The Oath of Love (2022)

Quite lovely although not very original

A story of falling in love, and I would say: Staying in love (her parents).
It is a rather un-complicated storyline, a bit predictive, but at the same time quite lovely.

They could probably have made it an episode shorter if reduced all the flashbacks throughout, and some lengthy scenes.

Acting was OK; I do feel FL and ML could've had a bit better chemistry throughout; it was just a few moments that felt more convincing, the rest was OK, but not "sparks flying" good.

I got very emotional watching the last episodes - without giving too much of a spoiler I will only say it reminded me of my own past.

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Not a masterpiece but a good watch

Communication is the lifeline of any relationship...
The main couple had great chemistry mostly due to ML I think, at first I didn't see that age gap they were talking about cause she was not that young and he was not that old in real life.
I loved them but him not willing to talk to her about his problems and not realising at first, and his behaviour in front of her parents almost ruined it for me, I'm happy she forgave him but didn't matter another episode so that he truly apologises.
The FL and her father cared about each other and it was touching though sad that family members do always this, we don't say that we love each other unless it's late ..
The second best friend should have thought more about how she was with her boyfriend, he should have talked to her before, and she should have understood even after...
We, as people, should talk explain to each other what is going wrong, cause unless we'll just end up messing our lives and missing good memories we would have had with them ..

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This is real love

I can't tell in words how much i loved this, this is my first drama where i didn't skip any scene. This drama will hit you right on the spot. This is an emotional, romantic and in the end yes its very very emotional drama. I fell in love with Xiao Zhan after watching this masterpiece. He is so calm and very sensible guy in this drama. He indeed made this drama worth it by his acting. The chemistry between the ML and FL is very natural and great, the age gap was perfecly shown. Even a daughter father relationship is highlighted in the end that is so emotional. I literally cried after seeing the father and son in law emotional connection. I wish this kinda son in law every daughter's father deserve... 🥹 thanks for making this masterpiece i loved it.. this review is straight from my heart. And the title is perfectly conveyed 👌. Xiao Zhan love you🤌🏻🤌🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Realistic romance drama!

Oath of love is a very realistic romance drama. It's soft, romantic and sad at the same time. It actually has a lot of romance in it. There were so many kisses in this drama, and I was so happy about it! I suggest this drama to those who like to watch romance and family dramas, since the drama revolves heavily around family and its importance.
I have to warn, Oath of love touches a sensitive topic, cancer. If you or someone important in your life are going through or have gone through cancer, this drama might be something you want to skip if the subject is too hard for you.
Oath of love doesn't have any love rivals going nuts, it has slight rivalry in a couple episodes, but the main leads take care of the rivals very quickly. All hardships are also taken care of very quickly. It's a heartwarming and realistic story that leaves the plot in my opinion a little lacking. I think this drama is very worth to watch for Xiao Zhan. The best part of the drama for me was watching Xiao Zhan act like he was in love.

THE STORY:

Lin Zhixiao is a 21-22 year old cellist in her 3rd year in Huaqing University's music department. Her father had been having stomach problems that were thought to be stomach ulcer, but turned out to be cancer. Thanks to Gu Wei, "Dr.Gu" a 31-year-old chief surgeon, he was diagnosed early. Due to Gu Wei's past surgery where his teacher died, he now suffers from a small trauma, his hands start to tremble. Lin Zhixiao had misunderstandings about Gu Wei, but thanks to him diagnosing her father's cancer, now she and her family want Gu Wei to perform the surgery on him. After finding out about his condition, she helps him get through it. They slowly fall in love. They go through hardships as Gu Wei is busy as a doctor, their 10-year-old age gap and differences in personality. Lin Zhixiao is a little childish and clumsy, meanwhile Gu Wei is stoic and mature. But opposites attract and they learn how to communicate.

SPOILER PART OF THE STORY, MY OPINION:

The plot is very family oriented and maybe a little too realistic to me. There wasn't really anything interesting to me about the plot, apart from watching Xiao Zhan (Gu Wei) act like he was in love. The topic was a little too heavy for me, and at times I was a little bored.
Lin Zhixiao is portrayed to be this 21-22year old that is childish, yet mature. As a 22-year-old myself, I think 22-year-olds are a little bit like that. She was a little too childish for my liking but when was the time to act mature, she was.
22-year-olds and 31-year-olds for sure have differences when it comes to relationships and personality. Lin Zhixiao often misunderstood what Gu Wei meant, but it had a lot to do just with the way his personality was, not his age. Their relationship felt very natural as Gu Wei started to act more cute and childish too and thanks to Gu Wei, Lin Zhixiao started to act more mature.

I didn't like her father treating her too strictly and like she was a child. You want your kid to grow up but won't stop controlling her, let her make her own mistakes and learn from them and won't stop calling her "too young" and "a small child" As a 22-year-old, living in Finland, it's a cultural shock to learn that Lin Zhixiao wasn't allowed to stay overnight in her boyfriend's apartment.

The plot romance wise was nice, but there wasn't really much going on aside from that. I'm giving this drama only an 8, due to the ridiculous "breakup" in ep 24. You can't say that it's a real breakup, since the breakup was basically taken care of in one episode. Gu Wei performs an emergency surgery on a car accident patient without the patient's guardian's permission, since they couldn't be reached. Gu Wei saved the patient's life but due to the patient still not out of critical state, the patient's parents make trouble for Gu Wei by posting a Weibo post about Gu Wei being a bad doctor. Because of this, he can't go to Germany with Lin Zhixiao as planned and almost loses his license. Gu Wei meets Lin Zhixiao's parents for the first time as Lin Zhixiao's boyfriend and tells her father that he can't promise to take care of her. He doesn't tell Lin Zhixiao what is going on and doesn't answer his phone and disappears. After finding out about the situation from his colleagues, she finds him and tells him how much he hurt her by not telling her. He wants to hold on to her, but she says to come to her after he is done escaping the situation where he wasn't in the wrong and to fix things.
The situation is solved in the blink of an eye, and she doesn't take him back at first, but it didn't take more than 1–2 episodes before they were all good.
Gu Wei proposes to her soon after, and just when everything seems too good to be true, it usually means that things are too good to be true. Her father's cancer has gotten worse, and he has less than a year to live. (this happens in ep 28 and if you are watching it from viki or youtube, the drama has 29 episodes.)
I disliked that a lot, and the fact that their whole wedding planning and wedding was filled with sadness instead of hope and love. I mean, it's realistic, but for me, it took away the happiness from the ending. The ending felt rushed and sad, since they have a 3-year-old in the end after a 7-year-old time skip and her father has passed away without ever seeing his grandson.


THE THINGS I LIKED:
- Gu Wei and Lin Zhixiao's love, it was cute and believable.
- The love rivals, giving up quickly and maturely.
- Lin Zhixiao and her mother's relationship
- Gu Wei standing up to his parents
- Sansan and Yinxi, Lin Zhixiao's two besties standing up for her and being there for her.

THE THINGS I DISLIKED:
- Lin Zhixiao's father. He had his moments, but overall he was too strict on her. He was sharp tongued and only when nearing death he realized that there were many things they haven't done together.
- Sansan's and Yinxi's advice in relationships-
- GU XIAO, Gu Wei's relative who is a rich playboy, who falls for Sansan. He opens a café for her, messes up and leaves without explaining to Sansan and comes back later on and all of a sudden they were all good.
- GU XIAO BEING RUDE TO LIN ZHIXIAO ALL THE TIME. If I was Lin Zhixiao, he would not be getting away with his rudeness.
- The sudden cancer bomb in the end.


ACTING:

Yang Zi as Lin Zhixiao, Personally Yangzi isn't one of my favorite actresses. She can be a little tiring to me, but she did act well in her crying scenes. The crying was realistic and I could feel her sadness. When with Xiao Zhan, it didn't quite feel like she was really in love with him. It felt a little awkward to me from her side. Overall, she was a good pick for this drama.

Xiao Zhan as Gu Wei, NOW THIS- This is the reason to watch Oath Of Love. Xiao Zhan is eye candy himself but Xiao Zhan acting like he is in love???!! WORTH EVERY MINUTE. He truly made me think that he was in love and that Lin Zhixiao was his whole world. I'm now on a quest to find a man who looks at me the same way he looks at her.

Overall 8!

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Another typical romcom but fun to watch

So this show I watched because I was craving for a romcom recently and I enjoyed it too but my only problem was that there was nothing new in the show , just a typical rom com but sometimes you just need that to lift up your mood. This show revolves around a cellist Lin Zhi Xiao and a doctor Gu wei who hated each other in the beginning but got closer later and started loving each other. This show also shows family love and the equation between a father and his daughter. The character of Lin zhi who was the Fl was played nicely where she is a loving daughter, girlfriend and friend while Gu wei who was the Ml was a treat to watch on screen because of his visuals but was a strict, workaholic and daring man who has suffered a lot in the past. The love story was cliche but it really had some scenes where I got butterflies in my stomach. There was a love rectangle i n this show but it was quite fun to watch, the emotions were portrayed nicely in the breakup or the family scene , not a big fan of the ost of this show, So if you want to watch a good romcom you can try this show but if you are looking for something new then you can skip it as it doesn't have anything new .

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Finally a grownup romance

Let me start by stating the show is not perfect, there are some slow spots and some silly misunderstandings but those are resolved relatively quickly and we moved on. This show is really about two people meeting and how their relationship evolves. I've read some reviews saying that not much happens, but that is really life. Life isn't always super exiting or tragic it can be mundane and just every day. That is what I liked about this show.

So I'll start with the 2 main leads. The ML was a stiff, no-nonsense doctor who basically worked hard , did what he could to help everyone, but really had no life experience. The FL was younger and sometimes a bit immature as her father told her, but she had a good heart. The 2 complimented each other well. The FL lead got the ML to open up more and experience life, while the ML helped her to mature and make difficult life choices. What I really appreciated was that the 2 were different but equally. Sometimes he did things that ended up hurting her, and sometimes she made the mistakes and ended up hurting him, but they worked through the issues together like an adult and real relationship. I also liked the fact that unlike other Chinese romances, this was not the perfect male lead (although he was pretty close to perfect) where the girl adores him and treats him like a god.

I also enjoyed the family dynamics. I absolutely loved the FL's family. I think everyone would be happy to have them as parents. The father strict but looking at for the best interests of the daughter, and the mother calm and reassuring. The scenes with the family are some of my favorite. Compare that to the ML lead's parents who are doctors are very formal and stiff, although they do come around.

The friends are all fine, there was some time spent on them but not too much to the point it hurt the main story. They were not cartoonish but had really depth to them. They also had growth and development throughout the show.

As for the acting, it was really great. Xiao Zhan is really a talented actor, and not just eye candy (although there is that as well). SPOILER - the episodes where he thinks he will lose his license and not be a doctor are well acted as are the episodes where he tries to get FL lead to forgive him for not telling her what was going on. Yang Zi was good as well, especially with her interactions with her family and the other cast. Special mention to Xia Zhi Qing and Sunny Hao who play the FL lead's parents. In many ways I was as impressed with their love story as the main lead's story.

Without trying to give up too much detail, the 2 meet when FL's father is diagnosed with cancer and the ML is the person who found it and the surgeon. Again as this is a grown-up show and real-life there is no miracle, so the last 2 episodes are bittersweet - happy and sad. Just like real-life as anyone who has been through this with a parent would know.

Extra points for the little extras at the end of almost every episode.

Would I re-watch? Yes there is a lot of romance and not the cringe-worthy kind so it is good eye-candy

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Unique storyline, very sweet, but all over the place

This drama had a refreshing and unique storyline. The main leads weren’t childhood friends that reunited nor were they coworkers, classmates, or strangers forced into cohabiting or pretending they are lovers. They were two people whose lives intersected one another at a time when they were both facing some really difficult obstacles. And they found in each other the perfect person to help them overcome their difficulties and they bonded over that. I really liked how unique their story was.

I also really liked the female leads personality, she wasn’t one of those weak helpless types you often see. She didn’t let the second female lead walk all over her and when the male lead screwed up she stood up to him and held him accountable for his actions. She was well educated, smart, confident, and she never gave up despite the many setbacks she faced. I wasn’t crazy about her very conservative and old fashioned wardrobe but it fit her characters situation. Having an extremely over protective, strict, overbearing father with very old fashioned values, it would be very difficult to wear anything even slightly revealing or form fitting. Her biggest problem is that she lacks confidence in her musical abilities and it really pulls her down.

The male lead isn’t your typical rich chaebol with a cold demeanor. He’s a very studious and hardworking doctor that is obsessed with germs and cleanliness. But he’s also very sweet and cares a lot for his patients. Even when they don’t appreciate his efforts or make baseless accusations against him when things don’t go right, he still puts the well being of the patient first. His biggest problem is that he internalizes everything and tries to fix everything himself without asking for help. And when he fails he withdraws from everyone both emotionally and physically.

The character growth is really good in this drama. The main leads really help each other to grow and learn. When the male lead, who never fails and isn’t used to facing obstacles, shuts down and withdraws from everyone, I like how the female lead helps him. She confronts him letting him know how much he hurt his family, his friends, his coworkers, his job, and her by running off to “sort things out.” She gives him some stern words saying that he failed as a boyfriend. It was the wake-up call he needed and it forced him to mature. And when the female lead lacks confidence in her musical abilities, the male lead boosts her confidence and helps her find direction in her life. He’s also a huge comfort to her when her fathers illness becomes severe. I also liked the female leads fathers character growth. He really became a much better father in the end.

The romance was perfect. The main leads had great chemistry. And there’s were lots of kisses, hugs, and cuddles. They didn’t take forever to get together which was refreshing. And I liked that they faced lots of situations normal dating couples face. There’s a slight breakup (if you would even call it that) but it’s resolved pretty quickly and it happened for a good reason. Someone needed a wake up call. But overall the romance was done very well and was the highlight of the drama.

I have to address the acting because it was some of the best I’ve seen. I loved the female lead in Go Go Squid but in this drama she outdid herself. Her crying scenes were so touching they made me tear up and I never cry. And the male lead just stole my heart with his facial expressions when he was hurt or sad. He was a very convincing actor. In fact all of the actors in this drama were way above average. I really liked them all.

So if the drama was so great why didn’t I give it a perfect 10?

1.) The first reason is because even though the storyline was very unique and it started out great, after a while it got slow. The first 8-10 episodes are good then it gets a little slow and I started losing interest. If they had delved more into the music world it might have been more interesting. But the female lead only played a handful of times and we never get to know anything about her school or classmates or teachers. I just didn’t feel her passion for music. Or if they’d dwelt more on the hospital and the medical part of the drama that might have peaked my interest. But the hospital drama was only about how the male lead dealt with the obstacles in his life. I didn’t feel vested in the hospital and what was going on with him and his coworkers. So I took a point off for how slow the middle of the drama was. It got really slow for a good while and almost lost me.

2.) The second reason is because I felt like the drama didn’t know what direction it was going in. Is it a romance? Is it a tearjerker? Is it a melodrama? Or is it a slice of life drama? In the beginning I was sure that it was a slice of life drama. We followed the leads daily lives so religiously, there was very little angst, and there seemed a lot of life lessons being taught. And this went on for long time. Then it suddenly went into full melodrama with a terminally ill character, all 3 couples breakup and someone is suspended from their job. It went from easygoing to full on melodrama. Then things settled down and it was super romantic. But that too didn’t last long because it suddenly became very emotional all the way to the end. Expect to cry buckets because it’s very sad but also really touching. So I took off a full point because the drama was all over the place and the pacing wasn’t consistent. It started out normal, then got super slow for a long stretch, then there was a ton of angst, then it was a tearjerker, then it ended with a lot of sweetness and touching moments.

Overall I’m glad I watched this drama. It’s not an amazing drama but it’s got a lot of sweet touching moments, the acting is superb, and the romance is very good. There are 2 other couples in the drama but their stories aren’t given much time and you’re left hanging as to how they end up. So if you’re really into dramas with multiple couples you might not like this one. I liked it and I would recommend it because of the sweet romance, the acting and the character growth.

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A Must-Watch C-Drama

I just finished this drama and I loved it! The plot might be a little bit cliché, but I must say that the actors did a very great job at making us enjoy the story without thinking too much about the cliché storyline. They have an excellent chemistry together, which really made me "third-wheel" through my screen haha! This drama also portrays different aspects of life and made me reflect on my own life as well... I cried so much in this drama, some scenes really touched me. I guess it is also all thanks to the actors' ability to act sincerely and be dedicated in their acting field. They are truly amazing actors. Anyways, I really recommend this drama to y'all if you like rom-com dramas that also cover the ups and downs of life! :)

*I think it is my favorite C-Drama so far!*

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