The Acting Carries The Story
Without giving spoilers my main thought on this series was that the acting by the leads and most of the supporting cast was absolutely amazing. It's what carried what, in my opinion, was an underdeveloped, repetitive story and sold it to its conclusion.To touch on a few things: the story was frustrating in a number of respects. One, the conflicts were largely repetitive and didn't develop or evolve in a meaningful way. Basically, the same types of situations kept happening. And two, along a similar vein, I did not feel like our FL was given meaningful development. For me, it was her obvious interest and talent for engineering that seemed like it could have been something to drive her character development from petty revenge scheming to something useful, but instead this interesting aspect to her character became a throwaway in the background and even seen as a character flaw to be beaten into submission. The story got too wrapped up in palace/high society drama and dunking on the FL for basically everything—even hypocritically so when the ML does similar things after chastising her for her behavior. We largely abandon development with her family midway through, when it seemed like this was a focal point for the characters, and then get a rushed montage of events that happen in the years that pass. At the same time, the story took a very frustrating turn in the last several episodes that seemed like it had no purpose except to add shock-value and to draw out the final conflict with a lot of overwrought angst or possibly to just fill the time left.
All of it left me feeling like it was pointless by the end; I really wasn't sure what the overall theme of the story was at that point. With lesser actors I might have quit well before the end, but I do have to hand it to the leads, especially the FL, for their delivery.
Was this review helpful to you?
Coming of age and understanding what love is
In part 1, Zhao Lusi was in her element being cheeky, mischievous and lovable. For part 2, we see more serious emotions and she pulls this off very well too making me cry along with her and making my heart ache when she suffers setbacks.With the story involving more of the royal family this time, it was refreshing to see the Consort and the Empress getting along with each other and not get jealous of each other unlike other palace dramas. Consort Yue was my favourite with her sharp tongue and no nonsense attitude.
Skipping forward 5 years was nicely done here with little snippet scenes - something I haven’t seen in a drama before. Watch out for a little humour with “chicken wings” and “rabbit” as a break from all the seriousness.
(Repeat from Part 1 as it still holds true for Part 2)
The cinematography is superb and had those panning scenes which I enjoyed in A Dream of Splendor. Scenery was gorgeous and sets were very realistic. Casting for the extras was very well done and it was so good to see the black guards looking especially tough and rugged unlike some dramas where the guards looked like school boys.
Unfortunately, while I loved the FL, I would have preferred a different ML. Just personal preference on what I would consider handsome. His posture didn’t sit well with me either but other than that he was a good actor who rode the horse very well and had great fighting scenes.
Was this review helpful to you?
Compliments:
story was pretty good, loved Ling Buyi’s character. Cast was awesome, everyone looked nice and well fit for their role, though I think that Yuan Shangjian did a pretty good job acting as the “annoying pushy” character cause he also played in rebirth for you and his character was completely different. Also another sad show that made me cry a lot.
Complaints:
Number one is costuming, even though this show has probably added a new color palette to all the Chinese dramas, since the color of the entire show is just dark colors. I really think the coloring could have been better and same with costuming. Another complaint is the length of the show, it does not need to be this long again it could have been cut down to maybe 35 episodes and there’s too many side stories that aren’t important and make the show a bit boring and lots of skipping around.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A bit overrated - its just ok
I delayed watching this because the trailers all made is seem like a silly comedy, rather than a drama. I prefer dramas. The first 1/3 of the series was more comedic, but then it turned into a more serious, heavy drama. Pacing was off, took too long for the love story to build up. It seemed to dragged on too long after the climax of the series...it was like they just recycled random characters who had smaller parts earlier on, then disappeared for most of series...then suddenly reappeared towards the end just to continue the series? Felt forced and odd.My main issue w/ this series is the main couple - both the ML and FL fell flat in terms of chemistry. I didn't feel it, but you feel like you have to root for them because they are the main couple. I wasn't convinced of any deep, intense love between them.
Acting/Characters:
- Wu Lei / Ling Buyi (ML) - the only other series I saw him in was when he was a child actor in Nirvana in Fire. So it was hard for me to take him seriously as an adult actor in this series. His acting was a bit stiff.
- Zhao Lu Si / Chen Shao Shang (FL) - she plays the cute, funny role fine. She doesn't fit the image of the most beautiful maiden in the capital. Her sad/crying scenes did not tug at my heartstrings, except for 1 scene where she was bullied by the princesses and almost drowned in the pond - when Ling Buyi unaware of what happened came to visit her talking happily....she turned her back and cried out of self pity but tried to hold it in. That scene broke my heart.
- The Emperor - acting was fine. But the script writing for him seems off - I have never seen a period drama where the emperor was so funny and kind. Even if they are kind at hear, they usually appear serious, stern, intimidating.
- Imperial Consort Yue Fei and the Empress - I liked them, it was refreshing that they were genuinely kind people and not scheming like most royals. I liked the spunk and grit that Consort Yue Fei had, and her relationship w/ the Emperor was cute.
Was this review helpful to you?
Love grows and people too
Honestly thought that they shouldn't even divide this into 2 parts. I get it that it shows volta, or jump mood- switch mood, in literature jargon but it just makes the difference a lot more obvious and affected the judgment. Part 1 is just a rising action, so a lot of praises go to it because they build the story well. Very well and entertaining I'll give them that. But part 2 starts with climax. When a story starts with climax, if it isn't engaging enough it is easy to get ruin. And the in-story is heavy too. Politics and all. But I still like it cause apart from this, the story was so well done that everything else is forgivable.I like that that they use human emotions well. Not every good man is a bad man and not every bad man is a good man. Because we're human. Things that we do have justifications. What comes around goes around. They played with family institutions well too. You know that in family, once you count the others fault, it will never end. Because family can do the worse to us but also can be the only person stand for us. So nothing should be calculated cause nothing should be count.
'Kan ai kan hen' - dare to love, dare to hate. I thought it was a rare personality too. Since she made clear what she want- often things we can't do nowadays Because she made a very clear line, ngl sometimes you want to screw flexibility in her head. Girl just take a hint. But that what make the show goes I guess. I take a long time to finish part 2, because how heavy the story gets and I can't handle it. (The unpredictable of Zisheng's action make it worse too). I thought Niaoniao doesn't show enough love to Zisheng when she said she love him in the beginning. I always thought that she said she's in love but she didn't look like it. I'm about to complain through the eps, but interestingly it does feel like Niaoniao's love grows, stronger day after day. It was so interesting like she went from 'no i don't love him' to 'yes he's my world'. Zhao Lusi acts well I guess?
I'm glad that they don't rush things. Much. So any complain I had about person's personality or story just dissipate cause they solve it well. Like I said, they use complex human emotions well and solve every complain that I had. All in all, I had a good laugh in part 1, I had a good cry in part 2.
Was this review helpful to you?
Much Like the First Part
Same virtues, same faults. This is a very uneven work which does seem to trade off the FL's popularity, but does have bright patches in the look of it, the way many of the secondary (especially the older) actors do so well, some of the humour and the fact that there seems to be less cliched catfighting among the female characters, the grudges that drive the story have more depth towards the end.There are still some painful lapses in characterization and plotting, though much of the script is pretty good, and the acting is likewise very uneven, with many of the supporting cast outshining the leads.
Was this review helpful to you?
Although 10 episodes were cut, I thought it was still great. This drama had amazing cinematography, music, light hearted moments, anxiety driven moments, great chemistry and offered us a happy ending.
I haven't cried with a drama in a long time, and yes I tend to cry where there are daddy issues.... Lol. But I cried with this drama. I cried when they lost their loved ones, I cried when the characters reconciled with each other, I cried during the happy moments. I cried when family members made up. It was perfect.
Was this review helpful to you?
Love like the Galaxy and Moon Lovers are the only dramas that made me feel alive.
I was actually planning to watch Who Rules the World first but decided to watch this because it's Top 1 on WeTV. This is the first Cdrama that I've ever watched and I really got hooked right from the start. The actors and actresses portrays the character very well. I can feel all the emotions that they are expressing. It's not yet completed but I'll surely miss them all. I can't wait to watch the next episodes and worse is that I saw the spoilers and now I can't think anything but it. LOLOLOL Overall, Love Like the Galaxy is really worth watching. I hope for more dramas like this in the future.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Rules for thee but not for me.
***** a review for part 2 only******I was unexpectedly taken with Part 1, especially with the refreshing performance of Shaoshang's mother and Consort Yue both of whom I still adore. Thus Part 2 really disappointed me.
The main reason is that Part 2 is mostly filler. Primarily, a lot of driving force behind Ling Buyi's revenge was resolved early on in Part 1, so we kind of lost the 'bigger plot' and began to introduce random plot lines that were not foreshadowed in the previous part. Unfortunately this means that there was a huge focus on the romance. Which is a very cliche cdrama romance where Ling Buyi is manly and overbearing and defeats all the 'bad guys', and random plot points are invented as new points of conflict.
The biggest issue with this is that Ling Buyi starts to show us who he really is. And if you think about what he's done... he's not the hero. He's basically a villain disguised as a troubled good guy.
Let's just compare him to the first 'enemy' that he vanquishes in Part 2, which is the Third Princess. What is she guilty of? She pushed Shaoshang into a river and got a snake to bite her, and she said brainless things like 'it's just a human life, nothing more'. She's very cut and dried case of 'stupid and evil'. A 2d villain.
But what does Ling Buyi do in retaliation? There's a reason we have laws and a justice system in civil society. But Ling Buyi takes the law in his own hands, he is both judge and executioner. He kills all the male consorts of the Third Princess. He parades her friends tied up in the streets because of their role as a bystander. He hangs the father of one of the friends up in front of his house for hours, berating him. Is this 'justice'? Maybe this is what Shaoshang means when she says that if someone hurts her, she'll "get thousand fold revenge" later in the show, because she certainly seems to completely support what he's done.
We know he's never been a law abiding kind of guy and in Part 1 it was foreshadowed that he was feared for his brutality by prisoners of war (something which boosts his manly image, I suppose). But it's really hypocritical for him to condemn the 'evil' and 'law breaking' bad guys in Part 2 and then turn around and do things that are just as bad, or worse. Who in the story has murdered more people directly than Ling Buyi? We can count those masterminds on one hand.
There are other faults with Part 2, but this is the greatest one imo: Ling Buyi (and Shaoshang by association) basically abide by the law when it suits them and defy the law when they wish to take "thousand fold revenge". They are not some 'good guys' in this story, but we are expected to pretend they are, and even to root for them. Rules for thee but not for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
REWATCH VALUE!!! I am always coming back to this drama when I feel nothing to watch.
This drama rewatch value is real. First time was focusing just plot and excitement for love story. Second time, it gave me thrilling vibe as I solely understand the past of ML. Some dialogue became more meaningful at that time. Third time watching now, more focus to special scene such as red birthday. This time, my soul is immersed totally in background music.Big applause to WuLei… All of his scenes have behind special messages. His soft eyes to FL, Angst eyes to betrayers, Powerful eyes in battles. ❤️
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Best dramas in 2022 their chemistry, story, lore and act and everything is chef's kiss. You should watch this dramas and you know this dramas is peak ! (sorry not so much reviews and explanation i give to you guys and sorry if this don't help a much.)I really like the dynamics between Cheng Shaosang and Ling Buyi like their support each others and help each others to grow and accomplish their missions. Yeah i know their love story is complicated and many obstacle they had before they end up together. When they first met they focus on their goals then the ML curious about the FL because her personality is different from others and then he got interested in her and want to get close to her. At beginning episodes and chapters the story focus on their lives separately and their owns problems especially the story of FL she's struggle a lot and her family is complicated and miserable and FL have complicated relationship with her mother like her mother and her have different perspective and misunderstanding her behaviour. FL felt her doing is right and just for defensive herself but her mom always think the action her took is to cunning or not ladylike. I felt bad for her because from the start she wasn't got enough attention and love from their parents because the parents is both generals and have missions but the problem the most and crucial is when her grandmother got lured by the evil aunt and treat Niaoniao (Cheng Shaosang) badly so it makes the youth of this young girl as bad and memory and harsh for hers and not fair besides she is biological children of parents but she don't got what she deserve. And for the ML his family got massarce by his own uncle whos is very evil, bad, cunning and greedy, his life is for revenge until he met Niaoniao (Cheng Shaosang) he now learn to love and be loved by someone.
I really like the struggle and effort the ML and FL show to us their dynamics of relationships and always encourage each others and help others whenever their at the bottom or top of their lives their will do the best to help each others out. Well their love story is slow burn romance because the spark of their love begin to risen up in every episodes. I really touched and moved when Niao niao fam is on trouble and got false accusation, she have to relly on herself and have to investigate the cases alone but Ling Buyi never let her do it alone and help hers matters especially since they betrothed to each others he help her until he can find and help her finding his father until Ling Buyi not rest for a bit. The most heartbroken iconic scenes wheres Niao niao and her family help him to escape from "arrest Ling Buyi" because he finally got revenge to his evil uncle and kill him. When they succesfully run but they met the end of the road and they got caught and Ling Buyi have to make hard decisions because he don't want Niao niao to death and got in trouble for him but Niao niao say he promises that they will always relly on each others and never abandoned each others but then Ling Buyi have to make Niao niao disappointed for their vow together because he loves her so much but what he doesn't know that Niao niao is love him so much too but he doesn't want to take a risk to threat Niao niao nor her family live goshh. :'(
They so many scenes that i can't write one by one but it's worth to watch and don't worry guys it's happy ending for them and another support role too and they eventually got married, and us the viewer can breath without restraint :)) so this is all i can says sorry i can't explained the story one by one and not make good review that can help or guide you guys but i hope you guys can see the bigger pictures on another review or comment thank youu.
Was this review helpful to you?
Loved some parts, disappointed by the lack of certain (closure) scenes
As I mentioned in my review of part 1: First, I have to mention the cast. This cast makes me want to go back to my previous reviews and reduce the star rating I've given to other dramas' casting. The casting in the drama is SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!! I wish there were a once-in-a-decade "11 stars" option. Every single role was cast perfectly and the actors were perfection in their roles. Seriously, I have never watched a better cast drama than this. And a special shout out to the dude who played the emperor. He was an absolutely delight and perfect in his role.Some parts of this drama were OUTSTANDING, and some were bitterly disappointing. I agree with other reviewers who said sections were extremely draggy. I'd say 40% of this second season was unnecessary slow-motion scenes and reaction shots. This I might've forgiven if the ending didn't feel rushed / unfinished. I was so disappointed in the ending-- especially since so much time was given to pointless side-stories-- that I knocked off 3 stars.
Worse, the ending makes me not want to re-watch any part of this drama again, it'll only remind me of what scenes weren't included (ultimately).
Was this review helpful to you?
