Two Air Dropped Dramas, Half Way Review - A Lover Never Lost/The Prisoner of Beauty [CC]

PoB: I felt FL mumbling a bit and finding it difficult to get her lines out

After Blossoms this is a drama I’m actually enjoying, it’s not as exciting but still enjoyable to watch after a long day of work.

About "The Prisoner of Beauty" I don't like the casting choice. The acting of the protagonist is mediocre. She can't sustain the role of a stunning, enigmatic, dramatic and intriguing beauty. Mediocre acting made me stop watching.

Thanks!

In the prisoner of beauty's, I liked a lot the sidekick characters often steal the show (Wei Zi Xin
Gongsun Yang [Wei Shao's advisor], Li Xue Qin, Xiao Tao [Qiao Man's maidservant], Wang Cheng Si
Wei Liang, Wu Hao Chen as Wei Qu, Liu Yi Hong as Wei Xiao, Chu Zi Jun as Wei Duo
as the best Support Role ever whenever he got with Xiao Tao). They're typically given quirky personalities, emotional depth, or comedic timing that complements the main leads.

What I really enjoy about PoB is that the leads aren't scheming against each other the whole time. The fml isn't weak when it comes to intelligence, etc. Overall, the drama is most relatable to everyone.

Thank you for a very good review.

Regarding the overused theme of The Prisoner of Beauty, there is a reason why there are much more MacDonalds. Thank you.

Goodbye My Princess is still very unique, I've never had such strong love and hate relationship with a ML before.

Liu Yuning looks like Song Zuer's uncle

The Prisoner of beauty is really enjoyable. I even rewatch episodes while waiting for the next episode. This is very rare for me

I'm really enjoying Prisoner of Beauty.

Yes, I dread thinking about the late Qing period, not to mention watching it for 40 hours

Idk why but Prisoner of Beauty makes my heart flutter. But yeah, the storyline is very repetitive. I’m asking myself every second “Probably a bad ending?” “Is she gonna die soon?” “Is he planning to die to save her or vice versa?” I know it’s some where along those lines by the end 🤣. But, wow I didn’t know it was based on a spicy novel 😝. I need to go read. Is there an English translation of Prison of Beauty novel or no?

I thought the prisoner of beauty would be more serious and enemies to lovers, angsty.. but so far since like ep 7 maybe it's been more light.. well I'm still watching it and it's only like one to two episodes a day so I'm not spending so much time watching it.. hopefully there is will be a kiss scene? also I like that they use their own voices and the costumes are pretty.. I didn't know about the original novel nor do I wish to read it..
one thing though..I feel like the male lead's hatred or revenge thingy fizzled out too fast..or the seriousness of his character.. I liked the beginning scene in ep 4 though..
what is the plot any way at this point? I don't really care about her sister's story.. lol..
also the EDITING is really great (joke)

I watched ep 16 and half 16 of A love never lost. It was absolutely logical that he raped her. He just thought that was how women should be handled. He was even going back to see her in ep 16. The whole episode 15 leads up to it with how his "friend" talks to him about girls and tells him he has to figure it out.

When he goes home the night after the rape he is seen thinking for one second then he shrugs it off. When he goes back to meet her again it looks like he just likes her.

Horrifically well portrayed how banal a rape can be for a man without empathy, and how disastrous for a woman.

I'm holding off until I know the endings because 2024 taught me not to chase a drama because the endings were so disappointing.

Prisoner of Beauty is the first drama that kept my attention after being away from C-drama for a while. It was so much fun to watch, no ridiculous and forceful scenes, the supporting cast is wonderful and the chemistry of the leads just works for me. I love a female lead who is daring to chase after her man haha not mind-blowing but very entrrtaining

If you take the whole narrative of Prisoner of Beauty & its storyline of how the couple progress from a political alliance to a more intimate one, I have to admit it is lacklustre to date. I have watched 17 episodes so far & still the couple is still grappling only with the mundane ; more conspiracies from new characters added in to muddy the plot.

I keep comparing it to a K-drama with a similar plot & how they would have moved the couple's attraction to a whole new level! The only underlying reason for this is censorship & therefore, the script & director has to dance around to create the imagery in the viewer's mind without explicitly showing any scenes of intimacy btw the couple. Under the circumstances, it is no mean feat & we the viewers have to appreciate it.

Как не пыталась уважаемая AvenueX убедить здешнюю публику по поводу Узника красоты - поклонники этого сериала не сдаются :) Смотрим сериал в России, в первую очередь из-за Liu Yuning в главной мужской роли. Драма живая, с живыми людьми, с сомнениями, колебаниями, ошибками, верными решениями, отчаянными мерами для отчаянного времени... Есть все, как и надежда на счастливый конец для всей этой истории.

Yes the best time is falling in love with someone🙂 Thank you for the review.

Genuinely enjoying The Prisoner of Beauty. While it's not a new story, it's refreshing and I absolutely love the actors. Even having fun with all the side characters!

I didn't click on A Lover Never Lost because of its poster on IQiyi didn't attract me.
But now after I watched your comment about it, I have to check it out! :)

Pls do a review of Legend of Zang Hai. It is giving me male version of Story of Minglan vibes - of course plot is different but its like male lead using his brains to outwit enemies in a Marquis household.

Goodbye my Princess is considered olden age 😭😭

Me too, I really can't understand why Liang Xiang raped Qiu Hong? He didn't regret it and went back to China, and his mother arranged a marriage for him, and he agreed to marry. I was really surprised. My reaction was Wait!! What!!! Bro, you just rapes a girl, and now you got married!!!!

Watching LYN in dramas is enough to stir a whole lot of excitement and anticipation for more! 😂😂😂

What is air dropped ? Do you mean streamed/downloaded? I'm an American, enlighten me, please. 🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍

Can someone please tell cdrama producers to get rid of subtitles for song lyrics and door panels,shop names -anything that obscures subtitles for conversation MUST go. It's super annoying. And the song is super loud and repeated several times, please stop! Viewers need the subtitles of CONVERSATION to understand the story

PoB started great but is now not so much as the FL is poorly directed becoming a typical babbling cdrama female ..... director needed to allow her to woo the ML while holding onto her initial personality

I'm loving prisoner of beauty....you watched the drama with a judgmental perspective I guess. To me,the story is smooth,there is no unnecessary scheming which gets on nerve, no overreaction.The leads, they are matured, they are logical,thet understand what and why the other person doing things. Specially the female lead. To me she us the sweetest wife thete could be. I mean how considerate she is!

I think sometimes we need a break from of those evils and just see the positive vibes. For me it is a 💯yes!

The prisoner of beauty is the best drama.❤

Prisoner of Beauty <3

Thanks for your review. I started watching A Love Never Lost and now know that it's worthwhile to continue.

I'm enjoying the remix of Three Kingdoms and Romeo & Juliet in TPOB. LYN and SZE are cast perfectly in the two lead roles. I agree with you about the somewhat predictable plot development, but the chemistry between the two leads and the comedic relief provided by the supporting cast kept me well entertained.

I'm on episode 13 of Prisoner and it is SO BORING. I'm starting to call it the Real Housewives of Wei without cat fights. 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱 Does it get better? It started out great and now ......

That’s always wondering whyyyyyy cn drama always end up badly in the very last episodes. Any idea?

I really gotta disagree about the directing of TPOB. Blossom didn't have much sexual tension and I dropped it around the time they got married, whereas TPOB has a lot of heat in every exchange, and it's filmed really well. I think what avenuex is probably feeling is the slowness of the romantic development, which doesn't work for her. It works for me and a lot of other viewers though. We like the slow burn, especially when there is so much familial discord between the two kingdoms. The first half was just about them becoming allies who trust each other, and that trust was hard won. The second half is leaning more into the romance.

Hi Avenue 💙Why do dramas take away all the intrigue from the prologue images and the epilogue photos in each episode? Where is the mystery, where is the suspense, if before starting to watch the drama THEY ALREADY TELL US "this is the hero, this is the heroine, that after several episodes of the usual suffering they will end up together." I have no criticism against The Prisoner, it's just that in all dramas the same thing is repeated. I end up WISHING that the hero falls in love with another woman and the heroine marries another handsome brave man!!!. Vary a little, please... ok?

Oh, very good point about how you could infuse this drama (Prisoner) with more tension. This is so great about your reviews, you are able to point technical things out that we experience only on a subliminal level.

I totally agree with you about The Prisoner of Beauty . I am a huge Liu YuNing fan and you could say I’m pretty addicted to all of his content , but I find that I skipped a few nights of watching and didn’t miss the drama too much . Where as the Journey of Love was so intense I could not stop watching because I needed to see what happens next . With that said , I still love this drama and I think they do wonderful acting and I love the humor in this drama . I’ve never seen a period rom-com , so this was the exciting part for me.

Please review youthful glory

Completely agree on prisoner of beauty. Will you review 藏海传 ?

I’m waiting 2 years for the prisoner of beauty and thank god its worth it. I do also feel that they can add up some ‘conflict’ but for now I’m contained with what they served hihi, i’m loving it❤

The Prisoner of Beauty is on my to watch list. I'm trying to finish up Serendipity. They only release 2 episodes per week. Started watching Zang Hai and loving it.

I agree with your comment !!

I like the drama prisoner of beauty but I not really into the FL. She is not a good match with the ML. I do not like her baby voice and she is not believable as a romantic interest. I have seen her in another drama recently and I could hardly watch it because of her. I think it was Demon Hunters Romance.

Love PoB so much...most of everything...the slow burn romance, the story line, the chemistry, the whole excellent cast who each plays their role really well, the sense of humor. Best 2025 period drama so far! Very entertaining

Where can I watch The Journey to Love? Which platfrom?

Re PoB, agree that the romantic tension is lacking. It started off great but ML’s transition is slightly too quick, I think, considering he’s sworn to distrust and destroy the Qiaos. The tension and gradual transition in Blossoms and Flourished Peony is better. But overall, PoB is enjoyable without too much angst.