Not too bad a series but some sub-plots are quite ridiculous
2 out of 5 reviewers on Douban gave “Weaving a Tale of Love” (WToL) rating 1 out of 5. That is harsh because essentially nearly half of the reviewers felt that this show is absolute trash. However, during its TV run, this series is ranked 3rd among the TV viewers behind only Douluo Continent and Fighting Youth. Granted, Hunan TV always attract higher viewership but that shows this historical costume drama has its share of fanbase, and those who enjoy this drama despite all the negative reviews and disjointed logic and common-sense in its plots and storyline.How did I get into this c-drama. I was searching for a 2nd c-drama to fill-up the gap left by Douluo Continent, and checked out all the newly premiered costume c-dramas. Dropped Blessed Girl, the Rebel Princess, The Wolf, and A Girl Like Me after a few episodes. This series intrigued me, and kept me watching the next episodes. It is entertaining even though at times, some plots could be downright idiotic. More later on this.
Now, to the positives. Beautiful costumes, props, settings, and color-palette. Watching this c-drama, you can’t but admire the color palette that stimulates you visual enjoyment. It is bright, vibrant, and very discerning and easy on the eyes. The color-palette and visual stimulation was much better than that in Douluo Continent. Incidentally, I was re-watching Nirvana in Fire at the same time and could not help but notice the huge gap between 2015 production and WToL. While Nirvana in Fire is better than WToL in almost all aspects, it pales in comparison in color hue and palette post production aspect. The costume is simple yet beautiful especially on the Female Lead. Then again anything would look good on Gulinazha whether she is dressed as a female or crossed-dressed as a very effeminate young physician. The series setting is also beautiful, even though it was filmed primarily at Hengdian World Studio. At least the Director/Producer did not use the shot of the Qin Shi Huang palace as the backdrop for this drama as this is set during the Tang Dynasty. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see lesser known buildings at Hengdian WS because they are just as beautiful as the main attractions of Imperial Palace, Forbidden City, Palace of Ming & Qing Dynasties, the capitol of Song Dynasty – Bianliang, etc.
The only CGI in this drama was the opening overhead shot showing the capital, but it looks kind of fake especially those city folks roaming the streets. This shot was replayed time and time again throughout the 40-episode series. On the action front, there are not much fighting scenes in this series because the storyline is geared more towards revenge and palace politics rather than wuxia and adventures in the jianghu.
I especially enjoyed the closing track by Zhou Shen – Moon Legend. This is a guy with a girl’s voice. There are just a few c-dramas which I really enjoyed the sound tracks like Chi Sheng Wei Ni in the Heavenly Sword & Dragon Slaying Sabre, Yisheng Deng Ni in Bloody Romance or Mo Wang in Ever Night 2. But the rendering of Moon Legend By Zhou Shen is hauntingly beautiful. When you like the song, ultimately you will love the series as well.
Now to the negatives. While the story line is generally your typical palace politics coupled with revenge and past injustice subplots, some of the story details are just plaindumb. This is probably why many viewers gave it a bad review. Some of the “idiot sub-plots” are :-
- Nobody knew that the FL was a girl even though while cross-dressing, she looked more beautiful than 99% of women on this planet;
- Despite the need to remain low-profile, the FL time and again showed her embroidering skill to the public which linked her to her disgraced mother;
- Despite jumping off the cliff into bottomless void to survive an assassination attempt, the two fellas entered the palace hours later without as much as a scratch;
- Having a Mei Chang Su like character in Concubine Wu assisting the Crown Prince at every opportunity against 14th Prince scheming and dealing;
- FL surviving an attempted fatal poisoning in jail because the guard was too hungry, and could not take his hands off free food;
- ML saved FL from death by hanging by shooting on the rope. FL would have been dead if the ML was a second late and the assassin conveniently left his badge for ease of identification;
- The Emperor easily believing in a quack who predicted Concubine Wu would be a female emperor of the Tang Dynasty after 3 generations;
- Crown Prince bringing a hired help in the form of a single person knowing that the 14th Prince would try to assassinate him;
And the list goes on and on and on…..
I had seen Guli Nazha in previous c-drama, so her acting has never been an issue – she is a terrific and talented actress. However, for some reasons, her acting here is a bit out of place especially when she is portraying an innocent and naïve FL.
Nevertheless, despite many shortcoming of this series, I managed to complete all 40 episodes. 7.0/10.0 score from me.
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Part Fictional Part Historical Story
Despite the really vile and annoying antagonists, this drama has done quite an incredible job by incorporating a romance fiction into the actual historical characters and events during the period of Emperor Taizong (626 – 649) and later Emperor Gaozong (649 - 683) of Tang Dynasty. This is the love story of Kudi Liu Li (Gulnazar aka Guli Nazha/Gülnezer Bextiyar) and Pei Xingjian (Xu Wei Zhou aka Timmy Xu) who was an actual historical figure.The story is adapted from the well-loved novel “The Bright Moon of Great Tang”. According to readers, like many other adaptations, the original characters and plots have been relentlessly butchered, rendering the final production with incoherent logic and badly modified characters that could cause viewers to spew blood. They claim the screen writers have made the Liu Li character stupid, impulsive and annoying. The screen writers have also given unlimited power to the seemingly unimportant head of the palace seamstress shop, making the Zhuo Jin Niang (Li Xin Yi) character vile and despicable, which to many, is bizarre and a total hogwash. They have also made the Cao Wang (Prince of Cao) character extremely dislikable, turning him into a nincompoop who does not receive equal retribution for his heinous acts, like trying to murder the Crown Prince, umpteen times. Many viewers also criticize the acting of the main leads for being mediocre and unbelievable.
The Characters and Acting
Kudi Liu Li (Gulnazar) is the daughter of the world number one best embroiderer and seamstress who is framed and executed in the palace. Little Liu Li escapes execution and has been disguised as a boy living in the palace. Inherited her talents from her mother, Liu Li becomes a gifted embroiderer/seamstress for the Emperor. I really love the beautiful little girl who portrays the juvenile Liu Li. Her acting is wonderful and believable. Many viewers dislike the grown-up Liu Li character and complain about Gulnazar’s acting. I can see why viewers are frustrated because Liu Li has the tendency in running into trouble because she is too impulsive and naïve. However, in times of trouble Liu Li can analyze her situations quickly and come out with good solutions, hence saving herself and those she cares. According to actual historical record, Pei Xingjian’s second wife was of Turkic ethnicity. Gulnazar’s Uyghur background appropriately fits her role as Liu Li. For me, Gulnazar’s acting is not totally a flop; I quite like her as Liu Li, even as the disguised Xiao Douzi, she is rather cute and believable.
Pei Xingjian (Timmy Xu) is a super intelligent person, well verse academically as well as an incredible fighter. He later becomes a good friend and the bodyguard of the Crown Prince Li Zhi, saving him from all kinds of danger and near-death situations. Timmy Xu is very good looking with a wonderful physique. However, I wish he were more relax in his acting with more natural movements and facial expressions. As Pei Xingjian, he does make the character very lovable and enjoyable.
My verdict
Apart from Pei Xingjian, this drama makes references to many real historical figures including Wu Zetian (the famous/infamous female Emperor), Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang), Li Zhi (Emperor Gaozong of Tang), among others. As expected, many of the events in the drama are fictional, including the exaggerated wickedness of the antagonists and their blatantly heinous schemes and crimes. Many viewers feel such acts are overdone and illogical. Some viewers even claim, rightly or not, the plotline and characters are copied from the Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace" (2003). Whatever it may be, don’t let the low ratings mislead you. From the perspective as an entertainment, the story is indeed entertaining with clear line between love and hate, black and white, right and wrong; there's simply nothing in between.
For me, I find the fiction ties in very well with the actual history, romanticizing historical figures and events, giving the viewers a part fictional and part historical story. I love the beautiful Tang era dresses worn by the ladies, the street scenes, the palaces and the overall settings – all carefully done and shot. The embroidery, especially the double-sided embroidery, one of China's pride, talents and legacies, is exquisite and breathtaking.
Until the final few episodes, the writers still continue to add on more outrageous antagonists and twists at whims. I believe they really enjoy watching viewers being disgusted.
Enjoy the ride!
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This review may contain spoilers
Terrible don’t start you will be disappointed
THIS drama had great potential however the delivery fell flat for me. The actors were okay . From thE leads to supporting actors I did not feel they had any chemistry. I have to give it to the evil disciple she nailed her role. I truly felt she was evil and cruel. If you are looking for drama with all the feels and PALACE intrigue this is not it. The 1st kiss is ep36. I never felt like the ML and FL lead were lovers. I was confused that the prince suddenly had feelings for the FL after he found OUT she was female?? I HAVE SEEN OTHER CROSS DRESSING SHOWS and generally you can see a triangle coming from a mile away but this was just sudden.The time hop in the least few episodes was just lazy. It took away from really exploring the dynamics between crown prince and FL after he had denied her the love of her life. Then all of sudden the FL lead is released from the palace and it was as if i was in completely different show with a new story line.I would recommend that you don’t watch. I ended up skipping the last few episodes. I finished only in th hopes that it would getter better but it DIDN’T!!!!I don’t know how this managed to get a 7.9 on here.
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You will have to try to stick with it
It was not easy to stick with this story to its conclusion. To make matters worse, the subtitles in the last three episodes were utter garbage. Word salad that made NO sense whatsoever; you couldn't even get the gist of what people were saying. Good thing the main storyline had pretty much wrapped up, and you could glean from the actors what was happening. Unfortunately, the FL was the most irritating - her character was pretty dumb and clueless. The ML wasn't too far behind. The Crown Prince and Concubine WU had the most chemistry - loved them! The villains were pretty evil but I wish they had gotten more comeuppance. All in all, the story could have been better told, and although I watched all the episodes (even those last awfully subtitled three), it took a lot of commitment on my part. I definitely wouldn't rewatch it.On an entirely different note, watching these dramas makes me want to run out and learn embroidery!
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So worth the watch, ignore the low ratings on MDL.
I really don't understand why good historical Chinese dramas get low ratings. While, horrible Chinese romcoms get unusual high ratings.***Review for episodes 1-5
I usually start writing my review for a drama around episode 5, and then add to the review until I finish the series. This allows me to be more thorough with my review, and it gives you the opportunity to know whether or not you want invest more than 5 episodes into the drama. As I mentioned before, I really don't understand why good historical Chinese dramas get low ratings. While, horrible Chinese romcoms get unusual high ratings. The first 5 episodes (what I've watched thus far) is worthy of a 9.0. This historical drama uses a lot of tropes, but when done well (written well, acted out well), I don't mind. The first 3 episodes is focused on the female lead character when she is a child. The pace of the character development for the female lead character is well done. The actress who plays the female lead character when she is a child is so freaking cute. She looks like she could be Dilraba Dilmurat's daughter. I hadn't checked the cast page yet, but is the actress who plays the female lead character as an adult, the same actress who played the female lead in Good Bye My Princess?
Btw, I think producers and directors read our reviews on MyDramaList, because I've recommended that Chinese historical/period dramas have 30-40 episodes instead of the usual 60 episodes, unless absolutely necessary. This drama only has 40 episodes, and that's a plus in my book. =)
So far, so good...
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***Review for episodes 6-15
Still good! Great pacing!
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***Review for episodes 16-30
Still good! Great pacing!
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***Review for episodes 31-40
Still good but I was hoping for more romance between episodes 28-32. I know that Chinese dramas like to keep it conservative when it comes to on the screen romance, but I think there's a way to have romance and chemistry between the main leads, and still be conservative.
Episodes 32 & 33 is when I actually start to have a dislike. I get that the female lead character is upset with the male lead character but it's to the point where it's not making sense. He saved her life so many times and when he made one bad call (trying to save her life), she no longer want to talk to him anymore? This part of the storyline should have been written better.
Towards the end of episode 35 you'll start to understand the reason why this drama has low ratings on MyDramaList. Personally, I don't think all dramas have to end with the female and male lead getting together, in order for the drama to be good. If you read my other reviews, you'll notice that I enjoy realism over a "perfect" ending. However, if the female lead and male lead in this drama do not end up together about time I reach the last episode, but instead the female lead and the second male lead (the crowned prince) end up together, I want my time back. I will def. lower my rating from 9.0 to an 8.0 or 8.5. The reason why is because there was little to no romance between them two, and for at least 80% of this drama the romance has been between the female and male lead character. If the writers wanted the female lead and the second male lead to be together, they should have allowed the second male lead to find out that she was a female around episode 28, instead of waiting 5 episodes before the end.
I am currently watching episode 38, and the drama could have ended at episode 38, and it would have been fantastic. I don't know why I have a bad feeling about the remaining 2 episodes. BTW, I wasn't feeling that kiss towards the end of episode 38, it seem like the male character (I am not going to tell you which one), was distracted by something on the set when filming. It wasn't passionate/romantic lol.
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ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE HISTORICAL DRAMA❤️
First, for me this drama became one of my favorite historical drama and second to my list of best chinese historical dramas i have watched this 2021. Im thankful i decided to watch this. It took me 2 days to finish this drama and i can't sleep and i dont think i can move on easily if i will not write a review and recommendation.This drama is well written and well played. I didn't think of dropping this because every episode is worth to watch. I love the character of the FL although sometimes her carelessness and being naive are something to worried about. I love her determination, her cuteness and her wittiness that it's not surprising that even the crown prince fell for her deeply.
For the ML of course i love his character so much. He's everything a girl can ask for. He's not just good in writing but also in martial arts. I can't stop being a fan girl for Left guard Pei. However, when it comes to someone he loves, i blamed and fels sad a bit because of his protectiveness, it just resulted to a greater damage. Thanks God ,everything still fell into their right place in the end.
I love the concept of this drama. I enjoy watching and learning something about embroidery. I love how this drama shows the Chinese culture and traditions,this is why i love watching historical dramas than modern dramas. Finally, i love the ending so much. It is so well written. Everything in the ending of this drama was not rushed and this is what i love most. Many dramas no matter how good can still bring disappointment in the end when is is being rushed or became draggy in the middle that you will just decided to drop it. "Weaving the Tale of Love" was not, It is not draggy and not rushed,and that made this dra perfect and great for me.
I am already familiar with the FL before but this is the first time i watched her as the main lead. She played the role perfectly,it suits her very much.
For the ML(Timmy Xu). This drama made me fall for him and made him one of my fave actor this year.
I highly recommend this drama and im hoping to see them in another historical drama again.
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Second season? Please don't..
Fast forward and I became great friends during this show.The story is dragging, the chemistry of the ML and FL is awful.. I'm sorry to say, but the FL was totally not my cup of tea with her dumbo ears and annoying expressions. What is more, her role was to act dumb and childish 2/3 of the 40 episodes and the ML who's supposed to be much older and experienced, fells for her. Really??
It's fiction, I understand, but still..
The only positive thing I can say is that the era is pretty well represented with the detailed presentation of customs, clothing etc.
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Poor plot
The plot is too predictable and kept going in circle. Characters in the plot such as Zhuo Jin Niang doesn't tally. She is an embroidery manager but she seems to be all powerful. This is just plain ridiculous to try to get the story going without much thinking on the part of the writer. It is so typical of Chinese drama for woman to disguise as man... lol.... She must be damn ugly to pass as a man.... Overall, it is childish at best... Thumbs down...On the bright side Guleznar is pretty and cute...
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Good watch, entertaining!!!
This was my first drama watching Timmy in the historical era. I'm a fan of Timmy, so I watched it mainly for him^^. As the drama developed, I started to like the Crown Prince and he pulled me into the drama. Crown Prince acting was great, and he really came off as a real crown prince :). He drew me into the drama and I like his story with Talented Wu. The acting was amazing and every actor did their part so well.Acting: All the main actors and side actors acting were great. I find that the emotional scenes were well articulated and delivered. I cried when the FL cries because she expressed her emotions like so real, and you cannot cry but sympathize with her. The Crown Prince was one of my most favorite character; the actor's acting was beautiful and really sold himself as the crown prince; his every actions, gestures, and mannerism is shining through like he is the real crown prince himself---I cannot help, but admire the actor's acting as the crown prince. Talented Wu was great, and the actor did a great job portraying her role as the wise and compassionate Talented Wu :).
The main leads, FL and ML delivered their role well, and I fell in love with their chemistry and characters; how they act together in a scene; and that came out funny and beautiful. I also like the adopted father's acting and the friend's acting too. It's nice to watch that FL have a team of family support with her :).
Plot: The plot was good and predictable. I find the Evil Attire to be silly and not scary. She is just greedy and selfish; so she wasn't a strong antagonist; but still, she added some dramas into the plot----and it was nice to see her downfall.
Overall, I didn't get bored watching this drama and I would watch it again for the comedy, and the Crown Prince :).
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Good Happy Ending
Most shows takes about half an episode to end the drama. But this one, takes around 3 episode to tie over some of the mysteries surrounding it making it perfect.Yes, it slow in the beginning but little Liuli done a good job acting (wonder if she acts any other drama or movie). Over time, it thickens and it gets faster.
Overall, re-watch value is there and I don't mind purchasing the movies if they have it on iTunes or Amazon.
The theme music (OST) music Legend of the Moon by Zhou Shen and You can end it without me - L.Y. is well worth having.
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Two Men Fight For Custody of Their Dog
Internal dialogue before watching:****************************************
Voice #1: Don't watch this, you know it'll just drive you crazy.
Voice #2: Look! Timmy Xu is in it! He's such a good actor!
Voice #1: But Gulnazar is going to be insufferable.
Voice #2: Zhao Shun Ran is in it too! Waaaatch it! Waaaatch it!
Internal dialogue whilst watching:
*******************************************
Voice # 1: Did she just..... did she just sniff the air like a dog? She just did it again! OMG, she is method-acting her entire role as a canine! The weird facial expressions, the hyper body language.... she's playing the FL as a literal dog!
Voice #1: Did Timmy Xu just.... spin in circles whilst bathing himself in baijiu for absolutely no reason? Yes, yes he did.
Voice #1: Each of my cats have a higher IQ than this FL.
Voice #2: Zhao Shun Ran is such a great actor. Behind his craft is a maturity of character and a sincerity that not a lot of actors have. He has a goodness to him that you can't teach an actor, and very few actors possess it.
Voice #1: These MLs are basically fighting over custody of their pet dog.
Voice #2: I've got nothing to add. Makes Huang Xiaoming seem like a genius actor. She's a piece of wood, but a good-looking yet goofy piece of wood.
The End.
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