Better a Lie Than a Truth (2022)

I love you for you

Such a cute a sweet drama! Im glad this drama didnt take the route of psycho where the main lead was both. I'm glad that he was justing acting like his brother. The male lead has a twin brother but he died so he would act as the younger brother in front of his ill mother. This was his secret that no one knew about. The female lead and male lead were high school classmates. At that time the male lead liked the female lead and even confessed his love through a love letter. Unfortunately that love letter got posted up in the whole school for everyone to see.
The female lead is a reporter which she needs to interview the male lead. The male lead acted like his twin brother and helped to her to lie about their marriage to the female lead's mom. Thus creating a co habiting.
Their relationship is pretty cute and believeable. They have a good chemistry together. I liked that the female lead has brains and is smart. She wont give up without a fight. There are some annoying characters but they have little screen time which is good.

Read More

This is a short light watch on a Tuesday night where you just turn off your brain & enjoy the ride

(Since this drama is getting more and more attention, this is not just a review but also a (long) guide to clear some things up that I’ve seen in the comments. Hope this can help!)

About the drama: Adapted from novel <骗婚总裁：独宠小娇妻> (though I believe there’s not much similar besides keeping the names), this fast-paced, nonsensical, ridiculous short drama is also a cute, cheesy, fluffy drama that might have you wanting for more. It’s got all the goods if these are what you like: fake marriage, roommates, sabotaging second leads, dual identity, etc. If you want like actual substance, this isn’t it—it’s also super short:
18 episodes <15mins each
+ 4 special episodes <5mins each (PPV - 2rmb for all)

Where to watch: (encouraging everyone to watch on MangoTV platforms to support the drama and the young drama team)
MangoTV site/app (eps + bts clips): https://w.mgtv.com/b/413438/15331458.html?fpa=se&lastp=so_result
MangoTV YT: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0PsHrQxhYwTd3TOLmB5ovmVjpZe_yWoQ
MangoTVSparkle YT: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEwMCGv50LfJDGRx-1H6uVPmNiidwHJ59
BTS with eng sub: (this user is updating here): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpro3UcO7RuOtOLHNFZfEmcIlhbSeJGGa

If you come across “episodes” that are more than 15mins long, you’ve found a version that has compiled several episodes into a longer video. I’m assuming in that case, you might find just 4-5 episodes if they’re 40-50 mins each.

About the subs: MangoTV subs are as good as it’s gonna get. DramaCool takes subs from them anyway. The subs on Idol & Romance are a bit horrendous, so I don’t recommend. The BTS clips do not have subs (EDITED: see above), they’re really cute, the director too.

About the reviewer: Started watching because I got intrigued by the trailer. It looked like a hot mess so I signed myself up. Basically, pretty much went in without any expectations, but came out pleasantly surprised and unexpectedly hooked.

Overall thoughts: Nothing too complex. It’s cliche, it's silly, it's hilarious, it’s cheesy, but for some reason surprisingly didn’t find it cringy though I’ve seen a lot of cringy stuff and I get secondhand embarrassment really easily. The male lead Qiao Musheng is a cold character who carries burden to the heart, but through his dual identity Lu Jingnian does he channel his inner child, something he can’t show as Qiao Musheng. Kind of like a puppy. Su Nian, the female lead is independent, a bit feisty, a bit clever - we like her. Because of the nature of such a short drama, some scenes don’t last enough to linger—I just wish there were more scenes, but sometimes the scenes feel cut off—but I feel like the emotion does. Both the actors seem to carry a kind of naturalness, perhaps because Chen Junyu’s character has a bit more range to begin with, I think he stands out a bit more. He has a bit more nuanced facial expressions, especially his eyes, which I think shows potential and has me anticipating his future works. (This seems to be his first work). The dubbing done for Niu Yukun for some reason throws me off a tiny bit. Not much to say about the second leads because this drama is pretty much focused on the leads. As much as I appreciate the cute scenes, I also quite like the emotional ones like Qiao Musheng’s inner turmoil. If this were a longer drama, I'd definitely like to see more of this. Also appreciate the metaphors in here — the fish, the ring, the hair. There’s a conclusion to a major plot line that I felt was a bit unrealistic (funny cos this whole drama is just not too realistic anyway), so this would be my major complaint.

Some of the music (mostly instrumental throughout the drama though)
原來 - Chen Junyu and Niu Yukun (ending theme song)
洒满月光的女孩 - Chen Junyu (piano scene in ep11)
空缺 - DREAM4 (Chen Junyu, Tang Jiaqi)

Fun Fact: This drama originally was to be broadcasted over three weeks every Fri-Sun, but due to high request, the schedule was changed and ended up being aired every day for a week.

Hoping this drama gets a lot of attention, it’s not the best thing out there, but I think it's entertaining and fun. Keeping up with this drama throughout the week it aired was like my happy pill. Definitely will rewatch some time soon.

Read More