I'd been planning on watching this for a long time and now I've finally completed it (cheers to my first Chinese drama!). The span of 33 episodes was long, tiring, happy, sad and frustrating. I admit this is a drama that totally gives off a fresh vibe in spite of its cliches. What I loved best about it was its modern and relatable aspects. The story is hardly anything new or different. Yet, it does something to suck you in. The cast is amazing and they make their characters very likable. It's a love triangle and there was sweet romance in it. My complain is that there should have been more time devoted to the romance between leads. There was some very boring office politics stuff after episode 16 that I had no interest in. Be prepared to skip a lot of boring parts in the drama after it runs half its course. I have to say I love Xiao Jie. She is a strong woman and very grounded. I liked how she gave importance to her professional life over her personal problems. She never sat around moping because her life sucked. Joe Chen's wardrobe was also nice and she looked very pretty in this. My favorite guy was Tang Jun. I have a thing for silent lovers who play Daddy Long Legs to the girl because it's so sweet. Plus, he and Xiao Jie had an actual build up from strangers to friends to lovers. It was long and tiring but worth it in the end. Although Godfrey Gao is very hot, his acting was stiff and his character didn't impress me much, counting out the last episode where I liked him a lot. In some ways this story reminded me of Hana Yori Dango. In both the dramas the main couple has to go through lots of obstacles to get together. I've just not seen a drama with so much makjang in a while. :D The Queen of SOP is a happy and relaxing drama. It is a bit slow compared to Korean dramas and such but it has things in it that makes it so cute. At times a bit realistic and at times a bit too dramatic- this drama had it all. The best thing was the absence of melodrama. Seriously. No depressing stuff in a drama is like sunshine on a cold day for me. That alone is a reason to not let this pass up. Watch this drama and give it a chance. :)