Are You the One (2024)

Inconsistent Characters and Missed Potential in Are You The One

"Are You The One" had so much wasted potential to be a really great drama, but it is filled with inconsistencies and very typical historical drama tropes. Liu Miantang went from being a housewife to a mountain bandit and then back to being a housewife. Her personality and aspirations change in a split second, making her entire character hard to understand and illogical. Similarly, Ciu Xingzhou, a supposedly cold-hearted general, becomes a literal simp for a woman he originally planned to use and had no interest in. The second couple had little screen time, which is good—they weren't very interesting or relevant to the plot. I would say I enjoyed the latter half of the drama, as things became more eventful and moved a bit faster. The first half dragged a lot, and the drama is more slice-of-life-centered than anything else. Overall, this drama was a massive disappointment and is definitely skippable. After watching this, I'm not entirely sure I'm a big fan of Zhang Wanyi's acting. His articulation is very well-spoken, but after watching a few of his dramas, nothing really seems to have changed in his acting style. I would rate this a 7; it’s tolerable but not great.

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Are You The One is a great drama set in a historical time with a beautiful love story. It has well choreographed action scenes, beautiful cinematography, and a pleasant OST. The leading couple, Liu Mian Tang (played by Wang Chu Ran) and Cui Xing Zhou / Lord Huaiyang / Cui Jiu (played by Zhang Wan Yi), is a force to be reckon with. They are both capable, cunning, quick-witted, smart, and warm-hearted toward each other. Their relationship begins with a farce but, through their interactions and as they work together to resolve obstacles and complications, they grow to love each other. This love is tested when the lies are unveiled and each other’s real identity is revealed. Up to this point, the drama is provoking with the mix of mysterious characters and a lovely budding romance. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple has a great playful exchange of teasing remarks, very well written dialogues, and a pleasant romantic chemistry. Yuan Yu Xuan did a great job portraying the seemingly shy Shi Xue Ji that surprises the audience with her character’s shy and clumsy demeanor while concealing her true nature’s maturity and cleverness. Even though the drama starts to slow down on the second half after the drama reaches its pinnacle, and the finale feels rushed, the drama is entertaining.

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Not the best out there but pretty good

So our main lead Cui Xinzhou is a local lord who is has to capture the bandits. In the process he finds our female lead Liu Miantang who was severely injured. Since he believes she was the lover of the leader of bandits he keeps her to lure the bandit. He then proceeds to lie and pretend to be her husband upto about 17 episodes. This all happens as Miantang suffered from amnesia. So the story is roughly divided into two parts- before she gains her memories and after she gains her memories. This was a summary.

To start my review I would rate this drama a 7.2/10.
The plot is somewhat bearable compared to other idol dramas. It is intriguing, has a bit of mystery and comedy elements to it. The main problem was that it had a lot of major skips that was necessary for us viewers to understand the story better. Firstly, we don't know about the leads background properly. Cui's mother is called consort dowager but isn't that a tern used for a king's mother?? And who was his father? How was he involved in the fight for throne. Nothing is explained here. The same goes for female lead. Her family dynamics were not shown when it was relevant to the story as she lived in mount yang for 3 years.

The pacing is somewhat good. But as I said there is a major skip in the middle of the drama. And it was quite important. Left me all flabbergasted. Many plot lines which had a lot of potential was not executed nicely. Miantang was a martial arts expert and quite intelligent but after the first few episodes she did not showcase anything important. And there was no end goal for the drama. Like what is the purpose of our characters? They are not explaining it properly. Plus many characters end is not shown to us. Like what happened to them? How were they defeated? How did they dieee. We want to know.

I'd say Cui Xingzhou was the best character in this show. With all the problems he faced in every episode I am glad he did not turn mad. And you can clearly see the difference when he is with his wife and others. Shows how great of an actor he is.

Overall it was an okay drama. Cute, fluffy with some thrilling scenes. A well written plot is not the drama's strength but nevertheless was pretty enjoyable.

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YOU are certainly the ONE

I went into this drama blind and boy, I was in for a very nice treat! :o) I'd divide this drama into 3 segments: 1st - ML deceives FL with amnesia; 2nd - FL leaves ML after she recovers her memory; 3rd - FL and ML get together and become a formidable and yet, loving couple.

The drama was captivating from the get-go and while I may have watched both leads somewhere prior to this drama, I did not recognise them and so, I'd consider them fresh faces to me. And I certainly liked these fresh faces very much.

What I Loved:
- The FL was so pretty to watch. She looked so lovely. Additionally, I liked that she that she had a strong will as well as a strong, sound and smart mind of her own. She was both soft and firm, both beguiling and ruthless. She would smile charmingly while killing mercilessly. I loved that about her.
- The ML was handsome in his own way. He was manly. While he wasn't particularly tall and muscular, he was manly enough and owned the role of CXZ. I liked to see how, after he had fallen head over heels in love with FL, he was a totally smitten and jealous man.
- The ML's bestie was, despite not being a hottie, a cutie. He was a true bestie and showed up for CXZ whenever CXZ needed him. I loved how he supported CXZ and was a great support role.
- I liked to see the strong females in the show, such as LMT, who stood up for themselves and spoke their minds in this patriarchal society. LMT was so resourceful and shrewd while being all feminine and beguiling. I liked how she charmed everyone including CXZ. I liked that SXJ, the empress, developed a strong backbone and stood up for herself in her own tactful manner. What I learnt was that we did not have to be boorish and aggressive when dealing with asses and imbeciles. We could still be refined and respectable.
- CXZ's men were loyal and at times, cute to watch too. Mo Ru and Nanny Li were great support roles.
- Plot was fairly intriguing and interesting. I wanted to watch one episode after another.
- Acting was fairly good. As mentioned, ML and FL were a lovely couple and I loved watching them together. The scene which stood out for me was when they decided to part in the 2nd segment. I felt their pain and longing. Their tears moved me. When she stabbed him with her hairpin and he pulled it out, cleaned off his blood and returned it to her, I swooned just a little. It was a very endearing and moving scene.
- A fairly happy ending which, IMO, could have been happier. :o)

What I Did Not Like:
- Indisputably, I hated Lian Mother and Daughter duo. They were self-entitled. The mother was shrill and shrieky and bordering on "cray-cray". She was awful to watch. The daughter looked awful in this drama (having seen her in another drama which she looked normal). I found the telling-off and slap from CXZ's mother particularly satisfying to watch. That bit*h totally deserved plenty of slaps to "wake up her idea". Such a silly and hateful woman she was!
- Prince Sui was also another "cray-cray". Hateful to watch his audacious schemes. Same for Yun'er - that bit*ch - without much brain and poise.
- He Zhen was rather hard to watch for me as I did not find her acting very natural. She came across as kind of awkward and spoilt.

Finally, suspend disbelief (as usual with reference to such dramas) because the scene in the last episode was really unbelievable. CXZ and LMT paired up to kill the guards sent by Prince Sui and they managed to kill them all without soiling their clothes at all (still total wrinkle-free and bloodless; pristine off-white). That scene left me scoffing. Other than this, I really loved watching this lovely pair. FL was very lovely indeed - so pleasing on the eyes, total eye candy - and ML was all smitten and such. I liked that he only had eyes for her and loved just her. This applied to FL too. They formed a formidable couple with brain and brawn for the ML and brains and charm for the FL.

Overall, I would have given a perfect 10 for this drama if not for the slight flaws which I could not reconcile with. Thus, I gave it a 9/10.

This drama entertained me tremendously and I looked forward to watching each episode. I highly recommend this drama!! :o)
<3 <3 <3

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The trailer delivers

I enjoyed this.

I was intrigued by the trailer and the trailer delivers! Storyline, plot, acting, pace, cinematography was good. It was refreshing to watch a well written plot. I also found out that this drama was a novel adaptation but the writer decided to give it its own twist, which was perfect, I think the drama stands out on its own.

Chemistry wise- this may be unpopular opinion, but I'm not feeling it. I think both leads act well together but I don't ship them. Someone quoted the leads like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, well I agree.

Cast - I'm biased towards WCR, I think she is so pretty and this role is perfect for her. The supporting cast is great too, The one who play Prince Sui impressed me in the last 2 episodes. I was moved. I love cute, grumpy He Zhen and my foodie empress Xueji too.

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Surprisingly, the main conflict plot is holding on and yeah, you will fall for this Fujun & Furen

Basically i crawled my way out of drama slump to finish it within this year. That's how determined i am. The good part is i enjoy it. It didn't feel like i forced myself to finish it as if someone put a gun on my head. Well, i already love the characters when i started it a while back yet it's not enough. The plot is always the key for me, among many factor ofc.

Idk whether it's true or not, i heard this drama lost more than 10 eps (that damn regulation) yet they still able to wrap it all neat and clean. I said wrap, the end, not the path since it was a bit rough. From the beginning, we know who is Lu Wen, they don't try hard enough to hide it, it was intended imo. With that alone, it also obvious they'll separate once the cards open. Personally not a fan of hidden identity, hence the reason i put it on hold, and they reeeally took their time. It needs more than halfway to separate the couple which also mark of the new chapter, understandable yet dragging. The reunion and reconciliation aren't force nor ooc, both stay true to their value and work it out together. That's power couple for you.

The main conflict is engaging enough. The villain's motive is acceptable and make sense. All the stuff unravel till the last minute but it's okay, i got it. Especially after i learned about the lost episodes. The main conflict is holding on yet you can see many side characters plot are underdeveloped. I believe second cp has more to offer and needless to say, i want more of our emperor and empress. Shi Xueji is hard not to love character, not only to viewer but also to Liu Yu. It just bound to happen, for his heart to blossom again. Their tacit understanding and silent companionship is perfect palace romance for me. I love it that much. Furthermore, like many others, i, too, wary of Cui Xingdi. This is what happened when you watch enough cdrama to understand some actors is givin certain vibe and Leon Lai is that one. The most obvious is his role is just "too small" and easily passable, plus his filmography isn't helping. Understandable if he listed as guest role but he listed support role. Technically i doubt him till the very end. Turns out, his character is in fact, a villain in the novel. They probably cut many of his scene to fit the max 40 eps.

On a final note, i enjoy this more than i expected. I admit the bar is low since i come without expectation and only curious to see Zhang Wanyi acting for the first time. Still, i devoured it all.

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Love Amid Lies!

This series took me longer to finish, but it was worth it for the storyline alone. The plot centers on Liu Mian Tang, the female lead, and Cui Xing Zhou, the Huangyang Prince. The beginning immediately grabs your attention, introducing them as enemies: Xing Zhou is determined to capture Lu Wen, the notorious bandit leader. After an injury, Mian Tang is found and nursed back to health by Xing Zhou. However, with her memory lost, she mistakes Xing Zhou for her husband. Xing Zhou (posing as "Cui Jiu") decides to use this misunderstanding to his advantage, hoping to lure out Lu Wen, as Mian Tang is believed to be Lu Wen’s concubine.

Their initial interactions are pure comedy gold. Mian Tang showers Xing Zhou with affection, completely unaware that he’s not her real husband. While this dynamic is hilarious, it’s also bittersweet because Xing Zhou is exploiting her for his benefit. Over time, their relationship evolves, and they genuinely fall in love. But when Mian Tang regains her memory, she realizes the truth: Xing Zhou is her enemy. The twist? As the story unfolds, Xing Zhou discovers that the person he’s been trying to capture is none other than Mian Tang herself—Lu Wen and Liu Mian Tang are the same person.

Their relationship goes through cycles: enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, enemies to allies, and finally, allies to lovers. It’s a whirlwind. While the storyline is engaging, the pacing is uneven. The series starts strong and captivating, dips in the middle, picks up again during the angsty, scheming-filled episodes, and unfortunately becomes bland towards the end.

The cinematography is quite good, but the costume design is underwhelming. Given Mian Tang’s various identities—bandit leader, obedient wife, and princess—the costumes and hairstyles could have been more striking to reflect her transitions. The casting is decent overall. Zhang Wan Yi delivers a strong performance as Cui Xing Zhou, bringing depth and nuance to his character. However, Wang Chu Ran as Liu Mian Tang falls short in emotional scenes, where her expressions don’t always convey the intensity required. That said, her action scenes are fantastic and among the highlights of the series, showcasing her intelligence and physicality.

The music complements the series but is largely forgettable. While I wouldn’t rewatch the entire series, some scenes are worth revisiting. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, with a gripping beginning and middle but a somewhat lackluster ending. Overall, it’s a decent watch with its fair share of highs and lows.

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Storyline gets better & better ~ FL Not “sweet/dumb/klutzy” etc! Yaaah!

Not familiar with the main leads, the synopsis intrigued me to watch this series. I enjoyed the storyline right away, as I love strong, independent FLs over the so-called “sweet/dumb/innocent/klutzy” types.
As the story progressed, I found myself alternately getting trusfrated or laughing as the characters drew me in. A few veteran actors also worked as great finishing touches to keep my attention glued enough~ to binge-watch.
All three couples were entertaining enough and different, so their stories weren’t boring for me.
Other than the Main Leads, played by Zhang Wan Yi and Wang Chu Ran, the character who I liked the most is the young Empress played by Yuan Yu Xuan! She’s absolutely adorable, more sensible than me?, and down-to-earth.
Shoutout to the entire cast! They were awesome!
I would definitely recommend!

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Do I Not Support Women's Rights AND Wrongs?

I want to start off by saying this drama was able to capture my attention from the first episode. It is very well done
within the cinematography. The scenery is beautiful and I love that they allowed for a more natural undertone within the musical composition. The instances where you were just hearing the bustle of the market or the vibe in the palace really allows for you to fully immerse yourself. Really well done.

Now, for the bad, or perhaps more accurately: the infuriating.

This drama is by no standard within the realm of which characters are inherently only good or only bad. They are very much all grey and we see this immediately from the start when it came to the ML. His decision to pretend to be the husband of what he knew to be his enemy's mistress was diabolical. I didn't agree with the lies he conjured up to take advantage of her amnesia. (I am not a fan of amnesia plotlines at all. I find them a scapegoat for plotline.)

But I continue my rant to say, the ML was not an issue for me. He was doing what was necessary for the good of the people and city he was in charge of. His enemy is a bandit, known for a lot of terrible things and honestly, this mistress would have ended up also being charged and sentenced alongside of him for his crimes. So to me his decision to start his deceit didn't make me upset as much initially once I learned of what was going on within the first three episodes. It was kind of like how police do a sting operation and pretend to be a criminal to get into the mob or something. You have to do the unthinkable a lot of times to achieve.

Plus he was actually thinking of giving her an out in a way by letting her go to a temple or something. He did find this woman half dead from an attempted murder. He sympathized with her the best that he could given what he knew of her and her correlation to the person he was after.

Now fast forward this to him being unable to catch the 'enemy' he wants because the emperor pardons all of them from their crime when he finally goes to arrest them. So he is left with this mistress and this fake life and is unable to break it off because he is falling for her.

I can understand despite being unable to rationalize his reasons for why he continued his ploy.
But does that mean he is the worse character I have ever seen as a main lead?

No.

He never took advantage of her or crossed boundaries. He knew his feelings and that he was wrong, he consistently spoke about his guilt for what he did. And even when it came to a point he realized she regained her memories and was playing in the role still, he lamented he would take her wrath and the punishment that came from his wrongs.

This man is not perfect, but he is not a bad person. He made a stupid decision.

I segue now into focusing on the FL.

I'll be 100% honest, it was clear from the very first scene she was the enemy. The buildup to the reveal of her remembering and him realizing fell short. Even if you are not an experienced drama watcher, it was not difficult or hidden well to not realize this fact.

The issue is, like i mentioned ML lied for a greater good, fell in love and kept lying to not lose her. FL remembered and wanted revenge. The revenge in question for his TERRIBLE action is to kill him. Mind you she is an actual criminal who was smuggling goods that started a war and lead to so many deaths and was the reason for a good majority of the corruption going on within the capital.

ML's entire plotline was to capture this bandit that was doing this and put an end to it. Funny enough he only knew about the stealing and the murders but had respect for the criminal at large because he saw through all of the ploys how smart and tactful this person was. But then he found out that they were not just doing petty shit but was smuggling resources which were affecting the nation. AND KNEW ABOUT IT WITH NO ISSUES. Like it wasn't as if FL lead agreed to a job not knowing the reason behind it. SHE KNEW EVERY SINGLE THING AND HELPED PLAN IT OUT. She consistently was talking to enemy nation and even after regaining her memories and understanding why ML started his lie, had no damn remorse.

She felt justified somehow in her actions. Even more confounding was how after stabbing ML for revenge she decided to go right back into selling to the enemy countries? Like why? She goes on this crazy revenge scheme against this other Prince who worked with her in the smuggling but then killed her side to hide everything.

I am not sorry to say I couldn't resonate or sympathize with her because I understand your people had the rug pulled from under you, but everyone knew the risks of this business and nothing that you were doing was righteous and was instead harming those around you.

So tell me why or how I'm suppose to be feeling all this emotional hrumph everytime she mentions avenging her brothers?

I feel this FL was meant to be strong and amazing in everyway to match up to the strengths of the ML. And while I can see that in a lot of instances, I do not think she is at all a good person. She does not reflect on anything she does nor cares if it is not for her benefit. She wants to live out this bandit fantasy life among her uncle, and it seems whenever their endeavors catches up to them , in her head its unthinkable for them to be met with any penalty.

Cause after all they are simply living young and free in their actions.

I say all this to say, it was very difficult to engage in this drama seeing all of this going down. Then currently being in the era of the ML pining over her and trying to get back this woman and her thwarting him every step of the way.

Because she hates him and can't forgive him for his lies. Like please be so for real woman. Your entire character is a lie in itself, you go around pretending to be actual workers but then murder, steal and all of the likes. Why do you feel as if you are so deserving and better than this prince who simply wanted to stop all the bad shit you and your brothers have been committing?

I think this was ten times harder to stomach because it was on viki. This was the first show I had to turn off the comments because they were excusing her every step of the way. None of the characters are perfect, but the FL gets off in everything she does, learns she is doing, and continues to do. I further hate that her and her loonies actions in their gang were exempted and essentially allowed them not to face any penalties for what they had been doing for the past several years.

It was crazy seeing people literally say her actions amount to nothing in comparison to the ML's lies. I simply seem to although being a woman myself, can not excuse all the things she did and continued to do. This woman does not deserve an excuse for any of the wrongs she committed.

And I hate that she was never given an instance like the ML had to and was called out on multiple scenes to realize that what you think is correct is not the way to do things. I did not feel growth from her character nor any semblance of my definition of a strong woman. She is simply a character who is intuitive and cunning but missing the qualities of a strong woman by integrity definition.

She did not have to be perfect. Honestly, if she realized her actions were not good and admitted her part in the inner turmoil going on within the court and still decided to avenge her brothers. I would respect her. But she fucked off instead on some wild revenge plot and immersed herself back into the lifestyle that started the ML on his lies.

I want to give her a zero, but that's not possible so instead I give her a 1.

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Documentation

Wow, took me long enough to finish the last two episodes lol. Kinda got distracted by another cdrama. First thing is the leads are legit perfect, sure the ML lied, but like legit nothing else is lacking from them. They remind me of modern drama's where the leads are perfect. Still I think they had to be perfect for this plot to work. What I am talking about is that they had a lot of bs moments where everything is solved by leads no matter what. But hey it's a drama so whatever, but they did a great job shaping the characters up as competent people. Second, the couples are amazing, all three of them were enjoyable. Especially the empress and the emperor they were a suprise to me, they were the most interesting at the end, the dynamic they had was unique compared to the other two. The empress also became my favourite character by the end. She was graceful and true to herself, she felt like a legit person compared to others. My favourite arc was when the FL knew she was lied to and split up with the ML and the ML still tried to be with her. That is when I realised how good the leads were at acting. Especially that scene where the FL stabbed the ML near the heart. The biggest weakness to this was the fact that they didn't finish the main problem and waited until the last episode to get rid of the villain. In return we only get to see the peaceful and happy ending for like 10 minutes. I think they ran out of budget lol. Overall very enjoyable, cam be recommended to people, and it can be rewatched, honestly every romance drama with a happy ending can be rewatched.

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It's HEA that fell short for me....

I really wanted to fall in love with this drama because the story felt fresh. However, you know something is off when I'm enjoying the portion of the show where their relationship is completely based on lies more than the real deal.

I understood the initial part of the plot and why the ML has to keep the pretense up. At the same time, I have to agree with some reviews here that it felt a bit like her personality underwent 3 phases that were very different:
1. Amnesic, weak yet very loving wife who has accepted everything her husband told her about her previous life.
2. Vengeful cold fierce heroine who will take no sh*t
3. Strong loving and more grounded lover who has forgiven and supports the ML.

I almost love the first two more than the last phase. By the final episode, I wasn't satisfied with how many things were resolved. Something had been missing since they got married.

I haven't seen others mentioning this but my biggest gripe with the drama is that after the CP gets together, I was expecting the chemistry to grow but the show went the opposite route with: "Yup, that's a wrap on the romantic things, let's go to the political intrigue." Before the wedding up to the wedding night, we had a lot of kissing, hugging, hand holding, etc... Afterward, they barely even touched.

I don't necessarily need mindblowing kisses, but can you show me that these two people I've been so invested in watching them get together are more than two friends using terms of endearment?

ML's acting was really good. I didn't know ZWY before this drama and I'm a fan. FL was beautiful, smart and acted well too but again for me, it felt like something was missing. between them

Similarly, the other two relationships felt unresolved as well. Could we at least have seen more than hints?
I'm not sad per se but I don't feel contended even though it's a happy ending.

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Rambling Thoughts & Nit Pickings on Are You the One?

Here’s my essay review on the drama. Grab a cup of tea or coffee, because it’s long and full of spoilers if you venture into the later parts of this essay.

To briefly give a synopsis of the drama, Lu Wen, a bandit leader who upholds justice and helps the poor has been at odds against Cui Xingzhou, also known as Prince Huaiyang (think a feudal lord) for quite some time. The two are equal in combat skills, cunning wit, and strategies, running laps around each other. The bandit leader fights to help the poor, and the prince fights to protect his lands and people. But one day, at the base of a mountain called Mount Yang, Cui Xingzhou (Prince Huaiyang) and his soldiers find an unconscious woman named Liu Miantang, on death’s door with her tendons severed, floating in a pool of her own blood. Believing her to be the beloved concubine of Lu Wen, his rival, Prince Huaiyang does everything to save Liu Miantang’s life to lure out Lu Wen. However when Miantang wakes from her coma, having suffered from her injuries, she has lost 3 years worth of memories and mistakens Xingzhou as her husband. Miantang affectionately calls him Cui Jiu, believing this to be the man she married 3 years ago. Cui Xingzhou (Prince Huaiyang) seizes the opportunity to assume the identity of “Cui Jiu” and plays husband to the amnesic Miantang hoping to catch Lu Wen once and for all. The deeper Xingzhou plays into this fake marriage, the more he begins to fall for Miantang. As Miantang regains her memory, and Xingzhou’s feelings grow, can their love prevail against the betrayal and deception?

This is my short review, which is spoiler-free:
After watching 40 episodes of this drama, I would rate this an 8.5/10. If you’re a fan of the classic movie, Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, you probably will enjoy this drama. The 8.5 score from me stems from really enjoying the fake marriage trope and chemistry between our leads, and Zhang Wanyi nailing his performance. However, there were several missed opportunities in the drama that could have made this a much stronger story.

The drama makes it a point to let us know that Cui Xingzhou/Prince Huaiyang has a rivalry with Lu Wen. Once Lu Wen’s identity is revealed, they failed to show how these two opponents are of equal footing, and I felt they forgot about this story. At the same time, the female lead, Liu Miantang, who was found injured and lost her memory, had made it a point to seek revenge for what had happened to her, amongst other things. But then the drama also seemed to forget this arc and she became a supporting player in her role in exacting her revenge. She was relegated to helping the 2nd male lead instead.
Overall, I enjoyed the drama, but I lament how much better this could have been with tighter storytelling. There are times when I felt the drama struggled with what vibe they were going for: slow pace, serious, comedic, deeper impact on storytelling? There were moments throughout the drama that felt like it dragged, which they could have utilized the pacing better to show a proper reconciliation between Miantang, our female lead, and Xingzhou, the male lead. Then have the two actually work together in a revenge arc.

If you’ve not watched the drama and don’t want spoilers, please stop reading here. Otherwise, you can find the rest of my lengthy review here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v5qDdwFiLcxvOmpbqx05gF4wOdSh8O3CRJXgu2fzdos/edit

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