A Dream within a Dream

One of My Most Anticipated… and Biggest Letdowns

I’m officially done with this drama. Tapped out. Clocked out. Logged off. The first few episodes? Insane—in a good way! I was hooked. SYM had my sympathy too—she read the novel, saw the original SYM’s fate, and did what any self-aware queen would do: run from NH like her life depended on it (because it kinda did).

But as the episodes went on… oof. I kept thinking, “Surely SYM will grow after all this truth starts raining down on her,” but no. It’s like the truth was the rain, and SYM brought an emotional umbrella and noise-cancelling headphones. Girl wants an explanation from NH, but the second he opens his mouth, she’s like, “Shhh.” Ma’am??? You asked!!

And don’t even get me started on the logic—she supposedly hates NH but can’t recognize LSL’s voice or eyes? We’re not in a Scooby-Doo mystery; it’s literally the same guy. I kept watching, hoping something would click for her. It didn’t. What did click was my “exit drama” button.

Honestly, I only stayed this long because I was invested in SGH and SYT. Their chemistry was doing more for me than the main couple. Sorry not sorry. I love LYN and LYT, but this drama just wasn’t it. I know some folks will say “it gets better,” but I can’t keep watching out of hope and caffeine.

Anyway, no hate—just my opinion. If you love it, I love that for you 💅

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ADWAD stands out from the crowd.

It is a remarkable, creative brilliance, albeit with a few rough edges.

I finished watching this drama not long after it ended, and my conclusion was that it was just about average. Not bad, but okay. For me, my initial conclusion was because it started well but later seemed convoluted along the way. Also, I initially found the Female Lead (Song Xiao Yu/Song Yi Meng) to be annoying and frustrating midway through the drama. But somehow, this first impression I had did not sit well with me. It felt like something was off with my impression of the drama and particularly the FL.

I had previously written an incomplete review and then I discovered that the drama polarized viewers, although it looked like those who liked it were the majority. So, I decided to rewatch the drama to understand what really went wrong. I wanted to figure out what I may have missed that also made me unimpressed, and if it really was as bad as some have said.

Well, here is my final review of the drama. I'll break the ice by saying I went from being unimpressed with ADWAD to LOVING it. I am glad I rewatched it. From my experience the second time, I can confidently say that the drama has a solid rewatch value as the story grows on you and the narrative gets clearer. Many cdramas I have seen have been interesting, but most of them have the problem of plot fillers and holes in their mid-episodes, repetitive subplots, and sad endings, except for a few. For some, their endings, usually from about 5 episodes out, are simply bad because they were unnecessary and poorly written. So, while I liked the dramas, I do not look forward to rewatching them because I know I would have to skip the middle or the end.

But with ADWAD, I know whenever I rewatch it in the future, I will never have to worry about skipping any part because there are neither any weak links in the 40-episode plotline nor are there plot fillers, holes, or ridiculous repetitive subplots. Every episode made sense, was necessary, and all the episodes were neatly tied together in a seamless flow with smooth continuity from one to another to make up a FULL story. The final arc of the story, the ending, was the best treat for me; the “enigma wrapped up in the riddle”. And thanks to the SATIRE, there are no dull moments and no slow pacing at any point that require you to tune out. With these, and particularly the substance of the drama, every time you rewatch ADWAD means you get to relive not only a fun but also a meaningful experience. Now, that is something to look forward to!

I’ll move on to details of the review. If you are going to read further, please bear in mind that this is my personal, unbiased opinion. So, do try to respect it.

To start off, this is how I think of ADWAD. It is a masterpiece with some chips around the edges of the frame. But when you see a masterpiece, do you focus on the painting or the tiny chips on the frame? I'd rather focus on the painting and ignore the chips.

ADWAD does have a few downsides, but many, many upsides. The drama is a classic lesson in having a great story and ensuring you tell it well. It is not a bad or good story, but a GREAT one. However, the narrative, that is how it was told, fell short a little, and this occurred only in a few scenes in some episodes. I believe this was what caused the confusion and mixed reactions from viewers. Then there was the gutsy subliminal messaging that probably put some others off.

Nevertheless, like the two perspectives of seeing a cup as either half full or half empty. This story/drama is beyond half full. It is like above three-quarters, with the missing bit being the few issues with the narrative. But, I would rather have ONE drama that has a purposeful and engaging story, a compelling plot, and a lot of positive and meaningful messaging, albeit with a few slips in the narrative. Than SEVERAL dramas that have fantastic narratives, but the story is lacklustre, the plot is weak and ridiculous at best, and the messaging lacks substance, meaning, or is downright negative.

So, what is ADWAD?
It is a mix of genres and tropes. It is mainly a SATIRE and METAFICTION. It has some major elements of romance and politics, a lot of parody of other cdramas (for good reason), and a bit of transmigration and fantasy, all in this order of importance, I believe.

Put simply, ADWAD is a brilliant, eclectic piece of work. Not entirely new, but unconventional and inventive, particularly in its take on a period piece and the transmigration element. However, what I love most about the drama is that it is intentionally purposeful. It has a lot of meaningful and bold messaging that comprise its thematic depth and complexity. The messaging also serves as the essence of the satire and metafiction. But, it seems many viewers missed this as a lot of focus has been on the romance of the Male and Female Leads and how this progressed, the wrongs the Male Lead suffered, as well as the few flaws in the narrative.

ADWAD addresses the subject matter of fate versus faith, mirroring the poem “Invictus” or the Chinese version, “Bùkě zhēngfú de línghún” or “Bùqū de”, in a bid to positively challenge a subtle, prevalent negative in the fictional works of many storytellers. It explores themes of free will, faith, trust, forgiveness, blind-to-dark revenge, thirst for power, the significance of people, and a few others. The idea of free will and the dangers it carries when it is all about self, and devoid of selflessness and a just purpose or cause, is also highlighted.

I say, bravo to the writers of ADWAD! Regardless of its few narrative flaws, I believe ADWAD IS a story, better yet, an allegory, that is needed in this present age of storytelling. Why? Because it holds a big-picture perspective by targeting a major problem in many fictional stories, especially in the cdrama industry. And particularly those about ancient times. There is too much focus on ill fates and tragic endings, not enough on hope and faith, and redemption is selective. Storytellers or writers play demigods over their characters and give them whatever fate they please, no matter how ridiculous or incredible it may be.

Some characters (often the leads) are just fated to succeed, while others are fated to fail. Nothing they can do about it. Some are fated to be good, and others are fated to be evil. Nothing they can do about it. Protagonists are fated to live, and villains are fated to die or vice versa. Or both protagonists and villains are fated to die along with beloved supporting characters. Or the protagonists and villains live, and only beloved supporting characters die, and so on. Nothing all can do about it. The indulgence in varied ways to give characters tragic ends is unimaginable.
And then, some characters are fated to be important, and others are fated to be insignificant nobodies. And still, again, nothing they can do about it; ehm...Passerby A and B, and maids of main characters. No matter what, you cannot escape the fate you are given. Hope, faith, and free will, albeit with a just purpose, are not open to EVERYONE. And redemption? It is also often not for all but a few lucky folks.

Now, what did ADWAD do?
This drama began with the critique of a fictional script and the roasting of the screenwriter. It continues with a constant reference to the absurdity of the script and the callous and merciless attitude of the almighty writer towards the characters. It climaxes with the writer going into the world of his ridiculous script, and we see how far he makes it to survive. It ends with even the almighty writer, too, needing mercy and redemption after all. Ultimately, he is no better or superior to the characters he created. All the characters, except one, end up with owning their free will, changing their ill fates, deciding their own path in life, and having faith for a bright future filled with love. Ehm, the love part was questionable, though, because some characters become nightmares for others!

However, ADWAD, unfortunately, also fell victim to a negative that it seemed to aim to address in its messaging, and this negative is “selective redemption”. (Chu Guihong should have been spared, and I explained this further on.). Still, the drama sends a strong satirical message, which I believe is to implore storytellers/writers to have more heart and be humane in their artistry, particularly in their desire to create dramatic effects to make their stories more engaging, compelling, and memorable. Also, to be more respectful of the characters they design and their lives, and hopefully rethink how they give these characters ill-fates and tragic ends. Otherwise, someday the unexpected may happen as one of their scripts may just develop a life of its own due to a higher power. And then they may find themselves in their own script world and end up not lasting very long in it. A fundamental problem, brilliantly satirized!

While ADWAD parodied other cdramas, The Prisoner of Beauty (TPOB) was undoubtedly at the centre of the parodies. I must say that I liked TPOB and most of its characters, particularly the complicated and principled Wei Shao. The drama was an enjoyable watch, and it has its own merits. But the writing was good until the last four episodes, which, to me, were totally nonsensical and unnecessary, especially with all the deaths that occurred. Also, I don’t know how it could make any sense for a story to ignore the main cause of a problem (Bianzhou), that is, the powers or family that instigated the problem. But it makes another family the primary target of the revenge, yet they had NOTHING to do with the original cause of the problem and were also at the receiving end of its effect. Then there were the plot holes and many repetitive subplots. (Please see the end of my review of TPOB). Nevertheless, at least in the end, TPOB spared its main protagonists, thank goodness. But it still killed some supporting characters, which was really annoying, as one of the deaths heavily projected the selective redemption problem.

As I stated in my review of another period cdrama, I can understand that some writers want their stories to reflect the realities of ancient times portrayed to convey the sincerity in keeping with the facts of those times. But it is imperative that this desire is balanced with positive messaging for the present time and generation, as well as those of the future. Especially in terms of the outcome of the main protagonists’ lives in the stories. Unless period dramas are meant to be nothing but lessons about history, filled with hopelessness and defeat for anyone who champions good causes. Because none of the main protagonists in the dramas live to see the results of their good works, as they always end up tragically or horribly killed in their time. About this subject, some other cdramas parodied in ADWAD come to mind, but I won’t mention them.

If all heroes and protagonists in ancient times had been killed, and horribly so, the world would have been an unlivable dystopia today. A lot of the successful and enduring systems we have today that continue to function to save and benefit many lives across the world were created by protagonists and their supporters who lived in their time and worked purposefully and determinedly to build these systems and protect them. More light should be shone on this truth. It should be promoted much more than clichéd stories about how the lead protagonists and their supporters in ancient times were horribly killed, written for the sake of dramatic effects and artistry. It is because hope, faith, and even love succeeded in the past that the present and future generations can and will hold on to the same principles and continue to strive to live together in peace. Regardless of how much these principles and our peaceful coexistence are challenged every day.

Next, I’ll address the intro of ADWAD.
At this point, let me apologize for spoiling the drama going forward. But, I believe the facts had to be stated IN DETAIL for the drama to receive an unbiased, POSITIVE review as well as rating it deserves, like the many others it already has.

Sincerely, while many viewers were hooked right from the start, or found the beginning episodes captivating, I didn't like the beginning. In fact, I wanted to walk away in episode 4 because I found the melodrama to be excessive even for a satire, and it just didn't quite nail it for me. Especially how the Female Lead (FL) kept snapping her head, dying, and coming back. It was just not believable and almost became annoying. However, the messaging in the drama immediately got my attention right from episode 1 when the FL made some references to the cdrama industry and its entertainment machinery. I knew more of this would come up later, so I kept watching and got past episode 4. But then, bam, midway into the episode, the humour took a turn for the best that I couldn’t stop laughing so hard and loud, and that was it. After rewatching ADWAD, everything (the satire, metafiction, transmigration, and all the thematic elements) now makes sense from episode 1, in terms of the WHY of the drama.

By the way, if you do not enjoy SATIRE and ALLEGORIES, or you do not understand what these mean, THEIR PURPOSE, then you will not understand this drama and will definitely not like it. But if satire and allegories are okay for you, then you will get this drama.

About the cast.
They were all a well-blended ensemble for satire. I have only seen two other works of Liu Yu Ning. His acting skills continue to improve as his emotional expressions have developed into becoming compelling. It is my first time seeing Li Yi Tong in a drama, and I think she did a wonderful job to pull off a convincing satirical act. She is a talented, bona fide actress, and not just some pretty face. No doubt, LYT and LYN have great chemistry for comedy and romance.
All the supporting actors gave a superb performance, and the screen time for everyone was balanced. As for the characters, the Female and Male Leads were well fleshed out, and so were many of the supporting characters, all brilliantly portrayed by their actors. Song Yude and the Emperor were interesting, complex supporting characters to watch, as well as Yao Qian, “the poet” and Chancellor Gao’s political pawn that backfired on him. As for the comedy, the prize for outstanding hilarious performance should be split between Fugui and the 18th Prince, Nan Rui.
The entire cast was so good together that I would love, love to see them again, perhaps in a modern-day romcom.

Production?
One of the best I’ve seen for a cdrama. The directing was remarkable, and the cinematography kept in step with it. The choreography for the fight scenes was very impressive. Especially the fights between the Male Lead (Nan Heng) and the Second Male Lead (Chu Guihong), which were displayed confidently without any cheating camera angles to hide or cut out some parts because the fights were a dodgy job. Per the background music and sounds, they were exact for a satire, incredibly hilarious, and perfectly suited for the multitude of contexts in which they were used in the drama. The top spot goes to the costumes and OSTs, though. The costumes were amazing and, so far, the best in the cdrama industry for me. I loved those of the ML and FL, which were absolutely exquisite. Then the OSTs? They were first-rate. All the artists did a brilliant job, but Hu Yanbin’s song, as well as Liu Yu Ning’s song for the opening montage, were my favourites.
Kudos to the entire production team of ADWAD for a fantastic job well done, and money well spent!

I further explored the main characters due to the negative comments about this drama and the FL. Check the discussion section.

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The story woul've been perfect if not for the FL and her actress.

I did my best to like the FL and her actress, but I only felt pain for the ML the more I watch.

More than halfway through the series and the FL wa still a self-righteous, narrow-minded, person. She's indifferent to people's feelings and would would only sympathize when it's convenient for her. She truly believes that what she thinks and says about the characters in the script are the 'right' thing just because they were written that way. Not even halfway through the series, she have met more than 10 characters who did not 'act' the way they were written she's still adamant on believing that script would be faithfully followed. By the number of things that already happened at around the 10 episode mark, she would've realized that the goal (or was it?) of the script is for the ML and the FL to end up together. From then on, instead of going against the script, she could've thought of ways to safely go through the script by tweaking some things without conpromising hers and others' safety. Instead, she just made things more complicated and hurt the ML with every word she breathe (exaggerated ik).

You know how we can ignore that a person is acting and just think of it as a real emotions and the characters are real people? Yi Tong performance is not it. Her acting screams 'fake', aside from the indifferent side of the FL which she portrayed perfectly. Nan Heng's actor (I'm not good at memorizing Chinese names, sorry) can portray more emotions with half of his face covered compared to Yi Tong whose whole face is exposed in every scene. I'm not a hater, just a disappointed watcher.

The story is good, and the characters (both main and support) have substance. I would've given this series a 9.5 if not for the FL and her actor's performance. The 0.5 deficit is because of the hairnet clearly seen in an episode (It's from a close up frame in either ep. 17 or 18 where Nan Heng is provoking Guihong by hugging Yimeng at the royal stable).


Lastly, the ML. I only feel pain for him everytime the FL speaks either to his two identities.

As for the ending, just watch until the end.

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A Good Premise Wasted

Despite the drama's premise not being that unique, its first episode really caught my attention with all the comedic stuff that happened.

So even if I wasn't that interested in watching cdramas anymore these past few years, I decided to give this a try.

But before I start, I want to say first that I really like the transmigration genre and I've already read/watched a lot under it. This is one reason why I tried watching this drama in the first place because most transmigration genres have quite the same premise but a lot of the stories I've read make something unique about it along the way. So I watched "A Dream Within A Dream" carrying this expectation. But yes, as apparent in my ratings, I was disappointed. And I dropped it.

As someone who has read a lot in the transmigration genre, I noticed a few flaws during the first few episodes. Still, I decided to not mind them much (?) because the comedy really bought me🫠

It was too funny so I thought it'd be a waste to judge it early. Plus, the actors and actresses, especially Liu Yuning and Li Yitong, were really good, and I especially loved SYM's voice. To add, I also heard that this drama aims to be female-centric and wanted to rally against those prevalent male-centric dramas who only use females as stepping stones.

I get it, I get the goal. So my expectations were quite high, but the flaws kept on piling up. I'll enumerate some major flaws I noticed that made me ultimately drop it.

1. During the first episode. SYM kept on dying. However, despite dying countless times, her character didn't seem to show the slightest bit of trauma. But of course, the comedy covered for this. However, what I really didn't get was the fact that she was afraid to die ONCE while following the script's plot instead of dying MULTIPLE TIMES by not following the script. And what bothered me more about it was that she did not once consider to find a way to GET OUT of the world. She only ever thought of GOING AGAINST the script. The drama made her seem like a very relatable heroine at first, she didn't seem that relatable when not once did she consider that there might be a way out of the world by just following the script. Anyhow, despite noticing this, I expected them to fill this hole in the next few episodes. But still no. And that leads me to the second flaw.

2. The show that wanted to be "female-centric" ended up providing the biggest irony they could attempt. Man, I was expecting more character development from the female lead, but instead of her gaining the spotlight, others took the stage. After that? FL became like a supporting character while the ML takes center stage. Istg, in the middle episode, FL doesn't even have much of a screen time. This really made me think that I might've expected too much from this. I could mention a lot of transmigration manhwas that gave this female-centric theme justice like Beware the Villainess, For My Derelict Favorite, It's Time to Change the Genre, My In-laws are Obsessed with Me, and my two fav in the genre, Surviving Romance and Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess. This drama doesn't even come close to all of these.

3. Nan Heng's character. Although I really came to like him (Liu Yuning's unique charisma was a big contribution), I couldn't help but notice another hole in his character. As the show went on, he ended up becoming the "good person." I know, this isn't necessarily bad. That's the reason why I came to like him too. Still I couldn't help but think that this character became too shallow after the show portrayed him as the "good person." I wish they could've explored his character deeper, he had a lot of potential. But instead, they made him only look like a deeply misunderstood person, a very typical ML. They could've shown more about his personality, just like how the author from the danmei "Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know" very meticulously showed how complicated of a character Wenren E (the ML) was. This novel did portray Wenren E as a deeply misunderstood character, but at the same time, he was not a completely good person. But well of course, Wenren E was the lead so the author had more time to explore his character. Nonetheless, they could've done the same to Nan Heng without stealing FL's spotlight. At least, the author from "Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess" managed to do that with Callisto's character. So in the end, I simply think that the drama could've added more substance to Nan Heng's character and they could've still done this despite being female-centric. So my conclusion was that this was just lazy storytelling.

4. But, if Nan Heng's undeveloped character portrayal alone already disappointed me this much, then the me who was expecting for a very relatable female lead and an extremely well-crafted character development for her had my final straw during the middle episodes. Man, she didn't even have much screen time, and with the meager screen time she had, no character development happened at all, absolutely nothing. And I just couldn't help but notice how selfish she truly was. I mean, I totally understand how she only sees the "people" around her as only characters made through words on a script. Yeah, I get that. But isn't it common human nature to develop affection when we stayed long enough in a place? I mean, she even fell in love with LSL, one of the "characters" btw, so why can't she see the other people around her as "people"? Up until the middle episodes, despite realizing that she loves LSL, she still doesn't care about the other people in that world. She only came to care about SYT because she felt understood by her. So in the end, another lazy storytelling. The FL I was looking forward to seemed to become an FL I'd definitely hate if I continue on with this. Hence, my decision to drop the drama once and for all.

It really was good at first. It had a lot of potential. But, the potential was once again gone to waste with lazy writing. These four points aren't even half of the things I wanted to point out, but they summed it all up. There's a lot of wasted potential here. The acting was so good. I liked Shagguan He's character. I liked the supporting casts too. And I really loved the main leads. I'm especially obsessed with SYM's voice. I wanted to continue watching, but I just can't, or else I'll end up hating this drama. So I'll just leave it there.

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The friendship is the best part of the drama

I get that this is a romantic comedy but the most beautiful part of the drama is the friendship between Nan Heng and his peers.
The female lead is written beautifully. I can understand that many people don't like her but she is supposed to be a flawed character who is about self preservation and preservation of her family. She has fear of losing which generally doesn't allow her to freely love because love is for the brave.
However, you see a lot of growth in her by episode 30.
As for LYN, I liked his performance here more than Prisoner of beauty if we consider acting. His eyes have been more expressive here and it has helped me root for his character.
I have to admire the second lead/grey character here for being able to successfully make me hate him. I think he could have been a little bit subtle in his hateful gaze but its okay because the script is about three way stabbing 💀 and his acting is in line with that kind of script.
The female lead is a natural at comedy and she didn't seem like she was trying too hard with slapstick humor.
Overall, i liked it better than similar themed dramas like Love game in eastern fantasy.

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if you like your female lead consistently dumb

A completely unserious, beautifully styled drama with transmigration. To be honest what interested me in this drama is Liu Yu Ning and his latest string of enjoyable dramas. His presence in this drama does not disappoint as the misunderstood but also ruthless male lead. His character development and the unraveling of his story are so enjoyable to watch that I was riveted to the screen every time he was on it. What starts as a comedic parody slowly unravels into a dramatic tale of misunderstandings defining a person and their struggle to escape the cage placed around them. And then it stays there for a long time. One misunderstanding after the next with absolutely no growth or sense in the characters.

The story revolves around Song Yi Meng that is a mediocre actress paired with an exceptionally popular and high maintenance male lead in a historical drama. While reading she is transported into the world of the script and forced to play out her character's devastating role. With her knowledge of the script she skimmed through and her steadfast desire to avoid the same miserable fate that is written for her character she does everything in her power to change the story and escape her fate. But the rules inside the script are different and major scenes will always be played out no matter how much she changes.

The story is told from both the female and male lead's perspective so as the viewer you know how misunderstood and villainized the male lead is and how incredibly biased and naive the female lead is which leads to a very frustrating watch. To be honest I keep waiting for the female lead to figure out how wrong she is so that I can actually like her but halfway through the drama and I still can not stand her character. She is determined to not have the miserable fate that is written for her character and I can sympathize with that plight but she has no character development or situational awareness. She always sees the male lead as the villain no matter what is revealed about him to her. My dislike of her likely stems from my obvious more interest in the male lead, Nan Heng, and my knowledge as the viewer of his actual character and struggles. While I know she doesn't know that yet I still get incredibly frustrated watching her continuous mistreatment of him and lack of character progression.

Satire style comedy is also not often in my wheel house so the comedy does not always hit here for me. I love Nan Heng and his band of martial arts brothers and their interactions and even the references to other popular works but there are many times where the comedy feels more cringe to me. Also the drawn out miscommunication and misconceptions does begin to feel tiresome. The overly ridiculous Eighteenth Prince and obnoxiously biased and cruel Emperor also make this a bit difficult to continue watching but I think once the truth is revealed it will make up for the frustrations. Liu Yu Ning carries this show on his shoulders with his gripping portrayal of Nan Heng and his desperate fight to survive.

Having seen well into three quarters of the drama and the female lead, Song Yimeng, is still behaving with the same misplaced and blatantly ignorant aggression toward the Nan Heng makes this something I can no longer recommend. The plot feels glacial and goes in circles with her making one stupid decision after another. Skip this drama and pick a better one.

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A fun watch, even more so if you are a seasonal cdrama watcher

Spoiler-free bit
This drama had a tight storytelling and by that I mean, strong beginning, middle and ending. The story was cohesive and made logical sense within the context of the world building. The writing was on point; we had lovely character development and story progression. The OST was amazing and very pleasant to the ears. The acting was good; everyone did their job and had fun with it. Plot is unique in this sort f cdramas, and the story did go off-rails at times in the best way possible.
It’s not every day you get a cdrama where they make fun every possible trope that they could squeeze in. If you are someone who has watched plenty of cdramas this one is for you. If you aren’t familiar with the standard cdrmas trope that’s fine as well, some of the tropes used are very well know in every other media type.
Gotta love the way they made fun of love triangles and stereotypical melodramatic scenes. Oh and the creative way they use those tropes as “rules” and the ensuing comedic shenanigans that happen. “The ML must always save the FL” comes to mind.
SPOILERS!
A lot of people complained about the FL, about how annoying she was and how slow it was for her to trust ML and yes, it took a while and it dragged on more than necessary that said it made sense for her to take so long. However, story would have benefited if that had been shortened and we had more episodes with the main CP as a couple, or have the FL slowly start being nicer and work together with ML until finally giving in to her feelings. However what we had was a poor ML continuously chase after the FL despite being told “no” several times and go through several shades of heartbreak when the FL was not ready to give in yet and when she did give in it was cold turkey style.
That could have been handled better unless it was written this way on purpose to make fun of those specific tropes? Regardless once they got together, it was awesome.
Also, the poor second male lead. I might be the only that loves him. Typically I could care less about second male leads, but this is one of the few instances where I slowly learned to love him. I love what they did to the character, how he went from your stereotypical second lead to the big bad and it did not happen out of the blue. No, it happened step by step, we see how he slowly falls out of love with the FL, becomes very self-centered and obsessive in defeating the ML. It’s a slow fall at first until he hits rock bottom and no one can get him out of it, no, he wants to hit ever more rock bottom if it were possible. Love how he self destructed himself.
Also love the contrast between ML and 2ML. With ML, he always tried to reach out but was always pushed away and yet he stood firm in his convictions. On the other hand with 2ML, people reached out to him and he always pushed them away because they didn’t say or do what he wanted and when he tried to reach for someone, he would always end up pushing them away because of that reason.
It’s so very interesting to see how their positions flipped from where they started and how their choices shape their final outcome.
Also, it’s not every day a c-drama gives you FOUR endings without additional extra episodes to appease the enraged masses. You get your pick of favorite flavored tragedy or happy ending, so rejoice!

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My stomach cramped from laughing too much

FL is Song Xiaoyu in a modern world, who landed a job as main actress in a costume tv series A Dream of QingNing. She was reading the script at home when she fell asleep and woke up in the story, as the main lead character she was supposed to play - Song Yimeng. She was bewildered that this character would eventually become paralyzed after a failed jumping off the tower suicide, so she tried hard to alter the course of storyline by not acting out the written plot, which was her falling in love with the male lead 7th Prince Nan Heng who would later cheat on her with her sister Song Yiting which drove her to the failed suicide and the killing of her whole Song clan by ML. Things did not turn out as she had wanted because she keeps getting killed and reset again each time she try to deviate. And there starts the adventure of her unwillingly cross paths with ML, finding out that they’re stuck with the script rule “ML will always save the FL”, sparking a long super exhausting story of laughter-and-anger-inducing misunderstandings while carrying out the written plotline in the process.

I have never seen an ML so misunderstood as 7th Prince, Nan Heng. His father hates him, his uncle used him, his brother fears him, the common people detests him, and the one he loves avoids him like a plague with pure prejudice. Such a tortured soul who had been suffering since a little boy just because his father decided to marry his mom for political balance and later hated his guts just because he was his mom’s son. It’s a wonder he could grow into the good-natured man that he is, although he hides this good side of him pretty well to protect himself, ruthlessly fighting the enemies at the border which how he earned himself the all-feared title God of Death. He took so many punishments on behalf of the people he cherished, and none actually thanked him for it or even mention it to others. It’s so frustrating how badly ML is treated in the first 3/4 of the show. However, although my general description of the ML sound like the typical roles Liu Yuning took up - broken, hurt, fierce, lovestruck - it is actually a new role I saw him in as he constantly become the source of laughter in the comedic scenes. It really puts some new perspective of him for me.

Cant stand the FL. She is annoying, selfish, stupid and reckless. The first few episodes was fun, but when she keeps on being prejudiced towards ML despite all the obvious proof against it, i just cant stand this character. It’s a blessing that she had an extremely intelligent and quick-witted younger sister Song Yiting who often knocks some senses into that pea-brain of hers. FL often gaslights ML and is so mean towards him for 3/4 parts of the show. She acts all hurt when ML didnt reveal all his strategies and tricks to overcome the enemy, and yet she herself never really come clean on why she keeps pushing ML away with all those unexplained quirks she displays. It’s frustrating to see her hurting ML over and over again just because of a mere script. I get that she is afraid of the script coming true, but cant she be kinder to him ? She had zero confidence in ML in that 3/4 of the show before ML proved to her that he could help her divert the iconic scene she feared so much to happen. It also irks me that ML keeps chasing after her despite her cruel attitude towards him. I just cant ship them. If not for the ML i wouldve dropped this long ago. I have no grudge against the actress, she is astonishingly beautiful with amazing acting skills, its just too bad this character is so poorly written that it makes it really hard for me to tolerate her.

The sweetest, purest soul goes to 18th Prince NanRui, the supposedly Crown Prince who acts like a spoilt child. Although he was at odds with ML in the earlier episodes, and I quite hated him then, but it was clear this was due to his insecurity and gullibleness. This character is also consistent throughout the show, although he eventually realized he had laid his loyalty in the wrong man, his sincerity, kindness and compassion stays strong all the way to the end. He was so loving towards the SML, Chu Guihong who he considered as his true blood brother instead of a cousin and ready to concede the crown prince title to beg th Emperor and ML to spare SML’s life after the attempted assassination, and when ML disclosed the secret about the script world, the first thing he blurted out was how painful ML must have been in to have died twice during the resets. And instead of worrying about getting himself injured or killed as ML laid out the plan to save the emperor, this Nan Rui was instead anxious about ML getting killed while luring SML’s troops away. Such a compassionate soul. It’s hard to really hate this character even when he was in cahoots with SML in the earlier parts. And his pairing with his bodyguard Ji Xiang is the cutest. One a blabbermouth with a kind heart, while the other a stone with no facial expression and even lesser spoken words, except display of immense loyalty towards his master.

As for the SML, Chu Guihong, he had the most character transformation of all although in a negative way. From the pure and innocent SML who acts only as ML’s love rival, he became a full fledged villain who is blinded by pure obsession to overcome ML using any means necessary. It’s really sad cuz their friendship had been beautiful in the beginning and I was hoping they would reconcile and SML stayed being a good person.

By the way, what kind of bastard of a father suspects a 9yo child of his to lead assassins to kill the wife? Like seriously? Any other sane adult would first suspect the rest of adult in the entourage. Why the hell was the blame pinned on the ML, Nan Heng, right off the bat? I cant fathom how this stupid emperor’s brain works. Blaming a 9yo for killing the empress using assassins? For real? You blamed the child for 19 long years and never really figured out any loophole in the investigation? 🙄

I have trouble handling the emotional rollercoaster the show thrusts into its audience. One minute the father is at his son’s throat (literally) and made the audience feel so angry at the father and pity the son, and the next scene was of the son running to attend to his collapsed mom, who actually fiegned sickness to trap her son and future bride in a room so they would sleep together (in a comedic way). What the frick 😂😂😂 one minute i was so angry and feel ML’s heartbreak for his bastard father’s action, and the next i was literally laughing my arse off at the trapping scene. And that is just one of many comedic scenes in the show. And they didnt look forced or slapstick at all like most comedy shows I’ve seen. I was in a restaurant one time and cant stop myself from laughing like a banshee that i had to put down the phone to continue watching at home else people might think i’m crazy. The show had so many references to other costume drama such as A Journey to Love and Love like the Galaxy, even having the themesongs of these series played in that scene even. Imagine how much cramp my stomach had to sustain? 😂 each time ML was forced to take the hits as he tried to kill the FL to figure out if he had been under her spell was hillarious as F. I had to pause the playback so my laughter would subside first, else I’d miss the next scenes.

Although the plot kinda slowed down and mellowed around 30 episodes, gradually look absurd when the screenwriter also went into the world to fix the storyline, it picked up its pace again in the last 3 episodes when they went to fight against the script. The ending, although rather draggy with after-climax scenes, is apt and fitting, brilliant even that explains the series title. It’s a happy ending btw so you guys who avoids tragic endings can watch with ease.

I liked the songs and bgm in this show. Especially the cowboy-like wild west background music during comedic scenes 😆

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The only redeeming thing was Liu Yu Ning

I wanted to rate this higher..I really did. And if I had to give a final review after about 15 episodes it might have even been a 10. But everything went downhill fast after that.

In the beginning it was funny and I liked the acting. However after some time I came to realize...I really REALLY can't stand the FL. At first it was just because she was annoying with her weird baby talk and mannerisms. Then it turned into how HORRIBLY she treated him. Like utterly awful disgusting behavior and things she said to him. What on earth did he see in her?!? He was clearly head over heels for her for some reason.

I'm sorry but if I had a fiery hot man who was clearly in love with me, crying begging for forgiveness at every turn, desperately trying to be with me..AND it was just a novel so what have you got to lose?!?! I WOULD DEFINITELY just be with him.

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A Dream Within A Dream is a funny parody of Chinese costume dramas. It skewers many typical historical drama tropes, such as Male Lead trying to kill Female Lead, OTC surviving falling off a cliff, and underwater kiss. Even the beautiful costumes in typical historial dramas merit a snarky comment. It’s fun trying to identify references to specific scenes and music from other dramas (e.g., Love Like the Galaxy, Till the End of the Moon, A Journey to Love, The Romance of Tiger and Rose). Viewers expecting logical progressions and likeable main characters will be disappointed because the drama turns even that on its head. For example, the "rules" of the script are openly inconsistent and the female lead is annoying as hell. You will not like this drama if you go into it with the usual drama expectations...or any expectations at all.

Liu Yuning, who is the Male Lead (hence the sign above his gate that says “Male Lead’s House”), seems to be a good sport because the drama makes fun of his roles in other dramas, as well as his modern day Male Lead actor image. I burst out laughing watching him cough out purple poison dust. It was such a contrast from the calculating and ruthless male lead characters he usually plays. And watching him become so mushily lovesick was tolerable if viewed as an exaggeration of the enemies to lovers arcs in countless other dramas.

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