New Life Begins (2022)

Women empowerment & powerful couple in politics

I came across this drama accidentally on IQIYI because Xiao Bai was on it. Honestly, ep 1 was enough to get me hooked and invested in the drama :(
I really love the idea of smart women, and behind every women are actually women ourselves. At first I thought this is about fights between royal harem over the princes but it is so much more than just love and marriages. It tackles issue like forced marriage, gender inequality, post-partum depression, domestic violence, status and position. You would never expect a historical palace cdrama with these themes and you can expect good laugh too! All the leads have solid chemistry and I thought they must have done quite a lot of adlibs because there were so many spontaneous and impromptu scenes LOL.

What I love:
1) Yin Zheng, the sixth prince appeared to be very un-heroic and weak male lead (this is very rare in cdrama scenario) however as the story unfolds, he has so much potential due to his smart and wise thinking in decision making and politics. I love that writer focuses on this side of him. He is also very witty, silly and goofy, but only with Li Wei, 3rd prince, 5th prince and Butler Su.
2) Li Wei. I love her character so much! She knows what she wants, she does not put that aside for love. To her, friendship and the women come first. During that scene where she is willing to let Yin Zheng divorce her as long as she can save Hao jia jie. She is a woman with dreams, high spirited, matured, and smart. This is why she is a match for Yin Zheng even though she is not coming from a powerful family background that can support Yin Zheng. She is an intellectual that will think smarter for any solution to issues faced by Yin Zheng and the women. She is also a foodie HAHAHAHA that makes her 10 times cuter. She is a brave young lady, to her 'do not touch them (people she loves) or you die'. This is so obvious when Hao jia's suicidal attempt and Yin Zheng failed to send her letters.
3) The bromance between Yin Zheng, 3rd prince and 5th prince. 3rd prince is evil to his wives but at least he is very nice and supportive to his brothers HAHAHAHA and the 5th prince is so funny, I love his character. Hence, these differences in characters make their relationship dynamic was so much fun to watch.
4) Sisterhood - their relationship is gold. I love how they unite to beat the nannies HAHAHAH and to fight and beat those rude and useless men in Xinchuan. DEFINITELY EVERYTHING TO ME
5) Sweet relationship between Yin Zheng and Li Wei. they are so fun to watch, ideally it is nice to have a relationship like them. They joke with each other, they make fun of each other, they communicate, they are helpful, they are lovely and adorable couple. Yup Relationship Goal!
6) Smart move in politics.
7) Food from each regions - very creative for the women to establish a restaurant that made food from each regions

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Funny? Yes. Novel Idea? Yeah!

Its is a good series but it feels empty for some reason. I had a good laugh but it felt dragging sometimes. The cast is good and production wise its also great.

Its definitely not for binge watching. After the first few episodes the drama falls back into the cliche thinking of introducing 'our common day ideas' as modern thinking and drags it thoroughly. Some episodes could be combined to form a single episode.

Needless to say its a modern day feminist drama where all men are dumb and stubborn but its lets out some stress the women felt in the those eras.

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A heartfelt drama about sisterhood and feminism with a dash of humor and romance

I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It was definitely humorous at the start but the drama shifted to a more serious tone about halfway through. I love how the main characters faced a variety of issues such as socioeconomic disparities, female rights, natural disasters, and even in-home power struggles! Our main characters were able to tackle them in a way that shows their true generous character. We saw the main characters mature without losing their true selves.

The development in the romance department was also slow but steady. Li Wei is not a princess in distress and Ying Zheng was completely supporting her from behind without overstepping his position. I honestly love that. He knows his wife is capable but is still willing to lend her a hand. They also didnt have any major miscommunication issues which was refreshing.

I thought 40 episodes would be too long but upon finishing the drama, I felt the pacing was very fitting for this kind of story. We grow along with the characters at a very natural pace. I didn't feel any part of the drama being too rushed. It is very common for dramas to have a rushed ending just to wrap up the story. I am pleased to say, that is not the case for New Life Begins. Bonus points for the flashbacks in the last episode! It made me realize how much everyone has grown.

Pros: Family bonding, sisterhood, steady pace, empowering
Cons: Music wasn't catchy and oddly really melancholic. I felt like that didn't really match the mood.

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"When there is love, even flowers have the courage to bloom among thorns".

"Experience the power of love and growth in this inspiring tale of family and self-discovery. Unravel the complex tapestry of relationships, love, and personal growth in this gripping story of family and redemption, where every character leaves a lasting impact.

This story is about family and the challenges the characters face towards achieving their goals, It's about friendship, sisterhood, brotherhood, and how not just blood defines a family. The bond they all shared was so beautiful and inspiring, that I hope everyone has someone in their lives the same way they had each other.

"When there is love, even flowers have the courage to bloom among thorns". This is a lyric from the ost of this show and I think it encompasses the entire show very well.

In this review I only wrote the reasons why I love this show, maybe in the future after rewatching, I'll be able to find things I don't like about it.

We saw so many different kinds of love in this show, such as parental love, friendship/platonic love, self-love, sibling love, and non-platonic love. They showed how they can appear differently for different people and how important it is to Love yourself.

It has the most funny characters I've seen in a show in a while. The show gives you such an important message while still being funny.

This is one of the most inspiring and well-written shows I have ever watched. The characters are complex so that even the really bad ones you can't truly hate them cause it kind of makes sense why they do the things they did. The former crown prince though really took all the understanding of my entire life not to hate him too much, I still hate him though.

The main leads chemistry was chemistrying, and the character growth and development were so inspiring and so beautifully done that they make you believe anything is possible. The development of their relationship was so natural and when Yuan Ying came and helped them grow into their better selves, it was stunning to watch, I think everyone deserves a sister like her.

The side characters were so well portrayed that their stories are shown even if they have little screen time. This is truly one of my favorite shows of all time.

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A sweet journey of FL from Concubine to Wife

I am quite impressed with the story as there were a couple of things I didn't expect which happened and vice versa.

The story is not about revenge and does not have story of minglan kinda angst. We have the ML and FL bonding after marriage slowly, the ML was respectful and didn't consumate the marriage at any point in time (after 2+yr). He had to marry the princess of JIN state by imperial pressure. I was really happy to see a character like the princess who was selfless she genuinely cared about the FL and helped her become mature and educated her in running household and business.

The supporting characters like hao jie (FL bf) was really good. I was expecting the betrayal arc to be present but surprisingly it was better instead of backstabbing and jealousy they discussed the issues with each other and provided the necessary support.

As every drama requires a villain in this one it was the Crown prince, who was truly despicable and his tail the fourth prince who did some bad shit but mended and came around in the end. So we can say the bad were punished unlike in other dramas they are just forgiven as if nothing happened.

What more can I say? I feel I have said enough to convince you all to give this one a shot.

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sisterhood

Guys, this series is full of sugar and honey
That means we are at risk of diabetes
Don't miss it, it's a very funny comedy
Surprisingly, the characterization of the characters has been done very well
And every episode that passes, we see the progress of the characters
The main roles that do not need to be defined
Even though they are not real, they seem to be real and come out of the heart of the life of old times, but with the seasoning of advice and morals
A good thing about this series is that you don't get stressed
That is, after three or four beautiful episodes, you will realize that the relationship between the couples of the series is healthy and we don't have any misunderstandings
They don't keep silent and speak their hearts out and solve their problems together!! In the true sense of Hillinge. 😇
The series has a consistent storyline and each story is clarified
But the best and most beautiful feature of the series is the sisterly relationship between the wives of the princes, we don't have naughty girls at all
They all have their own story, it is very enjoyable to see their sisterhood. 😍

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One of the best period dramas

I don't watch C dramas that often but I decided to try this drama after watching a clip on YouTube and I'm so glad I took a chance because it brought so much comfort to me over the last few days.

It was super easy to get into because it starts right off the day the main female lead reaches the palace and ends up meeting the male lead, in a hilarious way. There's one thing you don't need to worry about at all in this drama and that is the ROMANCE, because it was 10/10. It's more of a slow burn, esp. from the female lead side but it's so worth it to watch them grow more closer in their relationship as the show goes on. It felt like a real genuine relationship and sometimes you even feel like you're intruding on them because they just can't stop being cute.

The show really starts to pick up halfway through the drama, but that doesn't mean the first 20 episodes aren't enjoyable. They are comparatively more lighter than the second half and stays focused on world and character building. I was expecting the second half to take the same light route but was pleasantly surprised when the drama even went heavier at times. The episode which explored the post partum depression of Hao Jia was easily the best episode of the show. It was super well done.

The characters are so well written, you even find yourself sympathising with the villains. The female characters esp. are written with so much care and love. Just the fact that there was no jealousy and negativity among them and all they wanted to do was just hangout with each other and gossip like normal girls do. I do wish there was more royal political drama in the show and less on plots like the Nine state delicacies Restaurant plot. But despite that, it's a really solid drama that you can easily binge.

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An Easy Drama to Watch with girl-power vibes

New Life Begins wasn’t what I expected it to be. It was a very easy drama to watch. Very light on angst and heavy on girl-power vibes.

The things I liked:

Light on angst – there wasn’t any misunderstandings between the main leads nor was there any secrets or hidden agendas. I really liked the friendship vibe they had. From the very moment the leads met, they had a very nice relationship (very innocent and very C drama style).

All the side stories – the cast is very big, I think there are 4-5 side couples? Each one is different and each one has has their advantages and disadvantages.

I prefer the more comical couples that were there to help me laugh out loud and add some comical relief for the moments the drama can be a little intense.

I didn’t care for the abusive couple, but they were there for balance and I appreciated the storyline even though I did start the fast forward their scenes towards the end, it just got a little repetitive.

Girl power storylines – There are several storylines about sisterhood and women lifting each other up. I can see why the drama got high ratings. How nice is to be friends with the person who married your husband. I mean, that storyline was the most refreshing. I liked how the women came together during their struggles instead of tearing each other apart.

The things I didn’t like:

I really didn’t like the costumes. - I found the outfits very dated and a little too colorful in my opinion. After watching Love like Galaxy, I really like the muted colors. To me, it just looks better on camera.

As much as I loved the casting, especially Bai Jing Ting from Reset and You are my Hero. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two leads. - They were both very pretty to look at and I liked the way they delivered their lines, but I never felt like they were over-the-moon in love each other. To me, their emotions felt all very surface level and at best they acted really well as best friends.

40 episodes is really long – As much as I appreciate the low angst, at times the drama became a little slow and boring. I just felt like there wasn’t enough story arcs and they really dragged out some of the arcs. I think the drama could have been cut down to 30 episodes.

Overall, it’s a very mellow, happy romantic historical piece drama. It’s worth watching just because of the female empowerment.

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Enough of everything, enjoyed it❤️

A good historical romance series ❤️

Everything was great, only reason for 8.5 rating is that the cheesy moments were so much that it was cringe at times. I understand that the main take away, which I feel the writer wanted to bring across, is of a New beginning, i.e. changes that are made for a better life.

All actors did a great job of portraying their respective characters and enjoyed the different personalities of the princes (the good ones). The angst and court policies were needed especially with the cheesy parts, but would have been better if there were a titbit more.

Enjoyed the OST.

Won't necessarily rewatch but perhaps my absolute favorite moments of Prince Yin Qi and princess Shan Guang Jing, really enjoyed the interactions between them and it would have been absolutely boring if it was not included along with Prince An's stupidness.

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Just leave ur prejudice before watch this

Watch this due to watch YT short clip. At first not planned to watch this drama this fast, but that short clip really intrigued me. And I'm not disappointed watching this. Haha...

Ok. Just like I said just leave ur prejudice before watch this. I mean leave what you know about harem or Palace drama. Because this drama nothing like that & really gonna overturned what you expect about harem or Palace drama.

What I like / different about this drama:
+ All the sisterhood. Nobody really anybody enemy in this harem. All the woman are in the end friend and helper of each other. Especially in 3rd prince house is really funny & unique, how all the woman become friend instead backstabbing each other just to get prince attention.
+ All the brotherhood between the prince. Well so glad finally to see the real brotherhood between the prince for once. Where the prince live like a real brother & have support one each other, then just see they purely just rivalry and scheming between the prince for get power.
+ The feminism. How the woman try to change century prejudice or rule about woman. Like woman supposed to be at home only looking after their house, but here Li Wei (LW) build business instead.
+ Talk about depression after childbirth. Very sensitive issue to touch here, but they pulled it.
+ The couple. I really like how every couple’s relationship is developed & not only focus to our main couple (LW & Yin Zheng [YZ]). Especially I really like how Shang Guan Jing & Yin Qi relationship develop.
+ The beautiful introduction about all the other district. They not only talk about what special about that district but also about martial status in some district. Like how ji chuan is monogamy, xin chuan like every kingdom (poligamy with many wives) and dan chuan dominated by woman.
+ The most weird thing is the king is not called by name king or Emperor but just lord. So unusual...

What feel like force / minus in the drama
- Yuan Ying really fit the role of legal wife of the prince that in the end really fit for the role of Empress/Queen. But because of our FL, LW, the real/true love of YZ, of course she must move aside. And her obsessions with becoming minister is really just doesn't make sense.
- The crazy part when LW about to become legal wife from just consort. All the action is just doesn't make sense. Like they already do the first night, yet YZ still try to get LW's dad approval & to do all the procedure to do marriage ceremony in the 'right' way. Yeah maybe some of you will think that what YZ did looked like oh so sweet, but for me it just like wasting duration. They should be able to wrap sooner.
- Too many episode. For me everything that comes after YZ appointed as the crown prince is a little bit just wasting duration. It's like they need some more story just to make the episode into 40 ep long.

Really funny actually, before I watched AvenueX on YouTube, I've never really think about this. But what she said that true for me:
- all too easy for our ML. Our ML, Yin Zheng (YZ), got it so easy. It's like everything settle for him without he really need to do much. Like when LW struggle with her restaurant, we see YZ not really do much for her, LW rely more on her sister (all the princes wife) & herself then hoping that YZ will do something for her.
- All the problem so easy to solved & all the bad person so easy to change their mind & attitude. Like Yin Jun / 4th Prince so easy to change his attitude after his father scold him.

Overall this really unique historical drama that worth your time to watch it...

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Wholesome show indeed!

This is one of those cdramas that come silently, not star studded, not many anticipated it, and turn out to be surprisingly great, better than a lot other hyped shows. Initially i moved past this one after reading the synopsis because  it wasn't my cup of tea and i am no fan of family/life dramas because they tend to be melodramatic but this was far from it and the synopsis does the show justice but makes it sound so bland, not the best description imo. It was a breath of fresh air with the whole vibe of the show, so much positivity, merriment and good things happening everywhere. Watching it felt like looking at people living a good daily life in happiness and peace with love. It was such a peaceful and feel good show.

The pacing was great. It spans over about 4 yrs in 40 eps, there wasn't anything boring or anything rushed, editing was good, no plotholes or abrupt scene changes.

Coming to the acting, Tian Xiwei is such a cutie but her voice bugs me so much. Her acting as a cheerful optimistic girl was good, but nothing fabulous about it. Her character had developed quite a lot, and she was mostly likeable when she wasn't being rash. Bai Jingting, his acting was on point, perfect. His character was rather flat one, but enjoyed it. But in some scenes how much he looked like Cheng yi was creepy. I liked all the characters except 4th consort and 2nd former crown prince. Special mention i loved Yuan Ying, but i was so worried that they'd make her fall for the ml and ruin the whole relationship dynamic in the family but luckily they didn't do that and she had a strictly platonic relationship, as a mentor. The 4th prince was annoying but grew to be so adorable. And Su shen was so sweet. The solar term ladies and all other princess consorts were very good and their unity and friendship, sisterhood was a rare theme to see in a cdrama because usually all females are in love with the ml so they are collectively bitches to the fl. Here the ladies had a beautiful bond with each other and it was so good to see. Even some characters that i didn't really like at first sight had developed into likeable characters, like 2nd princess consort, Song wu, 3rd prince, Mls mother, etc. Importantly, they all have their own characters which are unique and different from the rest, and none of them is willing to morph their originality to please others.

The story highlights deeply on the themes of women empowerment and modernization of society in a traditional state and gender discrimination too. Other important themes were sisterhood among the ladies and brotherhood among the princes. It was well executed. There were mostly happy things going on, but nothing in life is only good, so there was a fair little share of bad things too, but not to the point of tragedy or melodrama. The story was heartwarming, how the leads managed to achieve their each individual dreams without sacrificing someone's life and all the other characters too got their own happiness and deserved endings. The writing of the story and the characters was smooth and very well done. The last 5 eps had a lot of romance that it lacked in the previous eps. The ending was very happy. The family life was well portrayed with warmth and no ultra evil characters who were doing black magic to ruin the leads. Not everyone was out to get the main couple and i liked this uniqueness, since everyone had their own thing to do and it did not have anything to do with harming the leads. A family/life drama written, executed and done so well is rare for sure.

Overall it was a pleasant watch and I'd recommend watching it for the positivity and warmth it spreads. The characters and storylines are good, the ending is sugary sweet and wonderful. It is happy and peaceful, perfect for a break from other heavy dramas.

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