You would think that with a drama as ambitious as this one to cover all grounds of what makes a good drama a good drama, it would lose itself somewhere in the epicness and spiral out of control. Spoiler alert- it doesn’t. It just gets more and more and more awesome.

Admittedly, the first half is pretty slow, as others have mentioned, but patience is nothing but a virtue. The explosion when the main leads (finally) get together is well worth the wait- and I appreciated the way their relationship progressed at its own pace.

The HUMOR, by the way, is something I don’t see talked about enough. This is possibly the FUNNIEST historical drama I have ever watched, and it comes from ALL the characters, not just the token funny guy (though this has that too). The paternal grandma Cheng is just too funny, despite all her shortcomings.

The portrayal of family that comes mainly from the relationship (or lack thereof) between Shaoshang and her mother is an emotional one. I cried SO many times over it because it was so damn relatable and it wouldn’t stop hurting. It’s honest and raw and doesn’t show any mercy. On the other hand, her father is an absolute gem. Her brothers, as well, are amazing.

Chemistry between the two leads are off the freaking charts. You’ll get to it in part 2 ;)

Anyway, I’m gonna go finish the rest of part 2 and come back to finish this review later if I remember to! Toodles!! (All you need to know is that THIS is the 2022 cdrama for me!)