Are You the One (2024) Episodes 1-11

As I was searching for more episodes to watch on YouTube (only because I’m able to manipulate the speed), a review video of the show came up. What interested me more were the comments below. Almost everyone who’s seen the show disagrees with the review and has given positive comments. Two comments struck me as particularly interesting because they were concerned about the premise and the ethics of it — at the heart of this love story is an elaborate deception. The line of thought seems to be as follows: Deception is bad and therefore there cannot be a love story based on deception particularly because the male lead is taking advantage of an amnesia suffering female lead to flush out the enemy who also happens to be her former lover, Lu Wen.

In my previous post I mentioned that I’ve seen dozens upon dozens of hidden identity short dramas in the past 8-9 months. Too many indeed. More than is healthy for my brain cells. In fact I live in enduring hope that the truth will finally emerge from the horse’s mouth and it almost never happens. It inevitably comes from someone else (usually the antagonist) and of course, the male lead loses control of the narrative which leads to a period of angst and separation. It speaks not just to honesty but to trust. No one likes being lied to and no relationship can survive without trust. So an untimely reset is required for the terms of the relationship to get back on track.

Therefore, deception always comes at a cost. Even a half-baked, brain dead web drama knows that. It isn’t just logic. Or just real world psychology. It isn’t just the deceived that feels the pain of being lied to but the deceiver… unless he or she has a malfunctioning conscience — will at the very least experience twinges of guilt.

Cui Xingzhou is not really a bad guy so the deception that he’s perpetrated doesn’t sit well with him especially when it’s obvious that he’s fallen for Miantang. At the end of Episode 11 when he thinks his bidding her his final farewell while trying to contain his emotions is not only an example of good acting but good writing. There are consequences to the charade. He wants to stay but he can’t. It’s a beautiful dream he must now wake up from for the sake of the bigger picture. The emotions are real as is the goodwill he has shown towards her. Yet he is a man who takes his responsibilities and obligations seriously which explains why he started the whole business in the first place. He’s been living a double life and it does take a toll not just on the conscience but his heart. My mind reaches for Sam Raimi’s second Spiderman film as an analogy. Peter Parker is a man torn by many loves. So much so that his double life stresses him out to the point that he loses his powers. He’s relieved at first because it now means that he can live like everyone else and be upfront with MJ but then when the threat arises, the part of him that believes “with great power comes great responsibility” takes precedence.

It is poetic irony that Cui Xingzhou as Cui Jiu is thought of as a good-for-nothing husband who is living off his wife while Cui Xingzhou as the Prince Huaiyang is perhaps the busiest person in the country. “Brilliant but lazy” to quote Otto Octavius trying to make sense of Peter Parker’s lifestyle contradictions. It does take a certain kind of brilliance to achieve the juggling act but he’s human and Liu Miantang is an shrewd enterprising woman devoted entirely to his well-being. Even the mighty and aloof Prince Huaiyang cannot but be moved by that.

Zhang Wanyi is excellent as Cui Xingzhou. I personally think he’s perfectly cast in the role because he exudes natural arrogance while maintaining the appearance of nonchalance to hide his feelings. When called to he glides into comedic mode and the aristocratic pomposity shatters. At his most serious his face tells the story of a man who has lived entirely in the shadow of his title. The public works project that he’s undertaking is also proof of that. The earnest Wang Churan comports herself with a sweet elegance as Liu Miantang whose forgotten much of her past except in the odd flash of memory. What complicates matters is that the presence of her former lover who has entered the political fray. He’s not the stereotypical bandit — more a leisurely gentleman scholar — and seems to believe that his cause his righteous. Hovering around him is a vindictive (and jealous) subordinate with her own agenda. Her own objectives clashes with that of her masters giving Xingzhou unexpected opportunities to pry into a looming conspiracy that involves the royal court.

Even though Miantang is being deceived, she’s not deceived to the actual character of Cui Jiu. He may not be pulling his weight and showing no head for the porcelain business at all. But she can tell that he’s good to her and therein lies the rub. Does that justify what he’s doing? He’s in an unenviable position. He can certainly justify the set-up as the Prince of Huaiyang who has to consider the protection of the thousands that he’s responsible for. Not to mention the assassination attempt made on his life. Falling in love was never part of the plan so it gets increasingly difficult to let go of the “pawn” and reveal the truth when she’s no longer a chess piece. Especially when he himself is doing things that looks like he’s playing for keeps. From her point of view it begs the question, why would a man take all this trouble of weaving a fabricated marriage and be wrapped up in that role? It makes no sense. And less still when the ploy goes nowhere.

It’s the dilemma of undercover work or espionage in general. Complete detachment is unlikely to be possible when building relationships to further one’s cause. This was a point repeatedly made in the tv show Spooks spotlighting the lives of various agents at the coalface in the thick of things.

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