A general of hell marries a coroner who isn't afraid of hell.
Melody of Lasting Happiness
Thank you Show, for reminding me how good it is to love Ding Yu Xi. His pair of eyes have found the right role in Shen Du. His character appears menacing, but his still eyes can dance with amusement. He represses his love, but through his gaze, you can hear him screaming “I want to kiss you” without kissing you. TMI? I think not. Everyone should know he’s got one of the best pair of love-eyes in drama-land (:. Disclaimer: my pictures don't do him justice.
Cast
Ding Yu Xi: Shen Du |
Deng En Xi: Yan Xing |
Mao Zi Jun: Lai Luo Zhi |
Xiao Yan: Lu Chui Chui |
Song Fang Yuan: Yun Que |
Sun Ze Yuan: Pan Chi |
He Sai Fai: Grand Empress Dowager |
Mao Lin Lin: Princess of Yong'an |
Also: Zhang Tian Yang Peng Xiao Ran Li Xin Ze |
|
Xuan Lu: Xu Wan |
Romcom/Romance Checklist
How much of the plot is angst/romance?
0 / 1 / 2.5 / 3 / 4 / 5The ML:
Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General The FL:
Bold / Cute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better than ML / Noble IdiotDescribe the Relationship (the tropes):
Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple / Enemies to Lovers / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (F/ML) / Star-Crossed Lovers / Relationship Progress (officially together; first (official) kiss; breakup*):
Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37* / 38 / 39 / 40# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3
0 / 1 / 2 / 3
Ending:
Happy / Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / BadReview
by cynlynn
[General Info]
- Wang Wei (director): White Cat Legend (also a Ding Yu Xi a drama), Gone With the Rain, Legacy, and Royal Feast.
- These are the voices of Love and Redemption's Si Feng and Xuan Ji. Their VAs are the same: Zhang Jie and Qiao Shi Yu. Recurring CP voice actors aren't that common.
- There's a 10 year age gap! (It's hard to tell! She looks more mature than a 19yo and he looks younger than 29).
- This is Deng En Xi's first drama kiss.
- The cast also has a variety show: After Party · Melody Of Golden Age.
[Review & Rating]
To avoid SPOILERS, scroll picture section with care. Pictures are mostly in order. Hover for Ep#.
The way his eyes are open... 🫠
Deng En Xi – up and coming rising actress? She’s so natural. This is her first romance drama despite being around for a while and it’s because she’s finally an adult. I love how she nimbly reacts to Ding Yu Xi’s acting.
My favourite part of the story is no surprise: the romance. It’s a marriage-first-love-second romance (we’ve actually had so many this year…). I love that from the beginning, they have tacit understanding. They may not be the most loving married couple initially, but they were always great partners at work. She’s a wife who loves it when her husband brings home work.
My favourite romantic moment. He drew food-constellations for her.
Night-blind? xD
A romantic bidong despite the beef, pork, rooster, and sausages!
The frustration that they’re still not together in the middle of the show is entertaining for me. xD I like this sexually tense phase (yes, keep repressing the guy!) also because there’s less chance of a breakup phase. We still got a breakup though.... and it’s totally his fault. He’s forgiven too easily, but I’m not going to have beef with a happy ending.
A reminder of what Yan Xing said in Ep7 and why she deserves to be mad at him: "What's wrong with loving yourself? To love someone, one must learn to love yourself first. Between husband and wife, it should never be one person persistently demanding love or unilateral protecting. Couples should be on the same boat under wind and rain and encourage each other to overcome hardships. That's what family should be like."
The plot with mystery and palace intrigue is more ambitious than the storytelling can handle. But! Even with its rough edges and amateurish flow, it manages to deliver. What I love most is that it's packed with content– the spy job, the dead bodies, the ghostly superstitions, the suspicious prince and princesses, etc. I never found myself too bored, and I didn’t need to cling to every detail to stay engaged. I just willingly and curiously followed its lead as imperfect as it is.
Last but not least, a shout out to the supporting actors. Zhao Ke as the FL’s mom is fun whenever she appears. She won't miss a chance to diss the dad. Zhang Tian Yang as Prince Xian keeps me on my toes. He’s an actor whose expression can pivot so quickly between good and evil. I also wish there was more of Mao Lin Lin’s Princess Yong’an who was charismatic in every scene she got. Finally, thank you to all the unknown men carrying the massive lanterns.
P.S. Mao Zi Jun is the worst actor here, followed by Xiao Yan.
Rating: 3/5 ♥♥♥
Recommendations
Preliminary recs are random / a peek at the list. These may be updated if drama is completed
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