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Awesome need a Season 2
24 episodes were so few..the ending though I'm like is there a season 2, so many questions????. It ended with another start, I am hoping there is season 2 to tie off the loose ends. Like what happens to FL and ML, his brother's romance, who is the person behind the screen and why is the twin terrified? Did the FL die, is the one behind the screen Wufeng, she has the other half of the martial arts skill what will happen to the ML, and will they become a power couple? I honestly dislike open-ended endings as much as separated by death endings. We need a season 2 with a happy ending at least give us that and tie the loose ends they are wayyyyy tooo loose.Definitely recommend its a yes i give it 9/10 because of the ending, it's beautiful people in entanglements and strong females.
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Another amazing character was GSJ. He was so charismatic in this role. I was not very big fan of the second couple, because I cant handle that kind of toxic relationship but they acted out that part well. SQ potrayed assassin very well, her smiles is so calculative and her eyes are expressive.
The flaw was the ending!!! That was so unsatisfactory and i cried for elder Gong Brothers! Also keep tissues ready for the series because it will wrench your heart out!!
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A Must Watch
"I won. I made a bet with God. I bet that you like me,I bet that you would give up your choice to live, to me."Such strong female characters 😎😎🔥
Shangguan Qian-"Weishan ,Please show me mercy."
Yun Weishan-"Do we have it?"
From beginning to the end (except the last few mins),It was fabulous. The cinematography was beautiful 😍 ❤️. Fighting sequences were like swords dipped in ink ,used as brush to write a poetry for Moon burning with the sun's energy. Be it scenes from Wufeng training girls drenched in muddy water and blood,to Yun Weishan fighting and winning against Jin Fan (who isn't even using his 30% energy) ,to Gong Ziyu fighting for his beloved with his messy, inexperienced and low skills, to Gong Shangjue who is taking revenge for his little brother's death, to The intense fight of Wufeng V/s the Gong Family.
The characters were soooooo amazing-
Yun Weishan - She has my heart. A low level Chi who has many secrets and is flawless in fighting. Soft hearted but so strong that makes her character perfect. Esther Yu finally performing a mature character was such cherry on the top for me , after watching her being serious for few minutes in dramas like Lovegame in the Eastern Fantasy and Love between fairy and devil, I really wanted her to watch in mature roles.My favourite character from this drama. Her struggles, her sister's story is much more tragic and the end. Freedom is extravagant for me. A woman who only dreamt of freedom,finds herself more entangled in the politics and betrayal of this Martial Arts World.
Gong Ziyu - messy boy who isn't interested in power ,travels towards maintaining, accepting and respecting the responsibility. The growth of Gong Ziyu's character- from a boy to a Man, a person who was appointed as the Sword Wielder overnight,who learns to love,to respect legacy and to understand responsibility ,his journey from Ziyu to The Sword Wielder captures one's heart. The scene where Gong Ziyu gives a cloud(thousand years ice slab) to Yun Weishan,while expressing that - There is a lock in my heart and only you have the key, and Yun asking him to believe her this once - Mann it was beautiful, emotional and tear worthy.
Gong Shangjue - The cruel, intense, intelligent character that hides his fears and sadness . Never thinks about himself but throughout the drama , the essence of his character is revealed bit by bit which makes him an interesting person to be curious about.
Shangguan Qian- She loved only one person - herself. She was much manipulate who also had a soft spot but it never became the obstacles in her mission. At one point of time ,everyone in the Gong Residence was plotting against her and still she manages to fool them.
Gong Zishang - Her character was beautifully written - a selfless woman ,in love with Jim Fan while hiding her true emotions,scars and fears behind the veil of foolish acts. The scenes where she buys the whole lantern cart , desperately waiting for Jin Fan and him secretly admiring her sincerity and love- is just soooooo good like it melts your heart.
Even the other minor characters hold such a strong presence on the story that all you can do is admire the writing and the direction of this drama.
The three trials were interesting, engaging and the way they were unfolded, the way they tests the candidates with calm mentors - Such fun. Like everything is so intense that you don't want to miss a second of this drama.
Comedy ,thriller,action,romance ,mystery, - everything.
A drama packed with 10 on 10 moments , characters,plot, chemistries ,scenes, fighting sequences, meaningful and mysterious flashback stories.
The only sad thing it has is ---The ENDING?????????????? And to know the fact that there will be no second season of it😩
A MUST WATCH💝
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This drama requires the audience to fully focus and analyze the plot closely
This drama is definitely a must-watch. It is a dark-themed wuxia drama filled with mystery, and all of the cast are incredibly pretty and handsome. The cinematography is beautifully filmed, and the fighting choreography is amazing. The story follows two assassins sent by the Wufeng organization to infiltrate the Gong family by entering as brides during the marriage selection. They are each assigned their own missions by Wufeng, and whether they are chosen as brides or not depends on their abilities.This story is especially interesting because of the female lead. At first, the female lead seems quiet, fragile, and even a little naive, but as the story progresses it becomes clear that her character is far more complex than it appears. After finishing the show, I realized that we as the audience were also manipulated by the image she presents. The ending is a cliffhanger, which leaves even more room to analyze and question the female lead’s true identity but the answer remains unknown . if you can’t handle the feeling of incomplete feelings just skip the last 5 minutes.
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This is 24 episodes of chess. The Gong Family stands on business; love is just another piece
Do not let the poster fool you. Do not let the title fool you either. "My Journey to You" suggests a love story. The dreamy promotional images suggest a romance. Both are lies, and a disservice to one of the most sophisticated political thrillers wuxia has produced in recent years. This is 24 Episodes of Chess.I will be honest. I came in with receipts ready to justify dropping this at episode two. The male lead archetype was everything I actively dislike: sweet, passive, smitten from frame one without earning it. My ideal male lead is dangerous to the world but completely safe for the woman he loves. The cohabitation of genuine power and deliberate tenderness. Gong Ziyu, at first glance, was simply tender with nothing underneath to create the contrast. A cat when I wanted a dragon.
Gong Shangjue, on the other hand, was immediately compelling. Cold, precise, operating entirely in service of family survival, playing chess while everyone else played checkers. I understood him immediately and completely.
The Gong family is extraordinary. Four lineages on the front hill, three guardian families sealed on the back hill, bound by century-old oaths to contain a force capable of destroying the world. Every rule, every trial, every protocol exists for a reason. This is not a family. It is a living constitution.
Wufeng understood you cannot breach such a fortress by force. So they sent two women as brides instead of warriors, embedding them inside the institution during a succession crisis, hoping love would accomplish what weapons could not.
They catastrophically underestimated Gong Ziyu.
The man everyone dismissed as the weakest link was running the longest con in the room. He let everyone underestimate him. Shangjue. The elders. Wufeng. And then used that underestimation as the weapon itself. When I realized he had outsmarted Wufeng entirely, beating them at their own infiltration game while simultaneously exposing the rot within his own family, my jaw was on the floor.
But Gong Shangjue remains the soul of this drama. The revelation that he had been quietly nurturing Ziyu's potential all along, applying precisely calibrated pressure to extract a Sword Wielder from what looked like a hopeless candidate, reframes every harsh word and every courtroom takedown. It was never contempt. It was investment. His admission, "I have always underestimated you," is one of the most earned moments of brotherhood .
And after all that institutional gravity, all that chess, all that blood and betrayal and brotherhood tested to its absolute limits, watching Shangjue, Yuanzhi, Zishang and Ziyu just... banter, was the most earned exhale of the entire drama. Genuinely funny. Genuinely warm. These four deserved it.
Market this as the political thriller it actually is. The romance framing was a disservice to a drama that deserved a far sharper audience from episode one.
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Dark and poignant masterpiece
Perhaps I went into this with little to no expectation but it outperformed itself. I was hooked in by the cast but stayed for the plot. The cinematography of the drama felt like I was watching a movie. As I watched on, the layers start to unpeel and before I knew it I was sucked into the political discord between Wufeng and the Gong family.I’m not a fan of political dramas… and MJTY IS politically driven but the romance between our 4 leads make the watch so much more enjoyable. I disagree with some reviews saying it’s not about the romance cos it is a huge driving force in the plot imo (if you view it plainly without overthinking).
That aside, the side characters aren’t redundant and I cared about their stories. Everyone had their own role to play and the execution was perfect - I felt for all the characters. It’s probably one of the rare dramas where the spotlight isn’t entirely on the main characters (I.e. YWS and GZY), feels like everyone got a fair share of screen time.
The pace is just right, can’t decide if I want it to be longer cos I just really like the script?! I think it deserves so even more recognition. This ranks top 3 on my list for 2023, this is also probably the only drama review I’ve written this year. Ps. I highly recommend skipping the last 5-6 mins
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The first ML definitely gets better
I'm in love with this drama and everyone has praised them as the actual should. The only problem I have is the comparisons between the first and second leads. I've heard so many people say they don't like the first leads, that they have less chemistry and I'm honestly surprised if we watched the same thing or if they even watched till the end.1. People should put away Zhang linghe's character in story of kunning palace to be able to enjoy his character here.
2. People always want good character development until it's actually good. This was not one of the series where the frivolous man suddenly turned to be the leader of some underground information collecting system. No, Gong Zi Yu works hard for his position and undergoes such development till I rooted for him every step of the way. But in everything he was still kind hearted, loving and sincere towards everyone. He was so clever too and was definitely not stupid at all no matter what other people said. Everytime he made his arguments I was so stunned.. it's just that the author made it so that the opposing side had an answer for each of his arguments. If it were another drama , he would have been praised.
3. People saying the chemistry of the second leads were better? Honestly I didn't feel it at all..the chemistry of the first leads did it for me. The sincerity, love and sacrifices both made for each other.Gong Zi Yu was literally protecting Yun Weishan with his life. They truly loved each other and gave me butterflies when on screen.
4. As for the second leads, the only smudge of chemistry I felt was from Shang jue. Maybe it was became Qian was lying and scheming so much I was literally detached from her. I couldn't feel sincerity or love from her at all... Even her tears never moved me because I felt it was all fake. Out of all characters, no matter what other people say, she's the one who the audience knows nothing about because even if she gives her story everyone is still skeptical because she lies SO MUCH. She lies until we don't even believe what she tells Shang jue in their last scene.
4. Finally, I'd like to say that I definitely need a season 2 of this please. They need to be happy and the mysteries have not yet been solved.
All in all, best cdrama I've watched in 2024
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Mysteries, puzzles, slow-burn romance, exhilarating action
It's a beautiful drama . The actors all have eye candy faces. Watching this drama feels more like watching a high budget hollywood fantasy movie (even though there aren't that many fantastical elements in this one).
This is one of the few Chinese dramas that I watched where some of the characters make impressive entry scenes at crucial moments to protect the ones they love.
This is also one of the few dramas where I see the way the main female lead shields the main male lead (from hair-breadth-danger )being presented in a glamorous, epic manner. All the shots are excellent because the director has got the timing right while taking shots of all crucial moments.
All the actors and actresses, especially the main male lead looks breathtakingly, ethereally elegant, mesmerising. In the very first shot of the main male lead itself, he looks so handsome that I was at a loss for words. The makeup artists and visual effects editing teams etc must have put in a lot of efforts to make everyone even the most ordinary -looking supporting character look remarkably special. 😍 In this drama, all main characters look like walking gods and goddesses. I had to check again to ensure that this is a wuxia, not a xianxia. 😅
Now, coming back to the main topic, plot revolves around one big prominent sect , 'the Gongs' who calls the shots in everything concerning the martial world, and an equally powerful rival sect, 'the Wufeng' who mainly specialize in factory-production of spies. The spies are all trained and sent with missions to harm the powerful Gongs in one way or the other. The story begins that way...
I was just dissatisfied with three things:
1) the death of female lead's raven: this wasn't necessary. They should've made him live --- not killed that character.
I especially loved the dialogue, "You are the Yun Weishan in my heart! "
Omg that monologue is it's so deep!
2) the death of lady Wuji: really not necessary. They could at least written a more merciful death scene for her(if the director wants a death scene for her that much!)
3) the ending: everything in episode 24 was being perfectly wrapped up. They even showed how the villianous elder brother ended up.
They could've just wrapped up the ending nicely instead of producing a fresh mystery to solve.
Thankfully, Yun Weishan told Gong Ziyu that she has a twin before leaving... So that's some relief. Even if as some viewers say, if it's her twin who takes her place, he'll find out if something is amiss( considering the point that he's observant & smart).
Still, in my opinion, the whole story could've been wrapped up, sealed and ended in this season 1 itself.
Why kill viewers like me with anticipation?
But if I overlook the three points I specified above, everything about this drama is good & unique.
This drama really stands out as a good drama but with an extremely unsatisfactory ending.
There are also too many rules and clan obsession in the story which won't even allow the main lead to venture out --- travel in the outside world.
Too many rigid rules restrain the lead as well main supporting characters.
Would like to watch a season 2 or watch special episodes were the main leads as well as main supporting characters figure out solutions to bend the rigid rules, especially to evade the main problem that prevents the main male lead from travelling to the outside world.
Because it's really impractical if the main lead shuts himself in like that just because the other half of the blueprint in tattoed onto his back.
The progression of the plot including the ending is written out in such a way that it'll be hard for the main male lead as sword weilder to sustain the tradition of never venturing into the outside world forever.
Watched the trailers before watching this drama. From the trailer, understood that this is a wuxia story, so didn't expect much romance.
Still, it'd would have been nice if they could've given more depth for the love felt by both main female leads in the story... The second female lead (shangguan Qian) was really a disappointment in that aspect.
The biggest surprise could be as an audience member, you might feel resentful towards one of the second main male leads, Gong Shang Jue.
But that very character will turn out to be someone you admire the most in the end because he turns out to be almost as gentle and kind as the main male lead, Ziyu. Gong Shang Jue just happens to be a severe, strict character, but who in the end, is like a lighthouse for the some of the important characters in the story, especially the main male lead. He also turns out to unexpectedly have a gentle, kind side which he doesn't like revealing to the world.
And of course, when it comes to the main male lead, Gong Ziyu is the best among all characters in this drama(and this is biased opinion from my side).
He just knows how to handle everything well. He is so well balanced in personality, character.
I was just disappointed with the way he handled the execution news of his foster mom. His inaction there really knocked my breath away, but that aside, the male lead is perfect in every other aspect.
This drama could've have ended with a satisfactory happy ending. Bur at the last moment, the director had to throw the spanner in the works.
Hope there will be special episodes or a season 2 to wrap up the mysterious ending nicely.
By the time you finish watching this drama, you'll be left in suspense... "So, what happened in the end? "
Why does the male lead have that flabbergasted expression? 😅
The osts of this drama are real good, especially one of the theme songs, "Bestow dreams". The duet version of that song is even more beautiful.
This is one of the few Chinese dramas where I like some of the osts sung by male singers because all of them sound good.
All in all, each episode of the drama is engaging, filled with mysteries to solve, and the last episode ending with a big suspense (Which is the only flaw of this drama in my pov) .
Regarding the romance and love aspects, the main male lead seem to be the only one fighting for love as a one man army, but by second last episode, the female lead seems to be warming up to the male lead with almost the same intensity...
This makes the ending even more dissatisfactory to watch because you could get concerned about the ending oc the main couple's love story...
When it comes to cinematography, this is one of the best dramas. This drama has beautiful, elegant, powerful action scenes. Watch out for all intense action scenes in episode 22! It's one of the best episodes of this drama with all the important characters coming together in one episode itself to participate in fierce battles.
What you'll love most about this drama is the huge amount of suspense, mysteries. Every episode leaves you wondering about something (and that includes the ending too). 😄
By the time you reach the second last episode, you'll end up admiring the smartness of the main male lead and the big, brotherly heart of the second main male lead.
This is also one of the few Chinese dramas where you will enjoy watching the romance of a 'guard' character which is absolutely unique, comical at the same time romantic and full of tenderness.
To sum up, this drama can be summed up in four words: action, mystery, suspense, romance.
Even when the drama ends, viewers will be left with some half answered questions in their heads regarding the female lead's identity, how she acquired her skills etc.
Must give this drama a try if you don't mind watching an unfinished ending.
This drama definitely makes you think as you watch each episode...
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Stunning! Like a movie. DO NOT MISS it.
Incredible scenery, cinematography, music, acting, plot. It was all fabulous, like a high-budget movie. The acting was sensitive and realistic. The story was dark and heart-wrenching. It had the appropriate number of twists and minimal distracting subplots. You could truley feel the fear, desperation, hate, and hope lived by these characters. So moving! There was a new beautiful actor who blew my socks off. I hope fake social media gossip doesn't ruin his very promising career. This production raises the bar for other dramas. It should have much higher ratings.Was this review helpful to you?
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Grateful that supporting characters exists
It wasn't bad actually, it's just that when you don't like the main characters, you can't really enjoy a drama.- ML : pretty much dislike him, because he didn't fit with the setting. Everyone was smart, cunning, manipulative and we have the ML who is not matching with the vibe with his naive and selfless character. I just hated the way he was behaving the FL trusting her at 100%, he didn't get angry about her manipulating him even once ? And the other thing I LOATHED about him is that as the head of the clan he should've made it his priority but instead he preferred romancing with the enemy. At some point, I didn't even know why he wanted to pass the 3 trials honestly.
At the end he redeemed himself a little and I feel like he had a development in his character but for me it wasn't enough to erased my bad feeling about him;
- FL : not much to say about her, she felt blank like a side character and not a MC, I'm just indifferent to her, I didn't like her nor did I disliked her. Her fighting scenes were great though.
(Unpopular opinion but I prefer Yu Shuxin with a more bubbly character & with her high pitch voice than this type of character)
- SFL & SML : SHOW STEALER, I swear they were the only one reason I finished this drama. The chemistry, their tension, the bath scene ? I was just so OBSESSED with them, I want to see this couple as main character in an other drama.
Shangguan Qian was amazing but I feel like we didn't see her fight enough, would've loved a lengthier fight scene with Shangjue.
Shangjue was everything the Gong clan needed as a leader but I guess he wasn't that ambitious, I was a little disappointed but it was coherent with his personality.
Conclusion : it wasn't my tea but if we have a S2 I'll watch it since I'm curious about a lot of things (and I want to see the baby 🥹)
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Unpredictable in Every Sense
I watched this drama while it was airing and all through out the comment section was filled with theories and ideas of how the drama would unfold. Luckily none of us were right as this drama is pretty hard to predict if you’re watching it with no prior knowledge. The characters truly felt like real intricate people with real feelings and real emotions. Each cast member played their role to the best of their ability and you can definitely tell in the quality of the drama. Furthermore it was honestly a success as a whole as the cinematography was absolutely stunning, the script was flawless, the soundtrack has made its way into my everyday listening music playlist, basically I can go on and on praising it, but I think everyone should give it a try. When I began watching it I didn’t think I would really like it since I’m not a fan usually of dark dramas, but this drama aced it and truly left me with a hunger for more like it. As for the ending I think each person has their own opinion about it, as for me I hope to see our questions answered in a second season and hopefully we will see the same quality of work and meet our cast members one more time as they bring these characters to life. Now after reading my rant you should go watch it. I have a guess you probably won’t regret it!Was this review helpful to you?
A cinematic masterpiece with only one flaw
My Journey to You (MJTY) is dark story yet is able to find use of comedic relief to balance out its harder themes. Honourable mention to the very well choreographed fight scenes because they are simply *chefs kiss*. So much detail was put into this drama, and the production level was like watching a movie and not a long drama. If you like a happy ending, I would suggest stopping at 42:30 of the last episode and not finish the last few minutes.Story:
The story is very well paced and thought out, and I'm constantly trying to figure out who is a Wufeng spy and who isn't. I really enjoy dramas where I feel like the story can outsmart me as a viewer, and MJTY was no exception. Every time someone was assassinated, the story was able to make the viewers guess and give them time to try to figure it out, but always added a good amount of twists to the murderers. I really enjoyed the stories of all the side characters, and the support cast played each character so well. The only flaw I found was that they ended the drama on an open note, possibly to encourage season 2 but seeing how big the cast is and the popularity of Esther and Linghe rising it's gonna be virtually impossible to see another season for years to come.
Acting:
The entire cast for this drama was phenomenal. Can we talk about how all the actors learned their martial arts scenes?! The fight scenes were so beautifully executed and I could see there was a minimal use of stunt doubles because the director is so adamant about creating masterpieces. Even down to Young Master Xue who is literally a kid, executed their characters perfectly. The chemistry of the second couple, Shangguan Qian and Gong Shangjue was insane; I could literally feel sparks fly off the screen. Although I felt like the main couple lacked chemistry together, both Esther and Zhang Linghe did a great job at playing their characters. The main comedic relief of the entire drama, Gong Zishang, was SO funny I literally could not stop laughing every time she was on screen.
Music:
I love my period dramas, and although this drama outshone in everything else, I did feel like the music was a bit lackluster. The music did not give me goosebumps or do much to enhance the scenes like in other dramas I've watched. However the background music score for the fight scenes did a good job at creating the atmosphere. I'm just disappointed there isn't any good OST songs for me to listen to after I finish watching.
Rewatch:
I will 100% be rewatching this because I want to pick up all the details again. The fight scenes were insanely good and I need to see it again.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this drama, and I think its becoming one of my favourites of 2023 after Hidden Love. I really loved Love Between Fairy and Devil last year and started this thinking it would be a great twist cuz now Esther is with the second lead, but I totally fell in love with the entire cast and was rooting for the entire Gong family to win. I also felt like the action scenes were so well done as if it came out of an animation, so it must have taken the actors so much effort to do those scenes and I'm so proud of all of them. I will definitely be following everyone's projects from now on!
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