Love Like the Galaxy: Part 1

I feel super late to the party but I just finished part 1 of this! I love Zhao lusi but even then it won't be enough of a reason for me to watch a drama just because she's in it. This was one of those dramas where I didn't have time to watch it when it was airing, so I never ended up watching it and decided to just add it to the to watch list especially once it got really popular. but I felt like I needed to watch something people all praise about and this was definitely one of those dramas. It's been a hot minute since I've watched her actually, and she absolutely steals the show here. Her cleverness, stubbornness, and trouble-making characteristics as shaoshang truly shined through.

The drama definitely starts a little slow on the romance, and I mean truly slow, she was basically engaged to another man for half of the first part. the beginning episodes all start with her life as the uneducated daughter who had an unfortunate upbringing leading her to lack the manners and knowledge of other young ladies in the capital. her parents finally returned after 15 years from when the first abandoned her as a child and the mom seeing her child in this state really disappointed her. it was really heartbreaking to see the mistreatment whenever her mom compared her to her cousin, and it really wasn't her fault she ended up like this. somehow tho the mom decides to not leave an inch of empathy for what happened to shaoshang the first 15 years of her life and is the strictest with her, as if raising a daughter is the same as training a soldier. but where shaoshang lacks in knowledge of great philosophers, disciplines, basic etiquette, she makes up for with her bravery, resourcefulness, and her passion in craftsmanship. it doesn't take long to love shaoshang's character, I mean why else would she have 3 different men wanting to propose to her. the entire drama you're really just hoping she ends up happy and loved and protected. she eventually has her brothers and her father to protect her majority of the time, but what she really wants is for her mother to show her love as it seems the hardest to achieve at the moment. I understand it's hard for a child to understand their parents do what they do for their own good, but it gets to a point people!! she's 15 years old SHES JUST A BABYY.

one of the things I definitely didn't expect was for shaoshang to be engaged to Lou Yao. I really thought she would've kept firm with not reciprocating his feelings but after experiencing a tragedy together I guess that creates a strong bond. they were however in my mind definitely kindred spirits and should've stayed as platonic friends. shaoshang had mistaken their friendship and comfortability from that friendship for love, as she grew up without love and not knowing what it even meant to love someone as family, not to mention romantically. I feel bad he was still forced into a marriage he didn't want at the end, but I can see him and zhaojun eventually becoming a good couple, at least one that respects one another, though I hope their respect can grow into love, not sure if they'll still be mentioned in part 2. now for yuan shuanjian. this man is in love is totally going about it the wrong way. he belittles and makes fun of shaoshang for her character and upbringing - if this was an enemies to lovers and shaoshang was reciprocating that, hey im all for it but you can clearly see she's not having any of this. poor guy has so many ladies after him but has no clue what a lady wants. good thing this man gets his own popular drama later on (I love you li yunrui). MOVING ON to mr ling buyi. now if u asked me at the first half of this part why he's so deeply in love with our fl, I wouldn't know what to tell you. theres a big focus on shaoshang and general ling is a man of few words when it comes to his scenes. in fact I'll be honest, he was really boring to me, and you barely get any scenes of him and shaoshang together until her life is somehow in danger one way or another. it was definitely a bit of a jump between his short interactions with fl and then his sudden care for her. it only got more interesting near the end when he actually had more conversations with shaoshang, especially once she opened up to him. I will say tho it was definitely a red flag of him to ask the emperor to propose for him in front of everyone before even knowing whether or not shaoshang feels the same way towards him. he was basically trapping her in a marriage she didn't want, and it just proves his love for her was surface level and he didn't truly know her yet as a person. if he did he would know shaoshang would never want to be restrained this way, and now that she's involved in the palace, makes me even more worried for what she'll have to endure from this marriage. I do however, appreciate the character growth as he learned to respect shaoshang, showing her she's allowed to live the life she wants instead of having to follow rules. I do understand though, since he grew up in the military and he's always known to follow orders, so he's clearly a man of a strict routine with his life. that's how you get to know how much he likes shaoshang because of her defiance for rules. she's a bright start in his eyes and he truly lights up his life when he's around her. should've known better than to order her around in the beginning, amateur. he's so clueless with his social interactions with her family too, it was a little pathetic ngl, poor guy does not know how to act normal. I hope her family eventually accepts him and treats him like family too, I feel so bad he hasn't grown up in a proper family and I understand how hard it is to see the emperor as his father figure when he's well.. the emperor.

in terms of acing, ms lusi shines here. wu lei on the other hand was a little lacking. everyone else does their respective parts decently. mother was truly infuriating. good on her, I like this actress when she does the mother roles, that's her key thing now. in terms of the plot, I can't say im all that interested in whatever happened to gu city years ago, I think I'll remain more focused on the romance portion. it's definitely a decent drama and has some really funny moments - can't say it lives up to the hype it got though, but we'll see once I finish part two!

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Strength Born of Struggle

"2nd TIME WATCHING"
This drama is one you’ll find yourself rewatching—it lingers in your thoughts long after the final episode. The storyline is masterfully crafted, pulling you deeper with each twist and leaving you eager for more.

The backdrop, filming locations, and costumes are breathtaking, so vivid and immersive that you almost wish you could step into the world yourself. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed, striking a balance between power and elegance.

The political struggles within each family, all the way up to the royal household, are eye-opening—revealing just how far people will go for family, honor, and power.

Not every character sat well with me, though. The mother’s role was disappointing at times, and honestly, her treatment of the FL left me aggravated and unhappy with how the writers shaped her. Still, I can see how it fit the storyline—it gave the FL even more strength and resilience in the face of hardship.

The FL is one of my favorite actresses; she embodies her roles with such heart and depth, every emotion feels raw and real. The ML, too, brings intensity—his expressions alone are sometimes heartbreaking, wearing his character’s emotions openly and honestly.

This drama doesn’t just tell a story—it makes you feel it.

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Really good

Season 1 (episodes 1-27) had a slow start. It took a whopping six episodes for Shaoshang and Ling Buyi to finally meet face to face. Before that, nothing was happening aside from Shaoshang showing absolute disdain towards everything and acting like a spoiled brat. She was supposed to be a neglected and abused teenager who was left as a baby with her relatives while her parents served in a war. The writers didn't do a really good job flushing her out her character at the beginning. She stumbled between being portrayed as a neglected teen to acting very whiny and entitled. In every scene she would go out of her way to act out and complain about everything, instead of trying to reconnect with her parents. Fortunately, the writers didn't let her fester into an unlikable shrew and her character development picked up nicely. It turned out she loved to learn about how things worked. She was very sympathetic to other people problems. And she was a great problem solver.

Her mother's actions were very confusing. For someone who was a seasoned general, mom showed extreme shortsightedness when it came to parenting. She knew very well about her daughter's accomplishments, but instead of looking at the big picture and appreciating the fact that Shaoshang did not grow up to be shallow and spoiled, mom always fixated on her daughter's smaller problems - a lack of education and etiquette. Mom's inconsistency showed even more during Shaoshang's engagement. She did not want the marriage with Lou Yao because he was unintelligent, weak, and wasn't able to protect Shaoshang. Mom also picked up on the fact that Ling Buyi liked her daughter. However, when Ling Buyi proposed, mom immediately put her daughter down to be some awful and unintelligent simpleton who was unworthy of anything. It was no wonder Shaoshang wanted to get away from that house. The icing on the cake was mom's favoritism towards the cousin, instead of trying to reconnect with her daughter.

I really wanted to see the mom and daughter's relationship grow where Shaoshang realized that her mom wanted to prepare her for the adult life and teach her how to navigate society. In return, mom would realize that Shaoshang was a very special and beautiful person and finally got over her fixation on Shaoshang's upbringing. There were some very good moments where I thought mom and daughter would finally grow close - the one where mom slapped one of the ladies at Lou Yao's house. But then there was the scene with Lin Buyi's proposal where mom was a total let down.

The way the Cheng family was portrayed as a "military" family was odd. General Cheng was a general, just like Ling Buyi. But General Cheng didn't seem to have any kind of influence or power at all. At 21, Ling Buyi had an awful lot of power and influence, and even an army to command. General Cheng was nowhere on that level even thought he spent his entire life fighting and was at least twice as old as Ling Buyi. The only person who seemed to have any kind of military discipline in the Cheng family was mom. The two brothers, who were with the parents when they were away, acted like spoiled and pampered aristocrats, instead of military children. They also looked like they never handled a weapon in their lives.

Some storylines needed serious cropping, like the very long engagement to Lou Yao that wasn't going to work out anyway. Shaoshang and Ling Buyi playing catch up with each other could've been sped up a little bit too. I wanted to see more of them hang off the roof together instead of watching Lou Yao bringing her snacks.

There were also some very great scenes showing the build-up of Shaoshang and Ling Buyi relationship. The scene where she pulled an arrow out of his chest was hot and very intimate.

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A bundle of Joy

I liked that this one did not have backstabbing and betrayal by family members. I felt there might be the typical cousin lover fight but there wasn't and the Cheng Family were very good to each other and entertaining to watch. I was damn impressed with Old lady Cheng, she cracked me up each time :) and there was a lot of cunning schemes and revenge done by the FL which gave me story of minglan vibe and the ML quest to uncover the truth of his _____ death was a long journey of 15 yrs it reminded me of yanxi palace in which FL goes from simple servant in the palace to imperial consort with tons of scheming to finally avenge her sisters rape and murder. Overall it's a good watch the only thing I felt it missed was not seeing them having a family of their own. A scene of them living Shang's dream of simple village kinda life or maybe a scene of Qiqi and Song's kids playing around with their Uncle Zisheng (ML). Ah it would have been a perfect ending. We also missed out on their wedding and the rest of the siblings. Those scenes would have made this the best of the best drama IMO.

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Another gem

A good story catering to the taste of people who love a concoction of romance comedy alice of life with little action .. plot revolves around a girl who was abandoned by her parents when she was new born so she has her own deal with trust issues while the ML is struggling through the trauma of watching his entire clan massacred and now all he wants is revenge. Apart from that story touches upon a few aspects which are generally avoided by asian writers for example FL's mother denies to acknowledge her mistake of leaving her daughter behind she comes back after 15 years and yet tries to establish her authority on the daughter's life ..along with that writer is boldly discussing bad parenting how parents choose their who over the child's mental peace ( takes am even drastic turn on second season when FL leaves her house to stay with empress ). FL is temperamental ( in a good way) she chooses a simple and humble boy (not ML) who understands her right over any romance. Though the story stands out but there were a few things which felt lacking for example ...I wish the FL knew some fighting skills ... The chemistry between leads was there but not very strong may be because of the plot that kept them apart either way even in season two lusi seemed little reserved ( will discuss that in season 2 review) no kissing scene,lead couple's scenes were very less overall. The drama has a bulky cast ..so many characters to keep up with in fact there were a couple of characters that didn't appear but their references was given every now and then making things a little messy and confusing. But with all these things it was still a very enjoyable drama.. the consistent incoming of slice of life comic punch kept things lively plus ZLS's spontaneity did great justice to this script ... Overall this season is basically more of less about lead's character development as for their serious love story and dark secrets watching season 2 is compulsory

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Not what I expected (in a good way)

I've never read the original novel, so I thought it's going to be a romance drama between FL & ML with some palace politics here and there. I never imagine that in the 27 episodes, is more about family conflict, FL-ML close interaction (romance) is almost non existent LOL. But what surprised me more, is how much I enjoy this drama. I like how the story focused on the development of the FL and her interaction with her family, the mother-daughter conflict, surprisingly, quite realistic. I love all the elders character, the senior actors are all very good, especially the grandmother, LOL, the grandmother is really something, so funny. I like how the FL slowly learn about relationships and grow to be more mature. Nothing is rushed, just the right pace. The director really make good story flow. Can't wait for the second part of the series.

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Feeling cheerful? Stop it now!

I dropped this show after 3 eps because of the subject material ie child abuse/neglect, made into entertainment because the victim has wit and tenacity.
I picked it up again out of solidarity for Zhao Lusi.
She handles this difficult role with depth & credibility, bringing humour & sensitivity.
Sadly, the show is so full of stereotypical back-biting that I can hardly stand it. Not forgetting the usual tropes of spoilt girls expecting to marry whoever they want, and bullying going unpunished with victim blaming and shaming.
The final straw for me, dropping the show now at #22, is the mother. The actress is good & I have seen her in other shows; of course, not every character can be lovable. But it is too hard to believe that a woman who is 1. a capable and battle-hardened general; 2. a loving wife; and 3. a mother to two older boys, can be so flummoxed by raising her daughter as to resort to verbal cruelty every time. I don’t know why people praise this show so much. I can’t stand watching anymore.

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Masterpiece. Period.

I could write so many things about this Cdrama, acting, costumes, sceneries, the amazing storytelling. It make your heart beat like crazy in every single episode, to the point I don't get that its not rated with a 10 ⭐ with white flags already.!!! The only negative is the release of the episodes... so slow, not enough. Leading actors absolutely mesmerising and with a huge chemistry between them. I'm currently in episode 12 and I can tell that my heart will break with this love story before we witness the happy ending of their story. Overall I think its a masterpiece of its kind.

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Update: It gets better starting with episode 6. At first, it was bad!

Although, I genuinely like the male lead actor, I was disappointed to see him play the male lead character. To be honest, as of episode 3 I don't think he is doing as good of a job as he did in his prior historical dramas. Not bad, but not great either. I believe this drama would have been better if they casted an actor between the ages of 30-45 (this doesn't mean the character has to be the same age), with phenomenal acting experience in political based historical dramas.

While the storyline is good, the script and production is lacking. What I mean is, in episode 1 the male lead and the army won a war and the first thing he does after returning home (well, waiting outside of the gate) was to leave and investigate a case. The political plot in the first 10 episodes, felt rushed, and unrealistic; it was as if they were looking for a way to find a quick way for the female and male lead to link up with one another. Also, there was no significant moment shown to us to explain why the male lead character liked the female lead character.

Next, the female lead characters mom, hadn't seen her daughter since she was a baby, and instead of embracing her with love, she embraced her with rules that could have waited until she started spending good quality time with her daughter. For goodness sake, she heard that her daughter often was starved by her grandmother and aunt. Additionally, at one point, she was left to die outside of their town. The mother's behavior is not endearing but it seems very cold, and harsh. Her character is enough to make me want to drop this drama. I'm hoping that the writer allow her character to develop.

If the script, acting, and mothers' character doesn't improve by episode 6, I'm going to drop this drama! Note: The mom's character doesn't become tolerable until episode 20.

Update:
You will start to like this drama by episode 6. Things definitely make a turn for the better. However, I still don't like the male lead character storyline. It seems unrealistic. Additionally, the actor is overacting.

My favorite episode was episode 15. I hate the political plot because it's not logical nor is it well written. However, the female lead character storyline is pretty good. Additionally, the female lead actress did a phenomenal job acting, as well as the actor who plays Yao. Kudos!

I'm currently watching episode 21, and when I see the male lead character, I sigh due to disappointment. UGHHHHH WHYYYYY I don't know if it is because of his character, or the actor, or both! Btw, who else is sobbing after watching episode 21? Where's my tissue? Also, episode 24 (towards the end) is the only time that I liked the male lead actor and character in this drama. Unfortunately, the mom in this drama reminds me of the relationship that I had with my mom. My mom has narcissistic personality disorder, and used to belittle me in front of others. So the end of episode 24, definitely was a trigger.

After watching episode 25, I realized that part 1 was focused on the female leads family and part 2 will be focused on the male leads family, and their marriage. I LOVE how the male lead rides (supports) the female lead at Yao's wedding (the end of episode 25). By episode 26, I finally start liking the male lead character (although, I think the actor could have done a better job acting).

The flashbacks at the end of episode 27 was much needed (I forgot how much the leads interacted with one another), and was a perfect way to end season 1. After watching episode 27, I raised my rating from 8.0 to 8.5.

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