Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (2021)

Heart rending

This drama was much awaited among Chinese dramas followers and did not disappoint. And I think it is under rated on mydramalist.com.

I rate this drama as 60% romance and 40% action. The pace was quite moderate but there were enough events to keep you interested. The battle scenes were intense and impressive, and the interactions of the lovers were heart rending. The cast is outstanding - everyone played their part so well.

Haishi grew up in a village which fished for luminous pearls formed by the tears of the merfolks. As a child, her father died fishing for these pearls and she blamed the emperor for his heavy taxation which resulted in the death of her father. When her village was raided by soldiers, she hurt an officer, ran away and was saved by Fang Jian Ming, a close friend of the emperor. He took her in as his disciple. She chose to dress up as a boy and eventually enrolled in the emperor's military. She fell in love with Fang and so did he in return.

Throughout the drama, it is heart rending. Fang would consistently pushed away Haishi's advances although he loved and cared for her with all his heart. The clueless Haishi could not understand what was going on. She suspected that her Shifu (tutor) was in love with her too and blamed him for putting politics above their love. On numerous occasions Fang sent her away and she was sure she was being abandoned. When Fang met a rival in love and he was obviously jealous in spite of efforts to hold it back - that was double heart rending. As the drama went on, the reason behind Fang's rejection of Haishi were slowly unraveled.

There were a lot of events which would keep you in suspense: coups, rebellion, people who were not what they appeared to be, wars with tribes at the border, internal feuding for the throne, Haishi's attempted assassination of the emperor, sabotage in the court targeted at Fang instigated by hidden political rivals, conspiracies and counter conspiracies, Haishi's participation in the competition for a position in the military amidst a conspiracy to hurt her, her appointment as consort to the emperor, which she resented, and so on. There were a lot of common themes similar to other period dramas involving imperial families but these were played out differently.

There were 3 couples and a total of 9 persons in love. Only 1 couple eventually led a happy life together. The other 1 couple could continue to see each other but had to keep a distance. 2 persons died, not getting the love they were seeking. And 1 couple died in each other's arms. I shall not reveal which, but this tells you that this drama has a rather dark setting.

I wish the director would stop the drama at the 46th episode. It could have ended as: they lived happily ever after, for all. But it went on for another 2 episodes which twisted it into a tragedy. There is something sadistic with either the writer or the drama production community.

All the three lead couples did very well. I enjoyed watching William Chan and Yang Mi as leads - there were great chemistry between them - their acting were very natural. William is one of those actors who looks good even when he puts on a cold stern face. He could switch from a look ladened with a mix of sadness and heavy responsibility to one of relief and quiet happiness - and you can see an obvious difference.

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Best costume drama this year!

Amazing drama from beginning to end!
The production value of this is top notch. From the sets, to the costumes to the fight scenes and music, everything is excellent!

The story kept my attention the entire time and the overall pacing was done quite well. My only issue was the ending seemed a little bit rushed and I wish we got to see more of the happy life of the main leads before the end. The love story between the main leads was full of angst and longing and the two had really good chemistry (not the super hot kind, but fitting for the master/disciple turned lovers type). They also looked really good together and seemed age appropriate as Yang Mi looked younger than William Chan, but not too much. Yang Mi's portrayal of all the different stages of Hai Shi's life were excellent. She is still believable and likeable acting as as teenager, which is something not alot of actresses can pull off. Her transition to scorned lover and finally regal Empress Dowager are all done so well. William Chan was also good as FJM. He seems one dimensional at first but you slowly get to see more range as the story progresses. His final emotional scene was so heartbreaking! The second leads and supporting characters all acted well. I didn't like Xu Kai Cheng from "a female student arrives at the Imperial college" but he is actually quite good as Emporer here! Chen Xiao Yun was also really good as Tilan. Her portrayal as an abused, scared Consort was amazing. She has a very pretty and expressive face!

I really enjoyed Haishi and Zhuoying's sibling relationship. You can see how Zhuoying looks out for and cares for Haishi. Also the friendship between Haishi and Tilan was really sweet although I wish we saw more of it. The bromance between Di Xu and FJM was really touching. These two actors have really good chemistry together.

My only complaints about this drama are that the ending seems a little bit rushed and that I wish they used a voice actor to dub for Yang Mi as I found her voice very high pitched and distracting sometimes. Also, I wish we saw more of Zhuoying's life after he went back to the Huku tribe. He was such a good character and kind of just disappeared. Lastly, I'm not sure why they use such a strong filter when Yang Mi appears onscreen. In the BTS, she looks amazing so I'm not sure why they feel the need to blur her skin much more than the other characters. It actually was a little distracting in some scenes. I saw in an interview she had eczema from wearing the armor in hot weather, so maybe that's the reason?

Otherwise, this is an excellent drama! In my opinion, better than The Long Ballad, which I also enjoyed very much!

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Where do I begin?

This was one of the Chinese historical dramas that I waited for to air. So, I had high expectations.

THE ACTING
The script is well written. However, due to the directors direction, the female lead actress did not act as good as she could have. The actress did an excellent job in the Legend of Fu Yo and other historical and period dramas, but in this drama, she was lacking, tremendously. Firstly, her character acted immaturely for the first 20 episodes, even in the scenes when she was supposed to be brave.

ROMANCE
Secondly, I did not feel the romance between the female and male lead characters, meaning it wasn't captivating for a big budget drama like this. The romance between the female lead and male lead was stale...maybe dry is a better word for it. Sidenote: The actors and actress who played the king, the male lead (up until episode 20), and the consort acted their butt off (meaning they did an excellent job). Although the king was very cruel, his behavior for an ancient king character is one of the most realistic I've seen in Chinese historical dramas (check the article out on my page for details). I also did not like the romance between the adopted brother of the female lead, and the character from the fabric department. I was bored the whole time watching their love story unfold, and I skipped a lot of their scenes. Again, I think the director didn't do all of the characters justice. This drama should have had more a serious undertone, especially for these types of characters who were strong and skilled warriors. Instead of having the female lead actress and her adopted brother be shy and cutesy about romance, this was an opportunity to have these character develop from being aloof about romance due to childhood trauma, to becoming open to it, gradually (which is what the director did for the male lead).

WHAT I LIKED
I liked the fact that both the king and the male lead are healthy (not anorexic and or bone thin). There are a lot of male actors who act in Chinese historical dramas who are so thin and frail. So much so, you can see their rib cage when they take off their shirts in historical dramas. This trend in China should absolutely come to an end. Just because someone is skinny doesn't mean that they are healthy.

On the brighter side, the political storyline in this drama was great. It is the reason that I didn't give this drama a rating of less than 7.5. Additionally, the reason why I am not going to drop this drama at episode 20 is because I'm invested in the political plot. The actor who played the king by far, was the best actor in this drama. Seriously, pay attention to his mannerisms, his voice fluctuations, his facial expressions, and his body movements. It is not as easy as it appears to act, especially as a king during ancient times. I'm amazed by his acting skills. Kudos to the casting director for casting this actor.

I will edit this review at another time to fix all grammatical errors. I'm typing this review from my cellphone. I'll also let you know what I thought about the end!

FINAL UPDATE:
I decided to drop this drama. Episode 21( or 22?) was horrible and it didn't make any sense.

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Don’t miss this awesome drama!!

Watch every episodes without fast forwarding because you might missed the little details that define this drama. Such a fast past and exciting drama. The actors and actress is top notch and very professional. I think that if they were to cast younger main lead it might not be so good and quality acting. WC so fine in here and YM shine so far. I can’t wait for the rest because every scene is putting on edge. The cinematography is awesome and very pleasing visually. I waiting for YM badas@&& fighting scene in the battle field. She always delivered like Fuyao.

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Even Yang mi can't resque this drama

I wonder why many of reviewers praise this drama.
Partly it is a story of two conceited men ( Emperor and Fang Zhu ) who like each other too much. In their own opinion they are the most important people in the world - all others are pawns to be exploited and sacrificed.
In addition to that they both wallow in self-pity all the time. sarc- What a lovely bromance

When all ready ca. 20+ years old Fang Zhu meets ca. 10 years old girl ( Hai Shi ) and begins to raise her as a foster father. As her "Master" he teaches her HIS OWN RULES - such as for example that she must always obey and do as her Master wants. In practice, Hai Shi is thus being brainwashed throughout her childhood.

Second part of this story is a "romance" between Hai Shi and Fang Zhu. Watching this drama just makes me feel sorry for Hai Shi. I think it's not a romance but abuse of her.

So no matter how much I like her acting, watching this drama is too disgusting

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This drama knows how to break your heart

The story is great, I expected it to be more fantasy but it's more political than fantasy which isn't a problem. The story is great, the characters are great and their relationships are so amazing. Each couple is so good with their own differences, all the relationships develop so well. The only complaint I have is nearing the end, one character goes off somewhere and we don't see much of him, I would've loved it if we saw more of what was happening in the huku tribe with him. The ending is heart wrenching, the tears just kept coming, it's definitely worth the watch.

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Good storyline but missed the mark on casting

Overall the storyline was good, production & costume quality were good. My main issue with the series is the casting. While most actors did ok with their individual parts (except Xu Kai Cheng) the casting and chemistry were seriously lacking. They really missed the mark on the casting with this one. Especially w/ the ML and FL leads.

While ML and FL acting was decent - they didn't quite fit together. They really lacked chemistry and I didn't root for them. Jian Ming had a more youthful look but his character was supposed to be quite older than the Haishi. He was a grown adult when they met and she a child. But when she became an adult he still appeared younger than her. They should've casted an older actor for the ML or a younger actress for the FL.

ML (Willam Chan) as Fang Jian Ming - this is the first time I've seen this actor in a role. He was not able to exude the tough, stoic demeaner that the role entails (such as actors like Wallace Chung in Sword and Brocade or Lin Geng Xin in Princess Agents). But in the last few episodes where he was more carefree & and happy, and then the tragic ending he did really well portraying the exhaustion and utter sadness.

FL (Yang Mi) - she did fine as she typically does. But I couldn't help but feel like she played the exact same character/acting as she did in Legend of Fuyao. Took me a bit to get accustomed to her real voice.

2ML (Xu Kai Cheng) - the Emperor. I had zero empathy for him. He was supposed to portray a tormented, conflicted emperor with morals and compassion, but he just came across as an unhinged sadistic lunatic. He completely overacted. Scenes of his abuse towards Tilan were uncomfortable to watch.

2FL (Tilan) - Started off w/ some edge to her but fizzled out and became a limp doormat. She overplayed the sweet forgiving angelic aspect.

3ML (Zouying) - he did fine, I liked his loyal/playful bond w/ Haishi. But his portrayal of the evil twin brother was overacted and not believable.

3FL (Zheliu) - she did a good job. this is the first role I actually like this actress in. I couldn't stand her in all the other series I've seen in her.

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Good and entertaiining

This is the first series I've seen in the Novoland universe. I usually am not that interested in stories with too much fantasy elements like in the other series, mostly because CGI looks to unbelievable. But it was toned down very, when it came to the element of merfolk and it was simply used to drive the plot forward at certain points.

The acting was great for pretty much every character involved. I was surprised by the acting form the Emperor and, Ti Lin and Zhe Liu. The emperors eunuch was also great for comedic relief here and there.

The music which accompanied the series felt right throughout the series and was timed well.

They didn't go berserk with flashbacks, but they increased it a bit towards the end. Thankfully, it didn't feel too repetetive. I have in recent years become prone to fast forward in series, as soon as it makes me lose interest. But I didn't FF more than tops 15 minutes throughout the series, which says a lot.

The pacing of the story was for the most part good. They could've made a few parts less draggy, but all things considered it wasn't too much. The last 4 episodes, the plot felt a bit rushed. The last episode was great. Its one of the better made endings I've seen in a drama overall.

If you like a show which has a strong female lead in it, give this one a spin. While FL clearly has flaws, it wasn't emphasized too much, making it ridicilous. It felt grounded.

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You will start crying with the first episode but will laugh, too

Not exactly a spoiler, as I’m actually trying my hardest not to, but I think since this is enough of a spoiler to let you know that things might not end exactly how you expect, i marked it as a spoiler. To be honest, I’m writing the review not so that I can tell you about details of the plot or the acting or if I would personally watch it again—but I’m encouraging you from the depth of my being: if you make it to the last episode, do not stop watching until the words “the end” appear on the screen. Watch past the musical montage. I don’t know if it will make it better or worse—I don’t know if it made it better or worse for me even now. But you’ll need it.

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אהבה , שייכות, נאמנות- love , belong, loyal..

סדרה בין הטובות ביותר שראיתי. לדעתי ויליאם צ׳אן יאנג מי ושו קאי צ׳אנג נתנו את משחק חייהם.
הסדרה בנויה בהגיון דבר מוליך אל דבר, מערכת יחסים נבנית לאט ובהתמדה. הן של הקיסר והן של המאסטר . משחק מדהים, המאסטר מתעלה על הכל וכן הקיסר. קיסר שמתגלה כאוהב, כדורג למרות כל ההתחלה הקשה והפסאדואלימה שלו. הכל בנוי כמו בד ארוג להפליא שזור בחוטים משתלבים. 47 פרקים שלא מאפשרים רגע לנוח כשהפרק ה48 - פרק ההקרבה האהבה האמינות והעובדות. חלק לא סגור ומשאיר אותנו באפשרות לחלום על מה שנרצה. חלק לצערי סגור ומסוגר. אבל יש המשך לדור שהלך והמורשת תמיד תשאר.
שאפו ענק לבמאי, לתסריטאי, ולצוות שחקנים מדהים באיכותו.
צריך להתאושש מסדרה כל כך משמעותית.
תודה .
רותי.
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Love, belonging, loyalty

One of the best series I've seen. In my opinion, William Chan Young Mee and Shu Kai Chang gave the performance of their lives.
The series is logically built from one thing to another, a relationship is built slowly and steadily. both the emperor's and the master's. Amazing game, the master surpasses all and so does the emperor. An emperor who turns out to be a lover, as a bird despite all his difficult and pseudo-imminent beginnings. Everything is constructed like a beautifully woven fabric interwoven with interlocking threads. 47 episodes that do not allow a moment to rest when the 48th episode - the episode of sacrifice, love, reliability and facts. Part is not closed and leaves us with the possibility to dream about what we want. Part is unfortunately closed. But there is a continuation of the generation that has passed and the legacy will always remain.
A huge aspiration for the director, the screenwriter, and an amazing cast of quality.
Need to recover from such a significant series.
Thanks .
Ruthie

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Back to square one: love left, loneliness stayed

Finally finished it after months of putting it on hold in dread of heartbreak and watching again.

Production: this is the best thing here. top notch production. Action scenes are done super well. The sets are grand and costumes and jewellery of everyone, especially tilan's were mesmerising. The music is nice, especially each of the couples have their own song.

Story:  the story is pretty good, just not what i had expected, honestly since i expected lots of fantasy and less on politics. But i wouldn't say that i loved  the  story, mainly because of how the main men here keep making dumb decisions amd learn nothing. Also, When it comes to teacher student thing, that too in fantasy dramas, i can't help but compare it to eternal love and get disappointed. But that's out of context because the genres are different. I have seen from a lot of comments that the novel is rather very dark and tragic but i like how the scriptwriter made it into a political and not so dark story. The main couple had what I'd call an illusory good time with each other. They met, loved, lived together happily very briefly, only to part ways. Honestly i was more invested emotionally in Di xu and tilan's romance, than the main couple, because after the initial torturous and hostile period, they were consistently in a sweet romance until fate took over. The ml actually went too much back and forth, so i could only feel pity for the fl and not be too touched by their story. Zhe liu and zhuoying had a nice fairytale like romance which was pleasant to see, until it wasn't anymore. A major part of the story was political, so there were numerous villains and i liked how the ml planned and schemed against them. Some of them were shown as villains from the start while some were undercover, which i failed to recognize, so it was not that predictable for me. Shit got really tragic and depressing from ep 34 on. And that absolute fucking bitch of a maid that ruined everything for all of them just for her own selfishness was horrible. Later we had blissful episodes 44 to 46, after  which  shitfest of doom began. However the main villain's revelation just fell flat in reason in the final battle, and all what every villain wanted here was power, that really made the villains shallow. I'd rather it ended at ep 46 , would've saved us the tsunami of heartbreaks they purposely inflicted on watchers. Also the last war happened only because they didn't want us to have happy ending. Logically it could've very well been averted by beating the villains at their own game but makers wouldn't do that lest we get a happy ending for all 3 couples.

Characters: firstly my favourite characters were zhuoying and youdu. Youdu was super cute tho he was just a guest role and zhuoying was the best brother ever, i loved his brotherhood with haishi. Others that i liked were chengqian and shaozi, mu deqing. Who even needs a court jester when mu deqing is there? Lol. I didn't like fang zhu too much as a lover, because he was way too dedicated to the emperor to the point where he forgot that he was a human with his own life and hurt everyone around himself to protect him. That was plain frustrating and i understood that he felt guilty for causing the pregnant empress to die but being the baixi for the emperor and then again his son was just too much of noble idiocy. Haishi, as a character was similar to fuyao in legend of fuyao, so i liked her character, the dedication, determination and loyalty she had. The emperor was plain horrible to everyone in the first few episodes and just disgusting. After halfway through the series, seeing his interactions with fang zhu i felt like am i watching a bl? However i couldn't help but sympathize with his pathetic character, he had a really miserable romantic life and also as a king. Tilan was a gentle yet stubborn character, who put up with everything for no real reason at first, then because of love. There were villains  out of desperate love like Ju qiqi, general tang and out of vengeance and greed like su ming, eunuch shi, princess sister of emperor, and others that i won't spoil. The villains here however had nothing to be pitiful, except one, they were just greedy and vain.

Acting: it was my first time watching William chan, so i don't know how he is but i was satisfied with how he portrayed a stony cold character and sometimes how he got affected by haishi getting close to him. However his love for her wasn't expressed that obviously if his actions aren't counted. So i guess he did that purposely or isn't good at facial expressions of being in love, idk. Yang mi, on the contrary had a character similar to that of fuyao so i compared fuyao and haishi a lot, even though the plots were vastly different, and can't help but choose fuyao. Fuyao was even better acted out and portrayed in the romantic scenes, well there were few romantic moments here, so maybe i felt this way but nonetheless it was believable and good. Xu kaicheng surprised me with his acting here , it was very well done. And chen xiaoyun played both the bubbly zizan and introverted tilan very well and her voice was so soothing, idk who dubbed her? The villain's acting actually got on my nerves,  so i guesshe did well. Nothing to say about others.

I do recommend watching it overall. If for nothing else, for the feast to the eye it offers with the grandeur of production. It was interesting and exhilarating in some scenes. But this is too serious for me to rewatch. As a one time watch, it was worth it.

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