The emotional depth was thin throughout, with some too-easy resolutions or quickly trusting between strangers, but the characters were enjoyable enough that I rated this an 8/10. Sometimes it is good to not be emotionally invested and to not be on an emotional roller-coaster throughout.
Zhen Heng's arc was most interesting. And I am now a fan of Huang Yi in her perfectly evil Princess Royal role. For about 60 seconds, she cross-dressed as a man. I want 40 episodes of THAT.
On episode 17 now and the plots are as fleshed out as paper dolls still.
But! I don't have to care too much. It isn't emotionally compelling. It stars Zhang Wan Yi and his permanent buddy Zhang Chi, and their presence is just enough so far, and the main storyline is hinted at to make me not give up yet.
Yet.
This Very Good Doggo with a spotted tongue like a past dog of mine does help with watching the #cdrama #SiJin
Attached: 1 image Legit my favourite character and actor in Si Jin right now. He's carrying the entire show on his little furry shoulders, I swear. I thought I'd like #SiJin right off the bat for Zhang Wanyi reasons, but alas, the first episode was a mess because the editing was a mess and the writers or director thought it wasn't necessary to establish our characters in the first episode. Instead, we were shown a cascade of events that made our heads spin. We weren't given any anchor to really care for the characters. I think if it was set up like Blossom, whose writers lovingly set up our characters in such a way that we're invested in their second lives, I would've been kinder. I'll give it a few more episodes...but I'm having trouble focusing lol #CDrama #CDramas #China #entertainment #dogs #SiJin
While I avoid forcing myself to finish the last six episodes of #DeepAffectionateEyes , I decided to start up the #cdrama #SiJin which stars Zhang Wan Yi who I loved in #AreYouTheOne and #LostYouForever , but so far it has the emotional depth of a tea cup with lazily brutal team-up-to-solve-murdered-women CSI: Miami type stories. 😒
Only 5/40 episodes in, so I'm hoping they add some more nuance and fewer corpses-in-wells plot drivers. I think they're trying to make it a comedy?
Si Jin (quick review)
Si Jin feels like it’s written by scriptwriters who decided to have a brainstorming session at a bar where they downed a dozen shots of Tequila Sunrise and wrote the script on the back of paper napkins.
On the way out of the bar, they bumped into each other, and their napkins fell into a heap. They then take ten more shots of vodka for liquid courage, and pieced the tattered pieces into what looks like a plot and hoped for the best.
Honestly, it’s one of those dramas that I’d just abandon half way out of sheer irritation, but for some reason I watched it to the bitter end.
Okay, let’s get to the basics:
The story
Jiang Si (Jing Tian), the fourth lady of Dongping Bo Mansion, is reborn after dying at the hands of her lover, Yu Jin (Zhang Wanyi). Determined to rewrite her fate, she breaks off the engagement that would ruin her life and set out to prevent the tragedy that will destroy her family.
Yet, fate has other ideas. Yu Jin, finds her and still seemed determined to be around her.
What I liked
Gorgeous production
The drama is visually stunning, with lavish costumes and sets that suggest a high production budget.
Zhang Wanyi is more charismatic than usual, or maybe for once he looked different from his other roles (the ponytail look is a highlight!). But, to be honest, compared to actors like Liu Xueyi, who has at least one amazing or innovative performance in every drama, I feel like Zhang Wanyi doesn’t stretch his acting muscles very much.
Da Huang! This lady “Chinese rural” dog star is just an adorable addition.
Some engaging side arcs
The subplot involving the curing the princess’ blindness and her romance with Minister Zheng was really sweet and had more chemistry than the main couple.
One villain’s ultimate send off was satisfying: Call me blood thirsty but I really enjoyed seeing them suffer lol.
The liberation of the sisters from their abusive husbands was satisfying to watch too.
What I didn’t like
Illogical plot twists and very, very weak writing
Characters act inconsistently or unrealistically for the time (e.g., Jiang Si insulting the Crown Prince with no consequences).
Major plot holes and nonsensical resolutions, like a dead body disappearing without explanation or Yu Qi ignoring Jiang Si’s suspicious actions. Who needs plots to make sense, amirite? As long as we have unexpected twists and turns of a short drama. That’s what the Tiktok generation wants, right?
The adaptation has simplified and dumbed-down the novel The drama either cut or softened many of the novel’s darker, more intricate political schemes, making the story feel shallow and almost cartoonish. For example, the emperor has been weakened from a cunning strategist to an inept ruler.
Lack of chemistry in the main romance
Compared to Jing Tian’s pairing with Xu Kai in Wonderland of Love, her dynamic with Zhang Wanyi feels less convincing. There were forced conflicts, and an unconvincing pathway to love.
Bad story structure
It’s a rebirth story. So you’d need to know how her previous life was like. For some inexplicable reason, the writers chose to only show a few seconds of her former life before she was reborn. Throughout the series, we are shown flashbacks of what happened, which resulted in disjointed storytelling.
Writer, it ain’t hard. For us viewers to be invested in the character’s story, we’d need to know how she suffered in her first life so that we’re invested in her second life! And you need to set that as a foundation right at the beggining.
Final Verdict: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Si Jin is beautiful but illogical. Its only redeeming qualities are the visuals, Zhang Wanyi’s performance and some interesting side stories, but it massively fails in logic, and the main romance, which lacked both chemistry and addictiveness.
I suppose If you can ignore plot holes and just enjoy the aesthetics, it’s watchable—but don’t expect anything beyond pretty brainless TV candy.
#15Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #JingTian #SiJin #TV #ZhangWanyi
To put it simply, Si Jin is a rebirth drama which made me wish we'd see the end of all rebirth dramas. It's not important to have a logical plot as long as everyone and everything looks pretty, we get a few traffic actors to star, and have the "OMG DID IT HAPPEN" plot twists like short dramas. Nothing else matters, amirite?
https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/si-jin-quick-review/
The plot may be whack but the costumes slay
Jill
Reineamie215
Drama Tea
Elizabeth Tai | 戴秀铃 🇲🇾
Drama China