Sincere, Sweet, and Irresistibly Likeable

This drama is like eating a holiday meal of favorite comfort foods. There are no big surprises, but you thoroughly enjoy each dish, and afterwards you feel warm and happy for having eaten well of good foods.

That being said, "New Life Begins" was itself a delightful surprise. Given how young the leads looked in promos, I confess to not having expected much from this C-drama. Maybe something light & fun. Which this is! But there's also enough substance to keep it interesting, & the characters are all likeable enough (or insanely hateable enough) that you're invested in their outcomes.

The drama focuses on relationships. Even the political questions or conflicts are really just another way of illustrating the relationships between characters involved. It's slice-of-life set against a fictional, 9-region political backdrop, with the central mechanism being that women are often used to keep the peace via interregional marriages. The questions many of these women come back to asking is: Their lives are used to barter for peace, but *should* they be? Isn't there a better way, one that doesn't sacrifice their own futures & dreams on the altar of politics?

**Mild, baby-sized spoilers below - nothing earth-shattering**

CHARACTERS
I liked pretty much every single character by the end. (The abusive as*h*** of an Eldest Prince excepted...may he meet with misfortune every 30 minutes.) There's growth on everyone's part throughout the story, & the relationships that unfold are a pleasure to observe. You end up rooting for all the couples & most of the characters, as even the annoying ones learn from their mistakes & evolve. The couples (or princes & their harems) are all well-matched. I laughed so hard when the extreme-introvert couple decided to send out gifts instead of hosting a housewarming party for their new home, so that they wouldn't have to converse with anyone. #relateable Even the ML’s second marriage partner in addition to the FL—a woman who, by all the laws of drama-watching, should be loathed—is brilliant & thoughtful & so absolutely cool that she navigates a 3-way marriage with the 2 leads without much conflict at all, & you end up wanting to cheer for her, too. I’ve never admired a forced love “triangle” before, but this…worked, somehow (temporarily).

Both leads (ML & FL) act more maturely than most C-drama protagonists, despite their youthful appearance. They make *good* assumptions about each other & ask questions instead of jumping to the worst conclusion. (Also, the ML’s voice is lovely deep.) The leads are great about communicating with each other & having the other's back. (They do start out a bit rocky & grow into this...please wait for it. :) The ML's manservant is my favorite side character. (I officially petition the Drama Overlords for MORE servants who overshare in order to quickly clear up misunderstandings between protagonists.) Their (ML & FL) relationship progression from strangers in a political "business" marriage, to allies & friends, to lovers at last, is slow, sweet, & natural, so that you actually believe the ML & FL genuinely *like* one another by the time they're confessing. Forget grand, first-sight, "destined" love—give me more couples who sincerely enjoy spending time together day-to-day, who communicate well, who help & support each other, who can tease each other & laugh together, & have all of this seem natural. (That’s far better than “soulmates” who can’t go a 5 minutes without arguing or misunderstanding—you wonder how they’ll survive with each other day-to-day in their “happily ever after.”)

Strong, ambitious, clever women are everywhere. Held down by outdated traditions & pompous men? Yes. But they don't let that stop them from dreaming & scheming anyways. Does their behavior sometimes stretch the bounds of belief around what would actually be allowable in a society such as theirs? Eh, maybe. Just ignore that—enjoy them changing their world single-handedly.

PLOT
There manage to be serious moments throughout the drama without it being very heavy. The two caveats to this lightness are the abusive Crown Prince (who can walk off a cliff already) & the side storyline about his concubine's postpartum depression (with that husband, is there any wonder?!), but these don’t get massive chunks of screen time & are thankfully resolved faster than you'd expect—no dragging it out into the last 5 minutes of the show.

There aren't any massive twists to the plot; its predictability is offset by the character growth you didn't expect, the healthy relationships, & the variety of situations the characters face together. The story could have been a bit more compact, but it still makes you want to keep watching to the end.

Are there tropes & clichés included? Yes—‘twouldn't be a “drama” without them.
--->The FL can be immature sometimes, esp. in the beginning.
--->There's a pouty, childish SFL who is desperate for the ML’s attention for a while.
--->The ML has idiot brothers with hearts of gold & wives who are clearly too good for them, but who they eventually become better men for.
--->Etc.
HOWEVER, these tropes aren't executed annoyingly (for the most part), misunderstandings get resolved quickly, & the overall effect is enjoyable.

This isn't a perfect drama. I could pick apart & criticize a number of details, especially around character idiosyncrasies. For example, the "strong" princess married to her idiot "weak" prince—their relationship, while believable by the end, is borderline abusive for the first 2/3 of the show. Like...ANY effort to show some of the playful warmth that she claims with people in her home province would have helped. But I digress. Main point – it’s imperfect, yet these few irritating details don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.

TL;DR - If you want something that isn't too heavy, that holds your attention, & that makes you feel good for watching it—less like you've eaten cotton candy or sweets, more like you've eaten a several-course holiday dinner—then I highly recommend this drama.

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