Good Chemistry With Two Main Lead Actors
I enjoyed watching this series mainly due to the two main leads of Wallace Chung and Seven Tan. Wallace of course, a seasoned actor and brings just the right amount of dignity, charisma, charm and strength that comes with the the role General Xu Ling Yi. The choice of Seven in the role as wife Shi Yi Niang was a little 'iffy' with me at first, but I found her acting pretty impressive as I watched on. She held her own and saw the side of her acting maturity that went really well with Wallace.A period drama with family politics, concubines' jealousy, enemies plotting, upholding ancestral law, were all interesting and went at a comfortable pace. However, what stood out the most is the 'love' theme between Xu Ling Yi and Shi Yi Niang. Two people thrown together in marriage based on 'circumstances', which began with some friction, eventually growing into a deep love which placed trust, maturity, patience, communication and relationship first before sexual and physical desires. To see such partnership regardless in a period or modern day drama, never gets old and really enlightening to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Why I regret Watching this!
The series was good. I saw karma for each bad character except the mother-in-law. FL's stepmother or her father's main wife tortured Fl and her birth mother multiple times. The father was also STUPID and IGNORANT. She forced FL to marry and take the place of her daughter in her husband's family. Karma was her daughter was murdered and her unborn baby killed by a schemer just like how the main wife/stepmother schemed her whole life.Moreover, Concubine Qin of the ML harem was forced to be ML concubine by ML's Mother, and the ML mother killed her child because she didn't want the child to be the firstborn of her family, what a bullshit reason to kill her own grandchild. The ML who was also stupid never raised his voice to his mother, fighting wars all the time but couldn't care less about the women in his home. ML's first wife who at the time was pregnant together with her mother forced a maid to sleep with the ML by threatening her with her younger sister. She killed herself due to depression. Going back to concubine Qin, Ml found a bastard child of his brother, FL advocated for Qin to raise that child but fucked up ML gave it to his sister. I wish I had known all this before starting How I regret watching this!
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Politics over passion. Survival over sentiment. One viewing is all you need.
I think it’s the first time I’ve seen either of the leads in a show, so I have no expectations whatsoever about going into this drama, but I can say that both acted remarkably well. As the stoic general who can fight everyone else but his mother, Wallace Chung brings his serious demeanor on the table when he is supposed to be aloof, and his playful smirk when he is being mischievous. Contrasting him is Tan Song Yan as the cunning concubine’s daughter, who is level-headed even when facing problematic obstacles and who is quite cheeky when dealing with people who try to manipulate her or the situation.The rest of the cast gave commendable performances as members of the Xu or Ou households, and the actors cast as villains were so despicable that you wanted to gouge their eyes out—they truly embodied their characters. Although the plot is solid and has a lot of interesting narratives, the pacing, however, is quite tepid and slow. There are scenes that are unnecessary and bring little to the drama progression except for filling time.
I ended up not watching this for the romance, but only to see how Tan Song Yun maneuvers herself around sticky situations. I was rooting for her much of the drama except I felt betrayed during one instance. This is where she did not put the same trust in her husband as he did for her. I get it: she was suspicious of the Xu family in the beginning, but I thought after all that time and all the things that Ling Yi did for her, would convince her otherwise. Even when the evidence was stacked against her, he chose to believe his wife. Why not offer the same consideration for him? It’s only right for him to be mad at her for not trusting him.
In several instances in the drama, I believed that if her mother hadn’t been murdered on the day of her planned escape from the arranged marriage, Yi Niang would have ended up with Shi Xian. Although Ou’s family were vile characters, at least Yan Xing is not.
A lot of the comments I see are those hating on the Mother-in-Law, but I think I’m just so used to seeing more despicable characters that she was tame in comparison. On the other hand, I could not stand Lian Fang a bit. If I had nails, it would be on her face, so good riddance to her. What also pissed me off is the supposed redemption arc of Er Niang. I still don’t think she deserved any type of forgiveness because she was complicit in a lot of inflicting pain against her sister.
Anyway, this is a drama where once is enough. I don’t need to go through it again to know that there are as many shitty people in the world as there are survivors.
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This review may contain spoilers
"The Sword and the Brocade" is a drama about the romance between Shi Yi, a concubine's daughter, and Ling Yi.Shi Yi is forced to marry Ling Yi, her late sister's husband, with the task of protecting her son from being used by other concubines. Their relationship is initially awkward, as this marriage wasn't something either of them wanted, but over time, Ling Yi realizes that Shi Yi isn't a freeloader and gradually falls in love with her.
The romance takes a back seat, but let's be honest, how was there time for Shi Yi to fall in love with Ling Yi when nothing but bad things were happening in this house? Intrigues and conspiracies always involving Lian Fang, who is defended by everyone, until the truth comes out. After that, everything between Shi Yi and Ling Yi seems perfect, but then Shi Yi thinks Ling Yi killed her mother, and this ruins their relationship again.
We see very little of them as a real couple, but those moments are wonderful; their chemistry is impeccable. At the end, it's clear how deeply Shi Yi fell in love with Ling Yi, almost sacrificing herself to save him... At that moment, Ling Yi's entire family finally realized what a good and honest person Shi Yi is. Seeing them defend her was truly beautiful. The drama ends with everyone being one big, happy family.
This drama reminded me a lot of "The Story of Ming Lan," both in terms of the setting, the couple's development, and the main characters, daughters of concubines with strong personalities and who are really impressive.
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Excellent All Around
This show delivers on most things required of a 45 episode historical series.Story: Clear plot goals. Unexpected plot twists. Closure on subplots. Excellent intrigues with intricate subtleties. The scene editing is brilliant, leaving viewers questioning what they thought was going to happen and what is actually happening.
Acting: Character growth is obvious and distinct per character storyline. Actor chemistry creates the feelings needed in scenes of even little importance. Strong female characters who face and sometimes overcome their flaws. Considerate male characters who maintain patience despite societal norms.
Music: The OST is beautiful throughout the show, fitting each scene so well that it's hardly noticeable as a separate entity.
Rewatch Value: With 45 episodes, I doubt I'll ever watch this show again. However, if there is ever a sequel picking up from the ending, I'd likely watch it.
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What A CHEMISTRY..!!i wanna sue them for making me sleepless and insane?
First of all i am not a fan of chinese historical drama cz they hardly have happy ending or those which has happy ending their FL's maximum r so annoying to watch...But i must say this one is so so so...(sorry my dictionary has no appropriate words for expressing my feelings🤗)CAST:
If i could give 100 then sure i will give it a 100 ratings..
★FL--- Luo Shiyi (Tan song yun,7 tan).. This girl has all the capacity that can attract audience..in "UNDER THE POWER'' she did a splendid job👌,,i have never bored Just by seeing her..her every movements says different things,sure a multitalented actress!! But the role of her in this drama is different(totally)..OMG!! She potrayed the character really well..independent,strong,outstanding looks and attire,,mature acting,,charming eyes to look at the ML(🥰)..everything about her is soo beautiful.. I m gonna be a big fan of her sure..😍
★ML----xu jingli(wallace chung)... I have never seen his drama.i didn’t watch general & i cz i Don't like angela baby's acting..bt heard he did a outstanding job their..same goes in this drama too.his love for his wife is so obvious in his every actions..the affectionate look of his to his wife, my god its really make me replay Again again..Though he potrayed a character of cold general but his some cute action surely make u fall for him..such a charming actors in costume..
Both the leads did a great job in building their relationship..😍
Other cast::
They did also a good job..concubine qiao really did a good job to potray a hateful character..the servants girl and general fu is also catches my attraction..they were pleasant to watch.❤️
★STORY:: I m now in 35 ep.bt i heard this is a happy ending,and saw some ending clips with gorgeous looks of FL&ML walking together..if it's a happy ending that's enough for me..cz their chemistry is enough to overcome any difficulties Before ending..i heard some had prblms with ML having concubines,i mean seriously u want to watch historical & also want to avoid this.it was common in chinese ancient time.bt blv me u Won't feel awkward..its only focus on lead role and secrets among others character.&its based on a Novel,so u can't avoid this..
★MUSIC:: Be together ost--- its just so soothing that i can hear while sleeping..another songs sung by Seven tan (FL) her voice gives a relaxing vibes..i Don't know why..i really enjoyed her singing (specially "" Like a breeze""❤️ from Go ahead)..
★Overall:: i really love the storyline,cinematography,FL+ML attire,looks,stage, direction everything..i have never watched ongoing drama..this is my first time cz really enjoyed their chemistry..although there is so much secrets,and conspiracy..But FL smartness❤️ and ML caring,and smooth voice❤️ to her wife really makes me smile Everytime i saw them..😊i m satisfied..
★Rewatch value:: what to say!! Already i rewatch 3 times from ep 1-30..nd some of their sweet moments i rewatched them again and again..(specially the ML passionate kiss to FL,it was so attracting to watch).& i even can't restrain myself to see their "Behind the scene" in u tube.their chemistry both in onscree and off screen are outstanding..
Lastly,,Where is the age gap?? Where is awkwardness?? Those who said this before releasing the drama i want to say them.."r u kidding me??"i even can't feel 1% of this..they looks like made for each other..❤️🧡❤️
THANKS 💗
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Good Casting and Script writing(for novel non readers)
First of all if you dislike the fact that they have massive age gap. Lols. In ancient times thats normal. Even the emperor have plenty of concubines which can even be considered as his children already due to age gap.What I like about this is the chemistry and the cinematography plus the script writing . What really impacts the overall quality of a drama is the director. I like the melo/romcom vibe of this drama. It is wl balanced there are alot of drama with good stories whats lacking is timing, chemistry and good cinematography.
I have been watching dramas for almost a decade now. Same with anime I cant count the movies, series, webtoon, manhwa and anime that I have watched.
What attracts me is the first 10 episodes and this series captured my liking. What i am looking is chemistry, story balance, and cinematography so far this drama has it all. This drama have the Story of minglan vibe for me.
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Do you love to hate treacherous women?
I'm slowly falling in love with the male lead. I find the storyline interesting. Why? The male lead already has several concubines before marrying the second wife (female lead). We already know it will be drama with women sharing the same house and fighting for one man's affection. However, like the series Yanxi Palace, the lead female has a reason to enter the Xu household, and it has nothing to do with the affections of the male lead. That's right; initially, she's not interested in him and speaks her mind freely. There's also a similarity to the Story of Ming Lan, where both females marry a Marquis and live in a house of treacherous scheming women. Yes, I can give more examples, but you get the picture. Actress Seven Tan is adorable and can be considered a serious female lead. Every character she plays is alluring and makes you want to keep watching to the end. The male lead, Wallace Chung, plays the cold Marquis who takes responsibility for his women, especially the main wife. He seems emotionally distant from all of his women yet believes in love but has yet to experience it. Therefore, he only wishes to live amicably while taking care of his responsibilities. This production has a 50/50 chance of ending on a good note.Was this review helpful to you?
Harem Drama Lite.
Is this you? Have you just read a certain fanfic for a certain fandom that is a Harem AU and now the story hasn’t updated for weeks and you are just craving that good concubine no. 3 feels? Are you really tempted to watch one of those big harem dramas like Yanxi palace but you see the 70+ episode count and you feel like it’ll be less painful to take your organs out of your body with your bare hands than sit through that many episodes? Are you just itching to watch a bunch of stir-crazy people fight over who gets to sleep with an average/mediocre/ok-maybe-he’s-cool dude? THEN BOY DO I HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU!With a humble 45 (GOOD GOD! FORTY-FIVE?!?!?!?) episode count, the sword and the brocade gives you all that good “my love, I may have many in my harem, but there’s only you in the harem of my heart” feels while not actually making you want to crawl up a wall from all the palace intrigue melodrama. This is a show about two sourly yet genuinely good people slowly falling in love while every single character around them gets b*tch slapped by Karma! It’s fun…until it’s not.
I can’t in good conscience recommend this show though, mainly because I had such a negative experience making it through the last fifteen episodes of this show. It starts really well, it’s very gripping and there are so many delicious feelings throughout but the pace slows around episode 25 and just about becomes unbearable after episode 36. So maybe watch this only if you are very desperate for a Harem drama that isn’t as cut-throat or extreme as those palace ones.
You should watch this if you like:
1. Harem dramas
2. Murder mysteries
3. Happy endings
4. Meddlesome mother-in-laws (the real villain, everyone!)
5. Arranged marriage
6. Enemies to lovers but not very intense
7. Cinderella stories
8. Ming dynasty misogyny
9. Pro-monogamy harem plot…
10. Sewing (?)
Summary: The main character is the daughter of an unfavored concubine. Now it has come the time for the official mother to marry off her unfavorable concubine-born daughters in the most politically advantageous way. But best-laid plans of mice and men, everything goes the exact opposite way as she wanted, so now her least favorite daughter is married off to a beautiful, jade-like marquis of a man, instead of an abusive, drunkard womanizer and that’s karma for you! There’s a murder mystery, a skippable political plot, lots and lots of concubine drama, and the MOST unlikable, meddlesome, STUPID mother-in-law in the whole world, there too.
The story: I will give them a little credit. They were trying to say something, about women’s lives in the olden times, the terrible conditions of concubinage, the unfairness of the social hierarchy and they do manage to do that for the most part but it’s just so weak and it seems like they gave up on nuance very early on as they fall into the pitfalls of cliches and cinematic stereotypes of catfights that have proven to bring in excited viewers in the past. That’s my way of saying, they tried to be woke but realized it’ll make more money if they just go for the good old melodrama. I think Yanxi palace tried to do a similar thing but they achieved it with a lot more grace and elegance and the point was more solid there (even though that had its melodrama shenanigans too). There's also this bait-and-switch plot that is used too many times to show the change of tides in the plot that was cool the first time but got annoying when they did it over and over again.
The story also has something to say about getting lost in traditions and rules that can lead to denying people their agency to make choices for their own life. The show starts with this truly jaded man who has been forced into marriage and taking concubines and just putting up with all of this, even though he really couldn’t care less. He’s completely disillusioned about women and sees them as opportunistic people who will use sexuality and beauty to gain money and power. This is the best detail of the show because you can see how the female lead changes his perceptions throughout the show and finally makes it possible for him to figure out what he wants and what his problems were all along and how to ask for things that he wants.
But this also means that the female lead barely had a character arc! She was a pretty smart and level-headed person from the start and she is validated all the way to the end of the show. Her only change in the story is to fall in love but other than that she is a fully formed woman with a great understanding of herself and her principles from the very beginning.
The acting: Despite all the problems I had with the plot, I actually liked the two main actors. I prefer the more subdued and calm acting that Seven Tan did here and I also liked Wallace Chung’s acting. Not sure about the couple's chemistry, though. One was more into the romance than the other, I thought. I’ve also decided to add a new criterion to how I judge the acting, by judging the ensemble’s acting as a whole and basically judge how well everyone’s acting worked together. I have to say, here the acting was very homogenous. Everyone was on the same level. Shout out to He Hong Shan’s acting, she gave this very bratty voice to her character and it was brilliant. It made you want to slap her so bad! I also feel bad for Daddi Tong. I didn’t like his character but he did a good job and I hope he’ll get male leads in the future so he can be less pitiful.
The music: This is probably the best part of this show. The background music is just okay but the soundtrack is very romantic and it really worked well for the romance. As a whole the production was fine. Nothing special to say about it.
Rewatch value: None. Unless you’re THAT desperate for a harem drama that isn’t in the palace actually.
The negative: There’s a lot of weak writing in this show. For instance, there’s an attempt made to connect the political stuff with the harem stuff and the murder mystery all together, and yeah they’re connected but I don’t think anyone who was watching cared even a little for that political stuff, and for good reason. It was boring and very simple and it just took up a lot of space that had nothing happening in it. The other problem was the pacing. The show has a lot of little arcs and these did not mesh well together. Instead of having one big arc and small arcs intertwined together, each tiny arc is resolved separately. This means that we end up with the same story over and over again. Getting rid of a bad concubine? Three separate arcs that are solved one at a time, fighting over the second male lead being a potential homewrecker but with different intensities? Five different arcs! It just makes the show feel like a broken record because they keep arguing over the same things over and over again. After episode 25, everything just turns into a Groundhog Day. Everyone just goes around each other repeating the same issues again and again and each time only one thing is resolved until FINALLY, it’s all over. Really this show should have been 30 episodes. It was too long.
There was a lot of nothing in the show too: getting on and off carriages, purring tea, just moving from one place to another. You’d expect them to omit these in editing.
There’s also a bit of a negative bias in the story. Those women were all victims. The mother-in-law was a monster and she created this poisonous environment that only nurtured poisonous snakes. But the story somehow puts the main character on a moral high ground over these other victims. Even though there was no reason for her to be holier than the others. It’s not even her fault, it’s just that the show gets so twisted around itself that it ends up reaffirming the traditional values of women that the show was criticizing at first.
Overall: This show came into my life just as I needed it. I did binge some twenty-something episodes of it like my life depended on it. It’s a skippable watch unless you know mandarin and can just let it play in the background then maybe it'll be better. Just be ready to get annoyed.
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Cannot seem to stop watching it!
Series is still ongoing and just cannot help to write a prelim. review for those looking for new drama to watch. So far it's been an addiction for me.Story line is pretty easy to follow and typical in my opinion but it's written and developed well. Fell a similar vibe as "The reputable family, The merchant, and General & I" thus if you like those series, you should like this one as well. Characters and their relationship developing throughout the episodes...still not sure where the story will go (maybe I should read the novel too lol) but hopefully won't be one of those with many fillers just to extend the series.
There is a separate discussion about the "harem" but don't let this deter you from watching (I almost drop it myself at first).
Cast are seasoned Actors/Actresses, it feels realistic and very believable up to this point.
Overall, I really like the series and cannot seem to stop watching and waiting for the next episode!
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This review may contain spoilers
Hope there will be happy ending.
Beautiful story , credit to the writer and producer.So far , I am enjoying watching this drama even it was little boring in the first few episodes.
First I didn’t like the male lead has too many wives and he doesn’t smile at all but really glad that he will find some someone to make him falling in true love and smile again . Wallace is so talented , charming and handsome actor who does a great job professionally.
Love how strong, smart and funny the female lead is ...Seven Tan is very cute and adorable, she is such a beautiful actress.
A successful soundtrack can always convince the audiences to look forward to watching the film.
Thank you for English Subtitles.
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This review may contain spoilers
A slow paced, well developed period drama with romance and betrayal within an aristocratic family.
I watched this drama a couple of months ago, and I fell in love with the way that the story was told. I will admit that I didn't think this drama would be good after watching the first episode, but I was wrong! This drama reminds me a lot of the drama The Story of Ming Lan. The only con to this drama, and most Chinese period dramas is the fact that the amount of episodes are more than required. After the male and female lead finally felt secure in their marriage, I lost interest, only because it took almost 30 episodes to get there, and I felt like it could have just ended there. Maybe one day I will pick this drama back up but right now in my mind, this drama is worthy of a 9 for the first 30 episodes.Was this review helpful to you?
