It was an unexpected day for He Huan. On her 10th year marriage anniversary, her husband went MIA, and 4 debtors soon came to collect million of debts owned by her missing husband. As if this news weren't shocking enough, her long term program got cut due to critical reviews by her friend, her mum diagnosed with cancer, oh and her missing husband - turns out he cheated.

Thus, we have our story's premise for Be Your Own Light, a story of a woman requiring to step back up on her own feet after her world crashed oversight.

What works well for a seemingly cliche plot is the element of surprise. The show smartly use our bias to make us enjoy the show. It has grounded and likeable characters. It has smart, witty slightly over the top approach for moments that were supposedly cringey or dramatic. It has sincere dialogues and positive messages for us to learn from - on career, on life struggles, on beliefs.

And the show smartly turn its focus to He Huan's, Bai Yang's and Yuan Yuan's career line after the necessary context of He Huan's situation was established.

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Starting with our main female lead, He Huan played the role of a woman who seemingly had it all, with stable career and loving family. When her world crashed before her, I was impressed with how the show laid out her growth and development. Here, we saw a strong woman who picked herself back up steadily and decisively after going through the proper stages of grief. Yes, there's a tad teeny idealistic cliche-y moments. No, there is no domineering CEO boyfriend to the rescue nor some untapped special potential that He Huan unlocks. If anything, her talent is always recognised before she left the news industry 13 years ago to prioritise family.

I like that He Huan is kind, but not a Mary Sue, principled but not a preacher. She had clear and admirable motivations for her actions. He Huan accepted the reality that her skills may not be able to meet the current fast paced environment and humbly chose to start again. She worked through the ranks again, and gained the rightful recognition through effort, sincerity, and tenacity.

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Bai Yang played the foil of He Huan's character - the successful career lady who remained single. With her blunt, no nonsense, demanding, rigid and prideful personality, she can be a character that's easy to dislike or sympathise. To Bai Yang, she says what she means and she means what she says. If anything, Bai Yang, though the most expressively critical of He Huan, is one of the few that truly believed in He Huan's capability and often helped the latter in tangible ways.

While Bai Yang's arc may feel a little outdated in 2023 for some modern single ladies, I enjoyed how the show highlighted her vulnerable sides and how the few perceptive ones in the show could see through as well. I love they knew the right opportunities to offer words of comfort which Bai Yang needs to hear. Sure, Bai Yang has a strong steel of armor, but she is no machine. These moments ground her characters and made Bai Yang real.

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Last but definitely the most refreshing, we have Yuan Yuan. Yuan Yuan resembles a lot of more what people who term as "masculine" traits. She is ambitious, competitive, assertive, courageous, calculative, and decisive. With people, she is direct in expressing her thoughts whenever the moment is right. She is the first one that helped He Huan and gave the latter a much needed dose of reality checks. At work, she is resourceful and almost never let emotions get in the way. While certain actions toe the line, Yuan Yuan has her principles that she doesn't cross. With the right reminders, she focus on her own pie and value. In relationships, she is clear with what she wants, and is quick to honor her thoughts when she changed mind too.

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To wrap up my review, Be Your Own Light shows that light can come in many forms - so long it is our own effort.

While my review did not highlight much of Liu Yu Ning's character and arc, he did a great job too and his character, Jiang Jun Hao, is one of the cutest onscreen debtors. The pacing is by and large okay, with the last part a little rushed. I don't quite get He Huan's husbands' motivation / actions, and I personally also didn't feel we need Jiang Jun Hao and He Huan falling in love. But I guess we won't have a story if the husband isn't a jerk and each of these lovely females having a "worthy happily ever after" partner. Oh well, the silver lining is their love stories aren't that forced, cliche or not.

And thus, Be Your Own Light is an enjoyable series with admirable characters, especially the ladies.