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They say never judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, in the case of Where the Mask Ends, even the cover seems more interesting than some of the plot developments.

The undisputed highlight is Tian Xiwei, who plays both female leads. She absolutely nails the double role, giving each character a distinct personality, presence and emotional identity. She makes us believe we are watching two different women rather than one actress simply changing her expression and hairstyle. She deserves considerable credit for keeping the drama engaging, because without her performance, I suspect I would have struggled even more to stay interested.

As for Yan An, considering that he is relatively new to leading roles, he doesn’t do badly. He holds his own, and I have no particular complaints about his performance. He still has room to grow, but at least he isn’t the problem here.

The real problem is the script. Predictable, formulaic and so heavily dependent on clichés that I occasionally felt I could write the next episode myself. In fact, I suspect I could have written several of them without even watching the previous ones.

We get the usual historical-drama starter pack: palace intrigues, jealous concubines, princes fighting over the throne, marriages of convenience, poisonings, scheming royal relatives, power struggles and enough family conspiracies to keep an entire intelligence service employed. Is there a checklist somewhere that screenwriters must complete before they are allowed to make a historical drama?

I don’t object to familiar tropes. They can work perfectly well when the writing gives them originality, depth or an unexpected twist. But recycling the same ingredients without bringing anything particularly fresh to the table is another matter. At some point, familiarity stops being comforting and starts becoming exhausting.

And then we have the settings. Artificial is the word that comes to mind. Rather than transporting me into another world, many of the sets made me feel as though I were watching actors moving around a carefully decorated studio. The visual presentation simply lacked the authenticity and atmosphere needed to make the fictional world convincing.

But perhaps my biggest disappointment is that the drama left me completely indifferent. It didn’t move me, excite me, frustrate me or make me particularly eager to find out what happened next. No emotional investment, no butterflies, no heartbreak and certainly no urge to throw something at the screen. I simply watched it, finished it and moved on. And for a romantic drama, failing to stir any emotion is quite a considerable shortcoming.

It’s a shame, because Tian Xiwei clearly gives the production something worth watching. Unfortunately, one excellent performance cannot compensate for a script that seems determined to take the safest, most predictable route at every opportunity.

FINAL VERDICT: Tian Xiwei is the real reason to give this drama a chance. Yan An makes a respectable effort, but the story is weighed down by clichés, predictable plotting and artificial-looking settings.

We’ve seen these palace intrigues, jealous concubines, ambitious princes and convenient marriages so many times that I half expected the characters to introduce themselves by announcing which cliché they had been assigned.

A mediocre drama rescued, to a considerable extent, by an actress who clearly understood the assignment. As for the emotional experience? Well, my feelings apparently decided not to attend.

My rating: 5.5/10.