Final review - My Heroic Husband (2021)
Final review/rating: My Heroic Husband (2021) - An enjoyable game of two halves with a hilarious and sweet power couple
This is 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼
Overall rating: 8.5 Stars Plot: 8.5 Stars Acting/cast: 8.5 Stars Couple chemistry: 9 stars Music: 8 Stars Re-watch value: 8 Stars Enjoyment factor: 8 Stars |
The first arc of My Heroic Husband is laugh out loud comedy at its absolute best, with a hilarious and witty cast ably led by Guo Qi Lin's Ning Yi as the titular matrilocal husband (zhui xu/赘婿). He and Song Yi's Su Tan Er are an unstoppable comedic duo and very cute OTP, running rings around their commercial rivals. Definite shades of Joy of Life!
Unfortunately the second half is no where near as perfect as the first and the drama spends too long on the rather tedious bandit arc in an abrupt change of pace and tone, from about episode 18 onwards, no doubt to provide the set up for Season 2. But overall, My Heroic Husband is still a very enjoyable watch. A solid 8.5 stars.
SPOILERS AHEADS
The plot: a game of two halves - a sparkling first half
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| Tan 'Er and Ning Yi |
To recap, Ning Yi, a modern day financial businessman, is double crossed by a commercial rival and left for dead... He is transported in time, into the body of a soon to be matrilocal husband/赘婿 of lowly status (it's ancient China's equivalent of being a kept man).
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| Song Yi as Tan 'Er |
In the patriarchal society of the time, females, no matter how capable, cannot manage the family business, which is why Su Tan 'Er needs a matrilocal husband to have a chance of holding power in the Su cloth empire. Tan 'Er is highly intelligent, capable, and determined to succeed in the cloth industry at which she excels. Status wise, she is the only daughter of her father, who is the eldest son of Old Su's first wife. However, she has an older male cousin who is the son of Old Su's concubine. Although he is useless and feckless, he is a man, and it's a man's world. So there is an interesting dynamic here - does power fall to the capable daughter of the first family, or to the useless son of the second family? It's a free for all because Old Su is prepared to countenance Tan 'Er holding the reins, so long as she proves herself...
Enter Ning Yi, the X factor, and the fun begins! Using modern day business methodology and his own special brand of acumen, Ning Yi helps Tan 'Er prosper, cornering the cloth market for her and his friends, and successfully battling for the reins of power from the second family.
Where to begin with the laugh out loud comedy in the first half? On the business side of things, honorable mentions must be made of the hilarious use of the wheel of bargains/"pindaodao" (a sly wink to "pinduoduo", a Chinese group buying/sharing with friends business model) and targeted customer service (when Ning Yi gets all the staff to repeat after him in singsong style - "Welcome to the store honorable guest! Please select at will! What can I do for you?" Sound familiar? 😆). There's also a bankruptcy of sorts which is cunningly designed to fool the opposition, with a comeback complete with mobile cloth stores that deliver to all areas of the city, which is financed by the not-so-humble-after-all preserved egg 皮蛋 side business run by Ning Yi and his mates from the Academy of Male Virtue 男德学院 (more on the this later).
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| Cute OTP magic |
There is also plenty of other laugh out moments involving triumphs over the second family, because, let's face it, Tan 'Er's uncle and cousin have very punchable faces and are often hoist on their own petards😁
The love that blossoms between Ning Yi and Tan Er, as their marriage of convenience becomes a marriage of equals is both sweet and hilarious. At one point, Tan 'Er takes the initiative by accidentally-on-purpose burning down Ning Yi's room so that he has to stay with her 😅
In my humble opinion, the first half of My Heroic Husband, up to about episode 18 or so, is very good. A pitch perfect, laugh out loud, romp of a comedy.
Ning Yi - the matrilocal hubby with high IQ and EQ
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| Guo Qi Lin as Ning Yi |
The main reason for the enjoyability of My Heroic Husband is the casting of Guo Qi Lin as the titular matrilocal husband, Ning Yi. That casting choice was truly inspired. He's fantastic! A colourfully written character with modern 'smarts', swagger, and charm (and quite a bit of ruthlessness when the occasion calls for it), he runs rings around his friends and foes alike.
Guo Qi Lin's comic timing as Ning Yi is unbeatable, and it is no wonder that he wins the affection of his Tan 'Er. He also gets full marks for being a supportive husband, who is fully on board with having a clever wife who wants to succeed in a man's world, and he is fully committed to helping her fulfil her dreams.
Set against a backdrop in which almost all of the world appears to be misogynistic, Ning Yi's enlightened outlook is refreshing and very attractive. (Incidentally, I think those who have written Guo Qi Lin off as lacking in leading male good looks are rather misguided - it takes more than cookie cutter idol good looks to carry a drama. Case in point is Dr Cutie - see my final review for that drama👉here).
It's super cute that My Heroic Husband lets Tan 'Er make all the first moves in the romance stakes to a very receptive Ning Yi - they are so cute together and such a comedic duo! I love their take on "you and me against the world"💕
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| Chess bros: Qin Shi Yuan, Ning Yi, Kang Xian |
Ning Yi also shares a lot of chemistry with other characters. There is his rapport with his two chess buddies and Joy of Life alumni, old chancellor Qin Si Yuan and the prince consort Kang Xian (whom Ning Yi cheekily describes as the highest ranked matrilocal husband/赘婿 in the land).
Unlike other grubby social climbers, Ning Yi is happy to enjoy bantering over a chess game and doesn't see the older duo as a means to an end. Seeing these three together has me hoping that Joy of Life season 2 comes soon🤞
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| The Academy of Male Virtue |
There's also Ning Yi's band of brothers from the Academy of Male Virtue 男德学院 (yes, you read that correctly, it's a school for matrilocal husbands to get 'schooled' on how to be an ideal spouse)😆
Somehow, Ning Yi is able to help these misfits of society gain self esteem and some decent business sense, subverting the establishment dictates of the Academy of Male Virtue that a matrilocal husband's sole aim in life must be to slavishly please his higher status wife.
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| Guard Geng |
And then there's also the warm and hilarious friendship Ning Yi shares with Guard Geng, the gentle giant with a heart of gold and a penchant for reading corny romance novels, especially those written for him by Ning Yi. This bromance had me laughing out loud (and also weeping, at the end).
In my view, Ning Yi/Guo Qi Lin's amazing chemistry with his fellow characters really carried this show.
The plot continued: the darker second half
Unfortunately, the sparkling chemistry of the first half alone does not carry over into the darker second half.
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| Yiyi Jiang as Liu Xia Gua |
It’s not that Yiyi Jiang isn’t a loveable actress... but there just isn’t that effortless chemistry between Xia Gua and Ning Yi as there is between the OTP. Even allowing for Xia Gua's I've-got-a-crush-on-you-and-I don't-know-how-to-handle-it awkwardness and Ning Yi's I-suspect-you-have-a-crush-on-me-but-I'm-a-one-woman-man awareness which the plot calls for, the vibe is rather too stilted for believable camaraderie.
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| Liu Yi Hang as Chen Fan |
There are still some moments of fun in the second half (eg the trials and tribulations of the hapless second family father and son duo and the loveable but idiotic Chen Fan). But these are few and far between in comparison, and frankly, the bandit/ political intrigue/ uprising plot was tedious. While the first half of My Heroic Husband had shades of Joy of Life's pitch perfect comedy, it is fair to say that the second half's political intrigue is definitely not in the same league as that in Joy of Life.
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| Ruthless Ning Yi |
The pace didn't pick up until Ning Yi and Tan 'Er (and Guard Geng) are reunited in episodes 26 and 27, and even then, the drama remains dark in tone. On that note, a shout out to episode 27 and the rescue scene. Guo Qi Lin really showcases his range as an actor in that scene when he (as Ning Yi) comes to Tan 'Er's rescue in time to prevent an absolute sadistic ass of a character from trying to rape her and then proceeds to cold bloodedly and slowly execute said wannabe-rapist by shooting him with a self made musket - I must confess that I wholeheartedly approved. It's dark, but it felt appropriate.
My Heroic Husband ends with a slight cliffhanger (the second half clearly changed tone to set up a darker sequel). I think I will be looking out for Season 2 when it comes out. But perhaps with a little less anticipation than if the second half had mirrored the first in tone and frivolity.
Fantastic OST
Oh, and a word for the OST. I really enjoyed it, especially the ending theme song, which is based on a famous Chinese poem/song, Su Shi's 蘇軾 "Prelude to Water Melody" 水調歌頭. It really captures all the wistful longing for reunion with loved ones who are far away and who may be wishing on the same moon...
I've written up a short explanation of "Prelude to Water Melody"水調歌頭, and an English translation of the lyrics 👉here. All mistakes my own, obviously!
Final thoughts
🐼: Overall, My Heroic Husband is one of the better Chinese historical dramas I've seen this year. If you only feel like frothy funny goodness, I'd recommend stopping at about episode 18. Otherwise, buckle up for some slightly tedious angst and political intriguing that sets the drama up for Season 2.
A solid 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan.
