The Qin Empire 4 with Zhang Lu Yi, Duan Yi Hong, You Complete Me with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin

I probably shouldn’t link these two dramas in one post but the contrast of their epic-ness is quite intense, so let’s just do it anyway? Lol.

December is here! O_O

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=======> ♦ Epic historical drama, The Qin Empire 4 (大秦赋之天下) is the 4th installment of the The Qin Empire series, following the unification of six states under one rule by Qin Shi Huang, played by actor Zhang Lu Yi. It began airing on 12/1. The battle scenes look epic.

Trailers.

=======> ♦ You Complete Me (小风暴之时间的玫瑰) adapted from the novel by Xiao Mo Li with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin. Male lead is on the journey of revenge for his father but ends up falling for the enemy’s daughter. Begins airing 12/2. The posters drive me bonkers! Breaking my neck to see their faces? No thanks! Lol.

Trailers.

  1. 4 thoughts on “The Qin Empire 4 with Zhang Lu Yi, Duan Yi Hong, You Complete Me with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin

    I’m watching both! The former starts off fairly epic and starts you with action, there’s actually not that much power struggle as you might expect from political dramas? Zhang Luyi appeared way too early, in fact all the Ying Zheng were way too old for their age, it’s a common problem for historical dramas, but it’s way more apparent when kids are involved. I would have brushed it off but a lot of plot/char development hinge on Ying Zheng being a literal child. Other than that, it’s pretty good so far, the story isn’t too dense to get into, the pacing is decent, supporting characters are alright with some stellar performances here and there. The dialogue….could be better, there’s some real questionable ones sometimes, it’s much less classical Chinese-leaning compared to the previous installment, which could be a plus or minus depends on your taste.

    I wasn’t going to watch You Complete Me but the initial feedback seems decent and I opened it on a whim. I really like how it starts, with both leads being very competent, then FL kind of gets thrown into one terrible circumstances after another, which is rough. Looks like we are going to be in some angst and classic tropes. I rather like both lead’s character and I like the second couple too, they seem fun. I think I started too soon though, didn’t realise it’s 40 episodes, that’s a lot of room to screw up.

    • 4 thoughts on “The Qin Empire 4 with Zhang Lu Yi, Duan Yi Hong, You Complete Me with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin

      About Qin Empire 4, not only the actors playing Ying Cheng too old for the recorded historical ages & events (Ying Cheng ascended the throne when he was only 13). So are the actors playing Lu Bu Wei and Ying Cheng’s father, Ying ZiChu (who died in his early 30s, so at the time of the first 9 episodes, he should look between 24-30 years old). It is very jarring for those who has some basic historical knowledge, but I guess for those who don’t, it’s ok. I started on his drama for its historical value, but now I am not so sure.

      • 4 thoughts on “The Qin Empire 4 with Zhang Lu Yi, Duan Yi Hong, You Complete Me with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin

        eh, the actor is 47, playing 26~35 is bit old, but I’m used to dramas doing this, so I’m not too fussed. Taking into account that life expectancy was lower and people look older than they are in the olden days, beard and all + celebrity usually look younger than their age (Xin Boqing doesn’t look that much younger but I don’t think he’s that out of the line), I can deal with it. I’m used to 40 year olds playing 20 year olds, but you really really can’t just tell me someone that look older than 40 (zhang luyi looked 40 when he’s 30) is 13. I watched a different drama earlier the year, Li Shimin first appeared as a 19 year old, but the actor had a beard and all and I swear to god looks 40 (looks like he was 40 jsdhfsdkfh), his dad looked 60 and I kept waiting for him to die, but dad stuck around for way longer lol.

        The plot treats him as a 13 year old though, it’s the entire reason why he doesn’t have power, and it gets repeated in the drama too, so I can’t even mentally age them up lol. Historical-wise, the drama is…okay, there’s some real questionable dialogues but ithe main plot doesn’t deviate that much. The last drama that’s close to “treat history seriously” was Qin Empire 3, and that one had some characterisation and pacing issue in second half too. There was decently received Qin Shi Huang drama that aired in 2007 (filmed in 2001), due to the child actor being perfect, but the adult Ying Zheng was……Zhang Fengyi at 45 LOL, The plot apparently crashed and burned in latter half too. Then it’s Step into the Past, the 2001 TVB drama, with Raymond Lam, I liked him, but the plot isn’t really about him. I had a look at potential other dramas, most of the ones that might be good doesn’t follow Ying Zheng’s life, it’s usually when he’s middle age/latter half of his life and he’s a villain.

  2. 4 thoughts on “The Qin Empire 4 with Zhang Lu Yi, Duan Yi Hong, You Complete Me with Hu Yi Tian and Qiao Xin

    I’m currently watching You Complete Me because I’ve been encouraged to give modern dramas another chance. I can’t stand product placement in shows but this time it’s subtle and I guess I don’t mind looking at shoes. I’ve never seen Hu Yi Tian before but so far he’s okay. The female lead is passable – endearing and sweet, but a terrible crier. I like the pace, the chemistry between the leads, the plotlines, and the overall main storyline. But um…there’s just one major plot hole that’s screaming at you. Given the male lead’s intelligence and character, how can he not KNOW?!?! And another thing. If you’re going to be a villain, please do not have a vision board. It’s just asking to be found.

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