A Journey to Love (2023)

i love this drama huhuhu

oh i love Liu Yuning and Liu Shishi in this drama. Their performance really captivated me when I saw this drama. I also like all the cast, they tell the story very well!

I watched this drama and finished it in 3 days.

acting, ost, production, story, visual effects, cinematography and other small details are really beautiful in this drama. I keep putting off watching this drama because I find it quite difficult to finish dramas with lots of episodes and heavy conflicts. but this drama refutes all my principles!

This is like watching the film Train To Busan, namely a storyline that leads to a place with various conflicts and obstacles experienced. I really like how all the characters develop and find their best point. However, in episodes 35-39 I didn't watch it because I couldn't bear to see the characters die one by one.

I hope to watch similar dramas like this again.

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the starting was great but...

I was really excided for this drama, and the drama was great for the first half. The female lead was actually badass, the story was good . The character development was also great.
But then they killed off 3 characters very suddenly in 1 episode,and in the next episode more died. the ending was super rushed and very unsatisfactory. The scene in the palace with therevealation (that the disabled prince is the villian) had absolutely no context and was very sudden with zero build up
That being said i still think that if the ending was better and they didnt kill more than half the people in the end it would have been a marvelous drama

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Be prepared to cry your heart out!!

where do I start? This drama is truly great. The female lead is so badass and strong. She doesn't need no man to save her. Who would've thought she would find a guy ask him to give her baby and actually fall in love with him?

She was raised as a Scarlett guard which are assassin's. she was the left red envoy, the highest rank possible and she was a favourite of the empress. However the empress died and the emperor blamed her, having her executed.

She of course does not die and instead hides under a new identity. her goal is to find out who betrayed the empress and made her the scapegoat. So by a twist of fate she meets the ML. Their chemistry was amazing and their acting skills on point.

We watch them journey together to her home country bec the ml has a mission to complete for the state of wu to get their emperor back who's a war prisoner. This is how the ml and fl get stuck together and feelings develop.

The ml is so caring to her and a raging jealous idiot that causes them to fight. However they show us how truly mature couples should handle fights like that and talk about. (although not always in the beginning, they do eventually talk about their issues) in a very mature way, listening to each other and not imposing their opinions or ideas on one another and actually admitting their wrongs and changing their behaviour in correspondence.

The side characters are an absolute blast as well. they give us that comedic touch that just makes this show all the more better. For one they are the main couples number one shippers and try their best to help them out, they add on some hilarious comments or some funny actions. the comedy did not felt forced and it was natural per scene they added it too. it was just fitting.

All this leads up to a very dramatic war between the different states and a tribe. In said battles all the side characters die one by one, it leaves us with a very heart shattering feeling. You will definitely get so attached to them and seeing them die will make you cry your eyes out.

they don't have time to mourn however as the war continues, it eventually leads up to our ml dying in order to save his wife's first disciple. they win the war and the fl just feels empty without him and sees no purpose to live anymore and blows herself up along with the enemies saving the country.

the open ending we get was a tad confusing and left me flabbergasted. it's 10 or so years later and we see a bow on a horse making his way towards a woman who back then had feelings for one of the side characters. the boy was named after said character and they talk. he tells them all about his parents who sound like our main couple. she wants to see them so the boy agrees and takes her to them and that's where it ends. it leaves us to speculate they faked their deaths and are now living happily with their two kids.

so yeah prepare for emotional trauma. it's very worth watching you'll just cry a lot.

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Wasted Potential

If the plot and pacing could be on par with its characters building and their acting, this will be my top drama of all time.

Acting: The chemistry between the two main leads is really great! Their acting is wonderful, and I really enjoyed watching them interact. The supporting characters' acting are good, with some better than others.

Storyline: Pretty good, but some plot points and dialogue can be predictable at times.

The tiny nuggets of comedy (accompanied by the impeccable sound effects timing) in the drama are gold, highlighting the characters' relationship and personalities.

The first half of the show makes this my new favorite c-drama, while the second half is a big let down. The pacing was thrown off and the plot became messy. The story became rushed and I find myself unable to enjoy it as much. I feel that it became needlessly too heavy, with things happening (character deaths) seemingly for the sake of it and served no true purpose.

The beauty of this drama lies in its characters and yet the chemistry between the characters are butchered and lost in the plot and pacing of the second half. Such wasted potential of incredible characters and their personalities and acting.

Rewatch value: 100/10 for the first half, 3/10 for the second. That being said, I would still recommend this drama if you are looking to experience some romance, laughter and tears. Hope that you will fall in love with the characters, main or supporting, just like I did.

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The type of FMC I've been looking for!

I was initially skeptical of the cdrama when it looked like Ren Ruyi was a weak FMC at the start of the first episode. But imagine my surprise when it turned out she was just pretending to be weak and was actually a strong FMC the entire time! I love strong female characters, but I love it even more when they have fighting skills. When Ruyi's skills were revealed, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite FMCs of all time.

Princess Yang Ying's character development was on par; she went from someone who cries whenever something goes wrong to someone who is levelheaded and assertive. Props to the screenwriter for that!

The OSTs were everything. I loved every single track. I frequently use the BGM OSTs as background music for when I study; they're so motivating.

The thing I disliked most about this cdrama was the ending. It was just death after death—the heroes, along with Ruyi, end up dying. It was overall a very unfulfilling ending in my opinion. The ending closes with Chu Yue and Ning Shisan (apparently the son of Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou), and I agree with everyone out there who says it should've closed with Yang Ying instead of Chu Yue. Chu Yue wasn't even part of the delegation, and her character only becomes more prominent near the end, so it didn't really make sense for the story to close with her. I also think that some characters who died should not have died (e.g., Wu Di, so many sacrifices had been made to save him only for him to die?).

There were so many missed opportunities for Li Tongguan's redemption. It kept getting dragged out! (He did get there eventually, though.) He's like a kid throwing a tantrum, and his character is inconsistent and unpredictable—there are times when he's levelheaded and other times, not so much, because of his jealousy towards Ning Yuanzhou.

Despite the unfulfilling ending and a few minor flaws, I did enjoy this drama!

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Long time watched a good drama except ending.

Li Tong Guang character is the one worst character, his world shrunk into romance for the Ren Ruyi. His obsessions are irritating, he can't see meaning of master and disciple, he romanticize and some times tooke advantage, a weird kind of obsession in other meaning a stalker like individual. One of the worst character. Ren Ruyi always stayed her boundaries and but he always crossed the boudriries .

Ren Ruyi character action scenes always emphasized by writer. Ning Yuan Zhou character action scenes under utilised. Writer gives better and same improtance for ML it's give better impact.

Overall, visuals and story is good each and every scenes captivating. Except the ending of the drama everything is good. Writer can write superficial action scenes but didn't give the better and happy ending for main leads. Even, Li Tong Guang character and same as support roles got good ending but main leads got sad ending.

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Liu Yuning killed it

Must watch. It's tied with the Long Ballad now for me.

Wonderful bromance is what I liked most in this drama. Also the performance of Liu Yuning and Alen Fang. But actually all the main actors gave their all. The characters are just extremely loveable. You get very attached to them and it's a tragedy when you have to lose them.

Also sensible love story. No irritating misunderstanding every 5 minutes, no one-sided love for 3/4 of the drama. It's the story of two lovers who share adventures, troubles, fun and just life together. My favourite kind of love story.

Yes, I would prefer all the brothers to survive in the end. That's what took half a star off for me. But at least I'm 100% certain the main leads are alive and well in the end. I know most people think the opposite, but my opinion isn't just blind belief in the happy ending. I'm truly positive about what I saw and I saw that they are alive and have children.

This is actually not the first time. I remember watching Blue Whisper and they show the main leads in the last seconds of the drama. Yes, it's short, but it's the way the director chose to tell us everything is OK. The same here. The boy plainly says he has parents, he says the name of his mom and the names of his sister and himself - the names only the main leads could give to their children. I don't see two variants here. They survived.

Anyway, an awesome drama. Loving Liu Yuning more and more.

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Tragedy and loss

I really enjoyed the love story btw the two leads. They supported and cared about each other w/o all the drama. Also, the camaraderie and trust with the soldiers. Ning Yuanzhou was a great leader with his unique fighting skills. I have seen him in other dramas but in this drama he won me over. You really got to know each person and cared about them. The storyline wasn’t the best especially the end that left a big hole in my heart, but the characters were interesting. Like the female assassin, the playboy, the student searching for his master who he was madly in love with etc. It had me glued to the end. Not a rewatch for me it’s to heartbreaking.

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A very disappointing ending for many viewers

The drama started well with comical and entertaining scenes and strong storyline. One viewer labeled the heroes 'Power Rangers' as their camaraderie was endearing and close knitted. Many viewers had assumed the ending would be happy, and two-thirds into the series, some started dropping the drama when we saw the lead actors dying, which brought us bucket of tears.

It was heartening to see the Wu Emperor changed and became a better person. His eventual death was expected too. His decision to let male lead choose the next Emperor was an interesting outcome.

Nonetheless, many viewers were left angry on seeing both lead actor and actress dying in the ending episode.

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