3
17
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Romance-focused in first 1/3 , Politics and War-focused in the last 2/3 of the drama
Completed - 12/18/2021 - 8.25
My initial desire to watch this drama was because of Evan Lin. I saw him in "Crush" and immediately took a liking to him. I've also never watched a Chen Xing Xu drama (I avoided "Goodbye My Princess") and wanted to see if he's as good as people said. This drama surprises me in a way that I thought it would be a lot more romance-focused than it really is.
Story/Plot - As my headline said, the first third of the drama has a stronger focus on the romance between the three leads. We all know who the FL is going to end up with. We see the romance developed between our leads from frenemies to lovers, and for a romance junkie like me, I am satisfied with this part of the drama. More to come about romance later. The middle part of the drama (episodes late teens and twenties) is my least favorite. It lost my attention and I thought the plot dragged a little bit during the Beijing events. The back and forth lasted a little too long for my taste. However, I am glad that the drama has a strong (and surprising) finish. The last 10 episodes have a more serious tone as it deals with war conflicts. I wasn't expecting this drama to have so much politics. But, I thoroughly enjoy the last 1/3 of the drama and felt that the pacing was good.
Acting - Evan Lin brought me here and I heard that he shot this drama before "Crush". I do think his acting here is not as good as in "Crush". For a first drama, he did pretty well and I am sure many of us fell in love with him, for his looks and his role as Xu Guang Yao. However, I have to say, comparing to Chen Xing Xu's acting, Chen is far superior. The role of Tan Xuan Lin is complex and multi-faceted. Chen Xin Xu was able to show his fun, flirty, romantic, jealous, and serious side. He is the best part of the drama. Even though I probably won't watch "Goodbye My Princess", I will look out for his other dramas. Zhang Jin Yi as our FL did an admirable job. She has good chemistry with Chen Xin Xu, but there are times some of her smiles seemed forced. Maybe that's only me thinking that way. All the veteran actors were great and the younger actors/actresses have a lot to learn. The younger actors/actresses did fine, but I would not say they're on par with Chen Xing Xu's acting.
Romance - Our main is romance is fun and flirty. I enjoy how their romance was developed. Though I pitied Evan Lin/Xu Guang Yao, our leads are the perfect match for each other. No second-lead syndrome for me here, no matter how pretty Evan Lin is. LOL. It's nice to see our main leads' relationship is built on trust and understanding, even though there are secrets between them. We have a FL who is just as smart as our ML, and she's not annoying. Tan Xuan Lin (ML) and Mu Wan Qing (FL) are a match made in heaven. However, the secondary and tertiary romances are not as good. I actually was very annoyed with the childish and stalkerish behaviors of the supporting characters. I am not invested in the other romances at all.
OST/Production - There are two lovely songs played in the drama. I am glad that they weren't overplayed and the volume did not overshadow the dialogs. I tried to search for the OST on Spotify but couldn't find them. I would say, overall the OST is decent. Because this does not seem like a big production drama, I do find the battle scenes somewhat unrealistic. The set designs were OK but some props seem flimsy. And the worst thing is the dubbing. I wish the actors have used their own voices. I am so incredibly annoyed by the voices of FL's stepmother and Actress Gu Yue Shuang. I just saw Chen Xin Yu (who played Gu Yue Shuang) in "Princess Silver" and it's really hard to picture her in this drama with that annoying girly voice.
Other Observations:
1. Handsome guys in suits and long coats - LOVE
2. female characters also have nice dresses and costumes
3. Good mix of romance and investigation/politics
4. Characters seem to be able to travel between cities in lightning speed
My initial desire to watch this drama was because of Evan Lin. I saw him in "Crush" and immediately took a liking to him. I've also never watched a Chen Xing Xu drama (I avoided "Goodbye My Princess") and wanted to see if he's as good as people said. This drama surprises me in a way that I thought it would be a lot more romance-focused than it really is.
Story/Plot - As my headline said, the first third of the drama has a stronger focus on the romance between the three leads. We all know who the FL is going to end up with. We see the romance developed between our leads from frenemies to lovers, and for a romance junkie like me, I am satisfied with this part of the drama. More to come about romance later. The middle part of the drama (episodes late teens and twenties) is my least favorite. It lost my attention and I thought the plot dragged a little bit during the Beijing events. The back and forth lasted a little too long for my taste. However, I am glad that the drama has a strong (and surprising) finish. The last 10 episodes have a more serious tone as it deals with war conflicts. I wasn't expecting this drama to have so much politics. But, I thoroughly enjoy the last 1/3 of the drama and felt that the pacing was good.
Acting - Evan Lin brought me here and I heard that he shot this drama before "Crush". I do think his acting here is not as good as in "Crush". For a first drama, he did pretty well and I am sure many of us fell in love with him, for his looks and his role as Xu Guang Yao. However, I have to say, comparing to Chen Xing Xu's acting, Chen is far superior. The role of Tan Xuan Lin is complex and multi-faceted. Chen Xin Xu was able to show his fun, flirty, romantic, jealous, and serious side. He is the best part of the drama. Even though I probably won't watch "Goodbye My Princess", I will look out for his other dramas. Zhang Jin Yi as our FL did an admirable job. She has good chemistry with Chen Xin Xu, but there are times some of her smiles seemed forced. Maybe that's only me thinking that way. All the veteran actors were great and the younger actors/actresses have a lot to learn. The younger actors/actresses did fine, but I would not say they're on par with Chen Xing Xu's acting.
Romance - Our main is romance is fun and flirty. I enjoy how their romance was developed. Though I pitied Evan Lin/Xu Guang Yao, our leads are the perfect match for each other. No second-lead syndrome for me here, no matter how pretty Evan Lin is. LOL. It's nice to see our main leads' relationship is built on trust and understanding, even though there are secrets between them. We have a FL who is just as smart as our ML, and she's not annoying. Tan Xuan Lin (ML) and Mu Wan Qing (FL) are a match made in heaven. However, the secondary and tertiary romances are not as good. I actually was very annoyed with the childish and stalkerish behaviors of the supporting characters. I am not invested in the other romances at all.
OST/Production - There are two lovely songs played in the drama. I am glad that they weren't overplayed and the volume did not overshadow the dialogs. I tried to search for the OST on Spotify but couldn't find them. I would say, overall the OST is decent. Because this does not seem like a big production drama, I do find the battle scenes somewhat unrealistic. The set designs were OK but some props seem flimsy. And the worst thing is the dubbing. I wish the actors have used their own voices. I am so incredibly annoyed by the voices of FL's stepmother and Actress Gu Yue Shuang. I just saw Chen Xin Yu (who played Gu Yue Shuang) in "Princess Silver" and it's really hard to picture her in this drama with that annoying girly voice.
Other Observations:
1. Handsome guys in suits and long coats - LOVE
2. female characters also have nice dresses and costumes
3. Good mix of romance and investigation/politics
4. Characters seem to be able to travel between cities in lightning speed
Was this review helpful to you?
