My friends!

It’s that time of the year again, when we look back on our drama years, and decide which dramas were worthy of our love, and which dramas we ought to think about putting in that application to get our drama hours back, heh. 😁

It’s become a bit of a tradition by now, with quite a few folks on Patreon actively thinking about these year-end posts, even before I announced that we were doing this again. How cool is that? 🤩

Like last year, we’ll be taking things in a more relaxed direction this year, so that we don’t all get stressed out from this (and so that I can attempt to stay on top of my Patreon schedule, at the same time 😅).

Again, like last year, we’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2024, and that’s perfectly ok.

AND, my annual year-in-review, which used to come out in December, will again, like last year, come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

Ele is kicking us off this year (thank you, Ele! ❤️).

Not only did Ele make time to write this post despite being a busy artist who also cares for her grandson (Ele’s a very young grandmom!), she volunteered for the first slot available on the schedule I released – talk about being feisty and dauntless! 😉

If you’d like to read more of Ele’s writing, you can check out her other brilliant post, where she talks about fangirling, Jane Austen style, here!

You might also like to visit Ele’s website, where she talks about art and writing.

I hope you guys enjoy!

~ KFG ❤️

Cdrama: You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you

If we haven’t “met” before, hello! I’m Ele, an artist and writer from Bath, England, and a self-confessed romance addict.

In case you missed the blog kfangurl generously shared on here last year, I had a thoroughly lovely time reimagining my kdrama favourites as characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; you can check it out here! 💏

For this blog, I can’t resist indulging in Austen again, only this time inspired by my love affair with dramas from China – AKA cdrama.

Like my original love for kdrama, cdrama has all the trappings of the very best Jane Austen has to offer: lush costumes, stunning scenery, complex characters in worlds you want to linger in, and – most importantly for me (and you, if you’re a romance addict too) – gorgeous, sincere, and meaningful One True Pairings (OTPs) 🥰 Squeeeeeee!

Although I will include some older Chinese dramas I’ve watched, I’ll only give the awards to dramas released this year (the ones I’ve seen, obviously).

So, are you curious to know who the Mr Darcy of cdramaland might be? Who’s the clever Elizabeth Bennett? Which drama has the most swoony romantic moments? Oh, and let’s not forget the best kiss 😘

If you’d like a music recommendation while you read, just to add to the feels, how about “Borrowing Dreams” from Story of Kunning Palace by original soundtrack god, Zhou Shen:

Who’s with me? Let’s do this!

THE MR DARCY AWARD FOR BEST MALE LEAD

Ah, male leads in Chinese dramas are chockful of Darcy-esque scowling, misunderstood, and often maligned antiheroes whose loyalty (to the emperor, or their moral crusade to right a wrong, or to their league of equally loyal comrades) is unwavering and just and sometimes a little bit unhinged.

From the sharp downward angle of Wang Hedi’s eyebrows as Dongfang Qingcang in Love Between Fairy and Devil, to Wu Lei’s darkly glittering General Ling in Love Like the Galaxy, to Zhang Linghe’s manipulative and calculating Xie Ju’an in Story of Kunning Palace, cdrama excels at delivering compelling lead characters who feel fully-rounded – heroes but not without flaws.

They can be both brooding and kind, loving and prone to acts of rage.

Yes, on occasions this brewing inner torment can make our cdrama male leads a tad overbearing 😳 but just as Elizabeth Bennet comes to see Mr Darcy is more than just his pride and disdain for others, we too are allowed to understand them – and will them to do better.

Perhaps there’s no darker male lead this year than Luo Yunxi in Till the End of the Moon as the unflinching, unapologetic, beautifully misunderstood demon lord Tantai Jin.

The awesome CGI halo of fire as Demon God, the seething weak mortal Tantai Jin, the regally aloof God of War, Mingye, the gentler disciple Cang Jiumin, every incarnation is vivid and captivating.

Let’s face it, no one can be that tortured, and cough up that amount of blood, and not be redeemed by love – and this award 😍

THE ELIZABETH BENNETT AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE LEAD

Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett is shrewd, independent, and full of wit – and our heroines of cdramaland generally embody this spirit to dazzling effect.

Whether it’s Zhao Yiling’s resourceful Sheng Minglan in The Story of Minglan, or Peng Xiao Ran as the resilient Xiao Feng in Goodbye My Princess, or Liu Shishi as deadly-with-a-bamboo-leaf Ren Ruyi in My Journey to Love, these astute lead characters are strong, capable women despite many of the stifling period societies they are trapped within.

While the ofttimes reckless spirit of Zhao Lusi’s Sang Zhi in Hidden Love, as well as her quick-witted Niao Niao in Love Like the Galaxy are excellent, it’s Jing Tian’s intelligent and determined Mu Zhuohua in The Legend of Zhuohua who really epitomises Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett and steals the award 😊

THE MERYTON AWARD FOR BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

While the leads in any cdrama can be the gift that keeps on giving, a truly great drama requires an imaginative cast of characters we can despise and root for.

In Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the village of Meryton, with the colourful militia, the ambitious neighbours, the friends, the families, and the gossips, all help populate the world to make our leads shine.

Never is this truer than in cdrama, whose very nature of drawing a story out over thirty, fifty, eighty-plus episodes, provides scope for a wealth of characters who can equally infuriate and delight.

Even the humblest eunuch, the distant cousin, the passing general, can steal a moment and convey a story.

Adapted from two novels by the same author, Love Like the Galaxy and The Story of Minglan are both tours de force in their respective array of characters – so many to love and detest, a true, very Austen reflection of the pressures of societal expectations, indifference, and hypocrisy.

In 2023, the show that particularly stood out to me for its collection of individual idiosyncratic characters is My Journey to You.

From the intrigue of female spies to their richly dark mentors, to the suspicious Gong family and their guards, to the weird isolation of the Back Hill, the ensemble cast are surreal and highly original, but even while the plot of the show doesn’t wholly work out, I never tired of it, and that’s thanks to them.

THE LADY CATHERINE DE BURGH SCENE-STEALER AWARD

Lady Catherine would refuse this award with a querulous wave of her hand. Scene-stealer? There’s no one worthy for her to steal it from when the show is naturally about her.

And, as Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy can attest, even the most hard-won romances can be usurped by a savagely witty side character.

A Special Mention here goes to Cao Cui Fen’s Old Mrs Feng in The Story of Minglan whose bottomless wisdom struck me as the most poetic and practical I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

But for this year, hands down and on more than one drama occasion, the brilliant Zeng Li monopolises the screen.

From her questionable mothering in Love Like the Galaxy, to her conniving Empress Rong An (or wrong-un, as I like to call her) in the flawed Unchained Love, to her more likable but no less impressive turns in Hidden Love and Only for Love, Zeng Li is my kind of scene usurper.

THE MR BINGLEY & JANE AWARD FOR BEST SECONDARY STORYLINE

Our OTPs in cdramas can suffer too at the hands of secondary characters when the emotional thread glitters a little more brightly than theirs.

Liu Yuning’s Haodu’s stunning commitment to first finding then protecting Zhao Lusi’s Li Leyan in The Long Ballad impeccably distracts from the main storyline, so much so I fast-forwarded most of it except when they appear. 😅

Like the bonds of the Bennett sisters, it’s the twin sisters He Xuan Lin as Liguang Qingkui and Landy Li’s Liguang Yetan who won me over in The Starry Love.

Their separate romances in the heavenly and demon realms were a bit predictable; it’s the bond between the sisters that’s the affecting love of this show.

However, the overall winners for me are Ryan Cheng’s Gong Shangjue and Lu Yu Xiao’s spy Shangguan Qian in My Journey to You.

The whole show is a dark and intricate web of manipulation which succeeds best when in the hands of these two characters.

I love the way I’m left guessing on what is true and what is a lie – and ultimately for me it doesn’t matter. I choose to believe in them. 🥰

THE MR & MRS DARCY AWARD FOR BEST OTP

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a good cdrama in possession of single lead characters, must be in wont of an OTP. 😆

As I hope I’ve made clear, a heartfelt romance is the key to my cdrama enjoyment. Yes, the characters might be interesting, the setting pretty, but if the One True Pairing is askew, my overall viewing pleasure dampens.

It’s unthinkable if Mr Darcy does not fall for Elizabeth Bennett after witnessing her true strength of character; it’s cruel if Elizabeth never understands Mr Darcy’s aloofness hides a kind and honest heart.

The crime if we didn’t embrace them as a couple and will them to fall in love!

Cdrama has a happy knack, generally, of developing love stories s-l-o-w-l-y and therefore, in believable fashion.

Often from opposing backgrounds – or borrowing the words from Story of Kunning Palace, the difference between the cloud in the sky and mud on the earth, ‘云泥之别’ – seeing two people slowly forced to trust each other by the tangled twists and turns of a gripping plot is incredibly gratifying to me.

The more sparks flying, the better!

Wu Lei’s intense General Ling is consumed by vengeance in beautifully directed Love Like the Galaxy but it’s his OTP with Zhao Lusi’s Niao Niao that ultimately lifts this show into the romance stratosphere.

Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms isn’t one of the most watched dramas for nothing. Mark Chao’s Ye Hua’s all-consuming love for Yang Mi’s Bai Qian is heaven-sent.

The relationship between Chen Kun’s Ningyi and Ni Ni’s Zhiwei in the epically long The Rise of Phoenixes unfolds organically from mistrust to comradery to reliance, to love – beautiful to watch, despite the terrible ending 😳😆🥰

But the award for the best OTP with the most Austen happy ending goes to… I hope, Liu Yuning’s assured Ning Yuanzhao and Liu Shishi’s assassin Ren Ruyi in A Journey to Love!

I say “hope” because as I type this, it hasn’t finished airing, but – as is often the way with my viewing pleasure – I am almost always most invested with the romance I’m currently watching.

Twenty-two episodes in, it has everything a truly great OTP should have: respect, kindness, friendship, and oodles of chemistry.

Plus, Liu Yuning 😘 I luff him 😍

AWARD FOR BEST KISS JANE AUSTEN WOULD LIKE TO HAVE WRITTEN

..or so I speculate!

Austen may not have been explicit, but of course those characters she designed to fall in love were just a page away from kissing.

Cdrama follows a similar restraint when it comes to physical displays of affection which means when they happen, it’s invariably incredibly meaningful if a tad brief.

However, there are several heart-stopping moments I think it’s only right I share with you 😊

Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu share some very nice kisses as Tantai Jin and Su Su in Till the End of the Moon and as Yuan Shuai and Jiang Jun in Love is Sweet. It is, indeed.

And Zhao Lusi’s Shang Zhi has great chemistry with Chen Zheyaun’s Duan Jiaxu in Hidden Love which ends up being, well, not so hidden.

While the infighting and backstabbing in The Sword and the Brocade isn’t quite my cup of tea, the love that blossoms between Tan Song Yun’s intelligent Luo Shiyi Niang and Wallace Chung’s Xu Lingyi is the highlight, leading to one of the best kisses I’ve seen in cdrama.

It’s totally swoony. I exaggerate not. Episode 35, start nine minutes in.

No need to thank me 😊

However, despite that overbearing streak sometimes coming into play, Zheng Linghe’s Xie Ju’an and Bai Lu’s Jiang Xuening share some gorgeously heated romance in Story of Kunning Palace.

I was quite smitten. Allow me to talk you through it.

First there was the hug…

Then there was the intensity after the hug – I got a little flustered here 🔥

Next came the confession – yep, totally with Bai Lu and melting 🫠

Until at last, smooches 😅 Need I add more?

THE MR COLLINS RAZZIE AWARD

As Mr Collins was the obsequious unwelcome cousin set to inherit the Bennetts family home, it’s only right the award for the less than welcome cdrama is named in his honour.

But what might not work for me, may for you and vice-versa. I mean, even Mr Collins gets married, right?

I know many people enjoyed New Life Begins, for example, but it just didn’t grab me, mostly because the romance element left me underwhelmed and I stopped watching.

Conversely, where others switched off, I powered through the troubled Unchained Love.

In part, it was because of my appreciation of scene-stealer Zeng Li as Empress “Wrong-un” and also because I really never tire of Wang Hedi’s eyebrows 😆 His Xiao Duo is magnificent – one of his best performances so far.

However, the show, on the brink of being fabulous, crumbles with the bizarre “humour” of the female lead, Chen Yuchi’s Bu Yinlu. Whether an acting choice, or directed to do so, her character makes for a painful and frustrating watch.

And speaking of Wang Hedi, he’s still impressive in Only for Love alongside the unfaltering Bai Lu.

And the rest of the cast are doing their best (hello Zeng Li!) with some likeable characters BUT it’s a very dry premise about investments and finance and… I’m bored even writing about it.

Oh dear. I think we have our Razzie winner. Sorry!

In closing

Well, thank you for allowing me to share my love of love in cdrama! It’s always best to finish with a quote, and who better than Elizabeth Bennett?

“I just finished the best cdrama and am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice.”

Try one and let me know if you end up head over heels too 💏

~Ele