New Life Begins (2022)

"When there is love, even flowers have the courage to bloom among thorns".

"Experience the power of love and growth in this inspiring tale of family and self-discovery. Unravel the complex tapestry of relationships, love, and personal growth in this gripping story of family and redemption, where every character leaves a lasting impact.

This story is about family and the challenges the characters face towards achieving their goals, It's about friendship, sisterhood, brotherhood, and how not just blood defines a family. The bond they all shared was so beautiful and inspiring, that I hope everyone has someone in their lives the same way they had each other.

"When there is love, even flowers have the courage to bloom among thorns". This is a lyric from the ost of this show and I think it encompasses the entire show very well.

In this review I only wrote the reasons why I love this show, maybe in the future after rewatching, I'll be able to find things I don't like about it.

We saw so many different kinds of love in this show, such as parental love, friendship/platonic love, self-love, sibling love, and non-platonic love. They showed how they can appear differently for different people and how important it is to Love yourself.

It has the most funny characters I've seen in a show in a while. The show gives you such an important message while still being funny.

This is one of the most inspiring and well-written shows I have ever watched. The characters are complex so that even the really bad ones you can't truly hate them cause it kind of makes sense why they do the things they did. The former crown prince though really took all the understanding of my entire life not to hate him too much, I still hate him though.

The main leads chemistry was chemistrying, and the character growth and development were so inspiring and so beautifully done that they make you believe anything is possible. The development of their relationship was so natural and when Yuan Ying came and helped them grow into their better selves, it was stunning to watch, I think everyone deserves a sister like her.

The side characters were so well portrayed that their stories are shown even if they have little screen time. This is truly one of my favorite shows of all time.

Read More

A sweet journey of FL from Concubine to Wife

I am quite impressed with the story as there were a couple of things I didn't expect which happened and vice versa.

The story is not about revenge and does not have story of minglan kinda angst. We have the ML and FL bonding after marriage slowly, the ML was respectful and didn't consumate the marriage at any point in time (after 2+yr). He had to marry the princess of JIN state by imperial pressure. I was really happy to see a character like the princess who was selfless she genuinely cared about the FL and helped her become mature and educated her in running household and business.

The supporting characters like hao jie (FL bf) was really good. I was expecting the betrayal arc to be present but surprisingly it was better instead of backstabbing and jealousy they discussed the issues with each other and provided the necessary support.

As every drama requires a villain in this one it was the Crown prince, who was truly despicable and his tail the fourth prince who did some bad shit but mended and came around in the end. So we can say the bad were punished unlike in other dramas they are just forgiven as if nothing happened.

What more can I say? I feel I have said enough to convince you all to give this one a shot.

Read More

sisterhood

Guys, this series is full of sugar and honey
That means we are at risk of diabetes
Don't miss it, it's a very funny comedy
Surprisingly, the characterization of the characters has been done very well
And every episode that passes, we see the progress of the characters
The main roles that do not need to be defined
Even though they are not real, they seem to be real and come out of the heart of the life of old times, but with the seasoning of advice and morals
A good thing about this series is that you don't get stressed
That is, after three or four beautiful episodes, you will realize that the relationship between the couples of the series is healthy and we don't have any misunderstandings
They don't keep silent and speak their hearts out and solve their problems together!! In the true sense of Hillinge. ?
The series has a consistent storyline and each story is clarified
But the best and most beautiful feature of the series is the sisterly relationship between the wives of the princes, we don't have naughty girls at all
They all have their own story, it is very enjoyable to see their sisterhood. ?

Read More

One of the best period dramas

I don't watch C dramas that often but I decided to try this drama after watching a clip on YouTube and I'm so glad I took a chance because it brought so much comfort to me over the last few days.

It was super easy to get into because it starts right off the day the main female lead reaches the palace and ends up meeting the male lead, in a hilarious way. There's one thing you don't need to worry about at all in this drama and that is the ROMANCE, because it was 10/10. It's more of a slow burn, esp. from the female lead side but it's so worth it to watch them grow more closer in their relationship as the show goes on. It felt like a real genuine relationship and sometimes you even feel like you're intruding on them because they just can't stop being cute.

The show really starts to pick up halfway through the drama, but that doesn't mean the first 20 episodes aren't enjoyable. They are comparatively more lighter than the second half and stays focused on world and character building. I was expecting the second half to take the same light route but was pleasantly surprised when the drama even went heavier at times. The episode which explored the post partum depression of Hao Jia was easily the best episode of the show. It was super well done.

The characters are so well written, you even find yourself sympathising with the villains. The female characters esp. are written with so much care and love. Just the fact that there was no jealousy and negativity among them and all they wanted to do was just hangout with each other and gossip like normal girls do. I do wish there was more royal political drama in the show and less on plots like the Nine state delicacies Restaurant plot. But despite that, it's a really solid drama that you can easily binge.

Read More

An Easy Drama to Watch with girl-power vibes

New Life Begins wasn’t what I expected it to be. It was a very easy drama to watch. Very light on angst and heavy on girl-power vibes.

The things I liked:

Light on angst – there wasn’t any misunderstandings between the main leads nor was there any secrets or hidden agendas. I really liked the friendship vibe they had. From the very moment the leads met, they had a very nice relationship (very innocent and very C drama style).

All the side stories – the cast is very big, I think there are 4-5 side couples? Each one is different and each one has has their advantages and disadvantages.

I prefer the more comical couples that were there to help me laugh out loud and add some comical relief for the moments the drama can be a little intense.

I didn’t care for the abusive couple, but they were there for balance and I appreciated the storyline even though I did start the fast forward their scenes towards the end, it just got a little repetitive.

Girl power storylines – There are several storylines about sisterhood and women lifting each other up. I can see why the drama got high ratings. How nice is to be friends with the person who married your husband. I mean, that storyline was the most refreshing. I liked how the women came together during their struggles instead of tearing each other apart.

The things I didn’t like:

I really didn’t like the costumes. - I found the outfits very dated and a little too colorful in my opinion. After watching Love like Galaxy, I really like the muted colors. To me, it just looks better on camera.

As much as I loved the casting, especially Bai Jing Ting from Reset and You are my Hero. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two leads. - They were both very pretty to look at and I liked the way they delivered their lines, but I never felt like they were over-the-moon in love each other. To me, their emotions felt all very surface level and at best they acted really well as best friends.

40 episodes is really long – As much as I appreciate the low angst, at times the drama became a little slow and boring. I just felt like there wasn’t enough story arcs and they really dragged out some of the arcs. I think the drama could have been cut down to 30 episodes.

Overall, it’s a very mellow, happy romantic historical piece drama. It’s worth watching just because of the female empowerment.

Read More

Enough of everything, enjoyed it❤️

A good historical romance series ❤️

Everything was great, only reason for 8.5 rating is that the cheesy moments were so much that it was cringe at times. I understand that the main take away, which I feel the writer wanted to bring across, is of a New beginning, i.e. changes that are made for a better life.

All actors did a great job of portraying their respective characters and enjoyed the different personalities of the princes (the good ones). The angst and court policies were needed especially with the cheesy parts, but would have been better if there were a titbit more.

Enjoyed the OST.

Won't necessarily rewatch but perhaps my absolute favorite moments of Prince Yin Qi and princess Shan Guang Jing, really enjoyed the interactions between them and it would have been absolutely boring if it was not included along with Prince An's stupidness.

Read More

Just leave ur prejudice before watch this

Watch this due to watch YT short clip. At first not planned to watch this drama this fast, but that short clip really intrigued me. And I'm not disappointed watching this. Haha...

Ok. Just like I said just leave ur prejudice before watch this. I mean leave what you know about harem or Palace drama. Because this drama nothing like that & really gonna overturned what you expect about harem or Palace drama.

What I like / different about this drama:
+ All the sisterhood. Nobody really anybody enemy in this harem. All the woman are in the end friend and helper of each other. Especially in 3rd prince house is really funny & unique, how all the woman become friend instead backstabbing each other just to get prince attention.
+ All the brotherhood between the prince. Well so glad finally to see the real brotherhood between the prince for once. Where the prince live like a real brother & have support one each other, then just see they purely just rivalry and scheming between the prince for get power.
+ The feminism. How the woman try to change century prejudice or rule about woman. Like woman supposed to be at home only looking after their house, but here Li Wei (LW) build business instead.
+ Talk about depression after childbirth. Very sensitive issue to touch here, but they pulled it.
+ The couple. I really like how every couple’s relationship is developed & not only focus to our main couple (LW & Yin Zheng [YZ]). Especially I really like how Shang Guan Jing & Yin Qi relationship develop.
+ The beautiful introduction about all the other district. They not only talk about what special about that district but also about martial status in some district. Like how ji chuan is monogamy, xin chuan like every kingdom (poligamy with many wives) and dan chuan dominated by woman.
+ The most weird thing is the king is not called by name king or Emperor but just lord. So unusual...

What feel like force / minus in the drama
- Yuan Ying really fit the role of legal wife of the prince that in the end really fit for the role of Empress/Queen. But because of our FL, LW, the real/true love of YZ, of course she must move aside. And her obsessions with becoming minister is really just doesn't make sense.
- The crazy part when LW about to become legal wife from just consort. All the action is just doesn't make sense. Like they already do the first night, yet YZ still try to get LW's dad approval & to do all the procedure to do marriage ceremony in the 'right' way. Yeah maybe some of you will think that what YZ did looked like oh so sweet, but for me it just like wasting duration. They should be able to wrap sooner.
- Too many episode. For me everything that comes after YZ appointed as the crown prince is a little bit just wasting duration. It's like they need some more story just to make the episode into 40 ep long.

Really funny actually, before I watched AvenueX on YouTube, I've never really think about this. But what she said that true for me:
- all too easy for our ML. Our ML, Yin Zheng (YZ), got it so easy. It's like everything settle for him without he really need to do much. Like when LW struggle with her restaurant, we see YZ not really do much for her, LW rely more on her sister (all the princes wife) & herself then hoping that YZ will do something for her.
- All the problem so easy to solved & all the bad person so easy to change their mind & attitude. Like Yin Jun / 4th Prince so easy to change his attitude after his father scold him.

Overall this really unique historical drama that worth your time to watch it...

Read More

Wholesome show indeed!

This is one of those cdramas that come silently, not star studded, not many anticipated it, and turn out to be surprisingly great, better than a lot other hyped shows. Initially i moved past this one after reading the synopsis because  it wasn't my cup of tea and i am no fan of family/life dramas because they tend to be melodramatic but this was far from it and the synopsis does the show justice but makes it sound so bland, not the best description imo. It was a breath of fresh air with the whole vibe of the show, so much positivity, merriment and good things happening everywhere. Watching it felt like looking at people living a good daily life in happiness and peace with love. It was such a peaceful and feel good show.

The pacing was great. It spans over about 4 yrs in 40 eps, there wasn't anything boring or anything rushed, editing was good, no plotholes or abrupt scene changes.

Coming to the acting, Tian Xiwei is such a cutie but her voice bugs me so much. Her acting as a cheerful optimistic girl was good, but nothing fabulous about it. Her character had developed quite a lot, and she was mostly likeable when she wasn't being rash. Bai Jingting, his acting was on point, perfect. His character was rather flat one, but enjoyed it. But in some scenes how much he looked like Cheng yi was creepy. I liked all the characters except 4th consort and 2nd former crown prince. Special mention i loved Yuan Ying, but i was so worried that they'd make her fall for the ml and ruin the whole relationship dynamic in the family but luckily they didn't do that and she had a strictly platonic relationship, as a mentor. The 4th prince was annoying but grew to be so adorable. And Su shen was so sweet. The solar term ladies and all other princess consorts were very good and their unity and friendship, sisterhood was a rare theme to see in a cdrama because usually all females are in love with the ml so they are collectively bitches to the fl. Here the ladies had a beautiful bond with each other and it was so good to see. Even some characters that i didn't really like at first sight had developed into likeable characters, like 2nd princess consort, Song wu, 3rd prince, Mls mother, etc. Importantly, they all have their own characters which are unique and different from the rest, and none of them is willing to morph their originality to please others.

The story highlights deeply on the themes of women empowerment and modernization of society in a traditional state and gender discrimination too. Other important themes were sisterhood among the ladies and brotherhood among the princes. It was well executed. There were mostly happy things going on, but nothing in life is only good, so there was a fair little share of bad things too, but not to the point of tragedy or melodrama. The story was heartwarming, how the leads managed to achieve their each individual dreams without sacrificing someone's life and all the other characters too got their own happiness and deserved endings. The writing of the story and the characters was smooth and very well done. The last 5 eps had a lot of romance that it lacked in the previous eps. The ending was very happy. The family life was well portrayed with warmth and no ultra evil characters who were doing black magic to ruin the leads. Not everyone was out to get the main couple and i liked this uniqueness, since everyone had their own thing to do and it did not have anything to do with harming the leads. A family/life drama written, executed and done so well is rare for sure.

Overall it was a pleasant watch and I'd recommend watching it for the positivity and warmth it spreads. The characters and storylines are good, the ending is sugary sweet and wonderful. It is happy and peaceful, perfect for a break from other heavy dramas.

Read More

A Wuxia with a feminist twist

Let me just say, I absolutely adore this series so much! Definitely on one of my top C-drama faves.

Though this series may not be for everyone. It actually does not follow the traditional way, and if you're looking for heavy romance or dramas without politics, this might not be for you. The first few episodes may seem to be on the romance route, but it'll take the backseat of the drama.

Just to put this in, this might be a TRIGGER WARNING but there are abusive relationships in this series and a suicide attempt.

STILL! I'm hoping that new watchers could still give this a try and watch this whole series.

Things I like about this drama:
- I really love the sisterhood between all the women in this drama. At first there might be several women that are rude and actually there is one that I really dislike, but they do change throughout the series. There are no evil scheming women in this drama, and this was just really refreshing to see. I absolutely love their friendship with one another.
- There are no love triangles! You may think that there might be for the main leads, but there is not.
- The series really does tackle issues about gender equality, political corruptions, family problems and etc.; and seriously love how they bring women empowerment into this series and how they really push for changes in such a chauvinistic world.
- Main leads have good chemistry, I wish they extended the drama a bit because I really wanted more romance since it did take the backseat of the drama for a while. But every scene where their characters flirted or bantered throughout the whole drama, I seriously love it.
- It is a very light and feel good drama, there may be some parts that may seem heavy; but they are not.
- Everyone's acting! Please everyone really did a great job bringing each their characters to life and show how different each of their characters are. Seriously kudos to them!
- Comedy, for me I really loved the comedy in this series and it was actually the reason why I got hooked to the drama. The comedic timing and conversations would have me bursting into tears of laughing so hard. If you find the comedy in the first two episodes really hilarious, you'll definitely like the comedy further in the drama.
- All the arc in this series. Everything was really put together, each arc connecting to one another. To be honest, I've seen some reviews saying that the series is draggy, but that's really not the case. There is a lot of characters, and their stories do unfold in this drama and why they are connected to the main plot. You get to see each and every individual character (important characters), how they differ from one another and how several of them strive for changes in their world and/or have a huge character development.
- I love the brotherhood between the 3rd, 5th and 6th princes; these three looking out for one another unlike the others.
- I've mentioned it earlier, but both main leads and the other important characters have a character development. It's really nice seeing their growth and how they do mature.
- Please the food in this drama, they absolutely looked delicious. I actually crave to eat Chinese food because of this series.
- Music, seriously love every music and background music they used throughout the series. Even the tune they use on the comedy scenes was just so perfect, that it would just make me laugh.
- The ending, it was just so satisfying!

Cons:
- To be honest, I did not like several of the character's decisions because they were a bit rash.
- Second couple, to be honest I did not like how one of them was abusive. Their abusive relationship was for comedy, but to be honest I find it a bit too much. There were several instances they push and pull; and it got a bit tiring.
- I'll be honest several regions in this series, sounds almost the same. At first I thought that several characters came from the same region, but later found out that they don't. So please do pay attention to the first part of the first episode as they do talk about the regions. If not, you can also check the discussion thread here on MDL that shows all the regions if you do get confused.

Overall:
I seriously loved this drama to bits! It is really refreshing to see a drama like this and definitely will be re-watching this again, as I really did enjoy this series! Maybe I might see any details that I've missed.

Read More

Fun show

This is not a historical drama. This is a drama set in a historical period while applying modern concepts of female empowerment, which will never work in ancient China. Take this drama for what it is - entertainment, not an accurate representation of history.

The acting and chemistry between the characters was great. The relationship between Yin Zheng and Li Wei was endearing, wholesome, and very cute. They were the whole package - mutual respect, understanding, devotion, and love. Yin Zheng was unspoiled and dutiful. Li Wei was optimistic and loving. Even the side characters were fun.

The only minus is that the drama did not really have a coherent plot. I guess the central idea was the relationship between ML and FL, except most of the story centered around female characters and sisterhood. At the beginning, ML and FL met and started liking each other. Then the story switched to female characters, making the romance kind of a side story. And, towards the end, the story switched back to the relationship between ML and FL. Some characters wholly disappeared after they reached a certain milestone. Song Wu was completely written off after she got marred, even though she was a constant semi-annoying presence at the beginning. The same was with the second prince after he was exiled. It seemed the writers were not too focused on the conflict. Nevertheless, the drama had a pretty good pacing, character development, and wholesome relationships. This is one of those rare stories were women do not undermine and betray each other for men and power, but instead, help and uplift each other.

If you are looking for a feel-good story without a deep plot, this is it.

Read More

Light drama with a lot of girl power and sisterly love

It was a light drama. I say light as there was some conflict as there had to be to make a story, but there wasn't a ton of unnecessary angst or misunderstandings. If there was angry it was resolved pretty quick. I really liked all the character's even prince An even tho his character was a putz. The actors all did well and had good chemistry. The music was fine ,I suppose not anything memorable and nothing that made me need to look up the music to add to playlist.
I did stop watching at episode 35 and not because i wasnt enjoying it but because i was naughty and watched the last episode to see if it had a good ending. I would definitely watch again all the way thru but right now i have to many half watched shows and was getting confused. I think it will be one of those thats an easy watch when I need a calm down after to many intnese dramas.
Overall sweet, some hilarity and lots of sister from anothet mister love.

Read More