Si Teng (2021)

This storyline was different and impeccable from other fantasies. I mean a tree and a human??? AND then there is GROOT! I'm just kidding.

Sally Jing who played Si Teng / Bai Ying did incredibly.
Vin Zhang who played Qin Fang, just 'unbelievable'! What a great actor he has become. He is one of my favorites that's for sure.

The fantasy and the visuals were on point. I couldn't find fault with any of it. The music kept my heart pumping and focused. This is the type of drama you can skip over episodes or you will be going back. The ending has its twist and turns that I threw my shoe at the TV. Nope! I'm not telling y'all the ending.

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Y si nosotros creamos el final?

Para empezar. Aclaro que el último capítulo es un epílogo, otro final, aviso por qué yo no lo supe y me confundió mucho.
Esta historia es muy linda, realmente ha sido muy interesante seguirla, hay muchos detalles que entremezclan todo, hay que estar muy atento para no perderse nada.
Lo más importante de estar atento es los personajes principales y como se van desarmo en la trama, como maduran y se hacen más empaticos el uno con el otro, es una belleza esta relación.
Mi puntuación bajo, por el final, una historia compleja, interesante, con una belleza de locaciones, todo parecía perfecto, pero los últimos capítulos donde ya los protagonistas habían madurado, ya sabían lo que querían, tenían claro el amor uno por el otro. Empezaron a poner complicaciones en la trama que se noto que era muy rebuscada y sin sentido tanto que tuvieron que hacer dos finales.
Que decepcion darte cuenta que los guionistas no supieron resolver. Y las dos propuestas quedaron incompletas, con muchos hilos sueltos. Por a razón no pude evaluarlo mejor.
Véanlo ustedes y me comentan si estoy muy equivocada, saludos y gracias por leerme.

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Refreshingly Different!

I'm only 7 episodes in but my initial impressions have been nothing but great.
The storyline is intriguing and mysterious, the plot doesn't meander and keeps a steady pace, and the cast is stellar.
The chemistry between Si Teng & Qin Fang is thick, thick, thick. I love watching their energy bounce off the other, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops. For now, they're still in a master/servant (more or less) type relationship and they're building trust and rapport. Qin Fang is beginning to see Si Teng's many layers, and Si Teng is slowly understanding that Qin Fang is different than other modern men.

This is the 2nd drama I've watched with Vin Zhang. The first was Eternal Love and I instantly fell in love with his broody role as the Ghost Realms 2nd prince, Li Jing. He spent the majority of the show nearly despondent, lovesick, and angry, and I ate every second of it. Watching his character, Qin Fang, in this series has been SO FUN. His expressions are so versatile and he's got great comedic timing and control over his facial expressions and physical body language. I look forward to every moment he is on screen, especially when interacting with Si Teng (who is equally as impressive).

So far, so good! Having a lot of fun with this drama.
Side note: OST and CGI are actually really great so far. I've been used to very bad CGI from my last few Chinese shows (Eternal Love, Ashes of Love, and The Untamed. All of which are fantastic shows but very poorly lacking in CGI).

Episode 10 update:
I loveeee the shift in their relationship that I am seeing.

Episode 11 update:
Yessss!! I'm SO happy Rattan didn't go the drawn-out misunderstanding route! When they were reunited after her incident in the cave, I was worried they'd throw in the misunderstanding between Si Teng and Qin Fang over her seeing him with Yin Deng. It started out that way and she very cruelly pushed him away (aw, she was hurt!), but he TURNED AROUND and went back to explain himself! I love it. Oh my gosh, was that a wonderfully mature breath of fresh air.

Episode 24 update:
I.....didn't like the scene where Qin Fang fell. I know it was essential to the story, but the choreography of that entire sequence was really unrealistic and....weirdly unemotional? From the moment I saw him dangling off the bridge (with a giant bundle of balloons somehow still in his hand?) I felt disconnected from the scene because of how much it pulled me out of my suspension of disbelief. He fell like 3 stories onto the concrete ground and yet was so cleanly and perfectly prone in his position on the ground with the tiniest bit of blood beneath his head. I don't think anything would have been wrong with showing a bit more gore (more blood, more damage to his body, more sprawled position). Everyone on the scene was too calm, no one ran to help him- they all just stood there in a weird wide circle around Qin Fang and Si Teng while she showed very unremarkable sadness. I wanted..more? Like, it wasn't visceral enough or sad enough and it all seemed like it was happening slowly underwater. Then, not even a full 24hrs later, he's discharged to his house without an on-call nurse or any life-saving equipment (like a breathing apparatus or an IV) when they've just mentioned he's going to die soon and suffers fractures throughout his entire body? Really, y'all? I can handle a woman who shoots rattans out of her fingertips, but please don't play me for a fool with simple physiology.

Episode 30 update:
I'm overall a huge fan of this series. The ending was bittersweet and beautiful.

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This drama is a god damn good but the ending ruined everything.

The main female and male lead acting are insanely good. I've watched a lot of Jing Tian drama and movie, her acting are improved alot and zhang bin bin acting are quite natural.

The music are so enjoyable to hear and having a deep meaning

But im little confuse about the timeline (CMIIW)
After Si Teng died, There's 5 years time skip and Yan Fu Rui getting married and having a son but after the 15 years time skip Yan Fu Rui already became grandpa how could it possible? And his grandson age is about Wa Fang age in the beginning of the story.
At first i thought that is Wa Fang son but he called Wa Fang Uncle.

*Note
This is my first time write a review and i'm still improving my english, sorry for any grammatical Error

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A supernatural dream come true, turned a sappy nightmare

First of, this drama is undeniably pretty. The money for the drama was well spent on the production quality, location shooting, costume and interior design. Si Teng's outfits were everything for me. Everyone was well dressed and so much eye-candy! I like the flipped tropes of Guy saving Girl and mean male lead - instead it's Girl saves Guy and mean female lead. Si Teng was a sight for sore eyes when it comes to female protagonists and I want to see more like this. This drama had an interesting and impressionable dynamic for their ML/FL couple. Si Teng is more mature, powerful and wiser than Qin Fang is, so the subtle scenes of them in different scenarios and adapting to new situations is great because even their arguments are entertaining to watch.

However, there the ending/s....
....I don't understand anything.

The last five episodes lost me completely and I stopped asking why anything was happening anymore. I would recommend this show but only to watch until episode 20 and then stopping there because the story just goes into utter chaos afterwards. Si Teng suffered character derailment when she was infantilized and pitied for being a child before the establishment of New China. (Yes, I noticed that.) Suddenly, Yan Furui becomes an unexpected hero who lives to old age, surrounded by success and family when he started off as a bumbling, pitiful comedy relief character. Quite insulting and mind-blowing because so many scenes will be iconic to me from this show, but the ending is so strange and mystifying that I will never truly understand what happened and I think it's better that way.

Still worth a higher score for everything else but the 180 plot line twist after episode 20 and the 'dates' (????) between the young Si Teng and Qin Fang at the end takes away from a 10/10 scoring. Try again and do better please, don't depower your main lead near the end of the show!

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Intriguing drama

When I first read the storyline,I was excited very much.After watching the drama,i felt it was the most different type of genre and plot that I've ever watched of all my 60 Chinese dramas of different genres.
The plot is quite interesting.
Jing tian portrayal of Si teng is probably one of the best performances.Her way of portrayal of emotions,costumes,her attitude and her pain , everything about her was excellent.
This drama has all-horror,emotion,betrayal,mystery, determination,love.
It kept me hooked from the start.
The story was unpredictable.
Vin Zhang and the other star cast performed well.Everything else was good.
This drama haunted for me a long time,that I could not forget it's scenes when I went on a forest trip
Overall an excellent watch👍

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Weird, but okay...I guess?

OVERALL
I'm honestly at loss for words with this drama. If you love Chinese fantasy, strong/mature female leads and a tame slow burn, you might be down, but if you're looking for a deep, well-written plot, you probably won't. Then again, I was and still kind of ended up being down...so I guess you could just give it a try and see!

THE STORY
So...I came into this drama convinced I wouldn't like it. I really don't like Chinese fantasy series, it's usually too over-the-top with unconvincing CGI and poor writing. And yet, I ended up watching this drama all the way to the end, so it definitely was better than the average xanxia drama. What I think works out with this drama is: 1) the female lead is AWESOME, the kind I can't get enough of (but unfortunately C-dramaland prefers to recycle the ditzy, childish FL all the time), 2) the fantasy is mixed up with suspense because characters are trying to figure out their past, so the mysteries keep you hooked, 3) the CGI and fantasy elements aren't over the top (at least, for 2/3 of the drama), and 4) there're some really cool shots (the sets are so pretty!).

The problem with this drama is that it has some pretty serious, and I mean SERIOUS flaws. The last 5 eps are ridiculously bad. It feels like the writers were drunk when they wrote the ending haha The romance is also too tame for my liking. The problem isn't the pace (the drama does slow burn right), it's the fact that when things are suppose to heat up, we hit that 5 last eps mark and all hell breaks loose. With such a terrible ending, there's just no time/space to give us the juicy scenes the leads deserved. Other things bothered me, but they're more personal. I really don't understand some typical Chinese fantasy tropes, like the nemesis that is always ridiculous and acts like a caricature, so I had a hard time with some of them. Also, main lead legit goes to work once in the entire drama haha The plot was so out of touch with normal life, I couldn't take it seriously.

Bottom line: If you're in need of a filler, you can give it a try, but I don't guarantee you'll like it!

THE ACTING
I really like lead actress. I first saw her in City of Streamer and I loved her in that drama too. It's the vibes she gives. So cool! Lead actor wasn't bad but didn't draw my attention as much. The rest of the cast was okay, except the villains, who were too cartoony for my taste, and the child actors, who (except for one little girl) were particularly bad haha

THE MUSIC
Honestly, the instrumental stuff was cool, the songs were HORRIBLE.

REWATCH VALUE
Null. Not worth rewatching.

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Exceeded my expectation

This is one of the best Cdrama i watched for 2021. Sally Jing looks super gorgeous in cheongsam and didn't know cheongsam could look this elegant and charming. I almost wanted to drop this drama halfway through episode 1, but i must say since episode 2 i could not stop watching and finish binging the whole show in 2 days. If you like fantasy and mystery this is a must watch. It keeps you curious throughout and keep you guessing.

There is 2 different ending to this show. i guess most people will categorise 1 as happy and 1 as sad ending. to be honest i feel that both ending can't be categorised as simple as happy or sad. i personally prefer the 1st ending which is supposed to be the "sad" ending. To me it is a good ending, better than the 2nd ending as i feel the 2nd ending is somewhat "forced" and does not make much sense or without sufficient explanation.

Which ending do you prefer?

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Super weird: story about E.T. "rattan / ivy" with superpowers, humans and other clans who fight

I love the ML and the reviews were overwhelmingly good.

However, I watched the whole drama trying to find a meaning, a guideline, ... incomprehensible and incoherent (despite the superb work of the actors) until the end (no, until the 3 alternative endings, each more bizarre than the next).

The director undoubtedly wanted to play the strange card. He succeeded, even OSTs are weird!

Excellent casting, rhythmic and dynamic production, frames ++ with very beautiful images,
BUT
OST and storyline weird !! Still no sense after 25 ep.

Honestly, I was left puzzled, I wouldn't recommend it, but I'll let you make up your own mind.

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A unique conncept!

Even though we have seen alien related plots before, having an alien of plant origin take human form?! Well that's new! The best part about this drama I felt was nothing in it was overdone; plot, cinematography or acting wise, it maintained its aesthetic till the end. A very graceful drama that had a lot of underlying dark plots but never let the overall vibe of the drama to sink into that darkness and instead kept itself a light-hearted watch. Acting wise I felt the story and cinematography overall was not demanding of the most professional of acting there is so the actors did a fairly good job, anywhere they lacked, the plot and cinematography made up for it. Romance was given prominence over everything else, my kinda story, and the romance was simply perfect. I always feel Chinese drama tend to drag their plots unnecessarily but this one seemed much less than usual, in fact could say it's just about right. Overall a must watch and even if its not very famous, thats only because it's underrated.

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