It occurred to me somewhere at the end of Are You The One that the show could be renamed Lie Your Way to a Successful Marriage. Deception being the name of the game. And the running gag. Unlike the majority of C dramas, the final act of this drama is quite likely the best part of the show. Everything the show has been building up to finally reaches its culmination and resolution. After some obligatory huffing and puffing the leads find their way back to each other after leaping through one hurdle after another, undertake the final challenge and then retire with minimal fanfare to their happily-ever-after. Are we to believe then that all is well with the world now that the baddies have been promptly booted out of palace politics? Apparently so. Because the emperor can now indulge in a bit of kite flying in his spare time with his unlikely empress. No one begrudges the emperor a bit of rest and relaxation when the looming threat has been banished and peace restored. It does however beg the question of whether the emperor and his lovely empress will bring forth progeny as confirmation of the fact that a transactional marriage can become an authentic one where genuine goodwill can lead to consummation.
Awww you finished! :) I agree that a tighter script would have made this a great drama. Overall, I rated it 8.5/10 and that's a bias rating because of loving Zhang Wanyi too. He was such a delight to watch, especially after the heartache in "Lost You Forever." I ended up really loving his character here so much, but I think it's because of ZWY's acting calibre.
I felt there were things the drama dropped off on and forgot to come back to, which made parts of the series slow, and then focusing on the wrong things at times. I am in the same camp as you that I didn't feel the romance between the cousin-doctor: Zhao Quan and He Zhen was necessary. They could have trimmed them and then gave way to more of the revenge arc. I was hoping the revenge arc was actually going to be about specifically Miantang going toe-to-toe was Prince Sui while Xingzhou and Ziyu (to make amends in some ways) assisted her. But alas, here we are.
Thank you for your lovely review and thoughts as always.
Sorry I didn't reply to your previous comments but I've been busy with my aunt who is visiting. Thanks for following my posts on this show. I will get to Lost You Forever some time but I heard that Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty 2 just finished not that long ago and I'm far more drawn to that.
I would rate this an 8 and because I have a fondness for contract marriage stories. Zhang Wanyi would of course be the cherry on top. I have no problems with Wang Churan and her chemistry with Zhang Wanyi but he's definitely a talented lad.
No worries at all. I have not tried Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty, but it's interesting to me how we're seeing more dramas with two seasons.
I rated "Are You the One" an 8.5 only because of Zhang Wanyi too. HAHAHA. He really is talented. My friend was telling me she thinks Zhang Wanyi and Wu Lei are equal in acting calibre. I told her I think Zhang Wanyi is better. I could be bias, but I could totally give examples on why if she asked. LOL.
To be fair, Zhang Wanyi is older although Wu Lei has been acting since he was a kid. But I think an actor closer in age to Wu Lei and can be more fairly compared with, is Liu Haoran. I recently saw him in a movie (Decoded) about an autistic man who became a cryptographer for the Chinese government during the Cold War. He gave a stunning performance there. He is most well-known to international audiences as the younger brother in Nirvana in Fire 2.
True, I totally forgot about their age! Liu Haoran was fairly loved from NiF2 from what I remembered. I never saw NiF2 only because I held the first one in such high regards, that I struggled with NiF2. I feel as a stand-alone, and if I disassociate the dramas in a way, I would probably have been able to get through NiF2 and appreciated it more. Maybe it's been long enough now that I can attempt to try NiF2 again. I am surprised to not see Liu Haoran in more dramas, but I am guessing his focus is more on movies.
I hope you've been well! I am trying to catch up on your Drama Watch discussion with AbsoluteM and will be back eventually to comment.
I loved NiF 2 up to a point and then it didn't quite have the same magic. The change in focus didn't work for me. I think Liu Haoran does tend to do more movies -- probably because he has a better idea of what he's in for.
I'm not too bad. Just busy playing tourist guide. Thanks for asking. Hope you're doing well too.
Oh no, do you happen to remember which part in NiF2 lost its magic for you?
Also, too funny that you're playing tourist guide. What are your top 3 recommendations for your area? And I am hanging in there to be honest. :) There has been some hard news about a loved one being terminally ill and that's always really hard.
Awww you finished! :) I agree that a tighter script would have made this a great drama. Overall, I rated it 8.5/10 and that's a bias rating because of loving Zhang Wanyi too. He was such a delight to watch, especially after the heartache in "Lost You Forever." I ended up really loving his character here so much, but I think it's because of ZWY's acting calibre.
I felt there were things the drama dropped off on and forgot to come back to, which made parts of the series slow, and then focusing on the wrong things at times. I am in the same camp as you that I didn't feel the romance between the cousin-doctor: Zhao Quan and He Zhen was necessary. They could have trimmed them and then gave way to more of the revenge arc. I was hoping the revenge arc was actually going to be about specifically Miantang going toe-to-toe was Prince Sui while Xingzhou and Ziyu (to make amends in some ways) assisted her. But alas, here we are.
Thank you for your lovely review and thoughts as always.
Sorry I didn't reply to your previous comments but I've been busy with my aunt who is visiting. Thanks for following my posts on this show. I will get to Lost You Forever some time but I heard that Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty 2 just finished not that long ago and I'm far more drawn to that.
I would rate this an 8 and because I have a fondness for contract marriage stories. Zhang Wanyi would of course be the cherry on top. I have no problems with Wang Churan and her chemistry with Zhang Wanyi but he's definitely a talented lad.
No worries at all. I have not tried Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty, but it's interesting to me how we're seeing more dramas with two seasons.
I rated "Are You the One" an 8.5 only because of Zhang Wanyi too. HAHAHA. He really is talented. My friend was telling me she thinks Zhang Wanyi and Wu Lei are equal in acting calibre. I told her I think Zhang Wanyi is better. I could be bias, but I could totally give examples on why if she asked. LOL.
To be fair, Zhang Wanyi is older although Wu Lei has been acting since he was a kid. But I think an actor closer in age to Wu Lei and can be more fairly compared with, is Liu Haoran. I recently saw him in a movie (Decoded) about an autistic man who became a cryptographer for the Chinese government during the Cold War. He gave a stunning performance there. He is most well-known to international audiences as the younger brother in Nirvana in Fire 2.
True, I totally forgot about their age! Liu Haoran was fairly loved from NiF2 from what I remembered. I never saw NiF2 only because I held the first one in such high regards, that I struggled with NiF2. I feel as a stand-alone, and if I disassociate the dramas in a way, I would probably have been able to get through NiF2 and appreciated it more. Maybe it's been long enough now that I can attempt to try NiF2 again. I am surprised to not see Liu Haoran in more dramas, but I am guessing his focus is more on movies.
I hope you've been well! I am trying to catch up on your Drama Watch discussion with AbsoluteM and will be back eventually to comment.
I loved NiF 2 up to a point and then it didn't quite have the same magic. The change in focus didn't work for me. I think Liu Haoran does tend to do more movies -- probably because he has a better idea of what he's in for.
I'm not too bad. Just busy playing tourist guide. Thanks for asking. Hope you're doing well too.
Oh no, do you happen to remember which part in NiF2 lost its magic for you?
Also, too funny that you're playing tourist guide. What are your top 3 recommendations for your area? And I am hanging in there to be honest. :) There has been some hard news about a loved one being terminally ill and that's always really hard.