The Autumn Ballad (2022)

Unpopular review

In first episodes, you’re hooked to the strong fl character who goes against principles & values of the time and fights to decide her own fate. The mysteries and many twists & turns makes the drama different and interesting … at first.
Yet, more the story unfolds, more you realize that the fl is just a fickle, childish, stubborn girl who doesn’t hesitate to throw her family under the bus based on her intuition rather than believing in any of them. She is lucky to have met Liang Yi who saved her from her infortunes so many times and Qin Xuan who loves her sincerely.
She actually ruined & hurt so many people simply because she prefers to trust her intuition rather than trusting anyone and accepting how others could be different than her.
Her lack of values made me hate step by step the fl. Now at episode 22, I am fast forwarding episodes to finish it quickly.
I’m also not convinced by the actors play in this drama, I didn’t find this chemistry btw the leads that so many talked about. And because the script writer wanted to focus on the twists, many opportunities to make the fl & ml shine we’re missed.
And once you’ve seen them all, you can’t watch this drama again, as you know it all.

Leggi di Più

UPDATE BELOW. SORRY FOR THE CAPS, I AM EMOTIONAL.

(This first part is my original review before I finished the series)

OH HOW I HOOWWWWLLLLEEEDDDDD!!!!! This show has many of the most outrageous banters in the asian dramaverse.
The FL is strongheaded and seems to be unafraid of anything. Her life, her rules. She outshines all other girls, and not always in a good way. The ML is more like "Oh you want my help? Let me think about it while I lean on this wall looking cool with my smouldering eyes broad shoulders tiny waist and smexy voice." He is one cunning bastard. But of course he is a good person deep down inside, and a patient man too. I am now at episode 20 and we can already see the budding boy in love that he is, silently crushing while helping his dream girl dealing with murder, suicide, defamation, and other annoying things happening in her life. She is just too busy for romance, you know.

Episode 21 is also a milestone for Qiu Min, FL little sister. It is a "WTF girl" moment but also "You go girl, go get what you want" moment.

The villain is smart and also, a cunning bastard. Going against him is like playing chess. He can guess your next move so you better think carefully. Quite satisfying as an opponent, really.

I will update when I finish but for now, I'm ready for more romance.

MY UPDATE AFTER FINISHING THE SERIES

Ok, no more romance. At least nothing worth mentioning. Our ML is just very understanding that he would never keep the free spirited FML tied in a romantic relationship, not even trying. LIKE, DUDE FR. HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF BEYONCE'S PUT A RING ON HER. And the FML just doesn't tell that she is actually willing to stay. 'If only he would ask', she says silently. PEOPLE, COME ON. Who wrote this shit.

Now, the little sister. It is not a 'You go girl' moment, apparently. But more like 'You go and never come back, girl' moment because she goes full unhinged from eps 21 onwards. Again, who wrote this shit???

To make things worse, the FML has to pretend that she is someone with a totally different identity, in front of the whole townspeople. Oh she looks the same, sounds the same, same height and everything, but she is not HER, because HER is dead. She is a totally different girl that has nothing to do with HER. And the whole town fell for it. SOMEONE FIRE THE WRITER ALREADY PLEASE.

It could have been very good. What a missed opportunity.

Leggi di Più

Surprisingly good

Excellent storyline, excellent script, and excellent acting. I must admit the first 3 episodes had me thinking that this drama would be a low budget mediocre historical drama. I'm glad to report that this drama exceeded my expectation. The writer allowed the female lead character to address sociocultural issues (e.g. like sexism and double standards) in a manner that both women in historical times and modern times would be able to relate to. I'm not familiar with the female lead actress, but she did a great job acting and was the first East Asian actress who I watched that decided to have a ugly cry on screen, instead of the damsel in distress whimsical cry lol. The only character (not actress) that I was constantly annoyed with was the female lead, little sister. Due to the first three episodes and episode 20, I decided to rate this drama a 9.0, instead of a 10.0.

It's a must watch!

Leggi di Più

Overall for a low budgeted drama, it was able to deliver the story with twist and the questions were answered in between and towards the end. Kudos to the writers!

Story:
This is not your typical girl meets boy, girl falling on their feet, boy catching the girl, looking into each other's eyes and falling in love. Romance in this story is considered a bonus. You can be swept away by the actions of the ML. It is a slow burn romance and makes you want for more at the end of the season for the couple.

The genre of the drama is more on mystery /crime solving / political. The story is about the rise of the FL despite the hardship she endures as a child being a female, illiterate and daughter of a concubine. Meeting a boy during the lowliest time of her life, giving her hope and encouragement to obtain her dreams and goal.

6 yrs later they meet again and that's where the actual story begins. The struggles within the imperial court, the mystery of the death of the ML and the way the FL overcome the obstacles in her life together with the ML.

ML was actually mean to the FL in the early episodes but after he gets to know that she is the girl he saved, everything changes. Of course both of their issues need to be resolved to be able to be together with the strength and the promise of their love. So if you're into fluff ending this is not. LOL

ACTORS:
The chemistry between the main leads is off the charts. You can feel it with their looks, smiles and bickering.

ML was able to convey the emotions from being an A**Ho*le in the beginning to a swoon worthy ML with the piercing looks and smiles and tears. (makes you want for more romance scenes) but all in all it was conveyed real good.

FL initially was irritating but it's the role she played and was conveyed good as well. In the end you also feel her struggles and triumphs as the story continues.

Music,
OST are good. The music were placed properly in each scenario.

Rewatch Value.
Definitely would watch it again. Especially the more on the limited "fluff" scenes.

Overall:
I would still give it a 10. The drama involves you emotionally from the beginning to the end. Making you think with the mystery and hoping for a different ending on the romance part.

The ending for me is good, considering the story. It leaves you an ending depending on your wild imagination. As a mentioned this is not your typical boy meets girl romance

I only hope there will be a special edition to fulfill the wish of the viewers on the development of the romance between the couple for a detailed happy ending as writers.

Leggi di Più

AN UNDERRATED DRAMA THAT BREAKS ALL EXPECTATION AND MADE A NAME FOR ITSELF

"You will fall for the male lead a hundred times, if not a thousand."

I watched this drama with zero expectation since there's not much hype and promotions about this drama before it was released, probably considering that it's a low-budget drama.

But it caught me by surprise and turned out to be the best historical drama of 2022, probably the best historical drama I've watched too

Plot-wise: It has the adventurous, investigative-themed plot but it was done so beautifully that it has a mix of everything. There's investigation, there's female empowerment, there's family stories, there's tears, there's adventure, all wrapped in a concise 34 ep drama that doesn't feel too short, nor too long. The romance is beautiful, there's something about the romance in this drama in a way that it's slow-building but even before they confess their love for one another, we can still feel the spark and love interest between them everytime they're together even in a not-romantic scene. Like you can feel they're falling for each other, along the way.
The chemistry between the cast it top-notch. Them using their own voice also adds to making their interaction realistic. I especially love the little candid conversation/ interaction they have which seems unscripted and natural (you can see at some of the later episodes)

The story is fast-paced and engaging . So engaging you won't notice you jave just watched and entire 10 ep in one day(yep, that's me😂). The drama doesn't feel draggy at all.
And be ready for plot twist after plot twist that will blow ur mind away.

Character-wise : I think the scripwriter nailed it in creating a powerful female characters without outshining or overshadowing the male lead. Such mistake had been made in Rebirth for You where the FL is made to be too wise and pwerful that the ml just acted as bodyguards at most times. In this ep, Qiu Yan's character is consistent,has clear principle and mentality and her bravado and wisdom actually works hand-in-hand with Liang Yi. They don't outshine one another but rather work well together. In most times, Liang Yi acts as the brake that hold her horses due to her impulsiveness.
I know some viewers hate her guts and selfish characters at first, i wouldn't call it selfish though. We were given enough backstory to know where she's coming from and how she ended up behaving like she did. And the character development is executed well, you can see how her character slowly change towards the end. I like how the whole Qiu family changes too and all of this happen naturally within these 34 episode which i think is brilliantly done

Acting wise :
I think Jeremy deserve the most praise. He acts so well, his micro expression, his effortless crying-on-cue, his melting gaze, his sharp cold eyes are evidence of his impeccable acting as Liang Yi. Bridgette's acting is debatable but i think she also did fairly well as Qiu Yan. And they both blend together very well.

The ending could be a little better but I'm still satisfied.
I could go on and on for days on end about this drama , but let me just conclude that if you haven't watch it by now, you definitely should.

Leggi di Più

Love the autumn ballad drama

Cerita yang sangat bagus menarik... suka pemeran utama, xu zhengxi, xiao qian...saya sekarang menonton sampai episode 18...masing menunggu wetv update untuk episode episode seterusnya...saya berharap xu zhengxi dan qiu yan akan ada drama drama baru lagi...
Sebelum ini saya juga menonton drama lagend of the phoenix...love love this drama......................❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Leggi di Più