《玫瑰的故事》 The Tale of Rose – A strong character development drama

《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” tells the life-changing journey of a young woman from her early 20s to her 40s as she experiences many difficult romantic relationships.

Modern-setting TV dramas rarely spark my interest. 《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” only caught my attention because of the main female lead, and it was recommended to me by a family friend. I really liked her in 《去有风的地方》 “Meet Yourself”, so when another slice-of-life modern setting show with her as the female lead popped up on my radar, I gave it a try.

Although there were parts I wasn’t super keen on, I still really enjoyed 《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose”, so let’s discuss what I liked and did not like about this show.

Content Warnings: The characters struggle through difficult times, including psychologically abusive relationships and the trauma of unconsented sex.

Synopsis

Born in a scholarly family, Huang Yi Mei grew up carefully sheltered, like a flower in a greenhouse. From a young age, she showed her talents in the arts and thrived after entering the workplace. From there, she meets Zhuang Guo Dong, and they fall in love. However, due to fate, the two are ultimately separated by the pressures of life. After undergoing this tumultuous period of both work and heartbreak, Huang Yi Mei grows and slowly understands the path she wants to take in life. Deciding to further her education, she goes back to school.

After graduating, she marries her college classmate, Fang Xie Wen. However, this marriage is unfortunately doomed to end as their careers lead them down vastly different roads. Eventually, the two choose to divorce. As Huang Yi Mei starts her own business within the field of art curation, she meets her soulmate, Pu Jia Ming. However, Pu Jia Ming is terminally ill and only has a few months left to live. The red string of love between them is ultimately cut short by death’s scythe. Despite her grief and pain, Huang Yi Mei ultimately chooses to look forward to the future, living out her life in the fullest and most dazzling fashion.

From DramaList

Trailer

Watching Experience

《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” follows the life of Huang Yi Mei (which means “yellow rose”), a vibrant young lady with huge ambitions, as she experiences three romantic relationships. Each relationship represents a different stage in her life, where she seeks something different. The end of each relationship is the beginning of a new life for Huang Yi Mei.

The struggles she faces in these relationships are very real and relatable, but the best part of the show isn’t the relatable struggles; it’s how she overcomes them and becomes a stronger person.

I wasn’t a fan of Huang Yi Mei at first, as I found her character immature, dramatic, and arrogant. She is perceived as an extraordinarily beautiful young woman, with many men attracted to her, which causes her a huge amount of trouble with work and family. This elevates her overconfident and arrogant self even more.

As her character matures and calms down from the drama-queen-like personality, she becomes very likeable. From 1/4 of the way through the show, I started rooting for her and did so all the way to the end.

I found many of the scenes and stories very relatable, although not as extreme as what Huang Yi Mei experienced; I myself have experienced struggles similar to hers. Her bravery in pulling herself out of those situations and starting a new life is to be admired. Having said that, she is lucky to have a supportive family and was given the opportunity to start a brand new career, which isn’t always something other women going through similar situations would have.

To avoid spoilers, I won’t give much opinion on the three relationships; however, I did find the second relationship dragged on for a little too long. Not only was it the angstiest one to watch, but it also became a little boring towards the end, so I couldn’t have been happier when it ended.

Huang Yi Mei’s character development was top-notch and realistic. All the side characters changed and grew in those 20 years, except one of them. The character of Huang Yi Mei’s first love had little growth and development! 20 years is a long time, and he’s also experienced many life-changing events, much like many of the other characters. However, he stayed the same with little change. I find it hard to believe someone could stay the same for 20 years.

In addition to Huang Yi Mei’s story, there’s the side story about her brother’s love life, which took up around 40% of the show.

Word of warning: There’s a character who is trying to overcome her childhood trauma, where she was taken advantage of sexually by her stepfather. This topic is prominent in this character’s story arc and development, so please be warned if you are uncomfortable with this subject matter.

《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” is set in the ’90s, before the era of smartphones and digital communication, and by the end of the show, it looks to be the 2020s. So, in addition to watching the development of many characters over 20 years, it was also interesting to see the rapid changes in technology, fashion, and lifestyle.

Difficult for a Chinese Learner

《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” is an approachable show for Chinese second-language learners.

The language is straightforward and modern, and most subjects mentioned are relevant to everyday life.

The difficult parts would be the technical and subject-specific terms used during work-related scenes. Luckily, these are repeated as most characters didn’t change careers during the show.

Final Thoughts

《玫瑰的故事》 “The Tale of Rose” was recommended to me by a family friend, and I was secretly hoping it would be another 《去有风的地方》 “Meet Yourself”, but sadly, it’s not a peaceful therapeutic drama. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this show and would recommend it to others who are looking for a slice-of-life show with a focus on relationships and character development.