Are You the One

Love Amid Lies!

This series took me longer to finish, but it was worth it for the storyline alone. The plot centers on Liu Mian Tang, the female lead, and Cui Xing Zhou, the Huangyang Prince. The beginning immediately grabs your attention, introducing them as enemies: Xing Zhou is determined to capture Lu Wen, the notorious bandit leader. After an injury, Mian Tang is found and nursed back to health by Xing Zhou. However, with her memory lost, she mistakes Xing Zhou for her husband. Xing Zhou (posing as "Cui Jiu") decides to use this misunderstanding to his advantage, hoping to lure out Lu Wen, as Mian Tang is believed to be Lu Wen’s concubine.

Their initial interactions are pure comedy gold. Mian Tang showers Xing Zhou with affection, completely unaware that he’s not her real husband. While this dynamic is hilarious, it’s also bittersweet because Xing Zhou is exploiting her for his benefit. Over time, their relationship evolves, and they genuinely fall in love. But when Mian Tang regains her memory, she realizes the truth: Xing Zhou is her enemy. The twist? As the story unfolds, Xing Zhou discovers that the person he’s been trying to capture is none other than Mian Tang herself—Lu Wen and Liu Mian Tang are the same person.

Their relationship goes through cycles: enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, enemies to allies, and finally, allies to lovers. It’s a whirlwind. While the storyline is engaging, the pacing is uneven. The series starts strong and captivating, dips in the middle, picks up again during the angsty, scheming-filled episodes, and unfortunately becomes bland towards the end.

The cinematography is quite good, but the costume design is underwhelming. Given Mian Tang’s various identities—bandit leader, obedient wife, and princess—the costumes and hairstyles could have been more striking to reflect her transitions. The casting is decent overall. Zhang Wan Yi delivers a strong performance as Cui Xing Zhou, bringing depth and nuance to his character. However, Wang Chu Ran as Liu Mian Tang falls short in emotional scenes, where her expressions don’t always convey the intensity required. That said, her action scenes are fantastic and among the highlights of the series, showcasing her intelligence and physicality.

The music complements the series but is largely forgettable. While I wouldn’t rewatch the entire series, some scenes are worth revisiting. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, with a gripping beginning and middle but a somewhat lackluster ending. Overall, it’s a decent watch with its fair share of highs and lows.

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Do I Not Support Women's Rights AND Wrongs?

I want to start off by saying this drama was able to capture my attention from the first episode. It is very well done
within the cinematography. The scenery is beautiful and I love that they allowed for a more natural undertone within the musical composition. The instances where you were just hearing the bustle of the market or the vibe in the palace really allows for you to fully immerse yourself. Really well done.

Now, for the bad, or perhaps more accurately: the infuriating.

This drama is by no standard within the realm of which characters are inherently only good or only bad. They are very much all grey and we see this immediately from the start when it came to the ML. His decision to pretend to be the husband of what he knew to be his enemy's mistress was diabolical. I didn't agree with the lies he conjured up to take advantage of her amnesia. (I am not a fan of amnesia plotlines at all. I find them a scapegoat for plotline.)

But I continue my rant to say, the ML was not an issue for me. He was doing what was necessary for the good of the people and city he was in charge of. His enemy is a bandit, known for a lot of terrible things and honestly, this mistress would have ended up also being charged and sentenced alongside of him for his crimes. So to me his decision to start his deceit didn't make me upset as much initially once I learned of what was going on within the first three episodes. It was kind of like how police do a sting operation and pretend to be a criminal to get into the mob or something. You have to do the unthinkable a lot of times to achieve.

Plus he was actually thinking of giving her an out in a way by letting her go to a temple or something. He did find this woman half dead from an attempted murder. He sympathized with her the best that he could given what he knew of her and her correlation to the person he was after.

Now fast forward this to him being unable to catch the 'enemy' he wants because the emperor pardons all of them from their crime when he finally goes to arrest them. So he is left with this mistress and this fake life and is unable to break it off because he is falling for her.

I can understand despite being unable to rationalize his reasons for why he continued his ploy.
But does that mean he is the worse character I have ever seen as a main lead?

No.

He never took advantage of her or crossed boundaries. He knew his feelings and that he was wrong, he consistently spoke about his guilt for what he did. And even when it came to a point he realized she regained her memories and was playing in the role still, he lamented he would take her wrath and the punishment that came from his wrongs.

This man is not perfect, but he is not a bad person. He made a stupid decision.

I segue now into focusing on the FL.

I'll be 100% honest, it was clear from the very first scene she was the enemy. The buildup to the reveal of her remembering and him realizing fell short. Even if you are not an experienced drama watcher, it was not difficult or hidden well to not realize this fact.

The issue is, like i mentioned ML lied for a greater good, fell in love and kept lying to not lose her. FL remembered and wanted revenge. The revenge in question for his TERRIBLE action is to kill him. Mind you she is an actual criminal who was smuggling goods that started a war and lead to so many deaths and was the reason for a good majority of the corruption going on within the capital.

ML's entire plotline was to capture this bandit that was doing this and put an end to it. Funny enough he only knew about the stealing and the murders but had respect for the criminal at large because he saw through all of the ploys how smart and tactful this person was. But then he found out that they were not just doing petty shit but was smuggling resources which were affecting the nation. AND KNEW ABOUT IT WITH NO ISSUES. Like it wasn't as if FL lead agreed to a job not knowing the reason behind it. SHE KNEW EVERY SINGLE THING AND HELPED PLAN IT OUT. She consistently was talking to enemy nation and even after regaining her memories and understanding why ML started his lie, had no damn remorse.

She felt justified somehow in her actions. Even more confounding was how after stabbing ML for revenge she decided to go right back into selling to the enemy countries? Like why? She goes on this crazy revenge scheme against this other Prince who worked with her in the smuggling but then killed her side to hide everything.

I am not sorry to say I couldn't resonate or sympathize with her because I understand your people had the rug pulled from under you, but everyone knew the risks of this business and nothing that you were doing was righteous and was instead harming those around you.

So tell me why or how I'm suppose to be feeling all this emotional hrumph everytime she mentions avenging her brothers?

I feel this FL was meant to be strong and amazing in everyway to match up to the strengths of the ML. And while I can see that in a lot of instances, I do not think she is at all a good person. She does not reflect on anything she does nor cares if it is not for her benefit. She wants to live out this bandit fantasy life among her uncle, and it seems whenever their endeavors catches up to them , in her head its unthinkable for them to be met with any penalty.

Cause after all they are simply living young and free in their actions.

I say all this to say, it was very difficult to engage in this drama seeing all of this going down. Then currently being in the era of the ML pining over her and trying to get back this woman and her thwarting him every step of the way.

Because she hates him and can't forgive him for his lies. Like please be so for real woman. Your entire character is a lie in itself, you go around pretending to be actual workers but then murder, steal and all of the likes. Why do you feel as if you are so deserving and better than this prince who simply wanted to stop all the bad shit you and your brothers have been committing?

I think this was ten times harder to stomach because it was on viki. This was the first show I had to turn off the comments because they were excusing her every step of the way. None of the characters are perfect, but the FL gets off in everything she does, learns she is doing, and continues to do. I further hate that her and her loonies actions in their gang were exempted and essentially allowed them not to face any penalties for what they had been doing for the past several years.

It was crazy seeing people literally say her actions amount to nothing in comparison to the ML's lies. I simply seem to although being a woman myself, can not excuse all the things she did and continued to do. This woman does not deserve an excuse for any of the wrongs she committed.

And I hate that she was never given an instance like the ML had to and was called out on multiple scenes to realize that what you think is correct is not the way to do things. I did not feel growth from her character nor any semblance of my definition of a strong woman. She is simply a character who is intuitive and cunning but missing the qualities of a strong woman by integrity definition.

She did not have to be perfect. Honestly, if she realized her actions were not good and admitted her part in the inner turmoil going on within the court and still decided to avenge her brothers. I would respect her. But she fucked off instead on some wild revenge plot and immersed herself back into the lifestyle that started the ML on his lies.

I want to give her a zero, but that's not possible so instead I give her a 1.

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It's HEA that fell short for me....

I really wanted to fall in love with this drama because the story felt fresh. However, you know something is off when I'm enjoying the portion of the show where their relationship is completely based on lies more than the real deal.

I understood the initial part of the plot and why the ML has to keep the pretense up. At the same time, I have to agree with some reviews here that it felt a bit like her personality underwent 3 phases that were very different:
1. Amnesic, weak yet very loving wife who has accepted everything her husband told her about her previous life.
2. Vengeful cold fierce heroine who will take no sh*t
3. Strong loving and more grounded lover who has forgiven and supports the ML.

I almost love the first two more than the last phase. By the final episode, I wasn't satisfied with how many things were resolved. Something had been missing since they got married.

I haven't seen others mentioning this but my biggest gripe with the drama is that after the CP gets together, I was expecting the chemistry to grow but the show went the opposite route with: "Yup, that's a wrap on the romantic things, let's go to the political intrigue." Before the wedding up to the wedding night, we had a lot of kissing, hugging, hand holding, etc... Afterward, they barely even touched.

I don't necessarily need mindblowing kisses, but can you show me that these two people I've been so invested in watching them get together are more than two friends using terms of endearment?

ML's acting was really good. I didn't know ZWY before this drama and I'm a fan. FL was beautiful, smart and acted well too but again for me, it felt like something was missing. between them

Similarly, the other two relationships felt unresolved as well. Could we at least have seen more than hints?
I'm not sad per se but I don't feel contended even though it's a happy ending.

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Started off great and dragged on

Pro: I really liked the beginning where she lost her mind. It was so cute to me. The chemistry was so good then. The story was also cute. I did like the side characters love story. There were a few funny parts. Towards on the last episode some things became more interesting. I liked the jail scene. I also liked how the main girl was so independent.

Con: When she gains her memory again it was like a change in personality. The timeframe of her being upset was long. I also felt like other people when they said they slowly lost interest in the main characters chemistry. Also the story felt dragged. The second male lead was not great, usually you’ll feel for them and the main. His backstory was her was lame , the side girl he had was also lame. The whole story of him taking over was rushed and uneventful. The villain was just okay. Nothing exciting. But the whole 30-39 episodes were boring I had to speed through. I wished they made the male lead more important. It seems like if he was as cool as he was in the jail and more of the main females equal I woulda like it more. Seems like he was always not as cool or independent as her.

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Good story, great acting!

As soon as I started the series, I was reminded of A dream of splendour, I found the two FLs resemble each other in looks and temperament. Both FLs had good business acumen, and were paired with warrior MLs. Although the similarity ended here, I found this drama to be equally entertaining, and it kept my interest going till the very end. Our leads get married for real in episode 36, and after their wedding, what I was truly hoping for was a romantic relationship between the emperor and the empress, though it wasn’t shown clearly in the end, but there were hints of a better relationship between the sovereign and his queen. That said, I would have liked to see more of them! The third couple were sweet too, and I liked their interactions. This drama had a strong female lead, a strong woman as an empress who unconditionally supports the emperor without asking anything in return, and a third FL who is a great businesswoman. The love triangle was interesting too, but I never saw myself supporting the love rival of the ML. The lead characters were equally matched in both martial strength and intelligence, and they deserved to end up together. The power struggle, the deceits, the plotting for throne were not something new, but one expects these in a period drama. It was my first time watching all three MLs and FLs, and neither of them disappointed. In all, it was an entertaining series that I might end up repeating soon enough.

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Not my taste but it's kinda good

It took me 6 months to completely finished this because I keep getting distracted and watching other shows 😂 This is the first time I'm watching Chinese historical dramas and it might be my last time too 😂 I'm really not a fan of historical dramas, whatever country it is (watched only few historical Kdramas). I can understand why most people said Chinese historical is better than K ver. Probably because it has lots of details from the wars, politics and so on. The storyline is okay, but nearly 2nd half of the series, I watched it in 2x speed except for the main couple and third couple scenes 😂 I'm really not interested in other plots and so many names to memorize 🥲

Regarding the main plot, the lies are quite dragging and took so long for the fl to remember. And then, for the third couple, I feel so so frustrated with the Emperor, not being able to move on from Miantang ughhh Xueji gurl deserved better tho I'm still shipping those two. Shueji might my fav character here, she's sooo prettyyy, cutee, nice and kinddd 🥹 Ziyu really didn't deserve her, tho I'm happy with their endgame but wished for more moments 🥲 and it's kinda getting boring and predictable when most of the times, the mc keeps winning, especially Miantang 😮‍💨 They should let the mc lost few times, then it'll be much more interesting to see them picked themselves up and have character development. By the end of the episode, I already can predict it's the mc's plan for the "fake poison" 😮‍💨

But maybe because this is romcom genre (my least fav), so it's not for me. But overall, I think this is quite an okay drama ^^

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Characters that are hard to leave behind. Kudos for the magic CL

PLOT: The ML, Prince, pretends to be the FL's husband, amnesiac concubine of a famous bandit, to capturing him. Over the course of events (surrender of the "bandit", murder attempts, war, etc.) they fall in love. But the lies come out and the FL's memoryies ends up returning.

+++ A magic CL (Zhang Wan Yi & Wang Chu Ran), beautiful, talented, subtle. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Some scenes are prodigious. I would love to see this couple again in other dramas.
+++ Many excellent actors, interpreting their characters with finesse. (Doctor and his lover, Empress, ...)
+++ High budget production, effective, addictive, with superb fight scenes. All, sets, costumes, lighting, framing, ... at the TOP.
+++ Very suited OST.
+++ Coherent, realistic story (for this type of drama);

### The infantile, crazy behavior of the Great Villain (who has been planning his coup for years) when he fails, is not credible.
### The ending is a bit abrupt. I would have liked it to extend a little...

=> An EXCELLENT series, very addictive (devoured in 2 days :) with an awesome CL (ღ˘⌣˘ღ). Series i'll watch again in a while :)
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PLOT: Le ML, Prince, fait semblant d'être le mari de la FL, concubine amnésique d'un célèbre bandit, pour réussir à capturer celui-ci. Au fil des évènements (reddition du "bandit", tentatives de meurtre,guerre, ...) ils tombent amoureux. Mais les mensonges éclatent et la mémoire de la FL finit par revenir.

+++ Un Très great CL (Zhang Wan Yi & Wang Chu Ran), beaux, talentueux, subtiles. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Certaines scènes sont prodigieuses. J'adorerais revoir ce couple dans d'autres dramas.
+++ De nombreux excellents acteurs, interprétant leur personnage avec finesse. (Docteur et sa lover, Empress, ...)
+++ Réalis° haut budget, efficace, addictive, avec de superbes scènes de fight, des décors, costumes, lumières, cadrages, ... au TOP.
+++ OST très adaptées.
+++ Story cohérente, réaliste ( pour ce genre de drama);

### Le comportement infantile, fou du Great Villain (qui planifie son coup depuis des années) lorsqu'il échoue, n'est pas crédible.
### La ending est un peu brusque. J'aurai aimé qu'elle se prolonge un peu...

=> Une EXCELLENTE série, très addictive (dévorée en 2 jours :) avec un CL génial (ღ˘⌣˘ღ). A revoir dans quelques temps :)

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Best drama of 2024

Are You The One is a must watch for fans of historical and cunning, independent and smart characters, playing mind games against their enemies. If you liked cdramas like Story of Minglan and Wonderland Of Love, this might be for you.

This was a perfect drama. I have no notes. It delivered on everything that promised from beginning to end and properly developed the troupes of fake marriage and enemies to lovers in a fresh and entertaining way.

The court politics were fascinating to watch, giving the viewers all kind of strategies, taking down enemies one by one, making friends and even breaking down emotional walls for our lead characters. It was a treat to watch every single scheming they put on.

The development of each arc, with its respective main conflict, was entertaining. I am incredible happy with how the scriptwriter of this drama handled every storyline. All the characters consistently grow through this journey and have their moments in the spotlight. The resolution really well done, cohesive, grounded and coherent to each character’ respective personalities and wishes.

The cast director really outdid themselves in this drama, each actor is the perfect choice for the character they are playing. My hat off to them for giving Zhang Wanyi such an incredible well written character as Lord Huaiyang, whom delivers some of the best moments of this drama from his war tactics, home life woes and comedic timing. Watching him grovel to win back his loved one was a never ending source of entertainment.

Wang Churan’s Miantang is the perfect match. The growing of her character is perhaps more subtle but incredibly well performed and poignant. She delivered in every scene as a savvy business woman and every scheme at court as Lady Huaiyang.

Lord and Lady Huaiyang’s respective strategies are different but they complement each other in an harmonious way, helping each other, growing together as people and governors. They consider themselves equals and respect each other, which is why I think they are one of the best couples in Dramaland I have seen in a while.

As for the secondary characters, there’s always someone that stands out in a drama and for me, this time, it was Empress Shi, played by Yuan Yu Xuan. She gave us one of the best performances of this year. Her character grows from timid concubine daughter being emotional abused at home to a revered phoenix. When she finally stood her ground, against her own family, it was a wonder to watch. She got a standing ovation from me.

Chang Huasen was a really good choice to play Ziyu, a very stoic character that made sacrifices along the way to power. His growing has a lot to do with trust and I think, at the end of the day, he learns who should never be used as a pawn in the court games.

Marquis Zhennan and Miss He, played respectively by Zhang Chi and Liu Lingzi, were a source of entertaining. Both characters equally smart and filial in different ways that made them complement each other, and help their friends find ways to navigate the art of war.

Even the actors playing the enemies were outstanding, smart as the leads, and keeping them on their toes until the very end.

From a technical point of view, Are You The One also had a beautiful cinematography, the locations and sets were wonderful, the costume design matched each character really well. The use of sound and lack of it, which it’s more important than we actually realize, was perfectly matched on every scene.

The strongest point was the writing and directing. It was clear Directors Liu Guo Nan and Cong Xiao know what they are doing when it comes to visual storytelling. As for screen writer Zhao Tian You, I think they did an outstanding job writing these characters and story.

This is how I like my dramas: smart, coherent, cohesive and fun. I highly recommend it.

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My kind of romance drama. Cold general or some sort of royal guy falling for a commoner smart girl & only wants her. It has a great plot & love story with plenty of comedic relief from the ML & supporting cast.

Lovely chemistry between the two leads. Both had great character developments. Both of their acting skills were superb in this one. U can tell how their personalities evolved once the FL got her memory back & when the ML finally opened up his heart, especially when trying to win her back.

WCR portrayed her character very well thru her eyes & smile. She went from a lost & confused, yet doting & supportive wife to a hurt, betrayed, vengeful woman, & then back to a soften, forgiving, yet still herself BEFORE the memory loss. During her hatred stage, after regaining her memory, u can really feel her anger, pain, disappointment, & resentment towards him for lying to her. When she finally is starts to forgive him, u can see that soften, doting wife slowly come back in her face & eyes. All her crying scenes seem very natural & really brought out the emotions her character is feeling atm.

ZWY's facial expressions were on point, especially in his comedic scenes. He went from a robotic, emotionless person who just wants to fulfill his duties as lord for the sake of his ppl & family (even if it meant having to marry someone he doesn't love) to this doting, baby of a husband with no more weights on his shoulders by end of the drama. Before meeting her, it seems like he only really let loose a bit around his physician best friend. Once he started to fall for her, u can see his character start relaxing with her loving words of support, but still having a bit of a wall up due to the guilt he's feeling. Then after the truth finally came out, he became a person full of emotions once he's determined to win her back.

They've now become one of my top drama couples of all time. Thank u casting director for putting them together!

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Pleasantly Surprised

Started this drama with zero expectations and I'm quite surprised that I finished it and didn't skip any scenes. I tend to drop dramas that don't hold my interest, especially at the half way point when the plot tends to go down the drain. For some reason, the plot kept me interested as I wanted to find out how the ML and FL will end up back together considering he really messed up in the beginning. Once she recovered her memories, it was the ultimate betrayal for her. This man who she thought she loved, kept her like a caged bird for a whole year "playing house" while her real personality is a care free adventurer. The moment when the ML got drunk back at his home after realizing he lost her as his "wife" really resonated how he fudged it up with her. There was definitely some groveling for him to do in order to win her back. The first half of the drama was the set up and the funny scenes and home life and the second half was him trying to win her back along with royal politics at play. I also liked that there were subtle moments of female empowerment weaved into the drama between all the female characters, from the FL to her friend, He Zhen, the empress and even to ML's sister. These ladies wanted to control their own destinies the best way they knew how in a world where they had no say over their own lives compared to their male counterpart. I thought it was interesting as well that the second ML had other love interests. It made it seem more realistic, especially when having multiple wives back then, was the norm. Didn't think I was going to enjoy this drama as well as watching all 40 episodes.

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One of the best written and acted on period drama I’ve watched so far.

what a story. The actors are good specially the male lead. He can evoke emotions with a deadpan face while he was talking to the female lead and that is because of his acting together with an exceptional script. The progression of the story was done well and though the sound tracks were not that remarkable, they still contributed to the success of the drama. This is one of the most well done drama I’ve watched specially of the period dramas because though the including the battle scenes too were not so grand, for some reason, every aspect of the drama from the storyline to the acting of the actors, costumes and the sound tracks made this drama a very outstanding drama. I’d give it 11/10 just because of this. 💖💖💖💖💖💖

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