Superb Drama

This is a superb drama by far in terms of Chinese series' standards. Fantastic storytelling though how I wish the end was extended a little bit for another two or three episodes. Great choice of cast and the hair and make-up were not bad. Normally I complain how the Chinese stylists do the hairdos of the actors specifically. I did't notice a lot of white pasty looking faces which is always a common faux pas of Chinese make-up artists. I understand the East Asians obsession of having fair complexion but if the face is too pale than the arms, neck and ears then for me it's fake. I'd rather watch a drama with the artists' real skin color that also reflect in their make-up. I know it's cultural but it bothers and distract me from focusing on the drama.

Indeed it's a story of "try and try until you succeed." To which I refer to Lu Buwei, Yiren and Haolan's many unsuccessful attempts to escape. I like Lu Buwei's character of nonchalant's attitude towards impossibility. Nothing's impossible if you really work on it. And I love his life's motto. Of course this series doesn't really depict the actual events because god knows what really happened during those periods. Without proper historical records and there's always two sides of the story so one can only depend on the creators' mind in romanticizing this series. I would have like them to explore a little about Haolan's affair with Lao 'Ai. But China's censorship is very strict to the point of limiting the creativity of the artists. In my understanding Haolan was unapologetic about it and I like it. There's always double standard for women who behave this way but men are regarded otherwise.

I love history that's why I love watching historical shows. It's only last year that I started watching Chinese tv series. They have a lot of great plots in their dramas but I can say there's only really few that are executed well. And The Legend of Haolan is one of those. I wonder if this one was created in Hollywood or by the Brits it would definitely have some juicy scenes between Yiren & Haolan, Haolan & Lu Buwei, Haolan & Lao'Ai. They would have explored the darker side of the story which would have been extremely interesting. Alas! Chinese censorship overrules everything.

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