Before the last few episodes this was shaping up to be a 10…

I am relatively new to dramas and haven’t seen that many. I fully admit I am most interested in the romance followed by the plot. And for about 50 episodes this was shaping up to be a great one.

- Tortured hero check
- Spunky FL check
- Funny side characters check
- Drama check

I could get past the fact that our hero somehow single handledly fought off at least a dozen assassins every time he fought and how he vaulted on to his horse like he had a pogo stick for legs, and I could even get past how he could do all that with an arrow sticking out of his chest for most of one episode. This is not a drama for realism. By the same token, it’s pretty unrealistic that the FL who can barely read would be some kind of math genius and make not only the hero, but the emperor, the empress and the consort all chuckle at how “real” she was. This is secondary to the palace intrigue and romance that is being told to us.

What I can’t get past… spoilers…..


I can’t get past the fact that the FL finds out the ML secret and his plot for his revenge days before their wedding. She confronts him about “do you have anything you want to tell me…” at least 3 times. Once, he declines to tell her and two times they get interrupted but he still leaves her in the dark thinking she is preparing for their wedding. I get the revenge was important to him. I get it was necessary. But it was not necessary to go down the way it did. First, the ML was an eye witness to who the bad guy was and the bad guy’s murder of General Huo. He didn’t need proof. That was proof that he has had since he was 7 years old and yet he has said nothing. Second, the emperor loved him like a son and has already let him get away with a bunch of transgressions by this point. And the emperor was deeply saddened by General Huo’s death so the reason for not cluing the emperor in on his plan escapes me. And third, the fact that he won’t tell the FL, does this knowing she will not marry him, and also spent their entire relationship forcing her to tell him every insult she ever received when he can’t even tell her his real name really cheapened the great love story they were building.

Bottom line: I wanted to love it and there is a lot to love. The actors and the drama are good for the most part. It’s entertaining. But it majorly falls off in the end. And then there is a 5 year jump before the last 2 episodes and you just know the FL will forgive him because he almost dies rescuing her. He does apologize but it’s too little too late for me.

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Very Entertaining Story

This one features a FL who goes back in time to fix mistakes made the first time. The supernatural element is gotten around by the censors by having this actually be a story that the author is creating. This has modern scenes framing the story, but these modern scenes are short and add nothing to the plot.

The FL is capable and strong. Because she lived this life before, she is able to use her knowledge to change or attempt to change fate from the first time. It’s interesting because in changing circumstances, things don’t play out like she expects. We get just enough glimpses of her past life to see the difference but we aren’t overburdened by flashes of the past.

If you don’t like a dark hero, then this is not the drama for you. Xie Wei is not your typical Chinese drama lead. He is scheming, ruthless, and legitimately mentally unwell. The translation was schizophrenia but his illness get closer to PTSD. Nevertheless, though he is super intelligent, he is hampered by this fugue state he gets in when it snows. I felt the actor playing him overdid it with the crazy eyes at times. But overall his character was interesting and intriguing.

The romance is slow burn. It doesn’t really ramp up until the last 10 episodes or so, though there is enough of it throughout the show to keep even romance fans like myself interested. Highly recommended.

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This one is way underrated! It deserves more recognition

This is a really good story, especially the love story between the 2 leads. Juisi and Yuru’s love story was one of the best ones I have seen portrayed in a Cdrama. This is definitely proof that kissing scenes and implied sex don’t make a romance. Their relationship is definitely a slow burn, but their partnership, friendship and ultimately love is evident in all they do. I like that they really are a pair working together. They even arrive at the same conclusion from different angles multiple times. She is soft spoken but fierce when necessary, and above all she is brave and smart. He is a spoiled child when the story begins, but one with a good heart. He grows into the best kind of hero. But I especially love his sense of humor and a bit of his childish delight. He keeps this even though he grows up. Watching this is riveting TV.

What bumps this drama down a bit for me is the stuff outside the main romance. The bad guy is more like the kind who stomps around wearing a black cape and laughing evilly. He is “behind” all of the chaos that happens, but our heroes know it and still don’t take him out. It feels like we are told he is bad rather than shown it. He never really seems like a compelling bad guy to me and more like just an obstacle for plot purposes. Much of the palace intrigue is less than logical and the selflessness of our main couple means they have to start over 3 times before they finally get their happy after. It makes the story drag quite a bit in the back half.

Overall, watch it for the romance and the palace intrigue, but it would have been better if about 10 episodes had been cut.

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This one makes ME smile every time I watch

I don’t know anything about esports so I don’t know how accurate that portrayal was, but I enjoyed this one. It’s the most laugh out loud funny drama I have watched yet. I really enjoyed the banter between the leads. I have to knock it down a bit because the actor who plays the FL has the most wooden expression no matter what they are doing. It’s a bit off putting when they are supposed to be staring longingly in each other’s eyes and she just looks zoned out. This was my first time watching Xu Kai and I enjoyed his performance here. The secondary love story was also well done IMO. I could have done without some of the in game animation but the games themselves and how they affected the story line were interesting. The main love story was great with no break ups or separations. This is comfort watch at its finest and will definitely be one I revisit.

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