Sno
The story was nice, but I was conflicted to finish when they changed everything very suddenly. I was not happy with the direction the story went in and could not seem to root for any of the characters at this point. The drama became disappointing, because I invested a lot of time and was ready for the character I felt most empathetic towards to find happiness. I was angry with everyone at this point, and did not enjoy the rest of the drama.
Everything else about the drama was pretty good. I enjoyed the costumes, music and acting. I would not watch this again, but would recommend others to watch it if they like this genre.
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What I liked:
This drama has a lot of political intrigue, which I do enjoy. I tend to watch a lot of historical fiction so this does satisfy that interest. The costumes were beautiful. The ending was also very well done, so I was pleased when I walked away from it.
What I disliked:
There were many moments I almost wanted to drop this drama due to how lengthy it is, and my inability to feel sympathetic towards any of the characters until close to the end. Empress Ki was a strong female lead, which is nice, but she was not a likable character. I did not enjoy the love triangle. At one point I was hoping they would just stop, because I did not believe any of their characters deserved to be together.
It took a lot for me to continue this drama, so I don't plan to ever rewatch it. I would only recommend this if you are willing to sit through a lot of boring episodes and put up with pushovers and annoying love triangles to get to a good ending.
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The only negative I can give to this story is I didn't exactly believe the leads' chemistry. I did enjoy the kissing and affectionate scenes, but the majority of the time I had difficulty believing their romance was genuine.
The rest was positive. Individually the actors were beautiful and talented. I love both their characters. A lot of the scenes had pretty background and music. The beginning had plenty of action scenes to help you get the feel of what the guy's work entailed. The plot was wonderful with plenty of awesome twists. I liked the mystery. I liked the ending very much, and I hope to see more dramas like this. They definitely got a lot of it right: drama, action, mystery, romance, and a little bit of comedic relief all in one smart and endearing package.
Definitely worthy of watching over and over again.
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The chemistry between the leads was great, but it was barely there, so that was disappointing. I don't really want to recommend this to anyone because I felt I only finished because I had Ji Sung withdrawals after Heal Me, Kill Me and I ran out of dramas to occupy my free time.
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Here is why I could not give this potentially wonderful drama a 10:
(1) I enjoy historical fiction if they do not alter too much from history, and unfortunately this drama did just that.
(2) I did not enjoy watching them argue. The storyline changed their strong and intelligent personalities into messy, immature teens.
Overall I was not attached to this movie or the main characters. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, but this is worth watching if you enjoy palace and relationship drama.
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The chemistry between the main characters was great. The acting was great. I was addicted to the drama and romance, so I would recommend this to anyone interested in a beautiful romance with many fun twists and turns. You will laugh a lot.
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I love the actors and plot, though there were some moments towards episodes 40-50 when I felt some of the story was missing or skipped; maybe I can find an uncut version of this to watch again. The actors were so wonderful I felt their character's pain and cheered for almost everyone (even the baddies). There was not a moment when I did not sympathize with both main characters.
The fantasy theme was well utilized, but CG was not great. I thought China would have caught up with better CG by now, but unfortunately if you are hoping to see a lot of cool effects, not going to happen here. These people could have also spared some budget for real flowers instead of the cheesy silk flowers that were obviously fake. I am picking at this only because the flower theme in the novel and drama is very stressed. I also did not like Tang Bao's scenes. Her personality in the novel is very helpful, intelligent and cute. This Tang Bao was mostly annoying and idiotic; ugh, that voice!
The author and director did a great job with the story and character development. The costumes were beautiful. I also enjoyed the music and setting, which made the most dramatic scenes very emotional and well balanced.
I wasn't a fan of Wallace Huo before this (I saw 3/4 of episode 1 of Perfect Couple, and he did not leave an impression for me to continue). Maybe it was the costume change or his serious demeanor that won me over immediately in this drama, but now I am a fan and hope he will make more wuxia dramas. He played the stern but loving teacher very well. He was believable and his affections for Hua Qian Gu were subdued but convincing. I know a lot of people made complaints about the lack of affection (very little kissing/hand holding scenes), but this was what sold me on their forbidden but unconditional love. I actually enjoyed this more than other dramas because the main characters were privately passionate, and I could feel the heartache of always wanting more from their ill-fated love.
Zanilia Zhao was not my favorite in the beginning, but when her character was more assertive and less hopeless, she grew on me, and I cried mostly for her character's struggles. It's nice to have a strong female lead that fights for what she believes in even when the whole world and fate is against her. She was very relatable, and in the end I'm glad Zanilia landed his role.
Overall this movie was exceptional thanks to the wonderful acting, strong storyline, and believable themes of good vs evil and loving yourself before you can love others/the entire world. I would recommend this to everyone. It's quite long, but worth it. I was addicted so I finished quickly. Immediately after its end I felt major withdrawls (that was how good it was). With the success of this drama I hope there will be a follow up or something similar.
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This review may contain spoilers
What I liked about this drama was Si Won, and the strange but cute relationship between the leads. I also liked the chicken costume (I'm hoping that wasn't a spoiler).What I disliked was Ivy's personality. I'm not sure if this was due to her acting or the poor interpretation of the manga's character. I wish the director could have toned down the craziness to make this drama more believable.
I enjoyed the majority of this drama because I did root for the main characters and hoped for that sweet ending. I don't think I got what I wanted. There was a lackluster in the beginning and end, but the middle was enticing due to the lead's character development. The actress did please me when she changed into a more mature adult.
I have very mixed feelings for this rom-com, and would only recommend this to people with lots of patience for immature, whiny girls.
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Chemistry between the main characters was superb. I know they were in a movie together before this, so their affectionate scenes were very natural and sweet. I love them together and have been sending vibes into the universe for them to date or at least star in another drama together.
Watch this. I promise it's worth it.
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