REVIEW: You Are My Glory
| Title | You Are My Glory |
| Male Lead | Yang Yang as Yu Tu |
| Female Lead | Dilraba Dilmurat as Qiao Jingjing |
| Writer | Gu Man |
| Episodes | 32 Episodes | 35 Minutes per Episode |
| Release | July 26 – August 16, 2021 |
| Genre | Romantic Comedy |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Country of Origin | Mainland China |
Plot Summary of You Are My Glory
You are my Glory is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy-drama based on a novel written by Gu Man with the same title. It focuses on the story of Qiao Jingjing, a popular actress, and Yu Tu, an aerospace engineer. They knew each other back in school. Yu Tu was a top student and is very popular Jingjing had a crush on him but nothing ever came to fruition. The drama is set in Shanghai, China but shows several other scenic places. The 32-part series is a realistic exploration of the relationship between a celebrity and a regular guy without all the cartoonish melodrama we have grown accustomed to in modern-day rom-com.
The Male Lead Character – Yu Tu
Yu Tu is your extraordinarily handsome science guy who has big dreams in aeronautic engineering. Ever since he was in high school he has dreamt of bringing a significant contribution to the field he was deeply interested in. He was at the top of his class and was the favorite of his professors, and people had very high hopes for his future.
Fast forward to a decade after graduating with a finance major in college, he was at a crossroads with his chosen career. As an engineer at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation or CASC, his financial standing was not what he hoped. His parents are aging and have health issues. As an only child, Yu Tu was conflicted between being a good son who can provide well for his family and following his lifelong childhood dream of making a significant contribution to science.
The Female Lead – Qiao Jingjing
Since middle school, Jingjing already had a childhood crush on Yu Tu. She admired his intelligence and good looks like many other girls in their class. She keeps an eye on him on campus and admires him from a distance. One day, she musters up her courage and asks him to be her boyfriend. Yu Tu being so focused on his dream at the time, declines. He very politely reasons that he wanted his girlfriend to be somebody who is on par with his dreams and intellectual potential. She quietly stepped back amidst circulating rumors within their school that she has been rejected by the most sought-after student on campus.
Jingjing went on to become an actress and an A-list celebrity sought after by big brands for her talent, skill, and popularity. A decade after graduating from college, she is the most successful in her batch and at the peak of her still-developing career.
Meeting Again after Ten Years
As a top celebrity endorser, Jingjing has numerous brands in her portfolio. She is the face of the wildly popular online game, Honor of Kings which has over 100 million active users. One day, a malicious netizen posted a recorded video of her playing the game. It showed that she was not being very good at it and got attention online. Fans and anti-fans started throwing snide comments about her. The endorsement deal is getting flak for hiring someone who from the looks of it, was not really good while claiming she was a pro. The inconsistency did not sit well with fans.
The Honor of Kings team decided that to stop the bad publicity they needed to act fast. Aside from releasing a statement on Weibo, they will be inviting Jingjing to participate in an upcoming event. The awarding ceremony of the world cup for the yearly tournament will be happening in about a month. Jingjing will be invited as the brand ambassador. They will hold a special segment where she can play a casual game together with other random players in the event.
One Tiny Problem
There is just one tiny problem. She really sucks at the game. With what little time she had, she needed to learn the game fast and increase her ranking to save face for herself and the people who believed in her. As if that was not enough, an upcoming role that she is vying for is headed by a director who was very particular about the artists having a good reputation. If he finds out that she was not truthful just to snatch an endorsement deal, it will not sit well with him and she might not be able to get the role.
As though by a sudden stroke of fate, she happens to see Yu Tu playing the Honor of Kings. Naturally, he played very well. Jingjing plays with him and their ex-classmates incognito. She then strategizes to get Yu Tu to coach her and improve her game fast.
Getting to Know Each Other Again
The first few stages of their relationship after they see each other again would have to be the most drama you will get from this series. Jingjing for her part still had feelings for Yu Tu. She still had that girly giddy feeling seeing her crush again after all the years they have lost touch. The falling in love part was easy on her side. She did not have much baggage and surprisingly, probably because they are already in their thirties, her management didn’t have many reservations about her getting into a relationship as well. Her manager even told her that she should experience getting into a relationship and not just focus her time on her career while she is still young.
Yu Tu on the other hand had more conflicts within himself that he had to deal with. He was at a crossroads in his career and feels sad that he cannot provide financially for his parents. He knows that even if he switched to a more lucrative job in the financial industry, he would still never be able to earn as much money as Jingjing. His work takes up almost all of his time so he could not be there for her as much as he would like to. There were more real concerns from his side of the fence that he needed to resolve if he wanted a relationship with a very successful movie star.
My Personal Observations About the Series
You are my Glory is a surprisingly good story. I was hesitant to watch it at first. I have seen a couple of clips and was intrigued by the couple’s undeniable chemistry but it took a while for me to finally sit down and actually watch it. Among the many dramas that I have watched, this is by far one of the more realistic stories that I have encountered.
What I liked About the Series
- The established history between the two leads sort of cement why the story was believable in the first place. They did not meet at some random event and instantly fell in love. Nor were they set up by nosy family and friends. They met at school and the female lead had a long-time admiration for the male lead who was actually quite admirable.
- The chemistry between Qiao Jingjing and Yu Tu is off the charts. They look very good together and they play their roles well. Jingjing is the more playful one while Yu Tu takes on a more serious persona.
- Small-town vibe. The leads came from the same town so there were a couple of scenes where they spend there. It was nice to see them interact with their respective families and revisit familiar places and explore new ones.
Maturity in the Relationship
- They handled their relationship with maturity when they finally decided to get into one. They were both focused and were not easily swayed by factors that are outside of their control. They made a perfectly balanced team.
- I liked watching how people around them discovered that they were together. Jingjing’s best friend paid everybody in their group who witnessed Yu Tu’s confession. The surprised look of Yu Tu’s bosses and colleagues when he introduce his girlfriend. The delight of Yu Tu’s mom when she realized who her son’s girlfriend was. It was all quite entertaining.
Some Unusual Details
- You Are My Glory is different from other dramas in the sense that Jingjing’s management team was refreshingly different. They were not fighting with their artist. They were instead fighting alongside them. I have been so used to similar stories where the management will be against the relationship and refused to recognize it. How often do we see a scene where the boss or a person of authority will give an ultimatum to “save” their artist’s career? My answer to this will be too many. It seems that people had the notion in their heads that the public is not too keen on a celebrity who is already spoken for. Truth be told, this is not far from reality. People really do like the fantasy of their idols being “available” in their heads.
No Family Drama
- There was no drama with the parents not wanting their kids to be with their chosen partner. I cannot count how many melodramatic scenes I watched where the parents would forbid their children from getting together with their chosen partners. Except for a few rare cases, those types of occurrences are just so unrealistic. It creates too much drama when there shouldn’t be one. So this is a refreshing detail within the story.
- Getting acquainted with the CASC was a notable part of the series that is another quite interesting detail about You Are My Glory. It is not only entertaining. It also shows you a different kind of career than your regular 9 to 5.
My Final Thoughts
There really wasn’t anything much that I disliked about You Are My Glory except maybe for one thing. The first part of the story where Yu Tu is melodramatic and gloomy was a bit dragging. His career dilemma and the part where he feels sorry for himself for not being able to provide better care for his parents were relatable but just a bit overly melancholic. Other than that, the series was a steady enjoyable watch.
After the leads got together, in the first part of the series while people around them were just knowing that they are a couple, I kept on waiting for a big twist to happen. I guess my mind has been preconditioned that way. Dramas always had a big pivotal event that will completely throw the leads off guard. Shattering their budding romance and leaving them to confront and solve issues that they have in order to build their lives together.
Such a Feel Good Series
It could be a mother who doesn’t want their child to endure perceived hardships if they got together with the love interest. It could be a grandfather owns a conglomerate and wants his grandchild to marry into another conglomerate family. It could be a father in prison holding back one partner from fully committing to the other because nobody wants to give your loved one a hard time. There could be many other reasons why the leads encounter obstacles in their relationship. So You are my Glory was a little bit of a surprise for me.
There were no overtly dramatic scenes. When they were already together, both of them never had doubts about the relationship anymore. They worked with what little time they had to spend with each other. Nobody felt any insecurity about the feelings of the other person towards them. Both Yu Tu and Jingjing let each other grow together and apart. It was surprising but it was something that I appreciated a lot while watching this drama. I think that is what made it a little bit more in touch with reality.
When Different Worlds Meet
At the end of it all, while their worlds were vastly different from each other, and they had very real conflicts that other couples might find too much for them, Yu Tu and Jingjing seemed to just go with the flow. The difference in their status is not for the faint-hearted. But they both stood their ground and flourished. I have to commend You are my Glory for depicting a kind of love that anybody would hope for themselves. It was not a relationship that was smooth sailing for sure. But their maturity in handling every situation that came their way was what made it beautiful. Double thumbs up to the cast, crew, and artists of this production.
Binge Star Rating – 9 Stars
Re-watch Value
You Are My Glory is definitely something that I would watch again. It is steady, the chemistry of the male and female leads is off the charts, the supporting cast is all great, and the setting is beautiful as well. Story-wise, if you are looking for something that is quite entertaining without too much melodrama, then this series is definitely what you are looking for. I am giving it nine out of ten starts and I am re-watching it again right now.
Where to Watch
Watch all thirty-two episodes of You Are My Glory on WeTv with complete English subtitles. What do you think about the series? Did you like it too? Drop your comments in the comments section below. I’d love to know your views, please let me know what you think!
Binge-watch You Are My Glory on WeTv at the link below.
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DISCLAIMER: The images used are not my own. They are from promotional materials released by their production company: Tencent Pictures. These images may be subject to copyright. No copyright infringement intended. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. [Last Update 04252024]
