The Song of Glory (2020)

Every villain got what they deserved.

The show started off real fast paced (but slow burn towards the middle) as FL was carrying out an assassination on ML, Peng Cheng Wang (Prince of Peng City), the regent of the historical Liu Song Dynasty. The assassination turned out a disaster (of course, duh). She hid in an orphanage and was later found by Madam Shen who recognized the jade bracelet she was wearing, immediately identifies her as the Shen’s long lost daughter abducted as an infant during a battle in the north. The bracelet was actually given by her best friend (another assassin of course) with a promise to help find her birth parents, before the bff died as a distraction so FL could flee the botched assassination venue. FL grabs this chance and takes refuge in the Shen Mansion, a family of top general of the empire, as she plans for her next move to finish her failed assasination on ML and Minister of War Lu Yuan. It seemed like the team of assassins were driven by the belief planted by their master that Lu Yuan was a corrupt official and Peng Cheng Wang was an incompetent ruler who covers up for the corrupt officials in his court. They both needed to be killed because of their crimes to Liu Song Empire and its people.

Ironically, as she keeps on failing to kill Lu Yuan, she met a merchant who was also investigating Lu Yuan and this dude manages to convince her that killing won’t stop Lu Yuan’s corruption as another would just fill up his spot. The merchant, whom FL calls as Old Man (she was 18 and the dude was supposed to be 30+), convinced her to team up with him and topple Lu Yuan using rule of law. Things happened and they later developed feelings for each other. Then the decree came that the daughter of Shen family is bethrothed to Peng Cheng Wang as reward for their contribution in winning the war in the North, and FL decided to take this chance to kill ML on their wedding night. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan’s smuggling of weapons for private army was foiled, but the Shens were implicated as Lu Yuan slips out of their grasp with a mere slap on the hand by ML. This only angered FL even more and her hatred for ML grows. She got her biggest shock on the wedding night, as she only saw the face of the Peng Cheng Wang she hated to the core as she stabs her poisoned dagger into his belly, and he turned out to be the Old Man she fell in love with. She tried to kill herself after stabbing ML as to not implicate the Shens for her assassination crime, and because she regretted her actions, but ML instructed his personal bodyguard to take her away so the imperial guards wont catch her. Later things happened, plot after plot, surprise after surprise, villains after villains, misunderstandings and slanders came one after another, and they stick together through thick and thin.

I love the FL character, she’s one badass assassin who doesnt let injustice to happen. She thrives in jianghu, and is smart and witty enough to stand up against the palace harem bullying (yeah come on how can anyone bully an assassin, right?). And having an elder sister (the first wife) as back up does wonders to her too. She doesnt really need any saving, she can take care of herself although of course ML will need to be the saviour every now and then, even though he’s inferior to her in terms of fighting skills and brawn, so he depended on his power as regent and his scheming and manipulating skills. She is also very intelligent and isnt one of those characters who love to panic and jump to conclusions with baseless suspicions . I guess she learnt a lesson after being fooled by her master into wrongfully thinking that ML is a bad person when he was not.

One of the most pitiful but righteous characters must have been Princess Consort Xie, ML’s first wife. He had to marry her in accordance to the emperor’s decree, but never loved her. Never consummated the marriage and Empress Dowager had to make it a rule for him to have dinner at specific dates at the Princess Consort’s place or he wouldnt have even visited her at all. For someone who loved her husband in totality, her heart was so pure that she never envied the love FL gets from their shared husband when she entered the household as concubine. Instead she saw FL as a companion, BFF, whom she was willing to protect and support. I almost thought the Empress Dowager would be able to corrupt her mind against FL due to envy (like the plot of most drama), but it never happened. She stayed true to her character to the end.

Although I like this show, i find that the repetetive plot of getting poisoned, memory loss, faintings, fake deaths to be pretty annoying. I love the part where they dismantle the villains plans, but the journey to get there is quite annoying with things that I mention above. I find the scenes after ML got stabbed by FL was pretty dramatic and admirable, him braving his way through the pain for several days before succumbing to his injury and went into coma, as to cover up for his newly wedded wife’s actions.

Also I cannot wrap it around my head how come these assassins dont know how their target looks like? That is so messed up. The production couldve made the merchant’s disguise better and not reveal his face throughout their time together, maybe FL recognizing ML as the merchant on their wedding night using the tokens they exchanged if anything at all, but they didnt. It was quite early through the show that FL saw through his fake moustache and took it off (revealing his true face), I really thought she would identify him as Peng Cheng Wang but she didnt! So the whole team of badass assassins didnt even know how their target looks like before killing them?! These righteous assassins killing corrupt officials to keep them from ruining the prosperity of the nation didnt think that knowing how their target look like so they dont kill the wrong person was important. Really? 😑🙄 So messed up.

There were so maaaaaaany fillers and side love stories which I fast forward most of them, but I just need to give a special mention of FL’s handmaid XiaoXin as super duper annoying with her loud and unruly character. Looks much too exaggerated. So they wanted to make her that fun character who brights up people around her, it just went overboard. Characters like this would never survive in the palace as palace maid, she’d be dead by day 2! I was fascinated by ML’s personal bodyguard Xu Zhan too, he looked so feminine that when he wore full body armour and helmet during the North war, I didnt recognize him and thought he was a female character i hadnt noticed before! I also cannot wrap it around my head how they could let Zijin tag along to the north border for the war too. I could understand when FL wanted to go cuz she definitely has the qualities to fight a war, but Zijin? I almost thought she had hidden talent or skills to contribute, with those dramatic horse riding, serious look on her face and wearing full body armour including helmet, but when they were ambushed by the enemy, she became a burden to Shen Zhi (her love interest who is also FL’s eldest brother of the Shen family) as he needs to fight while holding her hand to protect her. What a disappointment. So they made her go to the north so ML, as regent and commander of the north army, could grant them a marriage 🙄 just for that. Bleerghh that is just too cheesy, man. Another annoying characters are Shen Leqing and Lu Wan. One a conniving scheming vengeful ungrateful person who didnt know when to stop, while another was super naiive and stupid who wasnt even sure of her bro’s crimes and yet think that he was wronged and decided to get revenge. Such easily-manipulated expendable pawns.

———-*SPOILER BELOW THIS LINE* ————

I *love* (-_-) how every good characters can get sliced and stabbed with swords, stuck with arrows and still can jump around the next day (or in an instant in FL’s case) as if nothing happened. With exception of Shen dad and elder brother, their deaths are pretty gruesome and tragic. But the rest of the characters are a-okay with all those injuries, so no worries!

The ending is one of those with question marks. At first I thought FL killed herself so Peng Cheng Wang would not be stuck between his love for her and the emperor’s decree of not sparing her as she was an assassin. It went pretty dramatic with ML’s joyfully running to meet with her only to see the place empty, dropping the decree he was holding. Then there were flashbacks of the FL drinking (poisoned?) wine and later looked dead, but the next thing they show was events three years later with ML doing great in court, and later went to the secret place FL brought him once upon a time, and there he dined with the joyous FL. So another fake death? Sheesh.

I thought they’d have kids by then though. I was a little disappointed that there was no 3yo dining with them at the end. Though I can say it’s a happy ending. At least to me. But because I am one of those who hates sad and open endings, I’m taking off 1 star due to this horrible Ep53. Wished they had ended the show at Ep 52.

Leia Mais

Though it had a sad ending, the storyline was different. I've watched many historical dramas, both fictional and fact-based, but they all share the same theme: an emperor can't make decisions emotionally. Consequently, some characters sacrifice their love, some endure dismal love lives, and some love stories reach completion only after facing many hardships and conspiracies.

What stood out to me in this drama was, first, the crown prince and crown princess lived happily and spent ample time together. His first wife never interfered in his love life. Second, the crown prince's younger brother loved and respected him, standing by his side faithfully. He was a benevolent person. Third, the crown princess's family members lived harmoniously, with no jealousy, hatred, or competition. In fact, they respected each other deeply.

What I did not like was the ending. The drama had 53 episodes, so at times, I felt listless, but I watched it with patience. To fully appreciate the story, you would need to watch it yourself.

Leia Mais

Masterpiece and Emmy worthy!!!

This was one of the best dramas I watched.

Everything is good, the acting, the soundtrack, the story...

It gives us action and intrigue in equal and healthy doses and even in it's most slow and calm moments it keeps us enthralled in the story.
The actors are brilliant and convey their emotions as if we were there with them and the soundtrak wraps everything perfectly...

That being said, I know many watchers got confused by that ending, BUT:

The script writer left for the audience to think about what happened...

Now, I personally think they had to be apart for 3 years by Emperor's decree in order for her to be redeemed and for him to fully focus on his task, and in the end, three years later, when both had done what they had to do, they were allowed, as a reward, to reunite and to live their lives together...

And the coup of poison was in order to fake her death like she did during her execution in early episodes...

Leia Mais

Starts off really great but trails off and has disappointing ending

This is the first historical c-drama I've watched to the end. At the start I was really hooked, due to the sets, costumes, thrilling story, plot twists, music and some great characters. However as the show went on, particularly in the second half, I became less enthused.

The series is 53 episodes but this kind of breaks down into 6 or 7 sub stories which are only loosely related. For example, one story is about an illegal weapons factory, another is about fighting a war with a rival northern state. I felt like I was watching multiple seasons of a show rather than one complete story.

The characters are generally good, but there are some characters I dislike to varying degrees. One of the FL's maids is particularly annoying and is clearly meant to add comic effect but it just falls flat. Also, two of the major villains of the show are presented in a way that they are, for the most part, completely emotionless, and keep a constant facial expression and tone. This does make them seem more "evil", but on the other hand leads to them being more two-dimensional characters.

Characters I particularly liked were the ML's brother (Prince Jingling), and FL's parents, siblings and siblings in law. They are fleshed out a lot more, and also have some really happy moments and touching moments.

The OST is really good but it does end up getting quite repetitive by the end of the show. Some musical score seems to be repeated in almost every episode, which leads to it having much less effect than when it was first heard.

As mentioned above I love the sets and costumes, but again, by the end I felt they were too repetitive. The majority of the show takes place in two or three locations. Also, the costumes worn are pretty much the same every episode (with the exception of FL). I felt like this show was produced on a low budget in the second half.

In terms of the story arcs mentioned above, they are mostly good, but some of the story towards the end is less interesting or not satisfying.

The ending was also really disappointing to me - it felt like it was just "tacked on" and involved a plot that didn't have much relation to the storylines throughout the series. It also left a lot open to interpretation and so was quite confusing without providing proper closure. I think the show would have been much better if the final episode was never made.

Overall I still don't regret watching the show as most of it I really enjoyed. But the show could have been a lot better and ultimately left me feeling disappointed, but with still some great moments to remember. If I ever do rewatch it, I might split into two or more parts to keep it more fresh, and also skip the final episode (and the last scene of the penultimate episode) entirely.

Leia Mais

23 episodes I invested to this drama

This is a long series and I skipped, paused, jumped between episodes. Apparently I am not a big fan of Li Qin, every drama she was in I am not fond of, and this is one of them. She is a great actress, beautiful, great acting skill but I think she picked the wrong roles. I was hoping she'd better in 'the Wolf' but early episode as a young girl - she's faked childish girl in a her adult body. This drama, She's given an identity as Shen LiGe who had married into royalty. Her step sister Shen LeQing jealous because she wasn't selected, because of it she gave all hell and troubles to Shen LiGe. I think I admire her driven determination to ruin Shen LiGe, she's a tough cookie survived from all retributions even when fallen into the cliff. After alot people died at the end of drama, she still survived to send the last attack to this couple. I don't understand it, why a gentle young woman who knew nothing about martial art or strategy could survive in whole long 53 episodes just from hatred. Although this drama adapted from true story but the actors didn't deliver memorable acting. Too much go around the bushes, the queen was a very powerful woman there and people just sucked up on her. So, nothing's new...nothing interesting...nothing memorable...I gave it up after investing my time for 23 episodes (1,035 minutes of my life).

Leia Mais

not very clever

Depending on whether you watch a lot of tv shows, you will either find this show interesting or extremity exhausting, the two main character take forever to meet each other, the story deliberately makes attempts for them to meet and then they just slightly miss each other again, this goes on for about 20 episodes. fora story about the two characters chemistry it gets quite annoying after a while .

the worst part is the lack of charisma and dept from the bad guys, the schemes are very simple palace and treachery plots but because the show revolves around the main characters their struggle doesn't feel real cos u know they gonna survive.

after about 30 episodes, i just gave up

Leia Mais

Got boring

DROPPED...

So I watched like 34 or 35 eps of it out of 53. And not ngl the beginning was pretty good but it got dead around ep 20. I paused watching this like 1 or months ago thinking I'll think about it and go back. But I didn't even once. If you have seen 'princess wei yang' or ' legend of fu yao' or 'princess agents' the plot is very similar to them but not as good or highly produced I'd say. Btw I also dropped legend of fu yao cause it also got dead. princess agents does not compare to any, it is top tier! gave song of glory 6.5/10. Not recommended tbh.

I'd suggest princess wei yang and princess agents instead.

Leia Mais

It's not horrible, but not great either

9/30/2021

It's very hard to write a review of this drama. I don't think it's a horrible drama, but it's not great either. Unfortunately, it did not hold my attention and I have decided to drop it at Ep 33. I enjoyed the first 20 or so episodes, but then I feel that the plot just keeps on repeating. It's quite a predictable drama. Nothing really excites or surprises me. I really want to find out who is the big bad wolf, but I got so bored.

The best parts about this drama are the acting of the cast and our ML and FL. Our leads are fantastic and the supporting cast is great. It's my first time watching Qin Hao, and he's quite charismatic as Prince Peng Cheng. I became a fan of Li Qin after "The Wolf" and she is just as beautiful and awesome here. Shen Li Ge has to be one of the most badass female leads in C-dramaland. She is strong from start to finish. She not only possesses great martial arts skills but is also smart! Our leads make a formidable pair. Their chemistry is not red hot, but is maturely developed with quiet understanding and loyalty. I feel that in the first 33 episodes, they don't have enough scenes together, I want to see more of them.

I do not enjoy the fight scenes. It seems like ridiculous that every time someone kicks or hits, the opponent would fly across the room. Since it's not a wuxia drama, I wasn't expecting too much to begin with. What is up with the random wind/fan blowing to show our FL's flowy hair? And a spin to take off her wedding dress and accessories? I also feel it quite unrealistic that our villain 2FL could get caught so many times, yet she is still alive. She's like this little cockroach that never dies. It's quite amazing actually.

Leia Mais

If you are looking for a strong female lead drama look no further.... watch this drama

Take this review as you see it. As of right now I have not finished the drama, but so far I have very much enjoyed this drama very much. I am one of the biggest drama critic out there and I love to nick pick small and tiny little details that would drive many people bunkers. And here is why I believe that many people should watch this drama:

Lin Qin's character is the smart, talented and absolutely one of a kind. She is not the usually damsel in distress, dumb cute female lead. She is a bad ass fighting machine. Although she does try to kill the ML in the first episode, she does end up saving him a few time. And here is the best part, she can solve her own problems. She doesn't need him, most of the time she already has the problem solved before he shows up. She let's no one bully her and she is extremely smart. Not even her fake sister can outsmart her. I loved the scene when she threaten her so called sister for missing with her mom medicine. Then she save the emperor with her mad martial art skill. She is the true here. She is blunt and ruthless. You don't want to become her enemy. Her character can carry the entire drama by herself. Honestly at this point I don't see the need for the ML. (Just my personal Opinion of Course!)

Not only is Li Qin character unique, her acting is on T. Her ability to covey her emotions is wonderful. Her skills of a martial artist is absolutely amazing. I am hook on this drama because of her amazing acting ability. If I was never a fan before, I am now. She has so much talent. I can't express, how big my girl crush for her is now!

So far, the music has been very good. The costume are beautiful even the simple outfits are. The acting is amazing.



The Male characters are just so-so. Not much to say about them.

Leia Mais