Rice Cake Hunter

TOXIC AND NEEDS A MAJOR REDEMPTION ARC FOR EVERYTHING TO WORK

First of all. I’m mainly in it for Cheng Lei. I love how this actor brings life to every character he portrays, and the best I’ve seen him so far is as Prince Mo Xiu Yao in The First Jasmine. So, of course, I was excited to see him play another character.

Twenty-three episodes in, I can say both lead artists have done such a great job playing their characters, especially Cheng Lei. His character is despicable and complicated, yet he effectively delivers all the layers and nuances needed to make this fictional person believable (and hateable lol)

Kudos to Xu Ruo Han, too. I've only seen one of her shows so far, The Best Thing, where she starred opposite Zhang Ling He. I couldn’t say much about her acting range from that drama alone. But in The Lament of Autumn, I’m impressed! I loved how she made her character seem so confident, slightly brazen even, but also quite vulnerable.

EVERY MALE CHARACTER HERE IS AWFUL

Male lead is awful; second male lead is awful; male lead’s father is awful; female lead’s father is awful; supporting male characters are awful. [ADD: I am watching the most recent episodes now and the brother-in-law is THE WORST]. Jesus.

Some episodes were very disturbing, and after watching all that, I couldn’t reconcile with the idea that this is supposed to be a love story. There was a brief redemption arc for Yu Changxuan, but I don’t think it was enough. Though he somewhat changed, I can still see the controlling and manipulative man he is, even after the two years he sacrificed himself to take care of his “wife”. It wasn’t an entirely selfless act because underneath everything he did, he still wanted to “possess” Pingjun.

Again, twenty-three episodes in, but I’m still not sure where the story is going. Or maybe I just don’t like to see where the story is actually heading. To me, this shouldn’t be a love story. I can’t, for the life of me, root for this couple to get together.

I want a major redemption arc for Ye Pingjun. I want to see her out of that wretched city, study abroad, and maybe come back a changed woman, more empowered and capable, and very much well outside the control of her “husband” and any other male character. I don’t know. I just want her to live a life outside a world defined by men.

There’s still room for growth. I hope things can change for the better.

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