This review may contain spoilers
Charming and Funny, with Some Flaws
To be absolutely frank, I watched this hot off the heels of The Double and only because it had Wang Xingyue in it. Good actors tend to choose roles and scripts wisely, and so far, he hasn't disappointed. I watched him as a villain in One and Only where he was outstanding.
So, I went into Perfect Match expecting another great show, and he didn't let me down.
Perfect Match is a light-hearted comedy with rich characters and some unbelievable plot twists. It's a period drama NOT, for once, set in the imperial court and there are no court politics to navigate. That by itself makes it different from all the other costume dramas I've seen so far. The story is about a widow with five daughters, four of them unmarried, and her prime goal in life is to marry them off. Reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice, there are misunderstandings, schemes, and issues of class and income to overcome with each match. One by one, however, the Widow Li finds the perfect match for the different temperaments of each daughter.
It's not all perfect, however. There are some things in some of the stories I found annoying. (Warning, SPOILERS AHEAD!)
For example, the second match of Du Yangxi and eldest daughter Shuhoa was just fraught with issues from the get-go. He's secretive and scheming, laying plans and executing them on his own, and she's mistrustful, giving him 'tests' of his feelings for her. Given how they began their marriage, the distrust was to be expected, but I found their storyline too unbelievable to like them as a couple. The youngest daughter was married off to someone who once threatened and bullied the entire family. THAT was a major red flag. No matter how they tried to explain it away (he was young and had unsavoury companions who led him astray--can you feel my eyes roll as I write this?), this was an appalling match. And the fourth daughter married a robot masquerading as a man until he had an accident and suffered a bout of--of all the tropes--AMNESIA. That apparently set him straight, turning Pinocchio into a real boy.
Perhaps the only two matches I was totally on board with (and I admit, I'm biased) were the third daughter and the stepdaughter. They rushed through the storylines of the youngest daughter and the stepdaughter, however, (six episodes for both, whereas the others each had ~10 episodes per couple) so these weren't properly fleshed out, sadly.
On the flip side, the sets are meticulous. The attention to detail with everyday life during the Song Dynasty is top-notch. The atmosphere is beautifully designed and, overall, if you don't take the crazy too seriously, Perfect Match is fun to watch. It's low-stakes and comedic, the acting is crisp and funny; it will draw you in, and before you know it, you'll be invested in the characters and will HAVE to watch the series till the end.
So, I went into Perfect Match expecting another great show, and he didn't let me down.
Perfect Match is a light-hearted comedy with rich characters and some unbelievable plot twists. It's a period drama NOT, for once, set in the imperial court and there are no court politics to navigate. That by itself makes it different from all the other costume dramas I've seen so far. The story is about a widow with five daughters, four of them unmarried, and her prime goal in life is to marry them off. Reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice, there are misunderstandings, schemes, and issues of class and income to overcome with each match. One by one, however, the Widow Li finds the perfect match for the different temperaments of each daughter.
It's not all perfect, however. There are some things in some of the stories I found annoying. (Warning, SPOILERS AHEAD!)
For example, the second match of Du Yangxi and eldest daughter Shuhoa was just fraught with issues from the get-go. He's secretive and scheming, laying plans and executing them on his own, and she's mistrustful, giving him 'tests' of his feelings for her. Given how they began their marriage, the distrust was to be expected, but I found their storyline too unbelievable to like them as a couple. The youngest daughter was married off to someone who once threatened and bullied the entire family. THAT was a major red flag. No matter how they tried to explain it away (he was young and had unsavoury companions who led him astray--can you feel my eyes roll as I write this?), this was an appalling match. And the fourth daughter married a robot masquerading as a man until he had an accident and suffered a bout of--of all the tropes--AMNESIA. That apparently set him straight, turning Pinocchio into a real boy.
Perhaps the only two matches I was totally on board with (and I admit, I'm biased) were the third daughter and the stepdaughter. They rushed through the storylines of the youngest daughter and the stepdaughter, however, (six episodes for both, whereas the others each had ~10 episodes per couple) so these weren't properly fleshed out, sadly.
On the flip side, the sets are meticulous. The attention to detail with everyday life during the Song Dynasty is top-notch. The atmosphere is beautifully designed and, overall, if you don't take the crazy too seriously, Perfect Match is fun to watch. It's low-stakes and comedic, the acting is crisp and funny; it will draw you in, and before you know it, you'll be invested in the characters and will HAVE to watch the series till the end.
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