Drumming my own drums.

decided to check out this short series cuz someone on reddit was raving about it and did not disappoint! it really has all the tropes and hits all the romantic points in a short amount of time which i appreciated LOL but this also felt like a super high quality short (i’ve watched a few shorts and a few of them scream shitty quality lol) but this show just felt more polished? maybe doesn’t hurt that the director is blossom and pursuit of jade’s director 😭 his work truly is supreme lol

anyways low key also can’t believe this is my first cheng lei drama since i know so much about him already but never watched him in anything until now lol. but yes the plot was good and intriguing and it was makjang enough without being borderline crazy. the leads had chemistry, there was yearning and angst, cute ass kid involved which i always love cuz it always illicit these images of a wholesome family or the guy yearning for the girl after seeing her so soft with a kid (lmao), it also has a “fake” wedding trope, hidden identity, past and fated connection, him saving her scenes, her saving him, and actual love and intimate scenes with a pregnancy!! and i loveee how the ML was so trusting of the FL since the beginning really and never doubted her intentions or who she was. even after seeing that explicit painting he was just like nope now im even more sure that is not her LOL so good. nothing dragged out which is the great thing about watching a short. and our ML is smart and catches on fast! (like with her identity and the pregnancy). there were also funny scenes and i loved the scene with ML calling our FL by her real name over and over again 🥹 also there were like a lot of OST songs for such a short drama?? there were good twists?? if anything the only thing i thought was lacking was the 2nd ML and how he “fell” for the FL lol, i mean i think that’s what show was trying to portray but i was confused why he was suddenly in love with the FL

i went into coroner's diary cuz someone mentioned that the leads get together early and stick together for the whole duration and they were not wrong 🥹 i was actually quite surprised - for a show that was so dark and so serious at times (i mean, the crimes are pretty dark and heavy! and even the opening and ending theme is quite "dark"), our CP was actually quite cute together!!!! i really liked how they showed him in awe/in admiration of her very very early in show, and you could see they both sort of admired each other? respected each other? and then you could see that spark and curiosity slowly grow into love

ALSO the first episode was just killer. i dont know if another series can top this first episode (actually there's a few i can think of lol, but this is really up there) cuz it was just bang bang bang and like bang opening scene showing her parents getting murdered, the mystery surrounding their deaths, her revenge, coming under the guise of another identity....it was just very action packed and drama packed at once which really reeled me in right away lol

ok but back to our CP, i just loved how they got together really early on (episode 15!) and like just stuck together throughout it all! (i also liked how they got her hidden identity out of the way as soon as they confessed their feelings to each other lol) there were no misunderstandings or miscommunications or separations. they really stood by each other, encouraged and respected each other. again, for such a "dark" show, the romance was really romancing and the chemistry was really chemistrying(?) lmao. and it was cute!! i just loved them after they got together lol and him being the ultimate boyfriend. and i was just so surprised there were so many kisses scattered throughout show (again like i said, against the very bleak and dark backdrop of show lol). also i liked how they got married a few episodes before the last episode, so we could see them as a married couple (i love shows like that, i'm looking at you blossom!!)

the series/mysteries/murders in the beginning were also interesting, and you could see how they fell in love by working together (lmao not him saying he loved her as soon as she held up the liver or something LOL it's just funny and admirable that he loved her for who she was and for her uniqueness, strengths and intelligence). their relationship was very gradual and believable. also i love how the cases started off as just like, unrelated to the whole imperial plot. and also the side plot with the justice league (or whatever name it was called). i totally forgot about them until they were brought up again at the end! that was a good connection. i also thought the final mystery/case that tied everything together with the emperor was also very well done. i didn't see that coming lol

the only thing i didn't really "like" was how rushed it felt after episode 30. like scenes just felt cut short. or like, she was kidnapped but they dont show him figuring out she disappeared or was kidnapped. it was just like, next scene he's trying to find her lmao. a lot of him protecting her or saving her scenes could have been done much better imo. they were there but they weren't taken full advantage of (emotionally) if that makes sense. also the plot just like accelerated on episode 30, and show could have benefited from a few extra episodes lol. even the last episode was so rushed! i wanted more of our CP together lol. also the qin family and the brother sort of lost all plot development after our FL moved out of the house lol (so some things and development in show were lost halfway through)

ugh for the first 10-15 episodes or so show was perfect. just classic wuxia, all the different sects, hidden identities, recognizable different martial arts from different sects, loyalty, bravery, adventure and mystery, things like wanting to duel just to be the best, and such good fight scenes. just so so good. i remember at like ep 10 or something i was like wait we’re only on episode 10 but i felt like so much has happened already?? the introductions of each character were done so well, our ML and FL’s bond and life or death moments were so good, saving the little boy, the urgency in getting the letter to the capital…just so sooo good. even the first arc with investigating the case and infiltrating the brothel was good, especially intertwined with the palace sect, but honestly everything sort of went downhill after that lol. it was mostly just plot plot plot but like fast plot and sometimes you don’t even see it happening plot but i wanted more character development and moments between our main trio!

i'm starting to notice a trend of strong (like physically strong and capable) female leads and i am all here for it lol (watched pursuit of jade, love in the clouds and now fated hearts back to back 😅). i went in to fated hearts knowing it's an enemies to lovers trope and did it sure deliver. i remember the first few episodes were tough to watch cuz i was like they just hate each other so much?! and he was torturing her?? and she almost killed him?? like i couldn't see how their relationship could develop at all. but show proved me wrong and developed their relationship in the most natural and gradual way. i love how they were sort of confidants in the beginning of their relationship, slowly learning to trust each other and see each other's past scars and traumas, to finally comforting each other and finding love. there was a bit of chasing (and the ML realized his feelings first!) and once they finally got together, they were each other's ride or die. i also really appreciated show for not having any misunderstandings or miscommunications between CP. they could have easily created some angst when yixiao uncovered the identity of the mask man and chose to tell suige. he could have chose not to believe her, think she was trying to sow discord between him and his best friend, believed she could have been a spy.. honestly the reasons could have gone on and on but show decided NOT to go there and our CP just proved again and again how strong and trusting they were with each other

show also depicts some really complex relationships. like, suige and his dad. honestly that scene where the dad came clean about keeping his enemies (and the murderer of the queen!) near so he could "train" suige and morph him into his vision of an ideal heir was just sooo goood! the actor who played the king was just sooo good and damn the interaction between suige<>dad was just sooo good LOL so emotional and both actors just really proved their acting chops. it was also just heartbreaking to watch that this whole time the dad tortured his son becuz he thought it was for his own good and was just manipulating his son this whole time. but i thought the juxtaposition between suige and xia jingshi was also just done so well. like the king is trying to make suige become evil, ambitious and power heavy but suige always stayed true to his nature, ideals and beliefs. no matter how harsh his surroundings or environments were, he still remained good and carried a pure heart throughout it all, whereas xia jingshi fell into the deep end and was willing to pursue evil, sacrifice innocent lives, and scheme with the enemy

i also loved the scene we had with the 3 kids/students coming to yixiao and the resulting kidnapping ship scene. at first i was like what purpose do these 3 kids serve?? but honestly the kidnapping scene marked such a pivotal turning point between yixiao and suige's relationship. i think that's when they both started seeing each other in a different light and realized each other's kindness and pureness- yixiao adopting and raising children of her dead comrades and suige coming to rescue the kids even though he has no relationship with them whatsoever. also afterwards, our CP started to relax a bit more around each other. that one scene of her falling asleep in the carriage and also later him, and then her saying "we are safe now" and him realizing he has provided a safe haven for yixiao. idk it really was a turning point and i'm glad they had that mini arc and realization early on in show

show also had pretty interesting side characters. as i was watching the princess's story unfold, i couldn't guess where they wanted to take her story. was she going to end up betraying her country becuz of her love for xia jingshi? was xia jingshi going to end up using the princess and her blind love for him, and use her as blackmail or use her to threaten suige? was the princess going to be abused (verbally or physically) when she arrived at enemy state? was there going to be a big bad showdown between jinxiu and susha, and the princess would be forced to choose at the very last moment? like i kept thinking and thinking and honestly show surprised me LOL it was quite fun watching her story unfold in jinxiu, and it was just so funny how mean/physically abusive/threatening she was to the king but yet that attracted him to her even more LOL even the king was like "she never enticed me! she's not even nice to me!" LOL their relationship was so fun to watch and honestly xia jingyan stole the show!! props to the actor cuz his portrayal of the crazy insane yet broken playboy king who fell in love was just done sooo well! and of course their last scene together was so so heartbreaking. from him saying he would never wield or beg, to actually getting on his knees begging xia jingshi to let xiyang go 😭😭 i was also SO shocked xia jingshi stabbed xiyang (!!)

random thoughts i had while watching: - show had a strong start that was action and jam packed which really kept you engaged - show also has really high production value and i appreciated the different aesthetics between jinxiu and susha - fight scenes throughout show are just SOOO good!! (dare i say even more good than pursuit of jade?) - truly loved all the arcs of show, kept me entertained throughout, and thought they all flowed nicely together while developing our CP's relationship. thought show's plot was very tight and even the climax at the ending was done well. we had multiple villains that were built up properly (yay!) - midway thru show i forgot if xia jingshi was friend or foe lol. i guess his scheming with masked man wasn't really made clear (like why try to frame suige?). also ning fei wanting to assassinate yixiao also wasn't made really clear, esp since xia jingshi never intended to kill her - was so surprised king was not unconscious when evil prime minister was going on his rant and confession - cliff hanger with suige getting stabbed and honestly episodes 25-28 was just so intense lol - was NOT expecting such a strong victory and finally killing the evil prime minister, to like so much defeat right after lol - also i thought it was so funny our CP was acting so lovey dovey and physical with each other (even in public!) cuz they're both such formidable outwardly cold and tough people lol - enemies trying to slaughter suige's followers was also so hard to watch 😭 - was not expecting that rebellion within the star alliance lol - also liked how suige never forgot about his sister or investigating what truly happened with the alliance - LOVED LOVED LOVED suige's relationship with his sister. loved the brotherly love and protection. he's just such a good brother 😭 as i was watching him display affection for his sister, i was like damn ok this makes sense why is he also so affectionate towards yixiao lol - i think show also they did a really good job interweaving what was happening in susha and what was happening in jinxiu - show never showed yixiao fully regaining all her memories (it's kinda just acknowledged) and i guess show was never truly about her regaining her memories - and i said this before but crazy jinxiu king really stole show - had only watched chen zhe yuan in hidden love but damn can this man act. he really displayed his acting range and chops in show and i totally bought his love and utter devotion and passion towards yixiao. and li qin and chen zhe yuan also nailed ALL their emotional scenes together and really kept up with each other in all their intimate and emotional scenes lol. and also special shoutout to li qin for also really nailing all her action scenes and truly letting me believe she is the number one archer in the world - similarly, the scene between yixiao and ning fei was SO SO good! not only the fight scenes were done so well, but the emotional and tears and screams and damn. and i also loved how yixiao defeated ning fei without having suige swoop in to save her. yixiao is truly a badass female fighter! - honestly didnt mind alliance arc and at least the amnesia trope for suige lasted a very short amount of time. i was dreading they were going to drag it out and was procrastinating watching but honestly it wasn't so bad! i knew there was going to be an alliance arc coming up cuz the way they kept ning fei alive lol - they never explained why xia jingshi kept the death camp or really the significance of the death camps in susha lol - last episode was really just bam bam bam and i was like omg there's just 10 minutes left and there's no closure for our CP! i think this is probably my number one complaint of show- the ending was just wayyyy too rushed and literally our CP had like 2 minutes with each other lol. AND there was no wedding scene between them like how all ancient dramas have! lol - was also thought it was fitting have sister become like "interim queen" since suige never wanted the throne to begin with

ok this post ended up being a lot longer than i was expecting LOL i really loved our CP! i loved how they protected each other and provided like safe havens for each other? and i loved how they protected each other equally. yixiao swooped in to save suige countless times, and suige also saved yixiao many times. they were equals. and i loved the juxtaposition of suige's love for yixiao and letting her roam free and be the person she is and just quietly supporting her vs the love his dad had for the mom and wanting to "claim" her