Kill Me Love Me (2024)

The drama with so much potential (in the first few episodes), that didn't fully deliver.

A straightforward plot, with no real twists. A case of too much reveal too soon until there was nothing to hold unto.

Before I start with the pros & cons (I know I have long cons, don't judge), I just want to say if you are starting this drama, you will have so much fun in the first 3 episodes. It was like Cdrama grey ML was back with a mix of Tantai Jin + Xie Wei character, coupled with a Badass Assassin for FL. To top it off Liu Xueyi is an insanely good actor and WunJinyan - you can't mention revenge and a fight scene without her!

However, this show lacked the mystery, scheming and complexity that I was expecting.

Pros :
- Fight scenes : Well choreographed, looked downright dangerous. Best fight scene was of WuJinyan and the Crown Prince's guards.

- Acting of main leads: I might be biased here but I like Liu Xueyi, always seen him as a good and mature actor. His ability to deliver multi expression won't leave you doubting what he is feeling at any moment. His role in first 4 episodes as the unhinged Prince and shadow master (spoilers alert 🌚), was too good, with the lazy drawl and look. Its a shame they did a total 360 on his character immediately; cause the grey character was more in line with the premise of the story.
WuJinyan pulled off a determined, undying assas*in, whose purpose was to revenge her people's death. She outdid herself with the fight scenes, surviving her trauma and the danger lurking on the path to revenge. Both are beautiful actors who don't care how they look in a scene, as long as they deliver and I like such.
- The chemistry between leads esp. in the first episodes was sizzling and intense! The kiss scenes were good! However, the intensity fizzled out and the romance became more fluffy.
- Sound engineering was ok! I have watched recent shows where the sound is jumbled and messy, but here it's perfect.
- The way they filmed traumatic situations
were quite professional and mature. The leads had deep conversation and worked through their experience together. There was a particular scene where they were stuck in the forest; ML was injured and couldn't feel his nerves and had to relive his trauma. The ensuing incident that occurred could have been labelled laughable or embarrassing if it was not well filmed, but the directors, LXY and WJY outdid themselves in that scene. What came out instead, was a heartfelt moment.
- Cinematography and OST were nice
- MeiLin being a girls girl! Her friends also came through for her a lot in the 2nd arc 👏
- Good premise.

Cons:
- The plot in its entirety was quite underwhelming (🚨SPOILERS, don't read) : The ML's 10 year revenge plan was to train a victim, as an assassin that will try to kill him inorder to reopen the case. All those years could have been used to lay traps and plan better but he spent it on just trying to reopen the case (like this is the reason he used poison on the FL). There were faster ways to reopen the case than that route. Then, after he got evidence, his plan was to tell his dad in the privacy of their Chambers that he is innocent and it was the CP. No backup or anticipated plans whatsoever. The culprit had better plans even though ML had a head start.
Also, when the FL had learned about the real culprit, ML stopped her from kil*ng him as it will be too easy and he wanted justice to be served. Well guess what, there was no real justice served, the culprit died peacefully in the hands of the woman he loved while only few court members knew of his crimes. FL never carried out her revenge directly; ML was sadly still regarded as the mass murder*r, until he had to go prove himself. With the initial setup of a grey ML, I was hoping for a scheming one that will expose the culprit on a wider scale & punish him publicly.

- Went downhill as it progressed: It was gunning for one of the drama of the year with the first episodes, until it wasn't. Everything was revealed too soon. From first scenes, it felt like the CP had a huge red alarm above his head screaming - "I am the culprit🗣." I didn't mind so much reveal at first, cause I thought there were more twists to come, but nope. The story arc from ep 24 took me ages to finish. I remember rejoicing when the SML left in the 1st arc, only for them to pull a 2nd arc with his obsession more prominent. No offence to the actor cause I love BWJ.

- LuoMei and CP romance: They bored us so much with their scenes. At first, it was an endless cycle of love declaration and refusal. Then all of a sudden, after a creepy aphrodisiac incident orchestrated by him, she fell head over heels and was willing to jeopardise her loyalty, morals and army for him. It weirdly took a nanosecond for such devotion. That was character death inmo. Would be understandable if they made her fall out of love with MJH and started getting a bit attracted to the CP (cause let's be honest, contrary to what too many drama show, no one stays in a hopeless unrequited love situation in real life). But to pull the full switch, to the extent of a general willing to betray her country was crazy writing. They never told us why she ..... the Eunuch; that scene annoyed me.

- Concubine Yan and granddad husband: On all levels its weird, I tried to ignore as they weren't all up on our faces with it, but they had to make her pregnant making us know the fact we were all trying to deny. Yes I know during those periods, such marriages happen blah blah, but that doesn't make it right. It wouldn't have been that bad if the lady's mannerisms were mature. But Yan was clearly portrayed as a naive, cute little girl, looking to live life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed how cute she was throughout the show (esp. cause I love the actress since her role in 'To get her'), but when it came to the emperor situation, it's not cute!
- Ending: I won't rant about the ending to not give out spoilers, but whenever a show's rating suddenly goes low, you already know it wasn't what people wanted. We didn't power through 32 episodes just for all that to happen (Yes, no spoilers this time 🤗).

In general, it was a good watch that could have been great if they kept to the initial premise of the story.

Read More

When the Actors Shine, But the Story Falls Flat

WHAT I LIKE:
- The Actors: For me the actors save the Messy story. Non only the Main Role who act amazingly, but even the Support Role act wonderfully. You know it when you hate the story, you skipped and speed up a lot, but you still cried when they cried, and laughed when they were happy.
- The Chemistry: Two Thumbs Up for Wu Jin Yan and Liu Xui Yi. At first I was worried that LXY might not keep up with WJY (because her act always a TOP NOTCH). But surprisingly LXY act SO GREAT. Their Chemistry is no kidding. When they teased each other, hugged, even kissed, all seems so natural.
- The Kiss: The kisses are just right. Sometimes its a light kiss with a sweet feeling. Sometimes its a deep kisses, but they don't overdo it, not a steamy kisses but intimate one.
- The Music: Good Job Director and Editor, the song match PERFECTLY with every important scenes.
- The BEAUTY: This is might be BIASED, but I dont care. I LOVE LXY!!! I'm a fan of handsome and cool man, not pretty boy like most of the Cdrama actors.

WHAT I DISLIKE:
Simple answer... THE STORY. Its just MESSY with alot of BORING scenes.
I think the writer just want to create a surprise attack with the SAD ENDING. I cried, but I didnt feel that sad because I am not attched to the story that much.
In my humble opinion:
When a writer creates a great story like the Drama "A Journey to Love", the Sad Ending will leave a VOID and HEARTBREAK on the audience, that is the criteria of success!!!

SUMMARY: I give 8.5/10 for the ACTS and MUSIC.
But DEFINITELY will not rewatch.

Read More

Soaring high before gliding down

The first part of this drama was phenomenal, the actors were absolutely amazing, the fighting-scenes breathtaking, the chemistry between the leads sizzling, the OST wonderful - I was clearly watching a 9 or 10-drama...
... that is until the death of villain nr. 1, the crown prince. From then on it faded away.
I had the feeling that the writers tried desperately to find a new villain but couldn't decide which one to choose, the story became a little dragging, some characters were overdone (as the King of Xiyan), some characters were just there to fill in whenever they needed someone to help/do something but noone was fit (Luomei), Mei Li died again and again (falling into a coma or else), leaving Jinghe heartbroken again and again ...
And why, just why did she deny him this long? I get the reasons, but at that point they were already clear about it. Some sidestories made it just boring.
The second part was no more than a 6.

It's such a pity, the acting was topnotch! The leads hat an amazing chemistry.

All in all I loved it none the less and absolutely recommend it. The first part is so good you don't want to miss it. Just make do with the second part.

Read More

A brilliant, thrilling first half and a touching ending don't makeup for a lost, floundering middle section . . .

Warning: This is a tragedy

Some mistakes you can't recover from. In the first half, the momentum is high with our male and female lead teaming together on a path of revenge. They both are attractive, talented, and have excellent romantic chemistry. As the first storyline nears its end, there's still a big looming problem: Murong Jinghe in his darkest, most cruel moments poisoned Mei Lin without securing an antidote. What will happen when he tells her? Will he be able to make it up to her and cure her?

When Mei Lin finds out she will have none of it, and leaves him. Good for her. But then what? Then what indeed . . . from there Murong Jinghe mopes, and pines, and hoovers not sure how to make it up to her, but still desperately in love with her.

The acting is great, the themes are solid, it's beautifully shot, but this easily could have been 24 episodes instead of 32 and not lost anything.

Despite it all, this drama will stick with me. Greed, power struggles and revenge often take the beginnings of a good life and turn them into tragedy. Endearing life-long love stories are hard to come by in times of struggle, uncertainty and war. In the midst of the darkness, do we truly understand what we're giving up until it's too late?

Read More

I renewed my youku sub for this?!

Hello, I’m almost halfway through watching the series as I write this review. It's not as captivating as "The Double." I found myself getting distracted and realized that the show was still playing while I was tinkering on my phone. In my opinion, there were tons of plot holes and unnecessary scenes. I didn't feel any chemistry between the two leads; I'm sorry, but I just couldn't see or feel it.

I was really looking forward to watching this show, so much so that I renewed my Youku subscription, as it had more available episodes than Netflix. To be frank, I am quite disappointed. I loved The Double, even though I wasn't a big fan of the female lead; I just couldn't watch her face for long.
They could have improved the plot; there are more dragging scenes than watchable ones.

The male lead was so pleasant in the eyes, and I like how he rarely smiles but when he does, oh my! :)

Read More

Stolen Heart

Kill Me Love Me has a dark foreboding look and feel in the first half, with great camera angles and positions. There are beautiful shots and vivid colors for this captivating Chinese drama. The cinematography is through the roof. There is great dance choreography for the Martial Arts. Kill Me Love Me has a highly charged sensual undercurrent to the storyline. Kill Me Love Me is an eye feast.

Strong dramas are built off of two strong leads. Kill Me Love Me has two of the strongest Chinese leads available. Chinese actress Wu Jin Yan was a strong revenge seeker in The Double and plays an assassin in Kill Me Love Me. She does well in period Chinese Costume dramas because of her strong abilities to make her martial arts moves believable. Her haunting nature adds mystic to her characters. Wu Jin Yan gets these alluring dramas of late. Actor Liu Xue Yi is a very fine actor, who has great emotional and character range. He was the most impeccable and captivating villain in another great Chinese Costume drama ‘Destined’. Even playing against Bai Jing Ting, Liu Xue Yi stood out for me. His star quality looks made me secretly adore this bad boy. Liu Xue Yi is the type of actor who springs out of nowhere to make you fall in love with him. His full presence is in every scene he is in. All of his facial features are so perfectly symmetrical. Liu Xue Yi may not be on everyone’s list yet, but he will make most lists of actors whose name you want to remember after you see him in Kill Me Love Me.

Kill Me Love Me was an astonishing and sensual drama that constantly held my attention. The strong storyline, the slow pacing of the dialogue, and the unique visuals gave Kill Me Love Me a wonderful artsy look and feel. The ominous closing scene of episode one, I replayed half a dozen times. The visuals were so stunning. Kill Me Love Me is weirdly, but oddly artistic cinema.

The back ground music is expertly orchestrated, using a full cinematic orchestra instead of a band. This is less usual for Asian dramas. The music gives the drama an American feel. I loved this drama.

Read More

Love Liu Xue Yi more now!!

I don't think its spoilers just what some would like to know of this drama. Read at risk of maybe spoilers.

I will not say this drama is perfect cause it is not, and it did not do the red flag male lead that a lot of people were expecting to get. Maybe I'm a typical romance lover and the two leads did deliver on that. Seen people saying they changed the novel never read the novel but may give it a go after watching this. My main draw for this drama I won't lie is Liu Xue Yi I think he is worth watching if nothing else. Also love the FL to she did an incredible job even when they try to put her with prince Yue Qin for a bit, and she never falls in love with him. It does have a sad ending which is usually a nope for some so to answer that for them, but it does show a clip for a what if moment which I thought was kinda cute.

I really enjoyed this drama and I think the actors deserve more credit for what they did with the script they were given. The actors are the reason why I think this is any good at all and worth the watch. I also really think the fight scenes are amazing to watch really loved them. Also have to mention Liu Xue Yi's crying scenes they were really amazing and will make you want to cry with him.

Want to include at least one thing I really didn't like about the drama and that was the love story between the crown prince and the general. The general Luo Mei they made change to quickly and out of no where. She was in love with the ML since childhood and and crown prince was in love with her. She falls in love with a man that lied to her and deceived her not saying that he didn't really love her he did I just didn't see any truth of her falling in love with him and telling him that if he would of told her sooner it would of made a difference cause it wouldn't of. They also have her choose him over her loyalty to the emperor for awhile which didn't make any sense that is not the kind of person she is portrayed to be. Granted they did have her make the right decision in the end. I do like the girl who played the general I just didn't like that love story.

Read More

Starting off soooo strong

This has the potential to become a 10 stars story from me, judging from 3/4th of the episodes. It started off so strong, and just getting stronger and more griping for me as it goes on. I enjoyed the storyline so much, and the acting was so strong, not to mention the chemistry between LXY and WJY was chef kiss. To me, the plot was convincing and the execution was near perfect, up until the final fight in which Murong Jinghe finally exacts his revenge and brings down Murong Xuanlie. However, the arc after that started to stress me out. It feels like there are 2 different scriptwriter writing the first 25 plus episodes, and another writer took over and botch the last few episodes after that. The arc in which Yue Qin suddenly became stupid and turned evil and the laughable scene of a King thieving on his son’s herb and eating it like a goat for the sake of immortality was ridiculous, in fact I need to stop my bingewatching at that point of time and regroup. Lol. They did YueQin dirty after such long episodes, he was such a likeable SML from the start *sigh. Not to mention how ridiculous they turn the mighty Murong Jinghe with the 7days idiotic outofmind vigil over the supposed death of Mei Lin. Even borderline creepy (who the hell kept on romancing a corpse?? Not to mention, she should be smelly rotten corpse and on her way to liquidify within that time span if you want to be realistic lol. But who watch Cdramas for the realisticality of it right? Hahaha). Luckily they save the plot back after that with the war etc, even though not to the point of this story deserving a 10.

This is my second dramas of LXY (first know of him in The Blood of Youth, and his character there was charming even though he’s a baldy boy. Lol). Not many actors can pull off being baldy and still looking quite good and it shows in this drama. With his get up as Murong Jinghe, he was so charming and lovely and handsome and beautiful all at the same time. He carried off a vengeful soft hearted wronged prince so well, his cry made you want to cry as well sometimes. Though he did cry too pathetically during his return after losing Qingyan, I felt that it is unbecoming for a general to be that way in front of his other soldiers, trying to upkeep moral. He just lost a few mighty points there lol. Wu Jinyan as usual, really delivers. Her earlier fight scenes were so well executed I was gleefully clapping in my mind. In fact, almost 85% of all fight scenes choreography was very much well executed and enchanting. YQ’s actor carries the second male lead role well, even though you are team Jinghe/Mei Lin, you still want him to be happy (except for those few episodes near the end). The villain (Murong Xuanlie) was also well written, coming as someone so cunning, but also was a poor wronged soul turn bad. His end is bittersweet in a way. General Lin was so and so though, i’m not that much into her character or care too much for her. Surprisingly, the role of Princess Zigu was acted quite well, coming across as lovely innocent girl and even though her love story with someone maybe 30years her senior ideally sounds quite erghhh sometimes, but the acting of Zigu’s and the emperor’s was able to make it less awkward and mature love, rather than the pedophile vibe it can possibly be. Qingyan should have an honorary mention as well and his death broke me as much as it broke Prince Jing, but I pity that guy having to deal with Murong Jinghe during his 7day vigil with a dead girl. Lol. You are a strong man Qingyan! Lol. And as much as Qingyan deserved his appreciation scenes, I was as disappointed that Eunuch Liu was killed that easily without any mention whatsoever after that. He died heroic! I love that old fatherly eunuch how dare you!


Costumes were allllll so nice and beautifully crafted, no matter if it was jinghe, mei lin, yueqin or even Zigu. It was a feast to the eyes. The cinematography was also pleasant to the eyes. Ost was also heard beautifully accompanying so many scenes, not overly done or underused. And of course, the whump scenes I got from this drama kept me well fed (I adore those male lead whump scenes beat me!)


All in all, I very much enjoy this drama and staying up late for 3nights bingewatching this in between work shift was well deserved.

Read More

Snow Dragon Moustache flower

I liked the series in general. I enjoyed watching it. The story started with a sense of revenge, then the struggle between two brothers, then it turned into getting rid of an incident that was thrown at him. When events such as sending a princess to make peace between two countries, and the detention of a prince and the reflections of this were added, the story got a little confusing in my opinion. Also, both our prince and the woman he loved were poisoned, I think the prince got rid of the poison but the woman he loved could not get rid of it and eventually died. The deaths were very emotional. The scenes and the processing were done accordingly, I got very emotional while watching it. Zi Gu's death scenes especially upset me. The scene where Guard Qing Yan caught fire and jumped on the explosives was terrific. It was a scene like a triumphant excitement with emotion. I liked it very much. Bravo to those who think about it.
I think the negative aspects of the series are especially the Mei Lin character dying and reviving. This did not happen. At that time, it is difficult for a person to die and revive if they are poisoned. It is not possible for them to recover from illnesses so easily and then fight, assassinate and fight hundreds of people an hour later as if nothing happened.
It is also impossible for a Prince to get married without permission from his father the Emperor. It would be fake. It would not be announced. It is like an illegal marriage. If so, it is possible. I cannot say anything. Those issues were never discussed.
My last negative remark is about Baron Chen, who plays the character Prince Xiuan Lie. In other words, I like him. I have watched a few of his series. In this series, I watched him with astonishment. Can he be played this badly? He acted as if they forced him to act. He played it showily. He acted according to the book. He exaggerated. He made it very obvious. In other words, when his scenes came, I felt like shouting that I do not want to watch it. That much. In other words, I became estranged from the actor. I did not expect such a performance. I was shocked. Did the director force him? Otherwise, I do not want this role. He is in the mood to direct me and let's play like that, let's finish and leave. He was very ugly. Please excuse me. He should watch himself. He was the worst actor. In terms of acting.
I really liked the harmony of the lead actors, Xue Yi and Jin Yan. They were both very successful. Jin Yan is very successful in these assassin types. His stance and action are very good. I also really liked the emotional scenes. I think Xue Yi has surpassed himself. I watched a lot of his series. He was successful in all of them. He works very hard. Well done.

The other actor I liked was Huang Ri Ying. He was very successful in the Zi Gu character. Although he doesn't look much, I think he did his role very well. He added color with his cheerful, excited, lively attitude. He put his weight on it. They also did a good job with the veteran actor Jiang Kai about his marriage to an old emperor. I think he made him feel comfortable. In other words, he acted by thinking about the person opposite him, that's how I saw it. I got the feeling too. His emotional scenes were also very good. Wen Jun also had very few scenes. He gave himself an air and went with that air, he portrayed a prince beautifully with his stance and serious attitude, he gave his role a different air. There was nothing extra about the role, but I still say it was good. I liked it. I found Wei Tong good in the guard character. Well done. And our female general Xiao Tang. I was hesitant at first. But I don't know if my eyes got used to it over time. I said he was a very good general. Although his role didn't have much weight, he gave himself the air of a general. I found him successful. I recommend it to those who haven't watched it.

Read More

unsatisfiying ending okay watch wouldn’t recommend

Just finished watching this and though I dont usually comment I really wanted to write a review about this one. Honestly the only good thing this drama had was the chemistry of the two leads but even that was getting a bit boring. To finish the drama I had to skip most scenes cause they added zero value to the plot. Especially after ep 24.


Spoilers Spoilers
The revenge plan started off good and then went downhill. It wasn’t satisfactory the romance of the crown prince with Luomei was ridiculous and even more ridiculous was the romance of the grandpa with concubine yan. When I first saw them and he told her he didnt want anything from her I was a bit sceptical but also thought that he will be like the father the she never had. boy was I wrong. whenever I saw them together my brain was telling ew ew ew and then they just killed her off. The prince of Xiyan is useless literally he had to orotect the flower his country but he allowed everyone to step all over him. if he had killed the traitor he eoudnt have taken the flower and he wouldnt attack the village. only after he died he just said let me lead you back like a loser. he never tried just hid. apart from him all those episodes looking for a remedie just for her to die at the end just like that. come on. i cried but also couldnt believe it. and then years later he died too on the same spot same chair. come onnnn. why even add those last 8 eps? they dont offer anything. It was an okay watch but i dont think i would recommend it.

Read More

Sad Not Bad!!!! / A Whirlwind Of Emotions

I would like to start out by saying This drama has a sad ending not a bad ending .I wish I would have waited til it was completed before I began watching. By the title alone I should have known that the ending woud be a sad one. This is the 3rd sad ending cdrama in a row that I've watched (The first 2 were Love in the Desert were the 2nd ML died and Snowy Night Timeless Love where the FL died... Sorry for the spoiler if you were going to watch those shows)

Anyways here is my biggest issue ,I'm having a hard time believing that General Yin (Luomei) genuinely fell in love with the crown prince. Like at first I thought it was just a ploy to gain his trust then ultimately side with our ML, I mean even tho she chose the good side she still loved the Crown Prince!!!!! How could a woman that was pining after the ML since they were kids easily make a 180 and fall for the crown prince. He was a treacherous trader who betrayed his own country.Like with her pride and joy for her country there is no freaking way she could have loved someone who did all of that!!!

Also concubine Yan was such a sweet heart. Her and QingYan deaths hurt the most. Her death hurt a little less because I had mentally prepared myself when the physician said that she would suffer during her pregnancy,I knew she would die during child birth or miscarriage.
Qingyan was so loyal and he was my favorite character. I cried the most for him. His death hurt just as much as the deaths of Lu Ji and Wen Ji from The Double(Why are the loyal subordinates getting killed off) Speaking of loyal ,Eunuch Lui's demise was very sad as well.He was so funny and kind. And the large fellow whom they (Ml &FL) met when they were recuperating in the village, he was kind too . I cried like a baby when Jia (Or Yi, I forgot which one) was crying over his body. And now the death that I knew was coming, well actually I thought the ML was going to die but nope it was Mei Lin (FL) I was sad but it really
was shocking cause earlier she told the physician that he couldn't cure her illness. The time jump was definitely needed and it gave the closure that we needed.


Now lets jump subjects. Yue Qin!!!! I actually liked him, I just didn't like him for our female lead. He was definitely a thorn in the ML's side but he wasn't super sinister which is a good thing. All in all it was a pretty decent show with a sad NOT bad ending!!! There's a Difference!!!!

Anyways thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, BYE

Read More