The Farwell of Snow (2024)

Slow-paced but Beautiful; Good acting but Poor writing

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

I have not read the novel, so this review is based on my feelings on the drama itself. “Snowy Night Timeless Love” is a very slow-paced drama set in the backdrop of winter, so if you are not in the mood for that, it’s best not to watch it.


Repetitiveness?
A big criticism of this drama is the repetitiveness of the plot in the first 19 episodes. I have very mixed feelings about this and I also don’t know if the writing could have made this less repetitive. In these 19 episodes, the focus is on Huo Zhan Bai (ML) to search for the 5 rare medicinal ingredients to save the child. We all know these rare ingredients are hard to find and will be a very dangerous mission to complete. So, I can’t fault the drama for having Huo Zhan Bai get critically injured each step of the way. Otherwise, it won’t be realistic right? You also need him to be injured, so that he can spend a considerable amount of time at the Medicine Valley to heal and spend time with Xue Zi Ye (FL). If not, how are they going to get to know each other and develop feelings? Unfortunately, even knowing all this, it’s hard not to feel bored of this repertoire of not caring about oneself and getting seriously injured, barely making it back or saving by FL, resting and healing, and going forth to search for another ingredient. Could the writing be better so we won’t all get bored? Probably. I just don’t know how to achieve that and am in no position to offer an alternative.

Romance
I was skeptical of the pairing of Joseph Zeng and Li Qin. Joseph has such a baby face that pairing with a more mature Li Qin might not give me the feels. Luckily, ML’s character is more mature and dependable than Joseph Zeng’s other roles. The chemistry is decent and I do like this slow-burn romance. The leads develop feelings for each other during 8 long years. Their bickering is flirting. Their actions speak louder than words. They don’t need to say “I like You”. They are the same type of people, self-sacrificing dummies (LOL) who care about others before themselves. That’s why they understand each other's thoughts and actions, and words need not be spoken. I think this is very romantic. I especially love and “awww” at wooden windchimes set up along the path for ML when he couldn’t see. It mirrored the lanterns he lit up for her. What a romantic gesture! Their promises and missed chances made their love story even more tragically beautiful. I don’t need a grand confession scene and I am satisfied with the romance here. But, this might not be for everyone.

Rest of the Plot
Unfortunately, due to the majority of the time spent on the quest of rare ingredients, not enough time was spent on the rest of the plot. The villain and his minions seem like a small side plot. I would have loved more of a backstory of the minions. If the writing is better, I probably would not have felt the urge to fast forward (I was able to resist the urge). The drama was unable to hold my attention for 32 episodes. The pace is slow and there’s not enough action scenes to keep me entertained. I was hoping there would be more fight scenes, especially when ML was searching for the ingredients, and also towards the end with the villains. Maybe the drama doesn’t have enough money for that, even with the product placement of that darn 999 Cold Medicine. Why do we need it when we have a genius FL?


Cast & Acting
I do like the actors and felt that they all did a good job. I am confident in Li Qin’s acting and she’s great here, as well as looking ethereally beautiful. It’s probably one of Joseph Zeng’s best performances. Edward Chen did fantastic and I was surprised he was the teenager in “Lesson in Love”. Wang Hong Yi looks handsome and his smile does look creepy as intended. Kim Jin’s villain role might be a little over-the-top.


“Snowy Night Timeless Love” is an OK watch and I would only recommend this if you are a fan of the cast, or if you are in the mood for something slow and wintery. This is definitely not a must-watch. I was going to rate this a solid 8.0 but then boredom sets and I felt the urge to fast-forward. So, I have to drop it to 7.75.


Completed: 11/21/2024 - Review #518

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EXECUTION OF THE PLOT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER!

The plot was simple and not too complex with too many unnecessary characters. This simplicity provided me with a better understanding of the plot. The acting of the cast was par excellence. Perfect cast for such characters but the reason for which huo zhan bai and ziye struggled so much was totally vain at the end. The death of Mo was completely unnecessary. And the endless loop that the male lead getting injured and coming back everytime with Ziye treating her and making him survive was exhausting. The ending scene where huo zhan bai became old and was still drinking with ziye's memorial stone and playing games with it made me cry. Their love was beyond any physical intimacy. And love doesn't always need physical intimation. Another masterpiece portrayal of true love through chinese drama.

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Kiss the Girl...

Ahh, the Chinese writers constant desire for sadness and a lack of hope..., I wonder where this need arises from?
Excellent acting, music and, cinematography. But, that cannot make up for the constant leading on of the writers
for a perceived love story that could have been revisited over and over. I suppose if you love a lack of hope amd goodness triumphing, this will not be the hoped for offering!

An old poem that sums up these 32 episodes for myself...

"As sunlight kisses shadows and moonlight kisses the sea, what are all these kisses worth, if thou kiss not me?"

I find this most appropriate for the 32 episodes offered!

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The warmth brought by coldness

I watched the first 20 episodes of the series with great interest. After that, I can say that I watched it with some difficulty. In my opinion, the series was like a series that stagnates from time to time, offers beautiful cinematography accompanied by visuals, and is shot like award-winning movies. The music was also nice. I likened the series to award-winning movies that prioritize visuals, push the subject to the background, shoot a long scene, and are made as if they are emphasizing reality. The visuals are terrific. The music is good, the acting is good. Especially Li Qin has a clear beauty, she plays slowly and steadily, and poses calmly, serenely, and beautifully. The clothes also suit her. Being a doctor suits her. So do the movements. But stagnation only goes so far. It seems like a disjointed process. Sometimes she gets active. But Li Qin never gets active, thank God. She works as a doctor while lying down. She drinks constantly. A different kind of doctoring, a cure for every patient, an end to hopelessness. Go find me this and bring it. It comes right away. A few rare herbs and items come from Joseph Zeng instantly. It is supposedly a laborious task, but in the plans given to us, it seems to be solved quickly. In other words, I perceived it intermittently. It does not suit the series to find everything so quickly and as if it was put into place by hand. It did not happen. It remained simple. This is not our main topic, these must have been acted as side factors. Then, the Mio Feng character and the Zi Ye character play go from time to time at a common point. In other words, they must be in transition areas. It is shown as somewhere close. However, when they show the areas where the two live in the last episodes, it seems as if they are 4-5 days away. How do they play this game on foot and come to their living quarters? This superficiality made me stupid, for example. Which one is correct? If the distances are short, why were we the only ones able to get there in two long episodes? But why did we get there so quickly before? There were also problems in the transitions between topics. For example, the chief of the sword sect sent his sixth member as an agent to an opposing sect. While it is being discussed, this is his daughter's husband. His grandson dies. It is never mentioned. The head of the sect does not say it. They even say the seventh member killed him. He does not speak up. In the last episode, he says I sent him away. Are you angry with me? He did not tell his daughter either. This was not shown. His daughter knows her husband died. She lost her son. The woman lost herself. The man still has no idea. There is such indifference. There has not been a script written with an understanding befitting the subject. There is too much cruelty. The same cruel people became monks, grave guards, doctors. What is this diet, what is this pickled cabbage. In other words, the subject is like five different things. The reflection of the subject. It did not happen. I said it from the beginning Acting, visuals, music. There is nothing else. There were emotional scenes too. Let's not skip it. There is love but it was not felt much. The ending ended badly. Maybe it is a game that it did not end the way everyone expected. It is a quality. It is breaking the mold. It was formed according to the event. It is normal. I liked the actors. Joseph Zeng played the game. His activations were also very good. The reflection of his state after his beloved died in the last episode was also nice. I liked it. Li Qin was like the warmth under the coldness. He has a look as if there is warmth hidden under that cold stance. He gave pictures with his stance, calm and serene show. Even that was enough. No movement. Being a doctor suits him. Edward Chen was very successful in action scenes. He couldn't show the same in action scenes. What is Jenny Zeng's problem with Joseph Zeng? Are they related? I don't know. But this actor did justice to his role, his action is also very good. I liked it very much. Kim Jin's image suits him very well. It was as if someone else was playing him, not himself. He wouldn't have been this successful if he had played with his own face. I liked it. The cast was good in general. But I found too many mistakes, too much stasis, too many cuts. Would I watch it again? It's hard.

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Ver hasta el final de los creditos del capitulo 32

Una serie trágica sin desencuentros, excepto en los capítulos finales. Eso si, se me hizo un poco lenta y pesada, en ciertas partes aburrida porque la sentía repetitiva. Me llamo mucho la atención que excepto por la primera vez y no recuerdo si segunda o tercera, que jamas nunca se mostró como, donde y a que se enfrento el ML para encontrar los ingredientes de la receta para Mo, quizás por eso no hubo tantas escenas de acción.... Ya de camino con el ingrediente siempre sucedía lo mismo.... si se entendió que le llevo casi 8 años...

Este tipo de series no es de mi favoritas porque luego termino con un nudo en la garganta en los episodios finales y tampoco me agradan mucho los personajes que se muestran débiles muy seguido. Así y todo por costumbre veo las cosas hasta el final, sino, no puedo tener una conclusión...

Sin embargo, me gustaron mucho los ideales y la manera de transmitir enseñanzas o conocimiento de FL usando la ironía y las mentiras piadosas, a pesar de esto era un personaje que sentí que si bien era obstinado con respectos algunos puntos, también era muy racional y maduro en cuanto al tema de los rencores perdidas y el pasado para encontrar la paz simplemente en la búsqueda de la verdad sanear las perdidas y reconciliarse con el presente. También me gusto que para planificar no era impulsiva, excepto cuando le caía algún paciente, ahí si que no podía con ella misma, es decir con su genio....

En cuanto a escenografía, producción, tomas y efectos no me pareció muy buena la serie, solo vi dedicación en todo lo que sucedía en el Valle de los Boticarios y la mayoría de las cosas transcurren allí, pero el resto estuvo bastante descuidado como cuando corre el caballo con la avalancha detrás, hubo un problemas de proporciones que hizo que se viera para nada real la escena.... también la escenografía de varios lugares estuvo bastante floja.... Y así vi varias cosas bastante descuidadas....
El vestuario modesto, pero lindo.
La música a mi personalmente no me gusto y hasta aveces me pareció muy repetitiva....
No volvería a verla

Sobre el final de los créditos en la capitulo 32, no me quedo muy clara la intención.... quizás para a los espectadores....

En resumen, creo que el punto mas fuerte esta serie es el reparto de los actores, su actuación y lo que pretende dejar la historia al publico, pero aun así me sigo preguntando como se hubiera visto si no flaqueara en otros aspectos. Porque me lleva a pensar que si tenia un libro que no estaba mal y buenos actores, se trabajo con el Valle de los boticarios, pero que paso con el resto... es como si no se le hubiera puesto atención o dado importancia...

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A classic tale of emotions in the majestic SNOW!!

This is probably the first time I am really impressed with the snow backdrop in which the drama is presented to us.
Plot-The show is all about Huo Zhanbai,a martial artist from the Sword sect and Xue Ziye,who fall in love after Zhanbai insists the chief of Apothecary valley to treat his martial brother son who suffers from an incurable disease.Their relationship grows stronger over the eight years ,which Zhanbai spend to gather 5 rare herbs for the treatment.
Pros-I would really give a thumbs up to the snow scenery and background.It was serene,calm,impressive,classical,in my opinion.
Probably,if not for the snow backdrop as the main premise,this drama would be a regular watchable one.But,the ice theme has definitely elevated the mood and made it much more beautiful.I really loved the sceneries.They were perfect.I must say the snow scenery is the biggest asset of this drama.Never knew snow could be so beautiful!!!
Action-All the actors were good.Li Qin,Joseph Zeng,Wang Hongyi,Jenny Zeng,Edward Chen and Kim Jin were perfect in their characters.All.the other cast were also good.A special mention of Kim Jin and his acting ability.He was the perfect villain in this beautiful snow.His action was top notch.
Music, costumes, sets, locations,plot, screenplay,pace,everything were good.There were no deviations from the main plot.
I suggest to watch this timeless, emotional,classical love set in a snowy valley and a snowy night!!
A must watch drama if you like dramas withba classical touch!!

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Beautiful drama! Amazing cinematography and acting

This was beautiful, I could watch it just for the cinematography, it blow me away.
The actors are great, every feeling and emotions greatly represented. It was a joy to watch.
The story is pretty interesting and consistent. I know it can be repetitive (his search and constantly being healed by her), but it was enough for me, much better than those confusing dramas with messy plots. The beginning of the story is more active, but the rest of it have such interesting pace, is lovely to what their feelings deepen, their live obsessions change, the importance of very little moment together. If you appreciate a poetic life of honor and commitment, this drama is for you.

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