Glory: A Female Heir Surrounded by Seven Men in a Gender-Reversed Power Play

Clearly there’s something about dramas titled Glory because another one – a (sort of) amnesia born romance, joins the growing list of shows with the same title. Not to be confused with the highly successful psychological revenge thriller The Glory starring Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun and Lim Ji-yeon, or the equally gripping c-drama revenge period piece The Glory featuring Chen Duling and Xin Yun Lai, this newest version from producer Yu Zheng coming right at you is a wee bit different and not as heavy.

First Impressions

Glory 玉茗茶骨, the historical series featuring Neo Hou Minghao and Gulinazha, follows the story of a magistrate who loses his memory (or did he?) while investigating a case; only to find himself rescued by the daughter of the tea family he’s investigating… and then demoted to a lowly stable boy.

Throw in the Rong family’s search for a suitable son-in-law for the heroine, Rong Shanbao, who has six seven would-be suitors that include Chen Ruoxuan, Zhao Yiqin, Ma Wenyuan, Liu Qing, Richard Li Fei and Shu Tong. Lu Jianglai becomes a pawn in Shanbao’s marriage game, the pair dodge wanna be suitors vying for Shanbao’s hand to match wits and courage against each other. Glory also stars Cheng Xiao, Zhang Nan, Zhao Zhaoyi and Zhao Jiamin.

Can you already imagine the shenanigans when the powerful female heir has a whole lineup of men vying for her favor? Glory certainly can, and it goes all in on a female-dominated order. The result is Hou Minghao essentially getting handed the “female lead” script, earning comparisons to Story of Yanxi Palace’s Wei Yingluo as he claws his way up from stable boy to groom through sheer cunning underneath weaponized fragility. In Chinese slang, he’s the biggest “green tea” amid the other green teas. Granted, the drama isn’t without its flaws. The much-touted tea culture feels more like aesthetic garnish. But if you can overlook the juvenile power plays, it can be entertaining to watch the madness ensue.

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