This review may contain spoilers
Realistic romance drama!
Oath of love is a very realistic romance drama. It's soft, romantic and sad at the same time. It actually has a lot of romance in it. There were so many kisses in this drama, and I was so happy about it! I suggest this drama to those who like to watch romance and family dramas, since the drama revolves heavily around family and its importance.I have to warn, Oath of love touches a sensitive topic, cancer. If you or someone important in your life are going through or have gone through cancer, this drama might be something you want to skip if the subject is too hard for you.
Oath of love doesn't have any love rivals going nuts, it has slight rivalry in a couple episodes, but the main leads take care of the rivals very quickly. All hardships are also taken care of very quickly. It's a heartwarming and realistic story that leaves the plot in my opinion a little lacking. I think this drama is very worth to watch for Xiao Zhan. The best part of the drama for me was watching Xiao Zhan act like he was in love.
THE STORY:
Lin Zhixiao is a 21-22 year old cellist in her 3rd year in Huaqing University's music department. Her father had been having stomach problems that were thought to be stomach ulcer, but turned out to be cancer. Thanks to Gu Wei, "Dr.Gu" a 31-year-old chief surgeon, he was diagnosed early. Due to Gu Wei's past surgery where his teacher died, he now suffers from a small trauma, his hands start to tremble. Lin Zhixiao had misunderstandings about Gu Wei, but thanks to him diagnosing her father's cancer, now she and her family want Gu Wei to perform the surgery on him. After finding out about his condition, she helps him get through it. They slowly fall in love. They go through hardships as Gu Wei is busy as a doctor, their 10-year-old age gap and differences in personality. Lin Zhixiao is a little childish and clumsy, meanwhile Gu Wei is stoic and mature. But opposites attract and they learn how to communicate.
SPOILER PART OF THE STORY, MY OPINION:
The plot is very family oriented and maybe a little too realistic to me. There wasn't really anything interesting to me about the plot, apart from watching Xiao Zhan (Gu Wei) act like he was in love. The topic was a little too heavy for me, and at times I was a little bored.
Lin Zhixiao is portrayed to be this 21-22year old that is childish, yet mature. As a 22-year-old myself, I think 22-year-olds are a little bit like that. She was a little too childish for my liking but when was the time to act mature, she was.
22-year-olds and 31-year-olds for sure have differences when it comes to relationships and personality. Lin Zhixiao often misunderstood what Gu Wei meant, but it had a lot to do just with the way his personality was, not his age. Their relationship felt very natural as Gu Wei started to act more cute and childish too and thanks to Gu Wei, Lin Zhixiao started to act more mature.
I didn't like her father treating her too strictly and like she was a child. You want your kid to grow up but won't stop controlling her, let her make her own mistakes and learn from them and won't stop calling her "too young" and "a small child" As a 22-year-old, living in Finland, it's a cultural shock to learn that Lin Zhixiao wasn't allowed to stay overnight in her boyfriend's apartment.
The plot romance wise was nice, but there wasn't really much going on aside from that. I'm giving this drama only an 8, due to the ridiculous "breakup" in ep 24. You can't say that it's a real breakup, since the breakup was basically taken care of in one episode. Gu Wei performs an emergency surgery on a car accident patient without the patient's guardian's permission, since they couldn't be reached. Gu Wei saved the patient's life but due to the patient still not out of critical state, the patient's parents make trouble for Gu Wei by posting a Weibo post about Gu Wei being a bad doctor. Because of this, he can't go to Germany with Lin Zhixiao as planned and almost loses his license. Gu Wei meets Lin Zhixiao's parents for the first time as Lin Zhixiao's boyfriend and tells her father that he can't promise to take care of her. He doesn't tell Lin Zhixiao what is going on and doesn't answer his phone and disappears. After finding out about the situation from his colleagues, she finds him and tells him how much he hurt her by not telling her. He wants to hold on to her, but she says to come to her after he is done escaping the situation where he wasn't in the wrong and to fix things.
The situation is solved in the blink of an eye, and she doesn't take him back at first, but it didn't take more than 1–2 episodes before they were all good.
Gu Wei proposes to her soon after, and just when everything seems too good to be true, it usually means that things are too good to be true. Her father's cancer has gotten worse, and he has less than a year to live. (this happens in ep 28 and if you are watching it from viki or youtube, the drama has 29 episodes.)
I disliked that a lot, and the fact that their whole wedding planning and wedding was filled with sadness instead of hope and love. I mean, it's realistic, but for me, it took away the happiness from the ending. The ending felt rushed and sad, since they have a 3-year-old in the end after a 7-year-old time skip and her father has passed away without ever seeing his grandson.
THE THINGS I LIKED:
- Gu Wei and Lin Zhixiao's love, it was cute and believable.
- The love rivals, giving up quickly and maturely.
- Lin Zhixiao and her mother's relationship
- Gu Wei standing up to his parents
- Sansan and Yinxi, Lin Zhixiao's two besties standing up for her and being there for her.
THE THINGS I DISLIKED:
- Lin Zhixiao's father. He had his moments, but overall he was too strict on her. He was sharp tongued and only when nearing death he realized that there were many things they haven't done together.
- Sansan's and Yinxi's advice in relationships-
- GU XIAO, Gu Wei's relative who is a rich playboy, who falls for Sansan. He opens a café for her, messes up and leaves without explaining to Sansan and comes back later on and all of a sudden they were all good.
- GU XIAO BEING RUDE TO LIN ZHIXIAO ALL THE TIME. If I was Lin Zhixiao, he would not be getting away with his rudeness.
- The sudden cancer bomb in the end.
ACTING:
Yang Zi as Lin Zhixiao, Personally Yangzi isn't one of my favorite actresses. She can be a little tiring to me, but she did act well in her crying scenes. The crying was realistic and I could feel her sadness. When with Xiao Zhan, it didn't quite feel like she was really in love with him. It felt a little awkward to me from her side. Overall, she was a good pick for this drama.
Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei, NOW THIS- This is the reason to watch Oath Of Love. Xiao Zhan is eye candy himself but Xiao Zhan acting like he is in love???!! WORTH EVERY MINUTE. He truly made me think that he was in love and that Lin Zhixiao was his whole world. I'm now on a quest to find a man who looks at me the same way he looks at her.
Overall 8!
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A Medical Romance Gem: Exploring the Layers of 'Oath of Love'
I would say that Oath of Love is better than the average romance drama. It is realistic and a good reflection of how life, and real relaitonships should be. The ennding is very bittersweet, and I love Lin ZhiXiao's parents, mainly the Dad more lol. I feel like they were an important part of the story with many emotional moments. XiaoZhan pulled off his role so well. Eventhough I typically don't enjoy romance focused drama I quite enjoyed this! The medical themes were also intresting and really adds to it, and I liked the focus of family love too! The OSTs were one of the best features, espiclaly because it's between YangZi and XiaoZHan. Now, at times I found both Lin ZhiXiao and Gu Wei very annoying, and very immature. ZhiXiao's friends were kinda eh, as they encouraged her to stupid behaviour, and I just really don't like them. Overall, it's a pretty good drama with its shortcomings, but as I said I'm not a fan of romance driven dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
Leads convey subtle emotions very naturally.
Romantic comedy that has a nice balance of scenes and characters that are funny and sad, light and serious, clinical and emotional. The attractive leads Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan are well matched as Lin Zhixiao and Gu Wei. There’s lots of chemistry between them from their chaotic first encounters and bumpy beginnings until they gradually fall in love. Both are excellent actors who convey subtle emotions very naturally. They have beautifully expressive eyes that are captivating and mesmerizing. The plot is clever and entertaining from the get-go. The flirting game between Gu Xiao (Zhai Zi Lu) and San San (Daisy Li) made for a playful sub-plot. Fine acting all round by the supporting cast. Plus this drama has a beautiful musical score and opening and ending theme songs by Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan. Bonus: When not in scrubs Dr Gu sports some great fashion wear, and there are 30+ kisses that won’t disappoint romance fans.Was this review helpful to you?
Cdrama that got me hooked on CDRAMAS
great drama, amazing cast! really great and touching story! the romance is on point, the family plot is also great, really allows you to watch and think about life and treasure your family!! although theres like a little bit of third party its not toxic or annoying! overall a good watch (although i cried a lot)! i think if you are looking for a drama to watch you should watch this it's a great starter showthe side characters are also good! liked the character development of of the SML! the FL also made me love yangzi alot! i think it's pretty cool that she played the cello in the drama and was a university student!
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One of the heartwarming drama
I enjoy watch this drama because the story quite relate with my condition. I have a dad that diagnosed with cancer too. Family support is everything for a cancer survivor.I think Lin Zhi Xiao character is quite good enough, she's tough and have self esteem.
Gu Wei also a nice character, he also have a flaw as a doctor made him more realistic.
The story quite good too even some part seems like the other chinese drama typical. But overall i still manage to watch this drama till the end.
Love the OST that sing by Xiao Zhan, i put it in my playlist too.
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Most Anticipated Drama since 3 years ago
Finally we're able to watch the most anticipated drama of Xiao Zhan since 3 years ago.The story is really heartwarming that did not only focus on their romance but also the relationship of the family and friends.
The chemistry of Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi are really good and sweet. Loving on how the mature Gu Wei leads young Xiao Xiao and support her dreams.
The story of Mr. Lin and how he loves his daughter is really heartwarming and will make us shed a tear.
All the actors are great and shout out to Zhai Zi Lu too, love him since Lucky's First Love era.
The OST are really great. Even though there are only 3 OST but all of them are sung by our main leads, Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi. Both with solo song and the other one is the duet for the opening OST, really beautiful.
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Ep20 annoyed me
I originally wanted to give this 8/10 but when i got to episode 20, I changed my mind to giving it 2/10. Because that episode was completely ridiculous and unbelievable and made me so pissed off that I started fast forwarding from that episode just to finish the series. That episode destroyed everything good about this show IMO. I ended up giving it 5/10 because of the wedding scene. Those vows were absolutely incredible and one of the best tv wedding scenes I have ever watched, so I guess there’s that for that.Won’t be rewatching ever. And to be very honest I wouldn’t recommend this show.
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This review may contain spoilers
Some flaws here & there but still very good!
About like, it's definitely ACTING!!! I felt connected to Zhixiao, her family & Gu Wei. It was very natural, many times heartwarming! The leads have good chemistry, plenty of kisses & warm hugs.The starting itself got me. How the father daughter quarreled but when 3rd person involved, they immediately joined hands to argue. Also, the initial hospitals scenes are very funny.
The child Qiuqiu, such a sweet little cupid!
What I didn't like :-
Gu Wei not explaining to Gao Xi initially. He only avoided her and she kept pushing Zhixiao. While doing stitches to Zhixiao he explained her but instead, it would have been good if he clearly rejected Gao Xi beforehand.
Unnecessary drama could have been avoided.
Sansan & Gu Xiao had quite long scenes in 1st half & I skipped most of them.
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One of the best Modern chinese drama. Subtle & smooth.
This show introduces us to the two person which are very normal and ended up being couple. That is why it is relatable.Their chemistry is so smooth and subtle that we can relate to it explicitly.
Indeed it is one of the best modern Chinese show not only because of the Big Star Xiao Zhan & Yang Zhi but really storyline is so soothing.
Storyline is not cliched at all unlike those dramas in which couple's relationship looks like forced.
I really love it.
And yes when both of them come together, Sparkssss OBVIOUSLY.
PS : OHHH Xiao Zhan's smile worth melting for ; )
We want more modern dramas from Xiao Zhan. We cant have enough of his smile and big big eyes 😛
Yang zhi is just perfect in every genre whether
period drama or modern one. Her emotions seems so real.
MUST WATCH ! Just Go for it.
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A moving story about life
The Oath of Love is a moving drama. It's not just a silly romantic comedy with no depth. It's a story about everyday life, about people who could be our family, our friends, neighbors. Many dramas suffer from inconsistency. They start well, yet later they change the pace, introduce unnecessary characters, create shortcuts in the story. In the Oath of Love, there is no single character, scene, or line that should not be there. The story is very fluent, the relationships have their ups and downs but their development feels very natural and in place. The main leads, Yang Zi as Lin Zhi Xiao and Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei have amazing on-screen chemistry. It's hard to believe that this is the first cooperation between Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan as their understanding of the roles and the relationship between the characters they play is incredible. Even if romantic comedies are not your cup of tea, it's really worth a try.Was this review helpful to you?
just beautiful and natural
I get the age gap of the characters but the FL portrays them as a very inconsistent characters. One moment, she portrays a level of maturity the next, she’s throwing tantrums at her boyfriend due to “not spending enough time with her”. ML has been giving in to her time and time again and honestly, he deserves better. He did try to justify why he chose her which I understand but it seems that they have a communication barrier. The Actors and Actresses and both very good at acting and I’ve been looking forward to this drama as I’m a huge fan of both of them.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Gem Despite Its Imperfections
More than just a romantic love story, this is drama delves into the intricacies what what it takes to be a family.In my opinion, the drama starts of really strong and immediately introduces the issues that carry on throughout the drama. Zhi Xiao's family learns to deal with sickness of a loved one and Gu Wei learns to regain his confidence and direction in life. There was so much growth in all of the main characters in the first 6ish episodes that I was surprised and it made me look forward to the rest. (I'm not a doctor, so I can't really comment of the medical aspects of the drama, but there may be some inaccuracies here for those viewers that are sensitive to this.)
Then the drama hit kind of a lull in the middle where it went through the typical love triangle cliches and misunderstandings. But the chemistry between the main leads really pulled through. The process of them falling in love seemed really natural and their interactions were really sweet. Despite knowing what will happen before it happens, I was already too invested in the main leads and just wanted to see them together. I can see how some may drop the series here, but I would definitely recommend to keep going.
In the last 8ish episodes, the plot picks up again and the rest of the drama is really gold. The main leads really grow together and they have one of the most loving and realistic relationships I've seen depicted in a drama. Their individual strengths get to shine as they help each other with their weaknesses and there is no doubt in my mind that they belong together, not just as lovers but as family. The father daughter development also made me cry more times than I would like to admit. I think a lot of people could relate to their situation and emotions were just too real. The ending for them was absolute perfection even if it's not ideal. This drama leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling.
To be honest, when I first started the drama I thought that the leads were miscasted. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of both Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan, but the characters didn't seem to suit them. Probably because this was filmed 3 years before it was released, in my head Yang Zi already grew out of the naive bubbly girl type of role. When the FL acted childish I had to keep reminding myself that she's supposed to be 21 and still in college. Xiao Zhan also seems more of a heart on sleeve type of actor and playing the stoic genius ML seemed out of character, because honestly he's just really cute sometimes. The 9 year age gap of the characters was often forgotten because the leads are pretty similar in age in real life. However, after finishing the entire drama, I'm glad Yang Zi and Xiao Zhan were the leads because they brought something to their characters that made them seem more human than the typical stereotypes. There are some really emotional moments towards the end of the drama and an actress with less experience probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off as well as Yang Zi did. And since it was the ML's first time falling in love and learning how to love, being able to see all of the heart wrenching feelings flit across Xiao Zhan's face during the difficult moments made his character a lot more relatable.
I'm just going to rant a little about the side characters. I wish there was more development for them because their characters were interesting and had potential, but it fell very flat. Their stories were not concluded well either. It just kind of wrapped everyone else up as they ended happily ever after... probably.... However, I'm always down for a happy ending so it's not too big of a deal :)
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