The Rise of Ning (2024)

Same old story with wives, concubines, and offspring bickering at each other. Overly done

The Rise of Ning is a custom drama about wives, concubines, and their offspring bickering at each other. It has been done so many times with other Cdramas. It starts with Zhang Wan Yi as Luo Shen Yuan and Ren Mi as Lou Yi Ning.

I watched about 17 episodes, hoping the storyline would improve as it progressed, but it didn't. I am dropping it for the following reasons:

My Reviews:
1. The same old story that has been done with many other Cdramas.
2. I like Zhang Wan Yi; he is a good actor, but his character could be stronger in this drama, and his onscreen chemistry with Ren Mi could be better.
3. I don't like Ren Mi's acting ability. She has the same expression with many emotions.
4. It is draggy and slow. One cannot repeatedly take 40 episodes of the same type of bickering and jealousy.
5. I give it a 5.0 rating.

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More of Mystery Than a Romance

**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that went into the production of this drama. Thank you.**

In an effort to keep this short and spoiler free, I'm going to skip the plot summary and just cut to the chase. This is a good drama with talented actors who did a great job. It felt more like a mystery/life/family historical drama for most of the episodes rather than a romance. Yes, there was romance and multiple couples but they were overshadowed by a ridiculous amount of actual murder and mayhem. You would expect that inside a palace or something like that but this was just a mid level official's family.

Ultimately, the only character that I was really rooting for was Lu Jia Xue, played by Ci Sha. I wanted him to get his redemption arc and happy ending. I wish that his and Luo Yi Ning's relationship was explored more in depth. It was interesting and the emotion felt real. I didn't get that from the relationship between Luo Shen Yuan, played by Zhang Wan Yi and Luo Yi Ning, played by Ren Min. Not that it wasn't there. I was just more drawn to the story between Lu Jia Xue and Luo Yi Ning, the desperate longing his character felt for her, the tear filled look in her eyes when she spoke to him---all of that was moving. The relationship between Luo Shen Yuan and Luo Yi Ning is more like a warm friendship in comparison.

If you like your dramas filled with a lot of revenge, scheming, attempted murder, etc. then you'll probably love this drama. If, however, that's not your thing, you might want to skip this one.

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Sweetest Family Drama (minus creepy villain)

Among the dramas this year, Rise of Ning seems like a breath of fresh air. The main characters Luo Yinning and Luo Shenyuan are, as you can guess from there surnames, siblings (But not really!) A lot of people might feel uneasy shipping them but I do think there's not much problem. First, the Fl lived separately for most of their lives. Once they met again ML almost immediately found out they are not biological siblings. From FL's pov it can be a little grey but then again it doesn't really affect much. I love love love the family. Lin Hairu, ML's (and FL's) sort of step mother is much better than most bio moms in cdramas! The grandmothers are absolute OPs. This story has all the things I love, the trope of di daughter takes revenge on concubines, and a ML that's not cold for once. The villain is the only part that kinda irked me but that only shows his great acting. The villain Lu Jiaxu is a creepy, stalker that obsesses over Fl but still hurts everyone around her. Overall, I really enjoyed this simple and sweet drama. Nothing too melancholic, just fun and enjoyable.

P.s: the side character's romance is soo cute. I love how they include body positivity and show the chubby sixth sister is lovable inside out.

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And Ning Rises Indeed like yeast... like a hot air balloon... She Rises

I decided to watch this drama because of the ML. Having just watched him in "Are You The One", I decided to get another dose of this charming ML. I think I'm gradually becoming a small fan of his. I really enjoyed this drama tremendously and I want to rave a little about it!

What I LOVE about it:
-The plot is exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, engaging, riveting... :o) Everything one wants in an entertaining drama.
-Everything is nicely explained as much as possible and wrapped up in a timely manner. The plot does not drag on and on about nothing. Issues are raised. Issues are resolved and explained to viewers. Lovely, IMO! I am someone who likes to have this 'sense of closure' before moving on to the next issue.
-The cast is generally excellent. Their acting is natural and pleasant to watch. I have to say that I think that the FL has quite a bit of room for improvement as she comes across as simply reciting lines instead of truly being in character. At times, she seems kind of startled by what she is to do or say IMO which comes across as rather awkward. Nonetheless, her winning point is that her character LYN is a feisty and smart lass. I love watching women who can hold their own fort and stand up for themselves despite the injustice and odds. I like her character LYN. She is not the screamy, shouty, air-headed kind of FL. She plots, she schemes, she plans but she has a fairly good heart and does not do things which are too awful. She just wants to find the truth and to have justice returned.
-I like the cast and I think the ML is wonderful in this drama. Again, he nails it! I like Duke Ying in this drama. Some parts are LOL cute e.g. when LYN's awful 'father' shouts, "Who is your father?" when she calls him 'father' and then, LYN's father shows up as Duke Ying. So y'all - that's who her father is, ya? :o) LOL! I like the fairly light-hearted moments which provide relief and humour.
-Diehard lovers in the form of LSY and LJX. LJX, while overly obsessed in a unhealthy way, just really loves LYN. LSY and LYN's love seems gradual and very believable. Lovely to watch them.
-The OST is pleasant.
-The visuals/ costumes are lovely.
-I like that the villains are fairly quickly dealt with.
-Happy ending which is so great. Nonetheless, I found the ending a little rushed.

What I Do Not Like So Much:
-The murderous and hideous villains but well, without them, there won't be much of a plot.
-Qiao Xiao Niang's kids are quite insufferable.

Overall, superb! I wanted to give this excellent drama a perfect 10/10 but FL's acting has room for improvement. In fact, I thought of other better possible actresses who could probably deliver as well as or even better than her.

In essence, this exciting and intriguing drama is lovely to watch. I highly recommend this drama (as well as "Are You The One"). Thumbs-Up!
<3 <3 <3

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A VERY GOOD UNDERRATED DRAMA

I was waiting for this drama for quite long. Reserved in WeTv as my watchlist & it really didn’t disappoint. I love Ren Min’s acting since watching her previously.
The story of this drama is good, acting is good & chemistry between the 2 main leads are very good. All other characters also very good too. The love story between Luo Shen Yuan & Luo/Wei Yi Ning is so beautiful, their love, trust for each other, supporting & protecting each other.
The villain character was also portrayed very well. His obsession for the Luo/Wei Yi Ning is scary, not real love, just pure obsession & don’t want to lose what he believed only belongs to him alone.
All the OST are very good, love it.
Definitely worth watching & rewatching. I have rewatched few times & still rewatching 🤣🤣🤣

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Watch this if you liked Story of Minglan and/or Destined

AMAZING! It gave me flashbacks to story of Minglan, and Destined. I wish they added few more episodes to wrap the ending better. It was really nice to see Minglan intelligence again although it wasn't as good as minglan's schemes it felt good. I was glued to the story as it progressed well and didn't have misunderstandings. At one point I felt they would breakup but the trust between them was strong and as such the Ex-lover couldn't break them. I do hate how the Luo family's second master (Ml's father although he never cared about him since he was maid born ) repeatedly punished physically and because of his inability to distinguish between right and wrong.

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A bubble (tea) drama

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that most drama will try to grab you and hook you as soon as possible. First impression is very important after all. This is why this drama left me perplexed.

I started to watch and halfway through the first episode, I had to stop and checked that I’m not watching ep.2 or even ep.3 by mistake. This was unsettling and caught me off guard. The reason for this is that the drama starts with little preamble. We are introduced to a large cast but there is not much to hook you. Much happens but what are their context? Why should we care?

This is probably a good point to pause and explain why I called this a bubble drama. I coin this phase because this show exists in its own bubble. There is little point in pinpointing the historical context. Costumes and backdrops are fairly generic. It also play hard and fast with some key cultural norms. I can understand they have to do it to make the story work, but it is self-serving. Its inconsistency means you are constantly second guessing the story's rationale. This extends to minor twists which are nonsensical but necessary to get the plot out of a bind. OBTW, if the show gets to the point where it is overloaded with artificial sweeteners then it will be a bubble tea drama. :)

Granted, most turnkey idol dramas are poured from the same mould. It is not a hanging offense if that is its only problem. In this case, we have some fundamental issues with the basic premise. For example, the title is The Rise of Ning. However, while she was sent away as a child, she grew up just fine and is well educated and provided for. She is fully supported by the senior wife as soon as she returns. Her grandmother dotes on her. She is resourceful and well adjusted. She is the heir apparent to the family fortune. This is just as well because her father is a hapless tool. How much higher can she rise, Queen Ning mayhaps?

She set about to right some wrongs done by her father's favourite concubine almost immediately. She and her spoil daughter neither have the means nor the brains to do more than simple dirty tricks. Tiresome and despicable they may be but hardly evil masterminds. What is odd is the official wife was long suffering but grew a backbone as soon as Ning shows up. There is also a mysterious "puppet master" but his motives are hazy. He might even be closely related to the FL.

The ML is also treated poorly by the family as a semi illegitimate son yet he is a great martial artist and a scholar to boot. There is no explanation of how he reaches those heights with limited resources. On top of that, he has assembled a crack team who is willing to die for his cause. I'm sure more will be revealed but consider at the 1/4 mark, we are still lacking a clear focus, it is testing. From my perspective, both our leads are already standing on solid ground with little room to improve. Compare this to recent shows like Blossoms in Adversity or The Double and you will know how low the protagonist can get.

Then there are the constant chatter about scandals and arrange marriages but that's old news and boring, to be honest. All the typical high society shenanigans are present and accounted for.

May be we can look towards the romantic plotline to lift the story? This is where it is even more problematic. Oh wait! Our OTP are supposed to be brother and sister sharing the same father. By ep.8, the ML has found out that the FL was not related by blood after all. That might fix the basic moral problem but the FL doesn't know that and any relationship between them would be technically incestuous. I'm sure she would find out soon as the Chinese censors would not allow this to stand. It still makes for some awkwardness as their attraction builds. The writer might lean more into this just to inject some angst in an otherwise flat drama.

Adding to its woes, I have to confess that I don't ship the leads. Yes, they make a handsome couple but their chemistry is questionable. We know they are the OTP because that is obvious. There is no plan 'B'.

On the other hand, the production value is decent if pedestrian, the OST is serviceable. Most of the support cast are from central casting but they try.

It is watchable and mildly entertaining but it never hooked me. So after 9 eps, I've decided to park it for now. It is not a hard “NO” but more “can't be bothered”. Peace.

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Not very interesting

This drama is plagued with lots of issues that caused me to drop this one after 11 episodes.

The Good

Actors are mostly using their own voice which is nice to hear. Production quality is a little on the better end down to the costumes, wigs, makeup, lighting; although, the production still isn’t the best. The story is fast paced so it keeps you engaged. OST is decent. Lin Hai Ru’s character was a refreshing addition to the storyline.

The Bad

The plot is recycled, at least up to the first 11 episodes that I watched. Even though reused plots are very common in CDramas, some of the others are a little more interesting than this one due to better acting in those. The biggest issue I had in this drama is with many actors seeming like they are just reading a script. It also comes off very dull and monotone with the two main leads. No emotion shown with them, like they are just going through the motions. Up to this point, it’s been difficult to connect with any character. Lastly, the schemes are anticlimactic since they are the usual tropes.

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ACTORS

Things that I like about the synopsis is that no connection to Emperor or any Emperial family which rarely in costume C-drama. It just about dirt in Luo family, which about petty family dispute that we got a lot from C-drama; over jealous, rivalry, status, denigrating, incapacitate family members, treat each other with disdain. Pretty standard & common synopsis. So, why is this drama stand out? Timing & Male Leads.

ZHANG WAN YI (Luo Shen Yuan)
Zhang Wan Yi, he's getting better with his craft, he's sometime has empty eyes but most of the time he's doing great. a illegitimate abandon son whose rise to the well-rounded minister, a scholar that know how to fight. Attentiveness, indulgence smiles, great stature, soft persuading voice, costumes that enhance his persona, great intonation. Wan Yi is good in retorting dialog; friendly battering to his attendant Shao'An.

REN MIN (Luo YiNing)
Has the annoying voice like Dilraba & Yang Mi, high pitch squeaky short breath voice that has no spirit. I think she's better couple up with Zhang Wan Yi rather than Xiao Zhan (in Longest Promise) as Xiao Zhan has exceeding look than any females. Maybe Ren Min needs a voice trainer to help with vocalization. Her acting is like a weak delicate feeble girl which supposedly appropriate with her character. For an experience actress, I think her acting isn't much noted. An average looking, nothing special girl that got so lucky with 2 men fighting over her (sigh!).

CI SHA (Marquis Lu Jia Xue)
He's the testosterone element in this drama. Very intense, male dominant, yet has charming smiles. I like him in the Legend of Heroes and this too. When he grab someone roughly, I can also see his vein shows he might really hurt somebody (wondering that), his face can transform from cynical to sweet. I hate he has to acted upon as a maniac lover, that has to force an average girl to be with him although he's been rejected many times over (let it go already!). I am rooting for him to have better roles in the future but please do not pick feminine male-roles because that's going to ruin his male charm.

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