Dashing ML and a complicated romance
I was drawn to this drama mostly because of the cast and I was curious how the romance would unfold, since the protagonists have such different personalities and they clash from the very beginning. The military plot was not particularly interesting to me, but I stayed for the relationships and characters' development. The Chinese opera elements were also a highlight throughout the story.The romance is complicated, fraught with lack of trust and communication, lots of misunderstandings, jealousy - overall not a pretty picture. ML's feelings bordered on obsession and controlling the woman he desperately loved. The FL fell in love with him at some point, but it was not shown how her feelings changed from reluctant acceptance of their marriage.
Shawn Dou was very charismatic in his role and the life long friendship between the 3 ''brothers'' was well portrayed. The acting in general was pleasant and immersive. I found the plot more engaging in the second half, after both leads experienced life changing events and substantial growth. I had also hoped for a clearer happy ending, but it was at least a tentative and hopeful one.
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Around 40 episodes of misunderstandings
Don’t watch this drama if you don’t like a push-and-pull romance, there are many romantic drama couples out there that have healthy relationships and ended up happy. It’s easy to get frustrated when you watch the leads succumb to their own prejudice and immaturity. For me though, that’s what makes it entertaining because of how incredibly dumb yet dramatic their misunderstandings are. Over time, we can see how they mature with the tragic war in the background. I’m stumped with the ending, I don’t know if I should like it or not but it’s definitely not satisfying. I’m obsessed with Dou Xiao as Xiao Bei Chen and Yuan Hao as Mu Zi Zheng, they were great to watch. Zi Zheng’s character arc was most interesting to me but I think the writers didn’t quite hit the mark and his storyline was lacking something. If you’re willing to watch 40+ episodes of misunderstandings, give this a try.Was this review helpful to you?
Have serious 'Gone with the wind' vibes
This is a series where you just can't seem to understand the FL nor sympathize with her but can't help but root for the ML.If you don't like contemplative dialogues, you might find this boring but the details in the scenes and costumes were top class and immersed me in this drama world. Set in a time of war, this drama gives you a visual of the struggles people experienced and a love story that was full of misunderstandings. Expect a lot of deaths, some of which can really make you reach out for tissues.
There's mutual attraction the first time the leads set their eyes on each other and when they accidentally kissed but lack of communication and misunderstandings led to a toxic relationship. The FL was too headstrong and blind to the love the ML gave her, she also frequently blamed the ML for things he didn't do. She also said that she did not love him and thought of him as her brother when he confessed his feelings, when in truth, she was just unsure of her feelings. She also never explicitly said that she loved him. No wonder the ML was so insecure and thought she was hung up on the SML. The ML tried to make the relationship work but he was not perfect, he did some things I did not like, like the frequent shoulder grabs and smashing things during arguments. It was like he was forcing the FL to love him back. The SML was a pitiful character that imagined that the FL loved him and could not let go of his grudge against the ML, even going so far as betraying his own principles. The SFL was a typical scheming villain who thought she can have the ML if she can only get rid of the FL. The last few episodes showed how the leads finally resolved their issues and calmly TALKED about their past and realize that they care for each other and just wants the safety of their partner. Since this is a period piece, there were a lot of side characters but my favorite were the male friends of the ML. They were smart, loyal and brave. As for the ending, I liked that it was realistic but hopeful at the same time.
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Charming ML, Frustrating FL
I really liked this drama. The production values, costumes, acting and music were all top-notch. But I found the characterization of the female lead too problematic. She was wholly toxic as a character- stubborn, selfish, insensitive, cold and simply hateful. I don’t think she apologized even once during the whole drama or tried to make amends for anything she did wrong.She takes the ML to task for every little thing he does but gives the 2ML a pass for everything. Even when 2ML tries to assassinate someone at her loving adoptive family’s home or is being shot for participating in nefarious activities she doesn’t say one sharp word to him and instead rescues him but if the ML did one silly little thing she found objectionable she would give him the silent treatment for a month or simply run away and leave him . She never thought of all the times he saved her life while punishing him - only the one petty little thing he did. How could he trust her when she never behaved in a trustworthy way? You just don’t believe in her love for him at all. I know the script probably means to portray the 2 ML as an ordinary friend but her actions are very misleading - no wonder the ML, 2ML and even some of ML’s family think she loves 2 ML.
And also the ML why oh why would he continue to obsessively love such a woman? I don’t think in real life anybody would put up with a woman like that. Especially a guy so rich, powerful and good looking with options - are you telling me he wouldn’t be able to replace this sorry excuse for a wife in one hot minute with someone much better? He deserved someone like Aunt Qi - supportive,loyal, loving and understanding.
Seriously though I don’t understand why they write characters like this FL? Wouldn’t the audience like to see her doing some loving and supportive things for her husband and then maybe a big misunderstanding tearing them apart instead of having the FL always being cold , hard hearted and oppositional? I think she once makes gloves for him - that’s the only nice thing she did for him the entirety of their marriage until the last couple of episodes. Wouldn’t making the FL less selfish and more supportive be a better selling point to audiences than a cold , hard hearted woman who had no problem constantly chasing after the 2 ML and doing things for him that she wouldn’t have done for the ML.?They really did the actress dirty on this one. And the actor too because you have to wonder what kind of nut job would continue to chase after such a woman.
I found the details on the war and their strategizing interesting. I wouldn’t rewatch this but I liked watching it the first time despite all the frustration.
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Ok to watch
Good storyline, quite an emotional one. Love to see main actor Bei Cheng, he’s so cute and cool in different stages, he brings up the show. Unfortunately, the main actress Hang Jing was not acting well. It would be better rating if replace another main actress I guess. Not really like to see the way she blink her eyes in a slow motion as it’s so unnatural. Lady Qi is so elegant, love to see her characters in this drama, beautiful. Although the ending was not what I wish to be but it’s more to realistic and what it suppose to be. Last few episodes really made my tears dropped, no regret to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
Love in Flames of War
This is a sad drama but the development of their relationship is interesting. The ending could have been better but overall it is a 9/10 for me. The FL always listens to fake rumors this was pretty annoying.The ending feels like they will make an s2, but these ww2 dramas usually don't have an s2. If I was the director I would have ended with a reunion of the family.
Shawn Dou 10/10 acting
I don't rewatch dramas so I gave it a 1.
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My Take
Loved watching because I like military stuff though I do not like the fights or war itself. So the training and discipline and how they go about discharging their duties.I enjoyed the loyalty of ML team ie friends and all his military men.
I enjoyed the ML's acting, it was good.
FL lead was a bit disappointing but cannot fault her much because that might be what the script expected of her.
I routed for the relationship between ML and FL but was sometimes disappointed.
On the whole the drama was good and was always searching and waiting for the next episode.
Kudos to all involved.
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This review may contain spoilers
Somewhere between nostalgia and annoyance
I've worked about 4 months on this drama to translate it into my native language. Generally, I like "Republic" dramas, and I enjoyed Fall in Love for example. Still, this drama wasn't very popular among us,The music was great and one reason why I started this project, but even the great songs can't save the stories and the mostly unlikable protagonists. Whom did I actually like? Maybe Qi-furen.
However, I expected more from the lead characters when the drama started. Lin Hangjing is generally an independent woman, and that's a good thing. Still, she jumps to stupid conclusions and reacts extremely annoying most times. So she somewhat turned out to be rather hateful than independent. Still, Xiao Beichens reactions weren't much better. He's too stubborn for his own good, doesn't talk, and reacts violently in his jealousy. Certainly this is a historic drama, but at some point I didn't know what to think of this anymore.
Most women are pretty hateful, no matter Fengqi or Shuyi. It could've been interesting if they really grew as a couple, but except for the last few episodes, the relationship is a mess. The ending as a whole isn't very positive, but I think there were some great scenes, and I even felt a bit sorry for Mu Zhizheng. He was indeed annoying, but somehow more interesting and probably tragic than some of the other characters.
I don't really regret watching this, and now that it's over it feels even slightly bitter. Still, the endless misunderstanding destroyed it for me and some characters felt a bit too one-dimensional... like Fengqi for example.
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For two souls in love, nothing hurts more than being cut off due to obligations towards the nation.
I adore all the actors in this drama. From Aunt Qi, Commander Xiao, The twins, Shuyi, the scene stealer Cunning Mo and Doofus Xu, Instructor Du, and even the pivotal moments with Little Dou which act as a catalyst for Xiao Beichen to grow as a person.
Personally, this drama is my first take on both the lead role (most of the actors anyway). Nevertheless, I thought the acting is good and remained faithful to the script. I started reading the original novel written by LingXi just to understand certain prerogatives/actions done by actors in the story. Some scenes don't make sense such as why Aunt Qi suddenly ask Lin Hangjing to write scriptures even if her writings are definitely pretty. While reading the novel, I found that it was for Aunt Qi to use it to pray at the temple. The scene in the drama however looks out of place like a sudden afterwards scene added, though I shrugged it off later on just due to the twist and turns of the political situation in the story.
Although the earlier storyline is full of angst and various misunderstandings that could have been resolved had they both just sat down and talk it out like a normal couple. But I thought it was almost a normal reaction someone could have towards their other half, especially with the pressure of the surroundings from youth movements, the communist party, the central government and warlords. Let's just ask ourselves what could we have done while facing the evil machinations of Zheng Fengqi. Though it also teaches us that relationships could crumble when both party are too proud and stubborn with no backing down. "If only..." doesn't work in real life. Their relationship at the beginning is rocky but improves with time, especially with Xiao Beichen taking the lower road, leaving leeway for both as we can see on their first night as husband and wife, as both leads lower their heads and talk of reconciling when the scandal broke out when they place their trust in each other. Even in the event of Xiao Beichen's lie about her father came to light, Lin Hanjing tried her hardest to cross-check the information but she broke down amidst the painful memory of her father's death and the broken trust between husband and wife.
Do remember Lin Hangjing was only 15 years old when forced to leave the only home she was familiar with in Southern China and came to the cold Northeastern territory. Despite being treated kindly by both of her adopted parents, which teens will completely let go of their reserve and be completely free in a new environment? I felt heartache while reading so many scathing comments on how Lin Hangjing is ungrateful and doesn't deserve to be loved by Xiao Beichen. She only have 1 friend with that she could completely tell the truth about her hardship, dreams and aspirations. How could she ignore that 1 friend when he is in danger (referring to the assassination attempt of Commander Kang)? She has been living a protected life of a young lady. She might be talented, and smart in studying and writings, however, she is not well-versed in how the military game works. She might know the rules but she doesn't have what it takes to play the game. With the stakes and gamble required, she put on a brave front but still has fear in her heart when she is almost at the end of the rope (referring to when she was almost sentenced to death in court).
I love Chen Duling's portrayal of Lin Hangjing and Sheng Hanjun. She shows us the role of a high-class lady gradually transforming from the previously restrictive for women to a progressive semi-modern lady with aspirations for national revolutions. She has the right thinking of wanting to lift up all the women of the era and later on become one of the front-line ladies while playing Sheng Hanjun. It is not due to her having a special role thus she wants to play spy, but due to her wanting to do all she can to help in the revolution. From her earlier life, Lin Hanjing has worked as a writer that critiques the warlords and wrote an expose on the impacts of war, as a supporter of the establishment of the orphanage and finally as a school teacher for young girls of the poorer class. Needless to say in her role as Sheng Hanjun, she played the spy to foil the Japanese plan of winning the harbour construction plan and later on as the first aider during the war between the Ying Army and the Japanese.
I could not help but wrote more on Lin Hanjing character as most of the reviews/comments seem hell-bent on critiquing her as a woman stuck in hard places while living in a turbulent warlord era, a time between the two world wars.
Shawn Dou Xiao acting as both the playful 3rd young master and staunch soldier/guardian of Beixin City reflects the social situation in the warlord era. As the different factions grew restless due to greed for wealth and power, and internal and external conflicts, he remained faithful to the city he swore to protect. I don't have to say much but each scene with him left me at the edge of my seat due to nervousness, laughing so much or crying as I emphatized with how he felt. I cried a river at the last scene between these two leads when Xiao Beichen said:
"I'm just afraid I'd be reluctant to die when I see you".
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mixed feelings
I had mixed feelings about this drama because of the main female character "Lin Hangjing" whose guts I hated thoroughly until perhaps the four last episodes. Chen Duling is not at fault if the script specified that she should convey the impression of a deep frozen fish haughtily playing the role of poor orphaned martyr.Most female characters in that drama, except the peace loving Qi furen, were just awful snakes or stupid hens, in my opinion. As for the male ones, they were obstinate or for some, frankly evil, but at least had some or a lot of heroic spirit, which carried the drama. Shawn Dou was quite professional, and the character he played elicited some pity from me.
So it was still watchable, although I'll admit I was tempted to drop it several times, the compulsory romance ingredients including accidental kiss being, to say the least, not very redeeming here. Besides, too much was predictable in that drama.
The music, although not unforgettable, is good.
Despite all this unpromising matter, that drama still topped the charts the past end of May weekend, so the audience in China must also have found some qualities in the story and be fond or tolerant of "flawed characters" too.
I found the historical background interesting, so went to dig deeper for a refresher course on the Beiyang army, the life of Zhang Zuolin, the events from 1912 to the Nanjing decade and the story of railroads in the Dongbei until 1937, because there was a mention of a fish from the Songhua river travelling at great cost to the table of the Xiao siling 萧司令 (such details tickle me lol).
It also had me rewatch the 2016 movie "Railroad Tigers" (with Jackie Chan, Z.Tao and Wang Kai), although the action in that movie takes place on the southbound stretch of the railroad from Tianjin. Anyway that movie is well worth rewatching as an antidote to the worst of the irritating scenes in LifoW, like the totally incredible ace driving under gunfire on the wharf to save the life of a traitor and inflict a virtual slap in the face of the Xiao fusiling.
Since I stayed till the end and because the story triggered my interest in accessory watching and reading, I still give it a decent vote. But I doubt it could ever become my favorite go-to romance in Republican era setting.
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Hurting love and military heroism : life is a battlefield
How difficult it is to rate this drama ! If you are a Shawn Dou's fan (as I am) you will be magnanimous and give a 9. This love story is painful and bothering to watch. Military plots and revoltionnary goals in the chinese republican era give a very good background to this drama. Mistrust, hurting feelings and misunderstandings are maybe too much but it's something that couples have to face when one is stubborn and the other one too possessive.At first, we have a one sided love from the ML who is a bold handsome young man (Xiao Beichen) from a very rich family who falls in love with a girl who comes to live within his family. At first, he just makes a bet with his best friends that the girl (Lin Hangjing) will fall for him just like any girl who would meet bim ! She is the kind of girl who would be discribed as the perfect girl with the best morals and heart, caring for the others. She also is an intellectual with modern points of view. At first she can't help but despise Beichen because she thinks he makes fun of her and she doesn't value someone who acts just like a spoiled boy not caring for anyone but him. Actually, he is just the opposite but he wants to enjoy life and acts frivolous. He lost her mother at a very young age (she was killed before his eyes) and he is still heartbroken. His stepmother loves him very much and understands him. She is the one who knows that Beichen and Hangjing could be a perfect match because they are basically alike.
In this drama we have Beichen who is in love with Hangjing and wants to be her hero, that's why he will be so good at the military academy and on battlefields. He speaks his heart to her but she just doesn't want to see his love even though he puts his life in danger to save her many times. She can't see his deep and sincere affection and love because in her heart there is Mu Zizheng with whom she shares the same ideas. Zizheng is in love with her. For Hangjing, he is her soulmate, she can do whatever for him. Hangjing cannot accept Beichen's love because she misunderstands him and won't trust him. They will get married but "on paper" playing wife and husband in front of others but not sleeping together. This wedding was to spare Hangjing from jail and was Beichen's idea. Beichen always hope to gain Hangjing's heart. And he will.
Events will become darker as the story goes on, Beichem will become jealous and possessive and things would be really despicable when Hangjing is pregnant. Beichem thinks that the baby isn't his.... Starting from here, sufferings will be everywhere in the drama, the japanese pression will grow, military and spy actions will be more present. I won't spoil what happens further in the drama, it will be heartbroken. As a matter of fact, love demands some sacrifices just like a country needs to sacrifice some of his chidren when it is in danger. I really liked this drama from here till the end. Shawn Dou's great acting and sincere emotions are really to be pointed out.
Love and sacrifice in war time are so well depicted, I could even give this drama a 10 ! I really liked this sentence : "choose what you like and like what you choose " (even if your choice is wrong).
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INDEED
I'm not going to say much more than "CAN WE HAVE SEASON 2????" THE ENDING IS LITERALLY 🤌🤌🤌 LIKE DUDE!!! They wasted so much of their time together. I swear the director makes 5 years seem like 5 days!!!. Why can't they be reunited as a 3 instead of showing us a ship of Hangjing and the son only??? ALSO, THE TWO BFFS DIED!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE DUDE WAS Very EXTREMELY EXTREMELY ACTUALLY HAD A CHANCE WITH SHUYI AND IT JUST ENDED LIKE THIS. They must do a season 2 where they all reincarnate in a modern style, live a cool life, and meet each other.p.s: I didn't mean to write this much or to spoil but I can't submit reviews with less than 500 words TT
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