First Impressions: Siege in Fog

Siege in Fog
Having been shelved for two years, Siege in Fog 人生若如初相见 finally sees daylight and began airing on March 2nd. I decided to give it a try since I do like the majority of the cast (especially Elvis Han!). 

 
Many are confused by how the plot is executed since it starts approximately two years after the main leads Yi Lian Kai (Elvis Han) and Qin Sang (Sun Yi) have wedded. I’ve watched up to Episode 8 but I took a sneak peek at the newly released batch of episodes and saw that a flashback begins in Episode 12 so I can’t wait for that. 
 
Synopsis: During the warring states period of the Republican era, it seemed like the water is calm within the powerful Yi family. In actuality, the brothers are plotting against each other to reap power. When he first saw student Qin Sang, it was love at first sight for Yi family’s third young master Yi Lian Kai. He did whatever he can to have her and eventually she was forced to marry into the Yi family. Things become even more complicated when her ex-flame reappears under a new identity. As Yi Lian Kai and Qin Sang maneuver through the turbulence and feuds within the family, they gradually learn to support and love one another. 
 
Cast – Introduction to the two families Yi and Murong :
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Elvis Han as Yi Lian Kai
Third young master of the Yi family
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Sun Yi as Qin Sang
Forced to marry Yi Lian Kai to save her father
Siege in Fog c-drama Jeremy Tsui
Jeremy Tsui as Pan Jian Chi
Qin Sang’s past lover who becomes 
Yi Lian Kai’s assistant after joining a reform movement
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Lv Jia Rong as Min Hong Yu
Soulmate of Yi Lian Kai, a wise woman
 
 
Yi family –
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Alex Fong as Yi Ji Pei
Patriarch of the Yi family
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Zou Ting Wei as Yi Lian Shen
Second young master of Yi family
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Rossi Zhang as Fan Yan Yun
Wife of Yi Lian Shen, daughter of the former Mr. Fan, 
harbors feelings for Yi Lian Kai
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Ma Jing Han as Yi Lian Yi
First young master of the Yi family
Crippled due to an incident
 
 
Murong family –
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Jin Feng as Murong Qian
Daughter of Murong Chen
Married into the Yi family as Yi Lian Yi’s wife
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Chen Ruo Xuan as Murong Feng
Young general of the Murong’s family
Seems like he admires Qin Sang
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Howie Huang as Murong Chen
Patriarch of the Murong family
 
First Impressions: It’s very interesting to watch how clever Yi Lian Kai is even though he is flirtatious and playful on the surface. The first two episodes focus on how Yi Lian Kai fends off Murong Feng’s attack and revolves around the assassination of Yi Lian Kai’s teacher, Mr. Fan. Then it begins bringing all the members of the Yi family together as they prepare for Mr. Fan’s funeral. We learn more about the family such as the second sister-in-law harboring feelings for Yi Lian Kai and misunderstandings between Yi Lian Kai’s mother and father. 
 
The entire story becomes even more complicated with different leading figures thrown into the mix such as Tian Meng Hui, a group that seeks to reform the society by eliminating martial rule, General Li Chong Nian, and the Murong family. To sum it up, a majority of the drama is about power struggle during this chaotic warring period and who will be the last one standing in the end.
 
Besides the war politics, the relationship between the two main leads is another story to watch. Yi Lian Kai and Qin Sang are couples in name only and I love watching their interactions — I find their chemistry sizzling every time they come onto the screen. Even though their marriage wasn’t founded on love, they mutually respect one another and it seems like they are partners working together, helping each other out of their respective dilemmas. 
I also enjoyed how in episode 6 during the scene where Qin Sang and Yi Lian Kai traveled with their sister-in-law to retrieve the body of Mr. Fan, Qin Sang wasn’t afraid to stand up against General Murong (sister-in-law’s father). When the General shot one of the fighters, most heroines would reason with the General to spare that person’s life. But Qin Sang is smart and knows when she should speak and when she should act. She is not perfect but she will not piss viewers off like many of our mainstream heroines. 
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
This sister-in-law’s crying scenes were much more on point and emotional
compared to the second sister-in-law’s crying scenes
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Seeing her brother for the first time in ‘n’ years
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Smiled because he heard a girl came with his sister
Speculating that it is Qin Sang?

Something I noticed in episode 6 — you can obviously tell the fighting scenes were filmed by a stuntman if you look at the hairstyle.
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
Difficult to see in this screenshot, the back of his head shows an almond-shaped hairstyle^
This should have been Elvis Han’s character Yi Lian Kai
The three brothers are different in personality. The oldest brother, Yi Lian Yi is crippled from falling from a horse but I believe he is the wisest. He sees through everything and everyone and I believe he will play a more predominant role later in the series.
 
The second brother, Yi Lian Shen seems to be the one most likely to inherit their father’s title as general. He already holds power to an army but he is rather rash and direct. He can easily offend others, as evident in the scene where he verbally attacked the oldest brother. 
 
Last of all, the third brother, Yi Lian Kai is trying his best to seemingly stay out of the family’s feud as he gives everything up to his second brother. When someone attempts to drift the brothers apart, he knew someone was doing exactly that and didn’t fall for it.
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
I heard the novel has an open ending so I might wait until all the episodes are out before I continue to watch it to see which ending the drama is going to follow. I heard there were disputes between the production company and the author so perhaps, the ending might be changed. 
 
First Impressions Siege in Fog Republican drama
The entire Yi family sitting together for dinner – I also quite like the design sets
It’s one of the reason I like this time period a lot

Verdict: 
 
Watch this if you like:
1. The main leads Elvis Han (Monster Killer) and Sun Yi (Because of You)
2. Dramas set during the Republican era
3. How the relationship between the main leads is set up
4. Clever characters plotting to reap power
 
Don’t watch if you are:
1. Looking for comedy. My mother went from Episode 1 to Episode 8, saying this drama is boring. It may seem boring to some if you don’t like this particular genre. 
2. Not looking to watch another power struggle drama and this time between the male characters. 
3. Not into watching angsty relationship

You can check out my blog for other reviews and thoughts. Most recently, my blog has been translating a popular Chinese novel. 
 

7 Comments

  1. Bobatea

    March 10, 2018 1:34 AM
  2. Jen

    March 10, 2018 1:25 PM
  3. Anonymous

    March 10, 2018 4:42 PM
  4. Anonymous

    March 10, 2018 6:14 PM
  5. chaierie

    March 10, 2018 8:41 PM
  6. Sunny

    March 11, 2018 12:20 AM

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