Fight for Love: The Drama I Liked, Rolled My Eyes At, and Still Scored an 8/10
Fight for Love surprised me in the best way and also annoyed me in the most random ways. First off, the male lead? Loved him. Loved the whole squad around him too. Their friendship and banter carried half the vibe of this drama and honestly kept me from rage-quitting during the draggy bits.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room. The female lead. Yes, she has that calm borderline wooden expression like she’s buffering inside, but to be fair, this is actually one of her better performances. She felt more natural here than in her modern roles. So props where due.
But let nobody lie to you: the ML did not carry this show alone. He’s always been a strong actor, that’s baseline. What annoyed me was how his character was written. Why did they make him timid around the FL like he’s some baby deer and she’s the wise aunty of the mountains. I’m all for older strong female energy, but the writing made him look unnecessarily young and clueless when he’s clearly not.
My personal pet peeve though? Every woman in the after a man like it’s an Olympic sport. Why do dramas keep pushing this narrative that women have no chill or dignity. Like hello, women in that era already had enough struggles, we don’t need extra humiliation from each other. Which brings me to the one wholesome gem: the bond between the Elder Princess and Chu Yu. That sisterhood hit different. More of that please and less of women tearing each other down for some dude.
There was no breakup per se, which I loved. It was more like everyone and their traditions trying to pull the ML and FL apart. But the couple themselves stayed solid. It fits perfectly in the no breakup but still happy ending category. Though, honestly, the ending could have been more satisfying. It felt like they wrapped it fast and didn’t give the couple the final emotional payoff they deserved.
And yes, this drama could have wrapped in under 30 episodes. I definitely skipped around like I was speed-reading a textbook before an exam.
Overall, not perfect, but it had charm. Loved the characters, strong comraderie, rolled my eyes at the writing choices, and still ended up finishing it because the cast chemistry was too good to drop.
Final score from me is an easy 8 out of 10.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room. The female lead. Yes, she has that calm borderline wooden expression like she’s buffering inside, but to be fair, this is actually one of her better performances. She felt more natural here than in her modern roles. So props where due.
But let nobody lie to you: the ML did not carry this show alone. He’s always been a strong actor, that’s baseline. What annoyed me was how his character was written. Why did they make him timid around the FL like he’s some baby deer and she’s the wise aunty of the mountains. I’m all for older strong female energy, but the writing made him look unnecessarily young and clueless when he’s clearly not.
My personal pet peeve though? Every woman in the after a man like it’s an Olympic sport. Why do dramas keep pushing this narrative that women have no chill or dignity. Like hello, women in that era already had enough struggles, we don’t need extra humiliation from each other. Which brings me to the one wholesome gem: the bond between the Elder Princess and Chu Yu. That sisterhood hit different. More of that please and less of women tearing each other down for some dude.
There was no breakup per se, which I loved. It was more like everyone and their traditions trying to pull the ML and FL apart. But the couple themselves stayed solid. It fits perfectly in the no breakup but still happy ending category. Though, honestly, the ending could have been more satisfying. It felt like they wrapped it fast and didn’t give the couple the final emotional payoff they deserved.
And yes, this drama could have wrapped in under 30 episodes. I definitely skipped around like I was speed-reading a textbook before an exam.
Overall, not perfect, but it had charm. Loved the characters, strong comraderie, rolled my eyes at the writing choices, and still ended up finishing it because the cast chemistry was too good to drop.
Final score from me is an easy 8 out of 10.
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