K-Drama 
18
18
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
11
1
1
6
3
4
This review may contain spoilers
When in Doubt, Ask Lanxiang
In a nutshell, this drama lays bare a brutal reality: when men in power mess up, they drag their entire clan down to the grave with them, but when a woman slips, she is instantly discarded. Only remarkably sharp women like Lanxiang could foresee these tragedies and navigate the treacherous loopholes to survive. Yet, hanging over everyone is the inescapable equalizer: the mighty imperial decree.
There was plenty to love about the show. First, the women in this drama knew what they wanted and their characters remained consistent until their demise, including female antagonists like Xingtang and Du Cuique who had real depth and masterclass acting. The world-building was meticulous, with the writer acing foreshadowing and irony. I especially loved the foreshadowing in Episode 1 where Shen Jialan asks her father, "What is a slave?" only to later live as one for six years. The thematic irony of the imperial decree was also brilliant: the same decree that chased her from her house and wiped out her family ended up trapping her in a marriage and accidentally bringing her former home back to her, lol. I also appreciated how the writer incorporated modern satire, like Jinqi being so ahead of his time that he ended up fainting in the delivery room during the birth of their firstborn, and later vowing never to take a concubine because he would rather stand by his wife than a child he hasn't even met. Word! On top of that, the Lin siblings were a breath of fresh air: tight-knit, non-toxic, and always standing up for each other, whether Xiuru covered for Xiuwan's secret rendezvous or Jinqi and Xiuwan helped Xialan get a divorce with Lanxiang's help obviously.
Of course, I had mixed feelings about a few things. The pacing was extremely slow, especially regarding Lin Jinqi and Lanxiang's love story, and I wasn't a fan of the forced marriage trope, though after Jinqi's grandpa whooped him real good, all was well on my end. It also became a bit predictable that every single trouble that came their way could be instantly solved if Lanxiang was consulted, lol.
On the downside, the time-skips in Episode 39 were too much and really hurt the romance arc. I was looking forward to seeing their honeymoon phase after visiting her family grave, but we only got to see Jinqi fall hopelessly in love with her without ever getting Lanxiang's perspective in that phase.
In the end, though, they all led decent lives and stuck with the core theme: To live well. Life gave these women lemons, but they managed to turn them into a full-course dessert.
I would recommend this to lovers of women-centric dramas; it wasn’t perfect, but I had fun watching this.
There was plenty to love about the show. First, the women in this drama knew what they wanted and their characters remained consistent until their demise, including female antagonists like Xingtang and Du Cuique who had real depth and masterclass acting. The world-building was meticulous, with the writer acing foreshadowing and irony. I especially loved the foreshadowing in Episode 1 where Shen Jialan asks her father, "What is a slave?" only to later live as one for six years. The thematic irony of the imperial decree was also brilliant: the same decree that chased her from her house and wiped out her family ended up trapping her in a marriage and accidentally bringing her former home back to her, lol. I also appreciated how the writer incorporated modern satire, like Jinqi being so ahead of his time that he ended up fainting in the delivery room during the birth of their firstborn, and later vowing never to take a concubine because he would rather stand by his wife than a child he hasn't even met. Word! On top of that, the Lin siblings were a breath of fresh air: tight-knit, non-toxic, and always standing up for each other, whether Xiuru covered for Xiuwan's secret rendezvous or Jinqi and Xiuwan helped Xialan get a divorce with Lanxiang's help obviously.
Of course, I had mixed feelings about a few things. The pacing was extremely slow, especially regarding Lin Jinqi and Lanxiang's love story, and I wasn't a fan of the forced marriage trope, though after Jinqi's grandpa whooped him real good, all was well on my end. It also became a bit predictable that every single trouble that came their way could be instantly solved if Lanxiang was consulted, lol.
On the downside, the time-skips in Episode 39 were too much and really hurt the romance arc. I was looking forward to seeing their honeymoon phase after visiting her family grave, but we only got to see Jinqi fall hopelessly in love with her without ever getting Lanxiang's perspective in that phase.
In the end, though, they all led decent lives and stuck with the core theme: To live well. Life gave these women lemons, but they managed to turn them into a full-course dessert.
I would recommend this to lovers of women-centric dramas; it wasn’t perfect, but I had fun watching this.
Was this review helpful to you?
