The Love Knot: His Excellency’s First Love (2018)

Oh boy. Where to start.

Ok. To be completely fair, I knew going in that this show was not a masterpiece.
How can it when it’s about alien foxes?

The acting:
I think Victoria Song had the best performance out of the group and made this show bearable to watch imho.
Ok so I also enjoyed the dynamic between Xiaoju, Xiuxian, and Kuanyong, they also made it bearable.
Ok and the shirtless scenes of Huang Jingyu….

I will say I don’t think it was completely the actors’ fault. Doesn’t matter how good of an actor you are, you can only do so much with a bad script.

The writing:
HORRIBLE OMG SO SO SO BAD. Like I had cringe worthy moments because of the writing. And some things just did not flow at all! I am a very forgiving viewer, but oh boy, this one took the cake.

The ending:
Ok. I vaguely knew how it ended (I like to know the broad strokes but not all the details). So I knew how it “ended”, but there were still some surprises which I could kind of see the poetry behind the decision but also left me with a lot of mixed feelings.
I will say, I appreciate that this was not the most rushed ending I have ever seen. It felt kind of natural. It was also designed to imply how things end up between the FL and ML. Did I wish they gave a more detailed definitive future? Yes, but that’s more a “me” thing.

BONUS:
I appreciate that they had an implied polyamorous relationship for basically the whole show. But they had to go and ruin it with turning the two guys back into foxes meaning the girl would live the rest of her human life taking care of alien foxes in their Fox form. Like. Really?! This ending I wish was elaborated on more / made it magically different because man, I feel bad for Xiaoju.


Would I watch this again? Heck no.
Would I recommend it to anyone? Only if they were desperate.

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High Potential Story Slides into Dissatisfaction w/o Romantic Chemistry & Tight Storytelling

What a super cool idea! I love fantasy & science fiction & I just thought this was an awesome story. A different, darker vibe & the pacing moved really well up until the last 3 episodes. The more dramas I watch, the more I've started to pay attention to pacing since so many stories lose focus or direction mid-way through and tbh, I lose focus if the momentum isn't building the way I want it to be. This one did not & kept my attention throughout the entire story, even if I became unsatisfied with it. That was the good. (In addition to that, I would add the VERY hot half-naked Johnny Huang scenes as well as the strangely sweet & endearing "love triangle" between the 2 male fox friends & the cafe owner. LOVED them.)

The bad was Victoria & Johnny's chemistry. Maybe her acting as well? Not sure, but there was very little romantic & sweet feelings felt between the leads so it was difficult to sell me their love story. I'm glad they had those glow thingies because I couldn't have known by looking at the characters interactions themselves. There was only 1 point you felt their intimacy, which was NOT ENOUGH for this supposedly epic 900 year love they had. Wait, what satisfaction canst thou have tonight? NOTHING. Because the exchange of love felt unearned from the leads. They grew very little as characters--actually few character achieved growth & this is another "bad" for me.

The worst was all the inconsistencies in the writing and production that just ruined a story with SO much potential. So for me, the worst is the end. It was a serious, fast, unwelcome decline & it didn't have to be. They could've taken those EXACT events, but not convoluted the story unnecessarily & created a different tone that left the audience with a feeling of satisfaction. Easy enough to gut the completely useless penultimate episode & anchor the resolution a little more strongly. But no! Here is yet another c-drama that fizzles out from poor editing/writing; who knows who's fault but it's just plain poor storytelling. :(

The music was an accessory & added to the darker vibe.
I would NOT rewatch the whole story but I will admit to rewatching some of Johnny's shirtless scenes. ;p

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Wow what a fast pacing story. Every episode gave you warmth and increasing interest for the next episode.Story was really amazing. The setup backstory are also well written. I enjoyed this another star-crossed romantic drama
But last two episodes killed my expectation. I wish if this show had a more proper execution and screenplay for those two episodes.Why did the writer did such a sloppy work I don’t understand. You had such a great cast who performed amazingly well and convinced the audience that they are showing a great story to us but just ends in a flick.
Victoria Song as Guan Pipi gave an excellent performance. In the first few episodes I thought pipi character was very sadly written but had no growth but she grows up in the character. Although I wished her to become more strong in the end.Johnny huang as Helan Xi was terrific. His character during hemeralopia was the best part of the acting. I could feel his intensity and hardwork.
Rewatch not really in the near future but someday maybe

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Helan Jin Ting is ?

*** Spoiler Alert (PERSONAL FEEDBACK)
Title : Moonshine and Valentine – 2018 (Complete 25 Episode)
Personal Rating : 8/10

Helan Jin Ting (played Johnny Huang) is the right priest of the Fox clan. He is the son of Princess Xiyan and a human. As a result, he was born with an eye condition that rendered him unable to see until he drinks a liquid containing the liver of Hui Yan. He is blind in the day, yet he can see at night. In the modern day, He disguises himself as a secretive cultural relic specialist whose face remains unseen to the public eye. Helan Jing Ting is practically alien to people, but no one knows that he is a deity from another realm.

Guan Pipi (Played Victoria Song) is an intern at a newspaper publishing company. She is the reincarnation of Hui Yan, Helan Jing Ting's beloved wife. Despite being beautiful and kind, she often finds herself alone in the world. Because of that, she feels abandoned and hopeless. What she doesn’t realize is that she has been marked with an ancient curse that has been the cause of all of the misfortune in her life.

Guan Pipi’s life was normal and peaceful until she meets a man called Helan Jing Ting. Helan is an alien "fox" who has lived for a millennium, while Pipi is a seemingly normal human. It is revealed through flashbacks that in Pipi's first lifetime, she (named Hui Yan then) was a sacrifice to cure Helan's health issues. As a result, she never lives beyond 25 years old. When He Lan Jing Ting meets Guan Pi Pi in the modern day, he becomes convinced that he can make her believe in love again. But for a man who lives his life in solitude, it might be tough to save a woman suffering from a supernatural, millennia-old curse.
Honestly, I loved this drama in the first half of the series. It has great comedy, romance, friendship, fantasy, and mystery scenes. You will get hooked on every episode. The relationship between the two leads progress at a good pace. They have cute and sweet moments. It was a good slow burn romance. Helan Jin Ting was so cool and handsome, He will really make you fall in love with him?while Guan Pipi is realistic, she didn’t fall him from the start, but she took her time to know him which is cute. ❤️
However, in the second half of the series it started to fall apart. The story was getting all over the place with other unnecessary characters coming in. The back story was good and all because of their love and sacrifices for every reincarnation but there are scenes which are unnecessary. And last episodes were also rushed.

Overall, I give this drama 8/ 10 as the first half of the series was good and with a promising story. They have a great chemistry and Johnny is so good but the ending could be better. I know Helan Jin Ting top priority was to save her and stopping the curse from repeating itself but still its just sad. ?

GENRE – Romance, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural

LEAD CAST – Johnny Huang , Victoria Song

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Epic Love story

It's aftr 2 and I've an early train tomorrow but I couldn't help but finish this whole drama, It's THAT good...
First things first, this drama have a great storyline whoever is behind this put alot of creativity and imagination into this, as story progresses everything starts to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. But the ending may seem unsatisfactory to alot of ppl including myself but it's a reminder not everything have a happy ending and that's okay there's still hope.
Second, I've seen reviews and comments targeting at Guan Pipi (fl), it's kinda bs too bc she's human and don't know any better, I'm happy she was flawed bc there was a lot of character development on her part and I'm here for it. LOVED IT
Had really great side characters including coffee girl and assistants, they remained loyal throughout yet entertaining and some others like Qianhua and Su Mei who also helped throughout. Qianhua is a strong woman, but if she lived that many years loving someone and weren't that tough I'd have been pissed. The villain of the story didn't seem like a villain at times but he was deeply flawed to the point he don't know right from wrong and sacrificed everyone around him.
Another thing I love about the drama is fl is super realistic and she doesn't fall him from the start but takes time with it and that's so romantic for some reason lmao. ml is a true gentleman yet passionate, he lived for so long so it's a given that he's responsible and mature.
I HONESTLY HOPE THERE'S A SEASON 2 BUT IK IT'S IN VAIN BUT I'LL HOPE...

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Tears Galore!

Judging by some of the comments on this page, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoyed the FL's performance and didn't really feel anything for the ML. Although this drama is far from perfect, it wasn't the worst drama I've seen - it was still watchable. I'm not going to talk about the plot as we all know how that went or about some questionable characters and their equally questionable actions (i.e. sexual assault that got the girl?!). I'll just talk about the protagonists.

When I first watched this, I didn't know Victoria or Johnny. I initially thought Victoria was younger than him, especially when she had her hair in a ponytail (when she was shopping for her boyfriend), she really looked like a woman in her early to mid-20s. When she had her hair down was when she looked more mature.
I don't really watch dramas for eye candy so I guess that's where I differ from the usual drama audience. From others' reactions, most people consider Johnny eye candy. Personally, he is handsome, but I wouldn't consider him one. I like to look at performances more than aesthetics. I especially love it when you can see an improvement in the actor/actress.
For a thousand-year-old fox who was in love with one woman for all her reincarnations...um...he didn't really express it (on his face). At all. Wouldn't have figured out why or IF he was even in love with her if they didn't keep repeating it in the opening sequence or have the ML himself repeat that fact. I haven't watched other shows that Johnny has acted in so I can't say much, but for this show at least, he was quite wooden with his expressions. He left me quite confused as to his intentions and/or his actions. Although, I'll be happy to change my opinion once I watch his other shows.

My yardstick for a good show is basically: can they make me cry and HOW HARD can they make me cry? And my gosh, Victoria made me cry...many times. It started with the famous breakup scene (ep 9) - it was more heartbreaking because she wasn't screaming. She was trying to hold it together and the betrayal and pain in her eyes? That was what broke me. I think I loved her character (as listless as she was written) because I saw my old self in her (albeit she's a more extreme version). I understood her and why she chose to handle situations a certain way. I liked that she grew as a person once she met Johnny's character and was able to stand on her own 2 feet at the end. I liked how Pipi's growth as a person was gradual. It was a natural progression which was realistic instead of the usual (and completely unrealistic) speed growth for characters that occur in 1 or 2 episodes (but I get it, since they're dramas).

Special mention: I laughed so hard when all those weird things began to happen to Pipi and she had to stay with Helan for a bit (cue Mary Sue). Johnny and Victoria were quite the dynamic comedic duo! That episode really lightened the otherwise gloomy mood that persisted throughout most of the drama.

For all the drama's flaws, I've also gained a newfound appreciation for the whole cast and crew considering the time constraints, scheduling issues, hospitalizations, and last minute changes.
Conclusion: A drama that was not bad, but not great. Became a fan of Victoria, loved the realistic growths of the characters. Would re-watch a few episodes, but maybe not the whole drama.

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A good start with a bad ending idea, the screenwriter had no idea for a good ending

I got interested in this drama while looking for a contemporary drama with historical or fantasy threads and found this movie. Generally, I don't watch dramas with contemporary plots much, because I like these historical, costume dramas more, but I wanted a distraction, because I already had too many of these palace intrigues, jealous stepsisters or brothers or vengeful emperors and empresses ... but unfortunately, there are also threads here revenge in the clan dominated the relationships and pursuit of power of some characters. Apparently, the authors of the script follow the simplest scheme, because it does not cost much work on the script ....
The idea was good, although a bit of a fantasy genre. A clan of foxes from a distant planet comes to earth and evolves over the centuries and resembles a human while retaining its abilities and longevity. They watch over the purity of the blood so that there is no mixing with people, as this causes defects in the children being born. And just such a hybrid of a man and a fox is the main character of ML - Helan Jing Ting. The mother was a princess from the Clan of Letters, and the father was an ordinary man. The child is born with a defect and is blind from birth. The only thing that can restore his sight is to drink soup from the liver of someone who loves him. And here begins their whole history in the present with reference to the distant past. Where main ML's girlfriend is married and ML eventually falls in love with each other, but they don't know that main ML's father wanted to sacrifice FL from the beginning so that his son could regain his sight. As a result, FL loses his life, and ML finds out after the fact that his wife was sacrificed to save his sight. He breaks off contact with his own father and for 900 years tries to find a way so that FL, reincarnated in the following centuries, could finally live her whole life.

Anyway, the first episodes seemed interesting and I hoped that it would stay that way when it comes to the plot, pace, etc. Unfortunately, about halfway through, the plot starts to fall apart and holes are made, as if the scriptwriter suddenly lost his inspiration. And finally, the last 2 episodes are a failure in my opinion, I join the opinion of other reviewers that the 24th episode was not needed at all, in the meantime, the threads with ex-boyfriend and friend Guan Pi Pi only took time for the main leads. And the last episode completely lost its energy and had many understatements and gaps.
As for the main leads of Guan Pi Pi and Helan Jing Ting, I don't know them from other dramas. It was my first time watching them, so it will be pure opinion only from the role they played in this movie. Both played very statically, they had little chemistry... at the beginning FL was just getting to know ML and that's understandable, but as she developed a feeling for him, emotions and facial expressions did not change unfortunately. ML also played the same body language and facial expressions all the time, looked at FM like "body" with these eyes and generally the only scene that brought emotions was the one where they first consummated their relationship. I don't know if they played better in other dramas, but here it was as if they were novice actors. You could really build a nice relationship and show it on the screen, but unfortunately either that was the script or the actors had such limited skills, which is a shame. I was disappointed by the ending, when they had a chance to live their lives together, then again the author of the script invented a tragedy for them and separated them senselessly. I had questions why when ML turned into a fox, FL couldn't go along with Xiu Xian and Zhao Kuan Yong to take care of him during his transition to human form. Why had she stayed at home and waited there for six months? I don't understand why in the last scene, seeing him again from the window of the train at the railway station, she didn't run to him, she just went over to the agenda, as if she hadn't been looking for him and waiting for him?! This scene makes absolutely no sense. If she loved him so much and was waiting for his return, she didn't react with joy when she saw him, didn't she run to him? She went to the bar on the train to get something to drink... and that last scene when he comes over and he doesn't remember her at all, however he knows his name and he knows the origin and meaning of his last name... at the end ML states that he will wait with her for her friend ....what does it mean??/ Did he recognize her and was just teasing her, or did he just catch his eye at first sight, not recognizing her? I didn't understand this scene at all. They should have had a good ending after all these experiences that they asked for.

Now the supporting characters. Very cool two characters friends of the main ML Zhao Kuan Yong and Xiu Xian who were funny and fell in love with the same girl Xin Xiao Ju [Pi Pi's best friend]. They had a nice relationship, but it was known that it would not be possible to end it positively, because the triangle was out of the question, and Xin Xiao couldn't decide which one to choose, so the script writer came up with a solution that finally both men returned to their original fox form after devoting his energy to saving ML. I really miss those three...
Another character is Tushan Qian Hua, arranged for marriage with ML 900 years earlier, who was unhappily in love with ML and followed him for centuries hoping that one day he would love her. Ultimately, however, she finally gave up and fell in love with Zhao Song [Left High Priest] the adoptive brother of the main ML who was the villain in this movie and ended up badly in the movie's finale through his choices. I felt sorry for Tushan because she sacrificed her life for Zhao Song as well. The other characters like FL's ex-fiancé and her friend Tian Xin had too many scenes at the expense of the main couple in my opinion, but that's my personal opinion about their characters. Generally, this was the closest group of major leads. The rest were side plots in the drama.
To sum up, I could give this drama a lot more points, but because of these holes and understatements and dragging out unnecessary plot threads and not very warm main scenes, once they realized their feelings for each other and the last scenes of the ending written "on the knee" by the scriptwriter, I gave lower marks unfortunately ...
You can have a small budget for a movie, but if you have a good writer and director, you can make a nice drama.

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This hadn't even been on my to-be-watched list. What made me watch the drama was Victoria Song. I've liked her ever since I've gotten to know f(x) and this was my first time seeing her act, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed but more on that later.
I admit that after watching the first three episodes I wasn't very motivated and considered dropping the drama. Nonetheless episode 4 somehow did it for me and I knew I wanted to keep watching it.
The plot was quite intriguing and had a really nice pace. However around episode 12-16 it starts derailing. I don't know why the writers did what they did. My biggest concern wasn't the ending but the way the story got to that point. It had been a very promising story with a slow burn romance between the main couple and an even better supporting cast, but ended up making a mess of it in the middle.
What kept me going until the end was Xiu Xian, Xiaoju and Kuanyong. They were inarguably the best thing about the drama and why I would suggest anyone to watch the drama.
Acting wise I feel like everyone did well except the actor who plays Helan Jingting.
I didn't really pay much attention to the music therefore have no opinion about whether it's good or bad.
I might rewatch the scenes with my favourite trio but as for the rest of the drama not so much.

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Thumbs up

Although I do not recognize any of the actor and actresses - probably I am too outdated with the newcomers of the entertainment industry, only recognize Xu Kai Cheng - the story line and the actors/actresses are superb. Storyline is actually nice and sweet - some humorous parts also , not long winded. Very happy that it is not an extremely long and alot of episode kind of series. Although I did wish it was a happier ending but nonetheless, it is very cute. The OST is also very nice to listen to and it really suits the show. But the name of the show was quite hard to find. I actually initially know this show by another name (unfortunately I forgotten the name) and couldn´t find it under that other name. Until doing a deep dive of it I managed to find this title Moonshine and Valentine. ^^

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Not a bad drama, but bit of a let down. The first couple of episodes were quite engaging, but as the story progressed the leads barely got any screen time and the plot took a weird turn which was kind of off-putting. The ending was also messy and rushed with several loose ends.

First, the good. I thoroughly enjoyed the love triangle between Xiao Ju and the two foxes. The actors were commendable and had good chemistry. Also, Victoria looked as gorgeous as ever and did a good job with Pi Pi's role. Another plus point is the beautiful soundtrack; "Suzaku Street" will forever be one of my favorite drama OSTs. The cinematography also deserves praise as all the scenes looked so tastefully done and pleasing to the eye.

Moving on to the bad. Being an avid Huang Jingyu fan, I went into watching this with high hopes since it was his first drama in a leading role since Addicted. Unfortunately, I found Helan Jin Ting's role to be very bland, lacking actual depth and characterization. He looked disengaged and expressionless most of the time and the chemistry between him and Pi Pi was also a bit underwhelming. I don't know if Jingyu is to be blamed for this. Feel like he just received the short end of the stick and did the best he could with what was given. Maybe I'm biased, but Jngyu's natural charm was the only saving grace that kept me pulling through some of the episodes. I believe it was an utter waste of a good actor.

All in all if not for the bad script this could have easily become one of my favorite dramas. Nonetheless, it's still worth a watch if you are into romance and fantasy genres.

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Guan Pi Pi é um repórter amador. Apesar de ser bonita e gentil, muitas vezes ela se encontra sozinha no mundo. Por causa disso, Guan Pi Pi se sente abandonado e sem esperança. O que ela não percebe é que foi marcada com uma antiga maldição que foi a causa de todos os infortúnios em sua vida.
He Lan Jing Ting é o Mestre de Jade, um secreto especialista em relíquias culturais cujo rosto permanece invisível aos olhos do público. He Lan Jing Ting é praticamente estranho para as pessoas, mas ninguém sabe o quão verdadeira é essa afirmação - O Mestre de Jade é na verdade uma divindade de outro reino.
Quando He Lan Jing Ting conhece Guan Pi Pi, ele se convence de que pode fazê-la acreditar no amor novamente. Mas, para um homem que vive sozinho, pode ser difícil salvar uma mulher que sofre de uma maldição sobrenatural milenar.
(Fonte: DramaFever)

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