You will cry
Zhao LuSi is amazing, and the character she played won my heart. I've said it before and I'll say it again give us more FL that are strong and clever. Duan Wu was the embodiment of those qualities, moreover she was skilled.What I learn as I watch chinese dramas is that they are most always beautiful sceneries, clouthing and hairstyles along with the most ugly betrayals and human greed
But the thing that this story left me with mostly is simply a broken heart. After all the battles it takes us through at the end was it really all worth it? (I asked myself)
It's better than it was, yes, but also did I cry? yes
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Female Resilience!
Zhao Lu Si, my beloved flower💗🌸This drama was such a masterclass in terms of acting, cinematography, styling, music, just everything was so splendid. I loved the cast, the complexity of the characters. Duan Wu’s fighting spirit and determination, but also her sensible side and strength, her resilience, her love, her loyalty. What a wonderful character, Zhao Lu Si played her to perfection. Cui Shi Jiu was an interesting character as well, who I pitied by the end of the show. CSJ was in some ways similar to Duan Wu, but she was so much more aggressive, hot-tempered and rash in her decisions. The ending… let’s not talk about it, I cried too many tears😭🤚🏻 My only criticism would be the non-stop problems befalling Clear Mind once Duan Wu set up her business. It was repetitive: she takes care of one person sabotaging her and her business, and whoops: next person coming to mess with her. Regardless, this drama was wonderful. It puts female characters at the center and shows their strength and resilience, their intelligence and sensibility. Truly, a great show. 💗
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Lots of epic scenes and a barrage of emotion
I binge watched this but due to not having a subscription to Youku many of the scenes (often pivotal) were missing so I’ve had to scrabble around on YouTube to fill in some (but sadly not all) of the gaps. It would probably pay to subscribe to get the complete picture.The story while complex and brilliant is sometimes frustrating when the main characters put themselves in harm’s way without proper backup.
As the chapters pass the main characters grow and develop beautifully so that when some of them die, it is both heartbreaking and memorable. The lad who plays Shrimp is an incredible actor and I hope he goes on to other things.
The ending was open so that although we know ML is dying, we do not know exactly what happened. Did he really leave to die alone? Difficult to say although his SiC is absent from the last few scenes. I hope he didn’t as she begged him not to but that’s just my take on things.
Cannot fault any of the acting but as usual Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning were exemplary and had incredible chemistry.
Would I watch this again? Absolutely, provided I could get the complete storyline with every scene included
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Lavish and very watchable
Dec 2024This period action, adventure, revenge, romance C-drama has everything, and overall I found the story enjoyable and captivating.
There are almost always lots of characters in C-dramas, with lavish sets and costumes, especially if fantasy (xanxia/wuxia). Whilst this drama wasn't a fantasy story at all, it did have all the production values of one.
The slavery aspect early on was pretty unpleasant, with the usual wealthy, yet greedy, pearl farm owners being up to no good, involved in shady dealings, and using/abusing their captive workers in the process.
Our FL escapes that life, finding out some shocking secrets as she does, which lead her on a journey.
She collaborates with an unlikely person, who's on their own (yet linked) path, but for very different reasons.
There are not as many annoying female characters as I usually come across, and I enjoyed the lead actors very much. There's also some great and diverse supporting ones, with the relationship between Yan Zi Jing and his right-hand man, Kang Ju, being a favourite of mine. I especially loved the latter character.
It kept my attention and there was enough wit, action and an appropriate level of romance, that I thought melded well for a balanced watch.
I have to admit that I wasn't happy with the ending though; but that's to do with me and not the story. It did fit, I have to say.
Definitely worth a look, and if nervous of the number of eps, it could be used as a 'filler', whilst watching dramas that are currently airing.
It kept me happily watching and was a little different to the usual C-drama period stories.
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Strong women in the face of it all
I will keep spoilers out of the beginning of this review, but if you want to know if this is a happy or not happy ending, scroll to the last sentence of my review.Great acting! But I didn't feel a connection between many of the characters (as in, feel the relationship between them) until about halfway through the drama. I kept watching because I loved how the main lead, Duanwu, kept being so strong in the face of everything, and seeing a woman struggle in the world of men (being blocked from being successful on her own) spoke to me. I admired her courage and persistence and really appreciated her character.
I really enjoyed the sibling relationship with Shrimp and Duanwu and thought that was the most realistic. The romance didn't feel as close and I wasn't feeling much of a connection between the main characters for a long time, until maybe the last story arc or so. Maybe it was just because I thought the male lead was heartless in the beginning and I couldn't understand how anyone could get past that horrible attitude.
Overall, the music was pretty good (except one track was kind of overdramatic and it even made me laugh out loud once), the sets were beautiful, the costumes were beautiful, and I thought the plot and premise was pretty interesting. However, the last episode seemed a little rushed, which is a bummer.
SPOILER:
If you want a super happy ending where everything is rainbows and puppies, don't watch this drama. I still think it was worth the journey.
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Incredible
I have to say after watching this drama, that I have a whole new respect for Zhao LuSi. This role allowed her to show everyone that she is not just a pretty face made for rom coms.Her range of character development from abused slave to an incredible business woman in a time where women were anything but respected and cherished by a male dominated society that treated them as punching bags and were sold like cattle at auction was breathtaking.
This was a hard watch for me, especially knowing the abuse and overworking issues she has recently made public with her health from things very similar to this drama. It must have been extremely hard for her to do. I could see even when this was made how she had started to decline in regards to her health.
I have rad a couple of reviews here that say the script didn’t make sense and they dropped the drama. That is too bad, because the finished product seems to have had a lot of footage cut out. But it is a story about a woman who fought against incredible odds to make a life for herself and to help other women along the way.
The ML, Yuning Liu was impressive. I had seen him in the Long Ballad and found him to be a very good actor - giving the role such a performance that you both hated and pitied him and loved him at the same time. His performance of Tang Zi Jing was stellar, and has made me want to see more of him.
.
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Great potential, but full of inconsistencies...
Spoilers are at the end of the review with a warning title.I'm not sure why some people praise this Drama with ratings of 10... It's simply incomprehensible because, from the beginning, the whole plot is full of inconsistencies, to the point where I'm now getting annoyed by it. Anyone giving a 10 is not being objective.
I don't know if the incoherences come from the novel or from the Drama scriptwriters. Nonetheless, such rookie mistakes should be avoided. Stories and characters should remain coherent for a drama to be good. This is not the case with this one. It's a shame, because this story had a lot of potential, the actors are good, the costumes and accessories are well done, and the filming set is beautiful.
Another unfortunate thing is the OST: the soundtrack is not used in a way that highlights it. It's supposed to highlight emotional moments, and those moments are supposed to highlight the OST. I feel it's a miss in this drama. It feels like they just dumped it here and there to plug holes, lacking continuity and harmony with the BGM (background music). Also, it's sometimes too loud.
Ep. 18 and 19 are the summum of stupidity in story writing. I've got a whole list of everything that makes no sense at all, and it's almost all of it. It's so frustrating that I almost want to quit the show completely. It's a mess of everything illogical one can think of. This is not a fantasy show; it's supposed to be a real-life fiction. Thus, it should reflect reality and be as plausible as possible. I'll write my rant at the bottom of this review.
Overall, the story and concept had great potential; it started well, and it could have been a great drama if those inconsistencies had been taken care of properly.
=== Spoiler alert: Do NOT read if you haven't watched the show ===
Ep 18
Why would DuanWu have gone out alone, endangering herself? Supposedly to hide the blood pearl near a lake, when she could simply hide it in her father's old locked room, which would be the safest place, in my opinion. They could make a copy to bring on their ambush trip. This is another lame plot twist where the scriptwriters make the character behave stupidly for the sake of drama. This is the kind of thing that is being overdone in TV drama, and I'm sick of it.
Yan Zijing and his team go to rescue her. They are in the desert, and it's a covert operation. Why are they dressed in black? Dress in sand color to avoid being seen.
Zhang Jinran: A scholar would not go to war; he's not trained for that.
The place where Yan Zijing's convoy is a guest (Languan Dockyard) is heavily guarded by soldiers/warriors. The Master of Languan Dockyard (Yuchi Wuyi) has survived the black dragons for a long time. How come the Black Dragon are able to make an ambush so easily? How come all of a sudden all the guards disappeared? How was it possible that some Black Dragon soldiers replaced some of Yan Zijing's soldiers without being noticed?
Too many holes... But this gets plausible answers much later in the show, so I'll let it pass.
DuanWu during battle: it's a fierce battle with enemies everywhere, and arrows being shot. There is no time to wallow over the dead; that's what you do when the battle is over. She just sits there crying, in the middle of the place where Shrimp just got shot a few seconds ago... Seems like she's waiting to be shot. No logic and no survival instinct anymore? You think everyone is going to wait for you to finish crying? The guy who was in the shed that killed the accountant is still alive, and there is someone on the roof shooting arrows.
When the battle is over, how come Yan Zijing and his friend are the only 2 survivors? Where is everyone from that place (Languan Dockyard)? Those bandits can't have wiped out everyone, can they?
Zijing is gravely injured and his friend is a crippled. What's the logic in trying to cross the desert alone? They won't survive. And the bandits would easily catch them once they are exposed like that.
This is just getting stupider by the minute.
Ep 19
The fire was raging everywhere last night. How come all the woven straw sheets are still unburned and scattered everywhere? It's the one thing that burns the most and the fastest! Also, once someone is dead, after a certain lapse of time, there is rigor mortis setting in. Shrimp wouldn't be all "soft" when DuanWu lifts him.
It's clearly a bunch of novice people who worked on this production team.
DuanWu spends the whole day alone? Where is everyone? Help seems to only get there the day after (the 2nd morning after the battle). That's when we learn that the Master of Languan Dockyard (Yuchi Wuyi) was busy escorting all the merchants to safety during the battle. So how come he failed escorting all of Duanwu's friend as well instead of letting them getting killed in battle?
She has the strength to gather her friends' corpses and burn them, then she crashes to the ground from exhaustion. How come they can't find her when they arrive? There's no way she would have the strength to go anywhere. She would surely either still be unconscious or wait for help to come. But no! They make her leave, and although she has enough strength to leave, she doesn't take the time to gather some supplies and clothing before leaving... FAIL!
She magically ends up in some nomadic desert tribe. Let's make it even more stupid: the day after she wakes up, she tries to cross the desert alone, injured (without medicine), without a horse, without proper equipment, with barely any food or water (we don't see her carrying any water bottle), and without a map. There's no way she remembers the route. Crossing the desert requires skills and practice. How stupid can it get?
That useless noble lady friend of DuanWu, Lady Jade, crossing the desert alone on her own? What a nice way to die... The army where she was being hosted would never have allowed her to leave the army camp without protection. One cannot walk in or out of a military encampment as one wishes. Especially not a weak noble woman like her.
DuanWu crosses a snow landscape? Where does that snow come from?
She enters a small village that is all upside down, as if there has been a battle there. Anyone with half a brain would stay away from that place.
She's barely alive, barely able to stand up, but suddenly has enough strength to fight 2 people with a weapon (and stand very firm on her feet).
Cui ShiJiu wakes up down that lake after being kicked by her servant. She starts screaming like hell their names. Great way to get caught by those bandits again, who might still be around looking for you.
But, the lamest plot twist from Ep. 19 is this one...
Context: Yan Zijing was poisoned as a child while imprisoned by the Black Dragon. Since then, a witch doctor has helped suppress the poison. Though the solution was temporary, it allowed Yan Zijing to survive for 20 years without issue, as long as he regularly took the antidote.
Plot Twist: The witch doctor had recently begun working on a permanent cure, but he was killed, and all of his medicinal herbs were lost.
Explanation: There’s no logical reason for Yan Zijing to suddenly act desperate or claim he doesn’t have long to live. Why? Because for all these years, he’s been traveling great distances by boat—meaning he couldn’t have been returning to that remote doctor every time he needed the antidote.
The only logical explanation is that the doctor gave him the antidote recipe. That way, Yan Zijing could obtain the ingredients at any pharmacy whenever necessary.
This leads to Ep. 20
Duanwu discovers that Yan Zijing is still alive and confronts him. Unfortunately, the scriptwriters went along with the tired and overused “I still love you, but I’m going to make you hate me by acting cruel because... (insert stupid reason)".
Honestly, I’m fed up with this kind of plot twist. It’s overused and lacks imagination. Worse, in this case, it doesn’t even make sense. If Yan Zijing has the antidote recipe (which he logically should), then he can continue suppressing the poison. That means he has time. So why didn’t he try to rescue her sooner? Why didn’t he just explain everything?
Add one more incoherence:
Duanwu got poisoned when she walked into the water to rescue Yan Zijing from the mines in Ep. 16. It's the Black Dragon poison, the same one Yan Zijing has been poisoned with. He gave her the same antidote he usually takes. Since we have been told this poison cannot be completely eradicated, only temporarily suppressed, how come she is completely cured and never has to take the antidote on a regular basis as Zijing does? How come the same rule does not apply to her?
-------------------------
As you can see, the list of incoherences is very long. There were minor ones throughout the whole show, but not as bad as these 3 episodes, so I skipped them, hoping things would get better moving forward.
Want a logic story?
After exacting revenge on the three families—especially the last one, which had been a close call in the mines and nearly cost them their lives—they (Yan Zijing, DuanWu, and the whole convoy) should have returned to the ship and resumed their merchant activities for a while. This would allow time for the dust to settle, for funds to be gathered, for planning to be made, and to recruit warriors to be trained.
Meanwhile, DuanWu and Zijing could marry and open a jewelry shop for her in Yangzhou, with her friend Lady Jade managing it in her stead. A subplot could revolve around analyzing the poison and discovering how to craft an antidote. (Or perhaps later, after wiping out most of the Black Dragons, they could keep a few alive—torturing them to extract the secret of the antidote.)
Eventually, Yan Zijing could act as an ambassador between Prince Ying through Zhang JinRan, and his ally Yuchi Wuyi, the Master of Languan Dockyard. As someone familiar with the desert and the bandits' tactics, Yuchi Wuyi would be instrumental in helping plan the destruction of the Black Dragon—this time, in coordination with the emperor’s army, thus fulfilling Yan Zijing's vengeance. At this stage, the author could creatively insert some subplot twists with Black Dragon ambushes, or other vile stuff, as long as it's coherent.
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Not quite right
I enjoyed the beginning story where FL fights her fate and gets to escape the island, and develops her skills under ML guidance. I also liked how the ML plotted against Cui family so wonderfully, but then it's going downhill after that. I had guessed it from the start that the sworn brother is the bad guy.. he's a successful figure in a dangerous area, isnt it obviously suspicious?It kills the whole drama that the supposedly scheming ML rushed to find the dragon bandit and fell into the trap.. they didn't even give him a chance to reflect on his mistake and find out how he got fooled. Why did he hire people without any caution in the first place, that's such a big deviation from his character.
I also think this drama elevates female characters and their careers too much. The villain who started off killing anyone who's in her way actually survived the ordeal and became a successful merchant, all thanks to her devoted childhood sweetheart who died for her. Then she suddenly shifted her hatred from ML and FL toher father in law because her man died miserably..
Lastly, the ending is the most disappointing to me. Why not give us a happy ending for the ML????? He's still consumed by the revenge and died for it. Too disappointing!!! I have loved the leads acting and coupling since Long Ballad so I'm very heartbroken that ML had to die from the poison.
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How many times I watched it again and again. The story is beautiful. 🥰 The actors who performed well especially in the part of zhao lusi. I hope lusi's new drama Loves ambition and almost lovers will air again. We are looking forward to its release. i love lusi 🩷 from 🇵🇭❤❤❤❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Was this review helpful to you?
Extreme and super talented!
OVER ALL 10- i really love the acting skills of zhaolusi and the entire cast- they bring it to the top of their skills!,Their eyes speaks so much of their effort- even the eyes can tell if you are good or not but lusi as in WOW she do it perfectly! The suspense! The drama! The comedy! The action! The historical drama! Over all is extreme acting!Was this review helpful to you?
Great start however
I was excited and so looking forward to this series, the outline of the story was interesting and had real potential but i think in the end it failed to deliver . FL is a good actress and i really like ML Lui Yunning. so what could go wrong.I felt the start was really really good and interesting and kept me waiting for the next episode but it started to drift. The actors did the best job they could with what i think was a confusing and chaotic story line and script. Or maybe it just wasn't for me. it was in the middle i felt it became lost so the writers threw everything at it, unfortunately it just meant that the middle part was not realistic and neither was it survivable. There it lost me. i did go back and watch the remaining episodes but not with the same enthusiasm that i had at the start.
I think the writers became lost so decided to throw every conceivable plot against the main characters, so it lost its appeal. when you are lost you should keep it simple, The actors are certainly good enough so they could showcase their talents, they did not need to be swamped with the chaos that followed.
I still feel a little cross and sad about it, Excellent actors, great story, what could go wrong.
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Love Zhao Lusi, her acting was fantastic in this drama, but I did not like the script.
The Story of a Pearl Girl is a custom drama about Duan Wu, who was raised, physically abused, and grew up in a harsh Pearl Farm environment without the protection of her parents. She learned to fight, stay alive, and become a well-respected jewelry designer and entrepreneur. She ran her own business in a town full of corruption.I admired Zhao Lusi for taking on a challenging role that stretched her acting ability. Her character was mature and ambitious, wanting to better her life and the lives of the people who grew up with her in Pearl Farm. I enjoyed watching her, but the script could have been better because it did not do justice to her character and the story as a whole.
Her on-screen chemistry with Liu Yi Ning did not work well in this drama; they had a better story and characters in The Long Balad. The men in this story are useless; it is more of a women-centric tale, which they should focus more on.
It would have been better if she ended up with Zhang Jin Ran's character rather than Yan Zi Jing. ZJR is a better fit for her than YZJ. I did not like the ending either. I would rather see that she spent her time caring for and departing from YZJ since he did not survive due to poisoning. The ending was bad and felt rushed.
Synopsis: After escaping a brutal pearl farm, Duan Wu, a skilled diver, meets merchant Yan Zi Jing and noble Zhang Jin Ran. Joining Yan's caravan, she gets drawn into the glittering world of jewels while uncovering secrets about her past. Along the way, she faces betrayal and loss but stays determined to find the truth. Renamed Su Mu Zhe, she starts her own "Clear Mind" business and teams up with Zhang to right an old wrong. In the end, Su Mu Zhe thrives at the Jewel Exhibition, inspiring women to take control of their destinies.
My Reviews:
1. Good acting from ZLS.
2. The storyline could be better. It is draggy and boring, especially about the jewelry-making process and the corruption surrounding building her own store. It is too repetitive and draggy.
3. LYN and ZLS's on-screen chemistry is better in the Long Balad drama than this one.
4. ZLS is expanding and stretching her acting ability. She acted so well in playing this role where she was oppressed and mistreated by people, yet her optimism, assertiveness, and bravery helped her elevate in society as a jeweler.
5. I agree with Douban's rating of this drama. However, because of the bad script, I give it a 6.5.
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