Song of Youth (2021)

Women hold up half the sky.

Song of Youth is a historical Chinese soap opera that pays tribute to 红楼梦 Hongloumeng (Dream of the Red Chamber), widely regarded as China's greatest novel. Fans of the novel will immediately recognize that the backstory of an aristocratic family in decline and the multiple character blueprints that are based on this vernacular classic. Uniquely, this narrative plucks out the all-consuming, angsty, tragically epic love triangle that forms the core of the novel and focuses instead on broader, often less appreciated themes. The love triangle is still there but it is been muted to the extent that it is only peeks out towards the end.

Lin Shaochun, a talented actress from a performing troupe marries Sun Yulou, the youngest scion of the noble Sun family. With her innate resourcefulness and the support of her husband, she becomes indispensable to his initially disapproving family by ably resolving all their internal and external conflicts and challenges. Bai Lu as always delivers a very enjoyable performance as the supportive and loving wife of Sun Yulou and the clever, thoughtful and femininely authoritative Sun family fixer. Even though I think Wang Yizhe has a lot of potential as an actor, he struggled to get into character and I didn't see much spark between him and Bai Lu. But it doesn't matter because albeit with some challenges, their arc is short and it is ultimately a rather pedestrian love match. After that the narrative explores more complicated and more poignant relationships where the couples have limited ability to make their own choices. Very much like Court Lady, Lin Shaochun is just a tour guide through the social structures, culture, relationships, vanities and daily life details of feudal 18th century China. Thankfully unlike Court Lady, Bai Lu's portrayal of the role as occasionally ruthless and not overly preachy and righteous makes Lin Shaochun very likeable if too infallible to be that interesting.

What stands out about this drama is that very much like Hongloumeng, it celebrates the contribution of women to society - Mao Zedong was far from the first to acknowledge that women hold up half the sky. True to the novel, the drama is very female centric - Lin Shaochun is the main protagonist and in a fitting role reversal the ML Sun Yulou is just a prop; an attractive, decorative vase. Even the best antagonists are formidable and devious women. In fact, most of the male characters in the drama are rather weak and not that intelligent - Sun Yulou only pulls himself together to be worthy of Lin Shaochun, his oldest brother is a foolish gold digger's wet dream, his second brother is the most capable of the lot and his third brother is a henpecked wastrel. All of them become better, more successful men thanks to their smart, determined and capable wives. I find both the eldest and (especially) the second brothers' stories to be far more interesting than that of the main CP. Unfortunately the second brother's story fizzles out in the middle and ends in a slightly disappointing way. Nonetheless, Yao Dizu is by far the most multi-faceted and refreshing character in the drama, more so than Lin Shaochun. She is also the only character that gets to be the author of her own story. If Lin Shaochun were written to be more of a bystander and less of the person who always saves the day, this would be a much better drama. She always wins by the same modus operandi so by the second or third arc, I was on to her and the "twists" become predictable.

The other problem with this drama is that it doesn't seem to be written in one voice or tone and thus gives the impression that it doesn't know what it wants to be. I think it is intended to be a satire or parody of bourgeois upper society during Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately in parts the humor is quite slapstick when it comes to Lamu Yangzi and some of Jin Chen's scenes because that matches the kind of humor they do best. Bai Lu and the rest of the cast however, are better suited towards more subtle, satirical humor and when the writing tries for something in between, it comes across as forced and half the time it misses the mark. That said, there are some really good laugh out loud moments but overall the wit and humor is hit or miss. The rhythm of the screenplay is particularly awkward at the beginning but more enjoyable from the middle episodes. After the four brothers' stories, the recycling of themes around the fallout from arranged marriages gets old and the final arcs flatline - I saw the final end twist a mile away so the end was predictable and anti-climatic.

This gorgeous production was clearly shot with meticulous attention to detail from the sets to the authenticity of the costumes, make up and the cultural details. The only lapse is perhaps the fact that the classic Cantonese opera Legend of the Purple Hairpin is sung in Mandarin and not in its original language (this was one of my grandma's favorite operas, she used to play the Liza Wang/Adam Cheng recording all the time). Overall a high quality production that is an enjoyable light watch even though it falls well short of Hongloumeng in terms of panoramic impression, breadth of social commentary and lasting impact. This is fun enough for me to rate this a 7.5.

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A Satire of the Ming Dynasty Society

Watching this drama from a satirical perspective of the society during the Ming Dynasty, when Confucianism was practiced at its utmost height, decorum and protocols were strict, harsh and repressive especially for the women, makes it a very enjoyable watch for me. Seemingly unlikely, we get a couple of very strong female characters in particular a know-it-all Mary Sue who always saves the day. All the characters and their relationships have realistically captured life in that orthodox and conservative society, and that can even be relevant in today’s world.

This story takes a bold look into the Ming dynasty society, its orthodoxy and conservatism, its inequality, protocol, manners, expectations, and consequences, with the hidden criticisms that all these had led to the slow decline of the society and the ending of the dynasty.

Accordingly, the drama draws its inspirations from the great classical “Dream of the Red Chamber” with several of the characters deriving their names in a combination of words from the classic novel. The whole story revolves around the high status, wealthy and powerful Sun (pronounced Soon) family, narrated from the perspective of the youngest son, Sun Yulou (Wang Yizhe) who has a high powered father, a doting mother, three brothers and four sisters, each has a story to tell.

Like in the classical “Dream of the Red Chamber”, this story also hints at “truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true; real becomes not-real where the unreal’s real” by the use of a puppet show in telling the story. Cleverly constructed, there are hints and cross-references to hidden (and obvious) meanings throughout. Truth and falsity, reality and illusion are constant displays.

Undoubtedly marriages by the order of the parents tend to be the most painful experiences for almost every couple even in a society where filial piety is held as the highest order of all. In the high society, statuses and face are always the forefront consideration of any marriages which are used to advance the careers of family members, usually at the expense of daughters, though some sons don’t fare too well either. The consequences are expected: extra marital affair, adultery, love triangle, elope, rebellion - all brilliantly captured in the story.

Sun Yulou rebels against his stern father and the social barriers of the time. He and Lin Shaochun (Bai Lu) pursue individual freedom, gender equality and to marry the partner of one’s choice. This couple has an initial sense of democracy, a rebellious spirit and courageous pursuit of love. Though well-read with traditional books of morals and ethics, Lin Shaochun toes the line from time to time. She convinces Sun Yulou to pass the Imperial exam so that he could become a government official and ask for her hand in marriage.

This is the first drama for Wang Yizhe as the main male lead. Many viewers don't feel he deserves such a role. For me, I would like to give him a chance without looking at him through tinted lenses. I feel his acting has brilliantly brought out the youthfulness of the character. He can look serious when he needs to, but in front of the family, especially his wife, he's just a big sunny boy that can be silly and Wang Yizhe delivers. Despite this being a main lead, it feels more like a supporting role because of how the character is being written, shot and edited.

Many viewers feel the main couple don't have the chemistry. Though they are both of the same age at 18, Lin Shaochun is more mature compared with Sun Yulou, and he always lets her have the final say. With that, it does feel that Sun Yulou a little brother who depends heavily on Lin Shaochun the big sister. For me, the lacking perhaps lies more on Bai Lu as she seems to be less enthusiastic and doesn’t share the same adoration and affection towards her supposedly husband as he has on her.

My Verdict
Despite some flaws here and there, this is a very enjoyable story with a series of side stories which are very well developed and in fact more interesting than the lead couple’s story. It consists a blend of realism and romance, psychological motivation and fate, and daily life with a grand plot hidden and span across multi side storyline. It can be hilarious at times, yet, bitter and resigned when it comes to the fate of some characters. The first episode is comedic and funny. I thought it's going to be light and laughable, but by episode 8, it becomes heavy and bitter.

This is a satire about misogyny, hypocrisy, class system, conservatism, inequality, all told in a very humorous way. Some parts are so funny that I laugh so hard.

The final narrative about how people make choices that determine their eventual endings: take kindness one ends well, take hatred one loses everything, seems to be a just decoy for the deeper meaning of the overall story – a silent criticism of the paternalistic system of the country.

Great story telling. Don’t miss it!

BRAVO!

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And it started so well . . .

It was absolutely gorgeous to look at. Beautiful costumes, magnificent cimematography. And terrific actors, many veterans doing what they do best.

But the story? It was great at first, as Yulou wins Shaochun, and she slowly unfreezes, then has to make her way into the Sun family.

I thought this was going to be similar to Minglan, a comedy of manners, mostly focused on the women of various levels as well as the central romance. For the first half or three fifths, we got that. But then the story began sliding into more and more unlikely melodrama, beginning with the horrible Tao Yao bouncing back for yet a third invasion of the Sun family, so we had to endure the exact same emotional trauma as the first two times.

(I have to admit, I loved seeing the smackdown when the wife of First Brother went after her! And the second defeat was pretty good, too. But that third one not only hit exactly the same emotional beats, it seriously weakened the characters of both First Brother and the wife).

After that, it seems the writers did not know how to depict Yulou and Shaochun as a couple working together and sharing their problems, because we kept getting bigger and more unlikely situations piled on for Shaochun to solve alone, shutting her husband out. The situations in which Shaochun is the only one who can fix it get more and more perfunctory, as she acts as a lone agent.

Despite all their words about trust and sharing, we never saw them actually trusting and sharing when problems come up, so that his part was reduced to political infighting or being a no-show. Until the total mess of an ending, in which the viewer is dragged through unnecessary suffering and angst just to find out, in the last fifteen minutes, hey, it was fake all along! Everybody's okay, ha ha! The villain is dragged off, and we don't even see his end. Just a pointless long-ass search on Shaochun's part. And when we finally catch up with Yulou, it's like we're back to square one. I hoped the last line would be "I've given you a son," or even "Let me give you a son," as all the way through it was clear he wanted a family. No, he gets to go home and start over, only everyone is older and more tired. Whoopie.

The reason Minglan worked for seventy episodes is because we see the couple grow and change, until they are working together as a dynamic team. Why couldn't we see a similar payoff here?

I found the Dizhe/Second Brother thread absorbing and tragic and complex--I wished it would have taken over the storyline, and let Yulou and Shaochun sink into obscurity since their story was essentially done at the halfway point.

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DOMESTIC ISSUES AND A SUPER WOMAN

Lin ShaoChun (Bai Lu) is the 4th daughter in law of Sun's family, married to Sun YuLao (Wang Yi Zhi) after an early rocky disapproval relationship because she came from a troupe group, proving herself and gaining back her family's heritage and name with the help of Sun YuLao - she's able to marry him and gain approval from Sun's head of family. Her intelligence and wisdom makes her a super woman, she's the problem solver of every single's family issues - everyone come to her seeking advise and resolving their dire problems. There are two people that family (& country) look up to; Sun Xun (father) and ShaoChun, one is an influential respectful Kingdom's Grand Secretariat and the other is Sun's 4th daughter in law - the good thing is her husband Sun YuLao loves her deeply and every member of family respect her.

Very domestic family oriented drama, 8 children all together with their in-laws bends to have 8 different direction of story to tell. Pheww...none of them has children yet so their wrong decision does not involve in a child well-being...I can't imagine if every couple has 1 or 2 children, this story is going to be a mess. The oldest son - he's kind blind-sided with mismatched character with blatant wife who's longing for a 'womanly' kind of wife, second son who's a General who presumably lost 2 wives and give up for another chance of love, 3rd son who's kind of useless and always a 'yes' man to dominant wife but lately he showed a talent of mechanical repairman, 4th son who's smart enough to marry ShaoChun - he's the magistrate that seek justice and priority truth. 1st daughter Royal Consort Sun who's the wife of the Emperor, 2nd daughter who just become a widow (appear on ep 33) who happens to love ShaoChun's senior brother as they were young sweetheart, 3rd daughter who married to a loser guy who think highly of himself, youngest and last child is a teen-daughter from concubine Mei. I couldn't believe I remember all this...

ShaoChun is also involved with Imperial domestic issues as well as resolving some crucial political uproars, even the Emperor and Kingdom can use her talent in solving critical issues. Well, if anyone wants to know what domestic issues Sun's family have (and how a super woman ShaoChun is) I can recommend this drama, 43 episodes isn't bad - middle episode is a big drag but after that picks up, ending ep 43 is a totally unpredictable. This drama is alright, overall score is an OK, I enjoy it. There are plenty of familiar faces of supporting actors....most of all I love their OST. Slow, soothing, melodious, appropriate....

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Finding the truth amidst confusion and trickery

I read the reviews in detail before embarking on this drama. I had high-ish expectations since the reviews were pretty good.

After watching all 43/43 episodes, I have this to say.

What I liked:
- The character Di Zhu was the best girl. She had modern thoughts and behaved sensibly. She was never a crazy bitch and I really appreciated this point. She was a delightful modern-day lass in an olden era. She was a breath of fresh air and pretty damn cute. She had chemistry with the second Sun son - Sun Jun Hao. I liked the couple.
- Some parts of the drama were kind of funny. But, the parts aren’t outstanding. I can hardly remember any.

What I didn’t like:
- Bai Lu as Lin Shao Chun was smart and sassy but wasn’t the most likable. I didn’t really fancy her role here.
- There were many annoying asses in the show like Jia Feng Yuan who just kept wanting revenge and was frankly, a son of a bitch. Tao Yao was a complete “Yao Jing” and was utterly insufferable. I hated her and hated that she had so much screen time. When I thought she was gone, she came back again! Good lord, NO! She’s like a cockroach that doesn’t die no matter what you do!
- The eldest son of Sun house was spineless and very annoying.
- It was highly disappointing that there was NO sizzle between the “male lead” and “female lead”. Sun Yu Lou and Lin Shao Chun looked more like a big sister who tolerated an irksome bratty younger brother. They did not look like lovers. They did not look at husband and wife. There was zero chemistry between the two. It was painful to watch. The male actor CMI. I can think of so many other better male actors who fit the role and can do a much better job at having good chemistry with Bai Lu. Why wasn’t Xu Kai or Ryan Ding playing Sun Yu Lou? The show was kind of ruined because of the lack luster “male lead”. Terrible. I didn’t like him on my screen.
- The plot was confusing and some parts were like “Say What?!” . (Thankfully, the show did wrap things up quite well and everything came full circle. Episode 1 linked to episode 43. This was satisfactory.)

Overall, I think this show doesn’t deserve such high praise or ratings. I think a 7/10 is too high for it actually. Watchable but can be so much better.

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Entertaining show

This drama really entertaining, the acting was good, I like the music, the story was fun to follow and not really heavy as a period drama, I like the relationship between FM and ML, the couple of the first brother always hilarious part lol :D , I'm laughing all the time when arriving to their scene. The 3rd brother and his wife sometimes funny too, now I'm waiting for the next story of the 2nd brother, I think he is so charming and charismatic general of war.
And for the last couple of 4th brother and his wife, they are so cute, romantic, and mature couple. Love the way FL approaches him and vice versa.
This drama is my ongoing drama with one and only (another bai lu drama too). Both have different stories and feelings. Good for watch in your weekend. ^_^
Ps. Pardon my bad grammar and English hehe.

- sorry I've edited this review until I finishing all eps. the last part like not ended well. I mean, everything getting rushed and seems forced about the plot twists. still get enough about the second brother and his lover too lol :D.

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What an unexpected surprise!

I had been avoiding this drama for a while. Every time it popped up on the list of dramas, I would skip over it. Initially, the facial expressions of First Wife really turned me off. Third time's the charm. I watched the entire first episode, then the second, and then I was hooked. It's a hefty 43 episodes, but so worth it in the end! The story isn't overly complex and told in sections, so you know who the main focus is at the time. There are a couple of loopholes, but not so the story suffers.

The characters were endearing and hateful (whichever applied). The chemistry between the couples was believable and I really grew to like them. It was hard to watch the First Brother & his wife's story. He did her so wrong and didn't (I believe) make it up to her sufficiently. The villainess in that story arc did not get enough comeuppance for my taste, either. Favorite character? The matriarch for her grace and dignity. Least favorite character(s)? The housekeepers and maids in the mansion. Favorite couple? Sorry - not the ML & FL lead - Second Brother and his wife. They worked hard for that. Girl with the most guts? The Noble Consort, kicking the Emperor to the curb after he treated her so badly and expected her to fall back into his arms. Boom!

The OST - Lu Hu's voice is outstanding and so unique. His duet with Bai Lu 'The Purple Hairpin' was a work of beauty - I listen to it more than I'd like to admit and love it every time.

Overall, I liked how the entire drama told the story of the members of this family. Despite the bickering and competition (which reminds me - Third Brother's wife: what a money-grubber! I wish she had given him a little love), despite the ups and downs, this family loved each other as best as they knew how, and watching their stories unfold was really what held my interest. This one has made it to my list of favorites, and I will definitely be rewatching this at some point.

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Disappointing and rushed Ending

Subjective Gut Rating - 7.75

I’ve been putting off watching “Song of Youth” because I was worried the comedy might be too much for me, and I need to be in the right mood to watch a comedic slice-of-life drama. I finally watched it and realized it’s actually not as funny as I thought it would be. I thought it would be on par with “New Life Begins” but actually, it’s a lot less funny and only with comedic bits sprinkled throughout the drama.

It might not be official but I feel like “Song of Youth” takes on an omnibus-style, where the drama tells the stories of many characters that are interconnected. Our female lead, Lin Shao Chun, is the one that connects all the dots. She also seems to be the superwoman that solves everyone’s problems with ease. Unfortunately, I prefer all characters’ stories to be integrated and weaved throughout the drama. With such an omnibus-like style, our main leads disappear to the background for long periods of time, and only show up to save the day.

The drama starts with the romance between the main leads, Lin Shao Chun (FL) and Sun Yu Lou (ML). Their story takes up about ⅓ of the drama. From a storytelling point of view, it’s interesting enough, especially with how different they both are and the ways Lin Shao Chun wins the hearts of the Sun family and is welcomed into the family. But the romance to me is unconvincing. I do believe Bai Lu and Wang Yi Zhe acted their characters well individually. However, when they are paired together, it’s lacking in chemistry. Even though both actors are the same age in real life, Bai Lu looks like an older sister. Additionally, Sun Yu Lou’s personality is a lot more immature compared to Lin Shao Chun.

The second big arc focuses on the story of the eldest brother. This is when I started to get annoyed and bored. This arc lasted for waaaay too long. Spending another 10 episodes on just one brother and his troubles, limits the screen time for the rest of the cast, and this drama has a huge cast. I also think the drama could have done away with the story of the 3rd sister. The story of the 2nd sister only serves to highlight the 3rd brother’s personality. These two sisters are married off and were barely mentioned in the drama. Then all of a sudden, they both showed up and fought for screen time. I much prefer to have a better written plot about the eldest brother (shorter), 2nd brother, 3rd brother (longer), and maybe the parents.

In the last few episodes, I got really confused about the revenge and case investigation. I still have no idea what they did to FL’s father and how he was betrayed. What were those three 3 senior officials scheming about? In the very last episode, we finally found out who the real villain was, but it was told but not shown.

I would have given this an 8.0 for the solid acting, and actors using their own voices. But I was dissatisfied with how the last 5 episodes are written, so I am lowering this to a 7.5-7.75.

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Didn’t meet expectations.

I am going to be bluntly honest in this review. If one isn’t able to take it then feel free not to read it. However, I have to let out my frustrations over this drama that I have recently watched.

Yes I have only wanted till episode 40. Which really is a lie because I skimmed through from episode 20+ onwards till 40. Why? Well, it wasn’t hard the drama started off as something of a potential plot that I was intrigued with.

But next episode after the next slowly lowered my expectations making me feel utterly disappointed. But I do not regret skimming through as I usually do mainly because it is reasonable for me to in this case.

First of all, the fact that it is more than 40 episodes can be a form of a drag. Because I don’t really like watching drama that are way too long and the story takes way too long to unravel. Which this drama kinda does but not too much, I ll give it that.

Tell you what, it doesn’t have stereotypical factors that it usually does in these dramas. Like having the men to be the hero of an marriage that was not approved in the beginning but due to the heroine the blessing was given wholeheartedly and deserving. I ll give it to the female lead, bai lu. I do like the actress mainly the reason why I watched this show.

She of course was talented her acting was great. And the character is super admirable other than being such a sought after bachelorette. To put it in one word, she’s awesome. She helps people and is able to discover the truth based on almost nothing. Making sure that justice would always be upheld being that she went thought tradgedy herself.

So I wanted good things for her like any viewer would. She fell in love, so be it. And it’s not with some cold conventional dude but with someone warm going and energetic so I was hoping to see some saucy romance but at the same time loving and meaningful.

But I got nothing. There was no kiss even when they got married at least they didn’t include it for some reason. The hugs and embrace was not tight and convincing enough for me. And when there finally is a kiss it didn’t make me swoon.

And the moment once they want to get a little action. All the dude says he wants a son. Then that scene ends.
Know this, I m not here for only action. But these are one of the factors that naturally pulls a viewer, well me.

The casting of this drama was a little weird. Like the male lead, it’s mean to say but he’s looks are decent I guess it’s just that he’s acting isn’t convincing enough that he is a lead. He didn’t grab the attention in the room.

The story was alright and it has a lot of potential too bad it take little details like this that can put that all down the drain.

However I still am staying to watch the last episode mainly to see whether they end up together but will I skim through? Definitely.

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THE OVERALL MESSAGE OF THE STORY… MUST WATCH TILL THE VERY END!

So, I’m not a professional to critique a show formally as some other viewers here. I just merely write a review based on my own personal preference of what I watch. I know nothing of original novels or history references, I just enjoy watching Asian Dramas, particularly the costume pieces. As much as I like this show, I was still shy of giving it a 10 to make my faves list. It can definitely be challenging to watch SO MANY EPISODES, only because sometimes it feels like it can drag at certain points in the story, and I did feel it in this one. The cast, the acting, the music and the overall story were good, but for me there were spots where I thought out loud “where did this come from” or “wait, is that it” and then I’m a little confused. Bai Lu plays a woman who’s all around awesome, experienced, a smart and clever problem solver which was impressive. The devotion to her husband and the greater good of her new family. There were times when I wasn’t sure she could solve something and it would make me a little nervous. The multiple levels of sad, plots, twists and turns were great, and of course, a lot of humor in it that helped keep me entertained. I did it, I watched it to the very end, and I admit I was pretty much relieved I finally finished it. Definitely on my list of “Likes” but not so much my list of “Loves” but that’s just my point of view… Happy Watching!

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Just Delightful

It seem to me that this story is like a story book. Is the starting od 2 people how they meet, get together and how they are added to be part of the family. About every 2 episode there would be a new character and a new story with problem that needed to be fix. The FL seem to have the logic and answer to figure out how to solve the problem. I love a strong Female character especially the lead. In this story there are many intelligent strong female and I love it even more. I enjoy each story as it when on and it did not linger forever. It was dealt with and then move on. The ending was surprising and with a twist. The actors performance was just great. The story line was nicely written even when the drama is so long and sometime in the middle you wonder if the writers were loosing their direction. I would have like a better happy ending but that is just me. I like to see the entire family happy. I love it.

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Writers had me fooled!

This Drama had me going all the way until the last episode. I didn't cry until the end of it. OMG, the writers had me fooled on this one. I will NOT give you those details because you have to watch for yourself. I mean the great detective work was based on one character. Bai Liu is one of the best strongest female Chinese actresses that I have viewed. I am so impressed by the portrayal of the character she performs. I bow down to her! She led this story! This will be a rewatch for me. A family setting where all is loved and protected. This is the way families should be. NOT perfect but stable. All the actors and actresses gave their all! Kudos to Wang Yi Zhi for his role in this story. The ending WOW I was fooled. If you watch the last episode you are selfishly ruining all the other episodes and you will not enjoy this drama. Don't do it! Thank you for this story and thank you for my tears. Enjoy this Chinese drama!

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