Half of Us (2023)

─ a journey between light and dark.

While it took me a while to finally find time to properly focus and watch this drama, I'm so glad I didn't delay it for too long ─ as I truly enjoyed the journey this drama showed. In fact, I'm so glad not to let reviews of others affect my watching experience as there are many points I don't agree with what other viewers stated.

While it's true that there are ups and downs, the storyline is quite unique-ish, at least among the dramas released in the past few years. Just from the colours and cinematography, it promises something new and delivers it as well. I especially have to say the cinematography is one of the best I have seen so far.

I liked all the dynamics they showed ─ whether it was between the family members, friends, or lovers. They showed a variety of forms of love, which was beautiful. The characters' developments were interesting to watch as well. I think everyone got a good screen time and their importance was told when it was necessary. In fact, I loved how the story played with the perspectives ─ at some point, it made sure to show audience not to judge so easily.

The chemistry and acting were beautiful too ─ not only in romantic way but the chemistry between parent and child, siblings, student and tutor. It was so nice to see pieces of humanity they tried to hide due to their responsibilities.

The building of the last battle in the past four episodes was so captivating. It was like watching battle of minds ─ showing the shift in the journey between light and dark.

For the ending, while it might be said it's open ending due to many possibilities, I hope they can surprise us with a second season as I would definitely like to watch it.

ps. OST is really beautiful as well ─ both the songs and instrumentals.

link to edits : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI-LyvxxdMxBkohitgnIvHMpq4W59UJ7n&si=VVDdaUBDBNeGE0oI

Leia Mais

Best Show of 2023 and I do not take it lightly !!!

I have watched many C-dramas and I am so shocked at how good this show is. This show is highly unpredictable. I spent many nights chatting with others to piece parts of this show together on theories. I can't believe how vested I was in this show.
Because this show was 24 episodes the story line had to get to the point and not drag out stories and the director and screenwriters executed this well. Are there missing pieces? Yes but they told enough to keep the storyline together.

Zhang Ling He - Played Gong Zi Yu very well, you had to see him mature and use his smarts quickly in the show. The costumes looked amazing also. I really enjoyed his character.

Esther YU- Her role was great she played her role very well. I know her objective was to be calm and not show a lot of emotions and I wished she showed more emotions towards Gong zi Yu but that is what makes Yu shu Xin great.

Lu YU Xiao - Playing Shangguan Qian she played the role well, she was veyr cunning and always had a sly look on her face. She understood her assignment. She did a good job.

Ryan Cheng- Gong Shang Jue was amazing he was great , I really enjoyed his character .

Gong zi Shang - I love how Dramatic and silly she is.. Her role is excellent

Jing fan - I was so loyal and I like how the tables turned at the end for him, it was so cute. His storyline was awesome

Tian Jia Rui - Gong Yuan Zhi loved his role also so cool, I really enjoyed his acting

There is more, I just wanted to give major kudos to the cast and I hope there will be a season 2. even if its not the way the show ended was with a bang. the objective was to make us think and provoke thought and I can truly accept that.

Leia Mais

Can we trust former spies in our household?

My Journey to You is a thriller where female spies are used to penetrate into their victim's household to get hold of the latter's secret.

The Infinite Heat is a weapon treasured by the Gong family to safeguard their own interest and their allies. The family embraces compassion and righteousness unlike their rival, Wufeng, a group of assassins led by a ruthless leader who never shows his/ her face throughout the 24-episode drama.

Female spies are used by Wufeng to dismantle the safeguarding of the Gong famly. Throughout the drama, viewers are slowly realising that Wufeng isn't the only threat that the Gong family is facing.

Hence, the quest of finding out who the main culprit of the murders is and many incidents that take place in the Gong family mansion begins.

As a viewer, I find the story is pretty standard ie. a prodigal son suddenly transforms into a responsible person due to the change in circumstances; romance between a spy and her victim; and rivals among family members.

I enjoyed this drama but will not be hopeful to have a season 2.

Watch it because its rewatch value is considered a 10-rating.

Leia Mais

Great last 2023 summer series from iQIYI

Dark and mysterious Wuxia costume series.
Very interesting and will keep you glued til the end. Best choreographed martial arts fight I have ever watched. Awesome wardrobe line-up and location.
The director for this series is same one who directed Wuliang and Painted Skin which are both excellent dark costume series.
I am surprise that he added a humorous character in this series. He balanced it out perfectly this time.

Highly recommended to watch.
Is it worth the subscription fee? A big YES.

Tho it almost didn't air due to the a criminal charge of one of the minor artist playing a support role, it still ended up being one of the top favorite release for this summer entertainment of C-drama. Quite a few disappointed viewers as to the ending. It wasn't as bad I think, it's more like being left open for possible season 2. Sadly, the new Chinese entertainment law will not approve release of sequels within12 (or is it 24?) months of airing.

Note:
As to which artist was charged, according to news release, it is the artist who played the role of Xue GongZi, the friend companion to the young child Xue TongZi, in the back hill who aided the first real trial/test of the Sword Wielder.
Xue Gong Zi [Xue Tong Zi's servant & aide]

Leia Mais

Dark and gritty mystery, with surprisingly a touch of comedy!

What a fun mystery series!

This was a really good dark and gritty series. I loved watching all the plotting, scheming and mystery behind the Wufeng spies and their mission to infiltrate the Gong family. I had so much fun coming up with my own theories and watching the revelations. The web of lies and mystery had me on my toes!

The only frustrating thing was that a lot of the fighting capabilities of the "good" characters seemed quite inconsistent. They'd win fights against strong people but lose to weaker people so it had me scratching my head at times. I just wish they found a way to move the plot along without creating that kind of inconsistency.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't really care much about the romance in this. Like it was nice, but I personally would have preferred more focus on the bonding between all the Gong brothers/cousins etc. I wish we got more scenes of all the brothers working together than the romance plot imo. But I'm still overall satisfied with how things played out.

I loved the OST in this drama so much! I loved that we got to see the backstories of some of the spies and why they became what they were. The way the ost was used during backstories and all throughout the drama was A+.

Also, scene stealers for me in this series were the scenes between ZiShang/Xiao Hei, and ZiShang/Jin Fan. Common denominator being ZS. I just loved this girl so much. She's so wacky and every scene with her brought out so many fun and light moments that gave us a break from the bleary and dark tones of this drama. Everybody's acting in this was amazing. Shang Jue's menacing glares but rare soft smiles, Yuan Zhi's psychotic smirks but childish nature, ZiShang's happy go lucky personality covering her sadness/desire for love, Yun Weishan's girlish nature hidden behind her cold upbringing, Zi Yu having a boyish/unserious nature while wanting be acknowledged and taken seriously. Each one of these characters played their roles so well and I loved that they weren't one dimensional characters. More so, I loved that we were given enough time to actually flesh out these chsracters and see their true nature behind the face they put on for the world. Everyone on the cast did a fantastic job.

I don't like that this was set up for a S2 but there was still some plotlines and character backgrounds that beed to resolved so it makes sense that a S2 will be needed and I'm more than likely going to watch it if/when released. I also just want to see my man, Shangjue, be happy and smile. Sigh.

Overall, it was a really engaging mystery drama!

Leia Mais

Second cp stole the show

Love my toxic couple, Gong Shangjue and Shangguang Qian. I need more of them!!!! Every scene between them was peak tension and drama. Also this is the first drama that made me change my mind about Esther Yu (couldn't stand her character in LBFAD) but in this drama she was really good as quiet but sharp Yun Weishan. I love the scenes between Yun Weishan and Shangguang Qian, I wish there was more of their tense, 'keeping each other on your toes' dynamic and scenes.

The pacing is super uneven - starts off slow, drags like crazy in the middle with the boring back hill/three tests arc, and intense and heart stopping in the last big battle arc. That ending hurts me, S2 please 😭 did my girl SGQ lie about her pregnancy like she lied about almost everything else or was she telling the truth?!

This is also one of the most visually beautiful shows! Almost on par with the films I used to analyze for film class.

Leia Mais

Curiosity is the biggest bait

[this is more of an after thought than a full review]

This drama has Guo Jing Ming (director/screenwriter) written all over it making it a double edged sword from start to finish.
As someone who only found out about the existence of c-drama during the Pandemic, his work had a sense of exciting familiarity from the get go. The way he uses visual story telling and symbolism reminded me of some of my favorite movies/shows growing up. I have yet to find another Chinese Director or writer who is able to evoke that feeling in me.
Visually this drama really is impressive. I have a massive soft spot for dark, goth-vibe movies and shows. Combine that with the bad-ass BGM when the characters were introduced and the carefully crafted visual storytelling ... ah I love it!

The more dramas I watch, the more drama-fatigue I get and it's hard to watch anything from start to finish because everything becomes so predictable. But for the first time in a long time I watched episode after episode being excited about what happens next. I could not have guessed it and that made it a really good watch for me.

Instead of thinking of it as FL, ML, SFL, SML, TML,... It was quite clear (to me) that this drama has multiple mains and every story is equally as important. Although it begins quite ambiguous, it becomes more and more evident that among all the leading characters there's no one who is really a villain. Everyone's ambitions are justifiable and not born out of greed. This solidified my initial impression that this is a story of many, not of just two.
But unfortunately the story of first CP dragged along after having a very good start. Any sense of chemistry that was there eventually fell into a slumber as their story became more and more lukewarm. The intense stares and slow mo walking past-each-other scenes early on quickly ceased to exist and in my opinion this is what gave the second CP the chance to shine even brighter because they kept the intensity up. ZY was introduced as the spoiled son that spends a lot of time hanging out at the dance house (brothel?), likes to drink and pretends to be weaker than he actually is. He often rebelled against his father and did not hesitate to yell that he will leave. Everything about his introduction had me believed he would at some point reveal his true character and show every one his wits especially after the tattoo scene, however he and YS were gradually reduced to being the safe option in order for the more complex characters to go about their story. After all you cannot have your bread buttered on both sides.
GSJ and GZY had such epic introductions, with epic instrumental that is not commonly used by c-dramas and their styling was also much better than that of the ML, who sometimes looked like his make up was wet paint.
The brothers reminded me of a duo of wolves, so calculated but also deeply complex and their dynamic was amazing. In comparison ZY fell short on so many levels and became the SW although GSJ was much more qualified and long term would have been more respected and feared by outsiders. Thinking about ZY ten years down the line... I cannot help but to suspect that the reputation of Gong will become less and less feared. Selfishly though I must admit this provides GSJ with a tiny chance of freedom, that he unlikely is to take willingly but if the circumstances are right I believe he could have his own drama about how he leaves the Gong family, despite having an undying sense of loyalty towards them. I have no doubts was the situation flipped YZ would not hesitate and leave to be with YSS... but doesn't it sound more interesting if it was the so-sure-about-his-place character that ended up leaving the mountain? - Wishful thinking I know.


Not being able to have multiple deeper, darker main characters is something I have noticed in every c-drama that attempted this so far - guess this is where Censorship comes into play. At this point I don't think I'll ever get see a 10/10 drama from China because only the most dark and twisted (love) stories can get such a rating from me.

GSJ, GZY and SSQ were the most interesting part of this drama. She was thrown into a lion's den and of the two assassins, her mission was much trickier and therefore so much more exciting. We only got glimpses but I believe these three could have their own drama, making it a push-and-pull game of wits and raw feelings. I would not want it to be ruined by idol romance but rather make it a dark romance. I'm kinda fed up with healthy or realistic relationships in dramas, it's fictional so give me all the borderline toxicity. I wasn't walking around in a "Mrs. Salvatore" hoodie for years because I liked Matt, lol. (vampire diaries).
The story of these 3 had an even flow and from all the characters I found theirs could be the perfect background story for a season 2. Yet I did wish we had gotten more scenes of them taking a (dangerous) liking to each other.
But I really didn't like how they schemed against her near the end. It wasn't until then, that SSQ was singled out as the only antagonist of the four/five. YZ did not tell her about the fortnight flies and she also ratted her out to the others, which totally took away the element of surprise and potential for a great reveal scene. I was actually looking forward to that a lot and I'd almost say while watching it was one of my biggest disappointments.
My favorite scenes were early on when GSJ was riding a horse in the dark and the camera films from above and then through an open gate as he rides past.. and a little earlier GZY being on the roof to stop ZY - just EPIC. You already get the clear feeling that these two are very different from your usual drama characters and they delivered 100%.


--BIG SPOILER--

I read up on the final scene and it's interesting how on Chinese internet the interpretation is that SSQ's life ended since he saw her standing on water. Previously only for-sure dead characters were 'seen' by the leads, so the fact that he imagined seeing her could hint at that she is no longer alive. On the contrary on mdl, reddit, etc everyone is certain she is alive since she was seen in a garden tending to the flowers.

-- CONCLUSION--

In the beginning it all felt like one epic production and I could envision it continuing in so many ways. Even now I still think if they were ever to make this a multi-season show, they could really pull the wheel around and make it amazing. Somehow I can't shake the feeling that it felt like the backstory of something greater. Knowing how this is most likely a stand alone drama, I do feel let down but in my mind there is no doubt that the story continues and the best is yet to come. (small hope is that the screenwriter/director has multiple works that have more than one part)
As I said, it truly feels a prologue. In a perfect world (or literally just a country without TV censorship) this could turn into a complex game of survival and love that could de-throne any drama I ever watched. As small as the world of Wufeng & Gong was, it was just the perfect amount to get immersed into the story without feeling like you need to care about the rest of the world. I really loved that aspect.

One of SSQ's lines early on was "curiosity is the biggest bait" and they really took that and went with it for the entire drama. I was really curious after the very intriguing start and was baited into watching till the end. I don't regret as it stands out a lot to me and is not comparable to other dramas in my opinion but I also kept waiting and waiting for big things to happen and from to time things did happen but the entire 3 trials thing was such a big plot of the drama which I really didn't like it at all. I only fast forwarded twice during this drama, both times were during the second trial. I really wanted the leads to have a more intense story. Also I feel like for some of the symbolism I know too little about chinese language, culture/history to really get it. I felt like there was a lot of hidden meaning behind things shown and spoken.
In all of the drama, there is only one thing visually that bothered me. The transitions... some of them were just like the ones you use for a fancy power point.
Also there are so many single tear drops running down the characters face… I was about to make a drinking game out of it, lol

Full circle moment back to the beginning of this after thought that turned into an endless thought: Guo Jing Ming's work is always like that. I watched his movie "The End of Endless Love" a few days ago and had the exact same feeling afterwards. Some real glimpses of gold, that just hit so right and feel totally unique but he's never able to make a full stream of light from the few glimpses. Makes me wonder, does he just have really great ideas but doesn't have what it takes to turn them into reality... he needs to pair up with a superb screenwriter and maybe then it will turn into a masterpiece.

Another drama watched that was on my "not interested" list and ended up leaving a big impression. Maybe I should listen more to what people are hyping up?

Leia Mais

This drama brings together all the handsome Chinese men in one place. Whoever styled them, thank you for giving us Lord of the Rings elves vibes with beautiful long hair and a god-like appearance. It was eye candy while my mind was occupied with the plot and mystery. It's one of the best cdramas, but I feel like the plot could have been developed further. The casting was great, both main leads and all the supporting characters. I didnt like Zhang LingHe character in the beginning, but gradually impressed with his determination and wit. The open ending, instead of being sad like kdrama Scarlet Heart Ryeo, is rather annoying. Don't we all deserve a happy ending? Seriously, you guys better have a season two, or I'm going to lose hope in cdrama. I'm giving this drama a 7 because they messed up the ending. Sorry not sorry.

Leia Mais

A stylish, addictive mystery with beautiful action scenes . . .

Everyone is a suspect in this spy thriller of a drama. The twists and turns keep it engaging. As with many dramas, it starts slowing down in the last 1/3, and gets too complicated for its own good. But, it's genuinely unique and striking and worth the watch despite this.

The romances and character development are a weak point. Love is declared not shown, plus the good guys being mostly men and the spies being mostly women is a weird decision that makes all the romances feel a bit similar. Because there is so much action, also the characters are fairly thin and not fully fleshed out.

The writers leave space for there to be a Season 2/Part 2 to this drama, but I don't know if I will stick around for it. I really like character and theme driven dramas. This is beautiful, with a lot of suspense, but ultimately does not say much . .

Leia Mais

It started amazing before the screenwriter got dizzy in the middle ?

The concept and initial plot are excellent, and as a spy drama genre it has suspense that makes us hooked to watch the next episode. +Wuxia genre makes the cinematography excellent. Thats all the PROS.

It was amazing 10/10 until about ep 16 when ziyu found out who yws is. After that revelation, the plot goes downward, unclear and like a forced light comedy 😅 for examples:

SPOILER alert !

1. The yws revelation was not done right, ziyu not seen/no time to get shocked, sad, etc. rather he just instantly accepted and defending yws all the time.

2. The three trials and how xiyu become instantly the best fighter were ridiculous and like jokes. Literally jokes since the younger generations all helping him to get through the trials with some unserious talks or expressions.

3. The ultimate villain and motive was very weak and not believable. How come he wanted to get the thousand flame that will kill lots lots of innocent people and make the world chaos just to get revenge for his parents? At least they should link him with the wufeng. At first i thought he is at least one of the four demons or two wufeng's devil haha..

The ultimate villain also not a story twist or shocking enough, since the they already give the clue too early.

4. The whole plot revelation was told by the ultimate villain in a very relaxed way 🤣

5. Sqx who was also main spy just disappear alot from middle to end episodes that i almost forget she is still in the drama 😂 the contrast with early episodes so big that makes it weird. Even yws role also become weaker.

6. Wufeng concept which start strong also become unclear and weak in the end. This makes the last and ultimate battle also too fast and weak.

Talking about fast, the fights in the whole series are also done so fast that we audience almost cant see anything 😂

7. And many of other plot holes/unclear ones, for example about the mutan, about the writing on xiyu back etc. and again they are mostly happen after yws revelation. Its like two different scriptwriters.

8. The ending purpose also unclear and could have been better. Its not open ending, but premature ending. As alternative, for example since they introduce yws's twin suddenly in the end, they could have exchanged them (the new twin is the one who go back to gong's family) etc which can be more surprising and exciting.

Its sad how they ruin the plot from the middle to the end, and turn it from dark amazing suspenseful drama into ackward light comedy 😂

So sad that makes me cant help expressing the dissapoinment

Anyway the pace of the suspense still good and enough to make us hooked and enjoy it till the end since ep16 (where the plot become a mess) already 2/3 of the whole drama.

In summary, its still a decent and beautiful suspense spy drama and worth watching. I still recommend it 😉

One of the memorable quote is :
"no matter how long the night is, there will definitely be a sunrise" 🥰

Leia Mais

Unique drama worth watching!

I really enjoyed My Journey to You. It is not like your run of the mill wuxia. It is highly stylized and the plot is unique. The pacing is good and its only 24 episodes which meant theres never any boring parts! Yu shuxin really surprised me and was quite good as a female assassin completely different from any of her previous roles or what you see of her on variety shows. She really showed her range here and she wont be type-cast into cutesy roles. Even her actions scenes looked realistic! Zhang Linghei was good as the seemingly soft hearted heir (major golden retriever vibes lol). The SFL and SML were amazing with their acting and had smoldering chemistry!

Definitely give this dark wuxia a watch!

Leia Mais