Love Like the Galaxy: Part 1 (2022)

"If the husband is the sun, the wife is the brilliant galaxy. We create the world by coexisting."

PLOT & CHARACTERS:

This is a coming-of-age story that's like no other. It's an emotional yet enlightening journey into love, parent-child conflict, loyalty and female empowerment as Cheng Shao Shang (CSS) goes through the turbulences in her journey to self discovery and growth. 

Her relationship with Ling Buyi has grown a great deal. I truly love how she's grown from a young lady who knows nothing about love to one that capable of caring for her beloved while still remaining true to herself. She learns how to love, empathise and compromise. She's just as intelligent and headstrong as any man, which is especially rare in such a patriarchal society, but can also be loving and caring towards those who are close to her. 

What surprised me the most is the transition from Part 1 to 2. In Part 1, CSS let her entire existence centred around her mother's neglect and biases, as well as others' condescending attitudes towards her "unconventional" upbringing. However, as we transition to Part 2, she's gained a new confidante and mother figure, Empress Xuan, who gives her the affirmation she needs to keep being herself but also the etiquette and knowledge to survive the dangers in the Palace. The bickering and conflicts in Part 1 now seem so trivial as CSS becomes more mature and determined with her goals to follow and serve the Empress. While Empress Xuan is composed, benevolent and dutiful, which are the social expectations of women in Ancient China, she admires CSS's free spirit and bravery. The two see their desired self and aspirations in each other, creating a very insightful and touching relationship. Consort Yue, Shao Shang's mother and third aunt are also very powerful female characters that are way ahead of their time in different ways. 

Ling Buyi (LBY) is a complex character that really draws you in. He's extremely devoted to CSS and would readily sacrifice his life for her. But when it comes to acting in the nation's interest and his own quest for vengeance, he can't help but forsake CSS's love. Being the Emperor's adopted son and commanding general, he's almost untouchable yet also helpless at bringing justice to his family's massacre. Personally, I love seeing how the rigid general becomes all goofy in front of CSS. And sometimes, their PDA makes me swoon and feel envious at the same time. Emperor Wen is such a good father figure for LBY, more than just out of his brotherhood with the former General Huo. I would say he's the biggest source of comedic relief in the drama. The way he shamelessly dotes on LBY and ships LBY with CSS is hilarious.

CAST & PRODUCTION:

Despite their young age, Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei approach their roles with overwhelming maturity and depth. We used to know Lusi as the playful and funny actress that can liven up any drama she's in, especially rom-coms. Here, she's able to incorporate some of that comedic touch with more articulations. She’s very playful and jovial in beginning, but becomes much more calm and refined towards the end of Part 2. On the other hand, Wu Lei carries out the duality of LBY very well. His stare can be serious in one moment, then melt and become hopelessly smitten with CSS. Wu Lei has the gravitas that gives complexity and charm to his character's portrayal. He’s also extremely skilled in horse riding and action scenes, adding even more intensity to the drama.

When it comes to cinematography, every scene in this drama is truly like a painting that speaks a thousand words. It's majestic but still very much the embodiment of elegance and grace. The costume and hairstyle for each character are vibrant and unique in their own way. I particularly love the layered dresses designed with a trailing tail, lowly tied hair and long earrings which add a certain sense of fluidity and feminity when the characters walk. Ling Buyi's armor is also a glory in itself, imposing and dominating like his own personality. And the "mandarin duck wings" make him look even more dashing. I love how the director is not only very masterful in his craft but also an avid WuLu couple shipper. From the behind-the-scenes, he’s very hands-on in helping the actors bring out the full sensitivity of their characters, ahem… especially the bashful and sweet romance between the 2 leads.

The soundtracks are so beautiful and fitting of the historical period. Splendid Star (星汉灿烂) by Shan Yi Chun is soft and smooth but still carries some intensity and momentum. Star River Sigh (星河叹) by Isabelle Huang is definitely my favourite with its heartbreaking nostalgia and poetic sensibility.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:

“When I’m with you [CSS], I feel human.” Ling Buyi

“Maybe Shao Shang is not the gentle lady who others prefer. But in my heart, she’s the best woman… in the whole wide world. She is innocent and courageous…. She’s the only one who can walk by my side. I will only marry her in this life.” Ling Buyi

“Although she [CSS] appears cold on the outside, she has always been a very caring person. She can only put her mind at ease, when those she cares about are doing well. That’s why I make sure all of you [CSS’s families and friends] are doing well.” Ling Buyi

"I can brew wine... build a water wheel... build kilns and fire tiles... Whether Ling Buyi is around or not, I'm a lady who lives well... Ling Buyi is the person I love most in this world. But I am nobody but myself." Cheng Shao Shang

“I told Her Majesty that since I engaged to you [LBY], everyone saw me as your fiancee. No one saw me as Cheng Shao Shang anymore. Her Majesty said that I was brought up as an independent lady. I only cared about myself, my personal gains and losses. She said I should try to be more amenable… more flexible." Cheng Shao Shang

"I'm proficient in poetry and classics. You're [CSS] good at building mechanisms. Everyone has something they're good at. You know what others don't. I'll slowly teach you what others know... There's no need to feel inferior. You can lift your head high." Empress Xuan

“When she [CSS] was young and needed to be loved most, she wasn’t loved by her family. If you [LBY] want to love her, you have to make up for her grief. Don’t always make her understand your choice. Only by discussing can you keep walking side-by-side.” Empress Xuan

"Back then, I always hoped she could be more mature. Until today, she has become so composed, as if she was a different person. Recalling old times, she behaved aggressively, always romped around. But it put my mind at ease... Was I mistaken since the beginning?" Cheng Shao Shang's mother

Leia Mais

A Must Watch Series!

ACTORS/ CHARACTERS:

Zhao Lusi never fails to surprise me with her acting skills. If you give her a role, she will definitely give justice to that role. She can act weak or strong, she can be funny or serious. Innocent or smart. Same as her partner Lei Wu. I've watched all his shows too and he really caught my attention too. From Fights Break Sphere until his latest show. I really love how he can portrayed each roles that were given to him. Specially the his character as pwd in Cross Fire. So this show gave us two very good actors without a doubt. Plus other actors that were all good. Specially the emperor, my favorite character in the story. Everyone can fell in love with his character.😄on the opposite my least favorite or I can say most hated character is CSS's Mom.😂 I won't elaborate more so not to give spoilers.😂 most useless character is Yuan Shen. I don't know why his character is still there. 😂 other characters are all good. My world stop when Cheng shao gong (twin of shao shang) met Ban Jia. I thought they will be a pair.😂 But my excitement didn't last for long when Ban Jia saw Yang Yang.

STORY:

I can say that the story isn't perfect but not to the point that it's too bad. Some points why Cheng shao Shang's mom couldn't empathize with her daughter, but can tolerate her mother in law and sister in laws. How she'd believed those superstitious beliefs and leave Shao Shang alone for a long time when she's a very smart general. Others are just minor problems/ flaws. But as a whole, I love how the writer give everyone a good character development. I love how he showed the development of General Ling's feelings for Shao Shang. I love how Shao Shang became a better person. As well as Lou Yao who learned from Shao Shang to be strong.

Part 1 is almost in the end, I hope they will release Part 2 right away so that audiences will not loose the momentum or won't forget the feeling they will leave us in Part 1.

Leia Mais

When it says slow burn, you better believe it!

Am actually writing this review for the first part after i completed watching the whole part 1 and part 2, so might probably mix them up (the rating is for the whole series though. Lol)

Ok first of all. Niao Niao here is barely a 15yo girl who has grown up without any (good) parental figure and was left to her own account to survive. Nevertheless, i spend almost 2/3rd of part 1 really trying to stop myself from not completely disliking (hating is a strong word) Shaoshang’s a-mu. That woman imo is completely ridiculous. I know she loved shaoshang silently (because viewers are shown that) but the way she acts with regards to shaoshang is completely ridiculous! Everyone said she is a just woman, and in trying to treat SS and YY justly, she just appears as a mean mother. And i dont even think she knows the word ‘fair’ well, because the way she coddled YY is basically putting down her own daughter and walk all over her. Lucky YY is a good girl nevertheless, because if any girl else being treated to such a pedestal and being backed up to such a level, it was no wonder if she end up being a villain. All in all, i completely am very much frustrated with Xiao Yuanyi. Lucky SS has her a fu and brothers at her side, or else i might end up more frustrated! Lol

And as I said, when they told you it is slow burn, you better believe it. Lol. The first 10 episodes are so slow I basically just grit my teeth and keep on watching because it’s Wu Lei and Lusi’s drama. Nothing much important happened, and LBY and SS also has minimal interaction together. And i am quite surprised that they spent sooo many episodes on SS and A Yao’s relationship +- courting even though i did appreciate how kind and honest Lao Yao is. My heart hurts when he needs to break up with SS (though at the same time happy because well, this is a chance for the main couple to start shining!).

I like the 2 sidekicks of LBY the most. Lol. Those 2 are such a comedic add ons to LBY’s cold face. Haha. And I also very much appreciate that the emperor and his harem is portrayed as so, it was a fresh breath of air from other emperor and his harem which is full of conniving backstabbing villains from other dramas. I love that the emperor dotes on LBY so much, he was treated almost better than the emperor’s sons themselves. Hahahha. Comedic lighthearted characters aside, this part 1 also has a lot ( and i mean a lotttt) of very annoying screechy characters. Basically all of the ladies (aside from Third Shumu and Qiqi) are annoying little shits and their mothers usually are no better. Sometimes, you just felt like pulling your own hairs watching their petty little conversation/trial of one upping each others, they are just that fickle!

Now, on to the main couple. I love that LBY treated SS so well in silent, it shows how much he loves her to me (as a viewer). But well, if i am SS, i also would not just make my own conclusion that he loves me just like that, without any words at all from him. He never mention that he likes her or at least saying anything towards that before he threatens her that she is agreeing to being his wife if she didnt agree to meet him in the forest during her engagement day to a yao. I was like woahhh where is that coming from? Lol. And yes, he could not completely gave himself towards building a relationship at that time just yet because his revenge is still not paid, so he basically can only let SS pass him by on another man’s arms. Lucky fate has its own plan, and A Yao has to be wedded to someone else, or else LBY will be left licking his own nails with his revenge to accompany him.

The cinematography is really nice i think, especially scenes such as the lantern festival and the place where SS meet LBY at her engagement day. However, i must say that the costumes are less flattery than other dramas’, but i think it is mostly due to the era/dynasty that LLTG is based on, rather than the costumes team itself. I can only see one main design for the costumes, be it the females or the males’ costume and the pastel colour itself doesnt seem so flattering. Usually i can feast my eyes on the costumes while watching chinese dramas, and this handicapped seems quite glaring to me.

OST during part one is basically non existent. I cannot remember much of it if it exists lol.

Leia Mais

MY BEST DRAMA IN 2022

This is my best drama in 2022. Overall in terms of production, story, cinematography, acting/cast, music and sound, all presented by awe artistic arrange embodiment. The combination of various emotional elements is combined to complement each other with the right portion and timing.

WHAT I LIKED – A BRIEF OVERVIEW

1. I felt engaged right away, from 1st episode, the opening of the drama was grand and heroic. The first appearance of ML is breathtaking with excellence authority. Leo Wu Lei is really powerful with his domineering aura as general Ling. His 'wooden' expression is so distinctive and memorable. Reflects a cold and mysterious personal side.
Zhao Lusi looks stunning both in gesture and expression to play the young Cheng Shaoshang with her nonchalant kid attitude, behind it through her courage and ingenuity dare to face the oppression of her grandmother's maid and uncle Dong's tactics fearlessly. Even though I was still in the midst of getting my bearings in terms of who's who. That's pretty impressive.

2. They are put in a lot of detailed effort to make the rendition of this drama world as authentic and true to the times as possible. With a surge of captivating aesthetic beauteous.

3. Our cast serves up lots of very solid performances, and together with the writing, this made the characters feel like real people. Over time, I really felt like I was getting to know these people, and I eventually grew fond of them too.

4. Cheng Shaoshang (Zhao Lusi) is just the kind of underdog heroine that I can get behind, beneath her young age where by of her 2nd aunt's mis-parenting that she doesn't got proper education to understand standard of manners and almost being illiterate, but in naturally she's quick-witted kid with amazing spatially and mathematically logical intelligence, her ability to analyze a person and/or situation is razor sharp. I also like her bravery and determination to fight for her goal. I loved watching her come into her own.

Leia Mais

Emotional ride with a bit of a flat progression.

Saying I am not completely invested in this slow burn romance (it’s so slow one could think it literally backtracks a few times) would be a lie. They got me on their first shared screen time and I did not even mind the fact they barely interact in the first half of part 1 of the show.

Love Like the Galaxy in its part 1 feels a lot like a family slice of life rather than a typical historical romance. The focus is on the main characters as individuals rather than them as a pair and future couple. Especially with Shao Shang, we can observe in detail how she interacts with all members of her family. On the other hand, while we don’t see Bu Yi interact with many people in his circle (except from his 2 loyal companions, who sadly had less and less screen time as drama progressed), the plot focused on the past mystery surrounding his family and tragedy that befell on it.

Here’s the deal though: while I believe they did a close to perfect job with Shao Shang and her side of the story, Bu Yi just felt underdeveloped - both as a character and his storyline. Any questions I might have had regarding the female lead were addressed one way or another, while many times I got so little information about male lead, I was not even sure what to ask - so I slowly completely lost interest in his solo quest for justice.

As for the romance - the sweet agony I felt because of Bu Yi’s pinning was amazing. I love how we didn't really get to see leads interact a lot. That said, just because they didn’t share the screen, does not mean there was no chemistry. They were able to sell the connection even when they were not together. How amazing is that! They influenced each other and slowly depended on each other, even without many interactions.

At some point though it started to feel frustrating. While we saw and understood how Bu Yi’s feelings changed, Shao Shang was an uninterested romantic mystery for way too long. So by the end of part 1, how her feelings and understanding of herself changed felt a little bit rushed. I’m sorry, but if you deliver romance at 0.25x speed, you cannot speed it up with quick 30 seconds flashbacks later on.

Another thing that bothered me pacing wise was the Lou Yao part of the plot. This story was unnecessarily long, when in fact it had little impact on characters. With how little it mattered, how long it took to resolve was surprising and… well, annoying.

On the bright side - I love a lot of the supporting characters. Wan Qi Qi and the emperor are definitely some of the best. Especially with the emperor, he delivers some great humor and comedy bits.

Acting wise - amazing. Not one performance felt flat. Zhao Lu Si can deliver both the carefree and charming, and serious and defeated. Leo Wu was probably born to play in historical romance shows. Huge shoutout to Xu Di - her dramatic performance as Madam Cheng is to die for.

Another good aspect is obviously the scenography, set design, camera work, lighting and all the rest production related things. The show is simply beautiful. Not taking screenshots while watching is a crime.

Overall, a really solid first half, but the true quality and value it has will be known after watching the rest of the show.

Leia Mais

A Love/Hate Letter to Love Like the Galaxy

Dear Show,

Is it cheating if I post the same review for both part 1 and part 2 of LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY? Because to be fair, the drama is one whole story to me.

Gosh, this was one hell of a review to write because of the plethora of emotions I feel. I think it’s probably more fitting to call it a Love-Hate Letter to the drama. Part One (episodes 1-27) is a solid, top-notch 10 for me. 10/10 would recommend as a truly splendid drama. Part Two (episodes 28-56 or 1-29) is an 8.5 from me, which is bias because I think that’s a generous score given all the issues I have with it. This does round the entire drama to be a 9 though. It was soo close to a perfect 10, and that makes me sad that we were so close!

The last time I loved a drama like this was in 2015 with LANG YA BANG/NIRVANA IN FIRE. Seven years later with LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY (LLTG), I was ready to tie it to the brilliance of NIRVANA IN FIRE (NIF). For consolation, I guess it’s the romance version in terms of almost phenomenal execution like NIF, but I’ve pegged it down a few notches because of the drama’s ending. I’ll explain my issues with part 2 much later if you’re curious enough or care to read more.

First, I would also like to point out how significant the two dramas, NIF and LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY (LLTG) tie in for me. Wu Lei played Fei Lu in NIF, an ever loyal and martial arts genius bodyguard to the titular character of Mei Changsu. Mei Changsu was a brilliant strategist and military general whose goal was to exact justice for the wrongs that annihilated his family. Here, Wu Lei comes full circle in being the lead as a revered and intelligent general whose goal is to exact revenge for the demise of his maternal family clan.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Before I dive into details for the rest of my review and ramblings, here’s my non-spoiler review:

As a whole, this is a spectacular, powerhouse of a historical drama with a wonderful romance story. If this is your cup of tea, then I would in this case, 9/10 recommend with a caveat. Historical dramas in my opinion, tend to have little romance, and are often paved with slow burn romances if a love line is there. If you’re just in it for the romance, it may or may not work, depending on your cup of tea or coffee. After all, we all know dramas are so subjective, as such is the case with most things in life.

Zhao Lusi blew me away with her performance. I never really watched any of her previous works only because the story never appealed enough to me. This girl though! She has a knack for delivering the comedic punch from the flicker of her eyes and the expression she is able to capture. We can feel everything on her face even from the tiniest of movements. Yet when she cries, you feel the pure anguish and heartbreak in the way she conveys those. As for Wu Lei, I didn’t care about him before either. I thought he looked good in THE LONG BALLAD, but that was it. In LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY, he didn’t really get comfortable in his role for me until much later, and at times he came off awkward. This kind of worked in his favor though, granted his character was socially awkward at times. The second part of the drama was where I could see his growth as a professional actor in displaying more of his capabilities by bringing a facet of emotions forward through his eyes and lips. A cool tidbit that I also appreciated was the cast dubbed their own voices! That isn’t quite common in Chinese dramas from my understanding, so it was especially great to be able to hear the real voices of Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei as they breathed their characters to life onto the screen.

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY is the story about our protagonist, Cheng Shaoshang, left behind by her parents who go off to war, only for her to be raised by her awful grandma and 2nd aunt-in-law. Shaoshang grows up resilient, intelligent, with a love of building and understanding mechanisms, and is fiercely independent in having had to survive childhood under awful circumstances. When her parents return home from war, she’s thrust into society and once again, is forced to use her wits to navigate the waters of social and familial norms, etiquette, being filial, and growing into her potential of who she is without losing the essence of what she values and stands for. In the process, she catches the attention of a prominent general, a man named Ling Buyi, who carries with him a deep secret. Having almost lost the chance to pursue Cheng Shaoshang once to her engagement with another man, General Ling Buyi seizes a rare moment and strategizes his way to win her love before she slips from him once more. Their slow-burn romance with the various encounters that build up to show how our male lead falls for our heroine is beautiful.

Look, your girl here has never loved an OTP (one true pairing) as much from a Chinese drama until now. Their chemistry together was simply mesmerizing. Upon finishing the drama now, the hill I will choose to die on is the one where no one else can play the respective roles of Cheng Shaoshang and Ling Buyi the way Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei perfected them.

56 episodes is a major commitment. For some people, time is of the essence where you don’t have enough time in the days or weeks to give to watching dramas, so maybe you’re like me, and you have to choose wisely where you’ll exert your energy. Or if you’re like me, highly judgmental of shows and can drop them like hot potatoes…don’t drop the gem of this one! These dramas are like unicorns, spotted only once every blue moon. Am I right or am I right?

The show picks up momentum at the 6th episode. If after 6 episodes and you find yourself struggling, it might not be for you. However, I truly recommend coming in with an abundance of patience if you’re curious as to why the drama soared to such popularity and buzz in the time it was broadcasted, as I humbly believe the payoff is worth it. I absolutely adored the pacing of the drama, because at the core, it is a story woven by complicated family dynamics backed an equally compelling cast of supporting characters, a slice-of-life, a well-constructed historical but immersive world, found family, surviving in the face of trauma and loss, finding and understanding different forms of love, and a coming-of-age in wisdom, resiliency, and healing. Almost every single character was tailored for their role. Actually, it’s probably the other way around, that the actors and actresses created their roles to be so memorable, I don’t think anyone else could have fit into the shoes of any of these characters. There is phenomenal chemistry not just between our OTP, but throughout the relationships of each character towards one another. If you ever take a step back, you realize that many of these characters would be compelling enough to be the protagonist in their own story.

I loved so many things about the drama. There are wonderful, but heartbreaking narratives of how one can never feel like they’re enough for their parents, no matter what they do or don’t. The complex family dynamics is such a telling story in many Asian households. The protagonist’s view throughout the story of relying on only yourself to get through, because it’s how she’s survived, to the evolution in understanding of finding a way to live a well-meaningful life, even if one didn’t get married, is possible. Yes, it’s against the grain, but the touch on this was nice, and I wish this idealism was something they showed in part 2 of the series. I am all for female empowerment, and how lovely it would have been to see if one chooses to get married, it’s because they want to, not because it’s the expectation to do so. Despite many issues in the later part of the series, one major thing I loved about the drama is the love story between our leads that started off beautifully and will stay with me for the most part. There was something so magical in the way that slow-burn romance had unfolded. It’s a trope that I carry close to my heart.

Part 2 was a turbulent ride, with higher stakes and greater danger at play, and yet it missed the mark on multiple occasions in comparison to part 1. We really be treading rough waters out here in the final stretch of the drama.

Currently, I have a love-hate relationship with this drama. It is the first time I feel so sad and bitter about what could have been, otherwise I wouldn’t have spent such an invested amount of time writing out something so long that encompasses my emotions. I am still scarred from the later parts that I’ve not gone back to rewatch scenes the way I constantly did for part 1 and a huge chunk of part 2 from episodes 28-41.

There are major character inconsistencies throughout and plot holes, GALORE. Shaoshang is shown throughout part 1 to be bold but stands up for herself and is intelligent. Under pressure or on the spot, she flourishes and is quick on her feet. Part 2 was as if there were two different teams writing her character, the A-Team, and the draft-zero team. They dumbed her down, when there was never a need to in the first place. I don’t even want to count through the number of times she needed rescuing and was held at knifepoint. She went from someone so intelligent to regressing here and there in part 2. Not to mention, the sheer number of villains the drama shoved onto our screens near the end of the drama. Characters just seem to be popping out of nowhere. Some scenes dragged on for no reason in trying to gain sympathy, but I felt it was already a botched job. Then other scenes where they should have fleshed things out were sloppily shoved down our throats in an attempt for us to care. It was too little, too late.

Something about the romance and magic of the love story was also lost towards the end of the drama for me. I understand the situations the characters had to go through, but seeing that it was how their love was tested, the way the characters lacked growth from the experience was such a let-down. The show could have done some deep dive into important relationships like friendships between the characters and their growth and healing from trauma. The drama had so much they could have worked with, but instead relied heavily on cheap tropes at the end. There was no set up so the payoff meant nothing. I fast forwarded through a chunk of the ending at times. All the buildup only for this to fizzle out. It hurts, I tell ya!

Let’s go back to the other wonderful things about this drama, so I can momentarily forget the aftertaste of sand still lingering. The production crew and backers of this drama is grand on all fronts. Whoever is also behind the editing of the weekly trailers has also outdone themselves too. Each of the trailers released gives just enough to anticipate and have the audience guessing wildly as they await the release, only to still save all the best moments for within the story itself. There is a talented ensemble cast, show-stopping action sequences, synced musical scores in the first half, flawless comedic timing, and extensive, sweeping cinematography from costume, set of to the world around them for what appears to be inspiration from the Han Dynasty. They really rolled out the big-guns with production on all fronts for this drama. If we believe in drama gods, this production crew from the staff, director, screenwriter, to the cast members, hit the jackpot. The universe conspired to put this team together, and because the drama gods smiled down on this one, we’re so blessed.

I remember even within the first shot where they introduced Ling Buyi, you knew he was a revered and great general...and without a doubt, the male lead of the show. The way the production team filmed the magnitude of the soldiers under General Ling Buyi’s command and the sweeping camera angle as he put on a black and red cape gifted to him for his accomplishment by the emperor, it gives one an inkling of how splendid this story could be. From the costumes to the set, to the cinematography with the perfect camera angles of its inhabitants, to the landscapes and architecture used, I knew we would be in for a rare treat.

That’s it for my spoiler-free review.

(If you'd like to read my super long essay about the drama where I write more on the things I loved and hated about the drama, you can find it at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1czlgKAZpBndsV3JcIyNFm8fdqKBuccFz/)

Leia Mais

Most satisfying drama or series I have ever watched. First drama I ever gave an 10/10.

Just finished with Part 2.

I normally watch only Wuxia/Material Arts/Action focused shows. I also don´t like comedy and almost wouldn´t have watched it because of the silly trailer!
But OMG am I glad I did! Best character writing, directing and acting I have seen... maybe ever!
I really have never seen a Chinese drama with so much depth. The characters felt so real.
And the overall writing was also really good. After the two first episodes only a few more where a bit hard to get through (By comparison = most other Chinese dramas of this length would have been better with 10 or 20 episodes less - not so with this one!).
The humor at the beginning (first 3 or 4 episodes) was sometimes more annoying/exhausting than funny, but it develops a lot and in retrospect I wouldn´t change anything about it.

It really can´t be compared to any other dramas (Disclaimer: haven't watched The Story of Ming Lan) but if I had too: Nirvan In Fires story and character writing was similarly sophisticated. But while Nirvana in Fire (1) gave me chills with it´s political plot, Love LIke the Galaxy`s specialty are the beautiful sentimental moments, the character growth, the beautiful romantic scenes, the joyful momentsand yea the heartbreaking moments too. It´s one of the most realistic feeling historical shows, but unlike with The Red Sleeve it won`t leave you depressed!

Only slight con: The soundtracks for 2 or 3 scenes where weird and didn´t fit at all. + The translation on YouTube isn´t that great in the beginning and they muted and switched out a few soundtracks there, for copyright reasons. We only watched the first and last couple of episodes on YouTube but for the most part we watched on DramaNice.

P/s: First Asian drama I watched with my Mom and I couldn´t have picked a better one.

Leia Mais

More of a long analysis with some novel vs drama comparisons than a review

After watching the entire drama and feeling disappointed by the end, I remembered my very lengthy part 1 analysis and decided to post it here. It's interesting how much of my fears back then were realized in part 2. Give it a read if you're interested in my initial thoughts back then...

I'm reading the novel (never been so thankful for forcing myself to learn how to read mandarin after college) and although the production team/director's doing a brilliant job, for the most part, at respecting the source material and bringing justice to its world/characters, they do falter a bit when it comes to the FL (female lead) and several other female characters (mainly the minor antagonists).

The FL in the novel is not only brilliant and nuanced (author's very talented at crafting badass, 3 dimensional heroines), but her spirit's also an educated time traveler who was from modern times. This makes it completely believable that she's so knowledgeable in many different fields, yet lacks the ability to read archaic texts that's a staple amongst the nobility (she can read the majority of vernacular text).

In addition, since the novel FL never received parental love either before or after she transmigrated, she possesses a cynical attitude towards the world and tends to place herself in the role of an observer, rolling her eyes and poking fun at the shenanigans happening around her. Even with this jaded attitude, she still values sincerity and shows warmth to those who are genuinely kind to her.

This is a heroine who possesses high intelligence (has a flair for strategy and mechanics), practicality, wit, and dry humor all rolled up in one. She's the kind of relatable, mature, calm and collected heroine I dream about reading in a romance!

Her ultimate goal is to become independent and carefree, so many of her actions reflect that objective. All of her decisions are carefully weighed/considered in order to avoid being trapped in a life where she's unable to express her true self.

Due to censorship, the time travel aspect of our FL's character was stripped away and the director/script writers had to think of ways to best preserve the novel FL's attributes in a way that makes sense within the drama. Luckily, they retained most of her intelligence/street smarts, caution, and cynical attitude even when it stretches drama world logic from time to time, especially when it comes to her extensive vocabulary despite being truly uneducated.

The director also gave her some immature attributes since the drama her is no longer an older spirit inhabiting the body of a 15 yr. old (13 yrs. in the novel). Her cynicism/distrust is due to being neglected by everyone including her parents and yet, because of her young age, she still yearns for motherly affection. She treats people who are kind to her with equal fervor/warmth, but sometimes goes too far when exacting revenge on those who wrong her. Despite all this, the drama FL was still established as someone mature for her age due to being abandoned by her parents and raised by an aunt-in-law who's a viper. Lacking a proper parental figure, she had to wise up and fend for herself.

And up until recent episodes, I've been ecstatic at the way the drama creators have been faithfully showcasing the novel FL's nuances and character growth. Everything from her relationships with the people around her to her witnessing the atrocities of war contributed to her character growth. For the majority of part 1, the drama's been very successful at developing her into a believable, flesh and blood character.

One of my favorite scenes was the bridge incident because it allowed the FL to display flaws while staying true to her character. Her mistakes and subsequent stubbornness make her more human and yet, her character's actions were completely believable. Nothing she did was inconsistent with her character setup.

Everything I've seen for the majority of the first 27 episodes has led me to believe that the production crew's intentions are to faithfully adapt the novel's story/characters to the best of their ability. After reading parts of the novel, I approved of most of the changes in part 1 as they were all done in an effort to either streamline or elevate the drama.

However, there are some changes I didn't care for like the increasing amount of bitch drama (esp. the one in the palace involving all the princesses ganging up on the FL, effectively turning her into a damsel who had to be saved by our swoon-worthy ML) in the later part 1 episodes which weakened the FL and made all the other minor female characters into one-note caricatures instead of characters with nuance.

This amplifying of drama for drama's sake approach was even extended to the FL's mother in the earlier episodes. In this case, the writers added several scenes of mother-daughter drama that didn't exist in the novel. But similar to the later bitch drama, the additional mother-daughter drama doesn't really add anything of substance and becomes very repetitive.

Fortunately, the mother, unlike the one-note palace females, is actually a nuanced and 3-dimensional character when she's interacting with everyone else who's not her daughter. There are many scenes with other people that showcased her badass, intelligent, and introspective side, which effectively added more dimensions to her character. However, this doesn't extend to the majority of scenes with her own daughter, the FL.

For some reason, the drama turned her into a toxic mom who repeatedly criticized her daughter at every turn. It turned into a sort of pattern: Every time the FL does something, her mother would have some form of nitpick and would ignore anything she does right. This behavior kept repeating like clockwork until it begin to feel unnatural. It's almost as if the writing purposely handicaps the mother from dealing out any compliments to the FL, making this aspect of her character seem like a plot device that exists solely to make the FL feel unloved.

In the novel, the mother was much more reasonable, even if her relationship with the FL, similar to the drama, was never the best. There was never this repeating pattern of her criticizing the FL at every turn and she also suffered more consequences. For example, her mistake with the study table where she unfairly publicly shamed the FL actually resulted in graver consequences: The FL's father refused to speak to her for a few days and the aunt was more harsh. This led to her being more ashamed and self aware of her actions. She felt more like a person when dealing with her daughter in comparison to her version in the drama.

I also didn't like how the drama made the FL seem all flip-floppy after her blowup with the ML since right after she told him she didn't want him in her life, she immediately started reconsidering. No matter how nice he's been, it still doesn't change the fact that he practically forced her into an engagement out of the blue without consulting with her beforehand. She's a character who values free will and clearly hates being forced into doing anything. Due to his high-handed actions, she should only be at the "reluctantly accepting the engagement" phase. That montage that suggests she's falling for him already kind of felt unnatural and rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm now worried about the FL's love trajectory. I'm scared that the creators are purposely making her feelings for the ML more abstract so that they can take more liberties with her character in order to have the best of both worlds: Fanservice for the viewers while remaining faithful to the source material.

The montage of all the leads' closeup interactions at the end of season 1, however unnatural, clearly made it seem like the FL's reached some form of love revelation, but I heard that subsequent episodes have her regressing and taking the "unsure of her feelings" stance. This only hurts her character, making her out to be someone who's wishy-washy. And FLs who are indecisive about their feelings are one of my pet peeves in a romance. It's annoys the hell out of me if I see FLs telling the MLs how they want them out of their life one minute and then the moment they got what they asked for, they're all mopey and regretful -ugh...makes me want to slap them.

That montage immediately following the blowup, with the FL sprouting a lovestruck expression and then acting all giddy, came off as forced and completely out of character. It skated dangerously close to my pet peeve FL behavior scenario in a romance. And the fact that it was put in at the very end of part 1 makes it even more evident that the writers only did it to hook in viewers for part 2. They really failed to consider the bigger picture and how out of place it'll later become if they still intend to respect/follow the novel FL's overall character growth.

I just don't want the FL's love trajectory to turn into a complete mess only because the drama writers want to please everyone: Book lovers and casual viewers. You all know what happens when you try to please everyone, you end up compromising story integrity and pleasing no one. It seems like in order to both follow the novel love trajectory and please viewers, the writers decided to utilize the "dangling a carrot" approach when it comes to the FL's feelings: They give just enough fanservice/cutesy scenes (misleading viewers into thinking she's deeper in love than she really is) until they arrive at a major novel plot point where they then yank it all back, rolling with the novel FL's status quo, which then kind of clashes with the drama character changes that were tweaked for fanservice. Sigh...making character changes based on viewer response almost always leads to disaster due to the writing inconsistencies.

By attempting to have the best of both worlds, they're going to end up weakening the FL's overall character. Which is a shame, because nuanced, 3-dimensional FLs of this caliber are practically a unicorn in romantic dramas. It's especially rare because very few production companies even respect the source material of novels they buy. It still feels surreal that a romantic and well-written novel with a nuanced/lovable FL is even chosen to be adapted, let alone respected. So I really really want them to make use of the FL's potential and not let it go to waste. I'm just concerned about the warning signs I'm seeing and don't want this brilliant character to end up regressing, becoming unbaked.

And if the drama creators wanted to satisfy fans, there are others ways to put in fanservice without compromising character integrity. In the novel, I heard the FL gets engaged to the ML before the halfway point and that's when their romance really starts (the ML hardly showed up before this). Since they already changed this in the drama by tastefully adding in more interactions with the ML in a way that didn't compromise story integrity, they could have easily had the FL start falling (yet make it clear she's not "in love" yet) for the ML organically over the course of the engagement in the next several episodes.

At this point, they're learning how to operate as a couple after all and the FL can start appreciating him after getting to know him better. They can put in plenty of fanservice during this process and remain faithful to the source material since "starting to like someone" doesn't equate to deep love. This way, they can still keep the novel FL's character intact (novel FL doesn't fall deeply for the ML until much later, which is very true to the cynical/distrustful nature of her character) while pleasing fans with cute moments.

Point is, the production team already showed me in part 1 that they understand and respect the source material enough not to compromise story/character integrity. If they didn't care, they would have had the ML/FL interact much more in order to jumpstart the romance as quickly as possible. But they didn't go that route and respected the novel instead by focusing on the FL's story/character growth. Of course they couldn't ignore the ML completely, but the way they sprinkled scenes of him sporadically all worked in service of the story. It's almost the textbook example of what you would do with a major character that's completely absent in the first part of a novel.

They also weren't afraid of displaying the darker aspects of our leads. Because of all that care and respect, I'm now even more baffled/disappointed by their latest shenanigans. Why are they dropping the ball now by getting sloppy with the FL when the story's essentially about her growth and development? Ugh...I really really hope this is only temporary and the drama gets back on track!

Other than that, the majority of this drama, thus far, had been one full of nuanced characters, decent writing (being mainly faithful to the novel), and delicious buildup of tension between our leads (ML's proposal and subsequent carriage scene were the hottest); I had been hoping it would avoid resorting to cheap tactics/tropes that cater to the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, the latest episodes have been using some of my most hated drama tropes: Dumbing down the FL and other characters in order to elevate the ML and dialing up drama simply for drama's sake.

This has already happened during the palace bitch drama incident. In the novel, Wang Ling tried to ignore the FL (she'd been burned before and knew she wasn't a match for her) and it was the FL who first provoked her. The 5th princess wanted to avenge Wang Ling, but she never went further than kicking the FL's shoe before the ML intercepted. Even then, the FL's already thinking up a tactic to counter her so she probably never needed his help anyway.

But the drama somewhat weakened her and turned all the other females into plot device bitches who have nothing better to do than be the FL's foil all day, everyday. This was all in their attempt to set our FL up as the damsel in need of saving in order to elevate the ML's hotness. The hotness was achieved, but it came at the expense of all the other female characters. Our FL from the earlier episodes who effectively delegated orders, led around her subordinates, and held her own against the fake bandits wouldn't have needed saving in this particular incident. Sigh...

They didn't rely on this cheap trope in the first 20+ episodes, so why start now? Why are they okay with besmirching all of their hard work with the FL in almost half the drama? If this continues, these inconsistencies will turn her into more of a plot device than a nuanced character. None of her later brilliant feats will feel as natural if they keep sprinkling more of these "dumbing down the FL in order to emphasize the ML's appeal" moments in between. God, I hope this gets nipped in the bud soon!

Whew...I had a lot to say and needed to write it all out. It's been a while since I've been so obsessed with a drama and I desperately want it to stay its course to the very end. Fortunately, it's not too late and I hope the production team can resolve all this in a satisfactory manner instead of simply brushing it off as an isolated incident of stupidity where it's never mentioned again and the FL suddenly becomes smart again when the next plot point demands it.

I desperately want this drama to become a shining example of how incredible a book to screen adaptation can be when you make all the right decisions: Respecting the source material and staying mostly faithful, yet not being afraid to make changes when it better serves the drama and elevates the story.

I want this drama to join the ranks of my three all-time favorite dramas:

"Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" (successful adaptation that elevated the novel with my favorite romance of all time)

"Nirvana in Fire" (successful adaptation that's probably the most flawless drama amongst my top 3)

"Someday or One Day" (original script with an intriguing mystery almost flawlessly written and an epic romance)

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