Overdo

Overdone

Overdo was one of my most anticipated dramas of the year. With Zhang Ling He and Wang Chu Ran leading the cast, I walked in with expectations through the roof. In hindsight, that might have been my first mistake. The irony is almost poetic because, much like its title, everything about this drama feels overdone. It constantly tries to raise the stakes, only to end up feeling exaggerated instead of impactful.

Set against the fading days of Republican-era Shanghai, the story follows Murong Qing Yi, a doctor whose life has been shaped by a cruel mistake made at birth. A chance exchange of letters leads him to Ren Su Su, an orphan carrying wounds just as deep as his own. Their relationship begins with quiet sincerity before fate tears them apart, leaving Qing Yi imprisoned under the belief that Su Su betrayed him while Su Su disappears without a trace. Three years later, she returns under a new identity, now engaged to his brother. Their reunion is fueled by resentment, misunderstandings, and buried truths, all unfolding as the nation inches toward war. On paper, it sounds like an emotional roller coaster filled with second chances, mistaken identities, and undying love. In execution, however, it often mistakes melodrama for emotional depth.

The problems start almost immediately with the cinematography and directing. The color grading, lighting, soft focus, and camera treatments constantly reminded me of a vertical drama. I have nothing against vertical dramas. I actually enjoy them. The issue is that I expected a high-budget long-form production, only to feel like I was watching one dressed up with a bigger cast and longer runtime. The directing only amplifies that impression. Many scenes feel unnecessarily dramatic, to the point where they become unintentionally funny.

The clearest example is the scene where Qing Yi jumps into the water to save Su Su. Instead of diving naturally, he launches himself flat into the water with his hands stretched forward, looking less like someone rescuing another person and more like someone accidentally participating in a belly flop competition. It completely took me out of the moment. If Zhang Ling He was unable to perform a proper dive, there were plenty of alternatives. He could have simply run into the water or jumped normally. Sometimes the simplest solution is the smartest one. Instead, the final result became comedy when it should have been life or death.

The use of AI in certain scenes also does not help. AI itself is not necessarily a deal breaker if it blends naturally into the production. Unfortunately, scenes like the airplane sequence look noticeably artificial, making it difficult to stay immersed. There are many moments throughout the drama where everything feels just a little too exaggerated, reinforcing that same vertical drama energy.

That said, not everything misses the mark. There are genuinely beautiful scenes scattered throughout the series, and several supporting actors deliver surprisingly strong performances. Li Bo Ze, Hai Tang Qing, and several other major supporting characters leave a positive impression. The drama also deserves credit for attempting to create morally layered characters. Li Rong Zhang, for example, is presented as both an abusive father and a patriot willing to sacrifice himself for the nation. That contradiction could have been fascinating, but the writing never explores it deeply enough. Rather than feeling like a complicated human being, he simply came across as confusing. Complexity only works when the audience is given enough time to understand it.

As for Zhang Ling He and Wang Chu Ran, they are easily among the drama's biggest strengths. Both actors maximize every opportunity they're given and deliver convincing performances despite the material. Unfortunately, they become victims of weak directing and increasingly outrageous plot twists. Qing Yi and Su Su are constantly trapped between personal desires and external responsibilities, which could have been compelling. Instead, their relationship becomes an endless cycle of misunderstandings, separation, reconciliation, love, hatred, and then back to misunderstanding again. I normally enjoy these kinds of tropes, but there is a difference between using them as seasoning and making them the entire meal. By the end, their relationship feels emotionally exhausting rather than heartbreaking.

One thing I cannot complain about, though, is the styling. The costumes, hairstyles, and makeup absolutely delivered. Everyone looked stunning, and the visual presentation of the cast deserved praise even when the script did not.

Ironically, the first half of the drama gave me hope. The early mysteries surrounding Su Su and Qing Yi immediately pulled me in. I especially found Su Su's past involving the women and the Huo family intriguing. The drama explores dark subjects including human trafficking, prostitution, and violence, and despite Chinese censorship, it presents these themes with surprising rawness. Some scenes are genuinely disturbing in ways that effectively capture the brutality of that world. Qing Yi's own mysterious past also kept me invested.

Unfortunately, once these mysteries are resolved around the middle of the series, the drama changes gears completely. Instead of building naturally upon what had already been established, it veers into increasingly dramatic territory filled with makjang-style twists and a storyline involving biochemical virus terrorism. It feels as though the writers kept asking, "How can we make this even bigger?" without asking whether it actually made the story better. Sometimes less really is more.

The ending perfectly reflects this issue. I actually prefer tragic endings for stories like this, but tragedy only works when it feels earned. Here, it often feels manufactured for the sake of making the audience cry. Certain sacrifices and plot developments seem unnecessary, and everything becomes so chaotic. Someone is gravely ill, then suddenly recovers. A terrorist incident appears out of nowhere. An entire village ends up paying the price. I found myself trying to justify the characters' decisions by assuming they simply had no better options under such desperate circumstances, but the story never fully convinces me that this was truly the only path available.

Overall, Overdo became an emotional graph that never quite stabilized. I started disappointed, became genuinely invested once the mysteries unfolded, then found myself disappointed all over again as the story spiraled into increasingly excessive territory. Thankfully, the short episode runtime made it easy enough to finish.

This is one of those dramas that I cannot confidently recommend, even if there are parts I appreciated. Whether you enjoy it will depend heavily on your tolerance for exaggerated melodrama, constant emotional whiplash, and makjang storytelling. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you may find much more to love here than I did. As for me, Overdo lived up to its title a little too well.

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Fei Wo Si Cun’s Worst Drama Adaptation to Date

Everything about this from the story to the music and the way it’s filmed/edited is over the top and not in beautiful melo way like Siege in Fog or other Republican dramas are, but in a low budget vertical short drama way that took all the seriousness out of serious scenes. I can’t believe this came from the same writer behind iconic angst dramas like Goodbye My Princess, Siege in Fog and Too Late to Say I Love You. The big suit executives at Tencent and Iqiyi clearly did not even bother hiring a good writer or really putting any effort into this cause they knew fans of the Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan will eat it up anyway.

The Background Music:
Somebody turn this off, there’s background music blaring at all times and overshadowing the dialogue. I seriously hate the “this is where you have to be sad” “this is where you laugh cause there’s funny music” sound effect thing dramas do and this was so excessive with it. Again in vertical short dramas where it’s more aesthetic vibes than substance, maybe the blaring is okay but this is a high budget full length drama, there’s no excuse.

Acting:

It’s your standard cdrama acting but somehow worse, I think both of them are no Oscar winning actors but ZLH and WCR has been better in other works I’ve seen them in so idk what happened here. Chemistry too I felt nothing.

Rewatch Value:

There’s nothing valuable about this. Just watch something else

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The Most Intense Drama I Have Ever Seen; Regardless of Country.

1) Do not believe the ratings. 2) never go into any series that you watch with any expectations even if you’re looking forward to it just watch it as you would watch anything that way if the show does not meet what you thought it would you won’t be disappointed and if it exceeds, then you will be happy. This is the advice that I can give in my 40+ years living on this planet. 2.5) Oh and never compare shows especially from different genres because it doesn’t make sense since they’re not in competition due to that fact even if actors are the same.

I will start right off the bat; first of all I will reiterate something that many people have said a zillion times before, this is a fan site, nothing real. Only mainland data matters. This show is doing very well on the TV channel that it's currently being broadcast on so if you're interested in it, it's a very hard show but give it a chance, give it more than three episodes. It is definitely worth it. Given what ZLH said on one of the live streams, I was expecting an OE or an HE; we got an OE/HE you have to keep your mind open and understand all the variables going on. Again, this will not be long review due to my health.

Pros: I know that supposedly this was hyped to be a romance thing, but I never paid attention to that because I saw the trailer and it was love-hate and it had the two actors that I wanted to see in a different genre so that was the appeal this show had for me. I wanted to watch the show for ZLH and XZX because this was a new type of genre for both, even though it was a republican era thing for them both because this was a love-hate and lots of villains and you really don't know who's a villain, until the very end turned out that who one thought was a villain halfway through really was not. He wasn't a good guy, but he wasn't the main horrible villain. The real villains were the M mother and sister we never met the father. He died before the show aired; L father, who we thought was one of the main villains was not, but he was a horrible father to QY. The bait and switches were awesome and even the actors that played villainous roles you hated so much you knew they were good. But the fact that both actors put so much into their parts was phenomenon to watch. The reason it's an OE is because QY played by ZLH who's the ML does not die at the end and you know this because he's talking and breathing and he's seeing all his dead loved ones that sacrifice themselves or were killed and his older brother says to him something along the lines of “listen, you brat, hurry up and you get up you have to go back to your wife and your son.” This is not verbatim so we know that he was alive. After that, it just goes off into a dream sequence where it's a happy ending. Also, at the end of the dream sequence, the train that both of the leads were on was headed towards their son, so that was another something that you had to catch if you were paying attention. The name on the train from the city they were to where their son was aka Nanchang to Beichang.

This was spoken by both leads in various interviews that they filmed this other type of ending. What I do wish is that they had shown us him, getting transported into an ambulance and taken to the hospital and at least reunited with her that would've been closer to a happy ending, but what we got was actually not bad at all. I can't stress enough, just how amazing all the actors were from the veterans to the ones with little experience to even the child actor. Also, very proud of XZX for the performance he delivered for an extroverted actor to be placed in an introverted cast, which they all talked about and laughed about a lot on live streams and in interviews, and to have such a serious character where he usually plays someone goofier or nerdy, it really expanded his portfolio and ZLH's as well. You know that both of these actors can play much more versatile roles, which is amazing. I'm not going into the story because I want YOU to watch it. This is a very deep show. This is not a lighthearted show. There's constant anger there's love and hate there's misunderstandings, it's not a lovey-dovey romance so if that's what you're looking for than this show isn't for you. But if you're looking for something with meat and potatoes where you put your heart and soul into it and the fact that I'm actually motivated to write a review (with my bad health now), then give it the try it deserves.

As usual costumes, OST, sets, all of that was great for the genre and I've watched Republican era shows many times. Another thing I will mention about the OST is that every single song was sung by a veteran actor or a veteran singer in any case it was an older person who has been in the industry for 30 at least years and that really brought the show more substance. Na Ying’s outro and the sheer power of her vocals was beyond!

Cons: The reason it got an 8.5 as opposed to anything higher was because primarily of production and how the story was written, the plot just seemed to go on a hamster wheel and the FL only at the end really evolved or was evolved. The ML was constantly evolving, and even though he loved her and there were points where he hated her after the six year break he was finally able to tell her points were like why do you keep pushing me away? Why do you do this? Why do you do that? Things that he should've told her before which is great. Meanwhile she's blaming him for shit, he couldn't control since he was born pretty much. Another thing the real plot with problems started in the last maybe seven episodes and it should've started a lot earlier again this is screenwriting and production. So there were those kinds of things I think that production and screenwriting as a whole could've done better especially toward that ending. They just needed to add a little bit more and it would've been perfect. And I don't care about the AI beginning that was changed anyways because I always skip intro.

Would I recommend it? I absolutely would. I think that anyone who is a deep thinker in someone who likes a good deep show even if it means angst or anger or whatever it is negative emotions. This is the show for you. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to watch the show every day, but then I would start watching it and I couldn't skip over much of anything unless it was the horrible mother and sister. So please read whichever reviews you want or don't give the show a try and if you're like me, I think you will like it.

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A Clever, Gripping Thriller That Deserves a Chance

Even though I am still near the very end and haven’t quite finished the final moments, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I absolutely love this genre, and while it might not be for everyone right away, I strongly encourage giving it a chance—at least through the midpoint.
​Once it gets going, you’re treated to clever plot twists, surprising developments, and a seamless blend of drama, suspense, and thriller elements. The cinematography and acting are impressively well-executed for this style of storytelling. I’m not just saying this out of bias for the main actors; I genuinely appreciate artistic storytelling and well-crafted narrative depth. Highly recommended!

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Hear me out..... and give this drama a chance!

People have different perspectives, and not every single drama will be liked by the majority or become a massive hit.

I will say I haven't seen a drama recently that has been targeted with as much overt criticism as Overdo. I do think there's been alot of negative review bombing here as well. Some of the criticism is valid though ; the directing /use of AI for the theme song, ( that later got changed thankfully, but clearly it wasn't a big issue since other dramas have also use AI afterwards) and weird placement of the BGMs but for someone like me who grew up watching soap operas it didn't really bother me too much. The comparison to vertical dramas is fine, because i've always associated them as shorter soap operas.

I think alot of people, had higher overall expectations for the drama coming from POJ and the reuters that went viral but should have known what to expect from an idol drama , especailly an idol drama set in the republican era.

One of the reasons to watch this drama is the acting and storyline. I would say the acting is well done across the board . Linghe, does a fanstatic job in this role and carried all the emotional/acting scences really well i can clearly see that his acting has developed alot over the years. He doesn't want to be 'boxed' in certain characters and is very level headed with his acting and position in the industry. Churan, is someone i haven't seen in anything but is known for her good looks but she also did a good job here. I never really thought she was out of place in any of the scenes and although they don't have a passionate romance, there's clearly chemistry. between them. I find that since they are both highly praised for their visuals, people tend to underestimate their acting skills .

I don't think this drama is a strain on anyone's career, and there's alot of things the actors are getting hated on that are beyond their control unfortunately. Overall, there are alot of redeeming qualities in the drama and it think it's a drama that has gotten better has the storyline developed. If you like angsty, tragic love stories with a very pretty cast this drama is for you! Don't let people sway your opinion and watch it for yourself. Don't take it too seriously, dramas are also meant as a form of escapism.

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Can someone explain the hate?

From the very first episodes, I found myself completely invested in the story. The plot moves at a steady pace, revealing just enough information to keep the suspense alive without becoming unnecessarily complicated. There are plenty of twists, shifting alliances, and emotional confrontations, but what kept me watching wasn't simply the revenge itself. It was watching how far the protagonist was willing to go in order to achieve it.
We're so used to female leads who always make the morally correct decision, even when they're supposed to be seeking revenge. Here, that's simply not the case.
Ren Susu / Fang Mulan is intelligent, manipulative, determined, and, above all, deeply flawed and I absolutely loved that. There were many moments where I completely disagreed with her choices, yet I never wanted the drama to change her. he's someone you're meant to question, sometimes even criticize. Her obsession often takes precedence over the people who genuinely care about her, and the drama never pretends otherwise.
The best example of this is her relationship with Murong Qing Yi.

I honestly lost count of how many times I wanted to reach through the screen and tell her to stop hurting him.
Poor Murong Qing Yi spends so much of the drama paying the price for decisions that aren't even his own. Again and again, he becomes collateral damage in a revenge that was never his to fight. He remains loyal, patient, and willing to stand beside her even when she gives him every reason to walk away. While I understand why she keeps making those decisions—because revenge has completely consumed her—there were several moments where the pain she inflicted on him felt almost unnecessary. It wasn't the kind of suffering that naturally came from the circumstances; it was suffering created by her inability to trust, to let go, or simply to be honest.
And yet... that's also what made their relationship so compelling.

Visually, the drama is a bit of a mixed bag.
There are scenes that look absolutely stunning, with beautiful costumes, strong cinematography, and emotional framing that elevates key moments. Then, out of nowhere, the CGI reminds you that the budget clearly had its limits. Some effects look surprisingly rough and occasionally pull you out of otherwise powerful scenes.

One thing I know I'll probably be in the minority about is the opening sequence.
I actually preferred the original AI-generated opening. I know it sparked a lot of criticism when the drama aired, but personally, I thought it fit the atmosphere much better than the replacement version. More importantly, it didn't spoil the story. The new opening uses actual scenes from later episodes, and I've never been a fan of openings that reveal moments I'm supposed to discover naturally while watching. I much preferred the original version because it created intrigue without giving anything away.

Overall, Overdo was a very enjoyable surprise. A gripping revenge plot, engaging twists, emotionally layered relationships, and, most importantly, a female lead who isn't afraid to be selfish, stubborn, and morally questionable made this a refreshing watch from beginning to end.

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Give it a chance. Don’t drop it yet! This drama is not for the faint-hearted.

Flawed editing and messy pacing? Yes. Still watching every single second for the plot and the cast? Absolutely!

If you dropped it after episode one, this is your sign to pick it back up—Overdo really finds its footing and gets better with every single episode in my opinion. That intense chemistry between Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan is just too good to ignore, and I'm ready to dive back into all the messy love, hate, and second-chance tension. Hoping it delivers this time.

Also, the plot is heating up and I am officially hooked.

Let's see what happens next..

So far so good!!

UPDATE: My rating remains the same. The casts were all great and portrayed their roles really well. The whole story is not for the faint hearted though. Not the ending I was expecting, I believe Qingyi deserves a happy ending too. Read More

This cdrama is getting more interesting as more episodes releases

people dropping this drama because of ai and bad directing are losing gem, i feel bad for people not watching, this drama is blessing. people are taking things too seriously, after more episodes releases the more it gets to better drama, linghe's fans are too toxic, it's my first time feeling toxicity of the fandom, i feel bad for linghe and churan for the forced hate coming from poj's fans... i can't say overdo is year of drama but it's interesting to watch it like it feels so hurt to see how qingyi is getting treated fighting overdo! fighting linghe! fighting churan!
love you churan 💗

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Calling It Just a Romance Is Far Too Narrow & A Psychological Look at the Complexity of Characters

This is the first time I have written such a long review for a drama, because Overdo contains so many deep ideas that they cannot be fully explained in only one or two sentences.

1. The Story Is the Drama’s Greatest Strength
The drama explores several important themes.

1) Human Trafficking, Fake Charity, and Women Helping Women
The drama shows human trafficking, fake charity in an orphanage, child abuse, and the selling of young girls.

In this part of the story, it exposes the ugly faces of so-called charity workers and wealthy people. It also shows the resistance of the children and girls who were abused, as well as the power of women helping and protecting one another.

2) The Lasting Scars Left by Family Trauma
The male and female leads both had tragic childhoods. Their past strongly affected their personalities, reasons for doing things, beliefs, values, and romantic relationships.

The effects of their emotional trauma are so complicated that I previously had to write a separate article analysing them from a psychological point of view. Anyone interested can read it on my Substack.

Some people say they cannot understand the male and female leads.

Yes, without enough life experience or a similar family background, it can be difficult to fully understand why they behave this way. This is also one of the reasons why so many people misunderstand this drama.

The drama handles the subject of family trauma very well. Unlike many dramas, it does not forgive people who do not deserve to be called parents simply for the sake of a happy ending.

Crucially, the ML refuses to pass this trauma down to the next generation. He does the hard work of healing himself.

He finally breaks free from both his adoptive father’s and his birth mother’s psychological grip, and gets to start over.

3) The Power of Goodness and Beautiful Human Feelings
The drama shows many beautiful kinds of love and care.

These include women helping one another, love and sacrifice between romantic partners, trust and support between brothers, the soldiers who are willing to risk their lives for their country, and help between strangers.

And these relationships aren’t just background — the sisterhood in the orphanage, the brothers quietly covering for each other, the strangers who step in when it matters. They land hard because the show actually earns them.

4) Love for the Country During a Time of War
This is a drama set in Republican-era China, probably around the early years of Japan’s invasion of China.

The final part of the drama is about biological warfare. Biological warfare in real history was extremely cruel. The drama has already reduced the amount of graphic content to make it easier for audiences to watch. Even so, we can still imagine the desperate situation China faced at that time.

In the drama, the second brother, Li Boze, becomes an undercover agent to destroy the “Red Pill.” He is even willing to be seen as a traitor.

One soldier after another gives up his life for the country, putting life and death aside.

The eldest brother’s lover, the female pilot Ye Zhi Hong, firmly chooses to fly her plane into the factory to destroy the red pills.

The male lead also fights the villain to the death to stop his plan.

During that time of war, countless people gave their lives in exchange for the peace we have today.

So, calling this drama nothing more than a soap opera is far too narrow and does not recognise the depth of its story.

2. All the Actors Deserve Praise
1) Zhang Linghe
This is definitely the most complicated role Zhang Linghe has played since his debut. It is also the drama in which he has had the most screen time. This drama gave him the chance to fully show his excellent acting skills.

In this drama, he has to show many different emotional states.

He shows sadness, weakness, self-mockery, and rebellion when facing his mother’s hatred.

When facing the abuse of his adoptive father, he shows obedience, fear, and a complicated emotional attachment.

He depends on and deeply respects his eldest brother.

He loves the female lead even while telling himself what he feels is hatred, and he keeps loving her anyway, fully knowing it might destroy him.

He is also gentle with his son, and saving his son becomes a way of saving the wounded child inside himself.

This character has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He is sensitive, intelligent, and quick and firm when taking action. He is proud, bold, and unwilling to follow social rules or powerful people.

And for all that edge, he genuinely feels for the people beneath him and steps in to help them.

He sees exactly how ugly the world is and still refuses to wallow in self-pity. He just quietly puts himself back together and moves on.

2) Wang Churan
Many people dislike the FL. They believe she is selfish and that she does not truly love the male lead. But the opposite is true. She is not selfish, and she loves him deeply.

Because of her tragic past, she is afraid to express her love. In order to protect the ML, she would rather put herself in danger. That is why she hides many things from him.

From a psychological point of view, she shows a typical ‘Avoidant Attachment Style’.

It’s not that these people don’t feel things — they feel plenty. However, when a relationship becomes too close or requires too much emotional involvement, they may feel stressed. They then create distance in order to feel safe again.

The closer the other person gets and the more they want to confirm the relationship, the more they want to step back. But when the other person truly becomes distant, they may move closer again.

They may avoid commitment, keep the relationship unclear, or delay talking about the future.

Instead of directly saying, “I miss you” or “I need you,” they are more likely to show care by doing things or solving problems.

Once we understand this psychology, we can understand the female lead’s behaviour.

She also seems to have a very negative view of fate.

She believes that happiness will not last and that she is meant to be unhappy. That is why she pushes the ML away again and again.

The ML, however, is very sensitive and good at reading other people. He probably notices her unusual emotional state and her conflicting behaviour. That is why he keeps holding on to her at the edge of fate, refusing to let her fall into a deep darkness.

3) The ML’s Mother
This role is played by veteran actress Myolie Wu, and her acting is truly excellent.

At first, the character is extremely hateful. Later, she slowly becomes mentally unstable.

She is a hateful but also tragic character. Her twisted way of thinking originally came from the male lead’s biological father.

He did not love her and instead fell in love with another woman. Because of this, she became extremely obsessed. Even after his death, she continued to wear a piece of his bone, forcing him to remain with her in this disturbing way.

When the ML was only twelve years old, he risked his life to warn them about the danger.

However, his mother refused to believe him. As a result, his father did not change his travel plans the next day and was killed in an explosion.

Her huge regret, guilt, and other complicated emotions made it impossible for her to accept what had happened. She also could not admit that she had made such a serious mistake.

So for years she’s kept lying to herself and pinning the blame on the ML. As long as it was his fault, she gets to stay the poor victim.

The ML’s existence constantly reminds her of two things.

First, he reminds her of the mistake she made in the past.

Second, he reminds her that she has never fulfilled her responsibility as a mother.

Over time the ML turns into a subject she simply can’t face. The moment he shows up in front of her, she loses it.

She also shows strong narcissistic personality traits. This can be seen in the way she treats both her eldest son and her adopted son. She expects them to completely obey her and live according to her wishes.

So when the ML insists on living life his own way, she reads it as a direct threat to her authority. She can’t stand his defiance, so she belittles him constantly and even beats him.

The Supporting Cast
The other supporting actors, including the adoptive father, the two brothers, and the female supporting characters, also give excellent performances.

Every actor disappears into their role so completely that half the time it stops feeling like acting at all.

Honestly, the whole cast just clicks — nobody feels miscast, and that’s rarer than it sounds.

3. The Most Debated Parts: The Director and Editing
Finally, I want to discuss the most debated parts of the drama: the directing and editing.

I have watched Chinese dramas for twenty years. Objectively speaking, the directing and editing of Overdo are not the best I have ever seen, but they are still better than those of many other dramas.

Overall, I would say the quality is somewhere between average and very good.

Many people feel disappointed because they had already imagined a perfect final result after seeing leaked photos and videos from the filming period.

Another reason may be the success of Pursuit of Jade. Some viewers hoped that Overdo would reach the same level.

Some viewers may also have rarely watched dramas set in Republican-era China, so they are not used to a style that is different from both modern dramas and historical costume dramas.

Dramas set in Republican-era China are often filled with strong love and hatred. The story can feel like a roller coaster, with many unexpected twists, misunderstandings, and cruel turns of fate.

This drama also uses the storytelling style of a mystery drama. Of course, this style of storytelling may also make some viewers feel that the editing is too jumpy.

Many truths, clues, and memories are shown through flashbacks. Almost every episode ends with a new question or mystery, which makes the drama very addictive and makes viewers want to continue watching.

For the visual parts, the lighting in the drama is beautiful, and the costumes are also very detailed. Together, they successfully create the style and atmosphere of Republican-era China. The lighting also shows the actors’ strong facial features very well.

At first, the drama used an AI-generated opening sequence. Because it caused a lot of debate, the production company quickly replaced it with real scenes from the drama.

Ironically, Chinese dramas had already started using AI-generated opening sequences several years ago. Many recent dramas have also used them, but they did not receive the same level of public attack.

There are also two scenes in the drama that use CGI backgrounds. Although these backgrounds do not look completely real, they are still only small problems compared with the overall quality and enjoyment of the drama.

Unfortunately, negative online comments have greatly exaggerated these small problems. This has made many ordinary viewers who have not actually watched the drama believe that it is a cheap and badly made production.

Conclusion
In recent years, the stories of many Chinese dramas have become more and more similar.

Against this background, Overdo is a fresh and original drama that is difficult to stop watching once you begin.

It is also a drama that makes people think and leaves a deep impression after it ends.

Of course, everyone has different tastes. If you mainly enjoy light and relaxing romance dramas, I would not recommend a dark and heavy story like this one.

That is why judging Overdo by the standards of an ordinary romance drama is meaningless. The depth and scale of this drama go far beyond just romance.

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