Lotus
United States
This review may contain spoilers
A very misleading premise yet quite interesting watch
When I first read the premise of My Dear Lady, I was led to believe that this drama would be a fresh new take on relationships and love, but I was disappointed to find that it was very much the same as most. Despite being slightly disappointed, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. There were lots of problems with the story and inconsistencies with the characters, but I was able to ignore it if I didn't let my brain get in the way of things. The characters are really funny, the story is cliche in a refreshing way, and the OST was very beautiful.
Story 7/10
The story was where I had the most qualms. Ling Xunxun (Jiang Mengjie) is a formerly attractive, intelligent woman who has experienced a fall from grace. Now, she has become a divorced woman who lost custody of her six or seven year old child. She hasn't worked in seven years but is suddenly forced to work as a personal assistant for Cheng Li (Liu Te), a domineering CEO, after she crashes into his extremely expensive car. Sounds interesting, no? I admit it had so much potential, but the execution resembled most modern Cdramas instead of bringing anything new to the table. Even though the FL was 29 years old and had previously been married, she still acted very naive and sometimes very illogical. The male lead, age 23, was still the same typical, cold, seemingly heartless CEO that thaws just for the FL. He later becomes a somewhat bratty, naive childlike thing that is both interesting and annoying. I thought the FL's child would bring some interesting situations to the drama, but the child was barely there and felt way more like a plot convenience to pull in and out whenever the producers saw fit. However, if I put these problems in the back of my mind, I was still able to enjoy it. For people who don't really mind seeing the same cliches and character types over and over, it's still a very fluffy, cute drama. There are a lot of sweet scenes and comedy sprinkled throughout. It is shorter than most Cdramas and never drags noticeably, so it was quite easy for me to finish over a few days. I never felt that it was a chore to finish, unlike with other dramas, so despite my initial disappointment, I was still pretty happy with it. Overall, the plot just wasn't that special and didn't do justice to the amazing, interesting premise that they set up, but that shouldn't stop most people from being able to find something they liked about it.
Characters and Acting 8/10
The characters overall were quite funny and the acting was well done. I had absolutely no prior knowledge of the cast and therefore had zero expectations. As I stated before, Jiang Mengjie portrayed the FL, Ling Xunxun, as a naive and inexperienced child. I found it really hard to believe that she had actually had experience in love and was the mother of a child. She was a housewife for seven years but had no clue how to cook. However, I was able to convince myself not to think too much about it. Even though her character was really inconsistent with her background, Mengjie did her part very well considering what she was given. Liu Te also portrayed his character well. He was a young CEO suffering from PTSD over an incident he is unable to remember. I was pleasantly surprised by Liu Te's ability to portray his character as a serious, cold businessman and still radiate the energy of a boyish, inexperienced boy who was afraid of the dark. I didn't enjoy the chemistry between any of the couples. Because the FL started out as the personal assistant of the ML and tasked with feeding him, driving him to work, vacuuming, and cleaning, the dynamic between them felt like mother and child. This feeling had absolutely NOTHING to do with their age gap and everything to do with the way they treat each other. In the bloopers they show after each episode, it seems like the two of them were very comfortable with each other and had a lot of chemistry, but onscreen it wasn't felt as much. The second leads were absolutely torturous to watch. I hated seeing them together and begged the writers to have them not end up together. Their relationship had no chemistry whatsoever and through their acting, it was hard to believe that they had been friends for over ten years.
Production 9/10
I think the production was quite good. I liked how well done the sets were, the ML's house by far being my favorite. The OST was very beautiful and catchy. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire opening song was in English, which I hadn't seen before. I also really enjoyed the other songs that played throughout the show and go back to them often.
Final Recommendation
Even though this drama intends to bring a different sort of take on relationships, it fails to do so in a very meaningful way, which can be disappointing for people who were anticipating it, like me, but for people who are just looking for a fluffy romance, it is a pretty relaxing and adorable thing to watch. The characters and situations will definitely keep you entertained.
Story 7/10
The story was where I had the most qualms. Ling Xunxun (Jiang Mengjie) is a formerly attractive, intelligent woman who has experienced a fall from grace. Now, she has become a divorced woman who lost custody of her six or seven year old child. She hasn't worked in seven years but is suddenly forced to work as a personal assistant for Cheng Li (Liu Te), a domineering CEO, after she crashes into his extremely expensive car. Sounds interesting, no? I admit it had so much potential, but the execution resembled most modern Cdramas instead of bringing anything new to the table. Even though the FL was 29 years old and had previously been married, she still acted very naive and sometimes very illogical. The male lead, age 23, was still the same typical, cold, seemingly heartless CEO that thaws just for the FL. He later becomes a somewhat bratty, naive childlike thing that is both interesting and annoying. I thought the FL's child would bring some interesting situations to the drama, but the child was barely there and felt way more like a plot convenience to pull in and out whenever the producers saw fit. However, if I put these problems in the back of my mind, I was still able to enjoy it. For people who don't really mind seeing the same cliches and character types over and over, it's still a very fluffy, cute drama. There are a lot of sweet scenes and comedy sprinkled throughout. It is shorter than most Cdramas and never drags noticeably, so it was quite easy for me to finish over a few days. I never felt that it was a chore to finish, unlike with other dramas, so despite my initial disappointment, I was still pretty happy with it. Overall, the plot just wasn't that special and didn't do justice to the amazing, interesting premise that they set up, but that shouldn't stop most people from being able to find something they liked about it.
Characters and Acting 8/10
The characters overall were quite funny and the acting was well done. I had absolutely no prior knowledge of the cast and therefore had zero expectations. As I stated before, Jiang Mengjie portrayed the FL, Ling Xunxun, as a naive and inexperienced child. I found it really hard to believe that she had actually had experience in love and was the mother of a child. She was a housewife for seven years but had no clue how to cook. However, I was able to convince myself not to think too much about it. Even though her character was really inconsistent with her background, Mengjie did her part very well considering what she was given. Liu Te also portrayed his character well. He was a young CEO suffering from PTSD over an incident he is unable to remember. I was pleasantly surprised by Liu Te's ability to portray his character as a serious, cold businessman and still radiate the energy of a boyish, inexperienced boy who was afraid of the dark. I didn't enjoy the chemistry between any of the couples. Because the FL started out as the personal assistant of the ML and tasked with feeding him, driving him to work, vacuuming, and cleaning, the dynamic between them felt like mother and child. This feeling had absolutely NOTHING to do with their age gap and everything to do with the way they treat each other. In the bloopers they show after each episode, it seems like the two of them were very comfortable with each other and had a lot of chemistry, but onscreen it wasn't felt as much. The second leads were absolutely torturous to watch. I hated seeing them together and begged the writers to have them not end up together. Their relationship had no chemistry whatsoever and through their acting, it was hard to believe that they had been friends for over ten years.
Production 9/10
I think the production was quite good. I liked how well done the sets were, the ML's house by far being my favorite. The OST was very beautiful and catchy. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire opening song was in English, which I hadn't seen before. I also really enjoyed the other songs that played throughout the show and go back to them often.
Final Recommendation
Even though this drama intends to bring a different sort of take on relationships, it fails to do so in a very meaningful way, which can be disappointing for people who were anticipating it, like me, but for people who are just looking for a fluffy romance, it is a pretty relaxing and adorable thing to watch. The characters and situations will definitely keep you entertained.
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