A Journey to Love 一念关山 [2023]

[40somethingahjumma]

1 hour ago, Tofu said:

Interesting enough, the last time I saw him in anything was also The Long Ballad. That said, Fang Yilun must be having so much fun playing Shisan. 

 

 

I've seen him in a couple of other shows. One period and one contemporary. Both fairly mediocre shows. He's a classically trained pianist and he plays the ML in the contemporary drama as a pianist. It's pretty much a Nodame Cantabile copycat but not a good one. 

 

I've always liked him even in The Long Ballad.

 

1 hour ago, Tofu said:

 

How old is Ning Yuanzhou supposed to be in the drama? Somewhere in his 20s? I, sometimes, forget how young the heros are in wuxia dramas. 

 

He's 30. I can't remember where it was said.

So is Yu Shishan. 

 

19 minutes ago, AwkwarDerp said:

Why do I feel like Fan Yilun followed him from TLB to here to troll him  "we were enemies, and now we're best friend"

 

I believe they are from the same agency.

Edited December 1, 2023 by 40somethingahjumma

[ktcjdrama]

On 11/30/2023 at 1:30 AM, Tofu said:

Tagging some people to come watch with us too:

Thanks for the tag chingu... I am not sure about this, especially I have a bad habit of starting but not finishing period dramas, LOL... Too slow 

[40somethingahjumma]

@Tofu Do you know if we're getting new episodes tonight/tomorrow? I'm a bit confused about the schedule.

 

Episode 9 was a bit of breathing room for the delegation after the big battle. Nice to see them all let loose and party. Of course it gives everyone a chance to get more friendly. Including the leads.

 

Really nice to see Princess Ying maturing and getting on so well with Ruyi. She definitely needed some sympathetic female companionship. The expression on her face when they asked Yuanzhou if she could have horse riding lessons was adorably priceless.

[Tofu]

@40somethingahjumma Yes, we should! My understanding is that we will get two new episodes everyday until Monday. There's a break on Tuesday and Wednesday with no episodes. More episodes will be released on Thursday-Sunday and this (Th-Su) will be the schedule until the drama ends. 

 

 

[Tofu]

Their hard work paid off. That was an epic fight scene. 

 

[AwkwarDerp]

22 hours ago, Tofu said:

 

How old is Ning Yuanzhou supposed to be in the drama? Somewhere in his 20s? I, sometimes, forget how young the heros are in wuxia dramas. 

he’s around 30, he have his own character weibo where he keep talking about wanting to retired

21 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

I believe they are from the same agency.

actually Yuning is his own studio (he mentioned in his livestream), he’s not under any agency except he collabs with some for his music/OST 

[Tofu]

20 minutes ago, AwkwarDerp said:

he’s around 30, he have his own character weibo where he keep talking about wanting to retired

Don't we all?! 

[Tofu]

These boys are so funny in real life too. Haha!

 

[40somethingahjumma]

Yeah, this is probably the best thing I'm watching right now. Everything's on point. The show has a good balance of everything: romance, humour, male camaraderie, team dynamics, navigating geopolitical landmines and it's got echoes of Journey to the West. The leads are good together and the guys that make up the inner circle have decent character arcs as well.

 

Episodes 11 and 12  -- the set-up and payoff in this show is really good. The emotional payoff feels real. One of the better parts of this is watching Princess Ying develop as a royal representative. Sure, she had a rocky start but she was naive and inexperienced in understanding the political realities. With the right teachers and encouragement, she blossoming.

 

Conflict arising out of Ruyi's true identity was bound to happen. Glad that it happened sooner rather than later. The foundations for building a team requires honesty and trust. At least the three guys who tried to kill her could be reasoned with in the end to "see the error of the their ways". For my part I understand them and their loyalty to LIu Dao Tang.

[OsmanthusTea]

Ladies, wait for me!! I will start tomorrow!!

[Tofu]

The BTS for this drama and the video chat the cast did together make me enjoy this drama even more. 💜 

 

 

[Tofu]

I went from  to  when I saw everyone was throwing leaves down at them. Hahaha!

 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

This has got to be the best kissing scene ever... It cracks me up every single time and I tear up. I also like how the show affirms again that this relationship isn't just between two people but absolutely a family affair.

 

Liu Yuning is a lucky guy because Liu Shishi these days is really one of the best female co-stars to have. She's so good in this show. Her experience really shines in this show especially in the romance and fight scenes.

 

Episodes 13 and 14 were hilarious but they also served as set-up for future events. They managed to form an alliance with Jinsha Gang through an old friend of Ruyi. Shishan made an idiot of himself but his past caught up with him. 

 

I love how this lot are feeling more and more like a family.

[SilverMoonTea]

I'm here, this drama not on my radar if not for our @Tofu calling. As I was confused with the title, there is other Journey drama lols, I tried that one and didn't like it. 

 

Btw I already finished all available episodes (up to 14) 😅 

- For the first time I'm more captivated to the FL rather than ML, LSS is killing this role. As of LYN I guess when he's on his guard uniform and got his hair bun up, he's more attractive. 

- At first I thought there is only two side Wu and An, but there's no clear cut on who's the real friend nor the enemy. 

- As of the An's side, I think that Marquis Changqing or known more as Tongguan is quite interesting. I also want to know who he will really like in the end. 

 

P.s I also know Chu Liu Xiang played by Adam Cheng @40somethingahjumma@Chocolate, the OST was so iconic and their clothes was so colourful & beautiful. The other version played by Michael Miu and Barbara Yeung also quite fun. 

 

@ktcjdrama This is a quite solid C drama, you can try it. 

And C drama not complete without calling @IpohBanana 😂

[40somethingahjumma]

1 hour ago, SilverMoonTea said:

 

- As of the An's side, I think that Marquis Changqing or known more as Tongguan is quite interesting. I also want to know who he will really like in the end. 

 

 

I think he's an interesting character but the actor is very inconsistent with his performance. At times I'm not quite sure what his expression is supposed to mean. I'm glad he took Chu Yue down a peg or two because that girl is just not that likeable at this point. She's supposed to be some kind of tough boss girl but she just comes across rude and entitled. 

 

1 hour ago, SilverMoonTea said:

 

- At first I thought there is only two side Wu and An, but there's no clear cut on who's the real friend nor the enemy. 

 

 

There are other countries and I think the An emperor is wanting to use the gold to fill his war chest in a bid to conquer the other neighbouring states. They often mention a country called Chu as well.

 

It seems like both countries have their problems with leadership and the civilians are the ones suffering because of it. Neither of the leads give us a glowing perspective on either country. 

[Tofu]

I like that all the characters has had their own growth in either little or big ways. It sends the message that everyone has flaws even if they are the most respected. 

 

I was wondering why Yuanzhou leaves everything to Qian Zhao every time he leaves and I realized that Qian Zhao is second in command. It seems, when the drama introduced the A-Team, they might have been introduced according to their rank. 

 

This sudden change in demeanor was so good. Liu Shishi is such an amazing actress! 

Spoiler

 

 

9 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

I think he's an interesting character but the actor is very inconsistent with his performance. At times I'm not quite sure what his expression is supposed to mean.

I agreed with you and @SilverMoonTea. I am not sure what to think of him because he can be a bit one dimensional with his expressions. I haven't finished both episodes for today yet but it seems like we might get more from him once he's reunited with Ruyi. 

 

[Tofu]

LOL!

 

 

[SilverMoonTea]

New puppy unlocked 🐶

 

 

[Tofu]

Li Tongguan has an unhealthy obsession with Ruyi that it's almost borderline creepy. I get that he has abandonment issue, but it doesn't make it ok. Maybe it's because I have a bit of trauma with this, but I was a bit grossed out by his actions. 

 

 

I hope LYN and FYL continue to escort princesses together in the future. 

 

 

 

[Tofu]

I like this relationship as well as the relationship between Yuan Lu and Ruyi. They really look up to her as an older sister. 

 

 

[Tofu]

The leaf that fell on him was not on purpose, but it fit in so well in that scene. Hahaha! 

 

 

[SilverMoonTea]

Actually it's finally making sense because he seems never trully love any of the ladies around him. 

[SilverMoonTea]

He's a bit dumb @Tofulols I cant hate him so much 😆

[OsmanthusTea]

LSS is sooo gorg!! Btw, please spoil me....Prince DanYang, good or bad??

[Tofu]

1 hour ago, OsmanthusTea said:

Prince DanYang, good or bad??

It's a bit unclear at the moment. He's portrayed as bad and doing whatever he can to stop the delegation from getting to An to save the captured Emperor. There was a scene where he told the Empress it was his uncle who ordered the attack (the epic fight in ep8). Where we are right now, they were attacked and it was said to be Prince Danyang's order, but it could have been someone making the order under his name again.