Pursuit of Jade

This story was nearly holistic but…

I feel a bit unsatisfied because the show was nearly perfect, from the storyline to the acting. Each individual has a different ending, and most were appropriate. However, the ending for the supporting character 'Du Tiǎn Tiǎn' lacked uniqueness. Since she is a time-traveler, her conclusion felt too gloomy and failed to showcase her special abilities. I want to suggest a new scene for her.... *_*
Tôi cảm thấy hơi không hài lòng vì bộ phim gần như hoàn hảo, từ cốt truyện đến diễn xuất. Mỗi nhân vật đều có một kết thúc khác nhau, và hầu hết đều phù hợp. Tuy nhiên, kết thúc của nhân vật phụ 'Du Tiǎn Tiǎn' lại thiếu tính độc đáo. Vì cô ấy là người du hành thời gian, kết thúc của cô ấy lại quá u ám và không thể hiện được khả năng đặc biệt của cô ấy. Tôi muốn đề xuất một cảnh mới cho cô ấy...

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A series worth rewatching

For anyone who don't watch many historical cdramas like me, this is NOT a wuxia with flying people, dragons, gods or demons. This is a simply a series set in ancient times about war and romance.

Story: I really like how the story starts off fairly simple. You learn about the village the main lead is from and what kind of character she is. I'm always drawn into what situation she will find herself in and how she resolves it. I found the later half of the story to be a bit more confusing, which is natural as it becomes more political and complex relationships between characters get introduced. This causes the pacing to slow down a bit but by this time, you're at episode 35.

Acting/Cast: All the characters are hot. even the villains are hot. What. Anyways, Yan Zheng and Changyu's actors have fantastic chemistry. Their bond was felt instantly and I couldn't stop watching them go from fake love to real love.

The supporting cast was also fun to watch. I was cheering for the 2nd leads to get together and I hated the villain's guts. All of which is because they did a fantastic job with their scenes. All the acting felt natural and I believed all of them could be from ancient times. Major props to the child actors who played a huge role as well.

Music: I never skip the ending credits. Many of the songs are distinct and fits well with the scenes whenever they play. This means you know whenever a certain song plays that things are about to either be intense or cute.

Rewatch value: This is a series I didn't want to end. Precisely because I wanted to keep watching the ML and FL together. Even if it was a slice of life, I want to see them on screen together. Then there's details that you'll inevitably miss the first time around.

Overall: I think if you like romances with very good looking actors and mystery, then give this series a try. The chemistry is next level and even if you aren't into historical drama, I think this will surprise you how much you'll like it. It did for me. I know people who binge watched this in a week or less. I personally took my time and finished it in 2 weeks, which is still nearly 3 episodes a day.

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Well-written Characters and Amazing Plot..

I never wrote a review before, but here I'm trying for Pursuit of Jade.

The drama is so good, easily in my top 20 c-dramas.

It is a combination of well-written characters, the FL, this cute little girl with tremendous strength and a big heart, and the ML, this strong and great general who falls for her helplessly. Together, they gave us this amazing and heartwarming love story. The second couple's story was the opposite. A toxic, obsessed (very handsome white-haired) guy and a restaurant owner lady who has a very mysterious past (maybe a time traveler?), their story was interesting but so sad and painful. The third couple ( the grand princess and the ML's friend) was surprisingly cute and nice.
As for the villains, both Wei Yan (the ML's uncle) and Qi Min / Sui Yuan Huai (the SML), yes, they were bad people who committed unforgivable crimes, but only due to the actions of the evil late emperor and Prince Chang Xin, whom I consider the real villains.

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So Good at First, Then a Bit Messy

The cinematography, chemistry, pacing, story (up to episode 20-ish), everything is top-notch. Watching this drama really made me excited for what comes next, and I was always eagerly waiting for new episodes. The female and male leads are also really good-looking. The CGI is just okay.
But in the later episodes, the story kinda goes downhill. There are a lot of plot holes, and many things are left unexplained. I even ended up reading the novel because I wanted answers, and it turns out they changed a lot of things in the drama. Maybe it’s because they had to fit everything into 40 episodes, but it ends up feeling incomplete.

In the novel, the main “traitor” is actually Fan Changyu’s maternal grandfather. Her father marries into her mother’s family and is also involved in the grandfather’s betrayal. But her mother still stays with him despite that, which makes Fan Changyu believe her father is innocent.
Meanwhile, in the drama, her father is the main “traitor”, and she believes he’s innocent because of how her parents act toward each other. Like??? Love can be blind, and maybe her mother is just a lovesick fool. The novel makes a lot more sense.
When Xie Zheng finds out that Fan Changyu is the traitor’s daughter, he just accepts it. In the novel, you can really feel his inner turmoil, and he even tries to stay away from her.
Another thing I didn’t like in the drama is the lashing scene. It was carried out by Wen Yan. He even had the audacity to point fingers at Fan Changyu’s father, while knowing he’s the real reason why everything happened. In the novel the punishment was carried out by a retainer of the Xie family under Xie Zheng’s orders. He punished himself first before getting back together with Fan Changyu.
And the final battle… that’s it?? It only lasts like 10 minutes. They also did Fan Changyu dirty. She actually fights in the novel, unlike in the drama.
Fan Changyu was adopted by Grand Tutor Tao to elevate her background, and they even have a fight because of this. But after they return to the capital, somehow it’s never mentioned?
After the final battle, General Meng was given a title. But who is he? Why is he relevant? If I didn’t read the novel, I wouldn’t know why.
There are a lot more plot holes and things I dislike, but I’m too lazy to list them all. It’s such a pity they didn’t cut down Fan Changyu’s gang or the second couple’s screen time to fix these issues.
Despite all that, it’s still a good drama, and I’d recommend it.

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In a class of its own!

A story that starts out strong and has a satisfying what-if ending with a romance that is in a class of its own.

Kudos to the director for his special touches to make this romance truly special every step of the way. How they fell in love…Why they doubted their love… What happened when she discovered his true identity. Her reactions. His reactions. So so very well done and realistic unlike the majority of dramas using the same theme.

It was fun seeing how things developed with the gang of guys and the FL. Along with an unexpected little extra which I will not spoil it here. I’m glad some characters stayed true to themselves despite little red herrings being dropped to suggest they could be turning evil.

I especially enjoyed the final reveal behind what happened in the massacre of Jizhou. Very well told as well.

Truly worth watching…
And rewatching!

My curious mind couldn’t help but ask:
why was his hair white?
why was he allowed to look after the grand princess after the fire?
how did she wear clothes while chained to him?

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Conflicted?

Did I over rate this? Maybe. Did I enjoy it all the way through? Yes. Does it have issues? Yes. On with the review.

I really did enjoy this drama all the way through and found none of it really boring. That is what I try to go by for dramas anymore is did I get through it without being bored and asking what the heck was that it makes no sense. This drama was great especially when it first starts out it pulls you in with what is going to happen next, but through the story line its like they lost all focus on where this story was going.

The first big thing is that they make the ML out to be this big Marquis that everyone both fear and respect, and you don't really know why because he gets thrown into the background of the FL. I loved this FL she did great with her character and this is the first drama I have watched her in and would love watching her again. I loved her character so much in this, but did the over power her when it comes to the ML yes they did. She is a butcher girl that has been raised with the most normal of child hoods she could have until her world is thrown upside down with her parents death. Does she have unusual strength yes she does, did her father teach her how to fight yeah he did, but I still don't think that would make her be able to take out such a strong general that has more battle history then she does. I agree with another review that I read where they talk about the fight with the general and then her not being able to pull up both Qiao Qiao and Qi Min. Granted did she want to see Qi Min die yes he is a horrible character (Will get more into his character), but the FL has this strength but yet couldn't do this simple act makes no sense. So how did she kill a general with it being her first battle she was in?

I personally think they should of also focused a bit on the ML's story you don't get to really know too much about him. I get this was more focused on the FL, but you don't get to see what makes the ML even really important to this story. I loved the chemistry between Zhang Ling He and Tian Xi Wei, but also felt like the love story between them was also put on the back burner at times. Would of just loved to see more. Also just wish they would of done more with Zhang Ling He in general love watching him and love most of his dramas.

Now on to the Sui brothers. Two of the most toxic characters ever, but I'm sorry I have to say I loved them. They were great and I enjoyed their stories sometimes more then the actual story. Deng Kai and Lin Mu Ran played these characters amazingly. Would also really love to see Deng Kai and Snow Kong in another drama together their whole dynamic was toxic but the chemistry between these two shined through that I wish in some ways Qi Min would of turned himself around through his hardships for Qiao Qiao just to see more of their chemistry. I am becoming a fan of Deng Kai the more I watch him.

All in all it had its flaws anymore what drama doesn't, but was it a good watch yes it kept me interested all the way through it just to see what was going to happen. Oh have to say something about the kids before I almost forgot. Those two little kids were adorable and gave amazing performances. They were just so cute especially with Bao'er saying he will make Changning his empress. So cute!!

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Something new but still amazing

I really loved this drama and l hope yall give it a chance . From the acting to the story everything was captivating and good. And no character was truly 100 bad among the antagonists. Very complex characters molded by the circumstances in their lives. Good show. 👍 From the first the first episode of the storyline captivates you and captures your attention at first it seems like the same cliche Troop that we always see but I loved how they flipped the script over and he was marrying into a family instead of her family and and everything left the relationship Dynamic and how he never intentionally hurt her or physically assaulted her in anyway. And the breakup only last for a very short time and they don't overdo it I was also very interested by the second couple with the obsessed Prince and the former maid who was now like the manager and running her business. It really was such a complicated relationship where he knew that he deeply loved her but he did not know how to express love in a healthy way so for her his love was like torture but for him her love was everything and part of his reason to live anyways I don't want to say too many spoilers great show .go watch it

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Loved the slow-burn romance. The relationship between the leads develops gradually, and what I loved most was how much emotion was conveyed through silence and subtle expressions. The intense gazes and quiet moments between them created a strong sense of chemistry that gave me butterflies.

One of the most memorable scenes was the kiss before Zheng leaves. It felt emotional and intense, not just romantic, because you could feel the weight of everything they weren’t saying to each other.

The plot follows a familiar direction — a fake marriage that slowly turns into real love, only to be tested by separation and war. It’s not the most original storyline, but the screenplay is well done and keeps you engaged throughout. It may not feel completely new, but it’s still very entertaining.

I started watching this mainly for Zhang Linghe, and he didn’t disappoint. His acting feels very natural, and he has a very expressive face that fits this kind of quiet, emotional role. He doesn’t overdo anything, which makes his performance feel genuine.

The female lead was also very good — her acting felt sincere and natural, and she matched his energy well on screen.

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