Pursuit of jade

I didn’t plan this at all, but somehow I ended up spending the past few weeks glued to a 40-episode Chinese series on Netflix. Watching Pursuit of Jade wasn’t preplanned. I was just scrolling, saw the artwork, clicked play… and about 15 minutes later, that was it, hooked already.

The story started simply enough: a butcher girl saved an injured stranger. Turned out he’s a marquis hiding in plain sight in the middle of a war. They married out of convenience, she thought him as just some drifter, and he keeping quiet about who he really was. Naturally, that didn’t last long. He got dragged back to his army, she went after him and before long she was right in the thick of battles and palace scheming. Along the way she even took down a couple of major villains, which I didn’t quite expect at the start. Eventually the truth came out about her husband, and after some lovers' quarrels and make-ups, the two of them ended up fighting side by side to clear their families’ names. The ending tied things up a bit too neatly, but getting there was anything but tidy.

I’ll admit that there were stretches where I hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on. Too many twists, too many court politics, too many side characters popping in and out. But I stuck with it partly because it was a period costume drama and partly because there was enough wuxia-style action to keep things moving. The visuals helped a lot....lush costumes, sweeping scenery, nicely choreographed sword fights and a male lead who looked prettier than his female counterpart. Even when the plot started to wander, the overall mood carried it through.

After finishing, I had a look at what others were saying and it more or less lined up. People liked the early episodes, especially when the romance was still front and centre. The cinematography got plenty of praise. The snowy backdrops and elaborate sets were all very polished. The female lead was a big plus point too, not the usual helpless type but someone who can hold her own. The main gripe was the pacing. Once the palace intrigue took over, things slow down and got a bit confusing. The villains looked impressive enough, but some of them didn’t quite land as characters. So overall, mixed feelings. Some loved it for the romance and performances, others felt the story got tangled and rushed in parts.

For me, it wasn’t about keeping track of every little subplot. More about the feel of it. The look, the action, the emotional pull between two people caught up in something bigger than themselves. It was one of those shows that worked better if I don’t overthink it.

Would I recommend it? If one likes period dramas with a fair bit of wuxia thrown in, then yes, why not. Just don’t expect everything to make perfect sense. Better to sit back, go with the flow, and let it play out.