Tissues. You need tissues.
After watching TPOB, I immediately jumped into this one and oh my god. Those were the exact words that came out of my mouth the moment I saw Ren Ru Yi. She has that aura and composure we love a badass woman.I loved how her character gradually opened up to Yuan Zhou. And seriously, what’s with Liu Yuning and his insane chemistry with all his female leads? He never misses.
But oh boy, the last five episodes shattered me into pieces. I had already seen the spoilers, but that didn’t stop me from bawling my eyes out at 2 a.m. I guess even fairytales can have tragic endings.
P.S. I’ve rewatched this so many times, and I still cry every single time.
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Great drama!
What a great c-drama. Actors were all so talented. FL, tough yet gentle and feminine. LYN’ s facial expressions were everything . He made me laugh and much more than any other drama, had me crying at least once in every episode. I was getting tired of the silliness of some of the other shows so, this came at the perfect time. Only negative for me was the ending. Did they all have to die??Was this review helpful to you?
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A must watch wuxia drama
This drama was definitely something. Usually I personally like to watch dramas in the background while doing something else but while watching this drama, I actually had to put everything else down.From the acting to the OST, everything just felt perfectly in place. The romance of the main lead is not something you would see a lot of, considering that their relationship was established pretty early on in the drama compared to other dramas who make the leads' love story the main plot for the entire show. Naturally, this early establishment of their relationship gave much more time for them to go through different adversities together and realising their mistakes, adding to the depth of their affections.
However, their love story was not the main thing that kept me watching this drama - it was brotherhood and the character development of all the main characters. While watching this drama, you'll gradually get attached to each and every one of the characters because of the liveliness and humour they bring to the plot.
The 9.5 rating is just more of a personal preference as I didn't like the ending as much (you will know what I mean once you get there) but otherwise the drama was well executed and engaging to watch.
Happy Binging!
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Fantastic Drama
This drama is worth watching. It contains brotherhood, heroism, patriotism and faithful love. The male and female lead acting was amazing and truly admirable! Supporting actors made this drama a spectacular one. The only flaws was the tragic and upsetting ending. I myself was disappointed seeing the tragic death of ML and FL, very disappointing to the viewers who spent so much time watching till the end of episodes 40. I hope next time Liu Yuning will not do any drama with tragic ending. it will affect the viewerships of his succeeding drama!Was this review helpful to you?
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Flawed but I loved it for the wonderful characters
I was spoiled going in so when I watched AJTL, I was looking to see if a) the character deaths were foreshadowed and b) they were narratively justified. The answers are a) yes and b) kinda sorta but it should've been done better.But let me start with what I loved: My favorite character by far was Yang Ying. Her journey from a fearful princess who was used as a sacrificial lamb by her family to a badass ruler who understood how to be a true leader was inspiring. Big standing ovation to He Lan Dou for her performance, it was the strongest in the drama IMO
I also adored our main ship. It was a truly egalitarian relationship built on shared values and mutual respect. They healed each other's wounds and always supported one another. It's rare to see this kind of love depicted in any country's series.
I got very attached to the Liudao crew. Each individual was well developed and I loved their friendships with each other and how they were mentored by the leads. Special shout-out to Alen Feng as Shisan and Chen You Wei as Yuan Lu, they both made me love their characters and broke my heart at the end of the story.
I also loved the critical lens the drama places on selfish rulers and the toll their actions take on ordinary people. Nearly every royal in this drama is the absolute f**** worst. The leads and Liudao crew serve the rulers but only in order to try and prevent a catastrophic war. It was compelling seeing the characters struggle between what they want and what they need to do for the greater good. Given the critique I was surprised the drama passed censorship but perhaps it was because a few of the royals do have redemption arcs and end up ruling justly.
Now we get to the ending, which a lot of people hated for a good reason. There's pretty heavy foreshadowing about people not making it out alive, especially Yuanzhou and Ruyi who become weaker and weaker as the story progresses. Also we're told up front that Yuan Lu has a terminal illness so no surprises with him. But I hated that our leads died protecting Li Tongguang, who is framed as the ruler who will finally bring peace with Yang Ying at his side. LTG simply doesn't mature enough to justify having that role in the story. He's a whining baby who only wants his shifu. Sorry to be gross but it was almost as if he wanted her to be his nursemaid.
Had they shown us his character develop the way they did with Yang Ying it would make sense that Yuanzhou and Ruyi died so he could survive. Instead their sacrifices felt like a waste. I was also really hoping Ruyi would have a baby so at least their child could survive but alas 😭
But even with the flawed ending this was an incredibly well written drama with complex characters that grapples with philosophical questions relevant to today, especially with this weekend's N0 K1ngs pr0tests. One of my fave watches in a year where I've watched some very good dramas.
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A delightful C Drama with some of the best written characters!
A Journey to Love hooked me from the start with its explosive first episodes, and while the pacing stumbled later, the characters more than made up for it.The Leads
Liu Shishi as Ren Ruyi is everything I want in a female lead: strong, compassionate, and smart enough to listen to advice without being stubborn. She’s fierce when she needs to be, kind when it matters, and she allows herself to fall in love without losing her edge.
Opposite her, Liu Yuning’s Ning Yuanzhou is the definition of a green flag. He’s respected because of what we see him do—both on the battlefield and in the way he treats people with kindness and respect. His relationship with Ruyi is steady, supportive, and so healthy it feels almost radical compared to your average drama romance.
The Love Story
Their romance is beautiful, but it does stagnate after a while. By episode 10 it’s clear they’re in love, yet the story keeps circling that point without pushing further. And while their kisses were sweet, they lacked passion—especially considering these are mature leads, not shy teenagers.
Brotherhood & Found Family
One of the highlights of the show is Yuanzhou’s brotherhood—Shisan, Sun Lang, Qian Zhao, and Yuan Lu. They feel like real siblings, complete with teasing, disagreements, and unwavering loyalty. The way they embraced Ruyi once they realized Yuanzhou liked her was heartwarming. Their group dynamic, combined with the travel adventure setup, created some of the best found-family vibes I’ve seen in a while.
Weak Spots
The middle episodes drag, slowing down the otherwise gripping story. The love triangle with Jiu also overstayed its welcome—Ruyi told him she didn’t reciprocate, yet he kept hovering.
And the biggest letdown for me? The deaths of Yuanzhou’s brothers. One by one, they’re all killed off, which felt unnecessary. Yes, Yuanzhou’s grief was heartbreaking, but wiping out the brotherhood robbed the show of its most endearing strength.
Final Take
Despite its flaws, A Journey to Love gave me characters I deeply cared about. Ruyi and Yuanzhou are one of my favorite drama couples in years, their bond built on trust and respect. The found-family theme is rich and memorable. If only the pacing had been tighter and the ending less cruel to the brotherhood, this would have been near-perfect.
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finally romance with selfsufficient female + good wuxia
__*A Journey to Love (2023)*__ - 9/10 -cdramaits same like with One and Only ... I loved it enough for 9,5/10 but cause quite tragic ending I wont dare to rewatch it in near future.
Ending is kinda very alike to One and Only at least by hurtful feelings it lefts.
This drama is 7 brave or 47 ronin type of drama with main characters having each quite interesting personality which can grow through whole drama. And mainly cause this quality you will feel sadness once you see die some of main characters.
By end of drama I had some kinda dejavu feeling and could predict what will happen in next eps. Still this drama took me on ride and I had to binge it.
Overall for me its one of best historical tragic wuxia cdramas. Of course its mainly caused thanks alot of romance storylines through whole drama.
plot is long and change through 40eps. I will just summarise beginning.
__*plot*__ - two kingdoms fought for gold mine and WU country emperor was taken hostage. [ML] as former master of WU spy agency was send to protect princess[pretending to be prince] to enemy AN country buy emperors freedom back. Possible successors of WU emperor dont want WU emperor to get back and they will make problems for whole delegation. Former AN country top assassin[FL] joins to delegation to help ML in exchange for his help with her revenge towards AN country.
__*genre*__- wuxia, romance, politics, tragedy
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I'm confused and conflicted.
This show is pretty good, until we hit the 30ep mark. ¾ of the show is pretty enjoyable despite the lack of ambiance and mature cinematography.It's got great action choreography that shows vision and creativity.
The humor is top notch with so many laughable moments.
The characters were all great and memorable, especially those in the Six Halls. Loved the leads as well, I was very much invested in their romance.
Once we locked in for the last 10 episodes, I had a hard time with the drop off.
I'm still not a fan of shock factor happenings towards the end of a show.
There is a subset of people who believe that the final scene gives you the answer, but I personally am not a believer.
I do want what y'all are huffing, but I can't afford it.
This show is good and I do recommend it, but if you're looking for a mostly happy story with no hardship then this is NOT for you.
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Brilliant
Be prepared to fall in love with the characters, their development is so well handled and their acting is on point.Everything in this drama screams acting masterclass.
I was pulled into their court intrigues and felt deeply about our main couple who are world weary and have been betrayed by the very people they admire and have vowed to protect. Their relationship is a constant, the chemistry and respect is palpable.
Ruyi is one of the strongest female leads I have encountered. She is proud, fierce incredibly talented, flirtatious, outrageous and admirable.
The young naive princess Yang Ying is a hidden gem. Her emergence from terrified female out of her depth in dangerous situations to a person who weighs up the difficulties and makes informed choices is terrific to watch.
There are lots of bad/evil characters but one of the most interesting is Ruyi's disciple, Li Tongguang, his plotting and machinations make him an easy fall guy target and his obsessive stalker behaviour to his shifu creates lots of opportunities for conflict.
If you come on this journey and hold out to climactic last episodes you will probably need several boxes of tissues. For me the most heart rending is watching the youngest member of the delegation. Yuan Lu, who despite his heart issues pushes his body to exhaustion delivering the vitally important message requesting military back up for his brother. Then there is Shisan, known as a playboy and lover of all things beautiful in life, making sure the woman he loves is safe before making a final heroic stand fending off the enemies.
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MUST WATCH DRAMA
MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE.. Every actor lived their character .. kudos to every actor and actress... Thank You for creating such "MASTERPIECE".... Direction, production, character elevation, pacing, romance, brotherhood and ending everything was perfect. "MUST WATCH".I must say, FL and ML did wonderful job but there are other actors who increased my interest in this drama i.e, Alan Fang( played Yu shisan), He Lan Dou (played princess yang ying), and Amy Chen she's as beautiful as always.
After watching this drama Liu shi shi(Female Lead) will be my all time female actress for dominating FL roles. Her each character elevations in the drama gave me goosebumps every time.
If you guys want to go through a wonderful journey and experience the best brotherhood, friendship, loyalty and sacrifice, then don't think and just watch it.
I promise that you won't skip a second of this.
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A good kind of different
I don’t think I’ve watched a drama which ending I am sad about but at the same time satisfied with. This is the kind of drama that would spend most of the time building relationships, giving the kind of interactions you are looking for and watching the characters grow, so much that towards the ending, you can’t imagine a different kind of ending than the one they did in the drama.There are so many parts to the drama which I absolutely love. Each character has their time to shine and you could see how the character grow and change throughout the drama. They may seem insignificant in the beginning but as you progress towards the end of the drama, you can’t help but see the importance of their roles. Just losing one of them would change the tone and it wouldn’t be the same. The plot is so connected to each other, it is actually a journey.
It’s not just about romance. It’s a mixture of sacrifice, comradeship and love for the country. This group of soldiers (or spies) were betrayed by their emperor but because of their trust towards their leader and the love they have for their country, they are willing to put aside that hatred and sacrifice their lives to protect the people in their country. They are a group of people who puts their country and their comradeship before anything else. As much as they dream of living a peaceful life, they knew nothing else but the chaos they lived in. It’s their calling and they recognised it. The final few episodes were the most painful parts but I do think each of this character had lived the kind of lives that fit their characters and also died for the most noble reasons. I guess they all have found their peace in the end. In a way, it’s probably the only way they could find peace in the kind of environment the country was in. Their sacrifices made a huge difference to winning the battle but there would be more battles to come and they could never truly retire even if they had survived.
This is truly one of a kind and I really think the way the drama had progressed was very meaningful and fitting. Definitely worth watching.
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A beautiful drama
This drama is almost everything i want to see in this shows, the whole actors have a big chemistry, the FL is a strong badass woman, very great ML and support roles are all very good. I liked the story a lot, fighting scenes are well done and it's very rare to see a group of actors like them. So many emotions!The only thing i'havent liked its the 2 last episodes, they are not necessary but it's always like that with Cdrama.
This drama is a must have to watch
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