Cortanaherondale

I am genuinely SHOOK by how good A Splendid Match was. I did not see this coming at all. The show was not highly rated or talked about that much, so I went in with pretty normal expectations, but damn, was it good.

I do think this show is not for everyone because it is a VERY slow burn. It takes its time, and romance is not the main focus, especially in the first half. The actual romance really kicks in after Episode 20. However, the show is so interesting that I genuinely did not mind waiting. It has everything: court intrigue, family disputes, romance, war, revenge, friendship, business, and almost a chess-game-like battle of minds. Surprisingly, despite having so many different elements, the plot is very easy to follow and never becomes overly complicated.

There was honestly never a boring or dull moment for me. Even when the focus was not on the romance, I was still completely invested. I genuinely enjoyed this show so much, and so far, it is one of my favorite dramas of the year. I definitely think it deserves more attention, although, again, I understand that the slow-burn structure will not work for everyone.

First, I NEED to talk about the male lead, Chi Sha. OH MY GOD. I have watched him before, but are people sleeping on this man?! I really hope this drama skyrockets his career and opens new doors for him because WHERE HAS HE BEEN?

He does not have that typical pretty-boy handsomeness, but at the same time, he is absolutely gorgeous. He has such a masculine presence, and the casting was perfect. His acting was amazing, and he suited this character so well. I loved the contrast between his cold, ruthless side and the incredibly soft side he showed only to her.

Yan Yuan is such an interesting character. He is definitely not your typical green flag because we literally start the show with him on the wrong side, killing people. He can be ruthless, but he is also capable of so much mercy and tenderness. I honestly think the actor is a huge reason I loved the character this much because he portrayed every side of him so well. He is charismatic, masculine, and ridiculously attractive. His smile? Amazing. His hair down? AMAZING. His costumes? Amazing. The black wardrobe? Amazing. His fighting scenes? Also amazing. I could talk about him all day.

He is officially my new male crush. I enjoyed every second he was on screen.

And Yan Yuan as a hopeless romantic? OH MY GOD, WE LOVE TO SEE IT. I love a man who is easy when it comes to love. Once he fell for her, he accepted it. He did not spend 20 episodes denying his feelings. He admitted it to himself quite quickly, confessed openly, followed her around, supported her, and was completely gone for her. I LOVE HIM.

As for Ren Min, her character here reminded me a little of her character in The Rise of Ning, but I loved her there, so I did not mind at all. I love a strong female lead who is not just kind and good but can also be ruthless when necessary. This girl was SLAPPING people left and right, and she refused to bend for anyone.

I loved the complexity of Jin Zhao. I loved her acting, her styling, and the shift in her appearance from an unmarried woman to a married woman. I also LOVED her businesswoman era. I enjoyed watching her relationships with the people around her, how forgiving she could be, how strongly she fought for justice, and how fiercely she protected the people she loved. I genuinely loved and enjoyed her character from beginning to end.

Now for one of the most beautiful parts of the show: THE MAIN COUPLE.

Their chemistry and romance were amazing. They are easily one of my favorite couples of the year. Their relationship was surprisingly mature, open, and supportive. I loved them so much.

And their scenes after they got married? OH MY GOD. They were so romantic, intimate, close, and touchy. Amazing. The way he was constantly picking her up? I loved every second of it. Their scenes together portrayed love and intimacy so beautifully. Their chemistry was not necessarily explosive or electric; it was something deeper, softer, and more beautiful. They genuinely felt like two people who loved each other deeply.

My only issue with their romance is that it starts WAY too abruptly.

The show spends so much time in the beginning focusing on the female lead and the second male lead, and then suddenly, after the three-year time jump, the romance with the male lead kicks into high gear. I do not think that transition was handled very well. We clearly see Yan Yuan falling in love with her throughout the beginning of the show, but with Jin Zhao, I do not think we saw enough of her slowly falling for him.

Suddenly, he admits his feelings, and she is basically like, “Okay, I love you too.” I needed more! I wanted to SEE her falling in love with him. This genuinely annoyed me because the foundation was there, but the emotional transition was rushed. Still, I loved them together, and once the romance finally started, I enjoyed every second of it.

You really do have to wait for the love story, though. I waited more than 20 episodes! But I was okay with it because so much character development and plot progression happened before then.

Now, for the hidden star of the show: WINWIN AS YE XIAN.

OH MY GOD. I LOVED THAT MAN.

I enjoyed him from the very beginning. I know a lot of people hated him for hurting Jin Zhao, and yes, what he did was wrong, but I understood his character. Ye Xian is someone with an incredibly high rank who is feared by everyone, yet he has never truly been loved by his father. He constantly puts on this strong, untouchable persona, but underneath it, he is deeply broken.

He also lives with a serious heart condition and always feels as if something inside him is missing. So while I absolutely think he made mistakes and hurt her, I understood where his behavior came from.

His character development was one of my favorite parts of the show. His chemistry with the female lead was also amazing. I fully expected him to become evil after she married Yan Yuan because that is what second male leads usually do. And yes, he had a reaction to the marriage, but honestly, his reaction was understandable. What I loved was that he never truly became evil. Instead, he had such a beautiful redemption arc.

His love for her could be intense and even violent at times, but it was completely in character for him. Winwin did an amazing job, and I genuinely cannot wait to see him in more leading roles because he deserves them.

Something else I absolutely loved was how close Jin Zhao remained to Ye Xian. You rarely see a female lead maintain such a deep and important relationship with the second male lead. Their friendship was beautiful.

What she told him about why she could never love him romantically was also so meaningful. She basically said that loving him would feel like loving herself because she saw herself in him. He was her mirror. That was exactly why she could never fall in love with him. She saw too much of herself in him.

Meanwhile, he also saw himself in her, which was exactly why he wanted her to love him so desperately.

Their story was beautiful even though they did not end up together. I was okay with that because, until the end, they still deeply cared about each other. She always tried to support him, and I loved that Yan Yuan never tried to stop her from being close to Ye Xian. Of course, he got jealous sometimes and fought with him, but he never tried to control her relationship with him.

And eventually, Yan Yuan and Ye Xian became friends too.

THEN THEY KILLED HIM.

OH MY GOD, DID I CRY.

I have not cried over a character like that in such a long time. His death completely broke me. And then Yan Yuan carrying him on his back? I was DONE.

What made it even more heartbreaking was how Yan Yuan allowed Jin Zhao to mourn Ye Xian. He understood how devastated she was. He was not jealous or insecure. He simply let her grieve someone who had been such an important part of her life. Ren Min's acting in those scenes was incredible. Every time I see that scene, I still cry.

As heartbreaking as it was, I also think it was a perfect ending for Ye Xian's character. It was better than watching him slowly die from his heart condition. He died proving his father wrong. He proved that he was capable of fighting on the battlefield and dying while defending his country.

I loved him. I loved his character. I loved everything about him. I am just still heartbroken.

And then his bodyguard died too. AND YAN YUAN'S BODYGUARD. Oh my God. Those last few episodes destroyed me. I cried so much.

I also need to mention the young emperor because OH MY GOD, I loved that kid. He was so cute and so much fun to watch. I only wish we had seen him at the end becoming a powerful emperor.

I also loved Jin Zhao's cousin. He was the definition of a supportive brother, and I really wish we had seen more of him.

On the other hand, this show had SO MANY vile, disgusting, insufferable characters that I wanted to reach through the screen and kill them myself. One of them was Jin Zhao's female cousin. That woman was such a brat, and I really wish we had seen her receive the punishment she deserved.

And Yan Yuan's nephew? OH MY GOD. I was genuinely so happy when he died because I was DONE with that psychopath. I hated him. I hated his storyline. I hated every second he appeared on screen.

There were a lot of horrible characters, but thankfully, the good characters were good enough to balance them out.

I would have given this show a 10/10 if it were not for that DAMN ENDING.

WHAT WAS THAT?!

It is not even that the ending was sad or tragic. My problem is: WHERE WAS THE ENDING? There basically was no ending!

I was so disappointed. You had 40 episodes and could not spare FIVE MINUTES to show us the characters being happy? No one wanted to spend the final minutes of the drama watching the villain! They could have removed so many unnecessary scenes and given us a proper ending.

The villain's downfall was also extremely unsatisfying. We should have gotten a time jump. We should have seen Jin Zhao and Yan Yuan happy together. Give them a child or something! Show us the young emperor growing into a powerful ruler. Show us the other characters. Give us the happily ever after!

Instead, the ending was rushed, incomplete, and genuinely bad. I was sitting there like, “NO. THAT'S IT?!”

Despite the terrible ending, though, I still loved the show. It was genuinely well made and such a pleasant surprise. The plot was easy to follow, the costumes were beautiful, the sets were gorgeous, and the makeup and overall production were very well done. The OST was also lovely. Nothing extremely memorable for me, but still very nice.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend A Splendid Match if you enjoy chess-game-style plotting, court intrigue, politics, family conflicts, revenge, friendship, strong character development, and a beautiful slow-burn romance. It has so many different elements, and somehow, they all work together.

This show genuinely surprised me, and despite my issues with the rushed romantic transition and that AWFUL excuse for an ending, it is still one of my favorite dramas of the year.