I came at this drama with some misgivings, knowing it would be a muted affair thanks to censorship laws. Perhaps not shockingly, the writers/directors still managed to get around that. (Censorship has a way of making artists get creative, so sorry, it'll just never fully win HAH).

Couple of Mirrors deftly weaves a limited narrative between You Yi (and her relationships) and Yan Wei who comes in to foil the plans of Men and save the heroine! Okay, that's a slight slight exaggeration but also it's not far off the mark. Where it works is that You Yi strikes a character you yearn to root for, and her acknowledgment of another young woman and the bonds between them is this series' greatest asset. There is delicious chemistry, because no you can't even mute that. There is friendship. There is loyalty. And, there is just the tiniest hit of pure, unadorned crazy. It's a magical combination.