Flash review: three lives three worlds, ten miles of peach blossoms
I don"t usually rush over to blog about a show I just watched. I"m just too lazy. But a show that gave me sleepless nights, made me cry tears of joy và anguish, and listened lớn the OST day and night? Oh yeah, you betcha.
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Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms is that kinda show. Và to imagine that I wasinitially supremely reluctant to lớn watch the 58-episode Chinese drama. For one, there"s the 58-episode thing (I barely focus long enough lớn complete a 16-episode Korean drama). I"m also wary of modern china dramas of late because they seem lớn feature pretty boys & girls with nil acting skills. And then there was the awful, awful use of CGI in most of the wuxia dramas. Lordie.
What changed my mind? Well, I stumbled on a fan-made đoạn phim telling the story, complete with the show"s moving OST, & cried. I hardly ever cry when watching a show. Ever.
Anything that could move me that way must be worth checking out. I watched, was hooked, and lost days of sleep!
What is it about?
It"s going lớn be a challenge to summarise the show"s story, but here we go. Once upon a time, in the heavenly realms, lived a Fox spirit named Bai Qian. When she ended up as a mortal, she meets the Crown Prince of the Heavens, Ye Hua, & their love story begins. Things happen, but their love is fated by the gods, and they will go through many, many tests before finding each other again.
I make it blander than it seems, but it"s a romance that literally stretches thousands of years, so our poor couple goes through a lot.Thanks to the acting ability of Mark Chao who plays Ye Hua, their suffering is mesmerising. As I joked lớn a friend, this show has everything: evil concubines, traitorous ex-boyfriends, amnesia, reincarnation, secret identities and plots you name it, they have it.
Flash episode reviews
Eps 1-10 are the draggiest episodes of the series. Frankly, if I hadn"t known in advance what Ten Miles of Peach Blossomsis about (or experienced the deliciousness of Ye Hua in fan-made vids), I"d have given up on the show. Yet, these episodes bởi vì provide important grounding for the story và introduces most of the players. Be patient with this bit - the good stuff will come soon.
Eps 11-28. These are the angstiest episodes, & my favourite segment! (What can I say? Ye Hua suffers so well.) We get to lớn see our stoic, aloof, dutiful Crown Prince of the Heavens fall deeply, passionately in love. We also see the depths of our couple"s suffering. It"s a hugely tragic arc; Mark Chao acted his socks off in this segment và you"d be moved by his amazing performance.
Eps 29-58. From great despair khổng lồ hope, lớn despair lớn hope khổng lồ ...you get what I mean. Our couple goes through the wringer in this arc, but mixed with the sadness are some of the sexiest, most passionate, smouldering love scenes I"ve seen in a Chinese drama.
What I loved
1. Ye Hua the character, Mark Chao the actor
There"s absolutely no doubt that Mark"s amazing acting was No.1 reason why Ye Hua is so amazing. Mark has the ability lớn convey a myriad of emotions with his eyes, và there"s one scene in episode 48 (all fans will know what I"m talking about) where he expressed a series of emotions -lust, frustration, anxiety, fear, love and gratitude - without saying a single word! (It"s also impressive that he also plays another character, Mo Yuan, and does it so well that I sometimes forget he"s played by Mark.)
Some may describe Ye Hua as the indescribably perfect man, but Mark portrays Ye Hua as a man with serious flaws; he may be perfect on the outside - good looks, supremely capable warrior và leader,but because he loves so passionately & loyally he makes serious mistakes.
Why vì chưng I love Ye Hua? Besides the fact that he has gorgeous hair that is, lol.
He"s a man that seems like a stiff-necked, arrogant bore in the beginning. After all, duty & loyalty has been drilled into him before he could even sit upright.And his cold upbringing and the fierce expectations of his grandfather, the emperor, has caused him khổng lồ be stoic & guarded at all times.But his love for our leading lady reveals that beneath that icy exterior is a burning bộ vi xử lý core of passion. Ye Hua is a man who loves very, very deeply. It"s both his weakness và his strength. Whenever the quiet & taciturn Ye Hua smiles, the world melts, because those smiles are so gosh darn rare.
This love, may I mention, is not just reserved for his lady love. He is
2. The gorgeous soundtrack
The soundtrack really enhances he story và fortunately wasn"t used khổng lồ a point of tedious repetitiveness.Be sure lớn listen to this và this too. (Videos could be spoilery, however.)
3. The strong, kick ass heroine
Bai Qian is no wilting flower. She"s mischievous, yet capable. Strong, yet feminine. She"s sassy, smart and yet possess a selfish and stubborn streak that makes her very, well, human. One of the best written female characters I"ve seen, & the actress, Yang mày portrays her various incarnations deftly - the mischievous disciple, the naive and helpless human, and the strong và capable goddess.
4. They allow the characters to be passionate & lusty
Oy. When did China"s dramas become so mở cửa and real? I love this development! Ye Hua doesn"t hold back when he loves, và you can feel the heat from the TV screen. The kisses are passionate, loving và lusty (no open-eyed frozen kisses, y"all), yet not over-the-top (sorry, no HBO stuff, but I prefer it that way). It enhances the romance rather than distract from it.
What I didn"t love
1. The CGI... Is not awesome to say the least. I disliked the CGI backgrounds, the CGI monsters, the CGI flowers - you get the point. But the other production values and the great acting more than 3d for it.
2. Side characters whose stories go nowhere. Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua, I"m looking at you. The couple is all kinds of pretty, but Feng Jiu"s whiny pining grates on my nerves. I fast forwarded through most of their scenes. Still, I"m curious to kiểm tra out their apparently happily-ever-after romance in the book, The Pillow Book.
Thoughts about the ending
Final verdict: 4.5/5 stars! (Minus 0.5 for the not-so-great CGI). Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms is a very rare drama where almost everything was done right. The romance between our OTP is incredibly intense & very satisfying.
Other nhận xét worth checking out: Fangirl Verdict"s flash reviews and definitely the recaps by The Problematic of the Unproblematic.
