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This review may contain spoilers
The Misadventures of a Transmigrating Green-Tea Prince
Finally a ML transmigrating drama that is not only not misogynistic, but actually role reversal!
TL;DR: A solid drama with a very endearing role reversal ML and quite some commitment to the trope, but a very underwhelming FL that kept it from being truly good.
The Good:
• ML - A quirky transmigrator who ends up in his girlfriend's novel as the green-tea courtesan and by god was he not going to let that opportunity go to waste. The commitment to keeping his character a helpless prince-in-peril who throws himself dramatically to the ground at FL's feet at any minor inconvenience was exquisite! He really just wanted to be the FL's boytoy and nothing else mattered to him! I also loved the subtle femininity he displayed. Absolutely lovely!
• ML's styling - Gotta give credit where credit is due. Chen Yunting is a gorgeous man, but with his styling in this drama he looked even more stunning! Everything from the whimsical outfits (especially his first red one and the light green one? 10/10), to the make up, hair jewelry and curls was intentional and gorgeous.
• SFL - She was hilarious as the greedy madam of the brothel ML worked in. I loved how devoted she was to making money and her involvement with the leads' squabbles were hilarious. Her and ML were a great duo!
• No bait-and-switch - Surprisingly, despite ML's hidden identity, there was no bait-and-switch when it came to the role reversal. Some of the execution was mid (mostly for the FL), but no actual switch. ML never has a "I'm the man" or dom moment!
• Set-Up - I liked how the drama's set-up/premise is ML reading his girlfriend's GB/RR novel to better understand her and become her ideal RR boyfriend and how it wraps this up by him seeking her out in the real world and them finally being able to pursue their RR relationship <3
The Okay:
• Role Reversal - Both more committed to the RR than expected and somehow also less. It was a weird balance where one character (ML) was *very* RR, while the other (FL) was barely RR, which makes for a weird dynamic. The plot was pretty consistently RR, unless FL was involved and then it was mixed. It's not like it wasn't RR, but it also wasn't truly RR. Not sure how to explain it.
• Dynamic - The leads had a compelling and complicate dynamic that they did not really deliver on. He was so devoted and eager, yet she kept him at arms length on the best moments. I didn't like how she kept turning on him at the drop of a hat and how she always blamed him for everything. She was just too hostile to him more often than not... As far as RR dynamics go, this is still tolerable, but also still a disappointment.
• Feminism - I was quite surprised by how feminist ML was (and vocally so at that). Was it a bit on-the-nose? Yes, but it's still better than a lot of slop we get. The reason this isn't in the 'good' category is because, though the drama preaches feminism and women's rights, the FL, the main woman in the drama, is kept shallow and pathetic... which yeah, is not feminist.
• Plot - Standard vertical quality with laughable amounts of villains that never seem to leave until they suddenly do and then that's it... It's fine for what it was, just a bit too long and draggy imo.
• Acting - ML absolutely ate with his green-tea role. Gotta be the most committed feminine-behaving pitiful ML I've ever seen! His sidekick (the brothel madam) was also really good, but others like FL or SML were rather underwhelming... Bit of a mixed bag.
• Ending - I wasn't too keen on them reuniting in the main world because it very much felt like his girlfriend and the book character were different people? Idk, it felt weird to me. I did like the final scene tho, so.... *shrugs*
The Bad:
• FL - The biggest issue in the drama, hands-down. They try to convince us that she's strong, independent, and determined, but she had no backbone, no smarts, and no idea where she actually stood. She was pathetic and fickle but also mouthy about it, pointing her sword wherever the villains wanted her to (usually the ML). For the FL in a RR/GB drama, she was exceptionally underwhelming.
• Agency - The leads had little agency in the plot. ML's only goal was getting FL to fall for him and FL's only goal was investigating her mentor's death which she does, then doesn't, then does, then doesn't, then kinda forgets about. So many plot threads ended up resolved without the MCs involvement 😭
• Chemistry - I didn't feel it at all... Idk if it's because of the FL's acting or the character (or both), but it was like there was a gigantic wall between the leads.
Notable scenes:
- Initial green-tea encounter
- ML sitting at FL's feet while she confronts the bad guys.
- When FL and TFL fight over ML
- Final dip and kiss scene in the end
TL;DR: A solid drama with a very endearing role reversal ML and quite some commitment to the trope, but a very underwhelming FL that kept it from being truly good.
The Good:
• ML - A quirky transmigrator who ends up in his girlfriend's novel as the green-tea courtesan and by god was he not going to let that opportunity go to waste. The commitment to keeping his character a helpless prince-in-peril who throws himself dramatically to the ground at FL's feet at any minor inconvenience was exquisite! He really just wanted to be the FL's boytoy and nothing else mattered to him! I also loved the subtle femininity he displayed. Absolutely lovely!
• ML's styling - Gotta give credit where credit is due. Chen Yunting is a gorgeous man, but with his styling in this drama he looked even more stunning! Everything from the whimsical outfits (especially his first red one and the light green one? 10/10), to the make up, hair jewelry and curls was intentional and gorgeous.
• SFL - She was hilarious as the greedy madam of the brothel ML worked in. I loved how devoted she was to making money and her involvement with the leads' squabbles were hilarious. Her and ML were a great duo!
• No bait-and-switch - Surprisingly, despite ML's hidden identity, there was no bait-and-switch when it came to the role reversal. Some of the execution was mid (mostly for the FL), but no actual switch. ML never has a "I'm the man" or dom moment!
• Set-Up - I liked how the drama's set-up/premise is ML reading his girlfriend's GB/RR novel to better understand her and become her ideal RR boyfriend and how it wraps this up by him seeking her out in the real world and them finally being able to pursue their RR relationship <3
The Okay:
• Role Reversal - Both more committed to the RR than expected and somehow also less. It was a weird balance where one character (ML) was *very* RR, while the other (FL) was barely RR, which makes for a weird dynamic. The plot was pretty consistently RR, unless FL was involved and then it was mixed. It's not like it wasn't RR, but it also wasn't truly RR. Not sure how to explain it.
• Dynamic - The leads had a compelling and complicate dynamic that they did not really deliver on. He was so devoted and eager, yet she kept him at arms length on the best moments. I didn't like how she kept turning on him at the drop of a hat and how she always blamed him for everything. She was just too hostile to him more often than not... As far as RR dynamics go, this is still tolerable, but also still a disappointment.
• Feminism - I was quite surprised by how feminist ML was (and vocally so at that). Was it a bit on-the-nose? Yes, but it's still better than a lot of slop we get. The reason this isn't in the 'good' category is because, though the drama preaches feminism and women's rights, the FL, the main woman in the drama, is kept shallow and pathetic... which yeah, is not feminist.
• Plot - Standard vertical quality with laughable amounts of villains that never seem to leave until they suddenly do and then that's it... It's fine for what it was, just a bit too long and draggy imo.
• Acting - ML absolutely ate with his green-tea role. Gotta be the most committed feminine-behaving pitiful ML I've ever seen! His sidekick (the brothel madam) was also really good, but others like FL or SML were rather underwhelming... Bit of a mixed bag.
• Ending - I wasn't too keen on them reuniting in the main world because it very much felt like his girlfriend and the book character were different people? Idk, it felt weird to me. I did like the final scene tho, so.... *shrugs*
The Bad:
• FL - The biggest issue in the drama, hands-down. They try to convince us that she's strong, independent, and determined, but she had no backbone, no smarts, and no idea where she actually stood. She was pathetic and fickle but also mouthy about it, pointing her sword wherever the villains wanted her to (usually the ML). For the FL in a RR/GB drama, she was exceptionally underwhelming.
• Agency - The leads had little agency in the plot. ML's only goal was getting FL to fall for him and FL's only goal was investigating her mentor's death which she does, then doesn't, then does, then doesn't, then kinda forgets about. So many plot threads ended up resolved without the MCs involvement 😭
• Chemistry - I didn't feel it at all... Idk if it's because of the FL's acting or the character (or both), but it was like there was a gigantic wall between the leads.
Notable scenes:
- Initial green-tea encounter
- ML sitting at FL's feet while she confronts the bad guys.
- When FL and TFL fight over ML
- Final dip and kiss scene in the end
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