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This review may contain spoilers
A surprisingly angsty yet refreshing transmigration drama
I went into How Dare You!? without having read the novel or watched the live-action or donghua adaptations, and this drama alone already makes me want to check them out. This drama delivered just the right amount of romance, comedy, and angst.
MAJOR SPOILERS [At first, I thought I was getting a light-hearted rom-com, but it turned out to be far more angsty than expected. What surprised me the most was how layered Xiahou Dan was. His early brutal actions, felt confusing at first, especially since he was also from the modern world. But once it was revealed that he transmigrated as a child, suffered countless hardships and survived alone in that world without knowing the novel's plot, his personality made much more sense. It explained why he became the so-called “incapable tyrant,” why he wasn't afraid to cross moral lines and acted so detached. His backstory genuinely broke my heart and I really did not expect this sub-plot. So, I will not tolerate any Zhang San slander (fight me) 😤]
Even though the transmigration-into-a-novel trope is very common, this drama still felt like a breath of fresh air to me. It didn’t reinvent the trope, but the execution made it deeply engaging. So even though I was familiar with the usual structure of this type of story, I still found myself completely immersed while other similar shows didn't manage to catch my attention the same way.
Also, I actually really enjoyed the comedy. It genuinely felt like two 21st-century people trapped inside historical novel characters’ bodies, and their humor reflected that perfectly. Their jokes, their bickering, and modern mindset in a palace setting were very entertaining, especially scenes like them eating hotpot together or casually bickering like actual friends. This is what I'm going to miss most about the drama 💕
I also liked that the setting leaned more toward a palace drama, which felt refreshing since most transmigration dramas I’ve watched focus on nobles or commoners rather than palace life. So the consorts’ constant bickering added even more fun on top of that.
I also usually don’t go for the friends-to-lovers trope, but here it felt very natural. Xiahou Dan and Yu Wanyin genuinely came across as best friends first, and their relationship slowly developing into romance felt natural rather than forced. Cheng Lei and Wang Churan's chemistry was off the charts!!
As for what I could have been better, there were some inconsistencies in the writing. I often felt like certain pieces of information were missing, and as someone who hasn’t read the novel, I needed quite a few spoilers to fully understand the story. Because of that, I couldn’t rate it a full 10. However, since this drama wasn’t originally on my radar and I didn't go in with high expectations, I ended up enjoying it much more than anticipated. The “Zhang San’s diary” clips at the end of the episodes also clarified a lot, so I’m not too bothered by this issue.
Another tiny downside that upset me was the number of unnecessary deaths. So many precious characters were killed off in ways that felt more like plot devices than meaningful narrative choices, and I feel like some of them really didn't have to die in order for the plot to progress, like they do in other dramas 💔
The ending itself was beautiful and well-done, but the reunion of the main leads in the real world didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been. It follows the familiar open-ending-style reunion in most transmigration dramas, where they simply look at each other and smile (like ADWAD or WDBTD). Even though I understand the narrative limitations these kind of dramas have because of censorship and I didn't expect much more, the final emotional payoff still felt a little bit lackluster despite the ending being satisfying.
Overall, despite a few flaws, this drama still surprised me in the best way and ended up being a very heartfelt and memorable watch! Realistically a 9/10, but my enjoyment makes it a 9.5 :)
Edit: Thanks for the award, fyra! ❤️
MAJOR SPOILERS [At first, I thought I was getting a light-hearted rom-com, but it turned out to be far more angsty than expected. What surprised me the most was how layered Xiahou Dan was. His early brutal actions, felt confusing at first, especially since he was also from the modern world. But once it was revealed that he transmigrated as a child, suffered countless hardships and survived alone in that world without knowing the novel's plot, his personality made much more sense. It explained why he became the so-called “incapable tyrant,” why he wasn't afraid to cross moral lines and acted so detached. His backstory genuinely broke my heart and I really did not expect this sub-plot. So, I will not tolerate any Zhang San slander (fight me) 😤]
Even though the transmigration-into-a-novel trope is very common, this drama still felt like a breath of fresh air to me. It didn’t reinvent the trope, but the execution made it deeply engaging. So even though I was familiar with the usual structure of this type of story, I still found myself completely immersed while other similar shows didn't manage to catch my attention the same way.
Also, I actually really enjoyed the comedy. It genuinely felt like two 21st-century people trapped inside historical novel characters’ bodies, and their humor reflected that perfectly. Their jokes, their bickering, and modern mindset in a palace setting were very entertaining, especially scenes like them eating hotpot together or casually bickering like actual friends. This is what I'm going to miss most about the drama 💕
I also liked that the setting leaned more toward a palace drama, which felt refreshing since most transmigration dramas I’ve watched focus on nobles or commoners rather than palace life. So the consorts’ constant bickering added even more fun on top of that.
I also usually don’t go for the friends-to-lovers trope, but here it felt very natural. Xiahou Dan and Yu Wanyin genuinely came across as best friends first, and their relationship slowly developing into romance felt natural rather than forced. Cheng Lei and Wang Churan's chemistry was off the charts!!
As for what I could have been better, there were some inconsistencies in the writing. I often felt like certain pieces of information were missing, and as someone who hasn’t read the novel, I needed quite a few spoilers to fully understand the story. Because of that, I couldn’t rate it a full 10. However, since this drama wasn’t originally on my radar and I didn't go in with high expectations, I ended up enjoying it much more than anticipated. The “Zhang San’s diary” clips at the end of the episodes also clarified a lot, so I’m not too bothered by this issue.
Another tiny downside that upset me was the number of unnecessary deaths. So many precious characters were killed off in ways that felt more like plot devices than meaningful narrative choices, and I feel like some of them really didn't have to die in order for the plot to progress, like they do in other dramas 💔
The ending itself was beautiful and well-done, but the reunion of the main leads in the real world didn’t feel as impactful as it could have been. It follows the familiar open-ending-style reunion in most transmigration dramas, where they simply look at each other and smile (like ADWAD or WDBTD). Even though I understand the narrative limitations these kind of dramas have because of censorship and I didn't expect much more, the final emotional payoff still felt a little bit lackluster despite the ending being satisfying.
Overall, despite a few flaws, this drama still surprised me in the best way and ended up being a very heartfelt and memorable watch! Realistically a 9/10, but my enjoyment makes it a 9.5 :)
Edit: Thanks for the award, fyra! ❤️
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