Period C-drama My Journey to You ended unexpectedly this Friday as iQiyi went from a snail pace one episode a day to dropping the final 7-episodes in one sitting for the finale. Now that it’s over, I can safely say this is my second favorite summer 2023 C-drama after Lost You Forever but totally it’s own unique specimen in an increasingly homogenized world of wuxia and xianxia C-dramas. I loved the dark and stylistic visuals, it can be a tad pretentious but was tempered by how well fleshed out all the characters were and the lovely plotted emotional threads. This drama made me tear up, frequently and for different characters and moments. The drama looked sleek but felt emotionally real. The Gong boys of Front Mountain and the hidden dudes of the Back Mountain each got their own narrative and moments to connect while the Wufeng ladies plus Oldest Sister complemented their male counterparts by outsmarting them but losing their hearts to innate decency and kindness.
The two sets of lead romances were lovely but I loved so much more the everything else. Master Yue and little sis Yun Que, Elder and Young Master Huas’ daddy/son ending, Master Xue and his companion/bestie, Shang Jue and Yuan Zhi but really all that big brother-ing done good and bad in this story, and let’s not forget the two Wufeng ladies and the tear jerking goodbyes with their respective handlers. I got so many new faves out of this drama with Yu Shu Xin, Zhang Ling He, Cheng Lei, Lu Yu Xiao, and many of the supporting and rookie actors were all memorable and I will totally recognize in future roles. I thought the battle of wits between Gong and Wufeng was nicely done and the Big Bad a well slotted last minute twist, but ultimately this drama wasn’t about the conspiracy as much as it was about people grieving, overcoming, and finding that love however fleeting is so very lifechanging.
I have to say the ending was rather sudden… all at one go.
How was that an ending? I thought there would be a S02. Hmm…
I read somewhere that they actually plan 2 seasons for this drama. but I dont think we gonna get it
Many are outrage over the ending but for me it’s a fitting ending maybe because since the beginning the drama keeps reminding us about the ill-fated ending of majority of the characters especially the 2 CP so I don’t feel any hope of HE. It would be weird after all the scheming, backstabbing, and blood shed everyone just kiss and make up.
The major point that satisfied me is how Gong Bros are now on the same page and working together for their family. With their outstanding abilities combo they are invincible.
What a bad execution at the end! The bad guy literally stand there telling the leads all his plan for a whole Ep and then runs off (lol). I could see where it’s leading to season2, but I’m not sure if the drama itself is popular enough for a sequel.
Main OTP were boring to me & apparently others too. The secondary had a more epic separation and their story was more engaging suspenseful. Twitter was full of their ending posts whereas fans had to ask what happened to the main OTP. It’s not often I see secondary OTP overshadow the leads.
Overall, my “ff” button was my best friend, the fighting and outfits were top notch. Thanks to their government, Glad it was only 24ep, cdrama tends to water down by going over 40+ eps.
Wow, it’s soooo crazy how TV shows targeted at women have the women outsmarting the men! Who’d have thunk it… 😀
Can anyone who found this show offputting due to lack of plot comment on whether it’s worth a watch?
I meant to reply to you with the comment below.
This is my favourite period piece this year – while lost you forever was great, I felt journey to you had better quality sets, CG, fighting scenes and overall cinematography. While we can debate about whether the last few minutes of the finale was necessary, you cannot fault the director for giving every character a chance to shine. I love love love the back mountain scooby gang, their friendship, their solidarity in keeping the world safe. The world set up has so many possibilities (what does the fire protect against? Sounds pretty game of thrones lol ) what a great 24 episodes – thumbs up for me. And right to the end the characters stayed true to their arc (really hate it when dramas make their characters suddenly go arc amnesiac) even controversial few minutes, some may argue that it was stupid for YWS to go home or for ZLH to let her go. But it was consistent, she always crave freedom , he always was willing to let her have it. And there was some naivety that they felt they won a big battle against wufeng and it will take some time for them come back. Humans often make wrong judgements – I find that wholly acceptable more than many dramas who make crazy choices in finale that cannot be explained. This nicely sets up for a sequel which I can live with!
I quit at ep 7. It had been a snoozefest most of the time but I gave a shot since I liked the ML. No material development of the plot up to that point. I’m not interested in any fancy styles of cinematography or tug of war on power struggle between those CPs. Why bother?
If only the ending was explained more I wouldn’t feel robbed. This is the case where the drama did all the righ things except the ending that felt like a cliffhanger. I mean if there’s no S2 what’s that ending??? They have 24 episodes but as always chinese drama’s ending fell short.
One of the best written and paced dramas this year and no words for the cinematography. It was out of this world. The actors all delivered some more than others but it was the chemistry of Yun Weishan and Shanqqan Qian that had me hooked. The battle of wits and unwilling bond between these two was one of the highlights of the show. The whole cast was stellar and big shout out to the Ravens who died protecting their assassin proteges. The back hill wonder boys were definitely my fave and the way they all banded together to help Gong Ziyu was much fun to watch.
I liked the drama overall. I can see why some would have a hard time following the drama. This is a very wordy drama. I can see how someone will drop and not finish. The plot requires exchanges of dialogues after dialogues that can have double meanings. Makes sense because this a battle of wits between characters.
I am happy with other secondary characters’ stories because they have closure. Very unusual for a drama whereas in some they won’t be mentioned at all. A convenient plot device. Even main couple has closure too. They already have affirmed their love for each other. The story is over. What else is there to show lol. But director throws the plot twist at the end. Some says this is his creative signature. So you can ignore the end or wait for follow up if there will be.
Absolutely loved the dark aesthetic of this show. The minimal voice dubbing helped give it a much more human feel to it. For me, even if there is no second season, I am very satisfied with the ending. I love it when authors leave opening endings that can be considered finished but with just enough ‘wait a minute, what about…?’ for the possible duology.
A few things that can be carried over from the first show that are not fully explained – who or what exactly are the infidels that required the Infinite Heat to be invented? what is the source of the miasma? are the founding members of Wufeng also the original Fengs of the backhill, or even the Qingfeng? Are these specifically women with a grudge against the over-controlling Gong men? did the Fengs create the Infinite Heat using the witchcraft that Xiyi used in the end? and the most obvious is, is the FL a direct descendant of the original Fengs and who exactly returned to Gong residence, FL or her twin sister?
So, they certainly have a lot to work with and answer for. Writers be good to us, please.
As others have mentioned, the Villain’s confession *episode* was way too much and totally threw me out of the story. As did the death scene of the Hua Elder. He was a super minor character and though we were made to care for Young Master Hua’s emotions, I doubt the bad guy killing them at that time would have really given them that moment of family-love-talk. It was really misplaced.
My last gripe would be a huge continuity error when it came to the SFL’s laboratory being blown up, burnt to the ground, and a complete mess, according to the dialog, but then *poof* SFL is laying in her bed on the second floor of the laboratory that looks just like it normally does without any scorching from the explosion.
So aside from those few things, the writing was tight. What looked like plot holes, especially around the prison escape scene, were perfectly explained and woven over with the hidden agenda plot line. Character arcs were smooth and strong, costumes were amazing, the females’ hair styles were gorgeous, but the men’s could have have been a little less Elvis (I’m looking at you Sword Wielder!). The main conflict was made immediate and carried right through to the end. Stakes were raised again and again. Though the pacing was slow and somewhat quiet at times, it felt like there was always the snake slithering under the grass, moving the foliage just enough to make you aware of it but never showing its fangs. Well done. I do hope for another season.
This has to be one of the fastest paced C Drama I’ve watched and the best part is all the characters are nicely developed and fleshed out. The ending was a shock but to be expected. And it really sank in after a few days that’s probably the best.
I think there is not a proper ending.