Female-Driven Revenge Dramas with actual revenge?

Nov 28, 2020 02:59 am

Any female-driven revenge dramas where she actually gets revenge and the bad guys get their just desserts? I feel like in these dramas, the FL just forgives everyone or the plot just runs around in circles and the "revenge" is just this one-episode thing that doesn't amount to much. The only example I can think of is Story of Minglan.

Czakhareina

Nov 28, 2020 03:37 am

Story of Yanxi Palace -this is a girl who grits her everything fpr justice or revenge fagainst thosr who hurt/betray her or the ones she loves. Revenge for her sister, revenge for the empress who she consideras a sister, revenge for a close palace maid friend and all against palace maids, concubines and their allies, and even against the new empress. She also decided to forget and even use the brother of the first empress who she first loved, yet was forces to betrayed her. Lastly she also made sure to use, manipulate and hurt the emperor who unknowingly is the reason why the first empress dies.
Yanxi palace: princess adventures - milder and shorter drama than story of yanxi palace, but the FL is the daughter of the protagonist above and she is her mothers daughter in some ways.
Kenja no ai - very very far from story of minglan cause this one is dark and very dirty 20-year in the making twisted revenge. But oh so compelling
Alice No Toge
Secret Boutique

Nov 28, 2020 05:20 am

+1 Story of Yanxi Palace - iirc correctly (I'll be honest I don't remember the details for this part) she gets revenge against the main guy she always wanted to get revenge against. She later also wants to take revenge against the Emperor for the way he treated the Empress. She sort of does and sort of doesn't. She falls for him and he falls for her, and in the end she has him wrapped around her little finger.
The Princess Wei Young - The FL doesn't take revenge on the Emperor and basically forgives him, but it's because he was fooled by one of his subjects who was the real beneficiary and mastermind behind her family's slaughter and the invasion of her kingdom, and she definitely did get revenge against that guy.

Hanah

Nov 29, 2020 05:14 am

Thanks for the recs! Tbh, I've been avoiding Yanxi because of the the rumored tragic romance plot. Even though I mentioned Ming Lan, I was actually thinking of those family-centered makjang-esque birth secret dramas - The Promise, Nameless Woman, Jang Bo Ri/Because of Meeting You, Return of the Heiress, Secret. I thought The Promise was decently good in the revenge aspect but though they let off Jang Se Jin too lightly. It killed me how nothing happened to the mom in Secret. Re-watching Because of Meeting You and while I really like it, it's a little frustrating knowing none of the moms/stepmoms get their comeuppance compared to the pain they inflicted. So any recommendations like those?

Czakhareina

Nov 29, 2020 06:23 am

First off about Yanxi Palace, the tragic love specifically, for the female lead, it was about that much. She had her first love but it did come to fruition, it is sad but she moved on and never looked back. She lived her life not thinking of what could have been or what she lost because she was not locked in the past, that is just life. She was well okay living her life kinda outside the palace until she was again roped into the dirty harem. Plus i do think she did find love again with the emperor. And truth be told, she was the emperors great love. Though i guess from the first love's (SML) POV it was quite tragic since he never got over losing her.

Still, i highly recommend this drama even if its not makjang-esque. I mean the harem narrative is enough to be entertaining in the conspiracy and backbiting and panning to put down each other of concubines. And this has on of the satisfying revenge naratives ever.

As for makjang revenge plots, Secret Boutique fits the description you are looking for,

And maybe: