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Love & Hate. Trust & Betrayal. A hopeless romantic drama with a dash of politics.
The core of this drama is the love story between the leads, with a bit of a mix of Beauty and the Beast + Romeo and Juliet vibes. The drama is about the female lead, who is sent to form a marriage alliance with the male lead’s family, in order to stop the feud between them. However, the male lead, a General and Lord of his clan, is reluctant to accept her, as he still harbours resentment towards her family. From distrust and hate, the leads slowly build trust and fall in love, while working together towards their common goal - to help their people live a peaceful life.
The best thing about this drama is that it made me FEEL. The characters were written so well, they all felt like real people. I laughed with them, I cried with them and worried for them. The angst hit hard, the romance was sweetness overload and the emotional moments landed at the perfect timing. It is indeed rare to find a drama that pulls you in so deeply, that you connect with so much emotionally, and this one totally did.
POSITIVE:
- Smart & strong female lead. She used her brain to fight war and I loved it.
- Red to green flag male lead. He was a layered character. Started off as a red flag and kind of a jerk towards everyone. But knowing what he has experienced, it all made sense. Falling for his wife softened him - towards her and his people. But at the same time, as a Lord and General, he was still badass, smart, firm and masculine.
- Rom-com vibes. Unexpectedly, the middle of the drama was non-stop laughter and cute romantic scenes. I’m usually all for angst but I absolutely loved this part as it truly built up the characters and love story.
- Comedy was gold. There were so many ridiculously funny and very entertaining scenes that made me smile all day. It’s been a long time since a drama made me laugh this much.
- Emotional rollercoaster. The heartwarming romance made me smile all day, while the heartbreaking moments made me cry buckets of tears.
- Slow burn romance that burned HARD. The romantic tension between the leads was the driving force of this drama and their enemies to lovers arc was brilliantly written.
- Hot kisses. Only 2-3 scenes but they totally broke the scale in terms of heat.
- Support cast was great. I’m looking at the four generals, especially dear Wei Liang, who was the heart of this drama and made me giggle like crazy.
- Villains. What I liked about this drama is that all villains felt human. Their actions made sense, their evil deeds made sense. In fact, if the script was flipped at the start, I could see some of them being the heroes. The villains weren’t villains for the sake of it but because their life circumstances and past pain had shaped them to be this way.
- Cinematography, OST, costumes - everything was done really well.
NEGATIVE:
There were little bits that bugged me. I wasn’t a fan of the second male lead but I did grow fond of him later. The political and war side towards the end felt a bit rushed. I wouldn’t have minded if the drama had 2 more episodes to extend the story. I’m guessing they didn’t have that much budget for a huge war scene in the finale episode, but the villain just standing there doing nothing was kind of lame. But still, none of these things were a huge overkill because the core of the drama was always romance, not politics or war.
OVERALL:
This is one of the best 2025 cdramas for me. It has everything, from well developed characters, brilliantly crafted romance, to a perfect blend of suspense, tragedy, angst and comedy. If you are here for logic, politics and war, you will most likely be disappointed. But if you want a brilliantly crafted love story, packed with a rollercoaster of emotions and an adorable support cast of generals, PLUS you are a hopeless romantic at heart, I highly, highly, highly recommend this drama.
FAVOURITE QUOTE:
“You see me as a jewel but you treat all others as ants” by the female lead
“If I succeed, it is my fortune. If I fail it is my fate. Even if I die, I’ll have no regrets.” by the villain
The best thing about this drama is that it made me FEEL. The characters were written so well, they all felt like real people. I laughed with them, I cried with them and worried for them. The angst hit hard, the romance was sweetness overload and the emotional moments landed at the perfect timing. It is indeed rare to find a drama that pulls you in so deeply, that you connect with so much emotionally, and this one totally did.
POSITIVE:
- Smart & strong female lead. She used her brain to fight war and I loved it.
- Red to green flag male lead. He was a layered character. Started off as a red flag and kind of a jerk towards everyone. But knowing what he has experienced, it all made sense. Falling for his wife softened him - towards her and his people. But at the same time, as a Lord and General, he was still badass, smart, firm and masculine.
- Rom-com vibes. Unexpectedly, the middle of the drama was non-stop laughter and cute romantic scenes. I’m usually all for angst but I absolutely loved this part as it truly built up the characters and love story.
- Comedy was gold. There were so many ridiculously funny and very entertaining scenes that made me smile all day. It’s been a long time since a drama made me laugh this much.
- Emotional rollercoaster. The heartwarming romance made me smile all day, while the heartbreaking moments made me cry buckets of tears.
- Slow burn romance that burned HARD. The romantic tension between the leads was the driving force of this drama and their enemies to lovers arc was brilliantly written.
- Hot kisses. Only 2-3 scenes but they totally broke the scale in terms of heat.
- Support cast was great. I’m looking at the four generals, especially dear Wei Liang, who was the heart of this drama and made me giggle like crazy.
- Villains. What I liked about this drama is that all villains felt human. Their actions made sense, their evil deeds made sense. In fact, if the script was flipped at the start, I could see some of them being the heroes. The villains weren’t villains for the sake of it but because their life circumstances and past pain had shaped them to be this way.
- Cinematography, OST, costumes - everything was done really well.
NEGATIVE:
There were little bits that bugged me. I wasn’t a fan of the second male lead but I did grow fond of him later. The political and war side towards the end felt a bit rushed. I wouldn’t have minded if the drama had 2 more episodes to extend the story. I’m guessing they didn’t have that much budget for a huge war scene in the finale episode, but the villain just standing there doing nothing was kind of lame. But still, none of these things were a huge overkill because the core of the drama was always romance, not politics or war.
OVERALL:
This is one of the best 2025 cdramas for me. It has everything, from well developed characters, brilliantly crafted romance, to a perfect blend of suspense, tragedy, angst and comedy. If you are here for logic, politics and war, you will most likely be disappointed. But if you want a brilliantly crafted love story, packed with a rollercoaster of emotions and an adorable support cast of generals, PLUS you are a hopeless romantic at heart, I highly, highly, highly recommend this drama.
FAVOURITE QUOTE:
“You see me as a jewel but you treat all others as ants” by the female lead
“If I succeed, it is my fortune. If I fail it is my fate. Even if I die, I’ll have no regrets.” by the villain
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