I’ve only watched 2 eps so far… no spoilers. Just initial thoughts.
The good: Zhou Yiran, Bao Shangen, and older veteran actors. I love everyone’s dynamics so far. Main characters are compelling though not yet fully fleshed out, which I kind of like. The previous generation’s story is very intriguing and keeps me hooked. Main leads’ chemistry is chemistry!!! The way they look at each other, questioning one another… love that there’s still some mystery there. Scenery and fight scenes are beautifully done. Great OST so far.
The too early to tell but a little concerning: the editing and timelines and story progression is moving at breakneck speed. I appreciate that it’s not dragging but there needs to be some breathing space or better transitions between one scene to the next. If you haven’t read the novel, it may be hard to keep up. On a rewind or second watch, you’ll catch more details but knowing they trimmed 40 eps down to 37, I’m not sure if trimming the first two eps is the right move. I’m still finishing this because I love ZYR and BSE, but I hope the drama slows down a bit to let audiences process after all the characters are introduced.
blah blah this is why i never listen to bs comments on here and just watch for myself because this is the first…
Fully agree with you. People need to come into this drama knowing that it’s eye candy and fluff, and a female character who isn’t your typical Mary Sue. She’s smart, quirky, and cute, but she’s not going to solve the world’s problems because she is supposed to be a spoiled general’s daughter who is happy to play within this society’s rules. She’s Chinese Dramaland’s Elle Woods, and if everyone can take this lens, then it’s the cutest drama with the best chemistry among every couple. I love Ming Tan, and Bao Shangen was perfect for this role. Naturally acted, no over the top cutesy gestures. Just a feminine rich girl who has her own goals that are not beyond what a teenage girl of nobility in this time period would want. She doesn’t dabble in politics and she sticks only to what she knows best. My fiercely protective, loyal, kind, and sometimes ditzy Ming Tan. You can also see past ep 19 how much she develops into her own character and grew up as needed. She is the best wife to Jiang Xu who also need to be checked sometimes, too. Ming Tan is Not Afraid of him, and in fact loves being doted on by a Fujun who loves to dote on her.
Ikr like girl you can't defend yourself why are you outside? ML is attacking and defending at the same time getting…
She was worried he was hurt, which he almost was if it weren’t for her Jade pendant. Her concern made her leave the carriage to check on him, and when they tried to strike him, you can see she tried to shield him with her body. He was just faster than her. If it comes to the female lead’s character, she is always willing to put herself in harm’s way for others, and sometimes, you can’t just sit in the carriage when you know your husband is in danger.
Besides, it seems some of her actions are used as plot devices to further the romance or action, so it comes down to script writing. If she didn’t leave the carriage, male lead wouldn’t have revealed he’s kept the jade pendant this whole time and also got the opportunity to shoot the dagger in the masked man’s arm.
There are absolutely way worse female characters out there than A Tan getting out of the carriage because she’s worried for her husband.
Can we change his pfp please? Who did this? He has 100000000 other pictures that are so much better. Does anyone know how to go about submitting for new pfp?
I am extremely iffy about age gap and male lead actor in this drama, but I am here for Bao Shangen! The previews of her were so cute! LOVED her in Youthful Glory with SWL, and though she’s still a fresh face in the industry, she has so much talent and charisma already.
Even if this was filmed 4 years ago, I saw her on Ace Actress / I am an Actress when she was 19 and already she had so much potential, especially her heartbreak/crying scenes; she won for a reason. This drama seems more comedic, which I also think she has great timing for like in Youthful Glory. BSE as Huang Rong was where I first saw her in dramas and she is my favorite version now.
Can’t wait to see more of her dramas in the future!
LOVED him in Youthful Glory with Bao Shangen! What a wonderful drama to showcase Song Weilong’s multi-talents: brooding, ruthless, charming, cunning, sexy, loving, soft, and protective. Too many adjectives to describe Jiang Xu and too difficult to list out all the ways SWL brought the character to life! His fight scenes in all of his dramas are IMMACULATE. Such a treat. Plus SWL is sooooo handsome! His chemistry with Bao Shangen was fireeeeeeee. My xiaolongbao cp. Hope he pairs up with BSE again, or my dream leads for him would also be Tian Xiwei and Zhou Ye.
I’m looking forward to The Eternal Fragrance and Love for You!
If you’re starting this, my recommendation is to watch episodes 16-19 consecutively. It will save you a lot of the frustration and help you enjoy the pacing of the drama more. Love Youthful Glory and it’s even better on a rewatch.
Song Weilong and Bao Shangen have amazing chemistry and the entire cast was lovely and endearing. Highly recommend if you’re looking for light, sweet romcom. The plot is nothing groundbreaking, and I have my issues with ep 29, but it is completely worth it to finish such a lovely drama.
I honestly came into this show because of Song Weilong and Bao Shangen’s face cards and acting potential (I have a whole discourse I want to gush and write about their micro expressions and ability to play off their costars and each other), as I have seen them separately in other dramas. Never did I expect to fall head first into Youthful Glory for 2 weeks straight where I would subscribe to MangoTV and iqiyi just to get daily updates, engage with Reddit and Mydramalist for analysis and discourse, and wake up early every morning to watch the newest ep(s) before work. It’s not a flawless drama by any means and there are many things I desired from it that weren’t met, but what it lacks in cohesive plot/writing, it makes up for in lively and lovable characters, sweetness, romance, comedy, and building us a world where A Xu and A Tan can share their love story and friendships with us. This was a glorious journey full of youthful wonder with endearing characters and love stories. I really hope everyone can go into this drama with an open mind and patience to allow the characters to breathe to life and develop into themselves. Its best assets are its flawed characters, well-timed comedic notes, and all-encompassing romance that will make you swoon and giggle and turn into a sappy mess. So please forgo the other stuff like politics and military strategies; Youthful Glory is not that kind of drama and was not able to execute these plotlines well, but do enjoy the stellar performances and magnetic chemistry between the entire cast. And I mean it. Everyone created memorable and flourishing characters, and even the supporting cast got their own chances to shine. Looking at y’all Suxin, Lu E, Zhuiyu, Zhuiying, and Zhuifeng.
I really hope there’s bromance between Song Weilong and Ao Ruipeng. From the trailers, they each have their own girl, but I’m more interested in Ao Ruipeng’s coupling and SWL/ARP scenes. Loved Song Weilong in Youthful Glory with Bao Shangen, and now I can’t ship him with anyone else haha. JK Liu Haocun is very cute, but from trailers, they don’t seem to have much chemistry. Will give this a try though for the male leads.
the drama started on positive notes with light humor and a good story plot, but it went downhill for me towards…
Thank you so much for sharing this! So intrigued by the novel vs drama versions.
I do think Liu Mo and Nanlu Prince had potential to be good fleshed out storylines as they both seemed like they could have posed as great rivals to Jiang Xu in terms of their looks, status, and intelligence, at least from a character setup/introduction viewpoint. Too bad they were written horribly by the end and felt so rushed and wasteful of screen time. Like I honestly would have loved to see a “Jiang Xu saves Ming Tan from the clutches of Nanlu Prince” arc. I just thought it had the perfect equation to something interesting, but alas, it will never be.
I am DEAD. Despite the plot driving me insane, I am sitting here smiling like a lovestruck teenager because oh…
No I completely understand and agree with everything you are saying. Like I really struggled with which decision was best. The logical/realistic one or the idealized one where Yunyi can break free from her lifelong duties to just choose her own path and follow her heart for once. Either way is beautiful to me and fits the Yunyi character really well. Again, I think there isn’t a lack of great characters in this show, just maybe lack of episodes to fully flesh out everything we can about our beloved cast. I really wish there were more eps. I would have gladly paid more haha
I am DEAD. Despite the plot driving me insane, I am sitting here smiling like a lovestruck teenager because oh my goodness is everything so freaking cute and adorable!!!!!!!! Jiang Xu being extra extra extraaaaaa protective is literally taking me OUT. I’m gonna lose my mind at how cute everything is!!!!!!!
I love Yunyi and Shuer’s ending. It was so beautiful, though I almost wished Yunyi made that decision herself to show her agency and willingness to leave with ShuEr. I know she wants to. She’s happy to, but I wish the writers allowed her to make that decision on her own without it being another command from Dingbei Wang. I know it’s in character for Yunyi to follow orders and she may have needed that last push, but I think it may have been a missed opportunity for character development. I’m still happy! Don’t get me wrong.
I LOVEEEEE our 6 leads and the loyal maids and bodyguards. They were the entire heart of the show, wherein they all had stellar chemistry and love stories that blossomed beautifully. I never wanted the last episode to end because I could watch their domestic bliss and happiness forever.
Again, even with the disaster that was ep 29, I still wholeheartedly loved and enjoyed this show. It has occupied my thoughts and heart for the last 2 weeks and I am just so happy I got to go on this wonderful journey with Jiang Xu, MingTan, Minmin, Huaiyu, ShuEr, and Yunyi. 🩷🩷🩷
The good: Zhou Yiran, Bao Shangen, and older veteran actors. I love everyone’s dynamics so far. Main characters are compelling though not yet fully fleshed out, which I kind of like. The previous generation’s story is very intriguing and keeps me hooked. Main leads’ chemistry is chemistry!!! The way they look at each other, questioning one another… love that there’s still some mystery there. Scenery and fight scenes are beautifully done. Great OST so far.
The too early to tell but a little concerning: the editing and timelines and story progression is moving at breakneck speed. I appreciate that it’s not dragging but there needs to be some breathing space or better transitions between one scene to the next. If you haven’t read the novel, it may be hard to keep up. On a rewind or second watch, you’ll catch more details but knowing they trimmed 40 eps down to 37, I’m not sure if trimming the first two eps is the right move. I’m still finishing this because I love ZYR and BSE, but I hope the drama slows down a bit to let audiences process after all the characters are introduced.
Besides, it seems some of her actions are used as plot devices to further the romance or action, so it comes down to script writing. If she didn’t leave the carriage, male lead wouldn’t have revealed he’s kept the jade pendant this whole time and also got the opportunity to shoot the dagger in the masked man’s arm.
There are absolutely way worse female characters out there than A Tan getting out of the carriage because she’s worried for her husband.
Even if this was filmed 4 years ago, I saw her on Ace Actress / I am an Actress when she was 19 and already she had so much potential, especially her heartbreak/crying scenes; she won for a reason. This drama seems more comedic, which I also think she has great timing for like in Youthful Glory. BSE as Huang Rong was where I first saw her in dramas and she is my favorite version now.
Can’t wait to see more of her dramas in the future!
I’m looking forward to The Eternal Fragrance and Love for You!
Song Weilong and Bao Shangen have amazing chemistry and the entire cast was lovely and endearing. Highly recommend if you’re looking for light, sweet romcom. The plot is nothing groundbreaking, and I have my issues with ep 29, but it is completely worth it to finish such a lovely drama.
I do think Liu Mo and Nanlu Prince had potential to be good fleshed out storylines as they both seemed like they could have posed as great rivals to Jiang Xu in terms of their looks, status, and intelligence, at least from a character setup/introduction viewpoint. Too bad they were written horribly by the end and felt so rushed and wasteful of screen time. Like I honestly would have loved to see a “Jiang Xu saves Ming Tan from the clutches of Nanlu Prince” arc. I just thought it had the perfect equation to something interesting, but alas, it will never be.
I love Yunyi and Shuer’s ending. It was so beautiful, though I almost wished Yunyi made that decision herself to show her agency and willingness to leave with ShuEr. I know she wants to. She’s happy to, but I wish the writers allowed her to make that decision on her own without it being another command from Dingbei Wang. I know it’s in character for Yunyi to follow orders and she may have needed that last push, but I think it may have been a missed opportunity for character development. I’m still happy! Don’t get me wrong.
I LOVEEEEE our 6 leads and the loyal maids and bodyguards. They were the entire heart of the show, wherein they all had stellar chemistry and love stories that blossomed beautifully. I never wanted the last episode to end because I could watch their domestic bliss and happiness forever.
Again, even with the disaster that was ep 29, I still wholeheartedly loved and enjoyed this show. It has occupied my thoughts and heart for the last 2 weeks and I am just so happy I got to go on this wonderful journey with Jiang Xu, MingTan, Minmin, Huaiyu, ShuEr, and Yunyi. 🩷🩷🩷