Love Like the Galaxy: Part 1 (2022)

Not what I expected :(

What did I expect? Epic battle and fight scenes; strong and political power struggles; a distinguished underlying romance with very fierce chemistry and loyalty... Wrong expectations perhaps?? What I got was- family drama with lots of bickering, spats, some comical characters, some bitchy characters, actually lots of bitchy catty annoying female princesses/ nobles; and the FL doesn’t even like the ML at the end of episode 26! Lol....

Many reviewers are loving it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Wu Lei and ZLS and I had high expectations. But I suppose I had different expectations than what was produced. It was a little bit like Pride and Prejudice- with the grandmother and mother’s character. The storyline basically centred on Cheng Shaoshang and her relationship with her mother. Yes the story focused a lot on her background and character development, which many reviewers loved, but for me it was too concentrated and too draggy. The mother loves her daughter but she’s going about it all wrong! The mix of comedy with the tragedy and seriousness just didn’t jive.

I skipped most of the scenes on conspiracies, battle plans etc.. just didn’t find it interesting. It was basically getting justice for his family? honestly Wu Lei’s face was just the same the whole time. Except for two scenes where he had to fake laugh.. which was too hilarious.

The romance? FL we engaged to someone else whom she liked. As events turned out, the engagement was broken off and the ML swoops in to propose. At this point of time, she accepts because she is forced to, but she doesn’t like him hahaha. Not your typical romance storyline albeit, but again I couldn’t jive with it. But the way Ling Buyi is mesmerised with her is quite dreamy :)

Acting is great, cinematography was excellent (loved the meeting in the forest scene. Reminded me of The Lord of the Rings). Not a fan of the family drama, the battle plans nor the overwhelming female cattiness. Romance I liked a little.. sorry guys! :(

Update: There’s actually 50+ episodes? So after episode 27 the storyline and romance development gets more interesting. And we can see Cheng Shaoshang slowly changing and growing up.

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Defiantly got better.

My original review is below but this is an addition I have written upon completing the show.

Firstly I am glad I finished it as it got much better once you got out two main leads in the same place.......the plot seemed to find its rhythm and it took off nicely. However I have to say that maybe it took off a little two much as (with the exception of the last 2 episodes) the last 4 or 5 episodes felt long and dull. Almost like the plot had peaked too early so they had to go back to the MFL being dumb all over again and 'the hero saving the damsel' type idea which they had already done dozens of times and were writing the MFL out of.

The character growth among the leads also took off...…That's something which I love, and can make or break a drama for me. A great drama can be ruined by long periods of no character growth (like happened earlier this year with the Blue Whisper) or a only half decent drama can be made great by it. Yes this drama had a long period at the beginning of almost glacial character development, especially for our leads, but it was made up for at the end.

Unlike a lot of Chinese dramas the ending doesn't seemed rushed either. It seems well thought out, although not the type I would have expected it is still nice and fits the story.

The acting, costumes and cinematography were all fantastic, some of the shots you see take your breath away.

It is defiantly worth a watch.

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*Original review*
I am enjoying watching this show and will most probably finish it but there are few things about which I feel could have improved quite easily to make it better.

First of all the acting is great, but 18 episodes in a lot of the characters have had very little if any character growth at all. I know there is a second part to this but I would have thought they would have done something with them in the first 18 episodes.

The mother is still as biased and unloving (while kidding herself she actually cares) as she was at the beginning. Basically she hates herself so she's taking it out on her daughter. The father is still a pushover. The step sister/foster sister/whatever you want to call her, has no life in her whatsoever and needs to find something to interest her fast. The two 'love interests' for the female lead, one is only really interested in himself so far and the other is a person who needs a playmate not a wife.

The two leads have had hardly any time on screen together but when they do they light up and you can see they have amazing chemistry. Sadly though even these characters have not had much in the way of development. The ML is much the same as the start, except now he softens when the FL is around, and the FL is just as dumb when it comes to relationships as when she began.

I think part of the problem is something I've noticed in a lot of Chinese dramas and that is that they take so long to build the world in the first place that they seem to run out of time to fit everything in at the end. One example of this is the 'engagement' between the FL and one of the SML's which has gone on for about 6 episodes now. Everyone knows they won't get married so why drag it on for so long when they could be using some of those episodes to establish the main relationship!

All in all it needs speeding up, the story and the character development, so they are not having to rush everything in part two and ruin it. At least that is my thoughts.

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MY SPLENDID DRAMA IN 2022

This drama is a rare unicorn that has all the artistic as well as technical aspects of storytelling perfectly executed.

Both the leads are magnetic on screen, and the wide bevy of supporting characters make the world feel full and lived-in. I think what this makes the couple so compelling is that they're two strong personalities who are both emotionally deficient. One of whom has never experienced love and the other doesn't even know what it's supposed to look like. The romantic tension does not come from whether or not they love each other, but from 'HOW' are they going to love each other. Their hearts are in it and the feelings are there, but still they stumble and fall. Watching them learn how to be together has been a lovely, magnificent and gratifying experience.

The embedded narration and the parallel plot that are built are so synergistic with the main theme even without ever taking focus away from the sweet romance between the two couples.

Wu Lei's poker face with stiff expression as a board to form the character features of Ling Bu Yi feels iconic and distinctive. His overt sternness makes the moments that he melts around Shaoshang even more beautiful, and I think it was the right artistic choice for him to employ these two extremes to bring this particular character to life. It's extremely jarring to see him switch back and forth, but that is the point imo. Zhao Lusi is doing an incredible job too, but her character allows her to flex her emotional range more easily. They're extremely well-suited, and neither this drama nor the couple would have worked as well as they do with anyone else.

I'm really hoping the part 2 will be even more admirable and stunning.

Happy watching, everyone! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡

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IT'S BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!!!

I wallow on this drama. It's the best thing since sliced ​​bread!!!

With a storyline that is so inspiring and interesting, it is integrated with the social and cultural context of that era. The story also uncovers real-life problems and contradictions, such as the traditional Chinese family preference for boys over girls and generational conflicts when it comes to parenting. How important is the love-caring, attention and support of parents and families for the development of children's character and mindset. The love story set forth in this story is also arouses and special.

In this series, the development of the characters and the plot of the subject takes place gradually and logically. The backstory of the characters and their reflections on relationships make this series multidimensional. The fact that this series contains elements of a fresh light comedy that flows from beginning to end also makes it so much fun to watch.

The drama is also supported by the rows of professional actors and actresses, where their acting is so slick and natural, union with their character. Especially for FL and ML who are still relatively young but undoubtedly 'gifted', the appearance of Zhao Lusi as Cheng Shaoshang and Leo Wu Lei as Ling Bu Yi genuinely deserves THUMBS UP! The chemistry between the two is really on another level. Lot of sparks between both, bring audience to enjoy many many swoon-worthy moment.

The costumes used are also unique and cool. What I like the most is the shaoshang winter costume during the lantern festival, the fur cloak in a charming red color. I also like Ling Bu Yi's armor and military robes.

In terms of cinematography, it is so aesthetic and elegant. I feel like I'm while watching a box office movie, spoiled by captivating visuals with stunning details.

The music and sound here is truly outstanding. Every melody and tone is mixed and arranged meticulously and accurate, so as to be created form the wholly proper of mood and atmosphere, built tension, strengthen emphasis to an effect of emotion or give empathize the action.

As comprehensive these drama and the story on it is really blatantly my heart and memory. All in terms of quality, artistic and philosophy, this was really absolute preponderant of great.
( ͡ _ ͡°)ﾉ♡♡♡

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Perfect

This is the first time I'm writing a review so bare with me, I have been a fan of Chinese drama for almost 2 years now and it has been much entertaining in my part. But Love Like Galaxy, I was blown away, that I actually watched it over and over since it has been shown. Thank goodness for my subscription. It has been a fantastic journey for the past 6 weeks. I love Zhao Lu Si and Wu Lei as an actor , the first time I've seen them in the same series was the Long Ballad, I also love that show. But this one Love Like Galaxy is like the top of my list and surely will be my favourite to come for a long time. The potrayal of the actors and actresses was just awesome, i can put all the superlative but that's too much. I've laughed, cried get angry in every series. I've felt every emotion that can possibly be experienced by human watching this series. You know the feeling of opening a present, this is how i felt when there is a new series coming up, so much so that Ive subscribe for the express series, that i cant wait for Tuesday, anyway it has come to an end , now I want to read the book unfortunately it only comes in Chinese, I know there's few online that's been translated to English, but I actually want to have a paper back, it will be a fanstactic read and read it over and over again.
The director has done a marvelous job, Kudos to you Sir. The cinematography was fantastic. It has taken my imagination on watching a tv series to a new level. Congratulation to all! It has been fun.
Xiexie ni

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Great dynamic from a period ensemble family drama~

Maybe many people who read the synopsis thought the drama would only focus on the romance of the main lead, in fact this drama is more than that. Each character that appears on screen is not only a tool, they all have their own story. The storyline is slowly built, making us understand how each character is connected, how they behave and so on. The main example is our female lead. In the first 4 episodes is shown how Cheng Shaoshang, a little girl who was bullied almost her whole life and left alone behind made her unconsciously always in ready mode to defend herself and doesn't care about manners also what she'll receive after that because she was never taught before. The most important thing for Shaoshang is to defend herself first.

The harsh of reality is shown, especially ancient time as the main setting for this drama. Shaoshang has a typical Asian mother who is strict and has a high pride in educating their children, unfortunately what she did unconsciously hurts her daughter. Maybe some people don't understand, but many people also can sympathize because they've seen and felt it by themselves. There is also Ling Buyi, a young general whose emperor's favorite, in several scenes showing us those who have power can do much more than commoners. The bittersweet of reality is shown by the diversity of this drama. I personally think that there are no filler episodes in LLTG, every scene makes me understand more about what it's like to be the character. Full of laugh and tears enjoying their stories building up. Can't wait things unfold more in part two~

For the cast of this drama, obviously I have no complaints at all. They born to play these characters in LLTG. I can't imagine if just one character was replaced by another actor, especially Ling Buyi and Cheng Shaoshang. No young actor imo can represent how strong general Ling Buyi is other than Wu Lei, his body proportions and aura perfectly match with 081. For CSS, perhaps the cunning and stubborn side can be done by other actress, but the adorable and glutinous side of CSS as a 15-year-old girl who is still innocent and doesn't know the cruelty of the world, no one can do this except Zhao Lusi. These two makes a perfect combination. Cnetz even nicknamed Yishang/Wulu couple as "God's chosen couple" "Heaven chosen couple" because of their overflowing chemistry.

The BGM of this drama is chef kiss, because there is no OST (only instrumental/bgm) makes the audience more focused on the story. Cinematography? Masterpiece indeed. The months of hard work that director Fei, screenwriters, casts and other staff have put in is clear to my eyes, they show me a great dynamics and I'm super satisfied with it.

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Primarily Focused on FL's Storyline

This "2 part" drama, I'm going to review separately on here because I feel part 1 is different from part 2. Watching it solely for Wu Lei as he's one of the people I follow. I love him in these commander roles plus the man can have chemistry with a pet rock at only 22 years old. I never read the source material so I'm sure many of the novel readers will disagree with me and that's ok.

Pros: LBY played by WL never disappointed when he hit the screen for the very short amount of time he was in this part. Not only was he lethal and ruthless but he also knew who he wanted from nearly the first episode and was just bidding his time for the sake of the familial politics working around him. He however was also not without flaws and that showed a lot at the end of part 1. CSS/NN played by ZLS was always on her game though also a flawed character. I really appreciated how smart she was without the need of traditional learning. With so many odds against her, she still not only managed to survive but make something of herself.

Other favorite characters included NN's brothers, third uncle and aunt, LBY's guards, Yang Yang, QiQi, emperor and empress. All were very helpful and caring where most of NN's family fell short. Ah Yao was alright but just a sweet kid and I'm glad he was maneuvered accordingly out of her life. Music, costumes, scenery, and that part of production was quite beautiful and I enjoyed that very much. Also the comedic elements helped move many of the slower scenes along.

Cons: This part of the story was slow; like snail paced slow to the point where it was very draggy. I ffw a lot of NN's family drama in the beginning episodes because it was legit yawnsville. I get that they were trying to show how hard she had it and all but it was just too much. The only bright spots were when LBY came into the picture or she traveled to Hua County. Otherwise, it was all very similar and lackluster.

Really poor characters were all the Princesses especially princess seaweed who's whining just made me want to stuff said seaweed down her throat. All they did was bully NN and with the same old tired crap, like ladies can y'all sing a different tune? You're all boring. Mommy dearest took the cake and the award for worst mother of the year and I couldn't deal with her; dear lord what a horrible woman. I'd say she was the main antagonist of part one. Dad was ok but essentially had no spine. YS aka pompous ass didn't need any scenes. He is a contender for NN's heart but each of his scenes were just of him being an asshat to the woman he liked.

Just a lot of unnecessary tropes and cliches, in this first one. I know all of the meat and potatoes will be in the second one but I do wish that the first part had an even backstory on the ML not just a rinse and repeat of FL's crappy home life dynamic, it would have helped a lot with what's coming and made the first portion more even keeled.

Would I recommend it? It's beautiful and if you're a fan of any of the leads or support and are ok with a really slow start, then sure, I would. Because I'm looking forward to part 2 and what it has to deliver.

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Roundabout Love Story and Bland Characters

This is a tale about a girl, Cheng Shao Shang (pet name Niao Niao) who was born to parents who were both generals. She was given to her paternal grandmother and aunt (wife of her uncle) to raise as her parents had to depart immediately for war after her birth (she also had an older twin brother). There was no bed-confinement rest for the mother. Her older brothers were taken elsewhere and raised differently, and for Niao Niao, whose vicious aunt wanted nothing more than to present her as an ill-bred child due to no one's fault but the poor girl's "unruly nature", her life growing up was full of loneliness and pain, save for the company of her servant girl. It didn't help that her own grandmother favoured sons and grandsons over daughters and granddaughters, and the result was a young girl who was largely neglected and ill-treated by her own relatives. When her parents returned to her side at the age of 15, she could not read beyond a few Chinese characters because of the poor education she received in her parents' absence.

All this backstory is to emphasise how pitiful Niao Niao is, and I have no doubt that her situation was not uncommon in old China. It is slightly unusual in the sense that Niao Niao was daughter to two generals with good reputation and standing in their county. Anyway, after following her life episode after episode, my displeasure with the characters around her only grew with time. There's not much to say about her vicious aunt - she was taken care of early in the drama, her punishment was swift and timely. Her grandmother, though, was a terrible woman whose childish antics continued to be so dreadful that I stopped taking her seriously.

Niao Niao had a female cousin who was staying with them, Yang Yang. Yang Yang was daughter to the vicious aunt and her meek husband (the second son in the house, Niao Niao's father's younger brother). Now Yang Yang, unlike Niao Niao, was educated and raised properly by her mother's family. She could read and write with utmost fluency and possessed a kind disposition like her father (thankfully she did not take after her bitchy mom). Comparisons entailed after Niao Niao's general mother, Xiao Yuan Yi, showed up after 15 whole years of absence from her own daughter's life.

I absolutely have no soft spot for Niao Niao's mother after watching 14 episodes of this drama. Niao Niao's mother knew that she lacked proper teaching and education for more than 15 years of her young life. Niao Niao is incomparable to Yang Yang, who was taught the proper etiquettes of a well-behaved young woman and had a proper education. Yet somehow, her mother expected Niao Niao to magically grow up well as a respectable lady and be the perfect daughter of her dreams as soon as she returned home from the war after 15 years. It was as if her mother just wanted to reap the benefits without sowing any hard work or love into her child. If I were a mother, the first thing after reuniting with my child is to shower them with love and try to understand them, not demand them to conform to what I want. Throughout the series (so far), her mother thought that discipline was what her own daughter needed, so she meted out punishments for ill behaviour, the most trivial slip of etiquette, childish schemes and pranks. To add insult to Niao Niao's injury, her mother constantly praised Yang Yang and showered her with affection in front of her own daughter. This kind of hurt is unfathomable. I do hope that they could reconcile, because while Niao Niao could be childish and immature, she was after all still a child who was bullied her whole life. Her perspective of the world was skewed by her own terrible experiences and starvation for love, hence she jumped into the first opportunity to get married even though she wasn't that into the guy (Lou Yao) when they met. Her mother did not recognise this - that her own daughter was yearning for more affection.

As for the romance part of this drama - I'm not feeling it too deeply. I just couldn't feel much chemistry between the main leads. There were funny moments and I did howl at some scenes, but something was still missing and I couldn't quite pin my finger on it. I'm not sure if it's Leo Wu's problem to connect with his female leads (all his other dramas with his female leads also felt somewhat flat to me) or if it's because of the way the romance was written in this story. He's only 22 and still growing as an actor, so I really don't have much to complain about him, as he can act pretty okay.

In the drama, he is Ling Bu Yi (courtesy name Zi Sheng). Niao Niao left a deep impression on Zi Sheng the first time they met after she sold out her own grand-uncle (her grandmother's younger brother) for committing a crime. Their subsequent meetings and interactions just weren't real enough or convincing for me, at least. He was also betrothed to Imperial Princess Yu Cheng, but he refused to acquiesce to the betrothal because, in his own words, he didn't want an arranged marriage. He wanted to find someone he really loved, and he wanted someone whom he knew would be the one - at first sight. I'm sorry but it's just so .... childish? There's also flaw in his thinking. He said, "I want the kind of love the moment I see it," but what about the princess? She could very well have thought he too, was the love she wanted the moment she saw him. But love itself is never that simple. It is about mutual acceptance, responsibility and the willingness to commit. I say that, but actually, I don't feel for the princess, she's a spoiled broad. Zi Sheng himself can be hypocritical in his world views, he talked big but he didn't know crap about love. All of Niao Niao's suitors annoy me. The bewildering thing about this story is, all the guys fell too hard and too fast (three of them) for the heroine and Zi Sheng is no exception.

Zi Sheng himself came from a complicated household. His mother lost her mind over an incident, and his biological father seemed like a villain. The emperor adopted Zi Sheng as his own son, was lenient to him and to most of his subjects, even criminals. The writer depicted the emperor as a soft-hearted man, whose actions reflect himself more as a modern family man than a mighty emperor. Zi Sheng could speak without restraint in the emperor's presence, he didn't have to do the things he didn't like to do, and the emperor seemed to care more about Zi Sheng's love life than his career as the general of a dynasty. This was weird, but nevertheless heartwarming, and I would have been more accepting of his portrayal had it not been for the glaring contrast of Niao Niao's strict, severe and unyielding mother. So while all the convoluted plots of stealing armaments from the imperial troops and acts of rebellions were going on in the background, with the main guy Zi Sheng having his hands full trying to close the case (I don't understand why he is also part of the investigation team, wasn't he a general? Why was he also the police?), the main girl was in a hurry to get married so she could finally "be free" from her toxic, unloving family. I just feel it's too much of a roundabout way to tell a love story. I have no interest in the first fiance, Lou Yao or his equally toxic family. I honestly don't understand why would Niao Niao, being as intelligent as she was, wanted to jump from one abusive family to the next. It just doesn't make sense. She wanted freedom, but marrying into Lou Yao's family is anything but obtaining freedom.

Around Episode 20, when Niao Niao was forced to break off her engagement with Lou Yao, she wailed and cried about her "unlucky" fate in the carriage with Zi Sheng. I understand that she simply wanted something that would go her way for once, and that she had never had anyone who showed their love for her like Lou Yao did. She was raised like a frog under a well, so I completely understand her ignorance in the first half of the series. I was eager to see how she would grow. Yet after the arc where she went through a harrowing ordeal chased by a band of deserting soldiers who turned bandits, where she had witnessed so many tragedies and deaths, the thing she said was, "Why am I always the unlucky one?" Like, girl, out of so many things you could have said, you chose the worst thing to say.

The bandit arc in Part 1 was supposed to show how Niao Niao grew as a person after observing how life outside her family home was much complicated and tragic than she assumed her life was in comparison. That was what I thought. But because of what Niao Niao said after all that, I realised I was wrong. That whole arc is nothing but to show us how Niao Niao is really already such a great and wonderful girl, and she doesn't need to change. That her actions in this arc were what made Zi Sheng fall more in love with her, that's it. He saw her being smart, being kind, he saw and heard her play the flute, and his heart ached with deep longing - what with the sombre background music and all - that he couldn't have her because she was engaged. It was a sympathy arc for Zi Sheng.

Personally, I still don't think it's a bad story altogether. I'm still entertained somewhat. But the plot surrounding the royal family and the investigation concerning the stolen troop armaments could have been written better. The romance could have been written better. The main characters annoy me every now and then and there were too many characters who don't really serve much purpose other than being distractions and obstacles between the main two leads. I just don't really like that kind of thing. I want a simple, straightforward story, and if you're also like me in this aspect - you won't find that here. Be prepared to get dragged around watching characters you don't care for, scenes you don't care for, and very few scenes between the two leads. But this is just Part 1, and I'm only finishing it. Honestly, I don't have much hopes for Part 2. But I'll finish that as well.

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Yuck ? It Sucks!

Everything abt it sucks!
ML - a ruthless general (ruthless! really?). He is worse than a cry baby.
His facial expressions are so baby like! How was he given the role of Ruthless general?
FL - Annoying presumptious girl. She was apparently abandoned by parents and raised by cruel Grandmother & Aunt who did not teach her anything but then suddenly she knows everything from Politics, Military Strategies, Fighting, Healing and you name it!
And Every Male (2nd 3rd ...) Character falls in love with her except those elders and her siblings.
Fckng Annoying.
Just Don't waste your time like i did!
I don't know how it got 9.0 rating.
Or You can just watch some 10-15 episodes, You'll get an idea 🤞

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My patience is tested to the limit! Highly Recommended!

The drama started out slow and somewhat confusing...(ep1-4)...almost dropped but really glad I stuck to it...
After ep 4, things picked up and oh boy...its agony waiting for new episodes to air...just like waiting for that phone call after the first date...

I'm back to update my review after I finished all 27 episodes for Part 1. I would give a score higher than 10 if I could!!!
These are the reasons:
This is an excellent CDrama - well-made - well done!!! From interesting storylines (not cliche), scripting, casting, directing, especially cinematography!

Storylines: 10/10 - Sub plots seem to get weaved into the main plot really well. Get to learn family values and tradition way and what young dynasty had to go through to survive.

Acting: 100/10
All actors/actresses did an excellent job in their roles...The male lead portrayed the cold, decisive, ferocious General LBY so well...he can speak with his eyes, being anger, love, caring....his gaze is unbelievable! Love him so much when he's in his uniform on horseback with his black armored guards...Also love the emperor and the female lead's dad - General Cheng...All other
casts did a marvelous job as well...make you feel like you are part of the family...
This was made possible by excellent scripting, casting and directing, I believe.

Music: 8/10
I gave 8/10 as I have seen better music from other dramas and I had to search for the OST, like Love of Thousand Years...

Rewatch Value: 10/10
I binged read the story from the internet to ease my pain and agony from the wait...I rewatched several episodes while waiting for the new ones to air so I should give more than 10....lol

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A breath of fresh air

I'll try to make this as short as possible 😅.

First of all the storyline.... It's new, different and refreshing. I mean I don't think we've seen a Cdrama where the female lead is to have 3 marriage prospects have we?. What makes it more different is how they managed to weave the story and relationships between Cheng shaoshang and her suitors, it was not messy at all. Perfectly written and so far amazingly delivered.

The chemistry between Lusi and Leo Wu is just perfect. I say this because after watching WRTW, I had to go back and rewatch it for 5 times because I couldn't get over YY and Lusi's chemistry there but thanks to LLTG, I can say that I've moved on and my new CP now is produly Lusi and Leo Wu 😂. It's just that good , gives you the right feels. God I think I digress but believe me when I say that the chemistry is so very apt!.

The cinematography is something else, it's breathtaking and so aesthetic. The comedy is something else😂. Hilarious most especially that bridge scene 😂, God my stomach hurt so much from laughing.
I think I have to stop here , I am hopeful while praying that tencent will air the part two without delay cause this is the only Cdrama that keeps me excited and giddy right now.

A must watch!!!

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