Brocade Odyssey (2024) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Brocade Odyssey (2024) - Shu Silk, sincerity, and a swoonworthy hero shine, but patchy pacing and unnecessary plot threads mar the finish

This is 8/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮  from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8 Stars Plot:                       7 Stars Acting/cast:            8.5 Stars Couple chemistry:   8 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      7.5 Stars Enjoyment factor:   7.5 Stars

Brocade Odyssey (2024) is one of those female-centric dramas in which a strong, business savvy, heroine overcomes obstacles and makes her mark on the world, whilst finding love, friendship, and redress for pass wrongs on the way. 

Such dramas are a dime a dozen, but what makes this one stand out for me is the way it showcases the beauty of Shu silk and weaves the beauty of Chinese poetry into the narrative. When I was a kid, I used to tell my parents that my c-drama watching was educational to their general amusement and scepticism, but this drama would have fit that bill in how it works in the poetry of Li Bai, Du Fu and other great poets with a light touch (more on that later).     

Tan Song Yun is in her element as the plucky Ji Ying Ying, but the MVP has to be Zheng Ye Cheng's swoonworthy Yang Jing Lan. The man is the greenest of green flags, has some of the most romantic lines ever, and also fights like poetry in motion. This drama definitely took the opportunity to showcase Zheng Ye Cheng's martial arts and Chinese opera training.

Alas, although the first half of this drama is strongly written, the pacing is patchy thereafter, with the plot seesawing between the mundane and the melodramatic.  There were some arcs that could easily have been edited out to keep the threads from unravelling. By the final arc, I gave the drama a hall pass for logic and tedium because I was just there to enjoy Zheng Ye Cheng's gorgeous fight scenes which, along with the threads of poetry throughout and the strength of the first half of the drama, lifted this drama to a 8 for me. 

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Brocade Odyssey (2024) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:                      Brocade Odyssey 

Chinese title:         蜀錦人家 (Eng translation: "Shu brocade family")

Episodes:               40

Genre:                    Business, mystery, romance

Original network:  Youku

Release date:        30 Nov 2024

Airing schedule:    30 Nov 2024 - 20 Dec 2024

Synopsis:

In the late Tang dynasty, Shu brocade from Yi Zhou was renown for its beauty and value. In particular, the Ji family's Shu red silk is the most beautiful of all, widely praised as "蜀紅一出千紅枯"/ "when Shu red emerges, a thousand other reds fade".     

But fame leads to misfortune. The Ji family is framed in a fake brocade scandal, resulting in the unjust death of brocade master Ji Gui Nan and the Ji family's fall from grace.  His daughter, Ji Ying Ying (played by Tan Song Yun) grows up to be resourceful, talented, and passionate about dyeing silks, and hopes to one day restore the Ji family's reputation.   

  

Wonderland of Love (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Wonderland of Love (2023) - A perfectly paired power couple match wits and take on the world 

This is 8/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8 Stars Plot:                       8 Stars Acting/cast:            8.5 Stars Couple chemistry:   9 stars Music:                    8 Stars Re-watch value:      8 Stars Enjoyment factor:   8 Stars

Wonderland of Love (2023) is a delightful romance. It gives us an engaging power couple in Xu Kai's Li Ni (aka Shi Qi Lang) and Jing Tian's Cui Lin (aka A'Ying), who are perfectly matched in intellect, skill, and everything else. Honestly their sizzling chemistry light up the screen and there was so much flirtatious sweetness going on that I wondered if it was possible to get diabetes from watching a drama😅 

That said, it is not without flaws.  There are some problems with plot and characterisation, and more 'green tea' characters and machinations than I care for. In consequence, the first half is much better than the second.  However, I still enjoyed Wonderland of Love. It showcases Xu Kai's range as an actor when given the right part, and his fight scenes are outstanding!  

I think the drama probably got less love and attention from viewers because it came out at the same time as Story of Kunning Palace (2023). 

It also doesn't help that the English title of the drama Wonderland of Love sounds like a cheesy knockoff of Disneyland or a risqué establishment. This is unfortunate as the Chinese title《樂遊原》Le You Plains is both poetic and apt, derived from a poem of the same name regarding a place of that name. A deeper dive into the background of the place, and a commentary and my attempt at translation of the poem 👉here.  

But suffice to say that if you have been put off by the English title to date, you need not be, and that if power couples are your jam, this may be your kind of drama😊

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Le You Plains: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named

Le You Plains《樂遊原》 /《乐游原》: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin李商隱, for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named  

Sometimes I find myself baffled by the strange choice of English drama titles for Chinese dramas that have poetically evocative titles - Wonderland of Love (2023) is a case in point.  

The English title sounds discount Disney tacky, which is unfortunate, because the Chinese title, Le You Yuan, is both apt and poetic. It is the name of a place, 樂遊原/Le You Plains, as well as the title of a famous poem regarding that place by Tang dynasty poet Li Shang Yin 李商隱 (813AD - 858 AD). 

In the drama Wonderland of Love (2023), Le You Yuan is also the name of the idyllic plains where the heroine and hero can ride and romance each other free from their cares. 

Below is some background information about the place, some commentary about the poem and its author, as well as my attempt at translation of the poem Le You Yuan《樂遊原》/《乐游原》.  

  

Wonderland of Love (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Wonderland of Love

Chinese title:  樂遊原 / 乐游原  (Eng translation: "You Le plains") 

Episodes: 40 

Genre: Romance, historical, political  

Original network:  Tencent 

Release date:        6 Nov 2023

Airing schedule:    6 Nov 2023 - 24 Nov 2023

Synopsis:

The Emperor's grandson, Li Ni (aka Shi Qi Lang) is a talented general who guards the border along with his loyal Zhen Xi army, eschewing the political intrigues of the court. Hiding his royal identity, he and his men spend share carefree days of comradeship at Lao Lan pass instead.  

When a military coup results in the death of the Emperor and Crown Prince, Shi Qi Lang takes on the burden of quelling the rebellion.  Along the way, Shi Qi Lang meets 'Lieutenant He' (aka A'Ying), a wily and beautiful member of the mighty Cui family army.  As the two go toe-to-toe matching wits on the battlefield and off, sparks fly, and love blossoms.