“Love in Between” is easily one of the best historical c-dramas of 2020. Its best feature is the storyline and how the director and screenwriter treat the drama’s characters: with diverse personas to become the heart and soul of this drama. It does not have the A-list actor lineup like “Legend of Fei” and “Golden Hairpin”. But the lack of established stars did not take away from the storyline. This web drama does not suffer from heavy reliance on their 2 main characters – Su Yunlou and Zuo Qingci. It is not far-fetched to say that this drama has 6 main characters – the 2 Zhengyang disciples in Yin Changge and Shen Manqing; the head of Shunsuidu in Wen Siyuan and the odd man out and Changge’s sworn brother – Zhu Yan. There are also other supporting cast which have considerable exposure in the series like the Emperor’s informer Ling xi, Jiang Er, etc. In short, plenty of screen time shared by an array of main and supporting cast, and it bodes well for a series that has the jiangxu aspect intertwine with palace politics (less developed) and its various main and subplots.

With a stronger and more realistic ending to the storyline coupled with A-line actors, “Love in Between” could have been the best c-drama of 2020. The interaction, chemistry and dynamics among the couples and friends are genuinely moving and well developed. I have emotional and deep attachment to Shen Manqing, Changge, Jiang Er and Wen Siyuan characters. The first 3 are portrayed as innocent, pure, naïve, yet brave and fearless in the face of danger. Sounds like perfect characters but Manqing is reticent, cries a lot and extremely emotional; Changge is overly righteous and loyal to the core ; Jiang Er has a heart of gold, naughty and a bit mischievous but destined for a short life due to congenital heart problem.

Wen Siyuan/Sima Lang was your typical Zhou Ting Wei’s character. In “Ashes of Love”, he played a dying Chen Yuqi’s husband. In “The Winner is Love”, he died protecting Chen Yuqi. ZTW will never be the main lead of any c-drama story – he is past that stage age-wise and does not have the physique nor look to rival younger more handsome actors like the ML in this series. But what he got in abundance is unadulterated sheer talent that could make audience cry with him. In this drama, Wen Siyuan’s character is cunning and manipulative, but warm-hearted and caring too. I dislike the ML’s character because he does not possess any martial arts, but manage to survive solely based on his wits and intelligence - something highly unlikely in the era where one lives by the sword, dies by the sword. His character reminds me of Yu Menglong in “The Moon Brightens For you” – the puppet master behind the scenes. The FL was my favourite in “Legend of Fuyao” even more so than Yang Mi, but in this series her character was bordering on psychotic on her attachment to her shifu. Then in the second half of this drama, she was chasing the ML like a bitch in heat.

There are essentially 3 couples with different love stories. The ML-FL takes the centre-stage with their typical on-off lead romance. In this relationship, the ML cries a lot. A role made for Zhang You with his boyish charm and appearance. They have sex even before getting married. Then there is the second couple of Wen Siyuan – Shen Manqing. Some feminists might abhor Shen Manqing’s character in this love bond. Here is an accomplished swordswoman, the first disciple of Zhengyang Palace, who succumbed to the vagaries of love. She was a miserable soul after her forced marriage to Mu Ying. The last was the heartbreaking love story between 2 innocent young chaps - Changge and Jiang Er. The get married in Ep 41 but you will remember this scene. This is where Changge has to juggle between his love for his wife, his guilt to his sworn brother that he is the reason Zhu Yan losses his mother and his unwavering loyalty to always protect his friends especially Manqing.

Then there is platonic relationship between Changge and Manqing – beautifully narrated and told. This is a true heart-wrenching friendship between a junior and senior that could easily be turned into a romance. The last scene between Changge and Manqing summarizes their love, respect and mutual admiration between these characters. The parting words of Changge – “After everything is finished, you have to live well for your own sake” - were poignant and left Manqing with a bewildered look. And the bromance between Changge and Zhu Yan as sworn brothers is sweet and not overbearing. These characters alone make this drama worth watching.

Now to the storyline and plot - it is two prongs with jianghu and palace politics – each with its own life, and eventually converges at the very end. I could not stop thinking that there are some eerie n uncanny similarities with Nirvana in Fire 2 scenes. The iconic stone arch bridge leading to the famous Langya Hall (Cangyan mountain); the high wall corridor leading to the palace (Qin Palace – Hengdian World Studio); landscape shots of Zhengyang Palace and Langya Hall. There are 2 distinct phases in the storyline. The first was finding the cure for Su Xuan. This first half was very exciting. From the main casts introduction in their quest for stolen document, to their missions to retrieve the last 2 antidotes/herbs to cure Su Xuan, and finally getting Su Xuan cured. Then comes the second half of the storyline which IMO has mixed success. This is where all the heroes try to save the martial arts world and ensure that the attempt by the bad guy to usurp the throne does not succeed. Then comes the ending, which is a different story altogether.

Now, what don’t I like about this c-drama. Firstly, the FL wardrobe. Whoever designed the costume and wardrobe for the FL should be shot. The crossdressing Fei Kou Er has got to be the ugliest man I have ever seen. She/he looked ridiculous - short and stubby. I have seen seen many crossdressers in c-drama because this is a recurring theme, but Fei Kou Er beat Han Shi Yi played by You Jingru in “The Heiress” as the ugliest crossdresser in my book. You don’t have to turn them into men. Even a feminine man like Fan Mian Wan played by Chen Yuqi in “The Love Lasts Two Minds” is better and more acceptable. Then there is an issue with Su Yunlou wardrobe as a female thief – that 2 piece suit with belt, with the upper dress overhanging around the butt. This wardrobe makes Zhang Yaqin’s bottom looks very plump and unattractive. We all know Zhang Yaqin is not exactly skinny, and the proper choice of wardrobes should be done more carefully.I have no complain about other ladies’ wardrobes. Manqing and Jiang Er’s wardrobes are beautiful. The designer just got it wrong with Zhang Yaqin’s.

SPOILERS ALERT.
Now my main grouse with this web drama is the ending. I understand the screenwriter wants to keep in line with the novel’s ending. But all the build-up particularly with regard to the main couple (Qingci/Youlun) shows that there is no cure to his disease. In the final 2 episodes, we were told Qingci only had a few days to live. Then there is Wen Siyuan final battle when he was hit with 3 flying daggers while protecting Manqing. The door was closed and he was trapped inside a room with tons of martial artists – there is just no escape. How he is able to survive and lead a happy life with Shen Manqing is beyond me. The last few episodes were really disjointed as if the production team rushes to get the post production done and get the c-drama out. Anyway, this is my rating for the drama.
Story - 9.0/10
Acting - 8.5/10
Music - 9.0/10
Rewatch value - 7.0/10
Overall - 9.0/10

Overall Verdict 9/10. A must watch in 2020 – that is the reason I completed this web-drama in 7 days. And do get some tissues because some of the scenes are very emotional and will get you choked up.