So the ratings on Douban for C-drama Unchained Love (Forbidden Love) really caught up on the general feedback with its ratings at 6.7 on the heel on its conclusion last week. I was interested in checking back in after hearing it got better in the middle probably around episode 14 and after. But then the drama ended last week and all I heard were howls and yowls of disappointment so this drama just feels like an inverted parabola haha. The final episode which I did watch just……ended…..and feels so wan and limp in storytelling. I can watch Dylan Wang even when he’s not the best actor but I’m having a hard time thinking his stans really loved this character or performance, it was extra stiff and awkward in any scene and made the worse with Chen Yu Qi doing her bug-eyed acting magic. Chalk another up for “looks good on paper and fails in execution” C-drama.
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The actors could only do so much with the material they were given…
In my opinion the main fault lies with the script-writing. Turning this into a “comedy” was a singularly moronic idea, especially since the promotion of the drama created an expectation of something much darker. On top of that the script-writer went out of her way to add as many lame old clichés as possible (that weren’t in the underlying novel), like the silly maid trope to test the audience’s nerves.
Me too! I didn’t like the comedy aspect in contrast to the supposedly dark theme. And, how FL shows no fear from the first few eps that I’ve seen.
WangHedi and ChenYuqi’s “Unchained Love” has a total of 136 broadcasts, an average of 3.8 episodes, and a total of 21 brands. It is iQiyi’s No. 1 drama in 2022 and 2023 so far
Yes! I felt cheated with the ending. They showed some stuff in the trailers that did not see the light during the broadcast. I was trying to use UL to finally start watching LBFAD. It had loads of potential though. Huhuhu.
WHD is just another one of those who can’t act and is propped up with capital. He will go down the same road as Gong Jun in a couple of years, meaning he will be replaced by the next one.
He will be just fine then lol since Gong Jun is doing well right now
Gong Jun’s career is dying, very visibly. Are you blind? He has one more shot left to try and salvage something but unfortunately Yang Mi is also doing terribly lately so the likelihood that she can carry him is very low. It’s just life.
Why do you have to bring up Gong Jun? They do not have same image, not similar age group. Should not compare them. GJ is recently on two major Lunar New Year broadcastings, and with lots of CF’s. GJ is doing perfectly fine!! He has three dramas upcoming… You do not need to worry. LOL.
If you are a fan of Gong Jun you should worry all right. Lots of his fans in China jumped the wall for WHD, who is way above him these days in pretty much everything. That they are not the same generation is the point, it’s a swap. He can’t act so he can’t transition to a seasoned actor. Not that WHD can but it’s irrelevant because of their traffic roles.
“Lol”.. I am “Shrug”ging my shoulders now. You sure have lots of time worrying about strangers going down the road. Answer me – “Why do you have to bring up Gong Jun”?
While I admit ‘Unchained Love’ ended up being a disappointment(it has a lot of potential, could have definitely been way better if it weren’t for those cut scenes that plagued the production) BUT by no means it was the actors’ fault (on the contrary, they saved it, I would have dropped it long ago if it weren’t for them) Dylan Wang was good and Chen Yuqi was not as bad as people made her out to be…they had chemistry despite having all their intimate scenes cut. Blame censorship and the scriptwriter, they ruined it for everyone.
What’s the ending? I only watch until EP 10
I liked the ending because they were together
Can someone give me a scale on what douban ratings are bad or good? I’m so confused. I recall in another post, a 7.x (I forget the exact #) was considered “solid”, and here a 6.7, which doesn’t seem far off. Yet based on the commentary above, it sounds like it’s bad?
the best were the male costumes, love the chiffon. the worst part was Chen Yu Qi’s eyeball acting and the limp ending. the drama was also immensely sadistic and made light of cruelty to women.
I don’t understand the hate towards WHD’s acting. I thought he was perfectly fine and satisfied the requirements of the role. Is it oscar-worthy? No, but I don’t expect too much out of this series. He was great with expressing the necessary feelings, but his relationship with Yuki was lacking (moreso due to Yuki.) I just can’t see his obsession with her, even though the chemistry was somewhat there? It was just bad script writing.
It’s not “hate”. Why must stans use nonsensical hyperbole?
Most people think he can’t act to save his life. Cope. It’s not hate. It’s an opinion and as valid as your sunshine and roses.
Can’t act to save his life? Is that why he had raving reviews for his role as DFQC? Is that why his fanbase exploded recently? Is that the basis of your hyperbole “most”?
I really loved the drama and I think it was good. I actually found the humor in it a nice touch. Also thought all the actors did well. I don’t look at shoes too deep however there are right away I wouldn’t even finish the first episode. But this one is on top of my list along with Eternal Love Ten Miles of Peach Blossom, Legend of Fuyao, Novoland Pearl Eclipse, Who Rules the World, Love Like the Galaxy.
Thankyou for you nice comment. I also liked the drama very much. I also agree that it is up there with the other great dramas you have also mentioned. I am a dreamer, and romantic, and love what they each have brought to this drama, well done……To all the negative comments about eyeballs, humour, bad acting, and blaming writers, please be mindful of your nasty comments, you obviously are using this platform for nasty hidden agendas, and are playing with good people’s livelihood.
Not sure about the chemistry between ML & FL. Trailer showed scenes that I didn’t find in the episodes. I also got the impression this would be more of a serious series though I didn’t mind the comedic scenes.
I am satisfied with Dylan’s portrayal of the role, maybe he could have been directed to be a tad darker with his character. The female lead, her acting is fine but I honestly got sidetracked a lot because of her bulging eyes. Half of the time I felt she’s expressing fear or surprise but then the scene turns out to be totally not that. Side shots for her should be avoided.
I enjoyed the wardrobe part of this series. I like the strength and dominance by the ML character that somehow disappeared midway just because of a woman(?!)
Series is alright but it is nowhere in same league as Who Rules the World and other great period drama.
Dylan Wang is a great actor but I think the problem might lie with the script. Also there just didn’t seem to be any chemistry between the leads, then they brought comedy into the script, that was just wrong. So let’s just blame the script.
I have not even st noarted but I’ll agree with you and blame the script because I have seen what Dylan can do and it’s not shitty acting.
Wang Hedi may still have a long way to go acting wise but he has that star power, stage presence, charisma, charming personality. He’s so much fun to watch that you can’t get enough of him. I’m not worried, he will managed…
And sorry to burst your bubble but no one can stay at the top indefinitely/forever, good actor or not…many artists have experienced slumps in their careers.That’s life.
The tone of this one was strange. Like, there were some seriously dark themes in there (various creepy men attempting to assault/abuse women with less power than them; scary insane emperor with no checks on his power; the whole thing about the harem expected to hang themselves on the death of the old emperor, etc.) Yet the tone of the drama was light and tropey and jokey. Just a strange fit. The ending just…ended? And the cuts were painfully obvious. They should have at least had a chance to smooth them over so it didn’t feel so disjointed.
I thought the actors did fine, I liked the FL who was steadfast in her attempts to get freedom, whatever that meant in her situation. I wasn’t expecting the level of chemistry I saw in LBFAD, as it’s a different story, with a different combination of actors, different direction, etc. But within the story it worked for me. But they were constrained by the script (and maybe directing, I dunno). I felt like they did the best that they could with it.
One thing I did want to particularly mention that I liked was whoever was doing the dubbing for Wang Hedi. (I assume it wasn’t him? I don’t think he does his own dubbing?) Dubbing drives me crazy; I’d 1000x rather hear the original actor, as the voice is fully half the acting for me. But I did like the voice for this character; it was really quiet in all the scenes where he was divulging vulnerable information about himself, and it fit well.
Agree with you that the dubbing voice of ML intensifies the character and make the drama more pleasant to watch. I have watched some BTS with the ML real voice and just not sounding as good. Dylan has an accent not fit for historical dramas. FL looks “old” in my opinion, not matching the ML… She gives me the creeps when she is calling everyone “older sisters” with widely opened bulging eyes 👀 while looking much older than all the other girls including her own half-sister. The script is quite entertaining with this feisty FL character but this Yukee is disappointing. Wonder what the drama would be like if FL was replaced by a younger actress with normal eyes. All other casts are doing fine, especially the crazy emperor – he is the best actor in this drama.