I'm going to be a bit meta right now (and if you are enjoying ashes to crown, scroll past), but I think Ashes to Crown is probably the best example of why the 大女主 ("big female lead") genre feels so empty these days.
Because it's so vibe based. The scriptwriting feels catered to the fans of the FL who wants to see their jiejie playing Mary Sue-perfect type characters with Iron Man level plot armor dramatically staring at the camera in slow mo than ... actual plotting. What have the character done to actually warrant the title? Nothing.
Like the epitome of the big female lead drama is legend of zhen huan and Minglan. But what's so special about those 2 dramas are that they let their leads fail. Zhen Huan falls, multiple times. Minglan had to work through many layers of childhood trauma. Neither gave them Boss Level fighting abilities.
So yes, maybe the current way they're filming allows fans to make cuts on Douyin, but it's just empty.
(And sure, some people are like, why can't women have their wish fulfillment? I'm not saying you can't, but also, I don't think it's too much to want actual substance in writing.)


















