This review may contain spoilers
The movie was great until the ending.
The story was well written until the ending piece. The two major characters have been through so many trials and tribulations from the beginning great until the end. Why would the male character have been poisoned and be close several times for a cure to die in the end. I don't like how they did the very ending of Episode 40 when we knew he was going to die and they show a far away scenery of people traveling in a caravan which you surmise it's the major female character but she is not shown. The ending could have been better written with the two major characters that showed them up close and personal.Was this review helpful to you?
THIS IS WHAT 2024 NEEDED.
I’m only up to episode 20 and let me tell you it’s been a rollercoaster for me. One I never want to get off.I’ve been a fan of the pairing of Zhao Lusi and Liu Yu Ning ever since they stole the show in The Long Ballad and let me tell you they ate and left no crumbs in Pearl Girl. So. Much. Chemistry!!!
Their story is angsty, beautiful, brutal and so addictive. I love the whole cast (especially Shrimp, Kang Ju and Loud), the costume (GORGEOUS). the OST (LYN, come on) and everyone’s performance.
ZLS is known for being typecasted but this show definitely showed off her range. I’m patiently waiting for more episodes.
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A dazzling start, a disappointing dive
The Story of the Pearl Girl initially captivated audiences with its stunning visuals, a compelling female protagonist, and an exploration of societal constraints. However, the narrative loses its focus in the latter half, diluting the impact of what the characters had created till the western region arc.The early episodes are a visual feast, particularly the underwater sequences that showcase the arduous life of Duan Wu, a pearl diver. Her life as a pearl diver had been difficult, but she never lose hope of having a shop of her own. Her journey allow her to met new people along the way, such as merchant Yan Zijing and Noble Zhang Jin Ran. The drama was enjoyable to watch, and there was a balance between the quest for revenge and for romance to blossom between Duan Wu and Yan Zijing.
Unfortunately, the end of the western region arc and the start of the Yangzhou arc derails the well written narrative. The excessive number of new characters and subplots introduced in the Yangzhou arc diluted what kept the story interesting in the first place. The focal point of the later part of the drama was on the FL and her Jewelry shop, and how she pit her wits against other shop owners in Yangzhou. While they try to link it back to the main plot (which involved the ML), it was quite weak and the change in focus resulted in the ML's airtime (and the romance between the FL and ML) to be reduced.
The conclusion of the drama was slightly bizarre, and there were questions unanswered, which made it disappointing.
Rosy shines as Duan Wu and Su Mu Zhe. As Duan Wu, she is a spirited and resilient woman who defies societal norms. She is someone who will do whatever it takes to protect herself and those around her, which Rosy delivered through her acting. At the latter arc, when the name change from Duan Wu to Su Mu Zhe, she delivered perfectly all the heart-wrenching scenes.
Liu Yuning also delivered a compelling performance as Yan Zijing, a complex character who sworn to revenge against those that wronged his family and later as someone who wants to protect Duan Wu/Su Mu Zhe. Yuning's emotional performance throughout the drama, particularly in the latter half (even with the reduced airtime) is impressive and was what that got me through the end of the series.
As this wasn't the first drama that Rosy and Yuning acted as a couple, I find that their chemistry was great and they were very comfortable with each other in the show. I personally do wish there were more opportunities to show their romance in the drama (especially at the latter arc), where the romance was almost non-existent.
I personally like the OSTs of this drama, particularly the song performed by Liu Yuning which further enhances the emotional depth of the drama whenever I hear it.
Despite the story plot that didn't manage to sustain its interesting level, The Story of Pearl Girl is still a great drama, which I recommend those with the time to give it a go.
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This review may contain spoilers
The beginning was intriguing and exciting, but then it declined.
It was a promising series, a girl trying to get out of slavery etc. It was intriguing at the beginning but eventually took a decline as the series progresses. It went from being a female centric series then there were too many unnecessary scenes, & then I kinda lost it from there. Some scenes went from this then all of a sudden it was filled with bloodshed that could’ve avoided and saved some of the characters. I want to rant so much more… but it’s just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. it felt like the story was everywhere moving forward episodes 16, 17-18 was my least favorite so far.I was captivated at first and then eventually I slowly lost interest it was that boring, and sometimes cringey. :/ but acting wise both leads especially the ML did well.
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BRTV interview
In response to BRTV who pointed out how #ZhaoLusi always cares about others' feelings. While shooting #TheStoryOfPearlGirl underwater scene, despite shivering from the cold, she kept saying "It's fine" and continued to cheer everyone up ☀️"It was a situation where an Introvert person like me needed to act like an Extrovert. I just thought that the conditions were already so toilsome and I'm already the one being taken care of. So if I'm still unhappy at that point in time, everyone else will be feeling uncomfortable too.
Working with discomfort is still a day, and working with happiness is also a day. A day is a day. So I thought I should just share some positivity."
*source from someone who actually knows Chinese , English and translate it perfectly
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Lackluster
This show was a little disappointing for me since it was one of my most anticipated dramas of the year and I adore the cast. For me this came off pretty underwhelming and didn’t really stand out from other dramas in this genre.The Good
Amazing cast lineup. This show had a good range of decent traffic stars that can draw you in to want to watch. I wouldn’t say everyone was a good choice but most of the top players have decent enough acting skills to overshadow those who weren’t as outstanding. I also enjoyed the take on pearl diving as this was an unfamiliar concept to me and I appreciated how they tied it to the jewelry business. Lastly, the OST was good.
The Bad
The story was weak and couldn’t keep my attention. The writers/producers attempted to tell a story about a pearl diver caught up in the middle of the criminal jewelry world and set to take revenge. It’s a good concept but executed pretty poorly. The show was riddled with the same old cliches and plot holes that we see in other dramas in this category. The villain’s motivations were similar to so many other dramas that it became lackluster and unexciting. They also use way too many predictable plot devices to try to stir the audiences emotions but really they just fell short for me as I already saw them coming. Next, the romance up until the 27 episodes I saw was very underwhelming and unnatural. There wasn’t much of a natural buildup or connection between the leads to make me invested or believe they liked each other, especially with his initial treatment of her. Lastly, the production quality was pretty poor which was a little surprising. The CGI was very bad, the fight scenes weren’t the best, the costumes weren’t anything to brag about.
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Big budget/acting can't save a Mediocre Story
Final verdict on this drama: mediocre plot that tries to weave revenge, love, and female empowerment into a realistic drama. It fails because of its artificiality. NOT feeling the chemistry between the leads in this story because the romance was not the highlight. His cruel treatment of her in the beginning and the drastic transition to romance were abrupt. And then suddenly, the romance artificially fizzles, again abruptly, to accommodate the female empowerment narrative.This is the case when big budget, big acting still can't save a mediocre artificial story.
ZLS's face looks different in this drama. It is distracting sometimes. I am her fan and hope that she doesn't change her beautiful natural face any more, whether it's cosmetic procedures/makeup/losing weight. This is a problem with our culture: we equate beauty to artificial perfection. ZLS looked perfect for every role before this new improved looks. She doesn't need to look "beautiful" because her acting shines.
This is my own personal opinion. I am not an anti-fan.
I am a ZLS's fan as far as acting. The acting is amazing, and she has grown a lot since her last drama. However, the script is not as entertaining.
I think the script needs to be less complicated, more leads time together, more interesting content, more humor, etc.
Production: 10 Amazing special effects, very high end visuals
Acting: 10
Script: 7 borderline boring up to 6
Director: 6 (Just look at how LLTG is directed. That drama is 10+)
Emotional investment in the character: 2 (this is a script/directing problem)
Chemistry: I am a fan of this couple from the Long Ballad. The chemistry there is amazing. Some how I don't feel it here yet. It's the director and script I think.
THE PLOT
Conflict - pearl trading with a revenge/ hidden identities twist, and government investigation. Amidst all this, a young girl develops her character, discovers her true identity, and becomes a jewelry business woman. It's a story about female empowerment, so-so love story, revenge, etc.
eps 1-6 : sets up the backdrop - I think this could be done in 1-2 episodes. But they dragged on. While ZLS acts well and looks amazing as a pearl diver, I think if the script is not entertaining/funny, it's going to be a drag.
If you watch, LLTG, the director is good there and the rating shows it: It's boring family fighting, but he made it fun and entertaining to watch. It's a piece of art.
In contrast, The Pearl Girl, amazing production and special effects, is not skillful in presenting the material in an entertaining and artful way. It's more like Hollywood Little Mermaid with too much other things and graphical violence going on --- Like Korean drama!
eps 7-8: It's beginning to get interesting because she is finally involved in something more meaningful: negotiating trades and dealing with business. She also made a femal friend to help her out instead of struggling by herself. You can see where the plot is heading: Zhang Jin Ran told the girls that in Chang-an, there are shops run by females.
eps 9-10: predictable the way it's filmed. He tricked everyone to believe that he killed the accountant. I still don't feel good about the script. Very mediocre. I don't think it will do well beyond the 8.2-4 range. There are a few story holes - like why she is so strong and can take on the bad guys in fighting. I think the director of this drama is not a good one.
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Will not entertain You!!!
Yes,this show is no good if you want a watchable experience,except that It is unique character of pearl diver female lead(only 2 ep and rest was thinking i was pearl diver back then),The biggest drawback(I felt) was this is like a game finished this level, ok what is next and that too "boring",For this kind of a drama,one expects most of characters to be intro at a max of 8 episodes,And in this new characters show up even after 24,Vague story line,Big disappointment after scenes in Yangzhou, Irritating antagonists,bad triangle among leads, I tried watching it for LYN but can't continue I wish LYN to select character based scriptsWas this review helpful to you?
highly recommend
actually this drama is so underrated it deserves more recognition!! so good the storyline the acting the visual the characters everything is well-written well-done. absolutely 10/10 highly recommend although you'll shed tears throughout the whole 2ned part of the drama but its definitely time worthy ♡Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Zhao Lusi Shines as the Pearl Girl!!!
Zhao Lu Si is my favorite actress and have to say she did not disappoint in this role. Really enjoyed watching her all the way through this drama. Also really loved her scenes with Liu Yu Ning as well even though this drama was not heavy focused on the romance side of it. I still didn't think that made this show lacking in anyway. This drama is focused on Duan Wu about her being a pearl diver, breaking free, and becoming a successful business woman and all the hardships she goes through to get there. Zhao Lu Si really delivered on these scenes I have also thought that she does very well with emotional parts. She always makes me want to cry with her. Granted I can see where this wouldn't be an exciting watch to some if your not a big Zhao Lu Si fan.Also have to mention these two characters that really caught my attention and they were Kang Ju and Zheng Zhi Heng. They both were just amazing to watch. I felt for both of them Kang Ju for how desperate he was to get a cure for Yan Zi Jing and for Zheng Zhi Heng in how in love he was with Cui Shi Jiu and she hardly ever showed she cared for him in that way until it was to late. Her character actually annoyed me a bit and I wanted better for Zheng Zhi Heng.
I have only one nitpick for this drama and that is the ending. For me I wouldn't call it a sad ending or an open ending it was just blank. They skipped out on giving you really anything. You don't actually get to see Yan Zi Jing die which I think just takes away from the whole sad ending part and can't call it an open ending cause you do know he is dying without a cure in sight. So you don' t really have any hope of them having a happy ending. I have never minded sad ending in fact kind of expect them anymore but just to not give us anything after watching everything these two went through together was a bit upsetting wish they would of done more.
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Women's empowerment
I absolutely love The Story Of Pearl Girl for its unique story centered on women and their struggles, triumphs, the friends that they found on their journeys, the sisterhood and bonding they formed, the challenges and adversities that they had to overcome to succeed in a male dominated world.Zhao Lusi was excellent in her portrayal of Duan Wu and later Su Muzhe. Same person, two characters with different temperament, seeing the growth from a reckless and immature slave girl to a successful businesswoman ahead of her time was beautiful to see.
Liu Yuning, his best to date performance as Yan Zijing.
Chemistry between the main leads was visible and felt on their first meeting, one of the best chemistry that I've seen.
Other characters, Fu Bo Han, Tang Xiao Tian, Chloe Xie, Yu Yong Hai, Shang Wan Qing were perfect casting and so were the rest of the cast. Each of them shined in their individual role.
Storytelling was nicely paced, I didn't skip or FF any scenes and that is rare for me not to skip in a 40 episode drama. The humor was done nicely, didn't feel out of place and not at all cringy.
Cinematography was one of the highlights of TSOPG, just amazing!
Music score and OSTs were great. My favorite song is 'The World Will Have Its Time' by Curley Gao, what a beautifully haunting song!
The Ending: I watched episode 40 twice. My knee jerk reaction was...oh no, I wanted a happier ending!!! I had to take time to digest my feelings and rewatched the final episode again. The perspective I gained from the second time around was different. I teared up throughout ep. 40 for how beautifully everything was wrapped up. Yan Zijing got his wishes, justice was served and his family name was restored. Su Muzhe achieved her dreams of being independent, financially secured and being a successful businesswoman. Su Muzhe and Yan Zijing's love story was well woven into a female centric drama that evoked an emotional rollercoaster. My interpretation of the ending might be different from others', and I'm leaving it to individual viewer. As for me, I am satisfied with the ending!
The Story Of Pearl Girl is uniquely different than many other K/Cdramas that I'd watched in the past. It's refreshing to see a drama that was mainly focused on women's empowerment and sisterhood.
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