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Period C-drama A Dream within a Dream with Li Yi Tong and Liu Yu Ning Soon to Wrap Up Buzzy Run But with Complaints About the Plot Falling Apart in the Final Arc

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So of the June C-dramas, many still airing are getting ready to wrap and one of the high profile ones is period piece A Dream within A Dream with Li Yi Tong and Liu Yu Ning. The drama has done well for iQiyi, I believe at the highest it hit 9500 heat index which is great for that platform. The early reviews were good, praising the clever meta and sweet parody of romance period C-drama tropes. Of the two leads, the bigger boost is going to Liu Yu Ning, riding on his already strong showing the month earlier with The Prisoner of Beauty and also pulling off the noted differentiation in acting of playing two characters in this drama. Li Yi Tong remains just serviceable and her performance here is continuing her reputation of being in dramas always as the female lead but without one mega hit performance or drama under her belt. The drama is set to conclude next week but since a few days ago the complaints about the plot and character behaviors that were once minor have since escalated and overtaken the conversation about the series, with many viewers decrying how the drama has fallen apart majorly in the final arc. What a bummer and I’m glad I was banking the series to marathon next month when I have time and can avoid it now and just rewatch TPoB.

Comments

Period C-drama A Dream within a Dream with Li Yi Tong and Liu Yu Ning Soon to Wrap Up Buzzy Run But with Complaints About the Plot Falling Apart in the Final Arc — 41 Comments

  1. I don’t think it’s falling apart. They stretched the reveal a it to long, but let’s see how they will handle the rest of the story.

    • It’s official, they nailed the ending! I loved the romance in The Prisoner of Beauty more, but this drama was just so much fun. And best of all, the ending is very satisfying.

      • Best ending in cdramaland. It was a roller coaster to get there for a reason. And I thank the writer for tackling this kind of script. thank LYT and LYN, the others casts and production team. Funny thing people say it’s unpopular but Weibo score is 8.6, Douban is 7.1 and had the best investment for the summer.

  2. The only drama that really did well this summer was “In the name of the law” starring Jiang Xin. It seems there is a general fatigue concerning those idol costume dramas starring the same faces : Liu Yuning = 3 dramas in a row in two months , Liu Xue Yi = 4 dramas, same situation about Bai Lu (3 dramas in a row in a couple of months). Lack of novelty can be bothersome even for a decent plot.

    • I googled “Chinese drama in the same of the law” and nowhere to find it. How was that a hit? lol. At least, other C dramas mentioned in this blog are searchable. And, nobody other than antis denies the real hit recently has been Legend of Zanghai. Agreed with @Irene.

      • I looked too. In the Name of Justice. Was that a hit? And I think OP probably considered LoZH a spring drama rather than a summer drama since it started airing in May. I don’t think she meant to deny that it was a hit.

  3. I’ve already said it since episode 9/10, this drama is bad in its execution. Fans kept using parody/satire as an excuse for those badly executed parts. I do note that Liu Yuning’s acting has improved, just that his lower half of the face still has some issues matching the emotions in his eyes.

    • Aaaahahahahahahah, your comments cracked me up! Lower half face acting not catching up to eye acting is new to me, heheheh

      • Yes I didn’t see it that way at all. I felt his facial expression matched his emotion thru his eyes very well in fact.

      • Have you ever attended acting lessons? Or seen an acting lesson in action? Actors in acting schools are taught to manage their facial expressions via individual facial muscles. Unless you are telling me that your mouth is not separate from your eyes?

        I know you are obsessed with me, stalking my comments under different names here 😉

  4. I gave up on the plot midway. The drama is funny but the plot is way too weak, lacks substance. Was hoping for more plot twists throughout the series. Very disappointed since I was looking forward to this one.

  5. I could not last even mid way. Story is not for me. Liu Yining….I try and try to watch all his male lead dramas but never finish. Maybe the next one..he is getting better.

  6. This kind of falling apart comments doesnt effect me much WHEN I binge the drama anyway.Its easier to endure with 2xspeed when there are useless characters around and next episode is there If I feel bored with current ep Im watching.
    People try to follow up these kinda scripts while hoping the excitement will stay for weeks… its a bit long stretch in my opinion I learned hard way to not expect much from script writings.

  7. the show is funny. People who complain just want to have something to complain about. Liu Yuning is fine as always and proving that he is an acting force in the Chinese entertainment industry. I think if you skip it base on some people’s opinion you will miss out. Mind you that TPOB that you like only has a 6.4 score on Douban and Dream within a dream has a score of 7.0. That should tell everything you need to know.

    • To each its own…some lie apples, some love durians. Basic theory of life, I guess some people dont understand. World is such a beautiful place…not one egg is the same as another.

    • If Liu Yuning is an acting force in Chinese industry, they might as well give it up now and close down everything.

      I can’t believe the stuff people wrote with a straight face here lmao

      • As the saying goes “haters gonna hate” 😂 If you can’t recognize his obvious talent because you are not a fan, then it’s not a Liu Yuning problem, it’s a you problem. I have a good eye for talent and I stand by what I said🌻

  8. No matter what this is their hard work I’m currently enjoying it tho. It just that I don’t like the way the female lead keeps rejecting the male lead.
    Well, let’s see the ending hopefully

  9. You don’t know what you’re talking about since you’re not currently watching it (reading comments is one thing, experiencing it is another), it’s not falling apart, the plot progress is kinda frustrating is all but there’s also a good reason for that which you would know if you were watching, how else do you think it got to that heat index?👀

  10. No it’s not falling apart at all. People just love to hate without watching the whole thing. Till now it’s going good. Yes the FL pissed me off a bit though. But imagine you’re an actress and end up in the drama you were about to shoot. Yk the script and plots. Knows the villain and ML. What’d you have done any different from her? So instead of saying it’s falling apart you all better watch it till the end. More episodes to release.

  12. I never take Douban ratings seriously. TPOB is way better than ADWAD. The biggest issue with ADWAD is the story and LYT. She looks pretty but I’m not sure if it’s her acting or how they wrote the FL’s character that annoys me. I’m still watching for LYN but man, it’s a struggle.

  13. Wow…are u guys finished with the bickering here? Don’t u guys realize it that each person here is entitled to his or her own preferences & opinions?

    Is this what cdrama taught? = disrespect?

    I used to teach dramas in school & institute in Malaysia & l never forced my students to act out the roles as l deemed fit but, as what they interpreted it on their own based in their script reading & the writer’s work & ideas.

    If that was bad then, it wouldn’t made it to be staged at KL PAC i.e like Broadway, would it?

    My point is ; These actors & actress acted under the director’s command. Have it ever crossed your mind that LYN or LYT was doing it all wrong not because they were bad in acting? I mean….how many of you really watched Journey to Love or Story of Pearl Girl or Eternal Brotherhood? For me, it’s brave of him to try comedy this time around rite? I think he wasn’t too bad at it. People did laughed. I dud.
    As for LYT …what’s wrong with having a pretty face here? She is a modern woman trapped in an ancient drama script so, it is reasonable for her trying to fix the messed up plot of the drama. That’s the theme, rite?
    She was trying so hard & l think she portrayed the helpless, comical & caught in her own fickleness & ideals of a perfect drama rather well.

    Hellooo….. isn’t that what u guys are bickering about? Your own idealism? I like this drama because of its rationale & hidden sarcasm.No offence ya.

    • I agree with you completely. I actually am enjoying “Dream within a Dream” after 32 episodes. Is it my very favorite Liu Yu Ning dramas? My fav is “Journey To Love”. Cried my eyes out with “Pearl Girl”. I loved the Brotherhood series. Everyone loves to criticize the actors. Remember they don’t write the scripts and they don’t direct.

    • 100% agree with this comment. If you were a modern person going into a script you already know you would want to avoid everything as much as possible and not get immersed in it. I understand her mindset and it’s not wrong of her to protect her family and herself first after experiencing death. She clearly avoided the plot and NH for a reason but given she was blinded by her own bias (which happens to all of us) did not awaken till the end. Sigh, I guess some just want a perfect strong female lead without flaws what so ever. Why creativity lacks nowadays is b/c we only want to see what we like or prefer.
      I honestly loved ADWAD more b/c of the novel idea and light comedy effect and genius OST over TPOB. But like I said it’s subjective and based on people’s own opinion/preferences.

  14. I am loving this drama and the actors. I feel they are doing a good job. I watch a drama to enjoy and not to write a thesis. I wish the actors success in this drama and their future endeavours.

  15. They had to stretch the drama out somehow. Early affection/romance really takes the stakes out for me.First Night with Duke did that and that has bored me a bit. But I could wait on the heroine catching up to sense bcz sad Liu Yuning is just too pretty. I hope he still has some evil smirks in the next few episodes. Now I guess the drama will be the heroine not wanting to leave Nan Heng at the conclusion of the script.

  16. I don’t know if my first comment made it in. But this is the first C-drama I am watching to completion. Mainly bcz the male lead is gorgeous and his acting is *chef’s kiss* and the jokes actually hit. I watched TPoB bcz turns out the guy can really act.

  17. LYN was serviceable in A Journey to Love. IMO, he could have been better in AJTL without lol smarmy overkill. He was a flop in the Story of Pearl Girl although I understand TSOPG was a collective failure in both writing and directing that might have contributed to his bad acting too. I continued to give a shot to TPOB. He was better in TPOB than in TSOPG. But man just didn’t look like a protagonist hero who is always described as extremely attractive in any C web novels I read. He doesn’t have visuals becoming for a charismatic ML imo. Even Song Zuer looked pretty (pun intended) fitting the role of astounding beauty, that’s not enough to woo me to follow the series all thanks to how awkward LYN looked as the ML. In short, I have to admit I have trouble buying his charm as a leading male actor in a romantic story. He could be a good actor for roles like martial art guru, body guard, general, or even antagonists when his acting is more mature. He just doesn’t have any appeal for me to watch him romance the heroine in any love story. I got turned off.

    To this point, I’m pretty sure LYN is in my black list of any drama of him as a ML. No offense to fans. Just my personal preference. I love grape not orange. So, don’t panic just cuz you love orange instead. Continue to enjoy your beloved fruit!!!! Lol.

    • 💯 I think you just read my mind on LYN! Grapes and oranges, lol. Your last suggestion sounds fair enough! No one should go bonkers over loving different fruits. 😂

      • I casually and lightheartedly agreed to the comment above but wanted to come back to add two more cents out of respect for LYN and his fans.

        I first knew of him as a singer of a couple of OST songs I really like. He’s a good singer. Was surprised to find out he also acted in supporting first and then eventually lead roles. He looks like he’s doing pretty well and good for him because by all accounts, he appears to be a decent person in the way he handles his personal life, treats his costars, and interacts with fans and guide them. Don’t feel like he carries any idol burden or overhypes himself.

        As an actor, I think he’s improved a bit and not too bad considering he doesn’t have any professional training. More qualified to call himself a singer/actor than many who claim the same. He’s just not my cup of tea in terms of ML – but many aren’t based on my personal preferences. Even those who are considered handsome like Yang Yang and Zhang Linghe aren’t my cup of tea so nothing against LYN’s looks. Same goes for LYT. Not really just about visuals for me – it’s the right balance and combo of looks and acting skills that really turns on an actor’s or actress’s charisma. Anyway, we all like different things. Glad for the fans who enjoyed ADWAD’s story and acting.

    • Have to disagree. LYN is not technically handsome, but he sure is sexy. I will watch anything he is in and for the most part, he has done well. Finished ADWAD and really enjoyed it. It was funny and loved many of the secondary characters. I would recommend it for anyone sitting on the fence about it.

  18. No wonder, streaming platforms are considering cutting down on episodes. It’s because our attention span has gone down over the years and amidst all the negative feedback I am reading here, is exactly what the drama is going for. Not saying this project was near perfection, but I think the production and actors did a phenomenal job with this project. It’s exactly up my alley. Messy, fun and a foreshadowing. But the drama wrapped everything up nicely IMO. It’s way better than those drama that broke 10k heat index but who am I to data and mainland opinion. My overall viewing experience was not the same and even with all this negativity they are still pulling second to In the name of Law and In the name of Blossom. I really appreciate them for tackling this kind of script. It’s high energy at the beginning and end, the middle is like progression of the characters, primarily the FL. It’s her dream within a Dream. So don’t be deceived by all the negative reviews. If we expected everything to progress in life how we wanted it to in a script it would be a perfect utopian. But 9600 is a great achievement and I still cannot get over ADWAD. .

    • I’m with you! I loved this drama from beginning to end. It was unusual, funny, touching and well acted. I think it is a drama that is better binged than it is with an episode or 2 dropping each day, as there are a number of things going on and I like to take a break when it makes sense to me in the narrative. I loved LYT here, and chuckled every time her character flounced in and out of the room, with her modern walk and fluffy clothes. I am a fan of Liu Yuning (I find him sexy, and gorgeous – that voice ❤️). I am impressed at how much he has grown as an actor. Some parts of the show were less interesting to me than others, but I have to give a shout out to the actor who played LYT’s father. He was brilliant! As the Minister of something or other, waffling over positions, careful not to take a stand, this guy was totally familiar to anyone who watches political dramas from any country: Staying safe and keeping your job comes first. The actor just nailed this.

      HOWEVER: I can see why other people might not like it. Some PoB fans tuned in and were disappointed – it is nothing like PoB except that LYN wears armor! It’s different.

      • 100%%. You can’t go into another drama expecting something similar. Thus, we are judging a book by its cover just as we are judging Yimeng for her not awakening or realizing NH sincerity. The funny thing is the manager even stated from the beginning that they want the audience to pity NH so the script writer did just that. Also, loved LYT abstract acting and it was neither over exaggerated or over the top it was the perfect balance of fluff, comedy and salted fish character I wanted to see. She also contributed a whole lot to this drama and others discrediting her talent but haters be speaking when they be pulling in the dough for the movie production and platform. Flop only to those who see it that way when news, bloggers, and professionals come and credit for the screenplay and brilliance of this drama🤷🏻‍♀️ Lastly, I loved the minister of war acting as well! All the artists pulled their weight and made this drama a success in their own way and form.

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