Ultimate JieJie/GreenFlag, "Blended Family" Romance
In a sea of shows featuring Red Flag MLs and Innocent FLs, this show stands different.Overwhelmingly, the show is positive and should be watched, but there are absolutely a few glaring flaws.
Biggest Negatives:
😖 The male make-up and wig glue was criminal - multiple times it broke my immersion simply because I could not stop staring at the glue and white powdery face wondering if it was hot and literally melting off?
😖 Plot holes/inconsistencies before the end were mild but within the last episodes there was one period of time where the scene KEPT switching between day and night; and the events of the last episode specifically both appear to be days AND months apart simultaneously.
Biggest Positives:
❤️ Intricate balance of family values between old and new love ESPECIALLY with a child in the equation
❤️ A ML who isn't just a green FLAG but rather an entire FORREST
❤️ There is an episode dealing with how he deals with the the situation after he believes the FL's been assaulted and it is now probably THE best and loving scene(s) of a ML ever (*yes the scene before it could be triggering as it's definitely on the REAL end of the spectrum versus many shows doing over exaggerated "cartoonish" versions).
❤️ The conversations, arguments, and pleas characters have regarding their hopes for the future including the ending dialog (all nitpick flaws aside)
🙃So, what is the show about?🙃
Our main character is the FL; an "unacknowledged" Concubine of the Lu household, held there by her lack of status in society, her previous gratitude and devotion to her partner (2ML), and the daughter she shares with him.
The show demonstrates family politics in a realistic manner regarding the feelings of people who are in various forms of relationships with other people. It focuses on maintaining a level of distance between unmarried and unentangled individuals which means there is VERY little "true" physical intimacy between the leads. Perhaps as a bit of a bait, the show inserts two "dreams" of the MLs into first part of the show, but they are always clearly stated as "dreams".
It features a Love "Square" which includes: The 2ML in love with FL but unable to acknowledge her and often forced to humiliate her. A 2FL who is married to him but feels trapped in HER marriage. She imagines herself in love with a man she never saw the face of and so resents her husband and being forced to marry him. Our ML who is the calming and protecting force for the FL which stirs the jealousies of the 2ML. And the FL who has to let go of all her childhood devotion in order to break free of the torment his family subjects her to and embrace the new chance at life with the ML.
Within the story, there are two simultaneous plots weaving back and forth. The first is the family dynamics of the Lu family and the FL's struggle to remove herself and her daughter from their grasp and regain her independence. The second is the bringing to justice of the Lu and Xia families regarding their corruption in the present and their past deeds around the death of the Princess which saw the FL's father die as a result.
A core component within both sides of the show is family and it's role in making one step up with courage or back down in cowardice. Because of this, while all of the characters are multidimensional, the one I found the most fascinating was the one that was LEAST striking of all; the 2ML.
Chen Ming Hao had the job in this show of being unassuming, hunched, timid, someone who would fade into the background. His character calls himself a coward. Every other character has the job of being forceful and being given an actual presence to work with. Whether it's Kay Song as 2FL with her signature almost-crazy then sympathetic aura; Eddy Geng as the ML who has the "easy" time of being given the flashy "I'll protect you" and "I'm a big shot so you have to fear me" scenes; or Zhu Li Lan who's character is written with the forceful resolve to make her situation for her and her daughter better by any means... CMH had to make the audience not necessarily "hate" him... but be sad and disgusted with him. In this he excelled. He also proved, which is why the character itself is so fascinating, that when given the chance by the script, that he TOO could have stand-out scenes during which he is either confirming or denying his character archetype.
Overall this show is highly recommended with the expectation set that there ARE issues regarding timeline (especially towards the end), that the makeup/wig department with the males could be a lot better, and that there is VERY minimal physical intimacy scenes.
Final Rating wavered between 8.5 and 9 due to negatives because for ME they drastically affected my ability to enjoy an otherwise AMAZING show.
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Wigs, Chaos, and Green Flags: A Mini Drama Fever Dream
This one doesn’t so much start as it just throws you headfirst into a blender of chaos. No warm-up, no stretching, just pure “hold onto your popcorn, darling, we’re going in.” The pacing? Erratic. The logic? Questionable. The plot coherence? Hanging by a thread. And yet… it’s got that mischievous little charm that keeps my finger glued to the “next episode” button at 2 AM instead of getting a responsible amount of sleep.Budget-wise—listen, minis are minis. I forgive a lot. But the wigs? The makeup? The contouring crimes? I need to report whoever approved those looks to Drama Jail, Cell Block C. TikTok filters have blended better than this. My corneas are suing for emotional damages.
Now, the tea: character setup is surprisingly refreshing. Our FL—married, with a daughter, resilient as steel—is dragged through every circle of hell from episode one. Sis can’t catch a break. Every time she stands up, life is like, “Nope, sit back down, try again.” And her husband? I still am trying to understand how sis got roped into that marriage.
Enter our ML. At first glance, I pegged him as a red flag disaster waiting to happen, but surprise! He’s a chaotic green flag—the type who engineers ridiculous situations just to hover around the FL like a mischievous puppy. And ohhh, the way he looks at her? The way he treats her? Daaaaaamn. Not many kisses, not much spice, but the chemistry? Chef’s kiss. It’s giving tiramisu in a double portion: sweet, layered, indulgent.
Side characters? Surprisingly juicy. The Lu family’s main wife is sitting atop a throne of bitterness, giving me “unhinged Shakespearean tragedy” vibes—and I love it, though I felt really bad for her fate. The 2ML, poor guy, crushed by family expectations, robbed of his dreams, drowning in misery—he adds depth I didn’t expect. Even Grandma’s banter with ML has layers. And ML’s right-hand man? A true homie. Protect him at all costs (they failed to protect him 😢).
At first I thought, “Wait, is this The Double 2.0?” because the ML gave me déjà vu. But nope—this beast has its own , completely different flavor.
That said, the last quarter of the drama stumbles a bit. Our FL, who had been holding strong, suddenly dives headfirst into the noble idiocy trope. Cue my facepalm. Noble idiocy is in my personal Top 5 Least Favorite Tropes Ever Invented, and watching it unfold here felt like betrayal. Still, it gave 2ML a chance to shine even more, which, okay, I’ll allow it.
Final verdict: This mini is messy, flawed, full of budget crimes, but also utterly captivating. The leads are enchanting, the side characters surprisingly layered, and the web of messy relationships keeps the tea piping hot. It’s not a fluffy, lighthearted binge; it’s more of a “let’s study the chaos of human nature wrapped in wigs and contour” kind of ride. If you’re in the mood for slightly offbeat family drama with surprising character depth ( and a happy, satisfactory ending for our leads), give this one a shot.
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FL, the queen of going back to the people who wants to unalive her. (Fool)
ML wasnice and consistent in his character.FL is the real drag of this drama.
At the beginning, her husband's family schemed against her to have her r*pe, but after ML saves her and tries to get revenge for her, she decides to stay with the family who is trying to hurt her.
Then, she get poison by 2FL, 2ML, and his family, then they buried her in the woods. Lucky FL, ML already saw it coming and replaced the poison with a fake death poison. ML dug her out of her burial and think that FL will finally understand thats she needs to leave this family. Well NOPE, she decides to go back to this heinous family again....
Third of all, her daughter with 2ML gets poisoned by 2ML's grandmother. ML tries everything to save the daughter. This one is a hard call, ML and his friend found a way to keep her daughter alive until they can find the antidote. Well, you know what's coming.... FL still decides to go back to her cruel husband family.
Close to the end, after FL finally left the 2ML family, she decides to go back to 2ML in order to protect ML from being accused of stealing 2ML's wife (FL).
In episode 31, when things seems to be desperate for ML and FL, ML sends FL away to save her and stays behind to fight the villain.... Well, FL decides to go back and get captured by the main villain. She is then tortured and emprisonned for six months.
Shen was sentenced to be burned alive. On the day of the execution, ML reapers and save her AGAIN
This drama could have got a 7-8/10 from me, but the FL back and forth ruined it for me.
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Really good at first but flops at the end
The story is pretty similar with my favorite drama— the double. The FLs both were killed by their husbands, are married, the MLs both use fans, both storys involve revenge, and so on. That’s why I have really big expectations for this drama.Act 1 was really fun. The love-hate relationship between the two characters are not unique but is still fun to watch. Then it develops into a cute bickering type relationship. Cute. Love it.
Then the beginning of Act 2 is still really fun, but as the story progresses from then on, it became a bit boring? IMO.
Act 3 is just.. disappointing. I was so fricking bored and literally skipped episode 29,30, and 31, and speed through episode 32. It was suddenly hella boring, I think after the point where the grandma died. After that scene, everything kinda fell apart and I just skip skip skip hahaha.
Definitely not worth rewatching. But my overall score is 6 which is still pretty high, and that’s because I appreciate the first half of the drama. That’s all. Thank you for reading :)
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