The Girl who Braves the Storm
Hua Zhi is the eldest granddaughter of the Hua family, her grandfather being the imperial censor. She travelled far and wide with her grandfather as child and got an early taste of the free world. When she could no longer pose as a boy servant in her grandfather's travels as she’s grown up, she returned to the family mansion only to be labelled as an idler with no noble-lady characters, constantly looked down upon and criticized by her own parents and uncles, even her own grandmother did not like her. Everything changed when a circumstance led to the banishment of all of Hua men, while the women were left penniless as their properties and wealth was confiscated by the court. Unwilling to let the family sink further, she decided to become the glue that keeps the family together, the lifeline that keeps the family afloat, and contested against her third aunt for the helm of the household. As head of the Hua household, she went on to thrive and expand the family's wealth with the sole aim to redeem the Hua men's freedom from banishment, meeting Gu Yanxi, nephew of the emperor posing as a commoner, along the way in a relationship that soon developed into affection despite him being the person who raided the Hua Mansion earlier on.
The story really is engaging and intriguing except for the corny relationship buildup and romance between the mainleads. Honestly I failed to see the spark. I liked both characters as an individual but I can't see them as a couple. The typical trope of claiming each other as fiances and husband and wife in unwarranted situations are also just too lame and cliche.
I love Hua Zhi as the resilient, relentless and courageous young girl trying to hold up her family in her arms and brave the storm, her headstrong character really gets to my soft spot. She isnt the kind of girl who takes no nonsense and willing to do anything to achieve a goal, even if it means to lower her pride as a noble lady, which even the maids of the household find it hard to do. Although FL is not physically strong, her quickwit made up for it. She is the kind of character that would initially look like a burden and liability in a combat, but could turn the tide just by using her wits. However, as a girl with a crush, she was just too clingy and touchy-feely. Always trying to lean on ML even when they had nothing between each other and started throwing herself into his arms and kissing and holding him every chance she could get after they thought they had feelings for each other, gosh those are really too much and look fake-ish. I could relate if she was a time-travelling modern girl or a transmigrator, but as a genuine lady of the ancient world, this kind of acts are not something usual, they looked cheap even, as those are acts only seen in women of brothel, not in a noble young lady. This is the only flaw in the writing of this character, putting in modern girl's thirst for men's affection before marriage into an ancient one. I skipped most of their scenes cuz I just can't stand the sight of them trying to get the romance on as they looked awkward. And those comedic scenes they try so hard to do, especially the bethrothal misunderstanding, were wayyyyy too corny. They majorly looked like half-assed comic that failed to deliver the punchline. Instead of smiling or ROFLing in my heart, my lips moved into a cringe instead even without me realizing it.
I have seen so many romance stories of unrequited love of couples that shouldve never been separated, A Journey to Love being one of them (gosh I still bawl my eyes out each time I rewatch), but this is actually one of the series that I hope the main couple's relationship never work out. IMPO, the storyline is standalonely strong enough without this romance thingy, which looked so much like a distraction. It's too bad they (the novel writer or the screenwriter, whoever is responsible for hyping the romance) decided to make it the secondary focus as if the original storyline can’t stand on its own, so i ended up skipping so many of this couple scenes after Hua Zhi realized Gu Yanxi’s real identity.
My only drive to finish the show is how Hua Zhi was going to bring the Hua men back, and how Gu Yanxi going to end up with his seemingly good-on-the-surface-but-volatile relationship with the imperial family. To be honest, their respective personal stories are a thousand times much more intriguing than their romance, which i feel was taking up too much of the screentime. The only couples that i felt a wee bit for were Hua Pingyang-Yunniang (forth uncle and aunt) and ShenHuan-Gu Shaoyao. They really looked like couples who enjoy each other’s company, the adoration for their other half is clear in their eyes. Somehow i failed to see it in the main couple. So im left unconvinced to the end.
I totally love the rest of the cast, they acted really well and cried well too! Each sad arcs came through and after seeing many awful crying skills of actors in other series, I came to appreciate the sad scenes here. I find the one playing Gu Shaoyao particularly good, I could see bright future for her if luck is on her side.
The story was good all throughout the show only to falter in the last 3 episodes that seemed too ridiculous. I love the ending where they had a reunion. Forth uncle was truly adorable it’s a pity his scene was so little.
The songs are okay, but the background music is spectacular. The opening themsong by Curley Gao is phenomenal. Action scenes are fine too but not quite exceptional. Honestly i could give this story a solid 9 -9.5ish had not for the bland romance they tried to fit into the plot. Too bad for that.
The story really is engaging and intriguing except for the corny relationship buildup and romance between the mainleads. Honestly I failed to see the spark. I liked both characters as an individual but I can't see them as a couple. The typical trope of claiming each other as fiances and husband and wife in unwarranted situations are also just too lame and cliche.
I love Hua Zhi as the resilient, relentless and courageous young girl trying to hold up her family in her arms and brave the storm, her headstrong character really gets to my soft spot. She isnt the kind of girl who takes no nonsense and willing to do anything to achieve a goal, even if it means to lower her pride as a noble lady, which even the maids of the household find it hard to do. Although FL is not physically strong, her quickwit made up for it. She is the kind of character that would initially look like a burden and liability in a combat, but could turn the tide just by using her wits. However, as a girl with a crush, she was just too clingy and touchy-feely. Always trying to lean on ML even when they had nothing between each other and started throwing herself into his arms and kissing and holding him every chance she could get after they thought they had feelings for each other, gosh those are really too much and look fake-ish. I could relate if she was a time-travelling modern girl or a transmigrator, but as a genuine lady of the ancient world, this kind of acts are not something usual, they looked cheap even, as those are acts only seen in women of brothel, not in a noble young lady. This is the only flaw in the writing of this character, putting in modern girl's thirst for men's affection before marriage into an ancient one. I skipped most of their scenes cuz I just can't stand the sight of them trying to get the romance on as they looked awkward. And those comedic scenes they try so hard to do, especially the bethrothal misunderstanding, were wayyyyy too corny. They majorly looked like half-assed comic that failed to deliver the punchline. Instead of smiling or ROFLing in my heart, my lips moved into a cringe instead even without me realizing it.
I have seen so many romance stories of unrequited love of couples that shouldve never been separated, A Journey to Love being one of them (gosh I still bawl my eyes out each time I rewatch), but this is actually one of the series that I hope the main couple's relationship never work out. IMPO, the storyline is standalonely strong enough without this romance thingy, which looked so much like a distraction. It's too bad they (the novel writer or the screenwriter, whoever is responsible for hyping the romance) decided to make it the secondary focus as if the original storyline can’t stand on its own, so i ended up skipping so many of this couple scenes after Hua Zhi realized Gu Yanxi’s real identity.
My only drive to finish the show is how Hua Zhi was going to bring the Hua men back, and how Gu Yanxi going to end up with his seemingly good-on-the-surface-but-volatile relationship with the imperial family. To be honest, their respective personal stories are a thousand times much more intriguing than their romance, which i feel was taking up too much of the screentime. The only couples that i felt a wee bit for were Hua Pingyang-Yunniang (forth uncle and aunt) and ShenHuan-Gu Shaoyao. They really looked like couples who enjoy each other’s company, the adoration for their other half is clear in their eyes. Somehow i failed to see it in the main couple. So im left unconvinced to the end.
I totally love the rest of the cast, they acted really well and cried well too! Each sad arcs came through and after seeing many awful crying skills of actors in other series, I came to appreciate the sad scenes here. I find the one playing Gu Shaoyao particularly good, I could see bright future for her if luck is on her side.
The story was good all throughout the show only to falter in the last 3 episodes that seemed too ridiculous. I love the ending where they had a reunion. Forth uncle was truly adorable it’s a pity his scene was so little.
The songs are okay, but the background music is spectacular. The opening themsong by Curley Gao is phenomenal. Action scenes are fine too but not quite exceptional. Honestly i could give this story a solid 9 -9.5ish had not for the bland romance they tried to fit into the plot. Too bad for that.
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