Charlotte

I'm watching it on iQIyi from Canada (2026)

Canada..

Thank you. I made it to episode 16 after the main leads declared their feelings. Such a great drama with lots of humour...BUT I'm definitely dropping it here. I mean really? The FL's insistence that she would have a baby with him was a promised expectatation made to the viewers from their first meetings and now we hear they never make it out alive?????? Why bother creating interesting characters to kill them ALL? So done with bad endings unless the tone of the drama is sombre high stakes from the start. Then at least we'd come into this drama with some hints that the writer has WAY more than humour on her mind. Disappointing.

Remember? The Sword Sheild can not leave the valley ...he must stay and rule until death.

I dropped "Legend of the Female General". Likely the writer's fault, but watching a girl who's supposed to be so 'badass' sucking up to the Commander General (Ryan Cheng) in Training Camp was too much....always striding into his tent, challenging his decisions & yes, even flirting with him...all just so annoying...(epecially when she was pretending to be a guy? ) Also it didn't help that Actress Zoue Chen 's skills weren't impressive enough to carry it off. Also a no-go for me ?When she did 'Back From the Brink'... (so sorry Hou Ming Hao...I tried🤦🏻‍♀️). Ok I'll stop my rant and go back to watching "Journey to Love"...so far I'm impresses by the cast and all the badassery from our FL. I'm here catching up on Liu Yunning after falling in love with him for "Prisoner of Beauty" and "A Dream Within A Dream" '🙌🔥

I'm watching it on IQiYi now (October 2026)

Thanks for taking the time to do this. A long list. Appreciate your work!

Could you please post the name of the dramas? I’d love to check them out! 🤗

From my viewpoint too. If someone would give me recent titles in which her softer side is dominant, please do. Or at least some in which her face shows a lot more expression. She’s a beautiful woman and likely has more depth than I’ve seen.

Finally someone who feels like I do. Many “strong” FLs lately are played like MLs ‘used to be’ portrayed. Why do we feel we must act like them now to be considered strong? Women generally give added value with our patience, keen understanding of emotions and behavior, resilience, soft but strong determination and the ability to express ourselves using more negotiating tones instead of confrontation & smug arrogance. Meng Zi Yi’s writers excel in the last two. Lately all we get from her is the same one note: she’s better than anyone else…never a weak spot. I prefer real heroines. She’s become a cartoon for me over the years. Apologies to those who love her. Just my 2 cents.

@WilsonAnderson comment above.... Corny?...Really? Maybe because you watch through the lens of your western life perspectives? I stopped watching all those cynical, morose anti-heroes I saw too much of on American TV and now really appreciate the more elevated principles and heroic outlook of the leads featured in Historical Chinese Dramas. You might find their humour corny or unbelievable sometimes, but once you learn a bit about their history & cultural traditions, you might come to appreciate Pursuit of Jade and many other great Asian dramas. It would be interesting to know what YOU consider excellence in a historical TV series.

So agree with you. He’s the reason I tried 'A Girl Like Me' and 'Back from the Brink' recently. I really appreciate Hou Minghao's talent, BUT I felt the writer turned his "A Girl Like Me" character into a 'simp' for the FL. Yes for some she was 'REAL' but not an admirable FL for me. Just a narcissistic, rude bully who yelled and slapped people, and delusionally thought she was 'all that'... and even "pretty"? Many might consider her a strong female lead, but I generally avoid her type, especially as a friend. Way tooo high-maintenance. I was so disappointed with the overkill in her personality and her general disregard for anyone except herself. Yes, she loved her family, but that's because she ruled that house. Also, her relationship with Ming Hao never burned into a steady warm flame (never mind any chemistry)for me because she was always sparking shards of fire at everyone who got in her way. Poor You MingHao didn't have much to work with as her very low-key side-kick. Apologies to those who loved this one, I just couldn't with her...

Love the concept!

But it's AWESOME...great love story!

Am I wrong? This drama sounds like the set up for Prisoner of Beauty in which two warring nations who have made peace, seal the deal with a marriage contracted between a couple represented each side. Liu Yu Ning starred in it. Sea of No Return sounds the same. However I loved the premise in "Prisoner" so of course I'll try this one, hoping for the same quality of POB.

Completely agree.. Korean Producers/Writers seem to be aiming their work towards the western Netflix audience, likely because it's so lucrative and global. Of course it makes sense that Netflix isn't making dramas for a Korean audience, but choses according to their western audience's tastes. I find a lot more dark, thriller and horror Kdramas on Netflix. Same with the the Kdramas on Disney. Lately I'm preferring Chinese Costume Historicals over KDramas because they give me more of what I liked about Korean Drama characters & story developement back when I began watching in 2015. I found "Bloody Heart" on Disney which is a 'Tour de Force' for Koreanace actor, Jang Hyuk. But when all is said and done, the majority of dramas I watch are on viki which features both Korean & Chinese Dramas that still feel more true to Korean culture. Might just be my perspective, but I do believe Korean Dramas have definitely shifted these past two years. Not for the better...

I agree she does indeed love herself, which is praiseworthy for me if you stand your ground calmly not arrogantly, but right now at episode 5 I'm already tired of how proud & disdainful she is to most people if she feels slighted in ANY way, especially by businessman Ne Yuan from the get-go. No appreciation at all for what he does for her....insisting they are equals. But at this point they aren't, she's been flung out on the streets by her evil family and he's made a deal with her to help (ie half of his fortune is she succeeds in helping him) but she has yet to take any steps to meet him half way. Instead she just keeps hammering home that she won't bow. Ne Yuan's manner with her is polite & businesslike, a teacher/gentleman, but she finds reasons to look down her nose for anything. At this point, I of course understand that the writers want to portray a strong wise woman, but honestly, if she insisted on her way or choice all the time as my friend, I wouldn't want to hang out with her either. Being open, diplomatic & appreciative as well as being firm while standing your ground doesn't make a weak woman, but the trend for heroines lately seems to be more like "slap first', stare daggers and give people the 'side-eye' to keep your power lol. Might drop this drama at the end of this episode. Sad, because I like the ML who in spite of not being handsome has a winsome character. That, along with the costumes & sets, are lusciously enjoyable.

Just from my perspective, but the wives all end up 'ruling the roost' in each marriage, so much so that the guys have to huddle together to brainstorm on how to make their wives happy. lol. There isn't one relationship so far where the husband is actually in charge...even the stern Judge turns into a pushover. It's a femcentric series and quite funny, but I really find it hard not to roll my eyes when the women are ugly-crying or pouting when they don't get their way. The Mother to these girls had to support them on her own with some damage to her behavior of course (i.e. a transactional mindset focusing on getting money for every marriage... using tricks on the neighbouring businesses to get ahead, and also when she gets angry she screams & loses it on people, wielding a broom to fight. Hard to watch at the beginning, but got used to her. I do love her best when her voice softens talking to her girls. She's loud & doesn't 'read the room' very often, but she has a soft heart. Wish they'd find a husband for this widow! I also agree with previous commenters that there was a lack of developement or nuamce when each couple fell for each other. The relationships were a bit shallow right up until they suddenly looked at each other & fell in an instant. The only two relationships that gave us more substantive reasons to feel their connection was the scholar & his practical & tactical wife, and also the Judge & his relentlessly helpful wife, which was again a bit uncomfortable for me because she stalked him at the beginning and trapped him for a year's worth of marriage. We'll see how that goes when the contract is done. I like them togethger now, but really didn't like that she put her ethics aside in order to get the guy she wanted....which also happened to the scholar & wife who were blindsided by the young woman who wanted him for herself and pushed for their divorce . This drama definitelt has its flaws but I 've really enjoyed some of the cutural history topics like the scholarly discussion about whether men were considered more important than women at that time. Great writing. Same with the wedding arrangement details along with describing some of the societal problems families could face if they were put in a bad light by failing to act with the proper etiquette. For a romantic comedy, (a) it wasn't that romantic but (b) it was a terrific snapshot of a time & place in which people had set roles and levels in society, and had to act accordingly. Still watching this drama...there should be another two weddings left!

The traditional rule passed on to me when I first started watching Kdramas in 2015 has always been NOT to quit a drama until AFTER at least the third episode. It's my third time breaking it. Not going to wade into episode three at all. Nana's character is just so uncool & abrasive with the ML that I just can't anymore with her. Even our ML is not at his best. Way too serious & jaded and the actor seems stunned by whatever happens to him., especially with Nana's character.. As for the other Fairies, the writer might have been trying to make them cute but they act like teenagers instead of Fairies in charge of helping people fall in love. They need their wings clipped . Sorry to those who are enjoying the show, but I'm out.

@larami: You've hit the biggest problem for me with Netflix and their (quote)" Korean" (unquote) dramas. Cannnibalizing their Netflix "Originals" into halves changes the overall tone and the original landscape of a Korean Drama...in effect it takes the Korean out of Kdramas, which have always been about delivering us a complete story with an ending ...albeit you may like it or not, but at least there's a resolution and no shock-teaser trying to set us up for the next half. The characters and the plot in a korean drama have finished their story arc by the end and we can all move on to another experience, with new characters as well as fresh locations and plots.
Worse still, making us wait two years until the next half, drops can fog the memory and fade the overall impact of a series. The good first impressions we got two years ago are watered-down if you have to see season 1 again before watching the second season. I've often found that b theyy the time they release the next season, I often opt not to see it because I've forgotten what I liked about it to make me want to see it again. My appetite for it has passed.
Just my perspective, but many others I know left American Television behind along with its never-ending seasons precisely because it had gotten stale. Netflix seems to think that dividing a series in half will bring in the ratings and the cravings for the other part, but that never happened for korean series like 'The Aarthdal Chronicles" or"Vagabond". Meanwhile we just sit and wait for the other shoe to drop in a few years.