--Summary--
If you like costume CDramas, this may be a unique gem worth checking out, especially since it will deliver much better production and acting compared to idol costume dramas. If you are pretty frustrated with costume dramas already, this may not be the canary in the coalmine, but still worth checking out for at least a few episodes to make your mind.

‒Review‒
After so many highly anticipated costume drama disappointments and derivative offerings, I was really looking forward to this one to save the costume dramas in 2024. Alas, it's not the case. Maybe with the exception of Strange Tales 2, which I'm not that confident about since Strange Tales 1 was a drudgery, 2024 costume drama lineup may end up suffering total annihilation, 全军覆没. The Great Nobody is great, but that's really a modern workplace comedy. Heroes would be the other one, but that's late Qing, I mean, they have guns.

To be fair, this show is serviceable, hence the 7.0 rating. The sets, costumes, and production is gorgeous and meticulously shot. The veteran cast are so much better than the typical idols you see, even if some of the dialogs and lines can feel a little too modern. I'm liking it a bit more than Strange Tales, which produced more frustrations. Maybe I would have watched this to the end at the beginning of the year, when other terrific shows are not beckoning. But after 9 episodes, it's giving a clear signal on what level it's aiming for, and its target is just not ambitious, original, or engaging enough. There's no clearer indication than sprinkling some frivolities into the show for cheap laughs and entertainment. I'm sure quite a lot of people enjoy this, and that's why the writers keep doing it. But so much of the chore-like 家长里短 humor deliver neither insightful observations nor laughs. Had the setting been changed to modern day, I'm sure such boring and antiquated plots would be fervently lambasted. This is the Chinese version of Marvel movies humor / heart, that after seeing a few, you've basically seen it all. No matter what kind of new coloring, flavoring, or molding they use to sell it to you, it's still the same regurgitation that's been puked out many times over.

There's been too many dramas this year taking this route (furiously glaring at you Joy of Life 2) and this hasn't been a recent phenomenon (Advisors Alliance and GTRD). This race to the common denominator may get viewership, but is never going to produce outstanding, memorable works. Who knew CDramas would get me quoting Coco Chanel: elegance is refusal. Unless you refuse to serve slop, you are just telling me your max target is just above average quality, regardless of how good the production looks and how strong the cast lineup is. And as bad as I feel about giving it a 7 despite the expensive production, I'm still left wondering if 7 is too generous.

Most people should still check this out though, as a lot of the criticisms will not be relevant for international audiences. And I'm quite a harsh rater by MDL standards.

‒Category Ratings‒

- Overall - 7
- Plot - 7
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 7
- Acting - 8.5
- Visuals - 8.8
- Audio / Music - 8
- Rewatch - 6
- Cultural/Topical Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8