This is prob the second drama I watched in the last 6 months that’s lingered with me for days after. The first was 以家人之名 Go Ahead.
It was so good, I went and read the whole 14-17 books that the drama was based on. BUT! I think you can watch this drama without knowing anything about it and be tickled at the added twists to a historical court drama. So only read on if you want spoilers!
- Age: 13+, middle school and up
- Romance: historical Chinese drama tame with a modern twist
- Genre: historical, court intrigue, wuxia, sci-fi
- Episodes: 46x45min (35 episodes)
- Actors: 張若昀 (Zhang Ruo Yun)
- Wiki: Chinese, English
- Released: Nov 2019
- Where to Watch: iQiyi
TLDR for Friends
If you’re willing to watch a non-romance drama, definitely watch it! This was a HUGE hit when it came out in China. I highly recommend.
It’s got the high production value of Goblin, even better court intrigue than the first 30 episodes of Fuyao, plus they added a sci-fi twist to the whole thing that’s mind blowing because I’ve never seen it in a Chinese historical drama.
Just kind of ignore the fact that the main character isn’t your typical cute.
It is teenager appropriate, but it’s adult themed so if you’re not really into discussing brothels and what not. I would totally recommend this to watch with your teens.
Plot
Spoiler below
Story starts with modern time ML saying he is going to write a story which puts a character with modern view into a historical fiction.
We then jump right into the story of a baby born with all the memories of 21st century. The baby and its protector, 五叔, are being pursued by assassins. But they escape and he ends up being raised by his grandma, far away from the Capital, for his safety.
The boy grows up to be bright, skilled at giving poisons and healing, and of course amazing fight skills.
The first half of the drama we meet all the major potential allies and adversaries: the father he has never met, the King, two princes, king’s sister (who’s evil and against his marriage to her daughter), the head of the Spy network, and his future father-in-law.
How do we meet them? It’s one intrigue/murder/revenge after another, with the ML scheming his way through. This is court intrigue at its best.
On top of all this intrigue, there is also an overarching birth mystery. Why does he have memories of the future? Oh, and he also has a meet cute with his future wife, and there are some scheming involved because he tried to get out of his arranged marriage, not knowing that his wife is the woman he met cute somewhere.
The second half of the drama has him escorting two captives to Northern country for exchange. Of course there is political intrigue there as well once he arrives. And he discovers his birth secret.
And wow, I’m reading my summary 3 months later and it sounds so boring. Just know it’s compelling because it’s a chess game! You don’t know who is good or bad or how the ML can get out of his situations.
I love smart characters. I liked the plot twists. I also liked the idea of “modern view” in historical Chinese dramas. I spent a lot of time thinking where these modern ideas are and how his modern ideas influenced the people around him.
And the beginning of the drama was pretty funny so that kept me going.
What Parents Need to Know
It’s a Chinese drama. You’ve got your typical brothel visits which I always find hard to explain to my kids. So I just hope they don’t notice or skip those parts. There are a lot of fighting and it can be a bit…gory. I usually ffwd through those parts as well.
Chinese Aspect or Things to Talk to Kids About?
As I mentioned, I went and read the whole ginormous series this drama was based on. The drama is probably only the first 1/3 of the series. They’re shooting season 2 and 3 right now.
After I read these books, I realized just how much I learned about the vocabulary of Chinese courts: all the different official titles and departments. For example, 內庫 sounds like underwear but it actually means Royal Treasury. And I finally also learned other names for eunuch, secret service, ‘police’ dept, among other things.
So, maybe you want to read these books too hahaha. The drama was a better rewrite honestly. And the books (past the first 5) are not appropriate for kids. But if you read it, then you can explain all these things to the kids!
