XiaoNuwang

So, I started this drama because of Sun Li. After seeing her in Empresses in the Palace, I thought this would be good. I was mostly not disappointed. Zhou Ying was entertaining to follow and though she grows and matures, there is always a trace of her true free-born self. My favorite character was Wu Ping by a landslide and I was disappointed her died so early in the show. I did not like Young Master Shen. I could not forget how he treated her in the beginning. How could a woman love a man who treated her in such a fashion? Baishi was interesting, but that is about it. He did not strike me as a love interest. No one could compare to Wu Ping and it was painful to see men try. The drama is heavy in this one. Be warned, death and suffering abound. To me, compared to the good, the wicked had the easy way out. Even the characters who redeemed themselves (The Shens) suffered more than they did. Two (three if you count uncle) of the willing to kill baddies died at their own hands. One takes down a good guy before doing so.

While I liked it overall, some of the story after episode 25 is a bit too dramatic. Mostly stuff revolving around Miss Hu that could have been done without. The actress is good, and I thought her character could have taken a different route besides the self inflicted scorned woman. While I liked our leading lady and her supporters (Chunxing is my other favorite) Du Mingli kept me watching. I enjoyed hating him. The actor did perfect. That being said, everyone is really good here, similar to "Empresses". I recommend it, but bear in mind it is a tragedy buttered in success.

Also: One thing I liked was how each household: Wu, Shen , and Hu matched colors. Shen is green, Hu is purple. Du matched Hu. Then we have the Wu family who was often out of harmony but wore warm tones, such as brown, cream and yellow.