phanero

I know I am being very picky with shows lately but I figured I might as well be picky with my time. Anyway the first episode of this was quite cheesy and I don’t think I can sit through another 29 episodes of this.

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This drama was interesting but unfortunately it was an unfinished story ☹ I only knew this when I reached the end, as questions are mostly unanswered. Nonetheless, I thought the slow sense of mystery was interesting and I wouldn’t even say that I wasted my time because the build up had me intrigued. Even without a conclusion, I felt like it was a decent place to finish. We don’t have all the answers but we have some hints. Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that I could do with or without a second season. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re okay with an unfinished product, and can enjoy the vibes.

Spoilers.

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This was the sequel to Sparrow, with some of the same actors returning, namely Zhang Ruoyun and Kan Qingzi. I found this drama to be less compelling than Sparrow. I think Sparrow had more compelling acting, while the characters in Insects Awaken didn’t really give room to the actors to be their own characters. It was okay, not disastrous, but it felt kind of generic.

Spoilers.

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This drama had some good things going for it. I appreciated that the story was complex enough to give each of the characters unique relationships with each other due to their political and personal backgrounds. There was also some really great acting in this drama.

However, there were some flaws in this show that might bother some people. The production value wasn't the best. It was fine, but there were some anachronisms that bothered me and this drama also had that typical cdrama lighting that didn't really immerse me in the setting (I was constantly reminded that the drama was taking place on a set and not in a more realistic location). The script was also not perfect. While I did like some of the character writing, there were some parts of the plot that weren't the tightest.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this drama to people due to the lower production value and overall execution. But I think this would be a good drama for those who don’t normally watch Republican Era cdramas because it had decent character writing to accompany the heavy political themes that are often up front and centre in Republican Era dramas.

This is going to a messy no-edit write up, apologies in advance. And there will be spoilers.

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This show was very much angling for the buddy cop BL vibes drama but it was too forced for me. Probably not one of the better ones out there.

Spoilers.

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This isn't a terribad drama, it just doesn't really have anything going for it that makes it worth watching. A drama for background watching.

Spoilers up to episode 13.

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Though I was excited to start this drama, I think unfortunately it doesn't have what it takes to keep me interested. This drama definitely showed traits that we see in more dated Cdramas, specifically Mary Sue characters and dragging story lines.

Spoilers up until episode 8.

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This felt like a pretty typical medical drama and I think that's the biggest reason why this drama didn't capture my attention. There did seem to be a politics aspect to it which I would have loved, but I don't think it clicked for me.

Spoilers for first 7 episodes.

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This drama was pretty fun :P I liked that it focused on the crime solving and the politics first and foremost.

I also really liked the relationships between the characters. This drama first came to my attention because it was originally a BL drama. While there were tropes in this drama, there wasn't so much focus on the relationship conflicts that it got in the way of the political thrillers and crime solving.

Spoilers.

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This drama started off interesting. It had that old school Cdrama feel that we don't get so often now. Things were well paced.

However, the story soon became very heavy on the romance, of the Mary Sue variety. The politics was a background story, but specifically what irked me was that our main character was so involved in the entire story without having much of an impact on anything.

I normally don't like romance dramas, and I came into this drama hoping it would have some politics dramas. As a politics drama, I would not recommend it. As a romance drama, the Mary Sue stuff kind of put me off.

Spoilers.

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