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Enjoyable But Could Have Been Better
I quite enjoyed the series overall though I wouldn't call it a favourite in the transmigration genre. But there is a lot to love about it.
Firstly, the leads are incredible! The FL is stunning and she is a strong, graceful, charming woman with a good head on her shoulders. She is the brains behind the collaboration of the leads. ML is the executioner. He is strong yet gentle, brave and understanding and trusts the FL which is what makes their dynamic work so well. He trusts her even before she trusts him. More than their romance, I enjoyed their chemistry and banter.
Secondly, the other characters. I loved the SFL and Mr Bai the most. The scholars were nice too. It's always great when secondary and supporting characters bring life to the drama. I also liked the physician but sadly his role was small.
Third, the plot. No drama can succeed on acting alone. If the plot is weak, it all falls apart. The story of How Dare You has a good flow and never gets boring. There is also mystery about certain characters which helped kept me interested in the story. Fortunately we don't really have a misunderstanding and breakup trope or at least not really. Whatever happens is resolved almost immediately.
Fourth, I got emotional in certain parts and I feel the ML conveyed them really well.
I enjoyed the drama OST too. It suited the scenes a lot.
Where it failed to hit the mark:
I expected this to be more comedic than it is. The title also makes you think it will be more funny than serious. It starts off funny but gets a bit more dramatic and serious 7 - 10 episodes in. There is light comedy here and there to make you smile but no laughs from my end.
The action sequences. Usually the leads are involved in the fighting and action scenes as much as the side characters but that's not the case in this drama. Though I didn't mind the leads not fighting at alll, I felt the action scenes itself were kind of average or overly dramatic. And I'm a sucker for a good action sequence so this mattered to me.
The SML was okay. I don't feel much for him which isn't a good thing.
The ending. It was quite abrupt and tbh I didn't understand what happened at all until I read some explanations. I don't really like when directors expect you to fall back on the source to fill in your gaps. But I also understand why they did it that way. Since it involves censorship, I can't call it bad storytelling. Still... they could have compensated in other ways so it was disappoiinting.
Introducing a character late and then the twist. I'm not sure the twist was needed.
Romance. Though the leads' chemistry is great, the romance is okay. You won't find much of it since there is a lot of planning and scheming going on. Since everything was good, I didn't care too much so I'm mentioning this last. As romance can be huge for some viewers, I thought I would point this out.
To sum up, How Dare You is quite enjoyable but it also leaves you wanting a bit more.
Firstly, the leads are incredible! The FL is stunning and she is a strong, graceful, charming woman with a good head on her shoulders. She is the brains behind the collaboration of the leads. ML is the executioner. He is strong yet gentle, brave and understanding and trusts the FL which is what makes their dynamic work so well. He trusts her even before she trusts him. More than their romance, I enjoyed their chemistry and banter.
Secondly, the other characters. I loved the SFL and Mr Bai the most. The scholars were nice too. It's always great when secondary and supporting characters bring life to the drama. I also liked the physician but sadly his role was small.
Third, the plot. No drama can succeed on acting alone. If the plot is weak, it all falls apart. The story of How Dare You has a good flow and never gets boring. There is also mystery about certain characters which helped kept me interested in the story. Fortunately we don't really have a misunderstanding and breakup trope or at least not really. Whatever happens is resolved almost immediately.
Fourth, I got emotional in certain parts and I feel the ML conveyed them really well.
I enjoyed the drama OST too. It suited the scenes a lot.
Where it failed to hit the mark:
I expected this to be more comedic than it is. The title also makes you think it will be more funny than serious. It starts off funny but gets a bit more dramatic and serious 7 - 10 episodes in. There is light comedy here and there to make you smile but no laughs from my end.
The action sequences. Usually the leads are involved in the fighting and action scenes as much as the side characters but that's not the case in this drama. Though I didn't mind the leads not fighting at alll, I felt the action scenes itself were kind of average or overly dramatic. And I'm a sucker for a good action sequence so this mattered to me.
The SML was okay. I don't feel much for him which isn't a good thing.
The ending. It was quite abrupt and tbh I didn't understand what happened at all until I read some explanations. I don't really like when directors expect you to fall back on the source to fill in your gaps. But I also understand why they did it that way. Since it involves censorship, I can't call it bad storytelling. Still... they could have compensated in other ways so it was disappoiinting.
Introducing a character late and then the twist. I'm not sure the twist was needed.
Romance. Though the leads' chemistry is great, the romance is okay. You won't find much of it since there is a lot of planning and scheming going on. Since everything was good, I didn't care too much so I'm mentioning this last. As romance can be huge for some viewers, I thought I would point this out.
To sum up, How Dare You is quite enjoyable but it also leaves you wanting a bit more.
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