The Early Spring

one of the best cdramas of 2026 so far

The CEO-subordinate employee plot has been overdone, but this one handles the developnent of the story quite differentltly. the arch of from indifferent to resisting to falling in love is the usual formula. but here, it is not a straight line from beginning to end. the story arch is more like the characters, and thr love relationship arr like the cha cha dance, weaving forward and bavkward almost regularly. The characters, too, are not one-dimensional. They are realistic in their being, given different circumstances, passionate, reluctant, resistant, indecisive, ddtermined, soft and gentle, adamantly stubborn and harsh. we also have a very good, witty and genuine and deeply emotional and light, as called for by the scene. needless to say, great chemistry between the lead actor and actress. good foils from supporting cast.
having gotten hooked on him since The Road Home, i have yo admit--I'm in love all over again with Jing Boran!

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Chemistry? yes Romanticized walking red flag? also yes!

The only thing this drama did well was portraying the sexual tension. Kudos to the actors, and that's about anything positive i can say about this drama .

I usually write really short review (This one is not too long either) but this time around, i couldn't hold back.

SO HERE COMES THE RANT:

"You don't need to be perfect to be worthy of love, but you at the very least, need NOT TO BE TOXIC " this one sentence summarise the whole drama from where i stand.

The fact that a really young audience is watching this drama is actually concerning. This is not how love is supposed to look like.

For all my girls out there, and for me myself and i, i really really hope we never come across a guy similar to the male lead. The lack of empathy, the gaslighting, the arrogance, the selfishness, the "you can't have a male friend", the lack of sweetness ...

They did lack comunication, the female lead was also able to pull out the "i didn't want to disturb you", like come on sis, TALK TO YOUR MAN SIS!

The male lead never considered the female lead an equal until the last episodes, even in their personal relationship, he was still the boss. And this is where the female lead's low self-esteem may come from.

But then again, the relation was mainly sexual, why would i expect them to face their problems like normal adults do, silly me hahahaahah!

I don't like dramas with sad endings. But i found myself hoping for the female lead to be with someone else other than the male lead by the end of the drama. I can also understand why she got back with him. I can't really be happy for this couple, i still feel a lingering sadness in my heart for what she had to go through. Did he really changed? Did he really understand what he did wrong? or did he miss her so much that he could have done anything just to get her back? I wish they had sat down and talked more about what went wrong both side and come out with a solution..

From episode 19 on, even the chemistry couldn't save it anymore. Speaking about spending 6 precious years of your life with someone like the male lead......sigh

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The ratings are pretty good, but why does the story like a short drama?

Honestly, I didn't have very high expectations for romance dramas these days, especially ones adapted from web novels or novels. But seeing how high the ratings are, I got curious and decided to give this drama a try.

I feel like this drama was carried quite a bit by JBR's acting. Aside from him, I found the performances from most of the other actors pretty average. I even felt that Sun Qian's performance was a little below her usual standard in this drama, especially when she has to act angry or cry, it feels kind a awkward and unnatural. As for the BGM and music, nothing really stood out or stayed in my mind. The only one I found interesting was the opening song, which has a unique ethnic vibe to it.

The cinematography and camera angles were also nothing particularly special. So, naturally, I put most of my expectations on the story, especially since the main appeal of this drama seemed to be its story and cast.

Unfortunately, the story didn't really work for me.

The career development of the main leads was actually quite interesting to watch. I enjoyed the tricks, schemes, and challenges they had to deal with, as well as seeing how they handled those situations. I also liked how the ML supported the FL, even if he often did it with his usual harsh words. He's basically a certified "tsundere" and probably deserves the award for best trash talker of the year.

Unfortunately, their love story was a completely different matter. It sometimes felt like watching a cheap short drama with the classic cold, rude CEO and a naive girl who falls for him because he's handsome and have brilliant career. The conflicts kept repeating themselves and always seemed to revolve around the same issues without really going anywhere. The ML was constantly harsh and arrogant, while the FL kept making the same mistakes without realizing how much they were affecting their relationship.

Their poor communication and long-distance relationship only made things worse. At times, their relationship felt more like two childish people constantly hurting each other than a mature couple who had been together for years.

And honestly, this is probably where the story lost me the most.

Happy endings are usually easier to find in dramas and fiction than in real life, and this drama is no exception. After being together for so many years, I feel like they should have realized that they simply weren't that compatible, especially when they had such different views on how a relationship should work. I honestly think they would be happier going their separate ways, without having to be involved in each other’s lives anymore.

But of course, I understand why the story had to end this way. It's hard to imagine a web novel author giving their characters a truly unhappy ending after making readers follow their relationship for so long. Obviously, the readers would’ve given the novel terrible ratings and left some really nasty comments about it if it had ended unhappy ending. So, in the end, we just have to accept the main leads getting back together and eventually having a child.

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I fell for the hype

At first, this seems to be a fairly ordinary office drama that fails to stand out, except in few eccentric ways.

The acting is serviceable, although I enjoyed Qian Sun more in LOVE STORY IN THE 1970s, where she plays a multi-dimensional character who speaks like an intelligent, normal human being. I could do without the baby-talk voice, which she puts on for this role.

The ML is OK, but I found his arrogant, hypercritical, tone-deaf personality hard to like. As one of his friends tells him, “You’re all stick and no carrot.”

It’s New Year’s Eve and we viewers are wondering if the ML is finally going to confess his feelings to the FL. He gives her a call from afar, just as the countdown starts. She wishes him a Happy New Year. And then he says, “I was wondering..., if...if you’re free tomorrow...could you go over to my house and feed my fish?” I got a laugh out of that. (I know this guy. I’ve dated this guy–or at least one of his clones.) Even his own mother says to him: “A girl might date you at first because of your looks, but sooner or later she might not be able to stand you.” Well said, mom.

Too many overdone tropes--the company’s trek to the wilderness with the inevitable accident that follows, the flowers the ML orders that end up appropriated by the wrong woman, the ML’s worry and concern when the FL has a fever, etc. Jealousy abounds.

And what’s with the skirt lengths, hiked up to the stratosphere? Is that normal office attire in China these days? Does the censorship committee know about this? :)

I really liked the little epilogues right after each episode concludes. That’s a nice touch. This series doesn’t have an original sound track. I recognized most of the pieces from other dramas.

I’ll revisit this review later...

Episode 24

The final episode was a bit performative. I’d have preferred some recognition that our FL isn’t perfect either. She’s secretive, for example–and both are deceitful. The last couple of episodes imply that the ML has been a total jerk–all the misunderstandings were his fault--and he’s now totally reformed.

Yeah, no.

Both these characters are complicit. The so-called advertising “work” that they value relies on distorting facts or creating artificial desires to get people to part with their money. That’s what advertising is. Is it any wonder that, when it comes to love, these two use similar duplicitous tactics?

The most treasured object in this whole drama is an ancient typewriter, which is missing the letter “L.” Think about the symbolism of that.

I have to admit that I softened a bit toward the ML when he looked the ML in the eye and stood up for love, saying, “Luke is my dog too.”

That one earned an extra star because the ML knows how to treat a dog, even if he’s not a sure bet for a woman.

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The Luke Show

If you’re wondering what this show is about, the answer is simple: Luke. Everything revolves around Luke. Every event, every conversation, and every emotion somehow comes back to him. I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched a drama where the male lead was put on such a ridiculous pedestal.

K-dramas love their cold, handsome, powerful CEOs, but usually we eventually get to see their flaws, awkward moments, or funny sides, which makes them more likable. Here, though, we’re constantly being told how amazing this guy is, without actually being given a reason to believe it. He isn’t even particularly impressive compared to your average K-drama CEO.

And then we have the female lead. She’s supposedly ambitious and hardworking, but most of the time she just comes across as painfully naive and clueless. Being innocent is not a problem. The problem is that she seems terrified of everything, constantly doubts herself, and needs validation for every little thing. She even writes down every compliment she receives. Meanwhile, she’s doing unpaid overtime without even realizing she should be getting paid for it. Honestly, she’s basically the dream employee for corporate exploitation lol.

I’m only on episode 10, but there are already some technical problems too. I’m watching the original-language version with subtitles, yet the voice and lip syncing are terrible. The dialogue often doesn’t match the actors’ mouths at all. Like… it’s 2026. How is this still happening?

The biggest problem, though, is that I still don’t understand what kind of drama this is trying to be. Is it a workplace drama with some romance on the side, or a romance that happens to take place in a workplace? If it’s the first one, fine. But if romance is supposed to be the main point, the leads barely spend any time together, and there is absolutely no chemistry between them so far.

I’m going to finish it, but judging by the first 10 episodes, I have a feeling this is only going downhill from here.

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The worst drama I've seen in a long time.

Luke is the absolute worst ml I've ever watched. Flora obviously has no self respect either. How can 2 ADULTS have miscommunication as a problem between them?? I only got through 1 episode and I could tell this would be a rubbish drama. Luke was always insulting Flora for no damn reason, Flora can't even speak or stand up for herself to save her life, and you're telling me they actually got into a relationship??? Puh-lease.
Luke isn't even a red flag, or a grey flag... he is a black flag. I've never seen anyone so verbally abusive before. There is nothing he could've said or done for me (if I were Flora) for me to date him or take him back. Sorry I'm not sorry.
The best ending would've been for Flora to find someone who actually appreciates and loves her and leave Luke to be all alone since that's what he actually wanted.

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a messy romance saved by its leads

To be honest, this drama is nothing special. The production feels cheap, the writing is weak, and the editing is rough around the edges. It's a Chinese workplace romance that had all the ingredients for something addictive but never quite came together.

That said, I was captivated by Luke and Flora's relationship—at least at the beginning. Watching them fall for each other while stubbornly denying their feelings was genuinely addictive. Their dynamic pulled me in, even when the show around them didn't.

The second half, though, is a mess. They fight, they make up, they fight again—it's exhausting and repetitive. Luke's harsh way of speaking to Flora is heartbreaking to watch, but on the other side, he shows his feelings through actions: making sure Don gets what he deserves, fighting off the agency thugs, supporting her work. Flora's insecurity also becomes too much at times, and she does things that hurt him deeply.

Sometimes you must lose someone to really find out if you love that person. Or you are not mature enough to see what is in front of you. That's the lesson I took from Luke and Flora's journey—messy, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.

The last few episodes were all over the place. The time jump felt messy and rushed, and it became clear that the drama simply failed to execute its storyline properly. It's a shame because the potential was there.

Still, I enjoyed it for Luke and Flora's interactions—and a big shoutout to Luke, the dog. He was the real MVP. If you can overlook the flaws, there's something worth watching here, but don't expect a masterpiece.

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He Was Too Proud. She Was Too Humble

Okay, I finally finished all 24 episodes of The Early Spring, and I have A LOT to say about this one. 😂

First of all, I genuinely really enjoyed this drama. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Did the writing and some of the adaptation choices frustrate me? YES. Did I want to shake both Shang Zhitao and Luan Nian at different points? Also yes. 😂 But honestly, I think that's part of why I enjoyed it.

One of the very first quotes in this drama is:

“You don't have to be perfect to be deserving of love.”

And that quote literally appears at the beginning of every episode. Yet somehow people watched the entire drama and still reduced these two characters to “red flag” and “green flag.” 😭

I really hate the way fandom discussions have become so obsessed with these labels. A red flag should describe a particular concerning quality or behaviour, not become a box you put an entire human being into. Someone can have terrible qualities and still have good ones. Someone can love you and still hurt you. Someone can have boundaries, insecurities, make mistakes and behave badly sometimes without becoming an entirely bad person.

That's called being human.

And I think The Early Spring is much more interesting when you actually allow these characters to be complicated.

Let's start with Shang Zhitao.

She comes to Beijing as a fresh 22-year-old graduate from Harbin. She has dreams, ambition and that very common dream of leaving your hometown and going to a huge city to make something of yourself. She is young, inexperienced and trying to establish herself in an industry where she has everything to prove.

And from basically the beginning, her boss, Luan Nian, makes it very clear that he doesn't think she's good enough.

He questions her abilities. He tells her she doesn't belong. He tells her she should consider another job. He calls her stupid and repeatedly talks down to her.

And people keep calling him “blunt.”

No.

There is a difference between being blunt and being downright rude and insulting. You can be honest with someone without constantly putting them down.

And this matters because I think people completely overlook where Shang Zhitao's insecurity comes from.

She isn't insecure for no reason.

She is a 22-year-old newcomer in Beijing, working under a highly accomplished senior who constantly makes her feel like she isn't quite good enough. Unless you're an exceptionally confident person, that environment is going to affect you.

Then she sleeps with him.

They have a one-night stand, and obviously Shang Zhitao becomes apprehensive about what happens next. And honestly, of course she does.

She has barely established herself in Beijing. This man is her senior, her boss and eventually her boyfriend. Why would she immediately be comfortable turning that into a relationship?

She's attracted to him, obviously. 😂 And they do have genuine moments where they help each other and where her feelings begin to grow. But she still has every reason to be cautious.

Then Luan Nian pursues the situationship.

Which is honestly hilarious because the very next day he's already making insinuations about her leaving something at his place deliberately, while she has no reason to know that this man is going to be a complete bastard about relationships. 😂

The important thing is that their relationship doesn't stay purely casual. It develops very quickly into something much more serious.

And this is something I don't think enough viewers noticed:

The drama literally establishes that by Shang Zhitao's second year at Li Mei, she and Luan Nian started dating.
So yes, at that point, they're boyfriend and girlfriend.

But they still behave like they're stuck in a situationship half the time. They barely communicate, they mostly meet after work, and they continue carrying all the insecurity and uncertainty from the beginning of their relationship into the actual relationship.

And that's really the biggest problem with these two.

They don't have a lack-of-love problem. They have a communication and trust problem.

Shang Zhitao doesn't trust that her feelings and problems are important enough for Luan Nian to care about.

Luan Nian doesn't trust her enough to actually ask her what she's thinking.

She keeps things to herself.

He makes assumptions.

She becomes more insecure.

He becomes more defensive and angry.

And then they repeat the cycle.

Take the sexual harassment situation.

People kept asking, “Why didn't she tell Luan Nian?”

I actually agree that she should have told him eventually, especially because he was her boyfriend. But she had literally just been sexually harassed. She was shocked and panicking. He called her almost immediately afterward.

She didn't owe anyone a perfectly composed explanation in that moment.

And more importantly, this isn't an isolated thing. She also doesn't tell him about the housing-agency incident when she is physically harassed.

Why?

Because she has this deeply ingrained belief that her problems aren't important enough to trouble him with. She thinks she needs to handle things herself.

That is part of her insecurity.

So yes, I can say “She should have told him” and simultaneously say “I understand why she didn't.”

Those two things can both be true.

And Luan Nian doesn't exactly help with that insecurity.

He repeatedly uses incredibly harsh and insulting language toward her. And I don't care how sweet he is afterward—those things don't disappear.

People seem to forget that if a character is romantic for three episodes after saying something horrible, the horrible thing still happened.

That's not how memory works.

Those things stay with you.

They're little cuts.

One cut.
Then another.

Then another.

And after six years, you have a wound.

That's why I don't see their final breakup as being caused by one stupid misunderstanding. It was six years of accumulated resentment, insecurity, pride, jealousy, poor communication and things that were never properly discussed.

Then we have the ex situation.

I understand Luan Nian being upset when he sees Shang Zhitao hug her ex. Personally, I also wouldn't love seeing my partner hug an ex or someone who had confessed feelings for them.

But I also don't think the hug itself is some enormous betrayal.

Especially because Luan Nian has also hugged a woman who confessed to him, and later hugged her again when they met after years.

The difference is that Shang Zhitao wasn't there to witness those situations.

So yes, I understand his feelings.

What I don't understand is his way of handling them.

Again, he doesn't communicate.

He gets angry. He becomes aggressive. He tries to make her jealous.

And Shang Zhitao doesn't communicate either because she's too insecure to believe that talking to him will actually make a difference.

That's their relationship in a nutshell.

And then we get to the marriage discussion, which is another place where I think the adaptation changed the context so much that viewers are judging Shang Zhitao differently.

I've read the novel, and the drama changes their timeline considerably.

In the novel, they remain in that ambiguous situationship for much longer. Shang Zhitao eventually reaches the point where she tells Luan Nian that she likes him and wants to actually date him.

And he rejects her.

A lot of events that happen later in the drama actually happen in the novel while they are still in that situationship or when they aren't together at all.

The drama moved their official relationship much earlier, but then retained many of the same conflicts and reactions.

And that changes everything.

Something that happened in the novel when she wasn't even his girlfriend is now being watched by drama viewers as:

“How could she do that to her boyfriend?”
Well... she wasn't his girlfriend in the original context.

That's a pretty important difference.

And I honestly think the drama also softened Luan Nian in several places compared to the novel while keeping Shang Zhitao's emotional reactions. So things that had more context in the novel can sometimes make her look much more unreasonable in the drama.

I don't necessarily hate the changes, but I do think the adaptation needed to be more careful about what those changes did to the audience's perception of the characters.

Then we get to the car conversation.

And OH MY GOD.

I was furious.

Whatever mistake Shang Zhitao made, Luan Nian had absolutely no right to speak to her the way he did.

He basically humiliates her and implies that she's the kind of woman who would sleep with any man who comes along.

Excuse me???

Who the hell talks to their girlfriend like that?

Be angry.

Be jealous.

Confront her.

Tell her exactly what she did wrong.

Break up with her if you have to.

But you don't get to verbally humiliate someone and then have people excuse it because “he was hurt.”

No.

And honestly, Shang Zhitao forgives him WAY too easily sometimes.

Girl, please develop a spine. 😭

But again, that is part of her character. She is too humble. Too willing to put herself down. Too willing to accept less than she deserves.

And then everything finally falls apart.

Her best friend dies.

Their relationship becomes public.

And the exact thing Shang Zhitao was afraid of actually happens.

Her career is affected.
This is why I never understood people criticizing her for wanting to keep the relationship private.

Luan Nian was already established. He was the head of the China branch. He had a reputation and a position that could withstand gossip.

Shang Zhitao was still trying to prove herself.

If everyone thought she was getting opportunities because she was sleeping with the boss, whose career was going to suffer more?

Hers.

And she wasn't asking Luan Nian to give her special treatment.

She wasn't asking him to use their relationship to get her promoted.

She wasn't even asking him to hand her the specialist position.

She basically wanted to know beforehand that she wasn't getting it.

That's it.

She had worked incredibly hard and was sitting there with all these hopes, thinking she was finally going to get the position, while her boyfriend already knew that wasn't happening.

And he didn't tell her.

Maybe he had his reasons.

Maybe he thought he was protecting her.

Maybe he had a plan for her career later.

But you have to communicate that to your partner.

You cannot make decisions that affect them and then expect them to understand your intentions magically.

And this is where the six years of everything finally catch up with them.

The insults.

The insecurity.

The jealousy.

The misunderstandings.

The things they never said.

The things they assumed.

Her constantly putting herself below him.

His constant pride.
And then the grief of losing her best friend on top of everything else.

That annual-party fight felt like the explosion after years of pressure.

And honestly?

I think Shang Zhitao leaving was necessary.

It hurt. A LOT.

But she needed to leave.

Because when she goes home, starts her own company and builds a life without him, she finally becomes confident in herself.

She no longer sees herself as that 22-year-old girl who needs to prove she belongs.

She knows her worth.

And when they meet again, the dynamic is completely different.

Not exactly reversed, but different.

She can challenge him now.

She can question him.

She can tell him when he's wrong.

She doesn't immediately shrink herself.

And Luan Nian finally has to confront himself.

He finally realizes that his pride played a huge role in destroying the relationship.

And THAT is why I loved the ending.

Because he finally has to chase her.

He has to humble himself.

He has to let go of that ridiculous pride.

The Aurora scene broke me, honestly. 😭

Him calling her again and again, apologizing and telling her he loves her...

And I'm sitting there thinking:

Too late, sir.

You had six years.

SIX YEARS.

But that's what made it emotional.
He finally understood what he had lost.

And when they eventually reunite, it doesn't feel like Shang Zhitao is simply going back to the same relationship.

They're different people now.

That second quote from Shang Zhitao near the end describes their relationship so perfectly:

“I loved him. He also loved me. But he was too arrogant back then, and I was too humble.”

That's basically their entire six-year relationship in one sentence.

He loved her, but he was too proud to properly meet her emotionally.

She loved him, but she was too insecure to demand what she actually deserved.

And finally, they meet somewhere in the middle.

I also loved the proposal scene. The way Luan Nian goes through their memories and finally acknowledges what they went through together was so sweet. And I appreciated that he seemed genuinely self-aware about how much of a jerk he had been. 😂

And then Luke the dog basically comes in and seals the whole thing.

Adorable.

Now, I do have complaints about the adaptation.

I've read the novel, and I think the drama could have handled some things much better.

The timeline changes are significant. The drama makes them an official couple much earlier, while many of the same conflicts from the novel originally happen when they are still in a situationship or aren't together.

There are also HUGE time jumps where I'm sitting there thinking:

“Okay, but what happened during those six months?” 😂
Because these are human beings. Things don't just stop happening between scenes.

We don't know what conversations they had, what they discussed, what changed or what happened during those missing periods.

I think that sometimes makes their fights feel more sudden than they should.

But despite all my complaints...

I really enjoyed this drama.

Their chemistry is chemistry. 😂

Tibet was beautiful.

Their sweet moments were genuinely sweet.

And the ending made me happy.

There are plenty of dramas where the leads are beautiful, perfect, dreamy green flags and everything is wonderful. And I LOVE those dramas too.

Sometimes I absolutely want to watch two gorgeous people fall in love and have basically no problems. 😂

But The Early Spring wasn't that.

These characters were messy.

They were insecure.

They were stubborn.

They made mistakes.

They hurt each other.

They loved each other.

They grew.

And honestly, I think that's what made them interesting.

I don't want to call Shang Zhitao a red flag.

I don't want to call Luan Nian a green flag.

Because both labels are too small for them.

Luan Nian can genuinely love Shang Zhitao and still behave terribly sometimes.

Shang Zhitao can be insecure and make mistakes while still being strong and deserving of love.

Humans are complicated.

That's the whole point.

And maybe that's why the show had to remind us at the beginning of every episode:

You don't have to be perfect to be deserving of love.

Could this drama have been written better in places? Absolutely.

Could the adaptation have handled the novel's timeline and character dynamics better? Definitely.

Did both of these people make me want to scream at my screen? Absolutely. 😂

But did I enjoy watching them?

Yes. Very, very much.

It wasn't perfect.

And that's exactly why I liked it.

I'll take complicated, imperfect and human over perfect any day.

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A modern, thoughtful drama -- worthwhile watching

This is a worthwhile watch, technically excellent, the whole crew is brilliant -- can you see me guys? On my knees bowing.
Great characters, generally great performances, although Jing Boran is as usual outstanding.

A primo technical watch for the way in which nothing is wasted and everyone's actions , every single moment contributes to the storyline. An adaptation of a much longer novel (how many times have we said this!) with one or two places where the director seems to have thought the narrative transitions were easily understood, but they werent.

I really enjoyed it. Havent seen a proper thoughtful, modern drama like this in quite some time.

"You dont have to be perfect to deserve love" a leitmotif in the show -- it also works on the outside for the show itself.

I loved it. I loved Shang ZhiTao anf Luan Nian SOO MUCH.

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