Drama Review: Scent of Time

Scent of Time (为有暗香来)

Main Cast & Synopsis

“Scent of Time” is a historical romance drama based on Qi Yue Zhi’s novel. The story revolves around Hua Qian, a scheming woman who fell to her demise along with her family. She was given a second chance at life and wakes up on her wedding day with Zhong Ye Lan, the man she tricked into marrying her. To make up for her mistakes of tricking Zhong Ye Lan and stealing Mu Yao’s identity as Zhong Ye Lan’s childhood crush, Hua Qian tries to get the two of them together and prevent the same events from her past life from happening again. As she continues her journey to redemption and saving her family, Hua Qian gains the attention of Zhong Xi Wu and Hua Rong Zhou.

Zhou Ye, known for her roles in “Word of Honor” and “Back From the Brink,” portrays Hua Qian, the Hua family’s only daughter who was originally known for being spoiled and scheming to get what she wants. Experiencing the consequences of exile and losing her family in her original life, Hua Qian faces her dead mother and brother with pain and regret. Hua Qian wakes up on her wedding night and realizes that she has a chance to redo her life and tries her best to make amends for what has been done and change the future course of events.

Wang Xing Yue, known for his roles in “One and Only” and “First Love,” portrays Zhong Xi Wu, the lord of the Zhong family who is skilled in making incense medicine. Zhong Ye Lan is Zhong Xi Wu’s senior, and in the original timeline, both fell in love with Mu Yao. However, in this life, Zhong Xi Wu’s attention is turned toward Hua Qian, where he shows his overbearing affections to keep her by his side.

Zhang Yi Jie, known for his roles in “King Is Not Easy” and “Cute Bad Guy,” portrays Hua Rong Zhou, a street beggar who worked his way into Zhong Ye Lan’s manor to become Hua Qian’s guard. He has strong affections for his mistress, Hua Qian, continuously putting his life on the line to save her and prioritizing her above all else.

Peng Chu Yue, known for his roles in “Love O’Clock” and “Nice to Meet You,” portrays Zhong Ye Lan, the man whom Hua Qian fell in love with as a child and schemed her way into becoming his wife. Zhong Ye Lan is a quiet and responsible man, who, although does not love Hua Qian, is willing to marry her after she tricked him into thinking that they had slept together. However, his affection for Mu Yao pulls him away from Hua Qian.

Zhao Qing, known for her roles in “Palace: Devious Women” and “Don’t Mess With EX-Girlfriend,” portrays Mu Yao, a girl whose family is wrongly accused by the Hua family and is trying to find proof to clear her family’s name. This leads Mu Yao to become a maid in Zhong Ye Lan’s manor, staying close to the man she has affection for and to Hua Qian, the woman whom she thought was her friend.

Character Breakdown

Questions and Answers of “Scent of Time”

heavy spoilers ahead

How many couples are there in “Scent of Time”?

There are three couples in ‘Scent of Time.’ Although Zhou Yue and Wang Xing Yue are the leads, they never had romantic scenes throughout the show. Zhong Xi Wu has always loved Hua Qian but never tried to keep her by his side. After Hua Qian leaves, Zhong Ye Lan tries to pursue her, but their relationship never takes off because Hua Qian doesn’t want to stay in the Zhong manor and dislikes how overbearing Zhong Xi Wu is. At the end, their relationship is implied when Hua Qian wakes up and calls his name.

The second couple is Zhong Ye Lan and Mu Yao. In both lifetimes, Zhong Ye Lan and Mu Yao have strong feelings for each other.

The third couple is Nan Feng, Zhong Ye Lan’s guard, and Qian Zhi, Hua Qian’s attendant. Their romance was only in the dream world and never happened in reality.

Are there any second male or female leads in “Scent of Time”?

As the female lead, Hua Qian’s second ‘love interest’ is Hua Rong Zhou, her guard. Drawn to Hua Qian’s carriage and saved by her several times in the dream world, Hua Rong Zhou eventually works his way to become her guard. Hua Rong Zhou is dedicated to serving Hua Qian even though he makes his feelings known to her. However, Hua Rong Zhou doesn’t truly exist in the real world. He is revealed in episode 30 to be a person who Hua Qian created in the dream world because she yearned for someone to love and fight for her.

Zhong Xi Wu’s pursuer is Meng Yi Fei, a woman brought into the Zhong manor to become a candidate as Zhong Xi Wu’s wife.

What’s the ending of “Scent of Time”?

Episode 27: The Eldest Princess orders Hua Qian to drink the poisonous wine in exchange for her family’s safety. After the agreement, Hua Qian drinks the wine, and the building is set on fire. Qi Ru Xin takes the blame for harming Meng Yi Fei in place of Hua Qian and is “kicked” out of the Zhong Manor. She finds Jin Lin, and the two are able to reunite.

Episode 28: Six months have passed since Hua Qian “died” in the fire. Qian Zhi stops Hua Rong Zhou on the road and tells him to move on. But Qian Zhi herself is unwilling to believe that Hua Qian is dead and manages the shop that Hua Qian left for her without leaving. Instead Hua Rong Zhou tells Qian Zhi that Hua Qian prepared everything for her to be free from Hua Qian and she would be sad to see her stuck in denial. Qian Zhi finally decides to stop ignoring Nan Feng, who is patiently waiting for her. Meng Yi Fei is kicked out of the Zhong manor and her little sister takes her place.

Episode 29: After defeating Lin Jiang and Chen Yuan, Zhong Xi Wu gives Hua Rong Zhou the information about where Hua Qian is hiding and calls his spy, Yun Niang, back. Hua Qian and Hua Rong Zhou live a quiet life until Zhong Xi Wu finally shows up to tell Hua Qian that her parents are still alive. Grateful to Zhong Xi Wu, she makes him tang bing (汤饼), and Zhong Xi Wu leaves happy.

Episode 30: Hua Qian wakes up confused. Unbeknownst to her, she has been in a coma for two years. Zhong Ye Lan and Mu Yao visit, where Mu Yao tells Hua Qian the truth: what Hua Qian thought was a second chance at life was just a dream. Angry that she wasn’t able to save her family, Hua Qian falls back into a coma and is unwilling to wake up. Hearing Zhong Ye Lan and Mu Yao’s words of forgiveness and Zhong Xi Wu’s affirmation in the real world, Hua Qian bids farewell to Hua Rong Zhou, an identity she made up in her dream, and wakes up back to reality.

Drama Review: Scent of Time

★★★☆☆ Rating: 3.5/5

Scent of Time was challenging for me to fully enjoy. I felt like a lot was happening in the plot, making it entertaining to watch, but nothing significant was transpiring. What intrigued me was the fact that we knew Hua Qian never truly time-traveled from the beginning. Yet, throughout the entire show, they focused heavily on Hua Qian’s ability to change the course of her past without her character evolving. There wasn’t enough time dedicated to exploring themes such as being unable to change the future, dealing with regrets, coping with lost loved ones, or experiencing unrequited love for each character, especially Hua Qian, who always had the upper hand. Most of her ‘lessons learned’ only surfaced in episode 30 when she realizes it was all just a dream. Without witnessing her character development, I found myself questioning the plot of the drama. What was the significant takeaway from Hua Qian’s dream that we watched for 30 episodes? What did she learn? What did she gain? Nothing substantial except accepting the present for what it is and understanding that while the past can’t be changed, it’s never too late to shape your future.

The most we see from Hua Qian changing is how she treats everyone equally and fairly when she had her “second chance” at life. She’s more rational in her approach to situations and knows what’s right and wrong. However, Hua Qian never tried to correct what’s morally right, which she found was the cause of her brother’s issue with Mu Yao. Nor were her attempts to correct her wrongs always right, such as pushing Zhong Ye Lan and Mu Yao together. In fact, the most Hua Qian did was try to stop her father from committing more mistakes and retiring. She knew that what the Hua family did was wrong, but they never owned up to those mistakes or truly tried to fix them. That is why, in the dream world, the Hua family was still reprimanded for their actions.

However, does that make Hua Qian’s past actions wrong if she never acknowledged her mistakes in reality? Maybe that’s why she didn’t allow herself to wake up until Mu Yao forgave her. Then there’s the whole issue of Wu Shuo Mo and his involvement in the downfall of the Mu family, along with the drama involving the other butlers. Does the story in the dream world still hold true, or is it false in reality? There were so many unexplored aspects that could have added depth to the story and provided a more conclusive ending. While the focus remained on Hua Qian’s story, it lacked the depth needed for viewers to connect with her or root for her. Despite not witnessing Hua Qian’s gradual growth, an aspect I was anticipating throughout the show, the other intriguing element was Hua Rong Zhou’s loyalty.

As mentioned earlier, it was revealed in episode 30 that Hua Rong Zhou never existed in reality. Hua Qian created a character in the dream world, someone who would love and fight for her – that character was Hua Rong Zhou. This explained why Hua Rong Zhou was always loyal, protective, and unwavering in his support. The concept of Hua Rong Zhou made sense in her dream, evoking sadness because Hua Qian never experienced genuine love from others in her life, even though it didn’t mean that no one loved her. She simply longed for someone to fight for her that fervently, and Hua Rong Zhou embodied that desire. However, in this context, it raised the question: was Hua Rong Zhou’s affection towards Hua Qian romantic, or was it simply a display of strong loyalty within a master-servant relationship? It seemed as though Hua Qian desired to love herself that intensely.

The acting from the two leads was mediocre. I believe there was room for them to invest more emotionally and engage the audience better. Based on what I’ve seen from Wang Xing Yue and Zhou Yue, they have potential, but there’s room for improvement. Wang Xing Yue portrayed yet another male lead who came across as overbearing and obsessive in his character’s approach towards the female lead, and that’s not a likable trait in my opinion. Despite this, I enjoyed following this drama, often finding time to watch it during my short breaks in the morning or afternoon. I just wished there was more depth to the drama that could have made it memorable.

What I enjoyed about this drama was that many of the characters fell into a grey area between being ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ They weren’t portrayed in the typical hero or heroine fashion, always doing good and making the right decisions. Instead, they made choices and took actions that I might not agree with, but I wouldn’t hate them for it either.

In the romance department of ‘Scent of Time,’ there was a lack of sweet and fluttery romance in all three relationships. However, I appreciated observing the relationships and bonds that Hua Qian created in the dream world as a way to cope with what she had lost in reality.

Therefore, with conflicting feelings, the rating for this drama is lower than what I would have preferred. While I enjoyed the concept of the story, there isn’t anything within it that will make me remember much of it when I reflect on the drama.

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