Love in Between (2020)

To pull off a wuxia drama is not easy..

I came to this drama rather late.. in fact i watched it after the dancing of phoenix and the heiress.. so this review might be get biased but surely you're all can understand lol

To pull off a wuxia drama is not easy.. moreover a wuxia drama where the ML is not a martial artist

I did not do any research before watching this so in 1st episode i thought the ML must have a secret card.. he cannot just simply be a doctor, for heaven's sake this is wuxia drama.. at some point he must learn something and master it.

Hahaha

Turns out this really is not just a wuxia drama, the plot is also heavy on politic power struggle with revenge as the main theme

What drawn me the most is the character of ML. He is f*cked up, weak and petty but in the same time pitiful and relatable

"To be your son, is it a fortune or misfortune?" This father and son relationship is just heartbreaking. Because of his father's principle, the ML is the one who suffer the most but at the end he still choose to continue his dad's path. Protecting the nation even at the cost of his own life.

Talking about the ending, actually IMO it fits with the last mission which is to mislead the corrupt minister to show his true color in front of everyone... the end game. However by doing also ML will also be held on consequences.. I guess that's why the ML was preparing himself to die after all.

I dont know why some peoples hate the ending. Believe me there are more hateful endings than this drama. I m pretty happy with this and hope to find more dramas like this in the future

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A must watch for all historical c-drama fans

“Love in Between” is easily one of the best historical c-dramas of 2020. Its best feature is the storyline and how the director and screenwriter treat the drama’s characters: with diverse personas to become the heart and soul of this drama. It does not have the A-list actor lineup like “Legend of Fei” and “Golden Hairpin”. But the lack of established stars did not take away from the storyline. This web drama does not suffer from heavy reliance on their 2 main characters – Su Yunlou and Zuo Qingci. It is not far-fetched to say that this drama has 6 main characters – the 2 Zhengyang disciples in Yin Changge and Shen Manqing; the head of Shunsuidu in Wen Siyuan and the odd man out and Changge’s sworn brother – Zhu Yan. There are also other supporting cast which have considerable exposure in the series like the Emperor’s informer Ling xi, Jiang Er, etc. In short, plenty of screen time shared by an array of main and supporting cast, and it bodes well for a series that has the jiangxu aspect intertwine with palace politics (less developed) and its various main and subplots.

With a stronger and more realistic ending to the storyline coupled with A-line actors, “Love in Between” could have been the best c-drama of 2020. The interaction, chemistry and dynamics among the couples and friends are genuinely moving and well developed. I have emotional and deep attachment to Shen Manqing, Changge, Jiang Er and Wen Siyuan characters. The first 3 are portrayed as innocent, pure, naïve, yet brave and fearless in the face of danger. Sounds like perfect characters but Manqing is reticent, cries a lot and extremely emotional; Changge is overly righteous and loyal to the core ; Jiang Er has a heart of gold, naughty and a bit mischievous but destined for a short life due to congenital heart problem.

Wen Siyuan/Sima Lang was your typical Zhou Ting Wei’s character. In “Ashes of Love”, he played a dying Chen Yuqi’s husband. In “The Winner is Love”, he died protecting Chen Yuqi. ZTW will never be the main lead of any c-drama story – he is past that stage age-wise and does not have the physique nor look to rival younger more handsome actors like the ML in this series. But what he got in abundance is unadulterated sheer talent that could make audience cry with him. In this drama, Wen Siyuan’s character is cunning and manipulative, but warm-hearted and caring too. I dislike the ML’s character because he does not possess any martial arts, but manage to survive solely based on his wits and intelligence - something highly unlikely in the era where one lives by the sword, dies by the sword. His character reminds me of Yu Menglong in “The Moon Brightens For you” – the puppet master behind the scenes. The FL was my favourite in “Legend of Fuyao” even more so than Yang Mi, but in this series her character was bordering on psychotic on her attachment to her shifu. Then in the second half of this drama, she was chasing the ML like a bitch in heat.

There are essentially 3 couples with different love stories. The ML-FL takes the centre-stage with their typical on-off lead romance. In this relationship, the ML cries a lot. A role made for Zhang You with his boyish charm and appearance. They have sex even before getting married. Then there is the second couple of Wen Siyuan – Shen Manqing. Some feminists might abhor Shen Manqing’s character in this love bond. Here is an accomplished swordswoman, the first disciple of Zhengyang Palace, who succumbed to the vagaries of love. She was a miserable soul after her forced marriage to Mu Ying. The last was the heartbreaking love story between 2 innocent young chaps - Changge and Jiang Er. The get married in Ep 41 but you will remember this scene. This is where Changge has to juggle between his love for his wife, his guilt to his sworn brother that he is the reason Zhu Yan losses his mother and his unwavering loyalty to always protect his friends especially Manqing.

Then there is platonic relationship between Changge and Manqing – beautifully narrated and told. This is a true heart-wrenching friendship between a junior and senior that could easily be turned into a romance. The last scene between Changge and Manqing summarizes their love, respect and mutual admiration between these characters. The parting words of Changge – “After everything is finished, you have to live well for your own sake” - were poignant and left Manqing with a bewildered look. And the bromance between Changge and Zhu Yan as sworn brothers is sweet and not overbearing. These characters alone make this drama worth watching.

Now to the storyline and plot - it is two prongs with jianghu and palace politics – each with its own life, and eventually converges at the very end. I could not stop thinking that there are some eerie n uncanny similarities with Nirvana in Fire 2 scenes. The iconic stone arch bridge leading to the famous Langya Hall (Cangyan mountain); the high wall corridor leading to the palace (Qin Palace – Hengdian World Studio); landscape shots of Zhengyang Palace and Langya Hall. There are 2 distinct phases in the storyline. The first was finding the cure for Su Xuan. This first half was very exciting. From the main casts introduction in their quest for stolen document, to their missions to retrieve the last 2 antidotes/herbs to cure Su Xuan, and finally getting Su Xuan cured. Then comes the second half of the storyline which IMO has mixed success. This is where all the heroes try to save the martial arts world and ensure that the attempt by the bad guy to usurp the throne does not succeed. Then comes the ending, which is a different story altogether.

Now, what don’t I like about this c-drama. Firstly, the FL wardrobe. Whoever designed the costume and wardrobe for the FL should be shot. The crossdressing Fei Kou Er has got to be the ugliest man I have ever seen. She/he looked ridiculous - short and stubby. I have seen seen many crossdressers in c-drama because this is a recurring theme, but Fei Kou Er beat Han Shi Yi played by You Jingru in “The Heiress” as the ugliest crossdresser in my book. You don’t have to turn them into men. Even a feminine man like Fan Mian Wan played by Chen Yuqi in “The Love Lasts Two Minds” is better and more acceptable. Then there is an issue with Su Yunlou wardrobe as a female thief – that 2 piece suit with belt, with the upper dress overhanging around the butt. This wardrobe makes Zhang Yaqin’s bottom looks very plump and unattractive. We all know Zhang Yaqin is not exactly skinny, and the proper choice of wardrobes should be done more carefully.I have no complain about other ladies’ wardrobes. Manqing and Jiang Er’s wardrobes are beautiful. The designer just got it wrong with Zhang Yaqin’s.

SPOILERS ALERT.
Now my main grouse with this web drama is the ending. I understand the screenwriter wants to keep in line with the novel’s ending. But all the build-up particularly with regard to the main couple (Qingci/Youlun) shows that there is no cure to his disease. In the final 2 episodes, we were told Qingci only had a few days to live. Then there is Wen Siyuan final battle when he was hit with 3 flying daggers while protecting Manqing. The door was closed and he was trapped inside a room with tons of martial artists – there is just no escape. How he is able to survive and lead a happy life with Shen Manqing is beyond me. The last few episodes were really disjointed as if the production team rushes to get the post production done and get the c-drama out. Anyway, this is my rating for the drama.
Story - 9.0/10
Acting - 8.5/10
Music - 9.0/10
Rewatch value - 7.0/10
Overall - 9.0/10

Overall Verdict 9/10. A must watch in 2020 – that is the reason I completed this web-drama in 7 days. And do get some tissues because some of the scenes are very emotional and will get you choked up.

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a wuxia mixed with political intrigue series that often feels draggy

this is a wuxia series on the pugilistic world interweave with court/political intrigues. the court/political intrigues serve more as a secondary to enhance the story telling. there are several key characters in this series, but i feel that maybe in the novel these key characters have better dialogues, story telling and character developments.

this series is not for all audiences. some audiences might like this series more than others.

for me, this series is something i regretted watching. it's simply not for me. it's one of those numerous CDramas i have watched that i have to skip and fast forward a lot. as a whole, this series is a huge drag, and the strengths observable in this series ultimately cannot salvage it. there is a semi-erotic scene in the series, but it doesn't make the series more enjoyable/endearing for me.

with the current form, i feel that this series has the potential to be more enjoyable with better preparations, stronger screen writing, focus on quality story design and character developments, better quality editing, better editing direction and management. the shortening and editing of the series down to may be 25 episodes could have helped, too. there is simply nothing spectacular/unique about the story telling, plot, performances, and dialogues.

//strengths//
incorporation of natural environments
building architecture
string-fu, martial arts choreography, and props
background music/sound arrangement
interior design and props
costumes, trinkets
dubbing
lighting quality
non-exaggerated make-ups
extras

//average//
dialogues
story telling
casting and performances
plots
special effects, CGI
romantic chemistry

//major turnoffs//
inconsistent editing
translation
oft time dragging
lots of redundant or superfluous shots/segments/dialogues/screen time
occasional logical flaws
occasionally too many candles

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Started off strong, but could have been better

I have mixed feelings about this one. Went to watch it because of the really high Douban ratings. I was a bit disappointed though, probably because I expected more. It's by no means a bad show at all. I see people comparing the ML to Mei Changsu and the show to Nirvana in Fire, but I can't see how? This is so heavily based on romance and then suddenly becomes more focused on the political stuff in the second half (which wasn't THAT well done. In fact I would say it's one of the less complex Chinese costume dramas with political intrigue I've seen). NIF is a master in its genre.

The acting was good and Gala Zhang did do a great job. Everyone else was good too. I just didn't root for any of the characters. My favourites were Chang ge and Jiang'er and I cried when they died (even though it wasn't clear to me how they fell in love). I feel the show tried to grapple with concepts that have been done well in other dramas. The wuxia/political stuff is amazing in shows like NIF, Joy of Life and Word of Honor (and many other shows) but it falls short here. Zhu Yan's story was very similar to Yan Xun's in Princess Agents - and even though Princess Agents has many problems, I thought it showed Yan Xun's turn to the dark side very, very well. I felt like in LIB, Zhu Yan's turn to the dark side is externalised by this 'other' side to him in his head. He would just snap in and out of that alter ego whenever it required him to. I felt that was weak writing, instead of actually making us see what that grief and trauma of losing his family drove him to. He just battled in his head and woke up being evil after a while.

The show is shot very well. I absolutely love the music for the show. I think the real problem is the writing. None of the love stories were convincing to me - especially that of the ML and FL. They were just so terrible as a couple. There was no mutual understanding but just some sort of chemistry which brought about a lot of angst and lies. That would probably work in a xianxia, but wasn't expecting to watch it here. Wasn't too fond of the Man Qing wedding storyline which created a misunderstanding between her and Si Yuan. It didn't really add to anything. Just added one more angsty couple to the list. Therefore I thought Chang ge and Jiang'er were the best couple. Started out very well but trailed off after ep 10-ish.

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It had everything to be a great drama, but...

The script isn't bad, it doesn't bring innovative elements, but it manages to attract attention. The characters are captivating, despite making many mistakes throughout the drama out of stubbornness in pursuing difficult paths, there is a heroic aura to several characters.
Everyone in the cast performed very well. Zhang Yao was able to show his character's pain and weakness convincingly. Zhou Ting Wei, as always, composed his character impeccably.
The team worked hard in characterizing the characters, the clothes, makeup and hairstyles are quite beautiful.
The soundtrack is pleasant and was used in order to amplify the emotion of the scenes.
The direction, despite some minor errors in the editing, seemed to lead the drama perfectly, but, to the sadness of those who watched, in the final stretch it made a dive over the precipice. The last chapter is rushed, with poorly explained scenes (at what time and for what reason was Wen Si Yuan in that room with Duke Wei Ning's guard? What happened to Yun Luo's master? How was their escape after leaving the palace?). Showing years later and leaving the ending implied and with a sequence of previous scenes is very amateurish.

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A "Must see" even without Eng Subs

Why the 9.5 for the acting/cast, as you watch it you'll see little areas where some of the actors don't connect as well with characters they are supposed to be close to, seeming too detached or the way the lines were delivered could have been better. It's really small errors here and there that don't take away much but I couldn't help but notice them. Overall, the cast and crew did a superb job in relaying the emotions, loyalty and strengths of their characters. I'm so happy that I was able to see and enjoy every minute of it. Amazing start! Oh Zuo Qingci <3 very handsome
A Yan is sweet, both he & Chang Ge are innocent & good. I love how the leading ladies seem to all be capable warriors .

The actor playing Bai Mo is by Qing Ci's side throughout and is just as passionate an actor as the main cast.

Another thing that appreciate is that the secondary couples all have chemistry, though I wish they could have some happiness at the end of their journey as well.

Again, this is a must see because of all of the above haha :)

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Awesome

This was one of the best drama I ever watched. Love everything about it especially the storyline and the acting. The sacrifice and the loyalty in love, friendship and country..

It's kind of heavy drama with lots of roller coaster plot especially to test the ML and FL love but it come with good rewards at the end. Watching this make me think can I face that kind of test in my life?

It just so awesome drama and of course Gala Zhang and Zhang Ya Qin were so good nevertheless all the other cast members. They work really hard to give us such an awesome drama.

Congratulations and thankyou to all involved in making me satisfied with this wonderful drama. The production team and everyone in it. KEEP IT UP???

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interesting start + young cast

Story: I think the story did have some interesting start with many questions regarding those slaughtering and revenges for the Wuxia world. But continuing with the drama the plot is getting less appealing with the revealing of some answers. So it couldn't hold the interest of me.

Acting/Cast: Personally I feel the cast was actually still very young and felt somewhat that they might still need more experience. So that's why probably the 2nd leads stood out more to me than the main ones. Especially the female lead was kinda lacking with her face expressions.

Overall:
The drama could captivate one's interest at the beginning but couldn't hold it till the end.

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Favorite 2nd Leads couple ever

I signed up to dramalist just to write this review for Love in Between. That is how much I loved it. I don’t usually watch C drama but was in a KDrama drought so decided to watch this due to high score in Douban and recommendations by a blogger I follow.

To be honest, the first half of the drama was much better than than the latter half which was too much court intrigue-y for my liking. But still, I persevered due to my love for all the actors especially especially Wen Si Yuan (I did forward much of the court scenes).

What stole my heart was the 2nd leads romance. The chemistry between the actors playing Wen Si Yuan and Shen Man Qing was great. The acting was on point and you are brought along this emotional roller coaster with them. I ugly cried a few times but if you enjoy such 虐 ness (torture) then this is the show for you! Best of all, they have a happy ending which I think they deserved after all the pain (although I agree that they could have better explained how he survived the final fight with the Imperial guards)

I became a big fan of Zou Ting Wei after this show, his acting is so nuanced and charismatic that somehow he looks attractive despite his age and physique compared to the much younger actors. I am frankly bewildered by this because cognitively, I can tell that his looks is not considered handsome but yet, I can’t help but feel drawn in by him, his micro-expressions and his intonation and manner of speaking. It is a pity he couldn’t get any lead roles at his age despite his obvious talents. I really think that we need to move away from all those pretty boys MLs we see too often in C and K dramas. Zou Ting Wei fighting!

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A solid serious drama with excellent acting and a story that could been better.

Honestly, I can't believe I had been sleeping on this drama till now. It reminded me so much of nirvana in fire even though the storyline of this is considerably weaker, it is still one of the best shows of the year. No unnecessary goofiness, and a well thought out plot with twists and turns makes it for an intriguing watch. There were so many things about this show that made it memorable. The believable cross dressing, unexpected actions of an wuxia MC ( like letting a certain someone die for greater good ), and the excellent acting of the side characters which each of them having their own little storyline.

Won't be going into detail cause long review writing is not my forte but I definitely recommend you watch this show.

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This is a good wuxia drama that has a dark plot weaved throughout. It has great choreography, hidden identities, and secrets to be uncovered while the leading couple struggles to try to understand and love each other. Although the drama is not flawless, it’s still a nice watch. Zuo Qing Ci (Gala Zhang) does a great job as a ruthless strategist that, on the long run, is always trying to save his family and friends but, above all, his beloved Su Yun Luo / Fei Kou Er (Zhang Ya Qin) while been in the brink of death throughout the entire drama. The main and supporting cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. The second leading couple is also really good Wen Si Yuan [Shan Shui Du Master] played by Zhong Ting Wei and Shen Man Qing [Zhen Yang Palace] played by Deng Yu Li. The drama is not perfect but it’s entertaining.

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At least it had a HEA [Major spoilers at the end]

I'm so glad this had a happily ever after with only a few heartbreaking (but necessary) ends for some characters.

Zhang Ya Qin is now my third favourite Chinese actress. She is beyond amazing. I haven't watched a more convincing "man", dedicated disciple and strong female lead in one drama in FOREVER. There is usually one drawback about costume drama FLs, but not with Su Yun Luo (ZYQ). I LOVE HER.

This drama is one of the best of all of my favourite costume dramas. The brilliantly choreographed fight scenes found in Listening Snow Tower and Legend of Fu Yao. The physically weak, but psychologically strong ML from LST. The addictive MUSIC like "Love and Redemption" and "Novoland:Pearl Eclipse". Everything about this drama was so good.

I just can't give it full stars, because it made me cry a little too much. So much heartbreak. So much sadness. Watch with tissues.








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SPOILERS









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- Zhu Yan's death was so sad, but necessary
- Chang Ge and Jian Er's deaths were sad, but unnecessary. She had a terminal illness! Why not wait for her inevitable death and his death of a broken heart or su*c*de. (*i*i)
- I reeaaallllllyyyy though Chang Ge was Emperor Ai. It would have been a much better plot twist.
- Before the final battle (in the palace) when Qing Ci said he had a surprise (the fireworks) for Yun Luo and she said she had one too (also fireworks) for him, I thought she meant she would tell him that she was preggers. I mean, they had a kid around the same age as the years that passed after the final battle. So....
- Whhhhyyyy did they introduce Jiang Er as Chang Ge's love interest. I felt ZERO chemistry between them. He was better off having a platonic relationship with Ah'Yan. (They had a stronger bong. Soulmates).

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