This was such an interesting and refreshing watch! It takes the premise of the fight for the throne and adds an interesting spin to it by making the FL the regent and the ML her willing puppet (or as he calls himself: "canary")! FL never really loses her grit and remains ruthless until the very end while ML never loses his softness (*ahem* babygirlism *ahem*) and remains her greatest supporter until the very end, too! This ML was a next lvl lovesick pup, willing to do literally anything for the FL in quite the unexpected way (to those interested in the role reversal aspect... it remains true to this all throughout. Though they have some traditional moments/elements, to me they were egalitarian with heavy RR-leaning, so very nice!).
The plot was taken in an interesting direction with the inclusion of the other country and the way they ended up tying the plot was unusual for a cdrama and very fun! I was delighted to see such an ending for a ruthless and ambitious FL.
Quality overall was surprisingly better than expected. Acting was okay but not my fav.
My only real issues are that the story feels a bit overly ambitious for just 2 hours π This could've *easily* been an epic full-length series. It's not bad as a vertical, but things do kinda feel rushed. Also every woman other than the FL that appears prominently were evil which is quite a big miss :(
It used to be in my top 20 until recently (you can tell because the special episode is #21 xD), but the RR-to-trad…
I mean, yeah, that's what I started doing with a lot of dramas that axed the RR later on. Begin Again was my second drama ever so I braved the trad parts hoping it would go back... I know better now xD
It just gets tiring to consistently have to use headcanons to get by with mediocre or axed RR rep π Especially with the kinda ending that the RR-arc had in BA... ouch. Hence why I'm more cautious when recommending RR-axed titles to people.
Thanks for sharing your perspective and I'm glad you enjoy the list ^^
Despite "Begin Again" being "RR-axe" in my view it has too many great role-reversal moments for…
It used to be in my top 20 until recently (you can tell because the special episode is #21 xD), but the RR-to-trad kind of axe is something that I take a lot more issue with than say, the RR-to-egalitarian axe.
The "RR-axe" category kinda exists outside of all the others because of it's unique situation where it is RR until it isn't. I'm still working on how I best want to implement this in the system (I actually only added it a few days ago so I'm surprised someone already noticed, haha!). Until very recently I had it as a tag added to the relevant titles but still used my usual RR-ranking system for what *was* RR about it, but I'm trying out putting RR-axe content in its own category, mostly due to the fact that the disappointment experienced from having something RR turn out to not be can be quite upsetting (I know for me it definitely is. Especially if, like I said, it's RR-to-trad) so I don't want to put them too high up where one might get false hopes. But I also rank dramas I didn't complete regularly so I might put the RR-axed titles back into their usual place, I'll see how I feel about it later ^^
Absolutely incredible watch that did not disappoint! A great showcase of gender nonconformity and role reversal in a lighthearted but still heartfelt package. The comedy was hysterical, the topics were well-handled, and the two couples were adorable! Highly recommend!
This drama was so cute!! Secondary couple have a very role reversed dynamic, and it was delightful to see such an effortlessly cool and dominant woman with her adorable cutie husband. Great steamy scenes π Xue Zi Qi never misses
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FL never really loses her grit and remains ruthless until the very end while ML never loses his softness (*ahem* babygirlism *ahem*) and remains her greatest supporter until the very end, too! This ML was a next lvl lovesick pup, willing to do literally anything for the FL in quite the unexpected way (to those interested in the role reversal aspect... it remains true to this all throughout. Though they have some traditional moments/elements, to me they were egalitarian with heavy RR-leaning, so very nice!).
The plot was taken in an interesting direction with the inclusion of the other country and the way they ended up tying the plot was unusual for a cdrama and very fun! I was delighted to see such an ending for a ruthless and ambitious FL.
Quality overall was surprisingly better than expected. Acting was okay but not my fav.
My only real issues are that the story feels a bit overly ambitious for just 2 hours π This could've *easily* been an epic full-length series. It's not bad as a vertical, but things do kinda feel rushed. Also every woman other than the FL that appears prominently were evil which is quite a big miss :(
Di Que: ML taking a drink on FL's behalf (43:47)
Falling into you: ep 1, 24:33
Tempest: FL has nightmares of a traumatic experience (ep 4)
It just gets tiring to consistently have to use headcanons to get by with mediocre or axed RR rep π Especially with the kinda ending that the RR-arc had in BA... ouch. Hence why I'm more cautious when recommending RR-axed titles to people.
Thanks for sharing your perspective and I'm glad you enjoy the list ^^
The "RR-axe" category kinda exists outside of all the others because of it's unique situation where it is RR until it isn't. I'm still working on how I best want to implement this in the system (I actually only added it a few days ago so I'm surprised someone already noticed, haha!). Until very recently I had it as a tag added to the relevant titles but still used my usual RR-ranking system for what *was* RR about it, but I'm trying out putting RR-axe content in its own category, mostly due to the fact that the disappointment experienced from having something RR turn out to not be can be quite upsetting (I know for me it definitely is. Especially if, like I said, it's RR-to-trad) so I don't want to put them too high up where one might get false hopes. But I also rank dramas I didn't complete regularly so I might put the RR-axed titles back into their usual place, I'll see how I feel about it later ^^
Rlly sucks how some dramas ya just can't find with good audio- UUGH
In the meantime, check out her new historical dual transmigration drama, not quite the same level of commitment, but close enough