Best 2023 Historical Drama. Brilliant palace politics with dark romance

This drama tells the story of a female lead who goes back in time 2 years prior to her death to change her fate. In her first life, she is a selfish and manipulative woman who uses all means necessary to achieve her goal of becoming an Empress. In her second life, she realises the many mistakes she has made and tries everything in her power to change her fate and right her wrongs.

Note, the main focus of this story is the palace politics (female lead’s redemption and male lead’s revenge). The romance is a secondary focus but definitely worth it especially in the last 8 episodes. It’s reverse harem so there are three love interests. The female lead loves them for different reasons but only one is her perfect match/true love.

POSITIVE:
- Reverse harem romance is done right! We don't see the female lead jumping from one man to another or loving them at the same time. Each love interest has his own time to shine. We are first introduced to her childhood friend that loves her, then the second man who she admires for his righteousness and goodness, and then the third man who represents the perfect enemies to lovers trope.
- No love triangles or stupid misunderstandings/miscommunications.
- Dark romance with VERY hot kiss scenes.
- Main lead chemistry is hot, hot, hot. Did I say hot!
- Brilliant palace politics talks.
- Morally grey female and male lead that are both smart, cunning and wicked in their own ways.
- Male lead who achieves his goals through his intelligence rather than muscles. It’s rare in costume dramas to see a male lead who destroys his enemies with badass strategies without lifting a weapon.
- The most satisfying happy ending. The story wrapped up well and everyone gets what they deserve.
- Top-notch performance from all the cast and especially the main leads Bai Lu and Zhang Ling He.
- Slow burn romance for the main couple that is totally worth it and all the wait pays off!
- No annoying characters, no unnecessary fillers or draggy plot lines.
- Flashbacks and parallels between the first and second life were fantastically woven into the story.
- Great character development for all characters, main and support. Everyone’s motive for what they did and why made sense!

NEGATIVE:
- Cinematography is a let down but it still does not take away my enjoyment! The director really went crazy with the camera lights which irritated many viewers including me. Especially towards the end of the drama where there are many flashbacks, the blinding lights were showing up every 5 minutes which felt very, very excessive. Also, there were weird spinning effects, pink hue filters and unflattering angles as well as random “wind” blowing the actor’s hair even when they were indoors.
- As a hopeless romantic I would have loved to see more romance between main leads (or at least in earlier episodes) as their chemistry was off the charts however with how the story is set up, it makes sense why it was a very slow burn.

OVERALL:
For me this is THE BEST historical cdrama I’ve ever watched. The political plot is executed brilliantly, the dark romance is chef’s kiss and most importantly the drama portrays beautifully the female’s lead story of redemption and the male lead’s story of revenge. You will miss out a lot if you don’t give this a chance!

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Flat romance, lacklustre politics & ML reduced to side accessory

I usually start my reviews explaining what the drama is about but this one is misleading as hell. You think you get a second chance romance where the main leads rebirth from their late 30s back to 18, work on repairing their broken relationship and the corrupt court. But the story revolves around the past history and family rivalry between the female lead and the second male lead. If you are a fan of Zhang Linghe or like your male leads to be more than a love puppy support role, you will be massively disappointed with this drama.

Even though I very much enjoyed the first 12 episodes, the drama totally lost me afterwards. I was only able to finish it for ZLH, and also because of my NDD + FOMO.

The female lead in terms of her interpersonal relationships is a bully at first and emotionally insensitive to others. Although a smart cookie, confident and authority at court, in matters of the heart, she spends half the drama confused about her feelings. The second male lead has many romantic scenes with the female lead, and the focus is on his tragic first life. The director creates scenarios to make you want to sympathise with him but it all falls short and in fact annoys the audience even more. The male lead’s sole purpose in the drama is to be a love puppy and nothing more.

If the story was actually about the female lead and second male lead, I would have liked it. You have a love-hate relationship, power or love dynamic, family or love themes. I see the potential. But the writers did ZLH dirty by making him a lovesick puppy with no purpose in the plot. The poster of this drama is totally misleading and they should have put the second male lead in there (no hate to the actor, he is super cute) instead of ZLH.

POSITIVE:
- Zhang Linghe (ML). He is hands down the best part of this drama. I loved him in every scene, all his line deliveries were wonderful, he was great at comedy too. His character is a sweet, green flag cutie pie and the actor brings in the sexy factor too.
- Confident and authoritative female lead in terms of court/politics scenes.
- Lighthearted for the most part.
- Flashbacks from previous life are woven well into the story.
- Good comedy for the most part.
- Male lead’s jealousy scenes were 10/10. He cracked me up every time.
- Great acting from the main leads Zhang Linghe and Zhao Jin Mai.

NEGATIVE:
- Second male lead is actually the male lead. First half of the drama he has many romantic moments with the female lead (and even a special OST), and in the second half his story completely takes over the screen time. Giving him screen time is not as much of an issue as the way he was written and portrayed which drove many viewers into angry fits. He became an unwatchable character to the point that a lot of people were skipping his scenes. If the writers wanted to create a tragic villain, they failed.

- Male lead is just a side accessory and has no story arc. His emotional world is never explored. In all the major political plot points, he doesn’t contribute much to anything. His sole purpose is to be a love interest for the female lead. In fact, the female lead treats him badly many times but he still stays madly devoted to her. His mad devotion is never properly explained either which makes his character feel very one dimensional.

- Flat romance. The foundation of the romance is written poorly which didn’t allow me to connect with the couple. The reason their marriage failed in the first life is due to a somewhat silly misunderstanding. Even if I can find reasons why it makes sense, my biggest issue is that in episode 11 the male lead suddenly confesses that he has always loved her. But we aren’t shown why, how or when he fell for her. Aside from 2 second flashbacks where they glance at each other lovingly, we have no substance for this confession. It’s just a fact we are supposed to blindly accept. Throughout the drama he is blindly devoted to her and the writers failed to show me why. So even though the main leads looked good together, even though ZLH delivered beautiful romantic lines, I felt nothing for the couple. On top of that, their one steamy bath scene was abruptly cut, leaving the audience very unsatisfied.

- Love triangle. Usually in cdramas the female lead only has eyes for the male lead so love triangles are not really triangles for me and don’t bother me. But in this case, the female lead has actual confusing feelings for both men and is pondering for many episodes which one to choose. The worst part is that, even at episode 30 the director shows us romantic shots with her and the second male lead. In fact, they even have telepathy scenes where they stare at each other and speak the dialogue in their minds. Total soulmates right. Well, this love triangle could have worked if it was written right. But the fact is that pretty much everyone hated the second male lead and absolutely nobody was rooting for him to get the girl.

- Lacklustre politics. Nothing new I haven’t seen before, very simple and boring at times. In fact, the first life's story has more angst and is definitely a more exciting story to tell than the second life (which is the main plot of the drama).

- No logic. The male lead is the hottest piece of cake walking in and outside the court and the writers tell me that nobody wants a piece of that? (not even his wife for the most part?) #plothole (Ok it’s more of a joke but you know it’s true. It would have been a bit more realistic if he had at least one girl pining over him).

OVERALL:
Even though I didn’t have extremely high expectations I found myself very disappointed and misled by this drama. It’s one thing to highlight a second male lead and deepen the story but it’s unacceptable to reduce the male lead to nothing when he is one of the reasons many people have tuned in to watch. But even without the male lead issue, I found the plot of this drama very forgettable and boring. Nothing much stands out. Considering this is a S++ production (one of Youku’s highest budgeted dramas), this is a fail for me and one of my 2024 biggest disappointments.

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Silly rom-com with bickering main leads & slow burn romance

The main leads Zhou Ye and Lin Yi definitely carried the drama. The script was lacking but their chemistry and strong on-screen presence made up for it. The drama is about the female lead who fakes her personality in order to catch the attention of the male lead. She confesses to him and he rejects her, only for him to find out that she is also the gaming girl he’s had a secret crush on. Their love story includes the gaming world, where they work together to create a new generation of gaming experience.

The start of the drama is not the strongest. The female lead spends the first few episodes chasing the male lead with a fake personality and pretty much becoming a doormat for him. As soon as he rejects her at episode 7, the drama begins to get real good, with now the male lead chasing her and trying to win her back. The main lead’s bickering dynamic is top-notch and the highlight of this drama, as well as the many cute and silly interactions between them.

The drama fell short for me in the final episodes (19-24) that focused on unnecessary work problems instead of seeing the main leads go on romantic dates. The romance is slow burn which I usually love, however I feel the script didn’t allow for the audience to truly experience their dating era as they only became a couple in the last few episodes. Even though the main leads had many cute and romantic interactions between them throughout the drama, when they became a couple we didn’t see them go on an actual date or see any grand romantic gestures.

POSITIVE:
- Silly and light-hearted vibes.
- Top-notch bickering dynamic and fun comedy moments between the main leads.
- Zhou Ye and Lin Yi had natural on-screen chemistry with fantastic acting. They were the star of the drama and carried the whole show.
- Good push and pull dynamic between the leads.
- Cute/romantic scenes.
- No love triangles. The main leads only have eyes for each other. (Note, there are two love rivals that try to get with the female lead).
- No annoying side characters.
- Female lead acting like a delulu girl in the first episodes.
- Male lead chasing her for the longest time in the best way possible.
- Fun gaming scenes that didn’t take too much screen time.
- Work scenes in the first half of the drama provided good character development for the female lead.
- Approving and supportive parents (that’s a huge plus for me).

NEGATIVE:
- First 6 episodes were not strong.
- Ordinary plot. The script doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
- Not enough spark. I felt something was always missing in this drama.
- Dating era didn’t fully deliver. There was a lot of build up and yet the execution was lacking. We don’t see the main leads go on an actual date or have any grand romantic gestures.
- Episodes 19-24 felt underwhelming, the plot was draggy and the romance didn’t fully deliver.

OVERALL:
This is a silly and light-hearted rom-com with cute, bickering main leads. It’s perfect for those who want to watch a fun and entertaining drama after a long day to unwind.

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Sweet romance but draggy plot

This drama is about the main leads who are both after an illegal poisonous drug. The male lead is the investigator of the drug, suffering from face blindness while the female lead is a travelling doctor (but more like beauty shop owner) that has the uncontrollable ability to shape-shitft.

I pretty much started this drama for the cast, especially my favourite guys Luo Yunxi and Ryan Cheng. The best part of this drama is the cute romance between the three couples. In fact, the romance is what kept me going to finish this drama. The worst part is the boring and extremely draggy plot.

POSITIVE:
- Sweet romance between the 3 couples. I was very much invested emotionally, especially the two side couples. The main couple is ok, still sweet. Everyone did “follow their hearts” just like the title alludes to.
- Platonic friendships between men and women. The second male and female leads are friends, the third male and female leads are also friends. But in terms of couples, the second leads get with the third leads. I truly loved seeing this dynamic play out as it's very rare in cdramas.
- Light-hearted with some funny moments (although sometimes the comedy can turn cringy).
- Cool fight scenes (not a lot but what you get is nice. Although in the later episodes due to LYX leg injury his fights are not as good. But Ryan Cheng slayed all the way).
- Awesome finale episode. One of the sweetest and happiest I’ve ever seen.

NEGATIVE:
- One overstretched plot line for 40 episodes. Apparently the drama was written as 24 episodes but then got re-written and extended for 40 (greedy producers). I can totally see that because there are many filler episodes and I had to skip tons (I’m talking whole episodes). In general the plot was a snooze fest and if it was only 24 episodes it would have been 10x better.
- Mix of good and bad. Some episodes were super fun and engaging, others super boring and draggy.
- Annoying mother. In general I hate cdrama nagging mothers. This one was no exception.

OVERALL:
This felt like a light-hearted mindless watch. It's an ok drama to pass the time but nothing more. I feel like the cast’s talents got wasted here.

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Dark cultivation, corrupt sects, political intrigue and immortal boys love

A well beloved drama by many fans, I was too curious to pass on watching this. Last year I dropped this twice and for some reason I couldn’t watch beyond the first episode. On my third try, I promised myself to finish this no matter what. The drama is about two immortal male disciples who fight against the schemes of the corrupt sects and unveil the secret events of the past. The setting is very much wuxia, the main focus is political intrigue between different sects, with xianxia elements (immortality, dark cultivation, monsters etc).

Episodes 1-2 are a flash forward to the future where the male lead (Wei Wuxia) has come back from the dead. From episode 3, the actual story begins and until episode 33, we follow the plot of how he died and all events that connect with episodes 1-2.

The best part about this drama is hands down the male lead Wei Wuxia and his relationship with the other male lead Lan Zhan. I absolutely loved seeing their relationship build up and all their moments together. Their dynamic was a mix of mischievous bits and “I’ll die for you” vibes. This drama is heavily censored and it was interesting that I feel it’s both acceptable and normal to interpret their relationship as BL as well as a simple bromance. Well, I personally totally ship them as a couple.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of the plot/pacing. The story did always make sense and there were no stupid misunderstandings or plot holes. In fact, some key moments in the drama were executed fantastically and are very memorable. But in general I found the drama too long/draggy and boring at times. After episode 12 I started to ff/skip a lot as I was inpatient to see how it all plays out in the end.

POSITIVE:
- Great chemistry between the main leads. Their dynamic was the best part!
- Fantastic relationship build up and execution of the story between the main leads. I loved all of their scenes and interactions.
- Complex, endearing, hilarious and badass male lead (Wei Wuxia). His lines always cracked me up. His story is memorable!
- The best “if looks could kill” vibes from the male lead (Lan Zhan).
- Music instruments as weapons that look beautiful and totally badass.
- Dark Wei Wuxia with his flute slayed! I love that flute and his look so much!!!
- Brilliant acting from the whole cast, especially the main leads Xiao Zhan and Wang Yi Bo. In fact XZ deeply impressed me with this outstanding performance and portrayal of a character that is the total opposite of his other xianxia “The Longest Promise”. It’s safe to say I’m totally in love with XZ.
- Great villains. A good drama needs good villains and this one did not disappoint in that department.

NEGATIVE:
- Beginning of the drama is hard to watch and many people including me drop it multiple times.
- Not vibing with the plot/pacing. I like angst and political intrigue but this one felt too long, too dark, heavy and sometimes brutal.
- Unimpressive fight scenes. I might be spoiled with the recent high budgeted cdramas I’ve seen but unfortunately I didn’t like the CGI/visuals and fight scenes. Except the flute. I loved the flute. But the monsters and zombie-like people as foes were super weird and skippable.

OVERALL:
The Untamed feels like a classic and I understand the appeal of it even if it wasn’t 100% my vibe. I recommend giving this drama at least 10 episodes before deciding if it’s for you or not. If you want a wuxia setting (political intrigue between corrupt sects) and xianxia elements (immortality, dark cultivation and monsters) with beautiful bl/bromance relationship, give this drama a chance.

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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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Entertaining rom-com with great skinship and hot kisses

The drama tells the story of the female lead who has been in love with her boss (male lead) for the past four years. One day she decides to confess her love, only to be rejected by him. But this is not the end of their love story.

Male lead is your typical CEO. Female lead is a writer who also becomes a scriptwriter to her upcoming movie (adapted from her novel). Second couple is male lead’s younger sister who becomes the actress in the movie and her love interest is the director.

THE REJECTION (episode 4)
Some people might be apprehensive to start this drama because how could the male lead suddenly like her after he rejected her and how could the female lead accept him after that. Well, I personally found the drama handled that storyline quite well. The female lead is a prideful and closed off woman so when confessing she gave him only superficial reasons for why she liked him (for his money and looks) instead of the truth. This didn’t sit well with the male lead and he rejected her. The female lead cried all night and the next day quitted her job and moved on from him. The male lead on the other hand had initial prejudice against her (believing she indeed only liked him for his money and looks) and was blind to his feelings for her until it was too late. As soon as he rejected her, we saw him instantly sad and regretful. He realised his mistake and hence began to pursue the female lead for many, many episodes.

POSITIVE:
- One of the best skinship and hot kiss scenes in a cdrama (seriously you need to watch this drama to know what I mean).
- Fun, relaxing and light-hearted rom-com vibe.
- No stupid love triangles or second male/female leads that try to break them up.
- No break ups. Male lead does take his time to pursue her but once they get together there is no separation.
- Great chemistry between the main leads. I could always feel the tension, angst and love between them.
- Healthy and supportive parents of both leads which is rare in a cdrama.
- Adorable cat pet.

NEGATIVE:
- Second half of the drama can feel a little draggy.
- Female lead force kisses the male lead. This scene can upset more sensitive people. I’m ok with it since it’s a drama not real life but people complained about it so I thought it’s worth pointing it out for those that are more sensitive to these things.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a light-hearted rom-com where male chases the female, with very hot skinship and kiss scenes, you will enjoy this drama.

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Overhyped. Quite disappointing. Mostly boring.

I was excited to watch this drama because of the high praise and rating on here. However I was quite disappointed. The story had great potential but fell flat for me. Most of the episodes felt like fillers as nothing much happened to advance the plot. You could probably condense the story into 10 episodes and still get the whole plot. In fact, that would have probably made me enjoy it a lot more.

ML story is the best part of the drama and I enjoyed seeing his journey. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the FL. Known as the greatest assassin, we spend all episodes watching her be a maid - clean, cook and run errands. She does have a sharp mind which she occasionally uses well but even that wasn't enough to make her an exciting character to watch. Their love story is sadly not convincing as I felt little chemistry and most of their romantic scenes were cringy. I actually loved the FL with the SML more and the fact that they had a connection since childhood made their relationship more real, sweet and wholesome. Even the older couple's love story was more enjoyable to watch than the main lead's.

Acting was good. Settings looked awesome. Fight & magic scenes were done nice but not enough. Overall, I would personally not recommend this drama to a fantasy lover. Cdramas (xianxia) are a much better choice in my personal opinion.

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Politics, Ruthlessness, Revenge, Romance

This drama is about the male lead who is a commander/court official with a secret identity, and on a mission of revenge. However, his plans get derailed when the female lead arrives at the palace, messing things up and overtly becoming the centre of it all. Amidst all that, the second male lead plays a big part in the story, using the female lead as a pawn for his own selfish reasons.

POSITIVE:
- Ruthless/Cunning male lead. One of the things that made an impression on me is that the male lead was truly ruthless, stabbing and killing everyone in his path, including the female lead and innocent people. However, his character does abruptly shift from red to kind of green flag after episode 10.
- Political/revenge focused plot.
- Romance as sub-plot.
- Morally grey characters.
- Intense emotional scenes. I definitely give this drama props for creating angsty and cry worthy scenes, thanks to the plot build up and great actor’s performance.
- Love triangle. At the start I loved the triangle here as both males felt equal in terms of being charming, smart and cunning + sharing equal screen time. But later the second male lead became a cliche which kind of ruined it for me (check negative points).
- Realistic and mature script. The struggles of ordinary people of that time period were portrayed very well as well as the court dynamics. We get to see real, greedy characters who do evil things for selfish reasons in a very broken society, as well as toxic family relationships.
- Cat and Mouse game (mostly in the first half).
- Hot male leads. I loved Ren Jia Lun’s badass demeanour with his sexy voice (although dubbed) and cool mask, as well as Jeremy Tsui (first time seeing him) charming attitude and intense stares.
- Fantastic final episode that wraps up the story well and ties up all loose ends.
- Lovely OST.

NEGATIVE:
- Romance issue. First off, the first 10 episodes show the male lead excessively harassing, abusing, stabbing, and waterboarding the female lead to the brink of death. This definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I didn’t mind it though. In fact I liked seeing true enemies into play. However my issue is the abrupt transition between the enemies to lovers part. As enemies they were brilliant. As lovers, they were cute and endearing. But the middle part was butchered. After all the horrible abuse the female lead goes through, she just tells the male lead that she understands him and puts everything behind just like that. Next episodes we see her cooking for him, tending his wounds, massaging him, admiring his handsome face etc. which was cute but totally bizarre. In fact, a viewer commented “I feel like I’m being gaslighted by the writers and the abuse never happened”, and that’s exactly how it felt like because no matter how forgiving a person is, I won’t expect them to want to take care of the man who made them suffer for so long. She tells him “you hurt me three times but also saved me three times, we are even now”. No girl, I mean no writers, it doesn’t work like that. The shift of her starting to fall for him should have been gradual. So, no matter how cute their romance was in the later episodes, in the back of my mind it always felt a bit off.

- Plot issue. I do enjoy political cdramas and this one started very strong, with realistic and dark topics portrayed. But I felt the second half was a let down as it included draggy and boring investigations and war that I didn’t care about. It would have been better if the plot only focused on the male lead’s revenge.

- Second male lead issue. He started off great, as mentioned above, he felt like a main male lead too, charming, cunning, with equal screen time. However in the second half, the writers made him the typical and boring obsessively-in-love-with-female-lead-unrequited love type. This obsession was not only the cliches of the cliches but totally butchered his alluring character and was just used as a plot device more than anything else. In the end, he does realise his obsession is wrong so I guess I’ll give the writers one point for that but still… I wish they were more creative than that.

- Female lead issues. I felt her character was quite lacking in comparison to the two males. She was sometimes smart and resourceful but other times dumb and damsel in distress. I didn’t really mind her but she never stood out to me as a powerful and charismatic female lead. Her backstory and identity was kind of boring to watch, and her relationship with her Master/shifu was extremely underwhelming.

OVERALL:
This drama started strong but lost me in the second half. The characters, the plot, the romance had a lot of potential as they felt fresh and different from other cdramas. But then the writers decided to abruptly shift things (ML from red to green flag + from toxic to cutesy romance), add cliches (SML obsessive love) and drag out unnecessary plot parts in the second half (investigations and wars instead of ML’s revenge) which lowered the value and enjoyment for me. Despite all the negative things I’ve said above, overall I still feel the production of this drama is good, the script too and the actors’ performance really brought the whole story to life. If you like politics with subtle romance + dark characters and themes, you may want to try this out.

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Dark, toxic love with obsessive & abusive male lead

What the hell did I just finish watching, was my first thought as the end credits rolled. This is the darkest and most disturbing cdrama I’ve ever seen. You are not only getting an angsty, toxic love story but a full on psychological thriller.

The drama is about the female lead who pretends to be a Princess to avenge her family and the male lead, a Prince who is mysteriously scheming behind the scenes.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
- Love-hate relationship. In fact it’s more of a lovers to enemies trope.
- Beautiful aesthetics and cinematography.
- Strong-willed female lead.
- The epitome of red flag, toxic, obsessive, abusive and pretty much psychotic male lead.
- 1000% angst. Check the trigger warnings below. Nothing is sugar coated here and not many can stomach it.
- Republican era cdrama vibes but in historical style.
- Fantastic acting from the main leads. I watched this for He Xuan Lin and she didn’t disappoint with her fantastic aura on screen.
- Hot kisses (only those that were consensual). The male actor looks like a great kisser.
- Sped up politics/revenge. The focus is on the love story so the actual plot stuff is kind of glossed over.
- A very fitting ending that brought me to tears.
- A big contrast between the first and second half of the drama. After ep 12 the plot turns 180.

OVERALL:
Horrible things happen in this drama and yet it’s written well for the most part. Only the last few episodes felt quite draggy. I loved the aesthetics and the female lead as a character. My big complaint is that I didn’t truly understand why the male lead became so deeply obsessed and toxic with her but who knows, I might have missed that detail. Anyway, to be honest if I knew how dark the story would get, I probably wouldn’t have even started it.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Disturbing scenes of abuse, r*pe and forced kisses.

FAVOURITE QUOTE:
“I hope you never meet someone like me again” by the male lead.

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Beautiful cinematography & mystical love story

This drama is about the female lead who suffers from amnesia and cannot remember anything before the last three years. She draws a painting of a mystical tree in the hopes of discovering more about her past self. Before her wedding night, a man (the male lead) finds her, claiming she has stolen a twinned branch from the tree she has drawn.

POSITIVE:
- Beautiful cinematography that captures the beauty of soft romance and the cruelty of the dark world. The stunning cinematography here elevates each scene 10x more.
- Likeable and mature main leads that have great chemistry.
- Mix of angsty and soft romance.
- Simple and easy to understand plot with some unexpected twists.
- Lovely OST.

NEGATIVE:
- Some parts of the drama have ridiculous moments which not everyone will like. But I suppose as long as it's not taken to heart and seen as entertaining it's alright.
- The story couldn’t fully hold my attention and sometimes I’ll get sleepy while watching.
- The ending… that’s all I’ll say without spoiling.

OVERALL:
If you want a mystical love story with beautiful cinematography AND you don’t have a faint heart, watch this short drama.

FUN FACT:
I’m mesmerised by the cinematography!!! The director is the same that also did the short dramas A Familiar Stranger, Provoke and Butterflied Lover (you should check them out). He has an upcoming full length drama Blossom with Li Yun Rui which I’m sure will again be a visual feast.

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Fire chemistry with plenty of romantic tension between the leads

This drama is about the fake dating trope. The female lead takes her twin sister's place as an actress after she goes missing. The twin sister has a contractual relationship with the male lead and has to pretend to be his girlfriend/fiancee in the public eye. The two twin sisters are very different. The female lead is strong-willed and independent whereas her sister is told to be sensitive and timid. The male lead has no romantic feelings for her twin sister and only falls in love with the female lead.

POSITIVE:
- The chemistry between the main leads is what makes the drama worth the watch. There is plenty of romantic tension and I-like-you-but-I-pretend-I-don't vibes which I absolutely love.
- Story is mainly about the main leads and their fake dating.
- Comedy is top-notch. 10/10
- Male lead is a sexy, protective CEO and the female lead is a badass, independent geologist (pretending to be an actress). They not only connect physically but share a common interest in geology which creates a more mature dynamic. Both are kind of workaholics and don't have much experience in terms of love.
- I don't usually pay significant attention to the wardrobe but the female lead has one of the most stunning outfits I've ever seen in a drama.
- Not many business/work scenes which is good because let's be real, we only care about the romance.

NEGATIVE:
- Second couple is a bit underwhelming. Second male lead is mature and lovely but the second female lead is childish and immature.
- Last few episodes were a bit dull because they focused on more emotional and mature themes which didn't fit with the lighthearted and fun vibes from the beginning. I believe the story should have stuck with the comedy aspect until the end which would have made it a 10 for me.
- Subtitles are pretty bad at the beginning but you get used to it. The only hard thing to follow were the business explanations but there weren't that many and didn't make a huge impact on the story.

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Theatrical, addictive & dramatic revenge play

The drama is about the female lead who almost dies from being buried alive by her husband. She is saved by a girl (the daughter of a powerful official) who ends up dying shortly after. Set on a path of double revenge, the female lead takes the identity of the dead girl, and vows to avenge her husband and everyone who has wronged her and the dead girl. Alongside her path joins her the Duke (the male lead) who has his own secret schemes set in motion.

This drama felt to me like a dramatic theatrical play. The plot is nothing new and yet the characters, the over the top moments and well-written dialogue made it a very entertaining watch.

THE ACTORS/CHARACTERS:
- Wu Jin Yan (female lead) - it was my first time seeing her and she hands down impressed me with her impeccable emotional acting. Sometimes, I'd get so immersed into the story that I'd truly forget she was in fact playing a role. I never for a second doubted her raw emotions. Her character is truly one of the best written female leads. Cunning, smart, independent but also emotional and soft. A truly female centric drama, she definitely didn’t wait for a man in shining armour to save her.

- Wang Xing Yue (male lead) - I pretty much started this drama for him and he did not disappoint me. In fact I’m absolutely addicted and in love with his character!!! The actor totally slayed the role, his charisma, smouldering gaze, deep voice and stunning looks were truly marvellous to watch. He was a total scene stealing, his performance and micro-expressions top-notch. If there is an actor that I have to say was born to play for a role, it would be him. In fact, you should scroll at the end of this review and read how he was written in the novel.

THE POSITIVE:
- Smart and cunning male and female lead.
- Hot male lead with the most badass entrances and a marvellous fan that’s a character on its own.
- Morally grey characters with well-written motivations, dialogue and interactions.
- Villains that are truly villainous. The writers really created many villains that you love to hate.
- Political intrigue plot with a dash of slow burn romance.
- Tons of flirting and sexual tension between the leads.
- Truly revenge focused with tons of manipulations and deceptions.
- Vivid cinematography. The director knows well how to use the environment to set up the mood of each scene and enhance it.
- Great portrayal of human psychology and the effects of PTSD and trauma.
- Rain scenes. Truly beautiful.
- Wonderful OST.
- Brilliant acting, especially the main leads.
- Shirtless scenes with the male lead and in general male eye candy visuals.
- Engaging plot and dialogue.
- A mix of mature tone with some light-hearted moments.
- Extra special episode that gives a very satisfying ending.

THE NEGATIVE:
- Very dark scenes (violence, torture, sexual, physical and psychological abuse shown).
- Not enough screen time for the male lead. Just like in Scent of Time, I absolutely loved the main lead and his character but a lot of episodes he had around 5 minutes of screen time. Yes, the drama is female centric and apparently he only shows up later in the novel so the drama did give him an additional story but still… I wanted more because I truly love that guy.
- Little romance and 1-3 kiss scenes. Yes this is a revenge drama and I don’t mind slow burn romance BUT the sexual tension of the leads was so good I honestly wanted to see them two tearing each other’s clothes (or a PG13 version of it at least). Or just a bit more romantic scenes with them! Their wedding kiss scene was 5 seconds long but the actors said they filmed for 3 hours and their lips were swollen by the end!!! I have real beef now with the director for cutting so much. Anyway I still love the scenes we got, so I’m not too pissed off about it.
- Comedy cringe. Sometimes the characters felt cartoonish during the comedy scenes and were over the top and ridiclours. Sometimes I laughed big time, other times the scenes were not funny at all. A hit and miss but it didn’t bother me too much.
- Bad camera face close ups: they were a bit too much and not really flattering.
- Illogical bits. This drama is high on soap opera vibes and definitely sacrifices logic for entertainment. Only about 2 times it truly bothered me (I’m looking at episode 28). But as long as you see it as entertaining and funny soap opera moments, it’s fine.
- Fight scenes. Could have been better. I expected a bit more from the male lead but what I saw was still nice.

THE VILLAINS:
I usually don’t mention the villains in my reviews but these characters need a separate paragraph. I absolutely loved all the disgusting villains. I believe a great story (especially revenge) requires equally great villains and this drama knows how to deliver on this front. From the scumbag Ex-husband, to the unhinged Princess and jealous Step-mother, plus many corrupted and totally horrible powerful men, the characters were truly entertaining to watch. The actors did a brilliant job, making me hate all of them and even pity some of them for a hot second.

THE REVENGE:
Since this a revenge drama the big question is, was it a satisfying one? I’d say yes, for the most part. The only revenge I did not like was the step-mother's ending. It felt a bit ridiculous and underwhelming so I wish it was written a bit differently. In general, the revenge was built up well with tons of suspense, manipulation and cunningness from the female lead. All the villains had great motivations and their backstories were woven well without taking too much screen time. The main revenge that was concluded in the final episodes was truly spectacular and kept me at the edge of my seat. The main villains Ex-Husband and the Princess enhanced the plot and delivered the satisfying revenge feel. Throughout the drama there were also what I’d say side quests (small revenges) that were also great to watch.

OVERALL:
Theatrical, addictive & dramatic revenge play "The Double" stands out with its extremely hot male lead, dark cinematography, cringe comedy, sexual tension between the leads and disgustingly good villains. This drama became one of Youku’s 2024 biggest hits. Yes, it has its flaws and illogical bits but it's highly addictive, emotional and entertaining. I highly recommend it.

MALE LEAD IN THE NOVEL:
I love the male lead so much so here is Duke’s introduction in the novel that I feel Wang Xing Yue truly embodies:
“Duke Su was like an enchanting demon spirit walking in the quiet night in his red brocade clothes, seducing the soul within the blink of an eye. He had a gaze with a smile yet not a smile, causing the slight smile hung at the corner of his lips to look somewhat wicked. His walking posture was languid yet graceful, as if he was admiring the full moon in a courtyard. Even if he was a beauty, he was a moody and toxic beauty and it’s better to provoke him less.”

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“The innocent are suffering while the wicked go unpunished” by the female lead.
“If you want to enjoy the show, you must first support the actors” by the male lead.
“She is my investment asset pawn” by the male lead.

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Murder crimes with slow burn romance. Modern girl falls for the villain of her story.

This drama is about a modern day girl who travels to her novel but has to change the ending of her original story where the villain wins (and in the process totally falls in love with him). At first glance this drama to me looked like a typical light-hearted transmigration novel with not much substance. But I was pleasantly surprised. The main plot of the drama is solving complex murder cases which are all related to the main characters. These cases and the mystery around them truly elevated the plot and kept me engaged until the end. The fact that the female lead was changing her novel story from the inside provided great character development, especially for the male lead. I truly feel like if the drama had a more famous cast, it would have become a hit. Regardless of that, all the actors did a good job.

However, I do have mixed feelings about this drama or rather the ending of it. I loved the plot, characters and how everything was executed until the final episode. I didn’t have any expectations about the ending and yet somehow I felt dissatisfied. In my head I kept thinking “Is that it…?”. The ending made sense which is important but at the same time I wasn’t happy with how the story wrapped up for the characters and couples. I just needed something more and the fact that it kind of has a happy ending but it’s not really happy, doesn't sit well with me.

POSITIVE:
- Male lead is an actual villain. His personality doesn’t drastically change from a bad guy to a total sweetheart. He stays true to his villain personality however his perspective changes. I truly appreciated how he was written and his character development was perfect.
- Engaging crime investigation cases that directly connect to the characters and don’t feel like side stories/fillers.
- Great mix of comedy, romance with mystery and suspense.
- Slow burn romance.
- No love triangles. Despite the male and second male lead both liking the female lead, there was no stupid drama about it.
- Awesome plot twists. The story takes unexpected turns and always surprises you.
- Side couple (Princess and Medicine guy) became my favourite. Their story could seriously be a separate mini drama because it’s THAT good.
- Real villain is well written. Most villains in cdramas are kind of meh but this one here was an actual threat which I appreciated.
- Supporting cast and the side couples are fun to watch.
- Revenge plot done well.
- Awesome OST (I never skipped the opening and closing credits).

NEGATIVE:
- Annoying mother character that made my blood boil like crazy. I had to fast forward through all of her scenes because I literally couldn’t stand her squeaky voice and ridiculous mannerisms. Thankfully she is gone about halfway through the drama so I didn’t have to suffer till the end.
- Unsatisfying ending. As mentioned above, I didn’t like the final episode and how the story wrapped up for the characters and couples.
- Side couple (the original male and female lead in the novel story) was not executed well. Instead of focusing his story on falling in love with his girl, he was turned into a second male lead that liked the female lead. Their relationship felt quite one-sided all the time.

OVERALL:
If you are looking for a transmigration drama with murder crimes as a main plot and romance on the side, where the male lead is a very cool and sexy villain, watch this drama.

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Jewellery business politics + subplot romance

This drama is about the female lead's story of being a pearl diver slave to becoming a successful jewellery merchant. Alongside her journey, we also follow the male lead, a ruthless businessman out for revenge after the tragic death of his family.

POSITIVE:
- Strong-willed, badass and street-smart female lead.
- Morally grey male lead.
- Business politics focused, with romance as a subplot.
- Fantastic storytelling: this truly felt like “her” story, as we follow her journey from a slave with nothing to a powerful merchant.
- Feminism vibes. Women supporting women and showing they can be powerful leaders.
- Beautiful kiss scenes.
- Lovely OST.
- Nice fight scenes. Not a lot but what we do see is really good.
- Beautiful jewellery and costumes, especially Zhao Lusi’s styling was top notch.
- Emotional and baby angst vibes. It has that realism feel to it, with a mix of revenge and scheming around the business side.
- Zhao Lusi: phenomenal acting performance. From her raw underwater scenes, to her angsty slave scenes, to her transformative portrayal of a powerful business woman. This role feels like her best yet, and she truly brought the character to life.

NEGATIVE:
- The second half felt repetitive at times: the antagonists constantly tried to sabotage the female lead’s business. Different scenarios, yes but it was the same thing over and over, which made parts of the drama feel draggy.
- Basic plot: honestly the plot was not that deep, just straightforward business politics with basic villains. Having said that, the drama was still very enjoyable.
- Annoying second female lead: I literally couldn’t stand the character even though the actress was so beautiful. I hated everything she did and everything she said and I was not satisfied at all with how her ending was written.
- Ending: I was not fully satisfied as the writers decided to do a powerful scene off screen, which made it less emotionally impactful.

OVERALL:
This drama isn’t about romance, although there is romance. It’s not about angst, betrayal with dazzling action scenes, even though those elements are there. This drama promised a story about a pearl diver slave, who faces many hardships and rises to become a powerful jewellery merchant - and it absolutely delivered exactly that. For me, this is Zhao Lusi’s best role to date. If you want to see a drama with the strong message “Women can conquer the world,” watch this one.

FAVOURITE QUOTE:
“One tear of a mermaid, so rare and bright, is brought with the blood of countless divers."

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