I liked the premise. One ambitious woman (Li Hao Lan) and two men who love her - one older merchant (Lu Bu Wei) who has shifty morals and will sacrifice anything to win, and a prince (Ying Yi Ren) who tries his best to act with decency and honor. Which path will she choose?
By Episode 15, however, I had lost patience. Lu Bu Wei had attempted the same scheme numerous times, claimed that he was going to betray and ditch her multiple times, DID leave her behind, and then she still had to help rescue him and appears to be attracted to him.
Ying Yi Ren always protests about Lu Bu Wei 's morals, but always goes along for the good of his kingdom - and the pattern repeats.
As a result, I rapidly got fed up with all of them - and the tension no longer held my interest.
I have other criteria I score by:
Complex Themes - 8
(The themes are introduced regarding ambition, loyalty to romantic love vs. kingdom and family, revenge, betrayal etc. but it never moves forward)
Character Growth -3
(It felt like it was never going anywhere)
Nuanced Women -5
(There were plenty of women in significant roles, but they tended to be all typical dramatic stereotypes)
Cinematography/Production Values - 7
(A lot of money was spent, but it doesn't have the creative beauty of Yanxi Palace or the sweeping outdoor shots of Nirvana in Fire 2. The costumes are all a boring cream/white/gold up through Episode 15 )
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Let me save you hours of watching
Just a waste of everyone’s time.Petty plots and scheming are drawn out for no reason for the first 20+ episodes. Honestly, I enjoyed the parts where women of the harem covertly had hands in politics/war. They spent too much time dwelling on petty schemes in the harem with no actual consequence but just so the FL is shown suffering. Logic seems to be thrown out the window just so that our FL and her pimp are seen as cunning and “smart”. None of the decisions make sense for anyone with sense.
I’m not one to judge characters. I love grey characters but Haolan is too much of a hypocrite. She kills her sister (justified) but is upset when Lu Buwei kills that girl at the banquet. She gets upset at Yiren for not betraying his country when she has committed several traitorous acts for him and Lu Buwei. The only reasonably written characters that make sense to me seem to be Lady Li and Princess Qionghua.
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At the end of the day, just depend on yourself..
LIKELove hate relationship between Hao Lan and Princess Ya
DISLIKE
Most of Hao Lan's men except for probably one who truly loved her
MUSIC - personal fav
化羽 Hua Yu - 高雨儿 Gao Yu Er
月出 Yue Chu - 陆虎 Lu Hu, 黄雅莉 Huang Ya Li
REWATCH VALUE
Five for now
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The Drama That Started My Love for C-Dramas
I watched The Legend of Hao Lan a long time ago, but its beauty still lingers in my mind—so I finally wanted to write this review now.The production is stunning, with breathtaking costumes and cinematography that bring ancient China vividly to life. The writing is equally impressive—woven with political intrigue, emotional depth, and unforgettable character arcs. And the acting? Simply phenomenal. Every actor delivers a performance that draws you deeply into their world.
My only lingering wish: that Haolan and Lü Buwei had a chance to end up together. This drama remains in my heart —and it’s how I first fell in love with Chinese dramas.
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