Republic Era C-drama Overdo with Wang Chu Ran and Zhang Ling He Wraps Run with Continued Complaints From Viewers and a Low 5.0 Douban Rating
Lol, they really hate this drama. The opening Douban ratings for Overdo is a meager 5.0 as the drama ended its quite eventful run this week, and usually the international viewers are very generous with praise and ratings for C-drama but even on MDL it’s a very low for MDL rating of 6.7. The ending felt like it put everyone out of its misery, including the viewers, with a close to rocks fall down nearly every dies ending. Was it apropos for the narrative built up to that point, most likely but overall everyone just felt tired from all that melodrama, backstabbing, betrayal, revenge, rinse-and-repeat that dying was quite a relief. Leads Zhang Ling He and Wang Chu Ran should scrub this turd from their resume though by all accounts neither will be negatively impacted as the drama still brought in viewers from more hate-watching than anything. Lucky for them, their prior dramas did good to okay so at least they can balance that out.
I think I want to watch it just to check out Wang Chu Ran’s outfits. For those who have watched it, please tell me if it’s a good idea 🙈
Watch at your own risk lol. The ending was something else. Visually everyone was pretty but story wise it was like watching a major catastrophe unfold before your eyes hoping a silver lining might come out of it but it is just has so much casualty and disaster. In other words interpret the ending as you may and hope for the best. However, the many tropes in this drama was comical to me. Like they felt they needed a plethora to make it unique. The editing and effects was truly odd and they probably could have chose differently but they tried. The actors were not bad though. The writer and production overall just really had outdone themselves in ruining what could have been different if they did not try so hard and rush through like the intro and ending songs. So yah the director not being hired for the main actors next project to me makes sense cause this drama was indeed a failure. As far as I know many watched it due to supporting the male actor alone otherwise this would never had gotten the attention it has had thus far.
I’m one of those rare ones who actually enjoyed the show primarily for the chemistry. It offers a fast-paced storyline that kept me hooked after every episode despite the repetitive plot holes. Definitely check it out if you are want to see WCR’s wardrobe, she exudes that elegance that goes really well in a Republican show.
Same. I kept watching the drama for the plot and main characters (all six of them).
Imho, Overdo does not receive unwarranted hate for what it is. It’s Republican-era which itself is a genre.
Essentially it’s going to be shamelessly dramatic and kind of repetitive. Also, a lot of viewers dislike its editing and close-ups, I myself dislike them too. But the plot (and the mystery of their traumatic experiences) made me stay.
Pros of Overdo:
1. Visuals. Good for people who dislikes ugly faces.
2. Very fast paced so its not boring.
Cons:
1. Low budget production so questionable scenes are everywhere
2. Plot is very incoherent. This drama is made up of every makjang troupe imaginable thrown together
This went from a drama I was anticipating to a drama I dropped after 1 episode. And after reading spoilers about the ending, I’m very glad I quit. Seems like Chinese viewers share the same feeling because the number of views per day kept declining throughout its run.
5.0 on Douban is higher than I expected given all the criticism I’ve heard about it.
5.0 is pretty high to me considering how bad it was lol. This felt like someone’s high school screenplay crossed with bad wattpad fanfic. Poor storyline, direction, editing, bgm, writing, use of AI…just everything. Acting was very average too.
It’s absolutely a trash drama.
I do hope that ZLH workerbees on Reddit are getting paid for all the posts how it is actually amazing, you just have to wait it out and he is such a stellar actor because otherwise it is just embarrassing. At least if they are paid I kind of get it.
LMAO,
All Republican-era C dramas are pieces of crap, but this one is on a whole different level, lol. Poor Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan. They picked the wrong script from the very get-go.
I used to be a fan of Fei Wo Si Cun’s novels, but not anymore. Her stories are so pathetic and depressing that they’ll drive you into clinical depression if you take them seriously. The drama adaptations are even worse because the literary beauty is completely lost in these lousy Chinese productions. While FWSC has a spellbinding pen, none of her hypnotic writing has ever been successfully adapted into a C drama. The long list of flops includes: Too Late To Say I Love You (even though Wallace Chung was hot, lol), Sealed with a Kiss, Chronicle of Life, Siege in Fog, Goodbye My Princess (adapted from Eastern Palace, my favorite novel of hers), and Tears in Heaven. Now we can add Overdo to that list. lol.
I only checked out Overdo to see if it would be another FWSC overkill, and it’s exactly what I expected. The poor production values don’t help either. Personally, I’m definitely going to avoid any future adaptations of her novels
I am sad that a gorgeous, fine actor like Zhang Linghe appeared in Overdo. And I disagree that the chemistry between him and Wang Churan was great. It was OK, because he used his voice and facial expressions and actions to convey his feelings, but she was directed to be a frozen, unresponsive person for nearly the entire show, which was irritating rather than engaging for me. Compare their “chemistry” to the chemistry between ZLH and Tian Xiwei in Pursuit of Jade. No comparison! Maybe the difference lay in the poor writing/direction/filming in Overdo, or maybe the chemistry just wasn’t there in reality so wasn’t convincing to me. Some Overdo characters were interesting, including ZLH’s role, and the story had potential and the action was fast-moving, but it really did seem Overdone in too many ways and the ending left me deciding that I would avoid any show by this writer or director in the future.