First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

I’m really looking forward to this! Bromance, romance, political intrigues. The colors look great. Please be good, show! Its airs Tuesdays-Thursdays, 2 episodes each day. “VIP” members (ahum) get to see one week ahead, so ideally we “piggyback riders” have 12 episodes this week. Ha!

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Stills:

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Such a beautiful poster, with meaning.

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Preview:

Episode 1.

  1. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Background sounds kind of feel like a movie. I wonder what it means when only listening to the drama is enough to understand what’s going on. After first 2 eps, not as engaging as Advisors Alliance but better than The Legend of Dugu.

  2. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Kappy’s cute gif is back! haha! Havent started watching yet, will start tmr! Kinda excited about this! The plot looks good!

  3. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    will prob not start until a while later. loaded w/work lately and since I already started OSBSWY, I’ll prob keep to just one drama on my plate a time.

    really excited for it when summer comes around though! 5 more weeks to push thru!

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      What’s OSBSWY?

      • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

        Only Side by Side With You – starring William Chan, Bai Bai He and Li Xian~

  4. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Yeah! I was just planning to do a shout out to see who else is watching this and then I saw your post. I just binge watched 4 episodes and I am loving it so far. The flow, the plot, the color and acting are all on the spot. Ma Tian Yu and Wan Qian together is sooo intriguing. I just love watching them in a scene together. I also really enjoy Elvis’s portrayal as well because I can completely separate him here from Siege of Fog. I like the feel of suspense and unfolding of the story as one side is trying to deceive while the other side is slowing unveiling the truth. Plus, the once in awhile light humor (the queen saying he never had a woman before and he almost choked lol) It is so cute that Ma Tain Yu’s character seems to be attracted to the queen but whenever she provided opportunity to be close to her, he is so stiff hahaha

  5. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Thank God it is not an idol show. Really strong casts! The actresses are decent but their real ages from the two actors are surprising.
    Although it is a historical show, I still feel the pace can go so much faster, there is no possible way to watch without the skipping button.

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      It is totally an Idol drama!

  6. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    I see Ma Tian Yu’s drama since in “The Vigilantes in Masks ” .He is so handsome

  7. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Watched 6 episodes and it’s honestly not bad! Nice to see Tangren putting out a drama of such quality again! The colour & tone of the drama, costumes, cast are all well chosen~ The plot is nicely paced, though I skip a little from time to time because of the politics!
    Han Dong Jun is acting out his character really well, a very likeable character. Whereas MTY pales a little in comparison, I thought he could have done better in some scenes, but maybe because it’s just the beginning where his character still does not have the Emperor’s aura and charisma. One notable mention is the actress acting as the Empress. She shines throughout the drama and I really look forward to seeing her scenes. You can tell she is bringing out the best in MTY, because he just doesn’t seem as good in scenes without her. Great actress, will follow her other dramas next time!

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      The actress playing the Empress here played the psychopathic niece of the Empress obsessed with becoming the next Empress in Tribes and Empires.

      • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

        I dropped Tribes few episodes in because it became boring for me! I saw that she won the Golden Horse award which really explains why she is so great in the drama

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      MTY’s acting gets better as the episodes progress, I was so impressed in episode 9! Nicely acted out by MTY! I was hooked into his acting, his emotions and his anger at the very moment!

  8. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    The characters talk very slowly and scenes are quite slow-moving (in the 2 eps I’ve watched), makes it seem more like a historical drama. Not that engaging so far, though Wan Qian is great as usual and Ma Tian Yu is finally in a drama I want to watch. Might continue once I finish Legend of Dugu.

  9. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    I liked this waaaay more than I thought and I’m only up to episode 3. It will have to wait its turn, however. I must finish SIF and OSBSWY first. I don’t have time for all three dramas.

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      I dropped some of the middle episodes of Flame’s Daughter and OSBSWY, and watched the ending.

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      I am watching SOTTK now, btw. I watched the first eight episodes.

  10. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    I was excited when I read the summary for the series. A Sword in the Stone meets The Man in the Iron Mask or maybe The Prince and the Pauper. Secret identity and destiny in the most turbulent time of China: The Three Kingdom Period. The first episode is yowza! Beautiful sceneries! Just look at that beautifully shot of the river where Liu Ping and Sima Yi ride back to their home! It looks like a movie instead of a tv series. The details in the beautiful costumes are subtle: white hat for Liu Ping, the hero, and black hat for Sima Yi, and matching couple costumes for Fu Shou and Liu Ping when they present a united front as king and queen. On the acting front, Regina Wan standouts as the Queen Fu Shou who made of sterner stuff (and looks eerily like Tavia Yeung w/o nose job). The weak link sadly is Ma TianYu. The character of Liu Ping/Lui Xie could be a signature role for Ma TianYu. I mean he plays the ultimate underdog as a King in an event the viewer already knows the outcome! He has to be his brother, the king, and tries to outsmart, one of the cunningest people in China’s history, Cao Cao. Along the way, he falls for his sister-in-law and drives away his real brother in everything but blood. This is a meaty character, but the fault is in the script. You want to root for him to overcome the impossible odds, but he makes it so hard when he doesn’t do anything productive.

    For example, in the first episode when the brothers confront the roaming military bandits, Liu should have told Sima Yi to leave one for him to interrogate. Like are there more, where are the camp, and whose military force are you in? When the people from the Sima Yi’s family arrive, Liu Ping should have send one to scout thing out. And the peasant thief, Liu Ping should have taken him in as a manservant. The man is injured and starving. How the hell is he going to survive on his own? All these would show Liu Ping is compassionate, has some foresighted, and a tactician. These traits would be needed in his new role as the king.

    In the second episode, he should have said yes to become the king but with some conditions. It sounds grand and noble to save the dying dynasty but the palace is a snake pit, and the throne is a hot seat. The conditions are Liu Ping should have some say in the matter, and what are his Royal Brother’s plans. When Liu Ping wants to write to Sima Yi to tell he is alive, he gets a scolding from the Queen. Liu Ping should have said: Lady, if you know how brilliant Sima Yi as I do, he will see through the subterfuge, and will try to look for me. And as right now, we need all the helps we can get especially the kind that are loyal and talented like Sima Yi. This would have help pick up the pace, and not have all our characters running in circles.

    They need help. Liu Ping need a lot of help, and when a helper literally knocks on his door Liu Ping send him to retire! The old eunuch who knows the king since birth. He is the perfect teacher, besides the Queen, to teach Liu Ping to be his brother, and to be their eyes and ears.

    Withall the money put in this production, you can see it all on the screen: the sets, the costumes, and the actors. But the script? The plot? The characterization of the main lead? The series falter after the second episode (I watched up to episode four). The plot just goes in circle: the threat of exposure, and the growing pains of Liu Ping in his new role.

    • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

      omg your version sounds so much more interesting. Ever plan to write your own novel? I would read it! If only we have better scripts, most dramas would be 10x better.

      • 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

        Most of the C-dramas that I watched in the last twelve months, suffered from the same malaise; mediocre scriptwriting and weak plot. Otherwise, the dramas had high production values in the cinematography, set design, costume design, music and acting departments. Director compensates with extraneous Flashback Filler and Soundtrack Song Filler. If they could improve the writing, tighten the plot and shorten the drama length, and restrict the flashbacks, the drama could shine.

  11. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    Lol, I have to say at first, I really don’t like MTY’s character. Seem unrealistic to me. MTY’s acting would ranked the lowest in the 4 main actresses in his acting. But his character is getting a little better and his acting is getting better when the series progress (I’m in ep. 30). I wish Liu Ping’s character more manly so it can cover his unrealistic (too nice) personality – it got me annoyed sometimes or maybe because MTY doesn’t fit with this role. That’s just my little complain overall it is getting better. Don’t give up. I think the focus of the series is not only romance but also MTY and SMY’s relationship and how the politics battle will end.

  12. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    I am watching the drama on YT without subs, and without comprehension of the dialog and ensuing plot. The set designs are wonderful. The costumes are pretty, but the occasional “modern” patterns seem out of place. I like the opening theme song, that is very different from other drama opening themes.

    I like Wan Qian, and like her character portrayal in Secrets…Kingdom. Ma Tian Yu seems more mature in this role, although the “king” has an acting relapse from time to time. I hope that someone subs the drama.

  13. 23 thoughts on “First Impression: What do you think of Secret of the Three Kingdoms with Ma Tian Yu and Han Dong Jun?

    This drama has been licensed by Dramafever, so we have subs! Yay! Checked out the first few episodes at DF and so far, so good. Here is the link to the DF Page:
    https://www.dramafever.com/drama/5179/Secret_of_the_Three_Kingdoms_-_%E4%B8%89%E5%9B%BD%E6%9C%BA%E5%AF%86%E4%B9%8B%E6%BD%9C%E9%BE%99%E5%9C%A8%E6%B8%8A/

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