Zhi Bi (2024)

Une mini-série étonnante qui brise les clichés

Depuis quelques temps je suis curieuse de ces mini-dramas d'une vingtaine d'épisodes qui ne durent que 10 minutes. Ce format court exploite bien souvent des scénarios très convenus, mais offre aussi à l'occasion quelques bonnes surprises qui démontrent une prise de risque assez sympathique. Ce drama nous dépeint une héroïne très étonnante pour un drama chinois. Elle est égoïste, déterminée et indomptable, et fait toujours ce qu'on n'attend pas d'elle. Après avoir découvert qu'elle était l'antagoniste d'une romance très clichée dans laquelle son destin est de mourir après avoir bien pourri la vie de sa gentille soeur, elle refuse d'accomplir les actions dictées par le "Fortune Writer" et décide de tout faire pour choisir son chemin sans jamais perdre sa détermination, même si ça signifie trahir l'homme qu'elle aime s'il le faut. Au diable les sacrifices pour un bien-aimé, rien à battre de la rédemption, l'histoire lui déplaît et tant pis si ça fait d'elle un personnage trop normal pour mériter le statut d'héroïne. De par sa normalité, l'acceptation de ses qualités et de ses défauts, l'absence de faux-semblants (elle assume pleinement qui elle est), elle estime avoir le droit au bonheur et elle a bien raison. On la voit mentir, tricher, menacer, manipuler, ce qui donne quelques sueurs froides à l'écrivain qui voudrait la soumettre. Elle ne perd jamais son objectif de vue et parvient à l'atteindre à sa manière. Le talent de l'actrice, qui nous offre une protagoniste haute en couleur comme on en voudrait plus, la rend très attachante malgré son caractère de parfaite anti-héroïne. Elle se bat de toutes ses forces pour survivre et c'est pour ça qu'on l'aime.

Dans la plupart des histoires de transmigration, de tentatives de déjouer le destin ou autres retours dans le passé, la censure chinoise passe par-là et empêche les protagonistes d'avoir une fin différente de ce qui était prévu. Ce drama critique ce système sans vergogne, saisissant tous ces clichés barbants pour en prendre le contrepied et nous montrer qu'une histoire différente, avec des personnages simplement humains débarrassés de leurs personnalités lisses et stéréotypées, peut être tout aussi intéressante.

Certes, l'histoire semble un peu brouillon par moment, on voit clairement que c'est une production à petit budget, et le thème initial (la protagoniste qui se rend compte qu'elle est un personnage de fiction) n'est pas nouveau, mais l'intelligence du scénario et encore une fois, le talent de l'actrice principale compensent aisément ces défauts. C'est un drama étonnant dans le paysage des séries chinoises actuelles, le pied de nez au cahier des charges est une prise de risque inattendue mais ça fonctionne. J'espère que ça ouvrira la porte à de nouvelles histoires qui sauront s'éloigner des sentiers battus, Et des héroïnes comme celle-là, j'en redemande.

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Angsty, Murderous and Twisty

This is definitely a dark, short length cdrama. I’ve written the trigger warnings below. The drama is about the female lead who discovers she is a novel character assigned the role of the villain who dies at the end of the story. With the help of the “Book of Fate” (a book that has the future story written down), she begins to fight against fate to change her tragic ending.

POSITIVE:
- Villainous/cunning female lead.
- Heartless/morally grey male lead.
- 100% angst. The plot, the romance, everything is angsty.
- Murderous vibes.
- Lots of twists and turns.
- A pinch of sweet moments. Yes, there are sweet romantic moments but they are very sparse.
- Non cliche path. The writers really went to places that not a lot of dramas dare to do.

NEGATIVE:
- Too dark at times. Some scenes were very disturbing to watch and very emotionally heavy.
- The male lead was great but at the same time I felt something was missing. Not sure if it was the fact that he has a baby face when his character is ruthless or maybe that he needed to have more scenes at certain plot points that were important for his character.

OVERALL:
If you want a villainous female lead with 100% angsty plot, romance and murder vibes, watch this drama.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Multiple attempts of r**e, as well as suicide, abuse and murdering.
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READ THE BELOW ONLY IF YOU’VE FINISHED THE DRAMA!!!!!!!
I saw some comments from people saying that there are plot holes (not true) in the drama and some people being confused about the ending. Here are my explanations about the ending and Book of Fate.

How did the Book of Fate fall into the FL’s hands?
FL began to have desires that were different from what the Book of Fate had written. That’s why in the end FL says to the Fortune Writer “You want to control everything. I’m your worst ending”. In the very final scene, we have a little boy that opens another Book of Fate and the new Fortune Writer says “as long as there are desires, I’m here”

How did ML break out of Fortune Writer’s hold?
Just like the FL, he had strong desires that were different from what the Fortune Writer had written. He was always supposed to kill FL, not protect her. As his desire to love and protect her grew, the hold the Fortune Writer had on him lessened.

How does ML regain his memories?
We see the ML getting glimpses of his memories before he kills himself to protect FL. After FL defeats the Fortune Writer, we see all characters forging their own path. Since ML’s desire is to be with FL, he regains his full memories to fulfil his desired path. In the drama it’s mentioned that 3 months have passed, that is more than enough time for him to regain his memories.

Who is the ultimate Fortune Writer?
In the final scene, a little boy gets the book and thus a new cycle begins. The boy is just like the FL that will start fighting with the new Fortune Writer. The point is that everyone in this drama is a book character, so as long as they are book characters there will always be a Fortune Writer that they will fight against. The characters and the Fortune Writer are interconnected. Every story needs a writer. And every writer needs its characters.

The drama also mentions “Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly”. Fortune Writer also says that in the drama “Am I dreaming or are you dreaming” “Are you real or am I real”. The dream of a butterfly tells the change in consciousness between reality and illusion. To me this shows that FL “awakens” from the novel and becomes her own real self. So from another perspective we can see the Fortune Writer is another part of the FL. Both are playing their respective roles. When you think about it, even though Fortune Writer seems like the enemy, he actually pushes FL to awaken and break free. Otherwise why would FL gain the ability to see the plot before it happens. It's all connected.

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Fortune Favours The Bold: Subverting All Expectations

I. The Good
There's an unequivocal happy ending.

The plot is fantabulous. It's a refreshing take on the 'cannon fodder realises they're merely fictional characters; hugs big thigh to survive' trope. The FL refuses to succumb to her role as the evil cannon fodder, and stubbornly pits her wits against the Fortune Author once she discovers that she can push the storyline so long as the ink is not dry yet. The plot doesn't whitewash the FL as a misunderstood 'good' person. She is no meek, timid, mealy-mouthed damsel in distress. She is pragmatic, conniving, and arrogant, and will lie, cheat, and steal as means to an end. The FL commits all kinds of evilry to get the Big Thigh ML on her side and to ensure her own survival. Mr Big Thigh ML falls in love with the FL, sins and all, recognising that everyone has their good side and their bad, and she's just more honest about hers. The storyline constantly subverts expectations (e.g., the FL really isn't a 'good' person, the 2FL isn't really a 'bad' person, the various pot shots at cliche tropes).

I really, really loved the swipes taken at cliche tropes. In episode 9, the FL questions the need for people to hide in bathtubs. In episode 11, the doctor complains "Don't you think accidents happen to you too often? Two days ago she was poisoned, and today she's been shot!". In episode 13, when they were unable to feed the passed out ML medicine, and the 2FL is about to feed the medicine via mouth-to-mouth, the FL says "You couldn't get it in using your hand, but you can using you mouth? Do you think he has a special mouth-opening switch that turns on with a kiss?"

The costumes are gorgeous and intricate, even when the FL is dressed like Minnie Mouse in a few scenes. The details in the sets are superb, e.g., the delicate painting of cherry blossoms behind the ML and the exquisite lamp designs. The production team committed their entire music budget to one song, and it produced a beautiful, poignant melody with melancholic tailored lyrics that really elevated the scenes to full-length drama level.

LMC's acting as the FL has improved significantly, although she struggled in some scenes to emote sufficiently. Surprisingly, YSJ made a believable ML, which is a credit to his acting chops because his babyface was really difficult to get past, which leads me to the bad.

II. The Bad
YSJ's babyface had me struggling to believe he was supposed to be the merciless and ruthless ML. However, the combination of his acting skills and the strategic camera angles helped to glaze over this, especially during the steamy scenes (otherwise the audience would uncomfortably feel the need to sit in jail).

ZMY's acting as the 2FL was hard to watch. I get that she's supposed to play the ingénue role, but all she did was stand there widening her eyes and pouting her lips for every scene. The only time she came to life was in the last episode, when she and the FL are huffing at each other.

III. The Ugly
This drama is not for the liberals and for those who are triggered by some events due to some plot devices. The FL fakes a rape attack to trick the ML into taking her home with him. The FL physically harms herself and threatens suicide more than once.

There are also missing plot points, e.g., why or how did the Fate Book fall into the FL's hands, how did the ML break out of the Fortune Author's hold, when or why did the ML regain his memories.

IV. Verdict
I really enjoyed the constant subversion of expectations and will definitely rewatch this. For this drama to be pleasurable, you must not think too hard. It does make you examine why you think that only 'good' people deserve happy endings when really, most of us have our deep, dark thoughts that we never share because we're afraid of being marginalised and in all actuality, we would do the same as the FL.

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Very entertaining, new approach, but could have been more

I love the begging and I love the end.
I was so happy because it have a different approach to the whole back in time and revive stories.
The thing is, what a mess during the middle. It gets so repetitive, it gets confuse and it has a lot of unnecessary little plots.
It could have been amazing, but I had to lower the rate because I just got really tired during the drama. What a shame.

Good things: The FL is amazing. The production is definitely beautiful. Very interesting story. Good end.

Bad things: The story loses its track during the middle. I'm not sure if the ML it's the best for the role, he is definitely handsome though. The other characters are just there...

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a drama that should gain more recognition!

i don't usually write reviews, but i will for this drama that has such a unique storyline that i dont understand why it's so underrated for the international viewers (it's super popular in mainland china itself)! i am here to show some support!

the story is already unique for telling the drama from a second female lead's pov, the second female lead that is supposed to get into our FL and ML's way every single time, and then when she's almost getting what she wants, the FL and ML takes their revenge and our poor second FL have to get every bad consequences for everything she does. but our FL here WILL NOT accept this fate, she will write her own fate and decide her own ending! (despite all the twists and turns and problems that she has to encounter. but no fear, because our puppy ML will be there for her every time, even if he does have to forget who she is once in a while).

this was a very fresh storyline amidst all the dramas that are airing right now, and i appreciated the breath of fresh air given to us, even if there were some minor plot holes. we don't write the rules here for the world that they are in, but we sure want to see some consistency and logic in the the rules that are presented to us. but it's something that i am willing to overlook for we were given such a fantastic cast with such acting skills + all the shade thrown on typical drama tropes (the always looking for physician because fl or ml get injured trope, the feed medicine through their mouths trope, the petals thrown into the scene trope to make out ml's heart throb, etc.). they were funny and also very unique and I LOVE IT. i will rewatch this drama again if i have time and if you have time and would like a short vacation away from typical drama storylines or storylines that are too heavy to handle or you need a cast that can act - i strongly recommend watching this drama~

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A refreshing plot with a good acting

This drama has successfully 'killed' the mainstream plot, and 'rebirth' a new storyline.
A very unique one. It might be quite confusing at first, but if you do follow the story closely you will understand and find it really entertaining. The production was really good for a short drama. I like their cinematography and its ambience. The casting, both the leads are really good in bringing me into the drama. I did not realise was so drowned in the series until I noticed that I cried when the FL cried...

If you are looking for a not-so-heavy drama to watch in your leisure, you should watch this drama!

[End = Happy Ending]

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Will sweep you away

I binged this until far too late into the night because of how addicting this story was. A mini series that does not feel like one. Interesting plot with stellar production from the costumes, sets, and choreography for the fight scenes. I was gripped by the twists and turns and unable to stop watching until I finished it; and at around 10 minutes per episode in only took a few hours to complete.

The story follows Yun Qi who accidentally comes into possession of a book called Book of Fate. She finds it silly and upsetting at first but as events begin to unfold exactly as was written she finds herself desperately trying to change her ill fate of being the wicked side character doomed to die horribly. There is a romance element to this story but it is a side plot to the main focus of her trying to beat her fate. The actress that portrays Yun Qi is phenomenal as she expresses the character's fight, despair, and cruelty.

Such an underrated and hidden gem of a story. Once you start the show you will find yourself completely swept into it. Highly recommend.

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very convincing and unique plot

story is basically based on two priniciple
1) you and only you (no one else) can change your fate. nothing or no one in the world can take the role in your instead for the fate that is been decided for you.
2) once you are ready to let go of everything and hold no desire than only you can become actually free.

other than psychological angle i find this drama also had that deeper than thou love story ..the dynamic chemistry between the leads (so called side characters acc to fate book) which gradually ended into both of them giving up on their lives to protect the other... OMG !!! what to say i am little old school and i always long for such romance in my life ...

the only negative thing i felt was cheapness in fortune writer'character that he suddenly erase the fate and rewrite it again ... but anyway in the end that all made good sense

is it worth watching ..totally
is it worth rewatching .. of course ..may be after sometime when you suddenly want to know how fate works in your life ...

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A rare anti-heroine with an interesting plot

We often fawned over anti-hero male leads, what about an anti-heroine female lead? “Fortune Writer” has an interesting and unique way of portraying a common fantasy plot of characters recognizing themselves being in a novel/story. I was actually quite surprised that the writer actually committed to giving us a female lead that’s ruthless and selfish, almost all the way till the end. She persisted on following her original plans, and did not let being in love derail her (as much as possible). I wish there are more dramas out there with these smart anti-heroines.

“Fortune Writer” makes fun of itself and common tropes, and doesn’t shy away from doing that to itself. I thought to myself, how come our female lead keeps on getting hurt and needing healing and saving from our male lead. And then, the doctor in the drama expressed what I was thinking!

Daisy Li is a good actress, and she’s probably the best web mini drama actress out there. She performs really well here. I hope she gets more roles in bigger productions and not stuck with these 10-min episodes. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the male lead. Ye Sheng Jia looks too young for the role, and when playing opposite Daisy. He is not quite up to par and his acting is a little bland. He’s very baby-faced cute though. The acting of the rest of the cast is not horrible, just average.

Since this is a mini drama, one can expect some usual shortcomings when it comes to the production. The dubbing was average but tolerable. The costumes and hair accessories are not bad and Daisy looks really pretty. Music is fine but not too memorable. It’s somewhat hard to judge the editing since these are short episodes. I wanted to watch the complete version on YouTube, but the sound quality is really bad and muted. So I have to resort to binging this by clicking ‘next’ every 10-15 minutes.

Overall, I had a great time watching “Fortune Writer”. The interesting and unique plot deserves a higher rating than other mini dramas I’ve watched, even though the acting is just OK (except for Daisy).


Completed: 8/30/2024 - Review #479

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