Brocade Odyssey (2024)

Everything I love

This drama has exceeded my initial expectations! The details in the costumes and brocades are so delicate and beautiful. The romance between the ml and fl is so sweet. Instead of one childhood romance, there were two. Ji Ying Ying is brave, smart, clever and a born leader and business woman. She leads with wit and heart. She is so blessed with so many good friends who are willing to support her all the way. During that period of time, it is difficult for a woman to be successful in being a businesswoman. But yet, she manages it with grace and with a smile. A big thank you to the cast and everyone involved! I highly recommend this drama. It's not overboard. It's not underboard. It's just nice. And this drama shows the good and ugly side of humanity. How a person, whom you once trusted, can change from being good to being downright weird & nasty. How delulu some people can get. How some people are just out to grab the best for themselves and not bother about who they knock down or who they betray. I hope that you will enjoy this drama as much as I am enjoying it.

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Una verdadera Odisea del Brocado

ESPECTACULAR. La historia, los personajes, el brocado y toda la trama.

Fue tan satisfactorio ver este drama de principio a fin, día a día esperando por un nuevo capítulo, nunca se me ocurrió dejar de ver el drama, nunca me aburrió. Los personajes principales estuvieron espectaculares, tanto Yingying como Jinglan fueron personajes muy bien desarrollados y el romance fue siemplemente un placer de ver y hasta de sentir, especctaculares actores ambos.

La protagonista femenina siemplemente espectacular, en el punto todo, ni tan romántica ni tan fría, aunque sumamente inteligente y astuta nunca restó al romance, fue dura cuando tuvo que serlo, fue frágil cuando tuvo que serlo y fue muy real e inspirador el personaje interpretado y logrado por Tan Song Yun.

Los antagonistas fueron perfectos, sentí mucho por Zhao Er porque era un gran personaje, de igual manera al final le hizo honor a esa caballerosidad que tanto lo descaba. Lo mismo para Bai Shen, siempre tuve la corazonada de que al final iba a hacer algo importante y no me defraudó.

RECOMENDADÍSIMA, VAYAN A VERLO. Quedé enamorada con Yang Jinglan :c siempre me pasa lo mismo cada que termino una historia.

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Tan Song Yun & Zheng Ye Cheng of course here I come… Another messed up summary from MDL. Let me tell the story from my version.

Story about Ji Ying Ying (YY) a girl from a famous brocade family in Yizhou. Her father created a perfect color of red, that has been said to overcome all red. That made a lot of people envious of YY’s dad & finally they plotted to kill YY’s dad. YY’s dad was accused of making a fake brocade as a tribute for the emperor & being murdered as the result. The young YY who witnessed her dad murdered, traumatised by the red color.

After YY’s dad died, even though their family gets amnesty & can live normally, Ji's family still have a tainted reputation because of their dad affair. But all the problems didn’t make Ji’s family avoid brocade business. Now, the kids in Ji’s family grow up. YY is very skillful in coloring the silk thread while her brother, Ji Nan (JN) is a weaver expert.

YY had a childhood sweetheart that’s also her fiance, Zhao Xiu Yuan (XY). For years they determine to be together no matter what the obstacle in front of them. But it all became extremely hard when a daughter of the influential Niu family, Niu Wu Niang (WN), took interest in XY. And finally XY gives up YY in order to protect her & ends up marrying WN.

On the other hand, YY also met Yang Jing Lan (JL) when she’s still a little girl & JL fell in love with YY, but now when they met up again YY doesn’t recognize JL. JL went back to town as the new brocade inspector, & YY entangled with him to investigate all the things related to the brocade industry. The strange feeling getting warmer & trust build up with every case they investigate together, making them getting closer with each other. Slowly but surely YY’s feelings also start to grow for JL.
And when YY and JL feeling finally became mutual with each other, YY once more got entangled with more serious and deep trouble. And because MDL already spoiled us, it’s all related to the prince of Nanzhao Kingdom. So, how YY & JL take care of the problem & be happily ever after with each other… ^^

That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoilers. Now what I like and don’t.

What I like
+ The good chemistry between Tan Song Yun & Zheng Ye Cheng.
+ I’m quite surprised to see that China is more and more daring to put hidden LGBTQ+ in the drama. Hoho…. I’m talking about the relationship between WN and her maid. Oh don’t lie to ourself that it’s the usual relationship between master and servant, that’s GL all the way from hidden till so obviously standing in your face… Haha…. ^^
+ The friendship between YY & all her brocade friends.
+ The cute prove themself for JN & Sang Shi Si (SS) to their woman. Especially SS. I’m really happy when he turns out not just good for nothing man.
+ The hard fact how so easy to hide or even turn the fact and lie upside down if you have power. This drama really tells us so early about the reality or the fact behind YY’s dad's case, but so so hard to turn it over. And how easily Niu Jin (NJ) uses his power.
+ The smart woman who takes power. In this drama, I think I’ve seen the most how women take control in business in costume dramas (ancient times). I mean like in Yang & Hua’s family is the wife that takes care of the business & the man, especially in Hua’s family, only enjoys & takes advantage of the fact.

What I don’t like
- The stupid case of how sometimes people really overestimate relationships and underestimate people's greed for power. I’m talking about NJ & his superior. How his superior never thinks NJ can betray him just because he already helps NJ in so many ways.
- Once more just how they made ML seem invincible. I know we see many times how JL almost died. But it’s like every time he successfully turns it around.
- I don't understand how easily Cheng Feng Ze turned around the fact that he was almost captured but easily got away with it…

Overall this is an interesting drama to watch. But I can't say you lose something if you’re not watching this…

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Much better than I anticipated but still has problems….

This definitely wasn’t the typical idol drama but still an idol drama with some cliches. I’d definitely recommend a watch if you are looking for a drama that isn’t heavy on the romance.

The Good

The focus being on the brocade industry was definitely interesting and the highlight of this drama. I appreciated the costumes displaying beautiful intricate patterns and the show diving into how brocades are made. I also enjoyed the exploration of the class systems and how it tied in with the top brocade makers. It’s no different than what we see today with name brand clothes. Really interesting to see it in a historical setting. I think the acting was strong in this story as well especially coupled with the plot. The casting choice was good. Jing Chao as Cheng Fengze and He Lei as Ji Yaoting were two of the highlight characters who shined in this story. They did an amazing job showing the evolution of their characters.

The Bad

There were still some problems with this story especially when it came to plot and editing. The major gripe I had was with Zhang Hao Wei’s AI face. So many times you can see it warp or not express any emotions. It was terrible. The smart play would be to reshoot those scenes with a new actor if they must remove him or release it with him and just cancel him after they’ve aired all previously filmed productions. Next, the editing was off. Seems like scenes were cut at times and other times they would replay an entire scene in the next episode that’s slightly different than what we saw in the previous episode. Also, some characters weren’t developed enough. I would have liked to see more Zhuge Hong, the main Bloom Society members and Niu Jin’s character. They gave us a glimpse of them but I would have loved to get more backstory or some story from them. The romantic connection between our lead couple was lacking. She had a better connection with the other male leads than Yang Jinlan. They only really showed him saving her a bunch of times as a reason for why she loved him. Outside of that, it was hard to see why they liked each other. There were definitely plot holes but especially in the last couple of episodes because it was rushed. They should have fleshed out the last arc a little more and cut back on some other things in the previous arcs. Lastly, Niu Wuniang character was a little one dimensional and they did a poor attempt to try to get us to gain sympathy for her. The actress did just an okay job, she wasn’t really that interesting.

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Shu Brocade Family

Rating after 25 episodes:

Story: 10

Although it's not a perfect drama, it has a storyline framed around historical Shu silk, fighting for justice, and weaving love and friendship. I enjoy watching it. I generally don't like every drama. This year, I liked only a few dramas that were released. This drama is better than all of them. The story is so good that besides war and intrigue, there are also funny scenes. The main couple constantly argues with each other and finally unites to fight for justice.

Acting: 10

Ji Ying Ying (Tan Song Yun) has a cunning, cute, businesswoman, strong woman character. Due to the events in her childhood, she took all her family's responsibilities upon herself. So, love and marriage were secondary for her. Her life continued to get more difficult. After her first fiancé left her, a romance began to develop between her and Yang Jing Lan. And finally, they got married in the 25th episode.
Tan Song Yun does justice to this role. She is a very talented actress.

Yang Jing Lan (Zheng Ye Cheng) has a funny, just, and somewhat carefree nature. He is both a warrior and a government official.
After this series, I fell in love with ZYC's acting skills once again.

Music: 10

I really liked the OSTs. They were performed by Liu Yunning and Tan Song Yun. Both of them have very beautiful voices.

Rewatch Value:

In your free time, you can watch Ji Ying Ying and Yang Jing Lan's arguments to relax.

Overall: 10

Both the story, acting, and music are very beautiful. It's a drama worth watching.

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Consistent and Lovely

Cannot really review this drama from a objective point of view, but for sure I love this drama because of:

1. It retains chinese culture (brocade, silk) and eastern style wisdoms, Beautiful.
2. I love the main lead actors TSY and ZYC (oh, this is so biased, lol).
3. Ji Yingying and Yang Jinglan both characters in this drama are very good, can be said emotionally stable, not trying to be cute, spoiled or domineering, just be themselves while also considering others.
4. The highlight of the story is easy to predict, but some details are interesting enough to watch, enjoyable.
I mean, this is not the elaborate story of Ming Lan or Nirvana In Fire... come on.
5. So far (ep 23) I think it's safe to watch all ages (there are killing scenes but not sadist or brutal, and kissing/romance scenes also so far still ... safe.).
6. Novel version is good, happy ending.

The only minus is no OST of ZYC and TSY singing together while we know both could sing ...

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The Story:

JYY: (female lead)
- Talented girl, helpful, brave, has a knack of trading and negotiation skills too
1. inherited her father's skill of dying silk
2. clean her father's name from false accusation
3. clean the silk business from corrupted officials
4, sell her dyed silks to all over the world

YJL: (male lead)
- High martial skils, love JYY as she is.
1. Justice for his master that had been killed by corrupted officials
2. Clean the silk business from corrupted officials
3. Support and protect his loved on JYY

Other villains:
1. very corrupted offiicials Niu Jin
2. psycho ex-lover Zhao Xiuyuan
3. a-bit-good-but-quite-evil Prince Bai from enemy state.

Conclusions:
I have no complaints so far, because this drama is enjoyable, the judgements made by the main leads to overcome situations are all OK, pretty much a good example for all.

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Refreshing story, great chemistry ad Strong Natural acting performance from main leads

I was so looking forward to this movie when it was first announced few months ago and it did not disappoint.
every movie that Seven Tan appeared, She became the character as she portrayed it so well and naturally.
I love this drama as it started slowly to develop the background stories, introduced us the cultural history of the Shu brocade and how much process it had to go through to produce one and how they are being treasured by the country. I love this story how Seven Tan and YeCheng interact with each other so well and naturally. They have such a great chemistry and comfortable with each other. Ji Ying Ying portrayed by Seven Tan showed how resilient and persistent she is to protect her mother and brother and also to avenge the death and misjudgment to her father. the story has lots of twist and it also showed the challenges and trials that Ji YingYing had to go through and Ye Cheng was there to protect her even from the start when he knew YingYing was already engaged. the original boyfriend made a big mistake of giving up on Ji YingYing thinking this is his way of protecting her. It was so refreshing to see how the main leads love each other and support each other. there were so many touching scenes that hit us and we couldn't help but feel their pain and cried with them. Seven Tan is so good in her acting that you cried along with her when her tears keep flowing down on her cheeks on those tear-jerking scenes. I have rewatched so many episodes so many times because they are really good and refreshing..

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Gotta Love The Horse

This drama had a slow start and hard to see FL not looking her usual glam self. Her costumes are horrible IMO, but it is every day people. It has a slow build and my attention gets sidetracked because it drags on instead of moving on. I have enjoyed watching parts like in Episode 23 when the male lead is surrounded, fighting for his life. His trusty horse comes out of nowhere and takes down a couple of bad guys. It was so unexpected and I LMAO and re watched the scene several times. I'm not use to watching this particular FL playing such a weak woman. There are times she isn't weak. Her character has too many flaws for my taste. Overall it's a pretty good drama.

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O pai de Ying Ying foi o mestre do brocado mais bem sucedido de Yizhou, criador de tinturas, especialmente do vermelho. Foi acusado de enganar o imperador ao oferecer como tributo brocado de baia qualidade e por conta disso executado, seus bens apreendidos e sua família praticamente passou a trabalhar para pagar as inúmeras dividas na produção do brocado.

Ying Ying é uma jovem talentosa, inteligente e resiliente que herdou as habilidades do pai e tenta recriar a tintura do verdadeiro vermelho de Yizhou perdido após a morte de seu pai bem como restaurar sua reputação como homem honesto. No entanto, no seu caminhos se atravessam vários vilões tentando se apropriar de seu talento.

Apesar de gostado das personagens e até me sentir estranhamente atraída por um dos vilões (Príncipe Bai) ao mesmo tempo que o odiava, no geral, o drama tem um roteiro frustrante. São muitos vilões e os mocinhos têm pouco poder para reagir as injustiças. Falta equilíbrio entre as vilanias e as vitórias dos mocinhos. Passamos os 40 episódios assistindo a Ying Ying sofrer com raros momentos de felicidade. Os mocinhos sofrem literalmente até o último minuto. É tanta tragédia que apesar do final feliz fica uma sensação amarga.

Sobre a questão técnica do drama. Primeiramente parabéns por terem feito um IA convincente (na maioria das cenas) no rosto do ator cancelado. Mas fiquei um pouco desapontada com as cenas externas. Usaram muito fundo verde em vez de paisagens naturais. Parece drama de baixo orçamento. O que me causou bastante estranhamento visto que pensei que era um drama de orçamento alto pelo que tinha visto do making off do drama com relação aos cenários, figurinos e pesquisa histórica sobre a fabricação do brocado. Mas pelo visto faltou orçamento para as cenas externas. O CGI poderia ser um pouquinho melhor, era muito óbvio o uso do fundo verde na maioria das cenas.

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Interesting characters

I found each episode to be entertaining. One thing I noticed was the number of antagonists. There were just so many people trying to game the system, switching fakes for the real thing, or outright killing anyone who got in the way. The lack of morality was astounding. On the other hand, there were so many people whose loyalty & friendship couldn't be bought. This was not a perfect series, but certain scenes were thought-provoking; some were emotional. Certain characters were not purely good or evil, and their complexity made the show more interesting. There was also enough comedic relief so that the show didn't feel too heavy.

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