The Return of Zhao Liying + Changing Style of Wang Yibo

I will begin this review by admitting that I was shocked by the seemingly poor production quality when I first began watching the series. Specifically, the XiMo River scene appeared exceedingly fake. I, however, began watching this drama for the cast, so I continued to watch it, despite questionable filming + editing.

CAST: The cast is wonderful, and it is definitely not their fault in any way for this drama receiving polarizing reviews. Starting off with Zhao Liying, she looks extremely young for her age, though other people think otherwise, but that's a matter of opinion. Her acting is incredibly natural, and it does not feel like she is acting; it feels as if she is Zhou Fei. Wang Yibo, who acted in the Untamed, surprised me with his lively acting because, when compared to previous dramas, his character was so different from the rest. I think he completed his role as Xie Yun very well. The interactions between the main characters are also NICE, and the only thing I would request is that there be more of those interactions!

STORY: Perhaps it is because I have never read the original novel, but the take off of the drama was slightly confusing for me. There were a lot of characters, and I think it definitely requires a lot of attention to not be confused. But as the story picked up, I believe this was around episode 11 or 12, I found myself enjoying it, rather than sitting and thinking about the plot. There are definitely imperfections with the plot, especially with the way the scenes are arranged, but overall, it keeps to a fair Wuxia theme, with the female lead exploring the 'jianghu' and gaining more knowledge.

MUSIC: Absolutely wonderful. Particularly, the OST called "Wuhua" by Zhang Liangying and Liu Yuning is stunning when paired with the drama. In ~episode 27, the song rings at the perfect time. Plus, it just sounds really great. The intro song also has a nice tone that is fitting for the wuxia genre. "Xiwei" by Wang Yibo is a very soft song that has very emotional lyrics, which are a perfect match for the plot.

REWATCH VALUE: I put a lower score in this category because that is just what I believe it is. I think certain episodes should most definitely be rewatched, but others? Eh, not really worth it. In particular, episode 9 felt like a DRAG, but others like 11, 12, and 30 were great!

OVERALL: Many people are disappointed by this drama because it had such a 'high production value'. But they often neglect the fact that they halted productions for multiple months due to COVID, and much of their budget went to waste during that time. So I am assuming certain scenes were not intended to be carried out by heavy post-production. I think the cast is wonderful, and they actually exceeded my expectation. I will have to finish the drama to really see how I feel about it, though.

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