Fall In Love 2021 C Drama Review

Fall In Love (一见倾心) is a Chinese Republican era drama set in Shanghai in the 1920’s. Honestly speaking, I’m not a big fan of Republican dramas and tend to avoid them. I gave it try because I saw the poster and the couple look good together. Yes, it is a bit shallow on my part but I thought why not since I have not watched a drama in this time setting in a long while. I didn’t bother to find out what is the story about when I started and dove in with no expectations whatsoever. But this drama is a nice surprise with its engaging tale. Check out my Fall In Love review below for more on this Chinese title.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 36
Type: Republican, Romance
Aired: November 2021
Images Credit: Youku

The Cast Of Fall In Love 2021

• Oliver Chen Xing Xu as Tan Xuan Lin
• Zhang Jing Yi as Mu Wan Qing
• Evan Lin Yan Jun as Xu Guang Yao
• Ma Yue as Mu Wan Ting
• Cai Yu Hang as Su Hong Chen
• Chen Xin Yu as Gu Yue Shuang
• Yuan Ruo Hang as Pei Shao Jun
• Dai Ya Qi as Tan Sang Yu
• Shao Wei Tong as Tan Si
• Xiu Qing as Xu Bo Jun
• Zheng Xiao Ning as Mu Zhi Yuan / Boss Mu
• Ophelia Yang Na as Cui Lian Feng
• Lu Xing Yu as Min Da Cheng
• Li Xin Ze as Xu Yuan
• Huo Zheng Yan as Liao Xi / Uncle Liao

Main Characters

Tan Xuan Lin

Xuan Lin is the Marshal of Tan Army which has been stripped of recognition 10 years ago. He is playful and flirty but beneath the facade, he is an intelligent man with a mission. Xuan Lin is also cunning and calculative.

Mu Wan Qing

Wan Qing is the eldest daughter of a tycoon and has just returned from Japan with her mother’s ashes. She has a distant relationship with her father and his current family as her parents had divorced 10 years ago when her elder brother, Mu Yuan Hang, died. Wan Qing is reserved but not easily cowed. She is a smart and determined woman.

Xu Guang Yao

Guang Yao is the son of the Military Governor of Yuecheng and a Junior Marshal. He is a gentleman with principles. Although he is smart, he lacks the killer instinct due to his noble traits. Guang Yao and Wan Qing are childhood friends and he has always has feelings for her. Hong Chen and Shao Jun are his best friends.

Supporting Characters

Mu Wan Ting

Wan Ting is Wan Qing’s half-sister. She is a jealous and arrogant woman who hates Wan Qing for being a threat to her position in the Mu family. Wan Ting is in love with Guang Yao and sees herself as his fiancee due to their families’ close relationship.

Su Hong Chen

Hong Chen is a Junior Marshal and son of the Military Governor of Jinyang. He can be hotheaded and likes to enjoy life rather than talk about work and politics. His love interest is Yue Shuang whom he fell in love with at first sight. Hong Chen is a good friend of Guang Yao and Shao Jun.

Gu Yue Shuang

Yue Shuang is a film star and Xuan Lin’s close friend. He saved her when she was a kid after her parents were killed during an attack on their village. Yue Shuang secretly likes Xuan Lin.

Pei Shao Jun

Shao Jun is a Junior Marshal and son of Pei Xun who is the Military Governor of Pingcheng. He is a reserved and serious man who is timid when it comes to girls. He is friends with Guang Yao and Hong Chen.

Tan Sang Yu

Sang Yu is Xuan Lin’s younger sister. She is still studying but has a daring and mischievous personality. She is direct and bold when it comes to expressing her love for Shao Jun whom she is vigorously pursuing.

Tan Si

Tan Si is Xuan Lin’s adjutant. He will loyally carry out Xuan Lin’s orders and they share a close bond.

Xu Bo Jun

Xu Bo Jun is the Military Governor of Yuecheng and Shanghai is his turf. He is a powerful man with his own army who needs Boss Mu’s financial support. Xu Bo Jun is a ruthless man who would not hesitate to kill or make use of others to achieve his aims.

Mu Zhi Yuan / Boss Mu

Boss Mu is the richest tycoon in Shanghai and President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He is a cautious man who tries not to offend any party and stays away from military matters. Wan Qing and Wan Ting are his daughters. Yuan Hang was his son who died 10 years ago. Boss Mu divorced his first wife (Wan Qing’s mother) after the death of their son.

Cui Lian Feng

Lian Feng is Boss Mu’s current official wife and Wan Qing’s stepmother. Wan Ting is her own daughter. Lian Feng is a shrewd and two-faced woman who is scheming to get rid of Wan Qing whom she sees as a threat to her daughter’s position.

Min Da Cheng

Min Da Cheng is the mysterious owner of a pawnshop.

Xu Yuan

Xu Yuan is Xu Bo Jun’s loyal aide. He was saved by Xu Bo Jun when he was young and raised by him. Hence, Xu Yuan is indebted to Xu Bo Jun.

Liao Xi / Uncle Liao

Uncle Liao used to serve under Xuan Lin’s father as a military doctor 10 years ago. Xuan Lin has a sense of gratitude towards Uncle Liao for saving him in the past.

Synopsis

Wan Qing witnessed Xuan Lin killing a woman onboard a ship while returning to Shanghai. It was a turbulent period in the 1920’s whereby different factions were fighting for control of the city. Xuan Lin was planning a coup to force the powerful Military Governor Xu Bo Jun to appoint him as the Defence Commander of Shanghai. Wan Qing got entangled with Xuan Lin when they mistakenly took each other’s suitcase.

When Xuan Lin found out that Wan Qing is the daughter of the city’s richest tycoon, he saw her as an ideal candidate to raise money for his army. But Wan Qing has little say at home after being away for 10 years. She was being bullied by her half-sister and stepmother who even stole her late mother’s dowries. In order to fight back, she agreed to cooperate with Xuan Lin.

As their interactions increased, Xuan Lin and Wan Qing began to develop feelings for each other. He was wary of Guang Yao who is Xu Bo Jun’s son and Wan Qing’s childhood friend. Guang Yao was also in love with Wan Qing.

As Xuan Lin tried to strengthen his position and maintain his army in Shanghai, he faced obstacles from Xu Bo Jun. The power struggle and Xu Bo Jun’s underhanded tactics became overlapped with a plot to get rid of Wan Qing by her stepmother which exposed a family secret. This created a lead for Xuan Lin to investigate the death of Wan Qing’s brother 10 years ago as well as the death of his own father who was supposedly killed by bandits.

Fall In Love 2021 Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Fall In Love has a happy ending except perhaps for Tang Si’s death in the final battle against Xu Bo Jun’s henchman, Liu Fu, in Jiang City. Xuan Lin managed to stay alive until Wan Qing and Guang Yao arrived with reinforcements. Liu Fu used to be Xuan Lin’s fathers righthand man. But he betrayed Xuan Lin because he wanted to avenge his son’s death who was killed by Xuan Lin’s father for embezzlement. Liu Fu told Xuan Lin that it was him who leaked the information to Xu Bo Jun about his father’s traveling route. Xuan Lin was incensed and killed Liu Fu just as reinforcements turned up.

In the last scene of the drama, Shao Jun arrives with Sang Yu for talks with Xuan Lin on behalf of his father for a peaceful resolution rather than going to war. Xuan Lin, Guang Yao, and Hong Chen are now part of the Revolutionary Army fighting as comrades for the people and country.

When Did Xuan Lin And Wan Qing Become A Couple?

Wan Qing first kissed Xuan Lin in Episode 10 when she was drunk. Xuan Lin thought she saw him as Guang Yao then. They shared a kiss and officially got together in Episode 17. Xuan Lin publicly announced their relationship in Episode 22 and suggested that they get married in Episode 27 to quickly fulfill her late father’s wish. But Xuan Lin became distant when he found out that Boss Mu could have killed his father in Episode 28. He also purposely found reasons to break up with her to avoid putting her in danger due his feud with Xu Bo Jun.

Xuan Lin and Wan Qing reconciled in Episode 32 after foiling Xu Bo Jun and Mr. Yamashita’s plan. After the danger they have been put into, Xuan Lin decided to join Uncle Liao to fight for peace. He gave up his command in Shanghai to return to Jiang City which is a strategic location in the battle between the warlords and revolutionaries. Wan Qing decided to leave Shanghai with him. They got married in Episode 35 at Wan Qing’s insistence when Xuan Lin told her to leave Jiang City the next day to seek Guang Yao’s help to counter Liu Fu.

Did Guang Yao Confessed To Wan Qing?

Yes, he did in Episode 14 after he took a bullet for Wan Qing to protect her in Episode 12. But she rejected him and he apologized for being outright. Xu Bo Jun proposed to Boss Mu for their kids to marry in Episode 20. Guang Yao was looking forward to the wedding but Wan Qing was already secretly with Xuan Lin by then. He had to let go of her when he learned that his father was Wan Qing’s brother’s killer in Episode 21. Guang Yao gave Wan Qing his blessings for her relationship with Xuan Lin and she still regarded him as a brother despite his father’s evil deeds.

What Happened To Lian Feng?

Boss Mu wanted Lian Feng to end her life in Episode 17 after her bad deeds were exposed during Min Da Cheng’s trial in Episode 15. Lian Feng was Wan Qing’s mother’s servant. She comes from the same village as Min Da Cheng and had an affair with him while being Boss Mu’s concubine. Wan Ting is their daughter and Lian Feng then tricked Min Da Cheng that their unborn child was also his when she fell pregnant again.

This was to convince Min Da Cheng to kill Yuan Hang when an opportunity arose. Yuan Hang was Boss Mu’s son with his first wife and Wan Qing’s elder brother. Lian Feng’s idea was once Yuan Hang is dead, she will have a chance to take over as Boss Mu’s wife with her pregnancy and possibility of siring a son. Hence, she sold the idea to Min Da Cheng that both of their children will have a good life if he kills Yuan Hang. She eventually miscarried but succeeded in kicking out Wan Qing’s mother to become Boss Mu’s official wife.

Min Da Cheng got angry when Xuan Lin told him that he had been tricked about the unborn baby which was actually Boss Mu’s. So, Min Da Cheng exposed Lian Feng’s plan during his trial. When Boss Mu learned that even Wan Ting is not his daughter, he told Lian Feng to end her life but agreed to spare Wan Ting. So, Lian Feng hung herself to death while Boss Mu severed his father-daughter relationship with Wan Ting and sent her away to Hong Kong.

Who Killed Wan Qing’s Brother?

The person who killed Yuan Hang was Xu Bo Jun. Min Da Cheng narrated the story to Xuan Lin and Wan Qing in Episode 18. He agreed to testify against Xu Bo Jun as the latter had tried to kill Wan Ting to erase all links associating him with Yuan Hang’s death.

10 years ago, Xu Bo Jun was fighting with Military Governor Luo for control of Shanghai. When Luo’s supplies were robbed, he wanted to use Boss Mu’s wharf to transport his ammunitions. Boss Mu disallowed it due to his relationship with Xu Bo Jun and didn’t want to anger the latter. So, Luo kidnapped Yuan Hang and then sent in his soldiers to the wharf on the pretext of saving him.

Min Da Cheng was Luo’s adjutant then. That was when Lian Feng approached him to kill Yuan Hang. Min Da Cheng hesitated as Yuan Hang was just a boy. Xu Bo Jun saw an opportunity to bring down Luo once and for all by bombing the wharf. Yuan Hang was killed by the bombing. With Luo arrested for kidnapping, Xu Bo Jun bought off Min Da Cheng to frame Luo for killing Yuan Hang as well. Min Da Cheng also tampered with the evidence to change the timing of Yuan Hang’s death to implicate Luo.

Who Killed Xuan Lin’s Father?

Mr. Yamashita killed Xuan Lin’s father and brother. The is revealed in Episode 32 during a confrontation between Xuan Lin and Mr. Yamashita. Boss Mu had hired the Foreign Gun Brigade headed by Sergey during the transportation of Xu Bo Jun’s supplies. The brigade supposedly used the same type of explosive bullet that killed Xuan Lin’s father and they happened to be at the same place at around the same time. But what actually happened was the brigade ran into Mr. Yamashita and his gang during that time. It was the Japanese that was using explosive bullets as ammunitions and Sergey knew it.

Mr. Yamashita bought off Sergey to mislead Xuan Lin that it was Boss Mu who killed the Tan Army soldiers. This was to create a rift between Xuan Lin and Wan Qing to make it easier to bring them down separately. But Sergey gave himself away when he couldn’t recognize Xuan Lin’s father from a photo shown to him. Xuan Lin pretended to play along to protect Wan Qing from being dragged down together.

In the end, Mr. Yamashita was killed by Xuan Lin in a fight at a power plant. Xuan Lin and Wan Qing got out just in time before the plant exploded due to a gunshot which hit a pipe.

Yue Shuang & Hong Chen

Hong Chen fell in love with Yue Shuang at first sight and started wooing her as early as Episode 5. But she was in love with Xuan Lin although she never did confess her feelings throughout the drama. Yue Shuang was heartbroken when she learned about Xuan Lin’s relationship with Wan Qing in Episode 22. Hong Chen consoled her and confessed his feelings for her then. He even hurt himself while catching her when she slipped and fell.

Yue Shuang’s heart slowly melted for Hong Chen. She told him that she would consider to be with him in Episode 29. But Yue Shuang was kidnapped on Xu Bo Jun’s orders in Episode 31 to force her to reveal the whereabouts of Xuan Lin’s arms cargo. When she refused to tell them anything, she was injected with a drug to make her suffer. Yue Shuang then jumped out from a window to commit suicide. She died in Hong Chen’s arms. In her dying breath, she told Hong Chen that she agrees to be with him.

Other Key Events

• Wan Ting met Min Da Cheng in Episode 18 before being sent off to Hong Kong but refused to recognize him as her father.
• Min Da Cheng committed suicide in Episode 25 after testifying against Xu Bo Jun. He wanted to end his life the way a soldier would after all the wrongdoings.
• A sickly Boss Mu died in Episode 27 after being stabbed by Xu Bo Jun’s assassins who were sent to kill Xuan Lin. He tried to stop them from approaching Wan Qing and Xuan Lin and was killed.
• Wan Ting presumably died in Episode 32 when the power plant exploded. She was colluding with Mr. Yamashita to get back at Wan Qing and their plan was foiled.
• Shao Jun agreed for Sang Yu to remain in Beijing with him in Episode 26.
• Hong Cheng and Guang Yao left for Giuangzhou to join the revolution in Episode 33.
• Xu Yuan committed suicide in Episode 35 after learning from Guang Yao that the man who supposedly saved him was actually his parents’ killer. Xu Bo Jun deemed Xu Yuan to be a baby who would bring him luck and thus, brought him back and raised him after killing his parents.
• An ill Xu Bo Jun died in Episode 36 after handing his military power to Guang Yao. He refused to repent and died regretfully that his son didn’t want to protect the territories he fought so hard for but intent on charting a different path to atone for his sins.

Fall In Love 2021 Review – Engaging Story

Fall In Love is surprisingly an engaging drama for me. I didn’t expect it to be this good but the story execution is nicely done that the tale flows cohesively at a good pace to make me hooked. This is not a pure romance drama despite the title because the fluff kind of tapers off after the halfway mark as other more serious issues of feuds and schemings start to take precedence.

Hence, you can divide the drama into 3 arcs. The first concentrates on the female lead’s family issues as she battles a toxic stepmother and half-sister. This runs for 17 episodes and it includes the budding romance of the main couple. The next 10 episodes is about the schemes to bring down the villain while the last arc talks about the villain fighting back and the push factors to lead the protagonists to lean towards the Revolutionary Army.

It is easy to have the misconception that this is a rom-com or something lighthearted. It is not. While it isn’t depressing like One And Only or has a painful kind of love like Novoland: Pearl Eclipse, Fall In Love still can’t run away from the serious issues of that era that revolves around war and tussles over territory. The drama is engaging simply because the screenwriters have successfully interweave the romance into the power fight for control over a city especially in the first arc.

A Cohesive Plot

Basically, the drama is really about feuding warlords. The male lead wants to establish his presence in Shanghai while the warlord in control of the city wants him out. The female lead becomes the center of attention because of her rich father who could provide financial backing to the warlords. Thus, the story of all the characters is logically linked together. Each of the character has a reason to be there and the plot doesn’t go all over the place but stays tightly focused.

Included in the plot are the schemes strategized by the leads. They are cleverly written rather than being superficial. Therefore, rather than just concentrating on the romance and the fluff, Fall In Love has also taken the pains to intrigue viewers on how the protagonists outwitted their enemies. I find it rather entertaining and different from the usual. This is certainly not the kind of simple love story like Love At Night or Once We Get Married, but a more well-rounded drama that has romance, family, power tussle, and higher ideals being cohesively bundled together.

Intelligent Characters

What makes Fall In Love more interesting is that the main characters are depicted as smart people. Xuan Lin is shown as flirty and playful often but he does it with intelligence to throw his enemies off. He is the type of man who can see through other people’s plan and think a few steps ahead.

Wan Qing may look courteous and quiet but she is not one to be bullied. She has brains to counter Xuan Lin and knows what his schemes are about rather than being blindly taken advantage of. She doesn’t whine and knows how to fight back.

Therefore, if you like smart characters with a backbone, you should enjoy watching Xuan Lin and Wan Qing. Even the second male lead is an astute man but simply too kindhearted and noble to resort to underhanded tactics. Overall, the annoying characters are limited to Xuan Lin’s younger sister who lacks maturity and Wan Qing’s stepmother and half-sister with their exaggerated jealousy. But they don’t dominate the drama with their limited screen time which helps to keep things balanced.

Great Chemistry

The leads have great chemistry together as a couple. From the very beginning, you can already feel the sparks in their interactions. So, when the romance follows, you will get the feeling that they are meant for each other. They look matching as lovers and you will root for them. However, the sweet scenes are pretty limited in this drama. There are kisses but also nothing that will make you go wow unlike You Are My Glory and Love Scenery. So, if you want a fluffy kind of romance with lots of hugs and kisses, Fall In Love will not be in that category.

As for the acting, Oliver Chen really gives Xuan Lin very unique characteristics. He gives it a playful personality but at the same time, also portrays him to be a responsible man with deep emotions related to a tragic past. Hence, Xuan Lin doesn’t appear as one-dimensional as Oliver Chen also manages to bring out the other aspects of the character’s personality to the viewers.

Zhang Jing Yi also plays the role of Wan Qing rather well. She depicts her as someone with inner strength through a stoic face and quiet determination in her eyes which is consistent with the character’s background and life experience. As for Evan Lin, I last saw him in Crush. He has that similar serious face and brooding demeanor in both Crush and Fall In Love. He did okay as Guang Yao but I think he still lacks experience to effectively flesh out the conflict in the character who is torn between his father and doing the right thing.

My Verdict – Watch!

I know many people don’t really like watching Chinese Republican dramas. This is because the stories in that time setting tend to be associated with sufferings, war, and female oppression. But do make an exception for Fall In Love. It is not a distressing drama despite the turbulent period but one that has enough wittiness and interesting dialogues to get your attention.

Some may find the male lead to be a jerk in the beginning but do continue on as he gets better as the drama progresses. The story development is sound and there is strong foundation for the romance to flourish. However, the ending could be better. Although all loose ends are tied up, there are new villains being introduced in the last 3 episodes. Neither would you get a sweet ending scene for the couple after all the scare that they went through despite this being a romance drama.

For this Fall In Love 2021 review, I would give it a score of 8/10. It has a well-executed plot to give viewers an engaging story. Many romance dramas with over 30 episodes will feel draggy but not this one. It has enough happenings in other areas to push the story forward rather than relying on the main couple’s relationship alone to drive it.

Thus, if you are craving for something very sugary, look for something else to watch. But if you don’t mind using your brains a little to follow the protagonists’ schemes, then this would be pretty interesting and different from the usual.