So good
What can I say? I just love these types of Taiwanese dramas!I was quietly waiting for this one to end so I could binge watch it and oh boy, I am so glad I did, because I don’t know if I would be able to wait so long to find out what happens in the end.
I loved the twisted plot, the chemistry between the characters, their personal struggles, just EVERYTHING. Their stories are so well written and go really well with the plot. Every move they made just made sense to me.
Also I like the fact they managed to show the viewers that not everything is black and white in this world and that people are always hanging between being good and evil. That only one bad deed can turn you into a monster even though you are not one.
This is also the only show where I sympathised with the culprit at one point. I felt really sorry for him.
Overall I think it’s a great show and if you are debating whether you should watch it or not just do.
!!!Keep in mind it has few scenes depicting sexual violence and self harm!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
There Was Nothing Lovely Here
In reading the synopsis for this drama, I had high expectations because it sounded so interesting. But I have to say that I was less than thrilled with this drama.Han Zhen Zhen (mother), Zhuang Jun Jie (father) and Zhuang Ying Wen (daughter) all move as a family to a new home and community for a fresh start due to not only financial issues but for their daughter being bullied at school as well as being sexually assaulted.
In the first couple of episodes the parents completely ignored their daughter who was still struggling with not remembering what happened to her during her time at school. She is on medication and just runs every evening. My mind could not fathom why her parents didn't step in and question her more often on how she was getting along, how she was feeling, they pretty much left her on her own. She did meet one young man in the community, Fan Yan Zhi who was suffering with his own demons. His parents had such high hopes for him that left him putting on a facade everyday with them and everyone else. The only person who saw who he really was, was Zhuang Ying Wen.
The whole basis of this drama was how two young individuals struggled with things they have done and the domino effect and impact that it had on the lives of those they loved.
To see Fan Yan on the rooftop and confess to Zhuang Ying he was the one that had sexually assaulted her was an eye opener. But to add further to this confession was the fact that his mother was on the rooftop as well and heard. Fan's mother tried to convince him that she was to blame for all the hardships he had to endure by not listening to him. He was undeterred by her sentiments and jump off the roof. But his mother still managed to hold onto his hand and would not let go until he convinced her to let him finally make one decision for himself. She did. Releasing his hand from hers, she watched him fall to the ground.
The other eye-opening moment was to find out that Zhuang Ying was not the person who was bullied but the one who did the bullying. All these emotional build ups led her to shut down and cut off all her memories because of what she herself had done to her best friend as well as being sexually assaulted.
These two pieces were the catalyst that drove this drama. If they would have focused on these moments and expanded more in depth, this would have been much more interesting to me.
Even the last episode they tried to clean everything up by jumping one year and bringing closure where I still felt it was just thrown together to give us an ending all neatly tied together but it was not, it, to me was rushed.
In my opinion this did not need to be a nine-episode drama. The last two episodes were the most poignant pieces which would have made for a much better movie than dragging it out into nine episodes.
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A Political-Societal Drama about Elites
LOVELY VILLAIN was an interesting slow-burn Taiwanese thriller Drama. It felt like a slower-paced, socio-political drama mashup of "Stepford Wives", "Mean Girls", with commentarial undertones of the Korean movie Parasite. Don't be fooled into thinking it's merely a slice-of-life drama, about family life in a wealthy gated community. This series focuses heavily on inter-social-political relations and elistist power struggles. While the pacing of this did move a bit slowly, it certainly was intriguing and got better with time."While posing to be her rich upper class sister, Han Zhenzhen, moves her unhappy poor lower class family into an prestigious high-class community where she can't help but get involved in the power struggle for the position of community Chairman among with her female neighbors."
This series is all about politics, motivations and power. Rich vs. Poor. Upper Class vs. Lower Class. Psychological and political intrigue. The struggle for power and dominance drives this thriller. Alliances, factions, who to trust. The position of power is the "Chairman" or head of the community. The Chairman is given power in government and there is a brutal warring for this position and privilege. Not only power but title, reputation and prestige as well. A heirarchy ladder within the elitist group of wealthy people. Overall, this was a interesting watch and I'm glad I gave it a chance, as the intrigue developed over time and it gave a lot to ponder on.
[NOTE: There are some triggering images and themes, i.e. Suicide. Bullying. Rape/Sexual Assault. etc.
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