K-Drama 
Friendship and Revenge
A story of two boys who love music intensly, and how their family / friends change the course of their destiny because of it. Think of this in the same way as competitive sports and it's impact on lives, feelings, ad campaigns, revenue, fame, et al.Many emotions and relationships have been explored in this show, friendship, maternal instincts, envy, jealousy, greed, hunger for recognition. The friendship angle is what I enjoyed the most. They stand up for each other, cheer each other on, and support each other through the years.
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Empowerment, Revenge - and then Romance
A story spanning several decades, about a girl who falls from riches to rags, and then climbs back up to riches; and a boy who unlearns the given patriarchy system and learns to think using empathy and logic instead.The story is told with lots of flashbacks for reference. There are many characters, so prepare yourself to sometimes have to go back and check who XYZ is in episode 30 or 40, only to realize you've already met them in perhaps ep 2 or 5. Don't worry, this isn't a showstopper.
The main theme (it took a while to understand the main theme) is woman empowerment, as told through the story in a historical timeframe of unknown era. A lot of what we take for granted today, is shown to be fought for, sometimes even at court. That's the good part.
What I didn't enjoy were the inconsistencies. There are several small plots that don't always make sense or tie in with the overall theme. While empowerment is highly stressed, most, if not all the key "villains" are female characters. Revenge is a recurring theme, apparently everyone the FL and ML interract with wants revenge in some form or the other. The main recurring characters don't age (visually that is) for approximately 3 decades. Even with modern plastic surgery skills, this would be quite a feat for one person, let alone an entire village. The FL starts off being very timid in her role as a maid/ daughter of poor family, but there are spurts of aggression and defiance that are not in character. Later on this defiance becomes her trademark and makes sense, but it feels contrived at the beginning. She is warm and loving towards the entire household and family members of the ML, yet remains cold and indifferent - rude even - to the ML till 4 years after their wedding. Even when he bends over backwards to win her over. Very cold and off putting.
Mostly because of the director's idea to make the FL shine bright, the ML has been made to look like a non-essential part of the story. When at home, he bows down to whatever she says and does whatever she suggests in her never changing calm monotone. He is great when he's at the court or fighting in the field - but of course she makes him resign from that position. It's odd that when he becomes a mere tool, she starts showing some affection for him. Apparently empowerment in this story means only for women, the men can be ignored.
I honestly enjoyed the first approximately half of the show. The rest just goes downhill because of the FL character portrayal.
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Self Created Misery
A young noble lady, cruel and selfish, decides she doesn't want to get into a marriage which is likely to end with her being a widow, so sends a substitute bride, who looks just like her. Surprise, surprise, the groom doesn't die. Now the story really starts. The original bride to be is left in a lurch since she can't continue with her social and public life anymore. The substitute is in a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire kind of scenario, where she has to get herself out of jams in every episode, and she's competing with the whole world, not just 3 teams.What's difficult to digest is the how the tone of the story changes - while the original bride to be along with her aunt design the whole substitute-plot, it becomes a story about identity theft. Also difficult to digest are the reasons attributed to the cruelty of the original bride to be. There really is no justification - just call a psychopath a psychopath. The third reason for the title of this review, is how everyone is suspicious of the substitute, and every episode has her in some jeopardy, from which she has to come up with a brilliant and digestible reason for her actions.
I was really looking forward to a Xiwei Tian show, having fallen in love with her in Pursuit of Jade, unfortunately the story here doesn't do justice to her.
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Subterfuge and Strategies
A couple of assassins are sent, undercover, to complete a mission. The trials and tribulations of undercover women in a martial arts environment follows. There's an element of magic, an element of romance, some jealousy, lots of suspicion, revenge, investigation and of course, some fabulous martial arts on display.I watched the show primarily for Zhang Linghe, but Cheng Lei and Tian Jiarui blew me away. Linghe's character is portrayed as almost bipolar - he's irresponsible, but also very thorough in his quests, he's least interested in the family saga, and then again he fights fiercely to protect and earn his sword wielder title. Compared to that, his 2 cousins have clearly defined personas and along with the superb acting, the roles are really memorable.
I'm sorry the female actors, Esther Yu and Lu Yu Xiao, were extremely annoying and I believe the director and his vision of the assassins speaking in a whispery, breathless way is the main reason why. Their voices were so distracting I wanted to mute my screen half the time.
The comedic relief, Jin Jolin, was well placed, if a trifle distracting at times. In a show all about assassins and subterfuge, laughing at silly antics seems a little superfluous at times. The actor is truly awesome, I question the need for the character's extensive role in the show.
Without giving away spoilers, I'd say the show ends on a vague and ambiguous note, you're left wanting answers to quit a few questions. I hope the Director's intent is to add a sequel, if not for anything else, then to finish telling the whole story.
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