Completed - 12/14/2021

Not a lot of talk about this feministic drama with a focus on women who don't want their lives dictated by men and society. This drama revolves around three main female characters who came from very different backgrounds, and have tremendous character growth throughout the drama. We learned of their journeys from being young and stubborn to achieving their own dreams. This is a very mellow drama and it took me a while to get invested. I wouldn't say the pacing is slow, but it feels like not much happened in the first 10-15 episodes... just very slice-of-life. The plot picked up afterwards and there are more actions and events that keep me more interested.

I would recommend this drama if you like:
1) Women overcoming challenges in family and society
2) Smart women with high IQ and EQ
3) Learn about Chinese culture and the weaving and embroidery industries
4) Minimal, mature romances
5) Life of the common folks - not noble or royal families

Weaving/Embroidery - Though I don't know how accurate the depiction of the weaving industry and the techniques are, I do enjoy watching all the weaving scenes. The drama shows us the weaving process from start to finish - silkworms, to making silk, dyeing, drawing designs, weaving and the finished product. However, I would love to hear more of the "experts" explaining and/or critiquing, so that I can learn about why a certain product is better than the other. In the K-drama "Lovers in the Red Sky", I feel like I learn more about paintings from that show, than weaving from here. LITRK not only showed us beautiful paintings, but through competitions, I learned about the meaning and techniques. I wish "Marvelous Women" has a similar approach.

Female Leads - Our three main female leads come from different backgrounds, have different personalities, yet all try to challenge society's expectations of women. All three of them are smart, courageous and have very high EQs. They don't need to rely on men but use their intelligence and perseverance in making their own decisions and achieving their goals. I would not say they are all "likable" in the traditional sense. I don't think I like them as much as I have liked other strong female characters, but this might just be my personal taste.

Romance - If you are a romance junkie like me, you might be a little disappointed. We have sort of a love triangle in the beginning between two female leads and the male lead. I never find there's much chemistry between the three of them. Shen Cui Xi (played by Jiang Qin Qin) is older in age as an actress and character.
Visually, she does look older than her two love interests. Her forbidden romance with Wei Liang Gong (played by Mao Zi Jun) didn't feel right to me. Even though Wei Liang Gong is mature for his age, the age gap is too much for me to enjoy this romance, which is supposed to be a bittersweet. The romances are quite melodramatic and not passionate. I do applaud that the younger women learning how to make their own decisions about love and marriage.

Character Development - Not only our female leads learn and grow throughout the drama, all of the supporting characters do as well. As the story spans over 10 years (I think), you can see all of them started out making mistakes or questionable decisions, and learning/growing from them. None of the characters is perfect. They are flawed but that also make them real.

I thought I would like this drama more. I think in the end, I like "The Sword and Brocade" more. "Marvelous Women" does not have enough plot twists to keep me engaged, and I am missing good romantic chemistry.

Other Observations:
1) Love it when actors are using their own voices. Really makes the drama a lot of more enjoyable without annoying dubbing.
2) Very muted color tone in costumes and set designs. No bright colors.
3) Acting is great by all cast members
4) The drama could have been shorter (30-32 episodes) as I think a couple of the side plots could be eliminated
5) Two lovely theme songs and not overplayed.