Boring

I had high expectations for this drama, however, the story that started off being so promising became dumber as it progressed. It was so bad I gave up by episode 22. Jeremy is old and it shows on his botoxed-to-the-max face. The supporting actors tried but with the script being what it is, they were never going to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Ultimately, I've no interest in knowing how the main couple ends up together nor do I care about all the tiresome subplots.

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It was okay

Trigger Warning: Stay away from this if you suffer from anxiety or are an empath. Also, if you've been traumatized by Song Yi's performance in Luoyang where she said the ML's name - Erlang - every 2 minutes then you may want to sit this out because she nearly "Giusi"-ed us to death in this one.

Okay, the story was multi-layered and the production quality was above average, however, at the end of the day it is just another one in a long line of historical dramas with themes of revenge, arranged marriages, and betrayals.

One of the biggest disappointments for me was the glaring lack of chemistry between Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi and if I'm being honest the problem lies with Song Yi who, when she starred in Luoyang, failed to have even a smidgen of spark with Wang Yibo (How?!!!).

Bai Jing Ting, otoh, had insane chemistry with his co-leads in New Life Begins and Reset (which are the only two of his dramas that I've watched). As an afterthought but one that greatly diminished my enjoyment of the drama, the acting in the last two episodes was just a tad bit overly dramatic and cringe. Particularly Zhao Huan Ran (Fan Yu) and Mickey He (Jiang He). I just couldn't take either one of them seriously and they both were integral to the climatic scenes which tied up all the mysteries of the preceding episodes.

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Intense

Yes, every positive review you've read about this series is true. The stunning cinematography, the dialogue (oh my god, the dialogue), the characters, the intricate and soul-ripping plot, and lastly the intense chemistry between the protagonists. The flip side of these will gut you at every turn: deaths, betrayals, fratricide, filicide, suicides, and hate. At some point, I just had to start laughing at all the betrayals and deaths otherwise I would have lost my damn mind. Heed the warning, do not attempt this if you have suicidal ideations or depression.

Then there's the Emperor (Crown Prince's father) who is probably the best antagonist I've ever had the pleasure of watching. I hated him with all my soul and yet I waited with bated breath for him to speak or act because a mere flick of his eyes could deal untold hardship on those around him. I rooted for him as much as I wanted him dead. How is that not some insidiously perfect scriptwriting?

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Hopes dashed, again

The euphoria I felt whilst watching the first dozen episodes is indescribable. Finally, I said, finally I found an intelligent series with strong characters and an intriguing plot that was truly riveting; however, by episode 20 the story and characters moved from the palace location to the barracks where we were then introduced to the other players in the game. Thereon, it appears characters that were previously intelligent became stupid, and certain plot points that had seemed inviolable at the beginning were no longer so.
How do the writers explain the Emperor and Empress sneaking out of the capital dressed as guards when the audience had been told previously that they were mostly grounded and rarely ventured outside of the palace grounds without permission? On the other end of the plot advance was Sima Yi who seemed clairvoyant and could deduce future events with almost no clues just because he was supposed to be the intelligent one. In a way the writers were their own worst enemy...they actually thought giving Sima Yi ( and to an extent, Guo Jia) all the clues without us seeing him(them) work through it themselves would make the characters seem smart. They were mistaken. It was lazy and unimaginative.

Enough about the screenplay, let's talk about the actors.

Wan Qian was the MVP of this series. She more than carried the show and had the most realistic character arc of the lot of them. She portrayed an Empress that was at the end of her tether and unwilling to go down with the ship but would rather find a way to right the rudder come hell or high water. Even I was on a knife's edge whenever she came on screen. All I can say is I hope she won an award for this series. Next is Ma Tian Yu. Sigh, I'm not sure I have anything nice to say about his acting skills. His face was either set at "resting stupid" or "slightly less resting stupid". His character was one-dimensioned to within an inch. There was nowhere for him to go so they made him run around in circles for the entirety of the series.

Then there were Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Man Chong, and the lot of them who were all caricatures of beard-twirling villains. If you want to see villains done right then watch Joy of Life or The Rebel Princess where even though you know these guys will kill their unborn babies to advance their positions, they could still evoke pity and even support from the audience. Objectively, I know these issues if isolated are not dealbreakers but combined, everything dragged. The pacing, the story, the characters, everything suffered.

While we're on this subject, did anyone notice when Sima and the Princess Consort fell in love? As in why and how? Lmao, theirs was the most boring and laziest "falling in love" I'd ever seen to the point I wish the writers had just left it out cos Elvis and Dong Jie had NO chemistry whatsoever.

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Fascinating take on a brutal period in Chinese history

No drama series has ever made me want to delve deeper into its actual history until this one sent me down a rabbit hole of overwhelming information and from what I gathered, the series (as bloody and deadly as it was) pales in comparison to the evils that plagued parts of the Tang Dynasty. Although this is a fictionalization of the reigns of three Tang emperors, it still retained a lot of accurate details that really is not for the faint of hearts.

Unfortunately, there’re only 17 english subbed episodes, however, a kind YouTuber provided a comprehensive English summary up to the 60th episode and so despite the missing translations, I was able to anxiously follow the drama to its inevitable, tragic end.

Watch only if you have nerves of steel and don’t mind that the evil people win over and over again.

ps: I hope we’ll someday get English subs for the entire series. Please and thank you.

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Fated To Love You is good enough

Fated To Love You was simultaneously funny, touching, and sad. In particular, Jang Hyuk, the ML really delved deep into the psyche of a manic, overbearing, yet loving CEO while, Jang Nara, the FL, tried her best with the pathetic heroine who despite being such a limp noodle managed to capture the attention of two very handsome, very rich men. Lolololol... who writes these things and when will they learn that not every series needs a love triangle?

(Fated To Love You was simultaneously funny, touching, and sad. In particular, Jang Hyuk, the ML really delved deep into the psyche of a manic, overbearing, yet loving CEO while, Jang Nara, the FL, tried her best with the pathetic heroine who despite being such a limp noodle managed to capture the attention of two very handsome, very rich men. Lolololol... who writes these things and when will they learn that not every series needs a love triangle?)

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A bit depressing

Going into this drama and knowing there would be no happy ending was not a deterrent; nevertheless, it was a huge waste of the viewer's time to have to go through 80% of the show before our main leads finally got together and then the FL died but not before we went through the tragedy of her losing her babies.

The only bright spot was, Lee Jun Ho, our male lead, whose face alone made the heartaches somewhat worthwhile.



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Wu Leo and Zhao Lusi owned this

Edit 15/1/2024: Watching for the fifth time and still can't get enough of Leo and Lusi


Whoever wrote this story deserves all the accolades because this series upended most of the tropes that I dislike in C dramas and made something so refreshing and compulsively watchable. Leo Wu and Zhao Lusi were spectacular and the other actors played their roles skillfully from the first episode until the last, I was glued to my screen. I love this and I honestly don't think there's any series that even comes close to its brilliance. It's a must-watch if you like the interplay of comedy, action, and family drama. Perfection!

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Terrible

The Hong sisters are now on my must-not-watch list as I disliked Hotel Del Luna as much as this one. Their attempt at writing atmospheric, romantic suspense got lost in translation because the pacing was hella slow and there's barely any plot progression.. even after 12 episodes. The push and pull of the lead characters were at first endearing but after watching 13 hrs of them not moving beyond being disadvantaged and unmotivated, there's really nothing left to care about. I don't understand why the creators took the decision to just string the viewers along. Did Netflix demand a certain episode quota and is that why the already thin plot was stretched beyond the capabilities of the scriptwriters?

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Here we go again

Going by the high ratings I was prepped to watch what I assumed would be a delightful romance that was interspersed with some mystery, but what I got instead was case upon case of murders being resolved by the leads without even a modicum of romantic feelings. Undoubtedly this was a well written script, however, and while it satisfies the sleuth in me, it was a let down in other ways. For one, I didn't expect the FL to look or act so childlike which is one of the biggest problems I have with most Chinese dramas. This need to infantalize the FLs in C-dramas has got to stop. The actress had this deer-in-a-headlights look whenever she wasn't performing an autopsy and her interactions with the ML and supporting actors were painful to watch. While this might be a script issue still there was that disconnect that gradually got me so exasparated I had to watch at 2x speed.

I think the ML together with his sidekick brother carried the entire series with their performance.

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It started out so well

I watch Chinese dramas for badass heroes/heroines who fight for the good and destroy the bad people who try to harm them. Not so with Fighter of the Destiny because the story lacks continuity in that the hero gets into a dire situation (usually bcos someone plotted against him) and then he's miraculously rescued after which he returns to normalcy without ever seeking retribution on those who attempted to kill him. At a point, it seemed like the whole world was out to get him and he just folded every single time.
It also didn't help that no one else in their clique had the intelligence to move things along. Loulou was always crying, pouting, or shouting for her Shifu, while thirty-six and the bear guy kept getting more stupid as the story progressed. Conversely, Chengsheng being the only one who could solve the riddles, heal with his blood, develop good fighting skills even if we barely saw him practice, and was primed to save the world...was just a tad bit too much.

Another negative aspect of the story is that I'm tired of the childhood-friends-to-adult-lovers pipeline in C dramas. I simply cannot watch another stupid story where kids are supposed to have fallen in love back when they were 5 or whatever. China has 1.4 billion people so even if we adjusted the population for the time period, it would still be in the millions and the likelihood of them reconnecting is infinitesimal. So, please, can writers please stop with this trope?

Lastly, despite not really liking the series, I have to give a shoutout to, Chen Su, the actress who played the Empress, as well as whoever styled her character because she was absolutely breathtaking.

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I understand the appeal but it just wasn't for me

There was such a dissonance between the story and the actors. Did the director and casting unit not read their own script before congregating 40-year-old actors to play the role of boys on the cusp of manhood? I could forgive most things but this one issue completely drew me out of the story. To compound that, wardrobe choices in the first half had the men in ill-fitting clothing and atrocious hair pieces. Again, that diluted the authenticity of the story.

The best part about this was watching the family dynamic, especially Minglan's relationship with her grandmother. So precious. Likewise, Ming's sizzling relationship with Gu Tingye in the second half. So hot. Yet, even these couldn't offset the evil that permeated the entire story. It was too much and it dragged on for far too long. Yes I know, the villain is very villainy but did we need to see her repeat the same playacting over the course of 40 or more episodes?

Did we need all that back and forth at the Gu mansions? Did we need to see the minutiae of their daily lives, especially the ubiquitous eating? Did the characters in the Sheng family have to speak obliquely when they all could have benefitted from some showdowns and home truths? Minglan's father was such a waste of space and to think three women were actually fighting over him. Why would Tingye risk the lives of Minglan and his children just to save the Emperor? Have the heavens fallen?

Seventy-three episodes is a lot no matter how lovely or compelling the story and sadly this drama was unconvincing.

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Fluff

Going through 24 episodes of the FL wearing ugly mummy jeans and tops has left me traumatized. I swear the wardrobe person must hate the lead actress for real otherwise there's no reason to style her character with such juvenile and ugly clothes. The story is okay-ish but there's an important element that's still unrevealed which will determine if this drama was worthwhile or not.

I'll update the ratings and review upon completion.

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For me, no other drama will ever top Yanxi Palace

I could watch this every 3 months because it is the epitome of a great drama that encompasses perfect writing, beautiful cinematography, and characters with more layers than a mille-feuille. It's also one that gives the most believable depiction of the Qianlong Emperor unlike Ruyi's Love in the Palace which became all about Ruyi's martyrdom.
Also, I wonder why there aren't more strong female characters like Wei Ying Luo because if the viewing numbers are anything to go by, it at least tells us that audiences want a heroine who can triumph over adversity by the sheer power of her intellect and yet C dramaland is littered with the ghosts of limp-noodle, baby voice heroines who can't find their way out of a paper bag.

Anyway, watch this if you like a fast-paced and unpredictable plot with multiple strong female characters.

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Wow, wow, wow

The first ever modern C drama that I'm rating 10 stars and it is all thanks to the juggernaut that is Lin Yu Shen who must be one of the top 2 charismatic actors I've ever watched.

I'd initially dropped Dating in the Kitchen a few months back but immediately came back to it after watching LYS's mesmerizing performance in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber and somehow everything just clicked this second time around. The depth of emotions from LYS and Zhao Lusi was palpable and it has to be the first time a male lead has ever cried of heartbreak convincingly. My heart ached and rejoiced with our ML as he navigated dating a much younger woman who was from a completely different level in every way. Their joy, love, laughter, and tears pulled us along as they grew to trust each other even when others repeatedly tried to break them up. I'm so happy that I watched this.

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