Maika
couple of plotholes, overall not a terrible watch
I was hesitant to watch this first because I read reviews/comments from a couple of people said they got bored, it got draggy, or the leads don't have chemistry. Some people were worried because FL was 15-16 years old when the drama came out and ML was older than her.Just like any other drama, this will only appeal to some people and some won't like it.
For me, I think the romance & chemistry was fine. I don't think you need sex scenes or kissing scenes to show a couple's affection/chemistry toward another. And I'm sure they didn't include those scenes because they knew people would feel a bit weirded out knowing the girl's real age. I was more weirded out in Goblin tbh where they had kissing scenes along with the age gap. So I can't understand why people felt there was no romance/chemistry in here.
I think the drama was engaging for most part, yes I felt like they could cut down some of the same "villain outsmarted good guys or good guys got the upper-hand now and outsmarted villain but then again villain strikes with upper-hand" episodes.
This would've been easily done in 16 episodes.
I have to say the villain was nicely developed. The flaws in this drama are plotholes. Couple of things that don't make sense and was never explained and we're left clueless making assumptions. The ending was one of them. Another one was we see people and they just randomly disappear in the show and never explained as to what happened to them. Or random characters appear and we aren't told much about them.
There's some decent action scenes and the black magic and curse aspect did attract my attention. I think they should have explained more regarding some of the things that were unanswered. 20 episodes should have been used wisely for that to clear confusion.
Overall not a bad watch, My first time watching a drama with YSY and KSR. And they didn't do a bad job. It wasn't the best drama, but it isn't the worst either. I didn't get bored at all nor did I felt anywhere I was forcing myself to watch it.
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I will say this is NOT an exact copy of Hotel Del Luna.
I personally don't care if there's similarities between two dramas/stories because I feel all dramas have similarities when it comes to their themes/messages. While the concept and some of the ideas are similar, these two dramas are not the same. The message of this drama was slightly different than that of Hotel Del Luna's. The ending was different and better than HDL as well. I feel like the writer did a good job of making this drama special in its own way despite having similarities to another drama. And I will say the acting was amazing as well.
Story & Acting-
If you follow the story well and pay attention, you will figure out or have a good guess for SOME of the things that are revealed in Mystic Pop up Bar (not all of them cause some things I guessed incorrectly, but the main "plot twists" I guessed already). You will already know it before the characters in the drama find out.
I don't mind that. I watched because of the interaction of Weul joo, Gui, and Kang Bae's characters. (Mainly Weul joo and Gwi). They are very entertaining to watch.
I wished there were more Weul joo and Gui / Kang Bae and Yeorin moments, but it's fine since they had to finish the story in 12 episodes. The chemistry is fine for a 12 episode drama that is trying to finish the drama's story, it would be hard to add more scenes developing romance. I actually thought there was a good amount of chemistry between Weul joo and Gui.
I felt the ending was rushed. There were a few things they didn't properly explain just to give it an ending but I let it pass because I was satisfied with the ending.
There were a few things I wanted to know, which is why this drama isn't exactly perfect.
This story, almost made me tear, definitely made me laugh, and the growth of the characters were decent.
A lot of people felt that the side stories were unnecessary, but I feel it was necessary just like it was in Hotel Del Luna. Through most of those side stories, you get to see the growth, development, healing, and personality of the main characters.
You see Weul joo who appears to be a cold person trying to reach a goal, but you see her real self later on and her motivation. You also see Gui's purpose and you just end up cheering them on.
I've seen Choi Won Young's acting in other dramas (Hello Monster, and others) and I already had expectations since he is a decent actor. He did not disappoint, he did a really good job in his role as Gui. Sung Jae didn't do so bad as Kang Bae.
As for Hwang Jung Eum, I've seen her other dramas, and was hoping she wouldn't scream too much in this one, and I'm glad. Her role is different and much better. She did a great job and yes she was gorgeous with those hanboks.
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Music- There were so many sad OST’s and I loved them all. There were especially two that would catch my attention and I'm not sure of the names, I would have to check it later.
Rewatch Value- It's definitely going to be lower for me. It was an emotional drama, I rarely cry when watching any dramas labeled as tragedy or sad, but this drama hit you in the feels in the very end. I can't bear to re-watch those scenes that made me cry again, but at the same time I would still want to rewatch most of it since I enjoyed it just as much as it made me cry.
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A few issues story wise, but good overall.
If you want an almost perfect story to answer most of the questions that you had while watching part 1/S1, then don't expect too much. For me personally, the story was okay. There were a few issues. I know people had different opinions and some didn't like it. That's why I'm writing this review to show my perspective. Also note, that I'm going to use pt1-2/s1-2 interchangeably.These are the issues I encountered regarding the stories & characters:
#1) I don't know if the subtitles were mistranslated, but Master Lee stated that Naksu was not a soul shifter which makes no sense. If it wasn't an incorrect translation, that means there's a flaw in the story somewhere. In S1, she performed the AOS but she had a different target & Bu yeon interfered in the process, leading Naksu's soul to go to Bu yeon's body. People who fail to soul shift also have a blue mark in their original body ( Naksu's original body also had one). In S1, by the temple, Gil joo(Jin mu's assistant) tried to shift souls in Jang uk's body but failed & his soul went back to his original body and he ran wild. In the end of S1, where Naku lost control with the bell & was easily controlled by Jin Mu because he gave his energy to her. She also got petrified, a characteristic of soul shifters.
#2) Jin Mu. I feel like they dragged Jin Mu for too long. I understand that he's the main villain, but there were so many occasions where he could've been rid of both in Pt1 &Pt2. It seems to me they came up with every reason for him to survive just so he could be the villain who brings out the fire bird, the source of chaos 200 years ago. Also Jin Mu's death in the fire with other mages didn't feel good enough. Feel like he should've suffered more.
#3) The fire bird. They made it sound like a huge issue, but it didn't seem like one. They never mentioned it pt 1 that the fire bird was the source of chaos. I feel like it should've been mentioned there & not near the end of pt2? Another thing is if the person of the king's star is able to kill the bird, why didn't master seo gyeong do that 200 years ago with jin seolran. Why did it have to be sealed instead? They made it look effortless to kill that bird. In just a minute, Jang Uk killed it without breaking a sweat. That's something that was never explained.
#4) A lot of things felt rushed. If they wanted to end this in 10 episodes, the amnesia shouldn't have been dragged to like episode 8.
#5) The bells. I hated that they introduced it in S1 (it felt unnecessary), but I don't recall it ever being shown to be used again in Part 2. They mentioned it for like 10 minutes just so Naksu would feel less guilty about her killing people.
What I don't see as issues:
1- FL change. If you cannot handle changes and watch a new face or you cannot accept someone new to play a role since you're familiarized with someone else's face for a character, then don't watch it. My honest opinion is that for the character that was shown in S2 for Buyeon/Cho Yeong, I don't see JSM pulling it off. I could be wrong. I liked Pt1/S1 & JSM, but another thing is that we were already shown GYJ's face as Naksu in pt1/S1. It makes sense to use GYJ face in pt2/s2. It may not be a plausible reason, but it was given in the start of pt2/s2. Before, Buyeon kept Naksu's energy under control to prevent her from going crazy and being petrified. However, when Naksu's energy took over with Jin Mu's energy, Buyeon no longer had control. In order to save her life & reverse the petrification, Master Lee stated that they had to use Naksu's energy and soul, therefore Buyeon's body would have the appearance of Naksu's real body.
2- FL's character. I'll admit I'm into strong FL characters myself, but I don't mind the type of FL character portrayed for S2 because it wasn't a frustrating character (most writers turn females into weak, whiny, jealous, immature, dumb characters which pisses me off the most). I, like others, expected her to go back to her usual self, the badass Naksu who kicked ass. When things didn't go as expected, I understood why they chose it that way and I didn't mind it. It actually seemed better. People (and I) forgot that Naksu was the identity of an assassin. She was used by Jin Mu & killed a lot of people & even stabbed the man she loved (although I really hated that part it was the most stupidest thing writers chose to do but that's for S1). It would make sense for her to want to let go of that identity because it was related to her vengeance and dark past. Additionally, Naksu's reputation would never be cleared in the eyes of the people. You cannot convince an entire country that she was a victim instead and attempting to do so would cause problems and further chaos. So letting go of the identity of Naksu, the elite shadow assassin who kills high level mages, was better for her. When her and Jang Uk were getting married, she said she wanted to use her birth name Cho Yeong. We don't know how Cho Yeong would grow up if she did not suffer that trauma. I'm assuming with the trauma gone, she would act similarly to how she was when she had amnesia. Basically the writers saying that if she hadn't suffered she would be like other female characters in the drama like Jin Choyeon or Yoon ok. Yes, one thing maybe they could've done differently is show a physically strong FL regardless of whether there is trauma or not. For example, in the end, Cho Yeong decides that she would be willing to train her mage powers to Chisu level again to help people. Completely different than being an assassin. But she's using her divine powers of Buyeon to help people instead in the ending that they showed us.
Damsel in distress. I partially agree with damsel distress but she's not weak (maybe physically but not mentally) or dumb. When she was trying to get the jade back, she didn't blindly follow the guy into the trap leading to Jin mu. She used her ability to see energy to follow the correct person (So yi). She also didn't inhale the powder that was meant to knock her unconscious & used her brain to jump in water to avoid it. Seo Yul did help her so yes it's partially damsel in distress. In order to prevent the Unanimous Assembly from taking out Jang Uk's ice stone she gave her being a soul shifter as a reason as to why his ice stone cannot be removed. She knew how to respond in times of stress & didn't make foolish decisions. She also got her revenge on Jin Mu (which the writers ruined by keeping him alive till the end).
What I watched this part2 for & liked:
- The continuation of the slight bromance between CP & Jang Uk. This part included a turtle.
- Maidservant Kim & Park Jin.
- Master Lee.
- The romance between Jang Uk & Bu yeon/Cho Yeong. Part 1 felt more of a platonic relationship & more master-pupil.
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LSM(grandpa) & SJK carry the whole show, FL's character is a joke, rushed ending.
A time-travel plot can be confusing and tends to have many loopholes. This drama just had too many of them which is disappointing. The story starts off with Yoon Hyun Woo, a loyal servant to the Soonyang Family, gets betrayed by them and "killed". His soul (?) ends up in the body of Jin Yang Cheol's grandson Jin Do Joon. He has knowledge of the future & this family and wants to get revenge on the Soonyang Family with it.What I liked:
- The Grandpa and Jin Do Joon characters. How they were able to make you watch this drama if you had no clue about business, stocks/investment.
LSM nailed it with the acting for the grandpa. JYC is such a complex character. I always wondered why JYC's children turned that way when in the first episode he was mentioned in a good way. When he scolded Seong Joon on his 60th birthday party, he told him about how the employee's livelihood depended on them. I took that as the Grandpa being a good person. But later, through Do Joon we find out he is the typical conglomerate's chairman who thinks of his employees as dogs and disregard the lives of poor people. Then we are introduced to his past as a delivery man and understand how hard he worked to become the rich man he is. We also see the tough love he has for his children & grandchildren. Grandpas character was so well done that I couldn't fully hate him. At some times, I pitied his character. I could see why Do Joon's character was also stuck in between. He wanted to destroy Soonyang which is his Grandfather's everything but he also cared for the Grandfather too. The scene where he protects the Grandfather from the oil crisis and covers up the Grandfather when he peed in the elevator. That scene was touching (the expressions were on point!) Then Grandpa's video after death was also very touching.
I liked Do Joon's journey as well. He has motive for revenge, but he hasn't lost all his emotions. He cared for the Grandfather and his family (the way he got revenge on his aunt first because she humiliated his mother). Although he did some things that ruined the lives of poor people because of his revenge, he wasn't completely corrupt.
What I disliked:
- The slight romance forced on us & the FL's character. There was no chemistry at all. It's not convincing at all that they somehow fell in love with each other. They needed the relationship between Seo Min Young & Do Joon as the reason why she's called the Soonyang Grim Reaper. Her first investigation of Soonyang started because of Do Joon (when he was alive and wanted to use her). That was her character's entire purpose to exist. Her character was not developed at all.
- How some of the supporting characters felt the same as the FL's character. Why do they exist? What purpose do they serve?
Example: Ye Joon. She showed up in Episode 1 and then she wasn't seen till like the last 3 episodes? I was wondering the entire time where she was because she was a part of the Soonyang Family that Hyun Woo knew of. She does almost nothing but helps out her father a little and that's it.
What I neither liked/disliked & had mixed feelings:
- What was the point of revenge plot when it would become meaningless? Hyun Woo went to past and we were lead to believe it's for revenge. He was going to have his revenge since he had money and he wasn't poor. His goal to buy Soonyang was for revenge. In the end he died rich, and got his revenge when he was poor. So, his journey was to prove being rich won't solve your problems? If you're poor you can get revenge too?
- Disappearance of supporting characters. After grandma is found to be murderer, she has no role in the story. What happens after that we don't know. She gave up her shares & is a suspect for attempted murder and is never to be seen again. Her role was over & assume to have died of old age. Mr. Lee also disappears after stepping down as CEO & giving Do Joon his shares.
Where I was confused:
- I get some people survive bullets to the head, but fully functional and recover within a week? What part of his head was he shot in? The brain is so complicated each areas have different functions. Are we supposed to believe bullet just went through not damaging a single part of his brain and he is fully functional?
-The ending.
Hyun Woo said he didn't time travel or possess Do Joon. "My repentance for Do Joon." This is where the major hole in time travel is. Are we suppose to take what he said literally or not? In the previous episode he said,"the one who killed me was me." Here he says he basically accepts that he was that version of Do Joon.
In those 20 years, Hyun woo erased the incident about Do Joon's accident from his memories. When he went into Do Joon's body in the past he didn't remember a single thing about Do Joon and you wondered why. Later on, he remembers that Do Joon died. But it doesn't bother him when Do Joon dies or how he dies. He suddenly remembers how Do Joon dies on the day of the accident.
He cannot say he didn't time travel because he indeed changed the past from what he knew. His birth mom died from heart attack, but when he tried to save her and change the past, she died from suicide instead. The Do Joon of the past that was gifted in investing was Hyun Woo knowing the future and using that for his advantage. One day he remembered his past self almost falling asleep as a driver and went to the same spot. But he didn't see himself since it was another "time".
So why would you repent for yourself?
Also how the hell did Hyun Woo have a recording of that call when he was panicking? If Hyun woo kept the evidence of Do joon's accident with himself the entire time, how did he not REMEMBER that he were to die by his own hands.
Why did they use the same face for Hyun woo & Do joon. Initially, I thought perhaps face of Do Joon is different & we just see Hyun Woo's face cause he took over Do Joon's body. But in last episode, the alcoholic dementia guy Mr. Ha is only one who recognizes him & says he's Do Joon. Are we supposed to say,"it's a coincidence, he has delirium and thought it was him? "
Honorable mention:
- the truck of death.
It's funny how much it's used in kdramas that everytime I see a truck I always assume someone's gonna die. It's not even a surprise anymore.
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Had potential to be a great drama but a lot of sloppy editing
It's a long review. I put a comment with spoiler with how the ending is not clear. There's so many endings you can take out of it.FRUSTRATING ISSUES of the drama: Don't watch on Youtube. Subs are missing sometimes. Had to go to Viki for missing subs but the pacing is different from Youtube and I had to go back an episode on Viki.
The part that frustrated me was that I became too committed to this drama. I really wanted to make sure that I do not miss a single scene, so I watched the drama on both Youtube and Viki at the same time (since YT has 56 eps and Viki 55)
SCENES ISSUE- While watching both the YouTube and Viki version, I noticed that one site had the same scene in dark while the other was in daylight. After reading other reviews, it made sense. The editing team for this drama did a bad job on distinguishing day & night. Some scenes required night filters while others did not. It also made me understand why I was confused as to how some people saw Zhao Yao in broad daylight when she was supposed to be invisible.
The WORST part the editing team did to this drama is Episodes 51-end. The scenes were all over the place and not in sequential order. One episode's content was split amongst these 5 episodes. 51-55 is near the end and it was a critical point for the drama since that's when things are finally wrapping up and coming to an end, & their editing messed it up.
For Episodes 51-55, I watched APrincessofMars re-edit 50-55 and then Viki's 51-55. I see the ending they both aimed for.
As for the names issue some may have, I have no issue with it. This seems to be a pattern with Chinese historical fantasy/xianxia/wuxia genre. I've only watched TMOPB before this and it had the same issue. Characters name suddenly change and you're like confused for a bit till you understand who it is.
GOOD PARTS of the drama:
-The Acting. Especially Xu Kai and Bai Lu. I came to watch this drama after finishing AMA which made me come here for more. Xu Kai is not just a pretty face with a cute smile as some have said; his acting pulled off Chen Lan's devotion, sadness, sacrifice, and so on (you could see the emotion in his eyes). I find myself less attached to characters in general and whenever I do become emotionally attached, that's a sign that the character had an impact on me. When watching the last episode (of the fan edit), I was crying when he made his last sacrifice and what his last words were. Bai Lu did a wonderful job of showing the development of Zhao Yao's character. Shane Xiao also did a nice job by pulling off multiple characters. She had to act like Zhao Yao's demoness character and her own character of a shy, weak girl.
(Regarding Zhao Yao's character, I don't think they diminished her character. When she saved Mo Qing, she was strong, but was clear about her ambition. After becoming a demoness, while she helped people, she didn't do it in the way she originally envisioned, because she lost trust. While she was not in her full strength when looking like Zhi Yan, she still had her great martial art& sword skills. Chen Lan did save her a few times, but during that time they were building romance and try to clear Zhao Yao's misunderstanding of him and rebuilding her trust. They also had to make her realize that Chen Lan was making her original dream come true. Even though her character wasn't the same as the time she was a demoness, she was still strong. And also, when she regained her powers, she had her own battles. Chen Lan let her deal with Ming Xuan on her own and dealt with the phoenix instead. And when Chen Lan was abducted, she went to fight Ming Xuan again. She may have been helped a little, but she did most of the battle. Also strength of a character doesn't depend entirely on physical elements alone. You could see with how she saw through most of the traps set for Zhi Yan that Zhao Yao isn't a completely clueless character as the way Zhi Yan was painted. Zhao Yao also didn't fall for blackmail threats either.
- The Romance. The chemistry between the main couple is hooking. It was the main part of the drama that just kept me going despite there being so many issues with the editing.
- Some of the side characters and their stories (Qin Qian Xian & Shi Qi, Gu Han Guang & Shen Qian Jin, Sima Rong specifically)
What I DISLIKED about the drama:
- Crashing weddings. I didn't care so much about Zhao Yao sealing off Luo Ming Xuan on his wedding day cause he was such a hypocritical being and wanted to kill and killed innocent people. They did a thorough job of making you hate Su Ruo completely so you never felt sorry for her, even though she did evil things out of love and sexual frustration (literally what she expressed about regretting not being able to have sex on their marriage night). But what I was pissed about was our main couple. When they were discussing marriage proposal, I already predicted their wedding would crash, was hoping it wouldn't, but it did.
- How they tried to change Jiang Wu's character last minute and attempt to redeem him. Initially, I had no problems with Jiang Wu, but then he got on my nerves. At one point, Zhao Yao made it clear she likes Chen Lan, but he is still crazily obsessed over her. He crashes her wedding which was the start of me being pissed at this character. But then they try to make him to a good guy who saved Zhao Yao with his heart. BUT THEN he stabs Chen Lan with the Liutenhiayi Sword causing Chen Lan problems. THEN he tries to provoke Chen Lan KNOWING that he has an inner demon and cannot control it. He PURPOSELY made him jealous and causes his own friend's death. But he blames it entirely on Chen Lan and asks for a life in return and kills Ah Da. And they try to redeem him by showing him "sacrificing" himself and then being Zhao Yao's sword against Ming Xuan. If they wanted to redeem him, then they should have made his character less irritating. But his crimes are on the same level of Su Ruo.
- Lin Zi Yu. Her character is worthless in the drama. Should have been deleted.Or they could have just made her the male character from novel.
- Repetition of Chen Lan riding the dragon with his eyes closed. Repetition of same flashbacks.
- Killing off people that are in relationships. I felt like this drama had this repetitive theme. While Zhao Yao & Mo Qing don't start off officially as a couple, they kill her off for 5 years leaving Mo Qing heartbroken and then develop their romance. Then you see Rong's lover Yue Zhu getting killed. Then when Gu Hanguang and Shen Qian Jin come into the story, I was expecting to see Qian Jin to die when she has the Cold Poison taken over her. And at this point, I theorized the drama is killing off all the women in the couples. But nope! They kill off Gu Han Guang. They crush your hopes of a Qin Qian Xian & Shi Qi couple. Why even bother trying to develop romance between them if you're just going to kill them off?
- The ending. Even if I understood both fan re-edit and Viki's ending.. Viki version.. they couldn't do a proper job making it continuous. And make the costumes match. But this is the drama's team fault.
- UNEXPLAINED events in the story which also led to plotholes
- Zhi Yan's weak character. She acted it nice, but sometimes I was annoyed at how clueless and weak they made her look at the start.
Overall, even though it seems like I have more complaints, I still can't say I hated the drama. I did find somewhere about the differences between the novel and drama. I'd say the novel cut down unnecessary love triangles and fillers. Better explanations. Had a better and happy ending that the drama failed to deliver. I think some parts of the drama that weren't in the novel were fine while I also wished they included some parts of the novel such as the ending and less killing of relationships.
If I were to re-watch, it would just be for the romance of the main couple and scenes with my favorite side characters. Everything else I'd skip.
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(No spoilers in this first section of review)I went into this drama with low expectations despite seeing all the positive reviews and comments. I haven't watched much C-Dramas so I wasn't familiar with the cast. When I looked at the cover photo and some of the photos of the drama, I wasn't really impressed and had a feeling I wouldn't like the actors at all.
I went into the first episode and I was interested in the story. I eventually got hooked into the drama and binge-watched it. I know this genre isn't everyone's type. It was my first time watching Xianxia as well and I still liked it. The drama also ended up being an emotional rollercoaster. Had some nice plot twists. I watched the opening and ending scene and through each episode I would start theory crafting. I was usually wrong for the most part and I'm glad I didn't figure everything out despite them spoiling a few scenes in those songs.
For some, the first few episodes may seem uninteresting and slow. But I can assure you, it starts to pick up. The one thing I will say is that the drama does throw you off with some wording/subbing. For example, I went into the drama wondering where the demon tribe is since it was mentioned but they mainly focused on the Ghost Tribe. It took me a few episodes (like 6?) to understand that Ghost Tribe=Demon Tribe. They are supposed to be used interchangeably. I'm not sure if it's a translation error, but it did throw me off at the start of the drama. There were other times where they would call Bai Feng Jiu , Xiao Jiu and it took me time to understand they are same person (same with other characters as well). Also, the time. The timeline they use from the Celestial Palace to mortal realm didn't make sense. It would have been better to just add a small note on bottom of screen (like oh this is blank day of mortal realm = blank day of celestial).
Acting & Characters-
I really liked Yang Mi and Mark Chao's acting. They both did a wonderful job portraying their characters.
Yang Mi did a great job in portraying her 3 characters Si Yin, SuSu, and Bai Qian. Each of them had their own personalities, my favorite being Bai Qian. As for Mark, he really made you love his character by acting out as Ye Hua.
Their chemistry was on point! I was pretty much hungry for their scenes.
As for the antagonists, I would say they aren't exceptional. They may have done a good job in making you pissed at them but their motivations were similar. I did want to see more scenes regarding the other support characters such as Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, and Mo Yuan. They made a side story drama for Feng Jiu & Dong Hua (with Lian Song + Cheng Yu), but I still wanted to see the rest of the characters in more scenes.
Music- I do have to add Bracing the Chill was my favorite! I usually don't comment on music but this one whenever I watched on a higher volume to hear the music, would always add to the emotional scenes.
Rewatch- I don't think I'll get bored. I already rewatched some of my favorite scenes since I wasn't over the drama. But the entire drama I probably will rewatch in the future.
*SPOILERS BELOW* (A long rant about what bothered me & what was confusing, and then the good stuff)
In the first 10 episodes, we see Si Yin's character and Mo Yuan. I already figured out Mo Yuan had developed some sort of feelings for her because he did whatever he could to protect her. I expected Si Yin to have feelings for him as well, but then unexpectedly she falls for Li Jing. I personally didn't want them to have a relationship because I just didn't like the playboy side of Li Jing and I'm glad they didn't get into a serious relationship. I didn't want to see our female lead become vulnerable to him. And in a way it's a good thing she saw his pathetic self who cannot understand her and decides to cheat without using his head.
I was surprised though that they let Xuan Nu steal the tactical strategy for war. I thought at least Mo Yuan would be smart enough to see through it. They didn't show how she stole it, but I assumed she transformed to Si Yin. It could have fooled the other disciples, but HOW did it get past Mo Yuan? If he was available to see through Bai Qian's transformation, why not this?
Then we don't see Mo Yuan for 70,300 years since his spirit is scattered and we learn he isn't the story's focus. The story's main focus is Ye Hua. We all know that he's from the golden lotus but why does he look like Mo Yuan was a mystery. I always thought it was a spirit of Mo Yuan and that's what needs to be recovered for Mo Yuan to come back alive.
When Bai Qian undergoes a trial in the mortal realm, a red dot appears on her forehead. They never really explained its significance? Why did she get it all of a sudden? Was it to show that her powers sealed? But if that's the case then how come Ye Hua didn't notice it? He didn't question why she has a mark on her forehead or look into it. They made it look so normal. Feng Jiu's plumed cockscomb was explained, but not this. Was having a red dot normally seen as a birthmark? But then in the portrait Ye Hua drew of SuSu, the red dot wasn't drawn. Does that mean it was just something for viewers? If so, why make it a viewer thing when we all clearly know that she lost her memories?
Episodes 19-25, we're introduced to Su Jin creating problems. I was frustrated with the drama with this but held through. I was also angry seeing how SuSu's character was weak and gullible. She fell for the same tricks by Su Jin over again causing her to lose her eyes. But seeing how Ye Hua wasn't the same as Li Jing, made me continue. Ye Hua was truly devoted to her in the mortal world, prepared to sacrifice everything for her. But after being caught, he had to pretend to be cold in order to protect her. Although his method was not the best way, he at least didn't betray her and stayed loyal to her.
Episode 26 and onward gets even more interesting. You finally see Bai Qian's character. Qian is shown to be unafraid and smart. They showed how attentive Ye Hua was to immediately figure out SuSu is Bai Qian (you can see how he really loves her just by picking up every detail of hers). The drama slowly built their relationship again with problems as well, but not the same as before. Bai Qian is much wiser and was able to see through Su Jin's tricks. The drama handled Xuan Nu and Su Jin's case pretty well. When Bai Qian regained her memories and took her eyes back, I was cheering for her. That was something I wanted to see badly. The same applies when Bai Qian showed Xuan Nu's true self and went to battle alone. The plot twist of Ye Hua being the twin brother of Mo Yuan never occurred to me. I was always wondering why they had the same face and even when it was in lotus form it showed his face. But that explained a lot about Ye Hua. The part where Bai Qian is upset with Ye Hua after remembering everything and then she didn't even have the chance to reconcile with him teared me up. They went to battle right away and he dies without them being able to have a talk. The ending did satisfy our hearts seeing them together again which I knew they would find a way to bring him alive from the opening/ending songs. But it was nice that they gave us a brief somewhat believable explanation. They just added a last minute (convenient) detail about how Sea of Innocence can help with recuperation along with the coffin being an artifact. The part where he only used the Heavenly Father's power and not his own spirit was believable.
What I wanted to be more clarified/ and see more of:
-A Li's relationship with Bai Qian. It doesn't look like a typical mother/son relationship which was funny and I was fine since she didn't remember him. But, after Ye Hua's death, Bai Qian was depressed for 3 years but didn't see her son? I get she couldn't see her son that much because he has to study a lot with a new burden on him because of his father's death.
- Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen. These 2 are always together. I wanted more of their bromance.
- Mo Yuan with someone else. I felt so bad because when he came back he finds out the disciple he loves is with his younger twin. And every time she mentioned Ye Hua's name he was a bit hurt. But I'm glad they showed Mo Yuan different and willing to give up and bury his feelings.
- Su Jin's maid receiving punishment. I'm sure she did, but they never showed it. The maid was pretty much an accomplice.
- Season 2 of this with Bai Qian and Ye Hua with the same actors again. While the ending was nice for them kinda wished to see more scenes of them with another plot. No more of their relationship issues. Just keep building their relationship. I felt like their scenes were not enough and wanted more. Gotta see their wedding and everything.
- How was Ye Hua easily able to get his arm movement back?
What I didn't like:
- How the main 2 female antagonists (Su Jin and Xuan Nu) are the same. They both hate Bai Qian being the interest of the man they love. It's like they're showing how women go crazy over the man they love and are willing to do anything.
At least give the other antagonist a different motive.
- Qing Cang is just a threat for a few episodes. He's a threat in the start and all we see is him in the bell mostly and then out for a few minutes till he dies. I feel like he could have been shown to be a better antagonist than the ones above.
- Feng Jiu constantly trying for Dong Hua. I just don't like how the character looked almost desperate. It's nice to show her sincerity, but seeing her get constantly hurt was just sad.
- I found it funny how Su Jin was punished by Ye Hua's grandfather when he knew about her scheme to kill Su Su for him. Yet, the grandfather didn't get punished? Where's the punishment for that? If Dong Hua can get punished by the heavens why not him? YH's grandfather pretty much supported Su Jin's scheme for SuSu.
- The drama is too short actually. They should have made it longer & developed characters better. And more YH & BQ Scenes!
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( I don't consider what I'm writing as spoilers since I'm not spoiling anything, but to some it may be so that's why there's a warning.)Story's Message-
I think perhaps someone else noticed this before and may have written it in their reviews ( I haven't read anyone else's). When I was watching this drama, I felt there was a message being delivered and it seemed very clear to me. The robot (NS III) represents what humanity fails to do. If you take the supernatural abilities away from the robot, and look at the personality it has, it represents what you would consider an actual decent, perfect human being. The robot is shown to be selfless and even if it has suffered because of terrible humans, it still did not stop to help other humans. At one point when he was traumatized because of what a human has done to him, he was reluctant to help all humans but went back on track and helped humans when they needed to. He followed what his rules were. As humans we still harm one another yet this robot does not and this robot helps humans selflessly, while majority of us humans cannot do that. Throughout this drama, you see most type of humans.
-Humans blinded by monetary greed.
-Humans blinded by love/loyalty and are willing to do anything for that person.
-Humans with deep wounds that take their anger out on people. (Humans seeking revenge as well)
-Humans wanting attention and doing anything to receive the attention they want.
The list could go on. But around them, there is this robot who is clear minded. The robot has people precious to him as well, but doesn't lose sight of who he is. NS III doesn't take revenge or his anger out on the human race for tormenting him. You could argue it's because he cannot feel anything, but as his development continues it feels like he does have some sort of feeling. I think the story's message was something along the lines "that no matter what you're going through, don't lose sight of what you are- a human being; and to come back to being a human being."
I also feel as if there's also another message in the drama. When someone stands out in society or is different than the majority, we tend to pick on that person and make them miserable. In this case it's a robot. But you can replace this robot with someone else from our real world. Cases where someone decided to break tradition or something normal and was hated or mocked at for being different (excluding psychopaths & sociopaths).
Characters & Acting& Drama Overall-
When I was going into this drama expecting there to be romance between a robot (NS III) and a human, I will admit I was a bit weirded out. I wasn't sure how it would play out since I never watched a drama where a robot and human are a couple. I have to say this drama wasn't so bad with its romance between a human and robot. I actually didn't mind it so much, I found it very funny and adorable at the same time. That being said, I did wonder about some technicalities-- the physical and emotional aspects of the relationship which they didn't show much because it may have been complicated. A robot cannot feel anything which was mentioned several times (and it's common sense) but at the same time you see NS III's development as if he were a human being. The show's characters also have this confusion that we viewers have: "He is a machine, but acts as if he were human and develops as if he were real". How deep does that development go in a relationship? We slowly see through NS III's actions that he cares for the person who loves him, but he cannot verbally communicate about his feelings until near the end where he did. I just wonder if that development for a robot would go to the point to have a sex drive? I have seen cases in reality where some people have these dolls that look like human beings and some of these people do claim to have sex with them so I know it's possible to somehow have sex between a robot and human. They didn't want to explore this in the drama so I'm fine with that. I was just curious because it's a robot that is like a human instead of a doll and if it would develop to that point. But, the drama's main focus wasn't that so I let that thought slide and not let it affect my view on this drama.
I think this drama did a great job of developing each character whether it is the protagonists, antagonists, and people in the middle/side. I'm glad that the story decided to develop the human NS character as well because most stories with a good twin/evil twin tag don't really focus on developing both the characters. It usually focuses on one of them. And this story may have focused on the robot NS a lot, but it didn't leave the human NS character empty. The one thing I will say is that I did not like how they progressed the human NS character. I'll leave a comment in this review with a spoiler tag to go in depth with the characters. I do feel the drama was a bit rushed and some things could have been cut out to make a better ending.
The acting was also wonderful. I don't think anyone in the drama overacted. SKJ did a wonderful job of portraying two distinct characters. I was honestly shocked because this is my first drama with him and had lower expectations.
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It's a semi slow-paced drama that slowly builds up throughout the story. There's nothing special in the story; it's a common story in a way, but I really don't mind watching drama with the same themes or similar stories as long as it holds my interest. There's something the main leads both struggle with and they both end up having a connection with each other. I thought the drama was predictable with some parts with all the flashbacks they were revealing in the start, but they did throw me off and I turned out to be wrong so at least that part was not boring. They did a good job of resolving the main leads conflicts and tying up the story together without leaving any major mysteries behind. A part of this drama seems to also lowkey shed light onto the lives of Korean celebrities in a way and how the media goes crazy regarding them and their personal lives. The romance between the main leads was very sweet and not cringe surprisingly. I found them very adorable in their scenes together. The slow pace didn't seem to bother me till the very end where most things were wrapping up and I wished they would tie things in together quickly. Music- There were two OST's that stood out to me and I liked. It was Jooyoung's "Here We Are" & Yangpa's "A Memory in My Heart".
Rewatch&Overall Rating- I wouldn't rewatch this since I personally don't find it enjoyable to watch again since I already know what happens throughout the drama and the suspense wouldn't be there anymore. That's one of the reasons I gave it a 8.5/10 . Another reason was I was tired of seeing the same flashbacks over again. I realize that they want to show that the guy has hyperthymesia and he's recalling a memory from the past, but it was getting a bit on my nerves to have to see the same flashback more than three times.
This drama is nice to watch with a nice ending but I wasn't really attached to this drama or its character enough to be able to rewatch this.
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Hilarious, Interesting, Light & Less Frustrating, Cliché story
I will start off with saying that not everyone will like this drama. If you're looking for a unique story with major plot twists, then this drama isn't it. It also isn't for you if you can't watch a high school story / drama and want something mature.This drama is based off a webtoon and the drama's story is a lot similar to teen / young adult romance stories or manga.
I did search online about the webtoon and will have to say I'm glad they altered the drama and didn't follow the webtoon completely.
There may be love triangles, but it's very obvious and not like the webtoon where there's uncertainty and could lean to either side. But what I do dislike about the drama is how they left you with an aching heart for one of the characters in an unrequited love.
I also loved a lot of the characters in this drama and the variety of characters they showed.
Ju Kyung's family are fun to watch. Her sister, Hee Kyung's reversed role relationship. I loved seeing her act in a way that most men are expected to behave in relationships and overall.
The story may be cliché , but I still had a great time watching it and was laughing through a good portion of the entire drama. All of the bromance scenes they showed were pretty fun to watch as well.
As for the story's message and how it was handled, there's not much to expect. But I do know that most dramas really don't emphasize much about the message and often stray away from it to not seem like it's a lecture. But I do wish they at least show consequences of bullying instead of a slap on the wrist like most dramas show.
Acting- I've seen a lot of bias hate towards idol actors like Cha Eun Woo and have to say that CEW did a decent job with his character. I've seen him in MIGB and his character from there is somewhat similar to Suho's. But in this drama, I could see that he's improved more than before. For me, Hwang In Yeop stole the show. He was just enjoyable to watch.
I would re-watch it only for my favorite scenes. I don't think I would watch the entire drama all over again.
As for the OSTs, I have to say they were wonderful, especially Chani's "Starlight".
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Overall enjoyable, but not that great. S1&S2 better.
I enjoyed this season, but S1&S2 were better.I've seen Lee Kyung Young (in drama as Cha Jin Man) in other dramas as an antagonist or villain. In this drama, in my opinion, he wasn't an antagonist. He and Master Kim have different beliefs. It's like on a spectrum both of them are on opposite sides (one on the left and the other on the right). In some cases presented in the drama, it would be hard to determine who is right because both brought in valid points. However, I found myself questioning most actions and words of Cha Jin Man throughout the drama. Most of them I disagreed with. His type of character is quite realistic in a way.
I liked how this drama they focused on support roles such as Nurse Euntak and Jung In Soo. We get to see more of their stories and their background. As far as relationships, there were minor misunderstandings between both couples (Euntak and Areum & Woojin and Eunjae) that were resolved and didn't drag out too long.
The cameo role of Kang Dong Joo was a great addition. His character is like the center of a spectrum. He's a mix of both Cha Jin Man and Master Kim. He may not be perfect, but he balances the two sides.
My issues with the drama is medical-related issues. There's a lot of unprofessional behavior shown and most of it is not even corrected or addressed properly. At times, I was even frustrated with Woojin and Eunjae. The two made very silly decisions sometimes but no one bothered to correct their behavior. The drama made it seem like their choices were reasonable when it was not. Doctors are humans that can make mistakes. But it's important to set your ego/pride off to the side and accept where you were at fault and learn from it.
Also some of the things shown were quite unrealistic as well.
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