Dani

What a ride. I read some comments about people being frustrated by this drama and I understand because sometimes you have expectations and loving something from the very beginning doesn’t mean it will continue to deliver the same level of quality later or what you expected to see. But to me, even with some flaws, the drama continued to be SO addicting and I spent all day anxiously waiting for more and more episodes. Let me talk about the things I liked the most.

One of the positive things about this drama is that the cinematography is beautiful and the director knows what he’s doing. If you watched “Blossom” you already know he’s good but he continuted to be good here as well and I’m already excited to watch another work from him! He knows especially how to create tension and how to use the scenario around (and the weather) to give us pleasantly and aesthetically scenes.

Another positive thing is the actors performances, the characters and chemistry between them. Tian Xiwei is a REALLY good actress. She has this beautiful and cute face but still can act as a tough girl and we can actually believe that she’s strong. Her acting is SO natural that it doesn’t feel like acting at all. She can give us cute scenes, badass scenes, emotional scenes….her character gets a lot of screentime in the drama as the story is basically female centric and she did her job amazingly. Chang Yu, her role, is a type of character that you’ll love automatically and it will for sure be always remembered when we talk about strong female lead characters!

Zhang Ling He was also good too! I know he’s an actor that divides opinions but if you’re one of these people who is not a fan of him I really think you must watch this one and give him a chance. First, this is definitely the drama he’s the most handsome like it’s insane. Second, his performance is spot on! He delivered exactly what the scenes required, and I felt that his acting here was relaxed and natural. Xie Zheng, his role, isn’t perfect and I believe the character should’ve be more developed but he was so charming! And one thing that I loved about him is that he always let Chang Yu shine. He was on her side but never putting his believes or overshadowing her. He saw her as his equal.

Dengkai was also really good as a villain, really good acting! Never watched anything with him but he got my attention. Qimin, his role, is a completely lunatic character but with an interesting story. Mu Ran as Yuan Qing was also a good villain, although a little stupid. I loved Qian Qian! She’s so strong minded and never let herself fall in Qimin’s control. Ning, Changyu’s little sister, was so cute. Her scenes with Bao Er was really cute too. The pig butcher squad was also charming and funny!

And what about the romance? Well, for me it was chief kiss. The chemistry between Chang Yu and Xie Zheng was amazing, I screamed a lot in all their scenes. Besides Bai Lu, I think Xiwei was the best chemistry Linghe had. And the same with Xiwei, Linghe was one of her best chemistry. Really wish to see both in another work together. Qimin and Qian Qian aren’t a couple that we can freely shipp as their story is totally toxic and abusive but we can’t deny the actor’s chemistry. I wish we didn’t had that much of scenes of them tho cuz why give them screentime when the “love” is completely one-sided? #FREEQIANQIAN

OST wasn’t mind blowing but I think we got at least 3 really good songs! The main story wasn’t also mind blowing and tbh it’s a little confusing but we understand better as things unfold and I think it was good enough to make me feel interested.

The ending was satisfactory! I pity the emperor, he made me realize that not everyone is prepared to be a emperor. I almost pityed Qimin in the end too but then I remembered how sick he was towards Qian Qian lol and the post credit scene was kind cute! A good fanservice for us.

Now…I enjoyed most things but I still got some complaints. First, we could feel that things was happening a little too fast after episode 30 and although everything worked out in the end, the pacing was a little damaged. To give a better pacing I think maybe a PART2 was needed or they should’ve cut some side characters unnecessary screentime and scenes. Also, I haven't read the novel, but I believe we could’ve seen more scenes of Xie Zheng battling. He’s a strong and feared Marques and we only saw him that way towards the end. He still shined in the drama, we can’t say he didn’t, but it’s a point that it could’ve been better.

Some complained about Qimin and Qian Qian having better romantic scenes than Chang Yu and Xie Zheng but I think it’s a matter of perspective and preferences and personally I liked the main leads scenes. They had beautiful and artistic scenes while Qimin and Qian Qian had more sensual and aesthetic scenes. I do think they nerfed a bit some kissing scenes between Chang Yu and Xie Zheng because we saw the leaks and we know what they can do lol And they did this while giving focus to Qimin and Qian Qian kissing scenes when the couple isn’t even shippable like… definitely a questionable choice but yeah.

In general, Persuit of Jade is a drama that I anxiously waited since last year and although it wasn’t a perfect ride, I can’t say that the wait wasn’t worthy! I fell in love with the actors, the cinematography, the direction, the main couple and I enjoyed the story and characters! It’s a type of drama that I believe that even with some flaws here and there, it still deserves the attention and love.