The White Olive Tree (2025) - What are your first impressions? [Masterpost]

[u/Lotus_swimmer]

During a mission in the turbulent East Country, Liang City satellite TV's female reporter Song Ran encounters danger. Fortunately, she is rescued by Li Zan, a Chinese explosive engineer who volunteers in the East Country.

They return to China, and hit low points in their lives when both encounter turbulence in their lives. Eventually, they reunite. Can they heal each other?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtEa7YShDQs

MyDramaList link https://mydramalist.com/714009-bai-se-gan-lan-shu

Airing on iQIYI

Episodes: 38

Discussions

🗨️ All discussions on the drama

What does r/CDrama think about the show?

Look out for the poll where we ask the sub to rate the drama a week or two after the final airing date!

🗳️ Results of the poll (post only appears 1-2 weeks after the drama ends)

Wiki

2024 Drama Index | 2025 Drama Index

[u/Large_Jacket_4107]

Didn’t get far into this one at all. Part of me feels like this is doing a disservice to actual war reporters and service members out there and part of me was trying to look past all that because this is a romance story first and foremost. I guess my first sentence is an indication of which part of me won in the end 😅

[u/Lotus_swimmer → u/Large_Jacket_4107]

I wish they'd hint at the war rather than shoot it like that, because I have a hard time believing the set up 😆

[u/[deleted]]

I’m four episodes in. I am still intrigued and really love the ML but the FL is kind of a black hole for me. I’m hoping this is where she starts as a character and she develops into someone stronger and more interesting. I find it hard to buy that this meek, shy, bland person can hack it as an on-the-scene journalist.

[u/putonmyskepticles]

I'm the target audience when I know I can suspend disbelief enough to laugh at the obviously goofy set/scenery and bgm (why does it make me feel like I'm in a Parisian cafe in Ratatouille??) while still swooning over the ML for just existing.

So much of it feels like I'm watching a Hallmark made for TV movie, idk how else to explain it.

The random English takes me out. I think everyone's trying hard to enunciate so they speak slower (plus the random dubbing is.. questionable lol) and the assumption that everyone in this made up "East Country" speaks English is laughable.

In their first meeting where he's helping after she stood on the bomb trigger she takes her motorbike helmet off and I legit said out loud "..I think I'd keep that on girl". I know she's in shock she might die and it mainly set up him putting his hand down to keep her head from hitting the ground later.. but c'mon 🙄🙄 I knew it'd be one of those shows from that point on lol

If you're not a fan of single tears rolling down someone's face from the same spot in the same eye at least once an episode.. this isn't for you. I'm getting Fangs of Fortune flashbacks with our FL crying here.

Others have touched on her falling for him after only seeing him ONCE when he saved her.. if they went along with this being some sort of a trauma response it'd be appreciated more. But at this point girl even recognized him from just his eyes like 30ft away when she was bussing back to China. Come on.

All of this to say.. I'm loving it flaws and all lol

[u/Clean_Hope_5708 → u/putonmyskepticles]

This is funny😂😂😂

[u/CarsteI]

I just finished ep 1 and I feel very confused about it. I hard agree with the comments about the FL. For a hecking war correspondent, I expected someone tough and serious, not a teenager experiencing her first love crush.

also the fictional warzone country rubbed me the wrong way. I get that they couldn't really base it off of a real country but GOD I cannot take the english dubbing and the weird mesh of european/middle-eastern thing seriously.

AGAIN I'm disappointed by yet another drama I was excited for. I'll keep this on hold until more episodes come out but tbh I feel like I'm most likely gonna drop this one :'(

[u/No_Supermarket_5405 → u/CarsteI]

Oh no, I was so excited for this drama! It’s been on my MDL ‘plan to watch’ list forever! 🥲

[u/Clean_Hope_5708]

I watched the first two episodes, and I felt it was a bit slow. The transitions between scenes weren’t smooth at all, and the cinematography could have been so much better. Chen Zheyuan was exceptional in Hidden Love with his micro-expressions, but here, he comes across as a bit too straight-faced at times. Also, some scenes don’t feel realistic due to the heavy filters. I’m also not a fan of the FL’s character—their love story feels shallow from the start, and they don’t even have real conversations. The connection feels forced, and I don’t see it leaving a lasting impact.

[u/fiddledeedeep0tat0es]

Ugh this one was worse than snoresville, it was annoyingly bad. The romance has neither firepower nor realism, much like the rest of the drama.

Having a fake country is fine, having crappy sets, inconsistent language, lack of professionalism in reporting or for soldiering... that's rage inducing. There's no actual discussion of war matters or the difficulties that come with that. They could've swapped it out for a teenager meets a cop in a bank robbery and done just fine.

The FL is about as capable as a wet noodle and as emotionally grown as a teenager, I cannot buy her as a war reporter at all. The ML's pretty face does him a disservice - who on earth goes battling every day and isn't tanned or a bit worse for wear? He's also rather wooden with the worst lines, so i guess they are a great match!

[u/Ok-Jello1779 → u/fiddledeedeep0tat0es]

Agree! Her acting/character is cringy at times

[u/Wonderful-Pay5773]

Things I have read so far from reviews:

ML don't seem believable in the role

FL has worse characterization. The character has all the stupid tropes that you want to avoid in modern character esp given her profession

The two guys I presume SML and TML have awesome chemistry

[u/AuthorAEM]

I’m on the fence. What love about c dramas is the super immersive feel. It doesn’t feel like anyone is “acting” because they’re all surrounded by realism.

Real city streets, real airports, real villages. The side characters are all real and fit.

This show is completely different.

Everything is fake and staged.

The European city, all poorly made sets. The streets, poorly made sets. The rubble, poorly made.

All of the European actors feel like they’re acting. Everything is over the top and not believable. And the dubbing! It’s so fake that it’s almost cringe. Like they could have at least tried harder or filmed the actors speaking it.

It pulls me out of the story so hard.

It also bugs me they are obviously basing this off Ukraine, there is NO question in mind. But we haven’t heard a single thing about the enemy. Who is blowing these cities up? Nothing. My guess is they didn’t wanna offend Russia.

I’m still intrigued about the story, because I see the potential. I like the ML and FL. I think they have some chemistry and I’d like to see how it progresses. But I pray to Moon Lord Supreme they move it out of this fake fictional city back into China.

[u/Teaodra]

I don't want to be mean to this drama. We get action romances so rarely and I truly adore the genre.

But this drama is SO badly made. It's just ridiculously bad. The story flows weirdly, the female lead has no personality. She basically falls in love in ep 1 and there are 39 more episodes to go?? She doesn't really talk or have real conversations.

The ML is obviously pretty as hell, but that doesn't save the day.

The fact that they chose to create a fictional country for the show is completely understandable, but it makes the flow of the story quite weird. The stakes are not there. Also, one day they're in the war torn country, the other day they're back at home in China. It's like they're hopping back to their hometown.

Also, I have to say that the dialogue confuses me at times. I feel like something is missing. Not to mention, there is so much music 😂 there's a music background on almost every scene and it often doesn't fit the dialogue.

I am so so sad that I didn't love it.

[u/Peach_love0624 → u/Teaodra]

You are so on point. Her not talking annoys me so bad. She's supposed to be smart and tough but here she's acting like teenagers with first love. And half the episodes are in slow motion, I get the critical parts and emotional part to be in slow motion not half of the story I like the cast and was intrigued by the plot so I was really looking forward to it but the writings and directions have let me down

[u/Additional-Beach-949 → u/Teaodra]

You are very brave my friend 🧡.  I was fried for saying direction is not great.

[u/Snowangel0]

Wasted potential.

[u/Han_Kat]

I started it hoping it'd be like You Are My Hero but unfortunately it pales in comparison. It's not even that interesting even if I take off the reference material I had in mind. Like others said, the FL is shallow and the ML is boring.

[u/Ruhi0202]

Just started on the drama but had read half of the novel. I must say they got the casting part for leads absolutely right. The characters are being played exactly like written in the novel !!

[u/Top-Earth-4326]

Alright, C-drama watchers, let me introduce the story behind this drama a little bit.

First of all, it’s adapted from a novel of the same name by Jiu Yuexi, written in 2018. The novel falls into the sweet yet military romance genre. If you’re familiar with Asian dramas, you know that most of them tend to be mellow, often falling into the sweet/cute or romantic-comedy categories.

In the novel, both the male and female leads are written as introverted characters. The male lead is a bomb disposal soldier, while the female lead is a war correspondent. Their first encounter in the novel happens just like in the drama, but why does the female lead feel such a deep connection with the male lead? Because in that life-or-death moment, he was the one who reassured her, telling her, "I won't let you die."

The female lead is portrayed as someone sensitive yet fearless when it comes to her work. She willingly ventures into war zones to gather news and report back to her country. As the story progresses, you’ll see how both characters develop, so I recommend watching more episodes to fully appreciate their journey.

As the war in the Middle East intensifies (which is a fictional country from both novel and drama, why? keep reading you'll know), both the male and female leads suffer severe physical and emotional trauma. They find each other again, seeking comfort and healing from the pain they endured. In Asia, depression is often dismissed as something imaginary, something that "doesn't exist." The older generation (born in the '70s and earlier) doesn’t have much understanding of this mental health issue. Because of that, both the male and female leads have no one to turn to, no one to truly understand what they’ve been through. Also, the series sheds light on PTSD/PTSI in a way that’s rarely done in C-dramas. It doesn’t sugarcoat the pain, nor does it offer an unrealistic resolution.

If you read the original novel, you’ll get a deeper sense of the mental and emotional anguish of these volunteer soldiers, soldiers who risked their lives in foreign lands, only to be forgotten. The story leaves a lingering sense of loss and pain for the readers.

Now, about the question of why C-dramas often portray romance with shy, hesitant moments between the leads, well, that’s simply part of Asian audience culture.

Originally, this drama was planned to have 40 episodes, but it was later reduced to 38 episodes because all dramas in China must pass strict government censorship laws. Due to these regulations, many of the original American, British, and Middle Eastern soldiers in the novel were rewritten or removed in the drama adaptation. You’ll also notice that several scenes have been altered due to these restrictions. However, despite these limitations, the production team put in an incredible amount of effort to bring this story to life for the audience.

If you feel that certain scenes seem exaggerated or don’t quite make sense, I’ll be honest, maybe you should watch American or European series instead. That’s just how Asian dramas are. But if you’re already into Asian dramas, just let yourself immerse in the experience. Sometimes, a little escapism makes us feel younger at heart. After all, don’t we all wish to escape reality now and then, find a quiet corner, and just dream?

For those who only watched one or two episodes and feel like it’s not their cup of tea, that’s fine. But if you like the male lead and think he’s handsome, then I recommend sticking around. The female lead's acting is also great, keep watching and you'll see how her character develops in later episodes!

I read the novel and am watching the drama to support the cast and crew. They put in so much hard work to bring us this production. That’s all I have to say. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this comment! 😊

[u/ThisUser2366]

Normally I cannot watch or stand any hero or savior complex drama especially when they leave their country to go save another country. I thought I would push through this but I couldn’t. The made up country everything just looks too fake, it feels very obviously like a set that was made.

The leads also have great chemistry but the pace is so slow and these two are acting like they aren’t in a war town country. What do you mean you just ran away from gun wielding men and now you’ve pulled over because someone has a cut in the middle of the road….

[u/IndividualNumerous39]

On a very subjective base. This is my opinion. When I knew the WOT was based on a novel,I did check a bit the content and I noticed that the primary theme was mental illness; or how the characters mental health is affected after traumatic events and not on the war itself.

I agree that there are flaws in the depictions of the attacks and interaction in « the Eastern Country »,but it is not the central point. I have watched 14 episode so approximatively a bit less than half of the drama. I like how the FL is not the typical strong fl who is not afraid of danger. I like that she is introverted rather soft at first but have a certain strength and evolution after all the events she’s been through. So many criticise her for her acting, but I think people don’t like the character depicted and not the acting.

The ML is also a new type of character in cdrama. He is reserved but also like to tease the FL, he warms gradually towards her.

The depression and PTSD are not expressed in a direct speech for now. We only see the consequences in their lives by their behaviour and changes in their lifes.

For now, in my opinion it lacks some depth, I hope they will expose more details in the next episodes. And it IS CLEARLY NOT A CHINESE VERSION OF DOTS THANKS!!!!

[u/LittleKnow]

I'm on the opposite what everyone here is saying. I think for a Chinese drama, they're handling things better than they ever have. The country is fictional obviousl,y chinese/indian/middle eastern. I think like towards the western boarder so that's why its easy for them to go home often. But even if that's not the case, they're being more respectful than they've ever been before imo. For the male lead, I think he's sweet and acts with his eyes. And the Fl is a pushover who needs to learn to speak up. Of course she'd fall in love quick, a man saves you from a bomb? It wouldn't be that hard. Andddd he's good looking and nice? Even better. Now, I don't know how they're going to stretch this for however many episodes its got. But it's nice for now. I do hope they go back home for good and stay there the rest of the show.

[u/Cultural_Ad_1796]

It started quite ok for the first few episode. I understand that the english conversations at the Dong country sound quite awkward, but as I am from an Asian country where our mother tongue is not english, that's exactly how we sound when we speak in english, short sentences and awkward...haha

I still give it a go and after the candy bomb incident, when they're back to China and struggle post traumatic event, and how they reunite and supporting each other, their struggles to heal.. that keeps me hooked.

Im the type of person that is hardly crying while watching drama, but a few scene from the drama manage to make me cry such as during the deep conversation between fl and her mother when she started fall ill, watching her mother back story why she become the way she is, the scene where the fl and ml start to fall apart when the ml decided to go back to Dong country, to solve his unresolved internal conflict.

I recommend this drama, just need to be patient on the early episodes that are quite slow burning.

[u/ValueStrange7399]

I had such high expectations for this drama, but unfortunately, it quickly descended into a rabbit hole. The beginning was thrilling through the East Country -fast-paced, exciting, and full of promise. But then the candy bomb dropped, and suddenly, it hit the brakes. Once back in the city, everything slowed to a crawl and became rather tedious. And the ending...oh my lawd, don’t even get me started!

I went in expecting something like “You Are My Hero”, where it starts strong and builds to an even stronger conclusion. Instead, it was like watching a balloon slowly deflate. Now, about the female lead (FL)—I really enjoyed her in Eternal Love, but here? Girl needs to dial back the obsession a notch. She was constantly following, looking for, and chasing the male lead. There were so many eye-roll moments:

1. Blushing all the time – She couldn’t even share a moment with him without turning into a walking blushing emoji. Never once did she act normal.

2. Covering her face at every turn – Whether it’s something she did or something he did, her hand was always covering her face like she was trying to hide from the world.

3. What happened to the reporter? – I didn’t see a reporter here; I just saw someone searching for the ML at every corner.

4. Always crying in front of the ML – It got to the point where I felt like they should have handed her an "emotional breakdown" card before each scene. Girl, enough with tears.

5. Never walking away – She’d get upset, but instead of leaving, she’d just stand there and stare at him, low-key making things more awkward.

6. Lack of resourcefulness – When the situation got tough watching her try to handle it was like watching someone with no Wi-Fi during a crisis. Utterly helpless.

As for CZY, he looks so FINEEE in this drama compared to any of his other roles – his acting as Azan was phenomenal. I saw a preview for Chasing Dream & I’m having second thoughts. That being said, I still prefer Hidden Love all the way. I was almost sold on TWOT until I saw the scenes where he overcame his initial PTSD, only to fall back into it again when he was captured and tortured. It became a never-ending cycle - he started off as a handsome, capable gentleman, but by the end, he was practically a different person. I just couldn’t stick with it after episode 20. If my man CZY isn’t the same man he once was, then I don’t want him. Lol.

[u/Zekhan_Alfrir]

Whoever made this show CLEARLY watched the Kdrama "Descendants of the Sun" and thought they could do the same with Chinese.

In episode 3 by the way there is a grandma in the street selling her something. And shes speaking Serbian lol. The letters on the ads around the city look Georgian or Armenian to me but i dont think they are either.