Scent of Time (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Scent of Time (2023) - A suspense-laden reverie on regret, redress, and redemption

This is 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8.5 Stars Plot:                       8 Stars Acting/cast:            8 Stars Couple chemistry:   7 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      8 Stars Enjoyment factor:   8.5 Stars

Scent of Time (2023) poses the tantalising question of what, if anything, one can do to redress past wrongs and to change fate if given a second chance. 

I didn't realise it at first, but the twist in the tale is obliquely hinted at in the Chinese title of the drama, 爲有暗香來 ("Because of the Subtle Fragrance"), which is derived from a poem by Song Dynasty poet and statesman Wang An Shi 王安石. Elsewhere, the twist is also foreshadowed throughout the drama, which makes it difficult to miss.

Despite this, the way the drama unfolds skilfully dials up the suspense - it is almost impossible not to root for Zhou Ye's Hua Qian in her high stakes quest to atone for and rewrite the past. The hook is in what choices she makes, what actions she takes, and the unintended fallout of those decisions.   

Viewers who are watching this drama for the romance may well be disappointed - it is protagonist rather than romance focused. Three potential love interests are presented, but Scent of Time (2023) is one of the rare dramas in which I truly did not care who, if anyone, the endgame would be.  I just wanted Hua Qian to be living her best life.  Although some of the scriptwriting in the later episodes was noticeably weaker, I stayed until the very end to find out how Hua Qian's story would conclude...

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Scent of Time (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Scent of Time

Chinese title:   為有暗香來 / 为有暗香来  (Eng translation: "Because of the Subtle Fragrance") 

Episodes: 30 (+ short animated clip)

Genre: Suspense, romance, historical  

Original network:  Youku

Release date:        13 Oct  2023

Airing schedule:    13 Oct 2023 - 1 Nov 2023

Synopsis:

What happens when you have taken one wrong step after another? Hua Qian, who has used the most unscrupulous of means to arrive at her ends, finds out that the consequences are deadly. As she lies dying, she is offered a second chance at life...

  

One and Only (2021) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  One and Only

Chinese title:  周生如故 (Translation: "Zhou Sheng as of old")

Episodes:  24

Genre: Historical, romance, palace, tragedy 

Original network: iQiyi 

Release date:      10 August 2021

Airing schedule:  10 August 2021 - 27 August 2021

Synopsis:

Prince of Nang Chen, Zhou Sheng Chen is an undefeated general, loyal to king and country, and famed for his inner and outer beauty.  He faithfully guards the borders at the western frontier to protect the people, far from the seat of power and its political intrigues.  However, as the younger brother to the former Emperor and uncle to to the current one, and with the love and respect of the people and a formidable army at his command, he is seen as a threat to the royal house of Liu.  

To still the mouths of those who see him as a threat, he vows to spend his lifetime guarding the borders and to never marry or have children.  

  

Wanru's Journey (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Wanru's Journey (2023) - A no frills wuxia that is surprisingly watchable up until the lame ending

This is 6/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         6 Stars Plot:                       6 Stars Acting/cast:            6 Stars Couple chemistry:   6 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      5 Stars Enjoyment factor:   6.5 Stars

Wanru's Journey (2023) is a short, 

low budget, no frills wuxia drama. There are
24 episodes, each at 30 - 35 min long.  If you are wondering why it's called Wanru's Journey, the English title is a mashup of both of the names that the female lead goes by (Murong Zhu Wan and Xiao Ru).  I personally prefer the Chinese title 少年江湖, which translates to "Youth's jianghu". 

This is obviously not Jin Yong quality, and the acting is nothing to write home about, but there really is a wuxia vibe to this one, including some decent CGI-lite fighting scenes. And there's Ao Rui Peng. Although this is decidedly not his best work, he looks great glowering in black or channeling young master vibes in white.

All in all, surprisingly watchable, at least up to the final 15 minutes or so given the lame ending...

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Wanru's Journey (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info: 

Title:  Wanru's Journey

Chinese title:  少年江湖 (Eng translation: "Youth's jianghu") 

Episodes: 24

Genre: Wuxia, romance, comedy 

Original network:  Iqiyi

Release date:        26 May 2023

Synopsis:

Impoverished Jianghu swindler Xiao Ru is unskilled in martial arts, but she always has tricks up her sleeve to make a quick buck and to make an even quicker getaway.  

In an unexpected turn of events, Xiao Ru is compelled to impersonate Murong Zhu Wan, the mentally impaired second young lady of the Murong manor.  

Sparks fly when she meets her 'brother' Murong Chong and her 'fiancé' Fu Hong, and she is unwittingly drawn into Jianghu conflicts.  Amidst open and hidden power struggles in the martial arts world to become leader of the martial arts world and the fight to possess the Manual of Mountains and Seas, the trio must join hands to defeat the ultimate evil.