Pursuit of Jade

Incredible, must watch

I normally am not a huge fan of historical dramas, but this one is mesmerizing, addictive and just absolutely wonderful. The actors are incredible - both the evil and the good ones. But it is the writing, for me, that just puts it over the top. Such a great script that lands perfectly with each and every line. I hate the scenes with Miss Yu, the evil prince, and their son, and have a struggle watching them, but that is also a credit to the actors, the writers and the production.
The main leads are impressive. It is hard to believe how young they are. She is completely adorable.
Don't miss out on an amazingly entertaining and well done drama!

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Stunning chemistry and a well thought-out plot

I tuned into this one about halfway and it quickly became something I looked forward to every morning.

Individually, the leads perfectly embodied their roles, but together, the chemistry simply jumped off the screen. They were just so good together in every single scene they were in, whether it was a steamy one, an action one, or a funny one.

I really liked how much of the world we got to see as the characters journeyed from place to place, starting from Lin'an Village, to the military, and then to the royal court and all the politics that came with it.

This is a minor gripe but I do think the pacing was a little off at times. I really liked the slower, slice-of-life feeling in Lin'an, but after we left and went to the military camp, there were just so many close calls and fake-outs with the identity reveal that it got quite frustrating. The final arc where the backstory is revealed also felt a little rushed to me? While I think it got a lot of screentime (and our leads got less), I'm not sure the way everything played out had quite the climax I was expecting, especially with some of the antagonists scheming for 30+ episodes just to fall in less than 15 minutes.

I'm also pretty mixed on the "second pairing" — in quotes because the show seemed to contradict itself about how they wanted to portray them. It was definitely not a romance and was toxic and abusive, but they also had a lot of those slow motion steamy scenes, and a sort of(?) redemption. kind of Other than that, there are hints of family and friendship that are nice to see but it's really not significant — which was kind of a double-edged sword because it meant that I didn't care that much for the side characters. But on the other hand, the main leads were what I really cared about and I was happy to get as much as I could of them.

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DON'T MISS THIS MASTERPIECE

"I’ve never felt compelled to write a review for an ongoing drama until now, but today's episode was so incredible I just had to share the joy.

I want to Thank every single member of the team for their extraordinary work. I love both ML and FL in this drama, I've watched all their previous works and had a very high expectation for this drama from the beginning. A very few drama live upto that expectation and fewer exceeds your expectations and does outstandingly well. "Zhang Ling He" and "Tian Xi Wei" thank you for your wonderful performance, both actors does phenomenal job in this drama.

From the stunning costumes and evocative music to the pitch-perfect dubbing and supporting cast—everything is seamless. Kudos to the Director and Producer for bringing it all together so perfectly.

I highly recommend this to everyone and hope the remaining episodes keep the same thrill and awesomeness.

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Pursuit of love during difficult times

As of the time of writing this review I am halfway through and because I'm getting spoilers in social media, I feel confident to already write a review. Let's get into it.
Story. First of all, if you're going into this because some clips show a cute love story of a handsome man being rescued by a woman and later marrying her as a matrilocal husband, be prepared that it's not purely a cute love story. It's a complicated romance on the background of difficult war times, corrupt officials and untangling few mysteries. I had no idea what I was getting into (I didn't bother reading the summary after absolutely head over heels falling for the cutesy love story clips from the first episodes) but man, I did stay for the whole thing. This drama is exceptionally well written. We have a strong, STRONG female lead. She's physically, mentally and morally strong. Then we have a kinda kind loving husband who quite can't express his emotions through words but he's still always caring for the female lead. I heard that Xie Zheng is even colder in the original story, he doesn't even like Changning. I'm really glad the the producers changed up his character, because this actions warmth but yet cold emotions fits the character better and Zhang Linghe really brought it out in the character.
Casting. 11/10 would not change any actor. Tian Xiwei is perfect, so is Zhang Linghe. I especially want to raise Deng Kai. I've seen him only as a villain in some other dramas and boy is he walking that path HARD. His character of an obsessive lover is so realistically acted, his cold evil aura, just PERFECTION.
Music. As I said in many other reviews, I'm not an ost person, unless it's outstanding to me personally. The tracks are okay to me.
Rewatch value. There are some funny moments I absolutely love, there's a good love story, there's mystery, there's action, I can see myself giving another watch for this drama.
Overall, I absolutely see the hype and this drama is 11/10 worth it.

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Top notch yearning and kisses

Starting from best parts and going down from there (note: I didn't read the novel)

🥇🎇Romance🎇
The absolute best part of this drama is the romance and chemistry between two leads. From the start till the very end, it just delivers 🎆🎇🧨🔥
Although I usually follow actresses rather than actors, I have to admit, Zhang Linghe as ML absolutely stole the limelight of this duo. He's beautiful, tortured and utterly obsessed with FL in the most delicious way possible. His kissing scenes are just something else. For this part alone it's worth to watch this drama. Kudos to the entire team for making him shine so bright 👏 No matter what the plot says, he's a true jade of the entire production.

🥈Cinematography 😍
Visual experience is the next level. Everything in here, from town life to massacres is simply stunning. It will be so hard to move on to less artistic productions. I consider myself spoiled and ruined. My standards have been risen to the soaring levels.

🥉Fan Changyu (mixed feelings)
Tian Xiwei performance as FL was what carried emotional weight of the show for over the half of episodes. Everyone agrees that show starts great and she's a strong reason why. Either as a cute butcher or suffering heroine, with those big eyes of hers she gets us feel everything. It's the after the first battle when she gets lost in the narrative and never really makes a comeback. Things then generally start falling apart in many areas, but main character arc is bound to pain us the most. I have no idea is it book's fault, or creators initiative that made her fall back in her own story, but it's the shame nevertheless.

🚨 The Capitol Arc
It's sad to admit but show really didn't manage to keep its own level. Last chapter was particularly messy and somewhat unsatisfying. Even with angsty & steamy romance pushing us forward, many aspects were concluded without satisfaction. Like big palace conspiracy, that wasn't really directed like a mystery and didn't even stole a fraction of my interest throughout the entire show. The final court room scene was just not very good. Same with Fan Changyu secret identity that didn't really made an impact. Neither emotional nor on the plot, really. I could go on but...
No point going into every confusing detail.
Was it book's fault? I don't know, but if so, then production should've made better creative choices in the end.
If book was great and was ruined compared to the show, then you have to let me know. I'll run to read it 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

Concluding, even with everything, It's still a great show, where highs more than enough compensate for lows. It's just the loss of a potential that pains the most.

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My new Obsession

I’ve watched a lot of historical C-dramas, but this one… WOW. I’m completely obsessed. This has to be one of the best assembled casts I’ve ever seen. Every single actor is phenomenal—even the villains! You end up loving and hating them at the same time because their performances are just that good.
The directing is absolutely brilliant, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Every scene feels like a piece of art. The storytelling, the emotions, the visuals—everything about this drama is on another level.
Honestly, this is a must-watch masterpiece. I already know I’m going to rewatch it multiple times because once it ends, I don’t think anything will compare. This drama has completely ruined me in the best way possible!

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