This drama really is on the cutting edge for examining the social, emotional and physical relationships that exists between two adults. That relationship is expanded by the interaction with friends, co-workers and even parents. It also is realistic because in most long term relationships there are interventing circumstances that will change the "love story" of the adults involved. This drama has a good depiction of murphy's law. Everything possible started to go wrong because of one intervening party's opinion. I call in "enlightenment" combined with lust (initially).

The lust becomes respect and love and the enlightenment becomes the basis of collapse of this couple's plans.
The drama is extremely addictive with a maturer theme and filming - the story was well written and the actors were excellent throughout. Total investment in their outcomes. A good analysis of the uncertainties of what would or could be considered a certainty. A good analysis of obsession and its eventual outcomes. Without writing a spoiler - the ending was perfect - more of a reality (especially after understanding WeiWei's character).
I am really glad that I never watch the prologue "clips" and always fast forward to the story because it was apparently depicted in the finale. (don't like to know parts of the ending in advance).

The music was so good and set the tone for most scene changes or encounters. This drama is not for everyone and I would give parental guiding warnings if you have young viewers interested in checking it out.
Infidelity or cheating issues are not adulterous issues. All characters are single and dating.

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A contemporary love story with bonus fashion

I always wonder why some dramas have extremely low ratings. I have found out that it is best to watch most of the drama yourself and then rate independently of low reviews. This drama is another example of a diamond in the rough. From the beginning to end it started with strong characters and a substantial storyline that took the viewer beyond China to France and back. In addition, the story is a treatise on Chinese clothing styles and heritage. So many times I went to Google to research different terms used and regional cultures based on the introduction of different sewing styles and fabric choices that were indigenous to China. The fashion designs were over the top beautiful and the runway presentations made you feel like you were personally at Fashion Week.

The second unique quality of this drama was the romance. This drama bordered on "Restricted" viewer use for a Chinese format. This is the first drama I have watched that the man was truly a sexy back type of man - (both lustful and romantic) as compared to the endless "cold - unemotional men portrayed so often in romance dramas. This drama continues to mature and mature and evolve into an addiction daily since the episodes were translated 7 days per week until the conclusion. That was a major treat.

The third quality was the background music. It never overwhelmed me and was always appropriate and never distracting.

Costume design A++++++ The fashion designs were excellent but the person or group of people that designed the attire for the actors throughout were very talented and added a higher quality to the drama. Award winning choices.

Kudos to the actors - all of them. They all hit home runs in their roles and this drama is highly recommended.

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This drama was one of my top 10.   I have read many reviews and comments and I realize that we comment based on our life experiences and expectations.  When this drama began - no expectations.  For me a lot of good-looking actors and great slow motion sword and martial arts scenes.  As I watched I began to realize that this starts as an obsessive romance drama but the underlying story is really the history of the First Emperor of China.  The King's woman was only a fictional backdrop to telling a story about a tragic time in history but one of the most important times in Chinese History.   It became an opportunity to educate myself about that timeframe.  The writers and producers tried to keep historical incidents and facts accurate and the costumes were just breathtaking for recreating a period more than 2100 years ago,   To film 48 episodes pacing, backstories, jealousy, 2nd male lead syndrome all played a part but was not overdone.   Palace life among concubines and consorts was not exaggerated when you read Chinese history.   I watched without subs and with subs in great anticipation each week of the coming story.   I was saddened - most Chinese dramas are that way.   However, the sadness came more from reflection later after I traced the King's Woman's life story throughout the drama.    Beyonce sings this song "If I was a boy"  -- that is just how I felt at the end for Li'er.

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This was a story of nostalgia for older viewers, If you have finished high school and gone on to college and beyond you can reflect about all of the missed moments, friendships, hardships, missteps and challenges. Life's lessons as a young inexperienced person dealing withe the reality of a cruel older world of greed and thoughtlessness. The writer/director started out with this amazing story - almost like sweet ice cream - each episode had a moment or moments of life's reflections - almost wanted to re-watch with a diary to write down these life's lessons. However, in the end they fail to keep the sweetness of the drama - it melts onto the ground near the end and you feel sorry you bought the ice cream, Disappointment was all I felt in the last 6 episodes -- but the initial 40 have redeemable value for anyone to watch. I always wonder whether anyone watches these things before they show them to the public -- You have two main characters then what is the purpose of making them just shadows in the story line near the conclusion. Felt ripped off after so much time invested and the anxiousness of running each day to make sure I saw the two episodes released before I watched anything else.

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This is a binge-worthy drama and reveals a little known cultural aspect of current China. The intensity of which they pursue economic crimes against the nation and people within China. This drama was truly educational and enlightening. This special unit that will go to any country and find you and bring you back for prosecution - hard jail time, loss of rights as a citizen, and fines and restitution was amazing. However, as an American, it was culturally offensive when depicting the USA political, legal, and school system ( all white males) and racially offensive (one scene in North Carolina). The Chinese writers truly have a screwed up view of how the American people live, our justice system and our humanity and kindness to others. However, the drama did a better job in Prague (gang activity) and Nairobi, Kenya (hired mercenaries) leaving the viewer with a more positive viewpoint of other international countries.

The Story: you will learn -- family and relationships are no insulation when it comes to conviction and prosecution. The story has almost zero romance even though they have the cutest Wang Kai playing a lead role. Unless you are interested in the legal system of another country you may not want to watch all 44 episodes (it was intriguing to me since this was my previous profession). The story flows flawlessly and editing is excellent. Characters were easy to identify and follow in all of their roles (which is important for storytelling).

The Actors: All were excellent and did a perfect job in their roles -- You love them, or hate them, or feel sympathetic to them and that is what drama is suppose to do in my opinion.

The bonus: the drama is centered in Beijiang but ventures out to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Prague and Nairobi to add the intensity and dedication the officers were willing to go to solve crimes --- and I mean the cases could be as long as 10 years but they were not going to give up.

Watch or Not Watch? Not a drama for laughs, smiles, romance or thrills. No shootouts, martial arts or knockdown fights --- It is purely a crime drama sharing with the public the dedication of one of its units - the Economic unit.. You have to decide what type of drama you enjoy.

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I stumbled across this title watching a youtube video about 2017 Korean movies. I almost didn't watch it because of the previous reviewer. However, like life - we all have different prospectives. What made me rate this a solid "9" was the adaptation of a story focusing on two central characters - Prince Gwanghae and the team of loyalist fighting for the survival of their country. There was no CGI just pure natural scenery and the cinematography was excellent. The fighting didn't require wire work - just your realistic fighting during war and conflict. When added to the cause and effect of their budding relationships out of necessity, the writer and director solidly weaved the growth of both characters - the team and the prince. Loyalty is what this drama is about -- what are you willing to die for? What do you believe in? The people of Korean ancestry have made lots of sacrifices to call themselves Koreans and this drama is just a small recollection of the past challenges faced. When I cry at the end - I know I know I have been moved -- and I was deeply moved by the synergy of two classes under pressure.

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After watching parts of General and I have begun to marathon dramas with Wallace Chung. This drama was a hidden jewel. The story never dragged, it featured common themes of love, betrayal, revenge and tragedies of war but throughout it was a moving love story that was beautifully told and filmed. It was a complete drama filled with the consequences of obsessed love triangles. There were times when you became emotionally attached to the characters and this is a good sign that the story is effectively being told and the actors are good. Witnessed one of the best drama kisses ever -- later in this 36 episode. A very adult story told in an adult manner. Glad I can find some of the older dramas and enjoy the quality and historical framing of the writers. A little bit of history to study.

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A DRAMA TO DROP EARLY- TOO LONG AND TORTUOUS

Story: This is a story about marriage, mothers-in-law, raising children. The thesis of the writer - the characters must be rude, mindless, selfish, overbearing, dishonest, uncaring, unethical, and basically devoid of normal human responses.

The main couple meets at work. The older male is the number 2 man in a huge investment firm and meets an upstart new young employee and falls head over heels with her ending in a quick proposal and one nightstand. She immediately becomes pregnant. Since the company has a no dating rule -- their decisions from this point forward become the source of "FANTASY and what makes this drama insufferable but still lures you to watch. From the point of this ill-begotten decision (which is really early in this 40 episode drama) the viewer must watch this marriage fall into an abyss of hell.

Curiosity will cause you to continue to watch, but after a while, you are watching and screaming at the television
What is family and why is there all of this negative energy in this family? If you ever thought you were in a bad marriage situation - well you will not feel that way after watching this drama.

I am just going to list the WHY I HATE THE FEMALE CHARACTER (not going to dwell on the MALE CHARACTER because I viewed him as STUPID, A WIMP, and IMPOTENT.

1. what would be the natural order of establishing a family with this first quiz? Who leaves the company?

2. when the company does not welcome pregnant employees, and you know it - what should you do as a pregnant woman (especially when given an opportunity?

3. When you are pregnant what do you decide to ingest or who chooses where you are going to give birth?

4.When you have a premature baby and your body has not healed what is the first thing you worry about - your job or the baby?

5. Why do you listen to your divorced, sick, selfish mother when making decisions?

6. Why don't you take the blame for your bad decisions and not shift them over to your husband7
.
7. Why are you so jealous and accusing of "affairs" when you are the coldest most argumentative woman ever portrayed in a drama?

I can go on and on and continue complaining about the writer's portrayer of this character. As you begin to feel something is seriously wrong with the messages of this drama to any viewer, in any country - let alone the country of origin you should tell yourself - HIT the REALITY button and DROP. Even enduring to the end will make you unhappy. Without revealing any more spoilers., I issue a precautionary warning - this is an ABNORMAL relationship and don't believe anything the writers spew at you - especially the ending.

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A dark trip to nowhere

I am not going to give any spoilers -- just want to advise any watchers that this is a risky investment of viewer time. What starts out with potential quickly falls off the cliff in a fog of poor decisions by the writers. The word "Artificial" is the first clue to the problems with the direction this drama takes. Nothing seems real or feasible and the responses of so many people in positions of power seem a little "off the human chart." Korean dramas often portray a "slice of life" for the country -- this drama neither represents family, values, morals, accountability, normal human reactions, or consequential damage. It almost becomes a fairy tale fantasy drama when you compare it to the reality of many who hold positions of power or have star power popularity. The voices of social media and the netizen factor in this country reign supreme. So I am warning any potential viewer - the acting is good -- but just don't count on any feelings of satisfaction at the end. Just read most of the comments of those that have finished the drama. If I wanted to be in a hopeless dark place I would pick this drama to watch.

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A classic that should be treasured

This is a brilliant work of art that follows the life of Sun Ruowei from childhood as the young daughter to an official to her rise to Empress and Empress Dowager. Every stage of her life is a progression that fills the entire 62 episodes. Integrated throughout her life story is the side story of various Emperors and relatives and court officials eventually becoming an Empress Dowager and ruler of the Mng Dynasty. These stories are interesting and give the drama historical substance.

The life of Sun Ruowei is the common thread that involves the leadership of 6 different emperors of the Mng Dynasty. I love historical dramas but if you stick to "just history" the story would be boring. There is a lot of incorrect and fictionalization of history immersed with nonfictional history to keep the story truly interesting. Since I started watching in January 2020 on YT with computer-generated nonsensical subs the drama was plain AWFUL. But after 62 episodes including episodes raw I promised myself I would find it properly translated and watch again. I discovered another translated version on "V" but the translators were too slow and this is a binge-watch drama if you truly want to enjoy the essence of the story. Finally found the completed drama on "AP" and started rewatching again with every intent to finish (May 2020) I can only assume the low ratings were because of the failure to properly sub on a timely and accurate basis. Watching becomes boring and other dramas take the place and viewers time so fast-forwarding and skimming become the usual practice.

However, this is a fine wine drama. You have to watch it thoroughly to continue to enjoy the time and money that the production crew put into this drama. The costumes, filming locations, battles are all A+ rated and not skimpy computer-generated images. They look real and the filming of action scenes is truly incredible.

The Actors and Actresses - A+. You become invested in all the characters and gosh I cried so many times and was angry or personally frustrated more times watching. You feel the quality and sincerity of the actors -no slackers in this drama.

This is a good watch and deserves higher ratings. One spoiler: the ending isn't satisfying but acceptable because it still leaves a chapter in Sun Ruowei (now the retired Empress Dowager's) life explained. If you haven't watched it and want to watch a historical drama - this is definitely a better drama to watch and worth every minute (now that the subbing has been completed).

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This was my first Lakorn and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was on Netflix so I decided to make it my daily drama watch - however it was so good and interesting I marathoned it over 4 days. First, the story - It was initially confusing since characters were introduced en mass without names or relationships. l I had to go to Wiki again to make a chart of all the actors. Even that was not enough -- I then had to do a FAMILY TREE to follow with substance. I think many dramas forget that viewers may not be familiar with actors when the story is entwined and contains complicated family relationships. However, the story is excellent - once you can follow each character. The story is always moving forward and that is the greatest benefit for the viewer -- you can't stop watching - sometimes until 2 A.M. in the morning because of the progression and quality of storytelling and editing. What is the most enduring and alluring aspect of this story is its name - In Family We Trust"? " That is what I kept asking myself throughout- what an oxymoron. All I will add is it is worthy of your time. The ending is - well - I reduced my rating because of the need of the writer to skew the facts of the previous episodes to appease the viewers. What human nature would do in response to all of the events of this story and how a "family" would respond is the true gold winning challenge of this drama. I recommend watching.

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I had to go back to my dictionary to look up the word NIRVANA. From beginning to end there was never a feeling of nirvana - in the storyline or for the viewer. What had the potential to be a masterpiece was butchered by censors to the point that most of my time was looking for third party comments to find out -"what happened or why"? From the very beginning until the end there was no fluid storytelling. The actors were at their best emotional wrecks going through the motions. The poor viewer could not put the pieces of this story together without having first read the novel or second have someone that had read the novel explain what the heck was going on. It became a Humpty Dumpty mess. When you cut a drama with 72 episodes down to 60 you are definitely leaving someone's artistic creation muddled, messy and unintelligible. I don't want to discourage anyone from watching - just something you need to be prepared for when investing the time in this failed masterpiece. The investment of quality actors, quality scenery, quality costumes, and great cinematography was wasted. I yearn for the day all 72 episodes (uncut, uncensored) are released for viewership. That would be the redemption of this drama to a 9.5 plus. I ended up giving it a 7.5 because of the frustration factor. My last lament -- if you are going to do an Avengers type release of footage after the credits - you should not put FIN (end). The story doesn't end - maybe a part 2 but a major question needed to be answered at the end and only the lucky viewers that like sitting through credits in a foreign or Chinese language will see the true ending of this drama.

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Story: Like all Chinese dramas with multiple characters throughout you must download a Playbook. I always use a cheat sheet I print from Wikipedia to follow the entry and exit of most characters with a brief description of their roles so I can follow. This allowed me to truly appreciate the quality of storytelling and the writer's intent. This drama was very complex to watch so it requires your full attention to almost every scene (I had to do multiple rewinds even if I looked down or away for a moment). Drawing the viewer's interest required me to become invested in the outcome of each character and emotionally committed. There were plenty of emotional moments for me and the ending did not disappoint (but could be predicted). This in no way took away from the quality of the drama. I must also add liked the costumes and cinematography.

Acting: Superior acting skills infused a sense of reality to this drama - I almost felt it was a historical piece - but had to remind myself constantly this was fictional. The family conflicts, the depth of love and romance was magnetic - either polar or attractive but all actors did a great job fulfilling the role of their characters without a feeling of - "this isn't right."

Music: I am always annoyed by music that overwhelms the drama or that is inappropriate for a scene. However, there were periods of time that the music was almost a lullaby. It soothed the soul and when needed it led the viewer into a transitional period for emotional changes - romance or conflict. The composer did a good job - only wish the subbers would have translated some of the lyrics. At one point the music was so outstanding I replayed the scene just to close my eyes to listen to the music.

Rewatch Value: Not something I would say rewatch. This is too time-consuming - took me 10 days of marathoning this drama to enjoy it. Plus, I would only recommend marathoning this drama because of the complexity and details of storytelling and the highs and low ebbs of the storyline. I usually watch 6-8 dramas weekly but they had to be delayed or relegated to my evenings only so that I would be consumed watching this drama.

Overall: we all have our preferences. Always love lots of romance in any drama but the writer focuses only on romance as a backdrop not the substance of the "phoenixes". I am glad I watched because I enjoyed every minute, was never disappointed and after 10 days not regretting the fact that my life was "paralyzed" watching and reading every subbed line to fully enjoy. Not everyone's cup of tea but for me - I give it a 9.5 because I really enjoyed the substance of the story the movement of the plot - always forward - never stuck in reruns of memories and there was a probable ending (not like many Chinese wuxia, romance historical dramas currently being produced)

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REVENGE, ANGER, MORAL CHALLENGES , and KICK ASS FIGHTING

What a jewel of a find!!! I love Shaolin storylines - dramas and movies and when I saw the title GREATEST SHAOLIN on YT while scanning through clickbait shorts I had to explore. This drama must be a recent English translation release because I could not find it anywhere - except YT. The actual name of the drama is Shaolin Wendao.

The story -- 4 loyal childhood friends (3 boys and 1 girl) are now adults and have explosive and devasting experiences that lead to life-transforming conflicts and emotional rollercoasters. The actors' Zhou Yi Wei (Trials and Empires: Storm of Prophecy and the Rebel Princess) and Guo Jin Fei maintained one of the most toxic "brotherhood" I have ever viewed in a drama. The lust for revenge versus what is good and right becomes major themes mixed with Buddism and Filial piety. I have no desire to reveal spoilers because this is a drama worthy of all 38 episodes.

There are numerous individual fight scenes that are unforgettable and bloody, there are battles with groups and there is a war with Japanese pirates. The childhood female friend is forced into prostitution although a princess prior to her being labeled treason - solely by being a family member. Her character is a catalyst for moving this drama from one degree of average entertainment to challenging the viewer as to her culpability and sanity. ACTION ACTION ACTION!!!

Life in a Shaolin Temple, commitment, vows, and hierarchy was shared which was a bonus. Visually stunning watching the training and inner conflicts which can develop and their resolutions.

Every actor brought their A-game to the drama and the casting director picked quality actors for all of the roles. No letdowns or weak performances.

The music was the perfect accompaniment to the pace of the drama and did not overwhelm or underwhelm the scenes which I always note when music seems to be overdone and annoying. None of this happened throughout.

A must watch -- the quality of this drama in 2017 when it was apparently first released without English translations would have put this one of many top 10 or top 20 at the minimum.

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