This post includes a brief summary and a review of the 2025 Chinese drama “A Dream Within a Dream”. Beware of spoilers.
“A Dream Within a Dream” is a fantasy comedy directed by Guo Hu and penned by Ren Zhuang Liu. The series draws in a star-studded cast, including Li Yi Tong as “Song Xiao Yu”, Liu Yu Ning in the complex role of “Nan Heng”, and supporting actors like Zhu Xu Dan, Riley Wang, and Wang You Shuo.
Genre: fantasy, romance, comedy
Short Review: “A Dream Within a Dream” is an entertaining watch but could’ve been better had it had better actors. Also, the show fails to be memorable given its satirical nature using popular works from other creators.
“A Dream Within a Dream” tells the story of Song Xiao Yu, a struggling actress who gets transported into the very script she was hired to star in.
Note: The script is set in a period they call the “Jing Dynasty” with an emperor and everything.
In that alternative reality, Song Xiao Yu is Song Yi Meng, the daughter of Song Yude, the War Minister. At first, Song Xiao Yu is baffled by what just happened, but she adapts to it pretty quickly. In no time, she finds herself enjoying the finest luxuries in life as the daughter of a wealthy family.
Now, given a second chance. Song Yi Meng desperately tries to change her fate. According to the script, she will die a horrible death. And Song Yi Meng firmly believes that she’ll be able to dodge it if she avoids a certain character in the script: Nan Heng, the “villainous” male lead.
As the story progresses, Song Yi Meng finds out that it is nearly impossible to change the course of the script. The iconic scenes will happen either way, but how they can happen can be changed. Having said that, Song Yi Meng finds herself getting closer to Nan Heng despite trying to avoid him at all costs.
By the way, let’s not forget about Chu Gui Hong, who is the second male lead, the supposed “good guy”. In the very beginning, Song Yi Meng was determined to marry this man, but the script doesn’t allow her to do so, and there is a reason for it.
As Song Yi Meng navigates through the new script, she realizes that not everything is static. In a turn of events, she finds herself trying to change her horrible destiny with the help of the very man she thought she had to hate—Nan Heng.
“A Dream Within a Dream” uses the “story-within-a-story” format to roast the Chinese drama industry from the inside out.
The structure of the plot serves to highlight some of the typical problems found in the Chinese dramaland. Let’s start with “typecasting”. No matter how hard Song Xiao Yu tries to change the “tragic heroine” mold she always ends up in the same spot. It’s a vicious loop that illustrates how Chinese dramas tend to recycle familiar tropes and keep actors stuck in similar roles.
Then, there is the “scriptwriting chaos”. Song Xiao Yu’s struggles arise in the first place because of a poorly written script. The original story she read was already a hot mess, so whoever is going to pick that up and rewrite it is going to face similar struggles. That said, writers who don’t do their jobs properly can tank a whole project due to the lazy writing.
The “iconic scene” reenactments and endless resets highlight how the industry clings to formulas instead of originality. And the show unabashedly jokes about the creative stagnation.
Last but not least, China’s toxic fandom culture, which often involves deifying or demonizing a particular leading character. This was also reflected in the show in a very subtle manner. Nan Heng, who is supposed to be the root of all evil, is actually a victim of an almost irrational hate towards him.
If one takes a closer look at Nan Heng’s actions, he never did anything wrong. Nevertheless, people keep pointing fingers at him, twisting the truth… Basically blaming Nan Heng for everything bad that happens. And surprisingly and ironically enough, something similar happened to Liu Yuning in one of his previous dramas.
Note: I’m not going deep into this matter, because what happened was vicious and totally undeserved. Essentially, out of nowhere, Liu Yu Ning started receiving an irrational amount of hate for no apparent reason. The haters presented their reasons, but they weren’t reasonable explanations. It all sounded more like prejudice than anything else. Very similar to what happens to Nan Heng.
There are a lot of good things about the show.
“A Dream Within a Dream” has a couple of strong suits: an intriguing plot, humor, and appealing cinematography.
Although the plot was pretty wacky, it was interesting. As a viewer, I wanted to see what Song Xiao Yu or Song Yi Meng was going to do next to escape an iconic scene.
When it comes to humor, I believe it was well done: not too much, not too little. The show also gets very creative in this department, because humor is manifested in many forms: verbal, physical and even sounds.
Note: The funniest characters are actually supporting characters. I’m going to name two of my favourites in the show: Fu Gui (Wang Cheng Si) and Nan Rui (Chang Long). They really cracked me up. An honourable mention would be Shangguan He played by Riley Wang, whom I believe has made huge improvements and is actually mastering the art of screen presence.
Last but not least, the cinematography is very enjoyable. The visuals are great! From the detailed sets to the fluid fights, the show has a crisp and dynamic quality to it. The vibrant colour palette makes every frame pop with life, making it a real treat for the eyes. Also, the costumes are beautiful and lavish.
Although “A Dream Within a Dream” does many things right, the show is not flawless.
One of the main critiques that I have about the show is Li Yi Tong’s performance. I really wanted to root for Song Xiao Yu, but sometimes, she comes off a bit cringey and annoying. It was hard to empathize with the character. Now, I don’t believe it was entirely the script’s fault, but more how Li Yi Tong interpreted her.
Nowadays, it seems kind of hard to find a good antagonist in the Chinese drama landscape. Or maybe it’s just me, who hasn’t stumbled upon a show that has a good one… Anyhow, the main antagonist of “A Dream Within a Dream” is the “fake nice guy”—Chu Gui Hong.
Here is the thing: Chu Gui Hong is neither menacing nor magnetic. In my eyes, he is just a spoiled kid who never went through real hardship like Nan Heng did. And that is problematic, because that makes Chu Gui Hong unrelatable and forgettable. I believe most viewers will forget his existence as soon as he leaves the scene. Now, is this the actor’s fault or the script’s?
Another character that really bothered me was Song Yi Ting, played by Zhu Xu Dan. I just don’t get her. First of all, her infatuation with Shangguan He makes no sense. But before that, her obsession with Li Shi Liu didn’t make sense either. She spots a complete stranger in the middle of the night, can barely see his face and becomes instantly attracted to him? I don’t buy it.
Liu Yu Ning is not the best actor, but he is improving.
In my opinion, Liu Yu Ning is not the most naturally gifted actor, but he is the one who has shown the most improvement in the show.
Note: Liu Yu Ning is not predominantly known in China as an actor but as a singer. Personally, I’m kind of biased towards him, because I think this man has a beautiful voice. This was just a side note, for those who did not know. Now, let’s continue.
Surprisingly, Liu Yu Ning has a rare quality that not many actors have: a screen presence. Nan Heng is an intimidating character, and Liu Yu Ning was able to be that by exuding masculinity and assertiveness.
As the show progresses, Liu Yu Ning’s acting loosens up, which truly brought Nan Heng alive. His comedic timing is good, and his emotional scenes are believable. By the end of the drama, there was a part of me that was truly rooting for Nan Heng, and I believe that has a lot to do with Liu Yu Ning’s improved performance.
“A Dream Within a Dream” has a happy ending, but it’s ambiguous.
The ending of “A Dream Within a Dream” hints that there is some sort of multiverse. In this case, the world that Song Xiao Yu travels to is not “fake”, just another reality, instead of a script (as she originally thought). This theory is consistent with Nan Heng’s comment about Song Xiao Yu’s world. What if the reality that our leading actress knows is not the only real world but just one of many?
Note: The show doesn’t give definite answers regarding this matter. Therefore, it’s up to the viewers to decide what’s really going on.
Honestly, I found the ending of “A Dream Within a Dream” a bit unpolished and forced. Although I’m not the type of viewer who needs definitive answers, I have little patience for writers who try to appear smart by offering what they perceive as “complex” storytelling.
Final Thoughts
Overall, “A Dream Within a Dream” is a very noteworthy watch: it’s funny and visually stunning. However, because it’s a satire using iconic scenes from other popular shows, it fails to have something of its own. That’s why I believe viewers won’t be able to remember it for the following years to come. Nevertheless, viewers should give it a chance, at least for the intriguing plot.
Final Rating: 🍎 (Good)
