Battles of the Sexes: Ancient Marriage Edition
This drama is half family drama, half romantic comedy, with an overarching question intertwined throughout all the storylines: Who is more important: man or woman? Son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother?
The premise: The Li family, without a male figure in their family (a dead father and a long-lost brother) escapes their money-hungry relatives to the capital to start anew. The protective and sometimes brash mother seeks good matches for her four daughters (a fifth one is already married) and adopted daughter while trying to make a living and make enough money to provide dowries for the daughters. The sisters and mother stand strong together in the face of trouble and danger, navigating out of different schemes to a peaceful and happy end.
With this kind of story and setup, the story heavily emphasizes on the sisterhood and mother-daughters bond, supporting each other fiercely. Because the father died when they were fairly young, they have faced all kinds of misogynistic, societal, and hierarchal problems, and know they must sometimes trick people. It's not always nice, but it's a method of surviving and gaining a better hand. It's also a way to get justice and revenge for their family because they sometimes can't fight people outright due to their low status and identity.
IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE POINT ABOVE, then I think you will enjoy this drama because you are sympathetic towards the Li family. And you can understand why the Li sisters (and mother) take certain actions or behave in certain ways toward the male leads.
IF YOU ARE THE TYPE OF PERSON TO "PITY" THE MALE LEADS for any little wrong thing that happens to them, then I don't recommend this drama for you. The female leads often have to take certain actions or make certain plans that aren't beneficial to the male leads. Especially since the male leads are mainly all leads who have a certain high regard/reputation or high status (noble or royal, typically), and they are men in a patriarchal society, so the odds are always in the men's favor. My advice? Don't feel (too) bad for them. They get humiliated at times, but their reputation won't be completely destroyed the way it would for women. Also, they aren't helpless. Because they're smart, they know how to scheme as well in subtle ways to protect their pride, too. So don't feel (too) bad for them because they will always end up fine.
A few warnings and reminders:
-This is ancient times, where physical abuse is tolerated and even expected if an elder needs to discipline a younger person or a wife needs to be rough with a husband to get him under control. So, expect that a certain level of physical punishment is okay in this time.
-The men WILL do some annoying schemes in the beginning of the drama--especially in a few of the couples' storylines. Be prepared to be baffled and annoyed, but if you can get through that, the latter relationships are quite enjoyable!
-The men on this show will say one thing, but do another. This drama shows the complex layers of marriage life and of men and women. Men, in public or in front of other men, will put up a front and try to be all tough. But men in private will not be quite so.
Overall, watch it if you support women's rights (and wrongs). Don't watch it if you're a men's rights activist. (JOKING. But also, I'm half serious.)
The premise: The Li family, without a male figure in their family (a dead father and a long-lost brother) escapes their money-hungry relatives to the capital to start anew. The protective and sometimes brash mother seeks good matches for her four daughters (a fifth one is already married) and adopted daughter while trying to make a living and make enough money to provide dowries for the daughters. The sisters and mother stand strong together in the face of trouble and danger, navigating out of different schemes to a peaceful and happy end.
With this kind of story and setup, the story heavily emphasizes on the sisterhood and mother-daughters bond, supporting each other fiercely. Because the father died when they were fairly young, they have faced all kinds of misogynistic, societal, and hierarchal problems, and know they must sometimes trick people. It's not always nice, but it's a method of surviving and gaining a better hand. It's also a way to get justice and revenge for their family because they sometimes can't fight people outright due to their low status and identity.
IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE POINT ABOVE, then I think you will enjoy this drama because you are sympathetic towards the Li family. And you can understand why the Li sisters (and mother) take certain actions or behave in certain ways toward the male leads.
IF YOU ARE THE TYPE OF PERSON TO "PITY" THE MALE LEADS for any little wrong thing that happens to them, then I don't recommend this drama for you. The female leads often have to take certain actions or make certain plans that aren't beneficial to the male leads. Especially since the male leads are mainly all leads who have a certain high regard/reputation or high status (noble or royal, typically), and they are men in a patriarchal society, so the odds are always in the men's favor. My advice? Don't feel (too) bad for them. They get humiliated at times, but their reputation won't be completely destroyed the way it would for women. Also, they aren't helpless. Because they're smart, they know how to scheme as well in subtle ways to protect their pride, too. So don't feel (too) bad for them because they will always end up fine.
A few warnings and reminders:
-This is ancient times, where physical abuse is tolerated and even expected if an elder needs to discipline a younger person or a wife needs to be rough with a husband to get him under control. So, expect that a certain level of physical punishment is okay in this time.
-The men WILL do some annoying schemes in the beginning of the drama--especially in a few of the couples' storylines. Be prepared to be baffled and annoyed, but if you can get through that, the latter relationships are quite enjoyable!
-The men on this show will say one thing, but do another. This drama shows the complex layers of marriage life and of men and women. Men, in public or in front of other men, will put up a front and try to be all tough. But men in private will not be quite so.
Overall, watch it if you support women's rights (and wrongs). Don't watch it if you're a men's rights activist. (JOKING. But also, I'm half serious.)
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