The wait is finally over. Overdo has officially premiered on iQIYI before making its way to Viki, bringing together one of Chinese drama’s most anticipated pairings in Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan.
After winning over romance fans as the unforgettable Marquis of Wu’an in Pursuit of Jade, expectations couldn’t be much higher. Social media has spent months counting down to this release, and naturally many viewers are pressing play hoping to experience that same magic all over again.
My advice?
Don’t.
After months of anticipation, Overdo (这一秒过火), also known by its original novel title If I Hadn’t Met You at This Moment, has finally arrived, bringing together two of Chinese drama’s biggest stars in Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan. The 33-episode Republican-era romance is now streaming on iQIYI and is also available on Viki, giving international audiences the chance to dive into one of the year’s most talked-about new C-dramas. The series is directed by Yi Jun and is adapted from the novel Ru Guo Zhe Yi Miao, Wo Mei Yu Jian Ni (如果这一秒，我没遇见你) by bestselling romance author Fei Wo Si Cun.
Yet, after just five episodes, the conversation surrounding Overdo isn’t quite what many fans expected.
Instead of universal praise, social media has been filled with mixed reactions. Some viewers have criticised the CGI and visual effects, while others feel the opening episodes don’t immediately live up to the enormous expectations built during the months leading up to release.
And honestly?
I think people might be judging this drama a little too quickly.
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What is Overdo about?
Set during Republican-era Shanghai, Overdo follows Murong Qingyi (Zhang Linghe), a man whose life is shaped by betrayal almost from birth after being switched as a baby and suffering years of abuse within his adoptive family.
His life changes when he meets Ren Susu (Wang Churan), but their first encounter ends in tragedy for her family.
Years later, the pair reunite, fall in love, and then lose each other all over again after Ren Susu is forced to fake her own death.
When she finally returns three years later, she does so under impossible circumstances…
She’s now engaged to become Murong Qingyi’s future sister-in-law. (Didn’t see that one coming did you!?)
From that moment onwards, love, resentment, unanswered questions and painful misunderstandings collide as both characters try to navigate a past neither has truly escaped. As the political situation around them deteriorates, their personal story becomes tangled with much larger events unfolding across the country.
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Leave Marquis of Wu’an behind
This might be the hardest thing for fans to hear.
If you’re pressing play expecting another Marquis of Wu’an, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment.
Zhang Linghe’s performance in Pursuit of Jade became one of those rare characters that stays with you long after the credits roll. Naturally, many of us hoped his next romance would recreate that exact feeling.
But Overdo isn’t trying to be Pursuit of Jade.
Nor should it.
Murong Qingyi is a completely different character living in a completely different world with different emotional scars, different motivations and a very different journey ahead.
The sooner you stop comparing every scene to Pursuit of Jade, the easier it becomes to appreciate what Overdo is actually trying to build – trust me because I too almost fell into this trap!
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Don’t let the CGI distract you from the story
I’ve seen plenty of criticism aimed at the visual effects during the opening episodes.
Some of it is fair.
But I also think it’s becoming the easiest thing to focus on while missing what’s quietly happening underneath.
Because beneath the spectacle is a story that’s asking much bigger questions.
Why do these two people hate each other so much?
What really happened between them?
Who is telling the truth?
And perhaps more importantly…
Who’s lying?
Those questions are far more interesting to me than whether every CGI shot lands perfectly.
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Give it until Episode 3
If there’s one piece of advice I’d give anyone who’s thinking about dropping Overdo after an episode or two, it’s this:
Keep watching.
The opening episodes spend a lot of time establishing the world, the relationships and the emotional baggage these characters are carrying.
That slower approach won’t work for everyone.
But around Episode 3, the story begins finding its rhythm.
The pace noticeably improves.
The mystery starts expanding.
And suddenly you realise this isn’t simply another historical romance.
It’s becoming a puzzle.
Every answer seems to reveal another question.
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The mystery is what has me hooked
For me, this isn’t just a romance.
It’s a mystery waiting to be unravelled.
Every episode feels like peeling back another layer, revealing another piece of a much bigger picture.
At the very top of my list is one simple question:
What actually happened between Murong Qingyi and Ren Susu?
Because clearly, we’re only seeing fragments of the truth.
Both characters are carrying enormous emotional wounds.
Both believe they’ve been wronged.
Both are hiding something.
And until those missing pieces fall into place, it’s impossible to fully judge either of them.
That’s exactly what’s keeping me coming back.
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Sometimes the best romances have to hurt first
If there’s one thing romance fans know, it’s this:
The happiest reunions usually come after the hardest separations.
We’re going to have arguments.
Misunderstandings.
Heartbreak.
Painful choices.
Probably a few moments where we want to scream at our screens.
But that’s often what makes the eventual payoff so satisfying.
If Murong Qingyi and Ren Susu are ever going to earn their happy ending, I don’t want it handed to them in Episode 5.
I want them to fight for it.
Because when we’ve travelled through every misunderstanding and every heartbreak alongside them, the reunion means so much more.
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My first impressions after five episodes
Is Overdo perfect?
No.
Has it immediately become my favourite Zhang Linghe drama?
Not yet.
But I also don’t think we’ve seen enough to make that judgement.
Five episodes into a 33-episode story is barely the beginning.
There are still countless secrets to uncover, relationships to explore and emotional wounds waiting to be explained.
Personally, I’m not ready to write this one off.
In fact…
I’m more curious than ever.
Because I have a feeling the drama everyone thinks they’re watching right now won’t be the same drama we’re talking about twenty episodes from now.
And I’ll be right here, peeling back every single layer to find out, so stick around because I have a hunch things are about to get even more interesting…
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Final verdict (so far)
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5 — First Impression)
Overdo isn’t the instant blockbuster many fans expected—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t building toward something special. Give the story time to breathe, leave your Pursuit of Jade expectations at the door, and let Zhang Linghe and Wang Churan tell a new love story on its own terms.
If the first five episodes are laying the foundation for everything still to come, this could end up being one of the year’s most rewarding slow-burn romances.
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