dropped but not for the bad AI
Everyone was incredibly hyped for this drama —especially because of Zhang Linghe's performance in Pursuit of Jade —and I really wanted to love it too. Just to make things clear: this review isn't coming from a fandom perspective. I'm not here to defend or attack any actor. In fact, I think both leads are doing the best they can with the material they were given.A lot of the discussion has been about the AI-generated opening. Yes, I think it's a poor creative choice, but honestly? It's the least of this drama's problems. You can skip an opening. You can't skip weak storytelling.
The biggest issue is that everything feels painfully rushed. The dialogue is almost entirely exposition, constantly telling us how epic and emotional this story is instead of letting us experience it. Over and over information is given through dialogue. "He is the abandoned son." "She is X." "They do Y!" and it is so unatural it hurts. Relationships are established through a few lines and scattered scenes, but they're never given room to breathe, so none of the emotional beats actually land.
The editing and directing make things even worse. I've seen people compare it to a vertical drama you'd find on YouTube, and... I hate to say it, but they're not wrong. Which is frustrating because the production design is genuinely beautiful. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, and you have two very capable leads who have already proven themselves in other projects. Yet they barely get the chance to act before the camera cuts away again in blurry ways. Instead, we're constantly getting overly dramatic close-ups with generic background music, as if every single scene was designed to become a TikTok edit rather than exist as a complete, well-paced moment.
I only made it through episode 3, and by that point I was still trying to understand why the male lead is supposedly so deeply in love with the female lead. I know the script keeps telling me he is, but I don't feel it, and the chemistry is nule. The frantic pacing, the constant cuts, the awkward lighting, and the lack of properly developed scenes never give the story a chance to grow for me. For something that looks expensive on paper, it rarely feels like a high-budget production.
This isn't a hate review. It has nothing to do with the AI controversy, and it certainly has nothing to do with fandom wars. I'm criticizing what I actually watched. I wish people would stop dismissing every negative review as "haters being haters." Sometimes a drama simply doesn't work, and people have perfectly valid reasons for saying so. Unfortunately, for me, this is one of those cases.
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Simping Gone Wrong
✅Simping Gone WrongOverdo is peak "Proud Simp" nonsense, and not the fun kind. The show wants you to believe it's a sweeping, tragic romance set in Republican-era Shanghai, but strip away the pretty costumes and dramatic music and what you're left with is one of the most one-sided, emotionally manipulative relationships in recent cdrama history.
✅The Setup That Could've Worked
Murong Qingyi (Zhang Linghe), the abused youngest son of a warlord family, falls hard for Ren Susu (Wang Churan) after a brief but intense connection. Classic melodrama setup. Tragedy strikes, he takes the fall for her, ends up in prison. Believes she died. Heartbreaking, right?
✅The Twist That Breaks Everything
She didn't die. She faked it. Escaped. And let him rot in jail for three years. No letter, no explanation, no looking back. When she finally resurfaces, she's engaged to marry his brother. The woman he destroyed his life for is about to become his sister-in-law. You'd think this would be the moment he wakes up. Nope.
✅The Simping Never Stops
Qingyi still pines for her. Still shows her affection. Still looks at her like she's the sun while she's standing there in his brother's arms. The drama frames this as "enduring love" and "love-hate entanglement," but let's be real—it's pathetic. There's a difference between devotion and self-debasement, and Overdo doesn't know where that line is. The man went to prison for her. She let him. He got out. She married his brother. And he's still chasing? That's not romantic. That's a mental health crisis.
✅The FL Problem
And Ren Susu? Zero remorse. The show tries to handwave her actions with vague "secrets she cannot reveal" and "pain she cannot express," but three years of silence while your supposed soulmate suffers for your sake isn't tragic it's cruel. When she finally faces him again, there's no genuine apology, no real reckoning. Just more mysterious suffering and emotional manipulation disguised as complexity. We're supposed to feel for her because she's "troubled," but all I see is someone who got away clean while her fall guy took the punishment.
✅What Kind of Romance Is This?
The show asks us to root for their reunion, to believe that love conquers all including common sense, self-respect, and basic human decency. But what kind of romance demands that one party suffer endlessly while the other faces zero consequences? Where's the balance? Where's the mutual growth? Qingyi doesn't grow from this; he just suffers more. Susu doesn't grow; she just keeps being mysterious and sad. Nobody wins except the writers who think suffering equals depth.
✅The Wasted Potential
It's frustrating because the pieces are there. Zhang Linghe brings real wounded intensity to Qingyi you genuinely feel his pain, which makes his inability to move on even more maddening. Wang Churan has the look and presence of a compelling tragic heroine, but the script gives her nothing to work with beyond "beautiful woman with secrets." The Republican-era Shanghai setting is gorgeous. The production values are solid. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable. All of it wasted on a dynamic that asks us to romanticize emotional abuse.
✅My final say on the drama
Overdo is a beautifully packaged drama with a rotten core. If you enjoy watching one character suffer endlessly while the other gets away with emotional negligence, congratulations—this is your show. For everyone else, it's a masterclass in how not to write a romance. Love shouldn't mean letting someone destroy you. It shouldn't mean forgiving betrayal without so much as an apology. And it definitely shouldn't mean simping for the person who let you rot in jail while they started a new life. Hard pass.
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A Clever, Gripping Thriller That Deserves a Chance
Even though I am still near the very end and haven’t quite finished the final moments, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I absolutely love this genre, and while it might not be for everyone right away, I strongly encourage giving it a chance—at least through the midpoint.Once it gets going, you’re treated to clever plot twists, surprising developments, and a seamless blend of drama, suspense, and thriller elements. The cinematography and acting are impressively well-executed for this style of storytelling. I’m not just saying this out of bias for the main actors; I genuinely appreciate artistic storytelling and well-crafted narrative depth. Highly recommended!
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The editing and sound effects are giving Short Drama Core
I know republican dramas are supposed to be dramatic and what not but I feel like it could’ve done better. Why are the camera shots and sound effects EXACTLY the same as what short dramas give us.I honestly love chaotic and angsty plots but I feel like they should cut back on the short drama editing style and make it more serious. Like of course humor should be part of this show but not with these weird ass sound effects. The sound effects take away the angst because its trying to tell me how to feel. It ruins the mood of the show. Now I can only pray The Lament of Autumn doesn’t follow this formula and goes down a more serious route.
The pacing of this story is also very quick. I wish we got more backstory of the two characters for like 2-3 episodes as it would help build up the angst for when they first see each other again. The wedding scene could've been such a stomach twisting moment but since we never got to really see their relationship together, it felt more like a wasted moment.
Luckily the redeeming points are the plot and the performances. I am really enjoying this plot and how its turning out. It is quite an easy plot to follow. I think the main leads and second leads are doing a really good job with what they were given. I'm also so glad that they took out the AI intro because it really was not necessary.
I hope it gets better 🙏 (updating review as I keep watching)
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Good storyline and acting just the editing in the beginning...
I really liked this Drama. One of the strongest aspects of the drama is the chemistry between the lead actors, Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan. Their performances make the characters' emotions feel believable, especially during the more dramatic scenes. I love the OST its underrated. The plot is engaging, although allot o-f misunderstandings between the main characters feel drawn out and can be frustrating sometimes. However, these twists add tension and keep viewers interested in what will happen next. overall 8.5Was this review helpful to you?
Btw zhl and wgc are sooo good... it's free 🔥🔥 I like it so much
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This cdrama is getting more interesting as more episodes releases
people dropping this drama because of ai and bad directing are losing gem, i feel bad for people not watching, this drama is blessing. people are taking things too seriously, after more episodes releases the more it gets to better drama, linghe's fans are too toxic, it's my first time feeling toxicity of the fandom, i feel bad for linghe and churan for the forced hate coming from poj's fans... i can't say overdo is year of drama but it's interesting to watch it like it feels so hurt to see how qingyi is getting treated fighting overdo! fighting linghe! fighting churan!love you churan 💗
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Great drama
Even though it does look like that they shoot in hurry, i like it because story is interesting not the cliche they been talking about i have been watching cdramas for 15+ year and i know that much and i like the past relationship and short story of their past its so ❤❤❤ romantic. Believe it or not this is a nice drama and keep you hooked up if you watch till 5 episodes. Don't give review just after watching 1 or 2 episode keep on watching and you will know why???Was this review helpful to you?
Not worth it
This drama is so over-dramatized. So many sequences don't make any sense at all, just a bunch of high budget added scenes to glorify the the story. Every five minutes there is flash back trying to create moments and chemistry between the leads when there is non at all. Music is ear-drum crushing and unnecessarily loud and mismatched to so many scenes.The female lead is just so plain and blank of emotions based on quite a selfish character while Linghe's acting is very repetitive from facial nuances to body language. His previous acting jobs were so natural but here he just seems to be acting. Overall a very performance by the director because there is no flow or connectivity to make it a pleasing watch. Its a total stress wreck.
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Underrated drama
First few episodes are not engaging but if you keep watching you will get hooked by it. Those people saying this drama is a flop only watched the first few episodes and don't know how the drama has got better and better as you keep going episode after episode. I advise people to watch maybe until episode. 12-15 to truly judge this drama.This drama ain't for the weak and the ml is always suffering every episode, so watch but make sure you are ready for the suffering 😭😭😭 Another thing is if u new to cdramas don't watch this
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Give it a chance. Don’t drop it yet!
Flawed editing and messy pacing? Yes. Still watching every single second for the plot and the cast? Absolutely!If you dropped it after episode one, this is your sign to pick it back up—Overdo really finds its footing and gets better with every single episode in my opinion. That intense chemistry between Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan is just too good to ignore, and I'm ready to dive back into all the messy love, hate, and second-chance tension. Hoping it delivers this time.
Also, the plot is heating up and I am officially hooked.
Let's see what happens next..
So far so good!!
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ZHANG LINGHE DELIVERS?❤️??
I'm loving this drama!!!! Zhang Linghe acting/presence is👌🏽🔥😮💨. I also like the plot, this drama may not be for everyone and that's okay. However I see where people are hating without actually taking the time to watch starting to wonder if they just don't like ZHL personally or because of POJ🤔. This is not your typical modern/historical drama, it is different which I like!!! Zhang Linghe proved to me that he can play any role I hope he continues to grow and shine✨✨. I also don't know why people are hating so much off of one drama I'm actually shocked in some people's behavior, if you don't like a drama simply move on!! I can name a few dramas I've watched that I dropped,🤷🏽♀️but don't comment on or leave negative post or reviews🤦🏽♀️it's easy to kindly move on😂Was this review helpful to you?
