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Character Studies in Shades of Redemption and Healing
I'm not quite sure how to feel about this one. It was interesting the whole way through.
Sorry this review is a mix of major spoilers and vague rambling.
The twist/frame was seeded the whole way through, yes. And yet...I feel like when they weren't actively laying the groundwork for it, they kind of forgot it. Some of the most meaningful impactful things that happened were small moments the MC was totally unaware of.
Another reviewer said they felt like it ended too early right before the actual resolution and I'd agree. It's either too late (ie skip the "twist") or too early because we don't get to see her apply what she's learned. In one timeline she fights for and ultimately attains a simpler life, actively rejecting the power games and complexities and sacrifices involved in a noble household. And that feels like a _good_ and healthy decision, even if she achieves it later than she'd wanted to her cost. So having the other timeline head her in the direction of the noble household from, arguably, an even worse starting point...I want to see any of that play out to feel any confidence in that as a life for her and for them as a couple.
The one she's supposed to now be with at the end...like they haven't earned being a couple. Ok, his flashbacks help a little. But her alternate timeline experience...I guess one could say she guessed part of the truth, but didn't have faith in them as a couple either. And he did so many awful things in that timeline, keeping things from her, making decisions for her, devaluing the people she cared about willing to sacrifice everyone she wanted to protect. So the one in the final timeline...I haven't seen him in action enough to believe he's better for her. He's clearly proved a bit better at negotiating with his mother. But for the rest? I'd love to have gotten an episode at least of them finding their footing together. Especially since there were like 3 episodes worth of epiloguing the other story and long drawn out wrap up and after story -- but then the "real" story ends so abruptly.
It was a fascinating meditation on people though and what drives them to bad decisions, selfish or desperate decisions, who regrets or repents or reforms themselves and why...and who doesn't and just keeps doubling down. There's pretty few of the latter though. Some people stay unrepentant about one area of their life where they're awful, and yet are amazingly self-sacrificing in a different arena of life.
Early episodes had some humor with playing off of historical romance tropes--the MC is set up as the "villainess" in a classic revenge/justice romance arc for the other female lead. So watching them sketch in some of the stable elements for that other woman can add a very smart understated humor to certain early scenes. And we get to wince alongside our regretful villainess as she looks back on some of the things she did, or sees others do similar things and cringes as she realizes she was just as bad.
Watching her grow as a person is fascinating. She has already had some genuine growth. But she also does a number of "good" things in a selfish way since she is trying to avoid the bad outcomes she had previously...and she gets called on that and reflects on it. Or there's times she genuinely tried to do the right thing out of empathy but then finds she still didn't think things all the way through. It's all a learning process. And likewise, people she thought poorly of sometimes surprise her and touch her heart.
The vast tangle of love interests for the two women didn't have anyone to fully wow me. Instead it's an examination of different ways love and obsession and devotion can play out. The damage of waffling between potential love interests. The damage of jealousy and doubt. The damage of holding on to someone who's asked you to let go. All four men have good moments and bad moments (the balance varies though!).
So I don't know. I don't regret going through those meditations with the story. And many of the side characters were rich and nuanced as well. There's some interesting thoughts about what it means to make a fresh start, to reform.
But if you're looking for a swoon-worthy romance, this wasn't it, at least not for me.
Sorry this review is a mix of major spoilers and vague rambling.
The twist/frame was seeded the whole way through, yes. And yet...I feel like when they weren't actively laying the groundwork for it, they kind of forgot it. Some of the most meaningful impactful things that happened were small moments the MC was totally unaware of.
Another reviewer said they felt like it ended too early right before the actual resolution and I'd agree. It's either too late (ie skip the "twist") or too early because we don't get to see her apply what she's learned. In one timeline she fights for and ultimately attains a simpler life, actively rejecting the power games and complexities and sacrifices involved in a noble household. And that feels like a _good_ and healthy decision, even if she achieves it later than she'd wanted to her cost. So having the other timeline head her in the direction of the noble household from, arguably, an even worse starting point...I want to see any of that play out to feel any confidence in that as a life for her and for them as a couple.
The one she's supposed to now be with at the end...like they haven't earned being a couple. Ok, his flashbacks help a little. But her alternate timeline experience...I guess one could say she guessed part of the truth, but didn't have faith in them as a couple either. And he did so many awful things in that timeline, keeping things from her, making decisions for her, devaluing the people she cared about willing to sacrifice everyone she wanted to protect. So the one in the final timeline...I haven't seen him in action enough to believe he's better for her. He's clearly proved a bit better at negotiating with his mother. But for the rest? I'd love to have gotten an episode at least of them finding their footing together. Especially since there were like 3 episodes worth of epiloguing the other story and long drawn out wrap up and after story -- but then the "real" story ends so abruptly.
It was a fascinating meditation on people though and what drives them to bad decisions, selfish or desperate decisions, who regrets or repents or reforms themselves and why...and who doesn't and just keeps doubling down. There's pretty few of the latter though. Some people stay unrepentant about one area of their life where they're awful, and yet are amazingly self-sacrificing in a different arena of life.
Early episodes had some humor with playing off of historical romance tropes--the MC is set up as the "villainess" in a classic revenge/justice romance arc for the other female lead. So watching them sketch in some of the stable elements for that other woman can add a very smart understated humor to certain early scenes. And we get to wince alongside our regretful villainess as she looks back on some of the things she did, or sees others do similar things and cringes as she realizes she was just as bad.
Watching her grow as a person is fascinating. She has already had some genuine growth. But she also does a number of "good" things in a selfish way since she is trying to avoid the bad outcomes she had previously...and she gets called on that and reflects on it. Or there's times she genuinely tried to do the right thing out of empathy but then finds she still didn't think things all the way through. It's all a learning process. And likewise, people she thought poorly of sometimes surprise her and touch her heart.
The vast tangle of love interests for the two women didn't have anyone to fully wow me. Instead it's an examination of different ways love and obsession and devotion can play out. The damage of waffling between potential love interests. The damage of jealousy and doubt. The damage of holding on to someone who's asked you to let go. All four men have good moments and bad moments (the balance varies though!).
So I don't know. I don't regret going through those meditations with the story. And many of the side characters were rich and nuanced as well. There's some interesting thoughts about what it means to make a fresh start, to reform.
But if you're looking for a swoon-worthy romance, this wasn't it, at least not for me.
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