“The Rise of Ning” does have some resemblance to " The Story of Ming Lan” with a focus on family life, a smart female lead, a good-hearted and doting grandmother and in-fighting between the wives. However, it’s a much shorter and lighter version, and might be easier for new C-drama watchers to enjoy.

Plot & Characters:
I really enjoy the happenings at the Luo Household. The pacing of the drama is good with stories revolving around each child, their struggles to be the favorite and the star of the family, and the scheming between the wives. Nothing was actually too crazy and over-the-top. The ‘evil’ women aren’t really that bad, compared to those in other dramas I’ve seen. Thus, it makes for an easy and enjoyable watch. I love the grandmothers and the doting General. The General makes me smile each tie he tries to please his daughter and to make up for lost times. The revenge/investigation plot was fine, but not as tightly-written. I feel the last episode was a little rushed and screentime could have been better distributed with a stronger focus on the crime/villains, than the wedding festivities. For some, our leads might be overly smart and can seem too perfect. But I have to say, I enjoy watching them outsmart everyone and I don’t have to worry too much about them, thus, making this an easy, stress-free watch. Overall, “The Rise of Ning” kept my attention for almost the whole drama when I was binge-watching it.

Romance:
Unfortunately, I am disappointed with the main romance. The leads have better chemistry as siblings than when they’re lovers. I found FL’s transition from sibling love to romantic love too abrupt and out of nowhere. Additionally, I felt a little weird watching the leads together as siblings, yet feel they're a little too intimate. The secret of the birth identity was not revealed until the last ¼ of the drama, thus not allowing enough time for the romance to develop well. If you are looking for cute and fluffy scenes, then you will be even more disappointed. Surprisingly, I am more touched by 2ML’s storyline. I might be the minority here. I don’t find him too annoying despite wanting to be with FL for most of the drama. His scenes with FL were short ones and sporadic. In the end, instead of frowning upon his obsession and shaking my head, I feel bad for him and wish he would have a better ending. Luckily, the secondary romance is a little cuter and much more innocent. They don’t take up too much of the leads screen time and enough to just keep me happy.

Acting:
From the youngest to the oldest, the acting of the whole cast is pretty good. Zhang Wan Yi’s role is more mature and reserved, compared to his role in “Are You The One”. It’s a joy to watch him again especially when he continues to dub his own lines. He has quite a unique voice and his line delivery isn’t bad. Ren Min performed better than when she’s in “The Longest Promise”. I believe she dubbed her own lines as well and she also has quite a unique voice that takes me a little while to get used to. Ci Sha is awesome and that’s why I feel so bad for his character. The rest of the younger supporting cast did fine but the veterans really shine.

Production:
999 Cold medicine must have contributed a lot to the drama’s budget to give us beautiful costumes and sets. The leads clothes and accessories change throughout the drama to reflect their change in socio-economic status. Ren Min is gorgeous in this drama. She has the best make-up out of everyone (everyone else’s is not good) and her clothes are beautiful. Zhang Wan Yi looks dashing (and quite skinny) in his nicely patterned outfits. I love the sets inside the Luo mansion: the gardens, FL and ML’s individual quarters, and all the fixtures and decorations. The wedding scenes are elaborate and I’ve never seen the bride throw chopsticks (like she’s throwing a bouquet of flowers). The fight scenes are OK and I wasn’t really expecting much anyway. “The Rise of Ning” only has 5 songs in the OST and they complemented the scene well. I really like the main theme <安宁> by A-Lin.


I had a pretty good time watching “The Rise of Ning” and I’ll recommend it. Tamper the expectations of romance and don’t expect sizzling chemistry, cute and fluffy scenes or great skinship. But the drama has pretty good acting, stories about families, beautiful clothes, lovely characters and ‘villains’ who are not too infuriating.



Completed: 11/9/2024 - Review #510