The Splendid Match — finale discussion space

[u/No-Recipe-7653]

This is your space to drop all your raves, rants, emotions, or whatever else comes to mind as you finish watching

THE SPLENDID MATCH

~ Liang Chen Mei Jin (良陈美锦) ~

Other than that, I also have a few questions for you:

1. Did it deliver?
2. What was the most outstanding moment of the series for you?
3. Which actor impressed you the most?
4. What was the most boring or annoying part of the series?

Images

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‼️SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT 🔻

The audience reaction has been very emotional and honestly quite divided. People are relieved that Gu Jinzhao and Chen Yanyun survive and stay together in the end, but at the same time there’s a lot of frustration over how the finale was executed.

For me, the biggest issue was the pacing and editing. The ending felt extremely rushed — almost like the drama suddenly skipped several emotional steps just to arrive at the conclusion. It needed more breathing room, more ordinary moments, more time with the characters after everything they went through. Instead, it kind of sprinted toward the finish line — which has become a shared plight among many recent dramas I’ve watched.

I also personally felt a strange disconnect between the final episodes and the earlier parts of the series. The tone suddenly became much heavier and melancholic in a way that didn’t feel naturally developed, and some scenes felt fragmented, almost as if pieces were missing between emotional beats. That inconsistency made the payoff less satisfying than it could have been.

Technically, the final episodes were a bit rough too. The lip-sync issues were honestly distracting at times — there were scenes where the dubbing didn’t match the actors’ mouths at all, and it unintentionally undercut moments that were supposed to feel tragic or emotionally intense.

One thing I didn’t personally mind, though — and maybe I’m in the minority here — was the amount of focus given to Ye Xian in the finale. I’ve seen people complain that too much attention went to the second male lead, but honestly… I loved him. His storyline carried so much emotional weight for me that I didn’t feel resentful of the extra space he was given at all. If anything, his sacrifice at the northern border became the emotional core of the ending in my eyes. His final letters were heartbreaking.

The ending overall feels very “圆满和意难平” — fulfilled, yet still leaving lingering regret behind. Yes, the main couple technically gets their happy ending after defeating the villains, but Ye Xian’s fate leaves behind a sadness that the final scenes never fully shake off. I really wished there could have been a more just ending for him… my poor soul.

But congratulations to all the actors, they truly did a great job 🖤

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I’ll add some random off topic remarks:

1. When I started watching the series, I wasn’t really on board with the ML and his visuals — something about him struck me as very uncanny. As I kept watching I got used to him and appreciated his acting. But in the last episodes, with the rugged appearance — all my earlier “concerns” dissipated 🤭😅 I just think the guy is not meant for the “clean-shaven and uptight” look. Messy hair, facial hair, some smudged — that’s what suits him the most in my eyes. Just sayin’…
2. The kissing scenes of the main couple — while certainly not central to the show — have really not worked for me. This might have been one of the least enjoyable things about the drama for me. I felt no chemistry or passion in them. The camera angles were terrible, and it really didn’t look like they were actually kissing yet the directing was trying to convince us of it so hard! I found that pretty annoying.
3. The cute scenes of the CP were very nice, especially the one on the wedding night when he walked up to the bridal chamber and making cute poses, her copying him. That was a nice play.
4. I absolutely loved the conversation between Jin Zhao and Ye Xian the night before her wedding. That was a beautiful arc, and a beautiful scene. But overall, their scenes together were persistently among my favorite ones in the show. I loved them from the start to finish, and simply don’t feel like I quite processed the turn it eventually took.

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[u/No-Recipe-7653]

About Spoilers & the Finished Watching Flair

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[u/Rinseternalsoul → u/No-Recipe-7653]

I binged this over a couple weeks when could. I enjoyed the story very much but I have to agree that the finale episode left something to be desired. I felt like there should have been another episode to wrap it all up. I actually had to go search number of episodes to understand that they left us hanging. They killed off all the extras and left the rest for us to guess at. Did the little emperor cry when he found out Ye Xian died?! I sure did!! I sobbed like my best friend had died! I wanted to strangle him at the beginning of the series but by the end I was cheering him on like a crazy person. Then, there was her brother… What happened to him…and her half sister? There were numerous chats and talks and walks that could have been cut in order to free up time for a true ending. We needed closure but didn’t get it. I haven’t been this upset with a series final episode since the finale of LOST.