Reviews

Truly Splendid

"Splendid Match" really surprised me… in a good way, until it didn't. My main issue is that none of the love interests are true matches for the female lead; they're all flawed and doomed from the start. The romantic trope felt fresh at first, but quickly fell flat once I realized this. On top of that, the male lead's appearance and prune-like facial expressions distracted me, making it hard to stay engaged. I ended up not finishing the drama, especially since the fight scenes lost their appeal; suddenly, the male lead couldn't fight or keep himself or the female lead safe. Watching "Adventures of Zhan Zhao" right after only highlighted these problems more.

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Bonkers

I very much like the two leads in this drama, but in places the plot got so bizarre it took me right out of the story. At times, the over-the-top silliness just broke my brain. Of course not everything has to be high art, but at some point I could no longer suspend my disbelief.

There’s one scene in particular on a plane where our whack–a--doodle FL passes herself off as a doctor and volunteers to heal a rando patient who turns out to be... sorry, not going to spill the beans here. Let’s just say, it’s quite a coincidence.

And that’s just the tip of the bonkers berg. I couldn’t really get what the ML, a rich, spoiled dude, saw in someone who was obviously cuckoo for cocoa puffs–pretty enough, but spouting the language and folkways of Joseon Korea. Wouldn’t your average bro be turned off just a little? And, for that matter, what did the FL see in a guy who alternated between concern, contempt, and even bullying to get his way. I guess I’m not sure the writers did the work of making the attraction between these two believable.

This drama makes me think that we women are trading the exercise of our intelligence for romantic fantasies and mindless baloney. But maybe that’s not always such a bad thing--if you keep part of your brain in the real world.

So in spite of the foregoing, if you’re not opposed to a (sometimes unbelievable) series where an arrogant, supercilious chaebol gets kicked around by a feisty female--you’ll probably enjoy MY ROYAL NEMESIS.

In my case, ngl (not gonna lie), I kinda liked it.

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"I'm still too young to give up"

Director Ichikawa Jun’s inaugural film Bu Su (1987), reminded me of Blue Spring (2001) only without the violence. Set around disillusioned high school students with no great prospects for the future it relied as much on mood as it did plot.

Morishita Mugiko travels to Tokyo by train alone to start a new life as a maiko while also attending high school. Her aunt runs the house and renames her Suzume. At school, Mugiko silently slides into her class, observing instead of interacting. She walks through the new town filled with unusual people and places. She is demoted to running after the rickshaws when her aunt finds her inability to look up frustrating. During the planning for the school’s 100th anniversary talent show, Mugiko is manipulated into presenting a geisha dance by the class queen bee who has grown jealous of the handsome boy’s attention toward the new sullen girl.

To be called Bu Su was a derogatory name meaning physically or emotionally ugly. Tomita Yasuko was definitely not ugly so it could only be a description of Mugiko’s withdrawn personality. Head down, hair over her face, Mugiko rarely interacted with anyone until one day she stood up for another bu su. Ichikawa captured the isolation a teen could feel when thrust into a room of strangers, knowing teenagers were judgmental and cliquey. Like an alien with three heads and purple skin, Mugiko, attempted to blend into the background as much as possible. We’re told she’d had a rough time in her small hometown, but never learn the source of her difficulties with her mother, school, and father’s death. She slowly made friends with students who were considered odd. What she found was that others were also scared and lonely. She didn’t have a market on insecurity. Her new friends were also seeking meaning in their lives. Was this all there was to life? Despite the social advertising for them, the teens had seen that marriage and jobs weren’t necessarily the answers to happiness.

Ichikawa relied heavily on Tomita’s expressive eyes to sell Mugiko’s emotions. There were times his extreme closeups could be disorienting. Yet this first-time film director also had a flare for beautifully framing his compositions. Tokyo was explored, the parts that tourists see and the parts people avoid. If you like Japanese pop music you might enjoy the “modern” score for the time. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Okusu Michiyo as the geisha madame/aunt. She gave a lovely performance as the woman who offered Mugiko/Suzume a chance and also watched as her own daughter chose a life outside their world.

Mugiko chose to perform a scene from the kabuki about Yaoya Oshichi who started a fire (or sounded a false alarm for one) for a chance to see the boy she loved. To master the puppet dance Mugiko had to learn from and rely on others. And she had to learn to look up. Unlike a Hollywood picture, everything didn’t end in cheers and medals for Mugiko and her friends. But even in their failures they gained insight into themselves. Sometimes the past has to be burned down in order to smile at the future. Bu Su wasn’t a perfect film and my score was around a 7.75 which I rounded up to 8.0. I found it flawed and yet also entertaining.

22 May 2026

Explanatory note: Suzume was the FLs maiko name. Much of the film took place with her school friends so to keep things simple in this review I used the name they addressed her by which was Mugiko.

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The first five minutes of this drama had me gasping for breathe. The stabbing triangle scene had me laughing so hard I ended up on the floor. The rest of the drama was charming and fun but that first scene totally eclipsed the whole show. I basically never recovered—it's easily the funniest and most memorable scene from this drama.

The plot was plotting but the relationships and character progression needed a lot more, especially with the female lead Song Yimeng. I understood why Yimeng didn't trust Nanheng, especially after he tried to kill her so many times, but that plot trope dragged on for way too long. It hindered Yimeng's character development and as the main character, it dragged the whole story down. There were times she was unbearable. I wish she had been smarter or stronger or just more easily likeable.

Liu Yining's Nanheng was great in contrast. His character growth in romantic ventures and with comedy were really working for me. The rest of the characters were all generally likeable and served the plot well.

I think this really would have been a 10/10 banger if the writers had focused more on Yimeng's development.

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Flawed, but I Oddly Enjoy...?

Maybe I'm the anomaly here (to my surprise) to see this series was not taken well by the vast majority of watchers. Surprisingly, I think I liked it? Now, did I like it in the sense that it's going to make top 10 of 2026? Highly unlikely. But I enjoyed it in a "this is sloppy and stupid, omg, I love it" kind of way. Now, it wasn't nearly as brazen and racy as the first season was, in which case diminishes the brand of Only Friends being the daring, everybody-kisses-everybody series, but in some peculiar turn of events, this worked for me.

Let's Dive In.

I liked that each of our leading couples had their own dynamic. I enjoyed Arnold and Tua's story the most, but that's because I'm a friends-to-lovers buff, otherwise that crown would've gone to the brilliant AouBoom. Truly so nice seeing them like this. We go a slight taste of this darker, more erotic theme of them in Perfect10Liners, and here, we get to see a much more complex attitude from them. Executed very nicely by the way. Joss and Gawin, for the love of straight, it's hard for me to play into their roles, only completely shadowed by my love of their trope. It also feel like they were playing racier versions of their own selves, at least for Joss that's the vibes I got. But I won't complain too hard, I got too see shirtless Joss, so *shrugs*.

And I can't forget the lovely Mix and Earth, of course. Not my favorite roles I've seen them in, but they do chemistry well. I'm not a fan of exes-to-lovers as much as I'd like to be, also way too much cat and mouse chasing for my own liking, but I still appreciated seeing them on my screen again doing something much somber and risqué. Mix being slightly evil in the beginning was also nice to see.

I think where this series slightly suffers is it's cowardice way of almost-kisses or totally eradicating the reason why people loved the first season: everybody was kissing everybody! It makes no sense that Jack and Raffy don't kiss, it makes no sense that Dean and Pod's character don't kiss, it don't make sense that Tua and Boston don't kiss, and don't even get me started on Pete and Rome. Urgh. If this was the real season one flare, Pete would've been riding the fuck out of Rome's dick with a dejected Raffy looking from a distance.

I also think it got slightly boring. Also those random confessional scene were... a choice!

Ratings:

Story: 8/10 - mostly entertaining. They should've really gone for it, but oh well.

Acting: 9/10 - good! I think Boom and Mix are the stand outs for me.

Music: 4/10 - I've been noticing more English music in GMMTV productions, and I don't know it's starting to pinch a nerve.

Recommendation Value: 6.5/10 - Maybe? There a story here, and it's fun for the most part. Don't knock it till you try it kind of ordeal.

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Could Have Been Excellent But Went Nowhere Due To The Writer's Attempt To Overcomplicate Things

Positive points
1. Good Cinematography, Direction, and Music.
2. Zhao Lusi was great in her portrayal of Xu Yan. A grey-shaded character suited her well. Those in charge of her makeup and costume need a raise. She was looking so classy and beautiful.
3. I really loved the portrayal of the healthy relationship between Xu Yan and her in-laws. Though Xu Yan's relationship is toxic with her parents and with her sister, she has a good relationship. I appreciate that the writer avoided showing a toxic relationship between the sisters.
Negative Points
1. The first half was so good, and I was totally engrossed in the story and was very interested to know about Xu Yan's journey of self-independence. That phase started really well and my god Zhao Lusi was really good in those scenes. But, then the writer suddenly decided to change the focus of the drama from romance to half-baked, unrealistic, poorly developed so-called women empowerment plot filled with potholes and multiple subplots without adding any value to the main story. Within all this the main focus of the story lost focus. Where is the character growth for Shen Haoming, honestly? Why is not Shen Haoming's mental state during the separation period was not explored in depth? If you don't show his perception at all, how will viewers relate to the couple's love story. Who wants to see Xu Yan's and Shen Haoming's business problem in so much detail? It's a romance drama mainly. Why is the focus not on their relationship and communication that much? Due to this, I can hardly relate to Shen Haoming's character. So, his sudden possessiveness and jealousy over Xu Yan's investor feels a bit off and turns his character childish instead. Moreover, during the 2nd half the writer has turned the ML, specifically the medium of comic relief that completely contradicts his personality shown in the first half. Instead of focusing on unrealistic subplots if the writer had invested time in the proper story development for the reconciliation of the leads, it would have been much better. The methods the ML used were honestly extremely childish and irritating.
2. Even when the writer chooses to focus on the startup and a completely unrelated career (unrealistic) for the FL should it not have any logic, honestly. It just downplays her character development. Within the 30days cooling off period, Xu Yan is doing livestream for selling clothes, groceries, chicken feets. Then she quits her job and launches a startup, makes sample, does video shorts, tries to convince tons of investors for funds, goes on a vacation with Shen Haoming for a charade. Comes back and launches a physical outlet and still 1 month is not finished. How many days are there in a month?
Xue Yan calls Shen Haoming to remind him about the divorce tomorrow. But he pretends to be out of the country for a few days. But a few days later its the next day 8th. Did the writer not notice the time line at all before writing it. This just spoils the viewing experience. Also, even if I can ignore it, Shen Haoming's out of character behavior without any proper buildup feels empty to me honestly. They also spent so many time on Qiao Lan's ex. This is just idiotic. Too many subplot and lost main focus.
In order to add comic relief and jelousy angel between ML and Jiang Liang the writer downplayed the character of the FL. It seemed she really didnot have much idea about a startup. It lowkey felt to me a decision taken on impulse. They could have added element that showed her competence. This jalousy angel between the ML and the investor really downplays the FL's capability. It felt like that she got the investment for her startup more likely due to Jiang Liang's personal interest on her instead of the potential of the business. It is dissappointing honestly. No effort from the ML to actually know the real Xu Yan, her past and her childhood that actually shaped her choices. It would have been nice to see that. Also, Xu Yan is hardly solving her startup problems on her own. I know its a team effort why is the ML is solving problems for her? This support without any finances could have been shown in a better way.
3. How did the FL not get suspicious that her in-laws did not run a background check on her? Her husband literally ran a background check on her down to the point that he knew that she loved her grandma's jam, when she had pretended to apply for a job at his shop just to get an interview. So, such a suspicious person would not run a background check on her for a big event like marriage. Moreover, only 4 people attended the wedding from her side, and the in-laws did not question her at all after the marriage about her family.
4. How did the Shen family blindly trust the DNA report so easily? It does not matter that the people in question were their family friends. It was a life-changing event for their only son. How did they accept a false report so easily? Did they not double-check it? Also, how come Fang Lei changed the DNA report? Is it really easy to forge one? Why did she tell Xu Yan that her father does not know about his other daughter giving birth to Haochen? It does not make any sense. Shen Haoming runs a background check on everyone, but didnot cross check if he was the baby's father.
5. It is also odd how Zhou Zeyuan seems to know so much about Xu Yan's family situation, as they were not from the same village and met in Jingzhou. Also, I don't think knowing Xu Yan's character, she would voluntarily tell a stranger about her family's situation in detail.
6. What is happening in Episode 19? Why both are roaming in strange clothes and get up (I know it is to impress that russian couple) But it looked like a stunt for comic relief and I don't think it suited either of their characters, and rather it looked forced. They did such charades together before to convince investors, but it did not look this odd.
7. Why waste time on Lin Tao so much? Also wasn't Qiao Lin's parents biased towards her always? How come they did not even contact her when she is starting a startup, facing so many challenges? How about they have explored the dynamics between the parents and Xu Yan?
8. It was very irresponsible of Xu Yan. Was the startup a breakup project for her? As soon as her relationship improved with her husband, she forgot about her business, leaving everything on Qiao Lin. I understand it is okay to take a break and focus on her relationship, but the business is in the initial phase. Is it that easy to establish a startup? What are you on, writer? If you can't write properly about the problem and tie all loose ends to make it consistent, why bother to introduce this angle in the first place? Was there not any other way to make Xu Yan independent?
Overall, a great 1st half but completely loses its' way due to a very poorly written second half. Now, the only thing I remember is that Zhao Lusi had absolutely gorgeous outfits in this drama.

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This ain't your grandma's transmigration story!!

This is such a fun take on a transmigration story. I thought I knew what I was in for but it kept me on my toes. I've never seen such fun chemistry before.

Wang Churan and Cheng Lei are absolutely amazing together. They're best friends but they don't fully trust each other. They're obsessed with each other while using each other. This parallel is also reflected in the story. We get hilarious scenes, followed by scary scenarios, and then tragic outcomes.

This drama got it all, but there are times I wish that the story had held on to one emotion for a little longer, like dragging out the angst would have been good. Or keeping Dan in his tyrant mood for an episode or half. I feel like that would have connected with me more as a viewer.

In some of the later episodes, the plot felt a little flat. There was a lot of talking and random scenarios that didn't really add anything to the existing story. I think this is a series that would have done better if it was a bit shorter? Also, I did read about the book ending and wish they had gone that direction instead of what we got. It would have elevated the series significantly imho.

Light Snow, Deep Ink by Jiang Dunhao is a banger song.

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Emotional Roller Coaster - nothing "light" about this drama

Lighter and Princess is a polarizing Chinese drama that splits audiences—some love it enough to give it a 10/10, while others really dislike it. In the review string I was looking at I would say it was about 75% rated it really high and 25% rated it low with an insignificant number in the middle. I landed right in the middle though. To me an 8/10 means it is good just not great. It’s very heavy on drama with a darker, serious tone and almost no comedy or light-hearted moments. The romance is an extremely slow burn (the kind where you start wondering if they’ll ever truly get together), which will appeal strongly to fans of that style but can feel frustrating if you prefer better balance. The main girl (Zhu Yun) is interesting—she’s firm and decisive with everyone else but becomes more of a pushover when it comes to him (Li Xun). Their dynamic starts with mutual dislike and bickering, but it’s easy to see the direction things are heading. The show has strong emotional weight and reminded me of the gut-wrenching parental disapproval vibes from shows like "The Heirs" and "Meteor Garden". Production and chemistry are solid, and it builds a loyal fanbase among those who enjoy intense, slower-paced stories. That said, I wouldn’t rewatch it. The slow pacing and the male lead’s type made it a struggle to get through at times, even though I appreciated many aspects. If you like heavy drama, darker romance, and don’t mind a very gradual build, this could be for you. Otherwise, it might drag you down emotionally. My daughter (30s), my drama watching buddy, quit at episode four. She said it was just too boring to her.

Spoilers

The structure of the series really tested my patience. I am not a flash back fan and to have a large portion of the story told as a flashback almost made me quit. So, if you like me, want to know when it will finally stop flashing ack (like seriously it goes on for about 20 episodes - that is a long flash back). I also was losing patience with their romance. They finally get together during their college years around episode 18. The events leading to his (Li Xun) prison time happen around episode 22. Then it switches back to the present day about halfway through episode 23. If you consider that it is easy to understand how someone would get rage quit level frustrated with the structure and pace of the series. So you are glad they finally together in their college days and waiting for it to switch back to present time. But when it finally switches back to present time they are broken up and it felt like they just finally got together a couple of episodes ago. And this was another grueling pacing thing of waiting for them to get together again. They don’t properly reunite as a couple again until quite late—around episode 33 or so. I had to spoiler myself by looking at review sites on the general flow because I was seriously considering dropping it midway. So, one of my biggest gripes was the structure and pacing.

Li Xun is arrogant (as many geniuses are), but that arrogance creates real friction. Old Gao (Gao Jianhong) had a massive inferiority complex toward him, which drove a lot of the betrayal and drama. It was refreshing to see the colleagues at the video game company react differently—they felt lucky to have these two brilliant talents join instead of feeling threatened.

The parental disapproval, especially from her mom (Zhu Yun’s mom), is brutal and very Meteor Garden-esque. I really wanted her mom to have a clear realization that her controlling behavior contributed to Zhu Yun’s serious depression episode, but that never fully materialized. There’s a vague sense it might improve slowly in the future, but it’s not shown. I also wished Li Xun had been more open: he never fully explained to her parents (or even clearly to Zhu Yun) the real reasons behind everything—being kicked out of school, the hacking incident (which he did desperately for his mom’s sake, not intending the extreme grade changes), and especially correcting the cruel things he said right before prison. He should have dropped the pride and told her straight that he never found her annoying or hated her attention. That lack of full vulnerability hurt the emotional payoff for me. On the positive side, I loved that Zhu Yun finally stood up to her mom, clearly stating it wasn’t her choice who she was with.

The main levity in the story came from the characters surrounding the main couple. The boss at the new company going to bat for them with her dad was great, and the company itself becoming like a found family was one of the warmer elements. I enjoyed that aspect of the series a lot. The friendships.

The title and imagery (“Lighter and Princess”) are beautiful—especially the lighter motifs and how she carries herself like a haughty princess early on. It was not at all what I expected from the title or the few previews I had scene. It had a revenge plot running through that I entirely did not expect.

As an empath, the show was emotionally exhausting. Li Xun’s frequent sadness and loneliness were hard to watch, and his coldness toward Zhu Yun at times made it tougher. I needed those resolutions (like clearer communication and family acceptance) to feel better about the rollercoaster, but some of them never fully came. A scene showing them with a child and her parents as happy, smiling grandparents would have been perfect closure.

The lighter funny moments were mostly the computer nerds hacking into each other’s screens right next to them—that was cute.

Overall, it’s a lot. Strong in many ways, but the pacing, emotional weight, and incomplete resolutions kept it from being higher than 8/10 for me.

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Definition of comfort drama

Wow, wow, wow... Where do I even begin?
I was not expecting this drama to be THIS brilliant. Absolutely perfect acting, which didn't surprise me because I already knew several actors from other projects. The comedy scenes are also perfect - this drama made me laugh SO hard! It was also perfect in length at 20 episodes and duration at 1H.
I love that Hyunbin and Jiwon have so much chemistry!
Furthermore, I love that this drama makes stuntmen feel seen and appreciated.
Also, thank you so much for filming in Jeju-do - I was so glad when the characters said they were going there!

I could relate to both Joowon and La-im, and I love them a lot, but I find that there are a few inconsistencies in their characters: I think it's absolutely normal that Joowon was confused by La-im, but some of the things he told her were actually cruel, which doesn't reflect who he was - yes, he was arrogant, rude and clueless at the time, but the writers took things too far.
As for La-im, I love that they made her a complete badass, so it was completely out of character when she suddenly acted like a little girl while interacting with Oska - don't get me wrong, she could absolutely be a badass and a fangirl, but tapping her toes on the floor while talking to him was too childish; what was also out of character was the fact that she didn't refute Joowon's claim that she pretended not to want expensive stuff.
Apart from this, it was very cringe to watch the parts when we could hear their thoughts - unfortunately, dramas used to do this a lot, and it's extremely cringe because the thoughts themselves are cringe-worthy; also extremely cringe was the part when Joowon was smiling while watching La-im sleep because, again, the way he was smiling was cringe - I feel so bad for Hyunbin for having to do that, lol. But at least it only happened once!
These inconsistencies and cringe moments are the only reason why I'm not giving the drama a perfect score - fortunately, there were only a few parts when we could hear their thoughts, which means it doesn't happen often enough to lower the drama's score by more than a star. I really wish I could watch this drama on loop forever because I loved it that much... I'll watch it from time to time, but I'll simply be skipping the cringe parts, haha - this is officially my first comfort drama (along with EXO Next Door, but that one I watch for the comedy and it can't be compared to regular dramas).

[Warning: Spoilers ahead!]
I thought Joowon's mother was going to come around when she found out who La-im's father was, but she got even worse, so I thought "Maybe when they get married...", which turned into "Maybe when they have children...", and it just never happened, and it's okay that that was the writers's choice, but it was unfair to Joowon, La-im and their children - they deserved better.
I love all the kissing scenes that were gifted to us and I LOVE that Taeseon is gay! Also, the fact that having sex was mentioned as something natural in dramas from around this time and even a long time before makes stories more realistic.
In the beginning I thought I was going to hate Yoonseul, but she was actually my favourite character - I related to her the most and I fell in love with her... Joowon and La-im's story made me suffer in the last few episodes, but Yoonseul's story made me suffer the entire drama - Kim Sarang really made me feel like the pain was real, so well done to her!
Same goes for Bongho - I thought I was going to hate him, but I actually loved him and he even made me cry. I absolutely LOVE when writers create characters who look like they're going to be villains but who are actually good.
Every single actor and character was essential and awesome!
On another note, I love that we got to see Yejin at the end of the drama, hehe.
[End of spoilers]

Thank you to all the actors, writers, directors, producer, staff, everyone involved for this amazing drama! Maybe the industry will trade art for AI, but people like me will always want to see the creativity of real people only.
Hopefully you can feel the love if you're reading this and were one of the people involved!

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More like watching a tragedy than a romance.

The actors are incredible, they did a great job portraying the characters and their emotions. The love story however is just depressing. Mostly, because it's not a love story and shouldn't have been portrayed as such, the ml does not truly love the fl. He has affection for her sure, but he loves himself way more and has absolutely no respect for her. None. He hurts her with words, abandons her, lies to her, says he will protect her but let's his mother bully her, not to mention how he keeps hanging with the women he told her and a bunch of other peiole he loves. The worst part is he sees how it affects her, he sees her get mad, sad and crying, he even found out she could have died because of him. And what does he do? He continues doing whatever he wants. He wants her so she can't leave him no matter how much he hurt her. There was no indication of change in his behaviour either. Honestly, watching this was worse than watching an outright abusive relationship. Because at least then it would be harder to excuse it as some romantic drama. It's not.

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Emotions are okay

Emotions at 18 are the strongest, and sometimes they can lead young people into bad decisions. Therefore, it is important to find a way to express them and put them in the right place. This movie centers on a class of female students and their new teacher, who tries to approach them with friendship. We see how negative emotions influence the students, and we are reminded that it is hard for teenagers to understand life from an objective perspective. At the same time, it is also difficult for adults to understand the youth. In this movie, the teacher is the one who manages to break down the walls of emotions and truly understand her students’ hearts. In my opinion, she stole the spotlight and became the real main character of the film.

The acting was good, but I wouldn’t say it was excellent. The male characters weren’t very good, and I think the movie would have been even better without them. I didn’t see any real need to add the foreign boy into the story because he just vanished as if he had never been there. As far as I know, he wasn’t either in the original novel on which this movie is based.

Since I am in a Korean book club, I will suggest reading this book there. I’m interested in connecting with the characters on a deeper level because I really liked the topic and the movie simplified it. The church setting served the story well, as did the beach. All in all, it was a nice movie about being honest with your emotions and finding someone to share them with.

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Strong premise & buildup ruined by the uncalled-for Climax | Agonizing blindspot crossdressing trope

"When above others, treat them as equals. When below others, maintain your integrity." - Yin Xiang (Chu Zhao's Maid)

First off, this is actually my second attempt at this drama. During my first try, the cliché opening scene made me drop it immediately. Now that I have mustered enough mental stability and patience to finally give it another shot, I have to admit it’s not bad at all. In fact, it is an entertaining show. You just really have to feign ignorance and act convinced by the 'obviously a girl but somehow fooling the entire army' trope they're trying to establish and you will be fine—which can truly be challenging for people who despise such illogical, cliché plots.

I honestly don't want to dwell too much on the negative aspects of the story. Instead, I want to write a genuine review by avoiding sarcastic and shady remarks, and the only way I can do that is by addressing the elephant in the room firsthand. So, let me start this review by saying that the major flaw of this story—one that baffled me and stuck with me throughout the entire first half—remained the "renowned female general disguised as a man who was never discovered despite obviously looking like a woman" trope. It was just not convincing at all, no matter how hard I tried to force myself to believe it.

The FL (He Ru Fei/He Yan) was short and slim—a true embodiment of a woman from her childhood until her adulthood. So, I cannot wrap my head around the logic that her classmates, and more so the ML (Xiao Jue) who knew her and interacted with her since her teenage years, failed to notice and/or see through her disguise at all—with or without her full-face mask on. What's even more flabbergasting is how he didn't notice her being a woman, or recognize her as He Ru Fei, when she joined the army as He Yan without her mask. I just find it ridiculously impossible that Xiao Jue failed to recognize He Yan's uncanny resemblance to He Ru Fei, given their history together, her height, physique, build, voice, and other similar factors—especially since she never deliberately attempted to change her pitch, gestures, or movements at all. I think it's utterly stupid and absurd how it took them so long to catch on to her act of deception when the similarities were as clear as day. Are they really that dumb and dense? I have long accepted that masks can be a huge factor in Chinese costume dramas, but I just can't fathom how, even without them, they are getting deceived. Ghad!

In conclusion, The Female General title would have been perfectly fine, if only they didn't ask the audience to swallow the unbelievable and unconvincing fact that no one noticed He Ru Fei/He Yan was a woman all along. *Sighs*

The storytelling during the first 32 episodes was completely entertaining. It was fast-paced and highly compelling. My prejudice against the show was gradually vanishing with every passing episode. At one point, I even regretted not watching it through to the end on my first attempt. One reason I could think of for this is that they didn't waste much time re-telling or looking back at the past of the main leads together. Instead, they dedicated a 30-second to 1-minute time span—right after the opening theme—for roughly 3 to 5 episodes to show us a brief recollection of their past. This gave us enough general knowledge of how their relationship was formed without wasting a huge amount of time on flashbacks. It was such a clever and efficient idea that saved plenty of time, piqued my interest, and made me more invested in how their romantic relationship would bloom in the current timeline.

One instance that completely threw me off during the first 32 episodes occurs in Episode 26, right around the 21-minute mark, when He Yan panics while looking for Xiao Jue in the middle of a battle, thinking he is gravely injured or, worse, killed. It honestly would have been a fine, natural reaction—if only she hadn't gone frantic, shouting and running around. Like, girl? You can't seriously be having a mental breakdown, lowering your guard in the middle of a freaking war, aren't you? If Xiao Jue hadn't survived and saved her, she most certainly would have been killed.

While this trope is incredibly common in dramas, this was truly one of those moments that made me roll my eyes and scoff at how ridiculously absurd the scene was. She's a general with hundreds, if not thousands, of people under her command, for Pete's sake! She shouldn't be letting her guard down and making herself completely vulnerable in the middle of a battle, especially since the enemies haven't been fully defeated yet. Ugh! At least in other dramas I've watched that utilized this trope used a character's "death" as great motivation, fueling their will and tenacity, compared to how she immediately became a damsel in distress open to assault. *Facepalm*

I should also mention that although I found the filler episodes unnecessary at first, it was only as the story progressed and reached the climax that I understood why they were included. They give us crucial background information about what transpired in the past so we don't get lost when the narrative shifts back to the main conflict. That way, we aren't left wondering where the hatred and grievances came from and how it all started.

Finally! Let me talk about the rather disappointing ending that disturbed and sullied the trajectory of the story's otherwise seamless flow for me.

Although the main conflict wrapped up sooner than expected, it was actually brilliantly executed. It concluded satisfyingly through the main leads' well-crafted plan of convicting the main antagonists (Xu Jingfu & He Ruifei) of their crimes by using their own scheme against them.

What truly bothers me is the realization that the main conflict ended four episodes ahead of the drama's conclusion—in episode 32. At that point, I was contemplating whether to feel disappointed that the main conflict ended ahead of the show's actual finale, or grateful that they wrapped it up early, which would theoretically allow us to enjoy some relationship progression and the casual, day-to-day trivialities of the main leads and supporting characters. However, that feeling of confusion and contemplation completely vanished when they started bombarding us with uncalled-for tragedies (Yan He 😭) and extremely late, unnecessary conflicts in the main leads' relationship. It felt like it was done for one specific reason: to eliminate Chu Zhao and have him disappear completely.

If they wanted to bring down Chu Zhao so badly, wouldn't it have been much more reasonable to do it much earlier? I understand that they wanted to show us how madly deluded and crazily in love he is. But wouldn't it be more satisfying if he was convicted sooner for his collusion with and crimes alongside the Prime Minister, rather than the crime he was actually convicted for—which was just sowing discord and creating suspicion in the Emperor's mind? What's more infuriating is how he got such a light punishment after all the tragedy and casualties he caused. It was maddening how, at the end, he was only dismissed, barred from ever being reinstated, and banished never to return. When he clearly deserved execution for all the lives lost because of his schemes! *Throws hands up in frustration*

The climax to ending was truly anticlimactic! I don't know why they couldn't just allow the story to end happily by omitting the tragedies, especially when they easily could have done so. It seems to me that the writers fell into the classic trap of dragging out a conflict for cheap, late-stage drama, completely sacrificing a satisfying conclusion just to force a more "dramatic" ending—which turned out horribly.

This drama really should have ended at episode 32 or 33, as all the conflict they fabricated in the last 3-4 episodes could have been left up to the viewers' imagination. It brought nothing positive to the narrative; it only ruined the perfect impression we had of Xiao Jue's strong, unwavering devotion to He Yan and stripped Yan He of the highly anticipated—and what should have been a greatly celebrated—meeting with his firstborn. I'm still mad that they deprived him of seeing, carrying, and embracing his child because they suddenly decided to kill him. I'm still mourning his death. He was such an adorable character and is my absolute favorite in this show. Good grief!

Additionally, I've realized that no matter what, the Emperor will walk away unscathed—like he was never associated with, or part of, any problem he took part in. What a privilege. lol

P.S. In Episode 28, around the 30:20 minute mark, when the Xiao family was having dinner, Xiao Jue served He Yan the 'Mushroom and Chicken Stew'—acting all caring, attentive, and mushy. I just knew his brother was thinking, 'What gay shit is this?' because he had introduced her as a guy friend, yet was acting all whipped! Haha!

"Since you're already at rock bottom, every step you take next, will be upwards." - Xiao Jue

Story - 8.0, This easily could have been a 9.0 if they hadn't ruined the last 3-4 episodes with uncalled-for conflict and tragedy, which only smeared the show's otherwise smooth run. I already overlooked the "obviously a girl but somehow fooling the entire army" trope and bore through the absurd, sudden "damsel in distress" scene in episode 26. However, I can no longer turn a blind eye to the blatant and stupid execution of the climax.

Acting/Cast - 9.0, I like the cast, and their performances are truly impressive. However, I feel that some of the actors do not fit their roles perfectly. A couple of good examples are Bai Shu as He Ru Fei. While he executed his vile and ruthless character very well, it is hard to shake my overall impression of him as a naturally goofy and mischievous person. Similarly, Zhou Ye as He Yan is fine, but her physical frame is simply not entirely convincing for the Female General role. Although her exceptional acting, partnered with her radiant and cheerful persona, naturally masks her inadequacies—convincing the people around her that everything is alright and overshadowing her physical stature—seeing her side-by-side with the male actors still makes me shake my head.

Music - 10, I love every single song featured in this drama. In fact, I'm listening to the entire OST on Spotify as I write this review. Looking at the tracklist, I realize it's impossible to give the music anything less than a perfect score.

Rewatch Value - 7.0, The show was truly enjoyable! However, I don't think I can tolerate watching that mood-killer climax a second time, or force myself to buy into the cross-dressing disguise plot again.

Overall - 8.0, Sometimes, I hate the fact that I am too tolerant and considerate, as it becomes a factor that makes me go easy on providing a just review for anything I evaluate. However, for this drama, I think this rating is just right. The climax may have been totally disappointing, but my experience watching this show was still considerably great.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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