Witty leads and fast paced story!!
Chen Xing Xu's acting in this drama is SOOOO refreshing!! He can pull off the smart/sly/playful/jealous looks and his character and dialogues are so CHARISMATIC, likeable and funny! Zhang Jing Yi's acting pales a little in comparison but her character is also pretty smart where she wouldn't go down without a fight! Definitely NOT the traditional damsel in distress!Cdrama need to tap MUCH MORE into the Chinese Republican Era!! (Without the propaganda/patriotism)
The 1920s COSTUMES are sooooo gorgeous and its good to have a change of scenery from the typical modern/xian xia genre.
Plus its more natural to have villains committing kidnaps/instigating fights than in modern drama settings.
The only downside i have for this drama is the secondary couples. I'm sorry but they add no value to the story, ain't cute and are in fact, rather annoying.
Nevertheless, kudos to the screenwriter for the amazing strategies/ploys/story execution that catapults the leads and spare not a single boring moment. Also, 36 episodes is the PERFECT LENGTH. Thank you to the cast and production crew for bestowing me a great drama to end 2021!!
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Romance-focused in first 1/3 , Politics and War-focused in the last 2/3 of the drama
Completed - 12/18/2021 - 8.25My 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
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You won't regret a minute watching this!!
I can say for sure this is the best Chinese drama of 2021.What made this drama different from all others is the characters of drama not the overall plot.
Commander Tan character came off as a jerk at first episodes but later the female lead find him charming as she peels of his layers one after another... Also I found that he was overacting sometimes but in a good way that delivered the message to the viewer quiet well also I liked that he curled as a cat when he pretended to break up with Miss Mu this added a new dimension to his character which is something difficult to find in an era drama usually the male lead in an era drama is stoic who seem emotionless regardless of what life throws at him.. but commander Tan shows his emotions when needed which made him even more likable at the final episodes..
As for our female lead her character undoubtedly set the role model that all other Chinese drama female leads should follow.. she is smart and assertive in her choices.. as long as she chose commander Tan she wouldn't take a step back even if the whole world is against her even if commander Tan himself is pushing her away she would help him in secret anyways I really appreciate her character..
As for the romance it's wasn't really excessive as you would expect from the trailers of the series which is permissible since it was a warring era so the romance wouldn't take much focus but still our main couple romantic moments were good enough to make up for that department..
I really appreciate our second male lead character as well.. at first I didn't like his passive attitude as he didn't really stand up to his father unlike marshal Pei who was better than him at that aspect but by the end of series I came to really like our second lead character; when he found that Miss Gu doesn't like him and she likes commander Tan he held off his emotions for the happiness of out female lead and he even helped out male lead more than once at the later episodes and the finale as well when he brought Xu army to help him anyways he is the best friend and brother you could have..
The side couple romance was worthwhile as well too bad one of our side couple didn't make it to the shore watch the series to find out who..
Finally I enjoyed the background music of this drama alot I even downloaded that how good it's... There isn't really big variety but atleast it good enough... As for the costume I don't think they needed a variety of costumes in an era drama I think they had good enough costumes and they should us some casual clothes which was much appreciated.
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watch for the plot/actors, not the accuracy
If you're someone like me who isn't super into the actual republican era in china's past and has no issue with voice actors or dubbing, and is also a lover romance and hot af actors, this is the show for you. i screamed, cringed, fangirled, laughed, cried, and got angry all while watching this show and i loved it.THE GOOD:
TXL and MWQ are a match made in heaven, giving us that enemies to lovers vibe but never removing the constant bickering between the two (which not many shows have). These are 2 of the wittiest and intelligent people I've ever watched in a show and it is SUPER refreshing. i love that there aren't really any huge misunderstandings or breakups and that there isn't a love triangle. the 2 of them are perfect in every way and completely understand each other.
MWQ: she isn't you're typically damsel in distress who constantly needs a man to save her (not that there's anything wrong with it, just not my cup of tea) but rather a strong-minded businesswoman who knows how to think things through and create an intelligent plan to achieve justice and do the right thing. We constantly see her match TXL intelligence and jokes, but not be bullied into a weak position. She knows what she wants and is willing to sacrifice important parts of her life to be with TXL. although we see how she's been mistreated by her 'family' from the very beginning, she doesn't let that stop her from finding justice and bringing her family some peace.
TXL: at first, he's an asshole. that's really it. but as the show goes on, we really see that he is the definition of character growth. he goes from being lowkey rude towards MWQ but starts to slowly realize she is incredibly smart and loving and got fucked over in her life just like he did. he has an extremely charming personality that not only gets you to laugh as an audience, but completely fall in love as he can do the stupidest things for love and entertainment. he's not afraid to show his love and appreciation towards MWQ but rather showers her in his disgusting romantic feelings and treats her like a queen. he's willing to go out of his way to give her justice and let her live a happy and peaceful life like she deserves. TXL no matter what, tries to put his loved ones, be it his right hand man TS, his gf MWQ, or even his sister, he tries his best to do what's right but also not harm them.
in the end, seeing them go from "i hate you and everything you stand for is against what i believe" to "we're not actually that different and we're definitely gonna get married" is absolutely amazing. the modernized look of the republican era is one of my favorite things because we get to see all the different looks the cast gets.
now for the bad things....
THE BAD:
there's not much to say about the bad so I'll keep it short. towards the end, it kind of gets.... how do i say it... boring. i found myself, who was actively following every update date and not skipping any sections, to skipping large chunks of the show and not really watching it on the days they uploaded. they dive deeper into the politics part of the show (while maintaining the romance so it was okay in the end) but i did feel myself getting pulled away a bit. with that being said, i still finished the show and am super glad i accidentally stumbled upon this but PLEASE WATCH THIS!!
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Witty female lead and handsome male lead! a drama worthy watching!
This drama definitely surpassed my expectation! This genre is not usually what I like to watch but this was definitely a good one!1) The storyline moved on and wasnt stuck on just one moment
2) I loved the female lead for how strong, smart and bold she was! She didnt disappoint!
3) Male lead is hot and bad ass at the same time!
Storyline- Mu Wan Qing comes back to Shanghai to give her mother a proper bury. She also comes back to find more about how her brother died. On the boat ride home she meets the male lead, and witness him killing somebody. He captures her but shortly after she escape. She comes from a wealthy family in Shanghai. While the male lead is a general who is trying to establish his army into Shanghai. The leads eventually make a deal to work together to help each other out. The female lead is the perfect match to the male lead. They first work together to solve the mystery of her elder brother's death. They finally kick out the evil step mom and daughter.
The next step of ep revolve around Tan Xuan Lin ( male lead) and trying to figure out how his father got killed. Along the way there is some miscommunications that arrises due to the evil people, but eventually they are able to overcome.
I'm extremely sad that some side characters had to died! Nooooo......
Also this drama gave some screen time to side couples. Which i didnt mind! The male lead's sister ( who is a student) likes this other general.
I'm also glad that the female lead remained intelligent throughout the whole drama! She definitely deserves an award for her role!.
The songs for this drama was good too!
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What a wild ride!
The bottom line first, I loved everything about it: the vintage feel, the great characters, the story that kept me on the edge of my seat. And of course the romance - what a great romance!I know this drama had a very low budget, but the scope of the story was truly epic, especially the war scenes. There weren't many of those, thank god, but the little there was very high impact. I am a viewer who usually prefers a light rom-com, but in this drama I wasn't bothered about the heavier themes, because they balanced with the beautiful love story and were done well.
As with most Asian dramas it could have been shorter, the usual two episodes overflow, and that was the one point I took off the overall rating, but it was still one of the best dramas of 2021 for me.
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Fall in love over and over again.
I lucked out on this one. Honestly, I picked this right up after Goodbye My Princess to somehow appease my unsatisfaction. This is my first foray in a republican era drama and I am so happy that I gave this a try!Chen Xing Xu completely levelled up in this show. Not only in looks but in acting. His portrayal in GMP was already remarkable, but he was even better in Fall in Love. He portrayed Tan Xuanlin to perfection, it was *chef’s kiss*. I have to agree with the majority here, he was so damn fine in a uniform… but I gotta say, he looks hotter in a plain black button up shirt.. ha!
Oh and the FL, Mu Wanqing, you are an awesome heroine! I adore strong and smart female characters that goes head to head with the ML. Smart and cunning, she is an equal to Tan Xuanlin. Wanqing knows what she wants and she will get it. She is not your damsel in distress.
Secondary characters are all wonderful too. I teared up here and there. I must say the very last episode is a bit bland, but I guess that just me. It’s a happy ending though.
The story is mainly divided into 3 arcs. There’s a lot of plotting and scheming, it’s terrific! For romance lovers, there’s a lot of squeal-worthy scenes, guarantee you will not be left wanting (remember in GMP, where we almost got none?) Suffice to say I can’t stop smiling when watching, you will no doubt Fall in Love. So satsified, my heart is full.
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For The Good, For The Bad
This drama starts off really really good. To the point where I was talking at my screen and getting really mad at fictional characters. And it stays pretty well paced and interesting until about 2/3rds then is drraaaaggggssss.So let's get into it.
The Good:
1st - Started out amazing. Honestly I was on the edge of my seat dying to know what would happen next.
2nd - The revenge! The sweet sweet revenge in the drama. Oh I loved to see it.
3rd - The acting, specifically by those you're supposed to hate, was outstanding. I really really hated those characters and wanted nothing but to see them not make it out of this drama alive.
4th - Mu Wan Qing. For the most part her character is fantastic. Smart, brave, and doesn't take people's crap. Those moments of her standing up to people were easily some of the highlights for me in this drama.
The Bad:
1st - It gets incredibly slow. To be fair, the slow episodes were meant for building to to the climax of the story but I really don't think they needed that many slow episodes to get to where they needed to go for the ending to make sense. I was having an incredibly hard time getting through the last 1/4 of this drama.
2nd - There are some absolutely unrealistic things that happen that kinda ruin the "realness" of the story. **Spoiler** Like doing a backflip to dodge a bullet and a random katana sword out of nowhere. (That scene had me laughing because of the sheer ridiculousness of it). I just don't understand the choice there.
3rd - **Spoiler** I truly disliked Mu Wan Qing giving up her father’s legacy (his business, their home, social standing) to go with Tan Xuan Lin to Jiang City. She just came back after 10 years and worked so hard to defeat the people that wronged her only to give up everything to run off to Jiang City. Maybe that wouldn't have bothered me so much if she would have shown an ounce of sadness in this but she was just like "Yup I'm giving up everything to go to Jiang City. Bye y'all!"
This isn't a major dislike but something that kind of ate at me that they never really addressed...So Tan Xuan Lin read Mu Wan Qing's dairy in the beginning. He clearly knew who she was and who her family was. He's also a trickster and manipulative. This is nothing new, we know this very well but I couldn't help but feel like everything he did with Mu Wan Qing was self serving. Even her falling in love with him was a benefit to him. And he did so many things in front of certain people to push his own narrative. I know he helped her but even him helping her benefited him since she would be grateful to him and therefore aid him in any of his efforts. I guess I wish they would have taken a little time for him to privately go into detail on why he fell in love with her and that he would have loved her even if she wasn't in the Mu family.
Overall, it was good and I'm happy I watched it.
Would I Recommend? Sure. It's definitely not bad but if you get bored easily, it may be a bit tough around 20 episodes in.
Would I Re-Watch? No.
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THE BEST CHINESE DRAMA 2021
The best Chinese Drama 2021I don't know what to say.. 36 episode is not enough for this drama. I SAID, NEVER ENOUGH. I really enjoy watching each episode. I dont abuse my fast forward button at all.
From the charismatic, handsome,cunning,smart sweet Commander Tan Xuan lin and our pretty, clever, faithful Mu Wan Qing, I never get bored watching each episode. i enjoyed their moments since they both set eyes on each other. Super Exciting!!!!!!!!!!
Even the 2nd Male Lead, Xu Guanyou is candy to my eyes. He really good person and I adore him too. This is the first time ,my heart hurting for him. I dont mind choosing him.eheeee
Each character have their own colour.
Gotta say, u gais have to watch on your own.
I need season 2 for this dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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This review may contain spoilers
Strong and smart couple, intricate storyline, no boring episodes.
I've never written a review but this show was amazing. There are some slight spoilers in my review followed by bigger ones which is marked below.I don't understand people who said it dragged. I really never felt like this show dragged and I am someone who always uses the FF button because I get bored. I was so interested in every moment of this show.
I saw some people say how the ML treated the FL in the beginning turned them off but I disagree. I think both character's actions made sense at the time, the ML did not trust anyone and the FL walked into his room at the wrong time. It wasn't even a stockholm syndome trope imo, she did NOT like/trust him until she learned his true colors and he started being interested in and caring for her early on. She also escaped ep 1 and even if she was a hostage a few more times, she knew he didn't want to hurt her. The ML knew she was smart from episode one and then as time went on and she understood all of his plans w/o him having to explain, I think he knew then that she was the one for him even when they only were 'partners.' She always matched him and even sometimes outperformed him. They were such a satisfying couple to watch, they knew when to back down and play dumb but were always a few steps ahead of people. I loved both characters so much.
The acting from pretty much the entire cast was phenomenal. The ML stood out often and could deliver no matter what the emotion was, he genuinely made me laugh when he was doing funny scenes and I truly felt his rage, sadness, and desire for revenge throughout the show. The FL looked so much like a rich business man's daughter and her intelligence matched it. I believed her hatred at the beginning, pitied her a bit, but she did not back down from the fight. The ML always helped her but he didn't handle everything for her; she usually had a part in it and even a few times took the lead in their plans. I admired both of their characters so much.
SPOILER:
My favorite side character died at the end. I was bawling when Tansi died. He was so brave to the end.. my favorite scenes of his were his humourous scenes but I recall many of the serious ones he was in impressed me as well. I loved him as a character.
I will say, I never have pitied a SML like I do this one. The line Commander Tan says, "You will never be anything but a brother to her. Because your family owes her a brother," really struck a chord with me and I watched that scene multiple times. I never enjoy the fighting over ML/FL scenes, but that one was so well written I loved it. SML was so good at heart and even the one time he wanted to be selfish, once he knew the truth; he gave up his dreams of being with the FL and wished her happiness. He still protected her after and thanked her for seeing him as a brother still. I just felt so bad for him, especially during the scene his father was scolding him for losing the marriage with the FL but it was actually because of the father that it wasn't happening; and the scene where the beggars were throwing things at him in the station bc they learned who his father was. It was what he needed to change his mind and stop following his father's wishes, but I just genuinely felt bad for him most of the show as much as I loved his character. He took a bullet for the FL but still didn't care that she didn't choose him. Plus, the actor did a great job portraying him as well.
I love this show so much. I will definitely rewatch it in a few months once I've forgotten a few details.
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Perfect
This is by far one of the best C-Dramas I have ever watched. From beginning to end, I was entertained. The acting was amazing. The writing was amazing. The scenery, wardrobe and vibe were all exceptional.Chemistry: yes, yes and yes. It was resent and it was beautiful. The leads not only looked great together but they each had charisma/flare that just blew this out of the water.
Acting: awesome. The acting didn’t feel like acting. It felt real/genuine. That’s how great it was. They played their roles perfectly.
There was action, mystery, plotting, love, sweetness overload, family drama, war drama. It had it all and they did and making job pulling it all together. I must say it was really refreshing to get a brave and smart female lead as well as a smart male lead. I totally got the “yanxi palace/minglan wits/smart” vibe from our leads and boy was a it great.
Although there is talks of fighting/ war, this series encompasses the human elements, the rebuilding and the restructuring of what’s right.
This is a rewatch for me. In fact, it just finished and I’ve already went back to a few episodes. Even the music was good.
I highly recommend this.
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This review may contain spoilers
Best Chinese Republican Drama | Perfect Casting & Perfect Couple | Great Storyline
I can't believe it's finally ended. I'm not yet ready to let go this drama... At first, I prefer Xu Guang Yao for the Female Lead that I even felt a Second Lead Syndrome. But in the last 2 eps, Commander Tan have proved that he is more deserving for the Female Lead. It's a rare for a dramas to have a FL & ML or couple lead who are both smart. Commander Tan & Mu Wan Qing are perfect match! Imagine them having a babies that would probably so smart just like their mother & father. I'm so satisfied with the ending, all my favorite characters are there, except for Ms. Gu who has died. I'm so happy to see that Xu Guang Yao, Tan Xuan Lin, Su Hong Chen, and Pei Shao Jun get along with each other and became friends at the end. They all started a new life together - my heart is so happy. I'm just sad for Xu Guang Yao and Mr. Su's love life. Anyway, I'll gonna definitely re-watch this drama again and I will miss all the cast! This is my first-ever Chinese Republican Drama that really caught my attention especially the boys are so charming & handsome, plus their Military Uniform is so cool. Overall, this drama deserves a high ratings!!! Commander Tan, you're the best!!!Was this review helpful to you?
