Cdrama: The Glory
The Glory, Ep. 1-22 of 30, Year 2025: I dropped this as I couldn't take it anymore. I'm actually proud I made it this far😂
The good parts of the drama are the supporting cast, especially the older actors who all gave absolutely stellar performances. The costumes, sets, and cinematography were all above average. OST was good too, though used too heavily to manipulate viewers' emotions when the plot was lacking. The beginning of the drama was very promising but it went downhill fast.
Basically this is the story of a girl abandoned by her parents. Her father because he doesn't care after he married another woman and favours his children from her, and the mother because she's so obsessed with revenge that she doesn't care about anything else. FL repeatedly states she wants to return to have a home of her own and family love. The irony is no one wants her back or loves her in that house, despite the scriptwriter doing a U-turn and trying to whitewash her biological mother's actions later in the name of motherly love and filial pity.
The BIG Mystery that the drama keeps talking about is not mysterious. A powerful eunuch formed a faction in court and held sway over many officials and has a huge fortune which everyone wants to get their hands on after he died. That's it. The way the drama hypes this you'd be forgiven to think there was some conspiracy or layer to the plot, but there isn't. It is very convoluted when it's very simple, which is disappointing to watch as a viewer.
The main leads Chen Duling and Xin Yun Lai have the same acting skills, which is average/poor at best, and there was barely any chemistry between them even though they both tried so hard that I felt sorry for them. XYL in particular does not have the on-screen presence or gravitas required to act this role. He's overshadowed by CDL in their scenes.
One aspect I found particularly irritating are the feminist messages which the scriptwriter inserted in every episode as if he thought it would make it palatable. It was like being hit over the head with a hammer and didn't make sense in the context of the drama or its time period. Worse, only the rich and privileged female characters could defy their circumstances which sends the wrong message.
This drama was a hit in China. I think not only because of its high production values and great cast, but because it's very dark and all the characters are petty and unlikable which is not something seen often in Cdrama-land. Warning for content that has serious violence, blood, and physical abuse, implied rape or attempt.