I have just watched Zhao Lu Si and Ryan Ding in Love Of Thousand Years and Intense Love respectively that when I come across them again in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose (传闻中的陈芊芊), I was hesitant. My thinking at that time was to skip it for now to look for fresh faces but the ratings made me decide otherwise. Well, I guess I made the right choice after all. I will tell you why in The Romance Of Tiger and Rose review below.
My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: May 2020
Images Credit: Tencent
The Cast Of The Romance Of Tiger And Rose
- Zhao Lu Si as Chen Xiao Qian / Chen Qian Qian
- Ryan Ding Yu Xi as Han Min Xing / Han Shuo
- Zhou Zi Xin as Chen Chu Chu
- Sheng Ying Hao as Pei Heng
- Patrick Quan Pei Lun as Su Mu
- Chen Ming Hao as Su Zi Ying
- Zhao Xin as Chen Yuan Yuan
- Smile Wei Xiao as Lin Qi
- Hu Cai Hong as Ruler of Huayuan City
Main Characters
Chen Xiao Qian / Chen Qian Qian
Xiao Qian is a screenwriter while Qian Qian is a character in her script. Qian Qian is a willful and spoilt 3rd princess of Huayuan City.
Han Min Xing / Han Shuo
Min Xing is a famous actor who is portraying Han Shuo in Xiao Qian’s script. Han Shuo is the Crown Prince of Xuanyu City and is a calm and shrewd young man.
Chen Chu Chu
Chu Chu is Huayuan City’s 2nd princess. She is capable with martial art skills and is deemed to be the next Ruler of the city.
Chen Yuan Yuan
Yuan Yuan is the eldest princess of Huayuan City. But she is a cripple and leads a lonely and unhappy life.
Pei Heng
Pei Heng is the Minister of Education and the first male to hold an official post in Huayuan City. He is engaged to Qian Qian. His late mother was the Defense Minister who had sacrificed her life for the city.
Su Mu
Su Mu is a musician at the Music and Dance Academy in Huayuan City. He is gentle and kind but has an inferiority complex due to a musician’s low status in society.
Su Zi Ying
Zi Ying is Pei Heng’s subordinate who has the duty to look after Qian Qian’s safety. But he hides a secret and is a suspicious character.
Lin Qi
Lin Qi comes from a rich family who owns the Music and Dance Academy as well as a mine in Huayuan City. She is a good friend of Chu Chu but hates Qian Qian.
Ruler of Huayuan City
The Ruler of Huayuan City is also the mother of Yuan Yuan, Chu Chu, and Qian Qian. She has been training Chu Chu to take over her role but her favorite daughter has always been Qian Qian. She dotes on her youngest daughter and is always forgiving Qian Qian for her wrongdoings.
Synopsis
Xiao Qian is a screenwriter while Min Xing is the actor playing the main character of her script. They have an argument over it as Min Xing is dissatisfied with Xiao Qian’s work. Hence, she has to rush to alter and finish the script while sick. When she falls asleep, she finds herself becoming one of the characters in her script called Qian Qian while Min Xing is now Han Shuo. According to her script, Qian Qian is supposed to die by the 3rd episode. But that didn’t happen and the events don’t seem to be going according to her story.
Now, Xiao Qian has to continue to survive as Huayuan City’s 3rd Princess Qian Qian to make it to the end of the plot. In the process, Xuanyu City’s Crown Prince Han Shuo becomes her husband by force but then gradually falls in love with her while her sister, Chu Chu, becomes her enemy in a power struggle. This is happening amidst the backdrop of a rivalry between Huayuan and Xuanyu City.
The Romance Of Tiger And Rose Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Does The Romance Of Tiger And Rose have a happy ending? Yes, definitely! The ending is rather nicely tied up despite its complex plot compared to the usual mainland rom-coms which tend to be pretty straightforward. However, it also leaves much room for another season because the relationship between the main characters could easily be further explored from where it ends.
Towards the end of the last episode, Xiao Qian wakes up from her dream. Min Xing injures his lungs in a car accident. Han Shuo’s lungs were also injured in her dream when Chu Chu pierced him with her sword. Min Xing and Xiao Qian find out that they were dreaming the same dream and having the same intense feelings for each other. They are happily hugging each other on Min Xing’s hospital bed. Xiao Qian ends her script with Han Shuo and Qian Qian being a loving couple while Chu Chu becomes the Ruler of Huayuan City with Qian Qian’s help. For a full drama recap, you can check out The Romance Of Tiger And Rose episode summary.
Qian Qian And Han Shuo
Qian Qian has already decided not to wake up from her dream to stay with Han Shuo. She refuses to go through the succession ceremony because if she is the chosen heir, the heaven’s gate will open and that will be the end of the story. But Han Shuo wants her to return to her world because he doesn’t have long to live with his injured lungs. He appears at the ceremony and when he collapses, Qian Qian runs up to him along the path a successor would take. The sky turns golden. Qian Qian fades away and awakens in the real world.
What Happened To Chu Chu
Chu Chu is imprisoned for rebellion. Her heavy-handedness towards her own people and greediness for power due to her jealousy towards Qian Qian causes her to lose support from the masses and her own guards. In the end, her subordinates turn on her including Zi Ying. When she tries to pierce Qian Qian with her sword once she knows she has been surrounded, Han Shuo blocks it. As a result, Han Shuo’s lungs are damaged.
In prison, Chu Chu still has not repented. The Ruler decrees that Yuan Yuan, Chu Chu, and Qian Qian will go through a succession ceremony to see who is the chosen heir approved by the heavens. When Chu Chu goes through the ceremony, the sky turns dark while it lights up in a golden color for Qian Qian. Chu Chu starts to question if Qian Qian is right all along and she is wrong.
In a way, Chu Chu’s change from good to bad is understandable because she thought the Ruler’s obvious favoritism towards Qian Qian is unfair since they are both her daughters. Chu Chu doesn’t know that she is in fact adopted until much later in Episode 22. She is the late Minister Pei’s daughter and Pei Heng is her brother. Minister Pei was the former Defense Minister and like a sister to the Ruler. When she died, the Ruler pitied Chu Chu who was still a baby and adopted her.
Yuan Yuan And Su Mu
Yuan Yuan and Su Mu end up together. She is able to walk slowly with Su Mu by her side and he accompanies her during the succession ceremony to walk down the required path.
The Romance Of Tiger And Rose Review – Funny And Refreshing
I find The Romance Of Tiger And Rose to be quite humorous and different from a typical rom-com. Compared to Fake Princess which was released at about the same time, this one is certainly better in terms of humor, plot, and characters. The story of a screenwriter being stuck in a dream world where she has become a character of her own creation certainly has more originality than one depicting a fake or an arranged marriage. The plot may sound unusual but it certainly gets marks from me for creativity.
Add in the humor aspect and the drama becomes a funny and unique rom-com. Both Qian Qian and Han Shuo’s personal assistants provide the necessary comedic scenes. Qian Qian’s interactions with the storytellers are also interesting. She uses fruits to represent the different people in her story to hide their real identities when confiding in the storytellers. That is why many suggests that the drama title can be changed to The Romance Of Banana And Orange instead!
Acting And Chemistry Between The Leads
I find Zhao Lu Si to be a versatile actor. She had a serious role in Love Of Thousand Years and a comical one in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose. I think she did better in this one as her expressions have a very natural comedic element that could make you grin as you watch certain scenes. As for Ryan Ding, he has very big and expressive eyes and he knows how to use them to convey his character’s feelings.
Put them together and they seem very comfortable with each other. I wouldn’t say this pair has the best chemistry on screen because the really good ones could make you think they are dating for real. Here To Heart and Love Designer are 2 examples of off-the-charts chemistry between the leads. But the Zhao Lu Si and Ryan Ding pairing is still very watchable as their on-screen interactions do look natural and easy on the eyes.
The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Let me comment a bit about the ending. If there is one drawback to The Romance Of Tiger And Rose, it would be a rushed ending. Yes, it is nicely tied up into a happy ending and the focus of the drama is more on the dream rather than the real world. But details are glossed over as the drama inches towards its conclusion. What this means is viewers are not told if Han Min Xing is Han Shuo in the dream just like Xiao Qian is Qian Qian. We presume he is because the ending shows them recognizing each other’s feelings from the dream. However, if that is the case, then Han Shuo shouldn’t be so clueless that the whole story is just a script.
Basically, the whole drama is being told from Xiao Qian’s point of view. So, as viewers, we don’t know how Han Min Xing entered the dream. If the screenwriter had clarified this properly, I think the ending would be more complete. But then again, leaving it open is also convenient if they want to produce another season. Maybe this time, they could tell the story from the guy’s point of view!
My Verdict – Watch It!
The Romance Of Tiger And Rose is short and entertaining. There are only 24 episodes altogether which is a good length for a rom-com to me. Unless there are interesting sub-plots to the story, it is pointless to drag out a rom-com. There is romance but don’t expect a lot of kissing like what you would get in The Love By Hypnotic. if you are looking for all sweetness and fluff like the Love 020 kind, then this is not it either. Watch it for the humor and creative plot instead.
In conclusion for The Romance Of Tiger And Rose review, I would give it a 8/10 rating. I like it for the originality of the story and the humorous way it is told to the viewers. I really wouldn’t mind a Season 2 for this one!
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they look good together,hoping for their next drama i also love the plot of the story thanks for the writer and the acting of the cast is amazing hahaha love the two love birds (han chou and chen qiang qiang)love u both your’e chemistry is amazing hehehehe and the other cast also love u all please season 2 for the drama the romance of tiger an d rose……….
Hi! I’m from the Philippines!😊! I would like to say Thank you so much for patiently writing your reviews because its such a big help knowing whether the drama is worth watching till the end. I don’t mind reading the spoilers. I love to watch good C dramas with happy ending. I’m so hooked on C dramas and your reviews🥳🥳🤩 keep up the good work my fellow Drama Addict! 🥳🤩🥰
Hmm am trying to find more shows to watch after watching eternal love, legend of yunxi and pavilion ruyi but the female character does not emit the same aura that the previous shows’ main actresses give off.
If you are looking for dramas with a strong female character, maybe you can take a look at Legend of Fuyao. You can also check out The Moon Brightens For You if you are a wuxia fan.
I liked the beginning eight or ten episodes and the last five or so. But in-between, it drove me crazy. Qian qian was SO STUPID. Obviously the script is not going to be what happens because she blew it up by not dying as she was supposed to. Trying to force events along an already-broken path was mentally retarded.
In the beginning, it seemed like she was figuring this out. But then, like the really bad scriptwriter she is, she tried to use plot devices rather than character to advance the story. As a result, the middle section is unwatchable (at least for me.) I can tolerate a character making mistakes but outright stupidity is too much. Some of the plot devices were so dumb I wanted to puke. On three glasses of bai jiu Qian Qian mistook Pei Heng for Han Shuo ? Like, are they trying to make fun of the “all Chinese look the same” stereotype ? Or was the scriptwriter being as asinine as Miss Chen ?
To me, the acting of just about everyone except Pei Heng was great. He was so smarmy, I can’t imagine anyone liking him, but possibly that was the intent ? Mostly I just wanted to drown him like a sack of unwanted kittens.
If the writers had done a better job in the middle sections, I think this would have been a great show. Instead, they pushed the initial joke far beyond its limits, and seriously damaged their own work. Overall I’d have to give it a 4 – the ends are 8’s while the middle is a minus 4. If you just skip from chapter ten to about chapter eighteen, it’s much much better.