An extremely moving and well-executed story of women empowerment! Lived up to the hype.

There were a lot of things about this drama that made me enjoy it, but I’ll point out the most significant and near-perfect ones in my personal opinion. First is the fact that they claimed to be a drama about women empowerment, and **actually** addressed the female struggle throughout various points of the drama. From beginning to end, it was clear that this was the main focus and it was carried out excellently. The girls went had to go through several harsh events, the most vicious being the one where they get booted out of the city and completely covered in garbage, and they had to fight tooth and nail to the very end to earn themselves a position in society. And you know what, they made it. I was so proud of them by the end of the drama, and found myself attached to their sisterhood. A+++ for this.

Second is the pacing for the romance between Gu Qianfan and Zhao Pan’er. I thought it was all aptly done and push came to shove at exactly the right time. And everything was very in tune with the characters’ personalities as well. They never compromised the character’s core values for the sake of romance.

Third, Liu Yifei’s acting and the characterisation of Zhao Pan’er just deserves SO much praise. Gentleness is almost Yifei’s brand, and coming from Meet Yourself I was a bit worried as to whether she would be able to act distinctively as Pan’Er, or if it would just be like watching Xu Hongdou with her hair up in Song Dynasty hanfu.

But she completely blew me out of the water with this character. Two characters that similarly have such complex emotions but she’s able to act out subtle differences. Even the way she cries is different in this drama – because in MY she’s mostly grieving, and here she most often shed tears because of heartbreak.

I also love how honest Pan’er is with herself. How she’s able to show that vulnerability, and pick herself back up whenever she gets knocked down. And she’s been doubled down upon so many times. How she allows herself to eventually lean on her sisters, it also didn’t take much for her to have faith and trust in Yinzhang. She’s compassionate, loyal, and devoted. The writers clearly took time to tell her story and show her growth which is something I absolutely loved.

Last is the wardrobe, mostly for the women. They were able to pick styles that suited each female character so well. I am impressed by how much each garment complimented Liu Yifei in particularly. All the colours she wore brought out so much vibrancy and spirit from her. My favourite was probably the green dress she wore in early Episode 19. So gorgeous.

Overall really loved this drama, though there are a handful of minor vices that hinder it from being a complete 10/10 for me. Really open to discussing the drama / actors so shoot me a reply or message if that’s something you’d be interested in :) Menghualu will forever hold a special place in my heart.

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