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a family melodrama with a side of obsession

despite anything else the marketing may suggest, The Rise of Ning is at heart a family melodrama with a few side dishes. it is recognisably tropey but brings enough freshness to feel enjoyable while being surprisingly angst-lite.

the titular Ning (Luo Yining) is introduced as the legitimate daughter of Luo Chengzhang, second son of the Luo family. she was brought up outside of the family home at a country estate after the death of her mother, the wife her father didn't want. this is the root of most of the Luo family's multitude of issues, sons who were pushed into supposedly suitable marriages that didn't suit them, breeding a hotbed of infighting between wives, concubines and various children.

our male lead is introduced as the unfavoured illegitimate third son of this same second son. you will never forget his rank as Luo Yining calls for him around 864 times per episode. as a person who finds Ren Min's voice attractive, this was no burden for me, and certainly didn't seem to be for san-ge himself.

since these two are our leads, it's clear that at least one of them is in fact entirely unrelated to their purported father. the transition in their relationship was handled surprisingly tastefully, although grandmother was certainly handing out a few sideeyes relatively early on. that said, her sideeye game was prolific and her love conditional so perhaps it was for some other infringement.

as is customary with this type of drama, the politics side dish took over a little towards the end and there were five or so episodes that, while necessary for resolution of some narrative issues, I didn't love. there was very little palace drama, which I appreciated. the emperor was just some distant person we heard about.

the positive relationships were mostly sweet and uncomplicated but there were still persistent melodramatics since we had not one but two couples with some, ahem, intricate familial relations.

the whitewashing of some problematic side characters without any real restitution was perhaps my least favourite theme. while it didn't detract from my enjoyment much, it was interesting how narrative reward and punishment was so random. some people die for their sins; others are rewarded with playing happy families.

but let's get to the real talk here. Luo Shenyuan is a male lead of the attractive benevolent stalker variety. he is thrilled that his girl is an independent, self-supporting queen but he is also the surveillance king because he wants to control the environment around her (for her safety, of course!) while broadly letting her do as she pleases within the guardrails he covertly sets up. think Sang Yan for those of you who have watched the 2025 drama The First Frost.

Lu Jiaxue, our antagonist, is no benevolent stalker. he is a lonely man turned groomer turned obsessive sociopath. there was much discussion when this aired centered around whether he was a more suitable partner for Yining than Luo Shenyuan, and I can't describe the absolute horror of watching this trainwreck of a man on my screen while reading this commentary because his archetype could not be more clear.

Luo Yining was caught in a perfect storm as a vulnerable child. she was unloved and neglected and found a friend in a young man who himself had been discarded. it's understandable that she develops a crush. indeed at this early stage, Lu Jiaxue is a sympathetic character and I understand why his backstory leads people to give him more leeway than he is entitled to.

but that is where this predator was created. as soon as he is secure in her affections, his mind seems to switch gears and you hear some utterly horrific things. there is a conversation I'd like to be able to bleach from my mind where it's clear that he has actively moved into grooming mode and is testing her boundaries when he is talking about things she should eat so she can get pregnant quickly after marriage.

later, when he meets the older Yining, his obsession is glaringly obvious to everyone. she is clearly terrified of him, having grown up and realised that this was not a healthy attachment, which would have likely occurred whether or not certain third parties had been absent, but he is still determined to own her. not the young adult she is now, with her family and business and now-developed personality, but the younger version with her tame childhood interests.

the clarity with which this character is written was impressive. he might appear one-dimensional or overdramatic but he is also solidly anchored in this deeply distorted fixation in a way that I've rarely seen represented in fiction.

all three of our leads did well enough in their roles. Ci Sha was probably the standout given the material he had to work with. Ren Min held a good line that kept her Luo Yining feeling young and light but also intelligent and thoughtful. I could see why she was well-liked even if she was unrealistically perfect. Zhang Wanyi felt a bit underpowered and I wished they'd let his brief vicious arc run a little earlier and longer because it was a nice change of pace from what otherwise looked like he was operating on easy mode.

all in all, this was a creditable if not groundbreaking drama. it avoids repetitive palace politics and focuses on the sweetness of its leads. while it could have been trimmed by a few episodes, it remains an easy, untaxing watch that accidentally (or perhaps purposefully) provides a masterclass in identifying the mechanics of a predator.

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a light comedic drama not entirely to be taken at face value

at first glance this is a very usual costume drama, somewhat indeterminate point in time, attractive actors, light and bright colours. it starts with comedic scenes, not entirely unusual. what is unusual is that it retains this tone overall even though it gets quite deep into what is a set of very dark topics, many juxtaposing ancient practices and modern feminism - domestic violence, women's economic rights, arranged marriages. a particularly positive aspect is the way that most of the women in this drama support each other, a far cry from the usual divide-and-rule harem politics.

overall thoughts: occasionally silly but a delight.

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a disturbing story with an interesting aesthetic

(TW: domestic violence, bullying, sexual assault, misogyny and more) there is so much awful behaviour in this, it's not an easy watch. it's also shot in an overly arty, almost try-hard way that adds to the vertiginous sensation as you claw your way through this drama. yet these are not negatives. they are the reason this is a compelling watch. although the series occasionally loses a little of its early impetus, it has enough to carry it through its fairly short, but very much not neat, run.

overall thoughts: this is like looking at art photos of an accident scene, it will probably leave you feeling dirty but there's an acid gloss to it that is perversely attractive.

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an amusing but sensitive look into some deep issues: tears optional but likely

(TW: suicide and suicidal ideation) first off, it's necessary to praise the production team for this one. it was a brave choice to run with given the underlying subject matter, and the politics and social considerations around the topics of certain episodes. as you start watching, this may seem like a drama that does not take itself seriously and is at risk of devolving into a tropefest featuring white trucks of doom and grim reapers. it is actually a sensitively directed series exposing some of the types of personal interactions and societal issues that drive people towards suicidal behaviours. it would have been so, so easy to see it devolve into the type of preachy PSA trap that dramas such as Death's Game fell into, but it managed to resist the easy path and feels all the more meaningful for it.

overall thoughts: manages to be light and funny but handles deep topics with the necessary gravitas and sensitivity.

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going to break a personal rule just for this

I generally don't believe in writing reviews without finishing a drama but for this I'm willing to make an exception

look, I like trash TV as much as the next person but this is basically just an illogical thing without even the merit of a Z grade vertical

it only has points out of 10 because it's compulsory, and I'll give the main cast a point each just because it hurts my cold heart that they even have their names attached

the story feels like nothing groundbreaking but serviceably tropey, yet it feels like it was scripted and directed by a team of those robots whose day job is tightening one specific screw each at an automotive factory

if you're just here for DGZ, you probably won't be quite as disappointed as 1/10 because no one delivers that hot bodyguard visual as efficiently but if you have any other needs from a drama, he has plenty of other work to get through first, pick any of his other dramas

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