Half of Us (2023)

Uma história de sacrifício, lágrimas, dor e suor... para os fãs de Yu Shuxin e Zhang Linghe.

Estou sendo bondosa dando 5.5 na nota geral desse drama.
Sem spoilers, digo que é uma história que começa com um ótimo primeiro episódio, e então se perde em algum canto que não deveria ter se perdido. A proposta do drama foi destruída rapidamente. O roteirista não sabe o que quer, não sabe como conduzir, e o casal principal não é o principal. A única coisa que todos reclamam, e é o mais coerente, é o final.
Gong Ziyu e Yun Weishan tem tanta química quanto o casal secundário, Gong ShangJue e Shangguan Qian, o que não é muita coisa para nenhum dos lados, mas o casal secundário leva a melhor porque o roteiro escolhe destroçar o casal principal em prol deles, o que dá uma sensação de química melhor do que o casal principal (e não tem).
Há cortes de cenas de desenvolvimento e uma óbvia falta de vontade com os protagonistas Ziyu e Weishan. Quando você acha que está chegando a algum lugar, você volta ao ponto de partida, onde vários episódios acontecem pouquíssimas coisas e os protagonistas estão sendo constantemente sacrificados para dar tempo de tela para um casal secundário. Você pensa que o casal secundário tem mais química, mas a verdade é que a tesoura passada no enredo dos protagonistas favoreceu o casal secundário.
1h de episódio parece ter 2h por conta da narrativa lenta e personagens detestáveis. Geralmente, eu gosto de personagens arrogantes e que possam vir ser detestados pelo público geral, mas dessa vez, nem eu consigo defender. Eu fui com muita expectativa e esperava muito mais do que isso que assisti. ShangJue não me conquista, e ele trata Qian tão mal que mesmo tendo mais cenas do que Ziyu e Weishan, não consegui shippar e não sou emocionada o suficiente para aceitar tão pouco e me satisfazer.
É uma produção visivelmente cara, com cenários, figurinos e trilha sonora lindíssimos sendo desperdiçados com um enredo que me serviu como um ótimo remédio para insônia.
Sobre atuações, Yu Shuxin entrega exatamente o que eu esperava dela (além de beleza excessiva que me distraiu em algumas cenas), um show de carisma e, principalmente, talento visceral e natural em uma personagem que eu gostaria de pegar na mãozinha e levar para uma sessão de terapia e psiquiatra para receber uma receita de fluoxetina. Yu Shuxin (apesar do que tentaram fazer) brilha e mostra que ela tem cacife para interpretar qualquer personagem que ela quiser. Amei a personagem dela e o pouco da história dela e do Ziyu que me foi mostrada. Zhang Linghe não é dos meus atores favoritos, mas criei um carinho especial por Ziyu e a maneira que ele foi interpretado porque me despertou empatia. Cheng Lei foi... alguma coisa, mas deve ser porque o personagem dele me deu desgosto de assistir com aquela personalidade arrogante e que me fez desejar que ele fosse feito de bobo o drama todo. Lu Yuxiao é ótima, não foi culpa dela o que aconteceu, e eu gostei da relação oportunista e de gato e rato que Weishan e Qian estavam levando. As atuações foram boas e satisfatórias.
O drama tinha muito potencial, se o diretor e roteirista não tivesse decidido que era uma boa ideia sacrificar dois atores com nomes pesados na C-ent em prol de secundários. É típico dele, e eu espero que ele aprenda a equilibrar seus desejos para que o enredo não seja picotado da forma que foi, que ele consiga fazer enredos mais fluídos e saiba aproveitar todos os atores presentes em seu trabalho.
Por fim, deveriam fazer um apelo para que GJM pare de escalar atores de tráfego para obter views e então boicotar para dar tempo de tela para quem ele realmente queria como protagonistas. Digo isso porque ele faz isso em todo trabalho dele, e é aborrecedor.
Não assistiria de novo. Fui movida pela minha força de vontade (e Yu Shuxin). Talvez, eu coloque na minha TV quando quiser sentir sono.

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I don't think I watched the same drama as the people who gave high grades...

After seeing the amount of positive notes for this drama, I can't believe we saw the same thing. This drama surprised me very negatively, because I thought it would be one of my favorites because of the main actors and the synopsis. However, in the first episodes this didn't hold me. I found some boring and insignificant secondary characters, Zi Yu's sister extremely annoying... the story was slow, superficial and a little confusing. The scenery was dark and gloomy, not that this was a problem, but I don't think it helped in the fluidity of the story either. Anyway, if you're not enjoying this story either, don't feel alone.

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O roteiro é interessante e, relativamente, bem amarrado, porém, a finalização não faz jus ao drama, seria impecável se fosse uma primeira temporada e, de preferência, que houvesse uma sequência travada, pois a maioria dos dramas não ganha continuidade. Apesar do excesso mirabolante de surpresas que o roteirista criou, muitas delas eram previsíveis, poderia ter economizado algumas e ter criado uma finalização (feliz ou infeliz, mas fechando a trama).
O diretor escolheu muito bem o elenco (visualmente agradável aos olhos, principalmente o elenco masculino), ele soube aproveitar o melhor de cada ator, o drama possui excelente fotografia, cenas com acabamento perfeito, coreografia exuberante nas cenas de ação, mas, assim como o roteirista (diretor pode e deve interferir no roteiro), pecou na finalização.
O trabalho dos atores foi ótimo. No geral, não gosto da protagonista devido ter uma voz bastante irritante (talvez seja a voz de um dublador, não conheço a voz da atriz fora dos dramas que já assisti), mas nesse drama a voz dela não estava irritante. No elenco masculino, vários são atores em seus primeiros trabalhos e, além de apresentarem uma imagem estética, atuaram muito bem.
O figurino é de tirar o fôlego.
A trilha sonora é agradável.

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Família Gong

"Tudo depois do nascer do sol é quente e cheio de esperança. Não importa quão longa seja a noite, haverá nascer e sol. Não há parede neste mundo, que possa impedir o sol de nascer."

Yun Wei Shan é uma personagem maravilhosa, fiquei encantada por cada movimento e me comovi por sua história. Shangguan Qian, apesar de ser uma vadia, ela é incrível minha nossa que mulher! As duas quando se juntavam se tornavam ainda mais espetaculares, elas mais inteligentes que todo mundo junto, as divas tinham os homens na palma da mão!
O que falar dos irmãos da família Gong! Ziyu um querido mimado emocionado, que correu atrás do que queria e da mulher dele, TUDO POR ELA haha. Shangjue, QUE HOMEM, toda vez que aparecia eu me derretia inteira, tudo que ele fazia era milimetricamente calculado, o melhor Gong, ele sim deveria ser o portador da espada, mas tudo bem o Ziyu ser. O Yuan Zhi, mano mimado incrivelmente mortal, amo o jeitinho birrento dele, principalmente com a Shangguan haha.

Achei que o romance da Weishan e o Ziyu poderia ser mais aprofundado, ele aceitou fácil e rápido demais ela ser de wufeng. O irmão mais velho ser um vilão não gostei, achei fraco.
O Shangjue e a Shangguan tem uma química absurda! Quero eles dois juntos na próxima temporada!
Jin fan e a Zi Shang, um casal secundário muito querido, morri de rir com ela!
Apesar das mortes, amei a família trabalhando juntos no final!!!

Que filmografia maravilhosa, cada cena, cada detalhe, simplesmente lindo demais.
Amo tudo que a Esther faz, QUE ATRIZ!
Ansiosa pra próxima parte!

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House of cards.

My Journey to You is dark, intricate and suspenseful wuxia that hones in on Wufeng spy Yun Weishan's mission to sneak into the Gong family's heavily guarded mountain stronghold. This is a once in two decade opportunity, as the Gong family holds a bride selection event for their young masters who have come of age. A shocking twist thrusts Gong Ziyu, the least capable young master, to the helm of the family. He is clearly unequal to the task and must prove himself worthy before the seemingly invincible Gong family folds like a house of cards under the force of internal and external challenge.

Shocking murders that rock the foundations of Gong family just as Wufeng spies slip through the gates. The whydunit is quite clear from the get go. By elimination and a few clues, most of the mysteries including Wuming or Anonymous's identity, are easy to solve. The mysteries look more complex than they really are because many other sub-plots unfold at high velocity. The key is not to over think; the straightforward answers are usually the right ones. The antagonist reveal comes late in the story after the facts are stale and the long expository style gives a sense of anti-climax at the end. It may have been better to resolve the internal conspiracy prior to facing the external challenge. Nonetheless the mystery sub-plots are fairly tight and engagingly woven into the external plot of this dark wuxia.

The real guts of the main plot centres around the Gong family and the secret that they vowed to safeguard for all time. It is no fun to be a Gong; stuck on an isolated, toxic mountain and locked in an existential battle with their arch enemy Wufeng. All of the young masters of the Shang (weapons), Jue (commerce), Zhi (poison) and Yu (defence) lines shoulder many responsibilities from a young age. All except the self-indulgent and spoiled Ziyu who has a father, foster mother and older brother to lean on. It is no wonder that Shangjue and especially Yuanzhi resent Ziyu and demand he prove his mettle. The real irony is Sword Wielder is the most sucky job that comes with a butt ugly tattoo and life imprisonment on that dreadful, suffocating mountain. Not to mention the exhausting chore of trying to stare, glare or scowl down Shangjue and Yuanzhi only to be torpedoed by one of Zishang's whacky, mind boggling non-sequiturs that destroy any crushing come back! As much as I was riveted by the Gong family soap opera, it is the mysterious denizens of the back mountain that broke my heart with the intensity and absoluteness of their obsessions. This drama has the most absurdly gorgeous, eccentric, layered and memorable cast of characters.

While romance is always a feature, it is never what this kind of dark themed wuxia is built around, so conventional romance watchers are bound to be disappointed. Both Weishan and Qian are spies on a do or die mission. If they have love brains, they'd have been long dead spies. By design, Shangjue and Qian's relationship is more interesting because Shangjue is a more cynical and questioning character than Ziyu. He is a much more difficult target and this forces Qian to take more risks and thus reveal more of herself to captivate him. It is quite clear there is an intense attraction, that they got their hooks into each other. It is a dark and fascinatingly toxic relationship where it is left for the viewer to decide whether and to what degree they actually fall in love.

In sharp contrast, Ziyu is naive and unquestioning. Weishan is his first love and he falls for her like a ton of bricks, absolutely and unconditionally. The feeling may be intense and pure but it is also uncomplicated and not that differentiated. The bigger problem is that Weishan is by design an elusive character. She does not have to reveal much about herself to reel Ziyu in and so for the most part, she remains a blank character. By the end of the drama, she is still so much a mystery that it is difficult for viewers to be that invested in her and thus the main romance. Yun Weishan is the main character but because she is so hidden, it is as if there is no main character or CP that anchors the story. For the most part, this feels a story about many characters told from many different points of views. To me, this is the biggest shortcoming in the narrative that is saved by the presence of many other fully realised characters. This is not completely a bad thing because it allows the entire spectacular cast, and notably Cheng Lei, Lu Yuxiao and Tian Jiarui, to really shine without taking away that much from Yu Shuxin and Zhang Linghe. All of the actors got the screen time their characters deserve and deliver all around strong performances.

In terms of cinematography, breathtaking action scenes and stunning aesthetics, this drama is everything I expect of Guo Jingming and more. He is the ultimate connoisseur of male beauty and truly immortalises all of these actors, male and female at the peak of their gorgeousness at their most flattering camera angles. Yue (Moon) Gongzi was the one that stood out for me in this visual feast and his love story moved me most - I'd have gone to the moon and back for him any day of the week! Despite some holes, I am overall very satisfied with the writing. I much enjoyed the witty repartee, the foreshadowing and the layers in the dialogue and many hidden clues in the form of riddles and homonyms that are embedded in the script.

I actually quite like the ending epilogue which has caused quite a bit of consternation and heated discussion among viewers. This is a plot driven story so none of the main characters are the end game. Both main plot lines converge to deliver a very complete ending in terms of th narrative, which is merely one mission or chapter in the saga of Wufeng's longstanding rivalry with the Gong family. The end epilogue closes with just the right dark and chilling note that upon reflection was long foreshadowed, makes sense and is completely in character. As such, I am very happy to rate this 9/10.

I will elaborate further on the ending epilogue in a spoiler below but please don't read it until you have finished watching this drama. This drama is best enjoyed without spoilers so please don't scroll down until you are done watching.










WARNING!!! Major ending spoiler below!!!















Yun Weishan returns to Wufeng to face the music because her work is not done. The biggest clue is that she is not that surprised to find Wufeng waiting for her. She allows Ziyu to think she chose freedom over him, so that he does not look for her and endanger himself and his duty to protect the Infinite Fire. Beyond that, she also knew the note was not from Yasi and possibly she always knew about her twin. More than the Fortnight Flies, that may have been Wufeng's real hold over her. If you rewatch the opening scene, it is very suggestive. Yasi quickly reassures her that the Yun family was just knocked out and not harmed. So it is important to Weishan they are not harmed yet she is not curious enough to even look at the bride she is replacing. Why? Because it is her twin, she already knows what she looks like.

The bigger reason she returns to Wufeng is revenge. She is probably quite safe from Wufeng because everyone that knows of her betrayal is dead and Qian was the one who actually leaked all of the information that lured Wufeng in. She told Jin Fan the truth about Zhuomei, just not the whole truth. She may even be Zhuomei's daughter. That is why she was taught all of Qingfeng's top martial arts but Qian was not. Neither of them even got close to Dianzhu/Wufeng's leader so they could not have learned Qingfeng sect's top martial arts from Dianzhu. Weishan probably joined Wufeng to avenge Zhuomei and possibly also free her sister. She simply could not stay with Ziyu in Gongmen because her work is not yet done. But the first chapter of her story can be considered complete.

A second season probably reunites Weishan with Qian because Dianzhu is their common enemy. This is also why Qian leaves Gongmen, she also has a mission more important than love. Another season could well take place entirely outside of Gongmen so it is not clear the entire cast needs to return. Given how popular the Gong family is with audiences however, my guess is if they can reunite everyone they will bring it all back to Gongmen. But they can also continue it outside of Gongmen with only Shangjue returning or Ziyu returning after handing the reins over to Shangjue. This is very smart of Guo Jingming. He left all his options open. Including the option of not proceeding with another season.

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A Riveting Werewolf Game

My Journey to You is a 24-episode original script drama written and directed by Guo Jingming. It narrates the story of Yun Weishan, who infiltrates the Gong family for a mission. Amidst the mission, she encounter love, friendship and gradually discovers herself, what her heart wants. Each episode is around 1 hour long, although it might seems a little bit too long for a drama, but the drama manages to masterfully blends elements of espionage, intrigue, martial arts with romance as the sub-plot.

Set against the backdrop of the jianghu (martial arts world) with Gong Family and Wu Feng as the prominent player, My Journey to You mainly revolves around conspiracies, hidden agendas, and a game of wits that will keep you guessing until the very end. However, these suspenseful moments are perfectly balanced with comedic heart-warming interactions and thought-provoking dialogues, making it a series that is as emotionally engaging as it is intellectually stimulating.

🔗 Introduction to My Journey To You character summary: https://twitter.com/afterrnoont/status/1698267612042641644?s=20

What My Journey to You apart is it’s intricate and fast well-paced storytelling (initially). In the beginning, each episode unfolds like a carefully orchestrated symphony, revealing layers of deception. Each episode also packs a punch, leaving viewers on the edge of the seat from the beginning till the end!! Every character in the drama is also very intriguing. Each character feels like a fully fleshed-out individual with their own unique personality, motivations, and backstory. The drama have skilfully crafted a tapestry of lives that intersect and collide in compelling ways!! Yun Weishan and Shangguan Qian are morally grey, smart and calculating. their dynamic is so interesting to watch because on one hand they have this protective camaraderie between them, but it also feels tense, just like you’re waiting for the impending betrayal. Meanwhile each Gong siblings are also very unique, each of them has their own motive, but overall it's still for Gong's family interest and good!

Another aspect that sets My Journey to You apart is its high-quality production. This is a big budget and high-quality production that features exemplary cinematography, elaborately authentic sets, exquisite costumes, well-executed action choreography, as well as beautifully shot natural landscapes. In addition, the editing, scene transitions and sequencing of the narrative progression appear cohesive and relatively seamless. The colour palette of this drama is also beautiful and eye pleasing!! The colour palette is sparse and dark toned with a dash of white, gold, and red sometimes.

At the heart of this drama is an ensemble cast that delivers remarkable performances. My Journey to You has a stellar cast, that delivers a profoundly compelling performance from the main role to the supporting role. Each actor nuanced portrayal of their characters adds depth and authenticity to the story. Yu Shuxin and Lu Yuxiao performance in the drama are really commendable! Yu Shuxin manages to show a different side of her, she provides us with further glimpses of her versatility and range with a vastly different and never-seen-before side – she can not only play a cheerful innocent character, like Xiao Lanhua, but she can also pull off a serious character with many layers. Lu Yuxiao also delivers a strong performance; her micro expressions and eye glances makes her character more fleshed out and rich! Another commendable actor is Tian Jiarui, although this is his first drama, but he has managed to show how good of an actor he is!! We can definitely look forward to his future works!!

However, there are also some aspects that made the drama fall short. Personally, I find that the drama becomes a little bit dull midway. The drama still progresses, it seems like it's moving but to nowhere. The drama make you keep on guessing and guessing but little answer is revealed. Another aspect that mainly turns me off the the male lead weak characterization (not to the actor), which is a speciality of Guo Jingming's drama whereas he tend to make the second leads of his drama stand out more than the main leads. Also another huge disappointment of the drama is that it has a dissatisfactory ending with unanswered questions. Although there are some answers, but the main answer remains to be a question. It feels disappointing and frustrating - you spend almost 24 hours watching the drama only to be left with more questions.

Drawbacks aside, All in all, My Journey to You is a is a remarkable drama with an engrossing plot, impressive cinematography, and art direction. If you love mystery suspense with a blend of wuxia drama, this is a good watch!

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My Journey to…Nowhere?

Let me start with the positive marks. This drama is seriously gorgeous when it comes to visuals, with the attention to cinematographic detail you see in movies more than TV shows. You could even put the drama on mute and still enjoy it just for how gorgeous so many shots are. This is clearly where the director’s talents lie and was my favorite part of the experience.

The second thing I can applaud is the cast, who all performed their roles to the best they could as the characters are written. I have to give special mention to Ryan Cheng who was so perfect in his role as Gong Shang Jue that unfortunately the others, even though they were good, were eclipsed by his performance. But really it is on a scale of “pretty good” to “excellent” with no major weak points in acting.

The story starts off exciting in its first episodes with a great focus on Yun Wei Shan being sent on her mission amongst the potential brides, but is soon dragged down to an extremely slow pace it suffers from until the end of the drama. Most episodes follow the same formula of going around in circles, with too much exposition and endless conversations (that were so whispered it was sometimes hard to hear over the background tracks) only to finish up on a cliffhanger to keep you hooked in, and then do the same the next episode. The show often gets lost in flashbacks and forgets to move forward in the present timeline leading to a feeling of “is anything actually happening?” throughout the middle of the drama.

As for the characters, some arcs are better than others. Many have complained about the frustrating arc of the ML character Gong Ziyu who takes a very long time to catch up to speed with the plot, appearing not just trusting and naive but oblivious to a degree that strains belief, only to develop very abruptly in a way that wasn’t convincing. But even worse is the characterization of the FL as Yun Wei Shan, who gets overshadowed by the Gong men family drama and rarely feels like the lead of the show she is supposed to be. For many episodes she plays the role of sidekick to accompany ML on his three trials, so he can grow into his position as Sword Wielder. By the end it feels her character and the Wufeng side of the story got a background seat to the story of uniting the Gong men against a common enemy. Despite being lead it feels as though Yu Shu Xin is not given her time to shine.

As for the plot, instead of presenting a focused mystery that builds with suspense and ends on a satisfactory note, the story gets tangled in its own web of its too many suspects and possibilities, leaving the audience to overcompensate and come up with theories that had way more depth than the show provided, such as the theory that Zi Yu was playing a big long con, or that Gong Zi Shang had more sinister involvement beyond her over-the-top comic relief role. The writer relies too hard on cliffhangers for his own good, so much so that he can’t stop himself from including one even at the last minute. An open ending works for some dramas but here it leaves a bad taste. Aside from the Gong men coming together and Ziyu becoming sword wielder, nothing has really changed and it seems implied the terrible cycles we started with will only continue…YWS’s potential sacrifices didn’t amount to much and in the end the writer lets her fate become another unsatisfying mystery.

To sum it up, this is a beautiful but slow watching experience that lacked focus and didn't end up having the depth I hoped. I doubt a Season 2 would happen but if it did I can't say for sure I'd be interested in watching.

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I wanted this to be my favorite cdrama of 2023

today i completed my journey to you and i will start off by saying this is one of the best cdramas for me of this year — cinematography, performances from the actors, musically, and visual wise. it simply took my breath away from the start. the intensity of the episodes, each one ending with a cliffhanger that left you wanting to know more and what would happen next. i loved this drama so much i’d look forward to getting up every morning and watching the next episode!

onto the characters — my favorites were the main couple. many people were saying they weren’t feeling the romance between the leads, and while i do agree with the lack of screen time between yun weishan and gong ziyu, every moment they shared together was incredibly sweet and made my heart ache from ziyu’s lovely words towards his bride to weishan always being on ziyu’s side despite him not knowing. my journey to you is a drama about an undercover spy on a mission — “if a spy falls in love with her target, she’ll face a tragic ending.” a romance that could end in tragedy, but it still lit a light in my heart that just made the drama simply perfect for me. i especially loved gong ziyu’s character because he is a character with a gentle, warm, and pure heart who saw the good side in everything. he treated his lover with so much care and love it moved me to watch them together. she was willing to give herself up for his sake, and he was willing to let her go so she could achieve the freedom she has been searching for the majority of her life. they were such a sweet couple every scene of theirs felt like a precious gem that needed to be preserved and cherished. as for the secondary characters i will say that i have a strong dislike for the gong brothers — many viewers enjoyed their scenes but i found them to be annoying, always plotting and scheming against ziyu. they always had an agenda hidden up their sleeve.

despite my utter enjoyment of the plot, the characters, and the beautiful visuals of this drama the ending was an absolute disappointment. too many questions were left unanswered; i would have been okay with a sad ending, anything that would give some sense of closure but so many holes in the plot were created and it could have all been fixed with some extra episodes. who is the mastermind behind all of this? what happened to SGQ after she left the gong mansion? did weishan disappear, or die? why did she disappear? why did they reveal weishan’s twin so late into the drama and what has she been up to? so many questions arise and were left unanswered, the ending being an open one just leaves much to be desired. im so disappointed with how they ended the show. they didn’t give the main leads enough screen time and didn’t even explain what happened to them. weishan just disappeared and that’s how it ended which left me very confused and upset. everything about this drama was perfect for me but the ending was a total botch of a drama with so much potential, but with many missed opportunities.

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Keeps you guessing...forever

This is an ensemble drama that had to balance so many pieces of a puzzle and characters to make a complete piece. The cinematography is gorgeous and the costume and sets are beautiful as well. This director really knows how to shoot actors, the lighting in the dark Gong residences was excellent. Instead of looking dull the actors looked ethereal and darkly beautiful. Gong Shangjue is often shot like a viper who sits in the dark on first watch, but on a second watch he looks like a lonely man who holds a lot of pain and responsibility. Ryan Cheng was a stand out for me in this show. He had to bear two weeks plus of everyone hating his character, poor him. I never doubted that he was always rooting for his gallivanting brother to get responsible and protect their family.

Esther Yu especially impressed me in this show, in LBFAD I liked her character towards the end but in this one she handles a meatier role in stride. Her crying scenes are actually heartbreaking and not grating, you get the sense that she put a little of herself in order to bring out the grief, not the persona she wears for the character. I'll definitely follow her projects after this. I must commend Lu Yu Xiao as well, in another drama she appeared in this year I found her annoying but in this one she is electric. You never really know what she wants even in the end. She kept the audience guessing, if c dramas were not so reliant on flashbacks I would have never known what she really desired or cared about. An excellent spy in that sense.

Now, the writing in this show was a little wanting. I liked that all the characters were taken care of, instead of using the supporting characters as tools to prop the male lead, each of them holds weight that creates an emotional heart of the story. This always gets a plus from me, no matter how messy the main plot is. The writer/director was able to make us care about the supporting characters so that a big loss is felt if we lose any of them, even the ones we hated. The humor was not my style at all and I skipped many Gong Zishang's scenes. Sorry but she was overdoing it. The main problem I had is that not enough time is given to the part of the plot that moves the gears forward. Ziyu's actions move the plot forward, the three trials he must take are how we get to the next bit of the story, yet this part was the slowest moving part of the plot. This is why I found the third trial and Master Hua's arc wanting. Often important developments were paused after making the audience think there should have been an immediate consequence. As much as I hate to admit it, Yun Weishan was often conveniently covered by plot armour. In C drama writer fashion, the villain is revealed in a cartoon like fashion who describes their plan and declares "if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" And so much exposition. But I hardly think c drama writers will ever change this style of writing. The final act needed either tighter writing or the drama should have done the full 40 episodes. It is as if the writer was rushing to solve the mystery by writing twists in for convenience (some of which were predicted by the audience, but still). However, probably this could be justified if that ending means there is going to be a season 2. How that will work in the C-ent industry would be nothing short of a miracle. Unless all the actors signed up knowing it might end this way. If there is no season 2 then I'm afraid that ending was clumsily done.

It is absolutely worth watching even twice, the first to work out what is going on in the plot because the drama was good at leaving clues for the audience to figure out, the second time to decipher the truth from the lies. The ending will not be satisfying for all, but I thought there were great enough elements in this to deserve a 9. This is one of the high quality outputs from c drama in 2023.

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Dark, beautifully shot….and pretentious

My Journey to You started off very well- it was mysterious, beautifully shot, and with a lovely soundtrack. The world of the show is one where all the female characters except one have ties to a mysterious spy organisation and three (or four) of these women have infiltrated the highly-guarded Gong family. For some strange reason, the Gong family holds a bride selection ever 20 years, and as the show begins, the spy organisation Wufeng has sent spies dressed as brides. Our female lead is also a spy, albeit among the lowest order in this cruel organisation, and she has been handed over an assignment which we as the audience are not fully aware of. It is not enough to trust one woman with a task so Wufeng decides to send three female spies. The bride arc is undoubtedly the most interesting and engaging in the entire show.

Immediately a number of different mysteries are placed in the world of the show to be solved by the end. What is Wufeng- what is its purpose, why does it exist? Why is the Gong family so guarded? Why are brides sent to the Gong family? Who are the other clans in this world and what role if any do they have in this Wufeng-Gong fiasco? As the story progresses, similar other questions prop up.

The first ten episodes are fairly well-paced after which I felt the show started dragging: the Gong cousins were at each other throats for far too long without any real reason. It was quite clear that Gong Shang Jue’s primary concern was the Gong family itself and that explains his tough stance towards Gong Zi Yu, so in the end it isn’t really a surprise. Yet, many of the confrontations between the cousins just seemed to repeat themselves, episode after episode. The three trials were far too spaced-out (and frankly somewhat underwhelming) to hold attention. It’s only the last five episodes or so where the pacing improved and the main questions (including who killed Gong Zi Yu’s father) were answered…to some extent.

For a show with so many female spies, women really didn’t have much to do beyond spying (and falling in love). Women are either crazily in love or become coy soon after falling in love (Ziyu’s mother, Gong Zi Shang, even Yun Wei Shan) or chasing some mumbo-jumbo ideas of “freedom” (again, Ziyu’s mother, Yan Wei Shan and Shangguan Qian come to mind), or the verdict is not out on them (e.g., Wuji and Shanggan Qian). Are any of these women (except Gong Zi Shang) even free? Whether it’s being a Wufeng spy or married into the Gong family (which very much resembles a prison for women as they can’t go outside)- all women are in chains, physical and emotional. Gong Zi Shang’s seeking her family's attention is placed on the back burner in front of the love story. What can be more important than romantic love? If women aren’t married or in love they can surely end up being as cruel as the head of Wufeng! The show started off as the FL’s story and ended up being the ML’s story, as he had the strongest arc.

The last episode solved some of the questions asked and then left plenty of other questions unanswered. Perhaps the most jarring one of them: why did the FL go there, and what happened to her? Instead of also critiquing some of the Gong family practices, the screenwriter decided to present Wufeng as a single-headed, mindless organisation with a psychopathic female killer as its head. Of course, plenty of logical fallacies too appear- how did Shangguan Qian manage to mortally injure Jin Fan.

At the end of the show I liked how the cousins had finally bonded; the separation of the back hill boys was sad. Yet, what really was the point of the back hill? What was the point of many of the devices used in this story? There are many positives on the show- particularly the lovely soundtrack, the costumes, the beautiful cinematography, the characters, and the acting to a great extent. The weakest link in my opinion was the plot which meandered to the point of being pretentious. The greatest stories always have deeper subtexts- scratch this one and it is hollow with hardly anything to say beyond its stylistic machinations.

Leia Mais

An Absolute Fantastic Rollercoaster Though without An End

I haven't had a show suck me in like this in a very long time. I'm still in somewhat of a stupor. I've never seen any of these actors before save for some in the older generation and SFL so absolutely blown away by their talent and believability. Every episode had me and pretty much everyone else trying to come up with theories of who was really good or bad. It's like my mind was taken away and placed elsewhere. This drama was a fantastic rollercoaster though sadly with no real ending.

Pros: I will try to not write a novel because this had everything one wants in a mystery wuxia; great martial arts, theories, not everything is as it seems, stunning costumes, scenery, cinematography, OSTs, heartbreak and love. Every single character for the most part was multifaceted and layered. The 2 main gray characters and then learning their stories and understanding where they came from. I'm not even sure I have a favorite character here. The actors absolutely just annihilated it! So amazing; the truth, the lies, the scheming, the understanding, love, hate, insanity. Good vs evil plus good that was evil from episode one. The gradual building of feelings. So ML (ZY) and FL (YWS) together and separately were great, SML (SJ) and have to give props to the newbie who played his little brother; how someone so young can play a convincing obnoxious creep with a smile that sends chills down your spine, is beyond me. TJR or YZ is the standout in this cast of amazing performers for sure. I personally called him Junior poison or little shit depending on how he acted. YQ, Raven papa HYS (who was on the dark side but ultimately had a good heart), JF and our seal diving elder sis plus all the young masters from the back mountain were refreshing and sometimes you were left in stitches from elder sis because she added the sunlight to this predominantly dark drama. All the dynamics were great as were relationships between people. Though I only saw real romantic connections between the leads and later on the odd couple, the second leads were in a game of cat and mouse and though he did ultimately fall for her, I didn't feel what many others felt. Theirs was like two vipers circling each other.

Trying to get everyone and everything is impossible because some assassins are real and others actually have hearts and want their freedom. The fact that in the final episode it is revealed that only 3 months passed since the start of this journey, your mind is blown because you feel it's been years. Each episode is an hour long and leaves a cliffhanger with lots of theories for you to discuss with fellow watchers. WuFeng or assassins creed as I called them are an organization led by fear and though most were absolutely ruthless, they had/have many weaknesses. They were the main antagonists but they weren't alone. Actually many of us figured out who the other ones already in the mansion were and it was just a matter of time before that was confirmed.

It was also mind blowing when the reveals started happening, just how much was actually done. And so funny to some of the commenters in this section that kept saying ZY didn't deserve to be SW, but SJ did because ZY was somehow either cheating or being helped, come to find out that SJ was secretly helping him too. Felt good for those of us defending ZY lol.

Cons: Ok, this section will be smaller but there are a few reasons why this drama didn't get a perfect score. As many before me, the ending or lack thereof was just ridiculous. You had such a captivating story and then to make the literal 4 minutes a cliffhanger that looked like it belonged in a different drama looked lazy. Yes it could be hinting at the potential of a season 2 but it could have done it way better. I've written my share of cliffhangers and regular endings and though I'm no maestro writer/director, I would have just ended it without a cliffhanger because one can still leave an air of mystery and end something satisfactory. It made both leads do things completely out of character with what we've seen. So that was a huge point buster.

SGQ got away way too easy. It didn't seem to me that she suffered much if at all with her constant crocodile tears and lies. She was a pathological liar that was also a narcissistic sociopath. Her raven was right that she only loves herself. But though the dynamic with SML in scheming against each other worked, I felt unlike everyone else that was consistently there--good or bad--evolved in some way except her. Would have been good for her to also have growth.

Last detail is the smallest but it was a personal peeve and reminded me of another drama I watched this year where they had each special skill a character made pop up on screen in massive white letters even though it was verbalized; very unnecessary. Looked 90s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Plus it was subbed twice so all that lettering on the screen was very busy and hard to understand.

Would I recommend it? 100% would! Despite those last 4 minutes of the last episode, this was fantastic. So much so, that I think it has its own force field that doesn't let you leave even once you finished it. Really, really good especially if you like the wuxia genre.

Leia Mais