Peões do Amor (2024)

A very enjoyable drama with interesting story and plot development, an outstanding cast, excellent cinematography, lovely music pieces and excellent chemistry between the leads.

Xue FangFei was the daughter of an integrous magistrate who was wrongly accused and sentenced to death. She was murdered and buried alive by her husband whom she loved. The husband was a very conflicted personality - in the drama, you would witness his struggle. Rescued by Jiang Li who eventually died due to ill-treatment, she took on her identity.

She assumed two huge responsibilities - how to get Jiang Li's stepmother to admit her crimes, and to investigate and exposed the mastermind behind the extermination of the Xue family. To return to the capital, she made use of Duke Su, known for his ruthlessness, and for which she received both help and retaliation.

Of course, you have Wu JinYan (Xue FangFei) of Yanxi Palace fame as the lead actress, acting once again an intelligent woman seeking and upholding justice. And then, there was Wang XingXue (Duke Su) who had a flair for selecting and performing well in good dramas. His last four dramas were all above rating of 8 on mydramalist.com; the Kunning Palace was one of them. He is certainly very young to have earned these accolades.

The plot was interesting as both FangFei and Duke Su had their share of scheming and being schemed against. You watched wondering what they were going to do next to counter the traps set for them, and whether the dangerous schemes they set for their antagonists might backfire. And for sure sometimes they did. When Duke Su handed over his army tally to the Princess to entice her brother to hasten the rebellion, you would expect him to have also a back-up plan to re-secure his power besides relying on the army from an ally. But he did not - I thought this was a pretty dangerous and foolish gamble.

This, as I understood, was the adaptation of a novel with some significant changes from the original story. The original was more of a supernatural setting but this was more down to earth.

It is worth pointing out here that the sound track was outstanding - one of the best in Chinese drama and witnessing a return of good music pieces to dramas after the pandemic. I love the theme songs and the two instrument pieces played at the entry examination.

Whenever there is an actress who is significantly older than her male counterpart, or acting a maiden much younger than herself, there is always the question whether they would be able to bring out the chemistry. Very often they do. So I would say to viewers not to discriminate on this basis. The camera, make-up and excellent acting can often overcome this.

There was however an unexplained scene - how did FangFei escaped from being buried alive as she was tied up and knocked unconscious. It showed Jiang Li finding her near a river, but how did she get there?

While the story and plots were relatively original, the themes of fighting for the throne and revenge for misjustice were a little overused and somewhat stale and cliche. They made good stories for a period drama, but would be nice to watch something of a different theme for a change. However, if you have not watched as many Chinese dramas as I have, this would not affect you.

Overall, I was debating whether to give it a 9.5 or a 10. Eventually I settled for the former for the last two reasons above.

Leia Mais

Almost there.

The Double is a pretty good drama. For the first 15 episodes I would have said that this show was on its way to being as good as Love Like the Galaxy.

But it's not quite good enough to fill that LLTG Hole.

The positive things I have to say are endless, because this is an example of when you can feel every ounce of effort that was crammed into this show. The cinematography was amazing, there are so many shots that are screen saver worthy. The consistent use of flowing fabrics, wind and flower petals made my eyes pop open on more than one occasion. The fight choreography was on point too, it's almost comparable with Blood of Youth and fighting is the whole point of that show. The music also slapped. Be it a bgm or the featured artists it was always a pleasure to listen to whatever was coming out of my speakers. I did add more tracks to my playlist, and that's always the mark of great music.

I have the highest praise for the actors, there's not a single person in this show who was not giving a stellar performance as well, the direction and cast's chemistry was great! I feel like there are so many scenes where I can't imagine another actor replacing any of our main characters. This along with the initial writing in the first quarter of the show made the story so compelling! Everything just made sense, and I really liked that.

On the other hand it's hard to overlook the flaws of this drama. I think it can be overly dramatic and prioritize visuals over telling it's story in a more useful way at times. I also think that the pacing of the show could have been better. The 1st through 15th episodes are clearly aware that this story has a time limit and all the events flow evenly… But once we pass that halfway mark the plots take forever to resolve and get more and more choppy. I especially despise the final episode which unnecessarily kills off some characters in the dumbest and most abrupt ways. I didn't care for the drawn out reunion that we don't even really get to see. It's gore and murder and then a flower field and the FL looks into the camera and this hefty 40 episode monstrosity ends… Just. like. that…

I felt that there were so many moments where I wanted something more, something deeper, something intricate to happen and for the writing to be just a little smarter in how all of these characters related to each other.

I didn't care for it…
but the beginning was amazing so I can't rate it that low. I'd recommend it! But this is not on Love Like the Galaxy or Love and Redemption's level. Those stories kept you hooked until the very end and had very satisfying endings that didn't need unneeded shock value for its finale.

Leia Mais

Best Strong female lead I have ever seen in the c-dramas

Episode 11 was truly excellent, very moving - where she played the zither, it made me teary and the #1 reason why I have to finish watching.
She played the piece 'The Spring Fading into White Pear Blossoms' a folk tune expressing a woman's lament about her fate, filled with sorrow and grief as if she experienced great injustice.
To add the lyrics of the song " Even the moonlight can't bear to wander, watching me helpless and forlorn. Who's giving up so easily?
In my opinion, one of the best performances of the main leads and they nailed their roles, great acting and chemistry even with zero or less kissing scenes, that did not stop me from dropping - plus all the supporting casts delivered. Kudos to the script writers. I have nothing negative to say about this drama. I liked the story, worth watching until the last episode.

Leia Mais

Best Asian Drama I've ever seen and superior to any Western Revenge Movie or TV Show

This is the first time I give a 10 to any drama and with good reason.

While slow at times it never becomes tiresome keeping me on the edge of my seat for it's entirety, with it's gripping story, Oscar worth acting - specially from Wu Jin Yan (FL) - and then there is the OST, god how good can a OST be???

While the story is heavy and grounded, there are some wuxia-esce and humorous moments that could have broken the pace or my interest in what was happening but even those moments were perfectly made and weaved through the story allowing us to breath between heavy drama moments.

Then there is the chemestry between both ML and FL that allowed them to act on a realistic and slow burn romance, never over the top realistcally built through their struggles that contributed to the first drama that I consider to be perfect...

They even gave us a happy ending in the special episode but I would not be sad if they kept it as it ends in episode 40...

Leia Mais

Satisfying story of revenge

Who else loves a great, satisfying revenge story? I sure do! I've watched revenge dramas before and this one hits all the marks--great story telling, wonderful plot twist that keep you on your toes, and an intelligent FL who seem to be playing 4D chess using with the characters as pawns. The ML is also smart and together they compliment each other well. I love seeing how the FL's schemes play out--it's SO satisfying seeing how she used her wits to make a mess of her enemies and also coming out on top each time. I love smart FL who is not only witty, but is a brilliant strategist. The only slight disappointment is the ending... no spoilers, but I only wish they had ended it differently. I also would've loved to see more romance between FL and ML especially with how much chemistry they had.

Overall, this drama was one of the best I've watched in awhile. I was hooked since episode one and literally binged watched it on in a few days. It's SO good, leaving you feeling so satisfied--revenge is best served cold!!! Love a good revenge story.

Leia Mais

Could not stop watching

I'm a sucker for revenge plots but most fall short in pacing, storyline and execution towards the ending arc of the story. Not this one. At all.

The beginning of this drama shows Xue Li being held against her will in a setup by her mother-in-law. Later, her husband walks in and carries her away to finish the deed of killing her under the guise of "I'm forced to do it". From that point on, the female protagonist takes on another identity and, step by step, rights the wrongs of the parties involved.

Where other revenge plots fall short in pacing and character identity, "The Double" fleshes out each persona in a believable way and shows the good characters as imperfect, and the bad ones with reasoned motives. A special mention goes to actress Li Meng for her portrayal of Princess Wan Ning and actor Liang Yong Qi as the ex-husband Shen Yu Rong. I have never despised a princess as much as Wan Ning, and the mindset of Shen Yu Rong is displayed with such subtle eye emotions that I actually found myself trying to figure out if he had any good qualities left in his soul or if his cruel actions had snuffed out all of the qualities that had once believed in justice.

The main actors Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xing Yue deserve the top award for blazing chemistry and nuanced portrayals. In American TV dramas, they spend ten minutes on character development and then WHAM, here comes the bed scene. What these actors, writers, and directors created was cinema magic. The characters were paced at a slow and believable burn, which led me to a believable definition of what a love story consisted of.

To the rest of the cast, there were notable and affluent actors in small parts throughout and this added a rich texture to the story. I cannot say enough about how interesting the narrative was, the plot twists, and how satisfying and believable the justified demise of those who committed wrongs. My one (and very small) pet peeve was the makeup. I love natural skin tones and the whitening in the makeup took me a minute to get used to. I know there is a beauty standard for pale in some Asian cultures, but the exceedingly beautiful actress looked off with the cosmetics used.

Definitely, definitely, check this drama out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Leia Mais

What was that ending???

For starters, this was a great watch. The production value was outstanding, the clothing design beautiful and the performances exactly what you want from this kind of revenge story, which is subtle and over the top at the same time, somehow. The music and editing could be better but they didn't stop me from enjoying this drama.

The main characters are smart, deadly and flirty. Their friends and family members a perfect fold for their cunning ways.

Wu Jin Yan and Wang Xingyue have an explosive chemistry. It's unreal. Every scene they had together got me giddy with excitement.

The villains were not your typical and I found myself equally invested in the part they had to play in this story. Their ending was befitting to their respective arcs and retribution sweet.

It's my first time watching a drama where Li Meng stars in but I am damn impressed by her. She's a powerhouse and I will be looking forward to her future projects.

This is also the kind of drama where nobody is safe and I commend the scriptwriter for going there when so many other don't. That said, if you are going to kill a major character, you can't have a lukewarm resolution.

I have spent the better part of the last hour reading and watching every interview the director, cast and crew gave about this drama because when I finished it watching I was pissed.

This might be controversial because I know this is a well loved drama, hell, I loved watching this drama but what was the director thinking changing the script of the final episode and leaving the story as an open ending? Viewers spent 40 episodes, invested in this characters, hoping for them to have a happy ending, only to be met with a final scene that can be interpreted as reality or wishful thinking. Leaning more on the latter.

A revenge story it's not something you leave open ended. And, yes, I know there's an epilogue and I think it should be part of the final episode not something you release just in case fans might be angry at what you did. This is so unserious, I am lacking words.

This drama was a solid 8 for entertainment and production value until that ghastly final scene, forcing me to drop a full number. They should have known better... and they did. Why release an epilogue if they didn't?

Leia Mais