2025 was truly special - Shadow Love, A Dream within a Dream and Love in the Clouds, I never expected it could get even better, but damn Speed and Love was simply perfect from the beginning to the end, every delicious second of it. The cast and crew understood the assignment and delivered a drama for the ages. I spent the last 4 hours smiling, grinning ear from ear, and crying. So satisfying. I'm already planning a rewatch binging over the Christmas holiday. This is going to be one of all-times favourite shows!
Jin Zhao's decision to leave Mu isn't noble idiocy, it stems from the immense physical and mental trauma he's suffered but also from the life he's led. He developed an inferiority complex about his worthiness of being by Mu's side: his toxic adoptive mother had been telling him for almost 10 years he's bad luck, not enough, a terrible influence on Mu,... Imagine hearing that your whole childhood. He's normally so confident and fearless in everything he does, except for when it comes to her, always doubting himself and his worthiness of her.
Being poor, his body was a source of his strength, pride and confidence, even his means to make a living, the only thing with his brains he could rely on, but now, with it disabled and weak, he doubts his ability to make Mu happy and provide for her . His own future is uncertain and difficult and he doesn't want to drag her down. He doesn't have the confidence to take care of her, he doesn't even know whether he can take care of himself.
Also, he thinks he has to deal with everything on his own, that's why he keeps refusing the help from Lin Sui and his friends. This dogged self-reliance and independence is both his greatest strength and worst weakness. It's what's made him survive so far and overcome obstacles; and it was his only way to survive with his biological parents dying, his adoptive mother abandoning him, and a useless alcoholic adoptive father, but it also prevents him from sharing his burdens with others, making him lonely.
His own pride plays a part, too. He doesn't want Mu to pity him or stay with him out of obligation or sympathy. His adoptive mother saw him as a burden, therefore from then on he's never wanted to become a burden to anyone else, always carrying the burdens of others instead.
Moreover, he always took care of Mu, feeding her, teaching her how to write, knowing her allergies, putting her to sleep,... - in a way he's been her 3rd parent because her father was loving, but rarely present, her mother was always busy and stressed, and they often argued. So he grew used to making decisions for her.
Jin Zhao doesn't give Mumu a choice because he knows she would choose him. After seeing how she leaves him, abandoning her dream about returning to their hometown to care for her mother, which is exactly what she would have done for him - abandoning her studies to care for him. His treatment will cost a lot of money, his disability prevents him from making money, at least at the very beginning, and he is poor to begin with, so he has barely money to provide for himself much less for her. She would have suffered materialistically.
Thus, he made a choice for her, heart-breaking, but, in the end, it allowed Mu to reconcile with her mother, her stepfather and achieve her dream of becoming an astronomer. If she stayed with him, who knows what would have happened.
Mu has become a successful, independent woman with choices in her life because Jin Zhao took a terrible choice from her and made it for her and let her go, while shattering their hearts. Now, she is free to make her own choice - forgive him and stay with him or let him go.
Normally, I despise the whole "for her own good" plots, however, here it makes perfect sense both narratively and character-wise. That's the end of my TED talk.
I've just made thousands of screencaps of SaL episodes 15-16. This show and its OTP are so freakingly, impossibly perfect in every single way. It's everything I have ever hoped for in a modern romantic drama and I don't even know what I should write about it because the only thing my brain is capable of producing when watching it is unintelligible sounds, and "it's perfect, they are so perfect, how can they be so perfect?!...".
Unless it implodes in the second half, and judging by the spoiler melon videos, it won't, it's 1 000/10 for me and Jiang Mu and Jin Zhao are one of my favourite OTPs of all time, they are one of my GOATs.
The Love in the Clouds team said 'none of that OE bullshit', stuck the landing and delivered not only a deeply satisfying ending but an entire drama. It's perfectly paced, nothing dragged, the OTP and chemistry were out of this world, Hou Minghao and Lu Yuxiao slayed, awesome CGI, gorgeous cinematography, beautiful costumes, awesome OST, they tied all the loose ends, managed to develop all characters and relationships properly and nothing dragged and the story flowed seamlessly.
Even the misunderstandings and arguments between the couple were always solved within 2 episodes, very similar to a real relationship.
Even in the strong year in cdramaland that is 2025 this show shines and is one for the ages.
Is it only me who is a drama watching veteran and grew up on Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese dramas which used…
Personally, I feel Netflix & co. are really ruining the experience by dropping all the episodes at once, but also ruining the quality of Korean dramas whose advantage has always been that they had enough time with 16 - 50 episodes to build up the story and properly develop its characters and their relationships.
But now those dramas are cut to 8-12 episodes and even the stories feel westernized and that's the reason I started watching Chinese dramas much more since 2023.
Moreover, while the quality of Korean and other dramas has dropped, the quality of c-dramas has greatly improved over the past 10 years. Before 2023 I could count on one hand Mainland shows I actually liked, but now I get at least 5 awesome c-dramas a year.
Ugh, Youku’s release schedule is honestly the worst 😩 It was the same when I watched Till The End Of The…
Is it only me who is a drama watching veteran and grew up on Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese dramas which used to release only 1-2 episodes a week (I started back in 2006), that now getting 1-2 episodes a day some people consider "the worst schedule". Haven't the drama watching experience been spoiled by the likes of Netflix that release all episodes in a single day?
I mean it's nothing personal against the OP, but it's an opinion I've been reading for the past few years a lot, and I'm curious about other people's opinion.
One of the few gripes I have with the drama is that Li Shuang isn't wearing Aodeng's jade hairpin at the end, even though she's wearing other hairpins. If he took his humongous sword with him, he would take the hairpin too since he's always carried it close to his heart. Considering Li Shuang used to wear it even when she fought him and became his prisoner, there is no reason she wouldn't have put it in her hair when they are happy together. I'm going to pretend it was in her hair.
Yuan Yike's mask and power, Jin An's robes and blue marks, Prince Annan's sword and Duan Aodeng's hairstyle — the superhuman demon, the innocent and vulnerable human and the ruthless warrior prince — all three of this man's alter egos merge together at last. With his powers, emotions and memories — both happy and painful — intact and Li Shuang once again by his side and protecting her, his mind, bod and heart form one soul and he becomes whole, not again, but for the first time in his life.
Because all those alter egos are just multiple facets of one complex and tormented man of many masks who has been concealing his true self — all of them are Duan Aodeng. Jin An is the innocence he prematurely lost and which he's been hiding under Prince Annan's golden mask and ruthless demeanor to protect himself and his country.
It's his original self because deep down he has always been the loyal puppy chasing after his older brother and looking up to him with guileless, adoring vulnerable eyes.
Once the memories of war and court politics disappeared he reverted back to his original core persona, even though Annan's calculating mind kept seeping through the crack, just as Jin An's did after his Annan's memories came back. Jin An's persona is the side of his character, all the emotions, he has been bottling up and imprisoned deep inside (heartbreaking because he was original free-spirited, warm and innocent and become cold, ruthless and imprisoned), thus chaining and enslaving himself in order to protect his brother and his people.
And after he lost those negative memories, all those bottled up emotions and deprived needs needed an outlet and so Duan Aodeng fell uncontrollably, unconditionally and hopelessly in love with Li Shuang, like the protective, devoted and adoring man he's always been deep inside.
Why am I back here again?? Guys I can't physically move on. I keep checking this page as if I am getting some…
Same! I feel so empty First ADWAD and now this. I've entered the withdrawal syndrome stage, constantly rewatching this masterpiece, like it keeps getting better each time. I've got Fated Hearts and Love in the Clouds (my most anticipated drama this year) on my radar in September and the rumour has it How Dare You and Speed and Love might premiere in December, so fingers crossed.
Shadow Love finale gave us all the possible c-drama endings available and known to man packed as an all-in-one deal, delivering one of the most satisfying last episodes out there.
BE - what if Aodeng carried LS's dead body away to die with her.
Regular OE - he keeps watching her sleep, hoping she wakes up one day.
Hopeful OE - she awakens and they look at each other.
Last minute HEA - they hug.
True HEA - They ride happily into the sunset and the side characters' stories are properly wrapped up, leaving no loose ends.
Epilogue/encore HEA - full-blown satisfying 10-minute romantic bonanza of their happy married life, hot opened-mouthed kisses and them rushing to make love and babies.
This show truly delivered everything and on all fronts in a spectacular fashion.
If the male lead doesn't crash an imperial funeral, wielding a flaming sword and eviscerating hundreds of soldiers, to save his dead lover's body together with her coffin, and then doesn't plan to expire and be buried next to her for all eternity, he is not worthy (to die for her). Duan Aodeng, the icon you are!
This happens when you kill off your evil sorcerer villain early - there's no one left to make Duan Aodeng's clothes explode, thus depriving the audience of Cheng Lei in his shirtless glory.
1 
Starry Night Field
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1p8wspGz_4
My rating: 1,000,000/10
Being poor, his body was a source of his strength, pride and confidence, even his means to make a living, the only thing with his brains he could rely on, but now, with it disabled and weak, he doubts his ability to make Mu happy and provide for her . His own future is uncertain and difficult and he doesn't want to drag her down. He doesn't have the confidence to take care of her, he doesn't even know whether he can take care of himself.
Also, he thinks he has to deal with everything on his own, that's why he keeps refusing the help from Lin Sui and his friends. This dogged self-reliance and independence is both his greatest strength and worst weakness. It's what's made him survive so far and overcome obstacles; and it was his only way to survive with his biological parents dying, his adoptive mother abandoning him, and a useless alcoholic adoptive father, but it also prevents him from sharing his burdens with others, making him lonely.
His own pride plays a part, too. He doesn't want Mu to pity him or stay with him out of obligation or sympathy. His adoptive mother saw him as a burden, therefore from then on he's never wanted to become a burden to anyone else, always carrying the burdens of others instead.
Moreover, he always took care of Mu, feeding her, teaching her how to write, knowing her allergies, putting her to sleep,... - in a way he's been her 3rd parent because her father was loving, but rarely present, her mother was always busy and stressed, and they often argued. So he grew used to making decisions for her.
Jin Zhao doesn't give Mumu a choice because he knows she would choose him. After seeing how she leaves him, abandoning her dream about returning to their hometown to care for her mother, which is exactly what she would have done for him - abandoning her studies to care for him. His treatment will cost a lot of money, his disability prevents him from making money, at least at the very beginning, and he is poor to begin with, so he has barely money to provide for himself much less for her. She would have suffered materialistically.
Thus, he made a choice for her, heart-breaking, but, in the end, it allowed Mu to reconcile with her mother, her stepfather and achieve her dream of becoming an astronomer. If she stayed with him, who knows what would have happened.
Mu has become a successful, independent woman with choices in her life because Jin Zhao took a terrible choice from her and made it for her and let her go, while shattering their hearts. Now, she is free to make her own choice - forgive him and stay with him or let him go.
Normally, I despise the whole "for her own good" plots, however, here it makes perfect sense both narratively and character-wise. That's the end of my TED talk.
Unless it implodes in the second half, and judging by the spoiler melon videos, it won't, it's 1 000/10 for me and Jiang Mu and Jin Zhao are one of my favourite OTPs of all time, they are one of my GOATs.
Even the misunderstandings and arguments between the couple were always solved within 2 episodes, very similar to a real relationship.
Even in the strong year in cdramaland that is 2025 this show shines and is one for the ages.
But now those dramas are cut to 8-12 episodes and even the stories feel westernized and that's the reason I started watching Chinese dramas much more since 2023.
Moreover, while the quality of Korean and other dramas has dropped, the quality of c-dramas has greatly improved over the past 10 years. Before 2023 I could count on one hand Mainland shows I actually liked, but now I get at least 5 awesome c-dramas a year.
I mean it's nothing personal against the OP, but it's an opinion I've been reading for the past few years a lot, and I'm curious about other people's opinion.
Considering Li Shuang used to wear it even when she fought him and became his prisoner, there is no reason she wouldn't have put it in her hair when they are happy together. I'm going to pretend it was in her hair.
Because all those alter egos are just multiple facets of one complex and tormented man of many masks who has been concealing his true self — all of them are Duan Aodeng. Jin An is the innocence he prematurely lost and which he's been hiding under Prince Annan's golden mask and ruthless demeanor to protect himself and his country.
It's his original self because deep down he has always been the loyal puppy chasing after his older brother and looking up to him with guileless, adoring vulnerable eyes.
Once the memories of war and court politics disappeared he reverted back to his original core persona, even though Annan's calculating mind kept seeping through the crack, just as Jin An's did after his Annan's memories came back. Jin An's persona is the side of his character, all the emotions, he has been bottling up and imprisoned deep inside (heartbreaking because he was original free-spirited, warm and innocent and become cold, ruthless and imprisoned), thus chaining and enslaving himself in order to protect his brother and his people.
And after he lost those negative memories, all those bottled up emotions and deprived needs needed an outlet and so Duan Aodeng fell uncontrollably, unconditionally and hopelessly in love with Li Shuang, like the protective, devoted and adoring man he's always been deep inside.
BE - what if Aodeng carried LS's dead body away to die with her.
Regular OE - he keeps watching her sleep, hoping she wakes up one day.
Hopeful OE - she awakens and they look at each other.
Last minute HEA - they hug.
True HEA - They ride happily into the sunset and the side characters' stories are properly wrapped up, leaving no loose ends.
Epilogue/encore HEA - full-blown satisfying 10-minute romantic bonanza of their happy married life, hot opened-mouthed kisses and them rushing to make love and babies.
This show truly delivered everything and on all fronts in a spectacular fashion.