A Noiva do Dragão (2021)

Which asshole wrote this script?

That was the best line in Miss the Dragon, a xianxia that just misses the boat. It is a thought that jumps to mind at various points of the drama. The writer must be someone with both self awareness and a sense of humor. Which you must have plenty of if you choose to watch this because it can be so ridiculous and silly that you almost have to just laugh at it.

The story opens with the injured dragon king Yuchi Longyan rescued by a maid Liu Ying who mistakes him for a common snake. Liu Ying rescues injured animals, including the bird elf Qingqing  while she daydreams about the mythical dragon king. The first arc is largely an amalgamation of the best moments of other hit xianxias, notably TMOPB. When it comes to recycling other drama's memorable moments, it best be either a really clever parody or a vastly superior moment. In this case it is neither. Some of the writer's own original humor is fresh and funny enough they should have just gone with that and focused on fleshing out the main couple and getting us invested in their relationship. Instead, after being vividly reminded of some old favorites, I am left with the impression of two rather blank characters whose shallow infatuation with each other was unlikely to last until supper time, forget several lifetimes.

While Liu Ying does get a tad more interesting with each subsequent lifetime, there is little of substance that survives each incarnation. So it is not clear what Yuchi Longyan is fighting for, what is innately so special about Liu Ying that the dragon king loves so much. Zhu Xudan did a good job essentially playing four different characters but she is wasted in these sappy rather simple roles that any newbie actress can play. As for Wang Hedi, after a delectable opening scene of him emerging scantily clad from the dragon pool, I was left with an indelible impression of an overdressed plank. His portrayal of the dragon king is an impressive study of the art of being bizarrely still and plank like while everything else is moving. At first, I thought he was accidentally sent the script from a botox commercial. Then I started to feel insecure about accidentally hitting pause on my remote. Bottom line, I didn't feel any spark between the leads. Oddly, his interactions with all of the other characters are so much more natural and enjoyable. I rarely comment on the OST and the BGM but in this case I must point out it was good enough to make me tear up much more than was induced by the acting or story during the sad moments.

The idea of a love that transcends lifetimes is very powerful and moving but that concept is much more originally and engagingly explored in the second couple's story. Indeed the love story between the block of burning ice that is Xue Qianxun the master of Luofeng Pavilion and his flighty chirpy little bird elf Qingqing is why I didn't drop this drama. Both characters are better developed and they have understandable motives and goals. Their relationship is so humorous and their chemistry builds so organically that I had to root for them and was intrigued by and impatient to discover their past. I won't spoil it by saying more than that is a wonderful and memorable mini fairytale in and of itself and that is what the focus of this drama could and should have been.

The way the drama ends goes a long way to redeem itself. I really ate up the epic magical battles and even though the villain is quite lame and was obvious to me from the beginning, I like how all the pieces of their scheming is revealed and how it all ties in quite neatly with the plot and the many lives of Liu Ying. I am solidly in the camp of really liking the ending; anyone who knows the legend of Nuwa would not be that surprised by it.  Overall its not a bad watch, it has quite some entertaining moments beyond just laughing at the production. My rating gets a bump up to a 7.0/7.5 due to the wonderful second couple and ending at the climax.

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Low Budget Xianxia Drama

To be honest, it didn't start off pretty badly, the front part was pretty similar to Eternal Love, where the mortal FL mistaken ML as an injured snake (instead of Dragon) and brought him back to take care of him. I was quite captivated at first and enjoyed watching how the Dragon is falling for the FL. Although their interaction was a bit childish and the lines are somehow cringey, it's still considered pretty entertaining to watch.

UNTIL they entered the second life, third then the fourth; the drama basically being split into four parts and repeat again and again with different settings (as the main girl reborn as different characters) where the ML protected her over and over. I felt the story was so repetitive and disconnected (especially FL needs to forget about the ML whenever she starts a new life) so I started losing interest on the main couple and can't help to move my focus to the second couple instead. They were both immortal with a master-servant relationship but their bickering was quite interesting and the protective second ML was surprisingly quite cool and charming that draws me in!

Acting wise, besides the second male lead being natural in his role, the rest were kinda ... (face palm). ML's role was supposed to very sorrowful as he needed to watch FL living lives without him whilst guarding her with his life but I don't think he portrays the "devastation" and "devoted" very well. FL's acting was okay but she doesn't really look innocent to act the innocent roles, not sure if it's because I watched her wicked-role acting in Eternal Love and has somehow shaped my impression on her, well... but I don't deny that she's pretty though! As for the second FL - Qing Qing, although I prefer the second couple, I couldn't really stand her acting as she exaggerated almost every expression, overturning the definition of "naive and mischievous" and acted like an immature 10-year-old kid that makes me cringe a little. Maybe some might find her pretty cute, yes she is - if she is not acting as an adult, otherwise it just looks a bit off for me, that's why in some ways I find this drama is more suited for younger age group.

Considered it a low-budget production, it still deserve a 7.5/10.0 as I didn't end up dropping it and was actually okay to watch, as long as you don't take the plots too seriously. I personally enjoyed Xianxia Drama A LOT so I didn't regret watching this and I don't think we should compare this with other big production and raise our standards. As a standalone, I would say it was not so good but not too bad either, basically "so-so": A decent storyline with good looking casts, the magical effects were not bad too, just a bit lacking in acting and detailed plots. Sad scenes weren't that on point and not so much on the couple's chemistry but you can simply watch it for some light-hearted moments and a simple fantasy drama, each episode is quite short too so technically it's not so difficult to finish it haha!

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