New Life Begins (2022)

Sincerity & Pureness of heart.

I plunged right into the drama without much thought and I’m glad that it turned out all right.

What I liked:
- The FL and the ML have good chemistry. I really liked that ML was sincere in his affections and love for the FL right from the start. He wasn’t a player.
- The female characters in this drama are likable. No one is a full on bitch (other than 4th mistress) which is so great. The female characters support one another and help one another.
- I like that this drama focuses on overthrowing dated stereotypes and ridiculous ‘norms’. Eg: women should not show their faces outside. Women should stay home and be dutiful wives and mothers. Women should this. Women shouldn’t this. I, personally, don’t think it’s a woman or a man thing. It’s a person thing. Avoid gender stereotypes and look at a person as a person (not just as female or a male). Don’t have erroneous preconceived notions of what men / women should be like. No such thing! I like that the show tries to overthrow these unreasonable and outdated ‘norms’.
- The drama also talks about post partum depression and about how to take care of an expectant mother. Women don’t have easy lives and it’ll be so much better if women had supportive partners/ men/ family members etc. People should support people. Lift one another up with love and courage and compassion.
- Yuan Ying turned out to be so cute. I loved how she was so capable and so by-the-book. She was so cute!
- I liked the relationship which formed between Yuan Ying and Li Wei. So cute! There was no fighting over the same husband. They became sisters.
- The butler Su Shen and the maids were so cute too. I especially love to see Su Shen fussing over Yin Zheng. He’s earnest and comedic.

What I didn’t like:
- Insecure and crazy and incompetent second master.
- Vicious fourth mistress.

Overall, I enjoyed this ‘feel good’ drama with a happy ending. This moved quickly and issues were resolved pretty fast. The first 20-25 episodes were very interesting but it sort of watered down afterwards. Still a good watch. I loved that Yin Zheng was powerful in terms of his martial arts and he loved his wife so much. Pls watch!

Leggi di Più

Good balance of humor and the serious things in life, full of focus on female friendship and family

I love the beginning and ending quarters for sure (the preciousness and wholesomeness and chaos and fun All on Overload and I'm here for it).

It's pretty quiet/laid-back/domestic/slice of life, not too intense, and I honestly would have been happier if Li Wei (FL) and Yin Zheng (ML) had more screen time together (yup, especially in that middle section, which felt a bit slower without them ^-^). But, as it is, this is a very female-friendships-centered plot, and not as much on the main couple's romance for most the show.

LOVE the delicacies and foods and aesthetics (so cozy and healing), very cute and sweet main ship, all the side ships are also either sweet or bickery spicy sweet. As far as romances go, it's a bit rare as it focuses on both parties in the relationship pretty much equally, which is lovely to witness.

As far as HEA happy endings go, this deserves a 10/10 for that.

Appreciate the story's main thematic (essentially) commentary on the whole harem/concubines situation - which also enabled me to feel and understand the inner court's women of historical times more. However, the plot felt a bit dragged on as it didn't offer quite as many twists or interesting things as I would have preferred in the middle section especially (who am I kidding though, I was likely suffering from pretty bad hangover from lack of Li Wei+Yin Zheng dose lol).

Also love the VERY diverse set of personalities and ships/couples, as well as their respective developments. I liked all of the (good :D) main AND supporting characters by the end!

Needless to say, all the acting's top notch. I've put more of Tian Xi Wei's and Bai Jing Ting's cdramas on my To Watch list because they're each such great main leads.

Good balance of humor and the serious things in life for sure. =) If you want a comfort watch full of (esp female, but also the brothers/princes/young lords) friendships and family, this is for you.

Leggi di Più

Refreshing drama

This drama is really good, very refreshing. It's different than your typical drama with lots of scheming and unnecessary misunderstandings.
The characters are all so unique and interesting, even the villains has good sides to them.
The actors portrayed the characters really well, with differing personalities and traits being shown in the drama.
I also feel like the side stories are all meaningful, no boring filler subplots.
They also made it so we are able to savour the happy ending, unlike other dramas where the happy ending is only for the last 15mins of the last episode. The last 3 episodes are making me sooo happy.

Leggi di Più

Sincere, Sweet, and Irresistibly Likeable

This drama is like eating a holiday meal of favorite comfort foods. There are no big surprises, but you thoroughly enjoy each dish, and afterwards you feel warm and happy for having eaten well of good foods.

That being said, "New Life Begins" was itself a delightful surprise. Given how young the leads looked in promos, I confess to not having expected much from this C-drama. Maybe something light & fun. Which this is! But there's also enough substance to keep it interesting, & the characters are all likeable enough (or insanely hateable enough) that you're invested in their outcomes.

The drama focuses on relationships. Even the political questions or conflicts are really just another way of illustrating the relationships between characters involved. It's slice-of-life set against a fictional, 9-region political backdrop, with the central mechanism being that women are often used to keep the peace via interregional marriages. The questions many of these women come back to asking is: Their lives are used to barter for peace, but *should* they be? Isn't there a better way, one that doesn't sacrifice their own futures & dreams on the altar of politics?

**Mild, baby-sized spoilers below - nothing earth-shattering**

CHARACTERS
I liked pretty much every single character by the end. (The abusive as*h*** of an Eldest Prince excepted...may he meet with misfortune every 30 minutes.) There's growth on everyone's part throughout the story, & the relationships that unfold are a pleasure to observe. You end up rooting for all the couples & most of the characters, as even the annoying ones learn from their mistakes & evolve. The couples (or princes & their harems) are all well-matched. I laughed so hard when the extreme-introvert couple decided to send out gifts instead of hosting a housewarming party for their new home, so that they wouldn't have to converse with anyone. #relateable Even the ML’s second marriage partner in addition to the FL—a woman who, by all the laws of drama-watching, should be loathed—is brilliant & thoughtful & so absolutely cool that she navigates a 3-way marriage with the 2 leads without much conflict at all, & you end up wanting to cheer for her, too. I’ve never admired a forced love “triangle” before, but this…worked, somehow (temporarily).

Both leads (ML & FL) act more maturely than most C-drama protagonists, despite their youthful appearance. They make *good* assumptions about each other & ask questions instead of jumping to the worst conclusion. (Also, the ML’s voice is lovely deep.) The leads are great about communicating with each other & having the other's back. (They do start out a bit rocky & grow into this...please wait for it. :) The ML's manservant is my favorite side character. (I officially petition the Drama Overlords for MORE servants who overshare in order to quickly clear up misunderstandings between protagonists.) Their (ML & FL) relationship progression from strangers in a political "business" marriage, to allies & friends, to lovers at last, is slow, sweet, & natural, so that you actually believe the ML & FL genuinely *like* one another by the time they're confessing. Forget grand, first-sight, "destined" love—give me more couples who sincerely enjoy spending time together day-to-day, who communicate well, who help & support each other, who can tease each other & laugh together, & have all of this seem natural. (That’s far better than “soulmates” who can’t go a 5 minutes without arguing or misunderstanding—you wonder how they’ll survive with each other day-to-day in their “happily ever after.”)

Strong, ambitious, clever women are everywhere. Held down by outdated traditions & pompous men? Yes. But they don't let that stop them from dreaming & scheming anyways. Does their behavior sometimes stretch the bounds of belief around what would actually be allowable in a society such as theirs? Eh, maybe. Just ignore that—enjoy them changing their world single-handedly.

PLOT
There manage to be serious moments throughout the drama without it being very heavy. The two caveats to this lightness are the abusive Crown Prince (who can walk off a cliff already) & the side storyline about his concubine's postpartum depression (with that husband, is there any wonder?!), but these don’t get massive chunks of screen time & are thankfully resolved faster than you'd expect—no dragging it out into the last 5 minutes of the show.

There aren't any massive twists to the plot; its predictability is offset by the character growth you didn't expect, the healthy relationships, & the variety of situations the characters face together. The story could have been a bit more compact, but it still makes you want to keep watching to the end.

Are there tropes & clichés included? Yes—‘twouldn't be a “drama” without them.
--->The FL can be immature sometimes, esp. in the beginning.
--->There's a pouty, childish SFL who is desperate for the ML’s attention for a while.
--->The ML has idiot brothers with hearts of gold & wives who are clearly too good for them, but who they eventually become better men for.
--->Etc.
HOWEVER, these tropes aren't executed annoyingly (for the most part), misunderstandings get resolved quickly, & the overall effect is enjoyable.

This isn't a perfect drama. I could pick apart & criticize a number of details, especially around character idiosyncrasies. For example, the "strong" princess married to her idiot "weak" prince—their relationship, while believable by the end, is borderline abusive for the first 2/3 of the show. Like...ANY effort to show some of the playful warmth that she claims with people in her home province would have helped. But I digress. Main point – it’s imperfect, yet these few irritating details don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.

TL;DR - If you want something that isn't too heavy, that holds your attention, & that makes you feel good for watching it—less like you've eaten cotton candy or sweets, more like you've eaten a several-course holiday dinner—then I highly recommend this drama.

Leggi di Più

BEAUTIFUL AND UPLIFTING - Nothing Cliche!

This drama was so enjoyable with multiple groundbreaking topics I have not seen in historical dramas. Started light and funny, this drama has humor, romance, warm brotherly relationships, warm friendships, conspiracies, etc. Groundbreaking topics include post-partum depression, domestic violence, and women's rights.

What I love:
- the main couple's relationship evolution was gradual but made sense. Not love at first sight and you can see how they slowly fall in love with each other (ok, he fell in love first and much faster, but still).
- loving brotherly relationships between the 3rd, the 5th, and the 6th princes.
- loving friendship and really sisterly between the wives/concubines.
- the topic of domestic violence was uncomfortable but reasonable. Especially when HJ couldn't leave because she was pregnant. That was heartbreaking.
- the topic of post-partum depression was amazing. I only wish they took it further beyond just recognizing it since it wasn't addressed on how women overcome post-partum depression.
- the topic of women's rights in terms of education and working was very well addressed and concluded beautifully though the end was a bit rushed. I wish they would show how the women showed their talents which would then enable them to be selected for particular ministries. It was rushed that made it look like they were selected simply because they were there.

Overall, this was a beautiful drama with a unique storyline and I highly recommend it.

Leggi di Più

Feminism done in the right way

I came to watch this drama because I crave dramas that have touching story about friendship. I usually don't watch historical romantic-comedies drama because they tend to be more melodramatic, however, I underestimated this drama before watching it. It has a lot of elements that I love, which are comedy, pure friendship, and admirable love story.

Firstly, this drama has a lot of feminism touch which I love. Not going to lie, a lot of Asian dramas tend to portray female characters as a weak individuals, at least to my knowledge. However, this drama portrays women as strong individuals who's equal to men.

The drama tells a story about Xin Chuan state bringing young women from the 9 states and forced them to become princes' concubines. The Female Lead, Li Wei did not want to become a concubine and forced to become one with the 6th prince who everyone thought is the weakest and invincible prince among all the princes in the palace. Meanwhile, Hao Jia is a concubine's child who were forced to climb the ladder by seducing the crown prince due to her situation and greediness. However, along the way, Li Wei got the most sincere and kindest prince among all of them, meanwhile, Hao Jia, who has the most ambition, got the worst, sick and cold-blooded prince who abuse women.

What I love the most in this drama is how the writers did not turn Hao Jia's character to become evil. What I noticed every time I watch Korean&Chinese dramas, when side-female characters got into hardship, they tend to become jealous and evil, so they betrayed their friends or the loved-ones.

What I dislike about this drama is how netizen views this drama. (Please keep in mind, NOT all viewers think this way) I watched this drama on VIKI, and they have a time comments section where viewers can comment while watching this drama. Honestly, it scares me how they always blames female characters no matter what. For example, Yin-An, the 3rd Prince has a legal wife, and 16 unregistered concubines. He lures the 16 concubines by helping them in their lowest moments in exchange for them to become his concubine. However, not only he did not remember their names, he abused them mentally (and kind of physically) by starving them if they gained weight. He's also forcing them to have sexual intercourse and get them pregnant. Then, when the time comes, the 16 concubines and his wife turns their back on him and leave him because they had enough of him.
I thought the viewers would be happy for the concubines because they finally got their freedom, but no, some viewers thought the concubines were ungrateful towards the 3rd Prince - who abuse them.

Moreover, there were a lot of comments who thought the female lead, Li Wei, was ungrateful towards the male lead, YinZheng. They were saying that Li Wei is ungrateful and annoying by denying 6th prince as she wants to leave the palace to reunite with her family. I find the comments who find Li Wei annoying is very shallow and unjustified. I understand her position a lot because she was forced to become someone's concubine/side wife and not a wife to a complete stranger from a young age. Though her life may be grand in economic perspective, there were a lot of strict rules in Xin Chuan, who are unfavored towards women. If she has to choose between life in Xin Chuan and her family, of course she would choose a life with her family.

However, despite all the comments, this drama is worth the watch. I'll probably will watch this drama many times as I love how the writers portray each character.

Leggi di Più

Sad now that it's over ...

Ah, now that I finished this drama, saying goodbye is hard 🥹. This show is such a beautiful gem among the C-Dramas that I have watched. I am more and more excited to start historical dramas, and this one made my excitement even bigger. A beautiful and light-hearted show that did not shy away from diving into serious topics such as a woman's independence, domestic/spousal abuse, mental health problems and more.

The female relationships in this drama were sooooo great: support and love, and it did not matter whether they were blood related or not. To have such strong relationships was so beautiful to watch. The female characters loved and appreciated each other, supported each other unconditionally, and were true friends. Thank you to the writer for giving us such a show.

The actors did such a good job playing their characters. The comedic timing of the leads and secondary characters was always spot on, thanks to that the show was a delight to watch!

I felt like the show was a little too long, and the leads' relationship seemed to stall for a little bit, but honestly the last 15 episodes were very good and some even made me cry. The emotional attachment to the characters and their fate is veryyyy strong haha!

Li Wei is such a sweet bean, who grew into such a smart and capable woman without losing the essence of who she is. When needed, she was the boss, but with Yin Zheng she always knew how to be her carefree sweet self, and I appreciated that a lot. Seeing Yin Zheng's unconditional love for her was so sweet too, he could be so silly around her. The team work between him and butler Su was always very fun to watch🤭👍🏻

Overall, a very nice show that I thoroughly enjoyed. At first, I didn't think I would rewatch it, but the last episodes made me change my mind. I would probably opt for the latter half for a rewatch, simply because of the lead's relationship progressing a little more, and them committing to their feelings for each other more fearlessly. But the entire show is definitely highly recommended!💗

Leggi di Più

Too good for you to ignore!

First, if you like slice of life and family dramas, this one will definitely please you. Its also very funny in the beginning, Second that I have never seen a historical drama where the female characters unite as much as it does here. The sisterhood is amazing. It's impossible not to get attached to these characters and the sisterhood they share. They fight for their rights and always helps each other. and although the romance is not the main focus, the couples scenes are extremely cute and we easily become attached to the them. The two main leads are wonderful too. Li Wei the very first feminist in the world, I loved her! She can be annoying for some people but for me her actions were really plausible and I liked how she cared more for herself in the beginning. Later, she begins to grow up and deal better with things and wow, she become even more wonderful. Our Prince Yin Zheng is really a prince. Always treated Li Wei as she deserved and he was just so sweet with her and with all characters. I also loved him.

The secondary characters are amazing too, especially Yuan Ying who was one of my favorites. Speaking of her, she could become an obstacle for the main couple and be a boring character as usual in romantic comedies, but here the character is given a importance and she does not disturb the couple, on the contrary, she helps them and creates a very beautiful friendship with Li Wei. Most of the characters here have a very satisfying ending too and the ending was perfect. So yeah, this drama was a very good surprise for me and Im happy I gave a shot and watched until the end.

If you're looking for a romance drama, this one might not suit you so much and I think that's the only negative thing I would say about this drama because I started looking for something more romantic and I do wish we had more romantic scenes especially between main couple. but still, I love a good slice of life and family drama and this one was AMAZING. Please give it a chance like I did because this drama has too many good points to ignore. I will miss them :(

Leggi di Più

FEELS GOOD SERIES YET SO UNDER RATED! YES TO SISTERHOOD!

*** Spoiler Alert (PERSONAL FEEDBACK)
Title : New Life Begins - 2022 (Complete 40 Episode)
Personal Rating : 9/10

FEELS GOOD SERIES YET SO UNDER RATED! YES TO SISTERHOOD!

New Life Begins is on top of my list. I watched this initially because of Bai Jing Ting and came to love Tian Xi Wei. Their chemistry is so good and the relationship between the ML and FL is relaxing, natural, and without any heavy drama.
This drama was so funny from the from the start that’s why it got me hooked. Yin Zheng is smart, strategic, secluded, who keeps a low profile and a bit sickly chooses to be with Li Wei who is adorable, foodie, who knows what she wants, stands up for herself and wants to live comfortably in her hometown.

The two became a support to each other even though they were not into a deep relationship from the start. Li Wei doesn’t want to marry a man she doesn’t love, and she wants a one-man-one-woman marriage with equal rights practiced from her city Jichuan whereas Xin Chuan still follows the traditional polygamous system. But in the end Yin Zheng follows Jichuan traditions of one-man-one-woman marriage because of his love for Li Wei.

Each couple has stories to tell. Each prince is married to woman from different cities with different mindset, cultures and characteristics which will they showcase of how to handle each others wife or husband from being just fixed marriage to true love. 😍

What makes this drama different from other dramas is that woman in this drama (The wife of the princes) supports & protects each other back instead of scheming like other dramas. They start a food business which is not typical Xin Chuan kingdom specially they are woman. But despite that they still pursue it with the back up from the princes. And this drama shows women experiences like postpartum depression and domestic violence.

Overall, this drama is on top of my list. It’s a beautiful, light romantic comedy drama with a happy ending!

GENRE – Historical, Comedy, Romance, Life

CAST – Bai Jing Ting , Tian Xi Wei

Leggi di Più

A drama that shows supportive females

One nice thing about this drama is all the female characters supported and took care of each other. There was no backstabbing b*tch or some SFL trying to ruin the FL. It was very nice to see such supportive females all together. There was also a lot of emotion in this show. It shows how these girls were forced to leave their countries and how they miss their family who took care of them. All these girls come from different countries which have different values and ways of doing things. One girl has horrible parents and an abusive "husband" and I felt like the actress really portrayed those emotions well. There were also a lot of funny moments with the third prince's harem. Those girls were hilarious. The ML was also very good and voiced his opinions and helped the FL.

Leggi di Più

Not heavy on romance

I came for the romance and wished there could have been more.. I stayed for whatever romance I could get because it was so sweet and nicely developed, just wanted more.

Everyone grows, there is some interesting stuff happening

But it does drag somewhat. And some parts I was bored. Wish it didn't do this. Probably could have cut it down a few episodes to tighten the storyline.

It was cute and funny and lite hearted. Not hilarious or all that laugh out loud all the time. But I enjoyed that there wasn't too much scheming and over the top drama

It was interesting to see the sisterhood and the feminist takes.

The minor characters' story was not bad

Not much of an ost behind it

I wouldn't rewatch, even for the sparse romance... Or even for the chemistry of the leads..

Leggi di Più