The Stolen 5 Years (2024)

This drama should be reframed as the Tale of an Antagonist - her character arc was stronger

I had not watched Huang Bo dramas in months and with the slow updates of Chinese vertical dramas on MDL catalogue, I decided to watch this one. I could immediately write a review after completing the series and gosh I was letdown.

What I liked:
1. ML's grandfather - Wow, he was the best character in this drama. Never once believed the antagonist's words because he could sense her true colours. I also liked that he was never pushy with ML.
2. ML characterisation - He was love-brained. He couldn't get over FL even after 5 years. I forgave him for marrying the antagonist because she trapped him. He didn't get much screentime though.
3. SML - He too had character development. Not purely evil, there were moments of compassion.
4. Ending - I liked how SML & antagonist characters were wrapped up. That police arrest was cleverly done.
5. Acting - The actress who played the antagonist gave the best performance in this drama. She also had good chemistry with the actor who played SML.

What I disliked:
1. Antagonist - The antagonist is the main character - she was given too much screentime. Her character also had a good development that you could see that she was kind at one point i.e. not purely evil.
2. FL characterisation - She was weak. I understood that she had no memories of her past but c'mon, where were her instincts? She didn't fight back when bullied and this stayed until 75% of the drama. She was gullible too.
3. Romance - The secondary couple had more romantic scenes than the main couple. Huang Bo can do great kissing scenes but I think Yang Cheng Lu wasn't comfortable because there was no close up of their kissing scenes and they were hasty too.
4. Acting - Yang Cheng Lu gave a bland performance that you'd forget about her after watching this drama. There was no chemistry between her and Huang Bo.

Favourite scene
When police came to arrest the antagonist

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