Had I not have watched that many Korean drama involving out-of-the-world kind of time travel storyline, I would have found The Romance of Tiger and Rose far fetched and too weird for my liking.
But thanks to Korean drama, I can no longer be shocked by stories that are … just way too bizarre. When I was young, I was used to scoring well at homework most of the time. Except for that one time when I failed homework because my story was … unrealistic. Now, I can safely conclude that I was born in the wrong era.
The story starts in ancient China when the third princess of City of Huayuan (the girl in red above) intercepted the crown prince of Xuanhu while he was on the way to marry the second princess. Just to complete the picture, first princess is paralyzed from waist down. Although the second princess is not the real daughter of the queen (or City Owner), she is next in line because … well, the third princess is ruthless, not fit for the crown and the first … wheelchair bound.
In the City of Xuanhu, women call all the shots. They lead the army, go to work while men, stay at home and do housework. Women are the educated ones. It is not a taboo that women visits male ‘musicians’ (more like male courtesans) to seek entertainment. Men are born to obey and it is just weird to watch. In a good way. Sort of like, what if the whole gender bias in the world is … reversed?
City of Xuanhu is the total opposite and needless to say, the two cities are at war.
But that is not the main story, even!
The main story is that this ancient Chinese story is created by a modern day female scriptwriter who has been criticized because … she wrote a love story without knowing what love is.
And then she was teleported into her own story living the character of the third princess, get to fall in love with all her characters!
This is a recipe for a great story. A person travels in time to experience a plot, to attempt in changing the plot, and to live through a life changing experience.
That’s why, to me, this is bar none one of the best dramas I have watched.
PS. Yes, great chemistry on screen.