The Story of Pearl Girl Review (Ep. 159)

0:00 Hello and welcome back to the Tea and Soju C Drama podcast, your safe spot for C drama chatter. I'm your host, Liliana, and it's time to sit back, grab your tea and let's chat Asian dramas. In today's episode, we are going to be doing a review for the Chinese drama, the Story of Pearl Gal. But just before we get into that, some housekeeping. If you like the podcast, please like, share and subscribe on the platform you listen on.

0:25 That really helps the podcast reach other listeners for more content or check out Patreon, what you can find behind the scenes, first impressions, movie reviews and more. Finally, if you would like to chat to me or find a community, check out Discord, Instagram, and other socials. The link is in the episode and notes, so I'm joined by Jess.

0:45 Say hello. Hello, hello everyone. Hello T and Soju listeners. It is Jess from the Tibal K Rambles podcast, 1/3 of the drama trio. Happy to be back. Thank you Liliana for having me. You're welcome. So I how did this even come about this review? Because I was actually watching this back in, I think it was December that it aired.

1:11 I'm pretty sure it was. Yeah, Ed November. Oh, actually, even worse. It aired in November November 2024. I was the getters. This is looking worse and worse for us, honestly. Yeah, yeah. So keep that in mind because I was going to review this all the way back of, you know, last year. Life got ahead of me.

1:34 Stuff happened and it just did not work out that I reviewed this. But I have all of my notes and I keep saying I have a bunch of shows that I have notes for and it they're like quite detailed notes and I'm like, I put the effort in for these notes. I want to use them. Right. So I'm. Not sure. I'm not sure if people might appreciate the fact that when we take notes, we are literally stopping the drama to write stuff because it's not a drama that we can listen to and understand what they're saying.

2:09 We have to read what they're saying. So to take a note, it's basically halting everything, putting your thought down and then continuing the drama. And that adds so much watch time. To the. Experience, yeah. It so does, I was trying to explain this to somebody that like, yes, it might be a 45 minute episode, but if I'm taking notes, it might take me like an hour.

2:30 And now I tend to watch like 1 episode because I have to write stuff down and I have to like make sure I'm really following what's happening. I and I have notes like typically if I'm really enjoying a drama, I have notes pretty much on every single episode. Like I'll end up with notes for everything. For quotes, Oh my God, the amount of time you have to spend to get a quote just right, like sentence pause, right. Sentence pause, right.

3:01 It takes forever to get like full quotes. Yeah. So you're like, no, I, I took the time I want to use up I. Understand. Yeah. Exactly. It's like doing. Homework and then the homework was never. Due because I've got people. And like, but I have all this work, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I had been saying, oh, I really should just review this. And Jess, you were watching it, so it was, Yeah. So what happened with me was that this came out in November 2024.

3:35 I obviously didn't get a chance to watch it at the end of 2024, which is when I usually watch things that aired in that current year. I try and get it done in the last quarter of the year. Didn't happen. But I did press play in January, February of this year, 2025, and I got about halfway through and did a midday review up on the Tabak Patreon. And then I started my own, you know, season 6 over on the Tibock Bead and could not return to finishing the story of Pearl Girl.

4:09 But I was really into it. Like at the time that I stopped, I literally stopped halfway at episode 20. And I was like, oh, but I want to find out what happens next. And I never did. And then when you, I can't remember when you said this, we were like, I really want to do an episode and I was like, but use me, use me.

4:26 I'll do it because I really want to finish and I'll never finish unless I have a podcast to do on it, you know, especially during the Season 6 for K Box. So I was like, I'll invite Jess over and yeah, so this is going to be an interesting, an interesting review because like I said, I watch this well on it.

4:47 I have not gone back and watched anything else about about it, so I'm relying solely on the notes that I've made and this is going to be an interesting way to see how much I actually remember. From retained. Yeah, and how much I've retained from it since it's been over six months almost. It's the dramas, you know, since I've watched it.

5:13 But yeah. Shall we get into this? So MDLMDL synopsis says After escaping A brutal Pearl farm, Duan Wu, a skilled diver, meets merchant Yan Zhi Jing and noble Zhang Jin Ron. 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.

5:43 Renamed SU MO Zhi, she starts her own business, clear mind, and teams up with Zhang to write an old wrong. In the end, SU MU Zhu thrives at the dual exhibition, inspiring woman to take control of their destinies. So this is adapted from the novel the prequel the prequel of Krushan jade by Tan Tian Yin. It was filmed from November 17th, 2023 till March 14th, 2024 and then it and from November 1st, 2024 to November 22nd, 2024.

6:23 It is 40 episodes of about 40 minutes each and it is a Yoku production, although it is now since been added to Netflix as well, so you can watch it on Netflix. It's also on TV, which is like a Korean. Yeah. Korean app. Subscription service, yeah. Isn't it like, doesn't it belong to TVN? I think Tving belongs to TVN, but I might be jeez, remembering.

6:52 But anyways, it's a Korean app which I find very well. It's not strange, but they, you know, Chinese, Korean relations have never been great. So it's interesting that, like, they're picking up all of these shows nowadays, but we'll skip over that anyway. So that's where you can watch it. The director for this is she.

7:16 So he's been directing since 2016, and he's directed Great Expectations from 2018, Legend of Fuyao from 2018. Oh, yeah. This makes a lot of sense, actually. Does it? Yeah. I thought it like Lu Yang from 2021 and Romance of Twin Flower from 2023. Now I think we need to put because Jess has I dropped Legend of Fu Yao. I also dropped Lu Yang and I also dropped Romance of Twin Flower so.

7:50 Yes, so here's what happened. I dropped Legend of Fu Yao. They the episodes were just dragging. It was 66 episode C drama from 2018. And I remember watching and watching and watching and I just look, we're like somehow stuck in the desert all of a sudden. And I was like, you know what? I I don't even know how we got here. So I dropped that show as well.

8:16 I just thought it was spinning its wheels like crazy and it was just so annoying at, I think towards the time that I stopped watching. So I didn't finish it and I I guess that kind of bleeds into my general thoughts about this story of Pearl Girl. But oh nice, we could talk about it. This just makes a lot of sense I think is what I'm saying. OK, so a screenwriter is Ma Shasha and they've done devastating beauty from 2018, Generals lady from 2020 and wrong carriage right groom from 2023. But you don't like you.

9:00 Tell me. Yeah, go ahead, go. Ahead you don't like wrong carriage, right? Groom right? No, I dropped it. I did. I did. I did like Generals Lady, But The thing is, I watched a General Lady. It's now five years ago. So my, my and I at the time I had been watching Chinese dramas for about a year and a half. So I was daring you, very you.

9:33 I don't know if I were to go back now. And would like shit. If I would necessarily like it, My my my enjoyment of things have changed so much in like 5 years. It's like night and day. Like. Yeah, I can't do the cutesy dramas anymore. Like I just got so so yeah. So that's interesting. But no, I didn't finish Wrong Carriage, Right Groom because it was just like, I don't even remember why I didn't finish. I think I dropped it really early on as well. I think I watched like 3 or 4 episodes, which is really bad because like a Chinese drama, you should give it a couple more.

10:16 But if it's not working that early on, it's not going to work. Like, it's just not going to work. So, so yeah. So forecast, we have the brilliant Zao Lushi now. She's been acting since 2017, and she's been in things such as Oh my Emperor, which was my very first thing that I watched from Zao Lushi. It's a 2018 drama and it was a lot of fun. It well, I it's not great.

10:49 It's not it's not a great drama, but it is a little bit funny. So so there. She's also starred in the romance of Tiger and Rose from 2020, the long ballad from 2021. And then her most, I think noticeable roles that people really, really know her from is love like the Galaxy from 2022. And obviously we have hidden love from 2023.

11:13 Those are her like. Really. Really. Really big roles. So yeah. What's you like? I love her. She and Jonah, Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I love her. I've seen her in, you know, obviously story of pro girl now. Hidden love. Love like the Galaxy romance of Tiger and Rose and I wanna see her in more Oh I've also seen her in like a modern day drama where she was like a violinist or something I.

11:37 Don't. Oh, I hate your voice. I think that's what it's called. I hate. Your voice. I hear you. Maybe. Oh, I hear you. Yes, I hear you. I have watched that one, yeah. Yeah, which is like, cute. Yeah. Generally if I and you know, not gonna change your life or anything but it, it's nice and sweet.

11:54 It was fun, yeah. Yeah, I love her. She's great, no complaints. Yeah, absolutely. Me too. I think The thing is with Alushi, the dramas may not be the best sometimes but she always delivers which. I I was going to say the same thing, but if you don't like a drama of hers, it's 99% of the time it's not because of her, it's because of the writing, it's because of the production of whatever male lead I don't even know. But it's any other reason besides her. She's never the problem.

12:28 Yeah, yeah. So I really, really like her. I'm really looking forward to stuff that she has upcoming. Obviously she's had a lot on hold because of her like, health situation, but she does have a couple of dramas that are supposed to be coming out soon. And one of the roles that I'm quite interested to see, it's going to be quite different to her. It feels like a very adult, mature role. So I'm very excited to see, you know, see that one. So Next up we have Lu Yuning.

13:01 Now he's been acting since 2019 in dramas, 2016 in movies, but he's been singing for a really long time. And this man, when I say to me personally, he's like King of OS TS, he truly is because he's in everything and he always makes some of the best, you know, OS TS in my opinion. Now he has been in Ultimate Note from 20/20, The long Ballad from 2021 which he paired up with Al Lushi.

13:32 So This is why this was such an anticipated drama for them. The Legend of Andler from 2023, A Journey to Love from 2023 and then The Prisoner of Beauty from 2025. Now I love him. I don't understand why people say. There's hate. There's Chinese medicines freaking hate this man. They think he's ugly. They don't see it.

13:58 I don't understand where people are getting this. They downgrade his dramas just because of his looks. And it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous because he looks really good in period costume. Like there's actors out there that look ridiculous in period costume and people are like, Oh my God, but you look so good. And The thing is, I'm going to, I'm not going to say any names, but at least he can act like he does not rely on his looks. Not throwing, just going to throw this out, but the man can act.

14:30 And I think having recently finished The Prisoner of Beauty, I would come for anybody who thinks this man cannot act and looks ugly because the Prisoner of Beauty. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to respectfully 100% disagree with you. He's first of all, he's fine. Second of all, he can act so. Exactly.

14:55 Strange. I don't understand it. I don't understand it. And he does like the best, like what you can say about him is that he is characters are very similar in tone that I would like, I agree like I can I can somewhat agree with that statement because yes, his characters do tend to be, you know, very similar, but he brings something a little bit different to each of the characters. And the man is busy, Like the man is busy. He doesn't do that many, you know, roles overall. So I I don't understand why people are so gang ho, you know, on every, it's every single time he had the drama come out, they count on him and it's like it's ridiculous. And then there's just him, like on Weibo, doing lives for like. Doing a live, he's just singing.

15:51 To his fans. And I'm like this man is. Just so unbothered it looks like. Yeah, so nice. Yeah. What's what's your overall opinion of of him just. I love him and I wish him all the best. I saw him in A Journey to Love from 2023. Yes, I did not finish that show. I'm halfway through it. Same story as Story of Pro Girl where I got about halfway and then I had other priorities that were that that took over and I never went back to finish A Journey to Love.

16:23 It was right before all hell broke loose and I need to go back and finish, but at this point it's been too long. I probably just need to restart. The whole drama, yeah. But I I loved him. I thought he was really great. I agree, I agree, and then the last one that we have is Tang Xiao Tan, who I refuse to call him by his English name.

16:45 I'm sorry, but his English name is even worse than Song Tan. You like his English name is Daddy Tan. Like I can't. No, it is not. It is. It is. Like MDL used to have it, but now they've changed it. But that's what he used to be called on MDL. And I'm like, I can't daddy. It's yeah, it's spelled like DA double DI, but like, how else? You can't read that any other way. Unless it's daddy like a different. B.

17:18 Or, or Daddy or something. I'm sorry. Wrong. They had to know better. His team, his family, they had to know better. Like I have this thing about it. Just call just like just use the Chinese name. It is fine. We can learn to try and pronounce it. Like don't give me these weird, bizarre names. But goodness. So he's been in things such as put your head on my shoulder from 2019, way back into Love from 2020, the Ingenious 1 from 2023 and Wannabe from 2025, which was actually, I haven't finished it.

17:59 I don't know if I will like the wannabe show he plays a like fish monger, like fish person. Yeah. That then becomes a model. Yeah. It's very interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But actually, from what I've heard, it actually works out quite well with like how it how they do it. I never finished it, so I didn't, you know, go over it into it. Have you watched him in anything before? Now that I see his filmography or a portion of it, I have seen him and Put Your Head on My Shoulder from 2019, which I can't believe that's from 2019, six years ago, that that's rude. That's I know.

18:39 That's criminal. Yes, I did see him in that. I just can't say. I think with him, I think he's not like your classically beautiful, pretty mad sort of thing, I don't think. But The thing is, he is actually, I think he is actually quite a talented actor and his projects are fairly varied. Like he's played in quite different things. I mean, Put Your Head on On My Shoulder is a straight up fluffy romance, whereas The ingenious 1 is a straight up political, you know, historical drama.

19:19 So he does. Write that. Going for him, but it just doesn't seem like he's really broken, you know? Yeah, I was going to say that. He doesn't seem like he's broken through to the next level of fame or whatever. So, so yeah, so that's like there is other characters, but that's like your main sort of cast, I would say. So just go ahead and just give us like your very quick general spoilers.

19:48 What did you think about this drama? Yeah, so this is a very, I liked it up until, well, The thing is, so I liked it in the very beginning, like the first couple of episodes, 'cause it was. High angst, high stakes. And then it kind of tapered off a bit into, you know, all of the stakes are now kind of diluted. She's learning the ropes and she's in a different station in life and her and the male lead are on weird footing because he's her Master and he's definitely taking her under his wing.

20:26 But he's pretty brutal to her, which I found really jarring. I couldn't quite wrap my head around it. And then they start the romance and I was like, OK, it's very slow burn of a romance. And by the time you get to the halfway point, I I was like, all in. I was like, hell yes. Because all hell breaks loose.

20:47 She hits a fan and she basically has to build herself back up after that. And there is a lot of animosity between the male lead and the female lead. And I was like, perfect. I love angst. Let's go. Then it took a dip again and I was like, Oh no, they keep doing this. Or it's like, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster and it's not a good roller coaster. It wasn't a very good one.

21:11 And by the end of the show, I just felt like I I'm just watching this to finish it. Not necessarily because I found it compelling or particularly interesting, because I feel like they got really, really in the weeds on all of the jewelry business stuff. This was a business heavy, entrepreneurial heavy show. And that I think took precedence over some of the character work. Some of the obviously the romance was like take a back seat to that.

21:47 And it was not particularly my favorite C drama that I've watched or my favorite C drama from Zaal Lushi. And the ending, the final final couple minutes enraged me to no end. And I'm sure that it's it's been some time for you. I did message. You. You've cooled off. I messaged you and I was like, what the hell actually just happened? I thought, and I gave you like some of the, the like, what I was seeing, what the tea leaves that I was reading on it. And you were like, yeah.

22:21 And we kind of chatted a little bit about it, but we can do more in the spoiler section. I thought that this was the worst crime of this drama is that it's completely forgettable. I mean, I remember certain parts of it and I will say I I've sat with it. Well, I've sat with it six months now. But while I was watching, I kept thinking, especially in the beginning part, the Zalu she's acting here was incredibly good.

22:51 And she delivered so much in that first, you know, half And I was really, really intrigued by this story that they were weaving about where the pearls were coming from and the divers and all of this. That really kind of like gripped me because it was really interesting. It was a topic that I knew absolutely nothing about.

23:14 It was a topic that I hadn't really watched any dramas on. So I was interested in that arc. But I will say it did get very business heavy. And I'm not one to necessarily enjoy business politics. Like I can do court politics if they're interesting, if if the story kind of warrants for it. But when we get into business, I'm just not as interested, especially when it takes up the full forefront.

23:45 And like you were saying, like character growth and character development takes like a back seat. That's not necessarily for me. And I think overall, this was a little bit at the time, I think they were kind of selling it more as a romance. And I don't think this is a romance. I totally don't think this is a romance in the slightest. And so I went in with a mindset and expecting a certain thing. Like I thought this is going to be her, her story. And it is at the end of the day, it is completely her story. True.

24:23 I think it's her starting from the ground, like she's as low as she can go and it's her like going through life and learning and climbing her way up. So I think personally, like her journey specifically was quite satisfying to watch, but the business aspect of it wasn't was something I think we could have done without. So maybe this might have been a drama that would have been better suited at having like, I don't know, 3034 episodes, like 35.

24:55 The pacing would have worked better with less time. So I think that, you know, like I said, the acting is really good in this, like certain scenes that I can still come to mind six months later as Al Lushi's, like, they were really, really good. And even though the drama itself wasn't as good as I expected it to be, her acting is like some of the better acting from her that I've seen.

25:24 Like this role was really, really good for her, but it's just sad that it came wrapped up in a story that lacked better pacing I think. Yeah, it, the pacing was abysmal in this and the 40 episodes did it and absolutely no favors. It should have been 35 or less episodes. Just I would have started cutting.

25:44 I would have started taking an axe to a like large swaths of the show that were extremely dry, you know, just dry characters that I'm like, I don't give a shit about this. Why? Why are we talking at length about, you know, what's going to have we never see the king, We never see, you know, all of these different people that are referred to that, oh, the emperor ordered this crown and it's we can't produce the crown. It's not going to be on delivery. And I'm like all this cash on delivery nonsense. I'm like, dude, leave it at the door. I don't need to know.

26:20 Yeah, a lot of it. It's just they talk shop a lot in this drama, and I thought that was to its detriment. I love how you talked about how she goes on this journey, and I do appreciate the change in status. These change in status stories always do well with me personally. My favorite change in status story in film world is like Gladiator where he starts as a general, he gets demoted, he gets betrayed and then he gets turns into a slave and then it becomes a gladiator and then becomes a symbol. And like all of these things are changing, change in status stories.

26:57 And I love those. But on this one, it took its sweet time. And yes, they do call attention to her pulling herself up by her bootstraps, which is very American ideal. Like, you know, a lot of the business stuff could also be seen as like an American ideal, right? Like, you know, start your own business and, you know, be, be your own, be your own boss and all this stuff, you know, stick it to the man.

27:23 A lot of like stick it to the man happening in this, because there are all of these competing families and, and factions that own large swaths of the business. And it's all about like monopolies and, and, you know, all of this stuff. Got it. I didn't like the romance because it just didn't ring true to me and. I think also it's not necessary for the plot. It's not necessary for the plot.

27:49 The male lead concerned his whole life with revenge and I don't think that him foisting his revenge on like his values onto her was ever going to work. Like she basically rejects the the revenge by the end of the show and she's like, I don't really need if it happens, great. If not, I need to live my life. And I think that was a bigger message than us sticking with the male lead on his journey to revenge, which happens a lot in the show.

28:26 No, I agree. I I liked that aspect of it. She was like, look, I'm going to be left for the consequences of whatever comes from this revenge. And I don't want that. Like I I'm done. I just want to go and do my life and that is perfectly acceptable. Like she's not forgiving and forgetting. She's just letting it go and like thinking I, you know, I'm done.

28:53 Um, so. So yeah, I, I don't know, I enjoyed it overall, but I feel like if I'm gonna say why I enjoyed it, it's probably gonna all come down to Zalushi and her acting and like her journey, her character, because that's what sticks in my mind. Like 6 months down the road, that's what sticks in my mind. I will also say there is something to be said about the oh, what's her name?

29:24 So she played SU. She like her relationship with our female leaders. She's character. That was a very interesting for me to watch. Yes, I agree that those two kind of held up the show basically in the last, especially in the last half, the first half. Sweet She do who's played by Chloe Sheeh is a bit of an antagonist. And she also grows, right?

29:56 That character grows and goes through hardship and gets humbled over and over again until, yeah, until she's in a different place, right? Another change in status story coming from this other female character. And I thought she had the better. At the end of the day, if I look back on the show and look at all of the characters, I'm like, she had the better story.

30:17 She had the best, most compelling arc. She had the better love story, I mean. It was. Juicy. It was very interesting, super complicated, and they had more chemistry, like all the things. I was like, wow, this is just a strange experience to watch the show and expect it to go a certain way or see the bread crumbs that they're laying out for us. And it still doesn't go that way, right. There was a the whole revenge plot where she was kind of supporting him at least midway through the show. There's all these Mac guffins that are gonna lead you to maybe treasure.

30:58 Yeah. Never happens. Treasure just doesn't materialize does this. Doesn't happen. We never see the treasure. We never get that the the blood pearls things like I'm like, I don't give a shit. This is not about these are Mac guffins. They don't matter. That was very frustrating to me. And it's like all of this time and energy spent on trying to find your roots and trying to find, you know, connection with your family that you didn't know you had a family and all of this stuff.

31:31 And then just to see her reject it all and not make any sort of meaning that she just uses it for, for entrepreneurial gain. And I'm like, is that honoring your family? Is that, you know, I was like, I understand that you were, you inherited nothing but pain and suffering, but I it's just so weird. Yeah.

31:59 Like it had no heart. I feel like the show had no heart. I think it's because we didn't. Yeah, let's do it. Let's. Do it and then we'll talk. Specific ratings one teacup. It was something I watched, it wasn't good but something made me finish and that's A1 to a 5.5 on MDL. 2 teacups. The OK ones I don't really recommend but they were an OK background watch. Six to seven on MDL. 3 teacups, the enjoyable ones, good dramas. They were enjoyable and I would recommend to people who enjoy this genre.

32:33 And that's a 7.5 to an 8 on MDL 4 teacups, the loved ones. These are dramas that I really loved. There might be a couple of problems with it, but overall a really enjoyable drama that I would recommend to a wider audience. And that's an 8.5 to a 9.5 on MDL. And then the five teacups, the Rose Glass no faults dramas. This rating is reserved for those dramas that you love so much that you are willing to ignore any problems they might have.

33:01 And those are like your elusive 10s on MDL. Now I just had a quick look and I I will stick to what I said six months ago because I'm sure it was fresher in my mind than it is now. I rated it an H on MGL so that's like a three teacups. OK. All right. I'm gonna, I'm gonna stick with that because apparently that's where I was when I finished it.

33:24 You. Landed at 3 teacups basically. OK. Yeah, I'm gonna give a half a teacup. So 2 1/2 teacups because I too, I truly believe I'm between 2:00 and 3:00 teacups on this. Drama. Where like it's OK, I don't really recommend it but it's an OK background watch. But then some parts were enjoyable, there were highs.

33:47 And if you do like Xiaolu Shi or you like Leo Yuning, who am I to stop you? Fine, 3 teacups. So 2 1/2 is where I'm settling. Yeah, yeah. I like I said, I'm just sticking to what I said six months ago because it was way fresher in my mind then than it is now. And I feel like if I were to revise it now, it's like, yeah, but I don't remember half of what happened.

34:13 So I don't think it's, I mean. I don't have the best memory either. So we're going into this at a critical juncture here where we're we might have some stuff, but not everything for this drama, this. Yeah, guys, this might not be like completely in depth review we're just gonna talk about. So this is your spoiler warning for the story of Pearl Girl. We are now heading completely into spoilers. So if you haven't watched it and you don't want to be spoiled, then go watch and then come back and finish the episode. Or if you don't mind spoilers then just go ahead and listen. So where do you want to start, Jess? OK, so maybe let's start at the beginning because this is where I have the most notes.

34:56 It's the 1st 20 episodes and then we can like freestyle in the last 20. OK, so she basically is a slave on this Pearl farm that you she's you, her family, the CEO family owns. And I was like super, super intrigued by this entire process by people coming to the Pearl farm and these like beautiful slaves dressed in very elaborate costumes and beautiful makeup and hair and jewels and everything, selling these pearls.

35:28 And she becomes one of those girls for a night. She meets the male lead, she meets the second male lead. And then all hell breaks loose, like I said, in the front half in the non spoiler section. And like the entire Pearl farm goes up in flames. She gets rescued and her biological mother ends up getting her out, extracting her her. Mother who she did not know was her mother. Exactly.

35:55 So again, lots of questions. It was like kind of thrown at you. It felt like a retcon, but it wasn't. It was just the progression of the story. It's like suddenly this lady that you thought was very vicious toward her, she was, what was she? She was like the slave she was. About her mother. Yeah, What was she doing there?

36:15 She. Was like she was basically like the headmistress of sorts. So she overlooked the girls who showed off the pearls. She made sure they looked pretty. She but. Then she was also cooking the books as well. Yeah, she, I think she was. Yeah, so she learned how to read because of this lady. She learned how to manage accounts and different things like that from this lady who ends up being her biological mother.

36:44 That was the reveal in like an early episode. But the entire system that was built there in the Pearl farm was horrific. It was, you know, all of these underground tunnels of slaves just living in squalor and mud. And there was a pervasive, you know, attack on women's sexual assault rampant. They had like birthers birthing women who were basically raped. And then whatever child was, you know, when they were impregnated, those children would then become slaves and be indoctrinated and trained up into the Pearl farm and learn how to die.

37:26 And I was completely enamored with this entire world. It was so interesting and terrible that I was like, OK, we're going to be here for longer. We weren't there for that long. I wish we were because The thing is they were not afraid to go and show you these really dark, you know, places. And I was so intrigued by the whole, you know, slave part of it and we were there.

37:54 So she actually escapes by episode 2, episode 3. That's it. That's it. Slave arc finished. And actually I wish we would have, like you said, I wish we would have stayed a little bit longer there. I wish we would have seen. So basically she, her mother doesn't. Well, her mother knows she's her daughter.

38:14 The reason why she hides it away is because she's basically doesn't want people to know that's her daughter because they'll come for her and they'll use her in like other ways. So she just prefers it was. Just unclear. It's still unclear why she wouldn't tell her that. That's, you know, you're my daughter, I'm your mother, what have you. It was so strange.

38:39 And then to leave her in that situation, in that slavery, and not at any point prior try and get her out is baffling to me. Yeah, it was. I, I felt like that specific part of the story was quite rushed, which meant there was no like, The thing is, by the end when she's like, OK, I'm done. I don't want to honor my family. And you're like, well, she kind of has a point because the family she comes from, I mean, her own mother kind of was there, but.

39:12 She was cruel. She was cracking the whip on her it. It was. You know what is that? So yeah, I agree. I wish we would have seen a bit more of the, you know, that aspect of it. And like one of my very first notes is about the auction. Actually, it's about like, first of all, the setting for it was stunning.

39:36 It's stunning, so beautiful, the setting of it, the clothes, everything. But also I loved the back and forth between Zalushi and Liu Yuning here because she's trying to get more money for this Pearl because she has to get 7 million or whatever for the Pearl to make sure that she stays alive. That's the deal. She has to sell it for seven.

39:57 And their back and forth there was really just like. I love that kind of banter between characters which does stay. Like they do have nice banter throughout the show, even if she does become a little bit more meek towards him, I suppose because he saves her and whatnot. But I feel like the banter does kind of stay. But yeah.

40:20 So episode 2 is where her mother sacrifices. You learn her mother's story and you learn, you know, her sacrifice is that she dies. So that's one where you can kind of escape the crumbling. But again, I thought it was such a important piece to the puzzle. You see her diving and Zao Lushi did all of the stunt work underwater.

40:45 That was incredible. It was so impressive to see her underwater. And it was it was all practical right there. All of the the people that are diving with her, they're also underwater in some kind of tank or some sort of facility where they film this. And I was like wide eyed. It was incredible. So good, it's. So good actually.

41:05 See, it's real water. It's not like they're these people. See water Aquaman and everybody except and everybody did their own, you know, stunts which made it look so incredibly good. So that's kind of like like her acting in these first two episodes alone. There's so much desperation to her. There was so much rage and and you know, something simmering under the surface and her that I really loved and I wanted to explore more and you you kind of do, but not really.

41:38 I wanted to see more of her utilizing her expertise of pearls throughout the show because I'm like, OK, it's story of Pearl girl. She should be joining this jewelry industry and then telling everybody everything about pearls or dominating the Pearl market or whatever, cornering it in some way, shape or form because she has all of this expertise. She grew up on this Pearl farm.

42:03 She knows how to dive. I was like, oh, she's going to dive again. She should be able to use her skills in swimming and holding her breath, what have you. Never happens. None of this stuff happens that I would think they would write in. Yeah. So that's why I'm like, what? What are we? What are we doing?

42:22 Yeah, we never. We just don't see any of it ever again, which is a little bit frustrating. So she gets taken in on Zijing's ship because he has this merchant vessel that's filled to the brim with employees and slaves as well that are working for him and fueling his merchant jewelry business. And he's basically amassing this fortune for years and years and making connections all around China to exact his own revenge and gain a foothold in this industry where he can wheel and deal and bring people to their knees when he needs to. And this is the part where I was like, this is strange because she gets basically taken in as a slave. He steals her Pearl, her red blood red Pearl, which I had a lot of trouble with because he's

43:20 manipulating her. He is, he is because he's like, you're stuck on this boat now because she obviously said this red blood Pearl comes from her mother and it's really, really special to her. It's the last thing of her mother that she will ever have. And there's, you know, a whole family story behind it. It belonged to her family for a very long time. So she wants to get this Pearl back, but he steals it from her and then he's just like, I will give it to you back if you earn it back or something along those lines. Basically, if she earns it back, there's all these stipulations like if you make this much money, if you work your way to the top deck, all of these things that I'm like, I what is he the male lead?

44:02 Are they going to fall in love? Because he's very emotionally distant. He is extremely brutal, almost fatalistic on the boat where he's, you know, doling out punishments to other employees and slaves on the boat. And and, you know, at one point, like she gets whipped and all of these things are happening to her and he's there.

44:23 He's the one who's calling the shots. But then there's another side to him where he's like, seems to be doing this for her own good. A little bit of trial by fire, a lot of I'm gonna teach her the ropes. Yeah, yeah. I think he's just like throwing her into almost into the deep end and hoping she'll swim, but he's not like aiding anything. If that makes sense.

44:53 Yeah, he's. Actively tricking her. In certain. Episodes in these early episodes and she makes mistakes and she has to learn from them. Yeah, which I, I look in that aspect, I can kind of get behind her making mistakes and him letting her make those mistakes because I think she'll learn a lot better rather than him stepping in and kind of like saving her.

45:17 But he could guide her a little bit better. But I just don't think that's his character. There is like I love a red flag character as much as the next person, but there is such a thing as a little too red where you then find it very difficult to believe there could ever be a romance between. Exactly.

45:41 Characters. Exactly. And that's how it was. Yeah. And that could possibly be, you know, this. And I think, like, ultimately, look, people are very excited for this drama because these two had worked together on the. Oh my goodness, what was the drama? I'm having a long. Ballad. The long ballad. Yeah.

46:02 So there were a couple there. And apparently I, we know we didn't. I didn't finish the long ballad, but I think from what I remember, they didn't necessarily get a great ending, but people loved their chemistry so much that they, you know, got wrote, they got together to do this drama again. And I think because people were expecting them to be a main couple, that's where the story went. Now, I haven't read the original novel so I don't know if that's how it works in the novel, but one would think that's the case. But I almost wish they would have worked as partners and stayed as partners, if that makes sense. Also because she has such a good contestant. Or you know, a good possible

46:51 love interest in the second male. Lead. Oh yeah. Oh, but that was interesting too. 'Cause he's he judges her all the time. He does, he does, he does judge her all the time. But he is a lot kinder to her. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. No, he's not. He's not physically abusive like the male lead is and he's not as harsh to her.

47:15 It's he wasn't giving her this tough love style of, you know, love and telling her not to be so naive. He was like, I can't believe that you did XYZ and the other, you know, that's not that's not kosher. That's not right. And she's like, what is right and what is wrong? I don't understand why you're judging me for doing, you know, whatever it is, you know, beating this guy for stealing my money or trying to frame me for whatever. He has a very he's.

47:51 Too righteous. Exactly. She was a little messy. The thing is, she almost needs like a blend of these two guys together for her partner. She needed. A really good partner. Yeah. I, I, I was just going to mention now that we've talked about him, the second merely one of the lines, like one of my favorite lines from the show is actually, he says it and it's in episode 4.

48:19 And he promised her that he would compose this poem about, like, the hardships of Pearl collecting and stuff. And one of the lines is people want to appreciate its beauty yet ignore the bloodshed of the Pearl divers. That Pearl diver once told me one tear of a mermaid so red and bright is brought with the blood of countless lives.

48:42 Those two lines came direct from her lips. And I'm like, I, that's one of my favorite. And again, that's why I wish we would have stayed in the Pearl farm a little bit longer. And I get it. They probably want to get her out and get her story kind of going. But I feel like she could have learned, like we could have had a case of somebody comes in and kind of takes over the Pearl farm, right?

49:08 And she kind of starts being working with that person, whatever it may be. We could have gone in that direction, but I guess that's just not where the story was supposed to hedge. But yeah, I. I was very confused about the family dynamic stuff who her mom and dad were compared to his mom and dad because at one point I was like oh are they siblings? Are they cousins?

49:36 I had so many questions and it still was unclear to me. I think so. It's really interesting that you ask that actually, because we had somebody watching this on the Discord and they were going back and reading through because I don't delete discord chats like they just get, you know, archived as you know, 2024 dramas or whatever it may be.

50:00 So whatever we were watching and we were thinking and chatting about on those chats stay there. So somewhat one of the people that kind of joined this chord recently, they were watching the story of Pearl Girl and they were going back and reading and that was one of their questions. They were saying, I don't understand the family dynamic and I was trying to remember and like from what I recall, because I didn't write any of it down, but from what I recall is that her parents worked for his parents and they were very close.

50:34 So they're not like, so they're kind of part of his family in essence, but because they were for his family, but not necessarily blood related, if that makes sense. I got you. Yeah, that's kind. Of where I settled on it, yeah. That's where I settled on it. And then her father had some sort of special method for making colored glass. I mean, I OK.

51:02 And we're making faces over here like, oh, OK. I don't know. That's where we're going. But you know her, the Sui family on the other hand, which is like her, the antagonist, like the cross dressing girl. Her family gets ruined because of the Pearl business table flipping and her journeys in the first half of the show how she's this cruel arrogant little shit and this so uncaring for the plight of all the Pearl farm slaves and the sexual violence and the breeding program out there and everything.

51:41 She turns into this helpless, desperate, humbled person, and at one point she frees the slaves in her evil uncle's compound. Yep. She's literally like, do you hear the people saying like she's like wait in the flat? She's completely on the other side of the aisle and it's great to see her hit rock bottom at least like up to the up to the halfway point of the show, she's basically hits rock bottom. And she goes toe to toe with so many male characters in the show and the patriarchy at large that are like, why are you dressing like a boy?

52:15 You should be at home. You should be embroidering. You shouldn't be involved in the business. And you should be getting to, you know, you're only, you should be getting married. Yeah, it'd be getting married. That's the only way you can help the family. And I, I agree. Her story was really, really interesting because she's so incredibly capable.

52:33 But because she's female, they refuse to see that. And she says this throughout the, the, the, the, the, the show. If I were born a man, I would be your heir. I would be, like taking over the business. I would be this and that. And that's the only reason she dresses as like a man and is so that people will take her more seriously because people refuse to do so just because of her gender.

52:56 And there's definitely something to be said about like that narrative and that part of her story. I re her story was very compelling, very, very compelling to. Me, I agree. I agree. So then there's found family on the big merchant vessel, which I found very surprising that they put that in. But yeah, I thought it worked pretty well as a ragtag group and they make it out all the way to the desert and there's multiple points where they can leave like this. Found family surrounding the male lead and female lead. They could have left.

53:31 They could have just lived. The thing is, you know, it's heading in that direction when I think it's episode. I can't remember. I'm just trying to find it because I did highlight it Episode 17. And then. Yeah. So episode 17, right, is when they're all happy, they're all in the desert and, you know, crap is going down because these words were uttered. So the female lead says, so this is what home feels like. It's so nice.

54:02 And the male lead says we can can have a home too. And she asks we can. And he says, of course we can, how about it? And then she And then he said, then it's settled. And I'm like, it ain't settled. If these words have been uttered before the ending of the show, you know people are going to die and there's not going to be a happy ending like a. Yeah, because I don't make the rules. They go out there trying to search for this Black Dragon gang and I'm like, they're going to find you. You better like put your head.

54:34 Die but. I didn't realize like it was at this point in the show that the show goes from good to oh shit, wait a minute, because like, this was a level of carnage that I didn't expect. The entire convoy, what's left of it, gets killed. Her adoptive like little brother dies. Everybody, everybody dies.

54:57 Just like shrimp. That was his nickname. Shrimp. Little shrimp. And it's just like what just happened. This type of carnage is reserved for the end, not part way. I was just thinking, who have you got left to keep the show going? Yes, and then there was this. Whole. Yeah, and there was this whole misunderstanding that Duan Wu thinks the Jing tried to kill her because he was trying to Robin a hood this arrow that was heading through trying to save her life like, but the arrow ends up going through her shoulder and she's just like, Oh my God, my lover just tried to kill me and she collapses.

55:35 And it it is unbelievable. This episode like 19 or 20 is it feels like it comes out of left field because it is so much the the level of of destruction. Yeah, it's just, it's just a nuclear bomb has exploded on this show and it's left barely anyone standing. And you're like, what the hell just happened? And The thing is, you kind of, you kind of get it that something big's about to happen because A, everybody's far too happy, B, everything's running far too smoothly, and you've still got another half of the show to go. So you know.

56:21 Something hit the fan exactly. I I did not expect it to be that big of a carnage. To be honest, Yang Jing is as Yeah, I think that's his name. Yang Jing, the male lead, is also all injured. He's had many slices and swords slung at him. He's got a few. Arrows. Sticking out of him. He's been poisoned. The poison, the poison that's going to bite him in the pack. Oh my God, it's crazy.

56:50 So did you guess who the big bad was? Who was the spy in the Black Dragon Gang? Because I did as soon as I saw his like bestie who knew his parents all this all those years ago and was running this outpost in the desert, this merchant outpost. Oh, I'm trying to remember this part. Because this guy is, you see him just before all hell breaks this because he's welcoming them to this like Menagerie out in the desert. And I was like, this guy's, this guy's shady, this guy's super. Shady.

57:27 Yeah, I, I, I called it straight away. I was like, he's going to, he's going to mess things up, like he's going to be bad guys in general. Cool, because that was a bit obvious. OK, because yeah, that's 20 episodes later. That's who brought down the entire operation for them. That's who has been the enemy the entire time because he personally betrayed his parents and killed the whole like Yan clan or whatever. And he's been there, you know, the whole time, like the whole time.

58:03 So I like that. Revealing the end of the show. I also thought it was really obvious that Prince Yang or whoever was behind the second lead, you know, there was like this Prince, a royal. Oh, yes, yes, yes, I. Remember, that was barely in the front half of the show, but he was besties with the second lead, the second male lead.

58:24 He was like the yeah, and. It was like, oh, every time the second male lead would go somewhere, they'd be like, oh, but he's friends with Prince Ying or Prince so and so. And I was like, OK, this guy's also shady. And it of course it turns out that Prince Ying is also a big bad. He's been manipulating the jewelry business and caused the downfall of their families like 20 years ago and all the things. So I thought that was also telegraphed that that was going to be the case.

58:57 So all these things that take so long to manifest in the show, all these reveals, they're not that powerful when it actually happens because you're just, it takes so long and you were waiting for it. You're waiting for them to reveal this exact person, this exact character to be evil, to be at odds with everybody else. So, OK, what were some really enjoyable parts of the second-half of the show?

59:23 I'm just trying a quick glance of of my my notes. I will say I probably I really like the fact that we got to see Duan Wu and Zhejiang as like enemies in the second-half. Barely, but yes. But like they were there for a little bit, but I because I feel like that builds for some really good chemistry in that we you know, when you're on opposite tracks. But I like seeing again, we're going back to her character, but Duan Wu's like story of like.

1:00:03 Her, it's her story now, like there's no one behind her. She's going to do it herself, right? Because she's got no backers, no friends. She's like by herself completely. I like the fact that she grabbed women and like that's how she built her business was through like through women. And now you're going to have to correct me if I'm wrong because I might be mixing up this show with another show.

1:00:29 Was this the one where she kind of to show off her pieces and to, like, make them sell and whatnot? Did she get involved with, like, courtesans, like high-ranking courtesans? Yes, she did. Yeah. Well, there was this whole competition where the courtesans are competing and I guess for charity they donate whatever piece, high class piece of jewelry that they are wearing or whatever.

1:00:56 And so she has like a guitar looking thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, inlaid and all this stuff's beautiful and that's what her courtesan like, used. And then they partnered with another courtesan who had like little bells on her shoes and did like a dance and all this stuff. So that was cool. And then all of these courtesans become investors.

1:01:19 In her business. Her business? Yeah. So I like that aspect. I like that. It's like a women business owned business, women LED business, absolutely. I like that. That's all positive. Yeah, exactly, exactly. That's all good stuff. I hated how the men had to ruin it every time because. They had to come in and be like, yeah, it's really annoying.

1:01:42 I do agree. I will say I'm going to mention this is a very off topic, but also kind of related. This reminds me a lot of this year's. Was it this year's? Yes, I think it was this year's Flourished Peony because their setup is different, like ones about flowers, ones about. But the story, like the female ledge stories are very similar, very, very similar.

1:02:10 But I think Flourished Peony did it better with like the relationship. You could see they like by the end of season, what they're calling season 1, which I think is like episode 32, this couple ain't together. They are like partners, friends and whatnot. There's feelings there, but they're not together.

1:02:29 And I think it did it so much better because it allowed for them to fully focus on the female leads journey completely. And it changes the show. It completely changes like the show. But what I'm trying to say is these have very, very comparable stories in terms of like where they come from and whatnot. And the female lead in Flourished Peony also uses a female lead like cast to open up her own shop and whatnot. So it's really, really, really interesting. So that aspect of like the story of Paula Girl, that's where we should have stayed like.

1:03:11 Yeah, I loved it. I love she staffed all of these, all her business with women and her the investors were women she the courtesan that she had originally had a really good friendship with. She ends up getting murdered in this whole plot. I mean, it is really heartbreaking at at points in the second-half of the show and they do have a lot of obstacles that they have to overcome.

1:03:34 And Yanzajing's character like that male lead is barely touching her business. He's not really antagonizing her at all. And towards the end of the show they intersect again. And I would say that the greatest crime of the show is that you. I think there is a prevailing thought that he would survive the poison that was in his system since he was a child because the Black Dragon Gang poisoned him as a child.

1:04:06 There was like a Hail Mary. Halfway through the show. There was some witch doctor that was like, yeah, I know how to cure your poison. And then he gets killed by the Black Dragon Gang and it's like all hope, hope is lost. But towards the end of the show, it, it was, I think there was still this hope that he would survive.

1:04:28 And all of these effort, all of the effort that she expended to try and find a cure. It's never shown on screen. It's just this like, oh, let's hang out, let's be together, let's do whatever. And she's almost like too naive or too kind to him. But then it's revealed, oh, she's been all this time she's been trying to find a cure.

1:04:50 I, I didn't like that at all. I didn't like that. The way they told that bit of the story towards the end of the show, I thought that was rushed. And the final scene of them is like them just hugging. I think they just like, hug. And there's this montage of all of the times that they were together in the show and the final scene, I fully expected him to like pop out and be in this.

1:05:17 And I was like, Oh my God. My. Actually die. Since we're talking about the ending, I have 4 points for episode 40 and I'm just going to read them back-to-back because it makes sense. Like this is my thought process. OK, love it. Episode 40 go for it, says episode 40. Seeing them spend New Year's together and it's obvious this is heading for him dying, right? So like this is my thought episode 40 that kiss in the new year, absolutely beautiful.

1:05:47 So Next up, beautiful to see his purpose through his families name is from finally clear. So here's like fulfilled his purpose and I'm like true, and then I write one more reason for him to die. He's done his life, so. And then my very last thing that I wrote, like my very last note on this show, is her becoming top businesswoman and part of the Guild. This was always her story and I'm glad she stands there on her own efforts.

1:06:18 So that's like my very last note on this whole show. I think. I don't know. I think I was kind of feeling like he would die fairly. Like, I don't know, fairly early on, I didn't think he would make it. And there's this running joke. There's a running joke that if Lu Yuning is in a drama, he will die like this. That is funny.

1:06:47 Because it tends to happen to like all of his characters. So I think people were already thinking this is going to be another. It's a it's he's going to die. So I don't know. I think that's where my thought process was at. Like I said, I think for me personally, my most enjoyable thing about this show was her journey. But again, this could have been cut down so much like 35 episodes because the ending feels rushed, but the middle and like parts of the second-half, but specifically like more the middle towards the second-half, it feels dragged out. So it's like the pacing is completely off and it throws the whole show off.

1:07:28 So yeah, yeah. Well, regarding his death, I still thought it was very abrupt and there was no firm death scene, which I thought maybe the show should have invested in one, especially because it felt so unclear right going into the final scene whether he died or not. Yeah. And it's I truly thought it was meant to. The final scene was meant to keep the audience guessing as to whether he lived or not and whether they were going to do like a Deus Ex machina thing where, you know, somehow, someway he lived.

1:08:00 And it did feel unfinished. The whole like, you see this caravan in the desert, like a merchant caravan and her voice over. And I was just like, what? What is happening? Yeah. In in sea drama land, especially if you don't see a body, it didn't happen. Like, they can totally come back or they're they're alive somewhere.

1:08:22 And I don't make the rules. That's just the way it is. OK. And so that's why I was like, what? What do you mean? He just just died off screen like that. That's wild. I think 2024 in general was the year of like ridiculous endings in terms of endings that do not feel finished. And this was part of that.

1:08:47 A lot of people were mad at, you know, the ending in general. I'm actually not mad that he died, I'm mad at how it was. It wasn't shown. Yeah, it constructed like the execution of it was not satisfactory. Yeah, I can agree. I can agree with that. Actually, I could. Like they could have just given us a death scene, possibly a funeral, you know?

1:09:11 Or maybe she's giving her final. She's giving her final speech in front of his grave or something. Yeah. Something that would have been enough. That would have been enough, yeah. Yeah, No, I think that would have worked better as well. I would agree. I would agree, I think. Upsetting. Any last thoughts dressed that you want to throw out there about this drama?

1:09:30 No, If you happen to be a jeweler or a gemologist or something, I highly recommend this show this. Is your thing. This is your thing. If you work for Zales, if you work for Jared's, this is the show for you. I will say though, the jewelry in this was stunning to look at. Like, oh. It was nice, yes. It it was very nice to look at.

1:09:53 I mean, we can't really rave about costuming or anything like that. There is a couple of scenes like the desert outfit. Oh. My God. Desert outfit stunning with her little curled, softly curled hair and the headpiece. Beautifully. A beautifully done style. Oh my God. Like. Yes, beautifully done styling. I loved that styling.

1:10:16 But overall, the styling of the show is not, you know, they kind of let the jewels talk in this show, and you can kind of see exactly why that's the case. Because it makes sense. It absolutely makes sense for that to be the case. Like I said, I feel like this is not an acting problem because I feel like the acting in this was really, really good.

1:10:39 Especially Zalu. She, I mean, she really pulled her punches in this role. And if you watch the behind the scenes, like you said, she did a lot of her own stunt work and it was beautifully done, beautifully done. So I don't think it was an acting problem. I think it was a case of it needed to be shorter so it could have been more concise in the pacing.

1:11:01 The pacing in this was what really, really kind of destroyed the story. I think so. So. Yeah, I agree. I don't have anything else to say. I don't have any notes. Me neither. I'm done. Yes. Thank you so much for joining me on this one. Thank. You for having me? You're welcome back anytime. And that is it.

1:11:26 That is our review of the story of Pearl Girl. I hope you guys have enjoyed it and we shall catch you next time. Bye. Bye.