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This review may contain spoilers
Look for the turtle…
Just okay. But then again, it’s because I’m not new to this field of work. So, I definitely have different expectations. It’s akin to my being picky when I eat out at Asian restaurants. I just know what it’s supposed to taste like so I can say my judgment is rather biased.Trust me, everything was way too predictable. But, maybe that’s because I know what to look for? Btw, I understand it’s a drama and I must give allowances for quick settlements of cases. I get that. But, despite all that, many simple things were just not believable. The FL suddenly a cop? No forewarning that she was seeking that route… She seemed content to stick with her day job then suddenly she’s an officer?! I can’t recall if she ever handled a gun before that! Her innocent demeanor changed not one bit. I didn’t buy it. One would think because of her new line of work, she’d evolve into more of a badass as the series continued but no, she was just as weak and useless. Her countenance never changed throughout the story. Just flat. Then, too often, they all would show up at stings without any safety gear??? Really? You’re tagging along with the SWAT team and you are in a dress/skirt?! Oh, and the lack of chemistry between her and the ML. Goodness, I know it’s not a romance novel but still! Wallace Huo is handsome. Don’t get me wrong but there was just no palpable chemistry between the leads. Anyway, I digress. Simply put, there were just too many plot holes to name. Oh, and the bad acting with the Americans. The dialogues between the languages were excruciating.
In all honesty, if this is your first experience with something like this, I can see it might be intriguing/thrilling. But, if you’ve watched enough dramas, you’ll come to expect many repeated themes and storylines in similar genres. Ultimately, it’s all about how the unique story is told. In this case, especially towards the end, the story unraveled hastily and was just too much. What’s with the alternate lenses? Made no sense. Whatever the case, regardless of the storyline and scene planning, characters should be dynamic, exciting, likable. Sadly, I was mostly bored and everything was just unremarkable. But, I loved Yin Zheng and Wang Kai. I mostly stayed for them. And, the little turtle.
The last shot was not surprising… I love their implication but Dissociative Identity Disorder is extremely rare. Sure; I’ll believe it. But not enough to endure another round. Certainly not with the FL. Cringe. Did I mention she was blah?! Anyway, I’m glad to be done and to give my two cents. In sum, it’s way over-rated. Again, if you’re new to this genre, you will find it interesting enough but it did nothing for me. Still I do hope others will give it a try and enjoy it. Btw, if you’re interested in this stuff, then read John Douglas’ many publications. He’s a retired special agent and is one of the first criminal profilers.
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The first 1/3 of the series are a bit okay for me, but after that it's too difficult to digest. This is not because of any gory scenes. I'm used to it with CSI & Criminal Minds. Didn't bother me at all. Gory scenes came hand in hand with mystery detective stories, it's to be expected. But the story for me is a bit confusing and all over the place. What irritates me the most is how they can communicate with each other using two different languages! That is to me just doesn't makes sense and that alone takes my rating down to 1 (or maybe -1 LoL). The handsome-ness of Wallace Huo is not even enough to justify this part and kept me focus on watching this series. I did finish it, but i did not wholeheartedly watch it.
With character in the series who supposedly studied and lived in the US but unable to speak English just doesn't make sense to me.
The turtle is cute though :)
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Someone recommended this and I started watching.
OMG! It's an amazing drama and the rewatch value is EPIC! If you love CRIMINAL MINDS, you will totally love this. And if you love putting clues together to try and guess who the badguy is before the main character, you will TOTALLY love this. I spent most of the time flailing and screaming things like "OMG! DON'T GO IN THERE!" or "RUN!!" or "Okay, she's about to die!"
Wallace Hou is new to me. This is the first drama I'd ever seen him in and his acting is fantastic.
Sandra Ma is also new to me as well but her character Jian Yao aka Yao Yao was amazing. She wasn't at all annoying. That was one of the things I asked for--the female lead could not be one of those whinny annoying types of female. Yao Yao was anything but. Sure, there were times when she was sad or scared but she is what we on this side of the world call a Ride or Die chick. She had a strong backbone.
The bromance between Jin Yan and Zi Yu was everything. It was beautiful to see the build of their relationship. Zi Yu made me smile and my heart broke for him during the hospital scene. I can't remember yelling "RUNNN!" more.
The writing was superb (I can't believe I'm saying this about a Chinese drama) but the ending was amazing--I just enjoyed this so much and would love to have a season two - I hear there is a second book.
The truth is, if you enjoy a good mind-twisting series with romance, a strong and gorgeous male lead, a smart, amazing, strong female lead, a bromance for the ages - you have to watch this.
I'm going to rewatch it with my niece the second we can get together after the pandemic. It deserve a rewatch!
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Flawed but fun
“Love me if you dare” feels a little long at times and has several flaws, but I liked the cast and did have a generally good time with it.The romance was what I came in for, at first. There’s a bit of a “beauty and the beast” feel to it: a big house, scared “villagers”, a mysterious tenant, and a female lead that sees past the exterior to see the beauty inside (though tbf Wallace Huo’s beauty is also very much showing on the outside) and is gonna bring out that beauty. In Jin Yan’s case it’s pretty clear the dude is no monster, he’s just not very good at being social. They develop a fun dynamic, they have nice chemistry and I like that there’s a domestic side to them. Everything wasn’t rosy, though. I did find the male lead was at times too pushy and intrusive for my taste (I get he’s not good at relationship, but it was still frustrating to see him get his way), and while the progression of their relationship felt organic at first, it suddenly got very rushed, which disappointed me. I did still like them together, but it could all have been done better.
I will also admit that while I really like Wallace Huo, I sometimes found him too wooden, even for a character that is, granted, quite closed-off. He was very cute in his awkwardness, but I wish he'd emoted just a little more in some scenes, and felt he got overshadowed by Wang Kai (in a very likeable role that sadly got inexplicably forgotten by the drama midway ? it’s like they didn’t know what to do with him anymore, despite some very powerful scenes) and Andrew Yin that I was seeing for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed in his bff role.
I really enjoyed our female lead also. At first, I don’t know if there was a sound issue, but Ma Si Chun seemed to mutter all her lines which made the character feel a little flat, but it either got better or I got used to it, and I liked Jian Yao a lot. She’s not made to be a bad-ass but her softness doesn’t make her less strong, and she’s a very empathetic person, which makes her a great partner for Jin Yan. I liked that she does, in fact, contribute to the cases. Jin Yan is still the one doing most of the work because she’s a rookie, but she does participate in the profiling, the interrogations, and contributes.
For a drama with a lot of action, serial-killers and torture, with high stakes, I found that “Love me if you dare” was a weirdly relaxing experience. It’s probably just a “me” thing, but it didn’t feel that intense, except for a few scenes here and there, and I actually liked that.
Now for things that I found less good:
• some pacing issues: I found the drama was at times repeating stuff too much or stretching things. The times where Jin Yan would explain his conclusions would almost always feel uselessly long to me. Also Wang Kai’s character got weirdly dropped so I’m even more bitter since instead of reconstituting a murder scene three times, the time could have been used to develop his character.
• Bo Jin Yan is *too* good at times. I get that he’s very very clever, but he felt borderline magical in some cases.
• the drama is dishonest at times. It happens only twice (I think) but the drama shows us things that did not happen to later surprise us with “haha it did not happen”. Since an unreliable narrator was not established, there’s no reason for this and the drama is not cleverly tricking us, but just *lying* to us, which I find lazy and annoying.
• the drama has several American characters (most of them badly acted) and it was a bit weird to hear them talk in English to Jin Yan and him always answering in English. That, however, was only amusing, not really an issue.
• the last developements in the show did not quite work for me, and the ending didn’t feel satisfying. It does not undo the drama, it just doesn’t make for a good conclusion. It prevents the drama from feeling really complete, at least to me.
That being said, I still did quite enjoy “Love me if you dare”. The cast is good, and I had fun. Some scenes are actually quite moving as the actors do a great job, in particular Ma Si Chun, Andrew Yin and Wang Kai. Also I’m very superficial and Wallace Huo's face is super pretty so that helped. It could have been better, but I’m glad I saw it. Sorry the review ended up so long ;;
P.S. there’s a turtle in that drama and the characters are handling it very poorly and I feel so bad for that poor animal, I was stressed everytime it’dcome on screen T.T
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For me Wallace did a fantastic job balancing the roles of the adorably infuriating know-it-all, a doofus-in-love, a genius profiler, and mysteriously scary Allen.Sandra Ma came across as over exaggerating in her crying scenes at the beginning but she won be over towards the end with her solid performance.I also enjoyed the fact that her character wasn't the typical plucky energetic heroine which I think definitely added to her charm.
The OTP was great as their romance was strong whilst be subtle and understated which is hard to pull off.Andrew Yin was the comic relief in this and I think that contributed to the success of this drama as well,I'll be looking out for him in the future.And overall all the other characters were solid as well.
Like I mentioned before I had to be patient at the beginning since the first few cases weren't really my cup of tea.I think what got me hooked was when the cases started to focus on Xie Han and that was the moment that we truly entered the suspenseful climax of the story.I won't spoil anything but there were some scenes/actions which happened to hastily for my liking,the twist at the ending didn't make much sense to me...
However if you're a long time kdrama fan wanting to dip your toe into the ocean of cdramas I would definitely recommend Love me if you dare (as long as you don't mind crime thriller moments).The love story between the OTP makes up for some of those first cases as well as the many twists they provide.
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Ps. This review is long. Sorry.
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I watched this drama while having dinner 2 days ago without giving it much thought bc I just saw it on yt, little did i know I was in for a pleasant surprise!
This drama has it all: crime, thriller, suspense, romance and comic reliefs! The past few months, I've been watching lots of dramas and I always find myself fast forwarding a lot of scenes just bc they're very unnecessary and boring BUT for this one, I can confidently say that I NEVER skipped a second of it....until the very last few eps.
The good:
- WALLACE mf HUO!!! I never gush about someone's looks but THIS MAN IS TOO HANDSOME. I squeal a little bit inside (okay maybe out loud a couple of times) whenever he comes on screen. His performance was also very outstanding and consistent throughout the drama! Such a great actor!
- THE CHEMISTRY!!! Wallace and Sandra's chemistry was ON FIRE! It was innocent yet intense at the same time! I've seen some who said this had a "little bit" of romance but noooo!! This drama literally revolved around their romance. It may not be through lots of cuddling and intense kisses but their love was there and it was SIZZLING. Their progression was perfect for me. I loved their dynamic so much! If u want a bit of possessive and lowkey intense romance, this is for you! I've been into obsessive dramas lately and this definitely tops it in my list, maybe even next to Secret! (mmmaybe)
- since this is a cdrama, yes it is dubbed but it's bearable this time! I didn't even notice it at first!
- the secondary characters are also very interesting and entertaining to watch! Esp Fu Zi Yu!
The not-so-good:
- the crime storyline wasn't that strong, in my opinion. Nothing new in here but it's still a bit interesting to me bc I usually stay away from crime dramas. Prof. Bo is a psychologist so he focuses more on what goes into the mind of a criminal than the actual investigation so that really kept me interested bc it's new, at least.
- they dragged the storyline at around ep 16 or so. It was especially painful during the last 4 eps, I found myself ffd til i reached the last ep. Like, I alr knew who the culprit is, I just wanted to see how they execute the story.
- should've stayed with chinese actors bc 1.) the American actors were just...weird. i liked Susan and Dr. Barnes tho! 2.) Language barrier (u'll know what i mean once u watch)
- Sandra's acting was ok at most during the start but for some reason it started to become annoying and lackluster. She wasn't giving the performance i wanted halfway through the drama. Her character also plummeted from an independent, outgoing and smart lady to always crying & just always looking pretty character. Idk if her performance plummeted bc of her character arc or her abilities. She also started murmuring her lines halfway through the series too!! It was so annoying. I liked her, too bad her character sucked halfway. Maybe it's just me tho.
I'll definitely rewatch this..until ep 12 or 13 lol! All of the eps (subbed!) are on youtube so it's very easy to watch!! Wallace Huo is no joke. What a papi. Sandra is so pretty! Loved them together! Definitely stayed at the end for their chemistry!
Ps. There's no notable ost here bc they're all instrumentals (i think?) but I didn't mind it at all bc I just skip over them anyways lol there's no actual lyrical song played throughout the eps, just in the intro and outro
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To avoid the spoiler I will not mention the ending, for me it was very satisfying and I liked it very much. I felt accomplished.
As for the drama, it was kind of plain and nothing much of an original at first look, but everything was so smooth and all the details were out there like a jigsaw pazzle. It goes on and on and you get caught up with the story development and you also start thinking what could it be, questioning the reality and human mind. It was indeed psychological war with psycopath. At first you would think it is not much thriller or something but at some point you might find yourself our of breath.
As story goes on it is getting better and better, the lack of romance - it was not much of a romance but it was essential. For me, everything was its place.
The monotonous tone of the series was ok, it was indeed not your typical Asian drama.
The character development was really good, I think it has well portated how scary it could be if you are targeted by the intelligent and meticulous psychopath. And just having a strong will will not save you. I really did like the story and I wish everybody will watch it- as It seems somewhat underrated.
As for the characters, they were 100% for the role. I fell in love with main leads- not of a fan of girls, but I really loved her. as for main lead ofc he is marvelous. The supporting second leads were soo good.
to sum it up, it was too good to skip this.
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Laughed a lot more than one should with this genre
Mixed feelings with this one.Actors/characters (also my number one problem with this Drama): I liked the male lead, he did good on most parts, some parts seemed a bit awkward, but I guess I liked his performance the most. The female lead either wasn’t very good at all or her character was just really badly written. She seemed like a strong and rather fearless woman in the beginning, but somehow she just suddenly started crying at everything? It just really seemed out of character to me... by the end she had turned into an extremely passive character without much to show for herself. What makes me doubt the actress’s acting skills is the way her emotional outbursts felt extremely awkward and hard to watch.
Second major problem with the cast were the ‘American’ actors/characters. We all know that Chinese Dramas rarely feature any good foreign actors or English dialogue. Usually this is not a big problems since those kind of scenes only take up very small parts of the entire Drama. However, since about half this Drama supposedly plays in the US and half the characters are ‘American’ they really could have spent a little more on getting some decent actors.
I personally did not hate the fact that they just had everyone talk in their own language and ‘magically’ understand each other, since I know the alternative would have been terrible broken English or broken Chinese dialogue which would have made the whole thing unwatchable.
All other Chinese characters did a good job, nothing too complain about there.
Plot:
I was entertained by the plot for the most part, but I think if the writers would have dug a little deeper into crime-psychology it could have been even better. A lot of the conclusions that an entire group of police men and FBI agents couldn’t come to were obvious with some knowledge of basic logic, given the evidence at hand. The main storyline was what kept me hooked. There were multiple points were I thought I had had it all figured out, but it turned out I did in fact not, I like that, plots that pick at my brain. The ending did seem a little weird and maybe rushed I could have imagined a better ending, but I’ll take it.
I liked the love storyline, it wasn’t too present but it was still there, I don’t know if I fully bought their chemistry but since I liked the male lead and his way of expressing himself very much I was still on board with them.
On a last note the portrayal of American police or FBI was extremely weird, admittedly I don’t know how they work in real life, but I sure hope they do a whole lot better than they did in this Drama.
Finally: I personally enjoyed watching this Drama, laughed a bit more than I should have due to logical flaws, awkward scenes or bad acting, but I was hooked for most of it. The ending 100% confused me but I just won’t spend to much time thinking about it. I do absolutely not regret having watched this. I probably wouldn’t rewatch it tho since I already know the outcome, which makes it kind of lose it’s appeal.
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Interesting Crime Drama with a mediocre end.
LoveMeIfYouDare is a psychological crime drama with great visuals. The effects in the flashbacks or in his Fantasy are quite individual. I like the idea how he Analyse the mind of a serial killer.The lead couple is lovable and The romance is sweet but not in the center of the show. My favorite was his best friend as funny sidekick. The other actors are partly terrible. Especially the while people got real bad acting.
The Story is entertaining. First you’re surprised about the development but you reach a point where it’s obvious where the story is going. The case is exciting and makes you crave for information about the male lead.
This CDrama has a perfect start, a fulminant middle and a weak end.
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