This is not your typical c-drama but for a shorter production quite lovely and entertaining

Childhood friends share fate and a secret, but their beloved fathers get murdered, and the kids separated. On top of it the boy gets stuck in the vengeance mode (don't expect blood thirsty brute though) and the girl lost her memory (do expect a ditzy one here). They meet 10 years later but on the opposite sides of law and yet get pulled into the vortex of events that draw them closer and more reliant on their past, characters and sense of duty. The romance blossoms early on by chance and due to the ever-present drugs in this drama, but it's fun to watch the subtle dance of attraction between the leads and secondary characters, most of which were written well and acted accordingly. As some people noted, the ending is an OE, sort of like what we had in The Untamed, but it was rather unexpected and to be honest, I would have been fine without this potentially happy ending. Even the death of the secondary character at the end served an important role, therefore I am not criticizing the script writer for it. So, if you are looking for the typical drama, don't get your shorts tied in the knot-this is artistically inclined and visually-auditory pleasant one to savor rather than speed through.

I liked everything about this production: starting with how there were no introductions at the beginning, but BAM! dropping us in the middle of an event that was self-explanatory and laden with tension. I loved the OST, that was mostly instrumental with a few fantastic songs sung by female, male and a duet, creating not only a background but mood and character of the story telling. The plot was good, although not inventive, and kept me interested, and had enough turns to dispel any misguided guesses on who the main culprit was and why. We get some bread crumbs here and there but vague enough to keep making mistakes. Also, for the die-hard fans of the Confucian tradition - you will not get filial piety here in the end and (surprise, surprise) rather clear message on what really matters to us when we take a harder look at our life's purpose. The ML played very well, I also thought that FL was good. Two SMLs were very entertaining and showed good range of skills - from body use to facial and voice. The aspect of miracle drug was used without exaggeration as a vehicle of uncovering true face/motivation of various characters. Fight scenes were solid with a new trick: climbing walls with a flip! Even if some things did not make sense (blood transfusion, etc.) the whole point is above the question "was it realistic?". If you want documentary, then switch genre. This was believable to the extent of being a love story.

Read More

Regardless of the 16 year old being casted as FL in love mini drama

I actually liked it. The music was good, visuals interesting, acting, except for the underage person, also good. I have not seen the FL in any other role, but I will go back to her roles from the beginning to see what the reason was for casting her here. She has been in the dramas since 2017 so at 17 she has ten years of acting behind her. Still, not impressed here. The miniseries is really an attempt at artistic production, I mean angles of the shots, colors, tempo, choreography of the scenes... it really seems like an art project. I loved the bamboo forest fight as it was a puppet/shadow theatre-like and the use of the color was perfect. You need to watch it closely as the episodes are short and it's really easy to miss some details, so you may want to slow down the play to .75, which I did the second time I watched it. Overall - an interesting mini but don't get your shorts in a knot just because the FL actress is underage and the rest of them, particularly her romantic counterpart, is an adult man.

Read More

just the plot description- watched with really bad Eng Subs, so my apologies....

Hi everybody, MDL does not have the plot listed so here it is:
I watched this drama just to see Li Fei who imho is a darn good actor and should be playing in more mainstream pieces. This was a new FL playing with him and their scenes together were not as good as the ones we already swooned over (ha ha ha, we all know that Mr. Li knows exactly how to fool us into believing he is kissing the females). But back to the plot:
A young FL (14 or so) falls in love with a blind man, who is later cured and reciprocates the affection for FL. But then they get separated because he goes to war. Luckily, he comes back and reunites with FL, but... The old creep of an Emperor hell bent on getting the girl snatches her as his (I guess) concubine. The FL is heartbroken and so is her spirit because of the cruelty of the emperor towards her. As any sexually traumatized person, she only knows sexual acting out, and does so with any man that reminds her of the love she lost. Somewhere there with the lovers there is Crowned Prince (I think) with whom she has some steamy encounters and who clearly is very attracted to her. Then the old creepy Emperor dies, and FL becomes Dowager Empress, so perhaps crown prince saves her from death (?) However, the promiscuity of the Dowager goes on for about 15 years and the whole country hates her for that. Among her lovers there is a man who reminds her so much of her lover that she starts doing things she is unsure about. It doesn't help that she somehow also gets involved with the new Emperor....
Don't hate me for this. Just trying to give the community more info on this mini drama. I will look for better subs in English and then write a review.

Read More

If you are bored, chained to your screen or otherwise self-torturing - this is for you

A guy falls for a girl. The girl has a kid with that dude while her "brother" is jealous and does a lot to undermine their relationship. Oh, and his mom is the cause of all misunderstanding between the main leads because... well, she is the mom who has to do stuff for her son. Then the girl has amnesia and becomes a revenge infiltrator of the military mansion by becoming a secretary to big kahuna. Kauna's wife will only hire a female secretary who is married and with a kid, so the girl hires a homeless orphan to act as her child and in the most crucial moment when she has to present her husband, the subordinate of the big kahuna claims to be her spouse because ta-da! he is the boy who loved the girl and fathered her child! How do you like it so far? Don't touch that dial because I am only on ep 1! Seriously, if you can track each and every turn of the plot with ridiculous tropes - hats off to you for wasting enough brain cells that would last you for a driver license exam. Oh, just so you know - the hired kid is really her son and the pretend husband has been stabbed by FL around the time of amnesia set on because he is the son of the villain who killed girl's family. If you are not confused yet - watch for yourself.
Unfortunately, this production sucks: the story and characters are so unbelievably bad, and the scenes are stretched beyond any acceptable limits that I had to stop 3/4 of the way to not puke. Seriously, rewatch value 0 because even if instead of 40, there were 12 episodes and not 15 min each but 8-10 min long, it still would have had extra time without substance other than long and slowed shots from all possible angles of pretty people -I must add - looking breathtaking at times.
Why did I not drop it? Because I watch the Republican era series just to watch the outfits. Qipaos are to die for! I want to own all of them! The guys in uniforms - even if ridiculously pointing guns at each other every minute - and shouting things like Boss I ran out of bullets - are not to be missed! Too bad ML, Yuan Hao, famous for his smile, had to play such mediocre crap. Jiang Zhi Nan is spectacular, but she could do better than this - if you have not seen her in Rise from Ashes do it now to truly appreciate her talent.

Read More

I liked it!

So this is not your typical romance thingy. First of all, FL is not in love with anyone as she is on her revenge and vengeance trip. Pissed as hell and using all to get what she is after. She is engaging with the leads just to get what she needs -hence the title Flower that Belongs to No Man. I am not even going to wonder how to justify why it's called The Lady Commander. It is more of hate-obsession story, because honestly there was no love, only obsession from the male leads. ML is a bit better in the final of the story, but he is pathetic as a male. The crazy 2ML is another story, but let's just say whoever wrote this story and the characters was not aiming at showing a romance or a love story, just human misery in the esthetically pleasing manner.
For an 8-minute drama this was really concise but also interesting. I know these miniseries are low budget and not much to praise, but I thought that it was a good production and acting, Even the ending was decent. albeit sad. But what made this jump from 7,5 to 8 was the OST, namely opening credits music. EPIC!
I am a Fan of Liang Xue Feng (2024 seems like his year for playing main roles - do look him up!) and Zhao Jia Min, so I suffered not seeing much chemistry between them which was required by the script, but they both played authentic characters the best to their potential.
Would I watch it again? No. But since there is not OST on YT that I can find I play episodes randomly just to hear the music! HA!

Read More

The best contemporary story of urban life in China

The best contemporary story of urban life in China. Real characters, adult relationships, lovely music, breathtaking shots of Beijing and an amazing close up of ugliness of business side of life (corporate scheming!). A poignant review of various social issues so common all over the world, incl. gender, economic and generational gaps, with smart, but vulnerable men and women, downplayed in the way that delivers without making you feel like you are watching propaganda. Instead, we get to watch from a hidden place how China has changed in the past 25 years and experience with the characters a small slice of life that this existence carries for us. Excellent casting. Great directing and editing. I loved cinematography as it fed into my longing for the real China, the one I experienced in person and not via silly cdramas. Comparable only to My Liberation Notes and Go Ahead.

Read More

Completely silly and fun. An absolute must watch for the fans of Wang Ze Xuan

I really enjoyed the story of a modern spunky girl bumping into the consciousness of a meek ancient boy. The silliness and lightness of the scenes are hard not to enjoy, but you have to watch it tongue in cheek otherwise you will be dropping this. We have a clever girl enjoying the ride while taking charge of the meek massage master at a male bathhouse - you can tell where this is going, right? Well, the twist is: to get back to her life she needs to make the ML marry the princess in which he has been hopelessly dreaming about. Of course, the things get complicated when the boy and the girl fall in love inside of his mind...
Cheng Fang Tong is a master of comedies, but she is pretty versatile. If you have not had a chance to watch Wang Ze Xuan before -this role was really a showcase of his talents. A Yi Xia although her role was rather poorly written did a marvelous job of being a proud princess. There is some eye candy with bare chests, but I really enjoyed the range of acting by the ML as he went from a pushover awkward boy to a loud and bossy girl, through a man terrified of the things that are happening to him, and recognizing and missing his love, to a man sacrificing himself in the name of that love and his beloved. I watched him in A Familiar Stranger and Hard to Find, and believe he is a great talent worthy of main roles in full length dramas. And even if this was not an ambitious production, I am giving it a high mark for that reason.

Read More

Nice story but nothing to fall in love with

So the general's daughter Bai Chu meets a boy Lin Yu when she is very young. They are sweet on each other, but lost track of one another after boy does not show up for the mutually agreed meeting. Later on, a similar encounter happens between them, but this time the young man is in a predicament - he serves one of royal princes as his double or Shadow (hence the title Substitute). The royal sons Qi and Chen fight for the title of the Crown Prince and Lin Yu's sentiment for Bai Chu and common history is used by his employer to get general's backing via marriage with Bai Chu. Except, the prince is sickly and really not interested in the girl, so he sends his double to act as the prince. Chu and Yu are in love, but the prince knows that he will be assassinated, and Yu will have to pay the ultimate price for having a face identical to the prince. But the prince gives him a choice - marry the girl he likes and become the next Crown Prince or die in prince's place on the wedding day. As Bai Chu interacts with both men, not aware of the truth, she is both puzzled and elated that her childhood sweetheart is so cold and yet marrying her.
The wedding day comes and not only a man wearing the wedding gown is killed by the ruthless villain prince Qi, but also Chu's parents. The question we ask ourselves is: who really died? The prince or his guard? and the consequences are dire as revenge is necessary. What will happen now? The girl goes to train as an assassin for a year in Ghost Valley (not sure why she could not stick with poisons which she already knew), but she sucks at it even though she is sent to gather the evidence to prove the evil deeds of prince Qi, who has been grounded since his brother's wedding by the emperor. Bai Chu knows that a man died in her arms on her wedding day, so she is bewildered by the news that her husband has been recuperating in the palace this past year because his wound festers from the poison. And then she tries to steal the evidence from the man who OMG! looks like her dead husband! Ta-da!

This is a familiar trope of fated relationship and ultimate sacrifice - I am not giving away the ending, so if you are afraid of pain and sorrow, you just have to wait until someone will give away the spoiler. Or watch and have an epiphany.
This title was not on MDL until yesterday and I actually had to add it. After it appeared on IQIYI a few weeks ago I watched it right away because I just wanted to see Liang Xue Feng in another lead role (loved him as Young Master Hua in My Journey to You and was tracking his acting ability in 3 other series this year). While not disappointed with his acting, I thought the script and characters were blah. PLEASE no more villains who laugh like they perform in high school production of Wicked. On the other hand, Wang Ze Xuan, the crazy female-like prince from Hard to Find or the obsessed prince from A Familiar Stranger, is also here! And darn ! he plays well. FL is not bad, I have not seen her in other productions. OST is waltzy, which always lends itself to emotional support.

Read More

Actually a very nice love story.

What a nice love story with good, bad and ugly parts, but for me (who is hunting for perfect villains) the evil prince was the reason for giving the high rating. Yes, he is that good! Everything that other people wrote so far about this is true: horrible Eng
translation, twists and turns of the plot, bizarre elements, chemistry btwn Xiao Mei and Qing Zhu is good and the sad ending turned happy with the reincarnation makes the viewer satisfied. The complaints about the sadistic SML fell on death ears as the production was really nicely balancing the doses of SML's evilness with ML's goodness. So here is what I loved about this mini drama:
I started watching this after I saw that the ML from Love in a Dream (and he was really tugging at my heart there) was co-starring with my favorite heartthrob Li Fei here. In Love in a Dream Zhang Jin Yun was "the man" all gentleness with chivalry, but meant business with enemies. Here, he is a powerhouse of unscrupulous evil. BRAVO Zhang Jin Yun!!! He is playing such a delicious villain who never disappoints no matter how much we want him to show a bit of humanity, he is a psychopath to the brim and has absolutely no feelings for anyone, because he just wants to exercise his power over FL for fun and personal satisfaction. Unlike other bad characters in other dramas this role is magnificently played without overdoing rolling of the eyes, murderous facial expression and jaw like that of a shark. Humiliation score of the evil prince is 10/10. Even in the last scene with him, where he is trying to get Qing Zhu back his "desperation" has nothing to do with love, but mere need of a narcissist to have another person to torture. WOW! He is full of malice in such a chillingly charming way that I am going to watch him in every production available out there with Eng subs!!! Love Li Fei smiling... but the poor guy seems to be the magnet for being a porcupine - meaning being shot by arrows by his opponents. I am loving it even though things got (or should I say goat LOL) nonsensical in ep 15. And let me tell you about the FL lead... Zhu Li Lan sent me looking up her dramas and I am watching out for all 6 (!) new titles she is starring in as a main actress (no release date available yet). Overall this was really well played, interestingly scripted (if a bit excentric at times) decently made and masterfully acted drama.

Read More

transmigration?

It starts off as a transmigration story, a modern girl gets thrown out to ancient realm for some reason. We see her trying to figure out her newlywed cold/distant husband as well as the results of the shock of everybody nearby with her new spirit and personality. Yes, cute and light. Then we get a twist in the trope as the girl and her spouse switch bodies/souls and learn to like and support one another -again, pure fun as M/FL are really good embodying the opposite gender roles. Then we start wondering about the transmigration as we see the leads in modern times in not so good situation: she lost her memory of their happy marriage, and the spouse suffers by her bedside. And then the usual fight for the throne with the Crown Prince, as well as avenging dead mother plot of ML, while FL is still trying to figure out how to get back to her modern reality and life. And then we wonder if perhaps these two lovers are shown in two lifetimes as twin flames: on and off again...? And then we find out that the transmigration is really the modern wife's subconscious attempt at getting at the truth about her "happy marriage". I loved the ending in both story lines - not really an open ending or a cliffhanger, but a nudge toward what might happen with these two in the next reincarnation. The acting was good, OST well done, editing and production for this 12 minute mini series commendable.

Read More

Kinda boring at this point ep 15

there are two more episodes to go and I am no longer at the edge of my seat. I admit I was watching this drama at first with some reservation as it seemed like a silly mixed identities plot the first few episodes, but it then got interesting with all the courtroom and palace scheming and political duplicity. At ep 14 I started getting tired of never-ending bombs and dire straits that ML was put through. I am sorry but I am not longer able to care how this is going to be resolved. Most of the reviews before me point out the artistry of the ML, but to me the SML, a very young actor, stole the show. He is most believable, most vulnerable character in the entire series, and he plays it VERY well. I will not comment of the +/- of the various characters in this show, they were written as such and so I can only comment on the mastery of the screenwriter to create roles that are either very rich to start with (and we slowly discover their inner workings) or they develop progressively thus giving us a delicious chance to witness that personal growth. In this case, the script falls short in just revealing details of the story that really does not expand our understanding of the characters. I was able to determine who is a good guy and who is a bad guy already, so even switch in the direction does not prove anything, just mundanely proves the already known truths. I still give it high mark because I usually start with 10 for interesting script, fresh ideas in the plot, characters that are not stereotypes and acting mastery. If the FX or cinematography is something memorable and the OST is a part of the characters/situations, then I can keep the 10. Otherwise, I subtract the points. This one has music that I can't recall after 15 episodes. Mediocre script and characters. Acting is good, but visuals are not that great. Frankly, I am ready to go back to The Double as that keeps me entertained at ep 20.

Read More