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Harlequin Romance Meets Chinese Drama
I remember when I first saw this drama on this site I read comments that likened it to a trashy romance/Wattpad story. Two episodes in, I felt myself thinking "IT'S SO TRUE." Mysterious Love had all the tropes and components of an action/romance Harlequin novel (they're well-known for being light/quick/romantic reads) and a stereotypical Chinese drama. If you're the type to enjoy romance for the sake of romance and not think too deeply about the action plot going on in the background, this one's for you.
SIMILARITIES:
❀ Bubbly, outgoing and artistic FL x possessive, cold and strong ML | Another trope: he saved her in the past. I think if American romance novels and Chinese dramas have a Venn diagram, this combo would be in the middle. The FL is a hard worker but is thinking of Lee, the guy that saved her years ago. When she meets him again, she's shook because he's acting so cold and impersonal (he even has a different name!). What she doesn't know, is that he's been thinking of HER these past 5 years too, but has been staying away "for her own protection." We love our emotionless noble idiot MLs, I guess.
I wasn't a fan of the ML in the beginning (especially when he was pushing her away "for her own sake" (ugh) (barf)), but he grows from such Neanderthal behavior. The FL is smart and holds no prisoners, so he learns to communicate quick, lol. Beforehand, he was the type to be reticent and make up for not speaking with aggressive actions but later on he can't deny his feelings and ends up opening up to her. He definitely has the makings of a CEO/security officer/Alpha wolf/cold celebrity + brooding MC that we see in Chinese dramas and Harlequin novels.
✕ Action/suspense in the background of the main couple's relationship | This suspense was not too bad and definitely added to the plot - but to a certain level. In each episode we see a bit of flashback with what happened between the couple 5 years ago when they were hanging with a gang (she was accidentally kidnapped, he was undercover). If you asked me about the criminal syndicate/gang subplot, I could not - for the LIFE of me - explain. They were just bad people??? His team was just getting rid of them even though they're supposed to be just bodyguards (they were on a mission)?? They came back to life after their leader died 5 years ago and are taking revenge? Like... these things happened, but I feel like the writing gave the bare backbones of a plot that was loosely held together (I know I watched this show in the background of doing other stuff but I usually get the general gist of subplots). The show tries to be intense/edgy in some scenes but I learned to not take it seriously. Also other scenes had me watching between fingers LMAO they were so cliche (non-derogatory tone).
❀ Everything is romance-driven | Whether it's the characters' actions, the villains' machinations, or the plot, everything serves one purpose: le racy romance(s). If you like in-depth plots and characterizations with logical consistencies, it's time to look away from this drama. What it DOES serve is a nice dose of jealousy and possessiveness from both the protagonist and villains' standpoints. The action is straight up there to highlight such emotions. Background logic for kidnapping/killing people? They just want to end up with the ML or FL, after all!! There's literally nothing deeper than that.
✕ Acting/characterization were fine but not deep | In terms of acting, I think the actors did the best they could do given the limits of the script. The FL did a good job in being a spunky girl with a brain in her head and the ML's coldness was exactly in-tune with his character. There was also a secondary couple (spoiled, rich princess x stoic, single dad bodyguard) that I have the same lukewarm feelings about - the 2FL was cute and preppy, I really liked her character, and the 2ML was emotionless and stayed that way throughout the drama. He also had a cute but sometimes annoying child that softened up to the 2FL (I think she acted pretty well!). Just like a Harlequin novel though, their characterizations were pretty basic, cliche, and predictable, with not much novelty going on. But, that's also common in Chinese dramas as well, so nothing surprising on that front.
❀ Happy ending for everyone | Well, except the psycho baddies. But, since this follows the plot of a Harlequin novel, we been knowing. >:)
DIFFERENCES:
❀ The FL is smarter than usual | In both trashy romances and Chinese dramas, the FL either succumbs to misunderstandings, instigates them, or in general is very naive and ignorant. The FL in Mysterious Love, Nian Chu, is not like that at all. She's the type to think things over (especially when they seem suspicious) and choose common sense/logic over hysteria. NC isn't a Mary Sue and good at everything though - she literally just uses her brain, which is refreshing. (Since it's 2021, I only want these kinds of FLs in Chinese dramas going forward.)
OTHER NOTES:
❀ I'm a big fan of the music | For a drama that doesn't look too pricey in production, they really utilized the background music to a surprising level. I don't think the drama itself has original soundtracks (not sure though), but the songs they used were really catchy and added depth to the scenes. Intro music is a mysterious/suspenseful instrumental track, and outro music is a song release in 2018 I think that's pretty popular. Although I'm not a fan of ballads (which sucks, because Chinese people love sad music lol), I really enjoyed the ending song. Fighting scene tracks are good too - I remember in this one scene they matched the action with the instrumental music, which was a classy detail.
✕ Misunderstanding level: 0/10 | The ML purposefully hides things from the FL in the vein of an (idiotic) noble savior but she pries the truth out of him. Other than that, FL was written with common sense and doesn't fall for cheap misunderstanding tricks that potential villains go for. We stan a smart female lead.
OVERALL
Quick, romantic, and to-the-point, Mysterious Love is definitely a romance/suspense to watch at face value. (Note: high in romance, low in suspense.) I truly never understood the whole background of the gangs and island history, but who cares because you get to see the characters look hot in the jungle. *shrug emoji* The actors did their part, and overall it was interesting enough for me to watch in the background while doing other things. Recommended for a light watch (it's quick too, at 16 30-min episodes!)
(Note: My rewatch value is set to 5.0 always as a default as I'm not the type to rewatch dramas EVER. Thus, I do not take it into account when calculating overall score.)
SIMILARITIES:
❀ Bubbly, outgoing and artistic FL x possessive, cold and strong ML | Another trope: he saved her in the past. I think if American romance novels and Chinese dramas have a Venn diagram, this combo would be in the middle. The FL is a hard worker but is thinking of Lee, the guy that saved her years ago. When she meets him again, she's shook because he's acting so cold and impersonal (he even has a different name!). What she doesn't know, is that he's been thinking of HER these past 5 years too, but has been staying away "for her own protection." We love our emotionless noble idiot MLs, I guess.
I wasn't a fan of the ML in the beginning (especially when he was pushing her away "for her own sake" (ugh) (barf)), but he grows from such Neanderthal behavior. The FL is smart and holds no prisoners, so he learns to communicate quick, lol. Beforehand, he was the type to be reticent and make up for not speaking with aggressive actions but later on he can't deny his feelings and ends up opening up to her. He definitely has the makings of a CEO/security officer/Alpha wolf/cold celebrity + brooding MC that we see in Chinese dramas and Harlequin novels.
✕ Action/suspense in the background of the main couple's relationship | This suspense was not too bad and definitely added to the plot - but to a certain level. In each episode we see a bit of flashback with what happened between the couple 5 years ago when they were hanging with a gang (she was accidentally kidnapped, he was undercover). If you asked me about the criminal syndicate/gang subplot, I could not - for the LIFE of me - explain. They were just bad people??? His team was just getting rid of them even though they're supposed to be just bodyguards (they were on a mission)?? They came back to life after their leader died 5 years ago and are taking revenge? Like... these things happened, but I feel like the writing gave the bare backbones of a plot that was loosely held together (I know I watched this show in the background of doing other stuff but I usually get the general gist of subplots). The show tries to be intense/edgy in some scenes but I learned to not take it seriously. Also other scenes had me watching between fingers LMAO they were so cliche (non-derogatory tone).
❀ Everything is romance-driven | Whether it's the characters' actions, the villains' machinations, or the plot, everything serves one purpose: le racy romance(s). If you like in-depth plots and characterizations with logical consistencies, it's time to look away from this drama. What it DOES serve is a nice dose of jealousy and possessiveness from both the protagonist and villains' standpoints. The action is straight up there to highlight such emotions. Background logic for kidnapping/killing people? They just want to end up with the ML or FL, after all!! There's literally nothing deeper than that.
✕ Acting/characterization were fine but not deep | In terms of acting, I think the actors did the best they could do given the limits of the script. The FL did a good job in being a spunky girl with a brain in her head and the ML's coldness was exactly in-tune with his character. There was also a secondary couple (spoiled, rich princess x stoic, single dad bodyguard) that I have the same lukewarm feelings about - the 2FL was cute and preppy, I really liked her character, and the 2ML was emotionless and stayed that way throughout the drama. He also had a cute but sometimes annoying child that softened up to the 2FL (I think she acted pretty well!). Just like a Harlequin novel though, their characterizations were pretty basic, cliche, and predictable, with not much novelty going on. But, that's also common in Chinese dramas as well, so nothing surprising on that front.
❀ Happy ending for everyone | Well, except the psycho baddies. But, since this follows the plot of a Harlequin novel, we been knowing. >:)
DIFFERENCES:
❀ The FL is smarter than usual | In both trashy romances and Chinese dramas, the FL either succumbs to misunderstandings, instigates them, or in general is very naive and ignorant. The FL in Mysterious Love, Nian Chu, is not like that at all. She's the type to think things over (especially when they seem suspicious) and choose common sense/logic over hysteria. NC isn't a Mary Sue and good at everything though - she literally just uses her brain, which is refreshing. (Since it's 2021, I only want these kinds of FLs in Chinese dramas going forward.)
OTHER NOTES:
❀ I'm a big fan of the music | For a drama that doesn't look too pricey in production, they really utilized the background music to a surprising level. I don't think the drama itself has original soundtracks (not sure though), but the songs they used were really catchy and added depth to the scenes. Intro music is a mysterious/suspenseful instrumental track, and outro music is a song release in 2018 I think that's pretty popular. Although I'm not a fan of ballads (which sucks, because Chinese people love sad music lol), I really enjoyed the ending song. Fighting scene tracks are good too - I remember in this one scene they matched the action with the instrumental music, which was a classy detail.
✕ Misunderstanding level: 0/10 | The ML purposefully hides things from the FL in the vein of an (idiotic) noble savior but she pries the truth out of him. Other than that, FL was written with common sense and doesn't fall for cheap misunderstanding tricks that potential villains go for. We stan a smart female lead.
OVERALL
Quick, romantic, and to-the-point, Mysterious Love is definitely a romance/suspense to watch at face value. (Note: high in romance, low in suspense.) I truly never understood the whole background of the gangs and island history, but who cares because you get to see the characters look hot in the jungle. *shrug emoji* The actors did their part, and overall it was interesting enough for me to watch in the background while doing other things. Recommended for a light watch (it's quick too, at 16 30-min episodes!)
(Note: My rewatch value is set to 5.0 always as a default as I'm not the type to rewatch dramas EVER. Thus, I do not take it into account when calculating overall score.)
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