The Biggest Plot Twist Was My Opinion of This Drama
Rating: 9/10
I'll be honest: I almost dropped Qingqiu Apothecary during the first few episodes.
The introduction left me confused, and I wasn't entirely sure where the story was heading. The only reason I continued was because of He De Rui, and I'm very glad I did.
At just 24 episodes with a runtime of around 10 minutes each, it's an easy drama to binge. What started as a series I was unsure about gradually turned into one of my favorite surprise watches of the year. The cast does a solid job, particularly He De Rui and Meng En. While some scenes can be unintentionally funny due to the low-budget production, the story has enough charm, mystery, and character chemistry to keep viewers invested.
As for the question many viewers are asking: is it BL? Officially, no. However, I think the drama intentionally leaves room for different interpretations, and that's part of what makes it interesting.
My advice is simple: don't judge this drama too quickly. Give it a chance to reveal what it's actually trying to do.
For my full spoiler-free review, visit: https://bromance.blog/reviews/is-the-c-drama-qingqiu-apothecary-bl
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An Average Mystery That Never Quite Clicks
I went into watching it hoping for a solid mystery with a memorable bromance, but unfortunately, it ended up being just... okay.
Let's start with the mystery, since that's the drama's main focus. Honestly, I wasn't impressed. The investigation felt fairly predictable, and many of the plot twists relied on clichés that I've seen countless times in other crime dramas. Instead of keeping me on the edge of my seat, the story often felt repetitive, and there were moments where I struggled to stay invested.
The cast and acting were decent but nothing particularly memorable. No one gave a bad performance, but no one really stood out either. Everything felt average, which pretty much sums up the drama as a whole.
Now for the bromance, which was one of the reasons I picked this up. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't the highlight I was hoping for. The leads had a couple of genuinely good scenes together (I'd say two moments really stood out), but the drama never fully developed their partnership into something emotionally compelling. If you're watching this purely for the bromance, I think there are much better options out there.
That said, I don't regret watching it. It's an easy binge, and if you have a free evening with nothing else on your watchlist, you can finish it in one sitting without feeling like you've completely wasted your time.
Overall, The Murder Puzzle is a decent one-time watch, but it doesn't really stand out in either the mystery or bromance department.
Final Rating: 7/10.
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