Bad first impression, but they managed to turn it around

Based on my experience watching episode 1, I really thought I would drop Perfect Marriage Revenge early on. The acting underwhelmed me, the scene-to-scene pacing felt off and slow, and a lot of my pet peeves were hit in the plot early on.

I can’t stand protagonists, especially heroines, who are presented as the ultimate victim of the world’s cruelty, a flawless do-gooder who only suffers due to external, black-and-white circumstances. I just find that boring and irritating. And this is essentially how the FL, Han Yi Joo, is introduced. All of ep 1 is just tragedy after tragedy being committed against our hapless heroine.

HOWEVER. I’m glad I stuck it out for a few more episodes because the writers really turned things around. The characters were rounded out and got more depth. The acting seemed to improve as the actors settled into their roles. Basically, the show turned from a badly produced makjang to a stronger, more nuanced but still guilty-pleasure-entertaining drama.

I loved how we got to explore all the main characters’ inner lives.

FL: Once Han Yi Joo time travels back in her life, she resolves to no longer be a victim. She plans her cold-blooded revenge, but she doesn’t easily take on that role. In stressful times, she reverts to that timid, helpless girl she was, and the writers give her appropriate time to grieve for everything she lost by not standing up for herself sooner.

ML: Sung Hoon as Seo Do Guk did a wonderful job playing Simp of the Year. He was so madly sweetly in love with the FL, he would just glow on the screen whenever he was looking at her. I’m usually not a fan of Sung Joon but this might be the first role I’ve ever seen him in that I loved.

SFL: The heroine’s adoptive sister, Han Yoo Ra, was to me the most interesting character in the drama. She begins as the classic makjang minor villain — a spoiled, hateful brat who lords her power over others and throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. Over the course of the plot, we see other sides of her, as well as the effect that being raised by her awful, evil mother has had. I love a mean girl character, and while the PMR writers don’t try to redeem her, they do try to make the audience empathize with her, which was brilliant.
They pulled off a similar arc with the SML, the FL’s original husband who betrays her, though I found him less interesting.

The only completely unapologetic, black-and-white character is the villain mother, Yoo Se Hyeok. And wow, was she evil. Whenever she was around, the makjang vibes returned in full force.

So, I’m glad I stuck it out and gave this surprisingly well-rounded drama a chance to hook me.

TROPES (light spoilers):
- ML falls first, fast, and hard
- transmigration: time travel, return to one’s own past
- contract marriage
- domestic abuse, emotional and physical
- chaebols, succession politics, business drama
- fast burn, good intimacy and great kisses between the leads
- third act breakup (but it’s brief and not a big part of the plot)

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If “Love Between Fairy and Devil” & “Till the End of the Moon” had a low-budget baby…

…it would be this mini-series!

So if you like the premise of either but can’t commit to 30+ episodes for each show, then give this a try first. Yes, it’s a mess, but that’s characteristic for mini-series so I find it easy to overlook plot holes and wacky writing for the sake of a fast Xianxia fix.

The plot follows Zhao Lu, a fox spirit (?) played by Lin Jin Yi. She’s a fun character for the most part, mischievous and strong-willed with a bit of a mean streak. Her sect is eradicated by the Demon Lord Lin Fan Ying, so her master sends her back in time to kill the enemy before he becomes powerful enough to kill them. (Yes, just like TtEotM.) 300 years in the past, she meets the Demon Lord as Mu Ting, the young heir to his throne who has yet to turn evil. Through some magic mishaps they become tied together so that any pain or harm done to the FL is suffered by the ML instead. (Yes, just like LBFaD.)

I’m convinced they cast, dressed, and styled Jerome Deng, who plays Mu Ting/the Demon Lord, to resemble Dylan Wang in LBFaD as closely as possible. And while he’s very pretty, his acting was wooden and could have been stronger. Still, I enjoyed seeing his character on screen, and in the physical dimension, he had strong chemistry with the female lead.

I don’t know what to say about the plot…it meanders. It’s chaotic. It leaves no room whatsoever between big events to breathe. Such is the fate of a mini-series. For someone with an attention span as short as mine, it can be a blessing — there’s absolutely no room for filler. But that also means there’s no room for relationships and plotlines to develop in a natural, meaningful way.

TROPES, for those interested (light spoilers):
- ML falls first and quickly
- mischievous, strong-willed FL with a tiny bit of moral greyness
- jealous, possessive, clingy, totally whipped ML
- annoying SFLs
- love square… 3 men fall for the FL
- time travel, change of fate, fated connection

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Satisfying romantic comedy with a dash of plot

I love the villain romance trope and wow does this drama scratch that itch. This ML is underhanded, scheming, manipulative, violent, and unapologetic about all of the above. And once he falls in love? He stays all of those things, but also becomes devoted, sweet, protective, and loyal as all hell to the FL. Perfect. Xu Zhen Xuan does a wonderful job in the role, switching from sweet puppy-dog husband pretending to be weak to flirty playful bastard to cold vicious killer in the blink of an eye. *chef's kiss*

Yang Qi Ru as the FL was a bit stiff, but I enjoyed watching her on the screen nonetheless. She plays a down-to-earth, righteous general who doesn't care much for decorum or sugar-sweet politeness but has a kind, loyal heart.

If you enjoy gender role reversals where the FL appears in the nick of time to save the ML and bridal-carry him off to safety, this is your show. You also get some ML saving FL scenes, it's a great balance. They're both strong and competent in their own ways. Their chemistry was good and you get some great skinship all throughout the series.

The plot meandered somewhat and I wasn't super invested in the flashbacks to the FL's angsty past and the present timeline of the princes scheming for the throne. It wasn't bad, but also nothing new or particularly interesting.

The music slaps hard, particularly the intro theme.

TROPES: (light spoilers)
- ML falls first and harder
- enemies to lovers
- hidden identity
- jealous, possessive, clingy, deeply devoted ML
- physically and emotionally strong FL
- villain romance with hero FL and villain ML
- political court intrigue and succession scheming
- love triangle, but it's not a big part of the plot (kind of unclear whether the SML is romantically interested in the FL or if she's just a pivotal, fateful figure in his life)
- arranged/forced marriage
- HEA

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Strong start, weak finish

I really enjoyed the first ten episodes or so. The show starts off at a lightning pace (it has to, being a mini-series -- that's what I love about mini-series) with the female lead dropping into a "Mary Sue" video game as the FL. At the beginning, the plot mostly focuses on parodying rom-com dramas with all the silly tropes and the almost inevitable trajectory that drama romance plots always go down. The writing is witty and these more comedic episodes were a joy to watch.

Also, the level of skinship was great. Kisses and touches all over the place.

Around the middle of the drama, things kind of fell apart for me... the writing got really choppy, the tone was all over the place. We went from a light comedy to a melodrama in an instant. Also, the romance didn't feel believable. The leads seemed to go from not caring about each other at all to being crazy for each other out of nowhere. There is limited time for things to build in a mini-series, and yet I've seen shorter mini-series that had more genuine heartfelt romances.

So, it's worth a watch if you like the transmigration/isekai trope and a good dose of silliness, and you're okay with rapid tone switches. The production value is good for a mini-series and I did have fun watching.

TROPES (light spoilers)
ML falls first, kind of...
FL chases SML first
transmigration - FL enters a video game
villain romance
change of fate
strong relationship between sisters
mischievous, playful FL
reserved, cunning ML

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Fantastic character development in a meaningful workplace romcom

Cunning Single Lady has its issues, and watching it now does make some of the storylines feel dated. BUT overall it’s a really great show with some of the best character writing in kdramas.

The lead actors do a fantastic job portraying the rocky relationship between the ML and the FL, and the ending really feels satisfying given all the struggles they go through to get there. Plus, both actors have impeccable comedic timing, leading to many laugh-out-loud moments.

I would recommend this drama to anyone looking for a romcom with some more mature leads and deeper storylines relatable to older viewers.

Tropes:
Workplace romance
CEO ML to working-class FL
Enemies to lovers
Pre-established relationship; leads start out divorced
ML falls first
Double love triangle with scheming second leads

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CFT and DGZ never fail with their chemistry

I started this drama to get my Maid’s Revenge fix… Basically I wanted to see gorgeous Chen Fang Tong and hot Hot HOT Dai Gao Zheng make out a lot. I got what I was looking for and more.

Forever Love has a bit of a role reversal happening—the FL is more like the “chaebol” rich, spoiled, beautiful heiress while the ML is her poor, hardworking employee. It’s just enough role reversal to mix it up while still keeping the cliches that make dramas like this comforting. There’s got to be at least a few scenes of the ML rescuing the FL, pushing her up against the wall to kiss her, you know, the (slightly problematic) works.

Dao Gao Zheng does a great job. He’s got this role of the damaged but over-protective hero down pat. He does a ton of mini-dramas and it seems like he’s getting type-cast at this point. Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Chen Fang Tong seriously delivers in this drama. She plays the blind heiress who recently lost her father under mysterious circumstances and is trying to find his killer. She’s smart and careful, competent but not to Mary-Sue degrees, a damsel at times but not to irritating degrees. I loved the way she would order people (especially the ML) around haughtily, lifting her hand expectantly like “aren’t you going to help your mistress??” XD iconic

The plot mostly focuses on the FL solving her family mystery with the help of the ML, who’s also scheming behind the scenes to avenge his own family’s downfall and get justice. The romance progresses slowly (for a mini-series) but with lots of good kisses and intimacy. Once the leads get together, they mostly trust each other and act like reasonable, mature people. What a pleasant surprise.

Production value was another pleasant surprise —- you never know what you’re going to get with these mini-series. For instance, I just watched Dusk Love with Dai Gao Zheng, which felt like it had half the budget and a MUCH worse script compared to Forever Love.

TROPES (light spoilers)
- ML falls first & hard, ML chases first
- boss/employee relationship (FL is employer)
- murder mystery & business/shareholder politics
- fateful past encounter
- hidden/mistaken identity

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Looks pretty but no substance

So this drama stars Dai Gao Zheng, or as PeachBlossomsGoddess so astutely calls him, “The Best-est of the Chest-est”… that’s probably the most positive thing I’ve got to say about the drama. Dai Gao Zheng is HOT, and look, the writers know it too. They take every possible opportunity to make him take off his shirt. Every side conversation he has, he’s either flexing his muscles in the gym or walking around half-naked. I’m pretty sure he spent more scenes with his shirt off than on in this drama.

The FL is gorgeous too. And she had great physical chemistry with the ML. There is lots and lots of skinship all across the drama (including some slap kisses, be warned) and the sparks do fly.

But other than that… the story was a huge mess. For some reason the writers chose to tell almost all of the story in the first ten or so episodes non-chronologically, with constant flashbacks and time jumps and “3 hrs earlier” and whatnot. SO unnecessarily confusing, especially for a plot that wasn’t all that solid in the first place. It was already riddled with plot holes before the timeline shenanigans.

So while there are individual scenes I enjoyed, I can’t say I liked the drama as a whole.

TROPES (light spoilers)
- ML falls first but FL chases first
- contract relationship
- cohabitation
- rich heir FL and ML who pretends to be poor but is also a CEO
- childhood friends to lovers
- amnesia due to car accident/trauma
- love triangle but the SML is evil

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Come for the ML, stay for the ML

Plot was amusing. FL was funny at times (and sometimes irritating). The supporting cast was lovable and did their jobs well.

BUT.

Chen Zhe Yuan as the male lead absolutely stole the show.

If you’re looking for a drama with the sweetest, prettiest, most devoted man ever, this is for you. It’s a light-hearted Beauty and the Beast retelling with an intrepid princess as the FL and a part-time king, part-time monster boyfriend as the ML.

TROPES:
- ML falls first (long before the FL) and quickly
- royal leads
- fantasy, magic, portals, etc
- multiple secondary couples
- no love triangles, minimal skinship

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It's not that I disagree with the positive reviews...

...but honestly I don't have the attention span for this kind of slow-progressing storyline.

The slowburn romance was lovely. Ding Yu Xi absolutely blows it out of the water as the tsundere ML who is clingy and head over heels in love but unable to show it. I love a good grumpy/sunshine setup.

But the majority of the drama revolved around the FL's career in editing and her workplace troubles, which almost immediately got tiring and I started skipping scenes by like 8 episodes in. (Ironic, actually, since I personally have worked in the fiction editing business for years now. You'd think it would be uniquely interesting to me.)

Also, Esther's voice >.< I cannot get over the baby talk, it's just impossible to ignore.

TROPES:
- boss/employee relationship (author & editor)
- grumpy ML / sunshine FL
- ML falls first and is clingy, possessive, jealous, physically affectionate
- cheerful, hardworking but poor FL
- love triangle & eventual secondary couple
- workplace drama set in the publishing industry
- good skinship, great kisses, but be prepared to wait for it

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Not a single likeable character in this drama.

Moreover, the main storyline involves a woman reconnecting with and once again being pressured into physical intimacy by her first boyfriend, who sexually assaulted her in junior high.

It’s never outright stated that he assaulted her, but it’s hard for me to read that scene any other way. And it clearly leaves her traumatized well into adulthood, with the effects echoing out across all parts of her life. Pretty tragic.

All of this is romanticized, but in such a way that even if this weren’t a story about a rapist, I would hate it. There is zero chemistry between the leads, even though they spend a lot of time in physical/sexual contact and talking about sex. The FL is not so much a character as a cardboard box with eyes drawn on it. The ML is at least supposed to be stoic in character, but the ML’s actor took this as a free pass to not bother emoting at all and just looks like a personified brick wall in most scenes.

I also hated the second leads. Everyone in that house was a trainwreck. “Screw-Up Adults Sharehouse” indeed.

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Somehow made me love Seo In Guk even more

I’ve always loved Seo In Guk—Reply 1997 was one of the first Asian dramas I ever watched as a kid—-but this role is something else, seriously. His portrayal of a fundamentally damaged, terrifyingly cold man, who’s desperately seeking meaning in a world he doesn’t understand, was SO moving.

So, I cried my eyes out, will be needing about 50 hours of fluff dramas after completing this one.

TROPES (spoilers)
- anti-hero ML, cold man/warm woman
- murder mystery and some procedural vibes
- ML falls first and chases first
- affectionate lead couple
- fateful past connection
- amnesia from childhood trauma
- found family

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