Wonderland of Love (2023)

Great drama amazing chemistry

It's honestly one of the best dramas I've watched this year, unfortunately towards the end it got a little draggy, though it could've been the fact that a lot of footage was supposedlycut off ( I rwad somewhere that10 episodes were cut off).

I cannot put to words how much I loved the main leads. Their chemistry is simply magnificent. I really wish to see them in more projects starring together in the future. Everything felt really natural between them. Plus I feel like they complimented each other's acting. There wasn't any over the top acting (like extreme unrealistic and overly animated reactions from them). Both of their portrayals were REALLY natural and I love how they had their performances perfected down to their micro expressions (which was absolutely needed for their roles as they both acted as very intelligent and multidimensional characters).

I absolutely adore how smart and strong the female lead is, we really need more FLs like her. Not only can she fight but she's also really intelligent and can match the main lead perfectly, instead of leaching off of him and waiting for him to save her every time. Some dramas say that the fl is "smart" but then she goes ahead and does the most stupid thing. This does not happen here, she's legitimately intelligent, strategic, powerful, knows her shortcomings and doesn't fear to be cunning when she needs to win (which obviously suits her character as she is a woman general in the ancient times). All that without losing her funny and humane side. Also she does not come off overly cold or arrogant. She seems just the right amount of imposing. Overall kudos to Jing Tian for her excellent portrayal.

Just like Jing Tian, Xu Kai did AMAZING in his role. To be completely honest I felt like he improved even more in his acting and seemed like the perfect King Qin. I love how intelligent and powerful, but at the same time playful, honest and loyal his character was. Moreover his character was also quite shrew at times and knew when to retreat and when to advance, even if he put emotion above logic at times.
I also really liked the cast's costumes. Obviously both main leads looked absolutely STUNNING, gosh I really wish to see them in drama together again soon.

Although the main leads had their ups and downs, they never stopped loving each other. I find their story really beautiful. Maybe the story didn't need that many episodes and could have ended earlier, as it gets a bit draggy towards the end, but tbh watching both Xu Kai and Jing Tian on screen, as a fan of both is a delight. All in all it still is a great watch because of the chemistry of the main leads, their acting and the quality of the production, which seemed good (not necessarily excellent but good).

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"Production house did justice to xukai "

Chemistry, acting ,ost ,visuals- perfect
Fight scenes - not that great ..
Plot- family feud,treason,love interest square
So to be frank it had everthing for a period drama,
If you ask me the main leads had too much Chemistry.. i haven't seen this much of a chemistry for a period drama in recent times. The opening and ending osts were great. Acting was great from both the leads , so being a drama were both the leads are capable on the field and of the field ?.. that was actually great... The chess game between the main leads were awesome..so overall its a quality drama with great chemistry and story line.. but not much of great fight scenes.. you know what i mean right.. it's surely better than his previous 3 dramas.. so go for it...

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Brace yourselves

This has to be one of the most heart breaking episodes. All his close friends and nanny GONE. And to face the fact that his brothers were not anything but garbage. This is what he wanted to avoid and escape far away from court palace. The loyalty of his friends to protect him and the way his brother was seeking his distruction, the rain and gray day, it all sums up to a very sad long scene. Great performances, a lot of sadness indeed.

Here we can see how the king is really just a clown. He is so darn scared, in the end he only cared about himself. Uncapable of being a good father for all his children, he now just shows what a big coward he is. Comming episodes will start closing this story, but this episode is truly sad among many other shows.

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Beautiful cinematography, lacklustre last quarter

Wonderland of Love was a show I started watching while waiting for SOKP’s new episodes. I did not expect much from WoL- the title suggested a focus on romance and I had little interest in picking up a Xu Kai show as I hadn’t enjoyed any of his last performances.

However, I would say that up till episode 32, this was a solid show. The characters are interesting, particularly Li Ni (Xu Kai), and the veteran actors particularly elevated this show. The show had some of the best cinematography I’ve seen this year - like this director’s other works (The Untamed and even Legends) there are lovely shots of characters standing on rocks. The scene with Ciu Lin and Li Ni in the grass was lovely.

When it started, Wonderland of Love was a story about doing what’s right over what one desires out of life. For Shiqi what he truly desired was to be free. Yet Ciu Lin pushed him to be the crown prince, and he was so determined not to tread this path that he even broke up with her for that. In a way theirs was a deep love that goes beyond separation and insignificant matters. They each stand for what they believe them and defend those beliefs even if it meant to separate from each other. Love should not demand the sacrifice of one’s true self, and despite their love for each other, I liked that they respected each other, even if different values guided them.

The best episodes on the show were definitely episode 30 and 31. 30 was heartbreaking- the camaraderie and affection between Shiqi and the other guys makes this episode both shocking as well as tragic. None of the deaths are just for shock value - the friends say their farewells to Shiqi in a dream sequence in episode 31 complemented by Chen Xueran’s beautiful song. This is the best I have seen of Xu Kai- his restrained grief was very well done, and his scene with Jing Tian as he recuperated was really heartbreaking, as was his memorial for his friends. The scene was beautiful - Xu Kai (Li Ni) spitting blood after taking a sip of the wine, and the bamboo grasshoppers falling from the sky.

The cinematography was spectacular, really. At least until episode 31.

I wouldn't say that the beginning episodes were perfect - they were plenty of choppy moments - the editing was simply off for a long time, but still one tried to piece everything together. It made sense to some extent. Then came the best episodes: 30 and 31. Then, the show went in another direction. There were unnecessary villains - very annoying, clingy characters that never get a hint. I started forwarding the remaining episodes.

Anyway I hung on till episode 40, which was actually better than the episodes preceding it. The moment between the father and son in episode 40 was touching, but it did not really allow Shiqi the opportunity to heal those childhood wounds from the lack of love he received from his father.

I think Xu Kai did the best he could with whatever he had - this role suited him well. Jing Tian was good too, although I did not enjoy her character's trajectory from a cool woman to crown princess/empress. Somewhere along the line I’m not sure what the show really was about.

Is it worth watching? I think so - particularly for the first 31 episodes, for the beautiful cinematography and for the performances overall. I enjoyed many of the supporting characters- Consort Xiao’s love story was lovely, and the bond between the imperial grandson and Han was touching too. There were certainly many solid moments. If only this script matched up to some of the cinematography then perhaps it would have made for a better show.

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A must watch cdrama!

Adding a 40 episodes long cdrama to my cw list wasn’t on my plans, but the promos of Wonderland of Love seemed really interesting. I also fully blame XuKai and his undeniable charm. I am glad I watched this drama because it's definitely a must if you enjoy historical romances interconnected with war and court politics.

This drama knows what it’s doing. Half of it was about defeating the throne usurper. The next 10 episodes about court chess play to decide who will be the next Crown Prince and Princess. The final 10 episodes are all about trying to gain political stability and finishing off old enemies.

The development of each arc, with its respective main conflict, was amazing. I am content with how they handled every storyline. There are no victories without risks and some loses. Both leads’s journey is really well done, cohesive, grounded and coherent to their respective personalities and wishes. Even a bigger bathtub... iyyk.

On this note, I have to thank whoever decided to cast Xu Kai and Jing Tian together because their chemistry is electrifying. There was never a doubt of my mind that their characters were meant for each other and would get their way. I also love to see a happy and affectionate couple that’s not shy to show their love… or how hot they are for each other!

This is how I like my leads: two equals working together and communicating properly in order to achieve a common goal, while also learning from each other and growing as people together. They are also badass military savants, masters of the art of war, fearless and kind leaders. They have my loyalty and respect.

The secondary characters were equally endearing and interesting. I particularly appreciate the nuance of the former Crown Princess, forever torn between duty and what her heart wants. A wonderful performance by Zeng Li. The comedic timing and cool presence of performances from Jiang Kai, He Feng Tian and Zhu Hong Jia were a breath of fresh air.

I truly enjoyed this drama from beginning to end. I can't recommend it enough.

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A Must Watch Drama!

Classy Scenes:
1. First Fight between Cui Lin & Li Ni (Underwater fight and Backyard fight)
2. Li Ni hitting fire arrows with Style
3. Li Ni's Sword Dance
4. Li Ni and Cui Lin's Post-Wedding Fight

Emotion-Filled Scene: Episodes 29-30 depicted an intense scene involving Old Bao, Bandits like Zhao Youde, You Yi, and others deeply moved me. Witnessing their sacrifice to save Li Ni and the emotional weight of the moment brought tears to my eyes.

As everybody talked about the Plot, I wanted to share more about the scenes, impressions, and characters.

First Impression: Li Ni - His character: Down to Earth, Charismatic, Skilled, and Peace-Keeper. You will understand his character in the first few episodes. I loved his interaction with Bao, Chang Er, and Pei Yuan the most.

You won't be bored at all. Each episode unfolds with a distinctive challenge as Li Ni journeys through various cities en route to the capital, striving to restore their kingdom.

Overall, I loved IT!

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Excellent romance, great production, completely let down by mediocre plot . . .

Frustratingly, the political plot is full of flaws: tedious, goes around in circles, cartoon villains, and full of nonsensical story. Just lots of evil, greedy one note characters that pop up again and again. But, the romance plot is so good, that I finished this drama anyways. In some ways, the political plot is so clearly bad that it's easy to skip through the political parts and just watch the romantic scenes.

This has everything you could want in a romance: a Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance, a man head over heals for a woman who is his equal, tons of rescuing and protectiveness, and putting each other first. It will go down as one of my favorite romantic couples, and this drama reminded me of Xu Kai's excellent acting and romance in Story of Yanxi Palace.

The production values and direction are also extremely good. The costumes are very original and beautifully designed. There's a lot of excellent choices with camera angles, and music. The action scenes are thrilling and don't use much CGI.

This drama is so uneven it's hard to recommend. But, I must say I was deeply touched, and the romance will stick with me. It may be worth a try to see if this love story sticks with you.

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Great drama but went downhill in the last 9 episodes (the final conflict)

The drama tells the love story of a General and Lady Lieutenant who, despite being part of different armies, fall in love. Both of them have hidden identities, him being the Emperor’s grandson and her being the daughter of the commander. Though walking on different paths, their goal of restoring peace in the court is the same.

The love story (which for me is the best part of the drama) is the main focus and the war is a subplot. The romance is Mr. & Mrs. Smith merged with Romeo & Juliette vibes.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR ME:
I enjoyed the drama very much until the last 9 episodes. Episode 30 is the most intense and impressive episode in the whole drama (and generally in cdramas) so I feel it should have been the final conflict in order to make the drama more impactful for me. The writers could have put 1-2 episodes afterwards to wrap up the story like they did in episode 40. However instead of that the plot was dragged with unnecessary and pointless drama that added absolutely nothing to the story. Boring villains that nobody cared about were introduced and the actual final fight scene was extremely underwhelming (like watching a child’s play in comparison to episode 30 fight scene). I never felt like the stakes were high in the final conflict thus had no emotional reaction when the bad guys were defeated.

POSITIVE:
- Hot chemistry between the main leads!!! Their chemistry felt natural and organic, like the actors were indeed a couple in real life.
- Xu Kai (male lead) is brilliant. Seriously, even just for him it’s worth watching this.
- Feels like a high budget production. Cinematography is movie-like with beautiful visuals.
- Fantastic cast. I loved all the actors and their performances, especially the main leads.
- Realistic war/fight scenes that were done really well.
- Smart and cunning female lead.
- The whole final episode is seeing the main leads happy together which was super satisfying to watch especially as it’s rare in cdramas these days who love their open endings or 2 second reunions.

NEGATIVE:
- Annoying second male lead and second female lead with the cliche and extremely overused unrequited, obsessive love plotline that needs to be banned in cdramas for real. It added nothing to the story.
- A lot of back and forth and repetition in terms of plot. The female lead was always getting kidnapped, someone was always getting poisoned or there was always an ambush.
- Filler episodes. Throughout the drama, there would always be 1-2 episodes that literally felt like fillers in between great episodes.
- As mentioned above, the last 9 episodes (final conflict) were extremely pointless and underwhelming to watch.

OVERALL:
Watch this if you love a couple who tries to kill each other one moment but the next are passionately kissing.

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Not my Wonderland

Wonderland was too fake for me to buy into their heart-to-heart talks there. And unfortunately, the tear jerker scene there just didn’t do it for me - firstly because the whole wonderland setting looked so artificial and secondly because there were too many flashback scenes. The last few episodes were too draggy.

This drama was really generous with the kissing scenes but unfortunately, some of them felt forced and out of place. Sometimes, all it takes is a hug or a loving peck on the forehead to have a more impactful, romantic atmosphere.

Parts of the story just didn’t sit well with me. A good guy turned bad just because he saw the FL in a romantic moment with the ML and he even tried to kill the man who raised him just to force the FL to be with him. Was he driven insane by his desire for the FL?

This drama likes making people go insane so it also made the FL’s father go mad and his hair turned grey overnight. And how the ML found someone who could do “magic” to cure the FL’s father took this drama away from reality.

And just when you thought the insanity cards were all played out, another character was written to go insane as well.

What I did like were their costumes and fighting scenes. The beginning storyline was interesting as well to see how the FL and ML strategised and tried to one-up the other person. Thankfully, there was a happy ending.

Random note: Is there a product placement advertising in the drama for Tang Confectionery? The way they kept talking about it and all the dried fruit and nut made it look like it was an advertisement…

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To 10 of 2023

First, let me say I have watched about EVER SINGLE XU KAI DRAMA....

*Slaps and rubs hands together*

This is a very smart and emotional drama to watch. Character growth and emotional vulnerability are all there. Xu Kai plays an extremely smart and honest character while Jian Tian plays the main female lead who possesses the same traits. She is very witty and a quick thinker.

Im so bad at writing reviews but let me say this. If you liked any of Xu Kai dramas then I can promise you this one will not disappoint. The story is very cleanly written without too many fillers. Its worth the watch.

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THIS is romance done right!

OVERALL
Watch this drama if you 1) are looking for a series that actually gives enough screentime to the love story, 2) want a FL who can think for herself and knows how to fight, 3) crave a fast-paced series, with plenty of action/adventure. If you are prone to ML bias, though, I guess you should skip. Your loss!

THE STORY
I have to say my expectations were quite low for this drama because on a cinematographic level, it's nothing great. Really basic shots, bright filters, quirky BGM, and the CGI *eyeroll* BUT BUT BUT...as it turns out, I LOVED it! Let's begin with the good stuff:
- Absolute #1 for me is the perfect balance of action/adventure and romance. 90% of Chinese dramas seriously have no clue what a romance drama is supposed to be like. They're always 85% palace (or work) drama and 10-15% love story. For once, here, we have a solid 50/50 (maybe even 60/40 sometimes) and that alone makes it an above-average drama for me!
- I loved FL because yes, she knows how to fight and she is pretty smart, but she is also a bit of a trickster. Nowadays, so many dramas give you a "strong" FL but they're all the same. At least she has something different!
- The relationship between ML and FL is cute and fun. Their arguments are sad and frustrating, but realistic and (for the most part) understandable. I really appreciated how they never really broke up due to cliché misunderstandings (or maybe just once)
- The drama is also pretty well-paced. Especially at the beginning, you always feel like the characters get out of one situation to jump right into another. It's a good change, compared to dramas that drag. At some point (starting ep 25 or 26), you have a couple of episodes that feel slower, but it doesn't last very long.
- The ending is satisfying

Now, the drama is definitely not perfect. It does have its flaws:
- While I liked the pace of the show (with lots of action/adventure), I have to say the action/adventure plot got kind of repetitive. Lots of poisoning and kidnapping. It also was pretty predictable.
- Ironically, they did well with the fresh and fun romance, but SO bad with their third wheels. You can't get more cliché, obsessed unrequited lovers than the ones in this drama. This probably was the most infuriating part.
- Finally, I appreciated the fact that the relationship drama was understandable (and not random, plot devices just to separate the main leads), okay, I did...but I have to say it was kind of tiring how, for about 6-8 eps, the main couple just goes from one argument to another. You just want the drama to end and for them to be happy together (or fighting evil together)! haha

The bad is not enough to ruin the drama, so I'd still give it a try, but it's good to keep in mind!


THE ACTING
Stellar cast, nothing else to say. Pretty good chemistry between the main leads and they both did well on their own too (Xu Kai probably a bit more, he really was great!). Some side characters sometimes stole the show (eg. Crown Princess) too. All good!

THE MUSIC
Don't remember much...I guess it was fine?

REWATCH VALUE
Very high.

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The war was won, but at what cost

Man this was a very frustrating show.

I enjoyed this a lot more during the early episodes; watching Shi Qi and Cui Lin steadily fall for each other while being badasses in their respective armies. It was so fun watching their antics and seeing them come up with strategies to one up each other. When things were calm and quiet, their love was really sweet to watch too with all the loving gazes they would always give each other, abundant kisses, and nose rubs.

However, there were just too many problems with this drama that made it unbearable to watch from the halfway mark. Main issues were the poorly developed villains and inconsistent writing of character personalities. The only villain worthy of being a villain was really only from the early episodes, thereafter we got stuck with such poor excuses for villains it was seriously embarasssing to watch. The villains made it hard for me to believe the story cos of how inept they were, I just kept wondering how any of the characters beside them were taking them seriously. At least, if you're going to have dumb villains, balance it out by making the people around them either recognize how dumb they are, call them out for being dumb or try to get them to be better. (I'm looking at you Liu Cheng Feng and subordinate / Emperor Li and Ministers). When the villains are dumb and no one seems to have a problem with that, it just makes the writing and plot look weak. And that is no fun to watch.

Also, another thing I didn't like was that our main couple weren't steadfast in their love for each other. Whenever crisis hit, they'd have a dramatic blowout and then reunite a couple days later. But then this kept repeating and it was dissapointing to see. After all the difficulties SQ and CL went through together, it would have been better to see them gradually become more trusting of each other and communicating with one another rather than the whole hot/cold treatment they'd give each other at every adversity that rose up.

I'm happy we got a fleshed out visual of the happy ending of SQ and CL's story, but I can't help but feel unsatisfied. Despite everything ending happily, it just feels so sad because of how much was lost to get to that happy ending. I can't help but think, "was it all worth it?"

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