The White Olive Tree Chinese Drama: Our Review and Ending Explanation

Finished watching the Chinese military romance drama, The White Olive Tree, in four days! I cannot wait to know the ending, so I did a watch marathon 😄 and what a story! What a drama! I cried almost every episode, but the last four episodes were all tears for me that I thought I deliberately broke my heart lol! 

By the way, you can watch it on iQiyi, if you're not a VIP member, you can watch it for free on Kisskh site.

I have not cried watching a drama in a long time, I could not even remember when was the last time I cried or what was the last drama I watched that made me cry, not even in real life, I have not cried since the death of my university boss in 2013. But The White Olive Tree forced me to let all the hard emotions out and I was sobbing hard haha!

You might think it was a sad ending because I cried a lot, but no, it was not literally a sad ending. It was more poignant than sad in the real essence of the word. Remember that this is a serious drama, not just romance, the story is set in the flames of war, and the love of Li Zan and Song Ran was born in the war zone, the essence of the drama is not about their romance and lovey-dovey moments, but it's about coping up after the loss, it's about how it feels like living in a war-torn country, fighting for freedom, saving lives, handling traumatic experiences, so naturally there are deaths and heartaches. 

Song Ran, played by Liang Jie, and Li Zan played by Chen Zheyuan

So, asking if this is a good drama to watch. Yes! You will learn a lot from this drama, from handling personal struggles to appreciating the peace you have now in your area free from war and tension. You will appreciate your freedom more. The drama showcases awareness about conflicts, chaos, and insurgencies, and how wars shattered lives and the future of the children. And how the traumatic experience of working on the front line under enemies' fire destroys life.

The drama raises awareness of the ugly effects of wars and territorial tensions, facing trauma, and how to handle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a serious mental health issue. It also showcases how the support of a loved one can help people with PTSD get on with life. But before giving my review of the drama and the explanation of the ending, here's the plot summary first:

Warning: There are spoilers!

Plot Summary:

The White Olive Tree tells the story of the romance between Li Zan (played by Chen Zheyuan) and Song Ran (played by Liang Jie). They met when they both traveled to an Eastern Country torn by conflicts. Li Zan is a volunteer explosive engineer and served as the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Specialist of the local army while Song Ran is a war correspondent sent by a television network in China to cover the news. Their first encounter was when Song Ran stepped on the land mine and Li Zan rushed to help her.

Chen Zheyuan and Liang Jie

Their romance bloomed amid the conflicts, however, a blasting incident that cost the life of Li Zan's friend, Captain Jiang Lin (played by Wang Zhoucheng) changed everything. He could not get over the guilt that he was the cause of Jiang Lin's death. That's when he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Meanwhile, Song Ran also suffered depression due to the incident. 

Li Zan and Song Ran supported each other to overcome the "illness" and walked through life together toward healing. However, they both decided to return to the Eastern Country to do volunteering jobs, to help rebuild the community, and see their old friends, Benjamin (played by Wang Tianchen), a former mercenary now serving in the special forces fighting to liberate the country, Sa Xin (played by Gu Zicheng), an intern journalist who later volunteered in the special forces after the death of his mother, and Dr. Pei Xiaoran (played by Liu Longxi).

As the conflicts dragged on, they became close to the community, helping locals rebuild their lives. As Benjamin and Sa Xin fought in the front line, Li Zan and Song Ran helped Shen Bei (played by Zheng Yingchen) build an orphanage for the displaced children. But a hostage crisis in the orphanage almost cost Li Zan and Song Ran's lives. As they wheeled back to China, they knew life would never be the same again. 

Wang Tianchen who played Benjamin and Gu Zicheng who played Sa Xin

Our Review:

The theme of this drama is very timely because some parts of the world are currently suffering from wars and so many lives are torn apart because of the conflicts. The shattered dreams, the bleak future, the destruction of lives and the community. This drama shows us how it feels like living in a war-torn country, how the wars made so many children helpless and lose their parents, but the most tragic part is the trauma they had went through. 

The White Olive Tree is not just romance but it talks about personal loss, battling guilt, handling post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychological and physical destructions caused by wars. So the story is naturally sad and emotionally distressing. It takes enough maturity and balanced judgment to get on and understand the story. 

This drama tackles sensitive topics, both social and mental health issues, so it's not an easy drama to watch, but the story is smoothly presented in a way that the viewers understand the plight of Li Zan and Song Ran, and other major characters. The script is not totally brutal and gruesome, and the war aspect is toned down to minimal encounters so as not to traumatize the viewers. 

It talks about a romance that understands, an enduring love that never ceases despite challenges. It essays the essence of friendship and the value of brotherhood, the benevolence of volunteers to a country destroyed by wars, and giving hope to children that there's life after the destruction of wars. It also tells us that when you have someone on your side who supports you and is willing to go on a journey with you toward healing, everything will be okay. 

I love the character development of this drama. Everyone grows and evolves into a better person and gets rid of their childish tendencies. They become more mature and responsible, doing what's best for the community. Everyone progresses for the better. The drama's pacing is fine. Although reaching 38 episodes for this type of story is tedious and some scenes should have been cut off, it successfully squeezed out emotions from the viewers.

I love the OST of this drama especially the opening theme song, Te Amo performed by Taiwanese singer, A-Lin. The best opening theme song so far in a modern drama.

The script material of this drama is good, they could have made this into a movie rather than a drama. A movie has fewer restrictions in censoring the scenes so they can show more of what life really in the war zone and the psychological trauma of soldiers and victims. 

This drama reminded me of the award-winning movie, The Hurt Locker, which also talks about the trauma suffered by soldiers and bomb experts during the Iraq war. 

Overall, The White Olive Tree is a good watch, but be prepared for the emotional aspects, it takes a different level of maturity to understand the story better and appreciate its essence. Do not just watch it for the romance of Li Zan and Song Ran, watch it with an open mind, and with a better understanding of the effects of conflicts. It also talks about supporting a loved one who is slowly destroyed by depression and mental stress. If you are an emotional drama viewer, you will shed tears.

Ending Explained: 

Okay, so how about the ending? Here's an explanation in case you are confused if this drama is a happy ending or a sad ending. We know that Li Zan is burdened by guilt due to the death of his friends in the war zone. In the first phase of his mental struggle, he was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), he tried to fight it to return to normal life, but the succeeding events thoroughly eroded his mental health. Still, he tried to overcome his illness with the help of Song Ran.

Then they decided to get married. By this time, Song Ran already finished the novel she was writing about her and Li Zan's journey, the birth of their romance on the battlefields, and her experience living in the war zone. They eventually decided to "elope" to search for the meaning of life in a different environment and to live in peace, away from the people they know. 

The finale also shows that the novel was already available in print and copies were distributed to Li Zan and Song Ran's friends. We also knew that Sa Xin fulfilled the last wish of Benjamin to resume his journalism studies at the university, and Dr. Pei still grieving the loss of Ben. 

However, the intriguing part is when Li Zan and Song Ran appeared in their white attires, similar to the outfits they wore when they registered their marriage. They stood under the White Olive Tree that they planted years ago, and then they slowly disappeared into the white light. 

So the viewers questioned: Did they die in the end? The answer is yes. The drama stood loyal to the ending of the novel. We did not see where Li Zan and Song Ran lived after they eloped or what their lives looked like, but as Olive Trees took years to grow, it was implied that Li Zan and Song Ran lived together for many years before they died. 

Li Zan and Song Ran in the final scene disappearing into the light

It was a fitting ending for a love story that was born out of war and sustained by devotion and support. It was not a sad ending for me, it's just how the story should be wrapped up to add more layers of emotion. 

This is a story of how to handle a traumatic experience so it is naturally mentally and emotionally draining. But I love how the script wrapped up the story. It's a beautiful ending to the tragedy that befell Li Zan regarding his mental health. I did not feel sad, I felt relieved that they lived together until the end.

The White Olive Tree by the way symbolizes peace and personal renewal. When people say "I am extending an olive branch to you" it is an idiomatic expression that means I am offering reconciliation and peace to you.

How the novel ended:

According to those who read the novel, the ending is more brutal and tragic. Li Zan's mental health continues to decline and he committed suicide by shooting himself. Song Ran lived and continued her volunteering job but was killed by a stray bullet. The drama adaptation tries to avoid a tragic ending so it only implies Li Zan and Song Ran died years later but does not show how they died. It only shows us that the White Olive Tree is the testament to their enduring love.