The Juniper and Elle Show

We previously previewed two Chinese costume dramas that aired at the same time - “The Princess’s Gambit” 桃花映江山 and “A Dream Within A Dream” 书卷一梦. Each of us ended up sticking with only one; Elle chose Liu Xueyi while Juniper went with comedy. Now that we’ve finished watching them, did we love them? Not exactly. Despite promising premises, they each delivered many frustrations. Listen as we discuss what worked for us, what didn’t, a...

Who knew watching people make googly eyes while dissecting corpses and solving crimes in ancient China could be so engrossing, but that’s exactly what we get with the costume drama “Coroner’s Diary” 朝雪录. It deftly interweaves medical forensics and swoony romance, helped along by an appealing and convincing cast. Compared to the recent spate of C-dramas that drummed up high promise but became tedious slogfests, this romantic, often ...

Lately, we’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of dramas starring Chinese actor Liu Xueyi, and Elle has been a happy victim ever since. To indulge her love of all things Liu Xueyi, she decided to watch an older 2021 romantic comedy starring said apple of her eye. Somehow Juniper got sucked in for a partial ride, too. While “Love At Night” 夜色暗涌时 is no diamond in the rough, it has its charms, carried by its stars. Let’s take a journey back ...

In this pod, we dive into two recent Chinese costume drama releases - “The Princess’s Gambit” 桃花映江山 and “A Dream Within A Dream” 书卷一梦. A political intrigue that takes everything seriously vs. a meta parody where nothing is sacred, these shows couldn’t be more different. Yet, they somehow also resemble each other in uncanny ways. Listen in as we discuss our early impressions and ruminate on whether either show has real staying power...

We made it through the end of “Feud” 临江仙 and are here to give a wrap-up assessment. For a drama that promised divine grandeur, this one left us quite underwhelmed and hollow. In contrast, the seemingly silly sounding “Seven Relics of Ill Omen” 七根心简 surprised and delighted us with its spot-on casting, fun character dynamics, and engrossing supernatural mystery adventure story. We are only halfway through this one but look forward to...

In this episode, we discuss the latest Bai Lu xianxia drama, Feud 临江仙, also starring Joseph Zeng Shunxi. While the show is nearing its finale, we still aren’t sure what it’s trying to sell the audience. Is the female lead's relentless vengeance relatable or just plain toxic? Is the male lead a tragic wet mop or an enabler? Why are so many female characters written to be unhinged? And how will the show give us its promised happy...

After years on the shelf, Chinese xianxia drama Love Never Fails 落花时节又逢君 finally aired recently. In this episode, we share our thoughts after finishing all 40 episodes (plus bonus ones!). For all the flaws and nonsense in this old-fashioned story, we grew quite fond of it. The green screen chemistry of the main leads worked its charm against all expectations, and the lovable bromance between the two heavenly brothers brought a smil...

In this episode, we unpack the moody, visually stunning Korean period drama “Dear Hongrang”. From its tangled family drama and questionable romance plotline to its high production value and oddly claustrophobic world, we dive deep into what worked, what didn’t, and why the show left us emotionally cold despite a stellar Lee Jae Wook. Whether you loved it, hated it, or are just drama-curious, this is the post-watch discussion you di...

We checked out the recently air-dropped Chinese drama, “The Prisoner of Beauty“ 折腰. While we didn’t become prisoners of this beauty, we enjoyed many aspects. Here are our thoughts based on the 11 episodes we’ve watched as of this discussion.

(00:31) Introduction & Overview
(06:27) Sentiments after 11 episodes
(21:25) The main leads and other characters and actors that stand out
(33:15) Other stuff and wrap up

Disclaimer...

We can’t seem to get away from Liu Xueyi costume dramas lately, but that may not be a bad thing. This time, we check out the recently released Chinese xianxia drama “Love Never Fails,” which also features one of our new favorite actors, Ao Ruipeng. Although filmed four years ago, this old-fashioned story remains fresh and has entertained us so far with its lovable comedy and characters.

(00:31) Introduction & Overview
(08:41)...

We approached Chinese xianxia drama “A Moment But Forever” 念无双 with hesitation. The mediocre aesthetics in early episodes, the old-fashioned story, and older stars in a typically young idol genre were all causes for concern. However, we are so glad we stayed with this drama. It’s rewarding once you get past the initial tranche of episodes. Highly entertaining and highly rewatchable, don’t be deterred by its veneer and check this on...

Sometimes you just have to take a break from long Asian dramas to catch a short but memorable movie. This week, we do exactly that with the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck, which won Cher a best actress Oscar and also starred a young Nicolas Cage. It’s time to soak in the amore and charm all around! And if you haven’t watched this classic, why not do that right after listening to our thoughts on it?!

(00:31) Introduction & Overv...

On Juniper’s recent bender to watch the collected works of Chinese actor Ao Ruipeng 敖瑞鹏, she finally checked out “Wrong Carriage, Right Groom” 花轿喜事, the 2023 Chinese rom com fluff remake of a 2001 oldie. While the story is almost nonexistent, something delightful about the central lovebird pairs makes this drama worth checking out, at least under certain circumstances. Juniper got Elle to sample the show, and Elle agrees. If you’re...

We checked out a random collection of Chinese dramas this week as a way to pass the time. Juniper talks about her final thoughts upon finishing revenge drama The Glory 雁回时. Elle accidentally watched some episodes of an older drama called Star of Ocean 星辰大海. And we both discuss our initial impressions of the “middle-aged xianxia” fantasy A Moment But Forever 念无双..

(00:31) Introduction & Overview
(04:38) The Glory - Wrap Up & R...

We are checking out two vastly different and mostly harmless Chinese dramas at the moment - Ski Into Love 嘘，国王在冬眠 & The Glory 雁回时. Neither is high art, but we do manage to find some merit and entertainment value in each. Would we recommend you check either out? If you want easy fluffy romance, Ski Into Love may fit that bill. If you want crazy revenge shenanigans, then The Glory is a definitely maybe.

(00:31) Introduction
(01:58)...

In this pod, we discuss the much anticipated (by fans) Chinese Drama “The First Frost” 难哄. While Juniper checked it out first and put Elle on its path, we ended up with different sentiments about the show. Juniper didn’t finish, while Elle counts it as one of her top 5 recent favorites. How did we come away with such different reactions? Listen and find out.

(00:31) Introduction & overview
(03:36) What Elle loved and Juniper didn...

We like Tan Jianci and Li Landi. When we learned they would be starring together in the Chinese drama “Filter” 滤镜, we eagerly looked forward to it. Alas, imagine our disappointment when we finally saw this supposed comedy. Heck, you don’t have to imagine. Let us tell you all about our frustrations in this episode of our podcast!

(00:31) Introduction & overview
(06:28) Everything that irked us
(32:22) Our ratings and wrap-up

Discla...

What to watch when there aren’t any standout dramas? That was the question we grappled with recently. In this pod, we discuss 3 current Chinese costume dramas we checked out to see which would be worth our time. Surprisingly, the cheesiest romance, Everlasting Love, outshone the other two, Kill My Sins and Love of the Divine Tree. Listen as we share our thoughts about what worked and what didn’t across these stories.

(00:31) Introdu...

Juniper and Elle decided to check out earlier dramas starring Ao Ruipeng after enjoying his performance in Moonlight Mystique. As a result, we watched the romcom “Poisoned Love” 恋爱吧，食梦君!. While it looked silly on paper, the show was a delightfully sweet and fun ride, with endearing characters, a joyful romance, and hilarity throughout. Don’t miss out on this show if you haven’t already seen it! If you’ve already seen it, share your...