O Jardim dos Sonhos (2021)

Thrilling Psychological cases and yet realistic with great acting skills

I appreciate Gong Jun’s way of executing the role of Lin Shen. He provided the depth of the character and made me wanted to continue watching the drama. He fully utilised his facial expressions and eyes to communicate his emotions, very fine acting. The cases depicted in the drama are realistic and as someone who knows a little bit of psychology, I can still learn some from this drama. I appreciate the script writer who did a great research work that made the drama believable. My only regret is the female lead. She is a bit stiff and exaggerated sometimes. However, overall, Dream Garden is a worthwhile drama to watch if you like to understand more about human psychology in a Chinese context.

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An unexpectedly good drama

Just finished watching. I didn't have high expectation about this drama since I thought it would be a Chinese typical love drama with a lot of sweet scenes. But then many people recommend it and also the douban score is quite high so I decided to give it a try and this was the best decision ever!

Firstly, let's talk about the plot. This drama is definitely not the silly sweet dramas with brainless characters that care about nothing except love. Its theme is suspense and a little bit thriller. The plot is fast and compact. Every cases are simple and easy to guess but very logical and interesting. This drama mentions many social issues and psychological problems of people in daily life. They handled the cases well and the outcome of each case is satisfying. You may find it hard to believe but some of my problems were solved after hearing the conversation between the psychologists and the patients in the drama like I had an indirect treatments. The script is really well written! This is indeed a warm-hearted and healing drama. This should be one of the best dramas I have watched in recent years.

Secondly, I want to talk about the loveline. Both the male lead and female lead are capable and smart. Their love is building slowly through working and communicating in a convincing way. They're cute and sweet but not cheesy. Their relationship is stable and mature. One thing I really like about them is they always trust each other and stand by each other side. There's no dog blood misunderstanding and third person drama. I feel really comfortable watching them falling in love. Other supporting roles amd their loveline are also likeable. Thanks God there's no annoying and stupid character that make me want to drop the drama. Gong Jun and Qiao Xin's chemistry is really good.

Thirdly, about the acting. Male lead Gong Jun is really handsome and attractive. He portrayed the character Lin Shen well. He is cold and strict but not giving an arrogant feeling. The scenes with his mom are touching, especially the crying scene when his mom just woke up from coma. The love scenes are sweet but not greasy. One small minus point is his mouth shape sometimes looks weird when he speaks but it does not affect the watching experience much. Qiao Xin also did a good job portraying Xiao Xiao. She's cute and lively but mature and well-behaved. She's not the kind of annoying and Mary Sue character like the female lead of many other Chinese love dramas. She's very loyal to the male lead and really cherish and care about him. That's what I like most about her character. Overall, their actings are comfortable and enjoyable.

Lastly, the OST is so nice and fit well with the content. The BGM is also well arranged.

This is not a perfect drama since it's not a big production from the beginning but this is surely a worth-watching drama. Every aspects is well done. My overall score for it would be 9. The drama is not too sweet and also not too tense. Recommend for those who looking for an entertaining yet good plot drama.

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A good drama with mature characters

Finally a drama where the characters at least are mature enough to use their mouths to talk and having a proper communication with each other.

I've been watching Chinese dramas for some years and most of the them really have one same problem: lack of communication. I've had enough with the main characters (or main couples) who don't want to share the problem they're facing just for the sake of not being a burden for their loved one(s). But then it ends with a more bigger problem in the later episodes. Like ... y'all are already mature enough to know that communication is the most important thing. Do the scriptwriters really designed their characters as people who don't know how to use their mouth?

I expected the same problem when I first watched this drama. But turned out the way main leads interract with each other are quiet enjoyable. They don't like keeping their burden for themselves, but insteada talking it out. Even when the male lead finds that the FL is with another guy, he doesn't back off and run away, but approaches them straightforwardly. That's what I like about the ML. Go get your girl, else someone would snatch her.

Indeed there were some scenes in the later episodes where the main leads refused to share their problem, thus it affects their relationship. But the following plot is good.

There are also several reasons why I like this drama, including the psychological cases from different characters. Their problems are like everyday's problems the society has always been facing. That's why the plot about therapy and psychological things are interesting to watch.

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The drama's okay, but it's not some hidden gem downrated by China haters.

The Good:
⌲ The OTP romance is relatively strong. (but this is only about 30% of the drama)
⌲ There is no triangle worth mentioning.
⌲ The format of getting into various psychological cases is nice. (almost case of the week-like)
⌲ Standing up to a toxic parent is always great to see in a cdrama(, but typically doesn't pass censorship.)
⌲ Overall the drama is a quite well made quality production.
⌲ The interesting symbolism (here and there)

The Average:
⌲ There are a lot of abrupt kisses that felt really strange & awkward.
⌲ The secondary couples are fun, but they barely had any screen time.
⌲ The individual cases are a hit or miss, there is a lot of procedural mediocrity everywhere.
⌲ The varying usage of hypnosis
⌲ Many things are over-explained, though this is the norm in this genre.
⌲ The 10 minute long breakup due to noble reasons
⌲ While the OTP romance is generally good, the writers have pulled the brakes in a very unnatural way to stall the couple's natural progress.

The Bad:
⌲ Second ML's plot is horrible + his cartoon villain persona could not be any more stereotypical.
⌲ The final episode is really underwhelming, in fact this is one of the most boring final episodes I have ever seen.
⌲ Going abroad to study is naturally a must..
⌲ Shao Ning's involvement in his love interest's treatment is a wee bit creepy.

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Overrated and a bit disappointing

If you’re looking for romance, this isn’t the drama for you .

Personally I found the drama boring and I didn’t think the leads had chemistry.

The writers spent so much time on other characters while neglecting the leads romantic feelings. The writer then chose to use jealousy to make them realize their feelings.

Then suddenly they get into a relationship towards the end of the drama and become overly affectionate? I wasn’t buying it .

I love gong Jun but this is a no for me (the script is off not the acting).

Moving to the psychology aspect, the cases were handled poorly . The beginning of most episodes were somehow . I get they wanted to be mysterious but it was just off

I have so many things to highlight about my disappointment but I’ll just stop here .

I wouldn’t recommend it but you could still watch it if you want

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This is About Moving On, and Letting Go

This drama told a lot about mental health, and how we can face them. In this modern society, stress has been a common topic, as we can see people did suicide almost every month. Anything can induced stress and trauma, and this drama told a lot about it.

Case by case, we can saw in the end, what we really need to do is letting go and moving on. Past is already past, we can't do anything about it. Dwelling on it only gave us the anxiety and stress. We deserved a lot more that it.

Gong Jun and Qiao Xin portrayed their roles in this drama so well. Their chemistry was so good, and they are so cute together. I loved how they solved all the case, and how in one of the case, they explained that as a counselor, they could't mix their personal and work life. We can learn a bit about hypnotherapy here, and how it can helps us. And more importantly, this is about mental help. Seeking help is a must, because the only people who can help us is ourselves.

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Interesting Story

While the story was interesting the relationship between the two felt unbalanced. The Male lead held all the cards and made all the decisions and the FL just went with them. It worked out since the ML wasn't toxic but pretty nice and sweet. He treated her well.

Once they get together they were a happy couple. The FL was so head over the heels that she didn't notice any other guys in the room when the ML entered it. ML lucked out here.

The second couple was a bit surprising but I liked them together. Since this drama is focused more on the psychology and hypnotism it was surprising to see such good couples come out of it.

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Psychological thriller with a dash of rom-com

I mainly watched this drama because of Gong Jun but also because I do like psychology. The drama is a mix of psychological thriller, detective style cases and a dash of rom-com.

I’ve studied hypnosis and been to many sessions so from my perspective that part was very accurately portrayed. The writers did a fantastic job in showing visually what happens in your mind when hypnotised. The psychology part was also very accurate and easy to understand from my point of view. However the actual cases were a hit and miss for me. I managed to watch the first 4 episodes in full but afterwards I fast-forwarded a lot of the cases. I enjoyed the cases where it involved the supporting cast however the others I had to skip as I simply didn't care about the characters.

The rom-com part was the best. The main leads were mature, super cute with great chemistry and funny interactions. That was the main reason while I managed to finish this drama otherwise I would have probably dropped it early on. I almost wish this was a full on rom-com drama with a dash of psychology as I would have enjoyed it a lot more. There are also two side couples but they don't take too much screen time.

I usually don't pay much attention to the editing but here it was definitely choppy and somewhat weird.

As many people have mentioned, the final 3 episodes with the revenge plot were super boring and I skipped almost everything in order to finish the drama.

Overall, I'll say that this drama accurately portrays hypnosis and has great psychological info however the way the cases were executed and the plot overall was quite boring. The romance was the best part of the drama and I wish it was actually a full on rom-com.

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A fun watch

I had low expectations when I first started this series, but was pleasantly surprised.

I get that it's hard to really delve into psychological cases on a technical and deeper level, otherwise the whole series would be boring. On the opposite extreme, most shows would verge on the superficial level to make the story more exciting. I feel this production was able to balance both extremes, so it wasn't too boring nor too unbelievable.

I had a fun time laughing through the comedic parts that were interspersed with the more serious psychological cases. I think the leads and supporting cast did a great job pulling me into their stories and experiences.

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The first two cases are issues everyone can prob relate or will note easily. The second case is especially relatable as it deals with idols/fans relationship. The drama showed in a very clear manner the psych and thought process of both Lin Shen and the people he is helping. Gong Jun's acting as Lin Shen is also commendable. His microexpressions and line delivery are very effective. The editing is also on point. I am really loving the pacing and the story itself.

The case about idol/fans relationship I'm sure every fan can relate to. The drama also showed a lot of stuff happening in the background of c-ent.

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