3
Zogitt
Australia
This review may contain spoilers
A bubble (tea) drama
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that most drama will try to grab you and hook you as soon as possible. First impression is very important after all. This is why this drama left me perplexed.
I started to watch and halfway through the first episode, I had to stop and checked that I’m not watching ep.2 or even ep.3 by mistake. This was unsettling and caught me off guard. The reason for this is that the drama starts with little preamble. We are introduced to a large cast but there is not much to hook you. Much happens but what are their context? Why should we care?
This is probably a good point to pause and explain why I called this a bubble drama. I coin this phase because this show exists in its own bubble. There is little point in pinpointing the historical context. Costumes and backdrops are fairly generic. It also play hard and fast with some key cultural norms. I can understand they have to do it to make the story work, but it is self-serving. Its inconsistency means you are constantly second guessing the story's rationale. This extends to minor twists which are nonsensical but necessary to get the plot out of a bind. OBTW, if the show gets to the point where it is overloaded with artificial sweeteners then it will be a bubble tea drama. :)
Granted, most turnkey idol dramas are poured from the same mould. It is not a hanging offense if that is its only problem. In this case, we have some fundamental issues with the basic premise. For example, the title is The Rise of Ning. However, while she was sent away as a child, she grew up just fine and is well educated and provided for. She is fully supported by the senior wife as soon as she returns. Her grandmother dotes on her. She is resourceful and well adjusted. She is the heir apparent to the family fortune. This is just as well because her father is a hapless tool. How much higher can she rise, Queen Ning mayhaps?
She set about to right some wrongs done by her father's favourite concubine almost immediately. She and her spoil daughter neither have the means nor the brains to do more than simple dirty tricks. Tiresome and despicable they may be but hardly evil masterminds. What is odd is the official wife was long suffering but grew a backbone as soon as Ning shows up. There is also a mysterious "puppet master" but his motives are hazy. He might even be closely related to the FL.
The ML is also treated poorly by the family as a semi illegitimate son yet he is a great martial artist and a scholar to boot. There is no explanation of how he reaches those heights with limited resources. On top of that, he has assembled a crack team who is willing to die for his cause. I'm sure more will be revealed but consider at the 1/4 mark, we are still lacking a clear focus, it is testing. From my perspective, both our leads are already standing on solid ground with little room to improve. Compare this to recent shows like Blossoms in Adversity or The Double and you will know how low the protagonist can get.
Then there are the constant chatter about scandals and arrange marriages but that's old news and boring, to be honest. All the typical high society shenanigans are present and accounted for.
May be we can look towards the romantic plotline to lift the story? This is where it is even more problematic. Oh wait! Our OTP are supposed to be brother and sister sharing the same father. By ep.8, the ML has found out that the FL was not related by blood after all. That might fix the basic moral problem but the FL doesn't know that and any relationship between them would be technically incestuous. I'm sure she would find out soon as the Chinese censors would not allow this to stand. It still makes for some awkwardness as their attraction builds. The writer might lean more into this just to inject some angst in an otherwise flat drama.
Adding to its woes, I have to confess that I don't ship the leads. Yes, they make a handsome couple but their chemistry is questionable. We know they are the OTP because that is obvious. There is no plan 'B'.
On the other hand, the production value is decent if pedestrian, the OST is serviceable. Most of the support cast are from central casting but they try.
It is watchable and mildly entertaining but it never hooked me. So after 9 eps, I've decided to park it for now. It is not a hard “NO” but more “can't be bothered”. Peace.
I started to watch and halfway through the first episode, I had to stop and checked that I’m not watching ep.2 or even ep.3 by mistake. This was unsettling and caught me off guard. The reason for this is that the drama starts with little preamble. We are introduced to a large cast but there is not much to hook you. Much happens but what are their context? Why should we care?
This is probably a good point to pause and explain why I called this a bubble drama. I coin this phase because this show exists in its own bubble. There is little point in pinpointing the historical context. Costumes and backdrops are fairly generic. It also play hard and fast with some key cultural norms. I can understand they have to do it to make the story work, but it is self-serving. Its inconsistency means you are constantly second guessing the story's rationale. This extends to minor twists which are nonsensical but necessary to get the plot out of a bind. OBTW, if the show gets to the point where it is overloaded with artificial sweeteners then it will be a bubble tea drama. :)
Granted, most turnkey idol dramas are poured from the same mould. It is not a hanging offense if that is its only problem. In this case, we have some fundamental issues with the basic premise. For example, the title is The Rise of Ning. However, while she was sent away as a child, she grew up just fine and is well educated and provided for. She is fully supported by the senior wife as soon as she returns. Her grandmother dotes on her. She is resourceful and well adjusted. She is the heir apparent to the family fortune. This is just as well because her father is a hapless tool. How much higher can she rise, Queen Ning mayhaps?
She set about to right some wrongs done by her father's favourite concubine almost immediately. She and her spoil daughter neither have the means nor the brains to do more than simple dirty tricks. Tiresome and despicable they may be but hardly evil masterminds. What is odd is the official wife was long suffering but grew a backbone as soon as Ning shows up. There is also a mysterious "puppet master" but his motives are hazy. He might even be closely related to the FL.
The ML is also treated poorly by the family as a semi illegitimate son yet he is a great martial artist and a scholar to boot. There is no explanation of how he reaches those heights with limited resources. On top of that, he has assembled a crack team who is willing to die for his cause. I'm sure more will be revealed but consider at the 1/4 mark, we are still lacking a clear focus, it is testing. From my perspective, both our leads are already standing on solid ground with little room to improve. Compare this to recent shows like Blossoms in Adversity or The Double and you will know how low the protagonist can get.
Then there are the constant chatter about scandals and arrange marriages but that's old news and boring, to be honest. All the typical high society shenanigans are present and accounted for.
May be we can look towards the romantic plotline to lift the story? This is where it is even more problematic. Oh wait! Our OTP are supposed to be brother and sister sharing the same father. By ep.8, the ML has found out that the FL was not related by blood after all. That might fix the basic moral problem but the FL doesn't know that and any relationship between them would be technically incestuous. I'm sure she would find out soon as the Chinese censors would not allow this to stand. It still makes for some awkwardness as their attraction builds. The writer might lean more into this just to inject some angst in an otherwise flat drama.
Adding to its woes, I have to confess that I don't ship the leads. Yes, they make a handsome couple but their chemistry is questionable. We know they are the OTP because that is obvious. There is no plan 'B'.
On the other hand, the production value is decent if pedestrian, the OST is serviceable. Most of the support cast are from central casting but they try.
It is watchable and mildly entertaining but it never hooked me. So after 9 eps, I've decided to park it for now. It is not a hard “NO” but more “can't be bothered”. Peace.
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