Lady Tough (2021)

Being a tough lady is tough

I saw a recommendation for this show from my go-to C-drama reviewers on Youtube. They have yet to let me down, and this show was no exception.

This is a great story about the stress of adulting and coping with loss. It is a nice change from all the rom-com shows that seem to make up a third of the C-drama market (the other two thirds, of course, being costume dramas and shows about the revolutionary war). The story is a little predictable, especially if you're familiar with the British show "Fleabag." I would even go so far and say that this is a Chinese interpretation of "Fleabag" - more on the nose about morals and less sex.

Here are my top 3 reasons why I highly recommend this show:

3. The humor: Despite it being a story about loss, it is still a comedy with plenty of fun moments that had me laughing out loud more than once (e.g. when Liu Lian meets her ex's new girl-friend for the first time, and says that he seems to be into matcha now - she is indirectly calling her a "green tea b****"). The little theatre scenes in the beginning of each episode are like a glimpse into Liu Lian's mind and both funny and thought-provocing.

2. The OP: The opening song "Unlimited Holidays" (lyrics by Wu Jing, music by EnjiA) is amazing and fits the show perfectly. Ingrita's voice is, similar to the female lead's, gritty and soulful. I knew one song from her previous to this, called "Her and her and her" (她和她和她), which is also a great song about women in today's society.

1. Well-written characters: What I liked the most are the characters, who come across as actual three-dimentional people and less stereotypes. Especially the protagonist Liu Lian is very fleshed out. She is not perfect, but she is trying to live her best life in her own way, and that makes her real and more loveable. One can tell how much thought was put into developing this character just by having a closer look at her name. "Liú Liàn", as how her name is correctly pronounced, can be understood as "reluctant to part with someone or something", which perfectly fits the story. At the same time, she also goes by "Liú Lián" which means "Durian". Just like the fruit she protects herself with a hard prickly shell, and does seem appalling to most people on first glance. However, when one takes time to get to know her better, she turns out to be a real softie and a loving friend.

Thanks for reading! Hope you'll give this little show a chance ...

Oh, wait! It's only 12 episodes with 30 minutes each!! It can be binged within A DAY!! So I guess that means ...

0. IT'S SHORT and awesome! So why won't you go watch it now?! ;)

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Completed - 2/11/2022

I don't remember how I came across this drama. It's short and sounded interesting. Without knowing much about it, it appears to be a comedy full of laughs and life lessons. I then realized this drama shows our protagonist's journey of revisiting and re-examining her relationship with her mother, and dealing with her mother's sudden death.

Liu Lian (FL) aka Durian is an independent, happy-go-lucky 30-year-old feminist, who is trying to live her life to the fullest and not caring about what others think of her. She's a little quirky and a little weird, is loud and obnoxious. Like her nickname, she's spiky like a durian and protects herself with those outer spikes She's a fun character to watch. However, deep down she is lonely and really misses her mother. She has a hard time dealing with her mother's sudden death.

Throughout the drama, there are many flashbacks of Liu Lian's life with her mother. From these flashbacks, we learned of their complicated love-hate relationship, and saw how much they are alike. There are many life lessons learned in this drama, and the opening theatrical acts are an interesting way to peek inside Liu Lan's inner thoughts and feelings. Though this is a small budget web drama, I don't feel that it's a cheap production.

However, there are quite a few plot holes where things don't line up. Why did Liu Lan go back to work for the same company after her fake pregnancy announcement, as if nothing happened? How come she couldn't pay her ex back from the insurance money? What happened to her relationship with Ma Ye?

Since it's such a short drama, it's worth a watch if you have some time to kill. It's very easy to binge all 12 episodes in one day.

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