Who run the world? GIRLS!
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not generally a fan of Cdramas, find their heroines a little too over the top. But this one was quite the revelation. It was all about women standing up for themselves, making a living and living a life of integrity, irrespective of whatever storms life throws at them. Standing at the helm of all the feminist struggle is the FL, Hua Zhi, played by Zhang Jingyi. It's nice to see that non-ke'ai female actors also exist in Chinese dramas. She did a really good job in portraying a headstrong, go-getter head of the family, whose ingenuity saves the day. However, she was a little too perfect, had no opposition from anyone at all (except the king), and pretty much won at everything in life. It makes sense, but yeah.. not the most relatable, everyday character you see on screen.
The ML was a contradiction. He had a screen presence, it was nice to see him fill the frame up with his TALL, gangly frame. But again, this is a guy who's supposed to be cold and emotionless, like a bodyguard or an assassin at best. Apart from his height and stony face, there was nothing else that could convince me that he's a scary figure. He looked too pretty to play the role of the Commander of Security Bureau. And after they showed his "softer", lover-boy side, believing him as a scary figure was just hilarious.
The rest of the side characters, aka members of the Hua family were also well fleshed out, each had a good story arc to them. But the best of all the women was the grandmother's character. Now she demanded attention on screen. Best character out of all, although she had an early exit.
The Emperor was the greyest figure of all, and even though his actions were villain-like, one could understand where his motivations were coming from. I loved his character; he commanded fear and respect. The actor did a good job. But the best (and the most underlying) part of the whole series, was the ML and the Emperor's relationship. Theirs was such a toxic filial relationship; I was always at crossroads, trying to root for either of the characters, but when the Emperor made sense, the ML didn't, and vice versa. Towards the end, when Yanxi says that he understands the Emperor, it didn't strike a chord with me, because I didn't see how the Emperor's actions were legit or necessary.
Overall, it was a neatly written, well-tied script, filled with ups and downs, good acting, and all for women power. Good watch!
The ML was a contradiction. He had a screen presence, it was nice to see him fill the frame up with his TALL, gangly frame. But again, this is a guy who's supposed to be cold and emotionless, like a bodyguard or an assassin at best. Apart from his height and stony face, there was nothing else that could convince me that he's a scary figure. He looked too pretty to play the role of the Commander of Security Bureau. And after they showed his "softer", lover-boy side, believing him as a scary figure was just hilarious.
The rest of the side characters, aka members of the Hua family were also well fleshed out, each had a good story arc to them. But the best of all the women was the grandmother's character. Now she demanded attention on screen. Best character out of all, although she had an early exit.
The Emperor was the greyest figure of all, and even though his actions were villain-like, one could understand where his motivations were coming from. I loved his character; he commanded fear and respect. The actor did a good job. But the best (and the most underlying) part of the whole series, was the ML and the Emperor's relationship. Theirs was such a toxic filial relationship; I was always at crossroads, trying to root for either of the characters, but when the Emperor made sense, the ML didn't, and vice versa. Towards the end, when Yanxi says that he understands the Emperor, it didn't strike a chord with me, because I didn't see how the Emperor's actions were legit or necessary.
Overall, it was a neatly written, well-tied script, filled with ups and downs, good acting, and all for women power. Good watch!
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