Drinking in the windy snow as the snow turns to ashes. Lamenting that seperation's are irrecovable
I don't understand the hate LYN got during the drama's airing. In my honest opinion, LYN did the character justice, he became NYZ. It might be his best character drama yet. From the past dramas I've watched from him, I can see his growth, and deserves lead roles. Won't lie at first, I started this drama because of FYL. And I fell in love with the cast.Can we talk about the growth of Princess Yang Ying, you can't tell me she and LTG weren't Ruyi and NYZ's children.
The ost's and the sound effects. Killer.
Writer Jie...What kind of ending are you giving us? You didn't have to kill half of the squad. And the ending...I am still confused about how I'm supposed to interpret the ending of the drama. Is she dreaming? Did she die? Is it a what-if? Like even the supposed kid of our main leads showed up...
Anyway, a must-watch drama, and the cast was amazing. Now I'm going to wish for a modern drama with the same cast with a happy ending. No dying this time.😅
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Don't be cynical about love
Overall, I rate this drama very well. An interesting story, a good cast, excellent chemistry between leads, lovely backdrop , beautiful costumes and melodious music.The story centred around Ren RuYi and Ning YuanZhou. The former was the leader of the female spy ring of the Kingdom of An, who was presumed dead. The latter was the newly reinstated head of the LiuDaoTang, the spy ring of the rival Kingdom of Wu. King of Wu lost the battle with An and was captured and imprisoned. The King of An demanded ten thousand ingots of gold for his release, to be delivered by a Wu prince.
RuYi was running away from being captured in the Wu kingdom and ended up hiding in YuanZhou's residence. Meantime, Yuan Zhou was appointed the leader of the delegation to deliver the the gold to An. The only prince capable of travelling to An was also the Regent ruling in the absence of the King of Wu and it was deemed too risky to lose him. Motivated by promise of rewards, Princess YangYing volunteered to be the 'Prince'. YuanZhou engaged the help of RuYi to coach YangYing on the ways of the An. So this delegation of people oddly thrown together had to make their way to An and rescue the King. How many would return safely?
What I like about this drama?
1. In a way, this story was along the similar theme as A Journey to You, a theme of a spy in the opposite camp who developed a Stockholm Syndrome. But the story development was a lot more interesting and the ending was a lot more appealing.
2. It was sad and cheerful at the same time - it spiced up your senses. Who could say that the world is perfect. Therefore we don't expect a perfect ending for everyone. Many did not make it back to the Wu Kingdom. But we rejoice that some found their own happiness eventually.
3. The story was interesting and original in its own ways. No plagiarism observed. and certainly different from 'A Journey to You'.
4. There were a lot of philosophical lessons in the drama. Many were very in tuned into human nature. I laughed at the lessons in relationship that ShiSan was teaching Chu Yue - somewhat crappy, somewhat wise. And in episodes 18 and 19, the lead characters were trying to sort out where they would eventually settle after their missions. This is so apt even in contemporary real life settings.
5. Chemistry between YuanZhou and RuYi was very well played out by Liu ShiShi and Liu YuNing. When RuYi insisted that YuanZhou was her choice of the father of her child and insisted on only a physical relation with him with no emotional attachment, it was hilarious.
6. The second male lead, Allen Fang, YiLun also brightened the drama a lot, acting as ShiSan. He was hilarious. It is the first time i saw him as a comic character, a departure from his usual stony face character. Hope to see him as first lead in a good drama.
6. All the hygiene factors were there: a good cast, excellent chemistry between leads, lovely backdrop , beautiful costumes and melodious music. And the opening and ending theme songs were beautiful.
What I do not like about this drama?
1. While there were some wise lessons to be taught in the drama, there were also some crap. RuYi was name calling her disciple as the illegitimate child when this was his Achilles' heels. Yet he accepted her ill-treatment and fell in love with her - I could not understand this. So one was masochistic and the other sadistic? And they complement each other? No compliments and encouragements - no wonder there are so much anger in some people. Imagine being criticised, beaten and name called all the time.
2. The final pretence was not convincing. How did someone surrounded and stabbed by the enemy soldiers survive?
For the last two points, I took half a point away from a perfect 10 but highly recommend this drama.
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I cried as I clenched my fists, my nail marks, visible on my palms.
i don't think I cried so much for a drama other than One and Only.you want badass fl? you got it
you want, fell first and/or fell harder trope? you got it
you want friendship? you got it
you want war? you got it
you want court war? you got it
you want to see arson? you can see it
you want to see treason? you can see it
you want to see betrayal? you can see it
you want to witness death? you are very welcome to watch this drama
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This review may contain spoilers
I learned my lesson on judging a book by its cover...
Life can be so ironic sometimes. This was the first C-drama I had watched featuring Liu Yu Ning as the ML. Not only did I have no idea who he was at the time, I scoffed and gave up on the series around episodes 3-4 due to the extremely slow plot development. Since then, I ended up watching "The Story of Pearl Girl," "The Prisoner of Beauty," and "A Dream Within a Dream," finally getting a good, well-rounded appreciation of Liu Yu Ning not only as a great actor but as some real honest-to-goodness handsome, masculine eye candy. I finally decided to give "A Journey to Love" another chance, and it was one of the better decisions I've made this year.By the end of episode 5, I was giggling like a schoolgirl and heavily invested in the dynamic between the ML and FL. In fact, episode 5 is still my favorite episode in the series (the scene near the end of the episode where Ning Yuan Zhou was fighting for his life not to be molested by Ren Ru Yi was peak comedy). By episode 24, not only was I heavily invested in the series, I was absolutely cheering on Liu Shi Shi for giving one of the most empowering and balanced performances as an extremely capable FL-rather than the whiny, airheaded, helpless FL characters that plague C-dramas.
The entire cast did a great job, but I really appreciated He Lan Dou's performance as Princess Yang Ying and admired her versatility and complete immersion in her role in every episode. Also, unlike most C-dramas, she really did convincingly portray herself as a prince, and her journey from a crybaby to being extremely composed and calculating was truly believable and even refreshing.
It's funny how I almost missed out on a perfectly good series simply because I didn't give it a fair chance. In my defense though, who would have thought that things would get so much better nearly five episodes in? I guess I've been spoiled by the C-dramas that get things going right away (or at least by episode 2).
Anyway, don't make the same mistake I did-give it a fair chance and you won't be disappointed.
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A good watch but dwindles near the end
Satisfying character arcs, amazing acting, no complaints here except the ending, more on that later.Special shoutout to the princess for an absolutely fantastic character and writing. It's difficult to have an actress that portrays a shy, cowardly character that gains charisma but she DELIVERS.
More things I liked:
- I love Ren Xin's whole aesthetic. Very satisfying to watch her fight.
- I like how Ren Xin's...problematic obsession with having a child is part of her trauma that she works through because ngl watching her force herself on NYZ was not comfortable. Thank god that wasn't just part of her 'strong and fierce' personality..
- I like the whole cast of NYZ and friends. Very wholesome.
Complaints (mainly the ending)
- Li Tong Guang's Ren Xin obsession: honestly not a badly written setup, but I hated that it was an actual ROMANTIC obsession. I hate mentor-student couples by default, and watching LTG try to force someone he supposedly respects to marry him is just so many levels of gross. This isn't necessarily bad as an antagonist, but a 'reformed' LTG is written to have a father-son dynamic with NYZ, Ren Xin's actual lover, as if his attempt to force a marriage was just a child's tantrum that his new father figure has to talk him out of. Ew....
- NYZ's friends dropping like flies. Some of the deaths were valid for the plot and themes, I guess. But...come on, make all of their deaths count, please, because at some point it's just a nebulous blend of 'all is lost' created to drum up emotions for the finale.
- Ren Xin just stops doing much in the last quarter of the show after her huge arc with the scarlet guards is over. This is very valid, since she has been injured and re-injured without proper healing in between, but it becomes kind of meh with her taken out.
- Much of the show is built on both strategising and also existential conversations so I was disappointed to see them thinking screw it and just winging it after enough of their friends gets killed.
- Strange ending scene? what is going on there?
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This review may contain spoilers
Overall great drama but way too sad ending
I really liked the drama itself, especially the first 25 episodes but the ending was so sad that I wouldn't have courage to rewatch it. I normally don't watch dramas that have sad endings but when I started this drama it was so good that I couldn't help but watch until the end. For some character deaths I can understand why they die but for some it feels like they died just to make the ending more dramatic. If you think how the first 20-25 episodes no one died (even though the events was just as dangerous) the last 10 episodes feels like they don't belong to same drama. Of course it is just my thought. I would still recommend people to watch this drama as it is really a high quality drama with great overall story, acting and characters.Was this review helpful to you?
Worth the watch -a spoilerless review.
A drama the hits all the points neededCharacters that have clear motivations and are fleshed out, flaws and all...mostly
A secondary, third and fourth story lines that don't disappoint or end without conclusions.
An OTP that seem to genuinely like each other, realistically tease each other and talk out their difficulties
Music that doesn't overwhelm a scene
Female characters that talk to each other beyond what the men are doing and are shown as equal in capabilities across the whole.
What I didn't like
That ending though.....Come on C-drama land....make up your mind. Take my advice and don't watch the last 5-6 minutes of the ending episode. Just say "The End" and it's perfect.....lol
They should've made one standout character a eunuch, sterile or gave a reasonable explanation for his decisions towards the end because what they were working with, ain't it.....You can't change my mind on this
Dude that shows up with his little almond eyes......is typecasted af.... you know his character is up to no good because it's him and that's all this dude plays......boooooo!
A few first episodes that bog you down with the "intrigue" that isn't. I know where they were going with this and it was more of a good riddance in execution instead of appreciation of an up-front plot twist and red herring because they nearly bore you to death with it. I know many dropped the drama because of this...lol and had to be pulled back in when things start revving up.
The worst date night option before a big "we all might die battle" in the history of drama land....try to change my mind in the comments...lol. I don't see how they didn't get tired with all that pounding and pounding and heat and sweat...OMG!
A second lead without any growth and doesn't make sense.....It's like yea yeah we get it, now you get over it, we're all over it and then wait you're doing it again and getting everyone shot in the a$$....wth. It's like they wrote the character as a catalyst for some other stuff to happen gave him growth and forgot, then shoehorned the BS in when IT IS NOT NEEDED!
Legit not needed at all, they're at war, the setup is already there, bad luck and bad things happen. they could've left it at that. But no, no no, they got us saying "really brah?" and for what?.....and then it happens again. Make it make sense
I wanted the cat to be part of the group, where is the cat!
Some of us watched this like crack while it aired, you can read the drama's page on MDL to support that...lol
Rewatch value...hmmn, I don't know. You may find yourself going back to episodes for special moments or to remember what was mentioned while watching further episodes.....but that ending though....lol
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El final más amargo
Todo iba tan bien, a pesar de que el protagonista masculino no me gustará físicamente, el drama me estab encantando, amé a los personajes.Pero ¿por qué tenían que morir todos? No me gustó para nada ese final.
Los chinos se saben la de hacer finales felices
Aún no supero a Yuan Lou y a Su Yishan, esos chicos me dolerán para toda la vida.
Al menos dejaron vivo Li Tontuang.
Pero en fin la historia hubiera sido 10/10 pero esos últimos 5 capítulos hicieron que la serie callera por completo para mí.
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Mature, Secure Man & Feisty Woman
The beginning of this 40-episode drama was really cool and great. I was taken from the get-go. The premise seemed funny and engaging. The leads are an actor and an actress whom I admire :) The rating would have been a notch higher if not for the ending...What I Liked Very Much:
- Hands down, the ML and FL. Ever since I watched the ML as Hao Du, I have fallen much in love. He is suave and manly and tall and charming... I only watched the FL once in Bu Bu Jing Xin but she left a very positive impression on me. I was happy to watch this pretty actress who has the acting chops to match.
- I liked that the ML was a secure man who did not see the need or have to lord over his woman. I liked seeing a healthy man-woman relationship in which two mature people wanted to be together and chose to overcome their challenges to be together. Seeing them together was beautiful and heart-warming.
- I liked the growth of the characters like the growth of Princess Yang Ying from timid and weak to valiant and resourceful. I liked seeing the growth of the different main characters and how the characters matured/ developed as the plot unfolded.
- I liked the strong and fearless FL who unabashedly reminded others that she was the best assassin. She would kill and she could kill and that she was not to be messed with. The empress of Wu State turned out to be a strong woman too who was smart and resourceful.
- The plot, especially the first 20 episodes were fast-paced and riveting. Many things were happening and things were moving quite happily along IMO. There were several twists in the plot which were highly interesting and suspenseful.
What I Did Not Like Very Much:
- There were, of course, villains. I do not like villains even though I am fully aware of the need for both good and bad in a plot. The emperor of An State was insufferable. I was glad to see him gotten rid of.
- The ending was not a happy one and while I understand that both in reel life and in real life, happy endings are not guaranteed, I was desperately hoping for a more pleasant/ happier ending without that many deaths and suffering and bloodshed.
- The ending, to me, was also kind of ambiguous. Speaking for myself, I much prefer a more direct happy ending.
Nonetheless, this drama is an excellent one. The actresses and actors did a fantastic job. I recommend this drama! :)
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epic love story
oh my word. I can’t even begin to tell you how this show suckered me in and never let go. It was action packed from scene 1 and the rest is history.The cast, the supporting casts, the music, this was the total package. I haven’t seen a show this good in a loooong time. Liu Yuning killed it. I think he made the show this good, whoever said that he isn’t male lead material or not good looking enough needs to get their eyes checked. Trust me, I’m an eye doctor ;)
FL is such a badass, I loved her. She is so beautiful and so strong. You love their love story, you get to know all the side characters and will care about everyone.. and you pray for the HEA for them all …
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Heads & Shoulders Above the Rest
I want to start by commending the casting director because they did such a fantastic job.Aside from the script/plot (although I agree it went a little bit sideways in the last 7-10eps) which was stellar, the success of this drama IMO stems from the fact that the casting director and director of this drama didn’t cast any popular “idol” and casted people that can actually act. What a refreshing breath of fresh air to watch a drama where nobody is conscious of their angles and trying to look good instead of actually acting naturally. I totally understand that dramas want to make money and they have to cast this idols and most of them can’t act worth a dime, even to save their lives, but since they are popular and bring in lots of traffic and have fans that will defend their acting until their last breath and swear to the heavens that we haven’t seen acting like that in history and if you dare state otherwise, you are thereafter branded a hater/anti (unfortunately a lot of reviewers fear the attack from the aforementioned mobs so they keep quiet instead of rocking the boat and give their honest reviews if the drama sucked or the acting sucked), this directors are unfortunately forced to work with this very good looking but extremely average actors. Also not just acting, the combination of average and recycled scripts are also part of the problem.
I honestly commend all the actors for a job well done, I can’t emphasize enough what an awesome and stellar job you all did, it was incredible to watch, I want to specially shoutout to the most outstanding character to me and that is Princess Yang Ying aka Prince Li, the Justice this young actress did to her role will go down in CDramaLand history IMO, she was spectacular, she was believable at every point of her journey, I was left in awe everytime she graced the scene, I can’t wait to watch more from her in the future, honorable mention to Yu ShiShan, Alen Fang what a fabulous job you did with that character (and that shimmy was definitely on point)
I wish the last few episodes weren’t so rushed and was fleshed out as the beginning of the drama, it felt like they just threw everything at us all at once but all that being said, IMO this drama is still definitely heads and shoulders above the dramas of its kind this year as at the time of this airing.
My only complain would be in the romance department, if felt like they gave us a lot without actually giving us anything, the romance started out well but it kinda frizzled out as they became a couple officially and this was honestly the worst part of the drama
All in all, I highly recommend.
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the acting was exceptional
I miss liu Shi Shi in costume drama, so naturally I was anticipating this, but I forgot how good she was, the casting was perfect I liked the minute emotions passing through every characters eyes, it was perfection. when I started I was like they would all die anyway, who goes on a deadly mission and expect to come back alive, but few episode into the series I started to have hope, the characters grew on me, yuan lu, yu shisan, Qian, sun Lang, and A'ying. no character was unnecessary, every one played an important part in driving the plot, the story and the romance worked hand in hand neither bringing the other down, I also loved the consistency of the characters though the actress who played chu yue was a bit lacking at her representation of the character, her acting took a turn for the better eventually. you get to understand their thought process and even Jiu obsession for Ruyi though annoying was nonetheless heart wrenching and somewhat understandable for me. It's human nature to hope even while knowing the truth, I saw their demise, but I loves the characters so much I was in denial and when they started to leave one by one it made it all the more heartbreaking, even though I balled my eyes for the last few episodes, I'll still stand by the fact that this was a masterpiece, a journey, a romance and a relationship worth journeying with them for. the ending were chu your sees them all galloping through the meadow was soo beautiful and though she met a young boy named Ning Shisan who through his words we realized was Yangzhou and Ruyi's son and even had a little sister named Ren Lu who their father loves more, I realised that's the ending I wanted but it's all in chu yue's head, it's all in my head. War hurts, it's not necessarily about who won or lost it's about those who fought, about those who remain and try to move on, about those who are left and can't go on, even the emperor of wu learnt what sincerity and gratitude was. I totally recommend this, badass females, friendship, brotherhood, realistic death of main leads, and beautiful cinematography.Was this review helpful to you?
