Favorite 2nd Leads couple ever

I signed up to dramalist just to write this review for Love in Between. That is how much I loved it. I don’t usually watch C drama but was in a KDrama drought so decided to watch this due to high score in Douban and recommendations by a blogger I follow.

To be honest, the first half of the drama was much better than than the latter half which was too much court intrigue-y for my liking. But still, I persevered due to my love for all the actors especially especially Wen Si Yuan (I did forward much of the court scenes).

What stole my heart was the 2nd leads romance. The chemistry between the actors playing Wen Si Yuan and Shen Man Qing was great. The acting was on point and you are brought along this emotional roller coaster with them. I ugly cried a few times but if you enjoy such 虐 ness (torture) then this is the show for you! Best of all, they have a happy ending which I think they deserved after all the pain (although I agree that they could have better explained how he survived the final fight with the Imperial guards)

I became a big fan of Zou Ting Wei after this show, his acting is so nuanced and charismatic that somehow he looks attractive despite his age and physique compared to the much younger actors. I am frankly bewildered by this because cognitively, I can tell that his looks is not considered handsome but yet, I can’t help but feel drawn in by him, his micro-expressions and his intonation and manner of speaking. It is a pity he couldn’t get any lead roles at his age despite his obvious talents. I really think that we need to move away from all those pretty boys MLs we see too often in C and K dramas. Zou Ting Wei fighting!

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Had high hopes but...

The first couple of episodes in high school were sweet and the leads were oozing with chemistry from the get go. They were able to maintain this chemistry throughout the drama and when it is just the two of them in a scene, I could almost believe they are a real couple, they were that sweet with each other.

Unfortunately, beside the leads, none of the secondary characters were likable. They were mostly one-dimensional and exist purely to be petty and jealous of either the leads, or one another. For example, Lin Xi <- (likes) Qin Yue <- Shi Yu <- Yi Chuan <- Xiao Man <- Duan Ning. Every other girl likes Jiang Zheng Han. They are not well fleshed out and feels like once they fall in love, everything else eg. Past friendships become non-existent. Qin yue were good friends with Jiang in the beginning but once he realizes Jiang was his love rival, all the respect and good will immediately went out the window. I feel it is lazy writing.
It gets tedious and boring after a while so I gave up despite my love for the leads. Pity :(

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