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Yes. It’s pretty easy to predict that during filming, Lu Yuxiao’s fans will secretly film Zhang Linghe while he’s resting between takes, then post those clips online and deliberately twist them into something negative. And honestly, that would already be one of the milder things they could do. At this point, I’ll just be thankful if no one does anything that could actually put his personal safety at risk.

Thank you! This was actually my first time seriously writing such a long review. I just feel like this drama has been misunderstood so badly, simply because it’s very different from most of the lighter C-dramas people are used to. It has a much heavier historical backdrop and a heartbreaking ending. I also think it takes a certain amount of life experience to really understand what the story is trying to say.

And I agree with what you said. Life isn’t a fairy tale, and setbacks are something we all have to face. A lot of the best qualities in people are actually shaped through hardship. Like the saying goes, “Calm seas never made a skilled sailor.”

Yeah, honestly, Yi Jun makes both the actors and the scenes look beautiful, and the pacing is really good. No unnecessary nonsense or dragged-out scenes. The only thing that wasn’t great was the editing in post-production, and that wasn’t entirely his fault either.

Guo Hu, on the other hand... everyone’s face somehow ends up looking white and flat 😭 And there are so many awkward scenes and lines that I genuinely don’t understand how he watched them and went, “yeah, this is fine.”

Yeah, honestly I had nothing against Lu Yuxiao at first. I actually thought her acting was pretty good. But after seeing one disgusting move after another from her and her team, I really don’t know what to say anymore.

Considering she didn’t even finish high school before her wealthy parents sent her abroad to study—and in China, we all know what kind of students usually take this route: not great academically, but their families have money, so they go overseas and pick an easier major—maybe it really is an education issue lol. Because if it isn’t, then the reason behind all this is honestly even worse.

Yesss....

Also, over the past few days, StarTimes has once again been spreading rumors that the female lead of Ci Tang might be replaced. These rumors are most likely false. Because fans of the actresses being rumored for the role have said there’s been no indication at all that any of them are getting ready to join the cast. It seems more like an attempt to reduce the backlash and take some of the pressure off Lu Yuxiao.

They may continue putting out different fake rumors right up until filming starts, simply to divert attention and calm the negative public reaction.

I don’t know if everyone has seen the latest news on Weibo today. According to the discussions circulating online, someone on Lu Yuxiao’s team has allegedly been bringing a hidden pinhole camera onto her drama sets to secretly film male actors. And Lu Yuxiao and her fandom all know it. Tan Jianci’s fans have said that Tan Jianci was filmed this way before and that there is video evidence. If true, this has already crossed a legal line.

What’s also drawing attention is how quickly StarTimes reacted. Before the topic even gained enough traction to reach the trending list, they reportedly paid to have related videos, photos, and comments removed from the platforms. Even many posts on Xiaohongshu have apparently been deleted.

Zhang Linghe’s fans are now discussing how surprisingly fast and effective the agency’s PR can be when it actually wants to act. It makes the overwhelming number of malicious posts targeting Zhang Linghe during the airing of his two dramas this year look even worse — because the agency seemingly chose to let them spread and was unwilling to spend anything to defend him or protect his reputation.

I have. friend request sent.

I feel you. He's suffering so much this year....

Yes. Those gossip account/promotional accounts/medias just do works with pay, they intentionally ignore these news, but report those twisted info to smear ZLH....

Omg I didn't saw that. But I know some fans of his costars (BL, TXW) had crazy attacks to him online. Some gossip accounts stayed silent about the attacks, but had no problem calling Zhang Linghe's fans "toxic" when they fought back.

I just saw posts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu claiming that a Lu Yuxiao's fan is threatening to throw sulfuric acid at Zhang Linghe during the opening ceremony for Ci Tang. Walnats have already reported the posts to the agency and the production team, but there has been no response so far. My goodness... I really hope he stays safe.

Thank you! Glad you like it! Indeed, it's not a drama for everyone, but it doesn't mean it's a bad drama.

Well said! Really hope more international viewers are aware of the fact, instead of believing in some biased or twisted information.

Indeed! Glad I'm not alone!😂

1. The Story Is the Drama’s Greatest Strength
The drama explores several important themes.

1) Human Trafficking, Fake Charity, and Women Helping Women
The drama shows human trafficking, fake charity in an orphanage, child abuse, and the selling of young girls.

In this part of the story, it exposes the ugly faces of so-called charity workers and wealthy people. It also shows the resistance of the children and girls who were abused, as well as the power of women helping and protecting one another.

2) The Lasting Scars Left by Family Trauma
The male and female leads both had tragic childhoods. Their past strongly affected their personalities, reasons for doing things, beliefs, values, and romantic relationships.

The effects of their emotional trauma are so complicated that I previously had to write a separate article analysing them from a psychological point of view. Anyone interested can read it on my Substack.

Some people say they cannot understand the male and female leads.

Yes, without enough life experience or a similar family background, it can be difficult to fully understand why they behave this way. This is also one of the reasons why so many people misunderstand this drama.

The drama handles the subject of family trauma very well. Unlike many dramas, it does not forgive people who do not deserve to be called parents simply for the sake of a happy ending.

At the same time, the ML does not allow this family trauma to continue into the next generation. He successfully completes his own journey of healing.

He truly frees himself from the psychological control of both his adoptive father and his biological mother. He is finally able to begin a new life.

3) The Power of Goodness and Beautiful Human Feelings
The drama shows many beautiful kinds of love and care.

These include women helping one another, love and sacrifice between romantic partners, trust and support between brothers, the soldiers who are willing to risk their lives for their country, and help between strangers.

Each kind of relationship is portrayed in a very moving way.

4) Love for the Country During a Time of War
This is a drama set in Republican-era China, probably around the early years of Japan’s invasion of China.

The final part of the drama is about biological warfare. Biological warfare in real history was extremely cruel. The drama has already reduced the amount of graphic content to make it easier for audiences to watch. Even so, we can still imagine the desperate situation China faced at that time.

In the drama, the second brother, Li Boze, becomes an undercover agent to destroy the “Red Pill.” He is even willing to be seen as a traitor.

One soldier after another gives up his life for the country, putting life and death aside.

The eldest brother’s lover, the female pilot Ye Zhi Hong, firmly chooses to fly her plane into the factory to destroy the red pills.

The male lead also fights the villain to the death to stop his plan.

During that time of war, countless people gave their lives in exchange for the peace we have today.

So, calling this drama nothing more than a soap opera is far too narrow and does not recognise the depth of its story.

2. All the Actors Deserve Praise
1) Zhang Linghe
This is definitely the most complicated role Zhang Linghe has played since his debut. It is also the drama in which he has had the most screen time. This drama gave him the chance to fully show his excellent acting skills.

In this drama, he has to show many different emotional states.

He shows sadness, weakness, self-mockery, and rebellion when facing his mother’s hatred.

When facing the abuse of his adoptive father, he shows obedience, fear, and a complicated emotional attachment.

He depends on and deeply respects his eldest brother.

He loves the female lead, while sometimes believing that his feelings are hatred. He still holds on to love like a moth flying into a flame.

He is also gentle with his son, and saving his son becomes a way of saving the wounded child inside himself.

This character has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He is sensitive, intelligent, and quick and firm when taking action. He is proud, bold, and unwilling to follow social rules or powerful people.

At the same time, he feels sympathy for weaker people and chooses to help them.

He sees the world clearly and never spends his life feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he rebuilds an independent soul from the ruins of his past.

2) Wang Churan
Many people dislike the FL. They believe she is selfish and that she does not truly love the male lead. But the opposite is true. She is not selfish, and she loves him deeply.

Because of her tragic past, she is afraid to express her love. In order to protect the ML, she would rather put herself in danger. That is why she hides many things from him.

From a psychological point of view, she shows a typical ‘Avoidant Attachment Style’.

People with this attachment style are not without feelings. However, when a relationship becomes too close or requires too much emotional involvement, they may feel stressed. They then create distance in order to feel safe again.

The closer the other person gets and the more they want to confirm the relationship, the more they want to step back. But when the other person truly becomes distant, they may move closer again.

They may avoid commitment, keep the relationship unclear, or delay talking about the future.

Instead of directly saying, “I miss you” or “I need you,” they are more likely to show care by doing things or solving problems.

Once we understand this psychology, we can understand the female lead’s behaviour.

She also seems to have a very negative view of fate.

She believes that happiness will not last and that she is meant to be unhappy. That is why she pushes the ML away again and again.

The ML, however, is very sensitive and good at reading other people. He probably notices her unusual emotional state and her conflicting behaviour. That is why he keeps holding on to her at the edge of fate, refusing to let her fall into a deep darkness.

3) The ML’s Mother
This role is played by veteran actress Myolie Wu, and her acting is truly excellent.

At first, the character is extremely hateful. Later, she slowly becomes mentally unstable.

She is a hateful but also tragic character. Her twisted way of thinking originally came from the male lead’s biological father.

He did not love her and instead fell in love with another woman. Because of this, she became extremely obsessed. Even after his death, she continued to wear a piece of his bone, forcing him to remain with her in this disturbing way.

When the ML was only twelve years old, he risked his life to warn them about the danger.

However, his mother refused to believe him. As a result, his father did not change his travel plans the next day and was killed in an explosion.

Her huge regret, guilt, and other complicated emotions made it impossible for her to accept what had happened. She also could not admit that she had made such a serious mistake.

Therefore, for all these years, she has continued lying to herself and blaming the ML. As long as she believes it was his fault, she can continue living as the poor victim.

The ML’s existence constantly reminds her of two things.

First, he reminds her of the mistake she made in the past.

Second, he reminds her that she has never fulfilled her responsibility as a mother.

Because of this, the ML gradually becomes a forbidden subject for her. Whenever he appears in front of her, she immediately becomes hysterical.

She also shows strong narcissistic personality traits. This can be seen in the way she treats both her eldest son and her adopted son. She expects them to completely obey her and live according to her wishes.

Therefore, the ML’s decision to live in his own way becomes a serious challenge to her authority. She cannot accept his resistance, so she constantly looks down on him and even physically abuses him.

The Supporting Cast
The other supporting actors, including the adoptive father, the two brothers, and the female supporting characters, also give excellent performances.

Every actor fully becomes their character. It sometimes feels as though they truly are the people they are playing.

The casting of this drama is genuinely very suitable.

3. The Most Debated Parts: The Director and Editing
Finally, I want to discuss the most debated parts of the drama: the directing and editing.

I have watched Chinese dramas for twenty years. Objectively speaking, the directing and editing of Overdo are not the best I have ever seen, but they are still better than those of many other dramas.

Overall, I would say the quality is somewhere between average and very good.

Many people feel disappointed because they had already imagined a perfect final result after seeing leaked photos and videos from the filming period.

Another reason may be the success of Pursuit of Jade. Some viewers hoped that Overdo would reach the same level.

Some viewers may also have rarely watched dramas set in Republican-era China, so they are not used to a style that is different from both modern dramas and historical costume dramas.

Dramas set in Republican-era China are often filled with strong love and hatred. The story can feel like a roller coaster, with many unexpected twists, misunderstandings, and cruel turns of fate.

This drama also uses the storytelling style of a mystery drama. Of course, this style of storytelling may also make some viewers feel that the editing is too jumpy.

Many truths, clues, and memories are shown through flashbacks. Almost every episode ends with a new question or mystery, which makes the drama very addictive and makes viewers want to continue watching.

For the visual parts, the lighting in the drama is beautiful, and the costumes are also very detailed. Together, they successfully create the style and atmosphere of Republican-era China. The lighting also shows the actors’ strong facial features very well.

At first, the drama used an AI-generated opening sequence. Because it caused a lot of debate, the production company quickly replaced it with real scenes from the drama.

Ironically, Chinese dramas had already started using AI-generated opening sequences several years ago. Many recent dramas have also used them, but they did not receive the same level of public attack.

There are also two scenes in the drama that use CGI backgrounds. Although these backgrounds do not look completely real, they are still only small problems compared with the overall quality and enjoyment of the drama.

Unfortunately, negative online comments have greatly exaggerated these small problems. This has made many ordinary viewers who have not actually watched the drama believe that it is a cheap and badly made production.

Conclusion
In recent years, the stories of many Chinese dramas have become more and more similar.

Against this background, Overdo is a fresh and original drama that is difficult to stop watching once you begin.

It is also a drama that makes people think and leaves a deep impression after it ends.

Of course, everyone has different tastes. If you mainly enjoy light and relaxing romance dramas, I would not recommend a dark and heavy story like this one.

That is why judging Overdo by the standards of an ordinary romance drama is meaningless. The depth and scale of this drama go far beyond just romance.

Long Review of Overdo: Calling It Just a Romance Is Far Too Narrow

If only his agency treated him fairly...

Yeah... 🥲 They're making it way too obvious.

Yes. Over the past two days, almost all the entertainment marketing accounts I have come across on Weibo have been praising LYX while blaming Zhang Linghe. It is quite obvious that they were paid to promote her.

In contrast, this agency rarely spends money to suppress negative narratives or malicious attacks against Zhang Linghe. That is also why his dramas are often subjected to large-scale, coordinated attacks while they are airing.