Ela é incomparável (2024)

Predictable But Entertaining for 4 Hours and 20 Minutes or Less

With 4 hours and 20 minutes or less, you can enjoy this short-length series between two long dramas or when you're spare time is limited. One of the better short-length series of many China has produced nowadays. I will review not with the usual format to highlight the positive and negative aspects in a bullet point.

• Predictable but still entertaining
This is just my opinion since I am also a mystery-genre fan, so I watched too many similar setups. I could guess the plot just by watching Episode 1 only. But the drama is highly entertaining nonetheless because of the suspense and the chemistry between the main couple Yan Zhen and Chu Ze Jia/Chu Ze An.

• Great chemistry but not many smoochies and skinship
In short-length dramas, which usually are not censored heavily, we can expect real kisses and/or skinship. Especially for the husband-and-wife scenes, aren't they married? Not in this drama. We can feel the sexual tension between the two, but because of the in-law circumstance in the current plot, we don't see the intensity of the romance. Regardless he is her husband Chu Ze Jia or her brother-in-law Chu Ze An, in the current situation (not flashbacks), he is a family member, not a romantic partner.

• Good acting but underutilized the twin roles
Overall good acting by the leading actress Meng Xi, whom I've never seen before, and Li Zhuo Yang, seen in the mini-drama "Mutual Redemption Love". However, I think the production team underutilized the twin brothers Chu Ze Jia and Chu Ze An roles. They have strikingly different personalities with the older Chu Ze Jia being more reserved and mannered because he is a company CEO, in comparison to the younger Chu Ze An, who is more outgoing and free-spirited being a globe adventurer and photographer. But I'm not sure if the actor was not directed to act differently, or if he couldn't act differently, sometimes I couldn't really tell the difference between the two. I got it that the actor is somewhat new, so he probably did not have much acting experience. But a good director can make the best of a rookie.

• Nice mother-in-law but annoying sister-in-law
In short-length dramas, it's common for them to follow a soap opera-ish trope with mean MILs. Luckily, in this drama, Mrs Chu is a very nice MIL. Not the sister-in-law Chu Ze Xin. Although she doesn't oppose Yan Zhen, her character is the same ol' trope of SILs in rich families: annoying, immature, and bratty. You can skip the scenes with Chu Ze Xin because it's a filler, IMO.

Before the last bullet point regarding the ending, here are the two nice OSTs of this drama:
1. Ending theme "Rose Graffiti" by Fei Zhen Hua
2. Insert song "Waiting for Love to Return" by Guo Gai Ya

Scroll down to find out about the ending spoiler.














• Happy ending but with disappointing trope
A lot of viewers are disappointed with this typical Chinese drama ending style, including that I docked 0.5 points of my final rating. After the showdown with the villain, the drama ends with Yan Zhen leaving Chu Ze Jia and he couldn't find her. Viewers might think this is a retaliation against him leaving her in the past. However, I think that this is normal since Yan Zhen is pretty much exhausted mentally from all the hard work she did, investigating the mystery (the initial mystery and the mystery of her husband) and managing the company for years. Including the mourning and heartbreak because of the deaths. That girl needs a break. So she went vacationing by herself.

The drama ends with Chu Ze Jia visiting the place where they first met and a woman comes to take a Polaroid picture of him. We can't see the woman's face, but it's Yan Zhen for sure. because the scene is similar to when they met for the first time. So it's not an open ending. But I'm disappointed nonetheless since Chinese dramas like using this kind of ending, a mysterious reunion in which we can't see the other person's face, a similar voice calls the protagonist, or the protagonist looking up to the other person with a surprising look.

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