Pursuit of Jade had me hooked from the start. Phew, this cdrama certainly did not mess around. No pesky exposition here - we meet our FL, Fan Chang Yu (Tian Xi Wei) and our ML, Xie Zheng (Zhang Ling He) within minutes and, immediately, each character feels incredibly compelling and, my goodness, everyone and everything is shot so beautifully.
And breathe.
Cdramas are so good at creating impressive, competent FLs and Fan Chang Yu is a particularly entertaining character. She is incredibly strong (inside and out), self-reliant and devoted to those she loves. She is also human and, as such, flawed and vulnerable. She joins the ranks of such iconic characters as Wang Chu Ran from Are You The One, Qiao Man from The Prisoner of Beauty and He Yan from Legend of the Female General.
While Fan Chang Yu is pretty straight forward, Xie Zheng is more of a mystery. Traumatised by his past, he remains reserved until his emotions begin to emerge thanks to his love for Fan Chang Yu... sigh. Zhang Ling He plays this role with beautiful subtly. It comes as no surprise that pretty much the whole of cdramaland fell in love with his character (those feathers, that welding scene…).
After a gripping start, the following episodes of Pursuit of Jade introduced us to Lin’an village and its inhabitants - many of whom become important to the story. The drama spends quite a lot of time here. Too long for some watchers, but I loved these scenes (with some reservations about certain visual / practical effects).
Spending time in the village allowed the drama’s central relationship time to develop (definitely one for fans of forced proximity / fake marriage tropes) and I grew to care about the villagers. This ensured that the stakes were high and the character motivations authentic when the drama moves into its second act.
Throughout the drama, I appreciated the way Xie Zheng grew to appreciate Fan Chang Yu’s strength and agency. He has a strong desire to protect her and, as the show progresses, learns how to support her without engaging “rescue mode”. In this way, the couple become equals.
The middle portion of Pursuit of Jade has many flashes of brilliance. There are gripping action sequences, intriguing reveals and the show also manages its competing storylines well. This is not a drama where you are only seated for the main couple. I was invested in many of the sub plots and particularly loved Fan Chang Yu’s devoted scoobie gang. The drama also has a number of compelling (and problematic) villains. For me, Yu Qian Qian and Qi Min’s journey almost overshadowed that of the FL and ML.
Sadly, the pacing of the final act of Pursuit of Jade faltered somewhat. There was both too much (power plays and palace manoeuvrings) and too little (FL and ML and other relationship related payoff). The ending ultimately felt rushed and a little frustrating. I would have sacrificed the final sequences for more time with the supporting cast and would have adored some cute concluding scenes with the core characters.
These pesky points aside, I enjoyed Pursuit of Jade. It was a joy to watch as each new episode was released and is worthy of your time.
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