It ain’t over till the series review comes out!

Characters:

• Jin Bo Ran as Gong Ming
• Zheng Shuang as Lin Xiang Xiang
• Evonne Xie as Jin Jing/Jing Jie
• Sean Chen as Wang Mang
• Denny Huang as Han Yu Fei

Details:

• Chinese
• 20 episodes
• Original run: Feb. 15, 2015 – March 15, 2015

Quick Rundown:

Based on the Korean drama series Queen In Hyun’s Man, this is the story of how Gong Ming, a Han dynasty scholar discovers his ability to travel through time and finds the love of his life in an actress Lin Xiang Xiang. Will the pair be able to stay together in 2015 or will Gong Ming return to the past to deal with the political strife?

Estelle’s Take

Having never watched Queen In Hyun’s Man, I went into this knowing the bare minimum. While the concept was interesting, there was no shortage of missteps that made watching a little less enjoyable. I’m not sure how closely it follows its Korean counterpart, but from what others have told me, there were some departures. It is worthy to note that the crew is completely Korean, from director all the way down to the lighting folks. This is essentially a Korean production with a Chinese cast. Not that I’m complaining though, I do think the filming quality is there, even if the script is not.

Perhaps it is because all the actors are not dubbed (aside from Denny and Nana), I did find the “old” talk a bit weird coming from the likes of Jing Bo Ran and Sean Chen. It makes me appreciate the veteran actors who are as good at delivering their lines as their physical movements and facial expressions. I applaud the director for insisting on this and I hope this trend continues in more productions in China.

Technicalities aside, this series was neither super awesome nor super bad. The love story is predictable with lots of twists and turns that weren’t exactly tear jerking – except maybe for the main couple themselves. I was mostly unmoved by the plot and didn’t really care that much about the whole Queen bit in the historical time even though it was a major catalyst. I don’t think this is entirely the cast’s fault though. Not to say that their acting skills have gone to waste – I still think they have plenty of room to grow – but for the most part I wasn’t sure where the story was going. Does he save the Queen or does he not? Knowing how history really turns out, I was basically just waiting for them to somehow “get back on track” so to speak.

That being said, there were plenty of cute scenes and funny antics between the main couple. I wish there was more time spent on developing their relationship and less on “protecting the Han dynasty.” I fear that I couldn’t relate to the OTP because I just didn’t get to know them enough. Also, the ending? Not very exciting at all, and feels really rushed, even though they extended the series by two episodes.

Should you watch it? I would not bump this onto the top of your list. Save it for a rainy day or for when you are really low on watchables. For now, let’s just hold out hope that there are bigger and better shows coming our way!

Catch up to the series with episode recaps!

This & That:

• Haven’t had enough of Zheng Shuang and Jing Bo Ran? Have no fear! They have joined the cast of the second season of Divas Hit the Road. Also featured in the show are Yang Yang, who is currently in The Four, and Ivy Chen, the new Ruo Xi.
• 2015 is a big year for Jing Bo Ran as he stars in film Lost and Love with superstar Andy Lau. The movie premiered on March 20. (I must have read about this before I went to sleep because I dreamt about marrying one of them…uhh, what?)
• Zheng Shuang will be in The Cage of Love opposite Hawick Lau next. The series will debut May 5. It is also produced by Tong Hua, the author of Bu Bu Jing Xin and Da Mo Yao etc.
• This series marks Zhou Yu Tong (aka Ying Yue)’s first TV appearance. She debuted in movie Miss Granny, 20 which premiered Jan 8 of this year.
• Evonnie Xie recently was in movie Women Who Flirt alongside Zhou Xun and Huang Xiao Ming, as well as Sonia Sui.