The Song of Glory

• Information: China • TV Drama • 2020 • 53 episodes
• Original Title: 錦繡南歌
• Starring: Li Qin, Qin Hao, Gu Jia Cheng
• Gents Score :
• My Rating:

So sorry for the long hiatus! It’s so easy to get lost in the endless cycle of work, dramas, and hobbies and with an ongoing pandemic to boot. And yes, the pandemic is a great time to catch up on all the dramas I missed! I was ecstatic to hear the talented and pretty actress, Li Qin, was leading her own period drama and was waiting impatiently for The Song of Glory to air. And finally it did. How did it do? Read on below.

Synopsis

During the Yuanjia era of the Song Dynasty, the country is in a state of chaos, with powerful aristocrats having usurped the political power. To break the current political situation and alliance between the powerful aristocrats, Liu Yikang decides to enter a marriage alliance with the Shen family. A family with deep military roots, the Shen family can provide the strength Liu Yikang needs to enact the reform necessary to oust the aristocrats bent on destroying the nation. The person he is going to marry turns out to be Shen Lige, whom he has previously met in the jianghu and fallen in love with.

— DramaWiki

The Good

• Li Qin!
• Beautiful cast who can also act well
• Beautiful costumes
• Lovely soundtrack

Let’s start with the good things shall we? There hasn’t been a drama where I rave about the casting choices as I do for The Song of Glory. The actors are all very beautiful and can act well, too! Especially Li Qin. Her costumes really fit her overall image well. Or should I say… she looks good in pretty much anything. Any shot with her in it looks straight out of a magazine photo shoot. I also enjoyed watching the fight sequences — they gave a sort of wuxia vibe that was very pretty to watch. But that’s all it is… flashy and good-looking. That’s a good seque into the bad parts of this drama.

The Bad

• The story
• Plot hole buffet

The drama started off really well. There were some plot holes here and there but I was willing to overlook it. But by the middle of the series, everything went downhill from there. Nothing made sense, the story started to drag, and the characters started to become dumb just for the sake of adding drama. I’m not sure if they changed the screenwriter or if it’s a group of screenwriters that had a hard time combining their ideas into one cohesive script. By the end of the series, it was only Li Qin and the other actors who made me continue watching to the end. It’s very disappointing since I was so excited to watch Li Qin’s drama!

There are multiple story arcs and villains and I feel if they cut the episode count in half and got rid of the later villains as well as fix some of the plot holes, it would’ve been a great drama. Here is a more detailed explanation with spoilers if you don’t mind getting spoiled.

Gents Score

I think guys will enjoy this drama overall if they’re just looking for some fluff to watch where they don’t need to think too much. Just make sure you’re willing to ignore the plot holes.

The Verdict

I’m sad to say that I don’t recommend The Song of Glory at all unless you’re a die-hard Li Qin fan or like I said above, if you’re just looking for something entertaining to watch and if you’re willing to look past all the issues this drama has. But watching this confirmed once again how much I like Li Qin and I’m so excited for all her upcoming dramas! Let’s just hope they are better than this one. This drama is available on Rakuten Viki with English subtitles.

More Information: DramaWiki

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This article is purely of my own thoughts and opinions. Your opinions may differ. Any offense caused by my rants and ramblings is unintentional. Thank you for understanding.