Peões do Amor (2024)

Just started this…

I was curious with this series since I saw it on my fyp, and also because of Wang Xingyue, I liked him in scent of time and I’m a big Zhou Ye fan. The story is quite interesting so far although there are scenes wherein I find a little absurd or cringey, I’m only on episode 9 and still continuing to watch it & haven’t dropped it yet means a lot on my end, it means that the story is that intriguing, the actor who played Zhou YeMs brother, the girl who portayed Mu Yaoare from scent of time, the assistant/maidservant of the FL was also the one from scent of time, and The actor who portrayed Zhou Ye’s father in scent of time is also here, as well as the personal butler of the crown prince, & the supposedly concubine of the crown prince from scent of a scent time is here too!!!, so it’s nice to see a familiar faces. Also the princess from the kunning palace is also in this series!

My only issue would be, the FL I don’t know there are angles wherein I don’t find her pretty, some angles she looks okay, but it’s really distracting me… most of the female actresses in this series are prettier than the FL tbh, but since the story is interesting I shall try to bear with looking at her face.. no hate this is just my honest opinion…

of course I’ll add a more depth review once I get deeper into the series and once it finishes.

UPDATE:

currently on episode 16, despite me being bothered with the FL, the story and plot is strong, it’s so intriguing, that it makes you want to watch longer, and would want to know what will happen next. there are tons of antagonists on this series, but a handful of protagonists, I love the fact that the character of the FL is smart and fearless, not the helpless annoying kind.

Leia Mais

Overrated but not bad

It could have been amazing, however it’s a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle box that’s been opened; the picture on the outside is interesting, but when you open the box, you find there are pieces missing or some of the pieces don’t belong.

WHAT I LIKED
I adore stories with strong, smart female leads which is why I started watching C-dramas. This story attempts to have that.

The cinematography and set design are gorgeous! Apparently, this show had 3 directors and it’s clear that some were more interested getting the right looking shot that they were in ensuring that the story and characters made sense on screen.

WHAT RUINED IT FOR ME
I think it’s important to establish chemistry and harmony so that the audience is swept up into the plot. IMO, that did not happen here. Reading a book is not the same as watching a movie. A movie requires that the visuals on the screen and the harmony between the cast and script are visually palpable. That didn’t happen here.

First, the casting decisions were terrible. I’m not saying that the acting was bad. Individually, I think each cast member did a terrific job. However, the cast never had any chemistry.

For one thing, it was difficult to understand how old these people were supposed to be. You have Wu Jin Yan who is a beautiful 30+ plus old woman in RL, but she looks like a 28 to 30-year-old. Then you have the rest of the non-parental figures in the show cast as 21-year-olds. If the story had been about 21-year-olds being led by a charismatic 30-year-old then I think that it could have worked. Instead, they put 5+ lbs of make on Wu Jin Yan and used trick lighting to try to make her look 21. The result is extremely uneven. She looks that age in about 80% of the scenes but, often within the same scene or episode, she clearly looks WAY older than the people that are supposed to be her peers. Instead of focusing on the plot, I spent as much time tying to figure out what was going on with their ages and whether that was intentional.

Furthermore, I think the decision to pretend that the Directors could manipulate things so that WJY could pass for 21 also destroyed the chemistry. Instead of a harmonized crew, we got great individuals playing good roles. What we needed was people that seemed to care about each other on screen as much as they did in the novel.

Second, the plot line was not great. Wu Jin Yan can be a great actress. She was fantastic in Yangxi Palace! IMO, she’s one of the best at making you believe that the FL is clever. However, in this it seemed like she was sleepwalking through the plot. The examples of her charater’s cleverness are not delivered with the same zing as Yangxi palace. I blame a lot of that on the plots. They’re clever, but predictable. Please tell me if you didn’t know what was happening with the flags at the quasi-nunnery 5 minutes before it was revealed.

Part of it was the setup. The main character went from normal and somewhat gullible when she was first introduced to being clever as a fox overnight, literally. At least, show us how she mentally worked out that she could be clever person instead being just a pawn.

The instrumental music used to propel the scenes is meh. It’s kind of like the show. It’s not bad, but it’s not something to get excited about either.

Leia Mais

Another Predictable Revenge Plot

After watching the trailer, I expected some intense palace intrigue. The drama started out so well, but after watching 10 episodes, all we've seen is the stepmom and stepsisters scheming against the female lead. There's a lot of unnecessary filler, with too much talking and comedy that makes the plot feel unserious.

I've dropped many dramas like "Love Like the Galaxy" because I don't enjoy plots where all the female characters gang up on one person, making the female lead a perpetual victim. The supporting characters in this drama aren't compelling enough for me to care about them. The stepmom's hatred for the female lead simply because she's the daughter of the first wife is such a cliché; we've seen this plot in so many dramas.

The main reason I've stuck with this drama is because of Wang Xing Yue. His strong presence, acting, and voice are impressive, and I will definitely check out his future works. I don't mind a slow-burn romance, but we're not getting enough screen time for the male lead, and there's a lot of pointless dialogue between the main leads. To be honest, Wu Jin Yan is not the right choice for the female lead role.

For now, I'm dropping this drama, though I might pick it up again in the future just to watch the male lead.

Leia Mais

No title

Predictable plot. Similar twists is repeatedly used. In the middle of assassin attack or dangers main casts can waste precious seconds to look at each other with love and talk stupid. Happens too many times spoiler. Like you're in the middle of a good dream and you're abruptly interrupted for a few seconds and then force to continue the dream which by this while isn't so good anymore.
Main actress is way too old for the role like a decade too old. Her puffy eyes betray her age. She is poor in comical moments. She isnt pretty. Casting numerous prettier and younger looking supporting and guest role actresses doesn't help her. Like making her age more obvious. Main actor role all too familiar and repeatedly used in too many period drama. High fighting skill, make little mistake, can predict all enemy's move like always and has bad childhood. Phui!!!

Leia Mais

nothing better for a summer binge

A smooth and addicting watch, recommended. A romance (no skinship necessary) set in a decent historical/political thriller. Nothing better for a summer binge (30 hours!! 40 eps at 45mins ea.) A woman is the protagonist of the story (Cdrama seems better at this than Jdrama or kdrama--why?). Is this a story about revenge (the FL motivation) and power politics (the ML/bro of emperor motivation) or about justice for women and a peaceful govt for the people? You decide.

Underlying themes:
1. The power of rhetoric to turn reality on its head. The powerful use it in most dramas, here the weak can, but only in the context of relative social stability.
2. The unspeakable crimes which women endure behind closed doors (including the suffering of hostages). Some survive with the essential integrity of their character intact, but some survive only as monsters, permanently damaged. All human beings deserve compassion because we all suffer, even these.

A powerful screenwriter (Ren Ya Nan) makes justice and various forms of real love possible in this show for a series of imperfect beings. The violence is therefore bearable within the theatrical frame.

Astounding slow simmer between the leads; ML actor Wang Xing Yue (Duke Su, Xiao Heng) does not use a voice actor and whenever in his mellifluous and emotional baritone (?) he says "a'Li" your heart will flutter. And that is even before the two acknowledge their love -- by gaze only and in the middle of a really good fight with very bad guys!!!!!

FL actress Wu Jin Yan (Xue Fangfei/Xue Li/Jiang Li) does use a voice actor and she also uses the serious nature of her part well enough to paper over the large age difference between the leads (34/22), helped along by judicious camera work. But never fear, their acting is so wow that after a few episodes you won't care. Every time they look at each other, suddenly the world goes silent and you realize you are holding your breath.

first posted september 2024 on Viki

Leia Mais

Best Drama since Love Like the Galaxy - a Must Watch 2024

This is the first drama since Love Like the Galaxy that had left quite an impression that I had already finished the rewatch.

I recognized the ML from Amidst a Snowstorm of Love another Leo Wu's after LLTG. I'm glad I didn't pass on this one. Binge-watched as I couldn't stop! Luckily this is on Netflix and I didn't have to go through the agony of waiting for the next episodes to air.

Story 10: Storyline is great, very captivating, no lagging. Till the wedding scene which is half way in the last episode.

Acting 10: Excellent acting - both leads. Others also did a great job all around. Beautiful costumes.

OST 10: I love a couple of them so much that I put them both on loop: Spring Fading into White Pear Blossoms - Mi Liang and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0FmuUCdILk&list=RD2zFPGHMNMa0&index=2

Rewatch 10: I already finished the rewatch and stopped at the wedding scene on the last episode.

Since I gave 10 on all, why is the total score 9.5?

Here's my beef! I was glad that The Double gave me a closure as we had the wedding scene (which was missed from LLTG). They should have stopped there! That would have had a long lasting impact and ended on an amazing note although he's almost as good looking as General Ling Buyi in his armour!

The remaining 20+ minutes of the last episode caused a lot of confusion and weaken the drama that could have been an 11 to a 9.5.

Leia Mais