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This review may contain spoilers
My favorite of 2025 so far!
I gave this one a 10/10 before composing my review because I knew it was perfect. But, being that this drama received some criticism for its female lead, I wanted to give it a worthy analysis in addition to defending Song Yimeng.
๐ค Romance Quality ๐ค
It was a joy to watch Liu Yuning and Li Yitong on-screen together. This was my second drama with Liu Yuning, and it was so interesting to compare Nan Heng's character with LYN's portrayal of Wei Shao in Prisoner of Beauty. I don't want to get sidetracked with comparisons here, I'm just stating my frame of reference for why I'm so impressed with LYN.
As for the romance in ADWAD, it starts out as a mixture of toxicity, intensity, and hilarity. Song Yimeng (Song Xiaoyu, but I'll refer to her as SYM for the sake of consistency here) garners a lot of criticism from viewers for how she treats Nan Heng (NH) for the majority of the series. I think these critics are forgetting the premise though. SYM is doing everything she can to survive the original script in which NH deceives her, cheats on her, abandons, and then tortures her. Who in her place would not do everything in their power to escape such a fate?
She gets there though, SYM. She falls for Li Sixteen, but that's NH. Then, she falls for NH himself. She defends him against the emperor, against Chu Gui Hong, against the screenwriter.
Putting those two aside, let's look at the other major romance in the show.
Song Yi Ting x Shangguan He? ADORABLE. Weirdly, I didn't see this coming even though they complement each other in much the same way NH and SYM do. One is more serious and forthright in their feelings. The other is ridiculous, but struggles for a long time with their affection. I do wish SYT and SGH could have had more moments earlier on, but I was satisfied with the way their relationship played out. SO GLAD for the reincarnation glitch. My heart was absolutely broken when I thought we'd lost our Second Boss the first time. ใ ใ
The romantic highlights for me were:
๐ค Li Sixteen's mask-removal kisses
๐ค SYM falling for Li Sixteen
๐ค NH defending himself as LS, lol
๐ค NH puling SYM in to play drums with him at the banquet
๐ค The way NH looked at SYM
๐ค The early intense animosity between SYM and NH... it got pretty serious at times (NH plotting his own death along with SYM and CGH was pretty wild, for example), but the show did a good job of not taking itself too seriously. It was meant to be surreal humor, and we knew that from the moment of the opening three-way stabbing ๐
๐ค NH/LS saving our SYM time after time, whether by choice or not
๐ค SYT's sincerity and determination toward Shangguan He ๐ค
๐ค NH's proposal!!! The man gave her EVERYTHING she said she required, how many of us have dreamed of that kind of demonstration ๐ Friggin' perfect NH. I'll take him if SYM won't! (just kidding, I'm married to my own Nan Heng ๐คฃ)
๐คก Comedy ๐คก
I think this is one category I don't even really need to explore much. This show was hilarious. I have not laughed this hard since The Starry Love. I loved all the satire on the the genre (transmigration, historical romance), but the more amusing moments for me were cemented in the relationships between various characters. Jixiang had almost no lines, but his dynamic with Nan Rui was so great with his side-eye and RBF while Rui carried on being...Rui. In how it carried its characters with humor, this show reminded me of TSL in many ways. I'd even go so far as to say its comedy surpassed TSL, which was a VERY high bar to meet for me!
๐๏ธ Plot/Intrigue ๐๏ธ
SYM's misunderstanding of NH did drag on longer than was comfortable. But I think the writers did a good job of driving home WHY this kept happening. The plot (and Chu Gui Hong, ugh) kept working against them.
I loved the Inception-ish reveal that, true to the title, they seemed to be in a story within a story (or a dream within a dream ๐คช). NH's stepping into SXY's world at the very end didn't make sense, but we got our happy reunion. If I had to take any points away for this category, it might be for that, as it could be called lazy writing. But too often in these shows, we get an open or sad ending! See exhibit A:
- Till the End of the Moon - bittersweet, open ending
- Love Game in Eastern Fantasy - so-so, open ending
- Love Between Fairy and Devil - abrupt, though happy ending
- The Starry Love - bittersweet, open ending
- Moonlight Mystique - sad and abrupt happy ending
- The Story of Kunning Palace - abrupt, though happy ending
Here we got to see the very satisfying final battle where everyone came together to defeat CGH (third time's a charm? lol) followed by our leads and second leads as a happy couple (poor possibly preggo Shangguan He though? lolol). THEN, after the credits, we got to see SXY in the modern world, and... just when we're all afraid it was nothing but a dream, dashing NH shows up with his "White head, same heart." ๐ which we will all never forget, haha!
I loved the framing devices, the scheming, poetic justice, the romance, the rivalry, everything!
๐ต Soundtrack ๐ต
One of the best OSTs! My favorite tracks were:
โ Hu Yanbin's "A Dream in Scrolls" might have been my favorite in the show, I think because it played to Nan Heng being... y'know, the beloved male lead. ๐
โ Liu Yuning's "้ฟ้ฃ่ฐฃ (Ballad of the Long Wind)" (opening theme) captures the playful and romantic adventure viewers are in for when they watch the show
โ Liu Yuning's "็บธ็ไบบ (Paper Figure)" puts me back to every scene in which Nan Heng got hurt, and makes me want to give him a big hug. T_T HE JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED.
โ Chen Xueran's "ๅคๆธธ็ฅ (Night Wanderer)" was so perfect for Li Sixteen! Very badass track!
โ Bu Cai's "ๅฎๅๆ (Rather Be Myself)" likewise was perfect for Song Yimeng being the lead female! Loved her spirit and ferocity (standing up to Rong Hua after NH had just died in her arms, for example. Badass!)
โ Jane Zhang's "Twisted Cocoon" (ending credits) conveyed all the extra angsty moments.
โ That damn bridal sedan song LMAO Was so integral to some of those goofier scenes
๐บ๏ธ World-Building ๐บ๏ธ
I loved how meta this show was, right down to side characters referring to themselves as "Passerby B" and "Lantern-selling Old Lady" ๐ It was such a different take.
The script world was your standard city-in-ancient-China, but the Waning River Crescent was stunning. The politics and palace drama did not really bring anything new to the genre, but it was all still engaging.
๐ Visuals/Costume ๐
This show had some knock-out costumes. My favorites:
1. SYM's rainbow sherbet colored hanfu.
2. SYT's blue/white hanfu.
3. ALL of Li Sixteen's costumes, dayumn.
4. The purple/gold garments for the ministers at court.
5. Nan Heng's armor (ok, mostly I just love Liu Yuning in a ponytail ๐)
6. Nan Heng's groom costume โค๏ธ๐
6. Chu Gui Hong's consistent blues.
7. Nan Heng's bunny mask and proposal costume!~
๐ฟ Binge Factor ๐ฟ
I stayed up way too many an evening to finish this show, but it was worth it! I only struggled toward the end when we kept going through reincarnations. It was hard to watch them die repeatedly. ;.;
๐ญ Acting ๐ญ
LYT and LYN were wonderful leads! I have no complaints about their portrayals of SYM and NH.
This was my first time to see Riley Wang. OH. HOW ABOUT THAT? No it wasn't! He played Ran Yi in FOF? Well, wow! Very different kind of character from Shangguan He here in ADWAD. I'm impressed by his range, and I look forward to watching for more of him in other dramas!
I personally really liked Zhu Yu Dan in Love Game, so I'd like to watch more shows with her too.
Other actors that really shined:
โ Chang Long pulled off a really comical, outlandish Nan Rui
โ Loved to hate Wang You Shuo as Chu Gui Hong (he kinda cute tho, guys!)
โ Lu Xing as Daddy Song ๐ค
โ Song Ji Yang's stoic performance and RBF as Ji Xiang
Wang Cheng Si was good, but seems like he gets type casted in this role. I felt his role in POB was stronger, but he served his purpose here in ADWAD. He did not particularly stand out to me though, simply because of the variety of other wild cast members.
๐ฅท๐ป Conflict ๐ฅท๐ป
Fate vs agency, family vs self, modern world vs script world. This series had plenty of excellent conflicts for SYM and NH to navigate along with their loved ones.
๐ค Romance Quality ๐ค
It was a joy to watch Liu Yuning and Li Yitong on-screen together. This was my second drama with Liu Yuning, and it was so interesting to compare Nan Heng's character with LYN's portrayal of Wei Shao in Prisoner of Beauty. I don't want to get sidetracked with comparisons here, I'm just stating my frame of reference for why I'm so impressed with LYN.
As for the romance in ADWAD, it starts out as a mixture of toxicity, intensity, and hilarity. Song Yimeng (Song Xiaoyu, but I'll refer to her as SYM for the sake of consistency here) garners a lot of criticism from viewers for how she treats Nan Heng (NH) for the majority of the series. I think these critics are forgetting the premise though. SYM is doing everything she can to survive the original script in which NH deceives her, cheats on her, abandons, and then tortures her. Who in her place would not do everything in their power to escape such a fate?
She gets there though, SYM. She falls for Li Sixteen, but that's NH. Then, she falls for NH himself. She defends him against the emperor, against Chu Gui Hong, against the screenwriter.
Putting those two aside, let's look at the other major romance in the show.
Song Yi Ting x Shangguan He? ADORABLE. Weirdly, I didn't see this coming even though they complement each other in much the same way NH and SYM do. One is more serious and forthright in their feelings. The other is ridiculous, but struggles for a long time with their affection. I do wish SYT and SGH could have had more moments earlier on, but I was satisfied with the way their relationship played out. SO GLAD for the reincarnation glitch. My heart was absolutely broken when I thought we'd lost our Second Boss the first time. ใ ใ
The romantic highlights for me were:
๐ค Li Sixteen's mask-removal kisses
๐ค SYM falling for Li Sixteen
๐ค NH defending himself as LS, lol
๐ค NH puling SYM in to play drums with him at the banquet
๐ค The way NH looked at SYM
๐ค The early intense animosity between SYM and NH... it got pretty serious at times (NH plotting his own death along with SYM and CGH was pretty wild, for example), but the show did a good job of not taking itself too seriously. It was meant to be surreal humor, and we knew that from the moment of the opening three-way stabbing ๐
๐ค NH/LS saving our SYM time after time, whether by choice or not
๐ค SYT's sincerity and determination toward Shangguan He ๐ค
๐ค NH's proposal!!! The man gave her EVERYTHING she said she required, how many of us have dreamed of that kind of demonstration ๐ Friggin' perfect NH. I'll take him if SYM won't! (just kidding, I'm married to my own Nan Heng ๐คฃ)
๐คก Comedy ๐คก
I think this is one category I don't even really need to explore much. This show was hilarious. I have not laughed this hard since The Starry Love. I loved all the satire on the the genre (transmigration, historical romance), but the more amusing moments for me were cemented in the relationships between various characters. Jixiang had almost no lines, but his dynamic with Nan Rui was so great with his side-eye and RBF while Rui carried on being...Rui. In how it carried its characters with humor, this show reminded me of TSL in many ways. I'd even go so far as to say its comedy surpassed TSL, which was a VERY high bar to meet for me!
๐๏ธ Plot/Intrigue ๐๏ธ
SYM's misunderstanding of NH did drag on longer than was comfortable. But I think the writers did a good job of driving home WHY this kept happening. The plot (and Chu Gui Hong, ugh) kept working against them.
I loved the Inception-ish reveal that, true to the title, they seemed to be in a story within a story (or a dream within a dream ๐คช). NH's stepping into SXY's world at the very end didn't make sense, but we got our happy reunion. If I had to take any points away for this category, it might be for that, as it could be called lazy writing. But too often in these shows, we get an open or sad ending! See exhibit A:
- Till the End of the Moon - bittersweet, open ending
- Love Game in Eastern Fantasy - so-so, open ending
- Love Between Fairy and Devil - abrupt, though happy ending
- The Starry Love - bittersweet, open ending
- Moonlight Mystique - sad and abrupt happy ending
- The Story of Kunning Palace - abrupt, though happy ending
Here we got to see the very satisfying final battle where everyone came together to defeat CGH (third time's a charm? lol) followed by our leads and second leads as a happy couple (poor possibly preggo Shangguan He though? lolol). THEN, after the credits, we got to see SXY in the modern world, and... just when we're all afraid it was nothing but a dream, dashing NH shows up with his "White head, same heart." ๐ which we will all never forget, haha!
I loved the framing devices, the scheming, poetic justice, the romance, the rivalry, everything!
๐ต Soundtrack ๐ต
One of the best OSTs! My favorite tracks were:
โ Hu Yanbin's "A Dream in Scrolls" might have been my favorite in the show, I think because it played to Nan Heng being... y'know, the beloved male lead. ๐
โ Liu Yuning's "้ฟ้ฃ่ฐฃ (Ballad of the Long Wind)" (opening theme) captures the playful and romantic adventure viewers are in for when they watch the show
โ Liu Yuning's "็บธ็ไบบ (Paper Figure)" puts me back to every scene in which Nan Heng got hurt, and makes me want to give him a big hug. T_T HE JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED.
โ Chen Xueran's "ๅคๆธธ็ฅ (Night Wanderer)" was so perfect for Li Sixteen! Very badass track!
โ Bu Cai's "ๅฎๅๆ (Rather Be Myself)" likewise was perfect for Song Yimeng being the lead female! Loved her spirit and ferocity (standing up to Rong Hua after NH had just died in her arms, for example. Badass!)
โ Jane Zhang's "Twisted Cocoon" (ending credits) conveyed all the extra angsty moments.
โ That damn bridal sedan song LMAO Was so integral to some of those goofier scenes
๐บ๏ธ World-Building ๐บ๏ธ
I loved how meta this show was, right down to side characters referring to themselves as "Passerby B" and "Lantern-selling Old Lady" ๐ It was such a different take.
The script world was your standard city-in-ancient-China, but the Waning River Crescent was stunning. The politics and palace drama did not really bring anything new to the genre, but it was all still engaging.
๐ Visuals/Costume ๐
This show had some knock-out costumes. My favorites:
1. SYM's rainbow sherbet colored hanfu.
2. SYT's blue/white hanfu.
3. ALL of Li Sixteen's costumes, dayumn.
4. The purple/gold garments for the ministers at court.
5. Nan Heng's armor (ok, mostly I just love Liu Yuning in a ponytail ๐)
6. Nan Heng's groom costume โค๏ธ๐
6. Chu Gui Hong's consistent blues.
7. Nan Heng's bunny mask and proposal costume!~
๐ฟ Binge Factor ๐ฟ
I stayed up way too many an evening to finish this show, but it was worth it! I only struggled toward the end when we kept going through reincarnations. It was hard to watch them die repeatedly. ;.;
๐ญ Acting ๐ญ
LYT and LYN were wonderful leads! I have no complaints about their portrayals of SYM and NH.
This was my first time to see Riley Wang. OH. HOW ABOUT THAT? No it wasn't! He played Ran Yi in FOF? Well, wow! Very different kind of character from Shangguan He here in ADWAD. I'm impressed by his range, and I look forward to watching for more of him in other dramas!
I personally really liked Zhu Yu Dan in Love Game, so I'd like to watch more shows with her too.
Other actors that really shined:
โ Chang Long pulled off a really comical, outlandish Nan Rui
โ Loved to hate Wang You Shuo as Chu Gui Hong (he kinda cute tho, guys!)
โ Lu Xing as Daddy Song ๐ค
โ Song Ji Yang's stoic performance and RBF as Ji Xiang
Wang Cheng Si was good, but seems like he gets type casted in this role. I felt his role in POB was stronger, but he served his purpose here in ADWAD. He did not particularly stand out to me though, simply because of the variety of other wild cast members.
๐ฅท๐ป Conflict ๐ฅท๐ป
Fate vs agency, family vs self, modern world vs script world. This series had plenty of excellent conflicts for SYM and NH to navigate along with their loved ones.
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