Zhi Bi (2024)

Free will or the fate

I somehow grew to like these short historical c dramas. First of all they are short so they do not have time to waste on fillers and unnecessary side plots. Second of all, they are historical i.e. costume dramas which have no relation to real history. And finally, they are pretty to watch: pretty people dressed in pretty clothes inside pretty sets accompanied by pretty music.

Fortune Writer is one of the better ones, combining seamlessly costume drama and characters-inside -a-book drama. Even though the plot gets a bit complicated and repetitive, it is certainly worthy of the watch.

The story follows Yun Qui, the daughter of the Prime Minister as she realizes that she is a character in a book, written by the fortune (or fate) writer and decides to rebel against her tragic fate by lying and manipulating other characters. I loved the FL: she is an unabashedly gray character, not entirely evil but not far either. When the drama started, I thought she was a side character molesting the usual pretty and kind princess.

The story is tightly written. The mysteries are revealed one at a time steadily. The characters are not what they seem to be , there is a depth in them which is a nice change for a short drama. The main point of the story is the duel of wits between YunQui and the Fortune Writer. She is convinced that she is the sole master of her own fate which the FW refuses to admit. The whole concept of FW is an interesting one: they come into existence when individuals have something they deeply desire so in order to obtain it they are allowed to manipulate the lives of other people. The FW invades bodies of such people. Yun Qui refuses the offer eventually, and lets everyone in her vicinity have free will. Could this be a pique to the current politics? I wonder....

The acting was solid though I found the chemistry between the leads lacking: the main actor has one expression throughout the drama. Whether he is in love or in pain, hungry or constipated, it is always the same stony face! But I loved his line: "Just keep lying to me! I don't care!" He was in love!

I needed to suspend belief a few times especially when falling off of a cliff or when arrow wounds were concerned. At one point, the FL has an arrow buried in her shoulder, pulls it out (no visible blood) and continues as if nothing happened. When a friend sees her a few minutes later, he gives her a handkerchief she uses to wipe her chin, the arrow wound has somehow magically disappeared. This made me lose concentration badly!

Another good point for this drama is that the version on youtube is mercifully free of audio problems: they found the way to air a complete drama without cutting the sound. This is the first!

Lire davantage

Reminder of the strength and resilience within us all

"Fortune Writer" is an extraordinary drama that captivated my heart and soul as I've never fond of any drama to this extentIt tells the poignant story of a woman who, despite facing numerous challenges, transforms her fate through unwavering persistence and living with unyielding dignity.

The narrative is beautifully woven, showcasing the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Each episode is a testament to the incredible strength and resilience that women possess. The performances are deeply moving, and the storyline is both compelling and inspirational.

This drama is a powerful reminder that no matter the obstacles, one can change their destiny with determination and grace. "Fortune Writer" is not just a story; it’s a beacon of hope and a call to live life with courage and integrity.

A must-watch for anyone seeking inspiration and a renewed sense of purpose. 🌟

Lire davantage

First time I've ever said this: the series is too SHORT!

Greetings,

Daisy Li showed up midway in A DREAM OF SPLENDOR and stood out in an already fantastic female cast. Short, scrappy, moody, pretty with big ears -- what's not to love? That's why I decided to give this micro-series a roll.

This series is decent but it suffers from a bumpy premise device. A Book of Fate makes all the rules in this story, and we don't know why the book exists, what rules it must follow, what rules it can break -- and eventually -- it came off to me as a device making all sorts of twists possible instead of believable. The twists also came too many too fast.

Whereas most series seem to be longer than they need to be, this series was too short. I think somewhere between 12 - 20 full length episodes would have covered it. But I chose this series as a bit of bubblegum between more serious series and the sweet taste lasted the entire time, so maybe shorter was the right idea.

I can now say that Daisy Li should be getting more lead roles. She's looks 23, is actually 31, but whenever she lowered her voice in pain and sorrow you FELT her actual age and it was perfect. Yes, she's likely going to get impish roles for the next few years, but I hope they give the edge she sometimes had here.

Speaking of an edge, this series had a little too much choking and stabbing of women for my taste. I love many Chinese romantic dramas because they pull back some on violence, but in just the three years I've been enjoying the 'sex' and violence have been ramping up to Western media excess.

(I put 'sex' in quotes because actually the ramping up there is good. No, I haven't really seen many sex scenes. What I have seen is couples actually kissing instead of the story going out of it's way to removing kissing from romances. My favorite scene of this short series is a great kiss. Wife and I have rewatched it about 10 times, lol.)

The male lead here was generic during the first third of this series but came to life afterwards. I'll keep an eye on his career too.

All in all a satisfying tale, but I wish the entire book thing was simpler instead of jarring. (I would have gone with a lady that talks to her in her dreams and begins appearing as a ghost in real life.)

Lire davantage

Engrossed in this angsty tale of free will vs. fate

I found out about this mini series through reddit. A user highly recommended "Fortune Writer" because of its storyline.

What I liked:
1. Writing - I must say that this is one well-written mini dramas. I was engrossed and as each episode unravelled, I was surprised by the unpredictable nature of this story. Episode 6 is my favourite episode - what a plot twist!
2. Daisy Li's acting - This is my first watching her work and I was captivated by her performance. She was able to convey different emotions from vengeful and wrath to sympathy and kindness.
3. Su Yun Qi characterisation - It's rare to see a complex female lead that is wonderfully written. Some of her actions baffled me but it's hard for me to hate her. I understand why she took those actions.
4. Jin Jiu - She's an awesome sidekick! Love her for being fierce yet compassionate.

What I disliked:
1. Fortune writer ending - [Spoiler ahead] Since LuoLuo and Lu Huai knew about the existence of fortune writer, I wish they rallied behind Yun Qi and together all three fought against their predetermined "fate". Let fortune writer suffer the unruly / unpredictable behaviours that were outside of fortune writer's control.
2. Ye Sheng Jia's acting - Lu Huai was always frowning so maybe I should blame the director or writer. Anyway I feel like Ye Sheng Jia could have done better in expressing conflicted emotions.

Favourite scene
From the auction until the heartbreaking conversation between Yun Qi and LuoLuo

Lire davantage

How would you like your fortune [re-]written?

After finding out she (and everyone else) is a character from a book, Su Yun Qi decided that she shall not succumb to her fate and set out to change her supposedly tragic ending. Who wouldn’t want to root for free will over destiny?

With only 24 episodes of 17mins odd long, Fortune Writer plot definitely isn’t a drag. However, it still has got to have the right key ingredients to capture audience’s attention, as in any other stories.

Fortunately, Fortune Writer has female lead. Daisy Li is a great casting choice for the defiant Su Yun Qi who holds her fate in her own hands. Many a times, I was bothered by some of the plot holes or choppy switch scenes, only to be lured back in the story again by Daisy. She made me want to root for Su Yun Qi’s fight against the Book of Fate - and this is where it’s half the success.

Unfortunately, what stop short for me with Fortune Writer is the plot holes and choppy switch scenes as mentioned above. While I don’t need every story to have a conclusive answer, I feel that I have a lot of my questions about the Book of Fate, its ‘obsession’ on Su Yun Qi and general mechanics unanswered at episode 24. On one hand, it wittingly chided the problematic plots in idol romance stories, on the other hand, it somehow feels as though it loses track on the main theme of the story with some disturbing choices made by the female lead.

…or maybe, this is the point Fortune Writer wants to make. That life has lots of contradictions…?

Also, the “real” leads of Fortune Writer, Su Yun Qi and Lu Huai don’t have the sizzling chemistry on their side. It’s passable, just not the ones where it is strong enough to make you forgive everything else you may dislike about the story.

That said, I feel it’s still worth picking up Fortune Writer for the sassy female lead. Cherry on the top that it’s a short drama with no fillers!

P.S. maybe also worth checking out justjacky review which gives an interesting interpretation on the plot holes, and thus, a new appreciation of Fortune Writer

Lire davantage

Defying fate | The untold sufferings of the antagonist in finding love & overcoming her inner demons

"Hold the knife steadily when killing someone." - Lu Huai

How are people giving this ingenious narrative a score leser than "Perfect 10" when it had executed beyond expectation all throughout? UNFAIR!!

I will be very honest and say that I started this drama with a prejudice of the plot and how will it unfold so I wasn't that amuse at first and is cynical instead of the story simply because of the reviews I have read here in MDL. However, let me tell you something...this drama is more than the reviews it received so far from its viewers and I think it deserves more recognition and popularity for how good it actually is. So I really want more people who may happen to stumble upon this review of mine in the future to know that this drama is one of those projects you don't see and encounter being produce often, so here I am encouraging you to just watch it and discard any unnecessary groundless preconceptions you have for this story and let yourself be the judge on how you want to view this drama after you finish watching it.

I will also say that the first several episodes may bring your skeptical thoughts go active and wild but please don't let that cloud and hinder your opinion and experience in watching this drama because I assure you that it offers more than just that. That this drama is a wonderful surprise in which you will only appreciate once you have deep dive into it and truly understand the message of the Writer. So I hope that anyone can watch this drama because they want to experience and see firsthand how it actually is compared to just watching it only to prove that this and/or that review is accurate.

I used to think that the writer wanted to gaslight Su Yun Qi (FL) by justifying all of her evil doings and making her appear as a heroine who are just doing things for revenge. But then, as the story goes on I realized that it's actually wasn't the case at all. In fact Su Yun Qi's nature never really changed nor did the writer tried even once to paint her as a good girl. Instead she stayed true to her character and remained an evil bitch the entire time which makes her more interesting and captivating for me. That's also when I realized that this story isn't about her turning into a new leaf or transforming into another persona but more on her personal growth as an individual by experiencing different feelings—grief and sorrow (for losing the most important person in her life), physical pain (that she almost never experience before), hardships and betrayal (coming from her own Father) and lastly, love and heartbreak (which took her a lot of time to finally accept and hold onto because of the reservations and hesitations she used to have)—thus it taught her to differentiate between what's truly important in life and be more appreciative and capable of accepting and loving someone even at the expense of her esteemed dignity.

Regarding the story flow and overall progression, I'd say that the writer and director had a clear and detailed plan on how they want to present and execute the story to make it appealing to its audience. The fact that this is a mini drama which runs 10-14 minutes or less each episode yet they still delivered seamlessly speaks a lot to me. I can see that they really go sequence per sequence for each episode and only selected what's relevant and crucial to the story line which truly impresses and satisfies me. The story progression all comes natural and I am honestly in awe with my familiarity with the characters, as if I was given background of them prior to watching the drama. It also fascinates me how they're able to introduce the characters and make them leave a lasting impression to its viewers which solidifies their role and purpose in the story.

Lastly I wanna talk about is the eerie yet unique chemistry between the Main leads. Both of them are visually good but what made me drawn to them is their menacing aura. They exude an intimidating air that sends this "I'm not someone you should mess with" message. They're like "Yin and Yang" that balances each other. Lu Huai being the kinder person who hides his soft heart through his stoic and ruthless facade and Su Yun Qi as his counterpart who's overflowing with evilness and dark energy. Love them both!

P.S. Watching this felt weird because I can't technically support the FL for how evil she is yet can't hate her as well. You just gotta love and hate her for unconditionally. A complicated yet brilliantly written character.

"From love comes sorrow and fear. Those who are away from love have neither sorrow nor fear." - Yun Sheng

Story - 10, I started this drama out of curiousity and I never really expected to like it this much. The story is mesmerizing and will keep you engrossed to it until the very end. The sequences and events are perfectly integrated which made it easier for me to understand the story. Another thing is that it will be impossible for anyone to question the plot because they left no plot hole in it.

Acting/Cast - 10, I'm pleased and highly satisfied. I'm not very familiar with the cast but I'm sure I have watched some of them in various projects before. Daisy Li (FL) stood out for me the most. She played, nailed and owned her character. What a terrific actress.

Music - 9.5, I honestly only heard one (1) song the entire time and I can't blame them for that (since their time is limited). Nonetheless, the music were utilized properly and they made sure that it highlighted the emotions of the scenes it was being used to.

Rewatch Value - 10, I sincerely wanna recommend this to everyone. Please do give it a try and experience this weird and unfamiliar yet fantastic feeling I have had while watching it. I assure you that it's all gonna be worth it!

Overall - 10, This is a truly unexpected drama for me. At first, I even thought that I will only give this a rating of 8.0 or 9.0 but look at me now? Hahaha! It was well created and produced and will make you realize that there really are many more sides of the story that hasn't been told and explored yet. So I implore everybody to just give it a try. I highly recommend this one.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

Lire davantage

very underrated- Dont watch the compilation

The storyline is really nice. The main thing that was likable was the backbone of the female lead. I really liked her character. Unfortunately, i watched the compilation instead of the individual episodes, which i strongly do not recommend doing. please watch the individual long episodes from the get go. Towards the end, we see a lots of philosophically charged moments, and i think that this show handled this genre of "im just a character within a story" much much better that even mainstream and popular shows like extraordinary you- albeit lacking a bit in the production quality.
We do see some problematic tropes- like forcible kissing and all, but they seem to be used so commonly to depict a 'love-but-hate' relationship that i just skip them. It rare to find a show that doesnt have them at this point.
Daisy Li playing the FL is also quite good- with her performances always being nice. I hope she gets main roles in bigger and better dramas.
Ill admit that i found the ML's performance to be a little woody and not in the same frequency as the FL, but thats ok, cause he's almost a side character, and the story doesnt really focus on him. Although Liu Shang Lin playing Prince Chun, emoted wayy better in the even shorter screentime given to him. idk. The other side characters were ok-ok. FL is the main focus.

Lire davantage

One of the best mini dramas that I've watched

This is very different and unique compared to other lately released cdramas.
Despite being a short drama, a lot of stuff happens in each episode
Each episode is full of meaning.
For those who are confused with the plot, this drama has a Daoism philosophical message, derived from Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly. You can google what's all about.
Moreover, this story challenges the realms of good and bad, the concept of antagonist and protagonist..
Also, it makes us think about the Free will or the fate...?
Is she born like this? or Is it her will to act this way? how is this applied to the real world?
It mocks the typical love stories in dramas. It beautifully make fun of all those cdrama cliche stuff that usually happens in every cdrama story.
in another review that I read here "amusedbush" has explained many of these "swipes taken at cliche tropes" in detail in each ep of the drama.
I really enjoyed this aspect of the drama 😂.
The twists and turns got a little bit messy in middle but overall was ok.
About the acting Daisy Li as Su Yun Qi did a great job. She is amazing. Her role as a grey character really fits her.
But about the Ml (Ye Sheng Jia
as Lu Huai), He's got such baby face look that really I can not take him seriously as a swordman and a cruel general. He sounds like a teenage boy.
I will definitely rewatch this underrated gem again.

Lire davantage