This review may contain spoilers
Okay hear me out… I know 7.5 feels low…
“Perfect Match” had a whole lot of potential, and in many ways, it lived up to it. However, in many ways it didn’t. I experienced a plethora of emotions and opinions throughout the course of this show. Was it perfect? Not by any means. Did I enjoy it still? Definitely.
Here’s my breakdown:
Pros:
1. What a fresh idea! Never before have I seen (among over a hundred dramas) any drama like this where it tackles four stories in one and yet makes it one cohesive story! I truly hope we see more of this in the future. It was especially cool to get to follow the couple’s lives on past their stories since they all remain active in the plot.
2. This is family writing done masterfully! This family of women is tremendous. You will fall in love with them. Even their eccentric, over-the-top mother had my heart in the end. They managed to walk the very fine line between becoming a family drama instead of romance. Instead, it was both, and I loved it.
3. The first and third story arcs were beautifully done. Both couples (Li Kangning/Chai An and Li Haode/Shen Huizhao) had tremendous chemistry. Like seriously! Their kiss scenes were on point and their love felt real. Plus these storylines were the best fleshed out. I expected the third arc to be my least favorite but it ended up being my favorite.
4. The Rom-Com balance is excellent. There is a healthy blend of comedy—you will literally laugh out loud—and romance in this drama. You will laugh and cry as you journey with these women though their funny moments and their deep despair and ultimately their forever love.
5. The Son-in-Law Alliance!!! This was the freaking best. I loved this, iykyk
Cons:
1. The repetition in the stories... They had so much opportunity for these arcs to be profoundly different each time. But they really weren’t. They typically follow this pattern: 1. They hate each other. 2. One falls hard first (typically the ML). 3. One pulls away and keeps the other guessing (typically the FL). 4. They break up and are miserable for a couple episodes. 5. Happy ending… This really hurt the show. It meant I began to lose interest at some point in each arc. The thing that kept me watching was knowing it would change to a new couple soon.
2. The fourth coupling was atrocious. Oh my goodness, where the heck do I start? Li Leshan is hardly the likable sister in the first three quarters of the drama, but in her own story she is worse. She is physically abusive (and I mean this literally) and spoiled and unkind. Yang Xian is no better. He is awful. He is selfish, also unkind, and so manipulative. I made it three episodes into their story before giving up and skipping to the last half of the last episode because I could NOT handle them or their storyline at all. Luckily, you can do this and not miss anything because it’s its own story.
3. At least two of our female leads drove me crazy with the way they made their men work their butts off to earn their love (Kangning and Shouhua), but Shouhua’s was truly disappointing. I’m a huge Liu Xie Ning fan so I was PUMPED for her arc. But the “will they or won’t they” and “will he ever earn her love” things really are tiresome to me. And goodness what was that kiss scene? I know LXN can nail a kiss scene (ie. “Night of Love with You”)… so um what? Her arc was still fine though.
Overall, it has enough good that you will enjoy it despite its flaws. The final arc does significant damage to the overall rating but still. (This drama would have been a 8.5 if the last arc had been as good as the first three.) The acting, the OST, the overarching plot’s writing, and the freshness of the story carry it through despite its shortcomings.
Here’s my breakdown:
Pros:
1. What a fresh idea! Never before have I seen (among over a hundred dramas) any drama like this where it tackles four stories in one and yet makes it one cohesive story! I truly hope we see more of this in the future. It was especially cool to get to follow the couple’s lives on past their stories since they all remain active in the plot.
2. This is family writing done masterfully! This family of women is tremendous. You will fall in love with them. Even their eccentric, over-the-top mother had my heart in the end. They managed to walk the very fine line between becoming a family drama instead of romance. Instead, it was both, and I loved it.
3. The first and third story arcs were beautifully done. Both couples (Li Kangning/Chai An and Li Haode/Shen Huizhao) had tremendous chemistry. Like seriously! Their kiss scenes were on point and their love felt real. Plus these storylines were the best fleshed out. I expected the third arc to be my least favorite but it ended up being my favorite.
4. The Rom-Com balance is excellent. There is a healthy blend of comedy—you will literally laugh out loud—and romance in this drama. You will laugh and cry as you journey with these women though their funny moments and their deep despair and ultimately their forever love.
5. The Son-in-Law Alliance!!! This was the freaking best. I loved this, iykyk
Cons:
1. The repetition in the stories... They had so much opportunity for these arcs to be profoundly different each time. But they really weren’t. They typically follow this pattern: 1. They hate each other. 2. One falls hard first (typically the ML). 3. One pulls away and keeps the other guessing (typically the FL). 4. They break up and are miserable for a couple episodes. 5. Happy ending… This really hurt the show. It meant I began to lose interest at some point in each arc. The thing that kept me watching was knowing it would change to a new couple soon.
2. The fourth coupling was atrocious. Oh my goodness, where the heck do I start? Li Leshan is hardly the likable sister in the first three quarters of the drama, but in her own story she is worse. She is physically abusive (and I mean this literally) and spoiled and unkind. Yang Xian is no better. He is awful. He is selfish, also unkind, and so manipulative. I made it three episodes into their story before giving up and skipping to the last half of the last episode because I could NOT handle them or their storyline at all. Luckily, you can do this and not miss anything because it’s its own story.
3. At least two of our female leads drove me crazy with the way they made their men work their butts off to earn their love (Kangning and Shouhua), but Shouhua’s was truly disappointing. I’m a huge Liu Xie Ning fan so I was PUMPED for her arc. But the “will they or won’t they” and “will he ever earn her love” things really are tiresome to me. And goodness what was that kiss scene? I know LXN can nail a kiss scene (ie. “Night of Love with You”)… so um what? Her arc was still fine though.
Overall, it has enough good that you will enjoy it despite its flaws. The final arc does significant damage to the overall rating but still. (This drama would have been a 8.5 if the last arc had been as good as the first three.) The acting, the OST, the overarching plot’s writing, and the freshness of the story carry it through despite its shortcomings.
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