Came for the arranged marriage trope, stayed for the feminism
Initially I only started this show because I like Bai Jing Ting and the romantic pairing in this fall in love after getting arranged married. But as I watched this I realized that the focus of the show wasn't on romance but rather on showing the beauty of female friendships which I really loved.This show can somewhat be considered a harem drama because it focuses on the wives of princes. Many of them are married to the same man. harem dramas are synonymous with toxic relationships & women harming each other all in a bid to assert their position as the legitimate, head wife. But this is where new life begins flips the script.
Women in the show recognise that the system pits them against one another when really their circumstances are because of their husbands. They form strong bonds with each other, support and uplift one another. Their characters exist independently outside of the marriage. They're real people with personalities, thoughts, opinions, flaws, ambitions and with their female friends they achieve their dreams, they achieve the freedom they crave and live their lives as they please.
In these Palace dramas its common to see the princes be ambitious but their wives are often relegated to tertiary characters with no life of their own. But Li Wei, along with the other women have their own ambitions independent of their husband' political ambitions but ambitions that regardless impact the politics of the country in a meaningful way.
I really enjoyed the show and the characters and they will be dearly missed.
Was this review helpful to you?
Simple and lighthearted!
This drama focuses mostly on family and relationships! All the other plot (palace politics, harem drama) are touched on but gets resolved quickly. All the villains eventually repent. No lingering hardcore villain to keep us on the edge of our seats to the end. Plot is overall simple and lighthearted.ML and FL is really cute. I loved BJT in YAMH and Reset so I was excited to see him in a costume drama. He continues to be a cutie to look at! FL is really cute with her big eyes. They make a cute CP in the drama! All the other characters did a great job in their supporting roles. Either you love them or you hate them but they add to the lovely, crazy, sometimes, nerve wrecking family dynamics but everyone eventually sees the right of way!
My only con for this drama is that some parts are a bit draggy and there was a bit too much emphasis on sisterhood for me. I also think there was a hint of a BL relationship but that's hush hush.
Overall, a great watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The main couples romance is non existent
This is not a romance drama, the main couple could be seen as friends. The male lead's expression never changes, the main couple has no chemistry and they rarely have scenes together. the plot has no direction, the ml seems like the villain at this point. The only real relationship in this show is Shang guan' and yin Qi's.The show seems like it's trying to make a statement on feminism but it makes all the female characters weak and stupid, the only strong female character is overly violent to her own husband. The only smart female character isn't actually very smart. Also, the male lead is stupid and weak as well but they try to make him seem intelligent and strong. Overall the show isn't fun to watch or good in any way, even the camera work is lacking, I would not recommend it to anyone.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Indeed a New life Begun
I really enjoyed watching this series, I loved the chemistry between actors and the overall story line.It is a very light, feminist, lots of food type of series with many actual real life issues that a lot of people especially women deal with on a daily basis. Women empowerment story that was done right, it has many multi-layered characters without pitting women against women and promotes sisterhood instead.
Li Wei and Yin Zheng story warms my heart, it was very complicated at first but in the end it was all worth it.
I tend to fast forward or skip because 40 eps series are sometimes very dragging but this series was one of those series that I enjoyed every second of it. Even side characters and their story is good and gave me a reason to root for them.
I can see myself rewatching this series in the near future. I hope others can enjoy this series as much as I do.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most interesting drama of the year!!!
Just want to tell you everything about this drama, the story, the cast, the ost, the cinematography are dam so gooodThe story is light but it wont make you boring, i used to prefer a heavy story since light story tend to be boring, but this drama isnt boring, TRUST MEEE, the ups and downs are just PERFECT, not too light but not heavy at all
the musics thooo, some are relaxing, some are give emotions to the story, ++ ye xuanqing and Liu Yuning sang the osts for this drama
What i most like is the cinematography, it gives a kind of atmosphere which is hard for me to describe ??
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Worth watching
thumbs up! so far from the storyline, cast and all. honestly, i didn't even try to fast forward each episodes cause its worth watching, each actors where given their moments to shine. to bring out the best of their characters. good job director. i can say C Drama gives different types of storyline that is not boring for the viewers and this is one of them. fresh in the eyes and acting is not boring but at the same time not too light. it catches all attention. im sure you will get good reviews in the future, keep it up.Was this review helpful to you?
Kindness Always Wins
This was less romance than I expected but a very calm slice of life. Very easy to watch with lovely visuals and rich, relaxing music.The overall theme of no matter male, female, high rank, or commoner kindness matters was nice. But a little overly hammered home with every story for every couple. Being respectful and having integrity is important but did make it feel like only females understand this and men need to be taught. I understand it was pseudo historical and trying to be a sign of the times but it was still a fictional setting so they didn't need to be quite so heavy handed.
People that complain the FL is childish, yes she is because she is practically a child and never had to have city life/rules. She definitely does learn, grow, and mature by the end. The growth of the women was mainly the focus of the story. It was nice to see how all the friendships unfolded.
P.S. I need someone to teach me how to cook everything in this show!
Was this review helpful to you?
Underrated
Its a beautiful n a fresh drama. Unlike lots of other c drama this one is unique coz of story line. No typical fights between the main wifes n concubines. Acting is amazing. But kudos to the screenplay.Worth a watch. I couldn't stop once I started. Will rewatch it for sure.
The drama is underrated definitely deserves more.
Special mention on the comic timing of the 3 rd price n his team of women.
This drama talks of women empowerment in a very good way. Women folk here were shown as independent thinkers which was definitely fresh ro see for ancient period dramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sincerity & Pureness of heart.
I plunged right into the drama without much thought and I’m glad that it turned out all right.What I liked:
- The FL and the ML have good chemistry. I really liked that ML was sincere in his affections and love for the FL right from the start. He wasn’t a player.
- The female characters in this drama are likable. No one is a full on bitch (other than 4th mistress) which is so great. The female characters support one another and help one another.
- I like that this drama focuses on overthrowing dated stereotypes and ridiculous ‘norms’. Eg: women should not show their faces outside. Women should stay home and be dutiful wives and mothers. Women should this. Women shouldn’t this. I, personally, don’t think it’s a woman or a man thing. It’s a person thing. Avoid gender stereotypes and look at a person as a person (not just as female or a male). Don’t have erroneous preconceived notions of what men / women should be like. No such thing! I like that the show tries to overthrow these unreasonable and outdated ‘norms’.
- The drama also talks about post partum depression and about how to take care of an expectant mother. Women don’t have easy lives and it’ll be so much better if women had supportive partners/ men/ family members etc. People should support people. Lift one another up with love and courage and compassion.
- Yuan Ying turned out to be so cute. I loved how she was so capable and so by-the-book. She was so cute!
- I liked the relationship which formed between Yuan Ying and Li Wei. So cute! There was no fighting over the same husband. They became sisters.
- The butler Su Shen and the maids were so cute too. I especially love to see Su Shen fussing over Yin Zheng. He’s earnest and comedic.
What I didn’t like:
- Insecure and crazy and incompetent second master.
- Vicious fourth mistress.
Overall, I enjoyed this ‘feel good’ drama with a happy ending. This moved quickly and issues were resolved pretty fast. The first 20-25 episodes were very interesting but it sort of watered down afterwards. Still a good watch. I loved that Yin Zheng was powerful in terms of his martial arts and he loved his wife so much. Pls watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
Good balance of humor and the serious things in life, full of focus on female friendship and family
I love the beginning and ending quarters for sure (the preciousness and wholesomeness and chaos and fun All on Overload and I'm here for it).It's pretty quiet/laid-back/domestic/slice of life, not too intense, and I honestly would have been happier if Li Wei (FL) and Yin Zheng (ML) had more screen time together (yup, especially in that middle section, which felt a bit slower without them ^-^). But, as it is, this is a very female-friendships-centered plot, and not as much on the main couple's romance for most the show.
LOVE the delicacies and foods and aesthetics (so cozy and healing), very cute and sweet main ship, all the side ships are also either sweet or bickery spicy sweet. As far as romances go, it's a bit rare as it focuses on both parties in the relationship pretty much equally, which is lovely to witness.
As far as HEA happy endings go, this deserves a 10/10 for that.
Appreciate the story's main thematic (essentially) commentary on the whole harem/concubines situation - which also enabled me to feel and understand the inner court's women of historical times more. However, the plot felt a bit dragged on as it didn't offer quite as many twists or interesting things as I would have preferred in the middle section especially (who am I kidding though, I was likely suffering from pretty bad hangover from lack of Li Wei+Yin Zheng dose lol).
Also love the VERY diverse set of personalities and ships/couples, as well as their respective developments. I liked all of the (good :D) main AND supporting characters by the end!
Needless to say, all the acting's top notch. I've put more of Tian Xi Wei's and Bai Jing Ting's cdramas on my To Watch list because they're each such great main leads.
Good balance of humor and the serious things in life for sure. =) If you want a comfort watch full of (esp female, but also the brothers/princes/young lords) friendships and family, this is for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
Refreshing drama
This drama is really good, very refreshing. It's different than your typical drama with lots of scheming and unnecessary misunderstandings.The characters are all so unique and interesting, even the villains has good sides to them.
The actors portrayed the characters really well, with differing personalities and traits being shown in the drama.
I also feel like the side stories are all meaningful, no boring filler subplots.
They also made it so we are able to savour the happy ending, unlike other dramas where the happy ending is only for the last 15mins of the last episode. The last 3 episodes are making me sooo happy.
Was this review helpful to you?
Sincere, Sweet, and Irresistibly Likeable
This drama is like eating a holiday meal of favorite comfort foods. There are no big surprises, but you thoroughly enjoy each dish, and afterwards you feel warm and happy for having eaten well of good foods.That being said, "New Life Begins" was itself a delightful surprise. Given how young the leads looked in promos, I confess to not having expected much from this C-drama. Maybe something light & fun. Which this is! But there's also enough substance to keep it interesting, & the characters are all likeable enough (or insanely hateable enough) that you're invested in their outcomes.
The drama focuses on relationships. Even the political questions or conflicts are really just another way of illustrating the relationships between characters involved. It's slice-of-life set against a fictional, 9-region political backdrop, with the central mechanism being that women are often used to keep the peace via interregional marriages. The questions many of these women come back to asking is: Their lives are used to barter for peace, but *should* they be? Isn't there a better way, one that doesn't sacrifice their own futures & dreams on the altar of politics?
**Mild, baby-sized spoilers below - nothing earth-shattering**
CHARACTERS
I liked pretty much every single character by the end. (The abusive as*h*** of an Eldest Prince excepted...may he meet with misfortune every 30 minutes.) There's growth on everyone's part throughout the story, & the relationships that unfold are a pleasure to observe. You end up rooting for all the couples & most of the characters, as even the annoying ones learn from their mistakes & evolve. The couples (or princes & their harems) are all well-matched. I laughed so hard when the extreme-introvert couple decided to send out gifts instead of hosting a housewarming party for their new home, so that they wouldn't have to converse with anyone. #relateable Even the ML’s second marriage partner in addition to the FL—a woman who, by all the laws of drama-watching, should be loathed—is brilliant & thoughtful & so absolutely cool that she navigates a 3-way marriage with the 2 leads without much conflict at all, & you end up wanting to cheer for her, too. I’ve never admired a forced love “triangle” before, but this…worked, somehow (temporarily).
Both leads (ML & FL) act more maturely than most C-drama protagonists, despite their youthful appearance. They make *good* assumptions about each other & ask questions instead of jumping to the worst conclusion. (Also, the ML’s voice is lovely deep.) The leads are great about communicating with each other & having the other's back. (They do start out a bit rocky & grow into this...please wait for it. :) The ML's manservant is my favorite side character. (I officially petition the Drama Overlords for MORE servants who overshare in order to quickly clear up misunderstandings between protagonists.) Their (ML & FL) relationship progression from strangers in a political "business" marriage, to allies & friends, to lovers at last, is slow, sweet, & natural, so that you actually believe the ML & FL genuinely *like* one another by the time they're confessing. Forget grand, first-sight, "destined" love—give me more couples who sincerely enjoy spending time together day-to-day, who communicate well, who help & support each other, who can tease each other & laugh together, & have all of this seem natural. (That’s far better than “soulmates” who can’t go a 5 minutes without arguing or misunderstanding—you wonder how they’ll survive with each other day-to-day in their “happily ever after.”)
Strong, ambitious, clever women are everywhere. Held down by outdated traditions & pompous men? Yes. But they don't let that stop them from dreaming & scheming anyways. Does their behavior sometimes stretch the bounds of belief around what would actually be allowable in a society such as theirs? Eh, maybe. Just ignore that—enjoy them changing their world single-handedly.
PLOT
There manage to be serious moments throughout the drama without it being very heavy. The two caveats to this lightness are the abusive Crown Prince (who can walk off a cliff already) & the side storyline about his concubine's postpartum depression (with that husband, is there any wonder?!), but these don’t get massive chunks of screen time & are thankfully resolved faster than you'd expect—no dragging it out into the last 5 minutes of the show.
There aren't any massive twists to the plot; its predictability is offset by the character growth you didn't expect, the healthy relationships, & the variety of situations the characters face together. The story could have been a bit more compact, but it still makes you want to keep watching to the end.
Are there tropes & clichés included? Yes—‘twouldn't be a “drama” without them.
--->The FL can be immature sometimes, esp. in the beginning.
--->There's a pouty, childish SFL who is desperate for the ML’s attention for a while.
--->The ML has idiot brothers with hearts of gold & wives who are clearly too good for them, but who they eventually become better men for.
--->Etc.
HOWEVER, these tropes aren't executed annoyingly (for the most part), misunderstandings get resolved quickly, & the overall effect is enjoyable.
This isn't a perfect drama. I could pick apart & criticize a number of details, especially around character idiosyncrasies. For example, the "strong" princess married to her idiot "weak" prince—their relationship, while believable by the end, is borderline abusive for the first 2/3 of the show. Like...ANY effort to show some of the playful warmth that she claims with people in her home province would have helped. But I digress. Main point – it’s imperfect, yet these few irritating details don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.
TL;DR - If you want something that isn't too heavy, that holds your attention, & that makes you feel good for watching it—less like you've eaten cotton candy or sweets, more like you've eaten a several-course holiday dinner—then I highly recommend this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
