It's hard to explain...

After a long hiatus of drama-watching, I am back with a difficult request--I hope I can explain it correctly! 

So, honestly, when it comes to female (and 2nd female) leads, I feel like they usually come in two flavors 

#1: they are are so "saintly" that they never feel hurt by the actions of others (they never really feel bitter, jealous, abandoned, vengeful, etc) no matter how badly others treat them. They can come in many different personality types, but their character just pushes through everything.

#2: they never have to deal with the above scenario--they are "shielded" from it, so to speak. Instead, it is the second female lead that has to face it and the torment is what usually causes her to become bad. An example of this would be Ten Miles of Peach Blossom. I love Bai Qian and she is one of my favorite characters but I have to admit--she had everything going for her. She was the most beautiful, comes from a family that loves her and is very powerful, always has guys falling at her feet. I did not like Xuan Nu, but I did feel sorry for her and I could see why she ended up the way she did.  Khun Mae Suam Roy is another example.  With many of these dramas, the mental health advocate in me is screaming---no wonder these 2nd female leads turned out the way they did--just look at the dysfunctional environment they are in. 

While the first type is usually very inspirational to watch, it sometimes come off as too unrealistic. While the evil second leads take it too the deep end, most people would have at least some negative emotions. I just want to watch something where the female lead has to go through something like #1 and is very appropriately emotionally hurt by this. They may feel the same emotion that the second female lead feels that cause her to become evil--but she should overcome them.  To me, that is real character development. 

I think the best example I can think of is Kluen Cheewit. Jee grew up in an extremely dysfunctional enviornment and she is quite damaged by this. We can really feel when she is hurt and just how layered and emotionally complex this girl is. 

Another is Cheese in the Trap--Hong Sul has to deal with her parents consistently treating her brother better than her and one day she finally lashes out. I related to her so much in that scene. 

Sorry for the length--I hope that was somewhat understandable! Please give me your suggestions, thank you!

Golden Empire ... same female lead as Queen Seon Deok, and kind of the same make-up as a character. She's a good person, but has to get her hands dirty at some point due to her circumstances. It's the classical situation of "kill or be killed", so she'll strike out when she has to in effort to protect herself/assets ... but never unjustly or against those who don't deserve it.

Drama that first came to my mind was My Mister. FL grew up in very bad environment and she had to deal with every problem alone. She also went through physical abuse. It had deep effect on her and she became cold woman who doesn't believe in anything. Everything changed when she met ML. 

I really recommend this drama. It's the objectively best drama I have watched. It's not romance drama but I think it makes it even better. Hope you will like it!

I get what you are saying, but I think we have to remember that female characters come in different forms as well so they have different struggles.

The thing about Bai Qian is that she’s a goddess...so when you watch her, you have to see her in the same light as you would Ye Hua, Dong Hua and all the other deities there- they’re like Greek gods. They’re sort of perfect but they can also be nasty towards humans, etc.  This is why they have to go through human trials- so they can see what it’s like to suffer for the ordinary person. It’s just not the same for them because of who they are.  Unfortunately, in the world of gods it’s just not equal for someone like Xuan Nu. The problem is that while I understand her, she definitely went out of line by betraying the heavenly tribe and causing a lot of death. 

Bai Qian acts just like a deity. She’s lazy, she drinks a lot and- unlike the typical female lead, she is unforgiving and vengeful. I think it makes her interesting, in a way.

So yeah, what I’m saying is that it’s good to look for that type of female lead (what you were suggesting) but I don’t think Bai Qian is the best example for comparison.

I think the problem is that there is a hierarchy in the world of the gods/goddesses. Not that I am justifying it, but it exists in a lot of mythologies. Bai Qian is sort of in the ‘top tier’ along with the likes of Ye Hua and Dijun.

Take, for example Li Jing. He is sort of like Xuan Nu in that his flaws are more ‘human.’  He has mother issues, is the unfavored second son, etc. I guess that makes him more relatable unlike Ye Hua, who is a sort of ‘perfect’ prince figure. It’s the same parallel with Xuan Nu and Bai Qian. Some characters are just written to be  more relatable than others. Whatever issues they have is connected to that. It kind of depends what kind of character you are looking for. I don’t expect Bai Qian to have the same sort of relatable problems as the others... her problems are of a supernatural level (losing her eyes, etc)...but if someone were to write a perfect character with the flaws you are looking for, I would be interested in watching that as well, as long as it’s a good story.