Why Love Like the Galaxy is my Current Favorite Cdrama

I recently started (and finished) a Cdrama called Love Like the Galaxy, and it absolutely blew me away. Regardless of the platform I’m using to watch the show, I usually like to wait until the show has finished airing so that I can binge it. Well, not exactly, but if the drama starts to spike high, I would rather not have to wait before finding out what happens next. For the sake of my heart, of course.

After finishing the drama, it has joined my top favorite dramas (of any language) and is currently my top favorite Cdrama (especially for period dramas). In this post, I’ll focus on the five reasons I love it so much: the main leads, the casting in general, the character development, the plot itself, and the Emperor (and his wives).

The main leads

One of the reasons I decided to start watching the show was because of the two leads. Leo Wu and Zhao Lusi. I’ve seen them both in other dramas and absolutely love them. But just because they were cast together doesn’t automatically mean they would work well together. They did, though, and I freakin’ adore them together.

Both of their characters are well-written, with Zhao Lusi playing a general’s daughter and Leo Wu playing a general who falls in love with her at first sight. While I’m a sucker for a good romance, I love it even more when the characters are smart and can work well together (the characters, not just the actors). So in this drama, it was pure bliss for me. Not that they got together right away, but it was well worth the wait.

The casting

The casting director did a great job putting together this show’s cast. Whether protagonist, major antagonist, or minor antagonist, they all did a good job. And I’m not saying that just because. I think my favorite characters, other than the leads (and the Emperor, who I’ll be talking about below), was the female lead’s rather ignorant grandma (who reminds me a little of Kathy Bates), the main eunuch serving the Emperor, the female lead’s family, and the main group of mean girls against the female lead (Princess Yuchang, Wang Ling, and Luo Li).

I recognized a few minor characters from other shows, and two of them had been in the same previous show (The Story of Ming Lan). What was really cool, was that they were antagonists in Love Like the Galaxy, but the second of them had been a supporting protagonist in Ming Lan. She did such a good job as a villain that I wanted to return to Ming Lan to see her as a good guy. I love that she can do really well as a villain, so well that I don’t think I’d want to be up against her in a show.

The character development

With 56 episodes, there’s plenty of time (in theory) for some good character development. And the more, the better. I’m not a fan of characters that either don’t need development or need it but don’t get it. Why present a “perfect” image when that image ends up being boring? It’s one of the worst things you could do in a show.

It wasn’t just the two leads who got a chance to grow. Many of the major and minor characters also had a chance to grow, in different ways, which was so good to see. Next to endings, I think character development is one of my top focus points on a new show. So having a show like this, where a lot of characters were able to change throughout the show, was very refreshing. It kept them active,

The plot

I want to talk now about the plot, because the plot is king. Even more than my love of the characters. It’s the way things are written; it’s the way they flow and move. And the way that characters are brought in and out (and even back in) to the story. There were some moments that totally surprised me (they were awesome, my jaw dropped, I even went back and rewatched them just to enjoy them all over again), and there were other moments that tore my heart out. I almost cried in every single one of the first six episodes.

The pacing was just right. With so many episodes, it can be hard to balance the show’s pacing against the characters and the action scenes. What I was really worried about was how they were going to handle the ending. I’ve had other shows (one in particular….that I’m still mad about) where the writers (or director or both) botched the ending after over 50+ episodes of a good show. But this show did it right. It wasn’t perfect, and I’m not complaining, but it was a good ending to the show. It didn’t feel like the writers pushed too hard in any particular direction, so I say thank you.

The Emperor (and his wives)

All hail the ruling Emperor. No, while I’ve seen other shows with good emperors (and empresses/consorts), I’ve also seen even more with greedy rulers. Depending on the plot, that’s not always a bad thing, but the Emperor in this drama is my new favorite. One straightforward reason why: he’s a fan of the main couple and works very hard to get them together.

It is the funniest, best thing I’ve seen. He’s a freakin’ fanboy, and I love that his empress and his consort get on well together. Their relationship with each other and with the Emperor doesn’t feel super fake, and while I don’t know enough about true historical ruling relationships, it seemed to be realistic enough that I could continue enjoying the show.

I highly recommend this show for anyone who loves a period Chinese drama, with an (almost) enemies-to-lovers trope, intelligent leads, political intrigue, and many great fighting scenes. There’s good chemistry among the characters, scenes that will make you cry, and scenes that will make you laugh. You can find Love Like the Galaxy on Viki and SlingTV.

@jocelynnielson

Day 56: I tried using an outline today and it totally helped me. Now, while I am proud of myself for actually following through with coming up with a topic and outline, I can’t completely take full credit. It was a topic that I was excited about, so that definitely played into my success. But it gives me a bit more motivation to outline again, and I think my writing will get better at a faster rate. That’s the hope, anyway. #writinghabit #dailywritingpractice #writerlife✍️

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