I recently finished this drama with quite a few packets of tissues. This is to be expected as the title itself shows that this is a tearjerker drama. I didn't want to watch this at first because I thought this is too sad, but I'm glad that I did. This drama tells the story of real people and their problems that we face in life. The actors did a wonderful job of portraying the characters and their emotions. I thought the make up was excellent too, it follows the characters' age in the story. I almost believe that Dong Jie is at that age and that she's Xiao Jun's mother, despite only being 6 years older in real life :)

The story flows beautifully with the first half or so alternating between the past and the present. The background of the character was shown well and we get to see Bi Yun's struggles and strength in life as she goes through betrayals, divorce, being a single mother and lastly fighting her cancer until the end.

There is a romance element, but it's not the fantasy romance that makes you go "ga-ga" over the couple. It's not the main point of the story, but I like how the relationship develops (and ended) between Xiao Jun and Yu-ya and later with Yin Yi.

If you like family drama, I would recommend watching this.

I didn't put a high number for rewatch value, as this is not something that you want to go through watching again because it's so sad. But for first time watchers, it's a beautiful story about struggles, hopes and strength.

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I started watching this drama with people's bad comments and bad reviews in my mind. I watch this because the story is interesting and I like Zhang Bin Bin and Dilraba. However, because of the bad comments and review, I had low expectation of this drama. But this drama did not disappoint! I don't find it draggy. I felt that the pace is quite alright and many of the episodes seem to end on a cliffhanger, giving me panda eyes in the mornings because I keep watching past my bedtime :)

I thought that Zhang Bin Bin as Qin Shi Huang did a good job. Dilraba also did okay in my opinion. I like the actor that played Han Shen, but not the one that played Jing Ke. I like the scenes between Bin Bin and Dilraba, I thought they have chemistry together and the scenes where Dilraba's character started to fall in love with the king is so cute, one that I can definitely rewatch. I also like the fighting scenes in this drama. Production quality is also great, doesn't feel like an older drama in my opinion. Cinematography is great too.

This is a serious drama and although the title refers to Dilraba's character, the story is much more than that. There's palace politics and war strategies and loyalty. So much more than just love story between Gongsun Li as the King's woman with The King.

*Spoiler alert*
The ending, however is super brutal. I never liked Jing Ke, so I was rooting for the King to win, but never expected that he actually lost in a sense since the king's woman gets to be with her first love, Jing Ke in the afterlife. The last several episodes were also brutal as there is war and murder and revenge.

Overall, I thought this is a good drama and really worth watching. If you like historical angle drama and palace politics, this drama is recommended for you.

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This is one good xian xia drama. It's very rare that you get a "villain" good main character. Especially one with a complex psychological issue. Usually you get to have your heroic goody-goody ML in costume dramas that you will automatically symphatize and fell in love with, because well, he's just a good guy. This drama is different. You get to see the ML in different state of mind and the first few episodes tell his background story, how he was bullied and emotionally abused, and therefore became a demon lord. He has a difficult childhood, grew up to be someone nobody likes. The one who is supposed to love him unconditionally is no longer there and he was accused as the murderer as his mother, the beloved concubine of his father, died at childbirth. He is then said to be incapable of love. However, in later episodes, you also get to see his softer side and he began to loosen up and realized that he is capable of loving and caring for another person.

This is a tragic love story. For me, those are usually a good one and stays with me for years and hard to move on from vs a happy ending one. The couple went through different realms and act as different characters, but they are the same person as the memory of other realms stays. The story spans hundreds of years, but the couple somehow always find their way to each other.

I have only watched Luo Yun Xi in Ashes of Love and he didn't stand out for me in that role (I'm probably bias because I like Deng Lun), but he did a remarkably well job as the demon lord in Till The End of The Moon. He is playing a really complex characters with so many emotional issues. He portrayed it very well. You can feel his sadness, his happiness. And also his cheeky side :) He is too skinny to my liking, but boy he is a good actor! As for Bai Lu, this is my first time watching a drama with her in and I thought she acted well too. But the award should go to Luo Yun Xi *clap clap*

Like AvenueX said, this drama has that video game nuance to it. I feel like playing an RPG game on PlayStation or Nintendo. Which is one of the reason why I did not give a higher rating for this drama. There are also some confusing parts, like you're missing something but you've actually been paying attention all the time while watching. The limit on 40 episodes is really a bitch sometimes. I know people hate many episodes in a drama, but I guess it depends on the drama. If it's really good, you hardly feel it (like Story of Yanxi Palace!) and perhaps want more episodes. But that's just me.

The OST is superb! I love all of the songs and have all songs on my playlist.

If you ask me will i be re-watching this drama? Sure, when I have the time or have nothing else to watch.

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Worth to watch for the action

This movie has some seriously good fighting scenes. It's so hard to find a good wuxia series or movie. A lot of has more CGI and natural action. This one doesn't disappoint in the fighting department. There's plenty of action from start to finish. Fighting scenes that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Donnie Yuen does it again. I always like his movies. However, if you're looking for the story in this movie, you will be disappointed. Well, this movie is adapted from an old Jin Yong novel, so if you already know the story and watch the TV series, you kinda know what the story is about. If you're not a c-drama fan and just watch this movie without any background, you will be disappointed and confused. The story seems rushed and you don't get to know much about the characters. In my opinion, period or costume drama is best watched in a series form (although it can be a long one) because you will see the character's background and their development and you get to know the character's story. Overall, this is a really good wuxia movie with good cinematography. I would still recommend watching this movie and I might re-watch if I have time.

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A Heartwarming Family Drama

I was looking for some melodrama and stumbled upon this one on iQIYI. I've never heard of this drama before. It's not one of those popular drama that you hear people talk about on social media. But I am glad I watch this drama. This is such a heartwarming drama about a big family that is joined by the parents' second marriage. Through the drama, you will get to see the journey of each of the family member and their ups and downs and their interaction with each other in the "step family" relationship. I like how close to real life this drama is. We all have one or two (or maybe all) of the characters in our own happy family :) This drama also shows how important family and friends are in your life, that in times of trouble, your family (and friends) are the only ones that you can turn to for support. This is also about second chances in life.

The drama is not set in modern times. I think this is the period where China started to open their doors to the world, so you will see the introduction of TV and Cell phone towards the second part of the show and for many parts of the drama, the main means of transportation is still bicycle. I thought it's interesting to see how people in China live before they became as developed and modern as now. The Beijing Opera part of the story shows the traditional cultures and values with the poetic words --> although this is also the part that I enjoy less. But it does add context to the time period.

The characters in this drama is likeable (for the majority of them) and I thought the actors and actresses played their role really well, especially Yan Ni and the father. They are also my favorite characters. I would also like to mention Jiang Mei, who is someone you would hate in the beginning, but she became one of my favorites as well as the drama progresses. She has grown so much and became a very strong woman with a good and loyal heart. Jiang Lin and Li Bing are also adorable in very different ways. My least favorite character is Wang Gai Feng. OMG, she gets on my nerves and annoy the hell out of me with her uneducated hill-billy attitude and that loud no manner voice of hers and she is so materialistic and selfish, but the actress who played this role did it really well. The fact that I get so invested in most of the characters in this drama shows how much I enjoyed watching this.

I thought the editing and cinematography and the background music is great too. I would definitely re-watch this drama sometime in the future.

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I had close to zero expectation when I started watching this drama. I stumbled upon this on Disney+ and was curious because there is not many Chinese drama on this platform. But I ended up liking this drama, especially the cooking scenes. I can almost smell what Ling Xiao Xiao is cooking and it made my mouth water and I ended up either opening the snack cabinet or order Chinese food takeaway. It’s just that good!

The story is nothing special (The cooking scenes are). It’s partly a romance story between Ling Xiao Xiao and the crown prince, but it’s more about Xiao Xiao’s ambition to be the greatest female chef, a profession that was dominated by male at that time, particularly those working for the royal family. But this is not your normal palace story… it has very minimal conflict and doesn’t follow the usual norms observe by the royal family. For example, in this drama, being plump is beautiful as mentioned by the princess. The main concubine is not your typical concubine, who are pretty, thin and pleasing to the eye. The crown prince can go to the kitchen and speak directly to the kitchen staff, something that is not normal royal family norm. I feel like they are more like a super rich family in our modern era instead of a royal family.

He Rui Xian, the actree who plays Ling Xiao Xiao, played one of my favorite character in Go Ahead. She’s also one of the reasons that I watch this show. I thought she did well too in this drama. I like strong female characters. I thought that she has the right chemistry with the crown prince. I also like the bunch of female staff that ended up feeling like Xiao Xiao’s best friends. I thought they make this drama “Disney”- like.

Overall, I like this drama and would definitely recommend if you’re looking to watch something light, with minimal conflict, a little bit or romance, and many scenes that make you laughed so hard (Concubine Li is so funny) and your mouth waters with the many delicious cooking. Oh, and the opening theme song is so catchy. I like most of the songs in this drama

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I asked myself why did I started watching this drama. (I never leave dramas unfinished. If it's bad, i just glance at it once in a while and keep it playing as a background sound while doing other things). This drama has the worst female character and lead I've ever watched! She is whiny, annoying and (pardon me) not good looking or attractive with bad acting. I regret clicking this drama in the first place. I thought it was a short and interesting and easy drama to watch, but it was excruciatingly painful just to watch the female lead LoL. The only good thing about this drama is its short episodes. But in my opinion, short episodes don't work well for costume dramas. They need screen time to build characters and to get me to get to know them and their story. Short episodes make me loose the story most of the time and failed to understand the characters' background. Not recommended

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This drama is worth it to watch just for eye candy alone. The ML is handsome with a great body and that look that makes you want to melt. If you decide to watch this, don't analyze or even think too much about the story. I got confused here and there and thought that I'm missing something. But I guess it's just because it's a shortened episode. But doesn't bother me that much. I can still understand the whole story. The short episode is another positive of this drama actually. I watched this as it aired, and it only took 20-25 minutes of my time each day to continue watching. The darn thing is the majority of the episodes kinda ended in a cliffhanger, so you're left wondering until the next episode aired the following day (I guess this wouldn't be a problem if you're watching in one sitting).

The major blow of this drama is the ENDING. What kind of ending is that?!?!?!!?!?!? I have so many questions afterwards about the ending. How and How and How come and How come?!?!?!?!

Anyway, this is a thrilling watch if you're just looking for something easy to watch, yet fast paced and short. You will enjoy it. The eye candy and the OST is a bonus. I really like the songs on this drama but have trouble finding it on either Apple Music or Spotify.

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Once in a while you come across drama series that resonates with you even weeks and weeks after you finish watching the drama. The Bond is such drama. I have finished the drama almost a month before writing this review and to me, it felt just like I just finished the drama.

I still miss my regular evening watching the Qiao siblings' life. I like their interaction and how strong their siblings' bond is and how they struggle through everyday life with their deadbeat single. The siblings stuck together since they lost their mother giving birth to their fifth brother. These siblings took care of each other, particularly the big brother who is really like a dad to them. I like how real the relationship is, that it's not always smooth and they bicker and fight many times, but when it comes to siblings bond, they can always depend on their siblings in good and bad times.

I like how the drama follows the siblings from when they were children until they grew up, have careers and have a family of their own. I thought the actors and actresses that played the four siblings (and the father) did really well as YiCheng, ErChiang, Sanli and SiMei. There is superb character development here until the end.

This is one show that I really really enjoyed this year. One of the best ones I've watched and I can see myself re-watching this in the future.

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I rarely watch ongoing dramas because i don't usually have the patience to wait for the next episode, so I would prefer to binge watch and control when to stop and watch. The first ongoing drama that I watched was Go Ahead. I originally debated whether to watch The Oath of Love as it aired or wait until it finished airing. But Xiao Zhan is one of my favorite actors, and I have been waiting for this drama, so off I go, watch 2 episodes per day. I have to say that this drama did not disappoint. There is no "skip" or "OMG this is slow" or "OMG why this, why that" or "So boring..." I found none of that for the whole 29 episodes from beginning to end. I kinda wished there are more episodes so that I can get my daily dose of Dr. Gu Wei :) I enjoyed this drama thoroughly, even the Gu Xiao and San San story. I thought they are cute too and I wish I have a friend like San San in my life.

The story is nothing special. Boy meets girl, fall in love, get married. That is the formula for almost every drama. What sets this drama aside is the journey from the first step until the last step. I thought Xiao Zhan and Yang Zi really really really played their part well and they really have chemistry with each other. I like the family story as well, Yang Zi's relationship with her father and mother. Oh and did i mention the kissing and nose rubbing scenes? They are so sweet together and it melts my heart everytime that I really wish for a boyfriend like Gu Wei!

This drama made me smile, laugh and also cry. Any story with this disease is always heartbreaking. I can feel Lin Zhi Xiao's heartache and sadness as well as happiness in the last 3 episodes.

Rewatch value? OF COURSE!!! I have already rewatched couple of episodes because i miss seeing Gu Wei and Lin Zhi Xiao.

Definitely one of the best C-drama that I've watched.

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I enjoyed Ode To Joy 1 and Ode To Joy 2 and was excited to watch the third one. They changed the whole cast of the series and I thought it would be the same characters because I wanted to continue the story of the original characters. However, not only the cast that's different, but the characters are also different. The apartment is also different, not the same units and building. I didn't really enjoy this one because I don't like any of the characters and their life story. I thought that the third installment of this series lacks the recipes that the first and second one had. The relationship between the characters are also not as interesting. If you haven't watched Ode To Joy 1 and 2, you can try the third one and there is no continuation from the previous two, so you can start watching from OTJ 3 and who knows maybe you'll like it.

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This is a very tough to watch political drama. It has many plot twists and uses many phrases from poem, which, if not translated well can confuse the audience, namely me! haha. I watched this show on YouTube and I think I did not really get the full enjoyment of watching this series because of poor English translation in YouTube. However, I really applaud both Luo Jin and Li Yi Tong, as well as the many senior supporting actors (including the king). That's what made this show with its long episodes enjoyable for me. If you fluently understand Mandarin, you would have enjoyed this drama a lot more. The other thing that I like is the cinematography. You are really spoiled with beautiful landscape and view. Really beautiful. And I like the OST and thought that the opening credit of this drama is really cool and has that "majestic" feeling. I would have rated this drama much higher had I watched it with perfect English translation.

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This is just a simple romance drama with simple plot and not many confusing storyline and conflicts. As with the first season, I thought this drama would be more interesting if her "alien-ness" blending in with the human world is explored more. If not because of Xiao Bu's holographic computer monitor like, I sometimes forget that Xiao Qi is an alien and not human. They should have explored it more (like Third Rock From The Sun), it would be much better. But that's just my opinion. For me, this is just an okay drama. I have to admit that I didn't watch with 100% concentration, but even then I can still follow the storyline. If you like a simple romance drama, you would like this one. But for me, this is just mindless watching, one that I managed to finish but kept it as background sound while I'm doing something else. If I have to choose, I like the first season better than this one.

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Watching Princess Wei Young is like a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You can feel happy seeing cute romantic scenes between WeiYoung and Tuoba Jun but a few minutes later you feel so angry at the villains (oh there are so many villains in this drama) that you want to smash your TV screen (but I don't LoL), to feeling frustrated at WeiYoung for being so gullible at times. However, I think this rollercoaster of emotion is what glues me to this show and actually making it enjoyable.

Story and Acting:
The premise of the story is nothing new. It's a story of betrayal, revenge, power struggle and rise to power. It's a bit melodramatic, that you need to prepare a few tissues. I think this is the first of Tiffany Tang's drama that I really enjoyed. I have watched a couple more of her dramas but she doesn't portray a strong female character, which annoys me. However, I really like her as WeiYoung, and her chemistry with Luo Jin's character. The cast that plays the villains did a good job too, at least in making me really really hate them and happy when bad things happen to them in the end. The costumes and color combinations are superb and really a feast for the eye. I thought they did excellent in that. The ending, although sad, is beautifully done. I cried my heart out watching the last episode during Tuoba Jun's last moments with WeiYoung.

Music:
I love love love the OST, especially the ending theme. I have put some of the OST on my Apple Music Playlist and have been on heavy rotation.

Rewatch value:
Definitely will re-watch this in the future, although i might skip and fast forward scenes (especially those containing Li Chang Ru and Li Chang Le; They are despicable!)

Overall:
Although there are parts in this drama that feels draggy, I really enjoyed watching this drama. Story, acting, costumes and setting combined make it worthwhile. I also like that there is some fighting scenes too.

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