Jiao Cang (2024)

A definite gem

This one will definitely keep you on the seat. An absolute must watch. Not sure why the rating dropped below nine but I couldn’t wait for the next episodes. You’ll feel the angst, the frustration, discussed, rage, love, and the need for redemption. Overall, the series offers everything you can for, including the action, chemistry, romance, and one must not forget some of the fighting scenes are amazing.

The relationship between Cui and his friend will leave you laughing so hard. They are both hilarious but they are always on cue to fake it whenever they need to get out of some mess and you’ll want to hit repeat.

If you’re hesitant because of the amnesia troupe, don’t be. Once it’s out in the open, it’s all is fair in love and war. During the beginning you get to see how things got to where they were and also any misunderstandings that exist are also revealed. The later part is beautiful redemption, action and love.

One of the things that I enjoyed most is that the characters stayed true to themselves. In addition we finally got a queen who was deserving, smart, humble, loyal and patient. One could only hope that her home was filled with nothing but beauty.

By the end of the series, you absolutely love the entire household of the CUI.

Absolutely loved the ending. No lose ends.

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A really good drama, but

I waited this drama after lost you forever for Zhang wanyi and also for chu ran who I'm also a big fan of, so I was really excited to watch this

The production is good, the casting and acting especially Zhang wanyi. I really love the way he acts whether it's a serious drama or a comedy he can really carry the whole show. Wang churan also, I love her acting and her sweet softy aura. I watch both of their previous drama before so I'm not worried about the casting or acting of them. The story is also good and the leads has a really strong chemistry and tension which what keeps me watching this drama. But I expected too much which is, I should not do for a 40 episode drama. I actually want to see more of their story like the back story of luwen and how cool she is, also the backstory of ziyu and miantang if they really love each other(?) ziyu's backstory as the late crown prince son is also interesting. And also the angst, I thought this will be angsty especially between the leads, I expected a strong enemies to lovers between them. But yeah they already fell madly to each other (which I also love. I just want to see an angst between them, like being in love but also has to be enemies first). There's a lot of questions leave hanging but this drama focus on lead's love story so that's okay. Afterall the genre is romcom and they give justice to it. The overdramatic husband huaiyang and his iconic expressions lol, and calm pretty wife miantang who always assured and calms her husband. I will not disregard the comedy of another leads the funny zhennan and He zhen their interaction always makes me laugh and also touch. I also love empress xueji how she's really open minded and didn't let her self be on the side of evil even how bad she was treated in her familys, she's unprejudice and so kind. She always understands ziyu and do not felt any jealous to fl, to the point that the Emperor didn't deserve her.

This drama still deserves an almost 10 ratings, as this is one of my favorite comfort drama of the year❤️

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Very interesting drama.

I love when a drama has both leads who are naturally super good looking. the storyline is good. wish there was more lovey dovey scenes between ML and FL though. so far the story has captivated me that I don’t even fast forward. it’s a little bit comedic and very entertaining too. Can’t wait to see the end. The costumes are really good. they should really incorporate more black with red customes. The male lead would look so stunning in it. with a story as good as this I really hoped there would be more episodes. 40 episodes are not enough. I hope to see the leads married life too. It would really be a dream come true for me.

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So far, I am loving this drama. I am HOOKED and the suspense of not knowing what's going to happen next keeps me so engaged. I can't help but anticipate each episode as it releases. It doesn't feel like it's dragging either. The writing is excellent and believable and so is the acting which is nuanced and the leads are perfect. It's actually such a brilliant plot and I can't wait as more episodes are released. I've never watched a drama w/ this female lead before but i'm impressed. The characters are fully developed and the female lead doesn't act like a cringy cute girl which is a bonus.

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Liked the overall storyline. But did like the emperor and shi xueji characters. I understood why liu miantang didn’t chose the emperor, because he compromised his feelings for he desires, and didn’t let go of evil people who were around him so he could obtain the throne, and become emperor, even sun yun ‘er who he knew hurt the woman he supposedly loved( liu miantang). Such a hypocrite. Then without hesitation he gave sun yun’er a tile and may his other helper ‘s daughter the empress. Then stated he wanted to be a good ruler, comprising is part of getting things done and relationships but siding we evil people is a bit too much

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Watchable

I couldn’t really get through this one because it just wasn’t much to my liking and bored me but it’s watchable for sure.

The Good

The plot was interesting. I loved how it was shrouded in a lot of mystery. The actor choices were good since there were tons of traffic stars to get people interested. It’s an easy watch with a story that isn’t over complicated. It had a decent enough production quality with okay lighting, sound, sets and costumes. The OST was decent as well.

The Bad

Although the plot was interesting, I didn’t like the execution of it. It was very slow and bored me quite a lot. The first half of the story focused a lot on the main couple playing house with not much romance but I would have preferred to see more of the overarching story play out instead. Next, the actor choices were good to drive in traffic but the acting wasn’t good. I couldn’t connect much with the characters and their plight because they weren’t expressing themselves very well. Finally, there was a lot of predictability to the story, even from the first episode. I don’t even need to keep watching to understand how this story will flow. It was cut and dry and didn’t offer many twists. I put this on hold and came back months later thinking I would see it differently but wasn’t the case.

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#TeamExpressionLord vs #TeamPerceptiveWife, who's your pick?

The show begins with the Lord Huaiyang pretending to be the spouse of Liu Miantang, his favorite adversary Lu Wen's alleged concubine. The plot revolves around this fake couple who are a perfect fit due to their lies and deception.

The intellectual ability of the main characters, especially the female lead in the drama was one of its strong aspects. The lead characters were proficient at overcoming tricky situations. It also was surprising to secondary female characters being quick-witted. The acting was fantastic. I watched this drama primarily for Zhang Wang Yi, as I was captivated by his portrayal in Lost You Forever. His facial expressions were entertaining to watch. This was my first time watching this actress, and I thought her performance was great.

One of the weak elements was the pacing. The middle was dragged out, the early arcs were overly relaxed, and the conclusion was a little bit rushed. There had been some off-screen scenes, which would have been better shown with at least two episodes instead of secondary characters story. Some characters, in my opinion, were saved till the very end to add depth in areas that seemed to be lacking.

With its subtle wit and strong acting, the show is enjoyable. I wish that the main characters' backgrounds had been explored in greater detail throughout the story. Felt like LMT's past as Bandits wife wasn't given enough attention, and her acts were only talked about rather than shown. These inconsistencies could have been dealt in earlier episodes. Overall an enjoyable drama with comedy, romance, politics, intelligent characters. I rate it 8.5.

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Lovely chemistry between ML & FL

This is all about the romance between Cui Xingzhou (ML) and Liu Miantang (FL). It’s such a beautiful romantic tale. The ML and FL’s eyes and smiles emote all the necessary emotions that are needed to portray the characters. I watched the entire series because of these two. Zhang Wanqi (ML actor) and Wang Churan (FL actress) are really great. I liked Zhang Wanqi in Lost You Forever. He already displayed great acting in that show. I started watching this show largely because of him. I continued watching this show because of the chemistry he has with Wang Churan. I will pay more attention to both their shows now onwards.

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a pleasant surprise

I was committed and watching mostly daily. It has many good points

What I liked :
- the acting was great
- I really like the cinematography and this drama was really beautifully filmed, great camera work too. I personally really liked the scenes at the waterfall and the one near the lake when they were throwing the piece (the colors looked beautiful here). Even the scenes with ML riding a horse, it looked great and good that he was actually riding a real horse
- the leads characters were the best. Strong and intelligent ML and FL, a perfect match. Their characters were well written and captivating. Badass couple, that complement each other.
- the chemistry was perfect, their relationship and skinship looked so natural. Their hugs always felt so comforting. The actors were also really expressive with their eyes, we could felt their emotions.
- I’m still marked with some really good scenes like :
-> when he left to war, the divorce letter and her going after him. them talking and hugging after that
-> the breakup scene at the waterfall
-> them fighting side by side in the last ep, that was awesome
etc….
- The side couples were also interesting to me at some level
- I liked watching ML slowly falling in love. Even if he was lying, he still treated her right and was a pretty good husband
- I really loved the music, the OST is beautiful
- the costumes were great
- I liked the empress character. She was kind and such a good person, she deserved the world
- Lord Zhao was funny, I liked his friendship with ML
- the emperor : was quite a bit annoying at first and he is actually pretty weak, but at least he is a good emperor and it was good to let go of his thing for FL, working with ML and finally maybe starting something with his empress
- I liked how ML’s mom gradually started to like her daughter-in-law
- the wedding: truly amazing. We spended a lot of screen time on the wedding-wedding night. That was perfect❤️and they looked stunning
- had some funny moments
- not really any stupid love triangle
- happy ending for all the couples, maybe I wished it would have been a longer epilogue, seeing kids could have been cute too
- I think the last fight and last few eps were exciting, their plan and how it went down. Maybe a bit basic for the villain, but not disappointing


On some other notes :
- it was quite annoying his aunt and cousin, at least some character development for the cousin. Her mom really ruined her
- Personally, the separation was too long…. and it was getting a bit annoying
- had some boring moments and the beginning was a bit slow (even if I enjoyed watching the leads and their chemistry, they got a lot of screen time together too)
- I wish past ep 31, when they got back together, we could have gotten another kiss or more romantic scenes ? maybe another cuddle in bed, I don’t know. We still got some good moments, but maybe I would have liked more. Or just more scenes with the leads

I would recommend, I liked it more than I thought I would

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Appreciation for this drama that turns out to be my best c-drama of 2024.

IMO the best drama of 2024. Used to be annoyed at Wang Churan's previous drama (becos of her indecisive character with Yang Yang) and didn't have any hope at her next project (i admitted by being bias becos impacted of the previous character). But i waited for the drama to end so i can binged watch, and it turns out as a great drama. Not the typical damsel in distress kind of Female character, know what she wants, know when she's wrong, although she's a dominant personality but know how to step back so that her man can step up and being pampered. Also able to stand beside her man whether in strategically planning or mere fighting is trully rare. Of course supported with the Male Lead character that are both funny and serious at the same time, thanks to ZWY new interpretation of the character. I read the translated novel and couldn't finished it becos of how red flagged the male character was. Despite being annoyed at some of the side character (ex. the aunt) but my sole focus are the main character (both female and male).

Also despite the hate that WCR receive at the time they filmed this. She gave her best for this project that turns out great.

Thanks to this drama, I am now waiting for WCR and ZWY next project. I'm giving all the appreciation that this drama should have receive.

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A Captivating Blend of Humor and Emotion

The storyline of Are You the One? is both engaging and captivating. With a perfect blend of humor, it ensures that viewers remain entertained throughout. The comedic elements are well-timed, providing moments of genuine laughter, while the emotional scenes evoke feelings of sadness, joy, and a rollercoaster of mixed emotions, making it a truly immersive experience.

The male lead deserves immense praise for his performance. His portrayal of the character is fantastic and executed with exceptional skill. He masterfully conveys emotions through his expressions and voice, which is both soothing and captivating. His nuanced acting makes the character come alive, and his performance is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the drama.

The female lead, on the other hand, is nothing short of breathtaking. Her beauty is unparalleled, and her screen presence feels like witnessing a stunning view in real life. Beyond her appearance, her acting skills are equally commendable. She brings depth and authenticity to her character, making her a joy to watch.

The chemistry between the leads, Wang Ye and Wang Fei, is mesmerizing and adds to the charm of the drama. Their performances were so impactful that I found myself missing them deeply after the drama ended. The entire cast and crew did an incredible job, delivering a show that leaves a lasting impression.

If you're looking for a drama that combines humor, emotion, and outstanding performances, Are You the One? is a must-watch. It's a journey you won't regret taking, and it will leave you wishing for more even after the final episode.

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