Love Like the Galaxy : Partie 2 (2022)

Amazing finish. Fantastic Series

Hi all, apologies for a late review, I actually have finished this quite a while ago but too many things going on.

Story: Carrying on from Season 1, this is an amazing story with plot twists and turns, its amazing how they have built the suspense of the story right up to the crucial points and just went you believe its over, guess what more comes your way. The ML/FL relationship dynamics is done really well. I would love to see ML/FL be in a modern series one day as I believe the chemistry is amazing.

Acting: Amazing chemistry all around, great acting from not just the ML/FL, everyone involved played their parts well, the villain's and other side characters played their parts amazingly.

Music: Same as season 1 no changes there

Rewatch: Absolutely without a doubt. I think I have watched this series in total approx 3 times now and some selected episodes a few more times as trying to understand the dialogue more as I rely on subs to understand what is happening. Overall a fantastic series and cannot wait for more like this in the future.

Overall: Amazing series, definitely one of the best series in 2022 by far.

Cheers,

Shing

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Just Watch It, Trust Me!

Love Like Galaxy
This series is just one hell of a masterpiece. Legit will hook you till the end. This drama made me laugh, cry, and swoon and just made me feel so much emotion. The acting and the way the plot was written are just top-notch. Shout-out to the writers, they really did a fantastic job. Also, I love the way the action scenes are executed. Like I've seen some cdramas with obvious CGI, so this one's are such a treat for my eyes. I love the good old physical action scenes with gore stuff, hehehe.

I legit never skipped an episode because there's no over the top draggy arc. I'm really fussy when I watch a series, I tend to just usually skim through some scenes if I find them redundant and draggy to the obvious point of just making the series longer. However, with this one, the love story of the main lead is perfectly written and interlaced with all the happenings of the series. There's no all of a sudden sub-plot out of nowhere. The disappearance and reappearance of characters are justified, and their thoughts that lead them to do certain actions are perfectly executed, too.

Trust me with this, all of the actors are phenomenal. They gave one hell of justice to the characters they portrayed. Aside from the chemistry with the main couple, this drama is full of chemistry with other actors, too. It showed all sorts of love like platonic, family, love for a country, friendship, and even deep passion for achieving one's goal!

Lemme just tell you my faves pair-ups:
Qiqi and Shaoshang??? Chaotic! The 2 cutie loyal bodyguards stressing about Ling Buyi's Love Life??? Cuties, but def a massive headache, too! Yuan Shen and Ling Buyi ganging up on Lou Yao??? Chef's Kiss! EMPEROR AND THE TWO EMPRESS??? Iconic! GRANDMA CHENG AND HER BETROTHAL GIFTS??? Immaculate! Emperor stressing about Ling Buyi's love life (again)??? WILL NEVER NOT BE FUNNY!

Zhao Lusi will never fail to get me to start to watch her dramas. So far, this is my 6th series of hers. (whether or not I've watched those series from beginning to end is a discussion for another time, all I can say is I've religiously watched 4 out of 6 of her series from start to end) She's just so talented and will always have a chemistry with her co-actors. With this series, Zhao Lusi yet again delivered. She perfectly executed her role of Cheng Shaoshang. The playful and cute acting of hers will never fail to give me uwu she's just genuinely adorable. I don't find her acting as an immature kid and playful character, annoying or cringy at all. And trust me when I say she can be with anyone. Her chemistry with those 3 boys is just amazing! Damn I think she can be shipped with a wall, and I'll still swoon.

Leo Wu just captured my eye with his role in this series. Fyi, I watched him for the first time with this series, and I'm hooked. (Spoilers) The way his eyes change to a complete madman when he tortured Prince Yong and Marquis Ling are just crazy and his fighting scenes damn he hottie. I got chills watching those scenes. It gave me the anti-hero/psycho man vibe, and instead of being turned off, I actually love his character more. His character as Ling Buyi is so complex and yet well-written. I love how he stayed true to himself and was still goal-driven despite the consequences. His love for Shaoshang didn't change his aspirations, and that just didn't even disappoint me for one bit, I think it's really attractive. I love a goal driven man. (Nvm, the fact that I bawled my eyes during that cliff scene)

I super love how the love story of Shaoshang and Ling Buyi was a slow burn. Well I guess more on Niao Niao part but it actually made sense given her personality and girl even had a previous fiancee (though I think it's more platonic the way it ended scarred her still.) And damn I'm whipped for a simp man aka General Ling. I just love how he's just been there since day 1 for her??? Like when he backed out when she was already betrothed but still went out of his way to give her a comfortable life like (SPOILER) when he requested the Emperor to acknowledge Shaoshang to not be looked down on by his rival's family??? Damn son I need you in my life! And when he got his chance, he immediately grabbed it and worked his way to enter Shaoshang's heart. Boi was so patient and understanding. Never once did he use the guilt tripping card on Niao Niao to earn her affection. If not for the chubby right-hand man of his, Niao Niao would never know man's sacrifices. Although he did really make a big mistake of underestimating Shaoshang's love for him. I know he doesn't want Shaoshang and her family to suffer but our girl did try her best too, to communicate that she is willing to go to hell with him no matter what and make sacrifices too.

I think the time skip was necessary since Shaoshang needs the time to grow up and discover herself. I understand her with that decision, too. Like gurl legit builds high walls to defend her heart but Ling Buyi was persistent (I ain't complain abt that)… A lot of dramas for her to finally understand how to love and trust Ling Buyi…A lot of self-realization to finally accept that being one minded with future husband doesn't mean she's restricted of freedom…She actually grew up a lot and learned so much, she listened to all the advice about love just to be left once again when she tried her best. That's just sad knowing her background and insecurities. That's legit her childhood trauma all over again. The only difference is this time. She did her best to make him stay with her and begged not to be abandoned. So yeah, all I want to say is back off haters! Those dumb ppl who hate on my poor baby girl saying her decision to break off isn't necessary. Just don't understand her character at all.

Anyways, moving on. The comedic scenes in this series are very much appreciated and are very needed since I've started episode 1. The first few episodes got me hooked cause of Shaohang antics and the drama of her family just made me howl in laughter. It well-balanced the amount of tears I've shed when I watched how the relationship between Shaoshang and her mother started. Mommy issues just never fail to make my heartache, maybe since it strikes close to home.
Cheng grandma, General Cheng, Cheng Bros, Qiqi, 15 years old mischievous Shaoshang, Concubine Yu, and of course my ult fave the Emperor just never fails to throw me into fits of laughter.

The emperor is such a mood and will never not be funny. His bickering scenes with Concubine Yue just stole the scenes every time. Massive respect, too, for Concubine Yue. She's such a badass character and in a way similar to Shaoshang, seeing an actually contented and chill Concubine is so refreshing. Anyways, back to the emperor cause he deserves a whole novel. I just want to know his reaction to our main couple all the time. He's so invested in them more than running the country, and honestly, who can blame him??? I badly love how he just overreacts to anything related to Ling Buyi, and that's just gold since Ling Buyi deserves all the love he can get. (Spoilers) Although, I have the same sentiment as the Emperor. He deserved to be there at their wedding , but him making a whole tantrum about missing it is also such a golden moment.

The only thing I kinda wish this series explored more is showing Shaoshang's intelligence and talents and how it can actually help the new Empire they're building. And of course, I NEED A DAMN SCENE OF THEM, HAPPILY MARRIED!!! I felt so robbed with that one. Like, I don't mind that there are times that I want to nudge their head to give me a cute kiss scene, but I can guess I can still live with it. But omg, they dare not to give me a grand wedding scene! Like after all those preparations, struggles, and time wasted!!!!! Emperor, please make a decree of their wedding so you and I can witness it!!!

So yeah, I guess that's all. I don't really want to occupy the whole comment section, so all I can say is watch this masterpiece and see for yourself!
Final Verdict/Rank: Beloved Series, Ultimate Favourite (Worthy to Rewatch for nth times)

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DON'T BE AFRAID... HURT ME MORE!

The second part is where things go downhill... I know Ling Buyi and Shaoshang's relationship wouldn't go as smoothly but I didn't expect their story would hurt me this much. The development of their relationship was incredibly well-written. They went step by step from getting to know each other's traits, meeting their family, solving problems, and even chasing out problem makers from the palace together.

Shaoshang's character development was one of the things I liked the most about this drama, I cried a lot watching her grow from a silly troublemaker to a virtuous lady that solves problems. Although we were driven away from our beloved characters from part one (A-yao, Shaoshang's family, Qiqi, etc), we were also introduced to the Crown Family which has diverse personalities--but the Empress and Consort Yue are two amazing characters you wouldn't able to hate! They both played a great role in Shaoshang's fate. What was quite surprising for me was how doting the Emperor was to Shaoshang. It was really unbelievable for a ruler to be that kind and supportive of someone outside the crown family, but thanks to that oddity, our Shaoshang was able to achieve most of her dreams. Honestly, there are so many good things about this drama that I couldn't mention one by one.

The drama has many positive aspects, but I also love the angst. I love Ling Buyi was the key to the twist. His background was known very well to the world but in fact, there were things that kept hidden for his own good. What I hate--but I also love--was the miscommunication between the two leads who just happened to warm up to each other. This part really drove me crazy, I was in a painful state about whether to continue the remaining episodes or not. But as the story goes on, it brought them to a brighter end. The last episode gave me shivers... it was really the best closing for this drama!!

Lire davantage

By far the best drama this year!

This is a must watch! Excellent excellent in every way.

The story/plot is excellent and not too tropey. The pacing is excellent! Every scene has its purpose and there are no fillers. I haven't fast forwarded even one scene. I've actually gone back to rewatch scenes if I look away to do something. I usually watch dramas in the background while doing chores but this drama is so good, I actually save it for times I can solely focus on it! Acting is excellent all around from the leads, to the supporting characters. Chemistry between Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei is off the charts! They are so compatible in acting, looks and age! Every scene they have together is special. Cinematography is excellent! This director is so good at making each shot purposeful. The music is perfectly enhances the mood of scenes without being a distraction. The characters (even the side characters) are all very well written and so many are likeable even with their flaws.

Must watch!

Lire davantage

Definitely the better half

OVERALL
This review is for the drama overall, though I will say a few things about part 2 specifically. In general, it's well worth the watch, though it's definitely NOT a perfect drama. Watch it if 1) you're looking for cute, PG-rated romance, 2) you like historical dramas with serious vibes but also the occasional fun scenes, 3) you want to see some adventure and political intrigue. Reconsider if 1) you're looking for a mature love story with lots of skinship, 2) you hate draggy and repetitive plot elements.

THE STORY
I honestly feel like Love Like the Galaxy has a bit of an identity crisis. It wants to be a light, fluffy idol romance, but it also wants to be a deep, heavy historical. The result? It ends up failing both and being stuck in between. The romance is okay but not swoon-worthy because the drama does not spend enough time on it so the intensity of the leads' love is unconvincing. The political intrigues and adventures are okay but not super engaging because the drama does not spend enough time on them and most of them feel random. Don't get me wrong, I binged the start of this drama and died weekly as I waited for the remaining episodes. The drama's good. But all the time, I just kind of felt like it could have been better?

The best of Love Like the Galaxy is the cinematography (mature vibes of sets and filters), the super fun and wholesome royal trio (emperor-empress-concubine), and a few attempts at breaking the mold (eg. unconventional second male leads, mother-daughter relationship growth). The main leads have depth, each with traumas to overcome, so it's also easy to like and care for them. Their love story is a slow burn, which is more realistic and totally my style. The conflicts (at least, between the leads) are also real and atypical. And in Part 2, the stakes keep on getting higher, with more danger and more adventures, which makes the plot thrilling.

But...

The drama has too many unnecessary characters and scenes. After watching it all the way to the end, there are SO many parts focusing on secondary characters that I feel could have been cut and replaced by more of the main leads together or more political intrigue (especially in Part 1). The drama also has too many parts that are essentially the same (eg. how many crazy, psychopathic women do you need in one drama? how many times is are the main leads going to struggle over the same problem?). And as if that wasn't enough, Love Like the Galaxy is FILLED with slow-mo, often for no reason haha It gets really frustrating because they could have better used their time. It's just lazy writing, really. Oh, and I also wasn't a fan of the way the romantic scenes were put together in this drama. Many turned out too cringe, it was like watching a Disney film haha

THE ACTING
I will start by saying I like Leo Wu and Zhao Lusi. I do. And now I will say that, in all honesty, I was not impressed by Leo's acting. I still like him though; he's young, he'll probably get better. With Zhao Lusi the opposite happened. I thought she was okay after seeing her in Long Ballad and Romance of Tiger and Rose, but I was surprised by how good she was with emotional scenes in Part 2. I really hope to see her in more strong and serious roles because she definitely has potential for more than the ditsy/funny roles she usually plays. Imo, Leo and Lusi did not have great chemistry together, but I think they did the job nicely. The rest of the cast was good enough, especially the older cast. Loved my royal trio!

THE MUSIC
I loved the instrumental tracks (they sometimes reminded me of Nirvana in Fire and Story of Minglan)! I just hated how cringe the BGM got whenever you had a romantic scene.

REWATCH VALUE
High. I'll rewatch for sure, but with some skipping!

Lire davantage

Nothing progressed from part 1

I've wrote my review for part 1 and was expecting a lot more in terms of character development in the later half but... none. We are already left with about 10 episodes or so, i wouldn't be expecting the show to have huge turns, even so it will be too late. First off, i really like ZLS as an actress, but her character as Niao Niao is beyond annoying and boring. As much as we do not see her growth in part 1, she became to more self conflicting in the 2nd part. For how much she always wanted "peace", she clearly does not bring any peace around her for the mess she created. But ofcourse with the addition of those jealous and mean princesses around to bring her down. She is also not smart enough to clear her own mess. We see ML being hero to save her from the shit hole only to get scolded by her when asked to refrain herself. Here, we see how her character self conflicted with what she wanted. I get where Niao Niao is coming from, i really get it but it's time to move on and see her grow from there, why are we still stucked at this. Moving on to romance, it's very promising to see her realise what is love but nope. Her sudden realisation that she love ML didn't make me feel anything.. it felt as though she said it just because the ML love her. Chemistry isn't great either; i choose to believe that it's their character that is playing a part not their acting. I am starting to get really bored.. and have to FF a lot, however there are still other interesting characters to watch (other than MLFL).

EDIT: i cannot believe the most development i see in this whole show is actually Lou Yao and his wife. In the first half, the show spent quite a number of episodes on Lou Yao and FL which seems to be unnecessary.. now that i finished it. It made no impact on FL or the entire story. Up till the very end, i still couldn't feel ML's character at all.

In conclusion, i was expecting a lot more from part 1 but i am disappointed to see Niao Niao still the same, and it sucks because the whole show's main focus IS Niao Niao. Even ML doesn't have as much scenes/story time as her. Honestly her role at Who Rules The World is so much better.

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I'm biased, so Imma say its basically perfect.

Everything about this drama is on another level.
Writing, cinematography, costumes, plot, acting, action, and supporting characters?!?!
It was all so enjoyable. I inhaled the show like oxygen and finished 56 episode in 4 days.
For ONCE I didn't feel as if it were dragging and would have liked it to be longer so we could get more of a "fairy tale" ending, but its still fine.

The only bad points are repetitive plot points, and the show never really making you fear that anything bad will happen? Its hard to explain but when you see how the emperor acts youll know.

Its SO refreshing! Its also strange.

This couple and story has me in a chokehold and I don't wanna leave it behind.

Lire davantage

Something new

This drama truly has been one of a kind. Though I have seen very good historical c-dramas before, 'Love like the Galaxy' stands out.

The direction and music score in this drama were so beautiful, it took my breath away. Both beautifully highlighted the characters and the actors portraying them, making their talent shine. I especially loved the emotionally charged scenes such as Zhisheng's revenge and the Empress last moment. It's the first time I have seen editing like that in a c-drama. It almost felt like I was watching an musical, how gracefully it all was shown.

Lusi I've always loved, while Leo's acting has gotten even more solid after I last saw him in 'The Long Ballad'. I am deeply impressed by his talent and range while portraying this character . Best actor award, I do believe he truly deserves it.
ShaoShang and Zhisheng's confessions and kiss at the end, felt like a modern wedding with personal vows. Her smiling at her parent after the kiss and the rest of the family coming out, felt like a celebration after they've officially become husband and wife. It's so heartwarming to see these two lonely children, finally being surrounded with people who love them. To me, it was a perfect ending.

I commend the director, the actors and the entire production for creating such a masterpiece. Every little detail was done absolute to perfection. Though I do have minor criticisms, this drama was perfect. I see this drama going down in the books for sure!

Lire davantage

Epic, phenomenal, excellent drama. ❤️ Leo Wu

The drama is phenomenal every artistes did awesome job, love the addition of some comedy scenes in the drama. I don’t know if everyone that enjoy this drama have finish or not so I’m not gonna say who is in it or what they said but the ending well before the ending those two scenes were 😁 it was really funny just writing this I’m laughing 😁. Leo Wu portrayed lingbuyi / ling zisheng Perfectly 100% ❤️ his acting skills went above and beyond even higher then his supporting role in nirvana in fire he did awesome in that role too this drama is one of my favourites is a classic to me. He surprised with this role I was scare of him a couple of times(his glare, how he kills/torture his enemies in the prison, his present for the fifth princess was …..) ( he is so cruel to his enemies, show emotions only to css, and only smiles when he is with css). I enjoy watching all the cast, zisheng’s two subordinates were a delightful to watch ah fei is funny.

Lire davantage

a bunch of short clip

maybe those who feel this drama is good, just because of the romance, those who are satisfied with a little romance , so if someone gives a bad rating they will be judged, maybe there are some scenes that make me touched, and sometimes comedy but most of them feel very lame and the romance sometimes is weird


bad editing and bad scene viewing, jumping scene(not complete showing the useful scene,skip and skip)

from the beginning of these 56 episodes, can this be called a drama? I think this is a bunch of short,,, if in Kdrama it's called "special episodes"
why?
since the beginning of the drama, every time they want to do an action, there is see no action, only showing the result


I've never read the novel, but I'm sure the novel has alot of seasons, but in my opinion the scriptwriter is not good at choosing and sorting out what scenes are important so that from the beginning to the end the drama only show a short part and then proceeds to other scenes, too many unnecessary scenes. makes the first 22 episodes feel very long and unimportant,, in part 2, I thought it was getting better, but it didn't, the same misunderstanding happen again and again, in the first 8 episodes there had been about 3/4 times the argue between FL & ML,, character of FL which in part 1 really like, makes me hate it

they focus too much on the FL&ML scene so that they forget about other SUPPORT COUPLES, while the FL&ML romance is very long & very slow burning (FL & ML love story only starts at the end of part 1, and even in part still in the stage FL not have good feeling for ML) and makes the other couple not have enough scenes, and support couples together are very unreasonable, there is no obvious romance between them but directly together, waste of using cast, even though 56 episodes is enough to make the story very very clear plot and help some of the support cast develop the acting for newbie


the unstable voice made me keep adjusting the volume of the drama while watching, because there was no dubbing, when the cast spoke their mouths seemed to be gargling, if there were no Chinese subtitles maybe I really didn't know what they were talking about ,especially the words and language they use very rarely, even though I know chinese, still feels very unfamiliar



a crazy part like short clip and ridiculous scene (just a part, because too much)
1. ep 12, the medic said the arrow's head only appeared slightly on the surface of the body, if you want to take the arrow out, you have to cut the wound, but the medic is not good at sewing, shaoshang use a string, does it make sense? Even hard objects are difficult to put into a wound, but a string?, even though it is the strongest string, its call strong, because not easily broken by sharp objects, and the arrow's head has a sharp side, pulling the arrowhead with a string is like slicing a wound! does this action not need to stitch the wound?

2. ep 15 ,why they suddenly talking about huangpuyi?when huangpuyi send the cart for 3rd aunt?
3. suddenly shaoshang's father was said to be rebellious, during episode 46 I thought there was a scene helping his father, but it's been 5 days, are you serious?!
4. ep 44, shaoshang went tongniu to save her father, and to meet someone in prison, she intentionally stole 2 bread, how she sure that she is who is just a petty thief that stole bread, will be locked up together with important criminals?
5. little yue masquis said , miasma is not toxic, but why do the pengukun still get side effects? and suffering asthma?


大母,granny
大父， grandpa
君姑,mother in law
君舅,father in law
阿父，father
阿母,mother
君公，how to called male?
女君，how to called female?
舅父，uncle from mother
舅母，uncle's wife from mother
姑父,aunt's husband from father
姑母，father's sister
伯父,uncle, father's elder brother
伯母,uncle's wife from father's elder brother
叔父，uncle, father's younger brother
叔母, uncle's wife from father's younger brother
姒妇 ，brother's wife , sister in law
阿紫/阿姐 a zi ，sister

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A Love/Hate Letter to Love Like the Galaxy

(If you'd like to read my super long essay about the drama where I write more on the things I loved and hated about the drama, you can find it at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1czlgKAZpBndsV3JcIyNFm8fdqKBuccFz/)

Dear Show,

I posted the same review for part 1 because to be fair, the drama is one whole story to me.

Gosh, this was one hell of a review to write because of the plethora of emotions I feel. I think it’s probably more fitting to call it a Love-Hate Letter to the drama. Part One (episodes 1-27) is a solid, top-notch 10 for me. 10/10 would recommend as a truly splendid drama. Part Two (episodes 28-56 or 1-29) is an 8.5 from me, which is bias because I think that’s a generous score given all the issues I have with it. This does round the entire drama to be a 9 though. It was soo close to a perfect 10, and that makes me sad that we were so close!

The last time I loved a drama like this was in 2015 with LANG YA BANG/NIRVANA IN FIRE. Seven years later with LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY (LLTG), I was ready to tie it to the brilliance of NIRVANA IN FIRE (NIF). For consolation, I guess it’s the romance version in terms of almost phenomenal execution like NIF, but I’ve pegged it down a few notches because of the drama’s ending. I’ll explain my issues with part 2 much later if you’re curious enough or care to read more.

First, I would also like to point out how significant the two dramas, NIF and LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY (LLTG) tie in for me. Wu Lei played Fei Lu in NIF, an ever loyal and martial arts genius bodyguard to the titular character of Mei Changsu. Mei Changsu was a brilliant strategist and military general whose goal was to exact justice for the wrongs that annihilated his family. Here, Wu Lei comes full circle in being the lead as a revered and intelligent general whose goal is to exact revenge for the demise of his maternal family clan.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Before I dive into details for the rest of my review and ramblings, here’s my non-spoiler review:

As a whole, this is a spectacular, powerhouse of a historical drama with a wonderful romance story. If this is your cup of tea, then I would in this case, 9/10 recommend with a caveat. Historical dramas in my opinion, tend to have little romance, and are often paved with slow burn romances if a love line is there. If you’re just in it for the romance, it may or may not work, depending on your cup of tea or coffee. After all, we all know dramas are so subjective, as such is the case with most things in life.

Zhao Lusi blew me away with her performance. I never really watched any of her previous works only because the story never appealed enough to me. This girl though! She has a knack for delivering the comedic punch from the flicker of her eyes and the expression she is able to capture. We can feel everything on her face even from the tiniest of movements. Yet when she cries, you feel the pure anguish and heartbreak in the way she conveys those. As for Wu Lei, I didn’t care about him before either. I thought he looked good in THE LONG BALLAD, but that was it. In LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY, he didn’t really get comfortable in his role for me until much later, and at times he came off awkward. This kind of worked in his favor though, granted his character was socially awkward at times. The second part of the drama was where I could see his growth as a professional actor in displaying more of his capabilities by bringing a facet of emotions forward through his eyes and lips. A cool tidbit that I also appreciated was the cast dubbed their own voices! That isn’t quite common in Chinese dramas from my understanding, so it was especially great to be able to hear the real voices of Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei as they breathed their characters to life onto the screen.

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY is the story about our protagonist, Cheng Shaoshang, left behind by her parents who go off to war, only for her to be raised by her awful grandma and 2nd aunt-in-law. Shaoshang grows up resilient, intelligent, with a love of building and understanding mechanisms, and is fiercely independent in having had to survive childhood under awful circumstances. When her parents return home from war, she’s thrust into society and once again, is forced to use her wits to navigate the waters of social and familial norms, etiquette, being filial, and growing into her potential of who she is without losing the essence of what she values and stands for. In the process, she catches the attention of a prominent general, a man named Ling Buyi, who carries with him a deep secret. Having almost lost the chance to pursue Cheng Shaoshang once to her engagement with another man, General Ling Buyi seizes a rare moment and strategizes his way to win her love before she slips from him once more. Their slow-burn romance with the various encounters that build up to show how our male lead falls for our heroine is beautiful.

Look, your girl here has never loved an OTP (one true pairing) as much from a Chinese drama until now. Their chemistry together was simply mesmerizing. Upon finishing the drama now, the hill I will choose to die on is the one where no one else can play the respective roles of Cheng Shaoshang and Ling Buyi the way Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei perfected them.

56 episodes is a major commitment. For some people, time is of the essence where you don’t have enough time in the days or weeks to give to watching dramas, so maybe you’re like me, and you have to choose wisely where you’ll exert your energy. Or if you’re like me, highly judgmental of shows and can drop them like hot potatoes…don’t drop the gem of this one! These dramas are like unicorns, spotted only once every blue moon. Am I right or am I right?

The show picks up momentum at the 6th episode. If after 6 episodes and you find yourself struggling, it might not be for you. However, I truly recommend coming in with an abundance of patience if you’re curious as to why the drama soared to such popularity and buzz in the time it was broadcasted, as I humbly believe the payoff is worth it. I absolutely adored the pacing of the drama, because at the core, it is a story woven by complicated family dynamics backed by an equally compelling cast of supporting characters, a slice-of-life, a well-constructed historical but immersive world, found family, surviving in the face of trauma and loss, finding and understanding different forms of love, and a coming-of-age in wisdom, resiliency, and healing. Almost every single character was tailored for their role. Actually, it’s probably the other way around, that the actors and actresses created their roles to be so memorable, I don’t think anyone else could have fit into the shoes of any of these characters. There is phenomenal chemistry not just between our OTP, but throughout the relationships of each character towards one another. If you ever take a step back, you realize that many of these characters would be compelling enough to be the protagonist in their own story.

I loved so many things about the drama. There are wonderful, but heartbreaking narratives of how one can never feel like they’re enough for their parents, no matter what they do or don’t. The complex family dynamics is such a telling story in many Asian households. The protagonist’s view throughout the story of relying on only yourself to get through, because it’s how she’s survived, to the evolution in understanding of finding a way to live a well-meaningful life, even if one didn’t get married, is possible. Yes, it’s against the grain, but the touch on this was nice, and I wish this idealism was something they showed in part 2 of the series. I am all for female empowerment, and how lovely it would have been to see if one chooses to get married, it’s because they want to, not because it’s the expectation to do so. Despite many issues in the later part of the series, one major thing I loved about the drama is the love story between our leads that started off beautifully and will stay with me for the most part. There was something so magical in the way that slow-burn romance had unfolded. It’s a trope that I carry close to my heart.

Part 2 was a turbulent ride, with higher stakes and greater danger at play, and yet it missed the mark on multiple occasions in comparison to part 1. We really be treading rough waters out here in the final stretch of the drama.

Currently, I have a love-hate relationship with this drama. It is the first time I feel so sad and bitter about what could have been, otherwise I wouldn’t have spent such an invested amount of time writing out something so long that encompasses my emotions. I am still scarred from the later parts that I’ve not gone back to rewatch scenes the way I constantly did for part 1 and a huge chunk of part 2 from episodes 28-41.

There are major character inconsistencies throughout and plot holes, GALORE. Shaoshang is shown throughout part 1 to be bold but stands up for herself and is intelligent. Under pressure or on the spot, she flourishes and is quick on her feet. Part 2 was as if there were two different teams writing her character, the A-Team, and the draft-zero team. They dumbed her down, when there was never a need to in the first place. I don’t even want to count through the number of times she needed rescuing and was held at knifepoint. She went from someone so intelligent to regressing here and there in part 2. Not to mention, the sheer number of villains the drama shoved onto our screens near the end of the drama. Characters just seem to be popping out of nowhere. Some scenes dragged on for no reason in trying to gain sympathy, but I felt it was already a botched job. Then other scenes where they should have fleshed things out were sloppily shoved down our throats in an attempt for us to care. It was too little, too late.

Something about the romance and magic of the love story was also lost towards the end of the drama for me. I understand the situations the characters had to go through, but seeing that it was how their love was tested, the way the characters lacked growth from the experience was such a let-down. The show could have done some deep dive into important relationships like friendships between the characters and their growth and healing from trauma. The drama had so much they could have worked with, but instead relied heavily on cheap tropes at the end. There was no set up so the payoff meant nothing. I fast forwarded through a chunk of the ending at times. All the buildup only for this to fizzle out. It hurts, I tell ya!

Let’s go back to the other wonderful things about this drama, so I can momentarily forget the aftertaste of sand still lingering. The production crew and backers of this drama is grand on all fronts. Whoever is also behind the editing of the weekly trailers has also outdone themselves too. Each of the trailers released gives just enough to anticipate and have the audience guessing wildly as they await the release, only to still save all the best moments for within the story itself. There is a talented ensemble cast, show-stopping action sequences, synced musical scores in the first half, flawless comedic timing, and extensive, sweeping cinematography from costume, set to the world around them of what appears to be inspiration from the Han Dynasty. They really rolled out the big-guns with production on all fronts for this drama. If we believe in drama gods, this production crew from the staff, director, screenwriter, to the cast members, hit the jackpot. The universe conspired to put this team together, and because the drama gods smiled down on this one, we’re so blessed.

I remember even within the first shot where they introduced Ling Buyi, you knew he was a revered and great general...and without a doubt, the male lead of the show. The way the production team filmed the magnitude of the soldiers under General Ling Buyi’s command and the sweeping camera angle as he put on a black and red cape gifted to him for his accomplishment by the emperor, it gives one an inkling of how splendid this story could be. From the costumes to the set, to the cinematography with the perfect camera angles of its inhabitants, to the landscapes and architecture used, I knew we would be in for a rare treat.

That’s it for my spoiler-free review.

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