It will occupy your attention... but it probably won't leave much of an impression.
I liked this one for the easy, mildly interesting plot, and the way the pacing flows so nicely through the beginning and middle.. I also liked the actors. The leads had some chemistry, the kiss scenes were decent. FL was wisely cast -- she was the only thing elevating the show into something that could almost be taken seriously. ML did his best and it wasn't bad at all, he just needs some more acting experience under his belt and he will improve.The problems: The way the story unwinds towards the end starts to get laggy and a little bit boring. The storyline, plot devices, dialogue.... all of it is really tired and cliche. The main couple kind of loses a little fizz in the final few episodes. Some of the soundtrack was slightly overdone to try to boost the dramatic or emotional content of the scenes.
I thought it was a little bit refreshing and ambitious for them to try to miniaturize an epic wuxia into something compact like this, and they didn't do too bad of a job. They just didn't do too good of a job either. This is a good between-shows watch with some decent kiss scenes, but definitely not of rewatch caliber.
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super good chinese drama
I started watching this drama because I saw a video on YouTube and it seemed like a nice Chinese drama. Normally I'm not a fan of Chinese dramas, but this time I am! I liked this drama because of its easy and interesting plot. I also like the actors. The leads had some chemistry, the kissing scenes were decent. Ling Shi doesn't really want him at first even though he really wanted to. He did his best to convince her, but after a while he really succeeded.The backgrounds were always super beautiful and professionally made. Each episode doesn't last that long, about 15 minutes, which I think is great. If I wanted to take a little break, I could just watch 1 episode. The OST was also super good, normally I'm not really a fan of the OST, but this time I really am.
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Too many plotholes
Nothing logically makes sense in this universe. The other clans have superpowers but are victim of human clan which has no power. The snow king could have killed the dowager while sipping a tea......like seriously, the man had great powers as showcased in the show itself , he could literally kill many people with just 1 ice thingy (ep 24). WHY is he trapped ???Even after giving him a benefit of doubt , like the military could have kidnapped children or people with no power of their clan as hostage and then threatened him to surrender . Even after then he could have pretended to surrender and other people of the clan could go kill the army and dowager. Just because he doesn't have the PLOT ARMOUR (like the leads) doesn't mean he can't use his brain .
The leads have the most generic a** strategy , like you all CANNOT convince me that the villainess is powerful and cunning , that blind woman falls for every single(Note: they almost use the same trick time and again) bad trick . The plot armour for them is heavy. The last few episodes really falter in the story telling aspect , it drags on for too long ,like I could predict what will happen next .
The ending was good ,hinting at s2 . I hope she leaves the palace and rebuilds her clan .
The acting wasn't phenomenal but good enough. The ML needs to have more experience. The FL has good enough acting skills .
MY FINAL THOUGHTS:
It is a good one time watch , if u watch it in 2x like I did, u could finish it in 2.5 hrs. It isn't an exhilarating watch but you can tune it while having your meals and not think too much of it and who knows you just might like it.
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Bitesize episodes stills your cravings for some entertainment
The short episodes make this easy to watch. It is entertaining, the acting is good, but take this for what it is, and don’t think logic when it comes to the main part of the story (humans vs clans with special powers).I quite enjoyed it for what it is; was easy to watch when I needed to “disconnect” after a really tiring day.
There’s not really anything I can put my finger on as “bad” with this. The costumes and the sets were decent, and as mentioned I think the acting was ok as well. I just don’t think it will be that memorable, so won’t give it more than 7 stars.
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This drama feature alot of hatred and madness
Ugh...i hate when I run into watching dramas about tortures of innocents with the poison and I certainly hate when a main male character is a anti hero but pretend to be a hero and a story is rather disgusting but there's a excuse you got framed for watching empire abd harem again even though it wouldn't be that bad if they made a pacing of the episodes more properly like in the start they could go with the flow that end 10th episode emperor save Lady Ling from her hands being chopped and give her justice over a treasonous and bold concubine but the 10th episode was rather disappointing as it was about her entering the graveyard room of his mom and throw her away abd point a sword into her andshe had to get lost from the chamber...well at least they got rid out of palace with a 14 year old kid girl slave (maid)...this kind of stuff aren't fir her anywayWas this review helpful to you?
More beauty trap than strategy
Love short series, and the Chinese seem to excel in them. This one wasn't disappointing at all - the storyline was different to recent series but still used the abused women ingredient, it's about time this was fazed out. When it came up with THE END I thought, nice ending - then they did a Marvel on us and included a cut scene - which now implies the possibility of a S2 as she contemplates leaving him for her clan - or is this a trap by the ex Consort ?Was this review helpful to you?
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Strategy? What strategy?
I started watching this drama because the trailer seemed intriguing. While not a huge fan of the “girl boss” trope, I do like a heroine with intelligence. Unfortunately, this is not the case as the bad writing basically has any gains the FL makes (other than snagging her concubine position) a result of things just being dropped in her lap. Her entire attitude is no different than any other submissive little court lady, despite what we are led to believe is the survival of the decimation of her clan and infiltration as a slave in order to save what remains of her people. It’s like the writers want to make her strong but don’t know how to escape from the more typically written female characters in this genre.For example, after our FL becomes the emperor’s concubine, he visits her expecting to spend the night together. Her internal monologue states that this was the ultimate plan - to use her body and beauty to save her clan. Then she gets cold feet. Like what?!? Your family was almost wiped out, your country doesn’t exist anymore, your one surviving family member is waiting to be saved and you will risk dying to save them but not sex, even though (according to her) that was her whole plan to begin with? And no, I’m not some sort of perv - it just isn’t logical. The next second has her making some vague statement to get out of it and the emperor saying there are better ways to use her presence, and that’s all well and good but that should have been HER line. She should have said something like “yeah, I can sleep with you but so can a dozen other women here - wouldn’t I be of more worth by helping you with X, Y, Z…” Like look him in the eye when you say it too - show some determination instead of presenting as this delicate flower that constantly needs to be rescued. Because if I was that emperor, I’d have zero expectations that you could help me, especially as I’ve had to save you twice now in three episodes. Ugh! That would have made more sense. Nothing she does seems intentional or clever. It’s just happenstance, leaving her weak and just a placeholder for the strategy of more driven and intelligent characters. She’s not “sword,” as her character states in the trailer. She’s a ornamental goblet waiting to be filled by others.
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