Obviously, a bold statement like that comes with caveats. This drama works because it is so short. In total length, it is the equivalent of an extra long movie or a very short drama series. It is chopped up into bite sized pieces for easy consumption. While some short form web dramas stick to a fixed episode duration, this show is more flexible and is designed to finish each episode logically and sometimes even with a mini cliff-hanger. Similarly, such short dramas tend to be cheaply and quickly made for obvious reasons. However, this show didn’t feel overly cheap. It used a lot of existing assets so that it can still look lush without having a huge overhead. Its short run helps when you can literally shoot the same house/streetscape from different angles and time of day to make it look like a much larger set has been used without being repetitive. That takes clever planning, cinematography and direction.

The story is straight out of the classic Book of Plots. It is as tropey as any wuxia drama can be, but the Show distilled it down to the bits that people love about this genre, but do away with the excess baggage. There is nothing new about the plot nor the characterisation, but they are done well.

Being a wuxia romance, I can’t fault their take on the two key elements. There are some decent fight scenes that are cinematic and well choreographed. The two main leads have great chemistry and there is a decent amount of skinship including several passionate kisses. The 2OTP was a little contrived but they are a cute and innocent couple. It was a pleasure to see the push-pull of the 1OTP over and done with in 5 minutes instead of being dragged out for hours. Huzzah!

Another aspect that surprised me was the amount of comedy in the show. There are actual laugh out loud moments. Yes, they are clichés, but they ain’t forced nor laboured. I also appreciate that the plot is logical (within the realms of a wuxia playbook) and it flowed smoothly. Just when you expected something to happen with the plot, it happens. They even have time for some sweet CP moments which gave nuance to their relationship which can be lacking in dramas that are much longer. Like I said, this drama really know how to tick all the boxes.

In terms of acting, the cast did well. There are no big-name actors on the roster but there was energy and commitment from the cast. The 2 main leads were particularly well suited to their roles, and they have their moments. By keeping the cast small, there is time for some the support roles to shine as well.

From my perspective, there are two things that can be improved. Firstly, the ending was nice but lacked impact. I would have like to see the two leads fight as a team to take down the antagonist. The ending is also a bit wishy-washy as if the Show wanted to leave it open for a sequel (yes, please!). Secondly, the English sub was bad. At times it read like auto generated dross (which it probably is). Occasionally, it is completely out of sync.

There is no point in comparing this show to a classic wuxia drama from the "golden era" but it certainly held its own against some turnkey productions. For a quick wuxia fix, you can do worse.

OST was nice and appropriate. I can certainly rewatch this show without hesitation.