435. Legend of Fei 有翡 (2020) Chinese

Zhao Liying, Wang Yibo, Zhang Hui Wen, Chen Ruo Xuan

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

Oh my heck, I loved this show, and not just because I'm a bit obsessed with Wang Yibo, but because this was a show with really bad-ass women. Like super strong, awesome women, and their men who respect and love them in all their awesomeness. Zhou Fei (Zhao Liying) is just an awesome female lead, who is strong but also chill. Who stands up for justice, is stubborn, but also soft and loving. Her relationship with Xie Yun (Wang Yibo) is just beautiful. The fact that they have different strengths, and she is usually the one protecting him, but he's just like: ok, be careful! And then helping her from the sidelines. The fact that they would both do anything to protect the other, but also respect each other's skills and know when they don't actually need to be protected. Chef's kiss. It's wonderful. Also, all the characters. I just loved everyone, even the ones who were bad, overly evil, or started off as annoying or stupid. This is a show about some serious growth, and for pretty much everyone. Even the elders learn a thing or two and become more open to the strengths of the younger generation, or get wrecked because they don't.

350. The Untamed 陈情令 (2019) Chinese

Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+++

Oh my gosh, obsessed! I literally watched it as fast as my schedule would allow, because it is very addictive. I am a bit glad that I waited until it was over (just because I was drama lazy and in a funk in general) because I could binge it as much as I wanted, but I am also a bit sad because I was late to the game and didn't get to join the live tweeting and conversation. I also knew a bit of what was going on because I had followed it so closely on Twitter. But it is totally worth all the hype. I haven't seen such a compelling story line in a while. Also didn't hurt that it was full to the brim with extremely handsome men, the major portion of which were also decent actors (there is also that handful that are not, but whatever, it's fine).

So it is a fantasy cultivation genre, where everyone is an immortal hero in training, so if you've seen any of those types of dramas, you'll be familiar with that, but what I like is that it spins that on it's head, since the story is about the "Untamed Hero" who isn't conventional to this cultivation and it raises the question of what is true. So there is a lot of mob mentality as people fear what they do not know, and also a lot of power hungry jerks who are willing to throw people to the mobs for their own gain. Basically there is a bunch of injustice and you might cry a time or two as crap happens in abundance. But, the storytelling of it makes it worth it. I remember wishing and wondering why certain villains had stayed alive as long as they did, but the pace was nice and there were several different arcs with different villains, so no one villain stayed alive for too long. Just longer than I wanted sometimes.