Glory

Everyone is Duplicitous, Trust No One

All caught up to episode 21 and I've just about had enough of this drama

TRUST NO ONE. The evil sisters are clearly evil and the good sisters may also be evil. The suitors who are sweet and protective in the beginning will be conniving and spiteful later on if they are not chosen to be the FL's lover. The ML and FL clearly do not trust each other at all, they are constantly doing things behind each other's back and spying on each other, as if both of them doubt that they will stand on the side of justice and the greater good in the end, so they intentionally mislead and deceive each other.

TOO MANY CHARACTERS. There are way too many characters. Too many suitors, too many sisters, too many aids and confidants and enemies. How can one survive in a world where you don't have just a couple of enemies that you have to watch out for, but over a dozen? And they are all slowly becoming more villainous and dangerous to you over time. Just as you pacify/silence one threat, 3 more appear, each with distinct motives for why thy want to oppose you. Like you are in the tea making business, life does not need to be this dramatic. And the cast list is like a balloon waiting to burst. So many characters get introduced, and then you look at the cast list and they are like #15 on the list. So I am supposed to pay attention to these scenes that are all focused on your conflict/betrayal/scheme, knowing that there are at least a dozen other more important character arcs that I need to remember? This screenwriter was all over the place, too many distracting side characters that should have been left out for cohesion and storytelling (I'm looking at you, Mr. Song, a character I'm sure most people will forget about by episode 10).

THE MEN ARE TOO OBSESSED WITH ROMANTIC PURSUITS. I was really misled the MDL synopsis of this drama. I saw the words "magistrate", "murder case", and "battle of wits" and thought there would be some great court justice and power plays. But instead, it is a story about a single matrilocal family trying to play match maker for the eldest daughter, while every other sister is running 100 schemes to dethrone her. Constant petty fights, schemes that are malicious at their core (and sometimes even murderous), adult men growing crazed and betraying their conscience because they've "fallen in love", and grown-up women whining and pouting and throwing tantrums like they are 5 years old (and I'm not even referring to the mentally handicapped sister).
And the "search for a son-in-law" really dragggggged along. Such an uninteresting plotline about testing all these non-main/barely supporting character suitors that just kept going around in circles, and that almost exclusively takes places inside of a single household for many, many episodes. All this for the sake of one woman trying to pick a suitor amongst a handful of suitors that NEVER LEAVE HER HOUSE, even after she picks (and then picks again).

EVERYONE IS A BAD PERSON. Why would a writer create a world in which 90% of the characters at a certain point do something that is unforgivable? Whether it be murder, framing, betraying family members, abandoning children, scheming in a way that ruins someone's future, or scheming in a way that only benefits oneself regardless of whoever suffers because of it. Being an unjust and cruel boss, being a gossip who sows seeds of distrust, division, and resentment in others. There were way too many people for whom I saw there actions and thought "okay, I am no longer tracking with how evil and inhumane you can be. Unless you are designed to a pure villain whose motivations are past all understanding and purely written to dramatize the plot, there's no reason for you to behave this way." Thinking this was about one character is fine, I guess (although the signs of a really well written script is when even the main adversary is understandable, you don't agree with what they are doing but you can understand all of the circumstances that led up to this person choosing to behave in such a way.) But multiple characters making you feel this way is very unrealistic and just takes me out of the show entirely.
Even the FL is pretty flawed. How she handled the court case at the midpoint of the series was pretty underhanded. It seemed like she committed perjury and only stood on the side of justice in the end because she was put in a corner (although maybe we are supposed to believe that was her plan all along). I don't really like any character at this point, so why should I care to see how your story unfolds? The entire Rong family is pretty rotten to the core and deserves to fall into ruin, even though they aren't necessarily producing any evil in their society, just look at the ruthless, selfish, sinister daughters that they have produced? The ML may be the only good guy, but he alone cannot shoulder the entire drama. And the drama is firmly hinting that any other redeemable character you still see at the midway point will soon devolve into villainy as well.

TL/DR; Everyone is a villain at some point. Too many narcissistic, mal-intended characters left unchecked. Too many sisters from hell and jealous SMLs out to destroy the main CP. And there is an unnecessary web of characters that should have been thinned out and can be attributed to sloppy writing. I felt more moments of frustration than peace while watching. so I don't want to continue.

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The script had to be revised many more times.

It caught my attention because of the synopsis, I am used to seeing strong and intelligent women in dramas. It is one of my favorite tropes. My problem is that some characters become unbearable as time goes by (especially the grandmother). I like the plot in general, it has twists that are very good, but there are so many that it becomes hard to process one and then the next. So many characters from the beginning that end up becoming villains or even being discarded as if nothing.

FL
FL grew up being cunning, strategic, and skilled at everything she sets her mind to. She has to act like a boss at all times and command respect amidst so much conspiracy and hatred. She strives to be the perfect leader her grandmother expects her to be, but ends up being a Mary Sue for whom everything goes according to plan and who knows absolutely everything. Anything can happen and she already has a solution within seconds. It’s fine that she is decisive and straightforward, but the fact that she never doubts and everything goes according to plan becomes repetitive; she has no conflict beyond family, business, or reputation. Her character sometimes goes from being just cold and serious to seeming like an immobile stone. Thanks to the actress, who gives her some life with micro-expressions, I can manage to see that FL feels something in some moments. I like her boss attitude, but I think it’s taken to the extreme to the point that it affects her relationship with other characters.

Rong
The Rong family in general seems good to me, but too extreme in their clan rules. One of the things I dislike is that there are things that are wrong within the rules and Shao Bao knows it, questions it, but doesn’t even make an effort to do something different or change anything. The grandmother is the main problem, she is very cruel. She made her granddaughters compete with each other for power against Shao Bao, despised them while praising the eldest granddaughter as if they were less and as if she hadn’t raised them herself. She said cruel things, like to Yunshu, that she was useless and humiliated her for being the daughter of a servant and also blind. But when she expelled Shao Bao and Yunshu recovered her sight at the same time, suddenly she loved her a lot 🤨. Yunwan, knowing that she has some kind of autism, she refers to her as a disgrace to the family. With Yunxi she silently instigated her to be against Shao Bao for power, without even caring about what she wanted to do or what she was good at to help the family. She also disapproved of Yunxi’s daughter just because she accidentally dropped a cup, SHE IS A CHILD. I was so happy that Yunxi chose, above the family business, to be with the man she loves and her daughter in front of her! I would have liked to see more of that and development of that relationship 😍. So many bad things happened inside the mansion and the grandmother never stops to reflect on what truly matters besides the business; instead of apologizing, she victimizes herself for being old and unreasonable (which is true, she is unreasonable). Shao Bao puts her in her place once or twice, but she never changes or thinks about what she's doing wrong as a grandmother; she always thinks like the head of the family, and that made me lose interest in understanding her character. Like when she forces her to be with Yan Bai Luo and then sends her to a temple for fortune-telling just so she can see that the ML is with another woman (What was the point of breaking your granddaughter's heart 😭). I liked all the sisters with their different personalities, although I think she could have handled them better. I liked that Shao Bao helped Yunxi with her daughter, but it was strange when she said, "No Rong should be around" (Are you doing it for your sister or for blood? I'm confused 😭). The way she helped Yunyin after Grandma expelled her from the clan (super extreme, she can't even enter the house? 🫠) seemed good to me because she taught her responsibility, and they were able to forgive each other in their own way.

Besides the power imbalance between men and women, the women rule and manage everything and I love that, but the men who marry in have no voice or vote in anything, they seem like tools just to continue the lineage.

ML
He was very good at the beginning, super intelligent and versatile. A great magistrate with the goal of giving justice to the innocent and hunting criminals, but attentive, sensitive, and loyal to the woman he loves. The problem with the character is that after revealing his identity, he spends all his time chasing the FL, the script even seems to put him as decoration in the cases against the FL, when he is supposed to be a magistrate. She is solving the cases while he does nothing or very little. His arc from 30–36 was unnecessary, what happened to Magistrate Lu who faced everything in front of him? He became a man insecure about himself and his goals. He was fine with just being the son of the Lu family.

The relationship of FL and ML
In the first 20 episodes it was perfect, that dominance on her part and his willingness to let her take the lead was incredible. They listened to each other, respected each other, and understood each other. She allowed herself to feel loved amidst so much hatred, and he was able to love her. After he revealed his identity and she got angry (she had every right), they grew distant. She seemed not to care at all while he was yearning for her. Always hiding things behind each other’s backs, and more on her part. I know her love is expressed in actions, but they seem so few and so calculated that it doesn’t feel like she truly appreciates him, as if all the affection from the beginning had disappeared. She was willing to kill him without hesitation until she remembered moments with him. It feels like she uses him all the time: if she wants him, she keeps him close, and if not, she pushes him away. When he disappears, she never once wonders where he is or how he might be. Once she finds out what happened, it doesn’t seem like she does it for him, she does it for the family business to get out of the tea debts. When she helps him and the personal maid asks if she worries about him, there is an inexpressive look as always. She doesn’t directly answer a question that is asked more than once throughout the episodes. When he becomes sensitive and opens up to her, she seems so insensitive toward him, I don’t feel that she wants to comfort him. She kept saying they were not compatible, and I don’t understand why, knowing that he was crazy about her and capable of never letting her go, he was willing to accept the family rules and she accepted that he would continue his career as a magistrate. (It was mutual, so why suddenly say they are not compatible?). He forgives her everything, and instead of talking to him she slaps him, she never validates his feelings of insecurity about her. We never see her be honest with him about her feelings, her vulnerable moments have more to do with her family and with him, none. Of those remaining 6 episodes, I think they could have been used better to deepen and resolve conflicts between the two of them instead of leaving the emotional imbalance between them.

I liked the songs, and the locations and costumes are beautiful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t rewatch it, even though I loved the actors, but the script simply doesn’t let me stand it.

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Female dominance

I watched it from beginning to end with great enjoyment and curiosity. It was one of the best series I've seen recently. However, from what you might call episode 20, or maybe episode 25, the series deteriorated again. Whether they added something after the story ended or something else, they ruined this beautiful series. The integrity of the series was broken. I was going to give it a 9, but I've reduced it to an 8. I liked it so much that I was going to say it was one of the best series of recent times. The usual thing happened, and unfortunately, Chinese screenwriters ruin series towards the end. They don't know how to end them. Or they start to become nonsensical towards the end. They get caught up in the panic of how to end it, how to tie up the story. Or they just don't care. They say, "Watch it or not, that's it for me."

Cinematically, in terms of direction, acting, costumes, makeup, everything is very good, the story is also good, but in the final episodes, it's like they didn't realize how they were going to finish these 36 episodes; it's like the series was only 26 episodes long. I couldn't understand why they deviated from the main story and shifted to other things. I couldn't reconcile the series with the final episodes. I mean, I couldn't connect it to the story. Otherwise, you can drag it out endlessly, and it loses its appeal. That's exactly what happened.

Especially the pardon of the main culprit in the final episodes was unbelievable. It didn't suit the series. It wasn't a good ending.

It was a series where female dominance was very noticeable. These days, Chinese dramas are focusing on themes highlighting women's dominance and success in social life. This was one of them. There was a lot of praise for women's achievements. It was very noticeable.

I liked the chemistry between the lead actors. All the actors were harmonious and good. I recommend everyone watch it.

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Good drama and different plot

This drama was good and not a common plot at all,this is my first impression of guli nezher the Fl actress and it did not disappoint at all! actually I stayed for her although I'm not so familiar with the drama,She's really good with expressions. Although Hou minghao is handsome,his acting really didn't impress me much compared to that of the Fl,he was a little stiff here compared to Love in the clouds and even worse in uncloyded soul,but overall his charm contributed the beauty of the drama. The side characters are also doing great and the CGI is really nice. I like this drama so far and I might rematch one or twice.

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Female centric drama will only work if they use a very good actress for the lead role

I can't believe I couldn't finish this drama and has to drop it at episode 32. I usually like this kinda big family dynamic and women empowering drama (Blossom, Blossom in Adversity, The Glory, The Sword and The Brocade, Story of Minglan).
My very honest opinion, I think they selected the wrong actress to play Rong Shan Bao. I am actually quite disappointed because this is my first drama of Gul and she is quite famous, I thought she is a veteran actress. I compare this female character alot with Zhuang Han Yan (from The Glory, played by CDL), both character is similar in a way that they could hardly show any emotion, cunning and a lot of scheming involved. It is a very hard role to portray and CDL did it so well.
I actually don't know if it's the character or the actress problem, because in this drama RSB has no growth and no weakness, so this makes her a very very dull FL to watch. The other sisters (except the 3rd) has more growth than her. 2nd sis's story and growth is more interesting to watch than the FL's.
As for the romance, there is a lot of cringy moment instead of romantic moments, the chemistry just couldnt work. I felt Neo Hou tried his very best to charm everyone but it felt as if he is multiplying with zero from FL, everything turns into zero. LOL
The cringe moments were when the FL did the seducing like a man, lifting ML's chin like a girl and ML is turning red and shy like a girl. OMG I just had to look away every time they did this.
A friend who finished watching told me that it's ok for me to stop at episode 32 because moving forward there is not much value added to the story.

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Masterpiece

This drama is full of beautiful women, attractive men and aromatic tea plants.
But it's also full of intrigue, jealousy, revenge, hatred, murderers, contradictions, pride, prejudice, envy, resentment and mistrust. There is romance, sadness, love, quiet passion, broken hearts, disappointments and humour.
A perfect blend of everything.
And I'm right in the middle of it, enjoying every single episode.
Every actor and actress is perfect in their role.
Each episode brings new twists and turns, forcing you to rethink everything.
We still have more than half of the series ahead of us. Let's dive into the world of tea and wait to see what else might happen.

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in my life, i hate being threatend the most

The drama started off strong, with a powerful and clever ML and an equally compelling FL. The first few episodes did a great job of establishing the characters’ personalities and their relationships. Unfortunately, as the story progressed, the pacing slowed down significantly. The grandmother’s storyline was the biggest disappointment for me—it was the main reason the plot took such a downturn. Toward the end, the sudden focus on the ML’s family problems felt unnecessary and out of place, especially so close to the finale.
What I did enjoy was the development of the Rong sisters. Watching them finally learn to understand each other, rather than constantly opposing the FL and blindly following the grandmother, was satisfying (special shoutout to Yunxi!). Still, I couldn’t stand how much influence the grandmother continued to hold over everyone.
On the positive side, the acting and cinematography were impressive. This was my first time watching a drama with this FL and ML, and I was captivated by the ML’s striking, foxy eyes and the FL’s bold, badass moments. However, despite those highlights, the slow pacing and frustrating plot choices made it too dull overall. I wouldn’t rewatch it.

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Upside down gender dynamics; FL always a scheme ahead

My favorite part of this show might be all the girl power, baked right into the setup. The matriarchal Rong family, powerful enough to hold its own in a patriarchal society, may not be quite historically believable... but it still provides the perfect context to reverse all the traditional gender dynamics! I found it so satisfying to watch, even when these women are unfair or wrong. It’s just so casually a reality in their world, that the women- whether they are protecting the men, using them, or trampling over them- are in control.

I think the writer(s) must really like women. The female characters are generally interesting and multifaceted, as are their relationships. There are some typical power struggles and rivalries within the family, but refreshingly, not a whiff of love rivalry. These women are concerned with bigger things.

At the helm is the female lead, Rong Shanbao, who is so completely badass- confident, in control, outsmarting everyone. I did not find her relatable or, to be honest, even that likable. She lacks a certain humanity and genuineness. However, she always acts on the side of “right”, and it’s pretty satisfying to watch her run circles around everyone else.

The male lead, Lu Jianglai, is decently capable, just not quite to her level. I like the way their relationship develops, which allows them to stay in each other’s orbit without turning into a sappy couple. The care and attraction are there, but their interests are not always aligned; this creates some interesting situations and dynamics.

That said, at some point Lu Jianglai goes full sap for her while she stays an ice queen. I get that she is the clever and powerful one, but she doesn’t seem to respect him very much. At least he has the decency to be upset about it at some point, but then he is mollified by... a kiss on the cheek. Right. Like so many other men in this show, he didn't totally have my respect, either.

A special shoutout to the grandma. Her sometimes-misguided authoritarian character is usually reserved for men, here it is fittingly the matriarch. I thought it’s interesting that she enforces “traditional” hierarchies even in a convention-defying family; it reminds us that the Rong family is not “modern” per se, but still a product of its times.

The plot is generally decently paced, though the reverse harem at the beginning gets a bit draggy. Other than that, I was happily binging this show, which involves taking down evil schemers and that sort of thing. Some of the side stories are also quite nice, like the second sister’s, but that one ends up suffering from lack of attention and resolution.

There is a little bit of humor sprinkled through the beginning to middle, but only on a small scale. It’s not quite a funny or lighthearted show, but I found it generally low-stress, mainly because things tend to work out and it’s pretty clear who to like and who to hate. Sympathetic antagonists are largely redeemed; those who aren’t, are revealed to be less sympathetic. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily call this realistic or masterful storytelling, but I was surprisingly relieved that this show takes it easy on my emotions.

My main complaint, I don’t know how to say without spoiling all the “plot twists”... but basically, there are just too many of them.

“BUT WAIT! It was part of her plan all along!” - happens over and over again. I may have been impressed the first one or two times, but after awhile it just feels tired and excessive.

The show doesn’t bring us along with the FL’s plans, it’s all revealed afterwards (plot twist style). Some of them don’t even make that much sense- how could she have predicted all those things with such precision?- but they are revealed in such retrospect that I couldn’t keep track. Of course it’s satisfying to watch the FL outsmart everyone, but it does make her feel even more cold, distant, and unrelatable.

The last arc breaks from this formula. The FL barely seems relevant; in fact, the entire thing seems to be more about other people than about our leads. It’s not my favorite arc, but it’s better than, I would say, the majority of Cdramas, which often fall apart towards the end. At least I stayed interested.

The acting is ok. Gulnezer plays her calm, composed Rong Shanbao well, but I don’t know if there was anything she could have done to make us like her more. Neo is also fine, though I thought his voice (his own) was strangely wispy and weak, and had a lisp. I honestly don’t think they look that good together- Neo just looks so young and delicate next to her, which I suppose matches their dynamic- but that’s not their fault. I thought some of the sisters overacted (the ones who were supposed to be catty), but the grandma did a fantastic job.

The costumes and such are ok. The settings are pretty nice, the tea plantations are pretty. The background music is good at setting the mood, like lighthearted vs intrigue. The songs didn’t stand out for me. The occasional fighting looks very sped up.

Overall this is a fun watch and I loved seeing women kicking ass and dominating. The story and characters are not without flaws, but it kept me interested and hooked. Solid 8.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





This a fairly happy ending. For a minute it looks like things won’t work out, but it all shakes out last minute, with a path visible for them to stay together.

That said, I wouldn’t consider this a particularly satisfying ending. The immediate situation is resolved but there is no view of what the future would actually look like. I did hear hints of a sequel and I think this is a good setup for one, since it’s somewhat open.

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The Tea on Glory

After watching The Unclouded Soul, I got so excited because I didn’t have to wait long for this drama to air. Honestly, my expectations weren’t high since I wasn’t too sure of the FL actress. I first saw her in Weaving a Tale of Love, and I had mixed emotions with her acting there, but with Hou Ming Hao, there wasn’t a doubt that he’ll do great in this drama. And sure enough, I was enthralled. While it was a great drama, the message of the story didn’t sit right with me. I’m all for female empowerment, but the Rong family striking down the male family members if they made a slight wrong move was pretty bad. The grandmother really got under my skin. Her character didn’t earn my sympathy throughout the whole story. The most trusted person in her life was Shan Bao, but just one slight mistake, she wanted to disown her. Like, really? This is the granddaughter that held your tea business successfully and you treat her like this? The sisters Yunxi, Yunyin, and that other one were a couple of spoiled brats here, but we got character development for Yunxi and Yunyin, except for whatshername. She was never nice to Shan Bao, even until the end of the story. Her character was just there to annoy the viewers. And oh, I forgot about Yunshu. Despite of what she did to the grandma, I didn’t expect her to stay around. I did not like her one bit. I knew her family were not treated well by the grandma that’s why she had her grudges, but she didn’t have to treat Shan Bao like that, challenging her position in the family. Now on to the husband selection. OMG. These men just drove me to the wall. I was expecting her cousin, Wen, to be a potential friend by Lu Jiang Lai, who was named Lu Fu Sheng by Shan Bao since he lost his memories after his accident, but NOPE, he decided to be a jerk and backstab the one who saved him all the time. I didn’t understand the part where a man had already been selected to be Shan Bao’s husband, but all the other men still had some time to stay at the Rong mansion, so they had plenty of time to scheme. Like what the heck was that? They should have all gone home once someone had been selected. Anyway, let’s move on to Jiang Lai, the ML of the story. He was a secret imperial inspector who went on investigations. The moment he slit that bad guy’s throat without mercy, I knew the drama was going to be so good. Cunning and ruthless ML’s always have me on a chokehold. He played a funny and cute character when he was Lu Fu Sheng. Originally, he wanted to infiltrate the Rong family to investigate the Wei case from 10 years ago, but came across assassins one day while he was in his sedan. He was saved by Shan Bao. She had him investigated. She found out about his background but still withheld information until he got into serious trouble. They were both at fault, in my opinion. They both had secrets to begin with, and were not always honest with each other. The FL actress only had one facial expression, and that really bothered me. But then again, maybe the cold, stiff part of her character was really needed. She was just too pretty here. And Hou Ming Hao? OMG. His makeup was too thick here. That distracted me too much, to be honest. I had to look past that and focus on his acting chops. He was pretty good here, especially the fight scenes. I love the fight scene with his dad. I love how Lu Jiang Lai wasn’t blinded by riches and titles because he was right, they only bring hatred and agony. I already knew right from the start that he was the son of a high ranking government official. I hate his father. Jiang Lai had a great reason not to accept being the heir. He went ahead and chose Shan Bao instead. I’m just disappointed that the last few minutes ended with him chasing her at the dock when Shan Bao and her sisters were getting ready to leave, but hey, I’ll take it, rather than having an ending with one of them dying, you know. It’s also nice not seeing the usual wedding ceremony between them, because hello, they’ve already done the deed, like twice now. Kissing scenes were scorching hot. *chef’s kiss* Overall, I enjoyed the drama despite some flaws. It was entertaining, especially learning about tea etiquette at the end of each episode. Everyone delivered a great performance.

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NOT GLORIOUS AT ALL

The most insufferable FL of the year.

She’s arrogant, manipulative, scheming and is always playing the ML since he’s head over heels in move with her. She blames him and plays the victim but he’s proven over and over again that he is true to her. She’s constantly using him to get what she wants. She said she cares for him but rarely tells him anything kind except mind tricks to control him. Her smiles are scary because they’re never genuine. She smiles when she knows she got him under her control.

They don’t communicate at all. He pours his heart out to her and she’s constantly plotting behind his back. Even until the very end, she controlled everything and acted as though she’s letting him choose. Ugh. He should’ve let her leave and move on. He deserves so much more.

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