Love Like the Galaxy: Part 1 (2022)

Shining as Each Other's Light

Love Like The Galaxy (星汉灿烂) is adapted from the novel of the same name (星汉灿烂, 幸甚至哉). Love Like The Galaxy narrative revolves around Cheng Shaoshang, daughter of the Cheng family, who was left by her parents when she was a baby; and Ling Buyi, a general who’ trying to unfold the conspiracy behind what happened in the past. The drama narrative then starts years later, during the return of her parents.

Love Like The Galaxy storytelling is executed nearly to perfection; the story unfolds at a casual pace, with a gradual development of the characters, unravelling their background story and relationships. The drama also has an interesting storyline with a really well-conceived and realistically written character, every character is multi-faceted and complex, with their own background story. It also has a lot of interesting characters and relationship dynamics; their relationship dynamic is realistically and convincingly portrayed.

The first 10 episodes of the drama started off with a hint of comedic and light-hearted note, which is really pleasing. I absolutely adore the comedic elements in the drama with the storytelling approach. The drama's comedic elements are not forced nor cheap, it is genuinely light-hearted and funny, and I adore how they use wordplay. I especially love how Shaoshang is always on her wits to fight back against others who bully her or people around her. The first 10 episode shows Shaoshang's family dynamic, her relationship with her mother, father, brothers, and more. Some scenes were really heartbreaking to see but also heartwarming at the same time. Moving on, the drama gradually shows Shoashang’s growth, how she learns to rely on herself, find love and more. There are happiness, sadness, anger, disappointment and all.

It is comforting to see a drama that focuses on the family dynamics, not all on romance. I personally love how the romance between Ling Buyi and Cheng Shaoshang is taking time, instead of both of them falling in love at first sight. We can gradually see how Shaoshang starts to develop feelings for Ling Buyi because of his gesture and actions, which is more realistic. Though they have very different personalities, it is very pleasant to see how they learn to love, learn to grow up and face problems around them; they are made for each other.

The drama is directed by Fei Zhenxiang, who is known for directing Candle in The Tomb series. This drama is his first time directing a historical drama and he did a really remarkable job. He is able to show his unique and distinct style, and deliver the picture he has in mind. Also because of his experience in tomb raiding dramas, he is able to portray those bloody scenes really well.

Love Like The Galaxy also has really impressive cinematography and sets, it has beautiful wide shots, immersive tracking shots, and many more pretty shots. For now, I especially love the one-long take on episode 7 and the lantern festival shots! The shot is really fluid and immersive. Moreover, the cinematography and colour grading really reflected every atmosphere and situation, it will leave a deep impression on the audience. Through the cinematography and set, you can see that this drama has a big budget and it is allocated well. The fire during the lantern festival is not created using CGI, it is real, the production team spent 3 days creating a new building and for it to be burned down.

The characterizations of each role in the drama are immensely elevated by the excellent acting of Zhao Lusi and Wu Lei. They deliver such an in-depth and rich character arc, with a myriad of emotional expressions. Both of the actors are able to convey their emotions through micro expression and the way they articulate every scene is really praiseworthy. They have small actions that reflect their emotion, for instance, how Ling Buyi’s eyebrow slightly raised when he saw Shaoshang; and how Shaoshang looks away when she saw her mother being close to her cousin instead of her.

The character, Cheng Shaoshang was stellarly portrayed by Zhao Lusi. She did a very good job, it is unimaginable that others can pull off Shaoshang’s character in such a compelling way. Through this drama, she also manages to show everyone that she can also play dramas other than tianchongs drama. She manages to show the character’s sincerity, but also complex and intriguing at the same time, not compromising on what the character experienced. Zhao Lusi manages to infuse her character with kindness and righteousness, also with a sense of pragmatism. Throughout the drama, she also was able to portray layers of Shaoshang; Shaoshang’s facade of being ignorant and unruly but also her fragility and her longing to be loved by her family. Zhao Lusi also uses her own voice here, I love how she has this milky and soft voice that is really soothing! But also, because of her milky voice, some part with heavier elements makes falls short, due to her lack of emotional line delivery.

Wu Lei also did a very notable job! Seeing him in the drama, really makes me feel that he has really grown up, he is no longer the kid in Nirvana in Fire. Ling Buyi is a hard role to play since he has a cold and indifferent exterior, but at the same time he is also complicated, he is sincere and sinister at the same time. But Wu Lei managed to execute it to perfection with his articulation, bearing, stance, and his micro-expressions. He especially displays a remarkable line delivery, which shows Ling Buyi’s authority. Some might dislike how he only has this one expression throughout the drama, but I love it. Because you will gradually see how his character starts changing, how he began to smile more because of Shaoshang’s presence.

Love Like The Galaxy also has enchanting music scoring and realistic yet sweet lines. The drama has bold music scoring with traditional Chinese instruments that match every situation so well. The diegetic and non-diegetic sound is very fitting to every situation. Moreover, the dialogues in the drama are also very realistic. Though realistic, it still didn’t take away its romantic essence of it.

The drama also has some very interesting detail, such as:
1. Ep 11: Yuan Shen broke the shaoshang string while he was playing the guqin, foreshadowing that he’ll not end up with Shaoshang.
2. Ep 12: Shaoshang used a shaoshang string to save Ling Buyi. The string was drenched in blood, which also becomes a red string, connection to 月老, god of love
3. Shaoshang and her fiancées carriage detail:
- Luo Yao-open cart. He won’t be able to go through wind and rain (difficulties)
- Yuan Shen-carriage. He sat in main seat (self centered)
- Ling Buyi-big stable carriage. SS sat in main seat, he sat on side guarding her.
4. Ling Buyi is often framed in a wide shot and positioned in a high place. Showing that he has high and influential power, but also makes him look lonely. And It was only after he met Shaoshang, that those wide high angle shots gradually lessens.

Love Like The Galaxy is considered to release early, they released the drama and also working on the post-production at the same time. LLTG team still did a notable job in editing, but I can’t help to notice that in the latter episodes the CG was not as good and as smooth as in the beginning episodes.

All in all, do give this drama a try! After watching the first two episodes of the drama, you'll find yourself wanting more. The drama visuals, story, and emotion will pull you in deep. And every episode keeps on getting better and better, with unexpected comedic and heartbreaking twists and turns. You would find yourself watching back some of the clips just to appreciate the dialogue and actions.

P.s. I also love how they especially edit their trailer, unlike other drama where they just edit a 1-minute scene of the next episode, LLTG team especially meticulously edit their trailer, leaving the audience to guess and interprets what is going to happen in the next upcoming episode.

“Might as well expect less from others, and be better to yourself. You’ll live more comfortably.”

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