The drama immediately pulls you in with two first episodes. A pearl diver and a sea merchant? Just reading that makes it exciting. A ship? Sea? Diving? We can finally take a breather from the countless CDramas set in the woods and experience something new and exciting.

No our female lead doesn't need a savior. She is badass, competent, determined, loveable and ready to do anything to achieve her dreams. A lot of dramas fail to make a female lead tough especially if she's portrayed in the same position as our female lead however our Pearl Girl only needs a small push and she can stand on her on two feet better than anyone. As her story progresses she is continuously met with people with ill intentions but her hope never dies out and she still keeps believing that good people do exist in this world and her willpower never dies.

The main lead is shown as an evil, strict and unforgiving man at first. First few episodes leaves a bad taste in your mouth as it often crosses the line with its torture scenes. I am truly against the torture of the female lead leading to love as it is something unforgivable but I chose to overlook it as if it didn't happen due to the interesting plot behind the romance however I do understand why many would be left angry and even drop the show over the female lead's treatment by the ml.

The ml reedems himself to a certain extent as we learn that he isn't truly evil. He grows to like the female lead as she continues to show her ferocity and intention to fight for herself. In some ways he finds her admirable and instead of saving her he is set on helping her do exactly what she wants. He is motivating, supportive in everything she's willing to learn, whether it is fighting or business as long as she proves herself. He never undermines her skills but motivates her to do better.

This is often overlooked by people as his actions can easy be seen as vicious however having ml experience a tragedy himself, he isn't just a man taking out his anger on others. He knows the struggles of this world, he knows people and their intentions and desires and his purpose it to teach the female lead exactly that, how to survive in this cold blooded world. He teaches her how to fight and fend for herself, often complimenting her intelligence and need to improve.

I do dislike that their romance starts off weak and sudden without us realizing when it was exactly that he started having feelings for her. I also wished that the romance started on ship and allowed them to bond more but the lore picked up fast and became more focused on business than the main couple.

I loved the couple separation because it allowed me to feel how much they truly loved each other however they have yet failed to execute it well as many other dramas do where, when two people yearn for each other, they cannot wait to be in each other's hands however instead of telling each other how much they missed each other for some reason there always must be that 3rd person revealing the truth. I will never understand how is learning something from a different source much better than the two characters being open to each other. Seeing their gaze change, their tears flow is much more touching than having a build up and having someone else break the news. I truly hope dramas break off this really bad cliche as this whole build up of them missing each other was crushed by her suddenly learning he had a reason to do it and then they act as everything is okay. The build up has reached it peak and then disappointed me.

However overall I still liked the drama very much and I might rewatch it. But it definitely has a lot of flaws I cannot just ignore and like I always say. For some reason, Chinese dramas have the best plot, the best peaks but often times they fail to make it work and lose that valuable moment, a chance for something remarkable and I don't know where this problem stems for but it's definitely a problem that needs a change.

Anyways, definitely a good watch. I still loved the show despite the flaws. Definitely one of the best dramas this year.