I was super biased against this show and have been putting off watching it because, let’s be honest, the ML Ash Zhu (Emperor Yan Jin) is not that good looking as compared to Dylan Wang, Zhang Ze Han, Simon Gong, etc. Add to the fact that Ma Meng Wei is not your typical fairy female lead, so if you are looking for just visuals as hook then you will never touch this drama.

But maybe if you’re bored enough and finally decide to watch this just to see what’s it all about, you will binge watch this show until the last episode. After you get past episode 1 and just enjoy the show based on the plot and cinematography, you will see the unique charm of this show.

|GOOD PACING, UNCOMPLICATED, BUT STILL FULFILLING STORY|
This is probably the most well written period drama in 24 eps that balances romances, hijinks, court politics, and character development and relationships. The story is predictable but the way the director tried earnestly to use unconventional shots and editing to pack in as much emotion as position per scene is so refreshing. It may be a low budget drama with mostly controlled tight shots but the director did try to deliver shots filled with double meanings. Reminded me a lot of the beautiful shots of Tang Dynasty tour but with less budget and fewer episode counts. And I also want to commend that though the villains were not that scary, they did their part but not in an illogical way. Also even if w shed a few tears near the end, the show did give us 3x happiness for romance and nice ending for some of the supporting characters.

|GREAT CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE CAST, OK ROMANCE|
Don’t expect the same level of chemistry as The Eternal Love or Love Better than Immortality, because the romance between Emperor Yan Jin and Sanbao is very PG13 with implied boat romance. Their romance is more like a warm bowl of congee rather than fireworks.
But what really works for me is that even though there are a lot of characters for this short drama, the writer was able to give proper connections and character development for the supporting cast. Even the most hopeless dad even got a redemption arc. Also I don’t think there’s any other 24ep period Cdrama that was able to give not one but 3 couples.

So to those who want a period drama that is short but still has substance, do watch Oops, The King is in Love and you will love it.

PS. Don’t expect The Eternal Love level of chemistry. It’s more like a warm congee feeling with some kiss scenes.