What a show
This drama was a slow burn but the payoff of the last few arcs felt so incredibly worth it. The premise of a ‘reincarnation’ or a second-time loop is well-executed in this show and really pulled on enjoyable threads of a second chance. TLDR: an enjoyable story with great characters that paint a really interesting picture of court politics and family tensions, ambitions and romance.
SPOILERS below
I was really hesitant about this show at first because Li Rong being in love with Su Rongqing was such a hurdle for me to move past considering the fact that the story seems to be about her love story with Pei Wenxuan. Also Li Rong was such an emotionally constrained character for a lot of the early episodes that it remained really hard to get a read on her. Her character’s growth was deeply enjoyable to watch, especially considering that she comes back with the memories of her 40-year-old self. Li Rong’s initiative and strong personality shone throughout, so her antics of trying to manoeuvre the court politics and not end up in the same patterns as the past were also interesting to watch unfold. To sum up, she’s a fantastic, strong female lead.
The side characters such as Shangguan Ya, Su Ronghua, Li Chuan and Qin Zhen Zhen were really compelling and well-written. I was deeply invested in Shangguan Ya’s character and the relationship between her, Zhen Zhen and Rong. Su Ronghua was such a fantastic character. He was so loyal to his family, but still so in love with Shangguan Ya. I love a yearner - I actually deeply enjoy that we got to see their story play out tragically in the past. Their story is one of the great payoffs from the later arcs of the show.
Su Rongqing was one of those characters that DEEPLY frustrated me every time he was on screen. Honestly, at first it was the bias because I didn’t know who to root for, and he was part of the love triangle and I despise a love triangle. However, as the show unfolded, it became obvious that despite spending years with her, Rongqing did not understand Li Rong. His plan was honestly wild to me, but considering the past he lived through, it’s understandable that he wanted to do whatever it took to avoid that outcome. He really consistently created tension and seemed to be a fairly formidable opponent for Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan, so in that sense, despite the frustration - he was a good villain. His ending in the show deeply satisfied me.
The court politics was a little hard to handle for me at first because I’m not one who loves politics, but by episode 10 I really wanted to know how it all played out. The emperor, the in-fighting, the clans and familial ties that were testing each character’s loyalty at various points were all pretty compelling. There were pieces that didn’t fully make sense to me like the emperor’s motivations, or the later arc with Li Cheng but it’s still a drama so there’s got to be some leeway.
Lastly, my favorite character of the show: Pei Wenxuan- what a man, what a yearner. He’s definitely written by a woman haha. His consistency and love for Li Rong were so heart-warming. There was so much about his story with Li Rong that was so satisfying to watch: him learning to overcome his pride, trying to avoid past mistakes, learning how to work through difficulties and communicate, and working as a team with Li Rong. Their past was really tragic too so it was the best part of the show to see him do so much better this time around. He was also still fallible, so it was beautiful seeing him try to actually work through mistakes because he knew the cost and weight of them. There were so many enjoyable moments like him knowing her favorite flower was buttercups so he planted a field of them. It was also beautiful how some of her ambitions came from being inspired from his dreams and things he did in their past life- so seeing them work together as a team in this life was just so fulfilling. He was a great character and I love how he loves Li Rong.
Lastly, a big round of applause for the score, because it had some pieces that I really enjoyed. All in all, there were of course still some melodramatic moments and antics that are typical of a C-drama, but I really enjoyed how it unfolded.
SPOILERS below
I was really hesitant about this show at first because Li Rong being in love with Su Rongqing was such a hurdle for me to move past considering the fact that the story seems to be about her love story with Pei Wenxuan. Also Li Rong was such an emotionally constrained character for a lot of the early episodes that it remained really hard to get a read on her. Her character’s growth was deeply enjoyable to watch, especially considering that she comes back with the memories of her 40-year-old self. Li Rong’s initiative and strong personality shone throughout, so her antics of trying to manoeuvre the court politics and not end up in the same patterns as the past were also interesting to watch unfold. To sum up, she’s a fantastic, strong female lead.
The side characters such as Shangguan Ya, Su Ronghua, Li Chuan and Qin Zhen Zhen were really compelling and well-written. I was deeply invested in Shangguan Ya’s character and the relationship between her, Zhen Zhen and Rong. Su Ronghua was such a fantastic character. He was so loyal to his family, but still so in love with Shangguan Ya. I love a yearner - I actually deeply enjoy that we got to see their story play out tragically in the past. Their story is one of the great payoffs from the later arcs of the show.
Su Rongqing was one of those characters that DEEPLY frustrated me every time he was on screen. Honestly, at first it was the bias because I didn’t know who to root for, and he was part of the love triangle and I despise a love triangle. However, as the show unfolded, it became obvious that despite spending years with her, Rongqing did not understand Li Rong. His plan was honestly wild to me, but considering the past he lived through, it’s understandable that he wanted to do whatever it took to avoid that outcome. He really consistently created tension and seemed to be a fairly formidable opponent for Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan, so in that sense, despite the frustration - he was a good villain. His ending in the show deeply satisfied me.
The court politics was a little hard to handle for me at first because I’m not one who loves politics, but by episode 10 I really wanted to know how it all played out. The emperor, the in-fighting, the clans and familial ties that were testing each character’s loyalty at various points were all pretty compelling. There were pieces that didn’t fully make sense to me like the emperor’s motivations, or the later arc with Li Cheng but it’s still a drama so there’s got to be some leeway.
Lastly, my favorite character of the show: Pei Wenxuan- what a man, what a yearner. He’s definitely written by a woman haha. His consistency and love for Li Rong were so heart-warming. There was so much about his story with Li Rong that was so satisfying to watch: him learning to overcome his pride, trying to avoid past mistakes, learning how to work through difficulties and communicate, and working as a team with Li Rong. Their past was really tragic too so it was the best part of the show to see him do so much better this time around. He was also still fallible, so it was beautiful seeing him try to actually work through mistakes because he knew the cost and weight of them. There were so many enjoyable moments like him knowing her favorite flower was buttercups so he planted a field of them. It was also beautiful how some of her ambitions came from being inspired from his dreams and things he did in their past life- so seeing them work together as a team in this life was just so fulfilling. He was a great character and I love how he loves Li Rong.
Lastly, a big round of applause for the score, because it had some pieces that I really enjoyed. All in all, there were of course still some melodramatic moments and antics that are typical of a C-drama, but I really enjoyed how it unfolded.
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