Very good, waiting for it to be great.

TLDR; An unusual, dark, gritty detective drama with unique and interesting characters and setting but some weird narrative decisions that ultimately take away too much from the show to be ignored.

Whump meter: ▲▲▲◭△ (plenty).

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SHORT VERSION:

┊┊WHAT I LIKED:
►Amazing actors. Everyone gave it their all, and it shows.
►Unique characters with interesting stories, personalities, quirks, appearances, etc.
►Stellar cinematography. A visual masterpiece.
►Story feels grounded and realistic in a unique setting away from the imperial city/other big city.
►Interesting cases, case-solving, and plot twists.
►Interesting themes and arcs that carry across the show.

┊┊WHAT I DISLIKED:
►Story shifts focus and POV halfway through, crippling its narrative and intrigue.
►A lot of characters are unfortunately underused.
►An underwhelming amount of women.
►Lackluster conclusion.

┊┊OTHER:
►I'd put this more on the positive end, but there's quite some disability representation.

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【!some SPOILERS below!】

LONG VERSION:

┊┊CHARACTERS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ When it comes to characters, they went all out. Everyone is unique and feels like a real person with their own story, backstory, personality, traits, quirks, etc. Most characters are quite memorable too, making it a lot easier to follow who is who than in other shows. Even smaller characters that only appear a handful of times are fleshed out and interesting. This was honestly such a highlight.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ A standout in this regard for me was Song Chen. I haven't often seen characters like him in shows anywhere, really. He's not a very common main character, but he works very well.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ That all being said, a lot of characters were unfortunately underused. Because of a narrative shift and the inclusion of two POVs (with a slight preference for the new POV in the second half of the show), the main cast is rather underused, with some characters even feeling like they didn't have a purpose to be there at all.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Some other minor issues are the following:
►1. An underwhelming amount of women are present in the show. The cast consists mostly of men (to the point where it feels like the vast majority of people in the entire place are men), and the few women who do exist appear little and don't usually add much. Also, for there being so many men in their 30s+, they're for the most part unmarried, which is strange as well.
►2. Some characters were, in my opinion, not well cast. There are characters that should be in their mid-30s and are portrayed by an actor who at least appears to be quite a bit older. Not sure why this was done, especially since everyone else was so perfectly cast.

┊┊ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I have only praise to sing for each and every single actor in this show. The performances blew my mind with how good, thorough, and convincing they were. Especially Ning Li as Song Chen and Yu Yao as Lu Zhi, were absolute treats.

┊┊STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ As for the story, it was good—very good, one might even say—but it had a tremendously big issue that ultimately crippled everything that was so great, making it just good. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good story; however, the narrative shift and the inclusion of the past as a parallel story ended up taking away far more than it added, depriving the audience of the intrigue and mystery it had built up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Essentially, the show has two main casts when it doesn't need to (one in the past, one in the present). Instead of taking the logical route of having the past case slowly be uncovered by the main characters in the present day and the audience gets to follow it in real time with them, they do 'flashbacks' (which take up about half of the show's runtime, so I'm using the term very loosely here), which explain everything that went on in the past before the cast in the present day get to uncover it. This plummets the stakes, tension, and mystery of the show and slowly makes it uninteresting to watch. Now, I'm not saying the flashbacks can't be done, but they must be well crafted and shown to us only little by little as the case in the present day progresses. Otherwise, there's not really a whole lot of mystery going around and the investigation ends up lacking.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The cases, however, were quite interesting, keeping you on your toes throughout the stretch of the show. The way the antagonist sets up the crimes is also very unique and gritty.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Plot twists for me were somewhat hit or miss. Especially those relating to the overarching plot were rather mediocre in my opinion, but the smaller ones were very well done! This also ties in to the conclusion, which is the type of ending that, the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. The final couple of plot twists don't really make a whole lot of sense, are a weird choice, and end up taking away more than they add. They were the type of plot twists that seem to be there more to prove audience wrong rather than to actually make narrative sense.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Finally, I'd like to mention that the show has a big focus on different themes and arcs that carry across its duration, with a special focus on different perspectives on the same theme, idea, concept, and background, which makes for a pleasant and interesting watching experience.

┊┊PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Stellar cinematography. It's a visual masterpiece; every scene looks beautiful, and they make sure every shot counts and adds to the narrative. Locations are amazing (mostly real from what I could tell), and it pays off so much. They really tried to give off the idea that you, as a viewer, are there as well, and it makes a world of difference. The world feels so well lived-in and real.

┊┊MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The music was good; it fit the show. It didn't stand out to me, but it also didn't stick out, so overall, it was good.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? Somewhat better than I was expecting, tbh
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Almost
◇ Would I watch it again? Maybe
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Yes

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Hero x Antihero

TLDR; A fun miniseries with some interesting characters and refreshing dynamics. It's nothing wow, and the little plot it does have is quite standard in concept and mediocre in execution, but it delivers rather unique main leads and a refreshing love story.

Whump meter: ▲◭△△△ (mild/very little).

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【Very mild SPOILERS below】

►CHARACTERS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The highlight for me was definitely the main couple, both refreshing characters we don't often see in a refreshing dynamic we also don't often see. FL is a rough general who suffered a lot but still holds a lot of kindness in her heart (portrayed by an actress who actually looks like she could be a fighter!) while ML is a shady guy who switches from helpless and delicate to homme fatale. Together, they make quite the power couple (unfortunately, we didn't see much of this though), and they're adorable together. Basically, Hero FL & Antihero ML.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ My only issue is the unfortunate trope of FL having great flaws that make no sense for her character that the character simply wouldn't have if it were a man (like being illiterate 💀). Meanwhile, ML yet again excels at everything. Since they're doing the role reversal anyway, just commit to it. It didn't really take away from the experience, but I thought it was still worth mentioning.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Side characters were fine for the most part. I enjoyed the main couple's attendants/right hand men. Prince Yue was also quite an interesting character. I'd say the most dull was Princess Sijiu, who only appeared for a handful of scenes (and was also the ONLY other female character, which is always a minus in my book, but at least they had a good relationship).

►ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I really didn't have an issue with any actor's portrayal. They all did a good enough job, but I'd say ML's actor stood out as the best. He portrayed various different and rather complex characters well!

►STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Hilariously, the worst aspect would have to be the story. If you stop and think about something, it all falls apart. There's very little plot to go around, but an unusual amount of attention is put on it. Conflicts and issues are resolved rather quickly, so the stakes are pretty low too.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I think it would've worked better with romance as the main plot and then a sprinkle of something else here and there instead of this romance/political drama. In these sorts of small productions, less is usually more, so keeping things simple is ideal, but yeah.

►PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Production quality is better than other minidramas, but I've definitely seen better too. It doesn't bother me too much, and it definitely doesn't take away from the experience for me.

►MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The music was not very memorable, but alright. I do remember it being somewhat out of place in certain moments, though.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? Yes
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Somewhat
◇ Would I watch it again? Yes, I loved the main couple
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Unlikely

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A Merchant and Her Treasure

TLDR; A fun, cute and surprisingly coherent minidrama with refreshing takes on the lead couple and quite an alright plot. Generally speaking, not bad at all.

Whump meter: ◭△△△△ (almost none).

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SHORT VERSION:

┊┊WHAT I LIKED:
►Unique FL with depth
►Cute, tsundere ML
►Endearing and refreshing couple dynamic
►Fun and quite thorough role reversal between the lead couple
►Palatable and rather restrained plot.
►Refreshing takes on standard plots
►Irredeemable villain + female villain
►Music, especially end credits song
►Production quality was pretty good

┊┊WHAT I DISLIKED:
►Shallow worldbuilding.
►Rushed pacing (especially the end)
►Poor handling of more complicated themes shoved into the finale
►Every woman but the FL is evil/bad (and there barely are any women in general)
►Female villain is rather shallow

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LONG VERSION:

【!very mild SPOILERS below!】

►CHARACTERS:
LEADS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Characters were fun and interesting, the best among them being the FL. She is strong, smart, and clever, written in a way I’ve not often seen before, much less in a historical setting. She’s a suave, money-oriented merchant who struggled a lot and is a bit too trusting of those around her. She’s cute and sweet in a way that feels mature, still keeping her dignity and flirty personality throughout the drama—a refreshing approach to the usual cutesy FL. She’s no damsel in distress, despite not being able to fight. She stands up for herself and what she believes, speaks her mind, takes initiative, protects those she loves, and uses her wits and skills to build her way up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Then there’s ML, a suffered musician with a hunger for justice/revenge after extreme tragedy. He’s feisty, hot-tempered, and quite aloof. Sure, cold MLs aren’t anything new, but to me, the portrayal of him as more of a tsundere with an almost innocent longing to hope—his temper a mere wall he put up to keep himself from appearing weak and being taken advantage of—was endearing and refreshing. Despite his hard exterior, he’s kind and sensitive, caring deeply about his allies and living only to bring to justice those who wronged his people. He’s selfless, determined, and skilled in both fighting and music.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ In the end (or the beginning for the drama), two individuals who had everything taken from them unknowingly join forces to take down a heartless ruler. What starts out as a rocky boss-worker relationship leads to an interesting love story. They took the common trope of the ‘cold man/warm woman’ and added layers to it that made it refreshing and engaging. There doesn’t really feel like there is much of an imbalance when it comes to skillset; FL is eloquent, clever, and charismatic, while ML is the skilled fighter/enforcer. They work together well as a power couple rather than protector/protectee (even though I’m inclined to say FL is quite protective of him). Then there’s the added layer of FL being the one to pursue ML, not in the ‘seduction’ kind of way, but in the ‘trying to win him over’ type of way (in the way men more commonly pursue women). Highly underrated dynamic, their moments together were adorable!

VILLAIN:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Then there’s the villain. I don’t really think I’ve seen a villain quite like her yet. Aside from the fact that female villains are already hard to come by, she was a flavour of unhinged, cruel, and heartless that is uncommon, especially for Cdrama standards (and even more so for a minidrama). Thankfully, she went down like a true villain. Unfortunately, though, she didn’t get much development, so she was rather shallow. What little development she did get was at the very end and at the cost of a better narrative, so not only was it still little but also even annoying. It was a particular shame that her relationship and dynamic with FL wasn’t explored more; they hinted at it but didn’t deliver…

THE REST:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Side characters were rather underwhelming all around. ML’s subordinates were fine for comic relief and added some interesting moments plot-wise, but weren’t particularly interesting. Other antagonists were fine for what they were, none particularly memorable, but I also can’t be really upset since more attention for them would’ve definitely taken from the leads.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ One of the biggest downsides and something I honestly cannot excuse, especially not for a drama set in a matriarchy, is the sheer absence of relevant, much less decent female characters. Aside from FL, the only other prominent woman is the main villain, and that really is it. The lack of characters isn’t the issue since it’s a minidrama and less is more, but there’s only one decent woman in the entire drama. So much talk about feminism and equal rights, but they have only two female characters, one of whom is an irredeemable monster. I simply can’t overlook the sheer absence of women in a *matriarchy*.

►ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ All prominent actors had a good standard of quality. None really stood out as particularly wow, but they didn’t take away either. I’d say the FL was the best; she seemed comfortable in her role and easily pulled off the cute side of her character while still keeping her cool and flirty attitude.

►STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Honestly, surprisingly good. Yes, it has all the usual issues these short minidramas have, such as things breezing by and everything happening extremely fast, but I think in this drama, it is balanced in a way that makes enough sense. Sure, the leads go from enemies to lovers pretty quickly, which isn’t exactly realistic, especially not with all the bickering they did, but the relationship still progresses in a somewhat believable way, so it doesn’t feel like a random 180.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The overall story is rather simple: a revenge story for the ML and somewhat of a recovery story for FL. It isn’t that deep, and it keeps it that way (for the most part, anyway). One of the few minidramas I’ve seen that sticks more to what can work in such a short format (that being romance as the main arc) and leaving the rest to be more of a capsule for the romance rather than the main point of interest. Kudos for that!

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ On a less positive note, nearing the end of the drama, instead of focusing the last few episodes on finalizing arcs, wrapping up the story, and maybe doing a slightly longer epilogue, they decided to add another arc to the story, that arc being real-world politics (specifically, feminism). Though a nice idea and something they did mention a couple of times throughout the drama, its sudden addition forced into the finale of the drama felt unnecessary, to say the least. This forced them to introduce new characters and locations, give backstory to a whole bunch of characters, and have yet another final monologue, all for an honestly mediocre conclusion that left the main arcs feeling rather lacking (like, the main leads were kinda just there for the entire big conclusion all to leave room for a random new character and the villain 😭).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ What started out as a simple story for ML to take revenge and FL to restore her life ended with them both basically single-handedly saving the world and fixing deep-rooted societal issues that span decades upon decades. Wholesome, yes, but also cheap. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I’m merely confused as to why it was necessary in this drama and especially in this way. So much for the simple story.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ As for the portrayal of a matriarchy… Of course, I found it once again superficial and lacking. It’s definitely better than others I’ve seen, and it gets more of a pass because of its setup and backstory, that being not of a true matriarchy (spanning at least several years where laws, norms, etc. would be completely different), but rather a somewhat recent branch-off as a form of protest due to the discrimination women faced. The good thing, however, was that the drama focused more on the main couple within the matriarchy than the deeper social issues, something that definitely worked in their favour.

►PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Definitely one of the more passable minidramas. It’s by no means spectacular, but you can tell there was enough budget to get going, and it was used quite well. Shots are nice and meaningful too (like, surprisingly nice sometimes). Overall, pretty good!

►MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I honestly enjoyed it! Worked good for the cutesy drama that it is and the ending song was very catchy!

►ANYTHING ELSE:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ In the end, it's a short, enjoyable watch. The short length is both a good and bad thing for the drama. On one hand, with its current plot, any longer would’ve lowered the rating quite a bit, but with how alright the drama already was, I feel like had it been a bit longer, it could’ve as easily increased the rating by allowing more development for the overall story so it doesn’t feel quite as incomplete.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? Yes, quite.
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Hm, kinda
◇ Would I watch it again? Definitely!
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Yes!

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Extremely Promising Setup, Dwindling Progression, Lackluster Conclusion.

TLDR; An interesting sci-fi premise with amazing production value, promising characters, and interesting themes, but ultimately lacking in the direction it was taken and its use of the original setup and characters.

Whump meter: ▲◭△△△ (Light on the whump)

【spoiler-free】

LIKES:
► Stellar cinematography.
► Unique, realistic settings and locations.
► Mostly good performances from the actors, with some even being very good.
► Flawed characters.
► Promising premise and themes.
► Interesting final villain’s arc.
► Seemingly intentionally written as mediocre.

DISLIKES:
► Weak villains with little development and goals.
► Underused characters.
► Drama where not necessary, and no drama where necessary.
► Too few female roles, and those relevant are only relevant to the MLs.
► Fade to black in a LOT of important scenes.
► A lot of things were brought up but went nowhere or added nothing while important things weren’t elaborate on.
► Uncertain subgenre, thus ultimately juggling conflicting narrative approach and progression.
► Low stakes


【!some SPOILERS below!】

CHARS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎You have a group of university students trying to save the world from a dangerous app after losing someone close to them. The usual characters are there: the troubled idealistic leader (SML), the kind one (FL), the hothead friend (TML), the preppy girl, the sensitive girl, and the bully. They take up most of the screen time for the first couple of episodes, as the typical students in a mystery-thriller would, while the ML, mostly just messes around on the side. But then everyone but SML and FL take a tremendous backseat. No longer is it about an unconventional group of youths trying to save the world but rather about a troubled young man’s descent into madness after being stood up once (he was giving sigma male (basically an introverted alpha male) the whole time, tbh). And once this happens, ML starts getting significantly more screen time and importance.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The problem? ML isn’t a good protagonist. Not only does he fight his chosen oneness throughout the ENTIRE drama, but he has no skillset, is consistently the dumbest person in the entire cast, doesn’t care about anything other than his mother and sister. Not only that, he has no fighting, investigation, or other ability of any kind. In every sense, he’s useless. One protagonist makes sense (SML), the other does not (ML). But there are four lead roles. The other two being FL (who’s supposedly the second lead) and TML. ‎FL, is merely a catalyst for both MLs stories. To ML, her brother, she’s the only reason he does absolutely anything. To SML, she was the last drop in his cup before it tipped over, sending him spiraling. For both men, she was, in some way or another, the cause. But as herself? She does little to nothing. Extremely disappointing leading female role. As for TML, he did consistently NOTHING for the entire drama. He had a side arc that added nothing, had a very relevant skillset that was only used thrice and other than that, was only a supporting role to the already supporting role that was FL.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Other side characters include people who are only ever serving ML for no good reason or characters that do all the relevant stuff off-screen. ML has a lawyer friend who constantly helps him, an assistant-like character (who was my favourite) who does EVERYTHING for him but all off-screen. Then there’s SML’s father, who does most things off-screen too, but when he’s there, he’s rather solid (though nothing revolutionary). His story, however, ends somewhat inconclusive and underwhelming.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎As for the antagonists, we know little to nothing about them throughout the entire drama. Not only the organisation itself but also the leader of it. She seemed promising in the beginning, but quickly went from mysterious and scary to outright pathetic. the final villain was fine in theory but terrible in execution. He is a plot-twist villain, which was well done—albeit a bit rushed—but him actually being the final badguy in the way he was set up was laughable at best and irritating at worst.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Then there’s the character relationships and dynamics, which, like everything else, were lacking. They started out good with the group of youngsters; there was clear conflict between them, and it had the promise of being interesting with how the story progressed, but then they dropped the ball, leaving us only with SML and FL, who were fine together; they did seem to have chemistry and bounced off each other well—but nothing really relevant with the direction they took the story. FL is supposedly besties with TML, but it feels very one-sided (with him giving the most). There’s ML and his lawyer friend as well as SML’s father; he has good scenes with both. Then there’s one of the main dynamics, which is between FL and ML, but they only ever scratched the surface of it. Their scenes together are surprisingly few. And finally, the most important dynamic between SML and his long-lost father… EXTREMELY underwhelming. Their relationship goes nowhere before it abruptly ends and then causes no further issues.

ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Acting was alright for the most part. Everyone did a good enough job, some better than others, but none of the main cast really stood out to me as particularly good. Those that did were Hu Wei (who slayed as usual), Wang Zhen, who absolutely nailed the bubbly cutie, and Fu Mei, who made my skin crawl (in the good way). Fan Chengcheng (SML) had a difficult role with a lot of depth and intrigue but didn’t have the best execution. I do think the mediocre character was in great part the writing, but I also think his performance was a bit lacking. I’d complain more, but I honestly don’t think it was an issue of the actors but rather direction/writing.

STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The story is setup as a youth thriller, balancing a good deal of relationship drama with an overarching thriller plot. It’s the kind of story that depends tremendously on its characters to make things interesting, but unfortunately, it simply does not do that. What starts out as a promising setup turns into a mediocre saving-the-world chosen one style plot with one of the most weirdly written protagonists I’ve ever seen. About halfway through, the focus shifts entirely from the original setup and becomes a classic buddy-cop situation, only without the buddy and without the cop; it’s just two middle-aged men doing something (one significantly more than the other).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The original premise itself also becomes irrelevant after the first couple of episodes. Sure, characters still use the Wisher app, but the application itself doesn’t really cause the same amount of issues as it did early on in the later parts of the story. It’s merely a thing that exists in the background rather than the main point of the whole drama. It’s like the original premise was somewhat forgotten in the convoluted plot that came later.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎A lot of things are brought up but not elaborated on; various important things happen off-screen (darn that fade-to-black nonsense), and we’re only ever told these things after the fact. The drama, however, is not clever enough to give subtle hints without explicitly needing to state them which overall makes for quite a confusing and ultimately frustrating watch. Just when you think you got something, it’s revealed to be something else, and you’re constantly left to draw conclusions with the mere breadcrumbs thrown at you. Viewers are only ever allowed to see about 40-50% of the story.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The origin of the Society of Wishers is such an example. The original creator is revealed at a certain point and briefly explains what went down, but it’s so vague that it’s immediately forgettable, which consistently makes his character feel out of place. Then the organisation itself is uncertain in background, goal, leadership, position, and values, which makes them quite a pathetic antagonistic force. We see very little of them, so one can only draw conclusions, which are then immediately shot down in the next batch of scraps thrown at you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The ending was rushed, but honestly fine. Not particularly satisfying or conclusive, but it was passable. Then there were the bonus epilogue scenes, which hint at a second season… and, uh, I’m confused.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎And finally, the drama has this issue where it cannot kill off characters, so the stakes are extremely low. This is quite bad for a * thriller* of all things, and was especially disappointing after the buildup every death got… * sigh*

PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Absolute perfection. Everything from the CGI to the cinematography, locations, and even outfits were top-notch. The futuristic city looks quite legit for being mostly, or in great part, CGI. The shots are absolutely stunning. Filming locations are largely real, as well as varied and unusual, catered to the type of show rather than maximizing aesthetics. That’s not to say that aesthetics aren’t important; sets and locations are beautiful, mixing highly futuristic elements with very vintage stuff, all wrapped up in a whole lot of greenery. Character styling was also very good. I especially loved FL, SML, and Bo’s outfits!

MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Good. Felt very fitting for the genre, scene, and moment. Nothing particularly stands out in the good or bad sense, just good futuristic thriller vibes.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? In a way, yes.
◆ Did it live up to its potential? No
◇ Would I watch it again? Unlikely
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Yeah

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Endearing and Fun Bunch of Nonsense

TLDR; A pretty alright minidrama with a simple, rather nonsensical storyline and an endearing lead couple. It definitely doesn't try to be more than it is or can be.

Whump meter: ◭△△△△ (almost none).

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►CHARACTERS:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Characters were alright. None really stood out as particularly good, but they worked nicely for the drama. I will say that the main lead's dynamic was rather refreshing. FL is actually allowed to be fully rowdy and tough while still remaining feminine and endearing. They don't dumb her down or make her always need to be saved by the ML. She is a heroine, and they commit to the part, having her save the day, fight bad guys, and be the cool hero everyone looks up to. Meanwhile, ML is more like her sidekick husband, supportive of her and relying mostly on his smarts. He's very dramatic, posh, and proper when compared to FL, so they contradict and compliment each other nicely.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Side characters weren't particularly memorable, and they honesty didn't add much or do much. Neither SFL or SML really had an arc of any kind; they were kinda just there for the most part, occasionally adding comic relief. ML's mother was quite endearing, though. Unfortunately underused but fun. The villains can't really be called villains, which honestly works pretty well for the format, length, and story.

►ACTING:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Performances were average to me. No one really stood out as particularly good or bad, so rather average. I had seen the lead actress in Ye Cheng first, and I gotta say she did a lot better in this drama.

►STORY:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The story is pretty nonsensical from start to finish. It's definitely not the kind of drama you watch for the plot, but even so, it was particularly underwhelming. The main arc is forgotten halfway through and only brought back for the final wrap-up. Side arcs, more often than not, don't go anywhere and are left unfinished, and a lot of questions are left unanswered by the end.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ There were also a lot of very strange decisions scattered throughout the drama that I wasn't very fond of. Particularly in how the main couple treated each other from time to time and the SML did some very sketchy stuff nearing the end, which was quite uncomfortable to sit through and I don't feel was handled with the care such topics should have. Maybe I'm overthinking a silly minidrama, but I still think that certain topics shouldn't be sprinkled in for a quick laugh. Idk

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Nearing the end, there's also some very WEIRD decisions that take away so much from the story and leave one with more questions than answers, as well as feeling some kinda strange and uncomfortable way...

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I must give credit where credit is due, though, and that is that the drama doesn't try to be more than it is, which is rare for these minidramas (that so often delve into bigger plots, palace drama, etc., which take up way too much of the runtime and feels very underwhelming). This drama focuses on the leads' relationship and the little plot that surrounds them.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Comedy was pretty hit or miss. Some moments were quite funny, but there was also an unfortunate amount of embarrassment and gross humour, so...

►PRODUCTION:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Production value was actually pretty legit. More in the style of those short-ish webdramas (The likes of The Romance of Tiger and Rose) than other minidramas. The world and everything within it didn't seem quite as small as in other dramas of similar length. As for the cinematography, it was rather nice. Overall, pretty good.

►MUSIC:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The music was fine, not particularly memorable, and the main theme did get a bit tiring after a while, but that's a minor detail, really.

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◇ Was it what I was expecting? Not really, in a good way
◆ Did it live up to its potential? Pretty much
◇ Would I watch it again? Unlikely
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Sure

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