Generation to Generation

Bad writing, excellent lead characters

For a drama that relied heavily on romance, I was expecting a better ending and at least a prologue about their married life together, but I guess I'll just be content with the fact that they ended up happy and together. The writing was poor, which is a shame because it had so much potential. The stories of those who came before them, especially her aunt and his uncle, were interesting, but the writers had no idea what to do with them. The editing at the beginning of the drama would sometimes give me a headache because it would just cut abruptly from one scene to another and make you wonder what the hell was happening. All the characters, with the exception of the leads, were plain stupid. You just had to ignore it and believe that a teenage girl was doing everything alone and outsmarting everyone while the elders just watched. But oh boy, it was worth it. Zhaozhao and Mu Qingyan's characters and love story were everything, and I would've watched more episodes of the writers not having a slight idea of what they were doing just because of them. To simplify it: if you're looking for good writing, this drama might not be for you, but if you're capable of putting everything aside for an excellent couple, go ahead.

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The characters deserved a plot more consistent but it's still enjoyable

I had a good time watching this drama even I have mixed feelings.

Firstly the costumes and the cinematography (love how they highlighted the colour pink it’s so rare in c-drama land) were exquisite. It was respectfully Zhou Yiran’s best look 🤌🏾. The acting was cool too, I think everyone did their part specially the main leads.

The relationship between Mu Qingyan and Cai Zhao was interesting. Since the story was too fast paced in the beginning we failed to understand why he was so attached to her in this little spam of time but I liked how their relationship developed afterward.
However it was a little one sided at some point. I agreed with Cai Zhao for the matter of abandoning her family and sect at first because yes we don't want to see women abandoning their all life for the sake of man.
But the more we saw the different members of the Six Righteous Sects, the more we came across their hypocrisy and selfishness. So you can’t just seek a little peaceful and happy life when the people around you are clearly off. Does that not make you an hypocrite as well ? What is freedom and happiness when you turn blind toward injustice ? I wish the plot confronted this contradiction more deeply : not following MQY blindly but yes reflecting about the world around her.

My Qingyan is a great part of why this drama was good to me. He was cunning, manipulative, did not fret about using people to get what he wanted, ruthless when it was necessary. And I liked that about him : Many ML character’s are presented this way these days but turn into softies in the middle which can be disappointing sometimes.
I wished they also gave him a true purpose for his life, to make his relationship with Zhao’s more healthy though. I did not want him to be stripped oh his personality just a little change to make his character more deeper.

The main vilain is predictable, I had my doubts from the start so it wasn’t a surprise. I was disappointed for the reasons he did that though. Maybe if they revealed it sooner and added more depth to him I could’ve understood him to some extent but for what it worth no. The side characters are good, I quite liked a few of them, some are annoying but their role makes sense.

For the parts that makes the drama very mixed for me :
First, the editing is truly horrible in the 5 first episodes, it gets little bit better after but sometimes it’s getting odd again. And it’s a big problem because it prevent the audience to understand the plot. They introduced way too more characters in a little spam of time, and it’s too fast-paced to understand the story properly. I persevered and had a good time but not everyone has the patience clearly.

I feel the characters and the world building deserved more. Honestly with more consistency, a better beginning and editing, a proper presentation of the old generation it could’ve been lit.

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Fun watch but not as well-rounded as I would've liked

This review is a bit more critical of the c-drama's character-choices and plot mostly, so beware.

I thoroughly enjoyed some parts of the series and liked a few characters (i.e., Lingbo, Lingbo's mother, Yuzhi- although his character was slightly bland-, and Cai Zhao's initial character)

Generation to Generation started off as a very promising c-drama: a light-hearted, ambitious girl comes across a mysterious angsty boy who has just lost his father and they team up to defeat the antagonists. I loved their dynamic and characterisation until about the 12th episode mark, where it was revealed Chang Ning was Mu Qingyan. After this transition, the male lead lost much of what made him unique, and he turned into another one of those typical, powerful, possessive Wuxia male leads. His loss and revenge arc was unfortunately thrown out in favour of the romance story, which also seemed promising as first, but then just deteriorated later on. I loved their initial interactions, the way that Mu Qingyan was closed off at first, and Cai Zhao kept penetrating his social barrier, kept forcing him to confront the world. I especially loved the scene in the garden, where she tells himthat she will protect him- it really felt like there was true, human emotion there.

But then... of course, after Chang Ning --> Mu Qingyan, both the main characters were constantly restricted by each other. We never got to see Cai Zhao become the amazing leader she could've been because of Mu Qingyan's forcing her to stay with him and we never got to see Mu Qingyan conquer his own demons because he was constantly obsessed with Cai Zhao. We only saw this kind of toxic back and forth, cat and mouse game.

In regards to the plot, the first twenty or so episodes solely dealt with the Jianghu side of things- the Ziwei method, the man in black, the jade sunflower, etc. I had no problem with this plot, it was pretty well done, but then it just halted after Cai Zhao and Mu Qingyan's romance took the spotlight. This felt very weird and I feel that the writers should have just continued the way they were going instead of trying to exaggerate their love story. They should've kept the love-story in the background. By the way, it wasn't even better than what the original plot was doing: it was literally just Cai Zhao trying to run away from Mu Qingyan and the latter always pulling her back. This would've been an okay, albeit toxic and dark, shift, but there was no self-awareness of the fact that Mu Qingyan was literally evil for not leaving Cai Zhao when she was forced to choose between him and her sect, family, and friends. To me, it just proved that he didn't love her enough to genuinely think about her feelings and her life, and more-so wanted to possess her like an object. The male lead was idealised for this behaviour and we were being conditioned into accepting that he truly loves her, which is the BIGGEST issue with this. I'm all for dramas that deal with toxic relationships, broken people, imperfect leads, etc, only not when said toxic relationships and behaviour is idealised and looked upon as perfection. Characters are supposed to be messy, yes, they're supposed to be flawed, but the way Mu Qingyan was flawed was not at all helping his character or raising awareness.

The rest of the characters were mostly fine, I just would've liked to see more development- Lingbo goes through a pretty solid development arc, she became exactly what I envisioned her character to be in the end. Yuzhi was also a good character (more tolerable than the male lead), but I wish the writers could've made his character face more internal conflict and tension than just admitting his feelings for Cai Zhao. Like perhaps there could've been some grey area for him to deal with in regards to his brother and the heir of his sect.

I also wanted to discuss the camera-work and editing real quick. The way scenes were shot, cut, edited, the way that the characters and their emotions were displayed through camerawork could've been better, and the reason why I'm mentioning this is because I feel that it had an important role in allowing the audience to connect with the characters. There were some scenes where I wished the camera-angle, or the opening shot, or the focus on certain aspects of the set, would've been a little different, just so I could see the actors' emotions, and consequently, feel what they were feeling. But it was just slightly lack-lustre and did affect the overall watching-experience.

In terms of re-watch value, I would stick to a one-time watch only. Perhaps, one day, I may go back and rewatch only the first ten or so episodes and pretend that Cai Zhao and Mu Qingyan's story ended differently to how it did, but not anytime soon.

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Interesting and yirannn

I really enjoyed Generation to Generation (2026). The storyline is a bit complicated at first, but once you get into it, the details actually help you understand everything better. It’s the kind of drama where you need to pay attention, but it’s worth it.
The character development is really fun to watch — you can see how each character grows and changes over time, which makes it more engaging.
Also, the sword fighting scenes are super entertaining. They’re well done and add a lot of excitement to the drama.
Overall, definitely worth watching if you like something a bit deeper with good action.

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Sins of one generation, paid off by the next

This drama was beautifully written and excellently directed. All the characters were well fleshed out, their motivations clear, their actions aligned with them and their emotions real.

The FL was strong, mature, brave. She had her own set of morals and principles and she stood by them for better and worse. The ML was complex, his backstory setting the stage for a perfect grey character and we explored both sides of it exceedingly well. While the FL was never evil, we see her extreme tendencies too. In another life, with another upbringing, she would have made a fantastic grey character.

The ultimate mystery, the final plot twist, was heartbreaking but well written. It was an almost reversal of all that we knew, and it was executed well. It was an entertaining balance of comedy, romance, fantasy, action, emotions, plot and beauty.

I loveddddd Zhou Yiran in this, he did so well <3 Bao Shang'en has played a character like this before so that wasn't new to me but it was fun to watch.

I especially enjoyed the older generation, Cai Pingshu's moments. I love that actress so her scenes were a delight. The Cai women, demoness as the story asks us to call them, certainly lived an amazing and legendary life. One day, Cai Zhao might be known as a demoness too, who knows. I thinks he would like that hehe

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First few episodes got me confused but I didn't give up because of rang rang, After 10 episode got me hooked some episodes are bit predictable but I loved watching rangrang in costume dramas, FL done her job perfectly, I felt bit sad for yuchi only he don't have partner in final episodes, I felt too much cast but later I understand everyone has their roles at some point, i finished this successfully.
In final episodes I got angry because they have all type of poison antitode but don't have any for Rangrang, his life is hanging but he didn't have wish to live from starting he ready to die , marriage in final episodes doesn't seems happy and i skipped. Some of them dropped this series in few episodes but I kept watch' for Rangrang I liked him in costume drama he is so cute and handsome, stop seeing logic , holes and enjoy the series..

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A severely misjudged Drama

Firstly, I find it hilarious how people on this platform rate dramas because they hype up the most mediocre stuff ever.

However, this is not one of them but it is highly misjudged in my opinion and deserves a higher rating. The biggest issue this drama has, is the fact that people drop it after 5 episodes.

I’ve watched Chinese dramas for years and this one is pretty good and a lot of fun. I admit, the beginning is a bit confusing because things are not explained properly, like certain relationships between characters or even the way the martial arts system works exactly. If you’ve watched enough Wuxia dramas, you’ll catch on but for newcomers, it can be a bit rough. There is a lot of people and names to remember in this show, so you have to pay attention.

There is some choppy editing as well but it gets better as the show goes on.

Now the good parts:

The plot might seem complicated to follow but I like the fact that everything is connected. There are plot points that are layed out from the beginning, that come back later and for the most part, this show makes sense. I find the story genuinely interesting because it directly affects most, if not all the characters involved. It has an effect on the entire world they live in, so the stakes feel high. A lot of historical or fantasy dramas use politics and power struggles as a plot device for the leads but it gets boring after a while because they just solve cases for people or about people nobody cares about. While you’re probably not gonna care about every single character that shows up in this show, a lot of them are at least there for a reason and they don’t bore me.

Most character’s actions and behavior is understandable for who they are and I like that a lot of characters actually become bigger than who they were in the beginning, especially the second male lead and so on. I like that they have ambitions and goals beyond the title or duty that was bestowed upon them or that they were born into. A lot of side characters don’t just get thrown to the side but they have a purpose in the story, even if it is a small purpose.

In the beginning, it seems like a lot of them have a certain part to play, there are supposedly good people and bad people but it’s never as simple as that. This story makes characters question their morales and rethink their entire lives, it challenges them and their believe system.

One of the best aspects of this show is the chemistry between the cast, especially the male and female lead.

The male lead is a morally gray character with a mysterious past that gets revealed step by step as the show goes on. He manipulates everyone around him to reach his goal and get what he wants, including the female lead.

The female lead is kind of the opposite of him. She is outgoing, a free spirit, bright and righteous and has very strong morales.

Both characters come from different backgrounds and should not get along.

While the male lead might put people off because he is a “red flag", I think in this drama it was done in a better way because he is actually redeemable. His actions, while manipulative and morally gray, stem from complex psychological trauma and intense devotion rather than simple, unprovoked misogyny or abusive entitlement, like a lot of other male leads. He is more like an antihero. He is defined as a broken young man with a painful childhood and he was abused. He never really felt love or trust, besides from people in his life who died.

His red flag behaviors—manipulation and obsession—are driven by his need for the only light in his life, the female lead. He uses manipulation to be able to stay close to her (and for his other plot goals), even if it means he has to lie. He feels keeping her close to him at all times is love, because he is so afraid of losing the only person that matters to him now. He learns about what actual love is like, throughout the show. Because she sees underneath all of that and sees the broken side of him that feels hurt and vulnerable, he feels drawn to her. She accepts him for who he really is, but she struggles with the fact he manipulates her, even if his feelings for her are true. That’s why she does not back down and she tells him off when he did something wrong. She does not excuse his behavior but helps him learn from it. His intense, often desperate, devotion is viewed more as romantic obsession that turns into love, rather than malice. They have this push and pull and he knows she is drawn to him too, so he keeps pushing but once she is serious, he does not force her to stay with him.

The FL is not a weak, trapped damsel, which makes the "red flag" aspect less irritating. She is strong, intelligent, and often matches his wits, enabling her to deal with his machinations. The relationship is a slow-burn battle of wits. She recognizes his manipulative nature, sometimes uses him back, and trusts his competence even when she wants to keep her distance. The male lead is aware of his flaws—his obsessiveness, pettiness, and willingness to use dirty tricks. He doesn't act as though he is a "good guy," which makes his behavior more tolerable to viewers compared to manipulative characters who believe they are innocent.

Despite his ruthlessness, he is shown as insecure and needing to be trusted, which makes him more relatable than a purely abusive antagonist. He also doesn’t show ruthlessness to people who don’t deserve it, unless he feels like he has no choice but to use them. He showed that he is capable of personal growth and becomes more open about his intentions, aiming to be a better person for his partner. He really changes throughout the show and there is a line he never crosses so in a way, I could empathize with him.

Lastly, it makes me sad that a lot of people had issues with the costumes and so on, because this is actually quite a realistic costume for Wuxia dramas. The overly bright colors and so on that y’all see in other dramas is just to make it look flashy and good and gain attention. This is what it’s supposed to look like. I think it looks more realistic and better this way. it looks less cheap this way.

I also highly respect that the team filmed a lot, if not all of it on a real location instead of green screen. They went to the mountains and even learned a lot of fighting choreography which the actors performed themselves and looked quite good. They also used their own voices instead of dubbing.

I can see, they worked hard and tried to actually create a good story beyond your stereotypical idol drama where even the main plot is just a side plot to the romance. This drama teaches you about so much more, like where do you belong? what is right and wrong? who am I? what does it mean to forgive? why do I compare myself to others? true friendship and what it means to support each other no matter what.

I don’t want to give the plot away but there was never an episode that felt boring to me and I never knew what to believe, because I didn’t know if I could trust certain characters. It’s almost like a puzzle that you’re trying to put together along with the leads.

Sure, this drama is not perfect but if you care about a decent Wuxia, please don’t judge it based on other’s opinions who dropped it so soon. Because it’s not the easiest plot, I get why this is not for everyone but I’d still recommend it and frankly speaking, this drama is a lot better than most period idol dramas these days that get a lot more hype. I rated it so high because of my enjoyment but the rewatch value is lower because it’s simply not everyone’s cup of tea and there might be some flaws that bother others too much too overlook them.

PS: there are some tropy scenes in there but they are not cringe compared to a lot of other dramas. I thought the sweet scenes were enjoyable because it was not exaggerated. The acting in general felt quite natural to me. Sometimes when cgi was used, for example on animals, it didn’t look good but I can look past that.

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A beautifully crafted drama

“Generation to Generation” is an incredibly crafted story that showcases generational pain/blood feuds, the beauty of friendship, the beauty and yet pain of love, and the power of prejudice/hate being overcome by forgiveness and love.

Is it perfect? No. It has its flaws for sure. Don’t even get me started on how many times they demonstrate someone is injured by blood spewing from the mouth. Good grief. And the slow burn was killer sometimes, especially when the kiss scenes we got were nothing to write home about despite our leads’ incredible chemistry. But, overall, its flaws are far outshone. So what makes this worth watching?

* One of the most beautifully complex, nuanced plots I’ve seen from a drama. (No shock from the original novel writer of “Love like the Galaxy”.) We watch this story unfold in the generation of our two excellent leads, but the whole story is weaved with stories of the past. This never once gets boring. You’re completely sucked in. They chose a SOLID cast for the flashbacks. This drama’s emotional tapestry of healing had me crying literal tears more than once.

* A romance that is addictive. Friends to enemies to lovers? Sign me up. A morally gray, red flag, burn-the-world-for-his-lady ML? Sign me up. A FL who actually can defend herself and him? Chemistry that will have you rewatching scenes? A slow-burn that actually feels worth the angst? A couple who risks everything for their forbidden love? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Honestly, Mu Qingyan is one of the most swoon worthy MLs I’ve seen in a while too so there’s that.

* A SOLID ENSEMBLE CAST. ‘Nuff said.

One of the things I found most interesting was the way that this drama emphasized how people write narratives that can live on for generations, causing harm and lies. I loved how Cai Zhao unfolded the secrets of the three women who had gone before her but had been demonized by history. Not only did she discover the truth but she ends up paralleling all three as well as her heroic aunt.

Ignore the low MDL rating and go on the journey for yourself. For me, it was more than worth it.

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Unpopular opinion. I TRIED, I Really tried!

Oh Drama! I was so excited when this came out since Yi Ran looked too fine in all those teasers and edits. Unfortunately, it was not my cup of tea.

I finally realized how fangirling can be. I never imagined I'd find a drama I had to finish because of the ML. BaoBao looks amazing in here as well, and their chemistry was too good! It wasn't enough to save this, though. I was already 17 episodes in, and I'm still honestly confused about what the world was going on. It was honestly frustrating, but whoa, I kept going! This show tried soooo hard to portray Mu Qing Yan as the ultimate anti-hero, only to actually sacrifice himself ALL THE TIME for our FL. This reminds me of the drama, Love and Redemption. Then I was again waiting for that GRAND FINALE where our ML would unleash his greatest power and finally achieve that revenge he has been plotting all this time, but pooof! another sacrifice, then killed him off in the end. My jaw was literally on the floor during that final episode. Then I was like, " That's it???? Then BAM! they sent him back, resurrected with whatever explanation they gave on why his poison actually disappeared. I honestly had to rewatch that scene coz I was sooo frustrated the first time.

Don't get me wrong, the cast did amazing! Some CGI scenes were a bit bleh, but most of them are actually a feast for the eyes! I think it was more of a pacing and story issue. There were too many flashbacks that I didn't even know who was who or what character was doing what. Trust me, I was THAT confused! LOL. I'm still excited for YiRan and BaoBao's future projects, though. This one, I guess, is just not really for me.

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A masterclass in character dynamics (and Zhou Yi Ran’s best performance yet)

Generation to Generation completely blew me away. In a landscape full of romance dramas that lean too heavily on one lead or rely on forced conflict, this show stands out as a masterclass in balance.

The heart of the drama is how beautifully it balances its two main characters. The writing doesn't just show them at their best; it carefully uncovers both their deepest weaknesses and their core strengths. More than anything, the show perfectly captures the profound, unshakeable bond between them—how deeply they are tied to one another and how they grow together.

A special shoutout needs to go to Zhou Yi Ran. He improves with every single drama, and his expressive acting here is incredible. It’s honestly a shame that his incredible range and emotional depth often get overlooked just because he is so attractive. He proves here that he is far more than just a pretty face; his micro-expressions carry so much weight.

If you are looking for a character-driven C-drama with genuine depth, a beautifully balanced relationship, and stellar acting, do not skip this one.

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Give it a chance!

Loved the characters and the story.

Both FL and ML were interesting and fun to watch. Obviously there romance was a main part of the story but i liked how they also had their own separate things as well. And they both had amazing chemistry.

The story does focus on generational trauma and revenge, so you do get quite a lot of backstory, but i don't think its too much and it is relevant to the plot.

The only thing is that the production for the first 10ish episodes could have been better - they weren't at all but they definitely found their groove as the story went on.

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