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I have probably watched it a couple of times with my friends (to get them into it) and they have totall loved it.
I’m a fan of historical dramas and this one was it for me. It had thins I hadn’t realized I was looking for: slow relationship and chemistry of main pairing.
I totally recommend this story because it’s full of DRAMA, it’s a realistic development of relationship, chemistry of main pairing, detail in plot and costumes, strong female lead and POLITICS.
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Suspenseful but slow-moving
Hmm... what should I say about this drama? This is largely an internal family rivalry story with politics at the court as backdrop. Generally very good but did not create not much of an impression. The story is full of suspense but a slow-moving start made me impatient and I went on to watch the last episode before I decide to continue. By then, it had spoiled the suspense. But for the viewers who have not done this, I am sure the suspense would have been quite worth the while.Overall the story is good but there were too many convenient moments when the hero appeared suddenly and saved the heroine. I thought some of the saving the damsel in distress could have been done by the rival lover giving it a bit more bite and contention.
With my experience, only a few dramas managed to hit 70 episodes without draggy moments. 50 episodes are usually the best to cover sufficient depth. This drama is full of draggy slow moments.
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It's a marathon not a race. Take your time and enjoy the journey
I'm so glad I was able to binge this show. 70 smt episodes sound daunting, but honestly by the end, I was a little sad it had to end. The show is so empowering for me as a woman. In a time where women have so little control over their lives and everything is dependent on their marriage prospects, family prestige and who they were born to . In a time like this, these shining examples of the smart, strong women who use their brain and strength so take care of their family and become the force behind the stability of their clan thanks to their ability to properly manage their household. Ming Lan is of course the best one, but I'll get to her later. I just love the entire journey of how some women made the decision to use schemes and immoral means to get what they want and suffer the bitter end and others use their own strength and brain to make a difference in their own life. Ming Lan is easily the best FL there ever was. It's not too often do we see a drama that completely focus on the journey of the FL, but that's what this is. It is so so refreshing to see. You might find her too quiet at the start, but you would be dead wrong. Years of suffering taught her to keep her mouth shut when she needs to and use her own way to get her justice. She also has grandma who taught her how to be a smart woman. Her love story is also very real and interesting. She got a great husband in the end, but the journey of their love is so realistic but full of affection and romance as well. Ming Lan is a great character. Always needed to be strong also became her weakness, as she's unsure on how to truly depend on the man when loves. She's so independent and has suffered so much after her first puppy love and life as a concubine's daughter. That's why she has a hard time truly learn to rely on her husband. That was the main hiccup after they got together, and it was so beautiful to see how her husband take down her wall gradually and she learn to be vulnerable with him. His reaction to it is also amazing. They're an amazing pair (on and off screen!). I love most about Minglan is she knows when to keep things to her self but make no mistake, she will not forget the injustice she faced. She's just smart and knows when to wait for her opening. She rarely truly lose her composure but she will make the guilty pay justly for their sin. She seems cold but she is actually a very loving person. Once she love someone, she will make it her business to be there for them and help them get some justice one way or another. It's refreshing to watch such a sensible and no nonsense female lead while still making sure we all see that she is a warm person. The show is a journey into the life of this tenacious, strong and woman and a look into the lives and politics of these prestigious families. Take your time to watch the conversations and after a few episodes, you'll start feeling like you're getting the tea of these families' secrets and rooting for our protagonist as she rises and find her happiness. It's very satisfying when the vile people get their retribution too.Was this review helpful to you?
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An intricate slow-burn revenge drama with an oustanding CP | Loving Grandmother <3
"What has the world come to? The pure, loyal, and upright people are forced to continuously scheme just to get by." - Nanny ChangI was in the middle of watching this drama, totally enjoying the leads' chemistry when I suddenly got reminded who Feng Shao Feng is...my divorced CP. Dang!
I feel like it has been a long while since I watched a slow-paced slice of life drama like this; and I'm not gonna lie, it took me back to those days when productions took drama-making more seriously compared to how it is today. The quality of this drama alone is proof of how fast the market has changed for the past several years, and it's sad to think about how careless and rushed dramas are done nowadays.
I want to give credit to this drama for giving me the striking and satisfying slow-burn sensation I haven't felt in a long while. It offered well-structured characters and plot twists that clearly represented the daily life struggles of women during the primeval days in the most realistic and fascinating way.
Sheng Minglan's story from childhood to adulthood was excellently narrated, with moderate pacing that was neither too fast nor too slow, making it feel as if we were really growing up with her. The recounting of her sufferings was thoughtfully selected, with each scene effectively showing how she was molded and evolved into the person she is. The scenes are thoroughly and skillfully chosen, arranged to reveal her growth: from a witty little girl to an obedient and cautious teenager, and finally, to a meticulous and prudent young adult who showcases her well-hidden talents. She is a truly compelling character—one you can't help loving for her wonderful and amazing qualities. She's observant, analytical, and strategic when it comes to her plans, and her executions have always been intricate and accurate, making sure that they hit her target. This embodies her forbearance and resolute attitude when it comes to her goals and objectives.
The show started to get really interesting when she was given the chance to manage the household. Imagine going from being deprived of daily necessities to managing the entire household! That is what I consider her 'Rise of the Oppressed' moment, which commenced her real story and signaled the start of her grand revenge scheme. What I truly love about her are her tendencies to incite grand and twisted plots to seek justice and revenge for her loved ones. She shows no mercy to those she deems beyond salvation and worthy of punishment. Episode 64 specially got me crying. When her grandmother thanked her for managing the poisoning situation very well. That scene made me realize how amazing it is to have a doting and loving grandma like that.
Lastly, I guess I just want to say that I am happy that all the major antagonists ended up dying, a fate they well-deserved for the evil deeds they'd done. I'm also grateful that we got a rather peaceful and warm ending. Seeing the Sheng family reuniting with their spouses, with a hint of reconciliation with Molan, touched my heart. Nothing really beats familial support and unity.
"In usual days, you're tolerant about everything. But when pushed to a dead end, you would fight all out and let everyone just perish with you." - Sheng Old Madaam
Story - 10, What I truly love about this drama is its cohesive and clear plot. From the beginning till the end, it managed to keep the story going without having any noticeable major plot holes, and all the plot devices were efficiently utilized.
Acting/Cast - 10, I love the cast and the leads' chemistry is just on another level. Now I understand why they (Shaofeng & Liying) ended up getting married. FSF has this warm and fun vibe that made me wonder who the hell will not fall in love with a man like that? He's a walking chemistry!
Music - 10, I think they used a total of 2-3 songs on this drama and all of them sounds fine to me. I'm giving this a perfect score since neither of the songs nor sound effects put me off even once.
Rewatch Value - 10, Definitely! I'm in love with Minglan and Tingye's story; I wouldn't mind watching it again. It is highly recommended.
Overall - 10, I'm considering/categorizing this as a classic just based on how dramas are done today. This show brought me back to the good old days when people used to take drama-making seriously. This drama is a testament to how well dramas were made five or so years ago, compared to today's productions.
IF you find my review helpful please let me know.
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Downton Abbey set in Traditional China... but better!
This is a literary romance soap opera for adults. Not for young adults, like most mainstream Chinese romances are, but for adults. With a Male Lead who is realistically flawed and not some dreamy perfect blank slate female fantasy. (Although the second Male Lead gives us that, for the inner teenage girls in us who want it – and it doesn't hurt that he resembles a young Tony Leung and is very easy on the eyes!)I also appreciate that Ming Lan isn't a complete unabashed Mary Sue who excels at everything, with every male character admiring and falling for her. Ming Lan is frequently berated and punished for her perceived wrongdoings, some people think she's incapable, and she doesn't win every single conflict she's in (unlike Liu Yifei's Zhao Pan'er in A Dream of Splendor, whom everyone thought was formidable and always got the last word against her detractors – though I loved Zhao Pan'er too, it did seem a little annoying / unrealistic).
The other supporting characters too are believably flawed, like Ming Lan's sisters and their legal mother, and contribute to a rich story world.
I'm 20 episodes in and I haven't spotted any flaws (other than maybe a few too many hysterical-threatening-suicide scenes from the excellently manipulative villains and I completely feel the other reviewer who wrote that she fast-forwards through those scenes; and the unrealistic fight scene on boat early on). I already know this is going to be the best Chinese serial I've ever watched – yes, above Nirvana in Fire, A Dream of Splendor, and Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which all didn't even break 9.0 for me even though I enjoyed them tremendously for the most part. What elevates The Story of Ming Lan above is that for our main leads, their battles consistently feel hard-won and nobody just gives them a free pass, which is what bothers me in many of the shows above – after a certain point it feels like the writers gave up and started solving their problems a bit more lazily.
To elaborate a bit on my comparison to Downton Abbey – another reason I think is the deliberate distortion of the peerage system used in The Story of Ming Lan. In the Song Dynasty, aristocratic titles (like the earls 伯爵, marquises 侯爵 and dukes 公爵 used here) were not hereditary. The system in this drama, where the male heir will automatically inherit the title, is actually more similar to the aristocratic system in Britain, hence my nod towards Downton Abbey and other historical British romances like Bridgerton, et al. I don't mind that the creators made that choice because it certainly makes the stakes higher for a good elitist romance story, but just be aware that it's historically inaccurate.
Note: I haven't finished watching the series yet but already had several thoughts about it so I wanted to write them down. Will update when I finish all episodes.
Update: I finished the series and found lots more to love since my original review. I loved the slowly developing intimacy between the leads, which feels hard-earned after their initial struggles and miscommunication early in their marriage, which feels like relationships in real life where you have to learn to adapt to another person's communication style and emotional needs. Other than a few quibbles about repetitive tropes of how villains plotted against our main characters, it was pretty much a perfect series for me and I'd rewatch most episodes in a heartbeat, which is not something I could say about any other Asian drama I've watched.
Themes explored in this drama:
1. Evil concubines
You could argue that main wives can be equally evil in this show. But I feel like every time a concubine has an devious scheme to undermine a main wife, we see it onscreen – whereas every time a main wife (outside of Sheng family) oppresses a concubine, it happens offscreen... shows where the true perspective of this show lies.
2. TBC
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10-rating won't do any justice to this masterpiece
The Story of Ming Lan is an exquisite C-costume drama.It doesn't suffer from actors who overact their roles and viewers won't find annoying cutie acts from the female leads. It's a drama for viewers who appreciate a good drama after a day's work.
The story evolves around the protaganist, Ming Lan, who lost her mother and unborn sibling due to the mechanism of her father's favourite concubine, Little Madam Ling. She was eventually raised by her official grandmother who had no blood relationship with her family apart from the old lady's position as the official mother of ML's father.
As the story progresses, it shows ML experiences her first romance with Qi Heng, her first revenge against Madam Ling and her eventual marriage to Gu Ting Yue.
The drama is well paced and the script is well written. Scenes for plots are well shot and acted by the cast.
The chemistry between the FL and ML is excellent which makes this drama entertaining. Viewers see the first meeting of ML and GTY where the latter lost the shooting arrow game to ML when both were aged 8 and 12. The development of their romance touches the heart of the viewers.
Overall, this drama is a classic master piece.
Watch it.
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True intelligence is knowing when to hide it and when to use it.
• Contains spoilers, read at your own risk. You can skip to the bullet points if you want a more general review. •The Story of Ming Lan is a pretty well done drama but truthfully it is not worth the hype that everyone is putting towards it. When it first came out in 2018, I had tried to watch it twice and both times, I ended up dropping it for how dragged out it was. I still stick to that despite finally finishing it. I believe the drama would've been just as successful as a 40-50 episode drama rather than a 78 episode drama. Some scenes were just not needed but I did enjoy the story this time around despite that. The atmosphere in this drama was quite interesting. It's different from most dramas similar to this. It gave a more dark and calm atmosphere as opposed to other dramas with similar scheming plots where a lively and intense atmosphere is displayed. Gives me a Royal Nirvana kind of vibe lol. Unfortunately for me, I feel like while this is trying to highlight the era and storyline for the drama, I found it to be uncomfortable and in scenes where power was intended to be shown, the atmosphere took away from the feeling of empowerment. An example being when Minglan threw her chopsticks at the table when Molan suggested something about her mother, I couldn't feel Minglan's "power" that she was supposedly displaying in that scene. I did find all the scheming to be incredibly well done from Minglan's mother's death to Manniang's entire plan to get to live a wealthy life. It was fascinating to see how they displayed Minglan's clear intelligence as a child but after the scheme against her mother in her early childhood, she had to be cautious with how she used her intelligence even after marrying Tingye. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her use her intelligence in schemes against her and Tingye AND then going back to Sheng Family to kick ass there. One of the biggest things I do have to knock this drama for and many users for would have to be the chemistry between ZLY and FSF. I understand that this was probably the drama where their romance started which led to them having a real life relationship but no matter what, I could not see the chemistry between our two leads. No matter what romantic scenes were shown between them, their chemistry just seemed uncomfortable and I still don't quite understand how their romance developed to the point where he was only serious about her and no one else. Overall the drama was just a bit too dragged out for my liking but still, I do believe the storywriters did an incredible job with the direction they wanted to take the drama. I do seeing someone who enjoys longer dramas with schemes and intelligent clever female leads to be interested in this.
To sum it up in bullet points:
• Dark and intense atmosphere; different atmosphere from other dramas with similar plots.
• Some scenes were not necessary and the drama was a bit too dragged out.
• Atmosphere overshadowing the scenes where power was intended to be displayed.
• Schemes were well done and enjoyable.
• FL's intelligence and how she used it was basically the highlight of the drama.
• Really didn't see the chemistry between our two leads.
• Storywriters did an incredible job with the direction they wanted to take the drama.
• Would recommend to someone who enjoys longer dramas with schemes & an intelligent FL.
OST: All I really remember is the opening theme and I thought that it was suitable for the drama.
Acting: Most of the acting was incredibly well done however the acting in some scenes seemed too unnatural. I think ZLY was chosen well for the role of Minglan however it seemed like she still struggled to make her scenes feel natural and emotional. FSF was an ok choice for the role of Tingye but I do believe it also could've been someone different because FSF's acting in this came off to me as forced and unable to blend into the scene.
Ending: The ending was overall what it should've been and I'm glad it was a happy ending. It was really nice being able to see everyone be happy together and finally away from all the negativity that has plagued their entire lives.
Rewatch Value: I do believe it was worth the watch but I don't know if I have any plans to revisit it in the near future because it was quite a long drama and too dragged for my liking. It unfortunately also took me almost 4 years after it was released to finally get into it and finish it so.. maybe it'll stay in the archives until the far future.
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Compelling, Riveting, Moving Historical Drama
I would say that this is one of the only historical dramas that I have watched that is truly character driven. There are plenty of those long, high production dramas that star a female lead and follow her life (and whose name is the title of the drama), but they often become side-tracked by palace intrigue, wars, blood-shed and tyranny, etc., and their tone changes dramatically. That, or they are about revenge.From the beginning, the pacing and tone of this show is just totally different from most other dramas. The focus is on the households and the injustice and strife occurring within families. In that way, it reminds me a little of Jane Austen, if she cared more about politics. The pacing is very slow but the more I rewatch it the more I enjoy it, and although there are perhaps some episodes that drag later on, it doesn't really bother me because I think the actual scenes are so well-crafted. There is so much subtlety, double meaning, and silence in these conversations between characters. So much is said with so few words. I think that's partly why it is such a rewarding rewatch: there are plenty of details I didn't catch the first, second, or even third time around.
Our female lead is unique in that she is smart and careful, not recklessly bold and 'spunky'. She has had to learn to take care of herself, blend in and curb her talents so that she isn't destroyed by her own family and the society around her. However, underneath her well crafted demure mask she is quick-witted, sharp-tongued, brave and fierce. Watching her grow into a woman and come into her own and use her abilities to protect herself and those she loves was so fulfilling and satisfying to watch. That's what I mean when I say that this is one of the few dramas that is truly CENTRED on the female lead: the story is about her development and how that affects the plot, not on how the outside world shuffles her from place to place and ups the drama.
Now, I know that the Story of Minglan does (mild spoiler alert!) feature palace politics, especially in the latter half of the drama, but I think it's handled in a much more personal and realistic way than in other dramas. Minglan at no point sets her sights on becoming the empress or taking over the kingdom, she never discovers her hidden royal parentage, nor does she end up with a man who secretly wants to overthrow the kingdom. Sure, her husband ends up being a very significant figure in the political/military world, but it feels realistic and in general not over dramatized. This show usurps the usual tropes by showing how their position in society is stressful, by focusing on taxes, fraud, the duties of the household, the actual topic of concubines, etc.
I think the greatest difficulties when getting into this drama are the number of characters and their connections to one another, the pacing and understanding the rules of the world (something that was totally foreign to me, like the topics of second and third wives and the standing of their children, the actual relationship of parents to their daughters after they get married off, the intricacies of social standing and what was socially acceptable for women vs. men to do, the way that people courted each other, what was deemed a good match, etc.). I also think that there is no drama that needs to be above 50 episodes. At 78 episodes long, I think there are definitely things in The Story of Ming Lan that could have been cut. But honestly, even when the pacing is slow or the writing could have been tighter, I still found the story to be engaging. I didn't use the fast-forward button, even during more meandering storylines. Once you've gotten used to the drama I think this is one of the most satisfying and rewarding dramas I have ever seen.
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A drama as superior as Yangxi Palace
This drama is really excellent in all aspects. It reminds me of Yangxi Palace.The first episodes dont really focus on the main character (Minglan) so I wasn't so hook up with those episodes until, there is more screentime for the main character then i'm loving it already. Also, i was confused who is Gu Tingye whether he is the young master who helped Minglan or not since the first time they met again, there is no shock reaction or expression or whatsoever. But later on, the show highlighted him and that was the time I was able to know.
The casts really did their roles splendidly. Of course, Sheng Minglan & Gu Tingye really did their part very well, they're unbeatable couple when it comes to wittiness and skills. They're so good with schemes.
This drama is really amazing. Hope, i can find another drama as good as this!
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Complex family drama with good payoff
Lots of complicated family relationships in the families of both main characters and some imperial intrigue to keep things exciting. It's a nice slow burn that spends time setting up things and establishing the characters, so when you get to a moment of payoff, it's really satisfying. It's surprisingly funny at times, but it never feels like the humour is undercutting the show or bringing it down. I really appreciated how they would sometimes spend an entire episode (or more) on what's essentially one conversation or issue.I also really appreciate Ming Lan picking up that sword and walking across the house to go get the doctor because she was like "I couldn't do anything last time, but I can and I WILL now."
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BEST OF THE BEST❤️❤️❤️
Finished 20 June 2024. A great historical Romance series that I enjoyed very much❤️Really enjoyed this and can honestly say this was the best historical romance series I've seen thus far, even with it being a 2018 production. I delayed watching this due to the number of episodes and very glad that I decided to watch it as lessor episodes would have been a great disservice to this story.
All the actors did really really well and made the whole story come to life and made it feel very real.
Production, Visual FX, OST and sound effects were excellent for a 2018 production and brought everything together to contribute to the success of this series.
The reason for not giving full score is due to a few plot holes, why certain individual was murdered (shown but nothing further), unsuccessful assassin shown but also nothing further, poisoning discovered but nothing further, etcetera.
Rewatch value : Very high - will definitely rewatch this when I can't find anything to my liking or, like this year where a lot of shows are only releasing at the end of the year.
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