1
QAS
Los Angeles, CA
This review may contain spoilers
Dreaming Back to the Wan Dynasty (LOL)
Spoiler alert:
I started this pilgrimage to Wan Village for Zhao Liying and Luo Jin. Watching the first episode, I was aggravated by the backward thinking and lackadaisical viewpoints of the Wan Village People. "Wedding hazing has been a tradition for generations, and the young people were just having fun", they said. WTF? Wan Village was rife with sycophants, including He Xingfu's MIL Mr. Wang, FIL Mrs. Lin (...Wang), Husband Qinglai, BIL Qingzhi and SIL Xiuyu.
The Wang and the Wans' fate lines were intertwined. The prosperous Wans were poison ivy vines that stifled the Wangs at every twist and turn, so the latter could not catch a break. Emperor Wan Shantang, Crown Prince Wan Chuanjia and Princess Wan Chuanmei abused their privileged status, undermining the Wang family at will. Luckily the middle child Wang Qingzhi had escaped the clutches of the Wans, when he moved to the city to pursue a university education and a subsequent civil service job. The outsider, He Xingfu, became the avenger for the Wang family, demanding justice for wrongdoings, while battling the usual apathy and sycophancy from Mr. and Mrs. Wang, who vacillated in every scene: sometimes sounding intelligent, sometimes sounding stupid. Mr. and Mrs. Wang win Most Sycophantic Stupid Bad Parents Award. He Xingfu wins the Best Daughter-in-Law Award.
Money comes at a price. The Wan business motto was “Rule by Intimidation and Reward the Peasant”. Chuanjia, the golden son, seized the lands that Qinglai and Xingfu were farming, and refused to compensate them for their financial losses. After kicking Qinglai in the balls, Mr Wan agreed to pay him the requested compensation. There were many incidents between the Wangs and the Wans, but the next damning might be Chuanmei's identity theft of her childhood friend Xiuyu. Chuanmei stole Xiuyu's university spot, and continued the masquerade throughout her professional career. Why did Karma take ten years for payback and redemption?
He Xingfu was the justice fighter, taking on new challenges, while her tunnel vision husband, Qinglai, remained stagnant. He was a clone of his parents, who had taken him out of school at a young age, to work on the farm. Uneducated most of his thirty-something years, he would admit to Xingfu that he did not choose this life, and he had no ambition. He never liked farming, but it was the only thing he knew. Mr. and Mrs. Wang slighted him for the prettier second son, Qingzhi, and supported Qingszhi's academic dreams. They looked down on their third child, Xiuyu, and would not support her when she was wronged by Princess Chuanmei. Mr. and Mrs. Wang win Most Callous Stupid Bad Parents Award.
This melodrama drama had family conflicts, social issues and environmental issues. The rich and powerful Wans were regarded as godlike benefactors by the Village People. The Wan's family sheen would tarnish at the end. Chuanjia was sent off to jail for polluting the well water with lead discharged from his wastewater treatment plant. Chuanmei revealed her duplicity in robbing Xiuyu of her academic education and her identity, and made a public apology. Wan Shantang resigned in shame, from his position of Village Leader. Thank you, Karma and Retribution, for finally visiting the Wans, even if it took you forty episodes.
As I predicted, He Xingfu was appointed the new Village Leader. She deserved the job because she was a champion of the people, and her ethics were outstanding. Long live Empress He Xingfu! Qinglai stepped out of his box, and implemented the Village Farm Cooperative.
It is not very often that I feel compelled to write a review of a drama I just watched. I usually retain 20% of the plot, by the time the drama comes to an end. Story of Xingfu was different. I might remember 70% of the plot, because of the realism aspect. Life in a far eastern village is not the same level as life in a small western town.
I started this pilgrimage to Wan Village for Zhao Liying and Luo Jin. Watching the first episode, I was aggravated by the backward thinking and lackadaisical viewpoints of the Wan Village People. "Wedding hazing has been a tradition for generations, and the young people were just having fun", they said. WTF? Wan Village was rife with sycophants, including He Xingfu's MIL Mr. Wang, FIL Mrs. Lin (...Wang), Husband Qinglai, BIL Qingzhi and SIL Xiuyu.
The Wang and the Wans' fate lines were intertwined. The prosperous Wans were poison ivy vines that stifled the Wangs at every twist and turn, so the latter could not catch a break. Emperor Wan Shantang, Crown Prince Wan Chuanjia and Princess Wan Chuanmei abused their privileged status, undermining the Wang family at will. Luckily the middle child Wang Qingzhi had escaped the clutches of the Wans, when he moved to the city to pursue a university education and a subsequent civil service job. The outsider, He Xingfu, became the avenger for the Wang family, demanding justice for wrongdoings, while battling the usual apathy and sycophancy from Mr. and Mrs. Wang, who vacillated in every scene: sometimes sounding intelligent, sometimes sounding stupid. Mr. and Mrs. Wang win Most Sycophantic Stupid Bad Parents Award. He Xingfu wins the Best Daughter-in-Law Award.
Money comes at a price. The Wan business motto was “Rule by Intimidation and Reward the Peasant”. Chuanjia, the golden son, seized the lands that Qinglai and Xingfu were farming, and refused to compensate them for their financial losses. After kicking Qinglai in the balls, Mr Wan agreed to pay him the requested compensation. There were many incidents between the Wangs and the Wans, but the next damning might be Chuanmei's identity theft of her childhood friend Xiuyu. Chuanmei stole Xiuyu's university spot, and continued the masquerade throughout her professional career. Why did Karma take ten years for payback and redemption?
He Xingfu was the justice fighter, taking on new challenges, while her tunnel vision husband, Qinglai, remained stagnant. He was a clone of his parents, who had taken him out of school at a young age, to work on the farm. Uneducated most of his thirty-something years, he would admit to Xingfu that he did not choose this life, and he had no ambition. He never liked farming, but it was the only thing he knew. Mr. and Mrs. Wang slighted him for the prettier second son, Qingzhi, and supported Qingszhi's academic dreams. They looked down on their third child, Xiuyu, and would not support her when she was wronged by Princess Chuanmei. Mr. and Mrs. Wang win Most Callous Stupid Bad Parents Award.
This melodrama drama had family conflicts, social issues and environmental issues. The rich and powerful Wans were regarded as godlike benefactors by the Village People. The Wan's family sheen would tarnish at the end. Chuanjia was sent off to jail for polluting the well water with lead discharged from his wastewater treatment plant. Chuanmei revealed her duplicity in robbing Xiuyu of her academic education and her identity, and made a public apology. Wan Shantang resigned in shame, from his position of Village Leader. Thank you, Karma and Retribution, for finally visiting the Wans, even if it took you forty episodes.
As I predicted, He Xingfu was appointed the new Village Leader. She deserved the job because she was a champion of the people, and her ethics were outstanding. Long live Empress He Xingfu! Qinglai stepped out of his box, and implemented the Village Farm Cooperative.
It is not very often that I feel compelled to write a review of a drama I just watched. I usually retain 20% of the plot, by the time the drama comes to an end. Story of Xingfu was different. I might remember 70% of the plot, because of the realism aspect. Life in a far eastern village is not the same level as life in a small western town.
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