Fluffy Illogical Romance with a Cheesy and Adorable CP
The Legend of Jinyan is a lighthearted, fluffy historical romcom, with lots of sweet scenes between the main couple (CP), and a lower focus on plot and political scheming. Most criticisms generally focus towards the characters in the show, especially Kabby Hui’s acting as the FL and Chen Jingke’s portrayal of the ML. I admit both have A LOT of romantic scenes together, and so if you do not like them as characters, I would NOT recommend this as a series that you would enjoy. There are also a lot of logical issues with the story and characters, and the series is full of extended misunderstandings. However, this drama suited a lot of my own personal tastes, and so if you want something that is completely focused on romance, is an easy watch, and has a CP with lots of chemistry, then this might be something you are interested in!I'd highly recommend having a watch if you like these tropes:
♡ A Bickering Couple that is Stupidly Cute Together: Jinyan and Xiao Yu are so adorable together. They have a couple dynamic where on the outside they constantly argue, but on the inside they are both always looking out and caring for each other. They are both childish and naive in love, but also are incredibly loyal to one another, despite the fact that they are hiding their true identities. Considering this is one of Chen Jingke’s first ML roles, he did a great job portraying a young king who could sometimes be temperamental and easily angered, but also cared about his people and treasures Jinyan deeply. Kabby Hui was adorable as Jinyan, who is stubborn and often gets herself in trouble, but is willing to work hard and even sacrifice her own safety to protect King Yu and her own family.
♡ Fluff Everywhere: The best thing about this show for those of you who love romance is that literally every episode has at least 75% of scenes completely focused on the main couple. This isn’t a drama that is heavy on the plot with only sprinklings of romance — instead, it reverses this, and there are so many adorable moments between our main couple that will definitely make you satisfied. Their relationship development is also very well done, especially from being attracted to each other as strangers, to slowly relying on and learning more about love through each other. Kabby Hui and Chen Jingke also have so much chemistry together, and you will not be disappointed by how passionate their kiss scenes are!
♡ Loveable and Endearing Side Cast: I absolutely loved so many of the side characters, from the eunuchs to even one of King Yu’s consorts who supported the main CP. While many of them did not receive as much screen time, they often played important roles in the drama, from helping the main CP grow closer, to caring about the main characters when they were frustrated or going through struggles. Props to Zhou Yiran, who did an amazing job as King Yu's right-hand man Zhong Li. The brotherhood between him and Xiao Yu played an important role in the drama, and I loved how the drama emphasizes how the side characters contribute to the character development of the lead cast.
♡ Relatively Good Pacing and No Draggy Scenes: I barely skipped anything in the drama, because of how I think pacing was quite well done. Again, this drama has a lot of romance, which is what always kept me watching. I never tired from seeing all of the "sugar" between the main CP. I also liked the way that there is some but not too much politics interspersed in the series, with the main conflict involving the battle for power between the two brothers, King Yu and Xiao Qi. I think I also liked how the “Evil Second Lead Female” is Wen Suyu, who actually is in love with Xiao Qi and not King Yu instead, which makes the overall drama a bit less predictable.
♡ Beautiful Production Value: While this is a lower-budget drama, I think the backgrounds and the pastel colouring was beautiful. The costumes and outfits were very nice, and the OST (especially the title track) is amazing. I think some of the most memorable scenes were very beautifully shot, and I really liked the cinematography of this drama. Many of the symbols, from the cherry blossoms to the wine cellar, were very nicely portrayed, and even though this show did not have a high budget it is clear that the sets were very well done.
However, there are also some things you might not like about the drama:
♥ Acting Issues and Directing Choices: There is a lot of overacting, especially in trying to be “cute,” by Kabby Hui, which is ironic considering how adorable her appearance already is. In many ways, I think viewers may have been less harsh on her acting if the production team had chosen to tone down her expressions. Many have dropped the show solely because of the FL, and I think going into this show with low expectations will help. I also emphasize that while there are many situations in which Jinyan gets into trouble and King Yu rescues her, she also helps King Yu to grow and balances his personal limitations. Jinyan protects the ML and sometimes even solves the ML’s interpersonal problems and relationships. Her best qualities are her efforts and the way she tries to help the people around her, even if sometimes she may stumble or she may get into trouble for doing so. If you can sit through some of the acting, then I think deep down Jinyan’s characterization is in fact quite brave, and she takes a lot of agency for the things that she does.
♥ Lack of Plot: This is not a drama that is focused on political schemes, and it is not a political thriller or an intricate plot where you have multiple people trying to take down the main CP. Most of the plot gets addressed in the last 8 episodes, with much of it crammed into the last 5. Ironically, I found the ending to be much less sweeter compared to all of the cute scenes that we had in the rest of the drama. That just goes to show how this is really a drama that's primarily for the romance, so if you’re looking for something with depth and political background, this is not a good pick. If you want something that is light on the plot, and you are invested in the main CP, then this might be something you are interested in.
♥ You Must Like the Main CP to Enjoy This Show: Because this show is so dominated by the romance, if you don’t like either one of the characters in the CP, or if you don’t like the actors, then you will likely have a hard time watching this. Most of the enjoyment of this series is really in the chemistry between the CP, and the many heart-melting scenes between both of them.
This was my crack drama of 2020, because of just how fluffy, adorable, unrealistic, cheesy, and sweet that this series was. If there is any drama that could literally give you diabetes, or a drama that is made for us "single dogs," I would definitely say that this is it. I absolutely loved the precious romance between the main CP, and how enjoyable and easy to watch that this drama was. While not all elements of the show may work for all watchers, if you're into a niche for something light and sweet, then I would highly recommend you give this show a try!
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute Idiots in a Fluffy Romance
Before watching this drama, viewers need to first understand the age of the female lead, Wen Su Jin, because this is pivotal to the enjoyment of your viewing. Accordingly, Wen Su Jin should be only about 14 or 15 years old, very much younger than female leads of 18 to early 20s in other dramas. Therefore Wen Su Jin’s behavior, mental capacity and actions are immature, very appropriate for a young girl of her age. With that perspective, hopefully viewers will find her funny and cute instead of annoying and stupid.This drama is about a young girl who runs away from a forced marriage, trying to save her sister who stands in for her, and her family which may be prosecuted if the impostor is exposed. The plot is simple and the dynamics light. The storyline is not that original either, and the plops are minimal without lavish settings. Putting together, however, this unpretentious drama makes a very fun watch. Despite complaints from viewers about the female lead, the cuteness of the romantic pair really captures the viewers’ hearts, making this an addictive watch.
Xiao Yu (Chen Jing Ke) is a governing prince and Wen Su Jin (Xu Ya Ting) is the general’s daughter. As a very young girl of 14 or 15, Wen Su Jin is bold, naive, innocent and kind. She’s given an edict to marry the prince whom she’s never met, so she runs away. The Prince is aloof and a suspicious person. His previous wife dies mysteriously so he refuses to take another wife. But they meet and fall in love without knowing each other’s real identity for a long time even as they're living in the same mansion. She can’t tell him about herself for fearing the truth may cause the demise of her family, and he doesn’t want to tell her about his own identity for fear of losing her.
As a very young girl, Wen Su Jin’s actions are understandable. She is fixated to save her sister and her family before their identities are exposed. In her desperation, she creates lies after lies to protect herself and her family. It’s really hilarious to see how she handles the Prince who seems to condone her actions. Though not lying to the Prince intentionally, she's always in a dilemma - to tell or not to tell him about her real identify.
So, more than half of the whole drama revolves around both hiding their own identities, but showing mutual affection for each other. There are mild palace politics, non-serious struggle for power and light conspiracies, but nothing too deadly or serious.
I have really enjoyed the dynamics between this couple. It makes me laugh and love the characters, especially Xiao Yu. With Wen Su Jin, he’s always protective and doting on her, and in return, Wen Su Jin has a mind of her own and always acts out of his expectation. The moments and scenes are endearing and hilarious.
This drama deserves a higher rating than what it’s getting right now because many viewers dislike Wen Su Jin’s character. With a better perspective of the character, I hope viewers would enjoy this drama as I have.
Was this review helpful to you?
Worst female lead
The fl makes terrible decisions from start to finish which causes every one to have to fix her mistakes. Very little character development and it’s annoying how she never really trust the prince even after all they went through. She’s naive in the worst way and let’s herself fall for every plot against her when most of the time she could save herself by saying what she thought which makes it worst to watch. She makes the same scrunched eyebrow face/pout for every emotion and reaction. The story line was so repetitive and should’ve been max 24 eps. The female lead gets dreams that predict the future yet doesn’t even make use of it and let’s it get her into trouble.Was this review helpful to you?
Waste of time
Drama is definitely waste of time.FL cannot act. Too many lies that's unbearable.
Dont waste time in watching this drama.
It's definitely not a good story to start.
The FL is so stupid to realize the situation given
that she is a daughter of a general she could atleast have wits but she is stupid
I wont recommend this drama to anyone.
Dont waste time in watching this drama
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is a nice drama to watch while waiting for a great one to come only if you don’t mind:A series full of misunderstandings.
A drama that, although is focused on romance, the lead male is full of justifiable distrust since the lead female is constantly doing things that will cause the lack of trust and then complaining that he doesn’t trust her.
A main couple that has a lot of tender moments but there’s no thrilling chemistry between them.
A leading lady that cannot put her thoughts together to give a reasonable explanation to each one of her actions that were causing the male lead to mistrust her.
And last, but not least, even if the drama has a happy ending, it is wasted on the male lead trying to woo her as if it wasn’t not good enough that he left everything behind to follow her.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Drama set in era where human brains seemed not fully evolved
Finally completed this drama last evening doing the final 8 episodes at one go - it certainly increased my blood pressure. I did quite abit of reading and asking before deciding to start it last Friday. First impressions were not too bad, the FL is cute though her acting was a bit awkward (like she was practicing her acting alone in front of a mirror) which is still okay for me. ML I don't find him good looking, the other main actors in the show are better looking. His looks did grow on me and his acting was not too bad for a fresh actor. Overall it is a pretty/handsome cast.The story/plot is nothing to get excited about, how it was executed often is hard to believe even for a drama like this. Two "S"s to describe the characters, first being "Superhuman". The characters can fall off a cliff, nearly get drowned, poisoned, caught in fire and come out unscathed. Second is the how "Stupid" the characters were, most if not all of them. People that rather die then to clarify even though there no reason for them not to. People who deliberately/stupidly show up or do things to put them in an unfavorable situations etc... The most honorable mention will be how they set aside a few episodes just for misunderstandings towards the end. (1) the FL repeatedly accepts gifts (willingly or unwillingly) from the love rival of the ML even though he expressed displeasure everytime and he always happened to be there to catch the act. (2) The evil mother of the ML wanted to send the FL away to a monastery, the ML intervenes last minute only for the FL to request the ML to let her go. Thereafter blaming the ML's willingness to let her go (WTF?!). I am fine with a stupid FL, a useless ML but this is just testing my patience. I can go on and on however I shouldn't waste anymore time on this.
Music was okay but not too memorable, I could still remember some of them last night.
Rewatch value? Think I am being kind giving it a 5.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Don't waste your time!
There's really no real plot in this show.......... whoever wrote this script should really STOP making scripts that make no sense. It's a complete waste of time watching this show....... the story line is full of holes..... the acting is bad.... everything is just so bad I can't or know where to begin......... Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada yada . Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada . Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada . Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada yadaWas this review helpful to you?
A Love story
I enjoyed this Drama, but also yelled at the TV as the FL was made unintelligent at some important point, but at the same time she did a great job acting which was making us mad.Looking at some reviews and felt they were lower than it should be because of this.
This story was a girl named wen su jin the dtr of a general. She is playful and carefree and at the same time causes problem for her step sister wen su yu who takes the blame a few times while growing up. At the age of 17 the wen family receive a notice from the Dowager empress and Highness Yu to marry there dtr Su jin at the same time Prince Xiao Qi appears and claim that he had a marriage arrangement when they were kids.. Now it a problem as su jin doesn't want to get married so her sister tell her to runaway and see there dad for help. While roaming she meets a man named Zhong Li and they go on a life/death journey together being hunted to going off a cliff. While running away she has a dream that her sister is getting married, by the time she returns her sister enters the carriage. It turns out she is in love with prince Qi and figure out she could marry him, but his mother doesn't agree and she ends up married to prince yu. Now sujin feels bad and again has dream that her sister is poison and so with the help of Zhong li(aka prince yu) she enters the palaae as a maid.
Here they go on a life and death tribulation. Great story of a love romance between the prince and sujin the maid begin and they deal with jeousley, hate, lies, loyalty, love, happy, sad. So many emotions only need 1/2 tissues near the end. You must pay attention to everything that happens as the ending will blow you away
Enjoy
Was this review helpful to you?
Romantic Comedy of Errors
From the very first episode I got drawn into this sweeping romance of a general's daughter and a young king in a fantasy realm of ancient China. The story begins with a young girl running away from home, because she wants to evade a forced marriage into the royal family. Her older sister swaps places with her, eager to marry one of the royal princes, but she gets married to the reigning prince in stead. The girl feels sorry for her sister, tries to rescue her, and meets her sister's husband under disguise, on the road. Without knowing each other's identity, the couple falls in love and a comedy of errors unfold.Story
The first episodes were really entertaining, romantic and funny. Midway the pacing went downhill by too many side stories, but in the end everything got wrapped up nicely with a sound closure.
Cast
The leading couple was good looking and adorable, they made it worthwhile to watch the series till the end, although the moments of their yes-or-no kisses were milked to the hilt. Also, how many times do I have to watch the classic female clutch falling into the arms of the ML? I'm still waiting for a reversed version! That's why I liked the side story about the willful, foreign princess who has to marry the young king, but falls for his introvert guard in stead.
Music
The background music blended well with the story, with dreamy music at the night market in the beginning, and dramatic piano during the emotional scenes.
Rewatch value
If you're into romantic clichés you definitely want to rewatch this series, it's a real treat with cross dressing, stumbling girls, possessive males, the wrist grab, extended close ups of lovers staring into each others eyes, a love triangle, drunkenness, sickness, raining scenes, the back hug, piggy ride, you name it.
Overall
So if you are in the mood for classic fluff, beautiful faces and a love-against-will-story, you'll love this series.
Was this review helpful to you?
Lots of love and romance
If you are not a fan of romance series, don't waste your time, otherwise you will be disappointed.Story: I think the story line is quite interesting. When I first started this series, I didn't enjoy it as much but over time, I am in love with it. One thing to remember is that the FL character is very young so her actions in the series might deem childish/rush/immature/naive but these are also what makes it all even more interesting. There are lots of bickering scenes, jealous scenes, kissing scenes, so if these aren't your thing, you won't enjoy it. Also, the production team has done an excellent job in the way they lay out the story.
Acting/Cast: I have no major issues with the casting, except for Zhao Yao Ke (Wen Su Yu) who I think is really bad at acting but I do keep in mind that this series has many young/new actors and actresses. Kabby Hui and Chen Jing Ke have really great chemistry, which I personally love, and hope to see them collaborate again in the future. I also think Liao Hui Jia (Rong Jing) is amazing. The rest of the supporting casts are great.
Music: I am really in love with all the soundtracks in this series. They are just perfect!
Rewatch value: I am a huge fan of romance series, so this series is definitely worth re-watching.
Overall: This is a light-hearted romance series, which I enjoy very much. I wouldn't say it's the best, but it's definitely one that has captured my heart.
Was this review helpful to you?
I kept on watching only because, I hoped it gets better as the story progresses. It didn't..
The reason I watched this show is because of the female lead. I saw "Sweet First Love" and thought that it would be nice to see her on another setting.The actors did a good job, they tried their best I guess.. Chemistry wise, it was ok.
The big NO for me was the plot of the story. I was annoyed maybe 90% of the time, because of all the lies that seems to be the theme of the story. I kept on watching only because, I hoped it gets better as the story progresses. It didn't..
At beginning, some of the lies were necessary. But for it to continue almost to the end, its just annoyingly predictable and uncreative. FL lied to ML, ML lied to FL. They've been through many challenges, they've even fallen in love.. but the lies just kept on.
So, the rewatch value of this one is almost close to none. It is entertaining enough but at the end of it, you might consider it as a waste of time. Watch at your own risk, thats what I'm trying to say..
Was this review helpful to you?
Don’t waste your time on this drama
The only good thing about this drama is the good looking leads and casts. The first few episodes were good. I thought it was going to have a great storyline. Boy, was I wrong!! There was no storyline, nothing that makes jin yan a legend! All she did was cry and act stupid! All the prince did was get angry and act stupid. The ending was even more stupid. Tons of unnecessary stuff in the middle, more crying, more lying! By the end I was so pissed off! I mean I did skip through 20 episodes, even though it was bad I still wanted to see the ending. Maybe there will be some redeeming quality but nope!! What a waste of film and peoples talents. SMHWas this review helpful to you?
