Wow! Why aren't people talking about this one more?

Initially when i saw the cast and roles, I thought that the twins would marry twins and that Chen Xing Xu was portraying both the Male leads, but thankfully that wasn't the case. This is the first time I was introduced to Luke Chen and he was amazing in the role of the third prince.

I also had a lot of assumptions before going into the shows, I thought that the ML played by Cheng XIng Xu would be pretty tame however his story arc was quite powerful compared to that of the Void third prince. His pairing with Landy Li was so fun to watch. The drama didn't have much physical intimacy or even kisses but it was plain to see the lead characters feelings for each others.

I do agree with a lot of reviewers and commenters, the drama has great beginning and ending arcs, however it drags a little in the middle with filler episodes. I like the 3 shards story arc, but it could have been better written. Once they fell in love with her, she just stashed them in places and expected them to stay there no matter how much time it would take for her to find and woo the next one.

And one thing that bothered me, the drama focused too much on forgiveness & sacrifice. Too many characters that shouldn't have been forgiven were forgiven, and unnecessary sacrifices were made for those.

Some Notable Characters:

Liguang Ye Tan
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Loved her right from the beginning. I like watching characters that are open about everything and say what they want. So I pretty much enjoyed watching her every time she was on the screen. She adored Qing Kui and it showed despite her trying to be a hardass at times. What I liked about Ye Tan is that even though she was envious of the way Qing Kui was treated, she never blamed Qing Kui for it. She knew the culprit was her father and she laid the blame right at his feet. Despite being treated like a prisoner all her life, having to hear cruel words from her father, she found it in herself to forgive him because he did all that to protect her. (Nope, still don't care for her father. She almost died quite a few times because of his negligence. When he used those harsh words, he gave others in his kingdom permission to treat Ye Tan poorly. She was starved most of the time, left to be eaten by animal once. People dared to do this because they knew that her father didn't care for her. Her relationship with You Qin was beautiful to watch.

Empyrean Xuan Shang / Shao Dian You Qin
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He was so damn adorable. From the get go, we could see how affected he was by Ye Tan. Once he realized that he liked Ye Tan, he never hid his feelings. He was honest about them, even when he turned her into a walnut and sewed her mouth shut. When he found out that Ye Tan was not Qin Kui, he kick up much fuss about it. He accepted her without creating any unnecessary drama that would be out of his character. He was consistently loyal to Ye Tan (Let's not mention that one shard who was promiscuous for his own good). Qing Kui would never have been a good match for him, she would have probably just gone along with everything he wanted and not changed his life much.

Liguang Qing Kui
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In the beginning, I was a little upset with her character, not because she was favored twin, but I always felt like she could have done so much more for Ye Tan. What upset me even more was that she was a bit hypocritical with Chao Feng / Third Prince, telling him that she disliked people who treated their family badly. However, she was fine treating her father (Emperor Liguang) well when he treated Ye Tan abysmally. This highlighted her privilege, since her father so clearly loved her, she could turn a blind eye to how he treated Ye Tan majority of the time. Ye Tan never blamed her, since she was imprisoned by her own family, treated poorly, she was glad to receive what little she received from Qing Kui. There could be more to the story, maybe she helped her sister a lot more than we got to see but it wasn't depicted so clearly. I did grow to like her character, especially after watching, "Immortal Samsara: Part 1" , where we have another set of twin sisters who were borne out of same root. It just made me look at her in a different way. Throughout their interaction Qing Kui had always been kind to Ye Tan. She always thought the best of Ye Tan and her ambitions of becoming the Demon of the Void. All their interactions were genuine. Even when the whole mix-up happened and she ended up in the void realm she could have blamed Ye Tan for trying to create a mess to get her out of her wedding she wasn't really against of. However, she was quite sane and even looked out for Ye Tan in her own way. So maybe Qing Kui was one of the reasons Ye Tan didn't loose her spirit even after spending 18 years in captivity.

Chao Feng / Third Prince
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The great liar, it was fun to watch him come up with crazy but believable stories to hoodwink Qing Kui, who easily fell for it. The crazy idiot, didn't even realize that he was creating a trap for himself and when he did realize he was quite happy to fall head over heels for Qing Kui. While he appeared quite dashing in many scenes, I do wish his character would have been more imposing and not often defeated by You Qin. I wanted to see them as equals.


Shao Dian Xiao Yi [Heavenly Emperor]
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The emperor, You Qin's father, was more of glory hound, who didn't really care about You Qin as his child. He just wanted to be known as the father of the great Empyrean who achieved the perfect celestial body and saved the world. Even the fix is not permanent, only for a few hundred thousand years, after which he might as well pop out another child to sacrifice, when he himself never had the guts to step up to the plate. Qing Kui was such a decent person and he seemed very happy when she died, that was quite disgusting to see. His expression of glee was present when he found out that You Qin made progress in his cultivation, not really caring that his son was going to die. A decent parent would have been worried about his child, he seemed elated. Its a wonder his wife tolerated him for so long. We all understand sacrifices are to be made, but he could have been a supportive and understanding parent to You Qin. What's more, he was the first one to be an obstacle in bringing You Qin back to life. Even when he came back to life, he just was selfish prick to everyone included.

I'm not a fan of open endings like these so I scrolled down to the comment sections and found this link. This helped ease of the anxiety the I felt after that ending. https://x.com/YoukuOfficial/status/1750867181745688650?s=20

Lire davantage

Good for the first 10-15 episodes.

I didn't read the reviews for this one before going into it, should have. I just wanted to see Garvey Jin in another romantic drama but it was for the naught. His story only got interesting in the last couple of episodes that was the only good part about those episodes.

The story is so bad halfway through. Why can't these people talk things out? What's with keeping the baby from the father? Its not like he is going to be crappy father, the ML was a green flag and honestly would have been a much better father than the mother. As a role model for the child, she should have at least considered how her decisions would affect the baby but no. Once you find out you are pregnant, reach out to the fellow. Stop making decision for the guy, if he said he didn't want to be a father once he found out, then that's another story. But that was not this guy at all.

Just felt like wasted 9 hours watching this. Had to skip most of the scenes since they were not very impactful.

Lire davantage

Both the FL and ML are green flags

Its impossible not to love these two seemingly adorable characters. There is no finding fault. The writes did such a beautiful job and this is one gem worth rewatching. It is like a salve for your heart, especially if you have been traumatized by crappy endings.

The cast was also a treat to watch, all the actors were so visually stunning. The FL's entire family was full of green flags, her brother and her parents. They were so understanding of her and also cherished their daughter so much. A treat for people who understand how precious gentle parenting can be.

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The leads have explosive chemistry

The chemistry between the leads is the saving grace for this movie. Had it been any other actors, i would have dropped it or might not even have considered watching it.

Were they an ordinary couple? Not really. This is an exaggeration of what ordinary couples are. Sure people fight & have on again off again relationship but these two didn't seem to care about each other. The only time they seem to care was when then weren't together. They were at least not ordinary to me. Both were so violent, making it worse for each other. Maybe this is ordinary to someone out there.

I was hoping they would each find someone to calm them down. But they end up repeating the cycle.

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Had potential

The name Gen Z is just not well-suited for the drama. I disagreed with a lot of ways the things were handled by the grown ups in the drama. The whole concept of the drama was not for me. But I can say that the master-disciple relationship between the Xing Zheng and Sun Tou Tou had a lot of potential.

I'm not a fan of Tian Zhen and couldn't actually see him in favorable light once he left Sun Tou Tou drunk alone, where she almost drowned. He was too damn irresponsible at all times. Never stepping up when he made any mistakes, always allowing others to take the blame for him. Let's not forget that in order to alleviate his guilt about Meng Meng, he tried to keep her with him so that he could treat even knowing that it was beyond his expertise. I could only like him for the last part of the story because I chose to turn a blind eye to all of these things & because that's what Sun Tou Tou wanted.

I couldn't believe the way things ended for Meng Meng, what she needed was a therapist not Tian Zhen who wasn't capable of taking care of her. Her parents were even worse, trying to lock her up as if she was some monster. They all failed the poor child.

I didn't much care for how Ling Lan treated Sun Tou Tou, telling her to leave even without giving her the chance to prove that she wasn't guilty. Sun Tou Tou was a such a bright light throughout the drama, she was childish at times knowing that she would be kicked out even if she behaved, not really believing the whole thing about her being the descendant.

Zhao Lusi was the one who made the drama worth watching, her performance as an orphan who knew that she could be kicked out if she stepped one foot out of the line was marvelous. She is a joy to watch & it broke my heart every time she was blamed for things that weren't her fault. She got so used to it that she didn't hesitate in taking the blame & being selfless when she thought it would be better for her master's family.

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Lost count of the number of times I have rewatched this ( 4-5 would be my guess so far)

It's not perfect, there are certain things about the plot that have you raising eyes but the leads make up for whatever is wrong with the story. They have a such a blazing chemistry! This is the show that made me like Ji Chang Wook even before I knew his name. His pairing with Nam Ji Hyun is best to date. I'm sad that they haven't worked together again in any other dramas. Especially, Nam Ji Hyun, I really would like to her in more romcoms, but she prefers more serious roles. The entire cast is also great.

What I like about both the characters is that they have enough spine to leave to their cheating exes. They didn't beg for them to take them back but made it clear that they wouldn't want them back under any condition. Jang Hee Joo, Bong Hee's ex was such a pain in the ass, not only did he show no remorse for cheating, he went out of his way to make it so that she was the one who cheated. The women in the hotel, Na Hi Jae, wasn't any better either, she contributed to this plan knowing that they both messed up but still behaved all high and mighty. These are the kind of people that scare me, the ones who don't understand the difference between right & wrong. What makes it even more scary is that they get away with it. Even by the end of the drama, Na Hi Jae didn't face any repercussion for damaging Bong Hee's reputation, and irony is she is the one who becomes a prosecutor, who's supposed to uphold justice, whereas Bong Hee who was framed continues to struggle.

One thing that bothers me the most about the ML is he thinks that not submitting the second knife would have let him be continue to fulfill his father's dream of him being a prosecutor, but he doesn't even consider what his father would have thought of him being a dishonest one by hiding the other knife. Instead, he blames it on the FL. And everyone around agrees that he gave up his career not for the truth but because of the FL. I don't think this thinking was ever addressed.

While they end up arresting one Stalker, they glorify the FL's stalking of the ML. Between the two of them, the ML didn't really notice that she was stalking him, but once he found out, I don't think he minded it that much.

The best part about Bong Hee & Ji Wook's relationship is that there was always a nascent attractions between them, neither of them aware when they started to have feelings for each other. One day, they just knew that they did. Ji Wook did his best to deny those feelings but ultimately decided to stop resisting. Bong Hee surely had a tough time of it, since she was the one who recognized those feelings first and had to deal with it being one-sided for long, then came the rejection. It is beautiful to watch them be together, even when they fight about silly things.

Lire davantage

A very engaging drama with depth that moves you to tears.

Ae Ra & Dong Man: They started out strong. Loved the way the progressed. So damn adorable both of them. Coming to the one major conflict they had. When I first watched the drama, I was always upset with Ae Ra. Can you imagine being happy with a partner when you are asked to give up such a big part of who they are? Had Dong Man given up on fighting, he would have resented her and that in itself would have destroyed there relationship. At the time, I was so mad at her that forgot the Doctor's diagnoses and how he said that Dong Man might be unable to hear if he is hit in the same place again.
During my second watch, I could put myself in Ae Ra's shoes. How would I feel if my partner who is at risk of going deaf insists that he continue fighting? She was the one who took care of him, when he thought he had lost his hearing and saw him be miserable. Since something that traumatic happened to him, he was very uncommunicative during the time, as was his right. What's worse is that she was already worried about the fight between him and Tak Soo. So, that definitely put her off the edge.
That doesn't mean she had the right to give him such an ultimatum. Apart from that one aspect, they were good to each other and for each other. I'm glad that they were able to work through it, even though it took Ae Ra some time.

Joo Man & Sol Hee: I see a lot of people going out of their way defending Joo Man for not being able to handle the love & support that many people can only dream of having. That's something I won't praise him for. He wasn't all wrong though. He was rational and tried to tell Sol Hee numerous times that she should look after herself more, but she wasn't listening. But still, they both had such a big communication issue. Even though he was rational, he failed to realize that Sol Hee didn't want to live in a big house. It was something that he decided on his own. She just wanted to be married to him, no matter where they lived. One thing that bothered me about Joo Man is the lack of effort, he could have cared for her the way she did for him, maybe not to the extremes but just a little. If he thought that she was saving up & not getting anything for herself, he could have treated her to things long time ago, way before things went so wrong and he tried to get her that pink dress just because she was an embarrassment to him. The thing with the intern was so ridiculous, he led her on because she reminded him of Sol Hee when she was young. My heart goes out to Sol Hee a bit, had she been with someone like Dong Man, she would have been cherished. What I do not like about her character is that she let too many things slide. She was obsessed with loving Joo Man and he couldn't do anything wrong. She was also willing to overlook things, like when he lied about meeting the intern. They just weren't a right fit for each other. I didn't want them to end up with each other. But sadly they did. Many people would say that this is the way of real relationships, however that's an excuse for not putting enough efforts into your relationship. Not accepting that its possible to beat that low-effort cycle is just as naive as assuming that life is all unicorn and rainbows.

Final note, all actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters.

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The ML is one of the greenest flags in Kdrama history. (2nd watch)

The ML was such a kind and nice person from the get go. He had a hard time expressing himself sometimes but once he understood things he avoided making those same mistakes again. And we could hardly call them mistakes.

The FL was nice and all but the the ML stole the show. The 2nd couple were more interesting than the FL, but she was a good partner for ML. Seeing them together makes me feel so warm and happy. The 2nd couple had a breakup that wasn't really needed. I'm not even sure if they ended up together as a couple or just friends. The guy clearly likes her but they spent some time apart and he might have gotten over it. They obviously share some affection but its hard to surmise from the scenes after they met again if they were going to try being together again.

Lire davantage

A lot of adorableness packed in 30 episodes of no silly misunderstandings.

The first 1 or 2 times I tried to watch the drama, I couldn't get past the first episode. Everyone on social media and in the comments were raving about it but I just didn't seem to like the vibe I got from the 1st episode. However, I wanted to watch them be all lovey dovey and decided to give it another go. Still not a fan of the first episode, but from the 2nd episode onwards it was such a good watch. It was warm for me.

Even though I liked them being together, his intense stares sometimes made me feel like this could have easily been a case of serial killer locking on his prey, but thankfully it wasn't.

The actors did such a good job in creating this beautiful drama that has shows such love for all characters, now matter who they were.

Lire davantage

A funnier and more romantic version of the 2016 drama of the same name.

I watched this one first and liked it on the first go. As I was about to rewatch it, I discovered the 2016 drama, which is was watched for the first time, before rewatching this one. Both dramas have their appeal. Where the 2016 drama has more depth and sticks to the crime tone more, this one is more sillier and funny. The ML is both are very attractive, however, even that didn't much endear me to the 2016 drama, as it lacked romance. They dropped the ball on that one.

This 2023 version picked up that ball and gave us better romance, even balancing other genres well. This version clearly has a higher rewatch value for me. (Already seen it twice) Sometimes this silliness is just what we need in life to make us laugh. I liked certain aspects of this story better, especially the part about the FL being the one to loose a friend to murder. It just added more to her character.

Lire davantage

More focused on the criminal aspect than romance (Not bad but wish it had more romance)

The leads were amazing. I liked the ML and FL both as individuals. They also have good chemistry, sadly it was underutilized. We get to see how the FL developed her feelings for the ML, but we have no clue about how it happened for the ML. In his case, it simply seemed too abrupt and without any explanation. They got together in the final episode and he directly proposed marriage. Had the romance been better paced or more present, it would have had some rewatch value for me. But right now, I won't be coming back to this.

I did find the actors a refreshening change and will be checking out more of their dramas, hopefully some with better romance.

Lire davantage

I watched the drama first, this movie could have been better but it lacked proper execution.

First things first, this is my first time watching Angelababy act and I must say she did a much better job at portraying Bei Wei Wei compared to the actress in the drama. I'm sure Bei Wei Wei's character was written that way in the drama and it made it boring to watch despite the chemistry between the two. Now, in the movie, Bei Wei Wei, was as she should be, full of life and gamer with much more than an ounce of personality.

Both Jing Bo Ran's & Yang Yang's Xiao Nai were pretty similar to met. They were both nice to the FL and it is a quality that appreciate in the MLs of the romance dramas I prefer to watch.

And I was so surprised to see three stars of dramaworld as secondary character with very little contribution to the movie. Li Xian, Tan Song Yun, and Janice Wu. There story arcs were such that they almost disappeared in the background. Only their memorable faces made me remember them.

Now, coming to the story, the drama did a much better job. While we understand the time limit and how compression works, the movie was not executed well. It lacked flow, the scenes changed abruptly. The romance developed suddenly. I have seen many dramas where 1 single episode showcased so many different scenes but the transition between them was perfect.

But was it worth the time spent watching it? Yes, not bad for a one time watch.

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