Are You the One (2024)

When a fairy fallen from the sky meets the God of War

Are You The One is the TV adaptation of the chinese novel The Possession of My Beloved. It tells the story of Liu Mian Tang, a gorgeous woman who has lost the memory of the last three years of her life and Ciu Xing Zhou, a Prince unrelated to the Imperial Family who poses as her fake husband, the destitute merchant Cui Jiu.

Both make for an attractive pair, though the neighbors of North Street think the young is a good-for-nothing man.


THE STORY

The director managed to do a 40-episode drama from a 143-chapters novel by keeping some of the key points, but while needing to remove and twist around some of the source material.

Having read the novel, I think he was successful in his endeavor. The drama was both well-directed and written, which made for an enthralling watch. It's ascertained by the high ratings this drama got on multiple platforms


THE CHARACTERS

The characters had to be rewritten to fit a more visual medium and thus be accessible to a wider public.

Liu Mian Tang (LMT) is described as a beautiful creature descended from the sky who makes every head turn. She's presented as having been the favorite concubine of a famous bandit, but as she has amnesia, she is just the wife of a merchant who spent a great chunk of his fortune to heal her. This makes her grateful to her husband and leads her to handle household affairs but also becomes a shrewd businesswoman whose sole objective is to have her husband enjoy his life and hobbies without worries.
She's played by Wang Chu Ran, an up-and-coming actress who embodies the role and can be as sweet as honey or as cold as ice when it's needed.

Ciu Xing Zhou (CXZ) is a duc who rules over his fiefdom and having to fight with a spectacular opponent, Lu Wen. He's lucky enough to stumble upon the amnesiac favorite concubine of the latter. He acts as her doting husband to try and lure out Lu Wen.
It's Zhang Wan Yi, a young actor who is also an up-and-coming actor that some people might have seen in Lost You Forever.
I felt he really nailed his part here. As Cui Jiu, he was absurd, but as CXZ, he was more imposing.

The supporting roles were well-casted and interesting to watch. They didn't weigh down on the story. On the contrary, they brought different flavors. He Zhen and Marquis Zhennan were more of a opposite attracts while Miss Shi and Zi Yu were more of a couple whose love would go from a relationship of mutual trust and friendship.


This drama is an easy watch with high rewatch value. One isn't bored when they watch it. Though it starts slow because as an audience, we get to witness in real-time the love growing between the couple, its remains engaging. I eagerly waited each day for new episodes to release.

The drama is bright and not a stressful affair.

In fact, Are You The One is one of the three costume dramas that really kept me engaged in since the beginning of the year. The other two dramas are The Legend of Shenli and The Double.

I recommend this drama to those who love inner court dramas like The Story of Ming Lan and The Sword and The Brocade ;
smart heroines like the two precited dramas, The Story of Yanxi Palace and The Court Lady ; Love Like The Galaxy ;

As a novel reader, I'm really happy with this drama adaptation given the restrictions. It was first slated as a two-parts drama but to be able to release it in one shot, they had to cut it down about 10 to 15 episodes.

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Lord Huaiyang

It was a series that I liked and watched. I was curious. I waited for the episodes. That's why I can say it's a good series. It attracted me with its plot and story. The actors were very good. In fact, what makes you watch the series are the story and the people who portray it. There was a good CAST. They were compatible. Apart from the leading roles, our supporting roles are also of high quality and did a very good job. They made it watchable. There were minor mistakes. I got bored in some episodes. Because it was too long. Trivial events were squeezed in to fill the gaps. They seemed to be smirking. But when you look at it in general, it is a series that is watched with pleasure with a good story, good acting and good management and plot. I recommend it to everyone.

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Perfect Ending

Wow, beautiful! I must admit, this is the first time I've seen a perfect ending in all the cdramas I've watched. Initially, the first 5 episodes felt slow and even boring to me, but I persisted. As I finished each episode, I found myself wanting to know what happened next, and by episode 11, I was hooked! I even felt sad when Cui Xingzhou told Liu Miantang he was leaving for about a month or so - I actually cried in that episode! That's when I knew I had grown invested in the drama. The chemistry between Cui Xingzhou and Liu Miantang was wonderful. What a series! 10/10 rating from me.

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How to get into a relationship after deception 101 (aka amnesia trope done right!!)

I'll just start off by saying I am NOT a fan of deception in a relationship as I believe it establishes an unequal relationship dynamic that makes it uncomfortable to watch. I am also not a huge fan of amnesia plots because it opens the door to lots of miscommunication, frustration (to the characters AND viewers), and feels like drama for the sake of drama.

SO. How did I end up liking ARE YOU THE ONE so much despite the deception and amnesia? I think it's because you get:
- amazing character growth from the ML (from using the FL as a pawn to treating her like the badass, independent woman she is)
- a quiet, but strong-minded FL who holds her ground (she made him work to get back into her good graces but doesn't draw out the process. We stan a woman who knows what she wants!!)
- a dynamic duo couple who complements each other well (physically, mentally, romantically via chemistry, you name it)
- interesting writing that focuses less on angst and more on the logical flow of a relationship progression, mostly since the characters are down-to-earth, like-minded, and decisive.

If you're on the fence about watching this because you've been burned bad by amnesia tropes, I would say give this one a try! The ML's grovel is gooood and the romantic scenes are super sweet.

PROS
❀ We love a good grovel
I thought the ML Xing Zhou was a bit of a punk in the beginning. He was okay with his arranged marriage while playing house with the amnesiac FL Liu Mian Tang in order to sus out his enemy, Lu Wen. He even thought about keeping the FL as a concubine for a hot sec. Talk about a bombastic side eye!!! BUT, the ML recognizes his feelings early on (I would say around ep 12) and starts to go against his family's wishes with the arranged marriage. And after falling in love, he pretty much only has eyes for the FL.
On the FL's side, I love how the drama showed her brilliant mind and capable demeanor from the get-go. Even though she had amnesia, she was determined to make the best of her life with her fake husband, who came off as a dandy who played Go all the time. Even then, she was still suspicious of his lies. She regains her memories around ep 17 and keeps up the act because she wants to use the ML for her own gain. She cuts ties with the ML after their business is done. If you like a good ML chasing FL/grovel session, this drama delivers. I love how the ML not only loves her, but also respects her. His dialogue constantly mentions how he could even gift her the moon, but he knows that if she wanted it, she could get it herself. And that's on feminism!!

❀ Quieter depictions of female independence
I am a huge fan of these types of shows that highlight women characters' strengths without being super in your face with "rah rah girl power!!" scenes. Those are good too! But quieter depictions hit harder. I feel like most of the (main) female characters were written with consideration, and their growth really shone in different ways.
- Miantang: she was smart and strong-willed from the beginning and remained so until the end. She constantly reminded her grandpa that marrying wasn't her main goal. When she set her mind on something, she made it happen (whether it's a porcelain business, escort business, or figuring out the villain via a tea party lol). Honestly she was almost OP (overpowered) to an extent, but I still love her for it.
- He Zhen: her journey was establishing her own independent porcelain venture without the oppression of her silly dad and brother. I feel like this actress has a propensity for independent, business-minded female characters lol (I remember her from New Life Begins), and she delivers yet again. Of course, the help from ML's physician cousin Zhao Quan is also welcome. I thought their interactions were both sweet and hilarious.
- Xue Ji: tbh she annoyed me the most in the beginning because of her meek and mild manners but that just makes her development even more impactful. She's used to being in the background but still analyzes things with wit and speed. And when she finally stands up for herself - SO satisfying! Her and the emperor/Ziyu ended up being a great match and I enjoyed their slower, softer romance throughout the series.
- Even side characters like the ML's mom and his ex-fiance Bing Lan have their own moments of clarity and growth.

❀ Simplifying a lot of intricate relationships
To be honest, I like how the show didn't draw out misunderstandings or angst. The plot certainly set up the characters for a LOT of angst. Like think about it: the FL liked this dude and then gets amnesia and has a husband, the ML, who ends up falling for her, but the ML not only has a fiance but also some girl who wants to be his concubine. And the dude the FL liked actually likes her back but ended up "betraying" her with a girl who's obsessed with him and also he gets engaged too, to another girl. Like bruh.
Worry not, because I promise the show neatly de-tangles all these entanglements and we get three solid couples by ep 30ish. Instead of focusing on worrisome angst, I like how the show highlighted the cute and endearing scenes between each couple. The entire opening theme is the main couple being lovey-dovey with each other, which gives you a clue on how much screen time is devoted to them lol.

CONS
✕ Executing of the political schemes could have been better
Miss 10 minutes and you'll miss an entire plot - LOL. A lottt of things happen and the writing glosses over them. This includes wars, rebellions that get quelled, an emperor getting deposed, evil ministers with their nasty plots... honestly a lot of plotting that gets told and not shown. This starts from the beginning as well: we're given the backstory of Lu Wen vs. Lord Huaiyang (ML) but their battles, plots, and "betrayal" gets told via a couple lines of dialogue. Despite it being a huge foundation on the main couple's relationship. So I feel like we as watchers miss out on critical moments that pertain to the political intrigue part of the plot. And I'm not gonna lie, it's hard to keep your interest when plot points get bulldozed through with dialogue. I didn't find the main villain intriguing either and after the reveal of the main characters' identities (ep 20ish), nothing about the plot surprised me anymore. I honestly kept watching to see the main couple kick butt.

✕ Give the people what they want!!!
What we (or maybe it's just me) wanted that they teased us with:
- Moreee action! Especially the FL + ML combo. We got one INCREDIBLE scene with them together and I wanted more.
- More secondary couple development!! Why was the He Zhen/Zhao Quan couple's main storyline focused on making freaking porcelain??? Lol, I get that it was important for her dream/goal. But I'm sure they could have fit a couple of romantic scenes.
- More FL emotion: looking back, I do recognize our FL was OP and that kind of stunts her emotional range. Or maybe it's the actress's range herself. But honestly her two modes were: 1) hard-working and loyal woman who goes after what she wants, and 2) mad at ML for lying to her. I'm not mad at this, I just feel like her character could have been elevated with a bit more range.

✕ Misunderstanding level: 5/10
This is hard to rate because the amnesia storyline is inherently a misunderstanding, which is why I gave it high marks. BUT, the cats are outta the bag by ep 20ish and there are no more deception from there on out. Just our ML and FL standing on a united front against their enemies.

OVERALL
These are new to me actors and I'm a fan!! The ML actor looks like he could be a 2ML (lol) but his presence is good. The FL actress delivered but hoping her future roles allow her to explore more emotions. For a drama I wasn't too sure about, and jumped in almost blind (as I started watching it right as they were airing the last episodes), I'm impressed. And honestly, my favorite execution of the amnesia trope to date.

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One of the Better Romances

I have to say I really enjoyed this one. As always, I am impressed with Zhang Wan Yi's earnest performances and this did not disappoint. He has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen and handsome to boot. He is the perfect leading man and I am looking forward to seeing him in future roles.

This romance was different from most romances where two people meet, like or dislike each other, until the romance grows. Here we have deception, a better written amnesia plot and an interesting, albeit simple plot line that does not meander and is easy to follow. The secondary characters don't overtake the leads and everyone gets a satisfying wrap up to their story.

Our FL is the breathtakingly beautiful Wang Chu Ran. I first saw her in The Longest Promise and knew she would one day shine as a main lead. She is very talented and was so natural in her part as Liu Mian Tang. This was a fun watch and there was no character I found annoying or inept. There was chemistry between our two MLs and watching them together was a joy. I want to try Crab Roe rice!

My favorite secondary characters were Yuan Yu Xuan as the Empress and Xu Mei Ling as Nanny Li. I first saw Yuan Yu Xuan in Novoland: Pearl Eclipse and loved her from the beginning. She is just so cute and a fine actress. I enjoyed her character in this one, though similar to her part in Pearl Eclipse. Huan Can Can returns as yet another evil rival similar to her role in Lost You Forever. It's unfortunate when the supporting actors get type-cast.

I was impressed with the depiction of the struggles of women working to make a name for themselves, while enduring the lack of esteem by their families. Although this is unrealistic for its time period, I appreciate the effort in appealing to modern audiences.

I recommend this drama for romance lovers who want an uncomplicated plot with a happy ending.

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Inconsistent Characters and Missed Potential in Are You The One

"Are You The One" had so much wasted potential to be a really great drama, but it is filled with inconsistencies and very typical historical drama tropes. Liu Miantang went from being a housewife to a mountain bandit and then back to being a housewife. Her personality and aspirations change in a split second, making her entire character hard to understand and illogical. Similarly, Ciu Xingzhou, a supposedly cold-hearted general, becomes a literal simp for a woman he originally planned to use and had no interest in. The second couple had little screen time, which is good—they weren't very interesting or relevant to the plot. I would say I enjoyed the latter half of the drama, as things became more eventful and moved a bit faster. The first half dragged a lot, and the drama is more slice-of-life-centered than anything else. Overall, this drama was a massive disappointment and is definitely skippable. After watching this, I'm not entirely sure I'm a big fan of Zhang Wanyi's acting. His articulation is very well-spoken, but after watching a few of his dramas, nothing really seems to have changed in his acting style. I would rate this a 7; it’s tolerable but not great.

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Are You The One is a great drama set in a historical time with a beautiful love story. It has well choreographed action scenes, beautiful cinematography, and a pleasant OST. The leading couple, Liu Mian Tang (played by Wang Chu Ran) and Cui Xing Zhou / Lord Huaiyang / Cui Jiu (played by Zhang Wan Yi), is a force to be reckon with. They are both capable, cunning, quick-witted, smart, and warm-hearted toward each other. Their relationship begins with a farce but, through their interactions and as they work together to resolve obstacles and complications, they grow to love each other. This love is tested when the lies are unveiled and each other’s real identity is revealed. Up to this point, the drama is provoking with the mix of mysterious characters and a lovely budding romance. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the leading couple has a great playful exchange of teasing remarks, very well written dialogues, and a pleasant romantic chemistry. Yuan Yu Xuan did a great job portraying the seemingly shy Shi Xue Ji that surprises the audience with her character’s shy and clumsy demeanor while concealing her true nature’s maturity and cleverness. Even though the drama starts to slow down on the second half after the drama reaches its pinnacle, and the finale feels rushed, the drama is entertaining.

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Not the best out there but pretty good

So our main lead Cui Xinzhou is a local lord who is has to capture the bandits. In the process he finds our female lead Liu Miantang who was severely injured. Since he believes she was the lover of the leader of bandits he keeps her to lure the bandit. He then proceeds to lie and pretend to be her husband upto about 17 episodes. This all happens as Miantang suffered from amnesia. So the story is roughly divided into two parts- before she gains her memories and after she gains her memories. This was a summary.

To start my review I would rate this drama a 7.2/10.
The plot is somewhat bearable compared to other idol dramas. It is intriguing, has a bit of mystery and comedy elements to it. The main problem was that it had a lot of major skips that was necessary for us viewers to understand the story better. Firstly, we don't know about the leads background properly. Cui's mother is called consort dowager but isn't that a tern used for a king's mother?? And who was his father? How was he involved in the fight for throne. Nothing is explained here. The same goes for female lead. Her family dynamics were not shown when it was relevant to the story as she lived in mount yang for 3 years.

The pacing is somewhat good. But as I said there is a major skip in the middle of the drama. And it was quite important. Left me all flabbergasted. Many plot lines which had a lot of potential was not executed nicely. Miantang was a martial arts expert and quite intelligent but after the first few episodes she did not showcase anything important. And there was no end goal for the drama. Like what is the purpose of our characters? They are not explaining it properly. Plus many characters end is not shown to us. Like what happened to them? How were they defeated? How did they dieee. We want to know.

I'd say Cui Xingzhou was the best character in this show. With all the problems he faced in every episode I am glad he did not turn mad. And you can clearly see the difference when he is with his wife and others. Shows how great of an actor he is.

Overall it was an okay drama. Cute, fluffy with some thrilling scenes. A well written plot is not the drama's strength but nevertheless was pretty enjoyable.

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YOU are certainly the ONE

I went into this drama blind and boy, I was in for a very nice treat! :o) I'd divide this drama into 3 segments: 1st - ML deceives FL with amnesia; 2nd - FL leaves ML after she recovers her memory; 3rd - FL and ML get together and become a formidable and yet, loving couple.

The drama was captivating from the get-go and while I may have watched both leads somewhere prior to this drama, I did not recognise them and so, I'd consider them fresh faces to me. And I certainly liked these fresh faces very much.

What I Loved:
- The FL was so pretty to watch. She looked so lovely. Additionally, I liked that she that she had a strong will as well as a strong, sound and smart mind of her own. She was both soft and firm, both beguiling and ruthless. She would smile charmingly while killing mercilessly. I loved that about her.
- The ML was handsome in his own way. He was manly. While he wasn't particularly tall and muscular, he was manly enough and owned the role of CXZ. I liked to see how, after he had fallen head over heels in love with FL, he was a totally smitten and jealous man.
- The ML's bestie was, despite not being a hottie, a cutie. He was a true bestie and showed up for CXZ whenever CXZ needed him. I loved how he supported CXZ and was a great support role.
- I liked to see the strong females in the show, such as LMT, who stood up for themselves and spoke their minds in this patriarchal society. LMT was so resourceful and shrewd while being all feminine and beguiling. I liked how she charmed everyone including CXZ. I liked that SXJ, the empress, developed a strong backbone and stood up for herself in her own tactful manner. What I learnt was that we did not have to be boorish and aggressive when dealing with asses and imbeciles. We could still be refined and respectable.
- CXZ's men were loyal and at times, cute to watch too. Mo Ru and Nanny Li were great support roles.
- Plot was fairly intriguing and interesting. I wanted to watch one episode after another.
- Acting was fairly good. As mentioned, ML and FL were a lovely couple and I loved watching them together. The scene which stood out for me was when they decided to part in the 2nd segment. I felt their pain and longing. Their tears moved me. When she stabbed him with her hairpin and he pulled it out, cleaned off his blood and returned it to her, I swooned just a little. It was a very endearing and moving scene.
- A fairly happy ending which, IMO, could have been happier. :o)

What I Did Not Like:
- Indisputably, I hated Lian Mother and Daughter duo. They were self-entitled. The mother was shrill and shrieky and bordering on "cray-cray". She was awful to watch. The daughter looked awful in this drama (having seen her in another drama which she looked normal). I found the telling-off and slap from CXZ's mother particularly satisfying to watch. That bit*h totally deserved plenty of slaps to "wake up her idea". Such a silly and hateful woman she was!
- Prince Sui was also another "cray-cray". Hateful to watch his audacious schemes. Same for Yun'er - that bit*ch - without much brain and poise.
- He Zhen was rather hard to watch for me as I did not find her acting very natural. She came across as kind of awkward and spoilt.

Finally, suspend disbelief (as usual with reference to such dramas) because the scene in the last episode was really unbelievable. CXZ and LMT paired up to kill the guards sent by Prince Sui and they managed to kill them all without soiling their clothes at all (still total wrinkle-free and bloodless; pristine off-white). That scene left me scoffing. Other than this, I really loved watching this lovely pair. FL was very lovely indeed - so pleasing on the eyes, total eye candy - and ML was all smitten and such. I liked that he only had eyes for her and loved just her. This applied to FL too. They formed a formidable couple with brain and brawn for the ML and brains and charm for the FL.

Overall, I would have given a perfect 10 for this drama if not for the slight flaws which I could not reconcile with. Thus, I gave it a 9/10.

This drama entertained me tremendously and I looked forward to watching each episode. I highly recommend this drama!! :o)
<3 <3 <3

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The trailer delivers

I enjoyed this.

I was intrigued by the trailer and the trailer delivers! Storyline, plot, acting, pace, cinematography was good. It was refreshing to watch a well written plot. I also found out that this drama was a novel adaptation but the writer decided to give it its own twist, which was perfect, I think the drama stands out on its own.

Chemistry wise- this may be unpopular opinion, but I'm not feeling it. I think both leads act well together but I don't ship them. Someone quoted the leads like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, well I agree.

Cast - I'm biased towards WCR, I think she is so pretty and this role is perfect for her. The supporting cast is great too, The one who play Prince Sui impressed me in the last 2 episodes. I was moved. I love cute, grumpy He Zhen and my foodie empress Xueji too.

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Storyline gets better & better ~ FL Not “sweet/dumb/klutzy” etc! Yaaah!

Not familiar with the main leads, the synopsis intrigued me to watch this series. I enjoyed the storyline right away, as I love strong, independent FLs over the so-called “sweet/dumb/innocent/klutzy” types.
As the story progressed, I found myself alternately getting trusfrated or laughing as the characters drew me in. A few veteran actors also worked as great finishing touches to keep my attention glued enough~ to binge-watch.
All three couples were entertaining enough and different, so their stories weren’t boring for me.
Other than the Main Leads, played by Zhang Wan Yi and Wang Chu Ran, the character who I liked the most is the young Empress played by Yuan Yu Xuan! She’s absolutely adorable, more sensible than me?, and down-to-earth.
Shoutout to the entire cast! They were awesome!
I would definitely recommend!

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Documentation

Wow, took me long enough to finish the last two episodes lol. Kinda got distracted by another cdrama. First thing is the leads are legit perfect, sure the ML lied, but like legit nothing else is lacking from them. They remind me of modern drama's where the leads are perfect. Still I think they had to be perfect for this plot to work. What I am talking about is that they had a lot of bs moments where everything is solved by leads no matter what. But hey it's a drama so whatever, but they did a great job shaping the characters up as competent people. Second, the couples are amazing, all three of them were enjoyable. Especially the empress and the emperor they were a suprise to me, they were the most interesting at the end, the dynamic they had was unique compared to the other two. The empress also became my favourite character by the end. She was graceful and true to herself, she felt like a legit person compared to others. My favourite arc was when the FL knew she was lied to and split up with the ML and the ML still tried to be with her. That is when I realised how good the leads were at acting. Especially that scene where the FL stabbed the ML near the heart. The biggest weakness to this was the fact that they didn't finish the main problem and waited until the last episode to get rid of the villain. In return we only get to see the peaceful and happy ending for like 10 minutes. I think they ran out of budget lol. Overall very enjoyable, cam be recommended to people, and it can be rewatched, honestly every romance drama with a happy ending can be rewatched.

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