There has been lots of hype in the last two months about Dream of chang’an (Stand by me). I always had the drama on my watch list because I wanted to see whether it deserved the praises it received from netizens. This is a full review on ‘stand by me aka Dream of chang’an’ and as always, I’ll break down the review into the following sections: first impressions, overall, the good, the bad, conclusions and ratings.
First Impressions.
One thing that I liked about the drama at first side was the female warriors, this drama didn’t only make men dominant but they tried to balance the dominance for both genders. The storyline of Emperors being controlled by Enochs is something that you don’t see everyday. First episode was just “fine”, it would have been “great” but I had a tough time catching up with the characters names and the main storyline. It was confusing but at the same time exciting because of the female lead who is just what I like about historical dramas.
Overall.
The story developed better than I expected, there were different plots building suspense plus secret identities that makes you wonder who is the enemy and who is righteous. There’s more scheming in this drama, each character has his/her own mission to accomplish.
The Good.
Great Cast.
I just want to start by saying this, the Yanzhi (Xuan Lu) character is really something else!!!! She has great acting skills and it’s like she’s used to that character. It’s actually the third time seeing her in a drama but I just can’t help but to be amazed by her skills. Cheng Yi and Zhang Yuxi were obviously the reason for me to watch the drama since they were both in Love and Redemption, I would be lying if I said I’m not satisfied with their acting.
Music.
Like it or not, music is very important to a drama. Music can tell the emotions being portrayed in a certain scene, so it’s very important to select good music for each scene. I’m not music wise but I have nothing negative to say about the playlist, the opening theme song is my number one song from the drama.
Costumes.
What can I say about the costumes? I have no problems with the costumes even though I once was in a situation where I failed to recognise Cheng Xi in her women’s clothing (not training clothes).
Storyline.
I’m very strict on the storyline, because it’s the powerhouse of the whole drama, yes… actors can do their best, add good music, perfect choreography but they mean nothing without a good storyline. The storyline of this drama like I said before, was an unexpected one. It’s a good storyline that kept developing with each episode, new secrets are exposed and the mystery behind the third person is like an icing on the cake. I also liked the concept of scheming against each other using chess.
Martial Choreography.
In terms of fighting scenes… I enjoyed some of them and I totally dislike some (will discuss it on the bad section). The blood spitting wasn’t overdone as most drama usually do and they managed to make most scenes look realistic.
The Bad.
Unrealistic Fight.
If you have watched this drama, I need your attention on this one and if you haven’t watched the drama, you can verify what I’m going say now. Let’s talk about Qiu Zilang, the biggest villain in the drama, everyone fears him even though he’s an Enoch. People tried to kill him once but he survived the dew revolt. I admit that they once stated the reason why it’s hard to kill Qiu Zilang but let’s be realistic here, how can one man take out an entire army alone? How many opportunities did Qi Yang, Prince Guan and Yanzhi have to kill him? What’s worse is the scene where he survived the bombing in the underground chamber!!! Please note that this drama doesn’t include any magic powers or immortals and stuff like that, it’s only focused on mortals just like us so we have to make it look like we are the characters in the drama and ask ourselves if a human being can survive this attack or not.
[Spoiler can be included] Another thing related to Qui Zilang, the last battle when he stabbed someone on a wheelchair. Qui Zilang has an arrow and tries to stab Yu’er but someone shields her with her own body. My question is why didn’t the violet squad pull Qui Zilang away from Yu’er the moment he approached her instead of pulling him after stabbing someone? I understand that the character had to die as part of the storyline but didn’t they have another way to execute that?
Conclusion.
The drama ends tragically (I know you were wondering) but it’s still one of the best dramas to watch in 2021, not because of the main leads but because of everyone who played a part in the drama’s production.
Ratings.
I would rate it 10/10 if it wasn’t for the Qui Zilang character, but I’ll give it 8/10.
