After taking the top spot on iQIYI’s 2022 Most Popular Drama Ranking with Love between Fairy and Devil, Dylan Wang returns with yet another masterpiece, period drama Unchained Love, as he is once again undefeated as Unchained Love champs as the most anticipated drama with over 3.5 million reserves already made before the show premiered on 27 December. On the day of its release, Unchained Love exceeded 6000 on the popularity index!
The Unchained Love cast members started a livestream as the show premiered. Second male lead, Peter Ho promises to do a one arm push up when it exceeds 9000 in popularity, female lead, Yukee Chen vows to cook Sichuan Spicy Chicken when the popularity index hits 9500 while Dylan Wang agrees to take on the challenge of washing his hair while doing a handstand if it were to pass the ten thousand mark, leaving the whole crew in fits of laughter as they question how he was going to do that.
Partnering up with Yukee Chen from See You Again, Dylan Wang stars as the imperial eunuch, Xiao Duo who holds immense power. After saving Bu Yinlou, one of the late emperor’s concubines who was supposed to be sacrificed, they embarked on a complex relationship.
In the first episode, Xiao Duo helped Bu Yinlou comb her hair out of courtesy and even adjusted her attire for her. He then held her chin and helped apply medication on her neck. The smoothness and ease in his actions left fans screaming in excitement over how well versed Dylan Wang is in flirting. “The emotions in his eyes were so well planned, it can bring about the emotions of the audience with him,” are just some of the compliments left by fans who were in awe of this bossy action with a tinge of threat in it.
Zeng Li who stars as Empress Rong An, has her eyes laid on Xiao Duo’s beauty. She is merciless in her actions such as laughing wholeheartedly after killing a whole lot of other concubines.
She voluntarily asked for Xiao Duo to help her brush her hair and even took the chance to fondle with his hands, using the excuse of the cold weather to ask him to help her warm her hands. Xiao Duo, on the other hand, also takes advantage of her interest in him but when the two turned their backs on each other, they exposed each other in an attempt to rise in power. The intensity in the aura the two portrayed in their scenes together, with a cruel female persona and an overbearing male character, left many trembling in their seats as they anticipate what is to come.
Peter Ho holds a rather prominent role as King Fu. Withholding a crush for Bu Yinlou, he was in actual fact the reason why Xiao Duo went ahead to save her from being sacrificed. King Fu is a natural coward who in some way managed to become the emperor. Netizens only had compliments for his acting skills as he vividly portrayed this incompetent yet scheming role.
Unchained Love tells of the story of Bu Yinlou who was supposed to be sacrificed alongside the late emperor. In an unexpected twist of events, she was saved by the highly powered imperial eunuch Xiao Duo and placed in his house. Through such frequent interactions, the two developed feelings for each other but were obstructed by both their identities and could only sweep their feelings under the rug. The two support each other and overcome the numerous life and death obstacles in an attempt to rise against fate and feudal ethics.
Unchained Love is currently streaming on iQIYI (www.iq.com & app).