Bro the story is getting explained and his character is complex slowly unwinding , he is one of the kindest person…
Unless it's revealed that they are androids trying to mimic human interactions, nothing shown in the first 3 episodes resembles how any human would act in a relationship, and that goes for both of them. She's a police officer and didn't check any of his information? She didn't even know what he did for a living, for goodness sake. It's all so bland, and everything is all over the place without direction or atmosphere.
Unfortunately, everything is so poorly done; not even Qin Junjie and Jing Boran can save this mess. Horrendous script, lame direction, and a totally miscast protagonist. What is this marriage? It makes no sense whatsoever. HanSheng is so weird that it's almost nauseating to see this freak portrayed as cute. I gave it three episodes and I'm out (I should have stopped after the comical high-heeled action scene). What a waste.
I just finished watching episode 18 and it was undoubtedly one of the best and most powerful drama episodes in recent years. Superb, moving, inspiring, and full of love in the face of loss.
In the end, it was a solid and believable finale. The journey of the “great businessman” comes to an end (for us) in a way that fully aligns with everything we’ve seen. From the shift in priorities (moving from wanting to be the greatest to realizing he was happier simply cultivating tea with his family) to all the entanglements he got himself into (and was dragged into) amid the turbulence of historical events unfolding in the background and around him.
A businessman developing a more modern worldview while trapped in a backward dynasty was never going to win in the long run, especially as imperialist forces were tightening their grip on the country (a process that would only truly end when a certain someone took power almost a hundred years later, much to the despair of the average western crowd, lol). Despite the noticeable drop in quality after the “surprise” revelation involving the father (a selfish, useless man incapable of taking responsibility, and his playboy son who was only kind and friendly to the former convict as long as he held all the power, classic...), the series at least managed to recover somewhat in its final two episodes.
And it’s no surprise at all that, at the end of his life, he becomes a supporter of the revolutionary movement that brings down the dynasty, considering everything he lived through, and everything he said and believed.
Nice show, with a strong historical backdrop, excellent actors, and great characters popping up here and there across different story arcs.
Written after ep 14: I kept watching this drama bc when the kids grow up, it gets lighter - but not really light.…
I don't even know what to say after reading all this, haha, except that the Western media's anti-China brainwashing is crystal clear in everything you wrote. My God, you must be watching the episodes blindfolded.
The hardest part, after the end of the series, is continuing to live life without having that little space of time every day where I could be part of the Qiao family.
The script in the second part ruined everything. He loses his memory twice in what? 3 episodes? This caused me a feeling of irritation and a lot of laughter at the absurdity
A businessman developing a more modern worldview while trapped in a backward dynasty was never going to win in the long run, especially as imperialist forces were tightening their grip on the country (a process that would only truly end when a certain someone took power almost a hundred years later, much to the despair of the average western crowd, lol).
Despite the noticeable drop in quality after the “surprise” revelation involving the father (a selfish, useless man incapable of taking responsibility, and his playboy son who was only kind and friendly to the former convict as long as he held all the power, classic...), the series at least managed to recover somewhat in its final two episodes.
And it’s no surprise at all that, at the end of his life, he becomes a supporter of the revolutionary movement that brings down the dynasty, considering everything he lived through, and everything he said and believed.
Nice show, with a strong historical backdrop, excellent actors, and great characters popping up here and there across different story arcs.