The Romance of Tiger and Rose (2020)

THE BEST DRAMA OF 2020!

This drama has that fluffy love story, naive female lead who doesn't know anything about love, and a strong male lead. I just love this drama so freakin' much! I love how Han Shuo were totally smitten by Xiao Qian. Even though he try to take revenge towards her later but he just couldn't bare to see Xiao Qian getting hurt even just a little bit. I also love that Han Shuo were always there for her, and Xiao Qian is just soooo freakin' cute especially in her drunken part at the Weimeng Mountain. I don't know how many times I rewatch at that part. I also like their both onlookers, Bai Ji and Zi Rui. They are so funny and make the drama completed with their presence, one is stupid and another one cannot do anything right. The only disappointment for me is that I hope that the ending would last longer in their modern world or maybe go for the season 2? Overalls, I really recommended this
fantastic drama❤️.

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100% Worth watching !!!

I am not an avid fan of historical drama but this one hooked up till the end like I finished it in 3 days.
Plot : I have to tell one of most cleverly written plot. Like the events change in every episode. The characters are unpredictable like you would never know what's gonna happen next. The Love triangle here was actually fun to watch.

Acting: Rosy Zhao and Ryan Ding have captured my heart. Not only that the entire cast was amazing in their roles. Truly, you will completely get attached with them. They are the main elements of this drama.

Other than that the drama is fast paced like it did not even bore me for a sec. Thankfully the conversation are not lengthier, not much of backstory, Amazing romance between leads. I hope we get to see dramas like this in future.
I assure you, this will steal your hearts for sure !!!

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Much more than a simple rom-com romance

The Romance of Tiger and Rose certainty fools you into believing its a run of the mill, cliche, simple romcom, love story but it's not. Behind there's so many life lessons shown thru the comedy: feminism, equality, gender roles, choice, evilness, unfairness but I think the most important moral of the story is love. Love is what moves all these characters to make the choices they make during the drama. Some are moved by hatred but because they feel like they weren't loved enough and someone else was always preferred over them. Others learn what the meaning of falling in love really is, it's not the typical cliche read about in books but it's something that moves you, and gives your life meaning, and when you truly experience it then you can fully understand and write about it. And finally others learn that love can make someone human not just a person who lives life for one goal: to conquer, but learns to be alive thru love.

I love how Chen Qian Qian wasn't the typical naive, pushover protagonist, no! she was spunky, she was strong, smart, clever and had a troublesome personality lol. She made me laugh so many times. Also love her strength when standing up to her bullies and fighting for her beliefs. She changed the lives of everyone around her, especially Han Shou's who experiences one of the most in depth character developments in the story. Also huge plus that the characters weren't all one note villains, or one note heroes, they all had complexity and the audience was able to see why they made the choices they did in the end.

Ryan Ding and Zhou Lusi had excellent chemistry together! One of my favorite onscreen couples for sure. I'd love to see them together again, and if it's in S2 even better. I feel like there's still so much left to tell after the ending but maybe it's just me because I'm left wanting more lol.

Overall Rating: 10/10 and since this is one of my faves, I'm definitely re-watching it again. It's really that special.

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TL;DR - A great C-drama to get back into the world of C-dramas. Unique storyline with cute romance and a strong supporting cast.

This is the first C-drama in years that I watched and not only did I complete it, but I also enjoyed it and squealed like a teenager from start to finish!

There are so many good things about this drama that I don't even know where to start. From the fast-pace story telling and well developed plot (except near the end) to the amazing main and supporting leads, and a genuinely sincere romance between the main leads, this drama has it all. The only thing that knocks it down is how they rushed some plots near the end that lost impact and didn't give time for some of the supporting characters to develop properly (eg. Su Mo getting over himself to be with the princess, Chuchu's character arc). Plus the ending with Qianqian (QQ) and Han Shuo (HS) felt a bit anti-climatic and overall I felt that this could've benefited from a few more episodes. However compared to other dramas I was watching, I was ok with this sort of rushed, but meaningful plot.

What makes this drama so fun is that it's very self aware and pokes fun at the C-drama cliches we see nowadays; if you're someone who watches or reads C-material regularly, you'll definitely recognize them here. The tropes are still here, but the drama satirizes it in a way that makes the watcher engaged and doesn't insult their intelligence. There are many times that I actually laughed out loud and the fast pacing allowed me to be completely absorbed in the world and the characters.
Speaking of the characters, hat's off to whoever casted them, because they were easily my favorite part of the show. I never thought any of them were pointless, and this would've likely not been such an enjoyable watch without them. I even liked the 'bad' characters, because I understood their motivations and their actions made sense. Shout out to QQ's servant who almost stole the show for me with his hilarity and facial expressions, and the group of three storytellers who followed along with QQ's story. QQ's mom is also awesome and I actually liked Chuchu as well, though I wished she was given more time to complete her arc instead of leaving her as a wicked person (also she should've been punished for what she did, she got off too easily).

Of course, the two that stole the show for me were our amazing leads HS and QQ. Both are great characters on their own and together they were just freaking adorable. What won me over was how genuine their relationship was, and how much they'd sacrifice for the other's sake. I squealed so much over their cute interactions and how harmonious they were as a team. I love how HS is not a typical, stone-faced ML but has a funny side and actively protects the FL even when she does him wrong. QQ is also a great FL and I love how she takes things into her own hands instead of passively accepting her fate, and is very self-aware of the shortcomings of her own story. My only problem with them is that...they had their first time in a dank-a** prison. Like wtf? This was one of the few times that I wondered why this had to happen this way and they were honestly robbed of having that special moment.

The opening song is adorable and I liked all the music that was played in this drama. There wasn't a time where it was inappropriately played or out of place. I'd certainly give this a re-watch, mainly for our leads and some supporting characters and would definitely recommend you watch.

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MY FIRST CDRAMA and it was wholesome!

As a self-proclaimed writer, the attack of this plot was interesting. Like how they make things unpredicted yet predicted (you know). I was so focused on the plot that I barely remember the characters (this review was written 1 month ago). FL is smart and always has a doom day because of her decisions. I like this part because it makes the story has been more messier haha. The ML was quite linear until the middle but his complexity was revealed. I was shaken that they put love stories for side characters which was awesome-- like the story did not evolve to MC only. Ghad, till now, I'm thinking of what ifs. And fudge, hero to villain? Never tried that. I like the ending too. Not quite satisfying but at least happy ending.

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Must Watch - Perfect blend of Drama and Hilarious Comedy performed by a stellar cast

Normally I'm not a fan of "Historical" Period dramas as they tend to be overly dramatic, slow and with "cringe" acting. Romance of The Tiger and Rose is an exception. The FL Chen QianQian (Rosy Zhao) is a screenwriter whose drama about 2 different cities, one matriarchal and one patriarchal, has been panned as being illogical and nonsensical by her potential future show's lead actor Han / Han Shuo (Ryan Ding). It's contempt at first sight. Then somehow a supernatural event happens and she gets sucked into the world of a screenplay. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue as she becomes a no good, hated, bit character fated to die from poisoning according to her plot. How will she survive?

This series utilizes the tired old trope of getting sucked into another world but does it REALLY well. I commend the scriptwriter for turning in a fine screenplay, I was impressed by the political messages - sexism is bad, equality is good, people can overcome their shortcomings, parental love is no joke, people do things out of obligation for people they love, storytellers are smarter than you think, love makes you stupid and power is hell of a drug. All of these themes are seamlessly weaved into the story, and the FL at times "rants" about how stupid some of the characters are behaving while acknowledging that it's indirectly HER fault for writing them that way "damn, this is MY fault now how do I fix it?

Things happen as every SINGLE drama trope is explored. Assassination, poison, jail, slow motion scenes to get the leads to fall in love with each other slowly, the FL resisting the ML, who does the same, a 3rd party trying to mess things up, you name it. It's delicious self parody at the highest level, I cannot commend Nan Zhen (the screen writer) enough for creating this world and the situations enfolding within. The budget is well spent - costumes are gorgeous and sets are believable for the most part and the soundtrack and music could have been better.

The show's greatest strength is the acting of the cast. Everyone shines especially Ryan Ding / Han Shuo who is not just handsome he embodies the perfect balance of strength, love and comedy chops. This man can do any type of acting, on the strength of this show consider me a new fan! I've never liked Rosy Zhao, she falls into her pouting spoiled persona easily and she was by far the worst part of this show but the surrounding cast is so good it works.

I particularly want to highlight Zi Rui (Wu Yi Jia) and Bai Ji (Liu Shu Yuan) as those 2 were a HUGE delight in turning up the hilarity to a 11. I've never seen henchmen done so well I almost want another show just featuring those 2 characters but all the acting is great, both sets of parents are fantastic.

This show is a fun, engrossing watch and will be one of my top 5 C-dramas in 2020. It's been a while since film makers took a genre, turned it on its head with a great script and acting, and turned out the rom com hit of 2020 with minimal budget, almost inventing a "new" genre. It's fresh, funny and exciting. Just fantastic. People are going to want more shows like this. The ending leaves it open for a sequel and according to MDL one has been planned thanks to the runaway success of this must watch drama.

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Best non cringy chinese historical drama!!!

So.. this is my first chinese drama and I am very pleasantly surprised that I don’t hate it... in fact i love it! Here are the pros and cons

Pros:
Not boring (thank god) and funny! Their acting is good (unlike other c dramas). Reminds me of “scarlet heart” but a more light hearted version. Episodes not too many so doesn’t feel drawn out.

Cons:
Some inconsistencies with the plot, although this is a fantasy drama, I’m pretty sure there is still some “fantasy rule” to be followed. The ending feels forced. Although I said this drama is not that cringy, but I am used to watching kdramas so it is still a bit cringy for me (but definitely bearable)

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An important narrative about the importance of equality between the genders, the need to break out of stereotypes, and to not blame others for your problems. Also, this was just fun to watch.

As someone who doesn't like ridiculous comedy, I was a little wary to start with this, but it quickly had me laughing without reserve. The chemistry between the comedic relief characters was hilarious and pleasant to watch. The writing jokes were a nice added touch and hit the nail on the head. The story follows a young screenwriter who falls into her own story and must learn how to navigate the world she created. A world that is stubbornly not following her plot line no matter how hard she tries to get it back on track. It focus's on the animosity between two city's who respectively put one gender over the other. In her writing, she attempted to even out the power balance between men and women by putting women in charge of the main city.

The story was so so, but what really brought it together was the chemistry between the characters, the humor, and obvious lessons throughout. There was little need for skipping (I skipped a little when characters were being unnecessarily mean for too long) and I thoroughly enjoyed the direction of the plot and the twists it brought. Hooray for character development, because this is chock full of it. The FL is a little ditsy at times, but I attributed it to her being thrown into a world where she knows she supposed to be killed off.

All in all, I would definitely recommend watching this if you're looking for a fun and romantic story, with a dash of seriousness for a propelled plot.

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I loved this drama a lot. I wanted an "Enemies-to-lovers" type of trope to watch and came across this, however I don't usually watch Historical dramas since I am a language learner and want modern Chinese language, however I decided to give it a go and it became one of my most favourite dramas. The chemistry was amazing and I loved every second of this drama. I want a season 2 but I doubt there will be one, but I was so happy with the ending, I was worried how the ending would be but I was really happy with the ending. I would definitely watch it again. I also really loved the two mains, I really like Zhao Lusi, I got to know her through this drama and will definitely watch more of her dramas in the future.

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A lighthearted journey full of laughter and romance.

This drama was overall a comedy and a cute romance involving a love hate relationship.
In my opinion, the drama was extremely fun watching because of the main leads. The acting, the relationship, the small humor in everything was really cute. This was my first time watching a Chinese Period drama and I enjoyed it a lot. I binged watched it and finished it in a day.
The storyline is also funny as it revolves around 2 cities which are matriarchal and patriarchal.
The chemistry between 2 leads were also wonderful and I even started to wonder if the main lead really liked the female lead in real life. This explains how professional the acting is. The way he played with his eyes were wonderful and mesmerizing.

I would definitely love to rewatch this drama and recommend it.

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Try 2 Find a Better Answer to the Question ~ How Did You 2 Get Together? °Superior°

~All spoilers are at the bottom in a clearly marked section ~

TROTAR: A New Take on the Battle of the Sexes with Romance, Grace, & Ultimate Masculinity on Display. It is Superior.

This precious RomComDram is about a novice screenwriter whose script has been sold, but she was advised to work with the ML on objections he has to it. She despises him from moment zero. He curtly states he doesn't u/s his character's motivations. He can't see how the lead man/villain, Han Shuo (HShuo), would be attracted to ChuChu (Chu), the heroine. ‘Some people will never fall in love,’ he explains, ‘just like you and me,’ he tactlessly adds. ‘Have you ever been in a relationship/in love?’ she's asked, while she fumes. Oh, one more thing: "Your script seems chauvinistic." Grrrr.

She then scrambles over a feverish, junk-food-fueled weekend to make 'corrections,' even though she thinks /he/ is completely wrong. Exhausted, she passes out (with a tissue still up one nostril) and wakes up in the world of her script. It isn't a dream: She's really there, and she's stuck there.

YIKES! She's a disposable character, the 3rd Princess, Xiaoqian (XQ), who has the restraint and thoughtfulness of Udai Hussein. More importantly, she's scripted to get whacked in ep3! She decides to not risk finding out if dying in her vision equals real death. As the black hearted HShuo, her perfect villain, is to poison her on their wedding night, she'll tackle that 1st.

She's shocked to see that HShuo looks like that rude actor! He's excellent at playing up his heart condition and taking on other false personas - He can really act. Hmmm. While XQ manages to avoid being murdered on schedule, she'll have to watch that villain, while also trying to set him up with the heroine Chu, all while being married to him, so she can conclude the story and go home. HShuo is essential to her plot, so he must not die.

She penned HShuo, the ruthless prince of Xuanhu, w/ a bad heart that will kill him by age 20. Her plot calls for Chu & him to fall in love. In order to heal him, Chu will steal the Dragon Bone, Huayuan's most precious treasure. Ultimately, he betrays Chu to conquer Huayuan, and Chu kills HShuo in battle, taking the city back.

The filming is next level elegant. The sets are arrayed in perfect detail. The costumes〰 I was unable to avert my gaze from the resplendent rainbow of silks. The fluid dance of the fighting scenes along with exalted acrobatics & flowing robes augment the actors' movements w/ stunning results. Luxi Zhao, as the script writer/Xiaoqian/ XQ, is radiant & sparkling. Her smile lights the screen. Ding Yuxi, as HShuo, displays phenomenal skill. He just has the goods when it comes to acting. He can be ruthless or adoring. It's not his words that project how he feels about XQ, it's his body language, his focus, and his eyes. He has intensity.

The script reflects XQ's frustration over the disparity between the sexes. She created two adjacent cities. Xuanhu is ruled by men, which is the case in most (all?) of our collective history on this planet. The women are to serve the men and manage the home. In Huayuan, however, the situation is the exact opposite. Women do every important job and those worthless men manage the home and serve their wives. The actors were tasked to embody male-female roll-reversal as citizens of Huayuan City. They did an amazing job. Women are boorish and contemptuous of men. The male actors are mind blowing. Every muscle in their bodies mirrors a woman that is gentle, doting, & subservient. It's worth a rewatch just to focus on the performances.

The entire role reversal is handled deftly. XQ snickers in glee at first analysis. It's funny, until it starts to feel uncomfortable, and then horrific - in both cities. Very few citizens are truly pleased with their lives. Watching men being beaten and treated as pleasure slaves brings no respite to those that decry violence against women. Each city is extreme, and each one needs to be balanced out.

As things unfold, we see that HShuo, has the most attractive form of masculinity: a strong protector who loves his woman so much that, if necessary, he would give his life for her, and would never let family or politics get in the way of their relationship. He would definitely help with the housework, too. As it's the opposite of toxic masculinity, let's call it Ultimate Masculinity. This manliness is tempered by love. Together this couple is the equilibrium that the two cities lack.

HShuo falls for XQ episodes before she reciprocates. She's too busy with her plotline to notice his - or even her own - feelings. While he's trying to make their marriage work, she's trying to fix him up with her sister Chu, the heroine. At the same time, every opportunity he has to be alone with XQ is blocked by his kind, but idiot servant, Bai-ji. XQ hurts him repeatedly, and confuses him with her attentions to other men, particularly her long time fiance, Pei (XQ's favorite character). Pei hates the 3rd Princess and has delayed their marriage. This isn't the same princess, though…

She created the script with its flaws that manifest themselves in front of her. She devised uh the characters with their disabilities, problems, and deficiencies, only to now work tirelessly trying to fix (undo) everything and everybody that she constructed. That's seriously entertaining. Her only advantage is that she knows the story, as well as each character's background and motivations. It shouldn't be too difficult, right? To her dismay, the changes she makes start to change the story and, thus, the characters' reactions. This alters their trajectories. She, herself, is tragically misunderstood at every turn. Xiaoqian is just trying to preserve her life, but the rewrites push the first Mahjong tile. Now they are all ting-ting-tinging to the floor, albeit in a beautiful pattern.

Due to Xiaoqian's efforts, Chu does fall for HShuo, who reciprocates with dismissiveness, as he's in love with XQ. In addition, the revised 3rd Princess is solving problems and winning the hearts of the people. Their mother, the city owner, dotes over XQ, but always criticizes Chu, who freefalls into hurt-jealousy-hate-&-obsessive-devouring-rage. As Chu plummets, the plot gets out of control. XQ must get help! She runs to 3 story writers (who else?!). Every time she has a crisis they all meet together. She only gives them the barest info, though. She grabs some fruit and presents the main characters: Miss Apple, Miss Orange, and Mr. Banana. Yep, they went there. The fruit sets up a collection of silly, but quite amusing metaphors. As her character is the Miss Orange, when offered one she exclaims: "PEEL the orange? That's bad luck." Given that at that moment she's angry with Han Shuo, her next statement is: "Peel the banana." Not so much later, after saying: "I don't want to see you anymore," she slips on the banana peel and goes airbourne, but of course, he catches her in his eager arms.

She's charged to eliminate the threat of bandits along the trade route. The whole trip is delightful. At one point she gets caught up in some excitement and seems to have completely forgotten her mission. I won't spoil it. Expect to laugh. There's another hilarious scene where characters meet at a restaurant/playhouse to have a discussion, meaning an argument. There's a stretch where the characters say nothing. They just stare at each other as the actors in the play voice exactly what each is thinking. The scene is high flown comedy.

TROTAR is a commentary on men and women's relationships and the tragedy of the out-of-control battle of the sexes. It has thrust the sword through romance and made so many relationships miserable. It's a zero-sum contest.

This show is romance-porn for women because of the way HShuo loves XQ and how he looks at her. From what I've been told, what HShuo might want back is to be respected (don't we all), even looked up to a little, to be a tiny bit nurtured, and to be treasured above all. As proof, he asked her flat out if it was him or her mother more than once. At a (fake) funeral he makes a joke to her that if she doesn't keep her promise, he'll let her know 'who wears the pants in the family,' which is a top-10-worst of historical chauvinistic statements. Should XQ flip out? Remember, this is HShuo. As much as he adores her, do you think he'll call even 20% of the shots in the family? What's wrong with her quipping 'yes, dear,' even if she winks while she does it? It's a bit of a dance. Marriage is optional. If one is to marry, giving it the best chance to succeed by providing embedded core needs for each other is as much smart as much as it is love.

We've probably all seen men marry a beautiful woman and then crush her by jamming her into a mold. Wives can do that to husbands by belittling them, completely losing a sense of humor, or nagging. Kudos to the show creators for shining light on those insidious patterns, as perfectly illustrated by the first couple of Xuanhu. In the role reversal, however, women becpme every bit as bad as men. The author is saying that we don't have a gender problem, or even a racial problem. We have a human nature problem. XQ gives the women of Xuanhu the answer: Work on yourself. It isn't that injustice shouldn't be called out, but too much focus on other people's ills can subtly allow us to feel superior, like we don't need to improve ourselves. That's self-deception. If we don't like being disrespected, sure, call it out, but the longterm answer is to show respect and work on ourselves. The more we improve, the more respect we garner. We will not complain ourselves to a better world. Perhaps exercising patience & choosing happiness, contentment, & forgiveness will usher in peace & love.

That's enough of the deep thoughts. The show is funny, then heart wrenching, and finally buoyant. Romantics will be swept away by this series. As almost every line seems to carry significance, there is foreshadowing, metaphors, excellent (superb!) editing, skillful juxtaposition and other devices utilized, TROTAR is a production of the highest quality. It could hardly be improved on. The show has so few deficiencies that the minor ones stand out a little more. While on the runaway horse in the show opening, close-ups of Xiaoqian are out of sync with the moving background. They overplayed the cute, but kitschy, theme song. Otherwise, the soundtrack is lovely. In the last couple scenes Xiaoqian's makeup looks ghastly pale and uneven. In addition, they have a bad habit of not putting makeup on the back half of the actors' necks, so they appear red and sickly on screen.

Finally, I think the last line in the show should be: "Are we married?"

Sweet dreams, all!

〰Quotes〰

Pain is unavoidable.

Great sorrow comes from great joy. Tragedy and comedy have always shared the same root.


〰IMHO〰

Directing 10
Acting 9
Thought provocation 7
Action/Excitement 8
Art 10
Music & Sound 7
Age 11+


⛔️Spoiler section⛔️
While XQ exiled HShuo to save him from being killed by Chu, HShuo & Chu end up joining together to invade Huayuan. When the city is taken back, HShuo is sentenced to death. He and XQ consummate their marriage in the jail cell. The next morning, the city owner refuses XQ's plea for mercy, so she drives a knife into her stomach. That stops everything.

Hey! Unclench! It's a prop knife! She's faking her death so they can escape to Xuanhu. They get a brief time to enjoy married life there.

They are forced to invade Huayuan in order to liberate it from Chu, who's starting to mirror Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. The plot won't be denied. Chu pierces HShuo's sternum. Lungs punctured, he's dying. XQ starts vanishing. Gasping, she can't reach him.

She awakes IRL with the tissue still planted in her nostril & quickly learns that the leads actor is in the hospital with near deadly lung damage from an accident. She rushes to the hospital. When he sees her, he jumps in shock and tells her to get away from him! He had the weirdest dream, he explains, and woke up thinking about apples, oranges, and her all the time. (No wonder HShuo was not evil and he could act so well!) She runs into the arms of the rude jerk who had said the two of them would never be a couple.

She had penned the perfect romantic hero.

XQ revises her script to save ChuChu and give Xiaoqian & Han Shuo a happy-ever-after. The End.

〰Romantic Fantasy Recs〰

K: My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy; The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2; Hotel del Luna-8.4; Live Up To Your Name-7.6; Oh My Ghost 10. C: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; The Sleepless Princess 9.1; Ancient Love Poetry-8.6; Love and Redemption 10.

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