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

  

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

  

A Journey to Love (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: A Journey to Love (2023) - Wuxia meets politics as a princess, an assassin, and a squad of spies embark on mission impossible

This is 9/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

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

Based on an original screenplay, A Journey to Love (2023) is an engaging blend of wuxia and politics.  The narrative centres around the journey of a delegation that embark on mission impossible: the rescue of their undeserving Emperor from the hands of a hostile State. Although they (and we) know it is essentially a suicide mission, there is so much thrilling heroics, hilarity, and hijinks along the way that it is impossible not to fall in love with the squad and to be invested in their story.  I found myself fervently hoping that their plot armour would hold forever and that they would all make it home.   

The English title of the drama is serviceable, but I much prefer the Chinese title, 《一念關山》/《一念关山》 "A Thought of Fortresses and Mountains". It is derived from "一念起關山", the penultimate line of Shen Yue 沈约's frontier poem 《卻東西門行》/《却东西门行》 But the East West Gate (which I have attempted a more detailed commentary + translation of 👉here).   

In brief, the line "一念起關山" expresses the poet's yearning for the fortresses and mountains that delineate and protect his country. Given the drama's themes, the choice of title is incredibly apt, poetically evoking the delegation's love of country and their desire to protect its frontiers, as well as their yearning to return home.  

Notably, A Journey to Love (2023) heralds the comeback of veteran actress Liu Shi Shi, as well as the first main male lead role for Liu Yu Ning in a costume drama. Their kickass power couple of deadly assassin Ren Ru Yi and Chief Ning Yuan Zhou blew me away with their awesomeness.  Liu Shi Shi is a delight to watch, especially in her mesmerisingly good fighting scenes, and although Liu Yu Ning's acting is a work in progress, I think he holds his own.  I fell for them, as well as for every member of the squad (especially Fang Yi Lun's Yu Shi Shan) like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Although I enjoyed this drama, it isn't without its flaws. A tendency to focus on characterisation at the expense of plot meant that midway through there was a marked decrease in momentum, and the rush to the ending could have been better conceived and executed. But overall, it is still a drama that scores a solid 9 from me, because there was just so much to love.

   

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

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

  

Till the End of the Moon (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Till the End of the Moon (2023) - A xianxia trolley dilemma and a Devil God that will break your heart

This is 9.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         9.5 Stars Plot:                       9 Stars Acting/cast:            10 Stars Couple chemistry:   10 stars Music:                    8 Stars Re-watch value:      9.5 Stars Enjoyment factor:   10 Stars

It's fair to say that Till the End of the Moon (2023) (TTEOTM) opened to sky-high expectations, jumping from 1 million reservations on Youku in September 2022 to 5 million by 5 April, 2023, just prior to its premiere. After all, it is a S+ production, headed by the incomparable Luo Yun Xi and Bai Lu in their second collaboration, in a no expenses spared extravaganza of a xianxia drama.  It's also based on a deliciously dark source novel《黑月光拿稳BE剧本》"Black Moonlight holds the BE script", with a deliciously dark anti-hero.

So between censorship and expectations, it was probably never going to be all things for all people.  But from the moment the strains of a gothic-esque organ started blasting and the voice of Liu Yu Ning began to sing the opening theme, I was ready.  So, so ready.  

Is TTEOTM perfect? No. But is it entertaining? Hell yes! What a feast for the senses!  It will surely be hard to beat for sheer spectacle, state of the art CGI and special effects, and the rollercoaster of angst and anguish that it delivers with gorgeous leads who act their hearts out and share off-the-charts chemistry. Indeed, the truly god-level acting from Luo Yun Xi, who gives an intoxicating, heartbreakingly good, multi-faceted performance is worth the price of admission alone. That, and the way he rocks perfect eyeliner and his xianxia couture wardrobe with 360 degree perfection. And his voice... 

It is probably best to watch TTEOTM with the heart rather than the mind as there are way too many artefacts, parallel timelines, avoidable misunderstandings, and unanswered questions about predestination and free-will that are not always neatly resolved in the drama.  Just sit back, and let the addictive bitter-sweet angst of TTEOTM wash over you. It may break your heart, but I for one, do not regret letting it do that to mine.   

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

The Trust (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating:  The Trust (2023) - A delightfully funny body-switching drama on the importance of love and mutual trust 

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

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

The Trust (2023) is a delightful gem of a drama. I have always thought that the body-swapping premise can be hilarious if done right, and I am happy to report that this drama does just that 😆  

As well as providing laughs aplenty, this second-chance romance explores the importance of love and mutual trust.  It posits that to love is to trust (as aptly put by the poem from which the drama's Chinese title takes its name). 

But not to worry, this drama is not preachy or didactic in tone - everything is handled with a light touch and a nod to the whimsy of a modern imagination.  Highly recommend! 

SPOILERS AHEADS