Wonderland of Love

A Masterpiece Ruined by a Superficial Script

I've been anticipating Wonderland of Love when I was just a newbie in c-drama. I even read the titbits of the novel posted on the discussion forum of MDL. However, things weren't as good as it seemed to be and you will know why as you scroll down my review.

This drama tells about 2 generals of the best armies (Zhenxi Army and Cui Army), Li Ni and Cui Lin. At first, they tried to be one step ahead of each other and resulted in both bickering nonstop. Li Ni was a prince trying to hide his identity from the others. Only the Zhenxi Army knew the real identity of his. Meanwhile, Cui Lin was a woman in disguise. She called herself Lieutenant He in the Cui Army and had an adoptive brother to take her identity. What I liked the most was the funny banter in the Zhenxi Army (including those gangs of bandits). The plot sounds perfect for me, but there will always be loopholes in it and brace yourself for the outweighed cons.

Halfway through the show, I started to fast forward 2x because the story was so, so INFURIATING and I wanna knock some sense into the characters. Li Ni's dad was perhaps the DUMBEST emperor I've ever seen. He couldn't even see that his two elder sons were plotting against him. Cui Lin's adoptive brother, Liu Chengfeng (or what other user called him as Lost Cause Fruit Loop) turned into a delusional and obsessive character as soon as he found out that Cui Lin had no feelings towards him. He always TRIED to get Li Ni killed by plotting everything from the beginning to the end (how I wished to strangle him to death). Prime Minister Gu's daughter, Gu Wanniang was an obsessive character as well. When Li Ni didn't reciprocate her feelings, she began to feel resentful towards Cui Lin and also want her killed. Prime Minister Gu's arc wasn't the best if you compare it to Sun Lang's arc. His character wasn't powerful enough and there wasn't any backstory for his plot with a certain tribe (sorry, I've forgotten the name, whatever it was called). This may be caused by lazy scriptwriting and the writer perhaps wants to add fillers so that the drama looks rather long. It could've been cut into a shorter one.

The chemistry between the leads (Xu Kai and Jing Tian) are super hot and you will love the flirting between these two. Also, honorable mention to the second couple, Tao Zi and Xie Chang'er - they're the best second couple and a green-flag one too. The Consort (forgotten her name as well) does well with Sun Lang too.

Opening OST is the best one and other OSTs aren't quite memorable.

No rewatch value for me. I can't stand this drama anymore. One time is enough, there's no need to watch for the second time except if you're in a drama slump. Overall, a decent show ruined by a bad script and filled with dozens of delulu characters.

P.S.
I apologize if my review is a bit offensive.

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Must watch!

Pleasantly surprised by this drama! This drama was not on my watchlist until i saw all the good reviews online. The buzz was well deserved!

The story itself was rich, complex and interesting. All the side characters had their own motivations for their actions that for the most part made sense. Xu Kai and Jing Tian have amazing amazing chemistry! I used to think Xu Kai only had chemistry with Bai Lu, but this drama proved me wrong. Xu kai is perfectly cast in his role. He has a mischevious flirty side reminiscent of his role in Arsenal Military Academy. Jing Tian perfectly plays the intelligent smart strong female general and is so beautiful! There is a good mix of sweetness/romance, angst, action and comedy. The pacing and editing is excellent. There are no boring parts to skip through. Overall a very enjoyable 40 episodes!

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A pot of good and not so good things

Pros:
- The chemistry between ML and FL was good and fast established. I can get into their love story from even the earlier episodes
- I especially love how childish the mighty Crown Prince behaves in front of his wife lol.
- The battle scenes when the two lords tried to kill Li Ni was done rather well i think. The death of Li Ni’s comrades while trying to protect him was heartbreaking, even more heartbreaking than the death of Cui Lin’s tbh. Haha


Cons:
- funny how cui lin/liu chengfeng’s actor decided to act out his character. It was especially bad when he tried to emulate a villain after his almost fatal injury, the acting was so bad i almost get a secondhand embarrassment. It was so cringy, like he was trying so hard to be bad, only to appear as constipated.
- And because of that, I feel like the 3rd half of the series is especially hard to go thru since that’s the arc where Liu Chengfeng appears the most, trying to be the villain. Unfortunately, the second prince somehow carries out the villain role better than Liu Chengfeng ironically. Lol
- as much as I quite like the FL, I was quite done with her when she throws a tantrum on Li Ni after Li Ni arrived late to only just save her, and not her so called ‘xiongzhang’. The hell! That xiongzhang of hers had just basically slaughtered half of Li Ni’s brothers/comrades helloooo dont you think it was too laughable to expect Li Ni to return salt with honey? Be realistic please! So you can watch your people slight Li Ni, but you cannot accept Li Ni to do basically (half) the same?
- Tbh, the plot was a lil on the weak side, especially when the story progressed into the palace storyline. By the end when it showed that the prime minister was the final bad guy, it was glaringly obvious i was mentally throwing my hands into the air. Like, how come the emperor is that stupid? With that stupidity, he wont even make it to the throne in the first place tbh. On one end, it was completely stupid not to establish power over your own soldiers/having no troops at all under your command, especially if you dont even trust your own son. Secondly, when you heard your son’s beloved wife passed away suddenly, the first thing you think is he came to usurp the throne? Like, the hell?!! (And where exactly is Cui Yi, doesnt such big news such as taizifei’s death spread? Not to mention, when the imperial physician diagnosed the taizifei’s death in the first place, they should have reported it to the emperor first, and yet, no one told him until Gu Wanniang made a sob story a day after. Lolllll) Plus, the last battle scene was so pathetic, Li Ni only stormed the palace with about a dozen soldiers to settle the problem. Lol. Such an anti-climax! The battle during Li Ni’s two brothers’ mutiny was even better climax
- The emperor’s sudden change of heart towards Li Ni was sooo sudden, it was laughingly unbelievable. Like, can you even make an effort dear writers?
- I dont even know how Li Ni still has the idea of making Xuanzhe the next emperor and for him to retire back to Laolan’s Pass (like seriously, after being an emperor? Do you think thats even doable? Even if he abdicated, wont Xuanzhe worry he will take back the throne someday? Or Li Ni’s sons?) Ahh i guess, i took it too seriously lol. Maybe in an ideal world, theres no more drama as long as Xuanzhe took the throne. Hihi

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A cut up

I'm not sure why but it took me FOREVER to finish this show.

Overall it's really good for a costume drama… My biggest problems were the costumes. Some of the fabrics look like they were printed polyester and that always took me out. The secondary villain is also a huge problem for me. Every action he took just made me wanna bang my head against my tv because I could never understand his line of logic… Why even try to understand crazy people I guess?

The drama is just really engaging and consistent. I found myself always caring about what was going on. When the leads experienced loss then I did as well. I cried while watching this show, it made me feel true anguish at times and lighthearted at others.

Its also the first Xu Kai led drama that I have liked since 2019's The Legends which isn't as tightly put together as this is.

Give it a chance.

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Typical story but for the sake of the execution - worth a watch

Typical historical drama story not much creativity there but the chemistry and acting of the leads is, I would say excellent. The title seemed misleading to me considering it is focused on wars not love. I like how the story is about something bigger than the lead couple's love.

The ending seemed a little rushed, sometimes the intervals in the wars (I mean the time line) felt a little inconsistent and a bit stretched. Sometimes, there were instances when it felt like the writer wanted something to desperately happen so he wrote that while it was according the plot quite unlikely. I am disappointed by the lack of suspense, it was kind of predicatable, so not that fun that it could have been.

Reading further, shall definitely spoil the drama for you. So, hold your horses if you are yet to watch. It's like I am summarising it.

Half of drama is suppressing the rebellion- A young lad from Laolan Pass marches with his army to suppress the rebellion, kill all rebels and recover his family's empire. Along the way to capital he faces a lot of things - love, betrayals and bereavement. Together with his army his love - who is a tough general's daughter - clever, wise and resourceful he wins cities, re-established his empire but still life was hard. But then be it.

Even after doing this much, our man only wanted to settle things in capital and go back to borders to live his simple life away from the palace.

But the responsibility of being born in a royal family is indeed a great responsibility. Our carefree lad becomes the lord of the land ruling along side his brave Empress.

But he, at last comes back to Laolan Guan with his loved one to have his happily ever after.

Our main lead is a gentleman in million, genius of a generation - strategic and wise. Cares for the people. A good crown prince, a good emperor above all - a good husband. Our female lead even though something fusses about things, is a match worthy of our man.

What can I say about the troops of west-pacifying army - with unwavering loyalty, they were brave souls who sacrificed their lives for the bond of friendship.

Now about some characters who might not be talked about -

The previous crown prince consort is a sensible woman, knows her duty. Sacrificed so much and risked her life to fulfill her duty to her empire. No matter how I praise her, it will be less. And it pains me to think that their definitely must have been such women in history whose stories never made to books of history and they were renounced for what their deeds seemed on surface.

Sun Jing even though is villain is a man commendable - a good general, didn't desert his army when he could. Man of high spirits. A pity a pity that his rebellion failed. Indeed, only a failed rebellion is a rebellion.

And at last, that Gu Wan'niang, every time I saw her, she got on my nerves. Indeed she was smart but she was a shell - acted virtuous but at last her baseless expectations from life drove her crazy (literally)

What more do i say?
I just completed the drama and my thoughts are raw and messes up. If you read it, thank you for bearing with me.
I shall add more it I remember though

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Overall, very enjoyable—BUT…

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the characters but I felt fatigued towards the last 10 episodes. Too many unnecessary twists and turns and prolonged storyline.

From episode 33 to episode 38, I had to force myself to watch. I kept thinking I wish this would be over already.

The ML & FL did a good job and their chemistry worked. Their competitive banter and fighting scenes were entertaining in the beginning. But, I also felt a bit fatigued with the FL being so self-centered and the main villain being so tenacious. He did a good job being so creepy and obsessive. However, it was not enjoyable to see his antics towards the end. It was just too much and too long.

The fight scenes were beautifully choreographed and cinematic. Overall, really enjoyed the cinematography and the CG.

The side characters, especially Old Bao, were really well acted and fun. All the “service” characters did feel a little annoying, single-minded and too obtuse. The men were all shown to be a little too dumb—I guess to highlight ML and FL’s ingenuity and perceptiveness. It was frustrating after a while. The ML’s father was too much as well.

All the actors did a great job but the overall story was not great. It was the production (script writer and producers) who failed. The actors and directors did a fantastic job with the material given.

I still recommend a watch. It was not a waste of time. Especially the first half of the drama was really enjoyable. The only downside was that you can’t really skip or fast forward the latter half of the dragging story because there are so many twists and turns. You will have to endure through it.

I guess the ending was good but a bit too short and simple after enduring through 39 episodes. I didn’t feel great or emotionally satisfied but was happy that it was finally done.

Xu Cai did a wonderful job overall and I will watch his other works after this.

PS: I loved the OST (especially Li Yuning) and the special cameo.

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Issues with FL and some of the plot

This show would have been a total 10 were it not for my difficulties getting over the FL’s treatment of the ML a couple of times during the show. I also did not like at all the reason why we had a happy ending, and who we had to thank for it. There was an annoying love triangle as well… Regardless, the ML was a dream. We had a LOT of skinship, cuddles, kisses and sneaking into each others bedrooms. We were also spoiled with the sheer amount of screen time that the main leads had. This is one I may rewatch at some point in the future, but the disappointment with the writing is pretty strong. What was shaping up to be one of my favorite dramas ended up being a letdown in a few ways.

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Ahhh ... the waste of good characters .. this had so much potential to be a good romance drama

The story cuts right into a good character introduction of the main leads - both of them fiercely independant but at the same time kind and sympathatic with grounded personalities - how much I love such character set up and was thoroughly enjoying both the leads and even the supporting cast - the first 20 or so episodes did a good job in bringing us into their worlds and their unique love story ...... and then the second half of the series happened .

I was completely baffled - it felt as if the scriptwriter was changed , the director was changed , even the characters seem to act OOC - felt like a completely different drama and it was a huge mess.

For once I was enjoying a good sexual chemistry of xu kai with jing tian which I hadnt seen in his last few series with other actresses , exception being bai lu from "the legends" days - maybe bit older / experienced actresses bring out the best in him - xu kai has always been a hit and miss for me , sometimes it works and sometimes not .

Overall this had so much potential , reminded me so much of " A journey to love " another of my all time favorites - and dare I say jing tian looked so much handsome dressed as a man then her female dressing style - wish they could have maintained her same style throughout the series and especially her armour dress :) .

And I cant forget Curly gao's ost for this drama , it definitely went into my playlist .

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Rock-solid, binge-worthy romance

Wonderland of Love is yet another exceptional C-drama to put on my list of top 10 power couples. Xu Kai and Jing Tian play main leads Li Ni and Cui Lin who fall in love after a friendly rivalry gives way to a more serious relationship.

The first few episodes were a bit weak and, due to that, I dropped the series for a few months. I finally went back to it after completing Best Choice Ever with Xu Kai, since I found myself very impressed with his low-key, earnest performance. I had a renewed interest in finishing WOL because of his work in that.

This drama has it all: palace intrigue, epic battles and martial arts, beautiful scenery, gorgeous costumes and set design, and an exceptional soundtrack--which at the moment is only available on YouTube. (This is bad because that means I can't add it to my C-drama playlist on Spotify. Not cool).

What locked me in place was the excellent chemistry and stellar acting between the main leads. They both drew me in and made me thoroughly enjoy their playful banter which slowly becomes attraction and then intense love. Once again, I was bowled over by Xu Kai's performance. He was passionate, tempestuous, forthright, and courageous. He was everything one wants in a romantic hero. At the same time he is not without flaws. He jumps to conclusions and can be unfairly cruel to his leading lady. Just watching them fight would sometimes make my heart ache, but then the make ups were epic.

Throughout all the intense flirting, there is more intrigue to keep the plot moving. Bad guys abound in the this drama and seems our main leads jump from one dangerous situation to the next. You get some great action scenes, but keeping track of all the villains gets exhausting and repetitive. I could have done without the last episode. It was too neatly wrapped up and didn't feel true to the supporting cast and the stories that had originally been intended for them.

I also appreciated the guest performances by Zen Li and Liu Yu Ning. I have watched them both in other great C-dramas and it is a treat to have them appear in this series. I recommend this drama to those who love romances, palace intrigue, and period dramas.

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Best Xukai’s Show

Li Ni is our ML, the grandson of the emperor, who was banished to the borders at Yaoyan Pass when he angers both his father Lord Liang and the emperor at one point of his teenagehood. Being born to a maid who died giving birth to him, he was never favoured in the mansion, and he never had a memory of his father hugging and being kind to him. But at Yaoyan Pass, he found kinship with his troops, fighting battles, dining, having fun with them, not putting up airs as a royal at all. The experience tempered him into a brilliant, calculative strategist who is revered by many among the army. One day they received news that one of the great generals of the dinasty, Sun Jing revolted, killing the emperor and the crown prince, while the son of the crown prince went into hiding to escape the coup. Left with no choice, Li Ni raised the Zhenxi Army to march towards the capital to reclaim the throne for the crown prince’s son. On the way there, he met our FL Lt. He, a strategist for the Cui army whose army was also marching towards the capital. They clashed a few times, experienced the spark to fall in love with each other while battling each other, and ended up working together in siezing forts after forts towards the capital, while ML at the same time trying to locate his royal cousin.

I must say, this is definitely one of Xukai’s best series. The story is interesting enough, the plot although not without plotholes, is exciting and engaging. Although I must say, for an army marshall entrusted to reclaim the capital, ML sure has a lot of time to indulge in romance. But I have to admit this is probably the best of Xukai’s performance i’ve seen so far. ML’s anguish was really real after he survived the ambush. He can really cry convincingly good, that it made me cry at that scene. Although, i totally despise his hopeless lovesick puppy character whenever he argues with FL.

The SML, Liu Cheng Feng, turned from just a person to long for his childhood sweetheart to a total psychopath who wouldnt accept that his love was rejected. While still in Cui army acting as the commander, he was shameless enough to claim as loyalist army when you collude with the traitor against another loyalist army? That’s the Cui army for you. Truly despicable. And to think that the commander isnt a Cui is even more comical. What kind of commander would sell out his own principle because of jealousy? The SML is truly despicable despite his supposedly frail look. And for a sickly man, he really was hard to die. He got stabbed with swords with two spears, and is still very much alive. Guess that’s the privelege of being SML, he’s got plot armour! An annoyingly thick one at that.

As for the FL, she lies so much sometimes i cant even figure out when she was lying and when she was being truthful. At first i thought she was toying with ML’s feelings, but gradually it looked like she really fell for him. However, FL is too caught up by her ideals and ambition that she doesnt care if forcing her loved one to be the emperor would mean a lifelong unhappiness. She doesnt like when her dad tells her the kind of life he wants her to have, but is very content about dictating how the ML should live his life. Such hypocrisy. I got so mad at that episode. I fast forwarded many of their supposedly romantic scenes afterwards because i hate seeing ML giving in to her advances every single time without her relinquishing that selfish thought of hers. Really hate seeing her leading him around like a dog so i keep wishing for them to break up. Just go separate ways already. She should feel the heartbreak and regret her decisions instead of ML every single time. I am so glad ML put his foot down when she insisted him to fight for the crown prince title. Her attitude is too horrible, always throwing tantrum when things dont go her way. It’s really a pity because ML sacrifice so much for her. She was the one who is adamant about ML becoming crown prince, and she was also the one who is mad at him when she had to marry him in a way that she didnt approve of. Most of the time this character is very sensible and reasonable, but somehow it is written to be very proud and cranky when she argues with ML.

The main leads definitely has chemistry, though I truly hate it when she was throwing tantrum and ML give in to her every time. Their romantic scenes is fun to watch when they’re sincerely happy with each other, but hard to watch when FL throws tantrums and ML gives in. It’s like ML was trying to make her happy while he himself was generally sad and angry. FL is kinda selfish and unreasonable despite being an intelligent strategist who can see through the enemy’s plans, when ML refuses to do things her way. Honestly their arguments are generally needless as even if FL lets everything go with the flow, ML would still had to become crown prince based on the circumstanaces. There was no need for for her to pressure him to do anything, really. They wouldve had a happy time in the capital had she not do what she did. What a needless and senseless argument.

The battlescenes are impressive, especially the attack on the capital. It’s the first time that i saw foot soldiers scaling the wall with parkour-like skills, and it’s also the first time that i felt any of their deaths are a huge loss to the force. They looked like minor pawns but their skills are definitely impressive.

The amount of people getting poisoned is astronomically high in this show, but sadly none really die from it. Too comical when they keep getting poisoned like flies getting sprayed. The FL suffers the brunt of it, always getting sick or injured in every other episodes 😆 too cliche.

I totally love the OST. They really didnt hokd back on getting the best in this category.

Anyway, it’s a happy ending, though i really have a hard time liking the FL in some parts of the show.

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Its all about war, love, and dreams

This historical romance drama tells the story of Li Ni(Xu Kai), a smart and brave prince who hides his royal identity to live among soldiers, and Cui Lin (Jing Tian), a strong and clever general’s daughter who leads her troops with courage. When they meet, it’s like fire and ice. They argue, compete, and test each other, but slowly, love grows between them in the middle of war and chaos.

The chemistry between Xu Kai and Jing Tian is amazing. Their relationship feels natural, full of tension and charm, and you can truly see how they change each other. The show has some cool action scenes and also sweet moments that make you smile or feel sad. The costumes, the landscapes were stunning and the music is nice too which makes the story feel more magical and warm.

Even though some parts move slowly and the politics can feel a bit confusing, the overall story is strong. It’s not just about war or love but it’s about choices, pride and learning what truly matters at the end. The drama also shows how people have two sides, i.e, strength and softness, duty and desire. And it reminds us that greed and ambition often lead to loss, while honesty and love bring peace.

In the end, Wonderland of Love is a lovely story about courage, kindness, and following your heart. It is full of feelings and magic, and it makes you believe that love can grow even in the hardest times.

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