I always love all kinds of female empowerment, dark revenge thrillers along the lines of Kill Bill, Why Women Kill, Gone Girl etc. Like many similar themed stories, this one explores how when pushed too far, women can be a little bit dangerous. The success of these kinds of plots always depends on how ingeniously the "revenge" is set up and a few good twists along the way. This hidden gem of a short drama definitely achieves that and is worth watching for that alone.

At surface, the main protagonist Qiao Wei has it all - she is a beautiful socialite with a handsome, successful and adoring husband (Lu Zicong) and a young son. Her facade of a perfect life starts unraveling after a wild school reunion at a hotel reconnects her with her old flame Qi Kai and an old frenemy struggling journalist Su Yao. The hotel chef An Xin's friend Nicole saves the inebriated Qiao Wei and shields her from her Zicong's unreasonable jealousy and possessiveness. As it turns out, all three women have had unhappy experiences or axes to grind with Zicong or Qi Kai. Brought together on that fateful night, they come up with some gripping, badass schemes to free Qiao Wei from her unhappy marriage and serve up a Michelin star-worthy dish of revenge on these nasty men.

The only issue I have with this drama is that the tone and writing style of the first half of it is markedly different from the much better second half. I found the backstories of these women to err on the melodramatic side and it took me a long time to empathize with Qiao Wei. I just kept shaking my head at her appalling taste in men. But I found the friendship and rapport between the women to be very enjoyable and even though she is a bit annoying in the beginning, Su Yao is my favorite of the four. The writing in the second half of the drama really hit all the right tones for me - between darkly humorous yet psychologically thrilling, witty and subtle with a a nice dose of silent communication. It is like another writer took over and I really wish the backstories and some of the difficult issues in the first half were written in the same language.

The other thing I really like about this drama is that while they are not rescued by men, they certainly got a lot of help from men friends. As much as I love girl power, it is important to be reminded that there are a few good men out there. The ending is also realistic in that it shows us that nobody has everything and its ok. The plotting is diabolical and the twist at the end that leaves a lingering shiver of fear is the perfect final touch.

This is a very enjoyable 8.0 for me. Also a shout out to @Skibbies for the recommendation.