A journey of military corruption

Having not yet seen season two, season one could stand on its own without one. In only six episodes, this series put me through a journey of much more. My heart swelled in both warmth between our two young MLs and from their desperate crossroads of choosing to do their duties and being human.

While the plot is grim, I wouldn't consider this as dark fiction as it's a very realistic depiction of corruption. There's no excess dramatization, no saviors, and no particular antagonist. It simply portrays the difficulty in choices everyone has to make or continuously make at some point in their lives. This one was just uniquely centered around the military dynamics. If you are someone who ever chose to join a company, a sorority/fraternity, or any group that has any type of hierarchy, how many would speak up for another if it meant risking your own position and livelihood? And even if you were to speak up, would you even have any ability to even make a difference? Then those who blame their immediate authority fail to recognize that the same authorities themselves have high authority to answer to. In the situation of the military, it's even worse than being an employee at a company where you have the option to quit and find a new job.

Most series want to showcase a hero who steps up and manages to somehow defeat all that is bad. This one captures the realism in how multiple people try their best in their own capacity to do what they can, and how a small act of kindness can go a long way. Unlike what we want to believe in our idealistic worlds, the "good and righteous" does lose the battles most of the time so those who live under a rock in stubborn ignorance may not appreciate this series as much. Reality is far darker and stranger than fiction and this series definitely does not have a feel of over-exaggeration.

All of the actors did such a fantastic job in their respective roles. What really elevated the series was the natural injection and focus on the relationship between the two MLs. Their bonding with one another shone some light and humor on the hands they were dealt with and it made the series much more digestible to watch.

P.S. I think every organization out there needs a Han Ho Yul, because he's someone I would totally want around.

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Binge-Worthy

I'm usually not a big fan of time-slip types of plots because it just usually isn't done very well. Had this series on the plan-to-watch list for a while because of this. I also tend to avoid anything that appears to be romance heavy. However, this one outwitted my initial expectations and had me fully invested until the last episode. You have certain series which are just good and then you have those that will pull you into their world, and this was one of them. This is also one of the rare times where I'm in agreement with MDL's average rating.

The cast was fantastic including the support roles. Because they based this one on written/accepted historical events, it will keep you guessing on how they plan to follow or diverge from the past. The concept of a male being in the body of a Queen took the entire plot up a few notches (it wouldn't have been as great otherwise). Within just 20 episodes, your emotes will pleasantly be balanced with laughing, crying, biting your nails, and smiling with warmth. As for the romance aspect, because the FL/ML were both interesting characters with such good chemistry, that I didn't mind any of the romance portrayed within the series at all.

The only slight less than positive comment is that it felt just a tad long-winded with the political aspect of the plot in the first half but nothing in comparison to other historical dramas. It doesn't take away from the binge-worthiness of this series and I've admittedly lost more than few hours of precious sleep.

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*Very minor and broad spoiler*

The first episode will draw you in immediately with its calm yet increasingly suspenseful atmosphere. It's not an easy series to describe so I'll keep it relatively short. Because the story has such a strong romantic baseline, I half expected it to overpower the crime and suspense as some series do. Fortunately, it was well balanced and it did not disappoint.

The only aspects that made it a bit less than for me was somewhere in the middle when the original flow started to feel rushed. The shifting of Baek Hee Sung's emotions was abrupt (even if there was a trigger) and since that shift, it became less and less believable. Mostly because it was followed by dramatic events clumped too closely together which caused some encounters to become a tad repetitive, and some plot holes to develop.

Nevertheless, this series will draw you in and keep you in enough suspense to want to keep watching in lieu of sleep. I think it's a great one for those who enjoy different genres inclusive of psychology, romance, crime, or mystery. While it isn't a masterpiece in any particular genre, it did equally well in all of it.

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Typical

The plot flow and feel of the series is similar to those like Dong Yi, with similar strengths and flaws. The FL is overly idealistic and perfect without much character growth. Despite consistently being painted as a poor soul who was orphaned, she was raised with an abundance of love and support. Then continues to develop relationships with those are all always willing to risk life and death for her as she continues to get put into one predicament after another.

There are a lot of familiar faces in this series with great acting abilities. The plot started off well with a unique take on a girl being born and raised in prison, and accumulating different skills from a variety of prisoners. She grew to be intelligent, strong, and capable of fighting. However, her character starts to falter with each predicament as it starts to focus more heavily on the various men in her life trying to desperately save her as she is placed again and again in the role of victim. The FL also wasn't the greatest cast for this role as she felt very one-note most of the time. It is also pretty hypocritical of her to want to find the murderer of her mother, when she seems to have no issues with murders of others (especially in the beginning when she just easily obeyed orders to kill when she didn't know the reason).

While the story line stays somewhat interesting and the flow is steady, there's also a significant amount of heightened drama that causes it to feel repetitive. I'm dropping the series mostly because the dramatics are just a tad too much and the FL is becoming less and less interesting. It's too bad because my favorite support character, Jong Geum, is likely to have significant development. She's an underrated actress.

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A Bit of a Drag

Based on reviews as well as being recommended by other reviewers who has somewhat similar opinions of other series, I was super excited to embark on this one. And while I can still force myself to continue watching due to it potentially getting better, there's just nothing intriguing enough to keep going even after 10 episodes in.

There's no real major flaw to highlight and there was quite some potential of being a unique undertaking of "royalty" in the beginning. Instead of the usual elegant and noble demeanor of royals , it was quite interesting to see the more "normalized" relationship with leaders that weren't born into it that type of restriction/upbringing. Although they did take it a bit too far and some scenes were just awkward.

While there were many great actors and characters in the series, the one that I just couldn't bring myself to like was the main protagonist, Xu Feng Nian. Even if his character was supposed to "pretend" to be narcissistic and spoiled (and despite them trying to paint him as some sort of kind soul deep down who refuses to kill anyone), he still comes off strongly as a narcissist and is quite abusive to those closest to him for that matter. His level of intelligence isn't believable enough either for it to balance out. As for the plot flow, while the story does move along with setting changes and introduction of new characters, it also somehow feels circular. There's too much emphasis on Xu Feng Nian and not enough on the supports. There's a lot going on but it really isn't going anywhere. So for these two reasons, I decided to do the drop.

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Hate to do this but...

The series started off great with a multitude of intriguing events and interesting characters. The production was done well and there was so much potential that it almost seems wrong to give it the lower score. But unfortunately, the plot and character intrigue just starting melting off into the later episodes.

- The FL was very likeable in the beginning but she ended up proving to just be an overly emotional and arrogant woman who expects others to live up to her ideals. If she was supposed to just be an ignorant princess, it wouldn't have been as irritating. But we are supposed to be in awe of her superior tactician skills in war just because she was trained by her uncle verbally? And somehow she becomes a commander because of one good idea? What does that say about all of those who've actually experienced real battles and were more deserving of the title? Who wants an emotional leader who has no battle experience? As of yet, haven't really seen her humbled which leads to no growth. Despite having killed off so many people she treated like chess pieces and constantly needing saving herself, she is still proud of her skills apparently. She also has a heavy tendency to blame everyone else but herself.
- The naive and seemingly useless princess who grew up with the FL ended up taking the spotlight instead because she was one who actually shown some real character growth.
- And man, the slave woman to the FL was one of the most irritating characters of all. How does a slave suddenly have the courage to start assaulting the very ones who enslaved her just because she was taken under the wing by the FL? Then quickly becomes an obnoxious and temperamental spoiled brat because she hooked a guy?
- As for the ML, he was also an interesting character in the beginning but stayed relatively flat with his increasing interest in the FL.

Overall, by episode 20, the FLs were all just getting too frustrating to watch with their lack of appreciation and snottiness. The plot is also one of those that makes everything overly coincidental. So much so that the ML and FL claim one is stalking the other multiple times. And if you're looking for good tactical war moves, you're better off watching the anime "Kingdom".

The higher score is because there are some hit moments and I would have continued to watch it just to see how the naive princess evolves along with Hao Du. They are surprisingly the two most interesting characters so far.

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The only word that kept coming to mind after each episode was "bland". The acting from the mains and supports felt pretty subpar and none of the characters really stood out. In addition to not buying into the acting, the plot felt rushed in areas where it should have had more focus, lingered too long in other areas, and there weren't enough details to glue it together.

This one was tough to write about actually because it had the ingredients to be pretty decent so it's hard to describe or pinpoint what was missing from it. Despite some heart-warming scenes and bonding moments, it somehow felt shallow at the same time. It didn't help that the main character was also pretty obnoxious and unappreciative.

I would normally stick with a series if at least one or two aspects were done well enough especially because this one has a relatively short number of episodes. But the overall feel of this one just didn't intrigue much, and less so with each episode. Onward to the continuous search of good series that involves the afterlife and/or spirits.

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Almost but not quite...

The series started off with a bang and jumps right into action, which may cause some confusion as to who is who and what's going on with the different factions. It does come together more with each episode and it kept me engage until around episode 10 (less the FL/ML flirtatious scenes). I've been debating on whether to sit through more episodes for the positives, but the negative are starting to outweigh.

Positives
- An interesting underlying plot and somewhat unique relationship with the three main princes. There is quite a complex relationship between the three which is intriguing.
- The overall actors are great and the action scenes are done well.
- The gradual unfolding of various character histories would be a reason why I'd want to continue watching.
- The ML has been the most interesting character so far with his multiple roles (though his skills and charm are starting to falter slightly).
- The politics (so far) are actually not as boring and long-winded as with other palace dramas, though I can see its potential in becoming repetitive with 40 episodes.

Negatives
- The FL is supposed to be on par with the ML per the synopsis. But other than having high martial arts skills, she's been quite useless. I've been waiting episode after episode for her to step up to the plate to no avail. She's yet another one of those FLs who constantly states she doesn't want anyone's help, but then requires help from the ML over and over again. You'll get scenes such as her twisting an ankle and the ML is then carrying her on his back. But we are supposed to accept that she is jianghu tough and independent.
- The romance between the FL and ML feels overwhelmingly forced. And the corny of their scenes together has been so bad that I've been skipping through most of it to get to the other parts of the plot. One scene in particular that was so off, I would have fired whoever wrote it in. In the middle of a conversation between the FL and ML, two birds just suddenly falls from out of nowhere giving her the opportunity to just randomly ask him to take care of the white bird while she takes the black bird for obvious symbolic reasons. What??

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Although the mortician aspect would have been interesting, this series is a poor imitation of The Longest Day in Chang'an. While the dramatics actually worked there, it was poorly executed and unnecessary for this plot. I do appreciate that more Chinese dramas are starting to bring back some of the essence it once had, before they tried to incorporate poor graphics and terrible costume work. The action scenes are feeling more skill-based again instead of the floating around nonsense or having characters with strange hairdos that are ridiculous for any time period. One of the mains here also starred in The Untamed and while that one was also somewhat gimmicky, it wasn't as severe and it made more sense due to the supernatural aspect.

Nevertheless, at least visually, this series was done better than some of the others I've seen but it still had too many gimmicks attached to a poorly written script:

- They make Gao Bing Zhu seem like some brilliant fighter and observer but for some reason, he doesn't realize the guy he killed was wearing a completely different mask and didn't have the wound he inflicted earlier? Ugh.
- Baili Hong Yi ties a flimsy white cloth around Gao Bing Zhu's wrist and tells him it's some type of magical knot that he would never be able to untie himself from? And Gao Bing Zhu is somehow threatened enough to give in to his demands? Ugh again.

For what seems like a fairly expensive production, the camera work was subpar. Each episode also made less and less sense and the cheesy dialogue only became more cringe. This series really felt like they tried to reuse or combine all the elements of what made The Longest Day in Chang'an, Nirvana in Fire, and The Untamed successful, but didn't bother to care whether the effects actually made sense for the plot. Note that what didn't make this one work for me wasn't because of the actors but from the cards they were dealt.

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Not Great

*Minor spoiler

Eight episodes in and while the pacing of the plot has stayed steady since the first episode, it has also yet triggered much intrigue. While the ML did a decent job in portraying his character, the dialogue he was given wasn't great. The FL was a dull and unimpressive character, and there was zero chemistry between the two. The relationships the ML develops so far also doesn't feel natural. I had planned to give the series a few more episodes to see if it better evolved but the cringe scene with the rescued little girl solidified the decision to drop. She's supposed to be an orphaned child who was then placed into an abusive environment and witnessed multiple murders. Yet, she very oddly breaks into a happy song (with poor dubbing) the same night with over-exaggerated acting and then turns into an obnoxious spoiled brat the next day? This further highlights the misplacement of emotive focuses such as how the series attempts to lighten up the mood every so often by switching to playful music and banter in between, but it just doesn't feel natural and it doesn't help with the chemistry-building.

The biggest positive about the series are the action scenes. The fight scenes were done really well. I just wish the plot and dialogue matched.

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Not For Me But...

I'm dropping the series mostly because even up through episode 8, the action aspect of the plot never picked up pace. And personally really dislike the typical romance stories with overly innocent and useless women. What's worse is the rest of the other women so far have been portrayed as either being just as useless, full of drama, evil, and/or manipulative. This is very typical of the old-school ideal of Asian romance and couple portrayal. Poor woman/rich man, innocent and sweet woman/powerful and misunderstood man, attached with unrealistically cute voices that belong to girls who haven't gone through puberty.

But for those who love these types of sappy stories, I can see why this one is on the higher-rated end and would definitely recommend. Personally I was putting up with the heavy romance scenes for while hoping the action and backstories would pick up at some point but it's been a slow burn.

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Uninteresting

It's been four hours or four episodes and both the characters and the pacing are exhausting. It started off with an interesting concept of assassins infiltrating the Gong family but the assassins are so monotonous, it doesn't really make sense for them to "blend" in anywhere as they only seem to have skills for stealth. As grandiose, secretive, and careful as this Gong family is, their way of choosing brides also don't make much sense. The same goes for their "rule" of having to have a leader at all times based on who is present, no matter how incompetent the next leader is, also doesn't make sense.

- The conversations are all seriously snail-paced and not very effective.
- The two main FL assassins are uninteresting.
- The main ML (incompetent leader) is uninteresting and is a fool who falls in love foolishly.
- The flamboyant elder sister who's supposed to be the humor lifeline so far in the series, is also uninteresting.

The only character that seems to be interesting at all so far is Gong Shang Jue, but he hasn't really officially entered into the scenes yet. Nevertheless, four hours later and my facial expression from watching the series has been as expressionless as the characters so far. Slightly higher score is for production quality.

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Let me start off by stating that I've watched this series years ago and this review is an attempt as a re-watch.

Although I've only re-watched a few episodes, I decided to drop it. It captures your attention quickly and easily with the initial backstory of your leads. But the script feels shallow for its setting and genre, even with its good attempt to build intensity into each scene.

1. The male lead for example who tries to hunt down his "first love" in the streets by following strangers. It isn't as if she changed her name from when they met or internet wasn't available. So it doesn't make much sense even when we exclude the fact that he apparently can recognize her by face a decade later (especially when they met as kids).

2. The female lead was fantastic as a child but she somehow turned into a rude, extreme snob as an adult? So much so that she can't say a simple "thank you" when someone finds her wallet and is outwardly rude instead? Very odd. While it was believable that she was a shitty lawyer, it is nonsensical that she somehow gets chosen as a public defender just because she told a tale of her past. It would have made more sense if she had credentials to back it up but she doesn't even know how to search for browser history on a computer?

Her mother got fired as a housekeeper and they had to move out. Not a big deal. It isn't as if she didn't have a loving mother who had her back and a decent roof over her head. Even if you try to apply the "she conceded to societal norms", it is still overreaching. Maybe her one traumatic incident as a kid, just wasn't traumatic enough (especially compared to a kid who saw his father murdered). Yet the series builds so much around this.

Then, somehow her moral fibers start to kick in within a couple of days because of some lecturing and a sudden reminder of how she was once falsely accused herself? What has she been up to all her adult career life then?

3. Who in the right mind would decide to hang on a windowsill just because they didn't want to get caught smoking? Ever heard of dropping the cigarette and saying you just walked into the room? It's not as if the room was barricaded.

It's tough. As mentioned, they did well with the intensity level and the light comedy so I can see why it would capture high scores with some. But if you really look at the basis, there just isn't much depth. I wouldn't have been so judgmental if this was supposed to be on the lighthearted side but it really isn't. Would have given it a lower score but because the actors were able to make it somewhat entertaining, I could have probably sat through it to the end.

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Average but charming

It's a good series to watch if you aren't looking for anything that can cause lack of sleep due to wanting to get to the next episode. Having recently getting back into the Asian series mode, I was super excited to see a new Wuxia series with high ratings. However, the series has the same flaws as with many others. The acting of the main protagonists are just slightly less than average and the only saving grace is they have some chemistry with each other. It feels like actors these days are chosen based on looks and less on their ability to act and draw the audience in. The actions scenes were below average and it made me miss again the days when actors with some actual martial arts skills were chosen for these types of roles. The plot had potential but the transitions were choppy.

I did appreciate that the historical costume and makeup weren't as ridiculous as some other series, and nothing was too overly dramatized. And despite it being an overall average, it was still entertaining enough to finish.

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No Chemistry

The series isn't necessarily bad (based on the four episodes seen) and the actors are actually pretty good. But it's just lacking chemistry in all sorts of ways and it's hard to pinpoint why. The first episode is nothing like the second episode forward as it takes a leap from somber to an infusion of comedy. I was pretty excited that it had a relatively similar feel to the Fiery Priest in the beginning but it was short-lived. The ML/FL characters were made to be too extreme in personalities from the start and then shifted out of character very quickly and continually, which made what would have given them their individual charm a blur instead. The supporting actors were even more extreme with their personalities/quirks and it took too much realism out of what is actually quite a decent plot.

As some minor examples, the ML is supposed to be a badass high up on the chain in the Italian mafia. Yet when he arrive in Korea, he's easily drugged by a drink offered by a cab driver and then mugged? I mean, even normal tourists with any common sense would have known to not get into a random black car at the airport when the driver is being overly pushy about using their services. As for the FL, while the actress did the best she could with what she was dealt, the character was spicy but didn't make much sense. They should have highlighted more on the reasoning behind why she was working against her father before she suddenly decided to have a change of heart. The tiny explanation of their relationship right before a major event really didn't do much. Then there are the tenants living/working at the building who are supposed to be regular folk but their characters leans more towards a circus-asylum feel. The ML's interaction with them is equally awkward.

Should reiterate that the series isn't necessarily bad but unfortunately dropping the series because I've already seen how well it can be done with the Fiery Priest.

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