Bride's Revenge (2023)

When you order prime rib and get spare ribs instead.

I expected Youku's short "Revenge" series to be a xianxia in disguise featuring the many hot re-incarnations of "The Best-est of the Chest-ests" Dai Gaozheng in all his topless smoking hot glory. If that is also what you are here for, let me save you some time because Bride's Revenge is nothing but chest bait. In this incarnation as Mu Anhe, Dai Gaozheng is over-dressed and so camera shy he is in hiding for over a third of the drama. When he reappears, it is uncomfortably obvious there is no spark between the leads. While their chemistry is sweet and loving, it notably lacks the passion and intensity of the previous incarnation.

The plot is uncannily similar to Maid's Revenge where two related men Mu Ancheng and Mu Anhe duke it out over the family assets and a woman. Except this time a bunch of "green tea bitches" scheme, bitch slap and scratch each others' eyes out over a scrawny and unappetising scumbag. That entire arc of not very smart people trying to out dumb each other made ten minutes feel like an hour. Even a happy ending cannot save this drama. The dissatisfaction level is just like when you order prime rib and get spare ribs instead. Give this one a pass unless you are super bored and need a quick Dai Gaozheng fix. And in that case, just watch the last three episodes or better yet, rewatch Maid's Revenge.

I generously rate this 3.0/10.0 because Dai Gaozheng is still the chesty definition of hotness.

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Highly entertaining revenge-plot short show

I really liked this short show. The storyline revolves around a revenge plot based on two happenings. These happenings lead FL to go full-blown revenge-bitch, LOL. The storyline doesn’t take itself too seriously so I had a great time watching the many schemes FL and others in the household come up with. It’s fast paced without any fillers which I personally love about these short shows.
I know many viewers compare this show to “Maid’s Revenge” but they really shouldn’t since this is an entirely different kind of story. I admit that the revenge theme is similar but the things that happen and the backstory is not.
Character wise we have this strong FL who is clever and cunning. The ML is rather weak but changes drastically due to the thing that happens to him. 2ML is a cunning and shrewd man with violent tendencies. Nothing gets to stand in his way and nothing is worth more to him than his ambition. Of course there isn’t much character depth because of the short format, but the characters are whole and not just one-dimensional.
Acting wise this is great. All the main actors do a great job with the little time they have.
So, if you love a strong revenge plot show without fillers, this is definitely well worth watching.

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