps their father in the carpentry shop and in the fields, eats with the family and lives next door. (A fantastic Son Seok-ko as an inscrutable stranger, as well as Lee Min-ki, Kim Ji-won and Lee-El as very different siblings, are presenting the range of everyday emotional worlds in a wonderfully haunting way.) All four wrestle with life in their very own manner and question, what freedom and quality of life could mean to them under the given circumstances. Promotion? Money? Success? A car? A partner? Marriage? Family? Living in an apartment in Seoul? Where is life? Is this life?
Eventually the aspect of reverence also comes to the fore: To respect and be respected. To be worshipped. To be adored... Yet how to express mutual adoration and respect (in order for your own life to feel maybe a bit more valuable)? ... Maybe just give it more space. That would be great...
The episodes pass as does life itself. The days are the same, and yet each one is new and different from the one before. Happiness is accumulated by the minute. And in the end, life is beautiful after all. Worth living. Distinctive. The quality increases with the degree of truthfulness that they give to their lives. And that's indeed a progressive message (as far as a society like the South Korean with its highly valued tradition of scham and pretence is concerned.)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A film of two halves
The good bit is the first half:So this film is amazing at the beginning - a brilliant "get the team together and do amazing things, nice guys finish first, rise over prejudice and have fantastic adventures" romp.
It looks excellent, the characters are really well realised, the dynamics between them are believable and for a change the writers show, don't tell, us who the characters are and what they are doing.
Then they kill off every single substantial female part one by one until we are left with a pretty naff mystic who disappears... and like it's 1973 the members of the team with a uterus die so the men have a reason to keep adventuring...
I just can't even...I loved it and then *sigh*
If you want to watch this, watch it until they get to the Mystic Forest then bug out of there and make up a better ending in your head.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
10’s across the board!
This show kept my interest the whole time starting with episode 1. The cast is outstanding and I was a little nervous as to how the ending would be because that usually makes or break my reviews but the ending was a great one that fit the plot. Finished the whole series today and immediately rewatching it. First show that I thoroughly enjoyed since SOKP and if you liked that I definitely recommend this drama. I think maybe it’s because they have the same trope but this series is amazinggggg. This is the first role of Bambi’s that I really love and the chemistry she has with Han Zhang was through the roof!Was this review helpful to you?
REFRESHING to your SOUL
With nothing great to watch at jan i found li xian and crystal in poster with latest update and then boom its breath of fresh air ,so relaxing, felt peaceful after some chaos in lifePlot is simple every day interaction of different people with different scars, experience,age in a unpopular tourist town inn. sounds simple but its the storytelling and cast that beautifully delivered such a great masterpiece, becoz every character is memorable not just ml,sml,fl nearly more than 10 characters life is beautifully portrayed and ml &fl relationship, chemistry is the best we may find those 2 on screen talking some random topics fascinating, story gave great life lessons and lastly OST is part of the story it's inseperable like if ost is fl and story is ml , RE-WATCH whenever you feel down,
I don't think i may another drama like in this year or next but hope im wrong 100%
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Is the cultural difference really so huge?
I started to watch the show with high expectations, so the disappointment was all the bigger. First of all, the ML is absolutely intolerable. Because he used to be a good hacker 10 years earlier, he is arrogant, extremely rude, and keeps bullying other people. The FL, who is supposed to be an IT prodigy and a popular online singer, has no sense of pride or self-respect and chases the ML to the verge of ridiculousness, even though he openly told her that he wasn't interested and treated her like garbage most of the time. So painful to watch! But the worst is still to come. At the beginning, we learn that ML's former team leader did some horrible thing, which resulted in the team being disbanded. You know what that horrible thing was? It was his commitment to fatherhood and responsibility for his unplanned child. His new GF, a team member, was too much of an immature !@$%^ to support him - she preferred to dump him and that's how the whole team broke up. Is the Chinese culture really so different from European that decent behaviour and responsibility are seen as vile and wrong? While rudeness, immaturity and hatefulness are seen as virtues? I don't get it.What I really liked were the charming supporting characters. I continued the show for them.
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot is neither shallow nor particularly predictable. Until the end, the viewer does not know if the romance between the leads will have a future or not, because apart from the age difference - which isn't that big anyway - there are other, more important obstacles: opposite stances towards work and life in general, different social status, dissimilar goals. The good aspect of this love story based upon differences is that both learn one from the other. It's not the dramatic change of one of them overnight, in the name of love or another equally unrealistic reason.
The best part of the plot lies in the dialogues, though. They are clever, at times hilarious, at others quite deep. I loved learning of the process behind the creation of an advertisement, and why those people are often referred to as "the creatives".
The acting was very good, although I must admit at not having been swept away by Itoh Misaki's performance. There were times when she felt wooden and unconvincing. This lowers my acting mark to an 8, which would have been otherwise flawless, since everybody else did a great job, including Kame.
The music isn't my favourite, but it was chosen with great sense and is very fitting with the story told and the setting.
The photography deserves a mention too: there are some beautiful screen shots throughout this show. I can still see them with my mind's eyes today, more than 4 years after I've watched the drama. They are meant to create a visual pattern, parallel images which create a nice contrast between the incompatibility of the two main leads in the world of words, and the harmony between them on a more emotional level.
I will rewatch it. It gave me an energy shot at the time, therefore I keep it for future need of the same.
Was this review helpful to you?
it was a fun ride (need season 2 and a real uncut version :P)
Overall: I enjoyed this series, though I watched most scenes at a faster speed. 13 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI uncut & YouTube cut which reduced NSFW scenes. Later re-aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40691c-pit-babe-the-series. Later aired on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/search?q=bl&jbv=82761763 Note: this was based on an omegaverse novel which I read but reviewed the series on its own.Content Warnings: murders, sexual assault, blood, kidnapping, parental abuse, punch/slap, beaten up, stalking, manipulation, stalking, non con recording/sharing, violence, child trafficking
What I Liked
- supportive friends
- sweet moments
- Jeff & Alan
- excellent truth about how family isn't always the best
- pretty good NSFW scenes
- visuals
Room For Improvement
- quite a few characters were introduced at once and it took awhile to figure out who was who, there ended up being too many characters and not enough time to fully develop the relationships
- I realized they wanted mystery but it made it difficult to really support the Charlie/Babe relationship and the fact that they changed that plan from Jeff's idea to Charlie's was a mistake
- total nonsense/huge plot holes, many characters shared 1 brain cell
- cliche ghosting trope, Babe also shoved Charlie a bit too much/frequently
- the NSFW needed to be a longer (even in the uncut version) and were choppy at times
- cartoonish villains (and stupid)
- I wish they had either leaned into the omegaverse and explained it more or just omitted it entirely
- not sure how I feel about a certain character's redemption arc
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
What I liked:The acting was good enough to keep me watching.
The second leads were the sole reason I stuck with this drama till the end. (Even the reason I started watching.)
Dong Hua and Feng Jiu saved the second part of the drama so much, like ugh I lived for the cute interactions. It reach the point that whenever they were on screen, was the only moment I would enjoy the drama.
First and third lives were really good. I started to care about the leads in the third part of the drama, (Mind you I shipped Bai Qian with Mo Yuan before).
Even thought I always stayed away from fantasy cdramas, this one made me think that the action scenes were for the most part quite exciting. It would be sometime until I watch a fantasy cdrama without cringing, but still a great start for me.
What I didn't like:
OMG the second life was terrible. Like Jesus Christ, talk to each other. Things started to go south for me, when Ye Hua decided to keep lying to her after SuSu assured him that no matter what kind of a creature he was, she'll still love him. I could've taken this more easily if there was a genuine reason for the lies. But no, this was all about him wanting to shield her for everything, even of himself.
SuSu was always in the dark, Ye Hua would even abandon her for long periods of time and guess what? Never did he explain shit.
When she landed in the Celestial tribe, he never bothered to explain to her that she needed to be careful with this guy or that one. He was like "Yeah, don't talk to anyone, don't say a word". Like, dude, Who would believe that every person in that effing tribe has ill intentions? Su Jin was so "gentle" with her, of course SuSu wouldn't think otherwise.
When he took her eyes I was done with him, I had to restrain myself to not drop this. I felt glad, when she "killed" herself.
I get that SuSu lost her memory... but Did you all needed to make her that stupid? She went from mischievous kid to Mary Sue so fast, that I couldn't swallow it.
SuSu never went to talk to Ye Hua about the thing that she was mad about, or to clarify the misunderstandings. No couple can last like that. One hiding things and the other keeping quiet about her pain. It's this the couple of the century? Sadly, Bai Qian does this again when she gets her memory back. never letting Ye Hua said his part of the story, and shuttting down everything. Wich made me more mad, because now she knew how evil Su Jin was, all the plotting she did against her. So Why would she still prefer to care only about what she heard of Su Jin' side?
What could have been better:
The CGI, for starters. LOTS of CGI, I wished they would have used more natural locations instead of this huge amount of green screens.
Sometimes there would be issues with the background. Like that time when the hand of the God of Star suddenly disappeared, when Ye Hua was walking and the castle background suddenly changed. Oh, and how to forget that one time the King of the Sea Tribe (don't remeber clearly), passed through a column.
The would use the same 3 or 4 places to film over and over. They used the cave for the Fox clan, for the Kunlun Mountain, The dungeon of the 4 beast, etc. Same with the palace. All of these things really took me out of the drama.
Apart from Male and female leads, everyone used almost the same clothes in all the drama. All day, every day.
Was this review helpful to you?
