A Dream within a Dream

best of all

this is by far the best drama i have ever watched. liu yuning is the most handsome and talented individual on this planet and yes I’m totally in love with this guy. the chemistry between him and the fl is amazing. best of all of the ones he ever worked with. i loved her just as much as him.
i laughed so hard I was in tears. i cried for him, suffered with him and i yelled at the tv to kill certain characters off and maybe stab them one more time just to make sure.
the costumes are beautiful and they all looked so handsome. liu Yunning on the roof with his hat and mask was just 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
his support cast was cute, funny, talented and amazing. i loved every single one of them. there is literally nothing bad to say about this drama.
the hidden stabs at other dramas made it so entertaining that I was busy to try to find them all.
all around it was entertaining and I will watch it again and again.
the ost of course was beautiful as everything liu yuning sings. he just is the king of osts and now the king of dramas.
if I could give it a higher rating I would.

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his was such a fun C-drama to watch—I really enjoyed it from start to finish. The story had a nice balance of comedy, romance, and light drama that kept things interesting without getting too heavy. Most of the characters were super likable, and they all brought something fun or meaningful to the show. But honestly, the male lead totally stole the show for me. I absolutely adored him—his acting, his charm, everything. He made the whole thing even more enjoyable.

I’m still pretty new to C-dramas—this was only my third one—but I already noticed a few tropes that seem to pop up a lot. Even so, they didn’t feel too cheesy or overused. Instead, they actually made the drama feel fun and kind of familiar in a good way. It was fun being able to recognize some of those patterns even though I’m just getting into this genre.

The humor really worked for me too. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, and even the smaller jokes and awkward situations were genuinely funny. The chemistry between the cast was great, especially between the leads. You could tell they had a good dynamic, and it made their scenes feel natural and believable.

Overall, I’d give this drama a solid 10 out of 10. I didn’t expect to get so into it, but it completely pulled me in. It’s one of those shows that leaves you with a smile on your face, and I already know I’ll be rewatching some of my favorite scenes. If you’re just getting into C-dramas like I am, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try. It might just turn you into a fan.

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There’s no such thing as a smooth journey — every road has its potholes

When it started, I was a bit worried it would be the usual "she goes back to the past / enters the comic / wakes up in someone else's body" plot. But this drama pleasantly surprised me!
I almost never leave comments — let’s face it, I barely have time to watch dramas, let alone follow the comment sections... and yet, here I am!
Is it a perfect drama? Flawless? Free of absurdities or inconsistencies?
Of course not. But I genuinely don’t believe a perfect drama exists — only those that, despite their flaws, manage to steal our hearts. And for me, Dream Within a Dream is part of that rare group.

Every year, so many new dramas come out that it all starts to blur together. And at least for me, it’s rare to rewatch anything.
But I’m pretty sure that, in a few months, I’ll rewatch this one with real pleasure.
It made me laugh more than once. It made me angry and outraged. It made me roll my eyes, and it made me suffer along with its characters.
What more could I ask for?
There’s comedy, family, romance, and some solid plot twists that — in my opinion — keep the story engaging.

I absolutely loved Nan Heng, and especially the brilliant Liu Yu Ning. I’ve read some harsh comments about him, but honestly, I think he shines — both as an actor and as a presence.
Sure, maybe he’s not everyone’s cup of tea visually, but for me, he goes beyond appearances.
He’s an actor, and more importantly, a talented one. His characters come across as complex, layered, and intense.
Whether he’s being funny, tender, cruel, or just plain magnetic — he delivers.
He’s truly brilliant... and yes, even charming!

Li Yi Tong is beautiful, funny, and gave us a protagonist we might’ve hated at times, gotten frustrated with — but who also felt real. I saw parts of myself in her, and for many reasons, I ended up loving her.
This was my first drama with her, and I think she did great — and was lovely to watch.

Before diving into the comments (which I suspect will be negative), I just want to say:
I saw the chemistry between the leads. I felt it.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course.

Honorable mention goes to the villain — whom I honestly hated with every fiber of my being.
Excellent performance and disturbingly good emotional impact.
Kudos to the rest of the cast too — they all added something to the story, making the journey entertaining and complete.

I won’t say how I rated this drama, but I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy the ride without obsessing over every bump in the road.
Flaws exist — just like they do in every production.
But this show is beautiful.
Let it pull you into a world that’s fantasy… but not entirely fantasy.
A story within a story.

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Perfect ending

dramas were so good. But honestly, this one is way better than that the early drama.Starting with a fresh story that doesn't rely on commonplaces. Combined with exploration or transmigration, it's wrapped in light humor and a central mystery that becomes the problem. Dramatic scenes...There's no need to make it to the point of killing off characters, because many dramas I've found chase ratings and go viral by sacrificing good characters even though they have a happy ending.For me, this drama gets more interesting the more I follow it, the more curious I become. You should give it a try, regardless of the negative rumors out there.

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Fresh Plot and Ending!

I am a sucker for drama where a character from modern world got dragged into ancient times/ storybooks/etc. I watched too many of this type of drama such as Romance of Tiger and Rose, Love Eastern Fantasy, Extraordinary You. So this time, I gave it a try again because usually the plot is very unique. And I am not wrong..

Truth to be told, I hated the first episode of the drama and considered dropping it because too many conversations, nothing interesting yet, plot a bit weird too. Then I skipped some of the first episodes, and started to like it. The character that makes me intrigued is Nan Heng. He is so misunderstood, worked really hard, and I find that I kept watching the drama because of him. I want to know his backstory. Some of the scenes are comedic without being too much. The episodes that were leading to ending were also cleverly crafted too, with script water coming in, enforcing new rules and iconic scenes. Ending is better than Love Eastern by a lot. Love Eastern ending feel too forced (its a great drama with bad ending) like no logical at all. This one is more logical imo and everybody is happy and find their own destiny with their own hands. So a lot of good morals here.

Okay the part that I am not very happy with. I don't like the outfit on SYM lol. Its too flowery, too many golds, and too big on her. And the romance part is a bit flat.. not to say its a bad thing, its just not something that makes heart flutter. Most of the scenes go on with them defying the plot. and sorry this time, I have to say I dont like most of the supporting characters lol except for Nan Heng. The supporting characters have good qualities but more annoying qualities.Maybe supporting character that I like the most is Nan Rui. very consistent with his personality until the end and very fun to watch.

Well, the plot is not as entertaining as Love Eastern and Love between Fairy and Devil, but this is easy to watch and interesting.

That's all , looking forward to more LYN dramas!

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Give LYN a Complicated Role and Make Him Sing a Killer OST, and He’ll Wreck You

ADWAD was not a perfect screenplay, but its strengths ultimately outshone its flaws. And the way it ended gave a perfect explanation for all the abrupt 180-degree turn of some characters (I’m looking at you CGH, 18th prince, the King).

I raised an eyebrow at 18th prince because he had no qualms about stabbing Nan Heng in the back—literally—and yet, he suddenly experienced a moral awakening? The same could be said for the King. He deserves an award for being the worst father of all time. His deep-seated hatred toward Nan Heng, stemming from NH’s maternal family, was irrational and frankly incomprehensible. His blatant favoritism toward the 18th Prince and his tendency to blame Nan Heng for everything were infuriating. And yet, by the end, he too underwent a sudden transformation.

Then there’s CGH. He wasn’t a villain initially, but he spiraled into obsession with no solid justification. It felt as though he forgot he had a brain.

But after the ending, I was suddenly laughing at the realization that even this pitfall of cliched character turn was mocked by this show as it was simply a script written for a drama. Ah, that was such a satisfying explanation.

LYT’s character did nothing especial, to me she was not that memorable. But man, I truly did not like that she badmouths NH every 2 seconds before she found out his other identity. She was so fixated on the script that even when NH implored that she tries to understand him with her heart, she continued to believe the script. Again, this character setup was only a script so that made me feel better. Her performance, however, was excellent. I can’t fault her acting at all—and her voice deserves a special mention. Not the high pitched and irritating voices we hear a lot in TV but a low, sexy voice that does not get on your nerves.

Now let’s dive into the best parts. I would commend the comedic timing, the OST and BGMs, the overall production, and LYN's portrayal of two characters.

The comedic timing in this show was impeccable. The OST and BGM elevated the experience tremendously. Chen Xue Ran is a musical genius—the background scores during comedic scenes were perfectly timed, while LYN’s voice in the OSTs brought emotional depth to every emotional confrontation.

The costumes, set design, and post-production were top-tier. It was clear the production team didn’t cut corners, and that attention to detail made watching the show a visual treat.

And then—Liu Yu Ning. His acting isn’t flawless or revolutionary, but he delivered his role far better than most traffic idol actors today. His micro-expressions were consistently on point. Every twitch of a facial muscle, every gaze, every resigned sigh was calculated and meaningful. His portrayal of Nan Heng—a character shunned by society, vilified by his own family, and his heroic achievements were twisted and used against him—was both heartbreaking and compelling. He wasn’t the type to cry loudly; instead, his quiet, suppressed pain seeped through the screen. It was powerful. LYN still has room to grow, but his performance here was incredibly moving. I wish him all the best in everything he does because as a person, you cannot help but appreciate such a hardworking, humble and real person.

Congratulations to the entire ADWAD team. You’ve created something bold, unique, and deeply enjoyable.

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The closest to a perfect drama I have ever seen

Where do I even start with my review??? I'm still vibrating with how amazing it was. It was funny, it was exciting, it was just plain fun, it was angsty, it was heartbreaking, it was logical but also surprising! AND THAT AFTER CREDITS SCENE!!!!!!!!! I may never recover. The visuals were incredible, the music was perfect, the casting was perfect, I loved everybody. I even felt bad for poor Chu Gui Hong, even though he spent almost the entire show sliding toward villainy--I could understand WHY he did, and it was heartbreaking even while I wanted him to die. The redemption for Nan Rui was one of my favorite things ever, and I NEED to write a fanfic about him and Ji Xiang. AAAAAAAAAAH JUST SO AMAZING. Honestly, this is the closest to perfect of any drama I have watched. The pacing, the production quality, the humor, the romance, the friendships, the HEART of it were all just spot on for me. 10/10 no notes. I absolutely have to post my review on MDL, just to offset some of the inexplicably negative reviews and low ratings. I have to imagine a lot of those were people who just DNFed for whatever reason. Poor fools.

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The best drama in 2025 for me.

It’s fun, creative, engaging, the acting is by far my favorite from both leads and the OST is so fun and timed perfectly for every scene! The wedding song, the Hurry song, the birds chirping, don’t get me started that this OST is jammed packed with great singers and the lyrics hit hard!
Honestly, tackling a light comedy genre is difficult to begin with and every joke/pun pokes fun at c-ent and ancient costume drama as it is while tackling prejudice, fear and becoming your own protagonist. Then you get the transmigration plot into the 1D world, and at the end leaves you contemplating are Xiaoyu and Nan Feng also part of another universe or script?

Loved loved loved!!!!

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I am actually so disappointed...

I am actually so disappointed... THAT THIS DRAMA IS OVER 😭
When I tell you I am in love with this drama I mean it! The acting, the OST, everything was absolutely incredible. The only reason I gave the story a 9/10 is because I did get frustrated about Yimeng being so stubborn and not seeing how amazing our Nan Heng is, I cried for Nan Heng so much like bro was really suffering in this story and it was unbearable for me but I get it, it's apart of the plot so meh I guess. Don't get me wrong though I absolutely loved Song Yimeng's character as well ok, the actress did an amazing job and I understand her point of view maybe 75% of the time okay, the girl was scared of being turned into a human pig and having her whole family beheaded. The only character I hated since the early stages of this drama is no drum roll cuz I am sure everyone agrees is Chu Guihong, this guy.... Oh my god save me.... So stupid, so dense, so unhinged like I am sorry I didn't get him AT ALL. Like brother even the Emperor who we thought was the stupid and crazy got his senses together at that old age but you can't use your brain? PLEASE! Over all this drama is freaking amazing, I am so thankful to the producers and the writers for giving us TWO possible happy endings like I couldn't ask for more but I kinda wanna ask for a season 2 solely for the reason of me wanting to see them live their life happily ever after with kids in modern time but like yeh I am asking too much so ignore me I guess.... Lmao all jokes aside, I will definitely rewatch this drama, this drama is a 100% going to my top 5 drama of the year list. I AM JUST IN LOVE OK? To the point where like I was genuinely soooo sad when I finished it not because it was bad obviously I have been praising this drama for 10 mins now but because it was sooooo good I didn't want it to be over! I was like "can't we have 5 more episodes? Too much? 3? No? 1? Pleaseeee? I am begging on my knees?" like yeh... PLEASE WATCH THIS DRAMA CUZ LIKE YEH IT IS HELLA AMAZING~

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I wish the FL character was more intelligent

I really like the drama so far! I really love the acting of both the actress and the actor.
However, I am so annoyed with the writing of the FLs character. Like why is the character development?! She is just being annoying at this point and adds no value to the unfolding storyline. She's suppose to be a key figure but all she does is being annoyed and wary and the ML instead of actually listening to him. Also all she can say is that the story will be like how the writer wants it to be, especially when it is about Nan Heng. But then again she wants to go AGAINST the story, which doesn't make sense at all.
I wish her character was more developed.

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BIG DISAPPOINTMENT

It has a great cast and backgrounds and environments are excellent. What isn't? The plot and story. At first it was great. I really enjoyed the first 5 or so episodes. But then... NOTHING SEEMED TO BE HAPPENING. I started getting bored around episode 15 and after that everything became so much more frustrating.
If the writers couldn't write a plot, they could at least have shaved it down to half of the episodes so it was more compact and didn't drag on too much. It's funny because it simultaneously mocks terrible plots and is one at the same time. I've watched similar shows before, it can be done well. How not to do it well? Have the characters just lounge around going to parties and stuff where NOTHING HAPPENS.
WHYYYYYYYY?!
There's also issues with the characters. Other than the ML mostly EVERYONE IS STUPID. And the second FL? I hate her guts because WARNING!!!! The second FL attempts to s*x**lly assault the ML! (That doesn't count as a spoiler, right? Just a warning?) WHAT?! And the main FL was great up until around episode 14 or 15. She wants to do good... but she's like "let's kill x!" SHE NEVER LEARNS.
I just couldn't take how STUPID all but two - and then went down to ONE - were being. AHHHHHHH!!!
SOMEONE get the producers to write a fix it for this!!!! PLEASE!!!! (Actually that could be pretty cool. A transported to another world inside of a transported to another world).

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