sarafilleSD

wow, I am just about to finish this & am half happy & half sad there are only 36 episodes. It was planned perfectly without any draggy skippable moments. Their love story was so subtle & smooth that when they eventually got together it felt so natural & right. Great pairing! This was a beautifully done story & cannot recommend it enough! I've dropped/put-on-hold so many Chinese wuxia & xianxia dramas but when they are done right, they are my absolute FAVORITE thing to watch in the world & this one is done right. :D

contrary to what's written for streaming platforms, it's not on Viki yet, which means I requested it...let's go, peeps & send in some more requests! I would love to watch everything with Xu Kai. He's a phenomenally talented actor for being so young & plays the mischievous ML role sooooo well. I'm off to hunt for this in other places now.

Why does it feel like I've seen this before? I know ti was just released this year but the story felt so familiar when I was watching it. I HATE that feeling. Still a decent watch; it was more fun when they were bickering than when they got together, tough, lol.

can I say that this is probably the 1st on-air show I have not decided to stop watching partway through to wait for the while thing so I could binge it? I think I've rewatched all available episodes about 3 times at different points before new episodes aired.

It's sooooooo good, oh my my my.

Just finished A Dream of Splendor myself & enjoyed it! I thought some of the plot elements & romance suffered in the last half, but overall it was a beautiful drama with amazing chemistry between the leads, cinematography & location shoots. Unique & artsy, definitely! The social critique was a bit heavy-handed in some places, unfortunately. My understanding is that Love Like the Galaxy started right after it finished so it's assumed we are a proper target audience for both dramas, haha. I'll have to check out the other period drama you mentioned (I have Viki & all episodes are out rn). Oooo...it stars Li Hong Yi--another costar of LSY, lol. It looks quirky & cute. :) Thanks!

100% agreed. I enjoyed the idea & concept of the story but was hoping for a LOT more chemistry between the leads to sell this epic tradition-shattering romance. It was nice seeing ZLS play a more mature role. As for Yang Yang, I agree as well! He's pretty to look at but his acting is just okay. I feel like I'm the only one who couldn't feel the "amazing" chemistry w/Dilraba in YAMG, lol. The only drama I've liked him in was Love O2O but it's because he's surrounded by great foils; it was very well cast.

This was SUCH a beautiful drama...the scenes, the actors, the shots, everything. They filmed in these amazingly rich & luscious locations. The filming locations & costume choices added so much to the tone of the drama, too. The contrasting colors of persimmon & turquoise, soft yellow & rain-drenched green, and ivory & crimson & gold. The actors? Also gorgeous! Her graceful & composed nature mixed with his laser-focused almost prowling energy, YIKES. The first 16 episodes did a great job developing that tension. Those looks from the ML, wow...

The shots reminded me a lot of Ming Lan (which I love). There were several moving shots where we were following our characters having conversations as they walk in hallways of estates, alongside waterway wharfs, etc. It felt dynamic & you got to see a lot more of the set & filming locations! I did feel it lost steam a little w/the love story + political intrigue & after a level-10 rating start, that was disappointing. (I subscribe to the theory that there were multiple cooks in the kitchen on this script, though.) Anyway, this was such a pretty drama to watch & for a rewatch, I'll definitely be checking out those earlier scenes together before he realizes he's fallen for her.

I can't picture LBY as 17! I feel like he would have needed more time to fight & build his reputation in war to become as impressive as his character seems to be. So in my head they are like 19 & 24 or even 17&22! I think we-as-the-audience tend to develop an understanding that works for us & I'm not planning on reading the novel anyway, so who cares? ;p

I like the OTP chemistry even though we've only gotten drips & drops of it so far! ZLS seems to have decent chemistry w/most of her onscreen partners, which I love. I definitely prefer Leo Wu w/her over Dilraba (sorry, just couldn't feel their romance in TLB; it was more of a mutual intellectual appreciation rather than love for me).

also, I don't usually watch an on-air c-dramas bc I've been done dirty too many times *but* as I've see almost all of ZLS's dramas, the percentage of middle mess-ups is pretty low. Fingers crossed this one doesn't bite the big one, either.

haha, I did this when it was still airing back in June when I was thinking it was going to break the c-drama curse for me. Thanks for posting this to remind us! ;)

Thank you for this list! It reminded me of some of the shows I've stopped watching partway for one reason or another & need to pick up again. :)

I find the newer dramas always pop with higher ratings & then come down more over time. WWWSK has 70,000 ratings versus 37,000 for this one because it's been around longer. I bet in a year it'll be closer to a 8.4 or 8.2.

Also, while chemistry was on fire with WWWSK's MC, I preferred this FL. She was more fun to watch for me.

JUST what I like in a rom-com: it doesn't pretend to take itself too seriously in the slightest. Yes, ending had issues but was still satisfying. Equal bits funny & romantic, which is hard to do well. Also, MC have good chemistry! Fun ride. Wish the songs were more memorable, though.
More, please! :)

I just read the synopsis up top & realized there is NO mention of our ML in the slightest; only her loser ex!!!

Agreed! WRTW fizzled by the end for me, though the equality concept of the FL's character & how the ML loved her for it plus a more grown-up LSY was refreshing. It was a wide lens on all the kingdoms, so the romance was there but tamped down. There was a lot going on visually that it seemed distracting at times.

This drama, though...ah, this drama is pure romance gold. It's breathtakingly beautiful in its cinematography, the leads are a perfectly matched pair that I cannot stop obsessing over for their chemistry & connection & my favorite part so far? it's delving deeper into character development, friendship & romance versus political intrigue or warring power factions. (Of course that may change soon, lol.) Also, the visuals seem chosen with detail & deliberate thought that makes me feel like a rich, sumptuous tapestry is being woven into life as I watch it. Just gorgeous. I immediately rewatched all the aired episodes after finishing what was available, unlike WRTW where I just stopped & waited it out.

I already submitted the drama as a suggestion! Maybe if more Viki subscribers do that, we would get it. ;)

wow. so good. holy moly I am loving the leads & this story feels so refreshing! Got sucked into an airing drama, though, dang it. I already know I'm going to rewatch it again before more episodes come out. Fingers crossed they don't get done dirty in later episodes...

Started this up a while ago & then dropped it because it was moving really slow for me. That & I really don't like my romances with a guy who's got a harem. Too much of an ick factor for me. Picked it up again when so many commenters during Jun Jiu Ling were saying they liked this drama better. Huh. Obviously different strokes for different folks. FL is strong & smart here but NOT like Jun Jiu Ling's character was for me.

Comparing aside, I think this was a beautiful, well-produced drama. omg Zhou Shen's song is so so so beautiful--kudos there! Decent acting by everyone, but I'm going to stop again & put it on-hold around ep 31. Supposedly they love each other but I really didn't see them falling for each other? And yes, I am not on the "7 is awesome in whatever she does" bandwagon (there's something about the way she moves her mouth that's distracting to me) but I LOVED her in The Fox's Summer, so I know it's not that but a story that's just not hitting me quite right. I will probably return out of curiosity like I have done with may other c-dramas, though...

This show would have been a 10/10 if not for the editing & the way the story was told at points. What a phenomenal idea for a story & the chemistry between the leads was great. I did get a little bored toward the end, unfortunately...

Oh! My Emperor but's more comedic & light-hearted. Her harem is X-NINE, lol.