sloanefix

If you have dreams, you better be single. Marriage harms women.

The drama critiques the social pressures placed on women to marry, particularly in professional environments where single women are often viewed as incomplete or unreliable. Qin Shi's journey is one of resilience, challenging both traditional gender roles and the idea that a woman’s success should be tied to her marital status.

Female Roles and Feminist Analysis
Qin Shi – The Independent Career Woman
Qin Shi embodies the modern, career-driven woman who refuses to be defined by marriage. She is competent, intelligent, and unwilling to compromise her ambitions for societal expectations. Her character challenges the traditional Chinese ideal of a woman prioritizing family over personal achievement. However, her forced entanglement in a fake marriage raises questions about whether society truly allows women to succeed on their own terms.

Pressure to Marry as a Form of Control
One of the drama’s strongest feminist themes is its critique of the pressure on women to marry by a certain age. Qin Shi's firm assumes that a married woman is more "stable" and less of a risk to the company, reflecting real-life workplace discrimination against single women. The show highlights how women often have to navigate unfair professional biases based on their personal lives rather than their skills and achievements.

Family Expectations and Filial Piety
The drama also explores the generational conflict between traditional parents and modern women. Qin Shi’s family, like many in Asian societies, believes that a woman’s success is incomplete without a husband. This expectation reinforces the idea that women should prioritize their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers over their personal aspirations.

Romantic Dynamics – Love vs. Autonomy
Yang Hua, the male lead, is unique compared to traditional "dominant" male protagonists in Chinese dramas. He is introverted, financially independent, and not career-driven. His respect for Qin Shi's ambitions makes their relationship feel more balanced than many other dramas that portray dominant male figures controlling female leads. However, the romance still follows some conventional tropes, including emotional dependency and the gradual shift of Qin Shi’s priorities toward love.

Feminist Critique
Empowerment vs. Compromise: The show does an excellent job of presenting a strong, ambitious woman, but by the end, there is a shift toward romantic fulfillment, which can feel like a reinforcement of the idea that love should be a woman’s ultimate goal.

Workplace Misogyny: It effectively highlights gender-based discrimination but does not fully challenge the system—Qin Shi’s survival still depends on playing by the rules rather than breaking them.
Marriage as a Necessity: Even though Qin Shi’s marriage starts as fake, the story ultimately validates marriage as an ideal rather than allowing her to succeed entirely on her own.

Final Thoughts
She and Her Perfect Husband presents a nuanced look at modern women navigating career ambitions, societal expectations, and love. While it challenges many patriarchal norms, it still reinforces the idea that marriage is central to a woman's life. From a feminist perspective, it is a step forward in portraying independent female leads, but it does not fully break free from traditional gender expectations.

Read More

Beautiful romance, cowardly execution

PROS: a heaty-fluttering love story between an office worker and a gardener 10 years her junior. it adresses the surprise from other partied, while their relationship is steady and equal. i love that he liked her because she was kind and she grew to love him for his sensitive personality. no insta-love here, just people navigating their feelings

CONS: it explores the abberrant sexism in japan, attaching value to women only depending on their marriage status, but the series never names this injustice. everyone is rude to the heroine for daring to date a younger man and they're acting as if she'll be worthless if she doesn't get married, and even though she doesn't subscribe to this mindset, she's not denouncing it either.

TL;DR: the series wants to have it both ways, encourage a less socially acceptable romance, but trap the woman in the confines of marriage without exploring its meaning

Read More

Amazing cast, dynamic story, badass female lead

Story
it's a revenge story that centers around a woman who though is whip smart and talented, is neglected and passed over only because she's a woman and she's not rich. but fear not, she's not pitiful, she has a plan to get back at these assholes that caused her so much misery

Ensemble cast
she gets her revenge not as a lone wolf, but by gathering a team of law students each one commited to justice and to each other

Romance
There is a quiet, sweet blossoming romance between Soo Jae and one of her former clients, now in the law clinic. their relationship is full of support and love. it's not a romcom, so not a lot of time is focused on their romance, but it lingers and gives life to the show

Ending
Satisfying. without disclosing spoilers i can say you will not be disappointed

Read More

great obstacles don't make a relationship great

I saw the high MDL score and decided to watch it. you guys have no taste

Main issue: they don't have one scene where main couple enjoys each other's company. they are either childhood memories (which is NOT enough to base your whole life on) or they're arguing for no reason in the present. WHY DO THEY WANT TO BE TOGETHER??

The mere volume of obstacles doesn't mean they have to face them and be with each other. there was no sustance in their story, so i had to drop it at ep17.

Individual arcs: Her arc as a doctor trying to extricate herself from her family's clutches was really interesting. It ties beautifully with her attitude towards her career, she wants to be the best to finally be able to make decisions about her life. Her mom is a worthy antagonist, I was floored when she reminded of her immense priviledge and added another layer to their dynamic. other than that fl is nothing to write home about, even though i love seeing career women in dramas

male lead: great motivation for his work ethic: he wants to be the best to be allowed to date fl, who is from a high class. But he's so mean and immature with her, at least up to ep17 that I can't root for them. He rejects her and then cries about how much he loves her. Boohoo bitch, grow up.

bromance: favourite part by far, such a shame it only lasted 10 eps. the captain and instructor's frienship made them both sympathetic heroes, they complimented each other's approaches and were excellent superiors. plus my man was constantly reminding the boys of mental health besides the physical. we stan an emotionally aware king. you left too soon, baby

acting: i don't agree with people online bullying one of the cast for their acting skills. still, the acting was agressively average. it wasn't so bad but i will not be following the main actors' careers any time soon

military propaganda: at every freaking scene. you're not fooling us, china. and you could add female firefighters for starters.

TL;DR: Don't trust MDL scores, it's always the most boring shows who have the highest. this is watchable but not unmissable

Read More

Dreadfully uninteresting, plot for 10-year-olds

This drama has NOTHING more than its meagre collection of tropes. It doesn't attempt to do anything with them, not give us enough chemistry to support the boring plot. Whatever you think can happen will happen: he hates her, he sees her naked (very predatory Mr Yang), he is her landlord and boss (inappropriate), they go on a trip and he saves her, he gets jealous of the other man trying to get close to her. It's really a collection of cliches that wouldn't satisfy anyone with an adult brain. And the acting is lacking to boot! All characters look like unkempt teenagers, not adults with jobs. The constant green screen does nothing to alleviate the sense of absurdism.

If you want a good Taiwanese romace drama, watch The Way You Shine instead. Or even Refresh Man, if you like Aaron Yang

Read More

a romance in the idol world that leaves you wanting more

A woman doing everything from cleaning a convenience story to deliveries in order to sign a man whose face isn't as pretty as to warrant such level of commitment.

Okay, I'm in no way roasting the show, it's actually a straightforward series on what it takes to make it in the hell that is the idol industry told in the agent's pov. She is about to lose her job, when she sees a man who she considers handsome -just tall, no charisma- and if she signs him she'll save her career and start his. They fight together from there.

The romantic progression is slow but sweet and believable. And bonus points for depicting a blossoming older woman x younger man romance without stooping in ageist cliches. Their partnership and eventual relationship flows naturally. But beware, there are no kiss scenes, to the show's detriment.

My two gripes with this otherwise worthwhile show is A. it's too short to be fleshed out, it left me wanting to see more of the female lead fighting her way in the music industry. B. the male lead's acting is subpar. I am not being deliberately mean, it's a fact, and it's highlighed by the great performance of the female lead. I am sure they picked him just because he is tall - I blame all of you for elevating charmless men to fame just because they're over 1.85. Guess what, if a person can't act well, he'll be like a long stick without expression. I hope he gains experience and acting lessons because his management picks good projects for him so far.

TL;DR worth your time, it'll put a smile on your face

Read More

a refreshing take on old tropes

are you tired of the old cliche of rich man poor woman and its sexist overtones? me fucking too.

hence my reluctance to start another CEO x bubbly employee drama. is it trope-y? yes, but it handles these tropes with respect for the characters that ifound refreshing and fun. the most obvious case is the FL, who instead of being a pathetic dormat clinging to her boss personally and professionally, is a charismatic, hard-working, unapologetically sexy woman. she's built a strong frienship with the second lead and has a stable family unit. in other words, a whole world before ML even enters the picture. add to this that Sojeong is INSANELY talented. you have a recipe for cute rimance that you can rewatch guit free

the negatives:
-the 2nd couple kiss while being black out drunk. she was too inebriated to give consent. stop this shit
-no representation. yeah i know it's a kdrama but it's a negative in any medium
-some moments were dragged out way beyond the comedy
-mildly possesive and entitled male lead.
-the actor can't act. sorry. he is going to ruin another season of Dr Romantic
-not enough 2nd couple, i needed a lot more, they were cute and mature and sexy

positives:
everything else!

Read More

what all revenge stories aspire to be

it's rare in kdramaland that revenge stories are both bloody and emotionally satisfying. that's what the glory achieved. like a carefully organised chess board, Song Hye Kyo's much needed revenge was beautifully orchistrated and masterfully executed.

credit goes primarily to her, of course: i've been telling you people that song hye kyo is a spectacular actress for years. she has mastered the art of subtle expressions, with one look she can convey fiery emotions. she's been doing this from 1999 and it can be seen in her best melodrama -in my humble but correct opinion- Encounter. she's supported by a cast of villains you hate with your whole gut and two partners that make it all worth it. one offers her warmth and frienship and the other pure, everlasting love

i love my revenge stories but coming from the end of penthouse, i don't trust the writers to land the shot. this one did and it will remain legendary

Read More

Dreamy romance without the toxicity of classic kdramas

plot
though the series is not plot driven , we can say that it follows a hotel CEO that has been isolated her whole life and forced to shrink to fit into a certain image, to not upset her father's political career. so she had married the man they dictated and did the job that was expected of her. but she got out. and that's before the series start.

romance
the drama starts when a sweet man appears in her life and shares with her experiences she didn't have until now. even sharing a meal with her colleages wwas something foreign to her, but with his love and unwavering support she manages to keep control over the hotel she fought for and enjoy the simlicity of love

overall
sweet, meaningful, full of green flags

Read More

Time wasted on uimportant plot points

I woudn't want to be one of those 'i only liked the first season' people. And I'm not. The second season was narratively excellent.
While I waited for s3 to have a satisfactory concusion, the writer went for cheap shock value. t didn't deliver on the characters. Not only it wasted time with secondary characters and plot points that did little to the story, like Beak Jun Ki, it failed to give much needed detail on the primaries' motivations, like Su Ryeon's and Yoon Hee's .
I am saying all that as the biggest fan of the series. I liked it until s3e12.
Not to mention the finale. In my opinion, it reversed the whole point it had established for three seasons and betrayed the characters and the audience alike.
So should you watch it? If you've watched until s2, it's impossible not to. But don't le the awful ending negae a year long lovely experience.

Read More

Enforces the stereotypes it claims to oppose

What's the use in showing a woman fighting the oppression she faces by society if she'll eventually submit to them?

It annoys me that the portrayal of women in korean society is so accurate. the show does a painfully good job at this, you sympathize with dr Cha, who's working hard and has the brains, only for sexism to hold her back. It annoys me cause they do nothing with this! you don't get a medal for simply adressing the unfairness, the story must fight it. and it doesn't, the shitty cheater doesn't pay, neither his enabling mother. nothing changes, at the core.

About her "happy ending" I have mixed feelings. Loved that she became more confident and independent, but that wouldn't be erased if she gained a love interest. Koreans have a problem with middle aged women having a life beyond being a mother and wife. people in their 50s have sex, as they should. sometimes with younger men. as long as he treated her well, I don't see why she didn't give him a chance. you can be strong and independent while in a relationship with the right person.

Other reviews have said it better, but I'm saying it again: it's not her that had to change, it's the society!

Read More

Issues of consent can't be ignored

I'm all for noona romance and stories where the leads find each other despite everyone else looking down on their relationship. That's my jam.

This drama did a great job in depicting the misogyny that women in their 30's had to face, especially the time that it aired. Our fl didn't let society drag her down.

Still, the first sexual encounter between the two leads wasn't exactly consensual from either side, she was black out drunk and he "couldn't say no". Is this how you want a love story to start? If they had accidentally kissed instead of that, I'd give the drama a 9.5 due to the story and acting. But I can't endorse this message, that SA could be romantic.

Overall, you should skip this and if you like this type of stories there's Something In The Rain, Find Yourself, My Fated Boy etc

Read More

a childish soap opera with little substance

What I liked
Actually, the humour is pretty great, the female lead is giving physical comedy bites that rarely pass the cringe line. in the first episodes, i was laughing a lot

What I didn't
1. The main couple. The main lead is doing the cold thing and making her cry a ton, her being in the worst time of her career. she inexlicably falls for him. okay, the explanation is that he is hot. wow. riveting stuff
2. the female lead. her whole personality is her beauty. life kicks her in the butt, which i have to admit the scenes were heatrbreaking, but she just wears new clothes and cries over it.

TL;DR
looks amazing, it's empty inside

Read More

Breathes new life to a familiar trope. excellent acting, strong protagonists

STORY: it's a perfectly mix of a romcom, thriller/mystery, office drama and body swapping. our badass but sometimes morally grey heroine is killed but wakes up in the body of heart-of-gold entry level boy, who has complicates feelings for her. together, in alternating body formations, they try to find who at work would benefit from her dying and why are they switching bodies.

ACTING: its strong suit! it's amazing how perfectly the two protagonsists act in their body AND in the other one's, you can immediately tell if it's the real Seun Ho or her in his body. the style, the mannerisms, the form of speech changes completely and it's fascinating to watch! plus Lomon is better where he's playing her.

THE ONE BAD THING: i can't believe i'm saying this in 2024, but there's homophobia. there's a gay man in a minor role who's demoted, contantly ridiculed for his sexuality and his style, is presented a an annoying caricature and is only accepted when they use him to turn profit for the branding company. disgusting. just because he's not getting attacked doesn't mean the show doesn't look down on him. do better, korea. hence my 9.5 instead of a perfect 10 rating

CONCLUSION: watch it for the pleasure of being surprised and amused.

Read More