The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (2020)

For everyone that isn't into romances

I started watching this drama a while ago, but gave up after the second episode because I couldn't follow the plot. I'm glad I came back after watching other dramas. They gave me more background knowledge to follow the complex political structures and plots.

While the plot was interesting, it was the characters that really got me hooked, especially Wang Zhi. His character and story had so much more potential and I would love to see a whole show with him as the main character. It kind of blew my mind that he was so young - and while his actions sometimes made you forget that, the show manages to remind you of his youth in some really great scenes.

Overall, the show suffered from the same problems that many shows do: the plot gets too convoluted, the stakes don't fit the established tone of the show and some plot holes are hard to overlook. For example, there should have been a better way to introduce the Empress as a warrior, as it came out of nowhere (twice). While the action scenes were great in the beginning, when they tried to raise the stakes in the last few episodes, it became over the top and felt out of place. Also, some of the serious issues they were trying to address (e.g. PTSD, domestic violence, human trafficking) went nowhere and had no consequences.

Despite these problems, I really loved the show and its main characters. They had great chemistry, and I'm curious to see what a BL adaptation of this show would have been like.

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Okay

The first half of the drama was quite good but the second half was a bit of a mess. There were a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies which made you wonder whether you accidentally skipped an episode that explained some of the things that were happening. I would have also liked to see more endings e.g. what happened to the street children who were part of Wang Zhi's network? Did Tang Fan and Sui Zhou get promoted after the incident? etc.

I expected more fight scenes in the series but I wasn't severely disappointed by the few that happened. My favourite was the fight between Gao Yi and Amasanj. As for music, it wasn't memorable but it wasn't bad.

I liked most of the characters. Wang Zhi was a favourite when he wasn't infected with a plague called 'Tang Fan'. Sui Zhou was also very impressive whenever Tang Fan wasn't around. As for Tang Fan, I had an 'on' and 'off' like for him. He was very good at times but in others, he was the egotistical person who took advantage of the affection of those around him. It was also strange how he could be knowledgeable about politics in one instance but a novice in others. For example, he once asked Wang Zhi to request supervisory power from the emperor which inevitably risked Wang Zhi's life. At that point, he seemed unaware of the implications of his actions. However, he also told Wang Zhi that it would be good if a day came when the emperor forgot him which shows that he understood the threat to Wang Zhi's life due to how powerful he had become. There are such many contradictions that leave you wondering. There were also instances of him causing trouble because of his self-righteousness and belief that he couldn't possibly be wrong. Overall, Tang Fan wasn't my favourite.
I also liked her highness Wan Zhen'er. She was a badass woman but also soft when it counted. She was great, especially in the last two episodes.

The bromance was just okay. The chemistry is incomparable to some of the greats like 'the untamed, word of honour, advance bravely, love is more than a word, guardian, etc' but it was okay. There was a total lack of ambiguity though which was a bit disappointing. Luckily, neither Tang Fan nor Sui Zhou ended up with a woman.

I don't think I will rewatch this drama any time soon but I will probably do so in a few years.

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Perfect Detective Drama

I purposely watch this one slowly because I didn't want it to end. There aren't many ancient detective dramas so I consider this a niche drama. Great Bromance brewing slowly over series of events. Even minor characters are written so well that I didn't skip one minute.

3 ML it was hard to determine who's the favorite. Wang Zhi by far was the most complex calculating. I could not believe he's just starting in his career as his facial expressions were so on point. Make it seemed like he acted all his life.
Tang Fan at times seems childish and annoying but also provided so many comical moments
Sui Zhou the manly loyal guard with his sexy accent (I rather hear this than some random dubbed voice) was the protector of all.
The 3 unlikely characters worked together to solve so many crimes. All the characters are interconnected in the end.
Supporting cast were all interesting - the doctor that loves Tang Fan's sister, Dong Er with her photographic memory, the funny noodle shop lady, Wu Yun the archer who end up staying. Too many to name.

The icing on top is all the food displays from cooking methods to explaining the symbolism dishes expressing the importance of love and family.

Lastly the fight scenes with Jacky Chan style displayed. This was just a perfect executed drama all around. I am going to miss this drama that's for sure!

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Too much sleuthing for me

Tang Fan’s features and movements make him seem almost effeminate in a way. I later found out that this was possibly intentional since the source material for this drama seems to be a BL novel. But make no mistake, Darren Chen is definitely still a cutie.

Playing his uh… best friend, is Feng MengPo as Shi Zhou. Opposite Tang Fan, this guy is clearly a man’s man. He has that silent type, brooding and thoughtful character that I have come to expect from children born to high class families. He has a strong sense of justice and is very sympathetic to the common people.

Let me be extremely honest. I am a simple person who does not like to complicate things. By episode 12, I got tired of all the sleuthing and the secrets and the conspiracies.

For the full review, here is the link:

https://thislifehappened.me/the-sleuth-of-ming-dynasty/

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Game Of Thrones-ing the Past with the Food Network

I prefer to go into show blind as I find it better to reach my own conclusion and/or opinion on a show.
I normally like detective style shows but this is one of those ones that I dropped simply because I didn't like the characters.

This show uses some pretty heavy material for it's mysteries which if you are anything like me, will put the anxiety through the roof as your watching. This show was not good for my heart in that aspect. So if you are sensitive to very violent source material, be warned here. When I meet material as dark as this, I need to have something to counteract that kind of information. I need deeply heroic people and compassionate people. I am fully aware this stuff happens in life and the people responsible get to walk. I do not find it entertaining to watch it in a show. I am a viewer who doesn't need step by step reality in my shows.

Having said that, the characters fail me in this. The leads are the only truly likeable people, at the start. Everyone else is a truly an evil person. There are no excuses here. It's a kill or be killed kind of reality. I get it. The past sucked.

Our 3 main leads are a stoic and solemn guy with a violent past, the effeminate baby girl genius guy with a sad past and the hard nosed palace eunuch that you're not sure whether or not to trust, and I couldn't be bothered to find out his past.
I can understand this set up in the beginning but they were still the same by episode 20. I knew nothing more about them other than Stoic guy is kind, everyone hates the eunuch and the effeminate ML is as annoying as all hell.
I don't do tsunderes. I don't find them cute or endearing or even funny. They just annoy me. 20 episodes in and our ML is supposed to be exceptionally intelligent. He is the 'sleuth' in the main title and yet he will pout and stomp is his feet like a baby, rush into a situation on emotion and will straight up tell the Emperor to go away because no one is above the law and I just don't want to. I'm sick, I'm getting married, I'm dead. Seriously? This is our Genuis ML? The Emperor could have you and your friends gutted on the spot. Is a bit of tact too much to ask for from our supposedly competent genius? Am I supposed to cheer this on?
The surrounding characters aren't very fleshed out by episode 20 either. We've got the super genius adopted sister who remains in the background eating sweets until she's useful and two foreign characters that are just kind of there. They fell into the plot randomly and now there's a romance trying to be pushed between foreign girl and the ML.

Also, the food p@rn. I really don't care for. Am I supposed to feel something? Was this to counteract the absolute devastation of the mysteries? It does nothing for me.

First time in my life, I also found the cinematography annoying as well but perhaps that's just the mood I had when watching. Someone really loved getting picture-esque shots between doors and at side angles with lots of props in view. After a while, this started to give me a slight headache as I tilt my head with the camera. Yes, the surroundings are beautiful but every other angle doesnt need to be up and down and side to side.

Overall, I can see the appeal if detective shows are your thing. Not alot of action. It's all sleuth or at least until 20 but it is an exhausting show to watch. From the annoying lead, the camera angles, the dark material and deep web of lies and deceit in the royal court, there was just too much going on for me to be able to enjoy it properly.

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The best drama.

3 main roles are perfect.I love Tangfan the way he talks so lovely.I love Sui Cho because of his quiet manner.Wang gonggong looks so lovely.Every support roles are perfect too.I love Doctor Pei,Ting rong,Tong Aer and the son of Tangfan's sister. The story is very good for me because I never read the book before I see this drama.For someone who ever read the book may be get a little disappointed that I understand.The Emperor is good too.I think he the most handsome Emperor.Listen his voice! so powerful.I'm waiting for part2 . Pleaseeeeee

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This drama is really really awesome. Those who like to watch comedy, mysterious and suspicious can come and watch it. I really love its cast.
I really liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddddddd this drama.
I appreciate the hard work of the cast.
It is not typical .loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee3eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee xxhjdfdjgdjdidjkdyduzvdyjjsfhrudhgaiajgdjjzhbegxhdhdhdhdhdhgdgdgduhdysyeyrhrhfhdidhudgfihfhhfhfufihfhdhfhfhuhgdgdhgcgdggdhsggcgfhdfggxghdhxgxhxhhxgxhxhbxhxjqbxdghdghzgdszsdsfgxgchxuxhhdgsyehxggxhsvfsgxvxvxvgdhdhbdvdhdhgdhfhrjxhwgufhvxvchjiwyuejxfssb

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I follow to read this novels from Jamsai book store in Thailand. After I know about the news of this series I feel very happy at the first time, but after this series brodcast on internet, i knew the news that the director change the direction of the story from boy's love to other way. Do you think that many people fool or you just thing that you are smart to change other novels and make it become like a junk series in the market. The plagiarism that happen in this series is so disgusting. Hope the people who read this comment, i love the actors in the series but i hate the good story was damaged by someone hand. I recommendd you to read the REAL novel from real writer, you will love the story.

Thank you

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