Perfect Match

This was my first time watching a show with multiple leads. To my surprise, it didn't disappoint at all. As a little backing story: The Li family: a single mom and her five daughters come to Bianjing to find a suitable husband for her daughters. Then, the story of the Li sisters progresses. At first, I thought Li Kangning (3rd sister) (Lu Yuxiao) and Chai An (Wang Xingyue) were the leads of the drama, but when they got married, and suddenly straight after, Li Shouhua (1st sister) (Liu Xiening) got married to Du Yangxi (Chen Heyi) in place of Kangning, I was confused. When focus started shifting to Shouhua and Yangxi, things came clicking into place. There was going to be a section for each of the sisters. After the initial confusion, the story progressed as expected - the long trials of each of the sisters (except the second sister Li Fuhui (Wu Xuanyi) who is already married to Fan Lianghan (Huang Shengchi) in the beginning of the show began. This next section is going to be directly quoted from another review that I read, the words are not mine (except for the names in brackets):
1st couple – (Shouhua x Du Yangxi) The noble introverts
2nd couple – (Fuihui x Fan Lianghan) The chaotic duo
3rd couple – (Kangning x Chai An) The scheming masterminds
4th couple – (Haode x Shen Huizhao) The cold husband and cutie wife + amnesia plot
5th couple – (Leshan x Yang Xian) Enemies-to-lovers
Brother’s story – Childhood lovers
(1 2 3 4 5 in age order, brother is the twin of Kangning)
The fourth sister Li Haode (Ke Ying) and Shen Huizhao (Liang Yongqi) began with a rocky start, but slowly Huizhao warms up to Haode and they get their happy ending. A lot of stuff happens in between, by the way. Then, the fifth sister Li Leshan (Huangyang Tiantian) and Yang Xian (Winwin) get married by a plot planned by Yang Xian. Leshan was going to be married to someone else, but Yang Xian wanted her as his wife so switched the marriage sedan chairs. In the beginning, Leshan wasn't too pleased to say the least, but by the end of the drama, each couple had a satisfactory ending and even the surprise appearance of a brother suddenly spawned. All in all, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this drama to anyone who hasn't watched it yet. (p.s. the whole main cast is visuals: but i think the most visual couple is either Kangning and Chai An or Shouhua and Yangxi hehe) (p.p.s. i think my favourite couple has to be either one of them too) (Ignore my rating for music, unless it's really good I just put a two for everything)

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Exaggerated marriages

Generally speaking, I liked the series and watched it. I liked it. But that doesn't mean the series was perfect, it was wonderful. It wasn't. It was very lame and had some shortcomings. It's a story but not a whole. It's fragmented. If you count the five daughters and the adopted one, there are six and then there's a son. It's like seven. I think the marriages of all five daughters were considered separately. They focused on them by also working on certain events. I can say that we watched different things by jumping from branch to branch. It had some funny aspects. It was also thought-provoking. There was action. There was love. There was affection. There was family unity. There was loyalty. There was struggle. There was seeking justice, fighting for justice, chasing criminals, judging. The royal family was also involved. There were such multifaceted things. The second daughter of the house wasn't emphasized much, she had few roles, she was rarely seen in the events. Her husband was seen more. She was a comedy element. She was the clown of the series. Our third daughter is supposedly the first lead but she also appeared less, her husband was the tough guy. They handled the subject of our fourth daughter well. Although their love was a bit problematic, their interest in each other was handled beautifully. I liked it. However, when our daughter married a judge, she became a symbol of justice. She became the wife of a knowledgeable judge. She surpassed her husband. She became the one who decides on cases. This was too much. It was absurd. Our fifth daughter was the craziest, most spoiled of them all. Her husband had her kidnapped. Therefore, it was a quarrelsome, fighting, pushing, shoving, dominant husband and wife relationship. Or rather, it wasn't. There was constant conflict. It was shown as if there was an external sign of love, but it wasn't. Only the man's love was expressed. The love of the woman's side was blurred. Our sixth daughter and the elder brother of the house got married when they were very young. But the interesting thing is that neither the mother nor the sisters recognized this brother, but the youngest girl did. She said, "This is my brother." If there are 6 children now and this child was around 10 years old when he fell into the river, our youngest daughter must have been 1-2 years old. How does he know his brother?
There were often things skipped in the series like this. I gave the series a 7.5 because of the disconnection and skipping from one place to another in the story, the disruption of integrity. I was even planning to give it a 7, but I watched it until the end and waited to watch it. So I said I liked it. That's why I gave it this grade. The series deserves these mistakes, if we look at these mistakes, the Yang family's son-in-law is beaten, his head is cracked, blood is coming. In the next scene, there is not even a mark on the same person. They shot the scene later, they forgot. There are such mistakes. Similarly, this son-in-law killed a person. He stole, attempted to kill, injured, committed fraud, blackmailed, committed adultery, there is no evil he has not done. Although this was known, this person was not tried even though there were two judges in the Li family. He was arrested but released. He was not sued. He sued, the Yang family's property was seized. Their lives were destroyed. In other words, such impossible things were done. They were fooled. I hope the scriptwriter reads it and doesn't do such things again.
The actors in the series were very good. I liked all of them. The mother of the Li family is an actress that I like very much and find funny. However, she exaggerated her role in the series, she acted in an exaggerated way in some scenes. I think her character is like that. She probably can't help herself and improvises. I watched her in other series and she was very very good. Please don't exaggerate her role too much, because that's who she is. There's no need to exaggerate.
For example, Wu Xian Yu played very clearly, there was no exaggeration at all. He flowed like water. He didn't look much but he suited his role very well. I liked him very much. I always think that Liu Xie Ning is being treated unfairly, why isn't he the first lead role? He always plays second roles. He gives a very good picture. He is beautiful. He also plays well. I wonder if he is lazy or insecure. Is he an introvert? I also wonder if he doesn't want to. He is much better than most of the actors who say he is. I liked Ke Ying. Huangyan Tian Tian is very young, he will be much better in the future. He gave an extremely good performance. Well done. They wasted Zhao Qing. Ling Mei Shi was very good. Wang Xing Yue is an actor on the rise. He was in the passive, heavy-handed role here. It would have been fine without him. Li Yu Xiao was the same, he was passive, it would have been fine without him. I really liked the other male actors. They were very good. If it weren't for these actors, this drama wouldn't have been watched as much.

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Worth the watch

A story with beautiful stories sewn within themselves. A story with familial love and relations. Above all, there was a story arc for each and every character. There was no main character or supporting character, and we each character was given their own time, speed and deserving story.

The storytelling was amazing. There were no loose ends. Entertaining and engaging, the story also involved the emotions of the people watching the show.

All in all, it was a very beautiful drama, and finishing the last episode was very emotional since it felt like my relation with them ended there.

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An insanely fun drama

It is truly one of the most entertaining drama's i have watched. The bond between the sisters was heart warming. Their bond with their mother. They were so hard working and despite the circumstances never lost hope and kept striving.
The acting was on point and the ost was so nice to listen to. It felt like a cosy drama that one can watch when they're sad or just tired because it's sooo fun.
My favourite couple were the third sister and her match and the fourth sister and her match. The sort of enemies to lovers dynamic of the 3rd sister’s story. The constant back and forth and their banter was so fun.
The fourth sister’s story was the most green flag one out of all the couples. Truly stole the second half of the show.
The men were problematic yes but the women weren't damsels in distress, thus the story worked. The women were able to put them in their place and i enjoyed how besotted the husbands became.
The brother came back and the adopted sister also got her happy ending.
Mama li was the driving force of this drama.
All in all the actor's did great and i thoroughly enjoyed the drama.

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Perfect Match? More Like a Romance Buffet , Six Mini-Dramas in One!

Perfect Match is like ordering one bubble tea and ending up with six flavours in the same cup.
Confusing? A little.
Entertaining? Absolutely. This drama feels like six mini-romances got together and decided to take turns stealing the spotlight. And guess what? It actually works!
What I loved is how each couple gets their moment, no messy love triangles or dramatic breakups every five minutes. You get to fully invest in one love story before hopping to the next. It’s like a rotating buffet of romance. Win-win.
The cast? Gorgeous. Like, where do they find these people? Some performances were top-tier, some felt like they were still warming up-but overall, it kept me watching. Even the ones who needed a little more seasoning still served enough flavour to stay on the plate.
The story is light, sweet, and full of those feel-good moments that make you grin like a goof. Sure, it’s not deep or groundbreaking, but it delivers exactly what it promises, a colourful mix of love stories, pretty faces, and enough fluff to float a pillow fort.
Would I rewatch it? Probably not the whole thing, but a few couple arcs, yes, please.
Perfect Match? More like Perfect Platter. Take a bite, pick your fave, and enjoy the ride.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4 out of 5 stars) Romantic, fun, and binge-worthy — just a bit of seasoning short of perfection!

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It's worth watching

Hi everyone! I’m currently on episode 4 of this drama, and I’m really enjoying it so far. Let me share some thoughts about the characters and my impressions:
The 1st sister is a young widow and comes across as level-headed and wise. She’s the type who stays quiet but speaks up when it truly matters, and I admire her poise.
The 2nd sister’s husband is definitely a bit of a Butt pain (yes, I said it!). He does seem younger than his wife, which adds an interesting dynamic to their relationship.
The 3rd sister (who I personally think is the female lead) is incredibly smart and seems to be the glue holding the family together. She’s shaping up to be one of my favorite characters.
The 4th sister is young but fierce—a true warrior at heart. She doesn’t hesitate to stand up for her family, and I love her bravery.
The 5th sister has a simpler style and doesn’t dress in fancy clothes, but she seems a bit unwell. I’m curious to see how her story unfolds.
The 6th sister enjoys being pampered and brings a lighter, more playful energy to the group.
Now, let’s talk about the male lead! Wang Xing Yue is one of my favorite actors, especially in love stories, and I’m thrilled to see him in this drama. He’s already delivering a strong performance. The other male characters haven’t played a significant role yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing how they add to the story.

Overall, I’m loving this drama so far and hoping it stays as good until the end. Fingers crossed it doesn’t disappoint!

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Not for Me

I was excited to watch this on Netflix because I am a huge fan of the main leads. But I wasn’t really sure what to expect since we have a mother with five daughters. That would be really interesting. I know they would all have their matches and their own stories. Don’t get me wrong, I really love the characters but I’m not going to lie, but some of them are annoying. I love the main ML actor, but the way he treated the FL by being so competitive with her family and the way he kicked that ball and hit her on the head? Forget it. I wouldn’t fall for a guy like that. I stopped at episode 13 back in January 2025 and I thought I was going to continue but it’s already November 2025. There’s no hope in going back to continue. It’s just not for me.

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Initial Thought: Chinese Pride and Prejudice

When I first started watching it, my first thought was that it reminds me of Pride and Prejudice (x Sense and Sensibility).

While very different, it does have a seemingly similar vein. A mother trying to get her daughters married to suitable suitors, and often comes across as money-minded. I felt like the 3rd Sister's story reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy with their battle of wits, but I suppose in a way the 1st Sisters story was also a little bit like that.

It is a fun watch and I look forward to finishing the show.

I hope that one of the stories we get to see in the show is Qiong Nu's story and I hope the Li's find their long lost brother. I totally thought Qiong Nu was one of the Li Sisters, imagine my surprise!!

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Story with strong FLs sabotaged by irredeemable men being presented as their romantic partners

I was very excited for this drama but have come out of it disappointed. However, I'm already seeing people blame the criticizers for "not understanding this is realism and in real life back then men were horrible." I LOVE historical chinese novels to the point I've machine translated hundreds of them (yes I'm addicted) and one of the prevailing themes is always how women's lives were horrible back then and the men largely neither prioritized nor saw women as their own people worthy of respect. They were meant to be obedient, sensible, virtuous, gentle, generous, and basically never show any dissatisfaction. Their lives were easily discarded or kept imprisoned or slaving away in the women's inner house, never living for themselves.

And so yes I UNDERSTAND that the men in this drama so far show the same tendencies and are rather realistic of their time, but that doesn't mean we, the viewers, have to like it for the romantic partners of our female leads. I know that there will likely be character growth for these men, but I don't really care. No amount of character growth will make me like the second sister's pathetic, cowardly, cheating husband who tormented her to the point she chewed her mouth bloody with pebbles to cope. No amount of character growth for that noble brother law of the emperor will make me like him simply by the virtue of the fact that he tried to seize a woman like she was property and make her his concubine, and had he succeeded he would have become a proponent of female slavery and martial rape. No amount of "misunderstanding" or reasoning will make me like the husband of the first sister who (spoiler from teaser) BEATS HIS WIFE TO THE POINT THERE'S BLOOD? There's no going back for me after they've already shown these parts of themselves. I don't believe in second chances for men who are like this. These are not "character flaws" you can come back from.

Maybe if the story was about them divorcing these so called "perfect matches" things would be different, but that's not how it's being presented.

The only one that I'm still on the fence for is the character played by Wang Xing Yue and that's because it does seem like there are some misunderstandings at play and it is true that he was "asked" to meddle in his cousin's affairs by his aunt and repeatedly by his cousin. It doesn't seem that he helped due to actually caring at first; the first time he helped it seemed he did it for the sake of the family's reputation and after that it was a matter of personal pride, competing with the third lady. That isn't enough of an excuse for me though; he knows how awful his cousin is and knows how he must be treating his wife for him to spiral like she does, but he still seemingly has no empathy for her. His advise is from the perspective of making things easier for his cousin, but never thinks of what his cousin's wife must be suffering. And yes, you can ask: why would he? The wife is no one to him. But that's where I think a lack of basic human empathy shines through and a lack of willingness to see the plight of women in this world. He is not an idiot, and he himself employs women in his business without having them resort to selling their bodies. He should know better.

Then there's the whole competing with the FL with their business. I get it. I get that his pride is wounded and that he's annoyed that the FL got one up on him by snatching his manager and painting. No one likes being tricked or taken advantage of. It also makes sense that he wouldn't just sit there and watch her steal his customers because that's his source of income. But again, I felt like there was a certain lack of empathy in how he employed methods. These are 5 girls and a widowed mother with barely any funds and nothing to rely on, trying to make a decent living. He knows this and he knows their difficulties, because he explains this to his mom when she's angry to calm her down. Yet he still was rather callous in how he dealt with them.
There's still room for hope in him toning down that arrogance and using some damn empathy, but what he's done has already left a sour taste in my mouth.

I don't expect men in historical dramas to be feminists. But it's a valid criticism when dealing with a drama centering around women, where the audience is largely modern day women. The writer isn't from the song dynasty, the writer is from the modern day era. The reason so many historical chinese novels get popular is because they promote modern values within the historical context and it's what makes the characters stand out. Some of the most popular fictional historical MLs are popular precisely because they are a breath of fresh air for their time. One of the reasons I loved Duke Su (past character of WXY) was because he supported women's wrongs lol! If I wanted to just watch shitty guys do shitty things, I would just go outside. When 3 of the MLs so far seem unbearable and the main one is precariously sitting on the fence, you know that the writer could have done a better job setting them up.

I am a big fan of Wang Xing Yue and was really looking forward to this drama so I'll give it a few more episodes, but yes as of now I'm rather disappointed. It sucks bc the chemistry between WXY and LYX is GREAT and they do have a lot of potential. I just can't get over this writing. I can maybe root for their pairing but every other pairing sucks big time.
The one positive thing I will say is that all the sisters are fantastic: strong, smart, brave, resourceful, hard working, survivors. They're working their asses off and they don't take mistreatment likely, but all the more reason why I think they deserve better. If you consider this drama as a story of 5 sisters doing whatever it takes to survive in a shitty world with shitty men surrounding them, sticking together and protecting each other, instead of a romance, then the drama might be worth your time.

Note: this review may be updated if I continue watching. For now, paused at ep 4.

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