Xing Han Can Lan (2022)

One of the best dramas of the year

Everything was amazing. Starting from the plot, the cast, direction, music. I have no complaints but only appreciation. The main cast never disappointed us in a single scene. The dedication and talent was clearly visible through every frame. And I must say that the director was extremely cool and funny and definitely talented. You cannot bring the best from your cast unless you are talented. Thank you again sir.

The drama gives you mixed emotions in every second. Love, happiness, jealous, sadness, heartache, any emotion you name it. You can rewatch it again and again still won't get ever bored. Thank you very much for everyone who's been part of this amazing work.

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It’s perfect and one of the rare realistic dramas I’ve watched people who dislike this are all with personal preferences but if it to be evaluated fairy this is a work close to perfection. All cast were not lacking in their acting bravo??? Although I first watch this because it’s Lusi’s new drama I genuinely love this drama there are also things to learn and reflect on w oneself. Lusi portrayed her character perfectly too I didn’t stan and love the wrong actress??❣️❤️‍?❤️‍?
Also my rating for Music is very personal the song and BGM are all good but I need and OST sang by Lusi. i didn’t like the ost used for the whole season until I listened to Lusi cover that music w guzheng
Here are links incase one is not available in some countries
https://youtu.be/mA1Go4PKsLc
https://youtu.be/658dhHDdfN4

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The beauty of watching dramas is that there’s something for everyone. This one I feel is appreciated by those who wants the story. Without asking it takes its time to tell us. Shaoshang the FL. Who is she? Why is she like that? General Ling, the stoic ML. Why does he act like that. He has a chip on his shoulder. Why? I’d say the first 4 or so episodes gives us that so depending on your likes, it can be slow per se. The leads don’t really meet face to face til episode 6 I believe.
What I find refreshing is just that. Little by little layers are delved into so that we understand the characters as they develop. Not only that, it’s family oriented, gives us slice of life moments. It has palace intrigues, secrets, birthrights, and of course scheme.

Towards the end of season, as General declares his love for Shaoshang, it’s a perfect arrival to season two where we have lots to build on as we anticipate the direction of the leads romance. Mind you, there’s loads of great moments of the story to keep us entertained, laugh out loud, shed some tears, etc. I give so much credit to entire cast, yes leads and younger cast members but also salute to older members for their great contributions. It’s a well put together story so don’t be a sleeper on this great production. Just read subs fast cuz lots of script conversations. Enjoy!

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One of the greatest rom com of all times.

I just had to put praises into this drama. I seldom finish or even try to watch traditional/ historical cdrama that would take 50 to 60 episodes to finish but this one i must say is worth the watch.

It might be a slow burn romance between the main leads but their chemistry is just off the charts. Their slight glances and small interactions, gahd, these characters are perfect for each other. The plot was also great, aside from romance, there's also a mystery, secrets waiting to be revealed. The characters, both on Shaoshang and Zhisheng sides are amazing, they're both warm, fun and caring but also protective and unique in their own way.

Watching this 56 episode drama shall pass by smoothly. It's really worth watching for.

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Part 1

Quite some time I've not found some drama that really binge worthy like this. This drama make me lack sleeping because I really want to keep my eyes open & continue watch that story. Haha...

I don't want much talk about what this drama about, because from what I've read quite some people already wrote about that & their description quite accurate. So I don't wanna bored you guys with another summary or talk about what this drama about. Let's we just jump to what I like & dislike about this drama... :P

What I like:
+ Adorable young couple. Many historical c-drama talk about young marriage couple, especially the woman, because you know old days they're married quite young, but mostly our FL character quite mature (quiet, composed, calm whatever you want to called it) and we can't really imagine they actually quite young in their supposed age in the drama. Here we can see Cheng Shao Shang / Niao Niao (NN) (age 15) actually quite childish in her nature, like how witty or active she is. But what make her different than other character is how she look at marriage really portray how actually she herself still a child, like her conversation with Wan Qi Qi: "What's it like to be in love? It is better to find a playmate as a husband," she describe marriage like playing house. Or later on we can see how fickle her with her love feeling tpward Ling Bu Yi / Zi Sheng (ZS)
+ How fast Xiao Yuan Yi (NN mom) to eliminate annoying character, which is Cheng Yang's mother. I really think at first she will continue bother us in our drama, but it's false & I really glad they don't took time to eliminate one annoying character. Even the grandmother become quite subdue for the rest of the drama. Haha...
+ The looked in ZS face, especially his eyes when he see NN. Even from the smallest glance we can see that it's love at the first sight. And how gentle his eyes every time he see NN. Haha...
+ The funny king, kind hearted queen & the dynamic of the king family. But more of them at part 2.
+ The adorable sidekick, Liang Qiu Qi and Liang Qiu Fei (QF). Sometimes really funny to see the interaction with ZS with his 2 assistant, especially QF, how sometimes his mouth is just incontrollable and spitting out words.

What I don't like:
- How partial NN mom is & not to NN herself, a daughter that she already left behind for 15 years, yet not get the love from her mother & must witness how partial her mother with Cheng Yang/Yang Yang (YY).
- How stupid or childish Yuan Shen (YS) is. Hey you love NN, yet you do nothing to prove it & what you can only do is teasing & annoyed NN & after that just jealous to see the other get her love & attention. It's not nice & I don't too like this kind of love that YS show.

Overall this part like everybody wrote, mostly talk about family dynamic, the feeling that our couple try to develop & how to shape NN character. Really exciting to looked for answer in the part 2.

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Great style, mood, acting, music.... etc

Overall, great production.
Acting
This series has proven to me that Zhao Lusi is a great actress. She can act like a wise swordswoman from "Who Rules the World" to a 15-year-old girl in "Love Like a Galaxy" Sometimes, I wonder why the female lead acted so rashly and even stupidly, then I have to remind myself she is only 15. Leo Wu plays the cold emotionless general very well. The supporting casts are all commendable as well.
Mood
The mood is well-set and constant throughout the series. Especially the lady's quarter chatters remind me of the 17 and 18th-century Western eras when the ladies and men are separated.
Style
The style is very down-to-earth and not overly exaggerated. The sets are done tastefully.
Music
I swear there were moments of the music reminded me of Downton Abby! I like the opening, just music, not loud singing like some other series.
Directing
Directing is not overly exaggerated. I even forgive the repetitive hugs in a few scenes.

Overall
I think the production value is excellent. The humor is not over the top. I enjoyed the slow pace cinematography. Although there were a few moments I wondered why they made certain decisions, I stuck with it. The ending scenes are too rushed and left some things unexplained. I heard the director had to cut many scenes and he will release a director's cut version. Can't wait for that to come out!

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Romance story

Cheng Shi and Xiao YuanYi left their youngest daughter Cheng ShaoShang (pet name Niao Niao) to the care of her gender-bias grandmother and wicked Aunt Ge when they went to war. She was ill-treated and grew up uneducated, uncouth, rebellious, scheming, distrustful and insecure - all the negatives you could think of for a young girl. But it also trained her to be very independent; by nature she was precocious, intelligent, and kind-hearted.

In this part 1 of the drama, her parents finally returned and her father was awarded the title Marquis. Her mother realised the ultimate nightmare any parent could have with their young daughter and tried to trained her but was met with great resentment and resistance.

Finding it difficult to educate her, the mother sent her away with her paternal uncle and wife as they travelled to Hua County to take up his governor position. This aunt doted on her and the love-deprived Niao Niao was more receptive to learning from her than her strict and military-style mother. Along the way, she developed a very cosy relationship with Lou Yao from a complicated aristocratic family, who pandered to her wishes and spoiled her. Breaking from an engagement to his spoiled temperamental fiancee, he proposed marriage to Niao Niao who was happy to be leaving her family and Yao was keen to leave his as well.

Earlier on, Niao Niao had caught the eyes of the highly educated and talented Yuan Shen and the emperor's adopted son Ling BuYi , a fearless general known for his ruthlessness. Both were handsome, highly accomplished and very popular with the aristocratic and high society ladies. The former was impressed by her intelligence and the latter for her 'righteous' help to arrest her maternal granduncle.

As with a lot of dramas, the story went through numerous twist and turns. At the end of Part I, Niao Niao was eventually engaged to one but she resented the marriage proposal imposed on her. What is going to happen?

What I like about this drama?

- The one thing that made the audiences very happy in this story was the righteous always win and it had no hang-ups on replacing the incapable for the capable.

- Of course, the two main leads - Leo Wu (Wu Lei) and Zhao Lusi - their on-screen chemistry was amazing.

- All the hygiene factors - excellent cast, lovely costume, backdrop, cinematography.

- The grandmother who was both annoying and funny.

- The rivalry for Niao Niao was heart-breaking as well as interesting to watch.


What I do not like about this drama?

- Most of what I do not like about this drama was in Part two, which I will cover next.

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Epic Romance and Coming of Age Story.

This is not a serious drama, but it is seriously well made and beautifully written. It is geared toward a younger audience so there is more casual, light hearted and comedic undertone.

It is set against the backdrop of Eastern Han dynasty where one dynasty just fell, the world flung into chaos and a new dynasty just begun. Despite having a lot going on, the story don’t attempt to be what it’s not. The story is only about the coming of age for our main lead, Cheng Shao Shang. Our main lead is not perfect, and may not be all the likable. She has strengths and her flaws, but the upside is that we can see her improving and become a better version of herself as the story progresses. How she can turns her flaws to benefit others and not only herself, how she turn youthful recklessness into courageous righteousness.

If you are used to having main ML or second ML, be ready to change your mind. This story reminiscent of the older 2010s set up where FL usually have many suitors before she find the one that truly suit her. So don’t be impatient because each guy is his own version of the ML.

The first five episodes are spent on setting up character dynamics and dropping hints about their motivations that will be useful later on. There is a lot to unpack between the family dynamics, the dialogues are at time funny but do pay attention because a lot of them can have double meanings, and characters aren’t what they seems, and their words are not supposed to be taken at face values. There are also interesting changes in regard to gender roles and common tropes. But ultimately it’s a character driven story, that’s why the first five episodes are important. It’s not so much at what happened, but “why” it happened. Most characters have motivations and “personality” that driven them to taking certain actions. And every character is moving at different pace. So just because X character is ready for this, doesn’t Y character is the same. Each character have very well defined personality and choose to act differently despite the same situation so it’s an added layer of fun to figure out the why.

The costumes are simpler with minimal embroideries and accessories befitting to the time period where wars were still going on and frugality were emphasized. Characters are properly dressed to rank and personality. Fabrics are good quality but suitable for the time period, and hair is properly done. Single woman have their hair pin and married women have their hair folded into a knot at the end. Careful attention were paid to each family horse carriages that tell their rank and personality.

The color grading and cinematography are very tastefully done. Some scenes look like CGI but is actually real. For example, the scene where the CSS and LBY met in the backyard with round door. The fire scene where FL was rescued. A lot of horses scenes are done by main leads. Main male leads Wu Lei is actually a prolific horse rider and is good at basic martial art. There are some interesting shot, specifically the showing of the Cheng House, Lantern festivals and Horse Chase Riding.

Overall this drama has a little bit of everything but well produced and well delivered, and a beautifully written story. It don’t take itself too seriously but it was done tastefully.

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The Best Costume Drama ever

Zhao Lusi has never failed to impress me. Her portrayal have always been onpoint and has moved my heart and mind and made each charactet she played so unforgettable. And with Love Like the Galaxy she has exceeded all of my expectations and has shown her versatility and how she has mastered her craft. She made Cheng Shao Shang come to life onscreen and made us viewers laugh, cry and swoon . She truly is a gifted actress. Love Like the Galaxy is a must see drama with itMs amazing cinematography, excellent musical scoring, well written script, fascinating story, , wondetful production team from pre , filming-set, prope, stunt teams to post prodcution -editing is very good and what makes it all come together -are the great actors who made the story and the directors vision come to lofe Zhao Lu si and Wu Lei have such amazing acting skills and to die for chemistry . Right from the opening scene u will be hooked with this drama.

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One of the best costume drama of the year 2022!

I just finished watching the last episode. Then I read many other reviews at MDL and there are very handsome reviews so I don’t need to go into the detail. This is so far the best drama of the year for me. I truly recommend all of you to watch this drama. It had comedic parts, some crying moments and of course some hart beating love moments when main CP crossed the path. I simply love actings by ZL and WL. Plus all other side performers made this drama much more interesting and rich in story. That’s why I kept watching some of my favorite episode over and over.

One thing I don’t quite understand is how come some reviews rated this drama so low while they haven’t even finished it. Some only watched 4 ep then dropped because it’s slow. Some are only less than half episode finished. I guess everyone have different opinion and thinking. I hope they will provide the final reviews when they completed. Hope they all like this drama since I am a big fan of ZL. This is my first time I truly enjoy the slow burned love in C-drama.

Finally, it’s indeed beautifully written and executed by the directors and performed by the actors and actresses. It’s rare to me that I enjoyed every single conversations and scenes. I didn’t skip a single scene of the drama.

I cannot wait for season 2.

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Warnings of triggers for certain audience. Zhao LuSi shines with Wu Lei in this masterpiece.

2nd edit : Now that I watched it to completion, I agree that THIS IS A MASTERPIECE and that the cast did (all) perform outstandingly.
Nevertheless, coming in as the "naive viewer", it took me some time to warm to it : Ep1 is okay. Ep. 2-4 are literally painful. Even on to ep.10 there's harsh beatings and mental triggers. Still the story seemed to change slowly for the better. The humor especially, black humor, buffoon humor, jokes, etc, peppered even the "painful start" to the story, which indeed was necessary to understand the dysfunctional military family, where the mom thought love had to come with taunts, constant belittling and beatings (though careful not to damage the goods, but at first sight, well....)
So I think this drama should come with strong trigger and PG warnings... It is not suited to everyone's taste, especially if one got lured in by the starry title, not knowing the story beforehand or at least some background. Some reviewers helpfully provided minute details and explanations which may help keep up patience. For once, let's thank the spoilers!
Once this is understood , one can get more easily into the story, admiring the superb acting, the spectacular cinematography, the excellent directing by Fei Zhen Xiang who worked skillfully with the cast and technicians, the humor and the slow burn volcano of sentimenys expressed through gazes and swift protecting moves on the part of general Ling Buyi (played by the godly fit Wu Lei, master of every martial art and riding, and literal Superman at times - though there are no fantasy elements and flying around on rooftops. Well, maybe one rooftop but when you'll get there you'll wow and chuckle along with glee !
I was watching on because despite her dire "education" at the hands of the feared mom, even bruised and battered, Zhao LuSi still shined. And not just a little. She is the superstar here !

So as I wrote I might about my initial review of the first episodes, I did progressively upgrade my opinion on the story (the initial painful part supposedly condensed the 20 first chapters of the novel). It did take me some time to get more wholeheartedly into the relationships.
But from ep 8 to episode 11, everything began to feel like a rollercoaster with addictive feel.
Despite the horrors of war the unfairness of treatment and the jealous girls taking every opportunity to pick on the undaunted girl, I began to laugh and tear up wholeheartedly for Cheng Shaoshang nicknamed NiaoNiao i.e. 'slender and beautiful" (played by Zhao Lusi), her innocent would-be betrothed Lou Yao and of course, the mysterious and dangerous general Ling Buyi, courtesy name Zisheng, nickname Shiyilang ( 11th son of the emperor, unofficially, because although he was treasured by the emperor, he was not from his blood family : he only had been raised in court together with the imperial brats because he was the surviving member of the emperor's deceased blood brother).

The emperor, his empress and his consort, are also important figures in this drama. They were modeled on the real historical emperor Guangwu of Eastern Han dynasty and his two wives and successive empresses: historical Guo and Yin. The unusual transition of having their first sons named crown prince without a great struggle is also interpreted. The emperor in this drama is benevolent as are his wives, but the children are unruly and sometimes vicious, used as pawns by elders who have their own agenda. Lin Buyi stands out impartially, as a "pillar of the state" resolving treasonous plots and old painful mysteries touching his own family.

Cheng Shaoshang is naive, but strong and unusual, so when Ling Buyi repeatedly catches sight of her and her shenanigans, the general (21 years old in the story) warms up to protect her and convince her of his love. It is not sappy romance. Shaoshang is perfect in his eyes only, but as his future wife, she will of course need instruction in a variety of matters and customs to negotiate the real dangers of living in the imperial court. And that is not easy since she had been left behind for over ten years in the deficient "care" of a grandmother who viewed her as expendable and an aunt who viciously mistreated her and made her into an unruly, semi illiterate wretch, only able to react with fights when picked upon. In this first part, she is only 14-15 years old, so of course she has trouble wrapping her head around what she could do, and what would be best.

I started to understand somewhat better the rigid warrior mom, although without warming to her, and to admire the young lady's resourcefulness and cold-blooded resolve. Of course, she'd be the perfect partner to the general, although she still did not realize it. His respect and care was wonderful. The other young men who chased her all had different agendas and personalities.

To sum it up : LLTG is a complex story, a dive into a distant but lesser known part of ancient China through a wonderful and engaging story of a woman's struggle in an age where freedom had other meanings than today, but where upbringing and social awareness are likewise crucial. The hilarious parts provided a well-needed balance. The first images were a bit baffling and it took a while before the drama at last gave some clues about why general Ling's suddenly turned to focus on general Cheng's wild daughter . Slowly, clues were added, the story got more and more interesting. and I had to alter my initial too lukewarm assessment.
The climb to the extraordinary episodes 24 and 27 was a surprisingly quick one. Once rolling, this drama takes away the audience like an avalanche, and both young (not too young as per warning) and older viewers fall into its thrall.

Following the ardent wish of the hundreds of millions who gathered for this drama as it was being released, part 2 started seamlessly after the end credits of part 1 : it ought to have been a 56 episodes one but for administrative reasons, a "part 2" label was slapped on, midways. It would be inconceivable to leave after part 1 or view the parts independently. The drama stays at time of writing on top of the charts in China and I wholeheartedly agree.
This might be the best one for 2022, in its fictional & historical genre.

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