Time Flies And You Are Here Review

This is the first time that I have watched the female lead pairing up with someone else other than Xing Zhao Lin in a historical drama. Liang Jie partnered with Joseph Zeng in Time Flies And You Are Here (雁归西窗月) and I was curious about how this couple would fare. After all, many viewers have a very deep impression of Liang Jie and Xing Zhao Lin and their wish for The Eternal Love Season 3 actually came true. Anyway, let’s take a look at this new pairing instead and my Time Flies And You Are Here review is as below.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 32
Type: Historical Romance, Contract Marriage
Aired: May 2021
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of Time Flies And You Are Here

• Joseph Zeng Shun Xi as Zhao Xiao Qian / Han Chen
• Liang Jie as Xie Xiao Man
• Fan Zhi Xin as Zhong Zi Yan / Xing Zhou
• Liu Luo Xi as Meng Su Wei / Ming Gu
• Li Jiu Lin as Li Su / Cong Wen
• Li Xin Ze as Yan Bo Yang / Zhan Zhi
• Guan Chang as Shen Zhao Wen
• Wang Xi Wen as Shen Yan / Jun Xia
• Wu Jia Ni as Empress

Main Characters

Zhao Xiao Qian / Han Chen

Xiao Qian is the Commandery Prince of Julu based in Wujiang Prefecture and a student at the Bailu Academy. He is a temperamental and arrogant aristocrat on the surface but cares a lot about those close to him. He can be immature with a carefree attitude but hides a bitter past as the adopted son of the Emperor. His beloved elder brother, Zhao Xiao Jie, died in the palace when he was a kid. Xiao Qian also hates his mother, Princess Consort Pu.

Xie Xiao Man

Xiao Man is a countryside girl who just arrived at Wujiang Prefecture with her family and enrolled to study in Bailu Academy. She is a determined young lady who loves studying and can be very vocal when bullied. Her father is a low-ranking government servant and her family is being bullied and looked down upon by her paternal uncle and cousin, Xie Ru Ying. Xiao Man has en elder brother, Xie Yun, who is studying in the capital and a younger brother, Xie Li.

Supporting Characters

Zhong Zi Yan / Xing Zhou

Zi Yan is Xiao Qian’s study partner and has been with him since they were young. He is a strategist and will do whatever necessary to protect Xiao Qian. Zi Yan is a very rational man who doesn’t show much emotions. He comes from a poor family but is good in his studies and has an ambition to take the imperial exam to be an official.

Meng Su Wei / Ming Gu

Su Wei is Xiao Man’s cousin. Her father and Xiao Man’s mother are siblings. Su Wei’s mother runs a successful silk business which is built by her maternal grandmother. Su Wei may appear cold but she is direct and upright. She also studies at Bailu Academy and has feelings for Zi Yan.

Li Su / Cong Wen

Li Su is a scholar and Principal Yang’s disciple at Bailu Academy. He is a respectable man who would do his best to protect those he loves. He and Xiao Man are old friends. Li Su’s father is Li Guang Wen who is an official in the capital working for Grand Chancellor Xu Huan. Li Su also has feelings for Zhu Yu who is a courtesan at a brothel.

Yan Bo Yang / Zhan Zhi

Bo Yang is Xiao Qian’s friend and study partner. His father is Wujiang Prefecture’s magistrate. Bo Yang does not seem to have any interest in his studies and no ambition for accomplishments. He can be hotheaded and immature.

Shen Zhao Wen / Ling Niang

Zhao Wen is the daughter of Shen Zun Fu who is a high-ranking minister in the capital. She and Xiao Qian grew up together and they have an engagement agreement. Zhao Wen is a jealous woman who would not hesitate to use her position to secure Xiao Qian as her husband.

Shen Yan / Jun Xia

Shen Yan is Zhao Wen’s elder brother. He and Xiao Qian have been rivals since young and is against his sister’s betrothal to Xiao Qian.

Empress

The Empress is a scheming woman who wants to secure her interest and adopted son’s position as the Crown Prince. She views Xiao Qian as a threat.

Synopsis

Xiao Man has just moved to Wujiang Prefecture from the countryside and run into Xiao Qian who is an arrogant Commandery Prince. Their lives are intertwined when they both study at the same school and Xiao Man wants back her family’s land which has been unscrupulously given by her uncle to Xiao Qian. As they see each other more often, Xiao Qian begins to fall for Xiao Man. With the pressure building up for Xiao Qian to return to the capital to marry Shen Zhao Wen, he maneuvers Xiao Man into becoming his concubine for 2 years to stall the marriage.

Xiao Qian is the Emperor’s adopted son who has fallen out of favor with the palace. He is resisting the Empress and his mother’s pressure on the marriage as he refuses to become a pawn in the palace politics. As Xiao Man also falls for Xiao Qian, forces from the palace are trying to break them apart by creating trouble for her family. Would their love for each other be able to overcome all the obstacles?

Time Flies And You Are Here Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Time Flies And You Are Here has a happy ending. It has a faster pace in the last 6 episodes with a 3-year and 1-year time jump in Episode 27 and 32 respectively. Xiao Man is forced to leave Xiao Qian to protect her family and relatives. Her brother is being threatened with imprisonment in the capital while Su Wei’s family business is confiscated to be given to an undeserving relative. Su Wei’s grandmother dies as a result of her failing health and all the stress.

Xiao Qian knows he has little power to protect Xiao Man if he remains as a minor prince in Wujiang. The lovers separate in Episode 27 with Xiao Man’s and Su Wei’s family moving to the capital to rebuild. Xiao Man also follows her teacher to teach in the capital. Xiao Qian joins his master who is an army general. He wants to win the crucial border war and return with power so that he can protect the one he loves.

3 Years Later

Xiao Qian returns triumphant to the capital. He forces the Emperor to confront the corruption in the royal court which involves Grand Chancellor Hu Xuan, the Empress, and the Crown Prince. The corruption had caused thousands of soldiers to die due to a lack of provisions. He succeeds but Zi Yan dies in the process when the latter shields him from an attack during a fight. The Empress is banished to the nunnery while Grand Chancellor Hu Xuan is executed.

Xiao Qian turns down the Emperor’s request to remain in the capital to guide the young Crown Prince who had been unscrupulously being made used of. He requests to return to protect the border instead and for Xiao Man to be made a Commandery Princess so that she can be his official wife. He also asks the Emperor to allow Zi Yan to be buried as a noble official and his family to be accorded the same status.

A year later, Xiao Qian and Xiao Man are happily married and they have settled down at the army barracks.

Who Did Su Wei End Up With?

Su Wei ends up marrying Bo Yang and she is pregnant at the end of the drama. While she did confess to Zi Yan about her feelings for him in Episode 22, they both knew that nothing would happen between them. Zi Yan aspires to be an official and will have to move to the capital sooner or later while Su Wei will have to remain in Wujiang to manage her family business.

When she finds out that Bo Yang has been loving her quietly while she obsessed over Zi Yan, she begins to appreciate Bo Yang’s unconditional love for her and her feelings for him deepen.

What Happened To Xiao Qian’s Brother?

Xiao Qian’s brother, Xiao Jie, was poisoned by the Empress. She claimed that Xiao Qian’s kite that dropped scared her and caused her to have a miscarriage which is not true. Xiao Jie pleaded with the Empress to spare his younger brother and took the blame. He was killed as a result.

Xiao Jie’s death left a big scar on Xiao Qian. Xiao Qian subsequently fell out of favor with the Emperor when the Empress adopted another boy and made him Crown Prince. He was then kicked out of the palace to Wujiang Prefecture where he prefers to remain to escape from the perils of palace power plays. Xiao Qian also hates his mother for abandoning him and his brother to their fate in the palace for her own selfish interest for status and power.

Time Flies And You Are Here Review – Misunderstandings Galore!

I think Time Flies And You Are Here has a good premise to work with but it is just a pity that the execution is not up to the mark. An out of favor prince falling in love with a commoner can certainly be very sweet and interesting. But the details in this drama simply leave much to be desired. The misunderstandings are overplayed that the characters become annoying after a while. Maybe they want to stretch it to fill 32 episodes but constant misunderstandings dominate the first half of the drama.

Therefore, you will have a misunderstanding followed by a short sweet reconciliation and then the fight starts all over again. Both the main characters are immature at times with one constantly lying to hide what she is doing while the other getting angry without first seeking clarification. If you are into a handsome but hotheaded prince, then this is for you. But if you want maturity and rationality like the prince in Imperial Coroner or the marquis in The Sword And The Brocade, then Time Flies And You Are Here might even seem childish when it comes to the romance.

Pacing Inconsistency

The first three quarters of the drama has a consistent pace with detailed plot and sub-plots. But the last 6 episodes suddenly feels very fast-moving. The action shifts to the politics in the capital but minus the detailed political machinations and maneuvers. These are kept simple and quick with only 6 episodes left to close off the story. Hence, the male lead’s turnaround from wanting to keep his distance to marrying the female lead is also done at lightning speed.

The change of pace just feels weird to me as if the 2 parts are written differently although the fast pace ensures that the story is not dragged out further. I would have preferred that they shorten the first half and give more room to develop the last leg of the story for a more memorable finish. As it is, the drama drags with too many misunderstandings in the beginning that there seems to be a lack of time for a more well-developed story towards the end.

Characters And Chemistry

As mentioned above, both the male and female character may not be too likable to viewers. I think in the process of creating numerous misunderstandings between the lovers, they inadvertently portrayed the characters as immature and lacking in communication skills. The saving grace is that both of them grow as the drama reaches the last quarter. Some may still adore the prince as he is totally into Xiao Man and tries his best to protect her despite his arrogance and immaturity. So, he is sweet in that sense.

The chemistry between Joseph Zeng and Liang Jie is not as natural compared to her pairing with Xing Zhao Lin. I guess it is only to be expected as she has worked with Xing Zhao Lin in a few other projects including the modern drama, You Are My Destiny. Thus, viewers might have gotten so used to seeing her with Xing Zhao Lin that any other actor wouldn’t have the same feel.

Personally, I think Liang Jie is wrongly casted for this drama. She has a more matured face compared to Joseph Zeng. Moreover, the character she is playing is supposed to be a young girl in her late teens. When both of them are put together, the lovers vibe is not that strong. In fact, I think Joseph Zeng has better chemistry with Chen Yu Qi in Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre. His pairing with Liang Jie is watchable but it doesn’t elicit a natural chemistry of love and yearning that could make viewers hooked.

My Verdict

Time Flies And You Are Here is okay if you don’t mind romance dramas with lots of misunderstandings. It really depends on your appetite for a back and forth budding romance as the lovers slowly build trust between them. It can be sweet and touching for some but frustrating for others. So, just be aware what this drama entails before you dive in. It has immaturity written all over it for me in the beginning. But I can also appreciate the characters’ growth towards the end. At least, they know what their responsibilities are.

Could they have written the script better? Absolutely! If the screenwriters had developed the leads’ relationship more meaningfully rather than through arguments, the drama should be more touching. After all, this is not a lighthearted rom-com like The Wolf Princess or A Girl Like Me. A more developed romance that moves viewers should have been employed. Instead, what has been dished out is a little bland that the rewatch value just isn’t there.

To me, the leads did their best for the roles that they are given. The characters are not instantly likable and need some getting used to. The romance is on the youthful side which is consistent with the age of the characters. So, don’t expect maturity and a compelling story like what you would find in dramas like The Long Ballad.

Overall, I would give this Time Flies And You Are Here review a 7/10 rating. The last quarter helps to save the drama and increases its watchability. Otherwise, this would belong to the Skip category. You have to be patient to sit through all the misunderstandings in the beginning. Once you get through that, then this couple will start to grow on you a little to help you cross the finish line.