Winter Begonia

Just finished watching Winter Begonia and I gotta say, this drama has it ALL.

It's perfect in every way, visually stunning, soundtracks and OSTs are beautiful...the Plot is SO Beautifully laid out. It has everything: Comedy, Drama, Tragedy, Bromance, True Love, Cheesy romantic lines, everything. The characters are all SO on point, there is not a single moment I fast forwarded. The leads Yin Zheng and Huang Xiaoming have given such breathtaking and refreshing performances, it made me wish this drama was longer than 49 episodes. I am generally a little wary of Cdramas set in the Early 90s...But this show really focuses on Lives of Opera artists as well as the relationship between rich Businessman Cheng Feng Tai & Opera Artist Shang Xi Rui!

In my opinion, Winter Begonia really pushed boundaries and low-key crossed the thin line that separates BL from Bromance to the point where it shocks you how this even passed censorship! PS; I've always found Peking Opera fascinating because of their make-up and costumes but this show made me really appreciate the music and singing...Turns out, the only thing one needs to respect and appreciate Peking Opera was English Subtitles :P

This series are a pleasure to watch,fantastic acting,historically accurate,beautiful photography and a beautiful story avout friendship,a must see!

WB has a strong scenario. Two lead actors were great. Showing pure and sincere friendship and loyality between the two different types of men made me cry.

Winter begonia "I'll probably drop this series after a few episodes." That was what I thought after watching the trailer for "Winter Begonia," a C-drama set in the Republic era with Beijing opera as its central theme. For someone who's not a fan of Chinese opera, I wasn't sure I could sit through 48 episodes of incomprehensible singing/screeching. I also had serious doubts it could stand up to the 1990's movie classic, "Farewell My Concubine," directed by Chen Kaige.

So...I'm now on episode 38. It is simply beautiful. The rich details in costumes, set design, and cinematography made "Winter begonia" truly a visual feast. I love how opera subtitles shimmered beautifully on the side of the screen and enabled audiences to dive into each poetic tale as it unfolds on stage. Thanks to this series, I now have better understanding and appreciation of Beijing operas.

"Winter Begonia" is an impressive TV adaptation by screen writer Shui Ru Tian Er, who's also the author of the original IP novel. The rich storyline and solid plot development made every episode gripping. It's truly hard to not binge watch this series after the first hour.

Andrew Yin, the lead actor, delivered a wonderful performance as the socially awkward opera genius. Although homely in traditional street attire, his stunning transformation into a breathtaking Beijing opera diva was nothing short of miraculous. Huang Xiao Ming played the dashing westernized business tycoon opposite of Andrew Yin. The two contrasting characters generated many comical moments in the otherwise serious historic drama. I also give "Winter Begonia" an A+ on character development of its supporting roles. They were relatable and well fleshed out with intriguing backstories.

Overall, the first quarter of 2020 had been unusual in C-drama land; when TV studios decided to release a ton of stock piled series all at once while viewers are under house arrest during the pandemic. There're just so many shows to pick and chose. Nevertheless, I highly recommend "Winter Begonia." It's timeless and a rare gem among the overwhelming influx of quality c-dramas.

Recently, I finished to watch this drama. Since then, I have checked reviews on the Internet, on various sns, and begun to watch other works of main leads. Now, I try to read the original novel with the help of Google Translator. Yes, I'm totally obsessed with this drama! FYI, you can watch Winter Begonia on YouTube, Viki as well as IQiYi International.

I cannot stop praising this drama for its beautiful cinematography, its intriguing but quite straightforward (viewer friendly!) storyline! The acting is simply top notch! The original story is written as a BL novel (Slash novel), but we don't see any obvious physical contacts between two male leads in the drama due to the censorship in China. Still I assure you, that the chemistry between two main leads is very strong and in the end, you feel that you just watched the epic love story of two in the turbulent era in Chinese History.

It is also a very good guide of the Beijing Opera and this Entertainment industry at that time. I, who don't have any prior knowledge about Beijing Opera, really enjoyed to watch some practicing scenes, backstage scenes as well as the interiors of the traditional Beijing Opera theatre. As for the opera itself, almost always opera scenes and its arias entwined with some plot lines or reflected characters' feelings. That said, even if you don't have any previous knowledge, you can still understand their emotional attachment to the opera. Really beautifully done! The drama also shows this closed knitted Beijing Opera Society: its hierarchical system, the overall very severe condition of its trainees with their slave like contracts, their daily rituals, habitats etc.

At the same time, a huge transition from the last empire to the republican era is also depicted through the lens of this entertainment industry. Especially the disparity between old and new generation / the way of thinking is vividly portrayed in various dramas in that Beijing Opera community.

The drama itself is not that deadly serious though! There are tone of comedic scenes. The rhythm of the whole drama is very constant and I've never skipped and fast-forwarded any scenes!

It's not a depressing republican era drama, rather a beautiful historical romantic story. I strongly recommend you to check this drama. You will not be disappointed.