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Lost in Dramaland
Completed - 7/2/2022 - 8.25 rating
Such great reviews came from China regarding this drama that it hit Douban ratings at a high of 8.9 in the first week or two of its airing. Now that the drama is just done airing, the rating remains at a high 8.5 (as of 7/2/2022). I came in with pretty high expectations as I am a sucker for amazing romantic chemistry between the leads.
Plot:
“A Dream of Splendor” tells the story of three women who for a variety of reasons, had to leave their hometown for the big city. They are strong and independent, and are feminists who are ahead of their times. We follow their journeys to build their careers and find love. The pacing of the drama is pretty good. There’s enough going on to keep me interested throughout the 40 episodes. Though the last few episodes are more focused on court politics, our three female leads are intertwined in this storyline as well. Compared to another female-centric drama “Marvelous Women”, this is less slice-of-life and hooked me right from the start. But as the story goes, I think I enjoyed the weaving/embroidery plot in “Marvelous Women” a little bit more than the tea house/restaurant/music plot in “A Dream of Splendor”. However, the tone in “Marvelous Women” is more serious than that in this drama. I rated this drama higher because the romance storylines are more interesting to me than that of “Marvelous Women”. There are many comedic moments in “A Dream of Splendor” and I am not sure I enjoy them as much as others. Dai Xu/Chi Yan Nei provides a lot of comic relief, but it’s too over-the-top for my taste and doesn’t quite fit in the general tone of the drama.
Romance:
I really enjoy the initial chemistry between our two leads and I can see why everyone is raving about it. I can totally see how Chen Xiao/Gu Qian Fan is so smitten with Crystal Liu/Zhan Pan Er. Every time he looks at her, I see admiration, respect, love and desire. However, I am not sure if I can say the same for Crystal Liu especially towards the second half of the drama. Maybe I am just too critical of female leads? I find Crystal Liu’s best scenes are of her as a business woman. But as a woman in love, I can’t see that passion in her eyes. Nonetheless, their romance is mature and honest (for the most part). The leads are very supportive of each others’ careers, and will not hesitate to provide some honest/harsh feedback when necessary. There’s a lot of PDA in this drama, which is quite rare for a somewhat ‘serious’ and non-romantic comedy. Are the kisses amazing? Not really, but decent enough that I see effort from both parties. I actually really enjoy the romance between Sun San Niang and Du Chang Feng. Opposites attract yet they are quite adorable together. The way they fall in love seems natural and I enjoy how Sun San Niang takes charge in their relationship. Song Yin Zhang is probably my least favorite female character but I pity her journey to find love. Poor girl just couldn’t catch a break. There’s plenty of romance in this drama to satisfy romance junkies like me.
Production:
There are quite a few nice scenes with lanterns and candles, but not quite the quality of top-notch productions such as “Luoyang” and “The Longest Day in Chang’an”. Those two dramas have become my golden standard. Nonetheless, we have beautiful people in nice costumes, decent set designs and props. A certain popular YouTube reviewer mentioned that Chen Xiao and Crystal Liu are the most beautiful couple in a period drama in recent years. I am not sure I agree with this reviewer. They are a good-looking pair, especially for a more mature couple, but there are plenty of good-looking couples as well. In this drama, I think Jelly Lin and Claire Jia are just as beautiful as Crystal Liu (or maybe more). I do think Chen Xiao looks the most handsome in his uniform. I also want to criticize the action scenes and the camera work in this drama. There are a few fight scenes, but the camerawork is shaky/blurry (maybe intentional?). This affects my enjoyment of watching Chen Xiao fight. The director also likes to use a lot of slow motion scenes in this drama for ‘dramatic’ effects, when it’s not necessary. I want to see Crystal Liu walk at a normal speed.
Other Random Observations:
1. I like the interesting tea competition - especially drawing on tea foam.
2. It seems like everyone can just go into FL’s house/courtyard. No security at all and the door is never locked.
3. It rains all the time - at least people don’t get sick often.
4. Spinning and pouring tea is a little too cringey for my taste.
5. I like boat rides as a major form of transportation.
6. I really like Xu Hai Qiao in "Lost Love in Times" but I hated him here as Ou Yang Xu. I wish to see another drama of his to fall in love with him again.
Such great reviews came from China regarding this drama that it hit Douban ratings at a high of 8.9 in the first week or two of its airing. Now that the drama is just done airing, the rating remains at a high 8.5 (as of 7/2/2022). I came in with pretty high expectations as I am a sucker for amazing romantic chemistry between the leads.
Plot:
“A Dream of Splendor” tells the story of three women who for a variety of reasons, had to leave their hometown for the big city. They are strong and independent, and are feminists who are ahead of their times. We follow their journeys to build their careers and find love. The pacing of the drama is pretty good. There’s enough going on to keep me interested throughout the 40 episodes. Though the last few episodes are more focused on court politics, our three female leads are intertwined in this storyline as well. Compared to another female-centric drama “Marvelous Women”, this is less slice-of-life and hooked me right from the start. But as the story goes, I think I enjoyed the weaving/embroidery plot in “Marvelous Women” a little bit more than the tea house/restaurant/music plot in “A Dream of Splendor”. However, the tone in “Marvelous Women” is more serious than that in this drama. I rated this drama higher because the romance storylines are more interesting to me than that of “Marvelous Women”. There are many comedic moments in “A Dream of Splendor” and I am not sure I enjoy them as much as others. Dai Xu/Chi Yan Nei provides a lot of comic relief, but it’s too over-the-top for my taste and doesn’t quite fit in the general tone of the drama.
Romance:
I really enjoy the initial chemistry between our two leads and I can see why everyone is raving about it. I can totally see how Chen Xiao/Gu Qian Fan is so smitten with Crystal Liu/Zhan Pan Er. Every time he looks at her, I see admiration, respect, love and desire. However, I am not sure if I can say the same for Crystal Liu especially towards the second half of the drama. Maybe I am just too critical of female leads? I find Crystal Liu’s best scenes are of her as a business woman. But as a woman in love, I can’t see that passion in her eyes. Nonetheless, their romance is mature and honest (for the most part). The leads are very supportive of each others’ careers, and will not hesitate to provide some honest/harsh feedback when necessary. There’s a lot of PDA in this drama, which is quite rare for a somewhat ‘serious’ and non-romantic comedy. Are the kisses amazing? Not really, but decent enough that I see effort from both parties. I actually really enjoy the romance between Sun San Niang and Du Chang Feng. Opposites attract yet they are quite adorable together. The way they fall in love seems natural and I enjoy how Sun San Niang takes charge in their relationship. Song Yin Zhang is probably my least favorite female character but I pity her journey to find love. Poor girl just couldn’t catch a break. There’s plenty of romance in this drama to satisfy romance junkies like me.
Production:
There are quite a few nice scenes with lanterns and candles, but not quite the quality of top-notch productions such as “Luoyang” and “The Longest Day in Chang’an”. Those two dramas have become my golden standard. Nonetheless, we have beautiful people in nice costumes, decent set designs and props. A certain popular YouTube reviewer mentioned that Chen Xiao and Crystal Liu are the most beautiful couple in a period drama in recent years. I am not sure I agree with this reviewer. They are a good-looking pair, especially for a more mature couple, but there are plenty of good-looking couples as well. In this drama, I think Jelly Lin and Claire Jia are just as beautiful as Crystal Liu (or maybe more). I do think Chen Xiao looks the most handsome in his uniform. I also want to criticize the action scenes and the camera work in this drama. There are a few fight scenes, but the camerawork is shaky/blurry (maybe intentional?). This affects my enjoyment of watching Chen Xiao fight. The director also likes to use a lot of slow motion scenes in this drama for ‘dramatic’ effects, when it’s not necessary. I want to see Crystal Liu walk at a normal speed.
Other Random Observations:
1. I like the interesting tea competition - especially drawing on tea foam.
2. It seems like everyone can just go into FL’s house/courtyard. No security at all and the door is never locked.
3. It rains all the time - at least people don’t get sick often.
4. Spinning and pouring tea is a little too cringey for my taste.
5. I like boat rides as a major form of transportation.
6. I really like Xu Hai Qiao in "Lost Love in Times" but I hated him here as Ou Yang Xu. I wish to see another drama of his to fall in love with him again.
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