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Sweet Enough To Keep You Going
WARNING:At the very bottom of this review, there will be spoilers. Please just scroll through past that part if you aren't interested.
First Impression:
I first started this drama because I saw a clip of it on YouTube where the main lead was sweetly asking the female lead to go back home with him after she almost suffered a miscarriage. Since it was getting around my final exams and I was finding ways to procrastinate, might as well watch something sweet to pass the time. I quickly finished the first few episodes within one day since it was pretty fast-paced and the storyline developed pretty quickly. However, around episode 9 or 10, I started to lose interest. The storyline gets repeated, the push and pull between the leads happen, and it just kept happening back and forth. I eventually finished it 5 five days later and here I am.
Story:
Here are the typical Chinese drama tropes in this drama: arranged marriage, the cold male lead, the bubbly and smart female lead, supportive side leads, jealous side characters, etc.
I honestly didn't mind most of these, but what really bothered me was how many times the word "divorce" was brought up in this drama. This was the first time I saw the word "divorce" was being casually thrown around like 50 times in a historical drama, especially since divorcing was so taboo back then. The main leads almost got divorced like 5 times in this drama.
What I did like about the drama was how sweet the main lead was when he warmed up to the female lead. As always, she was his soft spot. Even though he was always trying to do what was best for her or trying to protect her, it was always a struggle.
The main conflict of the drama wasn't even brought up until halfway through the drama and didn't even pick up speed until the end, so the middle part of the drama was just full of lovey-dovey moments. So if you enough dramas where there are a lot of lovey-dovey scenes, this one is it (there are even many side love stories).
I'm also going to rant about the ending of the drama at the very ending, so if you don't want that, please just don't scroll to it.
Acting/Cast:
Caesar as Chu Xiu Ming was a big shocker for me. After Meteor Garden in 2018, the majority of the F4's went incognito until 2020, including Caesar. Caesar in historical clothing was an interesting turn of events. I wouldn't say he matched the historical theme perfectly just based on just this drama, but he looks fragile for his character. Chu Xiu Ming is a handsome and young general, which breaks all stereotypes of a typical general. Caesar's portrayal of Chu Xiu Ming was okay for the most part. I would say the writing and character set up of Chu Xui Ming wasn't the best. There were many plot holes with his emotions and I wasn't able to keep up with his quick emotional changes in each scene. For example, he'll be super sweet in one scene, stern in another, aloof in the next one, then mysterious in the next. The transitions of the scenes weren't the best but you could get a grip of the overall feel of each scene.
Tang Min as Shen Jin was pretty decent. I tried to watch her in Chef Hua earlier this year but quickly dropped the whole series. Her character portrayal in Chef Hua is very similar to Shen Jin. They both are optimistic, bubbly, carefree, but ever so often needs to be rescued by the male lead (insert the falling and then is caught by main lead scenes in slow motion). Shen Jin is strong-minded, stubborn, enjoys freedom but can be very, very petty. Most of her actions were to get back at the male lead or was to just have fun, which usually leads to a lot of trouble. She also enjoys drinking ( like a lot) and there are plenty of scenes where she is just drunk and acts rashly. Her type of character is not usually my favorite, but her portrayal of this type of character is much better in this than the first 8 episodes I've seen of Chef Hua.
The side characters are pretty new to me. They all are pretty decent, but my favorite side character is Shen Jin's mother. Her mother's love for her daughter was so beautiful. Even though she was always pushed around as a maid turned concubine, she had her own morals and held strong to them.
The other side character's love story like Shen Jin's maid and Chu Xiu Yuan's love story was cute and added more fluff to the story.
Music:
I loved the opening theme song, "Only For You". I was sweet and played at the right moments throughout the series. The main lead also covers the song and it's pretty good too.
Rewatch Value:
If I'm feeling in need of some sweet moments in my life, I would definitely rewatch scenes of this drama on YouTube. I wouldn't rewatch all of it just because I'm bored, but the lovey-dovey scenes are pretty cute to not rewatch.
Overall:
Not bad, but not perfect. If you want to pass time watching a more light-hearted drama, this one is it. But if you are looking for more serious dramas like Eternal Love, Princess Weiyoung, or Joy of Life, you might not enjoy this drama as much.
WARNING: SPOILER OF THE ENDING
Okay...so what's the point of adding the modern scene in this drama? Like, they got a happy ending, what's the point of paralleling the historical part to the modern part, unless they are hinting towards a second season. I wouldn't mind a second season, but at this point, I'm more than happy with the story ending where it is and a second season isn't really necessary. Plus, they portrayed the modern-day Chu Xiuming as shy and soft which is out of character for him.
Additionally, prior to that, WHY DID THEY SKIP HOW CHU XIUMING AND SHEN JIN GOT SAVED FROM THE SAND PIT? Like, tadah! We didn't know how to properly come up with a solution to save them from this tragedy so just use your imagination. Now I'm super curious about how they got saved. If the others found a way to open the platform, the only way is to pull them out with a rope. Even so, with how deep they were in and with the continuous sand falling in, it would be hard to get them out. They got their happy ending, even the overly jealous sisters got a happy ending. For a historical Chinese drama, I would say this ending is way too happy to be true, but hey, I don't mind it either compared to all those heart-wrenching endings like Goodbye My Princess.
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Love it!
This was the first really soppy historical romance that I came across after watching The Wolf, and Empress Ki. Those borough on completely different levels to a generals lady which I found more on the comedy and light Romance but still very much enjoyed!.I really enjoyed The General 's Lady. This series was really cute and romantic. I found it very funny and light-hearted..
I loved all the characters they worked so well together this was the first time seeing all these actors in a drama so I cannot wait to see what other dramas they are in and saying how the acting has developed.
I do feel the ending was rushed, I would of loved more of the story from the other characters as well.
I still love this drama and I come back to watch it every couple of months. Totally recommend.
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This series is underrated.
If you are the type of person who is hungry of romance and loves that genre, then this is the story for you, because this show is UNDERRATED!! I know people who usually don't fancy historical shows but loves this one!DON'T WORRY! NOT SPOILERS!
Plot:
The first episode was already enough to pull me to watch the whole series. Honestly I find the plot to be quite interesting, Its definitely not draggy, not too rushed either except a small part (but doesn't matter) but the story does make you wonder especially towards the end. There's really a back story to it :)
Romance:
BOYY THERE'S A LOT!! OF!! KISSING!! Don't just talk about kissing. The romance itself is AMAZING that will definitely make your cheeks red ? it's literally the top 2 favorite romance series in my list (for real, I'm the type to only be really interested in romance shows)
Acting:
I really think the roles suit them. As you may or may not know, the male lead is a general. His broad shoulders and his figure in does give me the general vibe. His acting? Amazing. Fits every scene so well that is capable enough to make you feel and understand the scenes. Wu Xi Ze has exceeded my expectations. Female lead? Super cute! Tang Min and her role she plays are actually different! Their bond towards each other are so natural, you wouldn't think they are acting!
OST
The main one? Love it. Was stuck in my head the whole time I was watching the series. In fact, very meaningful.
TLDR: Give it a try! Just watch the first episode, if it's up to ur standards it will definitely pull you. Writing this makes me wanna rewatch if again, so go try it! I'm sure you won't regret it :) [made this acc just to write this lol, this show needs more recognition!!]
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A General in love
I have rewatched this drama for 5 times already. Surprising i never really get bored. It has everything look forward in a drama. Simple yet sensible and heartwarming.I hope chinese entertainment can produce more of this. From start to finish it was done really well. It wasnt really grand even costumes are repeated till the end but it never downgraded the beautiful and well written drama.
The cast were excellent. The emotions were delivered by them beautifully.
It's rare to really build perfect chemistry for leads till the end. But both leads had it from start till the end. Ceasar has always been good in acting but this one showcased so far the best of him. He seemed to be well invested on this role from start till the end. A cold general with lonely eyes in the beginning yet slowly he was able to show how he melted his walls along the way. It was really well done
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Not worth 30 episodes and Female Lead character was terrible! Awful screenwriting and directing
It was interesting at first to see the struggles of the Rui family kinda cinderalla -ish with multiple wives and sisters and a pathetic father. And interesting to watch the General's reaction to his new wife.But kept thinking the FL character of Jin'er would get better but it was awful. She didn't grow or mature. It was a constant misunderstanding, scheming, whining, irritating stupidity that continued to make the General have to apologize and show his love to a ridiculously immature and annoyingly bratty girl that never evolved into a woman. She wouldn't see the big picture.
Stuck with it just to see who was the ultimate person behind all the killings, fire, etc. And the humor at the end was good and the idea that they meet in modern times was pretty interesting.
The ML was good looking and did a great job. Really liked Rou Rou's character and actress.
But overall it was a waste of time and not all that great when you're screaming at the screen "She is so stupid!"
Music: Memorable but nothing major
Scenery: Not bad
Costuming: Lots of beautiful period costumes
Fighting scenes: Well done and fun to watch
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I love it
I stumbled upon this series because my YouTube feed had the theme song on it. I got curious about it after watching snippets of the show on the theme song played. This is my 2nd time watching Caeser Wu on screen - 1st was Meteor Garden - and I have to say it is pretty awesome! The story line is extremely fascinating, fantastic (only in my opinion) and extremely fun to watch. It has a combination of quirkiness, seriousness, "drama" and of course the female lead´s cheekiness. Combined with good acting from all the actors and actresses involved to the good music pairing, I would say this would be a nice series to watch.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Ca va, c'est pas mal
De temps en temps on aime bien se taper un drama chinois historique juste pour les costumes, les codes stricts et l'histoire d'amour sucrée. General's Lady (l'Epouse du Général, sur Viki) remplit tous ces critères quand on veut voir un historique pas prise de tête et pas trop lourd à suivre.L'histoire nous présente Shen Jin, issue d'une famille royale apparentée à l'empereur mais hélas fille d'une concubine de seconde zone, qui se retrouve malgré elle (à la place de sa peste de sœur) mariée à un général chargé de garder les frontières. Ce mariage fait suite à un ordre de l'empereur qui veut s'assurer la fidélité du général. L'époux désigné bénéficiant du gentil surnom de Général Diabolique on comprend pourquoi la perspective de cette union est peu séduisante pour ces jeunes vierges effarouchées. En toile de fond, l'assassinat du 8ème Prince héritier du trône seize ans plus tôt, que le héros tente de résoudre afin de rendre à son frère adoptif (le général en second, véritable héritier depuis la mort de ses parents) la place qui lui revient.
L'histoire n'est pas très originale, les rebondissements sont convenus, les intrigues assez simplistes et vite résolues. Et pourtant, on passe de bons moments, parce qu'on ne s'ennuie pas un instant, les choses s'enchainent vite, l'histoire d'amour démarre rapidement, les problèmes durent rarement plus d'un ou deux épisodes et surtout, tout le monde est plutôt sympa. Donc on n'est pas frustré, on ne tremble pas des heures pour les personnages en se demandant comment ils vont se sortir de la galère dans laquelle ils se sont fourrés. Pas de complots chiants et alambiqués à part le minimum syndical, pas de morts inutiles, tout finit bien pour tout le monde sauf pour le méchant (caricatural et ridicule mais au moins il ne nous plombe pas l'ambiance avec des manigances à rallonge). Les nanas se comportent plutôt bien entre elles (à part la peste de sœur, mais bon on a vu pire) donc c'est assez rare dans les dramas pour me donner une impression de légèreté, j'avoue que c'est une bouffée d'air frais bienvenue. L'héroïne a un côté gamine irresponsable mais elle reste agréable et sympathique, le héros froid et rigide n'a besoin que d'une huitaine d'épisodes avant de se dégeler, suite à quoi on à droit à de jolis bisous tout mignons pour le reste de la série, qui parvient tout de même à conserver notre intérêt parce que la romance du frère du général vient à point nommé pour prendre le relai, et aussi parce qu'on a droit au milieu à 4 autres romances, peu développées mais on ne va pas cracher dessus.
Voilà donc un drama dont le côté historique n'est qu'un prétexte à de jolies couleurs, assez superficiel et honnêtement je ne pense pas que je le reverrai un jour. Ca ne vole certes pas très haut, c'est parfois un peu mièvre et trop gentillet pour être réaliste, mais franchement, parfois ça fait du bien. En plus ça ne dure que 30 épisodes, du coup on n'a pas vraiment le temps de se lasser. Ca ne va pas chercher plus loin.
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Cute Storyline
I've been waiting for this drama for a long time since last year, and it didn't disappoint me! I liked this drama since episode 1 started!I've seen storylines like in this drama many times, but because of the acting of the two main characters, as well as all the supporting cast members, I find this drama adorable! Before, I had never seen another drama by Caesar Wu and Tang Min, so I didn't expect much. They don't disappoint me, btw. Even though I've only watched episode 7, I already like this drama. I hope that as the number of episodes increases, the drama will get better.
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Quite average
This drama is short compared to most Chinese drama and makes quite light-hearted entertainment. The drama started well but become yet another run-of-the-mill later in the story. There are not much heart rending moments and bad times pass quickly. If you are looking for a drama for some casual entertainment and not some heavy-hearted emotional roller coaster, this is it.Contemporary Chinese dramas tend to present heroines who are shrews and strong headed and this is one of them. The heroine is pretty and won the heart of the hero, but she is such a strong-headed shrew - appeal to the feminism of this era. But if i were a man, i would find her a pain to be with.
This drama is overrated on Mydramalist. There are other better dramas which are much better than this, which deserves better ratings. I begin to wonder whether ratings were rigged by some viewers, or i have preferences that differ from the masses. Just cannot understand why such an average drama is rated at 8.1 when Legend of Fei and Legend of Xiao Chuo rated below 8; they are way better than this drama.
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You should give it a try!
I loved the two main characters!Female lead was brave,funny, cute and thoughtful. She was not only a loving wife but also a soldier! I loved how she fell in love with her husband and did the best she could for him as a devoted wife from home, but also from the battlefield. Male lead was obviously very handsome and cold at first. He was suspicious of his wife but little by little fell in love with her. He became such a considerate and loving husband! I loved watching his cute face smiling at his wife!!!I adored the other supporting characters too. I liked that we didn't have a villain, a perfect second male lead or a lot of tragic events. Bad things happened but they were not too much. To be honest I binge watched the first half episodes and then lost my interest. I loved their romance but at some point there wasn't so much of it. A lot of things got in the way and the main focus shifted to other things, so we lost a big part of it. I'm glad that I finally finished it! I was satisfied by the ending. If you want a historical romantic story with a little action and a little mystery , you should watch it!Esta resenha foi útil para você?
un coup de coeur
Premier drama que je regarde dans lequel on peut voir la vraie vie d'un couple après mariage. J'ai adoré tous les personnages surtout le général. C'était agréable de voir les haut et les bas d'un couple marié. The main couple had great chemistry too! On aurait vraiment dit qu'il était marié. J'ai besoin d'un autre drama avec ces deux là! Il y avait beaucoup de scènes de baisers. Tous leurs moments ensemble étaient adorables. There were no misunderstandings and the little ones were resolved quickly, so it was not draggy. Bref, j'ai adoré et je recommande ce drama!Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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Superior Chinese period rom-com
While the plot summary sounds kind of same-same to a number of period romance/rom-com where a cool, handsome ML meets and falls in love with a cute, feisty FL, the actual story telling and pacing placed this show well above most of the pack.You might groan a little as the show opened with the FL cross dressed as a guy and running amok in the city's marketplace but it soon took a different track as more of her background was revealed. The fact that she actually accepted the arrange marriage and decided to turn it to her advantage was refreshing and very engaging. There were quite a few laughs in the first few episodes when she lorded over her shell shocked new husband even though he was a famous general with a killer reputation.
Another welcomed change was when they put in the typical divorce/breakup trope very early in the show and gave it a nice positive spin resulted in more laughs and character growth. This is a major contrast to when most c-drama would settle into a few episodes of despair and silent longing.
The OTP had fantastic chemistry. The FL was a strong character who stood up to bullies, will not accept defeat and willing to fight for her goals. Just as well that the ML is cool (not heartless) but smart and knew that she was his soulmate and gave in to her completely. Once the push-pull and doubts were settled, their love was true and deep, their trust unwavering and unquestionable.
Overall, the support cast were solid. Some of the younger actors were a little weak but they are not carrying a lot of weight so it was ok. Some of the cuteness came from the secondary pairings once the OTP settled into their married life. Even then there was still a decent amount of skinship and feels. Just a little less flirting.
The OST was surprisingly good. The main theme was well matched to the show and was used extensively.
Now for the not so good bits. The second (or was it third) sister was very annoying and a real trouble maker. That is typical for this type of drama but once again, she went unpunished even though her big mouth got the whole family into serious trouble. All was forgiven by the end of the show and everyone moved on as if nothing had happened. Weird to say the least.
Speaking of ending, the last episode was mostly rainbows and unicorns and tied up all the loose ends. That is all well and good as fan service goes but the plot leading up to it was surprisingly weak and contrived. Contrasted this to the writing for the whole show which was solid, well paced and consistent. It was a little disappointing.
Overall, enjoyed it very much, highly recommended.
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