Aya

He's one of his best friends.

She surely knew what she wanted 🤣

This one is difficult.

I agree that the ones already mentioned.

Mu Xuan Ling from The Blossoming Love was also among my favourites this year.

Thank you

Fang Zhou, Liu Yan and Fu Zhu Mei were basically the first family Tang Li Ci ever had. When it all fell apart in that horrible misunderstanding, Fu Zhu Mei disappeared and Liu Yan swore revenge, so they became enemies. To be honest, for me there was not one moment in the drama where Tang Li Ci seemed to consider Liu Yan his enemy though. It was more one sided.

The relationship between Tang Li Ci and Liu Yan is portrayed well. So well that Tang Li Ci's feelings for Liu Yan are transferred to the audience. You can never really hate him, no matter how angry and disappointed you are with some of the things he did, which is the same as how Tang Li Ci feels throughout the drama toward Liu Yan. At least that what it was like for me.

Fang Yi Lun did really well portraying this character. The exaggerated, villainy mannerisms when he was being all evil were unnatural to Liu Yan, because that's not his true nature. Like he was playing a role of what he thinks a villain is like. Then you get glimpses of what he's truly like. The playful, mischievous, but inherently kind Liu Yan is much more natural and endearing. I think that's what makes him more likeable than not.

There is no female lead. For me, it was one main character and the rest were basically supporting characters. There's little to no romance, as that's not the focus of the story.

This is definitely one of the dramas that I looked forward to watching, mainly because of the cast, but also because the story seemed interesting.

For the most part, it didn't disappoint.

Tang Li Ci's journey is very beautiful and profound and by the end of the drama he comes full circle. His journey is complete and so is his character growth. This drama is clearly all about him. The other character don't really get to shine as much or at all in some cases. The biggest problem there is that there are a LOT of characters that this drama focuses on at some point or other, so they never really get enough time to develop properly. In some cases the characters are rather boring or their story is bland. This is not only true for the supporting characters (which would be normal as they don't get as much screen time anyway), but also for some of the characters that are labelled as main.

While I liked the story, I didn't always like how it was told. The pacing is uneven, the story was a bit repetitive and the revelations lacked dramatic tension, most of the time because of the predictability or timing. That being said, the story itself is beautiful, philosophical and poetic.

This drama is impeccably cast. Luo Yun Xi absolutely shined as Tang Li Ci. Ao Zi Yi was the perfect bright, bubbly and loyal sidekick. Xiao Shun Yao was great as the silent, but observant assassin. The three shared amazing chemistry. I loved watching them just walking around in the woods and bickering. Fang Yi Lun was a perfect fit for Liu Yan, a character that you can't outright hate even though the are plenty of times when he makes you angry. Jeremy Tsui was magnetic. Whoever cast this drama did an amazing job.

This drama is also a visual feast. It's very beautiful and colourful and the costumes were gorgeous.

All in all, it managed to keep me entertained and I loved the overall story.

There are definitely villains I like in some dramas, but I'm afraid she's not among them. She was just awful for no reason most of the time.

None for me. I rarely drop dramas. There are still only 4 dramas on my Dropped list.

I started reading the novel. 8 chapters in and the similarities between the novel and the drama are non-existent, except some of the names.

Apparently, traumatisingly well 🤣

That's very true. It's really sad to see dramas with amazing potential and great story stumble in the last stretch.

💯 Agreed

Agreed. I'm not sure what the idea was, but it was definitely unnecessary to go in that direction. Script writers seem to have issues ending dramas properly.

I'm adding it to mine as well 😋

I'm not sure, but I'm always more convinced then when she plays someone good. It takes talent and a different screen presence to play a convincing villain. I could also just be traumatised after watching her in TTEOTM.

I mean I prefer when Chen Du Ling plays villains, not that I liked her characters in this drama.

LITC was gorgeous 😍

Oh, a difficult choice again for me.

Love in the Clouds is definitely one.

Whispers of Fate is also very beautiful.

Moonlight Mystique was also very visually pleasing.