Avenging your past self from a swindler is entertaining.
What would you do if your past self, whose failed marriage ended up with your own demise (financially and physically), was coming to meet you 7 years in the past as a man? This is the topic of this revenge drama. Would you trust a stranger who says he is you?This drama is entertaining and sometimes goofy. The Female Lead is on the way to her own death and Male Lead has to save her, because he is her past self in disguise. I laughed a lot and I also was angry a lot watching this drama.
On a serious note, This drama asks the question about regret in life.
What if we could make up for our regretted actions. Would our life be better or worse? Is there a butterfly effect?
I take this drama for a beacon of hope at what life could be if the good choices are made. I loved to follow the steps of Gu Nian ( past-self and future-self ) struggling through all the contradictions of her persona. Would you take a road if you knew it was leading to your demise? Get ready to challenge your own understanding with this drama.
Pros :
- Strong and badass Female Lead and Male Lead.
- Good acting : First time I see Luo Zheng sensitive like that in a gender swapping role. I like it.
- Fast pacing .
- Goofy moments.
- I like the OST.
- Sismance and Bromance.
- This plot could go further to a long drama. I could see FL drifting into parallel spaces :)
Cons:
- The actress seems anorexic to me, FL is supposed to be a skinny tomboy. This is really it. I am afraid for her when I see her.
- Female Lead is annoying sometimes. She is so stubborn, it is almost unbearable.
- Time travel logic inaccurency throughout the second half of the show. If what we see is FL's real life experience. If all of this pure virtual reality, then it is totally logical and that would be a good point.
- The ending is great but some elements feel logically off. I still like the drama. So don't relate too much to the logic to appreciate this drama. So weird.Someone is born out of thin air.
Overall:
I like everything in this drama. The flaws are minors. The plot is well executed. I am annoyed because Female Lead is so stubborn. But I enjoy the show and I recommend it if you like revenge dramas with badass Female Lead.
The ending explained. SPOILER BELOW
Do not read if you have not watched the drama yet.
Or if you don't want to know the ending.
⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️⋆·˚ ༘ *
⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️💣💥⋆·˚ ༘ *⚠️⋆·˚ ༘ *
The ending explained, in case it feels weird to you like it felt to me. I pledged not to spoil dramas, but this ending puzzled me too much. So I wanted to decypher it for those who, like me, were lost at the end of the drama.
Indeed, the last 4 episodes were supposed to be her going back to reality and trying to look after DouDou. So as usual, her subborness got in the way. Which logically leads to trouble followed by a happy ending with ML.
But, thinking about it more, given that at the end DouDou wasn't dead anymore.
I think that, the whole thing was her watching a vitual reality plot while she was dying on her hospital bed after she tried to commit suicide on episode 1.
Based on that, I would withdraw what a previously said, that the time travel logic was off . And I would say that the plot is very well crafted. It allowed ML to be with her but only through the game's interface.
Because she reunites with DouDou because she cannot stand to live without her. Even if in the (virtual) life she relived. DouDou was never conceived.
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Had a brilliant idea and potential to be a good drama but...
Life is a Choice had an intriguing premise that promised a thrilling blend of drama, fantasy, and emotional depth. The concept of the protagonist being betrayed by her husband and best friend, losing her daughter, and then being given a second chance at life—albeit in another man’s body—was brimming with potential. While the drama started strong, it stumbled in the latter half, but its initial charm and standout elements deserve recognition.What Worked:
1. Mother-Daughter Relationship: Though fleeting, the bond between the FL and her daughter was heartfelt and poignant, leaving a lasting impression.
2. Sismance and Bromance: The camaraderie between characters, whether it was supportive female friendships or humorous male dynamics, added depth and charm.
3. Outstanding OST: The music beautifully captured the emotional highs and lows of the story, enhancing pivotal moments.
4. FL Fighting Her Younger Self: The early episodes, especially those where the FL wrestled (literally and emotionally) with her past self, were captivating and fresh.
5. 2ML’s Performance: The second male lead’s portrayal of an irredeemable “trash” character was so compelling it evoked visceral reactions, proving his acting prowess.
What Fell Short:
1. The FL’s Stubbornness: While a flawed protagonist can be relatable, the FL’s repeated poor choices and lack of growth became frustrating. Her stubbornness, which initially seemed like resilience, quickly crossed into tedious territory.
2. Repetitive Plot: The narrative lost its momentum, with the middle episodes dragging as conflicts and themes became redundant.
3. Forced Romance: The romantic arc felt unnatural and out of sync with the story’s emotional core.
4. Unfulfilled Potential: Despite its creative premise, the drama struggled to maintain its uniqueness, gradually becoming just another time-travel trope.
Overall Thoughts:
Life is a Choice delivered an impressive first half that hooked viewers with its originality, emotional weight, and engaging character dynamics. However, its second half lost the charm due to repetitive storytelling and underwhelming character development. That said, the drama’s strengths, including its creative concept, strong friendships, and emotional moments, make it worth a watch—especially the first ten episodes.
Rating: 7.5/10
A drama with a brilliant premise, great moments, but a lackluster finish.
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Rating: 2/10 — One point for Luo Z, and one for the patience I somehow managed to have.
I usually begin my reviews with a short plot introduction, but in this case, I need to address the utterly nonsensical female lead first.Let’s start with a question: what would you do if your future self came back and warned you about the biggest mistakes of your life—mistakes that would cost you your mother’s life, your daughter’s life, your happiness, and everything you hold dear?
The obvious and sane answer would be to listen to your future self and avoid those mistakes, right?
But no—this pig-headed female lead has a completely different perspective. And what does this idiot say to her future self? “You’ve lived your life to the fullest. There was no one to stop you from doing what you wanted. Even if it’s a mistake, I still want to do it.”
For context, the mistake she’s so hell-bent on making is marrying a scumbag who was screwing her bestie while sending her flowers. In the future, this man steals her entire family inheritance, abandons their sick daughter (yes, the same one she had with him), and makes a new baby with that same bestie.
Holy crap—I felt so disgusted with this female lead. It’s like she’s willing to risk everything just to be laid by this absolute trash of a man.Yuck ! 🤢
Even after receiving repeated danger signals from this walking red flag and multiple warnings from her future self, she still ends up marrying him, only to discover, he was only after her money yeah!!! Hallelujah!!!! ladies and gentlemen!! 🤣
"When your lustful goals (will not call it love, that is too degrading), hijack the basic human compassion in your mind this is the obvious output you should be expecting." I personally wanted her to face worse.
Moving forward, this drama has a negligible amount of love or romance. The male lead shows up only in the last two episodes—and even then, he’s just lurking on the sidelines. For the rest of the show, it’s the female lead inside the male lead’s body, guiding her past self through all the mess she created.
Luo Z was good—both as his original character and as the FL’s future self. Though honestly, he could’ve added a few more layers of femininity to make it more convincing.
As for the FL? Below average, hands down. I don’t know if it’s this disastrous role that’s made me unconsciously biased against her, but I couldn’t find a single thing I liked—neither her acting nor her expressionless face with those overflowing lip fillers. Just… eh !!!! no.
To sum it up, this drama had potential, but thanks to a brain-dead FL, lip-filler overload, and a love story that shows up fashionably late and barely dressed, it crashes harder than her common sense. Watch it if you enjoy yelling at your screen—otherwise, skip it and thank me later.
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Purposed based hypothetical story
"Life Is a Choice" is the story of a girl who was married to a boy. They had a daughter and lived a happy life. One day, she found out that he was deceiving her, so she left him and took their daughter with her.Later, their daughter became ill. She asked him for help, but he refused because, for him, there was no hope that their daughter would survive. He didn’t want to spend money on her treatment. However, the girl thought differently. She believed that if there was even a small chance to save her daughter's life, she had to try. Unfortunately, due to the delay, their daughter passed away.
With no hope left, the mother decided to end her own life. But somehow, she survived. After that, she got another chance—she was sent back into her past to prevent herself from falling in love with the boy.
The comedy part of the story begins when she returns to her past and finds herself in a boy's body. For the first time, I felt that a male actor did an amazing job portraying a girl's soul. I’ve seen many Chinese dramas where a girl’s soul enters a boy’s body, but the actors often overact, making it unrealistic. Girls don’t behave the way they are often shown in such dramas. But here, the male lead gave a truly convincing and impressive performance.
The drama is purpose-driven, so there isn’t much screen time for romance between the leads—which was a little disappointing for me, as I wanted to see more of that. Still, the rest of the story was good. I especially liked her doctor friend—she was also excellent.
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NGL for me it's the worst drama of LZ
I have watched some of Luo Zheng's drama but this is his drama that I won't be rewatching right away.I'm glad that he changed roles from being a male lead of twins (there are no twins here)
He's not a CEO (but turns out one in the end part)
And this isn't a Romcom
He even played as a woman here
But I think I was just stressed about the FL who's been an annoying character in this drama... Idk but whenever she shows up, I'm getting annoyed, so as the SML
Anyway maybe it's just a proof that they are good actors that they have an influence on my emotion while I'm watching this drama
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This review may contain spoilers
Good story had a potential but it lack something
Fl is so stubborn like seriously her self is constantly telling her big she then also make the same choice again and again , romance between ml and fl is not there like fl never fell for ml she always fell up for sml , hate the character of sml it would be great if she don't drag the whole episode fl friend who is doctor is way to clever then the flWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
loving this so far - mild spoilers
we all agree that Luo Zheng has been typecast for most of his movies.f I personally am a fan, but I agree that some of the movies he's been in are mediocre. I'm sure he'd agree. This is a wonderful break from that, where he plays a woman sent back from the future to prevent his past self from marrying a man who will lead her to a tragic end.Luo Zheng does a great job playing this role. He's part comedic, party heartbroken. 2FL is wonderful as a best friend who is lying and cheating on her bestie with the husband, but you see her inner conflict, her longing for the man as well as the guilt over hurting her friend. And the hurt she shows when she finds out the lies or finds out she's not chosen.
2ML is a dirtbag. And the actor is soooo good at portraying it! He's narcissistic sociopath who uses others for his own gains, and at times I was drawn into his emotions and felt sorry for him, and was rooting for him, hoping he'd changed. I know, that says a lot about my gullibility. The fact that both women are duped and go back to him after realizing his lies was, of course, enraging, but also fascinating.
Weakest is the FL. Acting was ok. But reasonable minds may differ.
OST I remember a few songs in the show that I really liked, but others weren't memorable.
The script has some wonderful twists and turns that are keeping me guessing.
Give Luo Zheng a more array of roles, please. He can do it.
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