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Michael's Thoughts: Love Like the Galaxy
- Michael's Thoughts: Love Like the Galaxy
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Michael's Thoughts: Love Like the Galaxy
Michael > December 24th, 2023, 09:34 PM
![[Image: michaels-thoughts-love-like-the-galaxy.jpg]](https://forums.sf-fandom.com/images/embeds/michaels-thoughts-love-like-the-galaxy.jpg)
Zhao "Rosie" Lusi and Wu "Leo" Lei star in Love Like the Galaxy (Parts 1 and 2)
I admit I don't understand what the English title of this show is supposed to mean. There is so little connection between the title and the show I feel like someone said, "A literal translation of the original story's title won't make sense - let's come up with something English-speaking people can grasp."
So, it's (kind of) a love story and there are occasional references to the Milky Way galaxy (about half of which are oblique references like "oh, look at the stars!").
It could also be that the title is perfectly explained somewhere in the dialogue but the episodic translations don't do it justice.
That said, this is an unusual Cdrama for quite a few reasons (well, unusual in my viewing experience). The chief reason is that this show was broadcast in late 2022 (from July 5, 2022 through July 27 for Part 1 and July 27 through August 18 for Part 2) and yet it comprises 56 episodes. That's rather long for a post-2020 historical, fantasy costume drama. I don't know much about the production of the show but it appears to me that they got around the budget limitations by presenting it as 2 shows.
In fact, I don't see much of a transition from Part 1 to Part 2. They just keep going and if you're watching the show on YouTube you won't notice a logical break.
Background of the Show's Main Character
Zhao Lu Si plays Cheng Shaoshang (or Cheng Shao Shang), the daughter of 2 generals who have spent most of her lifetime campaigning somewhere in the kingdom/empire's hinterlands. She's been raised since childhood by her paternal grandmother Matriarch Cheng (aka Madame Dong, Dong being her maiden family name). Matriarch Cheng is played hilariously by Xu Di. Shaoshang's Second Aunt (Ge Shi, played by Song Ke Xin) also helped raise her.
I need to stop and explain the family dynamics before going further.
Madame Cheng is a widow. She has 3 sons: Cheng Shi (played by Guo Tao), who is Shaoshang's father; Cheng Cheng; and Cheng Zhi. Cheng Cheng (the second son) is Ge Shi's husband, and they have a daughter named Cheng Yang Yang (played by Xu Jiao). Cheng Zhi is also married to Third Aunt Sang Shun Hua (played by Peng Yang). They have no children.
The household is divided into 3 chambers or bedrooms. Technically, Cheng Shi and his family should inhabit the First Chamber (because he is the senior son and the most accomplished son in the family). However, because Cheng Shi and his wife (General) Xiao Yuan Yi (played by Zeng Li) have been away fighting in wars for years, Ge Shi has been living in the first chamber with Cheng Cheng and Cheng Yang.
Cheng Cheng was injured years before so he doesn't do anything except stay home and study classic texts. Ge Shi detests him but pretends that he is important to her because he is the only reason why she has any prestige.
Cheng Zhi is a minor imperial official with a promising career but he and Sang Shun Hua are kind of ignored or sidelined by Ge Shi, although Madame Cheng is proud of her Third Son.
The way this household works serves as a model for undertstanding how other households featured in the show work. And everything from the Cheng family (basically a small rural family of little account) up to the imperial family works along these rules of seniority.
Cheng Shaoshang's backstory is a little confusing (for me) but basically when she and her twin brother were born, or soon afterward, Ge Shi "consulted" an astrologer or witch who said that one of the First Son's children would have to be left home when the parents went off to war. I think Madame Cheng wanted one of the two sons but the parents decided to leave their daughter in his family's care.
From that time forward, Cheng Shaoshang was abused and humiliated by Second Aunt Ge Shi at every opportunity. She raised her own daughter Cheng Yang to be a proper young educated lady and Shaoshang was forced to make her own way. To her credit, Yang Yang did everything possible (that a child could) to help her cousin, so she was basically Shaoshang's only friend.
Premise of the Show
As Love Like the Galaxy, Part 1 begins Shaoshang and Yang Yang are about 15 years old and Shaoshang's parents have been away for about 10 years (maybe a little longer, but like I said I was confused by the flashbacks). Shaoshang has been ill and so Aunt Ge and Madame Cheng sent her to a second home in "the village" to live alone with her maid Lian Fang (played by Wang Ya Jia).
Madame Cheng has sent a group of servants to bring Shaoshang home. There is a sense of urgency about their mission but Shaoshang, who has grown up to be independent and defiant, doesn't want to return to her grandmother's abusive household. After she reluctantly agrees to leave she notices someone is hiding in a haystack next to the old house.
And then Leo Wu arrives. He plays General Ling Bu Yi, foster son of the emperor. Ling Bu Yi is the most powerful general in the army and one of the most feared fighters in the world. And it turns out he is seeking one of Shaoshang's Dong-family uncles (Madame Cheng's birth-brother), who turns out to be hiding in the haystack. Once Shaoshang realizes what's going on, she points out the haystack to Ling Bu Yi and his men, angering the servants.
Ling Bu Yi arrests Uncle Dong and follows Cheng Shaoshang home to formally thank her family for giving up a relative who has committed grievous crimes.
Meanwhile, Mom and Dad finally come home (which is why Madame Cheng had urgently sent for her ill granddaughter). Generals Cheng Shi and Xiao Yuan Yi arrive with a small bodyguard of picked soldiers, including a group of women soldiers who are led by Qing Cong (played by Gu Ke Jia). And, yes, all of these bodyguards are SUPERB fighters, although they play relatively small roles in the overall story.
Madame Cheng fawns all over her senior son, who has earned merits, but turns a cold shoulder to her daughter-in-law (who has also earned merits). Cheng Shi will soon be promoted to Marquis, given a grand mansion in the capital, and awarded 500 households to support his estate. So when General Ling Bu Yi arrives, their discussion is managed according to the most formal rules.
But Cheng Shaoshang doesn't care about anyone's rules. She trusts no one and has learned to rely only on her own wits. So she and Lian Fang get into all sorts of mischief, which constantly exasperates Madame Cheng, infuriates Aunt Ge, and secretly both amuses and alarms Yang Yang (who wishes she could be as free-spirited as her cousin).
Inevitably, Shaoshang attracts Ling Buyi's attention, but things progress rather slowly as far as bringing them together goes.
The Show Follows Several Sub-plots
The first major sub-plot is the abuse that Cheng Shaoshang has suffered while her parents were at war. It doesn't take long for Mom and Dad to figure out what's going on but they're not sure of what to do. Cheng Shi and his mother get along very well, and he and Xiao Yuan Yi love each other very much. They've also raised their sons Cheng Song (played by Jiang Yi Ming) and Cheng Shaogong (played by Zhao Zi Qi, aka Mickey Zhao).
NOTE: So far as I know, there is no family relationship between Zhao Lu Si and Michael Zhao but they are a convincing twin sister and brother and they have good sibling screen chemistry.
Shaoshang and her brothers quickly bond while Mom and Dad absorb family politics. Because they know they're about to be promoted, they aren't very concerned about the way Ge Shi has usurped Cheng Shi's household authority. Shaoshang quickly reads the situation with her parents and formulates a plan to trick Aunt Ge into trapping herself in the old household.
Meanwhile, Madame Cheng must come to grips with the fact that her brother is a criminal who has participated in a scheme to sell military weapons on the black market. Ling Bu Yi commutes his death sentence to banishment for the sake of the family (after Mr. Dong confesses and gives up a name for his chief co-conspirator). Soon after Uncle Dong is dealt with, Aunt Ge falls into Shaoshang's trap. First she plots to keep the First Chamber for herself and then swears an oath to stay there until she bears a son to her husband (which they imply isn't likely to ever happen). That's when everyone learns that Cheng Shi is being promoted to Marquis and will soon leave for the capital.
Aunt Ge quickly sabotages what's left of her dignity and position in the family and her aged father comes to take her away after Cheng Cheng divorces her. Because Yang Yang is legally a member of the Cheng family, Xiao Yuan Yi takes her as a foster/adoptive daughter.
At this point the Cheng family moves to the capital.
The focus of the story shifts to Ling Bu Yi's search for the conspirators who are stealing and selling military weapons. Their scheme has undermined the success of the empire's wars for years, as the army has had to use low-quality weapons through many battles. Ling Bu Yi diligently follows every clue, slowly climbing the ladder toward the main conspirators. But there's more to this plot than the audience realizes.
It eventually becomes clear that Ling Bu Yi's investigation is connected to his own personal history. His father and mother are still alive, and his father is also a Marquis who was rewarded for military service during the war (about 20 years in the past) that put the current emperor into power. That's a very complicated story and you only learn about the details gradually over most of the 56 episodes. I won't spoil the whole sub-plot here.
Shaoshang's life only improves slightly after she returns to the capital. Her mother (Xiao Yuan Yi) doesn't know how to deal with her. Every time Shaoshang finds herself in a situation where someone torments her, she exacts her own style of revenge rather than complain to someone in authority who can handle matters appropriately. Shaoshang doesn't trust her own parents, whom she feels abandoned her to a cruel aunt and grandmother for 10+ years.
Then Cheng Cheng (the 2nd son) is sent off to take charge of another city. Xiao Yuan Yi decides it might be better to send Shaoshang with her uncle so she can learn how to behave like a young noblewoman from her gentle Third Aunt. Shaoshang has meanwhile been introduced to a young man named Lou Yao (played by Yu Cheng En) who is totally smitten with her. So he follows the Chengs to Hua City and gradually earns their trust.
Before the Chengs arrive at their destination they learn that a rebellion has broken out. They are driven to seek refuge in a hunting lodge. Ling Bu Yi leads an army to put down the rebellion, thus putting him on a path to meet Shaoshang again.
Things Get Complicated Quickly
I'm not going to detail everything in the 56 episodes. All of the sub-plots that follow from this point deal with Shaoshang's gradual rise through imperial society and Ling Bu Yi's expanding investigation. They are inevitably brought together again and again, and he saves her life several times.
Shaoshang makes an extreme impression on the noble families in the capital. Her beauty and intelligence captivate all the young men who meet her and many of the young women become jealous. Shaoshang deals with each humiliation in her own way, exacting sometimes cruel revenge upon the people (mostly young noble women, but a few elders, too) who wrong her.
Mom (Xiao Yuan Yi) strives to bond with her daughter but is exasperated every time Shaoshang causes chaos with her schemes. Ling Bu Yi, meanwhile, is the most sought after bachelor in the realm and as it becomes obvious to everyone but Shaoshang that he is fascinated with her more young women (including several imperial princesses) begin plotting against Shaoshang.
Emperor Wen (played by Bao Jian Feng) is one of the absolute best characters in the whole show. He loves Ling Bu Yi like a son and does everything he can to help Bu Yi when things get complicated for the general. Bu Yi breaks rules right and left (just like Shaoshang) when runs into obstacles. Various nobles and ministers plot against him, and he mysteriously hates both his father and his stepmother (we learn that he is duitifully taking care of his mother, who lives by herself with a man from her youth who attends to her).
The Emperor has 2 wives: Empress Xuan Shen'an (played by Tong Lei) and Concubine Yue Heng (played by Cao Xi Wen). In fact, Yue Heng is the emperor's first legal wife and she stepped took the title of concubine so her husband could conclude a marriage contract with the Xuan clan. The Empress and Concubine share equal status but they rarely appear together (either in scenes or "in public"). There's no real animosity between them but their children kind of treat each other with suspicion.
The Emperor and his wives fall in love with Shaoshang and show her favor, which of course infuriates some of their daughters and the daughters' friends. Worse, when Ling Bu Yi suddenly proposes marriage to Shaoshang without any warning to anyone, things get REALLY complicated.
Ling Bu Yi have one of the most complicated romantic relationships I've ever seen. Neither of them trusts people easily and she is completely blind-sided by his marriage proposal. In fact, she kind of collects marriage proposals like some people collect books. It's not like she didn't have other prospects, and her parents (who know Ling Bu Yi's reputation as a military commander and warrior) are frightened of him.
So the rest of the show (as far the relationship between the two lead characters go) follows their path toward love and trust, and it's a very rough path. Ling Bu Yi's secrets undermine Shaoshang's growing feelings for him. And her temper keeps putting him into difficult situations where he has to help her confound the people who oppose either her, him, or the both of them.
My Thoughts Overall
The first 10 episodes are treated almost as a comedic show. There's a lot of humor and over-the-top acting. But the transition from comedic to dramatic storylines is rather abrupt. Things get really serious once all the major players have been introduced.
That said, you can never be sure of who is on whose side. It seems like every family has internal politics that may or may not play into the greater politics of the empire. People betray each other almost on a whim, but their motivations are often driven by the actions of the main characters (Shaoshang, Ling Bu Yi, and the Emperor).
The reason why the Wens are in control of the empire is central to almost everything that happens. Basically, Emperor Wen brought several clans together to overthrow his predecessor (whom just about everyone hated because he was so evil), but the clans don't really trust each other.
The underriding theme of the show is about whether the Emperor and his supporters can forge a true national identity in spite of the odds against them. And in a way that mirrors the relationship between Ling Bu Yi and Cheng Shao Shang. They do grow to love each other, but they don't know how to trust each other the way they need to.
And this theme of forging a united identity also plays out in the Cheng family. Shao Shang must build bonds with her parents and her grandmother, and her mother and grandmother must overcome their differences. What the Chengs have going for them (besides great acting, especially from the parents) is the fact they put family first. They have their problems, to be sure, but they're honest with each other in the toughest moments and they find ways to break through the barriers that time and politics have created between them.
As for the name of the show, I can only guess at why they chose it. I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that there are so many families involved with each other. It's not about Shaosheng and Ling Bu Yi's love for each other - it's about everyone love for family, clan, and nation. There are many stars in the galaxy and many families in the empire.
Maybe that's what it's all about.
Connections with Other Shows I've Reviewed
Obviously Zhao Lu Si has appeared in several other shows I've reviewed including Love Of Thousand Years, Who Rules the World, A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College, and The Romance of Tiger and Rose.
What an amazing actress she is. She's only in her mid-20s and she's already one of China's biggest stars. And there are scenes in Love Like the Galaxy where I can believe she's about 15 years old. It's not the special effects but her acting talent.
Many of the cast members are very accomplished with long lists of credits. So even if they haven't appeared in the shows and movies I've reviewed, I'll be glad to see them in other productions.
Bao Jian Feng (Emperor Wen) also appeared in A Dream of Splendor, where he played the emperor there. I liked him in that role but this role as Emperor Wen is much better. He's able to show a greater range of emotion and he makes the emperor really personable.
Estelle Chen plays a secondary role, a young noble lady named He Zhao Jun (and one of Shaoshang's tormentors/rivals). She also appeared in Dance of the Phoenix where she played Yin Zhao Ge (a girl who was treated badly by her mother's martial arts school).
Mickey Zhao appeared in Good and Evil where he played Si Tong (one of the important secondary characters) and The Wolf Princess where he played sidekick Tong Ge.
Zhang Yue plays Wang Qi Qi, the daughter of another general who befriends Cheng Shaoshan. She also appeared in A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College as Song Jia Yin, the chief rival love interest for Zhao Lu Si's character.
Qui Cheng Cheng (credited as Cui En Ci) plays Princess Yu Chang, one of Shaoshang's romantic rivals. She also appeared in Who Rules the World as Huang Yu, Princess of Ji Continent.
Fang Xiao Li has a minor role as (grandmother) Princess Ru Yang. She also appeared in Novoland: Pearl Eclipse as Ye Hai Shi's mother (Hai Shi was the main character played by Yang Mi).
Zhong Wei Hua appears as Chief Imperial Eunuch Cao Cheng. He also appeared in A League Of Nobleman (minor role), Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (as eunuch Mu De Qing, the emperor's personal attendant), Dance of the Phoenix as Old Man Ba, and season 3 of The Amazing Detective Di Renjie as Sun Xi Wang (I don't remember the character so I don't know how significant his role was).
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