Special Lady

Cute couple, silly humor and lots of fun

I was probably one of the few who loved this drama so much. It's really silly, shallow and even childish, but it's a lot of fun. It's a light-hearted drama with slapstick humor that's good for distracting yourself without thinking too much.
ML and FL are very cute together, both have shortcomings and aren't the most intelligent people, so to speak hahahaha
In my humble opinion, this is probably the FL most wronged by the public on this site that I've seen so far. A lot of people hating on her for whatever she did but I realize that no one ever tries to see her side. She's a teenager (it's not said how old she is, but I don't think she's older than 15 or 16) who's been pampered and protected by her family all her life, she acts very much like a teenager: she doesn't want to be bossed around, she doesn't care much about anything that doesn't revolve around her, she's inconsequential, impulsive and thinks she can do whatever she wants. If you see her for what she is, a teenager who wants to avoid an arranged marriage at all costs, you won't find the things she does so absurd or evil.
And unlike what many people thought, it's clear to me how much she's grown over the course of the drama.
The pace of the story is really strange, there are many episodes with FL still infatuated with SML, from the rhythm it seems that it would be a drama with about 50 episodes. The revelations and solutions to the problems were accumulated for the last 6 episodes, which ended up being a bit rushed.
In short, a cute main couple with a lot of chemistry, especially when it comes to comedy. By the way, the actor who plays ML is extremely charismatic. I also liked the friendship between FL and SFL. It's just SML who's so dull, always looking constipated and gloomy.
Finally, I suggest you ignore the low ratings and harsh comments and try to watch it and come to your own conclusions.

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I’m surprised!!!! I liked the drama :)

First - Lead actors. It’s the first time watching any work of Zhai Zi Lu and Xiao Yan (had to look for their names). And Watched “Special Lady” without expectation at all (except for the 7.4 mydramalist rating). I don’t usually write reviews but I did for this drama because I want to say that both of them are good actors and the drama deserves a bit higher review.

Zhai Zi Lu - impressive. I think with all the cdramas I have watched, he’s the only cdrama actor that I found good in romcom. He has great sense of comedic timing that is crucial in this type of character (though I find his intonation too high sometimes lol). His antics are on point. Not all can pull off this silly character as some may look awkward or trying hard.

Xiao Yan - adorable. I did not have much interest in her in the beginning but she gets adorable as the drama progress. Her acting is good and the character fits her overall look.

Zheng Xiao Ning - Song Zhu’s father. Dean Song. I wanted to put it up here that he did a good job acting as the ever calm and upright character.

Second - chemistry!!!! They were cute bickering (and because the characters are well portrayed, I found them silly in a good way) I loved their energies.) Then when they were starting to realize the tension between them I found myself smiling and giddying that I wanted their relationship to progress faster lol. Finally!!!! When they got together it was warm, fuzzy, calm and secure relationship which fully convinced me watching it is so worth it <3

Story - Now I think one of the reasons for the low review is it’s excessively long, especially the first half of the drama. I know it’s for the plot but I still fee like this should not have 36 episodes. Especially the relationship build-up for the two it took more than half of the series. Nothing special about the plot but still a good watch. So I am giving it a 8.5. Still it gave me butterflies in my stomach so great job, everybody!

Thank you for reading my review. <3

** Pseudo-spoiler **
P.S. I’m glad I did not root for the 2nd male lead guy here lol. Judge him when you watch the series

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Ep.1 is an endurance test | Annoying FL & Charming ML + Underwhelming utilization of a good Plot!

"Don't be afraid of making mistakes. To recognize one's mistake and correct them is the greatest value" - Song Xu

[!] Warning - Please take a mouthful of "Chill Pill" prior to watching this.

First and foremost, I wanna say that watching this drama will be a huge challenge to anyone who have been watching 'proper' dramas in such a long time because your tolerance will be put to an extremely great test during its very 1st episode for how ludicrous and crappy the introduction of the story was. I even thought to myself "How the heck did I even survived that intolerable Episode" and "That consumed 50% of my tolerance and patience for this drama" for how unreasonable and childish it was. I even reached the point where I felt an empty hollow space within myself after finishing the 1st episode because it was just simply illogical like you will wonder how can the director and writer create such garbage as if their critical thinking flew out of the window while filming this.

PLEASE NOTE: That I'm writing this as a warning that episode 1 will be a TOUGH watch that may result for anyone to drop the show. So proceed with caution!

I don't wanna repeat myself but again the biggest challenge watching this drama all lies on episode 1. Once you've past through that it will very slowlyyy become a bit tolerable. I can't honestly even gauge it because I gritted my teeth so much while binge watching episode 2 to 10-ish...sure! It was not as severe and hopeless compared to Ep.1 but the FLs crazy, annoying and unbearable antics might surely trigger you to stop watching this drama. She was the worst and I don't even have any words to protect her from my criticisms cause she genuinely deserves it for how irrirating she is. After all those, the succeeding episodes will be more reasonable to watch but still prepare yourself I would say, because we have different tastes and perspectives and you may or may not come up with a completely different view while watching it. (Please do share me through the comment section below on how you feel about it. I would love to read and know your reaction to the story)

Moral sense of the story is that we have to take action if we don't like a certain event to happen. But honestly, I don't even know...more so...I refused to accept that idea for this story because the way it was delivered in this drama was way too irrational and unacceptable for me. It outweighs all the good intentions and ideas there is because it was executed through various dirty and immoral tricks.

Chemistry - I would say it's fine. It really helped that the Male Lead got this refreshing and charming vibe that anyone paired to him will effortlessly fit together with him. He's like a a picturesque scenery that can turn anything plain and unattractive into something beautiful the moment you put it on one frame with him.

Editing, Color grading and Overall Design - Editing is borderline bad. I am not even sure why did they incorporate a plot they will not use properly and I feel like it would be better if they showed us more of the actual conflicts instead of skipping through all of the most exciting parts and ended up giving us only the positive outcomes. Color grading was too orange-ish at first which resulted for the saturation to look boring and gloomy and I am just glad that they somehow fixed it along the way. Overall design was an improving factor for me...everything they showed us on the 1st episode looked low cost cheap and simply unattractive. Thank god they picked up the slack and improved as the story goes on. I guess they fired and changed the editor-in-chief after episode 1. Lol!

Final sentiments and violent reactions - The Female lead was annoying as Hell! She's really a "Special Lady" because no one can outmatch her for being childish, immature and irritating during the first half of the show. When it comes to the Male lead, I was pissed and frustrated on how lenient and forbearing he is to the FL despite all the filthy tricks she had set up on his way. Like how can he tolerate all the FLs misconduct, misdeed and nasty schemings? A good definition of noble to the extent of stupidity.

Story - 7.0, The drama was on the right track during Episode 12 to 20+ but the path they took to turn the events baffled me quite a lot. I feel like the 2nd ML was treated dirty and he just didn't deserve any of that. + The fact that they were not able to fully utilize the main plot they have set up since Ep.1 disappointed me a lot. Let's not even mention the countless frustrations I have to endure just to reach the 'better' section of this story. All I can say is that I went through a lot!! This story truly put my patience on a serious test and I am extremely proud of myself for completing this challenging drama.

Acting/Cast - 8.5, Both Main leads acting has gotten in my nerve during the first 10 episodes but I managed to deal with them by telling myself that this is afterall an Idol romance drama and the acting typically gets irrational and over the top; and because of that I was able to gradually accept and even appreciate their acting skills. Specially the Male lead—he's simply a star. I few more experience and exposure to good acting projects and I'm sure he'll be great.

Music - 9.0, Their choice of songs are fine and I never really got bother by it throughout the entire show. + I grew to love one of the BGMs used in this drama.

Rewatch Value - 3.0, I'm honestly being kind for not giving this a 1.0 and that's in consideration of the 1/3 of this show which I unexpectedly enjoyed. Nonetheless, this is one of the dramas I will NEVER watch again.

Overall - 6.5, I'm determined to give it a higher rating but after further consideration and deliberation, I have finally decided to give it a rating it truly deserves.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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what a lovely surpise

This drama really gave me butterflies, so I had to write a review even though I usually just spam comment sections. What an adorable and sweet pair. They really had chemistry from the beginning, and I found their comedic timing perfect. I found myself laughing a lot and then holding my breath at their more emotional scenes.

Acting: First of all these two actors crying skills is really up there. They both had some beautiful and heart-wrenching scenes that really made my eyes water. Second, their chemistry and comedic acting is hilarious. They are very comfortable with each other and it shows, because both characters are effortlessly silly and trouble makers. I love nothing more than watching two unserious characters become seriously in love with each other. The tension and silly moments as they transition from friends to lovers is honestly adorable to watch. Love them both.

Storyline: Loved the almost slice of life pacing. You really got to see the academy fleshed out and the relationship of all the characters. I'm a sucker for slow-burn and I felt their development wasn't rushed because of this. Despite the everyday situations, there was a continuous larger plotline that builds near the end of the drama, changing the tone too much darker and serious in the last quarter, so I felt it had a little bit of everything. I found many plotlines (even locations) to be quite unique. I've seen a lot of school themed historical dramas, and I was never really bored.

Characters: Written quite well. Even some of the villains you can't help but feel bad for. The side characters weren't just reactionary background people either, so it made the world feel more real. Many of the personalities were quite unique. I think this drama tried to stay away from tropey characters. Even the male lead is expressive and silly, and not typically stoic.

TLDR: Give it a go. I don't really look at ratings anymore on mydramalist. They're never accurate to how I'll feel about a drama. I thoroughly enjoyed this. If you're unsure, check out the other dramas I've liked on my profile, if we have similar tastes, you'll definitely enjoy this! If anything, the leads spend so much time together, I'd honestly rate this show just based on how much screen time they get lolllllllll

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The best drama in the early 2024.. I'm ady miss so much too neo hou and zhou ye because their drama also the hit in early 2023..This drama overall are just nice from the actor line up, storyline, crisis scene, romance comedy scene..The ML Chen Yan so cute tho also Song Zhu.. both so adorable and cutie but only the director maybe they put FL (Female Lead) so crazy and hard to get moreover song zhu in early so fancy to zhou ji but i don't care because she will fall in love with chen yan in a time. hmm i also hope chen yan will stay as prince son meanwhile he take a decision to move to an academic.. All of you need to watch this

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This show didn't seem very impressive at first, but after watching it to the end, I felt it had many good aspects. The initial episodes were quite funny and relaxing, although the lead actress was heavily criticized for being irritating. However, if you try to understand her reasons, you'll sympathize with her more. For example, if her parents chose her groom since she was a child, and he turned out to be a bad person, scary-looking, and not the main lead, what would she do? Or even if he was a good person, but they didn't truly love each other in the end, and she ended up marrying someone she didn't love, what would she do? Would she accept a life with someone she doesn't love, or find a way to escape? This is where the necessary choice to disturb the main lead comes from because if he didn't study here, she could study elsewhere. However, the ML is so lovable, this make people even hate FL more. Before watching, I also wondered why they cast this actor since he didn't seem handsome at all, but as I kept watching, I started to like him, feeling he was handsome and charming. I even fell in love with the character. However, the latter part of the story became more stressful, sad, and somewhat boring in many episodes or many scene. The point I felt that the series lack was a period of FL started to show signs of unknowing love, but there wasn't. Its should have more sign before she accept herself that she love the ML. The script made her fall in love, and then said it was a habit for the ML to be by her side, but it didn't feel like she had fallen in love without realizing it before. This is different from the main lead, who viewers felt was starting to have reactions, starting to like, but didn't realize it and didn't accept himself from the beginning. However, in the end, I got a good teachings and aspects from this. Therefore, if you ask how I feel, I would say it's a series that was boring to watch for many episodes, but I don't regret watching it until the end.

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Light and Cute and Fun ?

What a good drama. At first the FL Song Zhu did feel a tiny tad bit annoying but trust me she is very cute and grows on u so much. Also omg Uncle Hu is my favorite character lmao, u will be missed Uncle Hu, lol. The story I feared would be like other historical romance dramas with too much scheming and all that concubine stuff cuz the dude is *spoiler alert* a prince. Or I feared that it would be like o,g a prince so he will be overpowered and everything and it will be too much show off ttpencringe stuff. But OMG IT WAS SO CUTE, SO SOFT AND SO GENTLE.Chen Yan and Song Zhu were so cute together, I love their bickering and frolicking they do. So freaking cute, my heart melted watching them. Although in the last few episodes things became way too serious to quickly while the whole drama was very light and funny. The last few episodes be killing and dropping off ppl randomly here and there. I was restless too with all the beheading and other unjust stuff happening.
It was a bit sad to watch those tough times for the fl. Also I was so freaking annoyed with Zhou Ji, Dud was freaking loser during this tuff, not giving the ledger for what?!?! Even when the Dean, a righteous man would have been beheaded. I wa slide dude some needs to slap some sense in him.
Anyhow, i was wondering how they were gonna tread the love square with both sides having their best friends involved in it. Glad to say they did it well. The jealousy part too. I love how supportive the ML is. And also glad that they didnt include the "omg he's royalty she's commoner so they can't marry so here h go 10 episodes on these tough challenges" arc. I had a lot of fun watching this drama. I was expecting cuz it was a random drama I picked. I loved how light it was and I never felt bored. And also it was different than the historical dramas I've kinda seen. Like the focus was more on what goe sin the academy and they did pretty unique things too. ALSO HOW CNA I NOT MENTION? THE WOMENS ACADEMY HALL WAS SO FREAKING PRETTY AND AESTHETIC WITH THE PINKS AND TEALS. AND THE WATER PONDS INSIDE. UGH WHAT AN ATMOSPHERE TO STUDY IN. LOVED IT. The OST were pretty good too. Oh also I loved how positive the main couple are. They have been through some tough stuff but they never backed down.
Overall the drama is very very cute. Kinda unique in its own way and really fun to watch. I did not realize how I finished 36 episodes so quickly. It didn't even feel like I watched 36 episodes. This means I was barely ever bored or felt like it was dragging. I like how it doesn't rush where it should not. Love the calm peaceful slow paced moments that feel so real. I wonder how many pastries tho everyone had to eat lmao 😭 the peach something pastries. The Fl is cute, the ML is cute, they r together even cuter. The random kid and the crown prince arc was pretty interesting too.

If somebody asked me whether they should watch this drama, I would say yes, especially if you have the time and are looking for something fun and fluffy. I wouldn’t necessarily call it some crazy, exceptional, mind-blowing drama or anything, but it’s a really, really fun watch. Like, I would personally give it a 10/10, not because it’s objectively some perfect or groundbreaking drama, but because I really liked watching it. I had such a genuinely good time with it. Sometimes a drama doesn’t have to be the most exceptional thing ever; if I can sit down, enjoy myself, never feel bored, and actually have fun watching it, that counts for a LOT in my book. And this drama did exactly that.

It’s basically a very fluffy historical romance with academy vibes and minimal palace scheming, and honestly, I’m SO glad there wasn’t too much intense political intrigue or action going on. I really liked that about it. I was initially worried that since the ML was a prince, we’d get the whole “omg he’s royalty and she’s a commoner so they can’t be together” thing, or that he’d be super overpowered and everything would become all about him being a prince and showing off. But thankfully, NO. They handled that stuff really well.

The ending was also pretty satisfying. It was a little rushed, but honestly, I didn’t mind because by that point everything had become so tense and I just really wanted it to END 😭. It was giving me a little too much tension, especially after all the beheadings and unjust stuff happening, and I was just like, okay, enough, PLEASE let everyone be okay. And when I say satisfying, one of the biggest things I mean is that I was just relieved that the FL’s family wasn’t randomly killed, poisoned, or beheaded for absolutely no reason. And especially not unjustly. After everything that was happening, I was like PLEASE, JUST LET THESE PEOPLE LIVE IN PEACE. 😭

Honestly, I don’t really have any complaints about the drama. Like, if you really wanted me to sit down and find faults with it, I probably wouldn’t be able to find many because I wasn’t watching it with a microscope trying to find flaws. I was just having fun. And I think that’s ultimately why I liked it so much. It wasn’t necessarily trying to be the most epic or complicated historical drama ever. It was just a really cute, enjoyable, surprisingly unique little drama that made me laugh, made me root for the characters, and somehow got me through 36 episodes without me even realizing how much I’d watched.

Also, Uncle Hu deserves his own paragraph because that man was freaking hilarious 😭. He was basically half the comedy in the first half of the series. Some of his scenes were genuinely the funniest parts of the drama. He is definitely one of my favorite characters, and honestly, Uncle Hu will be missed. 😭 The side characters were pretty good too, especially the people at the academy. They actually made the academy feel lively and fun instead of everyone just feeling like background characters.

And honestly, at first when I saw how much the FL and ML schemed against each other, I was like, oh my God they r too extreme, how will they ever fall in love lmao. But then they grew on me SO much. Eventually I was just like, help they r made for each other, pretty fitting these two together 😭. Their bickering and frolicking around and just being stuck together and doing random things was so freaking cute. I loved their dynamic so much. And I also really liked how positive they were as a couple. They’ve been through some tough stuff, but they never really backed down from each other or from what they wanted.

The Fl is cute, the ML had great expressions.

So yeah, I think that’s ultimately what makes this a 10/10 for me. Maybe it’s not some exceptionally groundbreaking drama, but I really enjoyed watching it. I was barely ever bored, it didn’t feel like it was dragging, and I somehow finished 36 episodes without even realizing how quickly I was getting through them. It was just a really cute, fun, easy-to-watch historical romance that I had a genuinely good time with. And honestly, sometimes that’s exactly what I want from a drama. 😭

Oh, and shout out to the real Xiao Yu saying the title in the last few dialogues 😭. side note: throughout the entire drama I was like, wait… has everyone just forgotten about the real dude?! Like WHERE IS HE LMAO?! 😭

I would like to end my ramble with Uncle Hu rocks.

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Pengembangan karakter FL

Buat aku pribadi tidak nyaman dengan penokohan FL. Karena di cerita manapun FL itu protagonis, tapi di cerita ini justru karakter FL berkembang menjadi antagonis.
Kalau mau di bilang komedi aku tidak melihat adanya unsur komedi.
FL di sini yang aku tangkap karakternya justru liar, nakal, tidak memiliki tata krama, lancang, manipulatif.
Untuk ML pengembangan karakternya kurang jadi tidak seimbang dengan FL.

Jadi episode 1-5 terlalu berbelit dan konflik hanya di situ saja. Alurnya sangat lamban, pengembangan karakter kurang. Pemerannya memang bagus tapi justru rusak karena jalan cerita dan karakter penokohan.

Aku hanya memberikan ulasan sesuai dengan penilaianku. Karena aku sering baca novel China dan nonton drama China yang banyak episode justru seharusnya lebih bisa mengembangkan karakter tokoh lebih banyak.

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