Ta Cong Ye Se Shen Chu Lai

typical tear-jerker made in style

There was no synopsis when I started watching (I am on Shen Hao Nan spree) but from the first scene I knew this was going to be about lovers separated but clinging to each other obsessively. And right at ep 2 I realized this could be like The Tale of Love and Loyalty with my favorite Li Fei, but I was in for a great surprise: this is better in quality of script, twists and turns of the plot, more intricate dynamics among the characters that are impeccably developed and a really powerful delivery.

If you wonder: we get 4th prince and his girl of at least 3 years talking marriage while playing as a couple, making promises and tasting each other's lips - only for the girl to be forced into marriage with the Crown Prince while her beloved defends the country. FL does so to save her family from execution by the dying emperor. Thankfully the king dies and the crippled Crown Prince ascends making his wife the empress. Then the 2nd prince stages rebellion and the FL decided to ask her former boyfriend to come to the rescue. And of course, 4th Prince demands "payment" in return for killing the usurper. One can guess what she has to give him but, if you did not see The Tale of Love and Loyalty, unlike in the short drama from the early 2024 almost all the demanding and some taking here is done in front of the emperor (that is ML pushing for intimacy with her) and FL yielding willingly to become his maid/slave- all fervently opposed by the crippled emperor. No need to add that leads still love one another yet have to stay in their roles because of misunderstanding/outright lie and pride/concern. What follows is humiliation and emotional/physical violence toward FL-also by 2FL and the ML's lovely mother (who would want to have a mother-in-law like this?). And then we get more surprises-the emperor is really the good guy and the 4th prince the villain???

The angst of the leads being deeply hurt/cruel/protective/self-sacrificing/tormented/ruthless is superb however while this is definitely more dramatic than in another drama with the same trope, I was particularly irked by the "logic" behind the leads' decisions: the FL lying to ML about not loving him -to protect the lives of her clan-was not convincing. She could have ended her life (and had plenty of opportunities from the moment ML declared he too could blackmail her with the family lives like the emperor did)! And why is she protecting her emperor husband??? ML's emotional thinking included a belief that a man in a wheelchair could actually consummate marriage and that he had to torment his beloved for the sake of the past intimacy that really made them married before she became another man's woman. And risking her well-being for not good reason. What I did like was the whole good guy/gal turning completely nuts/ruthless and doing it in such a believable way!

I usually drop dramas where there is stupid misunderstanding or immaturity of the characters and definitely will not watch mindless humiliation or violence against people both genders, but I did not drop this because the whole thing was staged fantastically and edited with skill (but I will be honest-the last few episodes were choppy). Also, if there is a rape scene in the drama, I am going to give it low rating as a rule but here, well, I actually was impressed with how they framed it and kept watching also because I cared for all the characters from the beginning (well, maybe not the mother-in-law and 2FL, although the latter was really clever and -dare I say? -likable) and even the times them turning evil did not end my interest. This was much more complex than Li Fei's short drama and for VD this was actually filled with variety of unexpected things giving it the feel of at least a short drama and not VD which usually focus just on interactions between the leads.

The costumes and wigs and makeup were OK: non-intrusive and moving the eye to what mattered: the actors delivering dramatic yet realistic emotions, situations and actions that supported their character portrayal (down to a kick of the fainted FL by ML believing she is faking it). I particularly liked that the emasculated emperor actually cared for his wife and showed more emotional maturity than his counterparts in other dramas (and understandably only to a certain point). And I tell you - whoever wrote the dialogues was a literary master. I will go back to it just to savor that part of it.

Also, the version I watched (Daily Motion link curtesy of Jwells ❤️❤️❤️) had really good bgm even though I recognized half a dozen big budget dramas some of it came from.

This was probably the first vertical drama that both distressed me but also delighted me. Altogether a pretty good watch.

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