Nothing really worked out this season

(some spoilers, but you’re better off not watching anyway.)

I really liked the first season but it admittedly fell down a bit at the end, then this season was extremely convoluted from episode 1. I constantly felt that the things that happened in the plot happened not because it made sense but because the writers were trying to force the story in a certain direction. For example, Naksu's face returns to her original despite being in Jin buyeon's body because the face must match the soul? Something like that. And she loses all her memories? The real reason is that the writers just wanted this long, convoluted saga of Naksu and Jang-uk not recognizing each other. Another example, the King and the unanimous assembly have this really stupid plan to use the firebird to create another ice stone. The only reason they’re on board with Jin Mu is because they want the ice stone’s power, despite the immense destruction the plan will cause. Strangely, these people have not made any preparations on how they would survive that destruction themselves…and they completely trust Jin Mu to share the power of the ice stone for no reason at all, he’s so obviously untrustworthy.

I also felt that the made female lead was not nearly as compelling as in the first season. It’s partly because her role is bad. She comes across all lovey dovey and cute. Unlike Jung so-min's unreadable poker face and sense of confidence, she often has a brooding somber expression. This is excusable at first but when she regains her memories you’d expect some return to her other, way more engaging personality. She’s simply not as cool as a character too, going from secret manipulator in the first season to needy damsel in distress in S2. Even when she does something brave like go to the Gwido prison to retrieve the Jinyowan token, she needs to be rescued by jang Uk. Another reviewer called this misogynistic, which it is, but for me it’s just a massive disappointment that all the badassery I expected to come out later never did— Naksu wasn’t even involved in the final fight and firebird scene! It’s ok to frustrate viewers for some time if there’s a good payoff later, but that payoff never comes.

Most other characters didn’t have an important role either. The crown prince makes the king step down. There’s no reason I guess that he had to do this when he did, ostensibly he could have done it anytime, way before or way after the firebird stuff and completely unrelated. The other characters help to fight chunbugweon mages but it doesn’t really matter since Jang uk confronts Jin Mu alone anyway, who by the way, dies a pretty anticlimactic death that didn’t feel like he got full justice for what he did to Naksu in S1.

The same issues that were in S1 were just as bad if not worse in S2–belaboring sidecharacter romantic subplots I don’t really care about and having many scenes that don’t really advance the plot but just reaffirm feelings or tell us things we already know. But in S2 there was no compelling plot to make up for it.

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Good but a bit frustrating

Plot--The story was mostly pretty good, I'd say especially for the first 30 episodes. The chemistry between the leads was pretty convincing--it made me anxious at first but improved over time. I actually thought the chemistry between Tangxue's "followers" was just as good if not better. In terms of pacing, could have been slightly faster but there was a steady sense of progression. I like romantic dramas where the romance isn't the sole end goal, so I enjoyed the sports stuff a lot. I think the last 10 episodes should have focused more on that.

My main frustration was between ep. 33-36. I didn't think the breakup was a necessary plot point, and while I wouldn't mind as much if it was handled better, I felt that it didn't treat Li Yubing very fairly. Somebody else has written a review that touched on this, but for the first 25 episodes, we are taught that Tangxue hates being lied to. However, when she lies to Li Yubing, it's as if it's his fault and he has to be the one to apologize for not trusting her. Yu yan's mom basically put Tangxue in a position where she had to either lie to her or to Li Yubing, and I don't get why she would lie to him and stood him up several times, it's kind of inexplicable. If she had told the truth and Li Yubing didn't believe her, then it would be his fault, but in this case, I thought Li Yubing reacted pretty reasonably. The hospital scene was pretty touching, I will say, but it frustrated me that they never actually kissed properly after getting back together again. (also, it annoyed me that Li Yubing was always the initiator). Plus there wasn't enough time after getting together again to fully establish the longevity of the relationship.

Bian Cheng was also kind of annoying, and in some ways didn't really make sense. I know false news and cancel culture are big issues on the internet, but a college student who's already been widely discredited and shamed should not really be able to affect a super-popular sports idol's image to the extent he did, no matter how well he writes. I don't think it's bad at all that the antagonist creates major problems for the protagonists, but it didn't seem realistic here.

Characters-- In general, Tangxue is a great FL, I appreciate that she's really independent, smart, and strong. Li Yubing is my favorite character as he matures a lot over the course of the series and shows his emotions, and of course he's pretty badass at hockey. This is what I like most about the show--that it emphasizes this: What should you choose between your dream and love? If you choose the dream, at least you've attained that. If you just choose love, you'll probably wind up with neither. Tangxue and Li Yubing are immensely supportive of each other's dreams and would never let their relationship get in the way of the other's dream. As for the supporting characters, aside from Tangxue's dad and Bian cheng, they're mostly pretty good and realistic, but maybe there were too many of them.

Acting-- acting was on point, especially with Steven Zhang. Janice Wu was good too and showed that she could really express herself in some scenes, but should have done it more in others (especially in the breakup). Other actors were pretty good too.

Music--Songs weren't great but there was at least 1 OST that was pretty good.

Rewatch--probably won't rewatch tbh, wasn't quite satisfying enough.

One thing I kind of appreciate is the feminism that you don't see as much in similar dramas. Tang Xue is very independent, her mother is a doctor, Huanhuan is very career driven, Wei is the best at what she does, philosopher girl is a deep thinker. Yet it's subtle and doesn't get preachy.

Overall: does some things really well and could have done a few things better. If a few simple things were a little different, it could easily have been a 9-10/10. If Tangxue had told the truth about visiting Yu Yan and Li Yubing trusted her, that would have solidified the relationship and given me confidence in it. So, it's just a little frustrating at times.

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Excellent, creative story

Very creative plot and world building. Visually beautiful too with the spells, action scenes and set. What holds this show back a little is the pacing, especially in the second half. There are a few too many unnecessary scenes-romance subplots of side characters I don’t care so much about, scenes that seem to reveal things we already know etc. that can be skipped. But the overall structure of the story is good. Ends on a big cliffhanger but the second season will be out soon.

Acting was honestly wasn’t a strength in this show. The main female lead is decent but most of the rest of the cast is not great (I do like the crown prince though). The main male lead is kind of insufferable in the beginning but he gets a lot better over time. The dialogue gets the point across but otherwise isn’t concise enough or particularly eloquent. Still, the show is worth watching for its fantastic action scenes and very compelling overarching plot.

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