September 14, 2020

The Promise of Chang'an | Recap and Review

The Promise of Chang'an
A palace drama about love, betrayal, and power struggles. 
Notable Actors/Actresses
Cheng YiXiao Cheng Xu
Zhao Ying ZiHe Lan Ming Yu
Han DongXiao Cheng Rui
Director
Scriptwriter
Chinese Title
長安諾
Year2020
Episodes: 6/56
Recap Grade: C
First Impression: 1.9/5


Mini Recaps


[Ep1] Xiao Cheng Xu and He Lan Ming Yu first meet as a thief and a replacement bride respectively. However, upon their second encounter she knows he's a prince and she's not the real bride (and a princess). He's quite impressed with her wits. 

[Ep2] Cheng Xu is the ninth prince and mom warns him to be wary of his third brother, Cheng Rui. The two brothers have a good relationship but Cheng Rui does get jealous when the Emperor favours Cheng Xu. 

Ming Yu is punished by dad for annulling her sister's marriage with Situ Gun. Her sister, He Lan Wan Yin, is grateful for Ming Yu but at times she's also jealous that Ming Yu is loved by everyone. 

[Ep3] Ming Yu checks Cheng Xu’s neck for injuries and they both feel the romantic tension. That’s the peace before the storm. Cheng Xu’s father, the Emperor, dies. At his death only Cheng Xu’s mother and a maid was at his side. They both hear him name his next in line: Cheng Xu. 

[Ep4] All the other princes convince Cheng Rui to be the Emperor instead. They force the consort (Cheng Xu’s mother) to commit suicide. 

[Ep5] Ming Yue is at Cheng Xu’s side when he’s depressed. She’s his warm light. Cheng Xu and Cheng Xuan (Cheng Xu’s biological brother) don’t know who forced their mother to die but they’ve decided the culprit will be the one who ascends to the throne. It’s Cheng Rui. When Cheng Xu has a chance to kill Cheng Rui, his heart softens because Cheng Rui was always a caring brother in his eyes. Cheng Xu isn’t willing to kill his third brother without concrete proof. Omg this drama. The plot is pretty obvious. That maid in episode three made a furtive game and you know she’s important but the sorry doesn’t make it obvious to the main character until now
[Ep6] I admit to not paying attention. I don't know how the above screencap happened. Cheng Xu proposes to Ming Lan. She accepts it. This episode she even pulls him in to kiss him on the cheek. So fast. However, he has to leave for war. She still owes him a hand sewn pouch (that she doesn’t know how to sew by the way). 

War isn't looking so good for Cheng Xu. His brothers are also sabotaging him because he's investigating his mother's death. 
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Remarks



[First Impression (Ep1-6)] This is a palace politic drama with a dramatic love story. The man is on the path of being the king because of circumstances. The woman is trying to help his man. Our couple to be is the the most loved one in their respective families and naturally induce jealousy from their families. There is scheming, betrayal, sibling rivalry, power struggle, and everything that can be imagined in a palace drama. 

Palace politics aren’t dramas I happily click into immediately. If this wasn’t following the heels of Love and Redemption I may have stopped watching this much earlier – like at Ep1. I can smell the dramatic misfortunes from a mile. There’s another reason I continued to watch this. Yin Tao is the director. He’s the one behind Love and Redemption, Under the Power, Listening Snow Tower, The Destiny of White Snake and Glory of Tang Dynasty. I’ve see 3.66 of them and all I can say is that this director knows how to make grand romances that suit my taste. 

This drama was filmed prior to Love and Redemption, which means it’s even older. It does feel outdated especially in how the story is told. The dramatic irony is overwhelmingly obvious. The audience already knows how the main character’s mother dies (sorry, spoiler) but he doesn’t know until a few episodes later and so two episodes are spent watching the characters learn the truth one by one and still the full truth isn't revealed to everyone yet. 

[Actors/Actresses] Cheng Yi is following the path of Ren Jia Lun for me. Their popularity skyrocketed after a Yin Tao drama and now their old work is dug out. Both of their successive projects pale in comparison. I can’t say I like this drama at all. The romance isn’t tugging my heart at all.

I have yet to convert to a full fledged Cheng Yi fan and so I’m unable to blindly watch this just for him. I like him and Yuan Bing Yan as a pair – one entity – thus making this drama hard to love. I’m still all in for ChuYu couple. It’s too soon to say goodbye to them. There’s also a ton of actors from Love and Redemption here which makes it even harder to focus. Here’s my list of people I recognize: 
  • Madam Rong → He Lan Min Yu
  • Si Feng → Cheng Xu (9th Prince) 
  • Chu Lei →  2nd Prince (he went from father-in-law to Cheng Yi’s brother)
  • Liu Yi Huan → 3rd Prince
  • Wu Zhi Qi → 4th Prince
  • Di Lang → 5th Prince
  • Wu Tong  → Situ Gun (still an evil guy)
  • Zhong Min Yan → Yan Hai
[Dropped] I’m not saying it’s bad. It can be a good juicy palace drama. It is a remake of a popular drama back in the day. I have no knowledge whatsoever about that drama though. A part of me feel like it’s not fair to judge this drama the way I did but I really don’t feel the chemistry. 

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