Road Home (2023)

Home is a Person.

Lu Chen and Gui Xiao's love story is beautiful; as beautiful as the drama's setting.

You will feel the same love they are portraying. The story is about first love story, clingy type FL, with nice kiss scenes, long distance relationship, and swoon worthy.

I can feel the love, longing and heartbreak. I love the excitement they feel when they see each other. Since the ML and FL are in a long distance relationship, every time they see each other is always exciting and full of clinginess.

Not every person can handle this kind of relationship.

I love all the cast. I love the SWAT Squad.

The ML is everything you need in a man. His only flaw is his complicated family which is not his fault. The FL is strong, independent woman which makes her a perfect partner.

It is a slow burn drama and there are a bit boring scenes, but overall the drama is amazing.

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Tan Song Yun never disappoints

I don't usually write reviews, but when I do, its cause i feel so strongly about something and this drama falls in this case. To start off, I've always been a fan of Tan Songyun. I first watched her in The Fox's Summer but didn't really fall in love with her until I saw her again in Under the Power. Ever since then, I have followed all her dramas and I have to say her acting is getting better and better by the day. As for Jing Boran, I saw him in Love 020 the movie and I thought he was so charming and good looking. He is someone who usually acts in only movies so didn't get as much exposure for him.
This drama was amazing. The storyline might not be for everyone because it is a slow burning romance that doesn't necessarily have a strong plot line. Just the leads getting back together and their journey back to happiness. What made this drama as good as it is definitely had huge contributions to Jing Boran and Tan Songyun amazing chemistry and acting skills. The characters, Lu Yanchen and Gui Xiao, they played seemed as if it was really their personality in really life. They played it so naturally that it made me feel like it was a real life couple and I was in the drama observing their lives. Jing Boran's microexpression was amazing. His character was a person who didn't like to talk much but showed his love through actions. The way he always cared for her and showed his love through the way he looks at her and his eyes. Amazing. Completely nailed it. Their kiss scenes were so cute! You could really see all the love just overfilling through each scene. They even nailed that longing and missing feeling they had for each other when they first met again after 8 and ten 10 years. Amazing. All the side characters did an amazing good too. Their contribution to the story was great. Pacing of the drama was good. Every episode was not wasted. Every episode had something cute to add to the mix of cuteness overload. Safe to say, after this drama, everyone will want their own Lu Yanchen. The OST really helped with the emotional and cute scenes, bringing them to life. Its been a while since i have been dying while waiting for each episode to come out. This drama has officially been added to my Top 5 Drama List.

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Love love love this drama

Let me start by saying I love both Jing Bo Ran and Tang Song Yun. Their acting and chemistry in this drama is top notch. I got hooked after watching the first episode.

I like how this is not like those typical cliche drama but more like a slice of life sort of story. The love story between Lu (Yan) Cheng and Gui Xiao is relatable. What I meant by this is that some of the problems they faced are probably problems that some people have experienced in real life. Some of us probably still love someone we have broken up with ages ago but how many of us get a second chance with that person. So personally this story really warms my heart and makes me smile watching it. Of course having two good looking people as the main characters of the drama also helps :)

I could not finish writing this review without mentioning the beautiful snowy locations they shoot the drama at. It must be really cold for them but it looks really pretty on the screen.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama and recommend anyone looking for a new drama to check out this production. Although I am sad that this drama is over, I am looking forward to future works by Jing Bo Ran and Tang Song Yun. I will definitely rewatch this drama in the future :)

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I dozed off many times

Makers of the show solely depended upon the lead cast of the show. The cast was a great choice, though. However, they forgot that there are several other factors that make a drama successful. The story was very regular and somewhat cliched and predictable. The music was so damn average.

The Good:
1. The star cast of the show, especially the leads
2. No unnecessary drama or viciousness in any of the characters.

The Bad(I would rather call it boring):
1. There was too much of going in and out of the past. The leads were a teen couple 11-12 years ago, before they parted their ways, and after meeting again several years later, both realize that they are still in love and rekindle their relationship. It was necessary to show the background in order to feel connected with their present day story, however in half of the show, the leads were just reminiscing their past only.
2. Lack of character development: As the story develops so do the characters. However, the supporting cast, doesn't grow at all.
3. Unrealistic sub-plots: The child of the 2nd male lead is sent to Beijing with the female lead so that she can get him admitted in a school. But this boy is sent to various other homes and people too. For example, the friend and colleague of the female lead just takes the child in, in her care as the female has to go with male lead for a 2 week long trip. The child's father is all cool with his son's living situation.
4. There was no development for 2nd leads. It's shown that the 2nd male lead(who happens to be the colleague and friend of the main lead) proposes the above mentioned friend and colleague of the female lead, but even after the leap of 2.5 years, they were still unmarried.
5. The SWAT team members act so juvenile and childish. It's like they have no work when ML and FL are around.
6. In one of the scenes, after giving birth, FL is trying to feed her baby while the ML(father of the baby) looks on. FL asks her to look away and feels very shy. I was like oh C''mon, girl, he's your baby daddy'.
7. As for the romantic moments, there were way too many staring lovingly in the eyes moments. The leads have chemistry, but bad screenplay is to be blamed for not using the romantic element correctly.

This is just a short list. There were so many annoying and boring moments. I actually slept through the scenes, and many of them I had to fast forward as they were taking toll on my nerves. All in all, it was dragging, boring and somewhat dull.

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A drama that stays in the heart

I was contemplating on making early review on this but decided to let all eps be aired first. This drama deserves review per episode to be honest coz each episode is so wonderfully presented.

The drama started off with them meeting after years of separation. When they locked eyes on that first episode is a proof that everyone behind this drama are really gifted and the perfect actors were rightfully put to play the role respectively. From that moment it makes viewers hungry to know their past their present and look forward to their future.

The drama itself feels like a journey never ends and u really wouldnt want it to end. The story is really easy to follow with the flashbacks played once in a while in the right moment . What makes this perfect is really the chemistry of both leads. Not just the chemistry but how they played their roles wholeheartedly. They were like a match born to play this drama. They are destined to give life to this drama.

Their journey from being young to young adults though played by same actors is just perfect.

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This drama is a moving romance set against the backdrop of sweeping majestic landscapes with soulful and emotive music playing. You cannot help but be swept along with the love between Lu Chen and Gu Xiao through their years of separation and through the angst that both unavoidably created for the other. I have read criticisms that the drama is slow but to me, the pace of the show, the words that are unspoken but conveyed through expressions are a powerful way to convey the story. The final episode, although initially a bit of a let-down but on further reflection, is a different way of ending a story by letting the ML tell his part of the story. I am definitely going to rewatch to breakdown the nuances that I missed the first time round!

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A draggy, at times boring drama but why did I finish all 30 episodes?

This is a slow-burn romance drama about first love and all about it, nothing else. The pace is like "no hurry at all" and I have to use the fast forward button on many scenes.

Why I kept on watching:-
(1) I'd watch any drama with Tan Song Yun in it regardless of the male lead. She has the ability to form great chemistry with all male actors she has worked for - the latest was in Flight to You where she was incredible with Wang Kai and his grumpy/annoying character. Although in her early 30s, her baby face makes her able to act out schooling or teenage girls to a T.

(2) Great looking cast. Jing Boran looks good in this drama compared to his last contemporary drama I've watched (The Psychologist) and totally different from A League of Noblemen. It's always enjoyable to watch nice looking actors on screen.

(3) For the romance-so many kissing scenes, warm moments, romantic vibes, the list goes on...For the romance part, this drama scores 9/10! Plenty of sweetness and eye-candy indulgence!

(4) I'm glad those parts of those annoying family disputes and third party interference are kept to the minimum. No long winded melodramatic scenes, it just concentrates on the leads' love story and their lives.

(5) Good cinematography especially those scenes in Jining. Love the winter paradise. A beautiful love story and winter/snow flakes are great chemistry.

What I hope could be better:-
(1) Those irritating and tiring flashbacks-they are necessary to tell the background story but do they have to do it so many (and many) times and at irregular intervals. I'd prefer they do all the flashbacks in one go instead of having it in almost every episode and many are repeats too.

(2) 30 episodes is too long due to the flashbacks and repeated scenes. It's incredulous how they dedicate one full episode (episode 30) to flashback-just about the leads' school days. It's totally unnecessary and exceedingly boring.

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You Don't Know How to Love Your First Love

Many may find the drama adaptation as mundane or boring. However, I wish they continue watching.

It tells a story of a couple who broke up but is not over or has not moved on from each other. I like how the flashbacks explain how they met, fell in love, and broke up. I like the line Duan Rou said at episode 17 "its common that you don't know how to love the other in your first love" which is true that's why it's rare to end up with your first love in real life. The sweetness of their youthful love and the bitterness of breaking up because of circumstances uncontrollable

GX broke up with LC and when they met again it took another two years for her to find a reason, ahem, an excuse to reach out to LC. I think it was fair since she was the one who broke up with him.  When they were younger GX wanted to rely on him but can't. She needed a pillar and the person she wanted to lean on the most is not around it broke her and she broke him. That scene where LC is crying secretly while on break from training nearly broke me. LC wanted to be there for her but can't he loves her and he feels guilty about it. LDR is a scary relationship. It really breaks or makes the relationship stronger.

I like that it took a decade for them to get together again because they had a lot of growing up to do. They grew up individually and it made the relationship better. Even with all the crap they have to deal with their families they have friends that they can rely on. The line where GX said she would have been fine withbher life without LC struck a chord. It's true for a woman who has grown up and well. Why should she settle for mediocre when she can have a fairy tale of her own.

other couples:
HD and MXS typical HS relationship. it didn't end up well for HD but MXS has a husband in QF that loves her much more than HD ever did.

QM and DR now this is a couple I like two individualists. I ship this CP. This is a mature relationship that we all need in real life. You are you. I am who I am. No changes made but there's a lot of understanding each others lifestyle. This is the ideal realistic couple for me. Both have issues and divorced but have no hang ups with their exes. The son was like a cupid of sorts for them.

What I liked most is that it followed the novel. Including the epilogue.I wished they included the letter GX wrote for LC too.

The osts are perfect for the series. The lyrics fit the story.

Rewatch value: I have been rewatching while waiting for upcoming eps when I watched.. need I say more?

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Love and danger, pristine snow and downy willows in spring, triumph of persistence

Ep30 was a sweet coda to this very wholesome composition, which deserves full marks for acting, choice of shooting locations, no nonsense or over-sugary dialogues and plot. I also liked the realism and the messages of hope, endurance, faithfulness and mature understanding and support to partners. I actually liked the slow pace which showed how intuition and almost telepathic getting vibes and staying "in tune"without need for long conversation is one form of beautiful love.
For those who don't get or get impatient with first episodes, it could be viewed first, since it is the chronological reason for what happens in first episode, and an explanation of the "baffling" reply by ML to FL in the beginning.

The two separated "because they were too young", because Gui Xiao thought she needed comforting words to overcome the pain of her family turmoil, but these could not be conveyed over the phone, and because her great love was prevented from rushing back to hug and comfort her. Both felt hurt and regret but years went by and, not wanting to be intrusive, neither of them managed to make the needed step forward to get back in tune. Until they did, and this is the sweet and realistic story that unfolds in the drama. The radiance of their love not only make them stand out, but also touches those around them: their friends and "complicated families", and the little boy that Gui Xiao spontaneously agrees to foster to allow him get a more stable environment with trusted people and better schooling. Unconsciously or not, this first act of kindness and love brings her friend (and other foster "aunt" for the boy) together with Lu Chen's friend and Qin Xiaonan's dad.
LuChen and Xiao Nan are quickly aware of Captain Qin and Duan Rou's compatibility, which culminates in Ep22 where both couples radiantly and almost literally "walk on air". For once, we would not have minded seeing more about this secondary couple!
It also helps that Jing Boran has a special type of northern handsomeness, impervious to the cold weather, maybe due to his part-Russian ancestry. Sichuanese Seven Tan Songyun is delightfully petite and with an infectious warm smile that brought perfect balance to this "fire and ice" story where the apparently cold and detached ML was just yearning for spring to be back and enough fulfillment in a life half or more devoted to dangerous missions.
As for OST, it is nice, although as I mentioned in an earlier comment, what stood out for me was the old Zheng Jun Cinderella song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xVtrob8Rto). Lyrics here : https://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/12/cinderella.html

I watched quite a few of Seven Tan's dramas before; always very satisfied. I had not watched much of Jing Boran's filmography, he seems to have been mostly involved with light movies, when I was following more heavyweight directors' filmography. Perhaps, if I have time, I will go back to check more of Jing Boran's filmography now, and perhaps even re-watch Road Home which despite its slow pace, was as enjoyable as a famous director's movie. Ah, spotting 2018 "Us And Them" in JB's filmography, which I think I must watch since I love Rene Liu's music and her acting in "A World Without Thieves".

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May we all find the happiness that belongs to us.

Last episode today! It's going to be tough to get out of this drama. The director and scriptwriter did a fantastic job. The cinematography was fantastic. The scenery was fantastic. Tan Songyun and Jing Boran did a fantastic job of portraying the characters. I love that they paired both of them together. Casting Jing Boran as Lu Chen was a fantastic choice. He has that rugged, tough, very attractive face. Casting Tan Songyun as Chen Xiao was an equally fantastic choice She has such a soft, squishy baby face. It's like the yin and yang coming together. Ladylike and ruggedness.

I love their chemistry in the bts and in the drama. Watching them during their interview was so cute. They kept looking at one another, affirming what the other said and teasing one another. The fact that they reconnected before filming Road Home was really sweet. You can watch them on He Jiong's Welcome Back to Sound Season 2 (ep 9-10). I think that helped to break the ice before filming. They are both such great actors. I love Tan Songyun's voice....I never get sick of it. Watching her in her dramas give me a sense of calm and healing. I know that there are other great dramas out there but somehow the FL's voices will turn me off and that stops me from starting or dropping those dramas. Thank you, director, scriptwriter, actors, actresses. Thank you for making my heart sing. In the meantime, I will wait impatiently and languish around until Tan Songyun's new movie & drama. May she find the happiness that belongs to her. May we find a Lu Chen who will love us as unconditionally & deeply. And may all the Lu Chen find their Gui Xiao.

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Second chance romance with mature characters!

This is definitely a feel good drama. The pace is slow but the plot advances quickly. Everything about it just feels warm and calm. I love how in the earlier episodes, they pictured so much tension, so much longing, and so much unsaid words. It keeps you on your toes to see how the relationship advances. I also love how both leads act maturely resolving their problems and how this drama has no filler annoying episode. All are in the good portion. Jing Boran and Tang Soyun have so much chemistry and have done well with the acting. One thing that I will nitpick is how they put the climax on last few episodes. It's just feel anticlimatic to me. Otherwise, ll is fine.

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A perfect angsty, protective hero romance . . . until the propaganda ruined it

On one hand we have an angsty, forbidden secret childhood romance, and a silent, gruff protective hero who thinks the world of the heroine:everything I like in romance in one place. If you like the Jane Austen novel Persuasion, you will love the first 20 episodes of this.

On the other hand, this is a propaganda pitch for dangerous frontline work to men, and the propaganda wins out for 10 slow dragging episodes.

Our main male character 100% will always pick his job first. The female lead is just so grateful to be in a relationship with him, and she will never make the mistake of putting herself first again! Even his alcoholic waste of a father, and his snobby father in law come around to accepting he is a hero whose needs and priorities come first, and they need to stop making trouble.

So there you have it. A great premise, excellent chemistry and acting all ruined by its simplistic propaganda theme: become a hero of the state, and you'll get the girl and the home and the life you always wanted. Everyone will just be so grateful.

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