Kill Me Love Me (2024)

When Chemistry matters

I binge watched this drama because I enjoyed the pace and everything about it was put together with a lot of effort. However, I stopped watching for a few weeks when I googled "happy or sad ending", and got my answer. I was not in the frame of mind to experience what the drama seemed to be foretelling. I returned to it, basically, because the chemistry between many of the characters was worth the price of having what I thought would be my heart ripped out at the end. I was very, very pleasantly surprised. First, the acting was outstanding. If I didn't give it a 10, it was because a few of the secondary characters were a bit one dimensional and it shadowed the exceptional work of the others. Perhaps it was the script, or the direction they were given, but I thought Bi Wen Jun, and Baron Chen did not develop their characters to support their purpose. I also found it difficult to believe that Zi Gu and Yue Qin could be raised with such a heartless father and not be afflicted or hardened to a degree. Both were such puppies with soft little underbellies. Zi Gu stayed in this character throughout the drama and so it became her truth. This allowed me to suspend my disbelief and get caught up in her relationship with the emperor, Murong Qian. And before I hear the protests about the spring/winter relationship, remember this is OLDEN TIMES. Don't preach to the reader. Besides, maybe it's because I'm a little older, but I think Jiang Kai is kind of hot. The filters and makeup made him look attractive and the way he carried himself made him look downright handsome. I believed their relationship. Yue Qin , to me, was not believable. His love for the leading lady... sure... but a future emperor.... no way. Can I get a shout out to Shao Wei Tong as Qing Yan and Zhao Xiao Tang as Yin Luo Mei. Both were very skilled and their performances were believeable. The makeup on that bloody eye was too, too realistic and praiseworthy. Qing Yan had to be the best "bro" character. I've seen him in the same parts in other dramas and I am always pleased. Now the OST: The opener was awesome; the build up was noteworthy. Every song went well with the storyline. And besides, who doesn't love Liu Yuning? If you don't.... have your ears checked. I'm just sayin'......
I've unintentionally written a long review when I actually came on to talk about the ending. Anyone who finished the drama, read on; anyone who didn't... read at your own risk. This had to be one of the best sad ending saves in the history of Chinese historical dramas. There was no open ending, there was no sobbing uncontrollably. It posed a question, "what if this or that had never happened" and created just a nice, warm alternative scenario. I LOVED IT! I experienced reality and then it gave me a warm back rub and pat on my head. Just the right amount of consoling. Their fated relationship took another shape, and that shape was perfect for my heart to fit into it. I felt like my time was well spent.
On a side note: I don't know what filters they used on the cameras, But Liu Xue Yi and Wu Jin Yan Looked absolutely stunning and the costumes were dazzling. They are great actors, for sure, but I couldn't take my eyes off of them. That's all. I want to finish before your eyes disintegrate. Happy future drama watching everyone.

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Loved it but unnecessary tearjerker ?

So, this was the first drama I've watched in a while. I watched this without knowing much about the story, so I was really excited about the revenge assassin, enemies to lovers, type of show, but it fizzles out after the first few episodes. I LOVEDDD Mei Lin acting as an assassin and trying to seduce Murong Jing He, but that tension dies out quickly, and they're just partners working together to get revenge, which is okay, but all that tension they had in the first few episodes goes away and they're just like...coworkers.

There were a couple of unsatisfying parts of the show, which include:

General Yin deeply falling in love with the crown prince. She loved Murong Jing He for so long yet quickly moves on to the crown prince after she sees the room he dedicated to her? Like okay, but bffr.

The crown prince dying--Mei Lin wanted to kill the real Qingzhou mass murderer or at least see him die, but instead of Mei Lin (the main character, mind you) getting what she wishes for, the crown prince gets a nice, comfy death as he's straddled in the arms of the one he loves. Like, he didn't even show remorse at the end, he said some bs like "Oh General Yin if only we were together earlier [I may not have turned out like this." LIKE?!?!?! That made me mad.

All of the side characters dying--I think another thing is, the side characters weren't developed enough for me to be really sad when they died. Also, I already knew Concubine Yan would die when they showed that slow mo shot of her in the first few episodes. I was really sad when Qingyan died though. Also A-Wei. The writers didn't need to do that to me.

Last, but not least--KILLING MEI LIN?!?!? Like I have dried up tears and snot on my face because the writers wanted to fuck around and kill her off WHEN IT DOESNT EVEN HAPPEN IN THE ORIGINAL NOVEL 😭😭 When Jing He and Mei Lin were finally together, it was really satisfying to see them come full circle in their journey together. But seeing them have such a short amount of time with each other really made me sob. But I sobbed in vain because the novel allegedly has a happy ending. w h a t

Here's some satisfying parts: the first few episodes

All in all, I spent a week pushing back assignments to watch this show, and...it ended up being okay.

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changed story

they changed the story to the point that it deviated from the novel. I wish they kept the story line and censored the R rated parts. they kept the essence of the story like her poisoning brother dying, him caring a corpse in town etc but in the novel she didn’t die the crown prince. She was infatuated with murong jinghe until the last moment. in all I want too impressed with this story. very disappointed actually. but all in all it was not too bad. At least the characters were mature and acted like it. No annoying FL. kisses were believable and so was their ❤️

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Um fim doloroso

Mate-me, Ame-me" é um drama muito interessante que vai além do romance tradicional. A série destaca a luta pela justiça dos personagens, tornando a trama mais rica e complexa. Além do romance, o drama aborda questões de amor e justiça, proporcionando uma experiência envolvente.

A história consegue equilibrar bem o romance e as lutas pessoais dos personagens, o que mantém o público cativado do início ao fim. Os personagens são bem desenvolvidos e suas jornadas emocionam e provocam reflexão.

Apesar de alguns momentos que poderiam ter sido melhor trabalhados, "Mate-me, Ame-me" se destaca pela profundidade dos seus temas e pela forma como aborda questões relevantes, como amor e justiça, de uma maneira cativante e emocionante. É uma série que vale a pena assistir pela sua narrativa envolvente e personagens marcantes.

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Good until Ep24 :(

Spoiler review here:

Started off really really well! We had a somewhat psychotic/ playing dumb ML, a desperate for revenge badass FL and an extremely interesting plot setting! The ML was then revealed to be mistakenly wronged- framed for crimes he did not commit. This I felt was revealed wayyy to early (ep 3 or 4). Could have played with this idea until prob ep8.

Lots of fighting scenes to keep you in suspense. The basic plot is nothing new, but conspiracies and maliciousness of the characters are enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Somewhere in the middle, they get lost in and live in a small village for awhile. Here I felt the inconsistency of the ML character- he suddenly became such a puppy lol and to me didn’t suit his character.

Once the Crown Prince was found to be the ultimate mastermind behind everything, the drama started going downhill. Firstly, his punishment was WAYYY TOO EASY!! Should have at least dedicated one whole episode to torture him and make him pay heavily and publicly for his crimes. Then the whole story shifts to Xiyan, which I found so stupid with the witch doctor shaking her shoulders and hands to summon the gods lol. I understand the writers had to rebuild the town of Qingzhou, so that Murong Jinghe can atone for his guilt, but the Xiyan story was just unnecessary.

The whole romance storyline with The King of Great Yan and Concubine Yan was eeelch!! Disgusting- like grandfather 60s and young girl early 20s which I suppose was the norm in those days. But still… I just had to ff those scenes.

The ending - [SPOILER] is a sad one boooo. Sigh.. probably rightfully so. But I was glad they were there for each other till the end. The chemistry between leads was great, two very intense kiss scenes ;) The character I felt the most tragic was Qingyan- jinghe’s trustee bodyguard!! True and loyal till the end, saved his life numerous times.

They did try to add some humour and light heartedness to the whole drama, but didn’t find it that humorous. Should have just stuck to romance and thriller suspense. Anyhow, a good watch with an unfortunate last third not up to expectations.

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This had so much potential!

This is one of my first reviews ever, but I felt the need to write about this so bad.
The first couple of episodes were incredibly well done and enticing; however, it slowly starts the go down. The story started really interesting and the cinematography was incredible! The shots and the acting what really kept me going for this one. And I really liked that the story did not go in circles and issues were resolved as quickly (sometimes too quickly).
Yet the writing through the end was really upsetting. Resolving the issues that started the story was a great move but stretched far too long. It bored me so much. It was sad to see that such good drama was butchered with the writing at the end.
What really kept me on the show was the acting! It was truly a pleasure to watch the FL and ML (especially him) act so genuinely. Every time ML had blurry eyes, right on point, I had blurry eyes. I liked their acting, I would watch everything with them in it. I cannot praise this enough.
How I hope that one day I will be able to see not annoying acting with not annoying writing!

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A Waste of a Good Concept and a Great Cast of Actors

I had such high expectations for this drama and had hoped that it would be better than Liu Xueyi's previous project, In Blossom. But sadly, it's subjectively much worse. Even though he is paired with a more capable leading lady in this and has better chemistry with her, the writing just isn't up to snuff. The drama crashes and burns pretty much from the get-go. The first few episodes are kinda interesting. A romance between a domineering and borderline psychotic leading man and a badass female lead determined to end him is something I haven't quite seen in a C-drama before. Alas, the drama only plays with the concept but never fully realizes it as if afraid to explore a truly toxic romance.

The story is a jumbled mess. I didn't know how to make of it and I got the feeling the writers didn't know what they wanted it to be either. It's like a patchwork of different subplots that don't seamlessly fit together. The transitions from one story arc to another are badly executed and the writing is filled with overused and melodramatic tropes that I wish would disappear from dramas altogether. The drama also runs a little too long. It should've ended by the 25th episode. But instead, they let it drag on even though there's practically nothing else to tell. I blame the writing for this, they should've gotten better writers to adapt the novel. The cast, in general, did what they could with the material given to them. Although I wish they had chosen other actors to play certain roles, I was satisfied with the cast for the most part. It's a shame because they could've made something far more engaging with this plot. The only thing that made this drama watchable for me is Liu Xueyi's acting that is always on point.

The production is pretty decent. Kudos to the costume and makeup department for the styling of the actors. The music is alright. The soundtrack and musical score don't really stand out to me but serviceable. But that's about it. I don't know what else to say about this drama. I had it to put it on hold after I finished watching the 23rd episode because I completely lost interest. It dragged so heavily by the last few episodes that completing it was agonizing. This is simply not my cup of tea. They wasted a good concept and a great cast of actors.

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It had potential but lost it

Mei lin lost her parents in a fire plotted by one of the royal family.
Jinghe has been wrongly accused of causing the massacre of Qingzhou
Both decided to work together when Meilin found out who the real culprit is.
Honestly, the drama started very well! The back and forth schemes between the crown prince and Jinghe had me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, after the big bad wolf was taken down, the drama seemed to have fallen off for me. lol
A lot of the actors played their part well:
Liu Xue Yi became a psycho maniac guy to a loving husband. I've only watched one of his dramas thus far, but this drama definitely showcase the variety of techniques he's able to bring to the drama. His eyes has so much emotion in them, he didn't need to talk. LOL This is what I think is a really good actor who can move their facial muscles even as cold, stoic person. Not many actors can do this, Liu is an exception.

Wu Jin Yan also did quite well. i guess I watched too many of her dramas since Yanxi Palace and this drama just felt similar. Her acting is neither terrible nor pheneomal here. It didn't have much of a wow factor for me. I think her action scenes were beautiful though, I loved every action stunt she displayed.

One of the outstanding actors I would say in this dramas has to be Baron Chen who played Xuanliu, the crown prince.
Maybe I am biased as I've been a fan of his acting since Fated to Love You (classic) and damn... I must say he did a PHENOMENAL job as the villain. The variety of emotions he has displayed from innocence, anger, love, etc. His acting had me pausing during the climax of the drama because it was thrilling and NERVE-RACKING to see who would win. For once, I am satisfied with a villain's death.

The king and Princess Yan's relationship was cute - albeit I can't help but think in the back of my mind how wrong it is. I had to constantly remind myself ancient China had concubines as young as her.. and it was fine back then. Regardless, I did like the King in this drama because he seems to have emotion that no other kings would displayhe was quite gentle and caring.

Once again, this drama started off quite strong, it had purpose and when that purpose was done -there was about ...6 episodes left and I just skipped most of the scenes. I thought the drama should've ended at episode 26 instead of 32. However, I suppose the leads had to wrap up loose ends with Qingzhou, and their relationship.
Would I recommend it?
If you like action scenes, thrill, schemes, sure. But if you don't want to waste your time, I'd suggest stopping at episode 26 or so. LOL

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