So...this drama just RANDOMLY aired at 8:40pm in China. I saw the second male lead Liu Yu Ning post a photo on his Weibo saying that it's airing tonight and my first reaction was uhhhh did someone hack your account? Anyways, we got ONE episode. Yes ONE episode only today.
My initial thoughts from this one episode are as follows:
1. I thought that I sometimes talk too much about high production quality in my reviews and maybe I should not commend it because dramas these days generally have good production quality but DANG. This drama does NOT. It looks cheap! I felt like I was watching an extremely cheap version of Pirates of the Caribbean with poor CGI and special effects. The lighting is awful and thank god DiliReba and Gong Jun are good looking enough to withstand the lighting choices of the director. Some of the frames as well are not flattering at all. Director - what are you doing? There are several "plot holes" too. Ren An Le flies to the top of a mast after and then randomly a bow and arrow appears? Lol. Okay.
2. Buuuut...I actually highly enjoyed episode one despite the poor quality. It's super cute! Dilireba excels in this type of role where she's the one seducing her man. Her smile is enrapturing and her eyes in this drama are glistening. She seems like she's having fun on screen at least. Gong Jun fits the role pretty well too. I think his stature is more reserved and respectful anyways which fits this dynamic.
We will definitely be chasing this drama the next few days!
15 episodes in -
Ooof, the first several storylines of Ren An Le and the Crown Prince Han Ye working together to resolve various governmental issues were quite intriguing. But now, the Emperor the has orchestrated a competition for the title of the Crown Prince Consort (太子妃) and we are introduced to several new characters including the fake Di Zi Yuan. She's a conflicting character. Many people are not enjoying her on screen presence and thinks she has dragged down the pace of the drama. I would like to agree. The numerous scenes of her and her guardian are not interesting and she seems to be an uncontrollable chess piece. While I understand it is challenging living in exile for 10 years and suffering the intense humiliation of being back in the capital, her greed will be her downfall. In my instances, I'm leaning towards agreeing with Luo Ming Xi's view where he wants to quickly solve loose ends only to be held back by Ren An Le who is now becoming rather soft hearted.
The drama has lust a bit of luster in the last few episodes. We'll see if it is able to pick back up for the second half.
