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

An intriguing plot and a poetic Chinese title

For a spoiler free synopsis, see mine 👉 here.  

Xu Kai as Li Ni (aka Shi Qi Lang)

The emperor's grandson, Li Ni aka Shi Qi Lang is a nonpareil among men.  A brilliant tactician on and off the battlefield, he has both brains and brawn, and is beloved by his loyal Zhen Xi army. Eschewing the political intrigues of the court and his royal identity, Li Ni spends carefree days of comradeship with his men at Lao Lan pass instead, guarding the border, and living his best life.   

But these days are cut short when the country is rocked by Sun Jing's military coup, which results in the deaths of the Emperor and Crown Prince and the disappearance of the rightful heir - the young Imperial grandson. Li Ni takes on the burden of quelling the rebellion, riding into the fray with the Zhen Xi army.  

Jing Tian as A'Ying 

Along the way he meets his equal in Cui Lin (aka A'Ying), the wily and beautiful lieutenant of the mighty Cui family army. As the two go toe-to-toe to see who can best Sun Jing first, sparks fly, and love blossoms. After all, how could they not fall for each other when they share such perfect affinity and sizzling chemistry? A foregone conclusion since their first flirtatious skirmish.  

But the course of true love never did run smooth. When Sun Jing is defeated by Li Ni and A'Ying's troops, the idealistic Li Ni wants to fulfil his promise to restore the Imperial grandson to the throne and to return to Lao Lan Pass with A'Ying and his men.

A'Ying, on the other hand, considers that he must enter the race for the throne or risk placing their beloved country into turmoil again because Li Ni's feckless father has crowned himself Emperor, and his morally corrupt half-brothers are waiting in the wings. But matters are taken out of their hands after yet another bloody coup leaves Li Ni's beloved Zhen Xi army brothers dead and no other prince of the blood in the line of succession...

The impasse between Li Ni and A'Ying brings me to the drama's title. As earlier noted, the English title Wonderland of Love sounds rather tacky (what is it with almost every c-drama having the word 'love' inserted into their English titles?)  In contrast, the Chinese drama title 《樂遊原》/《乐游原》 Le You Plains is both poetic and apt.

The Le You Plains was an actual place in Chang'an (modern day Xi'an) famous for its beauty.  It is also the subject matter and title of a famous poem by Tang Dynasty poet Li Shang Yin李商隐, which ends with the famous lines "夕陽無限好, 只是近黃昏" ("The time prior to sunset is infinitely good, alas that dusk is close"). About the transience of the sublime, so to speak. (I did a deeper dive into the background of the place, and a commentary and attempt at translation of the poem 👉here, if interested).

A'Ying and Li Ni's Le You plains

In the drama, the Le You Plains is the idyllic place where Li Ni and A'Ying can ride their horses side by side and romance each other free from the burdens of the world.  As in the poem, the beauty of their paradise is always tinged with the threat that dusk (their responsibilities, their different takes on how best to meet the moment, and reality) looms on the horizon. 

What worked: a squeal-worthy power couple, exciting action scenes, and a worthy first half villain 

When the OTP have a propensity for sharing steamy bathtubs

The true selling point for this drama is the squeal-worthy power couple that is Xu Kai's Li Ni and Jing Tian's A'Ying, and their sizzling off-the-charts chemistry. 

They are just so damn right for each other, and their flirtatious banter has definite shades of Beatrice and Benedict's "merry war", with much less antagonism and a lot more heat. Honestly, this pair's propensity for hopping into steamy bathtubs together dressed (or undressed) is hot. Definitely no need to worry about unconvincing fish kisses or lack of skinship in this drama! The fact that these two run intellectual rings around everyone else is also decidedly hot. 

Xu Kai is at his best with roles that showcase his mischievous boyish charm, emotional range, and fighting prowess to advantage, and the role of Li Ni really plays to hsi strengths.  I thought Xu Kai's portrayal of grief and PTSD after the deaths of his beloved Zhen Xi army brothers (episodes 30, 31) and the 'death' of A'Ying (episodes 38, 39) was truly outstanding. His many fight scenes were a joy to watch as well - thrillingly choreographed and very well executed. This is one of Xu Kai's undoubted strengths: he has the physicality that demanding fight scenes require. The wardrobe department also made sure to make the most of Xu Kai's good looks - full marks there.   

Sun Jing and Consort Xiao

Aside from the leads, other memorable characters include Yu Bo's Sun Jing who made an interesting villain, and Zeng Li's Consort Xiao. Sun Jing was the only person in the entire drama that was an opponent worthy of Li Ni and A'Ying and his downfall was not truly due to the them, but to Consort Xiao. 

Their love is a doomed one, for how can former Crown Princess, Consort Xiao be with the man who has overthrown the kingdom, killed her husband, and wishes to kill her young son, even if he is her true love? Her choice to endure the infamy of 'being' with Sun Jing post coup so that she can bestow a poisoned Judas kiss on the man she loves while nearly killing herself in the process... Great acting all round - one gets the feeling that Sun Jing knew what Consort Xiao was plotting, but the heart wants what the heart wants.  It really is a pity that the drama kills Sun Jing off in episode 23, as none of the other villains after that are in his league. 

What didn't work: 

2D baddies, character assassinations, some lazy writing   

And that brings us to the drama's weakness... 

After Sun Jing dies, the drama struggles to present viewers with a comparably nuanced villain, and we are left with two 2D baddies that are both of the delusional 'green tea' variety (Gao Han as Liu Cheng Feng; Zhao Jia Min as Gu Wan Niang).  Their respective seemingly endlessly machinations to win over the hero and heroine gets tiring fairly quickly. The ultimate big bad (Prime Minister Gu) was also uninspiring and entirely predictable.  

There are also detectable problems with plot and characterisation. This, likely because the drama had to artificially inject conflict and misunderstanding between
our pitch perfect couple and because the script writer did not really think through the political implications of the various plot strands. 

I was not a huge fan of the drama's character assassinations. Li Ni was made to look idealistic to the point of folly in his refusal to contend for the Crown Prince role, especially given the realpolitik of the situation. His father had seized power and affected dynastic change, his villainous brothers were vying for the throne, and he was in their crosshairs as the people's hero who had quelled the usurper. 

Further, it was not a realistic possibility to try and restore the young Imperial grandson to the throne at that point. Rightful heir or not, there is no way he would have made it to maturity as heir, and Consort Xiao recognised this in releasing Li Ni from his promise. Yet the the drama still foists the Crown Prince role on Li Ni by having his treasonous bothers lead a self-destructive coup which leaves him the last royal prince standing. 

The drama's premise is loosely based on the founding of the Tang dynasty and Li Ni appears to be loosely (and I mean loosely) based on the historical Li Shi Min李世民, aka Emperor Tai Zong唐太宗 of the Tang Dynasty. Accordingly, there was the potential for writing Li Ni as a more multifaceted, ambitious, and morally ambiguous character based on his historical counterpart. The drama does not take this risk, which I think was a missed opportunity.  For example, the historical 玄武門之變/Xuan Wu gate incident, in which Li Shi Min killed his brothers in a bloody coup to secure the throne, is riveting. But the drama's knock off version is tamer, keeping Li Ni's character squeaky clean in a somewhat unrealistic manner and leaving his poor Zhen Xi army brothers to become the collateral damage for his naiveite. 

As for A'Ying, the damsel-in-distress trope was quite trying given how little she ought to need rescuing. Three kidnappings are two too many and I can only be glad that she has the chance to rescue Li Ni's hero-in-distress at least once. 

I approved of A'Ying's realistic take that Li Ni had to contend for the throne for the good of the country, but the drama does her character dirty afterwards. 

When Li Ni is finally Crown Prince, A'Ying is made to look downright petulant when she blames him repeatedly for the Emperor's condition that her precious Cui army must be disbanded, and the subsequent mental illness of her father.  

Incidentally, I thought this was a obvious plot hole.  What was the script writer thinking? Surely the whole point of what made A'Ying a prize as a potential Crown Princess was that the Cui army was part of her dowry, and indeed, the potential to co-opt her troops into the royal armies was what made Li Ni's two brothers seek her hand in earlier episodes. It therefore made no sense plot wise to have this become a political problem and/or a point of conflict between our CP. 

The only plus side of this lazy writing was that it gave us the brief guest appearance of Liu Yu Ning as Mu Xian He in episode 36, the eccentric foodie conjurer, who cures General Cui. Incidentally, Liu Yu Ning  also lends his voice to the gorgeous closing song《如果愛記得》/If Love Remembers, which rounds out a solid OST.     

Redeemed by a comprehensive HEA

The drama redeems itself with a well rounded, complete, and unambiguously happy ending.  Having followed their story for 40 episodes, it was such a pleasure not to be fobbed off with a 3 minute wrap up.  

Here, we actually get all the loose ends tied up: an explanation for A'Ying's miraculous 'resurrection', Li Ni's worthless Emperor father finally (if improbably) finds his conscience and abdicates in Li Ni's favour, and more pictures of happiness fill A'Ying and Li Ni's picture book of moments, and they add to their family with a son and daughter.  

When ten years pass, Li Ni is finally able to abdicate in favour of the now grown up imperial grandson whom he had always sworn to help ascend the throne.  This reconciles Li Ni's previously conflicting needs to fulfil his duty and to follow his heart. He returns to his beloved Lao Lan Pass with A'Ying and their children, carefree and happy. A great ending!💕

Final Thoughts 

🐼: Wonderland of Love (2023) is a drama where the main draw is the affinity and sizzling chemistry between the power couple leads. Both Xu Kai and Jing Tian are perfectly cast, very easy on the eyes, and have a propensity to end up together in steaming bathtubs 😅💕 

While the first half of the drama was very enjoyable, the second suffers from a lack of any worthy villains, the tedious machinations of delusional 'green tea' characters, and some lazy writing and plot holes, which do not stand up to close scrutiny. 

That said, the comprehensive HEA was really satisfying - I wish more c-dramas would take the time to give this to viewers.   

8/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮