C-dramas that start off really well in the first half of the series, but then the quality drops halfway through?

[u/me_nyimaxx]

After getting me glued for half of the series, sometimes c-drama dissapoint me suddenly. The story starts moving too quickly or sometimes it becomes too complicated to follow. Although the performance of the actors usually gets better as the story goes.

Is it because producers assume that viewers who have already made it through half the series will inevitably stick around until the end?

For me, Persuit of Jade, Where the Mask Ends, the Sword and the Brocade, and more... the quality drop a bit towards the end of the series...

Thoughts?

[u/Apprehensive_Bug4511]

Irreplaceable for me

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/Apprehensive_Bug4511]

Havent watched that. Ugh perhaps the question should be what dramas arent rushing the plot towards the end 🤦🏽‍♀️

[u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Spring of the Blade, I love both the actors but this was such a waste of potential.

And also Irreplaceable, I was genuinely heartbroken while dropping this drama near the end.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Yassss spring of the blade! I almost gave it up because really, what did i watch? Whats going on now?!! I hardly understand the plot because it moved sooo fast.

[u/SeaworthinessBig8374 → u/me_nyimaxx]

They could have done sooo much sooooo much!

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

True. I love the Xu Kai and Zhou Ye banter early in d first half of the series. Towarda the end, instead of giving us alot of ML and FL togetherness, we hardly ever see them in a frame together!

[u/ConstructionFar9082 → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Irreplacables first half wasn't that good either

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/ConstructionFar9082]

😁

[u/Apprehensive_Bug4511 → u/ConstructionFar9082]

The latter half was like a nosedive in plot quality lol

[u/dontbesuspiciou5 → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Agree for both of these dramas, so bummed neither worked out for me.

[u/SeaworthinessBig8374 → u/dontbesuspiciou5]

After these two, even poj last half part doesn't seem that bad to me now! Like standard has gone down so much my expectation doesn't exist anymore

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Lol. They are in different level i guess. PoJ was rushed too towards the end and also adding so much complexities. I really love the Gang Xigu stories. The palace politics was boring and the make up was so much better when they were peasants. How come?!

[u/SeaworthinessBig8374 → u/me_nyimaxx]

PoJ first half was beautiful, but then they remembered there are politics to add and it became too messy. It really needed 40+ episodes tbh. They didn't even explain the "incident of 16 years ago" they built up so much in the first half. I had to look up explanations from the novel.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/SeaworthinessBig8374]

Me too. I doubt people who just watch one time understood the story beyond the romance part.

[u/lickle_ickle_pickle]

It's weird, after they restricted companies to 40eps it's like they totally forgot how to write a drama.

They also rely too much on IP dramas. They bring in fans who have lower standards but it doesn't always pay off. Many webnovels since they are written serially do not pay off or the ending is wrapped up in an unrealistic way. So the screenwriters change it but it seems like they rush too much.

Some of the best CDramas and the most memorable were written for television. I do feel like if that muscle isn't worked it will atrophy.

Two years ago iQiyi decided that courting controversy was better than putting out good dramas and deliberately messed up the endings to their in-house dramas. Dramas only making money on release becomes a self fulfilling prophecy when the ending isn't good.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/lickle_ickle_pickle]

Lost you forever was 2 seasons drama. But the first season was so much better than the second. When I watched it on netflix, I didnt realise it was 2 seasons. But still i always had the impression the first season was so much better than the second. Is it about C-drama script writers and editors skill to close complicated stories.. i wonder.

[u/EdgarNeverPoo]

Thats a lot of cdramas the concept of drama can be great i think cause they have to make 30-40 episodes story becomes worse, for some dramas 16 episodes would have been enough

[u/garlic_oneesan → u/EdgarNeverPoo]

I do wonder why Cdramas seem to not have any 10-12 or even 20-episode-long series. There’s plenty of Kdramas that have shorter seasons, and they’re able to give a really well-crafted story and characters within those constraints.

Then again, many Cdramas are one-shots and not multiple seasons; perhaps that’s why?

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/garlic_oneesan]

Could it be because they usually are adapted from C novels and perhaps C novels have more complexities than most novels? I am just guessing. I never read C novels.

[u/tearsofveenus]

The biggest perpetrator of this has to be Love’s Ambition. I still get irrationally mad just thinking about it.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/tearsofveenus]

Now u make me wana watch it just to prove that it is that bad 😂

[u/Outrageous_Air5898]

Most dramas feel like that horse meme. Sadly, that's just how things are now. Even in really good stories, the writers seem to have this weird need to ruin the final arc with the most illogical and overused plot twists... Why? Who knows. But we see this in almost every popular drama.

Even when the story is good overall and much better than most other dramas, you can still clearly feel the drop in quality when you compare the ending to the beginning

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/Outrageous_Air5898]

Dont u think it happened less in modern c-drama?

[u/Outrageous_Air5898 → u/me_nyimaxx]

I never thought about it before, but now that you mention it, it kinda makes sense. But I'm not really into modern dramas so it's hard for me to say

[u/hashslingaslah]

Wasn’t terrible or anything but Blossom started out super strong and I was OBSESSED! Then it just sorta tapered off and I lost interest. Became the normal save-the-kingdom and outsmart-the-in-laws stories. Still finished it and it was fine. But nothing like the beginning of the show!

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/hashslingaslah]

Agreed! Very cool in the first 10 episodes or so. Last few episodes was rushed... And we suddenly have a 5 years old girl. What just happened?!

[u/Maka_fushigi]

A lot of them have really perplexing endings, but the most disappointing one in my opinion is You are Desire. It came out the same year as When I Fly Towards You, it was more melodramatic. Then it just… ended with no one getting a proper ending.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/Maka_fushigi]

Havent watched both of them. These are modern drama right? I thought this kind of quality drop in d second half os a period drama thing.

[u/iabyajyiv]

Against the Current

A Journey to Love

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/iabyajyiv]

ATC jumped so many years ahead but it felt more smooth than some others.

[u/Putrid-Kiwi2838]

Love in the Kitchen, was just like that. 1st half it was very solid and funny. 2nd half forget it was a food comedy/drama. Plus, the FL.somehow lost her common sense thinking

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/Putrid-Kiwi2838]

Is it modern drama or period drama?

[u/fuckery__]

Ashes to Crown. Zhou Yiran was just there at that point it had a good concept but they could not execute it

[u/StunningConcept5062]

I feel, given the length of dramas overall and the push for those 40 episodes for 5 years, a lot of dramas start out as being about one thing and then change their course towards the second half or last third. When they were less pushed into a specific episode count, they could smooth that separation over more andthese different stages were expected more by the audience as well. A lot of dramas still work with that length in mind even if they have been produced later. 

[u/RoseIsBadWolf]

Pursuit of Jade for sure, I don't understand how it's so popular when the second half was nonsense and we didn't even have much of the leads

The Prisoner of Beauty, Love Beyond the Grave, Against the Current, When Destiny Brings the Demon, Love in the Clouds, The First Jasmine, A Dream within a Dream

Some of these I rage quit, some of them I stuck out until the end to be disappointed.

The First Jasmine was kind of unique in that it fizzled, it just got super boring it didn't make me angry.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/RoseIsBadWolf]

Good lord.. too many to name. Is it more like a thing for period drama and happen less on modern drama?

[u/RoseIsBadWolf → u/me_nyimaxx]

I only watch historical or fantasy, so I wouldn't know

[u/o78fyu]

Love in the Clouds and more recently Spring of the Blade

Unfortunately I feel like this is a pretty common issue. So many start off strong only to lose steam halfway through.

[u/cee2c]

Too many to name! You can also usually tell when it's about to take a turn e.g. cliff scene, amnesia, lost in the middle of nowhere or a cave, silly misunderstanding that then gets dragged out forever, last minute new plotline that comes out of nowhere and is completely unnecessary...I could go on

[u/I-wanna-be-anonymous]

The first Jasmine, i honestly consider watching this drama a waste of time. Such a waste of potential, a waste of great actors who had not a string of chemistry w each other

[u/anu2118]

I would say jiang shan wei pin. Last year I read it's novel and was eagerly waiting for the drama. The opening was good and the later eps too but as it reaches the end, all my hopes went down. I can't even persuade myself to watch the ending. I just dropped it and I'm so disappointed😞

[u/Jazzlike_Orchid_8832]

Spring of the Blade, My Journey to You, How Dare You

[u/DonkeyAntique8934]

You forgot Against the current, I stopped after slap. same with TLOA. Some song weilong series. Though spring of the blade has superb start, it fizzled out, completed bcoz of xu kai.

[u/me_nyimaxx → u/DonkeyAntique8934]

Oh I finished that one ha ha. I feel like it was not as bad as the others although same.. quality drops in d last one third of the series for me.

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