The Legend of the White Snake

Episodes: 36
Synopsis: This drama is basically another retelling of the mythical story of the white snake and her romance with a mortal. It tells the story of Xu Xian, a virtuous medicine apprentice, and Bai Su Zhen, a 1000 year old white snake spirit. After transforming into a woman, the two fall in love. However, they face many challenges.

Review:
        The only thing I really liked about this drama was their OST. It was very beautiful, mysterious, and upbeat all at the same time. I think that is the only redeeming quality of this drama. This drama definitely has many weak points, and it was pretty easy to deem as not up to par.
         The cinematography of this drama is extremely overexposed. The characters were blindingly white...basically like you're looking at a blank Word document for most of the drama. In some scenes, the brightness did enhance the viewing experience because you can see things clearly. However, more often than not, it just resulted in a very monotonous viewing experience. The plotline was also fairly weak. A big part of it may have to do with the fact that this story has been told and retold in so many formats that it is hard to really spice things up/give it it's own identity. All in all, I found myself very bored with the plot for most of the drama as it was fairly repetitive. I was annoyed at the monk because I felt like he was causing more problems than good to begin with. I was also annoyed with Ruyi. She was just so obnoxious in her pursuit for Xu Xian despite knowing that she wouldn't get him. Hence, the character shift toward the very end where she became "good" seemed so abrupt and inconsistent with her irrational her character is. There were also many things I did not find necessary for the plot either. I felt like there were a lot of loose endings and no comforting resolution to any of their issues...especially those tied to the monk and Ruyi. There was never a clear cut answer and they seemed to continue to be a hindrance.
          Other than poorly written plots and characters, the acting was so bland. I felt like all actors and actresses were trying to make their faces as stiff and perfect as possible. There were no expressive emotions throughout the entire drama. Every emotion these characters felt seemed to have the same expression. There was no depth in the acting. I found myself getting annoyed with how boring the acting was. Our main character, Bai Su Zhen, was played by a beautiful woman. I think she would have been a great lead actress to have if her character allowed her to have more depth. I wish the director allowed her to be more expressive rather than just sit there and look pretty/dainty. A good example of good acting despite acting as a spirit/deity would be Yang Zi's performance in "Ashes of Love." I became more invested in the green snake despite her acting being fairly shallow as well.  I did find the green snake's story more interesting, and I wish the plot focused on her a bit more. I was so glad when they let go of her human lover because the moment he appeared and started interacting with her, I got bored so fast. I loved her more as an independent because she was just so much more quirky and impulsive than when she started to fall in love.

In conclusion, I do not recommend this drama.