Polished prod, lovely actors, but the weak writing doesn't manage to maintain the initial tension
Yeah so there is no hiding, it's a big guilty pleasure, there is zero excuse for the very toxic plot at the beginning beside fulfulling some dark fantasies (I'm the target, can't complain). It starts with the hero going straight to the brothel to assault his ex instead of deflowering his bride, before throwing the heroïne in a snowstorm, literally putting her in ice and fire trials. I can't deny it, I really enjoyed the first part of this when it's very f*cked up and all "I will get my revenge on you but I'm also still very attracted to you, so my revenge will be agressively sexual with lots of angry kisses and biting". I also enjoyed the crazy ménage à trois with Bao Bao (Teng Ze Wen is delightful as a childish and vain first wife), but lost interest once it became more classic as the dynamic between the characters changes. It stays beautiful though, thanks to strong production values and direction. Deng Zhan Neng is known for churning some really polished short romances like this one, and I'm very excited to see what he does next. Plot wise, I really like this kind of dark romance where the revenge is personal (it's a whole subplot in Kunning Palace), but ultimately I found the writing not strong enough to sustain the tension until the end.
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