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i happen to stumble upon it and fall in love with it.
i like this. i dont know any of the cast and ive never heard of this drama. i happen to stumble upon it and fall in love with it. I love Qiu yan, Liang Yi, Song Jin, Qin xuan and the others character.I love how messy the qiu family is, from the uncles, aunties and to the siblings and somehow them ended up being very close because they went trough hell together. The confessing scene and all with qiu yi and his brother. How Liang yi and qiu yan slowly but surely fell in love, i love their chemistry so much. Literally everything. I wouldn't even expect to like a character that was the main villain 90% of the time which is Yuan Lang. You somehow love character you find annoying in the beginning. Like Qiu Mei, Qiu Ying, they contribute in the escape plan a lot. Their bond as a family just became stronger after each and every problem.
And mostly the thing that kept me hooked is the mystery aspect. Playing detective is literally my cup of tea, so its not weird for me to loveeeee this series. But i like every case. Its very smart, they are all very smart tbh, even Yuan Lang. I am also a person who loves plot twist, so that adds to the point.
This drama is also very funny, i found myself laughing myself off a lot, this drama has humor and the mystery, but this drama also made me shed some tears but dont worry it wont be something too major. (maybe??)
I guess i have to mention qiu min, i like her in the beginning but she went downhill for me after her being very scheming and all. she may redeemed herself a little bit, but drugging somebody and taking advantage of them will always be wrong. what more in the name of "love" thats basically r4p3. that one point wont be redeemable tho. but her character did improve on the very end ig...
Qin Xuan is just a pitiful lamb, i dont think i can say much more lol.
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Nothing really exciting about this drama, but the female lead was inspiring to me.
There are quite a number of reviews written for this drama, so this time I will just write mine in short point-form format on what I thought of the drama.1. Good pacing
2. Easy watch, plot easy to understand
3. Rather than a romance drama, it is more of the life story of the female lead overcoming difficulties and troubles that came her way and eventually being able to lead the life she wants and romance is just there to spice up the story.
4. Strong female lead, not to the point of irritating. The female lead is outspoken, speaks her mind, unconventional
5. Male lead cool, calm and collected, decisive
6. Both leads complement each other very well
7. Last few episodes quite a drag, and last episode itself had a few twists which were unnecessary
8. OST was poetic and catchy
9. Male lead's face too white, overuse of powder on face
Overall, the story was not exciting or interesting enough for me to look forward to every episode. there was no huge ups or downs or climax that made me feel excited or wonder what will happen next, but I continued watching till the end because the female lead was good. Her unconventional thinking in that era was simply refreshing. There are of course other c-dramas with such female leads, but I personally think that the FL in this drama executed particularly well and convincing enough to inspire me. If I were to re-watch, I would re-watch because I wanted to see the female lead again and recall her words.
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Suprisingly good!
Watched this on a whim and was pleasantly surprised! The plot is interesting and the story moves quite quickly. Started this with no prior knowledge of Jeremy Tsui or Brigitte Qiao and found that they are really good together! They have excellent chemistry! Jeremy Tsui'a comedic timing is so good and he uses subtle body language and mannerisms to portray his character. She perfectly matches his energy with their back and forth banter. I would recommend this on chemistry alone! The supporting cast was just ok but its still worth a watch!Was this review helpful to you?
A pleasant one
Cast: Having seen Qiao Xin acted in many modern dramas, her historical role in the Autumn Ballad did come off as fresh to me and needless to say - she nailed the role, managing to portray the witty and bold female lead. Jeremy on the other hand is also an experienced actor whom is extremely charismatic in this drama. Both actors have good chemistry thus making the show enjoyable. The second female lead (aka qiu min) is starting to get on my nerve. She has this gentle personality yet ruins all her sisters plans simply because of jealousy. Yet I can’t bring myself to hate her Bc she is infact kind hearted - and that’s the annoying bit.Story: The story isn’t that entertaining but it certainly isn’t a boring one. There are numerous different cases and the right pace of the story manage to keep me hook. For those who fear watching crime shows yet still enjoys how they unfold the truth, I highly recommend watching this show as parts of the story involves the main leads trying to find culprits etc, meanwhile there is also NO gruesome imageries involve.
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Boring
After Ep 17, it starts to go down the drain. With the appearance of Yuan Lang where he repeatedly frame Liang Yi over and over and over again starts to get boring. It really lacks of good plots. Then the typical Chinese drama style where non-common sense or illogical story line starts to creeping in. Then the wasteful scenes were just fillers to extend the drama to 34 episodes. Overall, poor story and lack sophistication. Looks like good dramas are lacking nowadays. Too many rubbish out there.........Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Pulling a supporting character through the mud to make the main character shine
Autumn ballad is one of lately popular genres of palace detective historical series.The Heroine is a smart girl , able to solve the crime like Sherlock Holmes in ancient China.
She then meets our Smart Hero on her journey, sparks fly due to her sharp intellect and the rest is history.
I love that kind of story since Maiden Holmes , so I came to watch Autumn Ballad.
*****
The Beginning episodes are not bad , which start with the case of our Heroine,Qiu Yan's bethroned death on their wedding day.
The resistance of the heroine who refused to die for a husband ,whom she didn't know and hadn't properly wed yet , is admirable.
But my problem with the drama actually starts after that case had been solved and she came back home .
We are indroduced to many members of Qiu family as supporting characters ,but none of them particularly stands out as an individual , they are described as either selfish or
self-orientated to make the Heroine shine in comparison in drama fashion.
Among them, one particular supporting character is Qiu Min, Heroine step sister.
Qiu Min seems to be jealous of Qiu Yan for her talent and also her biological mom's love for Qiu Yan.
To make the Heroine unique, the story made her fallen in love with other man ,Qin Xuan rather than ML ,Liang Yi at the beginning of story. Coincidentally, Qiu Min also fell in love with that Qin Xuan.
When misfortunes fell upon Qiu family, Qiu Yan broke up with Qin Xuan. ( Not real break up at that time )
The story should be like Qiu Yan broke up with him under difficult circumstances and fell in love with Liang Yi due to their closeness in solving Qiu family case. Simple and Modernized , right ?
But they make Qiu Min dirty again.
They made her rob Qin Xuan ( after she got raped ) from Qiu Yan , so QY had no choice , but to cut QX ( for real this time) and got close to LY , to present QY as a loyal woman ,not as a woman who had change of heart.
(Another problem of mine with chinese dramas .
Why does rape victim suddenly go bad and turn into villain mood ? Also in Prince of Liang Lin )
I mean there are individuals among society, some are strong like Qiu Yan while others can be weak like Qiu Min.
Qiu Min may be unpleasant cause she is a hypocrite, but there is no way to make her dirty to the end ,to make the Heroine shine.
Also I heard the main villain who made all of these happened, wasn't punished either at the end of the story.
Where can I find my satisfaction ?
:::::::::::
I mean I understand it needs a villain to make a hero.
But as a drama which wants to be orientated around a smart female lead and writes about feminism, they make QM totally terrible.
If they are business models who need to be compared for god's sake , I understand.
But it is the two females.
I feel bad for the actress who plays as QM actually.
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Two fantastic main leads, a bland love interest and a vile sister
I loved Jeremy Tsui's acting in Legend of the Phoenix and thought I'd give this drama a shot. I'm not a big fan of romance-heavy dramas as I often find their plots boring and frustrating and this drama for me was a perfect mix, a plot-driven story enriched by its romance and the great chemistry between the two main leads. This story largely focuses on Qiu Yan and her family in the first part, but takes more than enough time later on to develop the feelings between her and Liang Yi. This was quite the relief to be honest, because I couldn't relate to her fawning over Qin Xuan at all. He seemed like an incredibly bland person to me, but I liked the way Qiu Yan explained her feelings for him later on in the drama. The plot stayed strong until the last few episodes where it seemed like someone had felt the sudden urge to throw in a few last-minute plot twists and turns that seemed pretty illogical and left an unsatisfying aftertaste.The one thing I absolutely hated about this drama was Qiu Min, the female lead's younger sister. Such an innocent-looking little girl. She keeps saying she admires and cares about her sister right up until the last episode. SPOILER AND RANT ALERT.
I don't think watching your older sister almost die at least twice and not only looking not worried, but almost relieved at the possibility to not have to stand in your sister's shadow anymore gives you any right to say these words. Yes, Qiu Min didn't have it easy, either. Yes, it was terrible that that guy raped her and yes, I can understand her being scared. But why on earth does she think she can go and to the SAME THING to Qin Xuan and still have the guts to try to defend herself? Let's face it: If a man had gotten a woman drunk, drugged her and intentionally dressed like her crush to make her sleep with him, everyone would have started screaming 'rape' immediately. No, she didn't tie him to the bed, but he certainly didn't consent to sleeping with her, Qiu Min, even in his drunk state, much less would he have done it sober. Not a single comment I've read, either here or on YouTube, mentions that word. Maybe it was just so obvious that no one bothered to? Him being drunk alone would have made it questionable. Not only did she also drug him and make him think she was her sister, she later also told him he had raped her, not the other way around. I'm not saying that part shouldn't have been in the drama, I actually like the fact that the lead's own sister is this evil. What bothers me is the fact that none of the main characters picked up on how messed up that was and just sort of accepted Qiu Min's "This was my only choice, sister, not everyone is as lucky as you." I can't believe they made Qin Xuan fall for her in the end after having heard everything she'd done to him with his own ears. I also can't believe that happily watching her sister almost die twice and getting her and her whole family in trouble for her own selfish reasons countless times can be redeemed with that one action in the second to last episode. If I was Qiu Yan, realistically speaking, I wouldn't be able to be in the same room as that person, much less smile and hug and pick flowers. Oh, but Qiu Min likes herself now, isn't that a relief. Surely she knows what she's done wrong. Surely she regrets it.
I don't mind the fact that there is a character like this in the drama. While I'm angry that the other characters don't seem to care much about what kind of person she is, at least not enough to actually take any action, that's what the story is like and I can accept that. What I can't accept is the fact that half the comments I read - up until long after she'd slept with (raped) Qin Xuan - criticized Qiu Yan for being too harsh to her and 'forcing' Qiu Min to do the things she did. While the other half did criticize her, said she took advantage of him etc., the word 'rape', or even the smallest hint that that's what she did, wasn't uttered a single time and while it's just a drama, I find that pretty concerning.
While Qiu Min's constant wide-eyed self-pitying while committing some of the most selfish, vile actions I've ever seen from a female character made her scenes hard to watch, I enjoyed everything else about this drama very much. The acting was very good and the plot-to-romance-ratio was pretty much perfect in my opinion. All in all, it is a drama well worth watching if you have the patience to ignore one very annoying and frustrating side character.
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Very slow to get started; ending dragged
It took me about 10 times longer to watch this show than it takes me to watch a typical drama. I was so bored the first few episodes that I went and watched several other dramas before coming back to it. Then about 5-6 episodes from the ending I got bored again and dropped it for another month and a half. Part of it was that I didn't like the female lead at all - she was super annoying and I personally think the actress is ugly (not just 'not pretty', but actually ugly). I didn't enjoy watching it because I got annoyed every time she was on-screen. Also, she was so stick thin that I think she must be anorexic - that's probably why she got the lead role, because Chinese people are so obsessed with thinness and think it's beautiful. But that thought kept distracting me and pulling me out of the story. It did pick up and get more interesting in the middle, but slowed down again towards the end. The last episode in particular dragged. The first half of the episode was sooooo boring, then they introduced a completely unnecessary and aggravating new plot element that made me wish I had just stopped watching after the first five minutes of the episode, then it dragged some more and then they wrapped up that plot element in the last thirty seconds. I don't know what the point of that entire last episode was. This was not the worst drama I've ever seen, which is why I'm not giving it a 2, but I don't think it deserves the 8.1 rating it currently has.Was this review helpful to you?
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What happened?
The drama started out brilliantly! The ML and FL were great through out and their chemistry were one of the best I have seen, though the FL voice was irritating at first but soon got used to it. The storyline and the pacing was really good, though the main scenarios were nothing new but the the twists and quirkiness made it fun and refreshing to watch. Then came to episode 28 things starts to get a bit wobbly and iffy and a lot of fast-forwarding even before that, and by the time it hit episode 30 I was struggling to keep my interest going. I carried on watching for the sake of the ML and FL as the script and scenes began to deteriorate fast, and then came to final episode, which is the biggest let down! It was just about one of the worst endings there is in Chinese Dramaland, and there are a lot of those around. From a 8.5/10 from Episode 1 to 30, plummeted to 6.5/10. Has it not been forthe great ML and FL, I would have scored it much less, or not even bother to finish it.Was this review helpful to you?
Rivals to lovers
I started this drama just by curiosity and I didn't expect much from it. I fell in love with the characters from the first episodes and I finished the drama in 3-4 days. It caught me and with every episode, I wanted to see more. I liked the female lead, she is strong and intelligent and I liked that she also embraced her femininity, but she had thoughts beyond her time!I loved that both leads were kinda morally grey and it felt like a breath of fresh air to see a different type of heroine in c-dramas. Unfortunately, from episodes 23-24 onward I wasn't that interested in the story, but I finished it because I wanted to see how it ends and how the characters will evolve.
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So close...
Well.... 33/34 episodes were great and i would rate the drama an 8. But then episode 34 hit and I was very disappointed. There was absolutely no reason for qiu yan to lie to him about his mother and leave him like that... The guy has lost his father, his best friend and then his mother and wife on the same day. He has been lied to since he was 12 or so, he has killed innocent people while seeking revenge for a crime commited by his mother after all. I cannot comprehend qiu yan's sacrifice... maybe this is an asian way of thinking?? i dont know.The ML's acting was pretty good. The FL had her good moments but overall her acting was a bit shallow for me.
the music fit the drama well.
i rarely rewatch dramas and i absolutely wont be rewatching this one.
It s such a shame because it was going soo well.
Anyway, if you watch it consider stopping at episode 33.
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