A Journey to Love is one of the best Chinese wuxia dramas I have ever watched in terms of acting, writing, cinematography, and strong characters, there is never a dull moment. Full review of A Journey to Love Chinese drama below!
Drama Details
Title: A Journey to Love (一念关山)
Episodes: 40
Release Date: November 28, 2023
Genres: Romance, Wuxia, Drama, Political
Country: China
Original Network: iQiyi
Available On: iQiyi
Synopsis and Plot Summary
The story begins with the feud between the An Country and the Wu Country. Emperor An was warlike and greedy and captured many cities from neighboring territories. Meanwhile, the State of Wu was prosperous and strong as its economy developed rapidly.
The greedy Emperor An wanted gold mines in Western Wu which led to war between the An State and the Wu State.
Emperor Wu personally led an army to fight south of the Tianmen Pass. However, due to internal conflict, Wu suffered defeat and their emperor was taken hostage.
Emperor An wanted the 100,000 taels of gold sent by the prince as a ransom for Emperor Wu. Ning Yuanzhou, the former leader of Liudao Hall, was recalled to escort Princess Yang Ying and bring the emperor home.
Even though he initially refused and no longer wanted to be involved in politics, Ning Yuanzhou ultimately accepted the order to protect Princess Yang Ying and to clear the names of his brothers-in-arms who were labeled as traitors.
On the trip to An Country, Ning Yuanzhou was accompanied by Yuan Lu who was skilled in mechanics, Qian Zhao who was skilled in medicine and knowledgeable, Yu Shisan who seemed only interested in beauty, and Sun Lang who was great at defense.
An assassin from An, Ren Ruyi, also came along to teach Princess Yang Ying everything about the Country of An. In return, Ning Yuanzhou helped find the real murderer of Empress Zhaojie.
Not only about politics, war, and revenge, this Chinese drama also presents the romantic relationship between Ning Yuanzhou and Ren Ruyi.
A Journey to Love Chinese Drama Ending Explained
A Journey to Love Chinese drama has an ending that surprises everyone because the main characters all die (“everyone”). The drama makes their deaths beautiful, but I don’t know if this is good or not.
At the end of the episode, Ren Ruyi blows up the wolf king and the Zuo Xian king including himself with a fire bomb but not before impaling them with a hairpin. His chances of survival are very small and are not shown clearly.
At the end of the scene fast forward to a decade later, a boy named Ning Shisan comes to Chu Yue and claims that he has a sister named Ren Lu.
He also his father’s last name is Ning and his mother’s last name is Ren. So does that mean… they’re not dead? Or at least Ning Yanzhou and Ren Ruyi? But how to do it after the explosion?
This ending left everyone feeling a little confused and left a lot of question marks, “Are they still alive?” “Will there be a second season?”.
But, if that ending was the screenwriter’s way of turning things around and keeping it from becoming a bad drama, then it leaves viewers with more questions than answers.
A Journey to Love Chinese Drama Review
Many people say that for them A Journey to Love is the best Chinese drama of the year, but for me, it has solidified its position as one of my favorite C-dramas of all time.
A Journey to Love is a story about sisterhood, friendship, romance, loyalty, and growth. The two leads, the assassin Ren Xin and the spy Ning Yuanzhou are two opposites, meeting in a very unexpected situation.
They joined hands in helping each other seek justice for themselves and their loved ones so as not to be falsely accused by their own states.
Together with the naive Princess Yang Ying and her former brother-in-arms Yuanzhou, they embark on a cheesy-sounding journey teaching them all about life, love, and death.
As for the character, I have long been waiting for a strong Female Lead, a killer as perfect as Ren Xin played by Liu Shi Shi.
However, I think the female lead’s obsession with taking revenge on the empress was a bit forced into the script (a slight flaw).
Meanwhile, Ning Yuanzhou, played by Liu Yu Ning, is a man whose mind is full of brilliant strategies and unmatched tactics.
He once wanted to live a peaceful life away from palace politics, but agreed to join the convoy to protect Princess Yang Ying and also to clear the good names of the men of The Heaven Path who were labeled as traitors.
Qian Zhao, played by Wang Yi Zhe, is a former member of the Heaven’s Path who was transferred to the Yulin Army under special orders because of his meritorious service.
He is now the commander of the Yulin Army who is highly skilled in medicine and life-saving skills. He’s versatile. He appears stoic but is most invested in clearing the names of the fallen warriors of Heaven’s path, especially Chai Ming.
Yu Shi San played by Alen Fang is a former commander of the Asura path, who was imprisoned for kidnapping Minister Liu’s daughter, he seems reckless and a person who is only interested in pleasure and beauty but is the most emotional, caring member of the group.
Yuan Lu, played by Chen You Wei, is the greatest genius of the Hungry Ghost Path whose martial arts skills are average but great at building mechanical devices useful for spying and warfare.
All the main characters are well developed and the main cast’s acting is phenomenal. All the actors here do their job well, their acting is very good and have real chemistry.
Is A Journey to Love worth watching? very worthy with all aspects perfect in terms of writing, acting, cinematography, and chemistry.
A Journey to Love Chinese Drama Cast
Main Role
Liu Shi Shi as Ren Ru Yi / Ren Xin
Liu Yu Ning as Ning Yuan Zhou
Alen Fang as Yu Shi San
He Lan Dou as Princess Yang Ying
Chen You Wei as Yuan Lu
Wang Yi Zhe as Qian Zhao
Support Role
Chen Hao Yu as Chu Yue
Chang Hua Sen as Li Tong Guang
Li Huan as Sun Lang
Zhang Fan as Deng Hui
Ye Xiao Wei as Li Shou Ji / Prince He Dong
Yuan Ruo Hang as Li Zhen Ye / Prince Luo Xi
Zhang Qiao Er as Liu Li
Chen Du Ling as Xiao Yan
Chen Xiao Yun as Noble Consort Chu
Maggie Huang as Jin Mei Niang
Zhang Zhi Xi as Jia Ling
Lu Xing as Chief Secretary Du
Yin Zhu Sheng as Li Zhun
Zhang Tian Yanga as Wu Di
And More
My Verdict
Overall, A Journey to Love is one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever watched in terms of acting, writing, cinematography, and strong characters, there is never a dull moment.
All the actors and actresses in this series are amazing. The characters and character development were very satisfying, I even felt sympathy for the villains.
The script is well written and the music score or soundtrack is beautifully done. I highly recommend this fantastic and highly entertaining series to you. So, for this A Journey to Love Chinese drama review, I would give it a score of 9/10.
Read Also:
- Got a Crush on You Chinese Drama Review
- I May Love You Chinese Drama Review
- Wonderland of Love Chinese Drama Review
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