Mermaid Husband (2025)

F5 in an aquatic world...what a delight!

I knew about this drama from Shen Hao Nan's fan youtube account and wow, I was excited for this series. I have watched the works of all 5 actors (Shen Hao Nan, He Jian Qi, Wang Yi Ran, Duan Mei Yang & Chen Gang) + Zuo Yi at least once. Glad I found this drama on Youtube.

What I liked:
1. The mermen - Shen Hao Nan, He Jian Qi, Wang Yi Ran, Duan Mei Yang & Chen Gang were hot as mermen and normal human being. I like that all 5 mermen have different personality and temperament. If I have to choose 1 outstanding merman, my pick is Qiao Jing Ze. He Jian Qi was outstanding as a rebel. I also enjoyed the plot of brotherhood between the 4 characters. I think if the writer could do a spin off focusing on just the brotherhood.
2. Brother-sister dynamic - There were many arcs in this drama and the one I enjoyed the most is Chu Yu Sheng and Chu Yun Ling. Despite the short screentime, this arc was more compelling because of the conflicted emotions felt by Chu Yu Sheng. Great chemistry between Chen Gang and Zuo Yi.
3. Shen Hao Nan-He Jian Qi - When watching the drama, I really like watching these two actors in the same frame together. Their characters were yin and yang. It's even more amusing watching the behind the scenes. He Jian Qi seemed like the prankster in the group. Dude has great bromance with Shen Hao Nan and now I want to watch them in a new drama together!

What I disliked:
1. Romance - Despite having 4 suitors, I find the romance arcs underwhelming perhaps due to chemistry and uneven screen time for 4 potential couples. I think Zuo Yi had the best romantic scene with Wang Yi Ran despite another suitor having the strongest feels.
2. FL characterisation - I understand that this drama is coming-of-age story of Chu Yun Ling. However I felt this arc was overshadowed by the romance arcs and rivalry arc. FL was too cute and bland for my liking. I think Zuo Yi was miscast to play a 22 year old woman navigating life on land and underwater. If there was a remake, I'd like to see Guo Yuxin as Chu Yun Ling and reduce suitors to 2 and retain the rival/brother character.

Favourite scene
When FL discovered the mermaid identity of her 4 suitors

Read More