Most bittersweet revenge schemed by the irresistible Male Lead!
Wang YiLei is amongst those very charismatic actors that are leading 2025 of Vertical Dramas. I mean his sharp eyes, cat alike swiftness and the graceful body sturcture tied to how absolutely beautiful of a male creature he is,ahhh my my how he took my breath away! I love the roles he is given lately, and the amount of depth layered in his acting.The deep soothed hatred towards the people who killed his family did not take his soul away from him, alas he falls in love with his prey and heroine early on. The way he stalked her in that bathroom..without a shirt on WILL FOREVER BE IMPRINTED IN MY MIND!KYAAAAA
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This review may contain spoilers
I expected gritty revenge tale from ML's pov but FL got too much screentime
This drama had been in my watchlist since the day it was released. I don't know why I didn't feel like watching it immediately but today I decided to watch it on iQIYI. I must say I was disappointed by this drama - I expected more.What I liked:
1. ML characterisation - I liked that this drama is about ML seeking revenge for the death of his parents. He was smart, calculative and resourceful. However I don’t quite understand how he could have money & influence to blackmail and eventually own Zhou Group?
2. Supporting characters - FL's father was smart and I liked him a lot more than FL. Shu Qing, the other Zhou Group employee was likeable too.
3. Intimacy - Abundance of physical intimacy in this drama from fiery kisses to shower scene and bold dialogue. Even SML got a hot kissing scene. Anyway Wang Yi Lei excelled in onscreen kissing.
4. Styling - I liked that Wang Yi Lei looked rugged in this drama. I liked the asymmetrical jacket that he wore but oversized shirt & pants drowned him as he was very lean.
5. Acting - I liked Wang Yi Lei and Zeng Xi Tang's acting in this drama.
What I disliked:
1. Antagonists - Zhou father and son were evil.
2. Screentime - Typically in vertical dramas with FL seeking revenge, most of the screentime goes to FL planning & executing her revenge. Unfortunately this doesn't happen with this drama. I was dismayed that FL got a lot of screentime. I would have liked to see how ML come out with his revenge plan and why those people were targeted instead of FL's arc.
3. Wu Chun Yi - I understood that she was a Daddy's Little Princess but I didn't like her acting. Her facial expressions were not good so her acting was underwhelming.
4. Romance - There wasn't any chemistry between Wang Yi Lei & Wu Chun Yi. I didn't buy that ML really fell in love with FL because their relationshipnl was purely physical (well at least what was shown to us).
5. Repeat - I watched on iQIYI and scenes at the start of drama were repeated in the third act. Editing could be better by only giving glimpse of what transpired at the start of the drama.
Favourite scene
Makeout session on the sofa
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Drive baby drive
I tend to like shorter verticals, as some can meander a lot and become yap fests. This 1 hour and a half one is on the opposite end : it ran at breakneck pace. While it could have slow down a bit after we reach the end of the "how did we get there" phase, I really appreciate the effort to respect the viewer's time and trust our ability to understand even if they don't show/tell us everything. One of my favorite Kdramas is Lee Jun Ki's Time Between Dog and Wolves, and this one reminded me a lot of it : both starts with a very intense flash-forward, star a vengeful hero who becomes his enemy's dog/right-hand man to serve his plans, and both have him fall in love with his enemy's precious girl (in the Kdrama she's his daughter, in Dark Light she's his fiance), messing with his plans. Both are pure crack. I like that this one choose to focus on the FL, as the FL in this type of scenario can become a bit of a sidelined trophy or be too out of her depth (like in Undercover Affair). Here she looked like the pampered princess she was supposed to be (I think those plots need that to enhance the forbidden/impossible aspect of the romance) but she was allowed to take the lead and have her own plans. It made the romance more intense (also her dilemma is a bit more complex than the hero's, who is planning to steal everything from his enemy including her anyway). It does feel like the final part of her arc is missing, as it happens offscreen, maybe the drama had production troubles and had to rush the ending (it does feel very abrupt). We didn't need to see the opening scenes again without cuts, and wasn't the scene where she runs in her wedding dress supposed to go somewhere ?This was visually on the higher end of vertical productions, some scenes were striking and had excellent framing, like the staircase scene, and it's obvious that the director is a cinema buff (look out for the 3-Iron ref in the beginning). Acting wise the drama had an excellent villain played without the usual ham by a devilish Zeng Xi Tang, Wu Chun Yi's classy looks combined with her youthful and soft vibe were perfect for the role, and I have to talk about Wang Yi Lei : this was my first drama with him and he's going straight to my list of actors to keep an eye on, he's the whole deal : he has very distinctive, deadly attractive features (he looks like a cat) and is very talented, he's not here as Wang Yi Lei he's the character. Overall, very solid stuff, if you like undercovers romances (or the trope where FL falls in love with a shady, handsome and devoted driver like in Drive/Baby Driver) you might want to add this one to your list.
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In the meantime, this drama can be found in YouTube under the caption: “ENGSUB|She’s Engaged, But the Bodyguard Who Guards Her Like a Knight Is Stealing Her Heart💘#trending” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxrh7p5TZY)
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