A Dream within a Dream

A Dream Within a Dream is one of the C-dramas I’ve watched with a truly unique storyline,

A Dream Within a Dream is one of the C-dramas I’ve watched with a truly unique storyline, something I usually only see in manhwa or manhua. The blend of comedy, romance, and seriousness is so well-balanced that there’s not a single boring episode.

I was truly shocked by Chu Guihong's unexpected change. He went from being the lovable and adorable character I adored, to someone I ended up hating.

As for Nan Heng, I initially disliked him because he wanted to kill the FL. But the more I understood his character, the more I started to love him. When he was mistreated, I couldn’t help but cry. He’s the first character I’ve ever felt this much empathy for. Every time the FL said hurtful things to him, it broke my heart 😔.

Regarding the FL, Song Yimeng, at first, I loved how carefree and unproblematic she was. But as the story progressed, there were times I disliked her for how she treated the ML. Still, in the recent episodes, I’ve come to love her again because she has her own reasons for what she's doing, she's trying to survive for herself and her family.

I really, really love this drama. I’ll rewatch it every single day. 💖

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THE HUMOR IN THIS DRAMA IS PURE GOLD!

I love this drama! It’s basically a hilarious tribute to all the historical c-drama tropes we love to hate. The nods and tongue-in-cheek jokes between the writers and viewers are pure gold, and even the OST lyrics feel like inside jokes for fans.

The cast is fantastic and you can tell everyone had so much fun filming this. It’s not just silly. There's a mix of comedy, romance, intrigue, and court politics, so it has everything for everyone. I also appreciate how it blends historical and modern elements in a way that makes fun of c-drama censorship and all the unrealistic moments we’ve seen a million times.

I’ve seen some viewers compare ADWAD to Prisoner of Beauty, which was an amazing drama, but they’re not the same at all. ADWAD is its own thing, a very funny and clever take on the transmigration trope. It is silly on purpose to make important points about the genre. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much watching a c-drama before. A+ from me!

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Life is but a Dream

I still can't believe this drama is over! I'm still processing everything that happened, and I’m finding it hard to put my thoughts into words.

First and foremost, this was such a refreshing story—it felt like a mix between a Disney-like fairytale and Inception, with a touch of satire and intentional absurdity. It was so nice to watch something with an original script—not adapted from a novel or webtoon—because you truly never knew what to expect. I was surprised by how unserious and playful it felt at first, but over time, I genuinely fell for the characters and became invested in their journeys. It started off strong, and it ended just as powerfully.

Highlights:
- The actors did a great job portraying their roles! Li Yi Tong was perfect as SXY/SYM—her cuteness never felt forced, and her comedic timing was spot-on. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so it’s exciting to know she has more dramas lined up. Liu Yu Ning’s acting has noticeably improved—he did an excellent job portraying NH and expressing a range of complex emotions. At first, his character felt similar to roles he’s played before (he often plays the tragic hero/tsundere type, which he does well), but NH gave him a chance to show more depth and range.
- The supporting leads were also amazing, each standing out in their own right. I especially loved NH’s brothers and comrades—because let’s be honest, what’s a Liu Yu Ning drama without some solid bromance? I appreciated the secondary female lead, SYT, especially because she wasn’t just a plot device to push the main couple's love story forward. She could be obnoxious at times, but I admired how she stuck to her beliefs, even if they were unconventional for that era. Her idea of men carrying and giving birth had me laughing out loud. Seeing Wang Yan again after so many years (from Huan Zhu Ge Ge!) was a nostalgic bonus.
- The humor and satire had me on the floor—I’m sure the cast and crew had fun parodying common drama tropes and throwing in references to the entertainment industry.
- Action scenes were well done. Liu Yu Ning continues to prove himself in fight scenes, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn this was directed by the same person behind Mysterious Lotus Casebook (one of my favorites for martial arts choreography).
- Despite having many cliché moments (intentionally so), the pacing was solid, and I appreciated how the plot could shift between comedy and seriousness without feeling jarring.
- The fact that it wasn’t adapted from a novel made it feel liberating—there was no source material to constantly compare it to, which made it a truly enjoyable and unpredictable watch.
- The ending (and that post-credits scene!) threw me for a loop in the best, most Inception-like way. It completely lived up to the title, and I loved seeing all the theories people came up with. The writer clearly left clues throughout the story, allowing for multiple interpretations.
- The aesthetics and OST were the cherry on top.

Not So Great:
- I know SYM received a lot of flack for how she treated NH for a chunk of the story. Personally, I could understand both leads’ perspectives. SYM’s actions didn’t seem unreasonable—she feared for her safety and well-being based on what she knew about the original NH and how her life was supposed to play out. That said, this arc could’ve been tightened—it dragged a bit longer than necessary.
- The Emperor’s treatment of NH felt inconsistent and underdeveloped. Even if he was projecting his wariness of Gao Chang Yin onto NH, his deep hatred—especially since it started even before the Empress died—didn’t make much sense. I kept waiting for a meaningful apology or reconciliation, or at least a clear explanation. Instead, we got a sudden and unconvincing 180 into “caring father” mode.

Final Thought:
So… is life but a dream?
There’s only one way to find out.

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Just watch it... It's absolutely hilarious ?

I don't normally write reviews🙃🙃🙃🙃 but this is really good💯💯,



it's funny🤣 and serious at the same time. The character development is also well done, and the romance is good...






The ML and FL chemistry is also good plus you will love the side characters.... They did amazing 💯👍









Ps I wasted all the space cause they wouldn't let me submit unless my review is long so.............................................................................................. sorry🙏 🤣🤣🤣

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his was hilarious, satirical in its own way!!!!

I mean the drama made fun of " some nonsense common plot" from other dramas in such a funny way. The music was terrific although at times it would be a bit louder.

Now, here comes the division: there were some comments that clearly revealed that some people had missed the 1st episode, which laid the right foundation for the rest of the series. That is why I am not surprised that the overall rating of this drama is only 8.5.

This drama depicts that people love to blame others for all the unfortunate things that happened to them. It is much easier to have an escape goat for anything that does not work out right so that one will feel better and never take responsibility for his own actions.

Also, the self-righteousness nature of humans will be their downfall. Literally, cause when you believe that you can only be right and should never take the blame for any bad thing than it is easy to blame "your neighbor"

Now, the female lead role depicts the world of today!!!! We are blinded by what we have heard more than what we see. No matter how much the evidence in front of our eyes claims the opposite, we prefer to believe whatever nonsense we've heard cause it is just easier.

The male lead represents "the injustice of this world". Those who had been mistreated for no reason. Even if there there could have been a reason, no one has ever taken the time to listen to what might have been their reasoning.

Overall, great casting!!!! Love the plot twist and yes the end lives you with that "qu'est-ce-que" but it was a great watch!!! So it is a 10 for me cause they went above and beyond showing all those different aspects that plague our world of today

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Not a single dull moment

It has it all from acting , visuals , great character development and a great story line

loved the characters awakening and how the didn't only focus on the main leads .

when the emperor belived has Nan heng and they started acting like father and son was great .

Nan Rui development through out the story was great .

hated chu guihong , like the truth is infront of him and he won't believe the nan heng has nothing to do with pingrong battle , even in the end he never tried to make ends and when he took has own life he felt he was wronged , even though he brought it upon himself .

shangguan he and yiting as a couple were cute 😍, not to forget Nan Rui little romantic moment in the end .

what I loved more was when they met in the modern era .

this one isn't a 10 for me because of some loopholes like how we are talking about two different scripts yet the FL never read the script of ADWAD and it was same as dream of qinying and how did screenwriter wrote he entered the world of a dream of qinying and still ended up in ADWAD script and where did he go in the end ??

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I love this show so much

...just want to yell it from the rooftops. It seems this show was somewhat controversial, but to me it was a non-stop banger that hit every single note it attempted and didn't have a single misstep. Amazing meta-commentary on writing and creating and acting and being a fan, combined with a truly compelling c-drama historical plot and an absolutely wonderful cast of characters, superbly cast. The character trajectories and the amount of fun being had onscreen, the hilarious meta-jokes, the truly gutwrenching plot shifts and gasp-worthy dramatic moments, the nonstop bingeable pacing, the wonderful performances from the whole cast (in particular Li Yitong's zany screwball comedy physicality, perfectly balanced with Liu Yuning's stoic/warm/soft range), and the ultimate kindness and love and joy on display in this drama, all made ADWAD one of the best c-dramas I've ever seen.

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Was the Best drama of 2025 up until Episode 37

This is only my second review on My Drama List. I've been an avid Chinese and Korean Drama watcher for about 8-9 years. This drama captivated me within the first 10 minutes! It's one of the first dramas I've watched that didn't make me use my remote to fast forward through half of every episode! I've loved every minute of every episode so far although I've only watched 4! I'm a recent fan of the ML.

Spoiler Alert* This drama was absolutely wonderful up until the 37th episode when it fell apart. I tried my hardest to finish the series to no avail. I don't understand Chinese authors, screenwriters, directors or producers who are constantly churning out this terrible emotional drivel of hyping us up only to play with our emotions in the last few episodes like we're not humans with feelings by ruining the story! Is the Chinese government against romance!?! Is it due to the episode limit restrictions so things get lost in the editing room!?!

What is the point of watching "ROMANCE DRAMAS"!?! ROMANCE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ROMANCE BETWEEN THE LEADS NOT EMOTIONAL TURMOIL BETWEEN ME AND MY REMOTE!!! I've given up on so many Chinese dramas in the past year and a half alone that I'm seriously considering strictly watching Korean dramas. Bad enough the Chinese government restrictions on drama budget wardrobe makes it so embarrassing watching the characters wearing LESS OUTFITS than I own but only 40 episodes for a rich complex story is ruining so many dramas it's a tragedy of epic proportions in my book!

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美强惨 HST (Handsome, Strong, and Tragic) and LOLs

ADWAD is the type of parody drama that I've been waiting for and want to see more of in CDramaland. It balances laugh-out absurdity with a clever enough script that still elicits HST. The end result is something that can still appeal to enough romance viewers, without killing other viewers through diabetic overdose. For those who are who are tired of tropes, this show definitely breaks the mold while poking fun at the cliches.

‒Review‒
Given my general distaste of idol dramas, I had been begging for just a few parodies to change things up. After all, there's such an abundance of mockery-worthy material and who doesn't like to laugh. So I was delighted that the show teed off with the ridiculousness in the first scene. With a Mexican Stand-off set in ancient China as 3 leads formed a sword-stabbing triangle that eventually spun into a tornado. What?!? Fuck Yeah!!!

So it turns out that it's a transmigration drama where the FL Song Yimeng (played by Li Yitong) is migrated into the world of an awful script, where the ML Nan Heng is a psycho prince who will torture and kill her‒good times. So of course, SYM desperately tries to disrupt the terrible outcome by altering the events, only to be met with death. The good news is that she seems to have infinite resurrections, the bad/better news is that it allows her to die hilariously many more times. Eventually, she gets revived further back in the timeline, giving her more direct contact with NH, who proceeds to try to kill her, only to realize that he's compelled to protect her from death. The good news is that NH is persistent in his homicide attempts, the bad/better news is that he keeps maiming himself in the process. Then the show introduces NH's alt character, side characters, and other conspiracies.

Here I want to make an important note that many people who have major complaints about the FL may be overlooking‒the plot-immutability of the 'original script' and FL's motivation and vantage point. From her perspective, all the early episodes have only confirmed the destiny of the 'highlight scenes', as outlined on her blackboard, and the questionable nature of the ML. Her mistrust and avoidance of the ML is fundamentally derived from that. And even when she begin falling for him, she is still conflicted and tries to push him away as she is haunted by the plot points that would happen. "But just give us lovey-dovey sugar factory, it's been 20 episodes!!!" But they are giving you HS(Tragic)!!! "Oh handsome, strong LYN gege, how tragically you have been wronged and misunderstood by the world and FL, oh gimme the angst, oh I hate seeing gege suffer, but I will keep watching because I'm not a bitch like the FL." Sure you can debate the methods, and some viewers no doubt dropped out, but at least there's a solid reason behind the misunderstanding.

And the drama will reward the patient viewers, or the HST crackheads. Eventually misunderstandings are resolved. The stupidass bitch!! FL grows into a strong, smart woman who finds the courage to loveydovey her man, solves problems, and gets a happy, sensible ending just like you would.

And just like you, I will commend LYN for the steadfast improvement of his acting. He grinded away from a nobody singing streamer to where he is today, kept working on his craft, ignored all the haters, and remains a funny, approachable celebrity. That is certainly worthy of respect. He was good in his role, nothing out of place, and even sings an OST to boot.

But perhaps not like you, I will also highly commend LYT as the FL. This seems to be the first exposure for many Intl viewers to LYT when she has been around for many years with solid works produced. Some have even mixed her up with Bai Lu in voice (understandable) and looks (huh?). Nonetheless, LYT delivered serious acting chops throughout with a fluid display of expressive range and nuance. She nailed the comedy. And she nailed the emotional scenes when the script (not you) called for it. Given this is an idol drama with very religious age and aesthetic requirements, there are few actresses you could have slotted into her place who would have pulled it off. She is definitely top tier acting wise in idol land. And I wish her interesting roles and success in both idol and proper dramas.

Now for the shortcomings. I enjoyed the comedy, but I would have liked it more if they were delivered with even more punch, surprise, and zaniness. Compared to another funny show 'To Get Her', ADWAD often prepped the jokes a little much. Also there was some unevenness to the pacing, especially in the early-middle episodes. The gravity of the bigger plot arc wasn't always evident throughout. And certain elements, like the whole sword alchemy thing, perhaps garnered unwarranted attention. Some of the ML abuse by the Emperor felt rash and petty. And of course many will point to the gege abuse by the FL SYM. And while the drama got a sensible, happy ending unlike 99.44% of costume dramas, it was not one of climatic majesty. The transmigration and script-bending nature of the drama kept me on my toes, but also anticipating whether a bigger climax was ahead. So, this was enjoyable, but not something with lasting impact. Also, while i appreciated LYN's acting, I did not appreciate the excessive eyelining. It's hard for me to make out the microexpressions if I can't figure out whether he's trying to commemorate Ozzy Osborne or become the next JD Vance. I know your gege is perfect, but believe me he would be more perfect and HST if he donated his makeup set to a NK Pop orphanage. Because he told me, because the moral message of this drama is about choosing your own destiny, and choosing your own makeup style as a Dongbei yemen'er.

--Category Ratings--

- Overall - 7.5 (+.5 ⇒ 8 MDL)
- Plot - 7
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7.5
- Acting - 8
- Visuals - 8
- Audio / Music - 8
- Rewatch - 7
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8

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Too Much Mystery, Too Little Logic

A Dream Within A Dream, starring Liu Yuning and Li Yitong, was a drama I initially had high expectations for. I genuinely thought it would be intense and gripping, it leaned slightly toward comedy. That said, it still managed to ease my disappointment a little. The storyline falls under the identity genre which honestly, isn’t really my favorite and that made the watching experience a bit exhausting for me.

Li Yitong’s character, in particular, frustrated me. Not because I dislike her, but her character felt… a bit dumb. There were so many moments where it should’ve been obvious to her that the two people she was interacting with were actually the same person. Yet somehow, she remained oblivious. It was mentally draining at times, especially because both the male and female leads were actually fighting for the same goal revenge and protection but the lack of clarity made everything feel more complicated than necessary.

Despite all that, I still watched it until the end mainly because I’m a huge fan of Liu Yuning. But I’ll admit, it took a lot of emotional energy. The pacing and the constant identity confusion got under my skin. However, if you’re someone who enjoys dramas centered around secret identities, this might still be a decent watch for you. Just be prepared for some headshaking moments along the way.

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Stayed for Liu Yu Ning, Endured the Politics

Finally finished watching A Dream Within a Dream, and I’m glad I stuck with it until the end. Honestly, I almost dropped this drama midway because of the heavy political plot... it’s just not my cup of tea. I tend to lose interest when the storyline gets too tangled with court politics and power plays.

What made me stay? Liu Yu Ning. I’ve been a fan since The Prisoner of Beauty, which was actually the first drama in this genre that I both finished and absolutely loved. After that, I couldn’t find anything that came close to curing my sepanx. So when A Dream Within a Dream dropped with LYN in the cast, I gave it a try... hoping it could live up to my PoB standards.

I did enjoy watching it. The acting was great, the cinematography beautiful, and LYN did not disappoint. But the political messiness made it hard to feel fully immersed at times. While I gave the show a high rating for its strengths, I don’t think it’s something I’d rewatch... unlike PoB, which I could rewatch endlessly.

In short, A Dream Within a Dream was a good ride, just not the kind of journey I’d take again. Worth watching once... especially if you're here for Liu Yu Ning.

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