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An Inspiration Not An Adaption
I have read the novel, before attempting to watch this drama, so this would contain novel spoilers. You have been warned!The overarching story premise was very well written, the flow and the progress, while seemingly slow was actually progressing and in a way to make sense. We are introduced to the FL (Luo YiNing) and ML (Luo Shen Yuan), who are siblings born in scholar family during historical times. FL was born as the Legitimate Child, but wasn't liked by her father and was sent away when she was young returning to the family after 10 years has passed, which was the beginning of the story. While ML was an illegitimate child who wasn't even recorded in the genetically book and was never recognized as part of the family scorned by his father, he didn't even have the right to learn how to read from a teacher. Both leads who weren't raised surrounded by love, began to rely on each other, becoming each others pillar.
ML (Luo Shen Yuan) was a diamond in the rough, a prodigy, he was extremely smart, had his own business that was thriving, and was strong martial arts skill. However, he had to do everything under another identity, because he was an illegitimate child, that was not recognized by his family. His own father wouldn't even let him learn how to read, and he self taught himself, with little guidance from a teacher. The most impressive part of this story was not the romance, but the character development of ML and FL, and for ML while he was prodigy, he lacked love/compassionate. He learned to be righteous from his teacher and fellow classmates, but never really had anyone truly care for him. Which FL teaches him, tries to give him, telling him he's not alone and he doesn't have to do everything himself. Which I liked this premise, because novel to FL was obsession (not a very good one), novel ML and drama ML were both born to be politicians, but novel was much more cunning and ruthless. He didn't really care for anyone, but FL, which to be honest, all the characters written in Luo Family was quite dumb or "not very nice people". Nobody in the Luo family really ever treated ML like family, while in the drama, we see how he is accepted. The scene when gets written in to the genealogy book, perfectly filmed, show the nervousness and the moment to be remembered.
What makes this character even more memorable was the actor Zhang Wan Yi, the slight expressions, movements, and the tension he creates in the room OMG, just such an impressive actor. He perfectly acted how ML slowly falls in love with FL, and his slight changes from how his surroundings changes, like when he goes from being an illegitimate child to Legitimate child, become FL's actual brother on paper. He changed the way he walked, and the air around him goes from being nobody to a confident noble scholar.
I also love the portrayal of FL in the drama compared to the novel, the more I read the novel the more annoyed with FL I got. This drama seems to have taken the criticism towards the novel and rewritten FL setting, and they did so in an impressive way, Lets make one thing clear, novel FL was reincarnated after dying at 17 and then spent 20 years as a soul in a hairpin so she knew of some future event. She knew ML would become a prime minister and did everything to treat him well, but she reincarnated into a 7 years old after 7 years she died. She was married before she died and had a husband which is SML, that was well alive in his late 20s. In the drama, instead of starting FL as a 7 years, because no way is anyone watching a grooming process and pedophile happening, they started her off in her teens who came back after being sent away for 10 years. The good thing the production did was avoid mentioning age at all times, which the novel kept mention (aka shes 10, 12, 14 - the main story ended at 15 and she had kids....). During those 10 years she was sent away, she so happen to come in contact with SML, who was blinded because of an injury, and they become close. SML falls in love with her and he was set on marrying her, but some situation happened that led to FL being badly injured believing that SML tried to kill her. SML develops an obsession with her, while FL has moved on and matured from that experience, which was portrayed very well, she was firm toward SML, not even letting the slightest action to hint towards anything except for her personal hobbies/habits. Novel FL will piss you off, supposedly over him, but some how always thinks of him, remember what he likes, and what he did, and the past, what even gave her away was that she remembered that SML went gambling. Drama FL was mature and intelligent, she grew up in a house with only a few maids and developed an independence by herself. So when she came back to the family, she started her own business, navigated herself away from trouble. Her only weak point, was that she was still too soft towards her opponents, and ML will take care of that, but overall she didn't really need saving from ML and there were even instants of her saving ML. The actress really portrayed YiNing as her natural self of caring and her love/care to ML was what gave comfort to ML, that he would even sharing his deepest secrets with. The relationship was mutual and balanced, with no problems at all, even when FL was hiding her assiocation with SML, and he was deeply jealous, he never forced her to say anything.
This is a slow burn drama, for more than half the episodes FL still didn't know ML was not her biological sibling, but what I appreciated was the character growth of the characters. Like how Luo Yi Xiu and Lin Mao (i kind of skipped alot of their story), growth from each other company and to be honest while Luo Yi Yu didn't have much screen time, her character growth was probably the most interesting one. Luo Yi Yu was raised to be a proud scholar girl by her mother madam chen, and madam chen always wanted better for her kids, so her strictness towards her children was suffocating especially to Luo Yi Xiu and Luo Shan Yuan. While YiYu was her mothers perfect child, she initially was slightly arrogant, but she wasn't a bad person when Liu Ming proposed, she initially didn't like him because his family wasn't exactly known/wealthy, nor was he good looking, and he didn't score on the yearly examination. However when encountering a family crisis, he was the only one that didn't ostracize her and she finally understood, to live a good a life you don't need all the other worldly things, just having someone there to stay by you was the most important. I do with they expanded more on how FL finds out shes in love with him, because they kinda of wrapped up everything pretty quickly near the end. The pacing wasn't bad, I wish there was more.
Somethings I do wish they kept in the drama was novel Lin Mao's character setting, they revamped him to a guy whos terrible at studying and in to medicine. However novel Lin Mao was a very interesting character, he was carefree and does pretty crazy thing like he caused an explosion because he was trying to create an elixir XD. Lin Mao characters was smart, but he was very eccentric and liked to do things by impulse. I also wanted them to keep ML confidence, novel ML was confident in everything he did, no matter what trouble FL caused, he always had a back up plan, while drama ML did portray him as smart, they took out the absolute confidence he had in his plans, which to be fair make sense with the character setting they set for him as he does fail.
I highly recommend this drama, do not even bother reading the novel, you will not like it. The character growth and the story flow, is the quality point and you won't get bored of the interactions between characters. There is no misunderstandings and if your a fan of mutual support relationships, this is for you. FL and ML supported each other through out the novel and they never overshadow each other. They both have their expertises and their own strong qualities, and how these qualities come together to support each other is most fascinating to watch.
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inconsistent patchwork of trendy/cheap plotlines, motifs and tropes, fails all genres it mixed
Introduced as a family-intrigue drama, the story is supposed to (r)evolve around FL, (Yi)Ning, legitimate daughter of Luo family 2nd House, punished as a child to grow up in countryside, returning to the main mansion from which she was dettached for many years but somehow (it isn't explained) well acquainted with things going on in the family. Her relations with Luo family members are set: father, influenced by his concubine, distrusts her, grandmother adores her, half sister plots against her etc., all motifs already and more credibly used in several other dramas. In this drama, not even one side character is properly introduced or later properly deepened in order to hint to the audience their psychological characteristics, as it was done in The Story of Minglan, drama to which TRON frequently makes references (FL is motherless, her mother's name is an obvious homage to Minglan, father preferring a concubine to a legitimate wife etc.). Eg., not one scene explains the (important) bond between Yi Ning and her grandmother and why they should be so fond of each other.The only relationship in which the authors put some effort is with her illegitimate and outcasted half brother, ie., with the ML. The first arc, in which FL investigates her mother's death and her real identity, covers more than two thirds of the drama. FL's former love interest (from the times she lived in countryside), powerful Lu Jia Xue, is shown early on in this arc, as a villain of the story, a person she believes ordered her murder (typically, she was thrown down from a cliff when living in the countryside). Being blinded at the time, he is not sure she is the person he desperatly searched for and surprisingly, such a powerful person could not even later discover the identity of the person living in the neighboring courtyard (this plothole will be repeated with her biological father, who despite his powers could not find out the real identity of her mother). FL is shown as perspicacious and wilful, in investigation of her mother's death she even uses herself as a bait, but strangely has zero interest in her own attempted murder and in front LJX she is just a terrorized victim of a psycho-thriller. Numerous lacks of elementary logics in the plotline regarding the FL, as well as huge inconsistencies (the other important one is her different treatment of the ML when he hurts her in comparison to LJX) in how her character was written, makes her unrelatable, unless we are inclined to relate to double-personality-disordered characters (which was certainly not the intention of the authors). It is not the fault of the actress or her voice many people complains about, Ren Min just delievered what she was told to.
The "best father in the world" (her biological father), appearing later on, just added another flat, superficially written and over-simplified character in a row. At that point, I've thought I'd drop it, but was still curious (my curiousity arouse more from the talks on this aspect, here on MDL than from the thrill of the drama) how will end the psycho-triller between FL and LJX. That's the only reason I've endured till the very end and haven't missed the arc covering the ML's investigation and revenge of his teacher. The political plot pending throughout the drama and solved in its last quarter, was more decently written, and despite not being original, it offered a sort of closure, especially for the ML, who is the only "rising" character in this story, from an outcast to a powerful minister, always placing first in the exams, good at problem-solving, skillful fighter, smart and deceitful (for the last trait, not much relatable either). The inconsistency between such a character and his masochistic attitude towards the FL (continuously helping her out, backing her unconditionally) was overshadowed by the actor's perfomance, who played this role totally in his comfort zone, having mastered this type of characters in other dramas. Ci Sha's performance was also very good.
The second couple seemed to belong to another (fluffier) drama, but they are related to the only "character" I've empathised with or more precisely feared for: a goose named Fugui, poor real goose pecking an annoying blue scarf around its neck while performing a goose who may finish in the pot very soon. Their joint purpose was probably to offer some comic relief (and they've jointly failed to achieve the purpose). While the second couple received an (expected) closure, the audience was left with no clue what happened to the goose. Its missing is the ultimate proof of the sloppiness of the creators or better, collectors of pieces of plots frankesteinly glued together into a drama.
P.s. Persons who've read the novel told me the script was an improvement compared to how badly the story was written in the novel. Why on earth would anybody choose to put on screen a badly written novel, trying to improve smth bad from the start?
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It's good enough to kill time
If you like in-house fighting, ensemble casts and multiple plots this might be the one for you. The first few episodes almost turned me off. It was messy for lack of better words. But once you get passed it, things started getting better.It's my first time seeing Ren Min in anything but I've seen many people praising her acting chops before. So color me surprised that I find her acting only passable here. Plenty of it has to do with her line delivery. (I've seen many comments on her high pitched voice but that's a non-issue for me, how can I fault her over something she's born with.)
Instead her intonation and inflection feel flat to me and lack of emotion. This flaw is especially exacerbated because her dance partner in this drama Zhang Wanyi is streets ahead of her in terms of voice acting. It's one of his strong points. This is one of the rare instances that made me wish they dubbed the FL. In terms of acting, many times I feel like she's cosplaying here. When I'm told by the script that the FL is smart, I expect layers but her Luo Yining lacks depth and charisma. It's a pity because I have a feeling that this is not her in her full capacity.
Zhang Wanyi is an excellent actor. And I have to give him the most credit because he’s my biggest motivation to keep tuning in. As an actor he's grounded, understand his character well, and very good at conveying emotions through his expressions and small gestures. In this drama I want Luo Shenyuan to succeed more than anything, for his family who always looks down on him to eat crow and for his enemy to fall.
The chemistry and rapport between the leads are nice and easy which I think is fitting because they started as faux siblings.
Lu Jiaxue is supposed to be a domineering character and Chisa did a good job to make me feel really annoyed at how overbearing and oppressive Jiaxue is.
As an ensemble drama, the other supporting characters are good and mostly suited their roles. You'll like the ones you're supposed to root for and will most probably hate those you're meant to hate.
In conclusion, this series is a bit frustrating for me because it has potential to be so much more, but it's not. But the good parts outweighed the bad parts so it's still worth to check out.
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The Rise of… Third Brother
After watching the whole thing, I really hoped they named this drama with a different title. The Rise of Ning wasn’t t just about Yi Ning. It was mostly about Shen Yuan’s quest to rise up to the top and avenge his teacher and fellow disciple. It’s a beautiful drama. The FL calling Shen Yuan “Third brother” up until the last episode was just kinda weird. I know they’re not blood related, but still. How can you have feelings right away with a person who’s from the same family and you call him “Third brother” all the time? Anyway, I know it’s fiction, and I’m not the writer. The adoptive sibling trope is a little tricky for me. There’s not much romantic scenes between them. Kisses were meh. I wanted to see more. Great acting goes to the actor of Lu Jiaxue. Great job. He really got under my skin. I adored the fight scenes very much. I love the female empowerment message here. Love the characters, especially Duke Ying. Best dad ever! I just wish they didn’t spend so much time on the wedding scenes. We all know what happens in wedding scenes anyway. 40 episodes should have been cut down to 32. A lot of people were complaining about how Yi Ning should be more successful having a business. I mean, she does have a business. They had their struggles. It became successful with the help of her sixth uncle and his wife overtime. We don’t have to see everything. The FL is pretty, but her voice. OMG it’s like listening to a little girl. I get a little distracted by that. Especially when she keeps calling Shen Yuan her brother here. I blame it on the writers. Overall, I’m happy with the ending. I watched this because of Zhang Wan Yi. He’s a great actor to me.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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Really enjoy the movie
Just finished the drama and absolutely love it. Zhang wan yi drama never disappointed and now I m slowly become his fans. I enjoy his acting and how he express himself. Not to forget Ren Min, my first time seeing her and I do enjoy her acting.The story like is enjoyable. I love both leads interaction and story line. Another person is lu jia xue, his love and obsess toward yining. His acting skills is really good.
The music is on the spot of each scene. The scenes when YN going to marry, the father daughter scene make sob sob
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Love Moves in Mysterious Ways
The narrative revolves around the Luo family, as each member strives to establish their position within the household.I will always support a strong, witty, and smart lead. FL doesn't always rely on the ML, but she has the ability to stand independently.
Definitely my favorite is Zhang Wan Yi because of his wonderful microexpressions. This guy knows how to use his eyes to captivate the audience. Ren Min also did a wonderful job. I recognize her as Princess Huiro from TSOPJ, and she has significantly improved.
What I really love is the plot itself. The plot delves into the past and effectively resolves every issue. Another noteworthy aspect is the meticulous handling of the sibling relationship between the leads. They are aware of their boundaries, and in the end, the anticipation of becoming a true couple is well worth the wait.
Everyone did a fantastic job. They got their own spotlight. Even Duke Ying, who appeared after 20+ episodes, became the greatest dad ever.
We highly recommend this if you love The Story of Minglan, The Sword, and the Brocade.
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Like a Nice Cup of Tea
Warm and cozy. Adventurous but not angsty. Gorgeous music and scenary. Plus a properly long ending with a happily ever after. This is definitely on my favorites list.Does anyone know if they released the soundtracks for this series anywhere?
Spoiler: I adored the utterly obsessed second male lead. The only thing that would have made this better was if the FL had ended up with him.... sigh.
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Sweet and no drama
Honestly my best serious of the year.The romance does take a while to happen between the leads and there’s not any intense love scenes (there are kiss scenes) but that’s what makes this series enjoyable and fun to watch.
The family situation got better through the series.
Although there was a second male lead, the female lead never looked his way and was always focused on our male lead.
There wasn’t really any second female love rival in this story.
The male lead was all about the female lead
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I'd rather just rewatch Minglan
Enjoyable drama ruined by pacing in the last arc. seems the director wanted everyone to fall in love with the evil 2ML, he had way too many scenes of him just brooding silently, moping around, or scheming to disrupt the main leads' romance for way too long into the story. skipped most of the last few episodes because I just wanted it to be over and I much preferred the novel's ending. overall, I'd rather just rewatch The Story of Minglan because at least the 2ML in that isn't as obsessive, annoying, and creepy.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Somehow, they made it work
I rarely watch C-dramas because they tend to be repetitive. Due to their many regulations and restrictions, there's not a lot of room for creativity. Yet, with The Rise of Ning, they managed to take a supernatural and angst-ridden novel and make it entertaining. There is a good mix of humor and angst, with a lighthearted take on the relationship between the two protagonists.In terms of acting, it's good to see Ren Min's acting has improved. There are still some struggling moments, but she has a better grasp of her character this time. Zhang Wan Yi is in his element with Luo Shen Yuan. I found myself comparing this character with Cang Xuan (from Lost You Forever). While he's a good actor, it would be nice to see more versatility with the characters he play in the future. Ci Sha is definitely a breakout star in this drama. I've never hated a villain so much in my life. It's almost as if the character Lu Jia Xue was made for him. The support cast is very strong, so there's never a dull moment in the series.
Overall, the show did a good job telling the story of two pseudo-siblings who found comfort in each other, and their tough yet rewarding journey in revenge, coming to terms with the past, and finding love. While the show felt dragged towards the end, I applaud the production team for their efforts to keep viewers entertained throughout a whopping 40 episodes.
In the end, is it perfect? No. Is it original? No. Is it worth watching? Definitely.
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Honest review—it’s an average drama
I’ll be straight to the point. This drama has flaws, but it’s still watchable. Well for me, I love family dramas, and that’s the reason why I managed to finish this series despite having some issues. English is not my first language, so forgive me if there will be some grammatical mistakes here.STORY:
Messy storyline. It’s good but I wish they did better. It is fast-paced so it keeps you interested on what will happen next. Some scenes are unnecessary and are not making any sense but in the end it’s just a fictional story, so what do we expect?
ACTING:
For the FL, her acting is not consistent. It’s very bad on the first half of the drama, but she improved a bit on the second half. Idk if she’s also the one who dubbed her voice here. Her voice is also so annoying but it becomes bearable because you will get used to it after some time. Another problem is how she deliver her lines. There are some scenes where in she rushes her lines, and it doesn’t match with the emotion she needs to convey . Sometimes her tone also doesn’t match the emotion. I believe she needs to practice more in this area. For her facial expressions, it’s mostly a look of confusion. Whether she’s angry, confused, happy, or concerned, she will just put her eyebrows together and make her eyes bigger, and think she’s already acting. I guess it’s still better than having just a stiff face. Well, she improved a bit on the second half of the drama, but it’s still there. Watch the drama and you’ll know what I mean. Also, her appearance here is better than TLP. Actually it’s her best look. Her hair, outfit, and makeup suits her well compared to her previous projects. But Renmin should stop or avoid doing scenes where in she needs to have her hair untied without any accessories (example: her looks during night time). It looks weird on her.
ML is good, but lacks a bit of love in his eyes. Idk I just feel like something is lacking. He looks more inlove in LYF. Sometimes his acting also looks weird or forced but overall, he’s good. Maybe their chemistry is just weak.
Other characters: I loved them more than the main characters. The character development of the supporting characters are well-written. I love Yixiu my girl, but she should’ve chosen the han guy or maybe a better partner. (I mean he’s weird but Lin mao is also weird? linmao insulted her in their first meeting and he keeps calling her fat). I love Yiyu too, and for me she’s the beautiful woman in this drama. AND OFCOURSE MY FAVORITE LIN HAIRU!! She’s the best. Their acting are on point.
MUSIC:
Music is good but they didn’t stick to me that much. I don’t sing along with the music unlike to other dramas with catchy ost.
Overall it’s just an average drama. No ‘wow’ factor. Story is predictable. If you want a drama with a good ending, then this is for you.
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sweetness and controversy
It's a slow-paced period romance, some people won't have the patience to watch it, but it has interesting and somewhat taboo themes that are treated lightly.Luo Shen Yuan and Luo Yi Ning are raised as siblings, children of the same father, which already generates a discussion about possible incest. After a few years apart, Yi Ning returns to the Luo residence and the two, now adults, are one and the same. There is a mystery surrounding Yi Ning's mother. Shen Yuan discovers that they are not blood siblings, to his relief, since he is already head over heels for his "sister". There is fighting, competition between the family, imperial competition, revenge, everything a historical romance has to offer. The second couple is the cousin of the two protagonists with the Sixth Uncle, brother of the Lady of the house, the wife of the main couple's father. Although there is no blood relationship in the second couple, it is also a taboo subject. They are cute and you root for them too. The ending is super happy.
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