A Dream of Splendor (2022)

SO BORING :(

I was shocked to see so many good reviews. Did we watch the same show??

The romance wasn’t that romantic. The first half was more interesting with them having underlying feelings for one another but their status would be questionable because of her background. After that, yeesh. The kisses were terrible and to be honest, GXF was like two different people. He’s the “Living Devil”- ruthless and merciless. But with her he’s like a puppy and trying to be comical... doesn’t quite match.

All the politics and power struggle - I did not even bother to watch. It was ff all the way. The other couples- boring. The comedy- boring. Music- boring. Sure yes- three women speaking up, fending for themselves, being successful in their careers etc... maybe it could have been better with 20 episodes? ;)

From Epi 21 I skipped to 26-27.. then to 40. Haha... just wanted to see the end. Even skipping that many episodes, I can still understand the final episode. Goes to show how much they dragged out the storyline. If you’re looking for a good historical drama, I would recommend Who Rules The World. That was really good:)

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stressful drama, lots of miscommunication and villains alot

stressful drama, lots of miscommunication and villains alot where really seems the whole world is against you; drama was too tense for me

Life is too short for stressful drama. Why spend all that time watching and be stressed? Don’t our lives already provide enough of that?

Summary of the series:
- not a lighthearted rom/com; series is a stressful for me; so many people against you and you have to win them over 1 by 1, so exhausting
- my favorite part is to see how they can start a tea house business and make it successful; the 3 FLs work together, other than that, its not much to rewatch
- constant miscommunication, back and forth; had some great story line but it was just exhausting even with lots of fast forwarding due to the slow pace
- exhausting characters with a lot of torture both physically and mentally
- a show that implicates all people are bad until you can win them over
- the romance was kinda hard to watch as well
- everyone is a villain to start with, lots and lots struggles, calamity and miscommunications galore for stress
- it tries to put so much stress, serious issues and mingle with jokes song and dance

watch this if you like stressful full on struggle every step of the way; it was a joy to watch for the business part of the story; ends after wrap up, no extended joy to see how they finally can have peaceful lives; then this is for you.

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Finally

Just perfect. Its been decades since I had NOTHING to complain on a story, but quite a lot to praise. I kinda want to leave my review at that but I'll add a little more.
All actors and actresses do a great job. Each character has a thought out backstory and a goal/behaviour that makes sense with that past/present. The main couple have chemistry, good scenes and potentially one of your fav CPs in fiction. All romances are different and real, without "drama love" being at all the series's focus - I would even say it doesn't really have romantic drama, since everything that happens is realistic. Realistic situations, realistic feelings, realisitc assumptions, for each character in the couple to have.
But the strongest point in this cdrama (but it's really all connected), it is the women. How every woman suffers in this time in spite of their position (from a pariah to an empress), chooses paths (or has to go along with a man's plan) and has to be extremely strong in different ways - and how they know what the other goes through.
It shows the sexism in all aspects and a true feminism, that isn't the woman being physically strong as so many other shows do. I don't know what's so hard about doing a commentary on this subject, but luckly they did it right. And it's not the bare minimum, on the nose, exaggerated nor has the goal to make the audience pity them. Geez, finally.

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Wonderfully refreshing. Must watch it!

This drama, in terms of quality, is as good as Nirvana in Fire or Joy of Life and it comes with an additional bonus: a lot of romance. The acting is superb. The characters are interesting, convincing, mature. The female characters have normal, not baby-like, silly voices. There is no sickening cuteness. No 'accidental' kissing by 'accidentally' falling on top of each other. No 'accidental' drowning scenes.
I have watched 19 episodes and never once felt like fast forwarding. Chinese dramas often follow a particular pattern where the story line is predictable, drags on, viewers are exposed to cuteness overload, lots of implausible and stupid situations that don't make sense, countless 'misunderstandings' between the main characters.... to name a few. None of this in this drama! So refreshing! So well paced!
The chemistry between the main leads is amazing. Real adult-like flirting, witty, with a good amount of suspension.
Comic scenes are actually funny. Not idiotic.
On top of that fantastic visuals. The characters are gorgeous, beautiful, with just the right amount of make-up. Beautiful clothing, colours, ost...
A real gem!

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Nostalgic, lowkey, and enjoyable

[UNEDITED] Review 3.5/5
Liu Yifei is love!

Somewhat different from your normal drama. This show takes an introspective look into the lives of common people in ancient times trying to make it in the world. The story scope of this drama doesn't follow the love story of gods through several lifetimes or take place over the span of thousands of years, or even the royalty of courtly politics, but of three humble female commoners and young men who want to make a name for themselves and gain titles.

The show is enjoyable because it has nostalgia of a young person's show in themes of friendship, adventure, and "leveling-up", while also having a mysterious element of every person's fantasy of coming from a special background and being someone special, and a dabble of the intensity of fighting scenes, schemes, and a little dose of politics. It has something for everyone.

Refreshingly different, while quality in its focus and small scope, the show follows the journey and growth of Zhao Pan'er as she struggles against social status and societal standards to make a place for herself in the world. She leads her two sister-best friends to the capital where they are aided by Gu Qianfan to open their own business and succeed in a man's world. It's a quaint story about about women independence, friendship, and the makings of a good relationship.

Another way it can be taken is---there is no story. It's a nice show that has many elements told through three different perspectives with three different women's situations (every trope and element is thrown in there), while having nice friendship bonds (enjoy the good-old nostalgic adventure build-yourself-from-scratch vibe). The story is lowkey and laid-back while somewhat interesting so it's nice to pass the time.

Sidenote: The producers bragged about being the show with the most outfits which is funny because the outfits are barely different that I didn't notice they were changing. Good effort though. I support the motive if this will start a trend among shows of creating more looks for their characters albeit without much characterization.

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WATCH IT! You won't regret at all!

Yes I finally completed this drama after waiting for like 2 years after its first trailer!!! Great great drama given that C-dramas has been rather disappointing for quite a long while now especially for the historical genre! The cast is just wonderful and unexpected for the great chemistry and synergy, Chen Xiao and Liu Yi Fei together in a drama again is a total gift from heavens and their "lovers" set up is so believable and so sweet just by watching it!

Jelly Lin's acting gave me a big sight of relieve as she's finally starting to act well/normal in her roles after so many past dramas she had destroyed with her real bad acting.

Ada Liu's performance here made me so happy for her that Ada Liu could finally get her revenge against the people who bullied her in real life! If you have watched the scene whereby Sun San Niang throwing Du Chang Feng into the river for him saying demeaning words towards the three ladies, though it was a super funny scene but you may not know how is this scene related to a real past controversy of Ada Liu. What happened was that Ada Liu was the bridesmaid to her celebrity friend's wedding in China and after the ceremony ended, the Groom along with Groomsman decided to "prank" Bridesmaid by throwing one of them into the pool/pond in the venue which ended up they chose Ada Liu because she had "great figures"... The situation ended really ugly due to the fact that all the guys involved didn't bother to apologies nor admit they were wrong but instead pushed the fault to Ada Liu for making a big deal out of a small issue when she wasn't the one who blow up the issue (She was even made to apologise on the situation!). Since then, she was bullied by the Groom and Groomsmen's fans/netizens name calling her being "slutty" and many disgusting behaviors from the internet...

I really like how the story is setup especially the smooth ending leading towards the last few episodes which many dramas tend up end up rushing or make sudden bad ending due to poor management of quality checks. I particularly like Xu Hai Qiao, Guan Yun Peng and Zhang Xiao Qian's splendid acting here and made their mediocre roles stood out! Though Xu Hai Qiao's character isn't a good one at all but honestly his performance here really make you forget he's an actor and really naturally progressed from a timid guy to turning evil. Guan Yun Peng's character expressions are really charismatic when it could have been a mediocre character if not acted right! Just that his initial behavior from a small soldier to when he became the right-hand man was kinda odd for me as it does seemed that he had motives getting close to the Gu Jian Fan and not as innocent/righteous as portrayed.

So there are certainly quite a few flaws even though it was nicely produced. One would be the fact that Zhao Pan Er managed to be on intimate/good terms with many "foe" characters so easily every time she used her sincerity is quite unrealistic TBH... Olden days people in these capital cities are honestly not as trustable and easily persuadable as what was portrayed in this drama due to their complicated environment and strict social classes...

Overall, really recommended for everyone to watch and enjoy the natural sweetness of the main couple and feel real satisfied with all the revenge they have taken on those who kept bullying and belittling them!

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It was good, but not great.

I finished this series within 2 days with a lot of fast-forwarding. Questionable plot-holes.

Chen Xiao and Crystal Liu (the CP) are both veterans of the entertainment industry. It's a no-brainer that they executed their roles perfectly. From the subtle gestures to the narration, genuinely talented people. Chen Xiao's portrayal of Gu Qian Fan, the 'Living Devil' while being all fluffy with his on-screen beloved was very convincing. I truly enjoyed seeing two sides of GQF, and how he protected his lady behind the scenes from start to finish while letting her have her autonomy and build her life the way she intends.

The political bits really did bore me and I pretty much skipped those scenes. Personally speaking, I didn't lose out on many of the details as for some reason, they were brought up in the later episodes. There were a lot of questions that weren't answered. Did GQF's father really intend to kill ZPE? ZPE was shown to be independent and charismatic which was really progressive considering this was set in Northern Dynasty and her social status was basically considered one of the lowest. However, she seemed to have lost this sense of independence along the way while grieving for GQF's absence. I really disliked the way she begged for him.

The sisterhood was something very refreshing. Although if I was ZPE, I'm not sure if I could tolerate Yin Zhang (Jelly Lin) that much. I get it, she owes her older sister, but it became too ridiculous how she went miles to save Yin Zhang, only for her to make the same mistakes.

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A moving oil painting

A Dream of Splendor was not a drama I anticipated. In fact, the only thing I knew about this drama before it aired was that it starred Liu Yifei and was her comeback drama after many years. Now this might excite her fans but I was never one of them. I was actually quite the opposite and her presence in films usually deterred me from watching it. However, when I saw the first teaser back in late May, my opinions changed about this drama. What stood out to me was the visuals, the color palette, the oil painting esque images. The title of this drama matches it very much because it does feel dream like.

Now, onto the actual drama. I have now finished all 40 episodes and while I can't say it's perfect, this is by far one of the best Chinese historical dramas I've watched in recent years. The directing, cinematography, acting, music, etc are all close to perfect. I would say the weakest aspect of this drama is the writing because towards of the end of the drama, there are certain storylines that felt unnecessary and conflict created for the purpose of creating conflict.

Yang Yang is a director I knew from Ever Night and this drama only raises her profile for me. The directing is imo the best aspect of this drama. Her use of long tracking shots are marvelous and builds the whole atmosphere of the drama. I actually believe these are characters and not actors because of her brilliant framing. She is also great at shooting romance scenes. The boat scene in episode 5, the courtyard umbrella scene in episode 6, the tear kiss scene, etc. This drama's greatest success is the romance and the directing plays a big part. Director Yang Yang loves letting the camera linger on the actors face and I am SO glad the actors deliver here. Chen Xiao in particular is so strong at acting from his eyes and the director knows this and lets the camera linger longer on his expressions to capture the desire Qian Fan has for Pan Er. The umbrella scene in episode 6 is a masterpiece in chemistry.

The cinematography is also gorgeous. The whole drama uses very warm colors and feels like a moving oil painting in certain parts. It is a welcome change from the usual dull blue & grey palette that plagues c-dramas. I've seen complaints about the OST but what I think stands out more in this drama is the instrumental score, not the OST. The main Pipa music that Yinzhang plays or the Piano theme that plays in many Pan Er/Qian Fan scenes are so memorable. I've resorted to searching for song covers on bilibili because the instrumental score hasn't been released yet.

Finally, the acting. I already praised Chen Xiao and I always knew he was a good actor from past works I've seen of his. However, it's Liu Yifei that really surprised me here. I already mentioned that I was not a fan of her acting. She never really impressed me in the past but she absolutely carries ADoS. Despite the romance being one of the key selling points of this drama, the actual content is more focused on the three sisters and their trials and tribulations. Liu really brings Pan Er to life. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a female lead in a c-drama this much. Pan Er is resilient, smart, all the adjectives you'd use to describe a modern strong female character, however, she also has her weaknesses. She cries, she confides in Sanniang her worries about her upbringing. She's a fleshed out character and Liu portrays all these emotions brilliantly. Now I will say her one acting weakness is her dialogue but this is only noticeable for people who understand Mandarin. For me, it only bothered me slightly when she had long monologues, but overall, it was negligible.

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Communicating couple... (for the most part)

You read the title. Yea. That's the biggest adorable part of this drama, how in love the ML was with the FML.

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What I liked:

Character development. FML goes from being naive and trusting to being a strong independent woman. Not only her, but the entire trio. While, they occasionally depend on their men, in the end they take back their own power through their own measures (i think).

The chemistry. FML and ML had a lot of chemistry. And so did the other trio couples.

The supporting characters. they were very humorous, especially the scholars who often came to visit the tea house. They definately carried.

The groveling. Oh my god. The ML lost the trust of the FML, and she shows him (and the world) that women can be successful on their own. I love that message. He tries to run back to her after realizing his mistake and does everything. Sneaking into her window (sounds weird but he used to do it before and she was okay with it). But she put up traps, and he was caught. The PAIN in his eyes when he saw what she did. It was definitely because he realized how much he had hurt her. (This is me commenting on how good the acting was)

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What I didn't like:

Song Yin Zhang. Her character (sometimes). She was stuck up. Looked down on them and seriously had her head in the clouds. I understand that she changed, but FML accepted her a little too fast. But I guess it is part of her character.

Also, Sun San Niang's son. (i don't remember his name) He was annoying. Then suddenly, he walks to the capital and acts entitled. Sun San Niang is way too forgiving. (I think I am seeing a pattern with this show of everyone forgiving too easily)

Plot holes / things not shown or explained (especially at the end). So near the end, Gu Qian Fan sneaks into the empresses room. She tells him that the emperor will have his head if he finds out and all she has to do is like call for help. My confusion is how he got in. It IS the empreress's room after all. Isn't is supposed to be more protected. I would have expected a scene of him deciding / foreshadowing his attempt to find the empress. For example, like him storming out, and jumping over palace walls. Instead of from the queen's perspective of him walking into her room. How did he get there?

Also, the fact that the empress was scheming to get rid of FML, and the emperor got furious because it "looks bad" and "goes against the will of the people." I get that. But how could the empress not see it? She was also supposed to be very intelligent and good at scheming, and manipulative (or that was how she was portrayed) How could she do something so blatantly obvious it was her?

Another thing (in the end ofc) was Ou Yang Xu getting caught for the murder of his servant for seeing to much. Except, to be honest, was never shown on scene. It was implied that he would be killed after seeing the murderous look in Ou Yang Xu eyes, but we the viewers never got that suspense. In fact, it would play a key role in the investigation. So magically, Song Yin Zhang finds a music score hidden in a temple, which by the way, i didn't even know the servant boy could play music. I get that they wanted to make Song Yin Zhang seem helpful, but they just showed her presenting the evidence to the court without searching for it, or even mentioning it existed.

There was also a mention how Ou Yang Xu needed to win the trial for the power struggle in the court. After he looses, there is no mention of such power struggle, or the aftermath of it. It was just a ended with showing a marriage.
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Overall:
Story: 8.5 - Strong start. Okay ending. Some plot holes. I can tell that the ending was rushed, especially since they had to fit it into 40 episodes.

Acting/Cast: 9 - Again the acting of characters was mostly good.

Music: 8.0 - I think I liked it lol. Don't trust me on this one because im basically tone deaf.

Rewatch Value: 6.5 - I don't rewatch, so this score doesn't mean much

Overall: 8.5 - Semi complex drama with power struggles, but some plot holes

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Power couple, friendship and lots more❤️

Highly recommend this series!!

Historical Romance which I really enjoyed. All actors did an amazing job portraying their respective characters, especially Crystal Liu and Chen Xiao, as well as Ada Liu, Jelly Ji,Dai , Zhang Xiao Qian, Guan Yun Peng and Xu Hai Qiao.

I enjoyed the story which kept the viewer engaged and wanting to see how everything is going to work out and routing for the main couple as well as the others. Also getting furious with the villains and sad with characters that were bullied, hurt or humiliated, etc. Had a few laughs with Chi Yan Nei's character as well as Du Chang Feng and Sun San Niang which is worth mentioning.

Production and Visual FX was great in all settings. Beautiful scenery etc

OST, loved every song and Audio etc were played at the right time.

Rewatch value : very high - would like to Rewatch this series to see the intricate detail of the story and moments between characters.

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Ambitions and Aspirations

I enjoyed watching this drama from the get-go! I found this drama engaging and riveting. I wanted very much to "chase show".

What I liked very much:
- From the start when Chi Yan Nei appeared, I didn't dislike him. He was a petty person. He was a spoilt brat and wanted things his way. He was the "chaebol" in this drama too. He had lots of money to be the "mover and shaker". He and his gang were comic relief. Towards the later part of this drama, Chi Yan Nei became my favourite character and I would laugh out loud at this antics that were childish and yet, quite adorably hilarious. I really liked his character (towards the end) in this drama. I liked how he admitted his mistakes and how he tried to make amends by kowtowing four times to Zhao Pan Er in order to apologise for humiliating her for his own entertainment. I liked how he had so much money that he didn't mind wasting it on a restaurant simply because he wanted it and liked it. I liked his hedonistic insistence. I liked that he was authentic (in that he was not devious and not scheming on the whole). I liked that he was his petty self throughout and didn't try to hide his pettiness and his true self. He was humorously child-like.
- I liked Zhao Pan Er despite her flaws and Liu Yi Fei really brought this character to life. Zhao Pan Er wasn't perfect. She had her flaws and her pride. But, she was strong and intelligent. She had ambitions and aspirations which she tried hard to accomplish. She depended mainly on herself and not on others or a man to improve her own situation. I liked how she held her head high and tried her utmost despite her unfavourable circumstances. I liked how she was resourceful and shrewd. She was also a beauty who knew when and how to use her good looks to get her ways. I liked her feminine wiles.
- I liked the sisterhood. San Niang was another female character whom I liked a lot. She was not the best in terms of brains but she could cook! Song Yin Zhang was a pipa genius and with the power of the three women combined, they could overcome challenges and lift one another up. I liked that this drama shows that "with our powers combined, we can do great things together".
- I liked Gu Qian Fan as he was a man of his words. He was dependable and he loved as well as cared truly and deeply. I liked how he turned all "cute puppy" with his lady love and yet, he could be cold-hearted and brutal when dealing with crooks. Swoon! I liked Chen Lian because he seemed naughty and cheeky but oh boy, when "heavy-lifting" was required, he was manly and capable. Swoon too!
- I liked the chemistry of the two leads - Zhao Pan Er and Gu Qian Fan. They had chemistry as lovers and their romance was rather slow-burn yet realistic. I liked that Zhao Pan Er knocked some sense into him by telling him that he did not do anything that he had to feel sorry for as the bad deeds were done by the older generations - their fathers - and had nothing to do with them, the younger generation. They were free to love as long as they loved!
- I liked how wrongs were made right. For instance, Du Chang Feng was a horrific prig at the start of this drama. However, he later became more empathetic and more manly. His romance with San Niang felt warm and believable.
- The King was an intelligent man who wasn't overtly fearsome and power-hungry. He was a little bit of a joker at times. I liked how he truly loved and pampered the Queen and softened her heart and allayed her fears with his comforting words.
- I liked the stellar cast and their acting. Everyone played his/her part very well. I really enjoyed watching the cast showcase their fine acting chops!
- Crooks were dealt with and in general, there was a happy ending. :) Everything panned out well and there was closure.

What I didn't like that much:
- Oh, I detested Ouyang Xu. What a crook! He was a bad seed from the start and he just became worse and worse. There was no positive turning point. He sank deeper and deeper into "the dark side" and instead of being introspective, he blamed others like Zhao Pan Er for his awful fate (which he had actually brought upon himself with his terrible decision-making skills).
- I didn't like Song Yin Zhang that much. I think Jelly Lin suits modern day shows more and she seemed quite out of place in this drama. She became a "better watch" after she suffered more and learnt to depend on herself (and not on unreliable men with no morals). After she had more of a backbone and "found herself and her self-esteem", she was more tolerable.
- I disliked Ouyang Xu's butler. He was a bumbling idiot.
- I disliked San Niang's husband and son. Thankfully, later on, her son redeemed himself.
- I disliked how women were faulted simply for being women. (Still happening till today, sadly.) I disliked seeing how women were at a disadvantage simply for being women. I am all for female empowerment.
- It was torturous to watch Zhao Pan Er going around looking for money when Gu Qian Fan already gave her the money in the form of a bank (pawn) note. Well, there had to be drama (I guess) but it was painful to watch the misunderstanding and the suffering.

What could have been better:
- The happy ending would have been happier if Zhao Pan Er and Gu Qian Fan could have had their wedding too, just like San Niang and Du Chang Feng.
- Explain what happened to Song Yin Zhang's elder sister. Chi Yan Nei wanted to know and I wanted to know to.

Takeaway from this drama:
* Everyone has different sides and not all sides are shown at all times. Some sides are shown only to selected people. Some sides are vulnerable while some sides are tough etc.
* Women should lift one another up and men play a huge part in helping women to achieve equality/ power.
* It is important to play up and play to our strengths. Everyone has different gifts to share with the world. Yin Zhang has her beautiful music while San Niang has her scrumptious cuisine. Zhao Pan Er has a smarts while Zhao Di is a hard worker... ... ... By working together, we can achieve even more than if we work solo.
* It is important to have self-esteem and dignity. It is important to have the will and perseverance to achieve one's goals. It is important to have resilience because life has down and we need to pull ourselves back up. It is important to be real to others for we are all flawed individuals. It is most important to grow and become better versions of ourselves.

I really liked this drama a lot! :)

My verdict: WATCH!! It's 40 episodes of engaging antics and drama and ups and downs and tears and laughter! :)

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