The Story of Pearl Girl: Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- Aug 5
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 8
Title: | The Story of Pearl Girl (2024) |
Platform: | Youku, TVING, Netflix |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance |
Episode Count: | 40 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | TV-14: Suicide, fear, mild torture, violence, blood, attempted SA |
Staring: | Zhao Lu Si (Love Like the Galaxy) Liu Yu Ning (My Journey to You) Tang Ziao Tian (Ashes to Crown) Fu Bo Han (Love's Ambition) |
RBTS Rating: | 2/5 Stars (Another "let's torture the FL so she can overcome trials to ultimately succeed in business". Honestly, if a drama isn't going to be good, it should at least be bad with flair, but ultimately it was so mid and overdramatic, that it was boring. Skip)  |
Synopsis:
After escaping a brutal pearl farm, Duan Wu, a skilled diver, meets merchant Yan Zi Jing and noble Zhang Jin Ran. Joining Yan's caravan, she gets drawn into the glittering world of jewels, while uncovering secrets about her past. Along the way, she faces betrayal and loss but stays determined to uncover the truth. Renamed Su Mu Zhe, she starts her own business, "Clear Mind," and teams up with Zhang to right an old wrong. In the end, Su Mu Zhe thrives at the Jewel Exhibition, inspiring women to take control of their destinies. @MDL
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
I hate to say it, I really do, but what a hard pass. The Story of Pearl Girl was my most anticipated drama of 2024, in part because I've enjoyed the performances of the Female Lead actress, Zhao Lusi, in everything I've seen her in... until this. Sorry, queen. But I really suffered through this one. The Story of Pearl Girl tries to be a very melodramatic, sappy ode of female empowerment by means of the plot constantly torturing the FL so she can then overcome. Tang dynasty life for women was hard enough on the regular, we don't need to add all this extra angst, holy cow! The drama was directed by the man who brought us Legend of Fu Yao, so it's really on me for being caught off guard by the highly dramatic tone.
The narrative follows the pearl diving slave Duan Wu, who doesn't stay a slave for long as she becomes entangled with the ruthless Yan Zi Jing (ML) over a pearl the size of a tennis ball, eventually ditching her straight across bangs to venture into business. Because of course (referring to business, not the bangs). As every Tang dynasty woman does... at least in the land of Chinese dramas. I wish the story had explored her life as a slave, and I think it would have been more interesting had she stayed at the pearl farm, with the drama exploring her hardships and successes. Dramas these days focus too much on nobility and merchants, but I would love the POV of a maid who stays a maid, or just a regular joe. I've gotten real tired of the trampled "girl power" business success story.
Zhao Lusi is a fire actress and I will stand by that, but I think the pearl diving must have dampened her flames. She is far and away more suited to comedy infused roles, and I feel so bad saying that because you can just see her trying, and I think that was the problem. She played Duan Wu very serious, but it felt (so sorry, girl) lifeless, and the bad script and direction didn’t do her any favors. She truly gave this role her all but, in comparison to the actors around her who were giving bland performances, it made hers come off as soap opera acting. I’m crushed because I was checking the status of this drama in excitement for MONTHS before it came out, but alas. The quality was on par with Brocade Odyssey (if you know, you know), feeding into the trend of marketing idol dramas as revolutionary grounded, historical pieces, only to give us cheaper dramas with big names and weak stories.
I couldn’t buy into the love story with the vampire looking Male Lead, who wore so much pale foundation it would put Edward Cullen to shame. Speaking of makeup, this girl is really out in these ancient, dusty streets as a lowly slave with a full face of makeup. I mean, respect. But it gives Instagram, not Tang Dynasty. Back to the ML: his character sucks. There's no softening it lol. I despise the "making her hate me to protect her" trope. I couldn't root for the pair because he had been so awful to her, and on top of that, they had no chemistry. It's funny because the actors of Duan Wu (FL) and Yan Zi Jin (ML) played the secondary couple in the Long Ballad and they had great chemistry there. What happened? The 2ML was a bland nothingburger with no sauce to liven things up, and the villains felt more like throwaway side characters.
This brings us to the last and most outrageous offense against eyes: The production quality. Big yikes. The party cave and ship in the opening episodes were giving high school theater production. The 1996 Muppets Treasure Island had better design than that. Elmo is somewhere mocking this show.
It's so sad to say, but I don't recommend. If a drama isn't going to be good, it should at least be bad with flair, but ultimately it was so mid and overdramatic, that it was boring.
I should note that not long after this came out, Zhao Lu Si (FL Actress) had serious physical and mental health issues, which she also experienced while filming TSoPG. At this point, it doesn't look like she will be returning to acting any time soon, which is so sad, but health comes first! Wishing you well, Queen!
Story=2.25 ( Didn't make sense) , Acting =2.5 (My homegirl tried, but almost too much & no one was matching her energy so it felt out of place) Production Quality=1.25, Rewatch Value=1, Ending=2 (What was it all for?), Enjoyability= 2.25 (I'd like to thank my fast forward button for helping me get to the end of this challenging time.)
Trailer:
Director: Xie Ze (Legend of Fu Yao)
Screenwriter: Ma Sha Sha (General's Lady)
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