A Journey to Love (2023)

The badass Female assasin & Liu Dao Halls' 5 elite squad assembled!

"I'm not consulting you. I'm informing you." - Ren Xin

I hereby declare personal grudge against the writer (Zhang Wei) of this story. I want to be impartial and just be nice because this drama has brought me so much happiness and entertainment; but, how can I do that when she turned such a promising and amazing drama into a stupid tragic path? I'm extremely dumbfounded at the same time furious over her disgusting and treacherous act. This drama could have been a happy ending but for some reason her crazy mind went wild and decided to kill the main characters one after another, continously... and even if she implied that Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ru Yi magically survived and is alive at the end—through their "kids". I still cannot take that to comfort me and make me feel redemptive over this excellent story that was unfortunately ended tragically. NYZ and RRY is parenting the entire squad like they're their own children and yet she decided to slaughter them one by one. Gosh! My Parents deserves better treatment!

I want to conclude this rant section of my review by saying, I got so much beef with the writer of this drama and I think it will last forever. She excels in making good story unfortunately she also got a strong obsession in turning everything into a tragedy.

Disclaimer: Even after all the things I stated above, I still won't deny how good of a writer she is. The script is exceptionally well written and god knows how blowned away I was watching the exchange of words from the characters of this story.

Moving forward, I want to say how much I enjoyed this drama as a whole. The intro was perfect and so does the suceeding episodes until the tragedy I mentioned above started. I love how their love story started naturally as strangers who accidentally encountered one another but didn't immediately fall in love; rather, they allow us to witness their suspicions that gradually developed into trust to mutual affection then finally, love.

In terms of chemistry, I'd say they're straight out insane! It's crazy how their very first interaction which was an intense scene turned out to be full of sparks and charisma; and don't even let mention how compelling their following future scenes are, because I might spend my entire time fanboying over how perfect they are together. I also want to mention here how Ren Ru Yi's 'I want to have a baby with you' to NYZ has lived and explored entirely free in my mind. My imagination runs wild with this two (NYZ as a surrogate Father lol). Also, their infatuation and indenial moments are the cutest! I cringe so much in a good way because of them.

Next thing I want to talk about are the supporting characters. I don't usually do this, but I feel like each one of them deserves to be acknowledged for their excellent role and portrayal in this story.

"You've trained a sparrow in a royal cage into an Eagle" - Princess Yang Ying

Princess Yang Ying/Prince Li Heng portrayed by He Lan Dou is the MVP of this drama for me. She went from a fragile and docile cub into a full grown tigress. This is one of those times I realized how good the writer is. She transformed the weak and damsel in distress Princess and made her a tough decisive one. Of course, this wouldn't happen without He Lan Dou's acting prowess and versatility. I love her a lot in this show.

Yuan Lu played by Chen You Wei is one of my favorite out of all the characters of this drama. He's cheerful, bright and overall entertaining. I'm so proud of this guy, he's the epitome of positivity and good vibes. I'm the most disheartened when the writer finally decided to kill him. Grr! I guess, I'm just grateful that he died full of pride and valiantly.

Li Tong Guang played by Chang Hua Sen by far is the most overrated character of this story. This man's emotionally unstable and I find it unbelievable how he broke down in the middle of a losing war. I admit that he's good looking and charismatic but his physical appearance alone doesn't fill the gap in his character for me. Chang Hua Sen's acting here is great though. I often find him amusing, specially during his mental breakdown scenes for his Master Ren Xin.

Yu Shi Shan played by Fang Yi Lun - This is my first time to watch him play a lively and carefree role and I must say he nailed it! It feels refreshing to watch him be annoying and mischievous almost all the time compared to the previous roles he's acted on.

Qian Zhao played by Wang Yi Zhe for me is the serious brother of the gang who played the role of a Vice captain whenever NYZ is not around. Wang Yi Zhe impresses me on how he portrayed this character so well.

Sun Lang played by Li Huan is the least favored character for me. I feel like the writer doesn't like him that much base on how little his screentime are the whole show.

Special mention to Zhang Song played by Zhang Lei. His acting on Episode 3 alone made me realized that Vetaran actors are a cut of their own cloth. The lines were written eloquently and provocatively but the way he delivered it gave me real chills. His control and command of his actions and facial expressions hightened the tension of his scenes for me.

I know this is getting lengthy so let me just mention some unpredictable scenes which I have mixed feelings of.

First is the pairings and love teams. It changes so constantly and unexpectedly that I don't know anymore what to expect. This aspect of the storyade me disappointed and dumbounded a lot.

Second is the death of the main cast! Dang! I still can't move on! I know that they all died in a reasonable way and with great valour but then, I still can't let go of my 'supposed' happy ending. (Sighs)

Lastly, I just want to commend this drama for its slick, refined and smooth exhibitions of their fight scenes. Martial arts choreography is Mad! Specially Liu Xi Xi and Liu Yu Ning's. My satisfaction of them is at its peak!

P.S. My favorite moments of this drama is when the Main casts are all together casually hanging out and having fun. + Why do I find them cute when they all finally assembled? Hahaha! What an adorable bunch. <3

Story - 9.5, Although I hate the fact that the entire Main cast was killed; I guess, I'm just glad that it was done in a logical and valorous way. Like I mention above I can never do this drama dirty just because I hate its ending, so I would still give credits where it's due. Also, it's one of those dramas where both leads are cool and highly skilled; and coincidently the two fo them wanted to live peacefully and normally but how dare the Writer give them an actual eternal peace!

Acting/Cast - 10, I believe my above sentiments is enough to explain how satisfied I am with the casting and acting on this drama. So, let me take this time to mention how great of a choice for them to cast both Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi. First of, I wanna say that I'm mad at those people who are hating on Liu Yu Ning just because he's not handsome enough? when his role doesn't require him to be one! and he's so damn fine from head to toe. So whatdaheck!? Liu Shi Shi on the otherhand is a full package for her role. Beautiful that's goddess-like and a real badass seductress! Her stares hypnotizes me to the point where I'm down on my knees every single time. Lol

Music - 10, I will boldly declare and claim that this drama's Music Team is on the same level of those in K-dramas. All the music used are endearing and perfectly fits each of the scene they're used for. This is also the first time in 2 years? where I literally downloaded and added the songs to my playlist for offline listening (Spotify).

Rewatch Value - 10, Honestly, I would still rewatch and will also highly recommend this to everyone. I mean, the cool and badass scenes each episode are enough to make me rewatch this. Not to mention how entertaining this show is as a whole.

Overall - 9.5, I still feel bad of the tragic ending but this drama is simply not one of those craps out there that I can derate solely for it's ending—because this is more than that! Nonetheless, I would like to encourage everyone to watch this drama to experience the entertainment and pleasure I felt when I was binge watching like crazy.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know

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2nd Best Bad Ass Female Character (Top 1 will be Heyan, Legend of a female General)

A journey to love is not just about the love between the two leads, but to me it meant so much more. A love for their brotherhood/comrades, their country, etc.

Although the last few episodes were such a let down,it was really rushed and sloppily done. The beginning and the half of this series was really the best in my opinion, yes there were a handful of unnecessary scenes and deaths but this series made me shed buckets of tears and at the same time made me laugh so hard.

it wasn’t a perfect series but this is far way better than a couple of series I’ve watched.

There were a lot of loop holes if you ask me, and a lot of questionable, and over the top scenes. My favorite character would be the female lead, she’s gorgeous, and portrayed the character with so much conviction, such a bad a**! but overall it’s the comaradery and friendship of the 5 heaven realms soldiers that really made me emotionally invested in this series. I just disapprove of some deaths here, there were a lot of unbelievable scenarios that pissed me off, halfway I stopped watching and just resumed recently and finally decided to finish it once and for all. I binged watched episodes 1-30 in one seating 😆. Yuan Lu was such a likable character not because he was fragile w/ a heart disease but he brings out the kid in yo, kinda happy vibe, but he was so strong willed as well. Yu Shi San was so hilarious, same goes to Qian zhao, and li huan they all have this such likeable vibes to them.
At times Li tong guang was so annoying, but I couldn’t dislike him, I’m sorry he was pathetic most of the time but I have a soft spot for him.
I enjoyed seeing familiar faces that I’ve seen before, actors from scent of time, the double, till the end of the moon.

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Drinking in the windy snow as the snow turns to ashes. Lamenting that seperation's are irrecovable

I don't understand the hate LYN got during the drama's airing. In my honest opinion, LYN did the character justice, he became NYZ. It might be his best character drama yet. From the past dramas I've watched from him, I can see his growth, and deserves lead roles. Won't lie at first, I started this drama because of FYL. And I fell in love with the cast.

Can we talk about the growth of Princess Yang Ying, you can't tell me she and LTG weren't Ruyi and NYZ's children.

The ost's and the sound effects. Killer.

Writer Jie...What kind of ending are you giving us? You didn't have to kill half of the squad. And the ending...I am still confused about how I'm supposed to interpret the ending of the drama. Is she dreaming? Did she die? Is it a what-if? Like even the supposed kid of our main leads showed up...

Anyway, a must-watch drama, and the cast was amazing. Now I'm going to wish for a modern drama with the same cast with a happy ending. No dying this time.😅

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Don't be cynical about love

Overall, I rate this drama very well. An interesting story, a good cast, excellent chemistry between leads, lovely backdrop , beautiful costumes and melodious music.

The story centred around Ren RuYi and Ning YuanZhou. The former was the leader of the female spy ring of the Kingdom of An, who was presumed dead. The latter was the newly reinstated head of the LiuDaoTang, the spy ring of the rival Kingdom of Wu. King of Wu lost the battle with An and was captured and imprisoned. The King of An demanded ten thousand ingots of gold for his release, to be delivered by a Wu prince.

RuYi was running away from being captured in the Wu kingdom and ended up hiding in YuanZhou's residence. Meantime, Yuan Zhou was appointed the leader of the delegation to deliver the the gold to An. The only prince capable of travelling to An was also the Regent ruling in the absence of the King of Wu and it was deemed too risky to lose him. Motivated by promise of rewards, Princess YangYing volunteered to be the 'Prince'. YuanZhou engaged the help of RuYi to coach YangYing on the ways of the An. So this delegation of people oddly thrown together had to make their way to An and rescue the King. How many would return safely?

What I like about this drama?

1. In a way, this story was along the similar theme as A Journey to You, a theme of a spy in the opposite camp who developed a Stockholm Syndrome. But the story development was a lot more interesting and the ending was a lot more appealing.

2. It was sad and cheerful at the same time - it spiced up your senses. Who could say that the world is perfect. Therefore we don't expect a perfect ending for everyone. Many did not make it back to the Wu Kingdom. But we rejoice that some found their own happiness eventually.

3. The story was interesting and original in its own ways. No plagiarism observed. and certainly different from 'A Journey to You'.

4. There were a lot of philosophical lessons in the drama. Many were very in tuned into human nature. I laughed at the lessons in relationship that ShiSan was teaching Chu Yue - somewhat crappy, somewhat wise. And in episodes 18 and 19, the lead characters were trying to sort out where they would eventually settle after their missions. This is so apt even in contemporary real life settings.

5. Chemistry between YuanZhou and RuYi was very well played out by Liu ShiShi and Liu YuNing. When RuYi insisted that YuanZhou was her choice of the father of her child and insisted on only a physical relation with him with no emotional attachment, it was hilarious.

6. The second male lead, Allen Fang, YiLun also brightened the drama a lot, acting as ShiSan. He was hilarious. It is the first time i saw him as a comic character, a departure from his usual stony face character. Hope to see him as first lead in a good drama.

6. All the hygiene factors were there: a good cast, excellent chemistry between leads, lovely backdrop , beautiful costumes and melodious music. And the opening and ending theme songs were beautiful.

What I do not like about this drama?

1. While there were some wise lessons to be taught in the drama, there were also some crap. RuYi was name calling her disciple as the illegitimate child when this was his Achilles' heels. Yet he accepted her ill-treatment and fell in love with her - I could not understand this. So one was masochistic and the other sadistic? And they complement each other? No compliments and encouragements - no wonder there are so much anger in some people. Imagine being criticised, beaten and name called all the time.

2. The final pretence was not convincing. How did someone surrounded and stabbed by the enemy soldiers survive?

For the last two points, I took half a point away from a perfect 10 but highly recommend this drama.

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A good watch but dwindles near the end

Satisfying character arcs, amazing acting, no complaints here except the ending, more on that later.

Special shoutout to the princess for an absolutely fantastic character and writing. It's difficult to have an actress that portrays a shy, cowardly character that gains charisma but she DELIVERS.

More things I liked:
- I love Ren Xin's whole aesthetic. Very satisfying to watch her fight.
- I like how Ren Xin's...problematic obsession with having a child is part of her trauma that she works through because ngl watching her force herself on NYZ was not comfortable. Thank god that wasn't just part of her 'strong and fierce' personality..
- I like the whole cast of NYZ and friends. Very wholesome.

Complaints (mainly the ending)
- Li Tong Guang's Ren Xin obsession: honestly not a badly written setup, but I hated that it was an actual ROMANTIC obsession. I hate mentor-student couples by default, and watching LTG try to force someone he supposedly respects to marry him is just so many levels of gross. This isn't necessarily bad as an antagonist, but a 'reformed' LTG is written to have a father-son dynamic with NYZ, Ren Xin's actual lover, as if his attempt to force a marriage was just a child's tantrum that his new father figure has to talk him out of. Ew....
- NYZ's friends dropping like flies. Some of the deaths were valid for the plot and themes, I guess. But...come on, make all of their deaths count, please, because at some point it's just a nebulous blend of 'all is lost' created to drum up emotions for the finale.
- Ren Xin just stops doing much in the last quarter of the show after her huge arc with the scarlet guards is over. This is very valid, since she has been injured and re-injured without proper healing in between, but it becomes kind of meh with her taken out.
- Much of the show is built on both strategising and also existential conversations so I was disappointed to see them thinking screw it and just winging it after enough of their friends gets killed.
- Strange ending scene? what is going on there?

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guyss it's so GOOD

i think this may be by far the best drama i've watched!! love the lead roles, both actors and characters in the drama. they portray the emotion very well and i really enjoyed it. from the exciting action scenes to the soft interactions between the characters showing their loving friendship towards each other. the group consists of such talented characters, they really make a great team all together. along with that, i think the storyline is very interesting, where the female and male leads are powerful, especially ren ruyi, as female roles aren't usually represented as strong leads many cdramas.

the chemistry between liu yuning and liu shishi is really good, they convey the sweet scenes very well and one of my favorite scenes was when the friends were throwing leaves for the 2 main roles when they were having a scene, but one of the leaves lands on ning yuanzhou's face, creating a humorous scene. another one was when ren ruyi revealed herself after they all thought she died, seeing ning yuanzhou's reaction, then them working together to fight enemies really immersed me into the drama.

i just believe this duo is incredible, and everything is done so well. i like how all the characters had distinct personalities from one another, and shi san was like the comedic relief during times of sadness in the drama. from the OST to the acting, high recommend to watch, and even rewatch, it's worth it~

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Overall great drama but way too sad ending

I really liked the drama itself, especially the first 25 episodes but the ending was so sad that I wouldn't have courage to rewatch it. I normally don't watch dramas that have sad endings but when I started this drama it was so good that I couldn't help but watch until the end. For some character deaths I can understand why they die but for some it feels like they died just to make the ending more dramatic. If you think how the first 20-25 episodes no one died (even though the events was just as dangerous) the last 10 episodes feels like they don't belong to same drama. Of course it is just my thought. I would still recommend people to watch this drama as it is really a high quality drama with great overall story, acting and characters.

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Worth the watch -a spoilerless review.

A drama the hits all the points needed

Characters that have clear motivations and are fleshed out, flaws and all...mostly

A secondary, third and fourth story lines that don't disappoint or end without conclusions.

An OTP that seem to genuinely like each other, realistically tease each other and talk out their difficulties

Music that doesn't overwhelm a scene

Female characters that talk to each other beyond what the men are doing and are shown as equal in capabilities across the whole.

What I didn't like

That ending though.....Come on C-drama land....make up your mind. Take my advice and don't watch the last 5-6 minutes of the ending episode. Just say "The End" and it's perfect.....lol

They should've made one standout character a eunuch, sterile or gave a reasonable explanation for his decisions towards the end because what they were working with, ain't it.....You can't change my mind on this

Dude that shows up with his little almond eyes......is typecasted af.... you know his character is up to no good because it's him and that's all this dude plays......boooooo!

A few first episodes that bog you down with the "intrigue" that isn't. I know where they were going with this and it was more of a good riddance in execution instead of appreciation of an up-front plot twist and red herring because they nearly bore you to death with it. I know many dropped the drama because of this...lol and had to be pulled back in when things start revving up.

The worst date night option before a big "we all might die battle" in the history of drama land....try to change my mind in the comments...lol. I don't see how they didn't get tired with all that pounding and pounding and heat and sweat...OMG!

A second lead without any growth and doesn't make sense.....It's like yea yeah we get it, now you get over it, we're all over it and then wait you're doing it again and getting everyone shot in the a$$....wth. It's like they wrote the character as a catalyst for some other stuff to happen gave him growth and forgot, then shoehorned the BS in when IT IS NOT NEEDED!
Legit not needed at all, they're at war, the setup is already there, bad luck and bad things happen. they could've left it at that. But no, no no, they got us saying "really brah?" and for what?.....and then it happens again. Make it make sense

I wanted the cat to be part of the group, where is the cat!

Some of us watched this like crack while it aired, you can read the drama's page on MDL to support that...lol
Rewatch value...hmmn, I don't know. You may find yourself going back to episodes for special moments or to remember what was mentioned while watching further episodes.....but that ending though....lol

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Mature, Secure Man & Feisty Woman

The beginning of this 40-episode drama was really cool and great. I was taken from the get-go. The premise seemed funny and engaging. The leads are an actor and an actress whom I admire :) The rating would have been a notch higher if not for the ending...

What I Liked Very Much:
- Hands down, the ML and FL. Ever since I watched the ML as Hao Du, I have fallen much in love. He is suave and manly and tall and charming... I only watched the FL once in Bu Bu Jing Xin but she left a very positive impression on me. I was happy to watch this pretty actress who has the acting chops to match.
- I liked that the ML was a secure man who did not see the need or have to lord over his woman. I liked seeing a healthy man-woman relationship in which two mature people wanted to be together and chose to overcome their challenges to be together. Seeing them together was beautiful and heart-warming.
- I liked the growth of the characters like the growth of Princess Yang Ying from timid and weak to valiant and resourceful. I liked seeing the growth of the different main characters and how the characters matured/ developed as the plot unfolded.
- I liked the strong and fearless FL who unabashedly reminded others that she was the best assassin. She would kill and she could kill and that she was not to be messed with. The empress of Wu State turned out to be a strong woman too who was smart and resourceful.
- The plot, especially the first 20 episodes were fast-paced and riveting. Many things were happening and things were moving quite happily along IMO. There were several twists in the plot which were highly interesting and suspenseful.

What I Did Not Like Very Much:
- There were, of course, villains. I do not like villains even though I am fully aware of the need for both good and bad in a plot. The emperor of An State was insufferable. I was glad to see him gotten rid of.
- The ending was not a happy one and while I understand that both in reel life and in real life, happy endings are not guaranteed, I was desperately hoping for a more pleasant/ happier ending without that many deaths and suffering and bloodshed.
- The ending, to me, was also kind of ambiguous. Speaking for myself, I much prefer a more direct happy ending.

Nonetheless, this drama is an excellent one. The actresses and actors did a fantastic job. I recommend this drama! :)

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Action packed with a rollercoaster of laughters and tears

The show is about a top assassin, Ren Xin, who had been framed and imprisoned of killing the empress of An kingdom, who happen to be her benefactor. She had to escape prison, fake her death, change her name to Ren Ruyi, and later reinfiltrated the An kingdom’s spy organization’s branch located in a rival kingdom to track down the mastermind behind the empress’s murder and avenge her. With a twist of fate, she encountered the head of spy organization of the rival country, Ning Yuanzhou, and striked a deal with him, tagging along with the envoy entourage to her own country to teach the envoy in return for NYZ gathering intel to help her get her revenge. Many things happened along the way, and she started forming a bond with the members of the spy agency in the entourage, and a special liking towards NYZ.

I like it how the show had a solid premise, good storyline and they executed it in perfect gracefulness and rather fast paced too. Although it started out in a serious and intense premise, they manage to blend goofy scenes seamlessly within. The goofy parts were well executed and didnt looked forced, leaving me smiling or laughing throughout - definitely didnt look out of place or annoying like those in Fighting for Love. Despite the goofy scenes, they were able to execute the action and serious scenes tremendously well too. The action scenes were superb, the choreography was on point and well executed. The intimate scenes between the leads were well paced. With this show i can really feel and make sense of how they fall in love with each other despite coming from rival kingdoms, without having senselessly overbearing and cringe-worthy proximity moments like those in Ancient Love Poetry.

The only show ive ever seen Liu Shishi in was Scarlet Heart, although she acted well in it, i felt that her face didnt really suit to be in ancient drama, cuz i thought she looked too modern. I changed my mind when i saw this show. Maybe its due to hairdo, costume, age or makeup, but she looked perfect in AJTL as a retired top assassin on a mission to avenge the death of the closest person to her. Now this character Ren Xin/Ren Ruyi is one of my favourite FLs of all tv shows I’ve seen so far, the writers wrote her really well with almost no flaw at all. She is strong, quick-witted, resourceful, brave, resolute and capable with a sound and collected mind despite facing conflicts of interest. Basically she is the badass of all badasses of the mortal world, while Shen Li from Legend of Shen Li wins that spot for the fairy fantasy category. Although ML being the understanding other half, contributed too. I liked A Mai from Fighting for Love too, but the writers slightly botched it with poor decision-making when in comes to love in the earlier part of the show. Ren Ruyi did not suffer from this. I guess I had to give it off to the the writers for not messing up. FL was constantly with a sound mind and not the type who would get emotional. Although she did went berserk quite a bit when the red uniform guards killed her adoptive mom, and ML ended up knocking her unconscious to stop her. But hey, even a flawless character had to have some flaw or else theyd be inhumans.

My most favourite character of the whole show is Yu Shisan, one of the spies in the envoy entourage. He’s easily the most handsome of the spy group, he’s not shy to flaunt it too as he is proud to be known as the shameless, flirty playboy who has a way with girls. He was extremely popular and admired by female inmates and workers in the prison (he was imprisoned for kidnapping a noble’s daughter) because he loves to do make up on them (and obviously because he flirts with them) before ML picked him up to join the entourage mission. He’s the goofiest person in the group, most of the goofy scenes are caused by him, but also the closest to ML, being a good listener and confidant to ML, especially with regards to dealing with FL. ML also revealed to Yu Shisan of how bad his condition was before the final showdown of the emperor rescue, and entrusted Yu Shisan to take the rest of the troop to safety if ML couldnt make it. And I totally ship him and Chu Yue. Theyre the cutest not-yet-a-couple ever!

Princess Yang Ying is probably the character with the most progress. She started off as an extremely timid, weak with zero self confidence, unfavored princess of the late emperor, born in the cold palace and looked down even by the palace maids, let alone the rest of the harem,but later grew into a full fledged ambitious, capable, confident, resourceful and quick-witted princess aiming for the throne. She is the youngest sister of the current emperor, who was lovesick with the only palace guard who showed her kindness thus willing to do anything to marry him. When her brother the emperor was taken hostage by Emperor of An kingdom, she volunteered to be the envoy to deliver the ransom in return for her to be granted fiefdom and ability to choose her own husband. Because one of the conditions of ransom is it must be delivered by a prince, she had to disguise as one and learn everything a prince should know during the trip. She was slow at learning at first, but the moment ML, as the head of security of the entourage, changed her tutor to FL, she made great progress in terms of learning capability and the building of her character as a pompous and snobbish prince with ample political & court knowledge. I must commend the actress, she definitely nailed it as a male impersonator. Although she looked soft and delicate as a princess, she also managed to pull off the look of a snobbish yet graceful teenage prince and as time passes, i no longer see her as a girl. This is the second character after Fighting for Love’s FL that I ever saw able to pull off as a male impersonator, and she did it perfectly well without even having to try too hard to act as a tough boy. I’m glad they didnt forget to bind her chest, i hate it when characters are portrayed to be disguising as a male and yet the chest totally gives them away, and lets not even get into the girly voice and acts. Fortunately, those cringy parts that give away male impersonation are nonexistent in this show. Well done!

Another interesting character is Qian Zhao, one of the spies with medical expertise. He’s literally the medic for the entourage. He is very quiet and reserved, only speaking when necessary, but in fact is very stubborn and steadfast in his decisions. Nobody could stop him when he set his mind to kill FL when he found out she was a spy from An, and everybody had a hard time persuading him against seeking revenge from Emperor Wu for his reckless decision of going to war with misleading intel and information which resulted in high war casualties. The only thing stopping him from finishing the emperor off was the flare signal from nearby fortress indicating that they were under attack. Even ML admitted in the end that he had everyone else figured out but Qian Zhao.

All in all i think the whole production team did a tremendously great job with this show. I really couldnt find any other loopholes other than the hand injury of Deng Hui that went missing the next day after his hand was stabbed by Emperor An. The make up artist and director must have forgotten the script. Anyway, I wonder who wronged the writer team so badly for them to come up with such a huge massacre of characters. It saddens me but the show was so good I cant seem to hate it for making me cry with each episode after Ep34. For a show that is laden with goofy scenes all over, i was so not ready for the last 6 episodes that are pretty tragic and tearjerker. Boy sometimes I hate this show for being so damn good at bringing laughter and tears to its viewers.

If youre like me who love shows with strong leads, action packed with non-domineeringly sweet and non-cringy love story, and do not mind a tragic-possible-emotional-damage-inducing ending, then this might be for you. If youre all that but cant handle super tragic ending, well, maybe stop watching at Episode 34, 35 is where the massacre starts. But if u want closure to all power struggles, then stop at 38. I just cant wrap it around my head why didnt they just end the show with 38. It was actually perfect. Somehow they just had to drag in more episode just to break our hearts. 😭

Despite hating the ending, I just cant seem to strike off a star from my 10 rating. The show was THAT good!

!!!!!! SPOILER BELOW THIS LINE !!!!!!

I am currently rewatching the show and realized ML’s near death situation on Ep 20 and his ultimate exit on Ep40 were both due to saving that brat I dont want to mention. The first time because that brat recklessly went for the leader of the assassins despite his mediocre (in my eyes) martial skills, and the second time when he again, stupidly went into the enemy’s camp ALONE to supposedly kill/capture the marshall. The first time, ML saved him because he was An emperor’s envoy keen for peace between the two kingdoms hence they needed his support, and the second time because he was An kingdom’s regent. Well, the second time was because he didnt want FL to go on the suicide rescue mission, and because he knew how much that brat meant to FL. This sorry piece of sh!t, gosh i hate him so much that I didnt want to even mention him when i wrote this review the first time because i didnt want to reveal spoilers, but when i am rewatching right now, damn i just had to say this at least once. Okay finish rant!

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epic love story

oh my word. I can’t even begin to tell you how this show suckered me in and never let go. It was action packed from scene 1 and the rest is history.

The cast, the supporting casts, the music, this was the total package. I haven’t seen a show this good in a loooong time. Liu Yuning killed it. I think he made the show this good, whoever said that he isn’t male lead material or not good looking enough needs to get their eyes checked. Trust me, I’m an eye doctor ;)

FL is such a badass, I loved her. She is so beautiful and so strong. You love their love story, you get to know all the side characters and will care about everyone.. and you pray for the HEA for them all …

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Heads & Shoulders Above the Rest

I want to start by commending the casting director because they did such a fantastic job.
Aside from the script/plot (although I agree it went a little bit sideways in the last 7-10eps) which was stellar, the success of this drama IMO stems from the fact that the casting director and director of this drama didn’t cast any popular “idol” and casted people that can actually act. What a refreshing breath of fresh air to watch a drama where nobody is conscious of their angles and trying to look good instead of actually acting naturally. I totally understand that dramas want to make money and they have to cast this idols and most of them can’t act worth a dime, even to save their lives, but since they are popular and bring in lots of traffic and have fans that will defend their acting until their last breath and swear to the heavens that we haven’t seen acting like that in history and if you dare state otherwise, you are thereafter branded a hater/anti (unfortunately a lot of reviewers fear the attack from the aforementioned mobs so they keep quiet instead of rocking the boat and give their honest reviews if the drama sucked or the acting sucked), this directors are unfortunately forced to work with this very good looking but extremely average actors. Also not just acting, the combination of average and recycled scripts are also part of the problem.
I honestly commend all the actors for a job well done, I can’t emphasize enough what an awesome and stellar job you all did, it was incredible to watch, I want to specially shoutout to the most outstanding character to me and that is Princess Yang Ying aka Prince Li, the Justice this young actress did to her role will go down in CDramaLand history IMO, she was spectacular, she was believable at every point of her journey, I was left in awe everytime she graced the scene, I can’t wait to watch more from her in the future, honorable mention to Yu ShiShan, Alen Fang what a fabulous job you did with that character (and that shimmy was definitely on point)
I wish the last few episodes weren’t so rushed and was fleshed out as the beginning of the drama, it felt like they just threw everything at us all at once but all that being said, IMO this drama is still definitely heads and shoulders above the dramas of its kind this year as at the time of this airing.
My only complain would be in the romance department, if felt like they gave us a lot without actually giving us anything, the romance started out well but it kinda frizzled out as they became a couple officially and this was honestly the worst part of the drama
All in all, I highly recommend.

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