This review may contain spoilers
You won't know what hit you when you get to the end!
I heard this was a romantic suspense and the trailer seemed interesting so I tried this and it hit me with so many unexpected surprises by the final episodes! I thought I knew how it was going to end but it was completely different and out of my expectations.Plot: So, so creative. You think it's the usual revenge drama since that is what the trailer and synopsis claims to be but it's not that simple. It's much more complex than just the leads getting involved into a bigger revenge plan. That's just what they want you to believe as you watch. I love how the writer uses flashbacks and Wen Ke Er's therapy session in the beginning of every episode to reveal another piece of the mystery. One by one you get to know more of the so-called truth until you realize at the end that there's a even bigger truth, the real truth about what happened that night with the security guard. The writer tied everything up really smoothly and logically with the big plot twist so that you understand how you've been duped.
The episodes were all fast paced. I am so glad it's 20 episodes and not like 40. There was no fillers. Every scene had its use. Every flashback was part of the puzzle (but don't trust everything they show you too). Also, at first, the first 3 episodes felt unrealistic with the female lead's extreme revenge schemes but later you'll find out why it makes sense as part of the bigger picture-- so don't drop it there!
Acting/Cast: I only know the male lead from Bloody Romance but he was a supporting character so I didn't pay much attention to him BUT he is good! His chemistry with the female lead was cute. And everyone was great at their roles too. They successfully embodied them. Wen Ke Er got on my nerves with her soft but kind of high pitched voice but she surprised me with her emotional scenes later on.
Music: Love the 2 songs. They are the only ones I know of and they are so fitting for this drama. The editor or whoever adds the BGM did so well in adding the OST in the most suitable scenes. I have no complaints whatsoever.
Rewatch Value: I don't usually rewatch so I just chose a random number.
Overal, good romantic suspense! It was like 80% suspense/crime/mystery and 20% romance which I felt was a decent balance. There was no cringey/fluff scenes for the romance and I felt that the writer controlled the plot development and romance progession very well. I will definitely keep an eye on the cast for future projects.
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I had never seen any of the main leads earlier so for me there acting skills were unexpected, I'm really really impressed and now would like keep the track of their dramas.
Enough with the review, if you were planning to watch or this drama was on hold then what are you waiting for you should give it a try!!
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Binge watching for...NOTHING..literally
I admit, I really like the plot, the twists, the mystery. This drama makes you want to watch more and more, until you realized, it 3am in the morning and you have to sleep.It has a romance line, and it's a really SWEET one. Sweet enough but won't make you cringe. Ah, and our Miss Gu with jeans is my dream :D :D
Actually, I have sense about Our villain. And I'm guessing 80% right all the time about the twists in the story.
What make me give this drama low rating despite the good plot, good romance and good actors, is the ending. It's MEHHHHH I don't think they have to make it like that just to add 'twists'. I just feel like I wasted my time watching this.
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Interesting Characters and Good Suspense
Possible Spoilers Ahead:I think what initially drew me to this drama were the stellar reviews and comments, the somewhat unique storyline and the "cold female lead" tag. I was really tired of the silly/innocent female lead concept so this story seemed like a breath of fresh air. And after watching it, I agree with my initial thoughts.
Story: It's fairly obvious this drama is more about the suspense and scandal than true mystery and crime-solving. A lot of medical, legal and financial things are not very realistic but this does not distract from the purpose of the show or its entertainment factor. Due to being only 20 episodes (a rarity in many c-dramas), the plot is pretty tight and wrapped up very well. While clues are laid there so things can be figured out, the story does have a good amount of twists, particularly at the end. The comedic moments are nice bonus too.
Characters: I just loved our female lead. She's not really cold like the tag says but more of a cool, enigmatic but seemingly-carefree personality but with a hidden vulnerable side. She has goals, she has flaws, she has character development. I really liked her relationship with her brother, in all its aspects. She has reasons behind her decisions (whether good or bad) and she is an active characters - her actions move the plot forward. Unless I'm watching the wrong dramas, this is rare of find in a lot of c-dramas, especially web dramas. It's in direct contrast to the other (second?) female lead, Wen Ke Er, who behaves much more like a traditional female lead. She has that sweet and naïve personality and is more passive than reactive. She has her own trauma to deal with and she has her moments of independence but she ends relying on the males in her life, whether on purpose or not. She feels a deconstructed female lead archetype viewed from a second lead/side character perspective. In fact, the whole story felt like it was from the (evil) second female lead's point of view except without making her pointlessly evil. I really liked Wen Molin's warm and caring personality. He had his flaws too and you can see the direct consequences his overprotectiveness has on Ke Er. He had really good chemistry with the FL and the romance was so sweet. Chen An is also very well developed and an endearing character as well. I enjoyed all of the side characters and their progression throughout the story.
Acting: Not perfect, maybe a little stiff at times but not distracting or taking away from the story or entertainment.
Music: Excellent. The opening and ending theme songs are very catchy and the melodies fit the moods of the drama very well.
Conclusion: I think I'm partial to stories with a psychological or character driven element to them because it require well-written characters to make the story work and this drama excels at that. It blends genres pretty well and gives good food for though. Would definitely recommend.
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The truth u never expected
This drama told us about the awesome of the brain, what our brain can do to protect ourselves from any 'hurt' feeling. I won't tell you the ending because i'm not that cruel ^_^. Because this for sure the drama you must watch till the end to understand everything, don't stop in the middle ok... The ending and the truth of the drama is something far far away from the synopsis.Actually from middle of the drama i can already guess the ending between 2. Either is Chen An or Wen Ke Er version. So that's why i can't say i never expected the ending. But still the last episode still gives me o.m.g time...
But still i really must appreciate the writer for give us really outstanding plot that really out of the box. And yeah really glad they just make it into 20 episode not 30/40 episode.
What i like:
+ The beginning where Wen Ke Er talk to psychiatrist. At first this really confuse me. What the connection. But turn out that what really give us the clue about the ending & it all explained in the last episode.
+ No one is completely evil or good. At first we see that Gu Qing Zhou seem like bad people that just want a revenge, but along the way she also have doubt about everything she did.
+ They stick to revenge drama plot, so there is only a little bit of romance & very supple too.
Overall this drama really have different plot than any other drama. Watch this till the end, if you stop in the middle i guarantee you'll gonna regret it. This is absolutely no re-watch drama material, because once you know the truth no meaning watch it all over again.
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HIDDEN GEM
FOR ALL CRIME AND mystery LOVERS WITH A drop OF ROMANCEif you enjoy crime, investigative, and mystery dramas this one is for you(must watch)..
great chemistry between the good and gray casts
slight romance, friendships
everyone is smart and reasonable
i wanna sing all good praises to the writer, director, and casts
everyone got the endings they deserved, no character is bad
all the bad characters had their reasons.
again well done to the casts and scriptwriters
a must-watch for crime drams watchers
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This review may contain spoilers
Keeps you guessing
This drama kept me guessing whodunit right to the last 20 mins of the last episode. I'm not going to say much more you'd have to watch it and you'll know what I mean, though right to the end I wasn't quite sure if the story was how I understood it to be so I made a conclusion myself :-)The slight romance was very nicely developed so that it didn't take away the mystery of the story. There wasn't any big confession they knew they liked each other and acted it and along the way they just became a couple.
All the actors did really well in their roles, the changes in personality etc..all in all a good drama to watch. I also liked that it wrapped up in 20 episodes.
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Plot Twist Master
OVERALLThis drama does plot twists like no other. Watch it if 1) you're looking for a new whodunit, 2) you want to see a bit of romance, 3) you like mature female leads (as opposed to the childish ones). Think twice if 1) you're craving kisses and sexy scenes, 2) too many plot twists give you a headache, or 3) you don't like crappy endings.
THE STORY
I came into this drama with low expectations and can honestly say it blew me away haha At the beginning, it looks like just another revenge drama, but it's not. It's actually a whodunit drama, spiced up with a little Rashomon effect (if you know, you know, if you don't, google). That's so cool because you literally are kept hooked and guessing what the hell happened until the very end. Now, I got to say, the final reveal sucked, but it's okay, I enjoyed the ride!
Still, I can't give this drama a super high rating because: 1) I'm really not a fan of the ending, it feels like a huge let-down, and 2) the love story between the leads was promising at the beginning but ended up being such a disappointment. For these reasons, I also feel like I'm never going to watch this drama again. It was binge material and I was definitely hooked all the way to the end, but I'm not about to re-live the experience haha
THE ACTING
Okay, but not impressive.
THE MUSIC
I LOVED it. So mature, so...normal. I especially liked the song Evening Wind (Wanfeng).
REWATCH VALUE
Low.
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Unique & intriguing
This drama has a lot of plot twists and I loved it sooo much.First of all … the way the FL gets revenge early on is very satisfying. And her style of clothing? 10/10 … reminded me a lot of IU in „Hotel Del Luna“.
The romance part is more flirty and I would describe it as a cat & mouse or love & hate game.
They have a lot of scenes together, which is very satisfying but there isn’t much actual romance.
Both leads are incredibly stunning… I was surprised that they don’t have more leading roles.
Especially the FL is extremely beautiful in my opinion. Chemistry was one of the best I‘ve seen in cdramas.
The plot twists are mind blowing and the writers did a good job making you sit at the edge of your seat.
I binged it in 3 days and usually I take forever to finish a drama.
Also don’t drop it if you liked the first few episodes… everything will make sense in the end.
Minus points:
- dubbing of ML is a bit ill timed in some episodes
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I think worth a watch
I think Crime/Thriller is best right now. Better more creative story lines plus audience enjoys the cast too. Rom-Coms less creativity & people will tend tune in depending who is in it.This drama I think the characters & their development actually pretty good. Once I saw Li Zi Feng was the male lead I said yes!! I saw him in Stealth Walker, another brilliant crime drama as a second male lead. I had an incomplete ending in that drama & in a way tunned into this one so he could have the complete ending, glad I did. As Male Lead he is excellent plus Aliya & Joyin Cai excellent Female actresses in this drama.
Honestly with this plot, I think you will enjoy!
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Great script... great acting...suspense...intriguing
I enjoyed watching this drama. It took me 2 days but hey, if I didn't have work the next day, I would have binged watched it. The plot has all these amazing twists and you tend to guess something but you get shocked at what the results are. This is not like the usual dramas, for real, and the ending did it for me. I was so unprepared and it was so unpredictable.I also loved the chemistry between the two Wen Mo Lin and Gu Xing Dan. For starters, Gu Xing Dan played her role really well. I was sold to her bad ass character and facial expressions, oh and her dressing …DAMN GIRL!
Wen Mo Lin came out as no nonsense to begin with and suspicious but as you move along, you can feel his warmth in how he takes care of the people close to him.
I would recommend this drama to anyone who is not so much into romance and wants a thriller-ish adventure.
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