Love Like the Galaxy (Part 1 &2): Spoiler-Free Mini Review
Updated: Sep 16
Title: | Love like the Galaxy (Part 1 & 2) (2022) |
Platform: | Viki, Youtube, WeTV, iflix |
MDL & Douban Rating: | 8.9 & 7.6 |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance |
Episode Count: | 56 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | TV-14: Violence, bloodshed (seriously), brief torture, suicide. |
Starring: | Leo Wu as Ling Bu Yi/Zi Sheng (ML) (Nirvana in Fire) Zhao Lusi as Cheng Shao Shang (FL) (Story of Pearl Girl) Guo Tao as Cheng Shi (Si Jin) Zeng Li as Xiao Yuan Yi (Blossoms of Power) Li Yun Rui as Yuan Shen (Blossom) Yu Cheng En as Lou Yao (Love in the Clouds) |
RBTS Rating:  | 9.75/10 Stars: This is more reflective of enjoyment than quality, but I feel what I feel. Perfect for those who love yearning romance, revenge, family dynamics, scheming, and comedy. And aren't afraid of a little bloodshed lol.  |
Zhao Lusi Leo Wu
Cast From left to Right: #ZhaoLuSi, #LeoWu, #YuChengEn, #LiYunRui
Stay tuned for my full review!
LLTG has a huge ensemble cast. This isn't even everyone lol.
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
All Hail my very first C-Drama, Love Like the Galaxy. I saw a random clip on Youtube about "Cinderella" being bullied and I thought I would be diving into a Chinese retelling of the classic tale lol. It is not, those thumb nail people are trolls. But the clip caught my attention, as did the full drama, with how similar it felt to the BBC Period Dramas of my youth. There were so many interesting character studies, moral complexities, laugh out loud humor, and commentary on class that captured the feel of a Charles Dickens. The Female Lead even reminded of Jane Austen's Emma, and like that character, some people find her harder to like in the early episodes before her character growth. This was not the case for me though! But Be Ye warned: I am an avid LLtG and Shoashang apologist.
The drama splits its time between family dynamics, romance, court machinations, and... revenge! The majority of people are not dubbed! Miracles! For a Chinese show this is a masterpiece lol. LLtG has a phenomenal ensemble cast and every character is so layered. It balances the humor and serious moments well. There are some more intense sequences with brief torture scenes and sword fights, but it stayed within the TV-14 sphere.
Towards the end it will feel like you’re missing episodes. You are not crazy, but you are not in fact missing episodes. When the show came out, China had just passed an episode count limit law, so more was filmed, but wasn't included due to the episode limit as the show cut out a couple storylines.
While not objectively the best C Drama in existence, this is my favorite. I read all 5 volumes of this novel and boy is it different. In the book the FL is a 22 yo modern girl who is yeeted into 13 yo Shoashang's body. The ML is cray, she has extra brothers, her mother isn't as bad, and the story is not interconnected. These screen writers really did the Lord's work-- rarely, is a drama better than the book, but it is in this case!
I recommend this unabashedly. But you will probably need a character map. Preferably in English (if that's your first language) because it is a spider's web.
Story=4.5 (Amazing, but the missing storylines are a bummer)
Acting=5 (Fantab)
Production Quality=4.75 (Amazing scale, though sometimes you can tell it was filmed in a studio)
Ending=4 (We biffed it, but I was still satisfied.)
Enjoyability= 5 (LOVED)
It should be noted that I have watched this from start to finish 5 times. You best believe an in depth review is coming your way.
Trailer:
Director: #FeiZhengXiang (She and Her Girls, Dongji Island)
Screenwriter: #ZouYue (The Road to Glory, Pursuit of Jade, Coroner's Diary, No Boundary)
*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images used on this blog. All images belong to their respective copyright holders and are used for commentary and review purposes. All reviews, opinions, and statements expressed on this blog are my own and are intended for entertainment and informational purposes only. They reflect my personal thoughts and interpretations and should not be considered as factual.
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