Almost great, but...
OVERALLAmazing visuals, great music, good script, but terribly unbalanced. Watch it if you're looking for a logical and coherent love story and you're into political intrigue. If you're easily bored, you're into useful and important FLs, or you don't like tragedy, skip.
THE STORY
In theory, it is an enemies-to-lovers story. Male Lead (ML) and Female Lead (FL) come from different nations, and families with a real bad history, but they're forced to get married to protect the peace. Obviously, it does not go well... until it does. But really, it's not an enemies-to-lovers story, because typically, in these stories, both sides are petty with one another until love comes around, and that's not what this drama is about. FL is pretty much catering to the ML almost from the start and ML is the main one being petty. It's as if he's the only one suffering from the family feud and she doesn't have that baggage at all (which makes no sense). It doesn't last very long, but the next part (which lasts VERY long) is not much better: FL knows she likes ML and ML kind of knows he likes her but pretends he doesn't. The last quarter of the drama, the romance finally picks up, but by then 3/4 of the series is gone.
On the bright side, ML and FL are cute and have several nice, memorable scenes together. Even though most of the romance is very tame (PG-rated), there are 2-3 spicier scenes to shake things up. But I'm not satisfied. Do I feel like the 1st part, when ML is being petty, is bad? No, but I would have enjoyed it more if FL had been pettier. It would make the relationship feel more equal. She does mess things up for him a bit at the beginning, but not nearly as much as she could have. By the way, it feels very unusual to see a FL so subdued and effaced, when the trend these days is the opposite. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It felt like a waste to make FL smart and then let her be so...unimportant. Anyway, same thing with part 2. Do I feel like the 2nd part, when ML is in denial, is bad? No, it's necessary given his backstory, but it's WAY too long. We're stuck in this part for more than 10 episodes. More than 10 episodes of romance not progressing is a problem.
To be clear, I don't think the love story is all bad, it makes sense and the characters (especially ML and his resentment) make sense. It's just not well balanced. There's also an imbalance between the romance and the political intrigue in Prisoner of Beauty. Usually, if there is one, dramas don't spend enough time on the romance and too much time on politics, but here, it feels like the opposite. That wouldn't be a problem if the romance was very eventful and fast-paced, but when literally nothing new happens for episodes on end in the romance and there's also nothing of much importance happening in the political side, then we get... well, nothing. The political intrigue in this drama is very interesting though. In the last episodes, it reaches epic proportions. But it feels so rushed! Why wait until the very last 3 episodes to let the fun start?
Bottom line: Prisoner of Beauty has great sets and costumes and good cinematography. The love story, though a bit juvenile, is cute and coherent. Secondary characters (Yulou and the Wei cousin) have surprising depth (though it isn't utilized as much as it should have been), too. But overall, the drama just doesn't quite reach its amazing potential. It is, however, a HUGE improvement on the book, imo.
THE ACTING
Good enough for me. I think FL did a better job than ML, but I do like Liu Yuning and wish him the absolute best. They did have good chemistry too. I also want to praise the production for a diverse cast (not everybody is thin in this drama), which is a change. That was really nice.
THE MUSIC
Good stuff!
REWATCH VALUE
I will DEFINITELY rewatch this, but with some fast-forwarding.
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Male leads like this should be illegal!
OVERALLThis drama is cliché, and not the good kind. Watch it if 1) You're really, REALLY a fan of the actors, 2) You're a masochist in love with jerks, 3) You love seeing women debased by men. If you're not, then do yourself a favor and skip.
THE STORY
I gave this drama a try because of Seven Tan, who I liked in The Sword & the Brocade. Unfortunately, this drama turns out to be one of her many projects I simply can't get behind. The only positive thing I can say about this drama is that it starts well. I like how Female lead is introduced, as a total boss who knows her stuff and is in control of the situation. That lasts about...five minutes. Then we move on to Male Lead being a jerk, and more Male Lead being a jerk, and (yes, you got it right) more Male Lead being a jerk, while Female Lead just takes it all. By episode 7, he's still a total jerk and Female Lead is...somewhat into him? Like what? There's ABSOLUTELY nothing to be attracted to! This type of drama drives me mad because under the pretense of a "male growth" drama it sells the idea that guys can do and say whatever they want to girls and girls are just supposed to put up with it. Male Lead is really HORRID, as bad as the king in Yanxi Palace (if you know, you know!), if not worse, and this is a modern drama. It's TOTALLY unacceptable!
To be fair, the problem is not only Male Lead. Female Lead's submissive behavior bothers, her inability to see things coming (when she was so good at it in the first 5 minutes) too, and then you have the overused, triggering cliches like the glasses removal (oh, now that she has no glasses, she's SO pretty! *eyeroll*). I came, I saw, and I gave it up. Save yourself the trouble, skip.
THE ACTING
Ok, but not mind-blowing. I saw some people in another platform say main leads had chemistry. I must be blind, because I didn't see any.
THE MUSIC
No comment.
REWATCH VALUE
Nonexistent.
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Just a decent filler
OVERALLThis drama is nothing out of this world, but it's worth the watch if 1) you're looking for a drama that delivers romantic scenes and isn't false advertisement, 2) you like super sweet and nurturing male leads, 3) you dig assertive female leads. Still, if you 1) get super annoyed by clichés, 2) find age-gap romances hard to swallow, 3) are looking for lots of comedy, maybe skip.
THE STORY
Not sure why the last few dramas I've watched were all just kind of average. My Fated Boy isn't bad at all, but I wasn't dying to watch it before I started, I wasn't dying to keep watching while I did, and I'm not dying to rewatch it now that it's over. On the positive side:
1) Female lead has a backbone. She can stand up to herself.
2) Male lead is very sweet and nurturing towards female lead, which is really the best way to pursue a girl, in my opinion.
3) the drama has super nice and caring parents, no crazy in-laws.
4) the friends (well, at least one) have interesting stories of their own that you won't feel like skipping.
5) the drama gives the OTP some cute scenes and coherent development.
On the negative side:
1) the drama is literally just a mashup of clichés. Everything about the OTP feels like something you've seen or heard five hundred times, all age-gap conflicts and their resolution are super predictable.
2) Female lead is deep but the drama doesn't give her a good backstory to explain her depth or give her any character development.
3) Male lead doesn't exist as an individual, all he cares about is Female lead, which makes him super flat.
4) the drama really goes full on with cliché, two-dimensional female stalkers that can't take no for an answer and make everyone's life miserable. There's just one after another.
5) the best of the OTP is the "falling in love" part, the "being together" part feels lackluster.
THE ACTING
Ok, I guess. Wasn't super impressed but I think everyone did well enough, given that it's not a drama to show extraordinary skills. I must say though, that after the last few dramas I've watched with scenes of crazy chemistry between the leads, the OTP in this one feels a bit tame. Not forced though, they still look fine. There just isn't as much chemistry between them.
THE MUSIC
No comment.
REWATCH VALUE
Not really high. The drama's fine to watch, but it's just too average for rewatch. I only rewatch dramas with unforgettable, gripping, emotional or thrilling scenes. This one had none of the above.
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Trying characters
OVERALLGive this drama a try if 1) you have high tolerance for annoying characters, 2) you like dramas with heavy second-hand embarrassment. Skip if 1) you can't stand the above and 2) you are looking for a realistic, well-written love story.
THE STORY
I recently noticed that C-dramas sometimes don't start well but redeem themselves later on, so even though it's not my style, I really tried to push it and watch as much as I could of this drama, despite not being impressed by episode 1. I toughed until episode 5. Why? First, there is absolutely no likeable character in this drama. FL is a mess who takes one bad decision after the next. Although she's good at what she does, there really isn't any aspect of her character that would aspire love so it's hard to understand why ML suddenly (really, out of nowhere) seems to be falling for her. ML is just your typical cold and aloof guy, but with a negative twist: he's also clumsy and kind of...silly? So he's also not that likeable and you're also not sure why FL suddenly starts to care about him. FL's friends are absolutely HORRID, of the worst secondary characters I've ever seen in C-dramas. I wasn't able to care about anybody in this drama. Second, the humor is everything I hate in dramas. Lots of second-hand embarrassment, mostly on FL's part but also on ML's part. Some slapstick too.
On the positive side, I love how good FL is at her job, and all the scenes linked with cooking were the best. I also have a feeling FL is meant to start the drama on the low and grow into a better person, learning to break away from the bad influence of her nasty friends. In that sense, the drama is quite promising. The problem is that she's starting too low, and I have low tolerance for second-hand embarrassment. This is the end of the ride for me.
THE ACTING
I suppose it's okay. No chemistry between the leads, from what I could see, but I also just saw the beginning.
THE MUSIC
Too much background music, all the time. Childish quirky sounds too. I think it wasn't helping.
REWATCH VALUE
Low.
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I just can't with Male Lead
OVERALLGive it a try if you are really tolerant of crappy Male Leads and desperate for a good mystery. If you're not any of the two, skip.
THE STORY
I have to say, the premise of this drama is pretty interesting (and not to mention, very realistic). Female Lead's husband dies and suddenly a whole bunch of problems arise in her life, making her realize that he kept many secrets from her. Although the drama does not make you fall in love with Female Lead, you do feel a bit bad for all that she has to go through. I also got hooked right away trying to figure out what exactly happened in her husband's life and whether he was a good or bad guy. I still want to know, but I had to give this drama up because it's yet another C-drama with a simply insufferable Male Lead. He's mean, rude, disrespectful. I just can't.
Oh, I'm sure they'll find a way to excuse his behavior. My guess is a crappy childhood and trying to get revenge or something. I don't care. I'm sick of Male characters being a-holes and Female leads taking it in (or worse, swooning over it). It's particularly painful to watch here because Female Lead LITERALLY just lost her husband and he's constantly going off on her. So I'm out. If you're like me, save yourself the trouble and skip. If you're not, then go ahead and watch. The suspense is actually pretty good.
THE ACTING
Ok.
THE MUSIC
Ok.
REWATCH VALUE
Null.
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