Bai Hehuai Lover

I first heard about this show back in May and was sooooooo excited for it from that initial trailer. I looooooooooooved Tian Xiwei in Pursuit of Jade and was eager to see her tackle this dual role. She did incredible work in this show and she clearly put a lot of thought into how to make A-Chou and Wei Rao distinct from each other. But that is quite literally the only positive I can say for this show. Clearly I didn't make it very far before I gave up LOL but the writers of this show were too busy thinking of the most shocking plot twists they could throw in that they just did not bother to consider whether the story made a lick of sense. Lu Zhuo hates Wei Rao and wants nothing to do with her, but they are currently engaged. He tells her he's publicly calling off the engagement when he comes back from battle after she attempts to kill another noblewoman, but even tho he knows her personality so well (apparently), he doesn't have the forethought to expect that she would progress things for the wedding while he was away. Lu Zhuo is shot w a poison arrow and is in a coma and Wei Rao doesn't want to be forced into the marriage now that it looks like he's dying, so she has her aunt find a doppleganger to take her place. As I've seen other ppl point out, A-Chou manages to convincingly pretend to be Wei Rao to the point that all these other nobles don't see anything amiss despite A-Chou having a job of cleaning latrines and knowing nothing of the lavish life that Wei Rao has lived before she is brought to the Wei residence. You want to know how Lu Zhuo survives? A-Chou is uncomfortable sharing a bed with him and seeing his face while she tries to sleep, so she tilts him onto his side. Dozens of doctors came to try to see if they could save him and apparently not a single one of them had that thought. Absolutely ludicrous. The next episode, one of the servants who accompanied A-Chou to the Lu residence and knows about the swap tries to kill her via poison and she just fucking collapses in the middle of trying to attack A-Chou. Like the plot would progress nowhere if it weren't for the plot armor lmao. As for the "romance".............. Lu Zhuo constantly says Wei Rao is vicious and puts on a facade and can't be trusted so he is very suspicious of A-Chou and believes she has some ulterior motive that he hasn't figured out yet....... but somehow he's clearly moved by these acts that she is claiming to do for him (A-Chou is literally just trying to ensure her safety by attempting to gain his favor). Like idk man. If I knew someone tried to murder another woman bc she dared to have a crush on me, *did* murder that woman's maid to hide the fact that she unprovoked pushed that woman off a balcony, and sliced her own hand open to make it look like the other woman and her maid attacked her first..... I would not be staring at that woman with fondness just bc she performed a ritual hoping for marital harmony. Like lmao are you joking?????

Ep 5 was my breaking point bc ep 4 ended with A-Chou locked in a room with gasoline on the floor and Wei Rao throwing a torch and like. we knew she wouldn't die (at least not that early) so I was like 'wow. idrc.' and clearly it's supposed to be a cliffhanger that has the audience anxious about how A-Chou can possibly survive this and then 5 seconds into the next episode the Wei grandmother is telling servants to put out the fire. Like............................ OK lmao. A-Chou was smart enough to sneak a note into Lu Zhuo's belongings in case something happened to her at the Wei residence, but not smart enough to suspect that Bitao might be loyal to someone in the Wei residence and betray her. OK. Wei Rao is unhinged enough to try to kill A-Chou at the Wei residence and then after being reprimanded by her grandmother, willing to try again IN PUBLIC, and yet Lu Zhuo still has no idea about the swap. OK. (Also don't get me started on how f*cking stupid it is that Wei Rao held A-Chou underwater and one of Wei Rao's servants literally checked for breathing and said A-Chou wasn't breathing but then she managed to pull Wei Rao into the water and they were tussling. OK.)

Tian Xiwei please get a lead role that allows you to show off your range that isn't utter garbage 🙏