I started watching this because of Bambi Zhu and since the length was at a decent spot, I thought I gave it a try. However, it seemed like they can’t do short dramas or something. Because it was a major let down that they couldn’t wrap things up properly.
Main Cast:
- Bambi Zhu (祝绪丹) as Zhou Na (周娜) / Cao Xuan Xuan (曹萱萱). This was the second time I watched her in some show having to do with traveling into a fantasy world. However, I felt Fateful Love was tenfold better, even if there were many frustrations throughout and how the ending turned out. It made more sense to live in reality than be obsessed with the fictional world, seriously. That didn’t sit well with me and affected my overall opinion of the series itself. Yes, I liked her character and personality and her witty nature. However, the decision to immerse in the novel world at the end didn’t sit well with me. So, that affected my general view of her.
- Yu Wei Ni (於薇妮) as Childhood Cao Xuan Xuan (幼年曹萱萱).
- Zhai Xiao Wen (翟潇闻) as Guo Zi Jie (郭子杰). He was a laid-back type of guy and only cared to do minimum at times. At least, it seemed that way at first. He had no motivation and had no aim in life, making his father worried for him. Yet, it was because he didn’t want to compete with his brother so he tried to appear like he was less of a threat in general. But that didn’t work for him either because his brother never seemed to let go regardless.
- Chen Zi Qi (陈梓锜) as Childhood Guo Zi Jie (幼年郭子杰).
- Guo Cheng (郭丞) as Sun Wei Yan (孙魏延). Guo Zi Jie’s best friend since childhood. At first, I thought he was smart and funny. Then my views changed. Not because he was in cahoots with Zi Jie to get the job. But it was because he didn’t trust them enough to say stuff out. Well, if it was others, I would have forgiven him. But it was Zi Jie after all. Someone who had been there for him since little.
- Xu Mu Chan (徐沐婵) as He Chun (何春). The local coroner’s grand-daughter. She took after her grandfather and became the new coroner so her grandfather could rest. After all, they only had each other. She was also a very talented fighter. It came with the job because she had to protect herself. Yet, she took on two jobs–as the coroner and their guard during various adventures. She was really cute and cool. Yes, in that combination. I loved how she didn’t take anyone’s BS regardless of reason yet was so caring toward others around her. It was a nice balance for her character.
Supporting:
- Hanson Ying (应昊茗) as Guo Zi Lu (郭子鲁). Guo Zi Jie’s older brother. It was revealed later that he was adopted. However, Master Guo treated him like his own son and even encouraged his own son to be patient toward his older brother, not hold grudges against him, etc. He was very petty and vengeful, wanting to get rid of his brother to take over the family business. What was even worse and heartbreaking was Master Guo had meant for him to inherit the family business, knowing he would be the best candidate because of his capabilities. He failed to see it, even in the last moments because he was too competitive and blinded by jealousy. The last time I watched him was in Legend of the Ancient Sword and this seemed like the same type of role with the greed cranked up ten times more.
- Zhao Yu Xin (赵宇芯) as Liu Ying (刘莹). Guo Zi Jie’s cousin. She liked him and wanted to marry him, so she was super jealous of Cao Xuan Xuan and wanted to sabotage the latter. However, she wasn’t evil. She was conned by Guo Zi Lu to cause trouble and regretted it greatly. She later changed her opinion and supported Guo Zi Jie near the end.
- Wang Gang (王钢) as Master Guo (郭老爷). Guo Zi Jie and Guo Zi Lu’s father, Liu Ying’s uncle. He seemed strict at times yet was such a softy below all that. Seriously, he was much more forgiving and surprisingly forward thinking than a typical man of the ancient days. He didn’t care about blood relations or keeping everything within the family line like others. He even taught his son to treat his brother equally or even respect the latter and to be understanding. It was very different. Yet too bad he was misunderstood. The reason why he wanted to arrange everything for Zi Jie’s future and making sure his career was stable was because he already planned on passing the business to Zi Lu. Too bad Zi Lu couldn’t care enough for the family to even see all of that. I got it, it was scary to feel he wasn’t appreciated. His ending was very tragic and frustrating. Till the end, he wanted to protect Zi Lu.
- Tang Yu Meng (唐妤萌) as Second Lady (二娘). Master Guo’s second wife who often clashed with others because she loved attention. Because of that, she died in the butler’s place. I actually suspected her having to do with some of the schemes at times. I didn’t think she was the main villain, but I thought she took advantage of the chaos to cause more troubles for those who opposed her within the household, just trying to gain some edge along the way. But she wasn’t involved. She just liked to show off. She didn’t deserve her fate, regardless of how annoying she was at times.
- Sun Qing Liang (孙青良) as Butler (管家). The Guo family’s butler. He was loyal to Master Guo and listened to the old man’s every command–even if he didn’t agree at times, especially regarding Guo Zi Lu’s despicable actions toward Guo Zi Jie.
- Wei Wei (魏巍) as Zhou Qin (周勤). He was a bitter ghost-writer who attempted to kill Zhou Na. Yet somehow, they both landed in the novel together and ended up clashing again. He wanted to prove so much that he was a genius, so he orchestrated a grand scheme to take over and rule the world. It was so crazy and convincing because he managed to inherit the body of a well-respected official. There were plenty of resources at his disposal to pull the strings behind the scene. His downfall was his arrogance.
- Li Zi Xuan (李子璇) as Zhao Xiao Lin (赵晓琳). Fu Miao’s wife who became an ally to Cao Xuan Xuan later on. I suspected her at first because the other tale was so ridiculous. Yet the whole scheme was orchestrated by someone else. Anyway, she provided Xuan Xuan with helpful information from time to time and even came to back them up at the showdown near the end.
- Song Xin Ran (宋昕冉) as Ruo Hui (若蕙). She was accused of killing Master Guo at first yet was cleared later because of how outrageous the claim was with her cursing him. They proved to her she didn’t do it by exposing the conman. She hated Master Guo at first because she claimed he betrayed her father and left him to die. However, the story was different and Master Guo had supported her throughout the years, allowing her uncle to raise her comfortably.
Others:
- Feng Chu Xuan (丰楚轩) as Li Ye (李也). One of the suspects in Fu Miao’s case. He fled and was aided by his friend, leading to more complications.
- Meng En (蒙恩) as Zhao Qiang (赵强). One of the suspects in Fu Miao’s case. He claimed to be Fu Miao’s friend yet was jealous with the latter and justified his actions. It was later revealed that he raped Zhang Qin and wanted to kill her daughter beause she witnessed his crime.
- Zhang Xin Feng (张辛峰) as Fu Miao (傅苗). He was a scholar who was killed by his friend yet was made to look like a fox spirit killed him.
- Wang Qi Wen Xuan (王圻文宣) as Zhang Qin (张琴).
- Zhu Zi Yue (朱梓玥) as Xiao Hua (小花).
- Qi Pei Xin (漆培鑫) as Zhou Xiao Liang (周少良).
- Yu Xin Tong (于歆童) as Ou Yang Ming Yue (欧阳明月). She was manipulated by Zhou Qin to kill and frame Cao Xuan Xuan for murder.
- Wang Ming Hui (王鸣慧) as Ruo Hui’s uncle (若慧舅舅). He raised Ruo Hui with financial help from Master Guo.
Likes:
- Length. It was about right, too bad the downfall was not wrapping it up properly. Possibly, it was because they focused on the wrong thing throughout.
- Music. I must admit, the music was one of the reasons I started watching. Yes, I did watch for Bambi but I put it on my list for the future. Out of curiosity, I watched the intro first to see what was up. The song drew me in, so I watched on.
- Cases. Some of the complex details and the how-to was interesting enough. I sort of miss those series where some official go around solving cases. Yes, the format sort of made me nostalgic.
Dislikes:
- The cases were a bit repetitive. Well, the stories were different. But the ongoing locked doors murder scenarios were getting really repetitive. We learned later that it was because Zhou Qin were involved hence similar scenarios but still. It got boring after awhile.
- The ending. Yes, this bugged me for a while. Like I said above, it was because the decision to live in the novel that irked me. Yes, real life could be harsh at times or boring at others. But to live in the book all the time? That was disturbing.
Recommended? No, unless you’re really bored. Yes, I’m extremely lenient of recent productions because I appreciated the cast and the production team’s efforts. But this one angered me to a whole new level so I just wanted to throw stuff after watching it.