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A Life for a Life chinese drama review
Completed
A Life for a Life
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1 Big Brain Award1
Aug 2, 2025
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Could've been a thrilling ride or an emotional journey. Wanted to be both so it became neither.

It might be a “me problem” since I caught myself having similar complaints about other dramas too - they are not simple enough. And this is also how I felt watching this show.

On one hand it was a crime “who did it” mystery with twists and new revelations at every turn. We followed a few characters, all with their individual stories that at the end connect into a whole picture. On the other hand it’s a one man psychological drama about how obsession over your own regrets can affect your life and lead you to a point of no return. And these two just did not mash well for me.

The tension was rising when the plot was following the mystery bits, but then we got a full on episode that seemed like a borderline slice of life drama of romance between Xiang Dong and Fen Fang. Then we go back to mystery, but we focus on a completely different set of characters, and then come back to Xiang Dong and turn it into a character driven show. But then again we are back to following Yong Hong, Yao Xin and Wen Guo and I was getting whiplash from all these switches. Whenever I got interested in the “who done it” aspect, I was put back on the path of Xiang Dong’s obsession. When I was getting invested in his character, they switched the focus completely to someone else.

I really enjoyed all the elements, characters, plots and themes. The stakes were high, the progression of the plot made sense. The acting was fantastic, but I just could not get that invested with all that switching of the focus points.

Directing and production wise it was visually beautiful, but unreal about intentions from time to time. Some scenes had your typical grand revelation editing, but the content of what was shown was obvious by all the previous hints given. I honestly did not know if it was stylistically overdramatized for no reason, or if it was the big revelation because the writer thinks I am an idiot and did not figure it out a few episodes ago with all the obvious hints…

Overall, I still believe it’s a solid show. It has its ups and downs, but it can for sure maintain your attention and interest.
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