If you told me Liu Yu Ning walked from the set of The Prisoner of Beauty to A Dream Within A Dream, I would believe you. Lol. I was watching episode 1 and the opening scene is so outlandish and hilarious, I thought to give you guys a peek at the ensuing chaos in case you didn’t plan on checking it out. 6 episodes are out and the drama doesn’t stop airing until the end.
Per Qiyi: What would you do if you accidentally found yourself inside the world of a script, playing the role of a tragic female lead used and discarded by the villainous male lead, even tortured to death? For Song Xiaoyu, the answer is obvious: run as far away as possible. She had the perfect escape plan, but reality said otherwise. Every time she tries to change the storyline or marry a supporting male character, she becomes trapped in a never-ending loop full of “bugs,” dying in 108 unique and absurd ways. In short, the game was over for her the moment it began. Eventually, Xiaoyu comes to a painful realization: no matter how hard she tries, the “plot” always pulls her back to the male lead, Nan Heng, forcing her to re-enact the script’s iconic scenes again and again. In this paper-thin world, so many characters are shackled by predestined roles. Some are imprisoned in palace intrigues, others are confined in grand aristocratic mansions. Some are trapped in toxic rivalries among women, while others endlessly pursue power and status. Some yearn for love and freedom but can only dance in fear, bound by invisible chains. Some dream of soaring like mighty birds, only to lose their spirit amid the monotony of daily life. This drama portrays the struggle of ordinary individuals fighting against a fate that was scripted from the very beginning.
LYN joining the 3-drama per year club (After The Prisoner of Beauty and Eternal Brotherhood Season 2). I’m happy to see LYT so pretty in a costume!! Woohoo!
Airing 6/26~
Towards the Truth (朝云散) is a costume drama following the life of our male lead. He’s the sole survivor of a massacre and vows to find the truth. Even though he passed the imperial examination with top rank, corruption runs amok, and his plea to open his family murder leads to his demotion. Until a fire during the Empress Dowager’s birthday reveals a bed of skeletons and he defies authority and becomes the investigator appointed by the Emperor. He meets several like-minded folks and forms a team to investigate the many mysteries, including his family massacre.
Airing 1/9~
I haven’t said this line in a while but I almost lost an eyeball trying to compile this post. Lol. I guess Qiyi has the majority of my interested dramas. Hope ya’ll find this helpful. I tried to include as much as possible but will eliminate non-human/concept posters for my sanity. If I missed anything, feel free to help me out in the comments! XD
Happy scrolling!
A Dream Within A Dream (书卷一梦) is an upcoming costume drama, it is not based on a novel. From what I can gather, the story follows our heroine who enters a script and becomes a heroine who is abandoned and abused to death by a villainous hero. No matter how hard she tries to run away, the plot somehow pulls her back to him. In this realm of scripted story, many characters are set to follow a trajectory, many yearn to break their shackles, how many could survive this cruel world? Other cast members include Zhu Xu Dan, Wang Yi Lun, Wang You Shuo, and Wang Cheng Si.
And the saga continues for our six young spies to maintain peace in Northern Song Dynasty. This is nice! The whole cast of Season 1 was able to return and reunite to really film a real season 2! I still haven’t finished Season 1. LOL. Hear me out here, not that it’s bad, but I feel this type of drama requires one to reach a certain arc/moment for us to feel the magnetic pull and marathon the whole series. I’m still stuck somewhere around the first arc. xD
Airing 7/29~
Song of the Moon (月歌行) is adapted from the novel written by Shu Ke. I wrote about the novel previously here. And this is the synopsis from Qiyi: Young girl Liuzue (played by Xu Lu) exchanged her life’s fate for the pleasure of being with a mysterious man for three days, and since then, she has gone through a lot of ups and downs, and a rocky relationship. In order to safeguard the life of the people, to protect their loved ones, they have gone through a lot of hardships and difficulties, devoting their lives to bear the promise of the gentleman. Can they break through their destiny and change the ending?
Hoping its a decent drama for these two! They need a hit!
Airing 12/15~
Would you believe me if I tell you this post was written in Feb (when filming wrapped) of this year but has it been sitting in the draft section? Why? Mainly because the production is so stingy with promo stills! And even now as they are gearing up to premiere…no trailer… >.>
Song of the Moon (月歌行) is adapted from the novel written by Shu Ke and stars Zhang Bin Bin and Xu Lu as the leads. This is what I have gathered from the novel: It is a tragic story. This is not a story about a good girl, this is a story about a lonely girl (a lot of readers say she’s pretty unlikable). The loneliness in her life breeds her stubborn, selfish, and bitter personality, and she acknowledges those traits. Our heroine comes from a wealthy family, her parents let her do whatever she wants and it’s the downfall of her life. She sees that they only care for her younger brother, who’s deemed as the one to carry on the family line (quite typical). She meets our male lead when she’s about 10/11 and he appears surprised to learn that the person said to help him save his people is a girl. He’s the Demon Lord, if you’re curious, always wearing a black robe. Like a genie, he tells her he’s the person to guide her destiny, to give her powers, to do a lot of big things. To compensate her for the future, he gives her two options, 1) He can do any 3 things for her or 2) She can have him for 3 days and he’ll do anything for her in those 3 days. Of course, to a little kid, the second option sounds much better and so she picks #2. After 3 days of fun and excitement, he disappears. A big fire takes away her family’s wealth and her parents don’t think twice about selling her to buy medicines for their beloved son. She’s sold to a manor and trained to become a killer. Our male lead also has another identity ~
I feel bad for our female lead – she gets abandoned quite a lot by the people who claim to love her, including our male lead. But a lot of people also die for her….. Some readers said that the love story wasn’t satisfying to them, some questioned whether he did indeed love her or not. Is it love or is it pity? Is it both?
I didn’t see a translation for the novel yet. If you’re aware of one, please let me know!