
(image credit: as marked)
This was, of course, my most anticipated story among all in here, considering how I’m a major fan of Eric and while following the shooting of it, it seemed quite intriguing. It was really, really, really disappointing on all parts with characterization, plot, and possibly acting. I’ll start with acting first. Michelle was better with tragic scenes or when she didn’t try to act playful and young. ‘Cause she went quite overboard that I was cringing from time to time seeing her trying too hard. What happened? Maybe she was trying to do it for this role BUT her experiment failed. It was better that she just didn’t do those exaggerations and just act normal. Eric, on the other hand, I felt he brought out his character well though his character wasn’t perfect. That was the nice way to put it though since I really hated the wishy-wahsy nature of his character. It made everything so frustrating to watch, plus Michelle’s exaggeration. As for the plot, it was minimal but what made it worse was the way it was written with trying to drive the plot forward. The wishy-washy thing with Eric’s character and not being able to decide on anything made the plot even worse ’cause the progress was so lagging. I liked the refreshing chemistry between Eric and both girls and sometimes, I would prefer Eric with Cheung Sai than Michelle for some reason. BUT of course, I wouldn’t mind either. Just that the characters need to improve. I did not blame Cheung Sai’s character for pushing Eric at times and even bring out the hammer, wanting Michelle to leave. ‘Cause Eric was so undecided and wanted both girls–OR probably he was confused. Then later when he realized who he liked, he couldn’t let go of Cheung Sai. So that was a mess all right. Like I said above, draggy. I wish they focused more on the fairy matters and the fighting. I don’t know.
Why am I so harsh on it? I expected A LOT more than this. A LOT!
To switch gears, was I the only one who thought that Eric’s outfits seemed like ten times better than Michelle’s? OR were they trying to create a dragon-like image for her? I don’t know. I thought they could have done better. I liked both of Eric’s outfits, the blue flowery one and the green one with the leaves. Those were really nice. That was about it.
As for the ending? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry because I thought it would have an equally tragic ending as the other ones–aka not letting Ma Ji and Xiao Qiao end up together. But then it turned out differently. Though it was a happy ending, I swear it didn’t make up for the poor plot and characterization throughout. The moral sucked major time also. What the heck was that? It was like they needed a villain at the end so they made it like Qing He was in the wrong and tried to convince her. It was pathetic because the message of living a happy life was not backed up properly. What would anyone do if they were misled and felt like they were cheated and robbed? SO do I agree with the ending? Yes on the finding happiness and what one wanted the most. And that Ma Ji was finally able to realize how all of those statuses didn’t matter and having witnessed how that one Zhao dude went crazy over his lost chance and how he’d lost his fortune because he didn’t win. BUT it did not make up for anything. I didn’t care if Ma Ji and Xiao Qiao weren’t perfect. But I felt it was going in the wrong direction with how they made Qing He out to be the villain. She was hurt and was fighting back, that was all.
Favorite character? Must be Xu Biao portrayed by Guo Ding Wen. I know, I know. He could be considered the evil disciple who tried to chase Xiao Qiao (Michelle) down and helping his master with the dragon hunting task. YET he was very clear as to where he stood on the whole thing. Xiao Qiao saved him so he gave Ma Ji (Eric) some information to help Xiao Qiao in running away. Then he drew the line with them after the scores were already settled. I didn’t blame him for acting on his master’s orders either because he had done all he could to repay Xiao Qiao. Not to mention the memorable ending. I swear he totally made up for everything in the end because he was the one to save the day with helping Ma Ji rescue Xiao Qiao. It was good to know he had a background story also–and it wasn’t draggy at all. Just a summary of his character through his own story-telling but it made a lot of sense. It was WAY better than dragging it out and dramatizing everything like how they did with the rest of the story. Another reason I didn’t know why they were able to pull this off but dragged out the other things for so long.
Most pitiful character? Qing He. I know, people usually lean toward the main couple after they were together, etc and went through a lot of trials together already. And not to mention how she was hunting Xiao Qiao down near the end too. But I honestly felt sorry for her. It wasn’t her fault that she was misled into believing that Ma Ji honestly loved her and yet he abandoned her just like that. She seemed spoiled OR whatever with her attitude at times. But I could totally sympathize with her. Just because she was from a wealthy family didn’t mean she didn’t have feelings. Yes, sounded too much like ‘poor rich girl’ but I didn’t think she deserved to be misled, used–among other things. And so what if she was thinking like the others who thought about marriage, status, and all those riches? So what if she didn’t ‘love’ him correctly like some of us might want to criticize her for? IF Ma Ji hadn’t made all those promises in the first place, she wouldn’t have sunk so slow. OR if she was the one making the despicable moves, then she would deserve the outcome. So, it didn’t matter if she was being stubborn clinging onto someone who didn’t love her. Take it that she was throwing a tantrum or was just mad for being tossed around and being misled. Not trying to take her side on purpose, but I honestly felt like why was it always right for the so-called ‘good people’ to get mad at others BUT the so-called ‘villains’ can’t? LAME-O! I swear Cheung Sai brought the character out very well, making it believable but I thought Qing He should be pitied more than being hated. (I swear Xiao Qiao had no right to yell at her either. Though it wasn’t her fault Ma Ji loved her BUT she had no right to scold Qing He for turning into that hateful being.) AND let’s not even forget that Qing He did tell Ma Ji to leave her, not to pity her anymore when she knew she was really sick YET he kept insisting that he really loved her AND promise to take care of her for the rest of her life (or be by her side for the rest of her life)–even if she couldn’t live for so long. SO, who was the one that drove Qing He to insanity? HELLO!
So I wouldn’t even recommend this one for Eric fans. Unless you want to see for yourself. And we all know I have a weird point of view so my accounts can’t really be trusted at times.
your review was spot on…Michelle Yip’s acting was kind of bad… Eric delivered in terms of acting but his character left a lot to be desired.. I wish he would take on stronger roles… The story was poorly written, and I ended up liking Cheung Sai’s character the most…
Thank you for your inputs! I’m glad someone saw it like that with Qing He (Cheung Sai) as well.
I want Eric to take on much stronger roles too, lol. Talking about that, I kept having to back-watch his stuff but I finally found a role that I could actually enjoy (after some really draggy plots among other things.)
I REALLY agree with your opinions! Thank you so much for sharing. There is something I want to say: Eric Suen is such an A** H** (just in this drama, I like him in his other series)
Thanks for sharing! LOL! I know what you mean! I really tried to tone down on the frustration in the post with the ‘language’ BUT yeah. Totally agreed. I was like, “What the hell?” half of the time while watching at that time. It’s one of those works that I rather not watch again, lol.