[Mainland Chinese Drama 2023] A Journey to Love 一念关山

[a_tumiwa]

https://youtu.be/ItWwueZMLiA?si=UoTSgeBX8N4KSygK

[omiki]

Just watched episode 1. Liu Shi Shi is as pretty as ever. Loved her in Bu Bu Jing Xin, and she doesn’t look a day older since the time she acted in that drama. And I was so happy to see her reunited with Ye Qing, Ruo Xi’s good friend, Yu Tan, in BBJX. LSS ‘s dancing is so nice to watch - after all, she graduated from Beijing Dance Academy. 
 

So far so good. I am interested to continue watching. I am intrigued by Liu Yu Ning’s Ning Yuan Zhou and can’t wait to find out why he is just a lowly cook in the Wu army. The way he is carrying his wok is so cute!

 

Anyone else watching this?

[leo2020]

2 hours ago, omiki said:

Anyone else watching this?

Hi! Thanks for the early first impression). I plan to watch it if I have time during upcoming weekend. Otherwise I'll leave it to NY holidays(((. 

[Don Yu]

It's pretty decent drama. Not Jin Yong like Wuxia(What else is really?) but still the action is pretty good 

[Yinye]

Hi hi it’s been a long long while since I came here. Hope friends are doing good! Haven’t watched Cdramas in a while but this was on my most anticipated list.
 

So I am watching!!!! I got iQiyi VIP just for this drama lol. I am watching ep 1 and so far - the story MOVES fast! I think my subs had some errors and it got a bit confusing re the details but overall - I am happy!! It seems to be quality - strong leads, interesting characters/plot/writing, good music, beautiful costumes - just from ep 1 lol. I love all of LSS/Ruyi’s fighting scenes lol 
 

Spoiler

LSS still so beautiful and she plays Ruyi so cold - like ice cold which I find intriguing and different than most female lead.

 

LYN fits his character too! He has gotten a bit better looking too! Glow up lol. His character arc is also very interesting. 

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Yinye

[Yinye]

Just finished ep 2 and 3! So far so great! Entertaining and fast paced! Love the characters (leads chemistry is great!)  and plot is good kind of complicated. 
 

I love the embedded PSA: remember to check and your data sources and quality! 
 

One negative is the overacting my the Prime Minister guy lol

Edited December 1, 2023 by Yinye

[Yinye]

OMG ep 4 and especially 5 lol 

 

Spoiler

Ruyi’s quest for a child and that whole scene had me laughing until my stomach hurt but

 

[carmolita]

OMG!! I'm so addicted to this drama I can't stop watching it over and over again. It keeps me getting up at 6 am to watch the next episodes. I like how they keep rolling with the main storyline of rescuing the emperor and matching it with the second storyline of Ruyi and Ning's relationship, it's so evenly paced and Saraf didn't take a hacksaw to this one .  It never gets boring, I  love the whole give me a baby agreement, especially the way he gives in, that twist keeps it lighthearted and engaging as usually it's the other way around.  Looking at the preview for tomorrow

Spoiler

it turns out that the Marquis is ruyi's student, she is his master but most likely she can't acknowledge it since she is supposed to be dead and ning is going to get to have a jealous fit.  Now that ruyi introduced herself as the princess of wu to protect prince le  aka princess, this is going to make it hard for ruyi to conceal her identity. She is going to have to find a way to convince that Marquis to keep his nose out of her business, but his betrothed may find out and out him.  So many ways this can play out, they have a lot of time since it's 40 episodes. 

I love the princess's giddiness but my favorite scenes are of Ruyi and Ning, It's not often that we get 2 characters capable of protecting each other, who have nothing to hide and slowly expose their heart to each other without beating around the bush or create endless misunderstandings and belive and trust/find trust in each other, they go into to detail about their childhood, show compassion to each other without making the characters appear weak or overpowered.  They're very normal, you can see their shortcomings, they each have flaws, help each other realize those flaws and work through them.  I especially liked the part where she told Ning that her father sold her to the scarlet guard for 10 copper coins because he wanted to remarry and thought she was a burden.  The look on his face was priceless but brought them closer. Does anyone else feel the same way?

[Yinye]

I am ep 9 and yes, so far I have no complaints. This drama has been my happy place since I started to watch it.

I haven’t laughed and rooted for such a group in a Cdrama in a while. 

 

I love the two main characters - flaws in all- and both LSS and LYN are great in this show. The pace has slowed a bit for the character back story, relationship building but I love the two assassins from warring countries finding love and working out all the trust, trauma, loyalty issues.

 

oh ep 10 was sooooooo great 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Yinye

[carmolita]

 Today's episodes were so good, I loved the Jealousy and the comedic timing was so funny.  I died laughing when they were all holding earpieces to the door trying to listen in on ruyi and Jui that scene was priceless. And Yu Shisan's character is a stroke of genius, I love how he gets surprised when something unbelievable happens ... he goes haa!! He is so funny.  I can't get enough of this drama. The person who scored it needs to win an award and a raise they did an excellent job. 

[Yinye]

The drama does good on adding in the really funny scenes to balance the politics. I haven’t laughed this hard re a C drama in a long while. At the same time, I enjoy the OTP, group dynamics, and fight scenes too! I just finished ep 14 and will stop for a bit. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Yinye

[carmolita]

soo sad now it airs Thursday -Sunday and they changed it leaving a cliffhanger, That is  cruel and unusual punishment not to mention a human rights violation  I have a right to watch the next episode

Jui is so obsessed with Ruyi it's scary, I'm wondering if he had some hand in the empress's death or knows who did it.  I love the fight scene where Ning fought back Jui  with his sheathed sword as he kept trying to approach Ruyi without even moving from his position.  That was so cool and the sound effects when he did it were so on point. I love this sound engineer

This drama has lingering effects on the mind

 

[Yinye]

I am watching Ep 15 and I’m gonna say it 

Spoiler

I don’t trust the princess’s BF? he just pops up out of no where? Oh no he caused a lot of trouble !!! Man - how did the shady BF outdo the members of the hall?!?!
 

Dump him ASAP girl…. So many red flags 

 

ah I was right! What a scum bag !! Ugh I the princess is still too naive and stupid! 

Bravo to this show for going against the stereotypical and predictable route! 
 

Spoiler

Oh wow I didn’t expect the Princess to actually kill her exBF! Great acting - I felt her pain!!

I am on 17 now and woah 

Spoiler

While we all knew that Marquis = Jiu, I didn’t expect his mom-complex obsession with Ruyi lol - Unexpected plot twist lol 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Yinye

[Wuzetian]

@SC2019 Have you started watching? I'm intrigued! But no time yet...

 

Good review by AvenueX

[SC2019]

@Wuzetian nope, I wanna wait a bit more. But I just heard The Last Immortal premieres Dec 11, and
likely the Wu Lei drama (the snow one) will also likely premiere this month. We will be busy!!!!

[Wuzetian]

12 hours ago, SC2019 said:

@Wuzetian nope, I wanna wait a bit more. But I just heard The Last Immortal premieres Dec 11, and
likely the Wu Lei drama (the snow one) will also likely premiere this month. We will be busy!!!!

Oh I havent watched anything with Wu Lei except NIF...

[carmolita]

@ Wuzetian I agree with the review analysis by AvenuX.  There are no cliches in this drama ( so far) every scene is there for a reason and leads to something bigger.  A good example is the obsession part of the story,  normally when a character is obsessed he's usually not redeemable, he either becomes evil and dies or on a slim chance manages to turn his life around and later meets his end.  But this drama turned that on its head, Jui is obsessed over his master but she was all he really knew/the only person that was truly kind to him, he shunned her when she supposedly died and suffered for it but as to whether he is redeemable or his character will evolve we don't know yet, but his obsession led to some major character development in himself and other characters, intricately interwoven. Just when you think you have this drama figured out it surprises you.  I loved that it began with the two leads having left their jobs by faking their deaths because those above them discarded their lives. Ning got caught and wound up back at his old job after getting a promise that he could leave when a mission was complete. Ruyi has her own plans. Their relationship involvement is so realistic, not forced or done in an unbelievable way, very natural and believable.  Like that reviewer, I too have been rewatching this drama. It's addicting and you tend to notice new things that you may have missed. 

 

Their is one thing i don't agree with the review on and it's about Nings handsomeness, I think he is  hot with his long hair.  Eye Candy that is   His hairstylist needs an award

 

It's really a serious drama with some comedic elements, but what they do for comedy is really done well, not over the top, and flows well with the story.  I also love the fight scenes that ning and ruyi do together/ with each other, talk about a new kind of romance.

[Yinye]

I am caught up to ep 34 and whew!

 

- so happy re the princess’ arc and character development! It’s probably one of the best so far for a secondary character

 

- happy for OTP and their healthy relationship lol. Their scenes are so fun to watch. 
 

- finally, the mission plot advancement!! The action! 

 

- one unfortunate big flaw was the weird momentum slow down by derailing the main plot with sub plots and stretching it too long but this is THE big Cdrama issue cuz of the long episodes. We didn’t need to devote entire episodes etc. 

 

Very very interest to see what remains in the last 6 episodes. 

 

[omiki]

I’m also at episode 34. Some people who watched the VIP release of the remaining 6 episodes said to stop here if you want a happy ending. So happy to see that Ru Yi did not die, and the Princess A Ying has really grown in maturity and political awareness. The actress makes the character believable whether as a Princess or a Prince.
 

A Jiu is still a little brat ding donging back and forth between love sick psycho puppy and political manoevering with the Emperor to advance his position within the An Kingdom. He should get his act together if he wants to do something good for his kingdom.

 

I like watching the lovely relationship of Chu Yue and Shi San - the actress is doing a good job in showing the wonderous feelings of her falling in love with Shi San.

[Yinye]

I will watch the rest probably tonight and tomorrow since I VIP access but it was work that kept me too busy etc. 

 

Another excellent soundtrack from this series too. 

edit: I am on ep 36 now….

I won’t say anymore except that for fans that only watch for happy endings — Ep 34 is really the ‘happy ending’ exit - meaning stop here for that and do not proceed. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Yinye