Daydreamer

Doctor Who (Steven Moffat specifically)

Sherlock (Steven Moffat specifically)

Actually Steven Moffat is basically just this sentiment given human form.

A version of this happened with The Magicians, tbh. Though instead of expectation: men, reality: women it was expectation: smug nihilists, reality: mentally ill queer folks.

Arguably Game of Thrones.

If we broaden it outside of television…I think Star Wars falls into this, at least the sequel trilogy. Maybe the MCU as well. And I can’t help but think of every band that’s ever complained that their fanbase is mostly women. 5 Seconds of Summer comes immediately to mind.

In general, most white male creators seem to have this massively entitled mindset where they want–and think they deserve–the time, attention, and enthusiasm that creative fandom (i.e. the side of fandom more dominated by women) is known for.

They want our eyes for ratings, our word-of-mouth for free publicity, our metas for social media buzz, and our spending power for merch and cons. But they don’t want us. And they don’t really want the responsibility of telling a story to a thoughtful, engaged audience, regardless of that audience’s demographic makeup. They just want to be praised for whatever schlock they cough up.

Mind you it is perfectly possible to make the switch in marketing, but execs would rather throw it all out than have something that doesn’t perform well with male viewers. For example the Rey merch was not expected to be popular, for some reason, there had to be public outcry to get merch of one of the main 3 protagonists. A PROTAGONIST. The fact that she wasn’t a huge part of the 1st launch says a lot already.

And what happened when female fans got too invested in the Sequel Trilogy? The entire writers room didn’t necessarily lash out, but they sure forgot how to behave.

Young Justice

Paul Dini: Superhero cartoon execs don’t want largely female audiences

#WhereIsRey (initial)

#WhereIsRey (ongoing)

Simply, they’re trying to assert a particular worldview via fiction, and upon getting confronted with something else, begin foot stamping. It’s not just men wanting male attention and gatekeeping. It’s that the fiction in the first place was an attempt to curate dominance and whoopsie! they miscalculated.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts, as I literally wrote it for communities like ours to read, so, thanks.

I normally do these at the end of the year, but I have watched so many cdramas this year, I am going to have to split this in some way. This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2025 so far; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it’s not on the list. As always, very subjective.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

(46) Serendipity - if boils were a drama, this would be it.

(45) A Prime Minister’s Disguise - it's stupid, it's cheap, it's a waste of anyone's time.

(44) Everlasting Longing - more like evelasting boring with some truly terrible acting and nonsense writing (at least they did us a mercy and put two equally wooden actors opposite each other.)

(43) The Seized Destiny - at one point a man wears cat ears. That's it, that's the highlight.

(42) Love Beyond the Curse - dumb even for a vampire mini and that's a low standard indeed.

(41) Destiny and Saving - sounds like a bank branch, would probably be more fun if it was.

(40) I am nobody 2 - I loved the first season but this just didn't click for me.

(39) Filter - I love you, Tan Jianci but not even for you. At one point, FL is a llama.

(38) Destiny of Love: and snoring.

(37) Phoenix's Gambit: Love or Crown - just like its name, couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be.

(36) Love and Sword - Gao Weiguang is hot. Unfortunately not hot enough to melt one's brain which is what you'd need to enjoy this dumb mess.

(35) Les Belles - More like La Bete. Because it's la bete of a drama.

(34) Eat Run Love - tried to go for Lighter and Princess, Walmart edition, failed at even that.

(33) Love Never Fails - until it does.

(32) Youthful Glory - cute and harmless. So is a bunny and that's at least nice to pet.

(31) Dominion and Devotion - a mini tried to be a proper palace drama which is I suppose praiseworthy but not what I watch minis for.

(30) Si Jin - A girlbossing story that made me decide I'd rather watch a drama with not a single woman than this type of female centric story and also that Jing Tian is a beautiful woman who doesn't click for me and Zhang Wanyi really needs to stop playing the same role over and over.

(29) The Best Thing - fluffy and plotless but oddly soothing.

(28) Blazing Elegance - this is like the trashiest 1980s romance novel imaginable but set in 1930s China. I had so much fun but did I respect myself in the morning? Hmmm.

(27) Guardians of the Dafeng - too goofy for my liking for most of its run but that ending!!!!!!

(26) Flourished Peony - solidly acted but alas the narrative did not grab me and ML really made no sense as a period character.

(25) Moonlight Mystique - main story pointless, the palette vomit inducing but oh the secondary OTP stole the show and my heart.

(24) Bound by Sin - softcore with submissive ML and domme FL. Wild for most of its run until it tries to acquire respectability late in its run.

(23) Such a Good Love - tried to be artsy ended up just boring.

(22) To Love or To Defy - FL is an assassin getting distracted by an honorable prince. The logic is utterly absent but the fun is fun.

(21) Once Upon a Dream - fakecest is the flavor of the day - why date out of the family when your adopted brother is right there, has great hair and dubious notions of consent? This one is very pretty.

(20) The Prisoner of Love - he tortures her, then she tortures him and on and on and on - the usual. Featuring a couple where FL rides off into wedded bliss with the man who murdered her parents.

(19) Stolen Love - someone watched Kunning and decided to write a Yan Lin AU, honest. I liked it but it did get repetitive and FL is kinda brain dead.

(18) Sadistic Love - despite the name, a surprisingly not psychotic love story with fakecest and a lot of gay vibes.

(17) The First Frost - a modern about broken up lovers reconnecting, this was a masterpiece for 3/4 of its run and then made a narrative decision so stupid it ruined the drama for me.

(16) Hidden Love - not the ZLS flufffest, this is full on fakecest delight. FL's two choices are ML who she thinks is her half brother (he turns out not to be) and her actual half brother. As it goes.

(15) A Love Never Lost - I think, if I were objective, this is the best drama this year. It is not my favorite for very subjective reasons but God, what a masterpiece about an epoch. Bleak ending, characters who ranged from complex and controversial to complex and unlikable (still in awe of Li Xian taking on THAT role - Liang Xiang was complex, larger than life, driven, smart and a monster who was a rapist and a betrayer) and the death of Yang Kaizhi (Wei Daxun) a rare moment that made me cry when I rarely get this moved by dramas.

(14) Kill My Sins - a thoroughly adult story of loss and vengeance, with Liu Shi Shi and Shawn Dou sparking with each other as equally ruthless and equally damaged souls who find kinship (this is a drama where they never even kiss or confess but when they call each other "soulmate" you FELT it.) So good!

(13) Always My General - like some of my favorite web novels made into a drama. FL is a woman pretending to be a man and becoming a legendary general, ML is a prince who loves her either way - so delicious. My fave mini of the year.

(12) The Glory - a Gothic and female-centric tale of vengeance and dysfunctional families, this is a story with characters shockingly manipulative and dark. It made Chen Duling a bigger star and well-deservedly so - her abused, violent and brittle protagonist is the person who the show rests on. It did drag a little in the middle but then came back swinging in the end.

(11) A Moment But Forever - in a year that gave me a lot of awesome xianxias, this one does not disappoint. A depressed and abused philosophy major meets a literal and cheerful engineering major - xianxia style. Liu Xueyi is gorgeous and Tang Yan a delight but what really hits is a surprisingly solid story about divinity, life and forgiveness.

(10) Perfect Match - Jane Austen but frothier, this tale of a widow moving with her four marriageable daughters to the capital where the fifth married daughter lives, this is a souffle with a love story for every taste and delightful bit of sisterly love on top. Pick your favorite romance! (Mine is fourth sister and her judge husband.)

(9) Love of the Divine Tree - it's like someone watched TTEOTM and went "this is how it should go instead." Our heroine is a master who finds feral, hot, abuser demon child and cat hero and decides to give him therapy via a petting zoo and chores.

(8) The Demon Hunter's Romance - just a solid lovely tale that includes some genuinely adult, common sense interactions and characters and a wildly creative take on demons and their stories.

(7) The Prisoner of Beauty - finally released out of the dungeon, this story of arranged marriage between members of feuding clans turned to love is a delight, held mainly by sane interactions and insane chemistry between Liu Yuning and Song Zuer.

(6) Love in Pavilion - do you like gorgeous pain? Come right in. Do you like doomed love in many varieties and incredible visuals and a totally gonzo set up? This is everything Red Moon Pact should have been but was not.

(5) The Blossoming Love - the best xianxia of them all in a very solid xianxia year, this story of a demoness and the perfect saint of the cultivating world goes hard on an incredible OTP and some glorious destroy the pantheon energy. Our Male Lead is not an atheist who does not believe in gods. No, he knows they are real and he WILL end them.

(4) Under the Moonlight - came out of nowhere to own my heart. This tale of a former courtesan assisting in cases in the yamen, a sheltered noble son who gets involved and the upright commissioner is everything - smart and moving and with so many points about class and gender (that is not preachy in the least.) It's realistic in a way most dramas are not and deals with portions of society dramas often don't, but it makes you both think and feel.

(3) Eternal Brotherhood 2: second year in a row a season of this drama misses top spot by the skin of its teeth. This grim, smart feudal-world-at-war and the three sworn brothers who deal with it drama comes back with more hard choices, brotherhood, love kept and lost and some insane cinematography and acting

(1 tie) Legend of Zang Hai - sometimes a huge hit starring a big star IS actually all that and a bag of chips, and this is that rare example. Ostensibly a story about vengeance, this is actually a smart, emotionally riveting character study about selfishness and selflessness, damage, kindness and evil. The script is tight, the direction impeccable and the performances out of this world. Xiao Zhan as the containedly insane focus and maelstrom of all the madness gives a performance I will long remember.

(1) The White Olive Tree - a modern is my n1 drama of the year? The world is coming to an end. The story of a journalist and bomb disposal expert who meet, fall in love in, and are destroyed by trauma in a war zone is a masterpiece. It's delicate, it's hopeful, it's heartbreaking. It also is a vanishingly rare portrayal of trauma that does not have pat solutions or easy outs. It's a romance and a tragedy in the classic Greek sense of the word, especially for the ML whose very idealism and goodness are what make him both perfect and unsuitable for helping and that ultimately take him down.

FAVORITE DRAMA

It's a tie:

The White Olive Tree - for the first time in ever, since I first started watching cdramas in 2007 - my favorite cdrama is a modern. Yeah, I know. Flawless from beginning to end, with literally nothing I'd change, this love story and character story is unflinching in its portrayal of love and trauma. Everyone gives a great performance but it's anchored by a genuinely jaw dropping performance from CZY as shattered idealist Li Zan.

Legend of Zang Hai - that rare beast - both smart and emotional, with gorgeous cinematography and impeccable acting, this really shows the cost and burden of revenge and makes you hope against hope for happiness and healing.

WORST DRAMA

Serendipity - this is what eating a plastic bag must feel like. Dumb plot, terrible look, horrible acting, hideous ML etc etc. Where do I start.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Li Zan (Chen Zheyuan), The White Olive Tree - one of the three male performances and characters of the year for me. Li Zan starts the story as a shining light and ends a broken wreck and it's an epic performance throughout - it shows how uncomfortable it is to love a saint but it also shows this saint as human in all his complexity and drive; it makes idealism human - it's intense and haunting and you can't look away whether you are swooning or crying.

Zang Hai (Xiao Zhan), Legend of Zang Hai - I so rarely find actors with such huge and intense fanbases worth the hype, but XZ really is worth it. This performance of traumatized, vengeance-driven but unable to get rid of his soft heart Zang Hai was incredible - so many scenes that just had me jaw-droppingly in awe.

Liang Xiang (Li Xian), A Love Never Lost - Li Xian owns the role of a magnetic larger than life monstrous mover and shaker of the end of Qing. The man is a rapist and a murderer; he's also a filial son, a supremely competent leader and a terrifying kind of an idealist. This is not a role any idol-adjacent actor normally takes but Li Xian is incredible in the role.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Luo Shu (Hu Bingqing), Under the Moonlight - she is so complex, so strong, so haunted. Very much a gender swapped "haunted, tough man with a cause falls for a sheltered kind woman" set up for her and her OTP but what I love even more is she's not defined by romance.

Xiao Qiao (Song Zuer), The Prisoner of Beauty - she made a soft spoken, largely internalized character irresistible. I loved her from beginning to end.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

99% of the people in A Moment But Forever - I am Team Apocalypse for that one. Truly awful horrors, whether the torturing selfish immortal sect, the useless deities, the evil war demons who created the worst society possible or the gross humans. Kill them all!

Beast Kingdom people in Love in Pavilion - we would not have the tragedy without them.

And, as last year, City Lord from Eternal Brotherhood 2.

BEST BAD GUY

When Deng Wei's character in Tree, Zhang Bin Bin's in TBL or Liu Xueyi's in Moment go evil, they automatically become 10x hotter and seeing they were already hot to start with...but my favorite is Lord Jiuhuo (Charles Lin) in Love in Pavilion - that man was willing to wreck the world for love and he was epic doing it. My favorite part of LiP.

“HAROLD, THEY ARE LESBIANS” AWARD

And Chen Duling is in this one for the second year in a row - Zhuang Hanyan (CDL) x Chai Jing (Jinna Fu) in The Glory are 100% a couple, with frankly as many couple scenes and set ups as the ostensibly canon het OTP.

“HOW DID CENSORS NAP THROUGH THIS” AWARD

Honestly, any mini would be on this list (have you SEEN the sex scenes in Blazing Elegance?) but if we are talking "proper" dramas, let's go with The Glory, which let all sorts of awful, murdery characters get a happy ending.

MALE LEAD MOST LIKELY TO BE BROUGHT HOME TO MOTHER

No, thank you! The few modern ones she’d not approve of (Li Zan is likely to leave you a young widow and Sang Yan from TFF would never decouple from his girl anyway) and the period ones are no go since few moms would be keen on wild-eyed, bloodied sons in law however hot and long haired they may be.

FAVORITE SHIP

The White Olive Tree - idealists who love each other more than life but that love is not enough to fix them.

Kill My Sins - they don't kiss, they don't confess, they barely touch. And yet the soulmate compatibility and the chemistry just pour off the screen. I was feral whenever they were within two feet of each other.

Legend of Zang Hai - not a ship centric show and sometimes these make the best ships. I would lose it when they even touched palms. They are both damaged and wary (and he's borderline nuts from trauma) and watching them dance around and get their hearts broken and healed was...

The Blossoming Love - taking on Gods in any life and form and so ride or die and sexy and AAAAAAAA

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Many excellent choices this year (the cursed cultivators in The Blossoming Loves, all the secondary OTPs in Love in Pavilion, First and Fourth couples in Perfect Match) but the winner is the haunted, dysfunctional, intense, doomed secondary OTP of Moonlight Mystique. I finished that drama solely for them.

NOTP

Serendipity - I really don't want to waste more time on this toxic dump of a drama so all I am gonna say is they made fakecest, my fave trope, boring!

HOTTEST SCENE

Blazing Elegance - all their sex scenes are insane but also the aphrodisiac scenes in Love in Pavilion take the cake for sheer intensity and the baby making in ep 32 of The Prisoner of Beauty because phew boy!

FAVORITE SCENE

Li Zan's breakdown in the hospital and the aftermath when he tells FL the truth in The White Olive Tree. That scene? Shivers.

Zang Hai emerging out of the tomb in Legend of Zang Hai - the breakdown, the manipulation are epic. The epic Greek tragedy of the Marquis' death.

In Eternal Brotherhood 2, Di Lin arriving to rescue his brothers at Payu; or his kneeling to Xiujia's pregnant stomach, his hands gentle on it, promising to come back.

Liu Xueyi's madness in the hole in A Moment but Forever - LXY is an actor who's often too good for his dramas and this scene shows how good he can be as he's going mad and confronting his inner demons.

The First Frost ultimately fell apart for me, but the scene of teen Sang Yan watching Wen Yifan dance on the rooftop he equipped for her is what swooning over poetry feels like.

BIGGEST CRUSH

We are gonna go in the most opposite way possible: the law abiding, incredibly decent, rather rigid Fourth Husband, Perfect Match and Di Lin in Eternal Brotherhood 2 - the man is ideal husband, a terrifying beast in battle and just all around sex on legs.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Zhuang Zhixing (Zhou Qi), Legend of Zang Hai - the sole decent person in that family of monsters, he stole my heart and his arc OMG!

BEST COSTUMES AND WIGS

Costumes: Legend of Zang Hai - real embroidery, and costumes that look real.

Wigs: I am gonna be weird here and say Kill My Sins.

MOST EXTRA OUTFIT

Honestly, most have been fairly sane but Feud should fix it.

FAVORITE SECONDARY ML

General Yun in Eternal Brotherhood 2 - Si Yilin x Ka Dan were my n1 OTP in s1 and yet the man's honor and willingless to risk his life to protect Ka Dan without expecting anything has got me almost switching ships.

MOST BLATANT INNUENDO MOMENT

It hasn't aired yet but we all saw that poster for Feud, with Bai Lu fondling Zeng Shunxi's enormous...sword:

FAVORITE 2025 CDRAMA SONG

Chen Xueran's Moonlight Dance from The White Olive Tree. You have no idea how much I listened to it.

MVP OF THE YEAR

Song Zuer, who beat her tax allegations (already a miracle) and came back with two awesome dramas.

ACTING SURPRISE

So many great performances, but I am gonna go with Chen Zheyuan in The White Olive Tree. He's been solid in so many awful dramas but I never knew he could be such a revelation

NEEDS A SEQUEL

The Demon Hunter's Romance - not really but would be fun. And EB2 likely since I cannot see how they will wrap the novel's story in the remaining number of eps.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Serendipity - in addition to all its other sins, this simply cannot support 40 eps.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Surprisingly none, I think dramas have adjusted to the 40 ep limit.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Same as last year - the emperor cannot be irredeemable. WTF, China, you are a communist country! Though they are nibbling at the edges this year. Also fake feminism - I am all for girl power but not when it’s ridiculously anachronistic for the period with no explanation at all. And finally NO MORE TRADE DRAMAS PLS PLS PLS

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Men (and women) knowingly fighting for a doomed cause because otherwise they’d cease to be who they are. Or if we are being shallow all the beautiful men in chains.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

The First Frost: it was so exquisite for about 2/3 and then the Hong Kong arc happened (and was not in the book; the adaptation was faithful so far so nothing heralded it) and ruined the whole drama. It negated the development, the themes, the characters - it made me dislike both leads and the way the narrative never addressed it made the whole story utterly fall apart.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

The White Olive Tree, Under the Moonlight, A Moment but Forever, The Demon Hunter's Romance - this has been a year of surprises, so many of my top dramas weren't on my radar at all.

2025 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

I have honestly watched everything I wanted so far.

BEST NON-2025 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2025

Do you think I have the time? Ahahahaha

MOST ANTICIPATED

My Little Soda Pop

Sha Po Lang 殺破狼 audio drama translation project master links post (links under cut will be updated weekly)

non-mainstream steampunk | Original by Priest / p大 synopsis: happy ending [Trust me! =w=]

“The first person to dig ziliujin out of the ground could never have predicted that what they dug out was the beginning of a dog-eat-dog age.

Our entire life was but an ugly confidence game of greed; this is something everyone knows, but that they could not bring to light.

From where did this con begin? Maybe from atop the first clean white canvas sails of a foreign ship that sailed across the ocean, or from beneath the great wing of a Giant Kite as it rose unsteadily into the skies — or from a time even before that: as the spreading ziliujin, like an ink stain upon the earth, turned the great plains of the wild north into a sea of flames.

Or maybe it was when We … when I met Gu Yun in a world all covered in ice and snow.”

OKAY FINALLY ANOTHER REPUBLICAN ERA DETECTIVE SHOW THAT LOOKS FUN AF AND HAS ALL THE NICE COSTUMES IN IT!!!

Summary: Su Wenli is a rich af lady that just returned from Paris in the first episode, and she chances upon a mystery immediately at the docks where she meets Luo Qiuheng, the cool-headed, tall, handsome af lead detective at the central police station (there’s a name for this, but I can’t remember). Her inquisitive nature leads her to butt into like the case immediately, and throughout all the cases she and LQH fall in love!!! Despite LQH going like “why is she here again” for the first few episodes.

Subplot: Su Wenli’s younger sister disappeared 20 years ago, and the man suspected of the crime was put in prison but no body was ever found so he’s also trying to appeal to get out after so many years, so I guess they’ll find out what happened to her sister.

Where to watch: NO SUBS - Duboku.co and any other Chinese streaming sites tbh, I’d recommend kankanwu but a user told me it’s a problematic site for them so do proceed with caution as always | SUBS - WeTV I suspect has it because the official platform for the show is Tencent

Broadcast schedule: 34 episodes, APPARENTLY 2 episodes daily from Sundays to Fridays, 1 episode on Saturdays 

Here are the pros of the show:

A+++++ COSTUMES!!! AND SETS! Okay not gonna lie the CGI is a little off at some parts BUT the costumes are frickin lovely. SWL (Miss S) rocks both European-style and Chinese-style outfits, and she has ALL THE HATS, ALL THE DRESSES, and gosh when she’s in the qipao even LQH is like whoa wow what a goddess (not that he says it but he’s a little dazed for a bit) - She has a GORGEOUS BLUE CAPE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO STEAL!!!

The cases aren’t overly complicated and it’s pretty easy to guess who the possible murderers can be, but we’re in this for more than just the cases

GAO WEI GUANG!!! Jfc, my Dijun is back!!!! And he’s got that cool, cold, stoic feel about him BUT he’s totally bribable with delicious sweets!!!

Ma Yili who plays Miss S is gorgeous as well, that short hair cut?!!! That hair pin?!! The way she walks?! The way she talks?! She’s a soft, shameless woman and I LOVE THAT.

GWG and MYL have chemistry in this one.

The camera work is hilarious?!! Usually I hate the cliche romance movements like bridal-style lifting at inopportune times but THIS ONE THE TIMING IS HILARIOUS, SPOT ON, and very romantic

There’s a gay couple in the episode 5 case and they’re being blackmailed but they’re kind of out which is pretty amazing considering the Republican era XD

CHARACTERS!!!

SU WENLI - GORGEOUS, RICH SUGAR MOM (IDEK WHERE HE MONEY COMES FROM IT SEEMS LIKE SHE PRINTS THEM OUT OF THIN AIR)

Honestly, she’s been back a total of like less than a week before she adopts THREE PEOPLE. A servant from the family where the first murder happened at, and two young men who were about to make trouble but were accosted (hired) by her as her chauffeurs. She’s shameless, knows exactly how to pout and bribe to get her way, is sassy and takes no nonsense I LOVE IT and she has LQH wrapped around her finger

Within five episodes she has:

1. Adopted cute little Tao Zi as her assistant who now lives in her luxurious house with her 2. Adopted the two young men as her legit chauffeurs and also informants, giving them A MERCEDES BENZ FOR THEIR GOOD WORK ON THE FIRST CASE 3. LITERALLY ADOPTED a young girl who was a suspect in the second case 4. Moved into a mansion that looks like a frickin palace!!! 5. Kidnapped two suspects from LQH and raced LQH in her brand new sports car back to the city, leaving LQH and his old car in the dust

And look at her gorgeous outfits and hats?!!

AND THIS CAPE?!!!

LUO QIUHENG (Aloof, stoic, rational detective who has a sweet tooth and is obviously not immune to SWL’s charms)

GOSHHHH MY DIJUN!!! I love him in this one too, he’s all “you shouldn’t be here”, “you’re not the only smart one here”, “be good and don’t intervene on the investigation” but then SWL bribes him continuously with sweets and it’s amazing to watch!!! He threatens to arrest her all the time (and she kind of is arrested once) but he always sounds worried about her. Everytime he finds her in trouble he’ll LITERALLY PICK HER UP IN BRIDAL CARRY HAHAHA and he’s half resigned, half exasperated and a whole lot fond of this Miss S I AM TELLING YOU!!!

GWG in a leather jacket is a crime!!!

Him eating something that Wenli gave him:

And his brain cannot fathom her wealth, but I don’t blame him, I can’t fathom her wealth either. This is when he asks the single butler Xiang Shu if it’s tiring for him to clean up such a huge place on his own and he says, “Someone else does the cleaning. Me don’t clean.”

Cue LQH going ????:

Other characters include Tao Zi, SWL’s cute assistant WHO HAS A CRUSH ON LQH’S DEPUTY OFFICER SHEN, and Officer Shen likes her too AND BOTH LQH and SWL try to matchmake them and give them (misplaced) advice

旗袍美探 Miss S | Episode 11

Let me show you something. “You’re next?” Looks like I’ll have to keep a close eye on you from now on. Looks like it, Mr. Inspector.

(Based on HBO's version - 30 episodes)

Case #1: "Drug Like Clouds"

Ep.01:

First Meeting

Inspector Luo vs Miss Su

Miss Su vs Inspector Luo

"I hope you're an exception"

Ep.02:

"Inspector, bring flowers the next time you visit."

Bridal Carry #1

Case #2: "Murder on a Train"

Ep.03:

"You always show up when someone's dead."

"Obviously, ... I am the better detective."

His guilt tripping, her instant payback

Ep.04:

Appeasing/bribing her sweet-toothed inspector

In which his brain broke upon seeing her in a qipao

In which he eats breakfast while she solves murder

"Since everyone calls you that, I'll call you something different"

Case #3: "A Song of Blood"

Ep.05:

Bridal Carry #2

In which he set her 'twisted' ankle... #1

In which the "bribing her sweet-toothed inspector with dessert" gets real serious

Ep.06:

In which she solves the murder while terrifying his entire police unit

In which he cannot hide the admiration and fondness

Case #4: "Shadows in the Bookstore"

Ep.07:

In which she claims they're partners

In which he pouts until she apologises

Ep.08:

The "Love is a strange thing" talk #1

In which they conduct science experiments

In which she branches out to botany

🚩 when ya girl witnessed you offing a few people and is scared of you. She asks 'are you going to kill me?' And Xie Wei, in a chilling tone was like 'Do you think I won't" yes totally reassuring

🚩 when ya girl asked Xie Wei for a favor for saving his life way back when and she said with this favor we're even. Being the not sane person, Xie Wei got angry and said 'are you so eager to cut ties between us?' Again very normal because he wants to be tied to her in any way possible.

🚩 when ya girl is spending too much time with this upstanding GOOD GUY, Xie Wei was absolutely ready to off him in full public view. This was only prevented because ya girl was like don't kill him and Xie Wei could never say no to her.

🚩 when ya girl is keeping her distance because she is scared, Xie Wei basically told her 'fine fine. You can run away from me, but know this no matter where you go or how far you run, I will find you.' Xie Wei, the romantic 🚩🚩

🚩 when ya girl was like I'm afraid that you will kill me so Xie Wei was like [sighed] 'alright why don't YOU just kill ME, right here and right now, with your own hands, so that you won't be scare of me anymore' He then guided her hands on the blade and stabbed himself ... seriously ... soooo extra.

Welcome to the wonderful world of minis!!! Here are some recs!

THESE ARE ACTUALLY QUALITY

These may be minis, but between the cinematography and themes, they are as good or better than a "proper" drama:

Ancient Love Song - a haunting time travel romance with no destined easy out, this is about a modern scholar who travels back in time and interacts with an empress loathed by history. But their timelines flow in reverse...

Butterflied Lover - a period constable, his vampire wife, and one of the most gorgeous dramas out there.

A Familiar Stranger - Cheng Lei before he hit is big in "proper" dramas, the director of Blossom and fourth sister (aka best sister) in Perfect Match. The OTT premise is a face swap, but after that it's an awesome period romance between a general and a woman who he rescued a long time ago. It's torrid torrid torrid btw.

Fortune Writer - even the picky Douban viewers rated this one 7+. This is a story of villains in love but even more interestingly, a knowing fight against the narrative.

Hard to Find - fantasy and tragedy and doomed love; the story is like a darker old school cdrama but it's the gorgeous cinematography that places it in this portion of the list.

Love in a Dream - it’s a mini that has the most gorgeous cinematography I’ve seen in 2024 except for Fangs of Fortune and Eternal Brotherhood. I loved the vibes and the story and its feeling of tragic love and lost time.

TRASHY FUNNNNNN

Always My General - lady general, revenge, a very bi ML and just great fun!

Beauty Strategy - a mini of what a few years ago would have been a proper angsty drama of palace scheming enemies while lovers, powerless emperor etc etc. Honestly, I loved it.

Bound By Sin - subbiest Republican era ML ever.

Broken the Heart - super duper bonkers, with an evil royal tormenting the pure wife but for REASONS.

Circle of Love - this drama is a nonsense trash heap on fire. After a typhoon hit it. Republican era revenge romance and a ML who's insane.

Enslaved by Love - the ML is toxic enough to be banned by the Geneva convention but FL does get some of her own back and also if you ever wanted to see blindness-curing sex, boy do I have a drama for you!

Is Xianzun Whitewashed Today - this is 100% BL and a SVSSS rip off. Thanks for snoring, censors.

The Killer Is Also Romantic - mild mannered citizens by day, assassins/agents by night. This is a period Mr and Mrs Smith

Lovesickness - a good time about a woman traveling back in time and falling for a powerful but doomed duke.

Maid's Revenge - the ML of Sadistic Love and even more unhinged and slutty than in that one.

My Villain Husband - my first mini! FL wakes up in a novel! As the villain's despised wife. What shall she dooooooooo

Palace Shadows: Between Two Princes - ML pretends to be his own twin, bdsm and sluttiness ensues. I cannot even explain how wild this drama is but the acting is on point and way way fun!

The Prisoner of Love - more like the prisoner of bdsm.

Provoke - in love with one's stepmother? Indeed. But there is also a surprisingly solid plot under the bonkers.

Rise from the Ashes - a wacky as hell mini where reborn FL wreaks revenge with help of her fake uncle as they carry on as some sort of Borgia/Phillip II of Spain fame hybrid. If you don’t need to use your brain, you could have a worse time.

Rising Feather - a woman leading on son in law general (lover) and father in law minister (husband) for revenge and delicious trashiness.

Secrets of the Shadow Sect - head of sect lady and her very very subby bodyguard. What’s not to love?

Stolen Love - general, his first love, a LOT of make outs.