A piece of art. A well written, directed and acted drama.

This drama is well written, directed and acted. Three combos in which are very rare nowadays. It has a great cinematography, costumes, dialogues and humor (Yes your read it right! The humors are so good and on point. You may be crying at one moment and then the next second you could be laughing like a crazy. The humors never failed you make you laugh even after you went through a roller coaster ride of emotions).

Anyway, this is my first time writing a review about a drama. I am still having a major withdrawal and writing this review at 2.30 AM.

I didn’t have much expectation when I started this drama. I watched it purely because of Zhao Lusi is in it and this is my Wu Lei’s first drama (apart from NIL).

It ended up becoming one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever seen in a long time. I love it with my heart and soul. Never have I thought, I would be this invested in a drama. I literally looked forward to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Now I have watched all episodes with no more episodes to look forward to, I feel the emptiness. It will take some time for me to move on. Sounded like a breakup, right?

Story:
The story is a breath of fresh air with a great pacing and character development.
It’s mostly about growing up, family, and love, and little palace politics with a good amount of creative humor!

This drama is partly about the growth of Cheng Shao Sang (CSS). She was left by her parents with her male descendants favoring grandma and evil aunt since birth to go for war for 15 years! She lacks familial love and the abandonment shapes her character. She becomes an independent, vengeful, and smart teenager. As LBY describes her, she dares to love and hate. She’s loyal to those who treat her well and does not hesitate to revenge those who wrong her. She experiences a major heartbreak and grows to become a mature and poised woman.

The romance in this drama is not your typical Chinese drama romance where the leads typically fall in love fast and hard where sometimes you will question what makes they fall madly in love with the other. While the Ling Bu Yi (LBY) falls in love with the CSS quite fast and decides she can be the only one early but he doesn’t pursue her right away since he has higher priorities at times.
However, CSS takes her time to get to know and fall in love with LBY. She is not the one who gives her heart away easily and once she does she’s all in. And she’s not the one who forgives easily once you wrong her.

The palace politics in this drama is so different from the usual palace drama where you will anxiously wait for the consort or empress to turn evil. Because that’s so common, isn't it? But no, that will not happen in this drama. I won’t spoil it too much for you. You need to watch the drama to find out what I mean.


Acting:
Wu Lei - I was blown away by this young actor! He is definitely on another level, a very capable actor at such a young age.

His portrayal of Ling Bu Yi is top notch. Ling Bu Yi is not your typical perfect Chinese drama male character without any flaws. He is definitely a morally grey and complex character. He is ruthless, cunning, scheming, capable, intelligent yet loyal and loving. He carries heavy burden of the past on his shoulder. It’s consuming his whole existence and cost him the love of his life.
Wu Lei brought this character to life! With his portrayal, you will feel bad for LBY for all the things that he went through in life at such a young age. You can feel his pain, his love, his regrets and his despair. He portrays LBY’s dark side so well.

Wu Lei is so good at fighting and emotional scenes. His eyes are very expressive. You can feel his love for CSS through his gaze.


Zhao Lusi - What can I say to this lovely bubbly girl. She surprised me once again.
I have watched a lot of her dramas and become a fan since Who Rules the World. Her acting in this one is on another level. It is definitely her best work so far.
Zhao Lusi successfully portrays CSS’s multi layered character. Through her portrayal, I was witnessing CSS’s growth from a naive, playful, vengeful, stubborn and reckless teenager to a mature, poised and wise woman.
I love the fact that Lusi uses her own voice for this drama. Her line delivery is great. You can feel the difference in her line delivery for teenager and adult CSS.

Her micro expressions, comedic expressions (no doubt for this one) and crying are so good!

The rest of the cast have done an excellent job in bringing their characters to life. As an audience, I was made immersed into their stories. I cried, laughed and smiled along with them.
I have quite a few of my favourite supporting characters. From loyal, clueless and funny Ah Fei, loyal, reliable and serious Ah Qi, the kindest and most graceful Empress, the straightforward and fair Consort Yue, lively and matchmaker Emperor, kickass and no bullshit Qiqi, and strict and strong CSS’s Ah Mu, and many more.

Cinematography:
OH MY GOD! I love the cinematography a lot! It’s of a high quality and definitely one of the best I have ever seen. I will give you some of the best scenes that I like in term of cinematography where I think are captured very well (not in a particular order):
1. The lantern festival when Ling Bu Yi sees Cheng Shao Shang for the first time
2. Gingko trees where LBY bids CSS his first good bye.
3. Shouchun battle
4. Heart to heart talk between LBY and CSS after 5 years separation where they go their separate ways.
5. Bridge scene in Guo village
6. Star gazing in final episode

Hair Styles and Costumes:
Before the drama started, I saw ZLS’s hairstyle and costume from some posters and I can say I was not a fan at first. But I changed my opinion after seeing the drama. The costumes are very well designed and fit the characters. And the hairstyle has grown on me as well.

Make up:
The make up skills are so good with attention to details. They make wounds look so real and convincing. For instance, Ling Bu Yi’s wounds after rescued from cliff, CSS’s fading black eyes, shaoshang string wound on LBY’s wrist.

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