This review may contain spoilers
Fantasy short dramas tend to be bad for the fact that they are a short drama.While Seeds of Scarlet Longing is not completely full on fantasy, it has fantasy elements that because of the format, aren't explored enough. And it falls short because of it in almost every aspect. The plot feels rushed towards the end and none of the themes the drama tries to explore is fully developed. But overall, it was simply enjoyable.
The first half is very promising, it's cute and the acting is on point, specially the leads and second male lead. Female lead is very lovable to me, you can understand easily the male lead and the second lead is very interesting. I think the second female lead is a little bit weak, but she's a new actress, so I think she did well, I just wished her character had a little more depth. The villains also needed a little bit more depth. The romance between the leads was also ON POINT. The relationship between uncle and nephew was amazing, the female friendship power! Overall, the dinamics and acting really saved the drama for me.
The dinamics, styling and cinematography were also great! And I'm just being petty but the male character's wig was so visible, wish they tried to conceal it more. But Zhao Qing and Deng Xiaoci's styling is top tier overall!
Now, the drama falls apart the moment it tries to resolve the issues, because it's very caricature-like. They simply talk to the people and the people understand that they are wrong. The fact that the Jadelings trick men to live with them is also never ever acknowledged and the conflict is resolved so easily that it just falls flat. That's why I truly think, that maybe if it was a longer drama, maybe the writers would have put a little more effort into the conflict and themes within the drama.
Despite that, the ending was very satisfying, specially for the female characters, who chose themselves and their freedom.
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